Chapter Thirty-Five: Do You Think It Seems Real?

Chapter Thirty-Five: Do You Think It Sounds Real?

These past few days, Liang Bing had been in remarkably good spirits. Rose was always by her side, allowing her to observe the girl's growth closely and, when time permitted, instruct her in the finer points of wormhole technology.

The only blemish on this contentment was Rose's inexplicable hostility toward her. Liang Bing truly found it baffling. According to her own worldview, war was the catalyst that could drive Earth's humans to evolve, perhaps even usher them straight into an era of divine rule. As for Dukao's death—that was war. Wasn't assassinating a leader the most efficient way to hasten an end to conflict?

And as for Yunyang, that little fellow had been injured by accident—an honest mistake. For a demon whose highest creed was fallen freedom, what matter was it if the queen accidentally killed a mere mortal?

Rose and Liang Bing sat across from each other, eating lunch in silence. They were nearing the Northern Star, and gluttonous warships had grown more frequent in the skies. More reconnaissance was needed to determine the army's movements, and Rose, wary of Liang Bing suddenly turning violent, had personally escorted her on every mission these past days.

As the two ate in heavy silence, a faint, ghostly figure slowly manifested by the stone where their lunchboxes sat.

At the sight of this apparition, a flicker of joy crossed Rose's face, only to be swiftly replaced by worry. She hadn't forgotten who had nearly beaten Yunyang to death. Now, with the perpetrator beside her, who could say whether this demon would strike again?

Liang Bing, observing Rose's subtle wariness, managed an awkward smile. "Last time was a misunderstanding. It was an accident—do you believe me?"

"I believe you."

"Really?"

"Do you think it sounds real?"

With that guarded look, there was no way Rose believed her. Clearly, her image in Rose's mind had fallen to rock bottom.

No matter. She had plenty of tricks and time to deal with this little upstart.

No sooner had Yunyang appeared than a slender, pale hand pulled him back. By the time he realized what was happening, he had retreated a dozen steps.

Seeing Rose so on edge, Liang Bing felt a wave of exhaustion. She'd only stepped forward to say hello, hoping to ease the tension.

Once Yunyang steadied himself, Rose whispered at his side, "Morgana is here. Be careful."

At Rose's warning, Yunyang gathered himself and saw Morgana indeed present. He drew his weapon, wary of this terrifying woman.

Watching their reactions, Liang Bing couldn't help but grumble inwardly. Still, she decided to attempt a reconciliation, saying, "Weren’t things fine just a moment ago? Why so tense all of a sudden? I mean no harm to the boy. Last time was just a mistake."

"You nearly killed me by accident. If it hadn’t been a mistake, would I still be alive?"

Yunyang was furious. That Liang Bing dared show herself in front of Rose—truly shameless, worthy of her title as Demon Queen.

Liang Bing thought it over—he did have a point, but that wasn’t how one should put it. "You two don’t need to act like this. I won’t do it again, I promise."

Faced with Liang Bing's "trust me" expression, Yunyang didn’t believe her for a second. But he and Rose couldn’t hope to overpower her—what to do?

Seeing both remain silent, Liang Bing grew anxious. "Rose, relax. The boy’s already a second-and-a-half generation super soldier, just like you. No more accidents."

Rose: "..."

Yunyang: "..."

As the silence dragged on, Liang Bing grew exasperated and resigned. "Believe what you want—either way, you can’t get rid of me."

This time, Rose finally spoke, but to Yunyang, relaying the threats Liang Bing had leveled to secure her place here.

Watching them whisper conspiratorially, Yunyang shot her the occasional glance, each one more irritating than the last.

After four or five such looks, Liang Bing finally lost her composure. The dignified Demon Queen had had enough.

"Are you leaving or not? Are we going on reconnaissance or not? If not, I'm driving back to camp."

That threat worked wonders. Seeing the two rush over, faces full of indignation, she thought: black cat, white cat, so long as it catches mice, it's a good cat.

Having claimed the driver’s seat, Liang Bing let Rose and Yunyang take the back, where they immediately resumed whispering.

After an hour of driving, Liang Bing finally snapped. Listening to them talk about how to get rid of her, right behind her no less—even if they spoke softly, none of them were exactly ordinary people. She could hear every word.

She slammed on the brakes, stopping in the middle of the road, and shouted, "Are you two treating me like air?!"

In the back, both finally realized what they'd been doing. What began as a discussion of route planning had somehow veered into plotting Liang Bing’s expulsion. They'd gotten so carried away, they hadn’t noticed her listening in.

Yunyang, embarrassed, said, "You heard all that?"

"I didn’t hear it?"

"Really?"

"Do you think it sounds real?"

Perfect—she’d just turned the exchange Rose had used on her back on them. It really packed a punch; she resolved to use it more often.

At that moment, Rose stepped in to smooth things over. She’d been part of the scheming, after all.

"Alright, that’s enough. It’s getting late—we ought to head back, or we’ll miss dinner."

With that, Liang Bing’s attention shifted. Thoughts of the canteen’s chicken-and-potato stew made her immediately turn the car around.

Back at camp, however, there was no stew waiting for her. The mess squad hadn’t prepared it, and Liang Bing, furious, grabbed the nearest cook by the collar.

"I drove for four hours just for a bite of chicken-and-potato stew—how could you not have made it?"

The young soldier, unfazed at being grabbed, was actually a little pleased—after all, Liang Bing was a great beauty, and beauties deserved privileges. If it were a man, he’d have punched him already.

"Uh, Sister Bing, let go first. There’s no more chicken. If we’d cooked anything, it would’ve just been potato stew."

Only six soldiers had seen her true face; the rest were ordinary troops. So the fact that she was the Demon Queen hadn’t spread, and most still thought she was just an unusually striking civilian.

That night, Yunyang, with a rare sense of propriety, followed Rose to her tent. Seeing how quickly he’d beaten her there, Rose’s eyes flickered with embarrassment. Ever since she’d learned she and Liang Bing shared a tent, Yunyang had been filled with a vague sense of crisis.

Watching Yunyang lying on her bed, taking deep breaths, Rose’s cheeks flushed. Embarrassed and annoyed, she said, "Pervert! What are you doing to my bed?"

At that, Yunyang protested. He pulled Rose into his arms, nestling his head into the crook of her neck, and took a long, deliberate breath.

Rose had never experienced such intimacy; goosebumps broke out across her skin, her body stiff and unmoving.

"You smell wonderful. My wife is simply the best," he murmured, massaging the goosebumps from her arms.

Recovering from her initial shock, Rose broke free, quickly donning her black armor, her expression a mix of shame and anger.

"You—you—you… pervert, I…"

"What’s perverted about it? Teasing your own wife doesn’t count as perversion. Even the police wouldn’t care."

Hearing Yunyang’s self-assured retort, Rose found herself unable to argue.

In the end, to Yunyang’s surprise, Rose removed her armor and climbed into bed, lying on the far side.

Seeing her curled-up sleeping posture, Yunyang felt a pang of sympathy. He’d heard that people who slept like that lacked a sense of security.

Lying beside her, he gently embraced Rose. She tensed at first, then gradually relaxed, and Yunyang felt as though he’d taken a great step forward in his journey.

When Liang Bing returned from her walk and entered the tent, she was greeted by a scene she found utterly indecent: a man and a woman lying together on the bed. If not for the lack of movement, she’d have thought to leave them alone.

"I say, you two, this is a communal dorm. What you’re doing isn’t appropriate."

Yunyang glared at Liang Bing—why had she come in?

"What are you glaring at? This is my dorm, my bed. You’re the one in the wrong. And taking advantage of Rose while she’s asleep—should I call it out?"

The corner of Liang Bing’s mouth curled up as she considered shouting, "Assault!" just to put Yunyang on the spot.

Hearing this, Rose felt she must have lost her mind. In a moment of weakness, she’d let Yunyang onto her bed—and now someone else had seen. What was she to do?

"Boy, the queen wants to sleep. Get out, now," Liang Bing finally decided not to make a scene, but she couldn’t have Yunyang staying. What if she looked away and her precious Rose was snatched by this "pig"?

After a "fierce" struggle, Yunyang was finally driven out by Rose—so fierce, in fact, that the roses blooming on her neck bore silent testament.

He’d considered returning to the Northern Star, but with the Demon Queen here, he couldn’t bring himself to leave Rose. Even if the two of them couldn’t beat her, at least together they might buy Rose enough time to escape.

That night, Liang Bing once again sneakily climbed into Rose’s bed. Poor Rose—everyone seemed to covet her.

Holding Rose, Liang Bing schemed about how to get rid of Yunyang. With him around, Rose had no mind for learning from her, and recruiting her to the demon camp would be all the more difficult.

After all, with her boyfriend among the humans, why would she ever join forces with demons, humanity’s foes? She needed a plan.

She thought long and hard, but nothing brilliant came to mind. If she couldn’t drive him away, she’d simply guard the tent zealously—whatever happened outside was no concern, but inside her tent, no one was allowed to take Rose to bed! And she certainly couldn’t have Rose sleeping outside; that solution was perfect.