It's close to dawn when Zhang stands up. He rolls his shoulders and looks at his partner, who is still busy fixing the equipment that held the key to saving their lives. He goes to YiHuang's side and gently taps on the man's shoulder. "Hey, take a break."

YiHuang blinks as if seeing the human for the first time. He rubs his eyes, "You look terrible." He observes, making the man smile, "Thank you. You look lovely as always." Zhang compliments sincerely, "But I think it's time you take a break." He repeats.

YiHuang shakes his head, "I can't. I need to get it to work." He massages the back of his neck and has only just adjusted the equipment to his liking when it is snatched away. "Give it back!" He demands authoritatively, but his words are ignored.

Zhang stops the advancing Yuanjian with his palm over the latter's chest. "You have done your part. Let me have a go at it."

YiHuang looks at the human questioningly; Zhang replies with a confidant smile.

"You memorized it... All of it!?" He guesses. The human nods, "Not only did I memorize it, Ah-Huang, I understood it too."

"That's..."

"Improbable, but not impossible. If you haven't noticed already, I am a little bit smarter than average humans."

'Are you sure you are human, Zhang?' YiHuang muses, "Do you think you can handle it?" He enquires, giving up trying to snatch it back from the human.

"I am sure. I just need a few minutes to see where we are at." Zhang pats the prince's shoulder, "Two fresh sets of eyes are better than a tired one, Ah-Huang. Go and rest your eyes. I will come to get you when I am done."

YiHuang nods. Reluctant to leave, he glances at the Intex manipulator and sighs, "I guess a few minutes won't hurt." With that, he steps inside the rest pod.

*****

"Why are you here again!?" Li Kun complains, pulling his best friend out of his bed. "I don't run an inn for you to spend your nights here." He cribs, trying his best to wake the slumbering man who is refusing to bulge.

The crown prince grunts, "Shame on you. I am your best friend. And you refuse to show me common courtesy." He pulls the sheets closer and buries himself under them.

"I am tired, Ah-Yang. I have worked for twenty hours straight. I just want my bed." Li Kun gives up and plops himself on the edge of the bed. "If you don't want to be bedmates, leave now."

YiYang sighs, sounding put upon, and shifts to make space for his friend.
"Fine." He accepts defeat, "Scoot." He orders, lying down and pushing the other further away.

YiYang turns to face the owner of the residence; peaking out of the cocoon, he  throws an arm over him,  "It's nice to share a bed with someone."

"Why do you have to make everything sound so..."

"Cute?"

"No."

"Adorable?"

"No!"

"Sexy?"

"NO!" Li Kun huffs and shuts his friend up with a palm over his mouth. "Scandalous and incriminating! Everything that comes out of your mouth threatens my sanity."

YiYang pulls himself closer. "Shut up and sleep. Your virtue is safe with me. After all, you don't belong to me-" He closes his eyes and adds, '-yet.' He earns a hard slap on his wrist. However, it's too early to do anything but wince. And that's what the crown prince does before pretending to be deep asleep. He doesn't have to wait for more than a few minutes for Li Kun to fall asleep. And just like the night before, he tucks him in and exits the room.

YiYang thinks about leaving right away, but his feet carry him in another direction. He stops outside what he knows is Li Xiang's rest chamber and knocks. "I know you are awake, Ah-Xiang. Can I talk to you for a moment?"

After a few moments, the door slides open, and YiYang steps inside. He finds Li Xiang dressed in purple overalls.
"I thought you would be-"

The lady interrupts him, "If I were asleep, I wouldn't have invited you in. I am sure you are aware of it, your highness. Tell me, how may I be of assistance to you?" She demands emotionlessly.

The coldness stuns YiYang. "Last night, you said..."

"I have come to my senses now, your highness. If it's about last night, please, show yourself out. And I advise you not to come here uninvited so often. After all, my reputation has suffered enough damage already. I can't afford to tarnish it any further. I want a family of my own someday. I want to belong to someone and want someone who will belong to me. And that person is not you, your highness."

"Ah-Xiang," An uncharacteristic grimace flutters across the crown prince's features. He steps closer to Ah-Xiang, but she shakes her head, making him stop dead in his tracks, "Don't come any closer. You are making me uncomfortable. Please, leave."

Not wanting to upset the lady, who had spoken nothing but the truth, any further. YiYang nods; he turns on his heel and leaves.

*****

"Ah-Huang," Zhang calls, knocking on the partition that separated the rest pod from the residence.

The partition slides open; YiHuang steps out. "Did I sleep long?" He asks, rubbing sleep from his eyes.

"No. Just an hour." The human responds, peering into the enclosed space the prince had stepped out of. "There is something I would like to try." He adds, eyes scanning the dimly lit area.

"Mn?" YiHuang cocks his head, "You can't change anything here. It's borrowed."

Zhang throws his head back and laughs. "I am sorry, I was talking about the Intex manipulator." He winks at the man whose cheeks have taken on a rosy tint, "As for the rest pod situation, I have some ideas about that too."

The tint travels lower, coloring the prince's neck. He averts his eyes and walks away from the man who had had a 180-degree personality change since the incident involving the charm.
YiHuang picks up the device. "How do you suggest we proceed?"

Zhang's eyes take on a determined look, and he proceeds to explain the modifications he had thought of making to the device.

To say that YiHuang was impressed would be an understatement. He was stunned, bewildered, and a little jealous, for the human, with minor but ingenious modifications had, stabilized the software that was leading to frequent crashes of the self-contained server.

The sun is high up in the sky by the time the duo are satisfied with the modifications.

Zhang leaves their workplace. Massaging his lower back, he looks out the window that was flooding the room with bright golden light, "All that is left is to do is test it out, I guess."

YiHuang agrees, "Let's look at the wormhole." He accesses the virtual real-time files the General had supplied the day before. While the files are loading, he notices Zhang glancing ruefully out the window. "If all goes well, I will show you around this city."

"I would rather stay in with you," Zhang replies. He peers outside, "Nothing can compare to what I already have here." He turns, "Ah-Huang, I-"

Just then the hologram beeps, signaling that the file has finished loading, and the human falls silent.

"What?" YiHuang urges him to continue, but Zhang shakes his head, "Later." He joins YiHuang. His eyes pop out of their sockets, "Damn it! Is that what I think it is!?"

YiHuang purses his lips and nods. His brows crease, "Why didn't Professor inform us!?" He panics. The fact that the man in charge had not warned them about the development was worrying. "I must go there right now."
He announces, reaching for his sword.

Zhang stops him, "Wait. It's not safe to go there now. Is there a way you can look inside the facility without being detected?"

The prince observes the human he had taken under his wings, so to speak. "What's on your mind?"

"I think the facility has been compromised. I suspect foul play...there may be a mole amongst you. Someone who has something to gain from us failing." Zhang stares at the screen, "If I were to guess, I would say that the traitor doesn't know about you. Maybe because you are not directly linked to the project."

YiHuang leaves a shaky breath, "Who would want us to fail? Why would they want us to fail? What would they gain from it?"

Zhang puts his hands on the latter's shoulder, "Ah-Huang, now is not the time for mulling over these questions. What we need now is to assess the situation." He embraces the man, "I promise, I will be there with you every step of the way. We can do this, Ah-Huang."

Unexpectedly, the embrace acts as a tonic, rejuvenating the prince's will. He takes a deep breath; his senses overflow with the scent of the object of his affection and his desires. "I think there is a way to spy on the facility." He voices, returning to the workspace. He taps into the secondary cameras attached to the backup server he had installed in the facility years ago. It was much before Hu Kwan had shifted the research base there. Thus, he was the only one aware of its existence.

"We are in!" He announces proudly and earns a peck on his cheek. He ignores the way his heart thumps and hopes the human's ears are not as efficient as his brain.

"Ah-Huang, I love your sexy brain!" Zhang throws out sincere praise. His fingers seem to have a mind of their own as they fly over the keys, swift and smooth.

However, it's only a matter of time as the cheery atmosphere turns gloomy. Blood paints the once immaculate pearl white floor. Surprisingly, there is not even one body in sight. As their eyes drift from one stream to the next, each room seems to have suffered the same fate. It is only as the last stream comes up that they see a dozen people, both men, and women, lying bound in the corner of the room, motionless. Hopefully, just unconscious.

"What the hell happened here!?" YiHuang wonders aloud. His restless eyes unsuccessfully search for Professor Kwan in the crowd.
As if reading the prince's mind, Zhang offers, "Maybe they took him hostage...kept him elsewhere or maybe he got away. I am sure he is fine."

"He would never abandon his people, Zhang," YiHuang glances at the latter, scared and worried.

Zhang gives his companion's arm a reassuring squeeze,  "I can't see the main telescope. I think the camera has blind spots."

"Of course, how could I forget!" YiHuang facepalms; he adjusts the camera's radius and immediately finds what they are looking for.

A relieved sigh leaves the young prince, for, at the far end of the room, at the base of the main telescope, lies his mentor, bound and gagged but thankfully unharmed. Next to him stands a masked man, dressed in gray, armed with a needle-shaped weapon: slender and sharp.

*****

Emperor YiLei wakes up at the crack of dawn and arrives at the highest level of the observation tower. He finds his military leader, General Teng, waiting for him. "Progress?" He demands.

General Teng beams, "The beacon is glowing, your Majesty. I am sure that it can sense the key!"

The Emperor closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, "It's only a matter of time before it presents itself to us." He pauses and looks at the telescope, "What about the other matter?"

General Teng hesitates before replying in a solemn tone, "The Extractor will take care of it, your Majesty." It makes YiLei stop inspecting one of the pieces of equipment he was curiously examining and turns his eyes towards his trusted military leader suspiciously. "You don't sound so sure. We can't afford mistakes; if you have any concerns, speak now."

{Note :- Word count 2020

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