Dawn Sleep

Undercurrent (2)

In the early morning of the next day, in the staff dormitory of the Kaios Military Academy. Jiang Jianming opened his eyes with difficulty, stared at the ceiling and sighed before getting up.

Dwelling on the past is really not good.

After washing and eating as usual, Jiang Jianming went out. After that scene, he couldn’t just leave it to dry, he still had a lot to say to Garcia clearly.

Therefore, at present, shackles were really needed to find that tantrum monster.

He didn’t catch up directly last night, but rather specifically waited until this morning. This was a strategy, let the Little Highness vent his temper first, thinking that they really had a cold war all night, persisting until this morning to be defeated, then stepping back first and yielding to persuasion.

Passing through the bustling roads in the Imperial Capital, Jiang Jianming walked towards the White Jade Palace, and sent a few text messages on the way.

[Your Highness Garcia, are you still angry?]

[Yesterday, my words were inappropriate midway, I’m sorry, I thought about it for a long time last night. ]

[But there are some things that I still hope to clarify with you face to face, please at least listen to me explain everything before convicting me, is that okay?]

[…If you don’t reply to me, I will take the liberty to go over. Is Your Highness in the White Jade Palace?]

Obviously, several words that could be pieced together need to be developed separately, to appear proactive, eager and sincere. This was equal to a strategy.

These little tricks may make Garcia a lot happier.

Jiang Jianming smiled, and put away his wrist device leisurely.

Ding ding.……..The magnetic suspension bus passed the projected signal lights in front of him, and he walked past a bridge full of pedestrians. 

Under the bridge was the famous river in the third district of Aslan, the Jiuye River, and many tourists come and go for sightseeing all year round. In this season, the river surface was not completely frozen, and  shimmeringly reflected the sun.

There was no need to cross the bridge to go to the White Jade Palace. Jiang Jianming should have passed by the bridge pier, then walked straight, and crossed to the opposite side of the signal light.

However, there was god’s will in the dark and there were such coincidences, it’s just that as he swept over the crowd on the bridge from the corner of his eye, something happened.

(t/n: from “In the dark, there is the will of God” means that something happened unknowingly, as if it was deliberately arranged by God. To describe something that seems very unclear, but it actually happened, and the reason cannot be found, so I attribute everything to the will of God, and to a certain extent, it means superstition and not thinking about making progress.)

A man’s startled shout rang out, and a figure was seen flipping down from the railing of the bridge without warning!

Plop! Splash——

The figure fell into the river, and immediately splashed an extremely high water spray, making the dazzling sunlight be reflected even more dazzlingly. Along with the exploding screams on the bridge, it was unknown who first shouted:

“—someone jumped into the river!!!”

In a few seconds, all four sides centered around the bridge began to boil.

Countless people gathered around in horror, and looking down from above, they saw a head and a pair of hands fluttering in the icy river, going up and down from time to time!

“Someone committed suicide by jumping over there!!”

“What’s going on, shouldn’t there be a protective net under this bridge!?”

“Where are the patrol officers!? Call the patrol officers!!”

Weewo weewoo……While the others were still in a state of shock, Jiang Jianming quickly pressed the alarm button at the intersection.

At this time, he ran to the bridge where the red light of the alarm was flashing randomly, and his first reaction was to go into the water to save the person.

However, at the next moment Jiang Jianming forced himself to stand still, and clenched his fingers with a cold face.

It was impossible to unfold the folding mecha in this kind of crowded area, and once it got into the water, he could only rely on himself.

With his state today…..Can he survive under an icy river in this weather and fish out an adult?

Jiang Jianming leaned on the railing and looked down the bridge, then heaved a sigh of relief.

The person who fell into the water did not seem to be lacking the ability to swim. That person was barely swimming and floating in this cold and piercing river water, seemingly able to hold out until the patrol police arrived.

But Jiang Jianming’s expression soon sank again. Looking at this scene, he suddenly felt that something was wrong.

Before he had time to think about it, another burst of exclamation broke out from the crowd:

“Ship!!” 

“A ship is coming!!”

Screams erupted on the bridge, and an iron ship parting the water surface could be seen, entering in through the man-made by-pass of the Jiuye River. The side of the boat bore the military emblem of the Golden Sun Wheel of the Empire. It was a small unmanned transport ship for military use.

The waves on the surface of the river rolled, and the floating head struggled twice before being swallowed up.

While on the bridge, Jiang Jianming’s heart suddenly jumped. This kind of military ship was extremely fast. Once a person was hit, not to mention dying on the spot, he would become unconscious and then drown.

Not only that……It’s impossible to call a stop to a ship that’s unmanned, and the patrol officers couldn’t also do anything when they came over.

——No, it’s too late.

Jiang Jianming secretly gritted his molars. He took two steps forward to push away the crowd, propped his palm on the guardrail, and leaped forward amidst the exclamation of others to the rushing river.

Splash——

High splashes of water rose again on the Jiuye River.

He wanted to save the person, but there was no other way. There was no place to deploy the mecha on the bridge, but he could enter the water first and deploy the mecha S-Snow Dove underwater. As long as he could save the person who fell into the water before colliding with the boat, and then drive the mecha to the shore, everything would be fine.

It even sounded simple.

However, this was the end of the year’s cold winter season, accompanied with the impact force hitting the river surface when falling into the water, and being submerged in the icy cold water in an instant. Jiang Jianming, at the moment had Laryngospasm, almost choking on water.

He bit the tip of his tongue and forced himself to resist the instinct of his body, and activated the Snow Dove first–

White light flickered under the turbid river water, Jiang Jianming was engulfed by the water and hit the back of the driver’s seat, first he pulled out the air mask with both hands and pressed it on his mouth and nose.

“Cough…..”

The consequence of deploying the mecha underwater was that the water from the Jiuye River would fill the cockpit. Jiang Jianming pulled the seat belt to secure himself. In just a few seconds, his cheeks were already frighteningly pale. He breathed uncontrollably under the cold shock reaction, and his body temperature was rapidly losing in the icy water.

He knew that his stamina would not last long, thus he had to do it as soon as possible.

Snow Dove switched to a diving state, and a figure struggling to swim was displayed on the screen in front of him. Jiang Jianming squinted his eyes in the water, locked the position and immediately manipulated the mecha to speed up.

The shadow of the iron ship was in front of him, the water waves rolled with the dark mud at the bottom of the river, and the mecha drove towards the figure like a silver fish.

With a buzzing sound, the mechanical claws popped up to its maximum length, hooking the waistband of the drowning man with a terrifyingly precise manipulation.

At this time, the bow of the iron boat roared and crashed like a beast, and everything happened in a flash!

Jiang Jianming’s five fingers rotated on the control screen. The mechanical claws retracted, pulling the drowning person away with a nudge.

It was a man in his mid-thirties, his facial features were painfully tangled up, he was spitting out air bubbles, his legs were kicking and struggling, and was obviously holding his breath to the limit.

Jiang Jianming took a deep breath, pushed open the hatch, quickly tore off his air mask and pressed it on the man’s face.

The man convulsed and breathed desperately, and even bigger strings of air bubbles rose to the surface of the turbid water. Jiang Jianming hooked the man’s neck with his elbow, and dragged him into the cockpit with all his strength!

Bang! The cockpit door closed. In the next second, the shadow of the ship slid dangerously past the front of the mech, and the water flow brought by the propeller rolled the S-Snow Dove towards the bottom of the river.

In the cockpit, Jiang Jianming first gave Seth Henry all permissions. Now that he had been in the water for several minutes, he was afraid that if he did not make it to the shore, he would lose consciousness.

Immediately afterwards, he locked the coordinates of the nearest river bank and pushed the lever to the bottom with all his strength–

[Urgent, urgent!!]

All at once, Jiang Jianming’s pupils shrank. Across the rippling water waves, the warning red light in the cockpit of the mecha flashed.

[Woof, the mecha control system has been jammed and cannot function normally…]

What!? 

Jiang Jianming’s back felt cold, and the familiar alarm sound made his nerves explode. His first reaction was: how is it possible?

This is within the territory of the empire, the third district of the capital Aslan Star City, less than half an hour’s walk from the White Jade Palace where the emperor lived.

How is it possible, how can the same situation in Alpha Alien Star occur!?

– Lava Space Pirates, real crystal ores, high-tech interference waves of unknown origin, and intelligent alien creatures.

In an instant, the conspiracies and plots of the past few months had been connected together into a huge net, which tightened him tightly at the dark bottom waters of this moment of life and death.

[Continuous decline of driver’s life indicators detected]

[Woof woof, the treatment cabin failed to start, cockpit evacuation failed…]

Jiang Jianming was coldly immersed in the river water, as the mecha was sinking to the bottom of the river. At this moment, he didn’t have time to think much, he first vigorously reached out and pushed open the cockpit door to prevent the people from getting trapped inside.

However, at this moment, he could no longer hold his breath. The long time of holding his breath and the exhaustion of violent movements completely pushed the pain of suffocation to the extreme, and several strings of air bubbles overflowed from the corners of his mouth.

“Mmmp!….mmph!”

In a dazed consciousness, Jiang Jianming felt that his arm was being grabbed, and the man beside him was not unconscious. At this moment, “Mmmph” with eyes wide open, pointing eagerly at the mask on his face and then at Jiang Jianming.

Jiang Jianming understood, took the air mask tremblingly, took two breaths, and then pointed to the top of his head—the mecha was sinking, and they had to swim out by themselves if they wanted to survive!

The two got out of the cockpit door one after another, kicked hard on the fuselage of the mecha, and desperately went upstream.

Spots of sunlight were shaking on the water above his head, but his limbs became more and more stiff, and the oxygen in his lungs was quickly squeezed out. Their physical strength had reached the limit, and they all swam with that bit of perseverance.

In this icy river, the concept of time was distorted. The sun was getting closer and closer, and the oxygen and warmth were getting closer as well.

Suddenly, Jiang Jianming saw from the corner of his eye that the man who fell into the water, sank, his right leg was twitching, and his facial features showed obvious pain and despair. Misfortunes never come singly. Because he had been soaked in cold water for too long, now, he had cramps!

Jiang Jianming gritted his teeth secretly, stretched his arms to support the man’s ribs, and supported the weight of the two of them to swim upstream.

His mind was gradually swallowed by the river water, and he began to lose his sense of the body, but at this time, his thinking speeded up strangely.

Murder………this is murder.

From the very beginning, he felt something was wrong. According to normal people’s thinking, when seeing a passer-by fall into the river from the bridge, they should shout “someone fell into the river” or “someone fell into the water”

However, it was strange that the first shout from the bridge was “Someone jumped into the river”, as if it was concluded that the man jumped down by himself.

During the process of saving the person, the man who fell into the water did not resist at all, Jiang Jianming could not even feel the pessimism of this man. Thinking in reverse, one could tell that this unlucky ghost did not commit suicide, but was artificially pushed into the river.

And the unmanned transport ship that happened to come over at this time. Besides trying to kill the man, there should also be a jamming wave transmitter on the ship.

Obviously, the real culprit behind the scenes could not have predicted that a mecha would come to rescue him, but it was more likely that he wanted to stop the patrolling officer’s aircraft.

This thing had only appeared once at the foreline, and no ordinary patrol officer would think about it, they would just treat it as a malfunction of the aircraft.

Three guillotines would cut off all the means of survival, and the forces behind it included both the Empire’s Golden Sun Wheel Army and the space pirates.

This was a well-planned, insidious and undercurrent murder case.

What is the identity of this man who was pushed into the river……

Jiang Jianming’s vision gradually dimmed, and the spot of light on the water surface turned into a fuzzy mass, as if within reach, and as if far away in the sky. Suddenly, a hard touch came from his back. The thing that appeared in the water out of thin air was very warm, as if it had the body temperature of a human being.

A force hundreds of times stronger than his weak struggle came suddenly.

Jiang Jianming vaguely saw the reflection of a red gold crystal bone, and the bodies of him and the man who fell into the water suddenly accelerated and lifted up.

Jiang Jianming’s mind relaxed, he couldn’t hold on any longer, and the air in his lungs that was about to burst was spewed out from the corners of his lips.

In the next moment, platinum gold hair swayed in front of his eyes, someone lifted his chin, and forcefully pressed against his lips and teeth, passing over a breath.

In a daze, he saw a sharp emerald color soaked in cold water and the corners of his eyes that were reddened by the frenzied emotions.

“…….”

Jiang Jianming thought vaguely: Who made His Highness so angry?

……….Oh, could it be me.

Then he just hung his head in Garcia’s arms like this, closed his eyes, and lost consciousness with great ease.

Crash!!

With a flick of the crystal bone, the unknown man was thrown among the weedy gravel. Garcia was panting heavily, and staggered ashore with the disabled human being in his arms.

The river had carried them too far, and this place was no longer next to the bridge just now, or even a bustling area, there was not a single person around.

——Jiang Jianming!!

Garcia’s eyes were red, and he shook the person in his arms with a low shout. Jiang Jianming was cold all over, his limbs were limp, his neck was weakly draped around the prince’s arms and was bent back, like a thin nipped off white stem.

…… His eyes were closed and was not breathing.

Garcia picked up the body and put it on his lap, firmly clasped Jiang Jianming’s back, forcing him to spit out the water he choked on.

But Jiang Jianming still hadn’t regained his breathing and consciousness.

Only the most primitive first aid methods could be used in this situation. Garcia placed him flat on the ground, pressed his chest hard, and then pressed against his lips tightly to repeat the artificial respiration.

Over and over again passing over air, yet each time, still without response.

For some reason, Garcia felt that the pale face that was close at hand began to become unreal.

In a daze, Jiang Jianming was still wearing that handsome black dress and standing by the snowy window. When he provoked him, his eyebrows and eyes were so vivid that the four characters “victory is in hand” were almost written.

What kind of person is this?

Being able to confidently deliver his neck into his hands, can shoot him with a gun bluntly and sharply ……can grab his arm, and say in a low voice to not touch that ring…

It was just yesterday.

Those scenes were clearly just yesterday.

Moreover, obviously less than an hour ago, this person was still remotely messaging him, asking if he was still angry.

While he was sitting on the top of the White Jade Palace, watching Jiang Jianming walking towards him step by step, thinking about how to deal a painful blow to the other party, so that this person can no longer bother him.

But now, this person is too quiet, quiet as if unwilling to open his eyes again anymore.

Don’t, don’t die. Garcia clenched his teeth in despair……..Please breathe quickly, I won’t be angry with you anymore.

“Cough…cough……cough…!!”

Perhaps it was some kind of induction that couldn’t be humanly predicted, but a few seconds later, the disabled human’s body twitched violently, coughed wildly and woke up from the coma.

Jiang Jianming shivered and curled up on the ground, gasping for breath, grabbing Garcia’s sleeve with his fingers, “Highness…cough cough cough, Your Highness.”

“Jiang!” Garcia raised his head abruptly, confirmed it for two seconds in disbelief, then picked him up and pressed him into his arms, patting his convulsing back.

It took Jiang Jianming a long time to barely stop the terrifying cough, panting and said intermittently, “I…..I’m sorry, this……this is an accident. I really wanted to, cough cough……. to find you.”

Jiang Jianming struggled, looked for the man who fell into the water, and said weakly, “Where is that man? Not….not dead.”

 But when the wind blew on the river bank, he was frozen to death on the spot. Trembling, he grabbed Garcia’s lapel, and dizzily drilled into His Highness’s arms.

Garcia stagnated for a full five or six seconds before slowly straightening up.

He stared at Jiang Jianming, his eyes motionless. It seemed to be the first time he realized that the human being in his arms was actually a living thing.

“He didn’t die, I stunned him with the crystal bone.”

Emotions that had just been scared away by fear were recalled again.

He had only just thought last night that he wouldn’t have any more interactions with the disabled human anymore, but……………… 

His Royal Highness suddenly extended a crystal bone, and tightly wrapped a layer around the icy disabled human body, isolating it from the cold wind. He lowered his eyelashes and said in a low voice, “Now, you have to make sure that you don’t die. Let’s go back to your dormitory.”

Then he used the crystal bone to embrace Jiang Jianming, who was curled up and trembling all over, and hugged him to his chest.

But this was simply saving people, just like Jiang Jianming saving the man who fell into the water. He saved Jiang Jianming and that man, and he saved two people, without any emotion or favoritism.

Thinking like this, Garcia extended another crystal bone, dragged the man on the ground like a garbage bag, and strode forward.