Chapter 95: Covenantor (XVIII)

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Chapter 95: Covenantor (XVIII)

The surgery lasted more than ten hours. The doctors removed numerous fragments of stone and debris from Shang Ke’s back, one of which had nearly pierced his lung. It had been an extremely close call. Although the operation was complete, he was not yet fully out of danger and would need another day or two of observation.

Shang Ke was transferred to a VIP intensive-care room. Lu Xiufan remained beside him, holding his bandaged hand and sitting as motionless as a statue.

At that moment, the communicator on his wrist vibrated. The captain of the armed unit investigating the incident had sent over a preliminary report. Judging from the blast pattern and the fragments left at the scene, the explosive had been a small remotely controlled bomb equipped with a signal sensor. It had been implanted inside the Covenantor Jill’s body. The guard’s detector had probably alerted whoever was controlling it, prompting them to detonate the bomb in haste.

“Immediately arrange physical examinations for every Covenantor at the Placement Center, the mansion, and the Yue Family.” Lu Xiufan could not yet determine whether the attack had targeted Shang Ke or himself, but one thing was obvious: the perpetrators had used a Covenantor as a weapon.

Once the order was issued, the armed unit captain moved quickly. It took only a day to examine every Covenantor, but nothing suspicious was found. During questioning, however, one Covenantor revealed that he had been attacked several days earlier. Following the Anti-Violence Agreement, he had fought back and prevented his attackers from succeeding.

The officer conducting the interview was rather surprised. He had never heard of Covenantors having anything called an Anti-Violence Agreement. Still, because the Covenantor had fought back, he was able to provide them with a considerable number of clues.

The Covenantor had once served as a scout and possessed an excellent memory. He described the attackers’ appearances, clothing, weapons, and other details with remarkable precision. They had intended to drug him unconscious, but the former scout detected them the moment they approached.

He had reported the attack to the Placement Center’s inspectors that same day, but the inspectors only submitted routine reports to Shang Ke once every three days unless an emergency occurred—for example, a Covenantor currently suffering abuse. An altercation that had already been resolved without injury obviously did not qualify as an emergency.

As a result, Shang Ke had not been warned in time to take precautions and had ultimately suffered severe injuries.

Jill clearly did not possess the former scout’s combat ability. His attackers had knocked him unconscious and secretly implanted a small bomb inside his body. After waking, Jill apparently sensed no danger and simply continued working as usual. Even if he felt physically unwell, it never occurred to him to seek an examination.

Using the clues provided by the former scout, Lu Xiufan’s people quickly followed the trail back to the two nobles Shang Ke had previously prosecuted.

Why were the powerful so wary of Lu Xiufan? Because he possessed information on virtually every noble in the Empire, including the various illicit dealings they conducted in private. If he truly investigated everyone to the end, there probably would not be many left completely clean. Lu Xiufan held the scales between black and white; for the sake of the Empire’s stability, he generally left alone those nobles who still knew where to draw the line.

His very existence was both a deterrent to the powerful and a blade perpetually hanging over their heads.

For a prince of Lu Xiufan’s rank to be attacked in the capital enraged the Queen. The media covered the incident extensively, speculation ran rampant, and Shang Ke was unanimously praised for risking his life to save his master.

Lu Xiufan did not reveal that Shang Ke had been the actual target. Instead, he linked the two nobles with the traitors and underworld figures he had uncovered during his recent investigation and reported them to the Queen as a reactionary force. The Queen’s attitude toward a reactionary organization was naturally very different from her attitude toward an attack on a single Covenantor.

Nor was the accusation entirely fabricated. Quite a few nobles in the Empire maintained connections with criminal organizations, and the two nobles who targeted Shang Ke were no exception.

After receiving Lu Xiufan’s investigative report, the Queen immediately sent people to assist him in investigating the alleged reactionary group. Anyone whose involvement was verified would be stripped of their noble title and imprisoned for life.

With the Queen’s decree behind him, Lu Xiufan gave the two nobles no real opportunity to escape the consequences, and their fate was easy to imagine. They probably never dreamed that Lu Xiufan would destroy them so thoroughly for the sake of a Covenantor. They assumed their true mistake had simply been detonating the bomb at the wrong moment and accidentally injuring Lu Xiufan, thereby bringing disaster down upon themselves.

During the first half month of Shang Ke’s coma, Lu Xiufan not only sent those two nobles to prison, but also used Shang Ke’s actions and the direction of public opinion as an opportunity to persuade the Queen to revise the Covenantor Protection Act, formally incorporating it into national public law. Officials were also dispatched to reorganize every Placement Center and establish comprehensive records for all Covenantors.

From that point onward, Covenantors finally possessed official legal protection. It could not prevent every violation, but it at least greatly reduced the likelihood of abuse.

An additional law was enacted as well: anyone proven to have used a Covenantor to commit a crime would receive the death penalty, regardless of status or rank. The bombing had made the Queen realize that Covenantors could be turned into highly dangerous human weapons that were extraordinarily difficult to guard against. The threat to society was severe enough that harsh preventative laws were necessary.

【Additional Mission 1 completed—Establish a Covenantor protection system. Reward: eight additional years of stay time.】

Shang Ke woke a month later, and the moment his consciousness returned, he received the System notification.

The mission is complete?

Shang Ke stared at the white walls, momentarily unsure where he was.

Once he recognized his surroundings, he realized that he had once again gloriously landed himself in a hospital. Fortunately, although he was lying flat, he had not gone stiff yet.

Shang Ke checked his body, confirmed that all four limbs still worked and that he had not been paralyzed, and finally relaxed.

He immediately remembered something important. 【System, didn’t you say completing Additional Mission 1 would give me a special item reward?】

The System replied: 【Yes. The reward may be claimed at any time.】

【What is it?】

The System replied: 【One 75 mL bottle of brain tonic.】

【…Sorry. Say that again?】

The System replied: 【One 75 mL bottle of brain tonic. 【Image attached.】】

A palm-sized glass bottle appeared in Shang Ke’s mind, filled with a pale green liquid that looked clear and crystalline. Yet the moment he thought about its name, he felt profoundly cheated. He had nearly worked himself to death completing the mission, and his reward was one lousy bottle of brain tonic?

But the instant he saw what the brain tonic actually did, every trace of resentment vanished. This stuff could repair damaged neurons and extend a Covenantor’s lifespan?!

Holy crap, this is a miracle drug! The System had finally been generous for once. Shang Ke was moved to tears—internally, at least.

Unfortunately, reality soon proved that “generous” was a word that should never, ever be used to describe the System.

The System announced: 【Additional Mission 2—Analyze the composition of the brain tonic and develop a drug capable of extending Covenantors’ lifespans.】

Shang Ke: 【…It’s only one 75 mL bottle. After I use it for research, how much will even be left for repairing my own brain?】

The System replied: 【That depends on the experimental error rate.】

【System, let’s negotiate. Can’t you give me a few more bottles? Seventy-five milliliters isn’t even enough for one gulp!】

The System promptly played dead and stopped responding.

While mentally subjecting the System to death by a thousand cuts, Shang Ke suddenly sensed someone approaching. He looked up and saw Lu Xiufan’s tall, straight figure beside him.

When did he come in?

Lu Xiufan moved his lips and said several words, but Shang Ke heard nothing. Only then did he realize how unnaturally silent everything around him was. The wind beyond the window, the beeping of the equipment, the rustle of the bedding, Lu Xiufan’s voice… every single sound had disappeared.

With a perfectly blank face, Shang Ke finally confirmed one fact.

He had gone deaf.

“Little Ze?” Seeing Shang Ke remain silent, Lu Xiufan bent down and asked softly, “What’s wrong?”

Shang Ke moved his lips. “Are my ears damaged? Why does it seem like I can’t hear anything?” Not being able to hear even his own voice felt incredibly strange.

Lu Xiufan’s expression immediately changed, and he summoned the doctor at once.

The doctor performed a simple hearing test on Shang Ke and frowned. “The explosion may have damaged the patient’s auditory ossicles. We’ll need to conduct a more detailed examination with the equipment.”

“Why wasn’t this discovered earlier?” Lu Xiufan stared at the doctor coldly.

A chill ran down the doctor’s spine. He replied nervously, “There are many causes of hearing loss. Unless the damage is visibly obvious, it can be difficult to detect without more detailed testing.”

“Cure him!” Lu Xiufan’s tone allowed no argument.

The doctor did not dare promise anything. He simply called in a nurse to take Shang Ke for examination.

Lu Xiufan followed behind them, his expression frighteningly cold.

Before long, the results came back. The auditory ossicles in both ears had suffered varying degrees of damage, causing his hearing loss. Barring complications, the injuries were treatable. For the time being, however, Shang Ke would have to live in a very quiet world.

Shang Ke had endured countless major and minor injuries by now and had long since developed nerves of steel. Temporary deafness was nowhere near enough to devastate him.

Lu Xiufan was different. He had watched Shang Ke encounter danger and suffer grievous injuries again and again, and his heart was nearly reaching its limit. It felt as though an invisible hand were constantly tugging at the thread of Shang Ke’s life, ready to drag him away at any moment.

Not long ago, Shang Ke had survived the runaway hovercar. Then came the bombing. He had barely escaped mortal danger, only to wake up without his hearing. One accident after another relentlessly tortured Lu Xiufan’s nerves.

Perhaps he should keep Shang Ke inside a fortified stronghold and shut every possible danger outside its walls.

Once the thought occurred to him, he could no longer suppress it.

“Little Ze.” Lu Xiufan took Shang Ke’s hand and said gently, “When you’re discharged, I’ll take you somewhere.”

Shang Ke had no idea that he was about to enjoy a “carefree” life in a gilded cage.

Without his hearing, the world became extraordinarily quiet, almost as though he had been isolated in another dimension. Everyday life posed little difficulty; the main inconvenience was that communication with others had to be done in writing. Since Shang Ke could no longer hear even his own voice, he gradually stopped speaking much as well.

After surgery to repair the auditory ossicles, he would need roughly three months to recover.

When Shang Ke was discharged, Lu Xiufan came to pick him up. Instead of returning to the mansion, however, they left the capital and headed to a villa on top of a mountain.

Security was extremely tight. Traveling from the foot of the mountain to the summit required passing through at least three guarded checkpoints.

The car stopped in front of the villa. Lu Xiufan lifted Shang Ke into a wheelchair. Shang Ke was actually capable of walking, but Lu Xiufan was worried he might pull at the wounds on his back and absolutely refused to let him move around on his own.

Shang Ke sat in the wheelchair as Lu Xiufan pushed him into the villa, taking in the surroundings while wondering exactly what kind of place this was.

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