Chapter 116: Chapter 99: The Fall of Fu Chenhan

In an instant,

Fu Chenhan’s body moved at a speed that seemed to surpass light itself.

He swiftly positioned himself in front of Yu Lan.

His tall frame cast a shadow that completely enveloped her.

The wind whistled through the forest. Strands of Yu Lan’s soft, smooth black hair floated in the air, catching on Fu Chenhan, who now stood proudly before her.

A handsome man, a beautiful woman.

In the distance, a laser cannon, crackling with devastating power and an aura of destruction, took aim at them.

The surrounding forest was shrouded in lingering black smoke.

All around lay the bodies of Imperial and Federation special forces, their fates unknown.

It was a tragically beautiful and heroic scene.

Time seemed to freeze in that moment.

The audience watching on their screens was completely stunned.

They stared blankly at the scene.

No one had expected Fu Chenhan to do this.

H-h-he... what is he doing?

Why is Fu Chenhan shielding Yu Lan? Doesn’t he have an aversion to females?

You have to understand, under his rule, the Federation is the one power where females have the lowest status. Females have to earn their living supplies through labor, with absolutely no special treatment.

For a man like that—so cold and ruthless, incapable of feeling any sympathy for a female—to do something like this... it’s just...

Seeing this, many people were filled with a storm of conflicting emotions.

They didn’t know what to make of Fu Chenhan’s actions.

Protecting a female was one thing, but protecting a female from an enemy faction? It was beyond strange.

At that moment, Yu Lan, kneeling on the ground, felt the same way as the viewers online.

Seeing so many people sacrifice themselves for her had never been her intention; she was already prepared to meet her own death.

Until Fu Chenhan suddenly appeared before her.

The beautiful, delicate female looked up, the corners of her eyes red, her expression bewildered as she gazed at the Federation Commander who had suddenly materialized.

This was their first true meeting.

The confusion on Fu Chenhan’s face was no less than Yu Lan’s.

His body had reacted faster than his brain.

When he saw Jun Lin Yuan, who had just been holding his own in the fight, fall dead, and then saw a laser blast heading straight for Yu Lan...

...he had shielded her instinctively.

By the time his mind caught up, it was already too late.

With a violent BURST, the laser blast, raging with lethal intent, tore through Fu Chenhan’s body.

His tall frame, strong enough to shoulder the weight of the entire Federation, swayed.

The color drained from Fu Chenhan’s face, leaving it deathly pale.

The next instant,

his massive body collapsed, hitting the ground with a heavy THUD and kicking up a cloud of dust.

His silver-white armor was stained crimson.

Fu Chenhan, a man always seen as stern and powerful in all public appearances, showed a look of bewilderment for the first time.

It was as if he couldn’t believe his life was ending so quickly. There was still so much he had left to do.

Yu Lan scrambled over on her knees to Fu Chenhan’s side. She pressed her hands against the massive, bloody wound on his chest, trying to preserve his last flicker of life.

"You’ll be okay. You’ll be okay. You’ll be okay."

Yu Lan’s whole body was trembling.

To watch the last person left at the military competition grounds end up like this, all to protect her...

Her heart, which had been ready to calmly accept its own fate, now clenched in agony.

"It shouldn’t be like this... It shouldn’t be like this..."

’How could they sacrifice themselves so horribly right in front of me?’

She would rather die herself.

’I’m not that important.’

’So many lives... it’s too heavy, too heavy, too heavy!’

Yu Lan didn’t think she was worth it.

But the bloody reality was laid bare before her.

Tears streamed down her face like pearls from a broken string.

They fell onto his silver-white armor, vanishing into the crimson stains in an instant.

Fu Chenhan, who had been clinging to his last shred of consciousness and wondering why he had acted as he did—if Yu Lan had used some kind of sorcery on him—paused.

If Yu Lan had truly planned this, then even on the verge of death, he had the strength to strangle this fragile female and take her with him.

But Yu Lan was crying.

Not wailing, but biting her lip, trying desperately to suppress it, yet the sobs still escaped from between her clenched teeth.

Her soft cries reached his ears, and with them, a dense, sharp pain bloomed anew in his heart—a heart that should have been numb and senseless from the agony of the laser blast.

’Was he actually feeling pity for this young female before him?’

’But after that incident, he had...’

Feeling the emotion welling up inside him, a flash of surprise went through Fu Chenhan’s mind.

Perhaps because he was at the final moment of his life, the heart that had been encased in ice ever since "the accident" was finally, slowly, beginning to thaw.

He reached out, wanting to wipe the tears from the corners of Yu Lan’s eyes.

’Don’t cry.’

’I did this willingly.’

’It has nothing to do with you.’

’The others felt the same way. To die in battle for you is our honor.’

’Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry.’

’Don’t feel pressured. Live a good life, and live for all of us.’

But Fu Chenhan never managed to say any of it out loud.

Because of his grievous injury, the hand he tried to raise to wipe away the female’s tears no longer had the strength.

His fingers only trembled weakly in the air.

Fresh blood spilled from his thin lips.

His bright, sapphire-blue eyes grew dim.

Until the moment of his death, they remained fixed on Yu Lan, reflecting her beautiful, tear-streaked face.

’How could there be a female who would cry so pitifully over his death?’

’It didn’t suit her at all. An ugly sight.’

’How could there be such a kind and soft-hearted female?’

’To weep in such anguish over the death of a male she barely knew.’

’Kindness and resilience are qualities that shine brighter than any diamond.’

’No wonder the impossibly arrogant Huo Zhanting was willing to stay by her side, a blissful smile on his face.’

’He’d thought Huo Zhanting had lost his mind. But in the end, it was he who couldn’t recognize a treasure when he saw it.’

’What a shame.’

Until the last second before he lost consciousness, Fu Chenhan’s soul was shrouded in a strange, indescribable sense of regret. But if you were to ask him what he regretted, perhaps even he wouldn’t be able to answer.

"Fu Chenhan, Fu Chenhan..."

Feeling the warmth rapidly leaving the man’s body in her arms, Yu Lan was thrown into a panic.

She called his name over and over,

while her small, trembling hand reached for his sharp nose, checking for breath.

Nothing. Nothing. Nothing.

’How could a dead man breathe?’

Yu Lan could feel the wind blowing past and the heat of the fire burning nearby.

In the distance, birds chirped and flapped their wings. The raging fire roared, sending thick black smoke billowing toward the sky.

The one thing she couldn’t feel was his breath.

’So, Fu Chenhan was dead, too.’

Yu Lan thought blankly.

’Everyone, everyone who came to the competition grounds, had died protecting her.’

’She was the only one left alive!’