Chapter 59: My Esteemed Royal Highness

Night gradually fell, and the crowds in the area slowly thinned out. Doctor Yuan led a highly disciplined life; his clinic closed at midnight sharp. Once closing time arrived, no amount of pleading could change his mind.

"Be careful over the next couple of days. Avoid strenuous exercise so the wound does not tear open again," he instructed.

An Eviya Serpent-Person sat up from the operating table. Serpent-people and Lizard-people were incredibly difficult to tell apart, as their physical appearances shared striking similarities.

This was the final patient. After seeing them out, Doctor Yuan breathed a sigh of relief. However, the moment he turned around, he was startled out of his wits.

He had almost forgotten that there were still three people standing behind him. The trio was as utterly silent as a group of ghosts, not uttering a single word.

"Ahem..." Doctor Yuan coughed twice, attempting to draw their attention.

"Shh!" Mo Duo raised her hand, gesturing toward the completely zoned-out Li Yu.

"Could you wait a moment, Doctor Yuan? He is having a bit of an issue..."

"What is wrong?" Doctor Yuan asked, his tone shifting slightly. His medical intuition told him something was off.

'Fear Soul Syndrome? No, the onset of that condition does not look like this...'

'Or perhaps Sterrel Mental Dissipation Syndrome? It does look somewhat similar, with the unfocused eyes... and zero reaction to external stimuli.'

"When he zones out like this, it is best not to disturb him..." Hunter murmured faintly.

Zoning out? Doctor Yuan paused in sheer bewilderment and lapsed into silence.

In reality, Li Yu was busy reviewing his recently updated System Log.

"Day Four - Transformers World: You followed the Decepticon members to rescue Megatron. Starscream deeply distrusted you and repeatedly tested your intentions with his words."

"Optimus Prime led the Autobots into battle to stop your group. You engaged in another fierce fight with Bumblebee, displaying a level of strength that drew everyone's attention."

"Ultimately, you utilized devious schemes to repel the Autobots, earning the respect of the Decepticons."

"Special Item Acquired - Starscream's Heart. Do you wish to extract it?"

To be completely honest, Clone One had already gone past the point of no return on the path to becoming a major evil villain. Using devious schemes was just par for the course.

'Whatever, who cares...'

Li Yu chose to extract the reward, eager to see what this new gadget actually was.

"Special Item Acquired - Starscream's Heart: The great Starscream is the very paragon of 'loyalty.' His ideology can influence anyone. When used on a specific lifeform, it causes them to doubt their original convictions and faith."

'So it is the heart of a traitor. Starscream's reputation as a backstabber truly echoes across all realms,' Li Yu mused.

The item manifested as a crimson spider that pulsed with a faint glow. It was neither metallic nor a physical entity. He casually tossed it into his System inventory.

"Day Three - Dune World: Dull and tedious. You sat cross-legged on the sandy earth for an entire day."

"A few young Fremen ladies came over to chat you up. You showed zero reaction and merely rolled your eyes at them, prompting them to leave in heartbreak..."

'???'

Li Yu's eyes widened in disbelief. 'A dull day? Sitting on the earth? Rolling your eyes? As expected of you, Second Clone!'

'No flirting, no causing trouble. Second Clone is such a simple-minded, honest guy, unlike Clone One who does nothing but ruin my good reputation. Hmph.'

"Phew..." Li Yu let out a long breath. When he snapped back to reality, he suddenly realized that all three of them were crowding around him.

"Have you never seen a handsome guy before?" Li Yu remarked as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Mo Duo rolled her eyes and turned her head away, while Hunter was instantly left utterly speechless.

Doctor Yuan remained silent for a moment before stating, "You should leave now, as agreed."

He was wearing his mask, displaying a slender figure that was about the same height as Li Yu.

"True..." Li Yu nodded. Doctor Yuan instantly breathed a sigh of relief, but then he heard the next sentence: "I have changed my mind."

Doctor Yuan: "..."

"What... is your true goal here?" His voice grew noticeably colder. No matter how foolish he might be, he knew their intentions were anything but pure.

Not to mention, he was harboring a guilty conscience himself.

"The outside is swarming with Dark Star operatives. It is very dangerous," Li Yu added.

"My place is not necessarily safe either..." Doctor Yuan drew a Small Handgun.

The pistol was entirely silver-gray, forged from an unknown metal and engraved with intricate, complex patterns. It appeared to be a mechanical kinetic weapon.

It looked completely unremarkable; one could even say that if it were tossed onto the streets of the Black Market, no one would bother to pick it up.

"The Silver Holy Spear!" Hunter exclaimed, his tone laced with indescribable shock.

"The Silver Holy Spear? You recognize it?" Li Yu asked, somewhat surprised.

Hunter widened his eyes and explained, "That is not a weapon of the Star Glory Empire, but one manufactured by the Radiant Council. A single shot from that will instantly kill anything below C-class."

"A long time ago... I had the privilege of seeing one..."

Doctor Yuan kept the Silver Holy Spear raised. Even now, he exuded an indescribable elegance; his posture while holding the gun was absolutely flawless.

"Why so tense?" Li Yu's heart pounded fiercely, but only for a fleeting second.

He pointed upward. "If I do not leave, you are going to be in a lot of trouble."

Dark Star had already listed him as a high-priority tracking target. If such an ordinarily inconspicuous Clinic managed to swallow him up without a trace, even a fool would know something was severely wrong.

"What exactly... are you trying to do?!" Doctor Yuan's voice was slightly hurried, a clear sign that his anger had reached a boiling point.

Li Yu looked at Doctor Yuan and spoke slowly, "Why do you not put the gun down first, my esteemed... Your Royal Highness..."

'Your Royal Highness?!'

Mo Duo's pupils contracted. He had not guessed wrong—this guy really was that supposedly exiled Imperial Noble!

Hunter looked as if eighteen starships had just run over his face. A volcanic eruption combined with a massive tsunami was currently wreaking havoc in his mind.

Wearing an expression of inexplicable grief and indignation, he thought, 'Boss... I will call you my boss, but in the future, when you are about to drop a bombshell of this magnitude, could you please give me a heads-up first?!'

'This is just too terrifying!'

Doctor Yuan wore his mask, concealing the face beneath it, yet his tone remained incredibly placid. "I do not know what you are talking about."

"You know exactly what I am talking about, because you are that Imperial Noble!"

"What Imperial Noble? I am not..."

"No, you definitely are..."

"Where is the proof? How can you prove it?"

"I do not have any proof, nor can I prove it. But I just know that you are that Imperial Noble," Li Yu replied, throwing his hands up in a shrug.

Doctor Yuan felt as if he were about to explode. 'How does he know?! How could he possibly know?!'

The Star Glory Empire, the Mithril Church, the Ghost Squad, Dark Star... so many factions were desperately searching for him to no avail. He had been peacefully working here as a doctor for an entire year.

So how did this guy just suddenly pop out of nowhere and use such a brutally unreasonable method to declare, "I know you are the Imperial Noble!"?

'How could he? How is this possible? How can he know?!'

Doctor Yuan's gun-wielding hand trembled violently. Finally, he slowly lowered the weapon, let out a heavy sigh, and slumped back into his chair.

"So you admit it?" Li Yu asked.

"No..." Doctor Yuan shook his head, abruptly overcome by an inexplicable wave of feeling mentally exhausted.

He placed his hand on the metal mask. A faint glow flickered, and the mask was pulled away. And what kind of face was revealed underneath...

"So incredibly ordinary..." Mo Duo remarked, shaking her head. Imperial Nobles were supposed to be perfect in every aspect, including their physical appearance.

However, this person's face was extremely, terribly plain...

"No traces of a disguise. What a brilliant technique. Truly worthy of an Imperial Noble..." Li Yu praised, giving him a thumbs-up.

"Are you absolutely certain he is an Imperial Noble?"

"If you can transform so seamlessly without a single 'flaw', why would he not possess similar tricks..." Li Yu hinted meaningfully, heavily emphasizing a certain word and leaving Mo Duo utterly confused.

Hunter, on the other hand, understood instantly and cast a rather astonished glance at Mo Duo.