Author: 唇亡齿寒 / Lips Gone, Teeth Cold
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 106
After the surgery, Alois was directly placed into a medical pod. Immersed in a treatment fluid filled with nutrients and nanomachines, he would largely recover in about a week. Since visits weren’t allowed, Joshua watched the pod’s interior from the reception room screen, barely leaving. Despite the doctors’ repeated assurances that there would be no complications, he refused to leave, having barely slept in days, only napping on the reception room sofa when Jolene forcefully ordered him to rest.
“You can’t go on like this,” Jolene scolded him in a maternal tone. “Even if you watch him all day, he won’t heal any faster. Look at you, so haggard. If he wakes up and sees you like this, won’t he be even more upset? If you care for him, go rest immediately.”
Joshua’s stubbornness was beyond her expectations. “No,” he resolutely refused. “Last time… last time I left him for less than an hour, and this happened to him…” The assassin clenched his fists. “I will never let him out of my sight again, not even for a second.”
Jolene held her forehead. She had never known the assassin was such an obsessive person. His demand was unreasonable, yet impossible to refuse. Jolene thought, if my lover went through something like this, I might become the same, wanting to be with him 24/7, even if it meant being joined at the hip.
Despite her sympathy, Jolene’s rationality hadn’t dropped to such an unreasonable level. “Go rest, now, immediately,” she ordered. “If you don’t want to be knocked out and dragged away, do as I say.”
Joshua glared at her defiantly, and Jolene glared back. As the tension in the room mounted, the reception room door suddenly opened, and a doctor entered, dispelling the tense atmosphere.
The doctor handed a report to Jolene and a transparent display board to Joshua. Adjusting his collar, he said politely, “Everything is going smoothly so far. Once the patient is moved to a regular ward, we can prepare for the prosthesis installation surgery. I’d like to get the family’s opinion on which type of prosthesis to use.” He tapped the display board, which immediately showed a dazzling array of images and data.
“Do you have any recommendations?” Joshua hadn’t studied medicine in a long time and was clueless.
“I personally recommend this one.” The doctor pointed to the display board. “The GK211001 model, the most advanced among realistic prostheses. The surface is covered with new silicone, making its appearance and feel indistinguishable from a real limb.”
Joshua frowned. “What does this data mean?” he asked. “The sensitivity and strength don’t seem very high.”
The doctor rubbed his hands together, an action that reminded Joshua of flies in summer. “Well… although it doesn’t look high, in reality, unless the patient is involved in high-intensity or high-precision work, this prosthesis is completely adequate.”
“No.” Joshua shook his head. “Alois is a pilot. He still needs to fly his fighter… He can’t be without a hand…”
The doctor looked at him with sympathy. “Then I recommend the GT3900.” He tapped the display board again, revealing another prosthesis. Unlike the previous realistic model, this one was made of metal, its dark golden surface seemed to have light flowing through it. “You can see its data—its strength, speed, and sensitivity are all very high. Once installed, it can be as agile as the original limb, even better. However, for performance, you must sacrifice some appearance. It doesn’t pursue the high realism of the GK series, but its performance is unmatched. As you can see, it has a high-sensitivity pressure metal surface and a dissociation heat insulation layer…” Seeing the doctor about to launch into an extensive product introduction, Joshua raised his hand to stop him. “We’ll take this one.” He glanced at Jolene, who had no objections, and handed the display board back to the doctor. Satisfied, the doctor left.
Joshua crossed his arms, anxiously saying to Jolene, “I’m not sure if this is the right decision… Shouldn’t we wait for Alois to wake up and get his opinion?”
“I think he will agree,” Jolene said kindly. “You did the right thing. Appearance doesn’t matter. What’s most important is that it can help him in his future life.” She looked at the screen where the young man was still sleeping peacefully. “Tell me about you two. I haven’t heard the full story. How did you meet?” She smiled. “Would you mind telling this old lady?”
Joshua gathered his thoughts and recalled his first encounter with Alois. “We met on the prison planet Hecate…”
He seemed to travel back in time, reliving the moments of meeting, knowing, and falling in love with Alois. He talked about escaping Hecate with Joanna and boarding the Lady of the Night; about arriving in Neo Venice and reveling in the sea breeze; about coming to Milantu and sharing confessions under the deep red starlight. He recounted their quarrels and reconciliations, facing dangers and fighting side by side. Joshua realized how much they had been through together. All the most beautiful, joyous, thrilling, sorrowful, and peaceful moments in his life, he had experienced with Alois. They had walked together until now and would continue to walk hand in hand into the vast future.
When he talked about repeatedly rejecting Alois’s love, Joshua deeply regretted it. Alois was such a good person, sincerely loving him, willing to give everything for him, yet he had foolishly rejected him time and again. Joshua wished he could travel back in time and slap himself. If only he had accepted sooner, they would have had more time together—ideally, he would have committed to him the first time they met instead of teasing him. Joshua had never regretted his foolishness as much as he did now.
“You really love him,” Jolene said after listening to Joshua’s remorseful account. “Meeting someone who truly cares for you isn’t easy. I only understood this at my age. It’s wonderful that you realize it now.”
She looked down at the report in her hands. “His parents would be happy for you two.”
Joshua suddenly turned. “Alois rarely talks about his parents. They passed away when he was young, and I never dared to ask.” He saw the report in Jolene’s hand—a DNA identification report. “You know about his parents, don’t you?”
Jolene smiled bitterly, spreading the report. “He really is Figaro’s son… Do you know Figaro?”
Joshua was stunned. The answer was unexpected but made sense. “In Olympus, everyone knows the name ‘Figaro the Master Thief’.” Even before Joshua arrived at the colony, Figaro was already a legend in the underworld. His fame was so great that even after more than twenty years, his name still echoed among the people.
“Perhaps it was fate. Back then, Kepler, our other companions, and I met Figaro in Olympus. And now I meet his son here. It’s like drawing a big circle and returning to the starting point.” Jolene’s eyes grew moist. “Figaro was the best among us. No one could compare to him. He was a loner, often disappearing without a trace, but whenever a mission needed him, he was always there. He treated his companions very well… We were like family. I was even a bridesmaid at his wedding.” She wiped her eyes. “His wife, Alois’s mother, was an ordinary person who never knew our true profession and thought Figaro was an antique dealer.” She laughed self-mockingly. “One time, Figaro received a special mission. I don’t know the details, but he acted alone without calling us. I only know he went to Neo Athens to steal something…”
“Neo Athens?” Joshua interrupted her.
“Yes. Neo Athens. Missions there are much tougher than elsewhere. I don’t know if Figaro succeeded, but after that, he disappeared completely, leaving his family behind. Calls and letters went unanswered—he vanished as if into thin air. I thought something must have happened to him, or he had to go into hiding for some reason… We’ve been searching for years without any news. I had almost given up hope…” Jolene pressed the report to her chest, eyes closed as if praying. “But then I met his son. Even if I can never see Figaro again, I can still help his son… This must be a blessing from above, finally fulfilling my wish.”
Joshua placed a hand on her shoulder. “The Lord has not only just blessed you, Ms. Jolene. When Alois wakes up and learns he has gained two more family members, he will be very happy too.”
But the assassin thought: Neo Athens.
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