After Crossing Over, I Marked the Empress

In the sky, battle fleets poised for action pressed down on the border airspace.

Gu Junwan led the charge personally, bringing her forces to steamroll into New Li’s town.

New Li’s radical party usually made the most noise.

But now that it came to real gun and knife fighting between the two countries, no one dared to rashly order an attack.

They even secretly withdrew the teams sent to pursue the empress.

In just ten minutes, Gu Junwan returned to the ruins where she had fainted earlier.

Armored vehicles lined up on the outskirts, drone swarms rose into the air, releasing warning signals in all directions.

The empress arrived at the battlefield with a large contingent of military officers, and all she could see was a scene of carnage.

One of the Yin Country assassins lay twisted on the ground.

He didn’t have many wounds on the surface of his body, but his face bore signs of being burned by intense fire.

Gu Junwan’s heart was racing.

She followed the blood trail, continuing to search, both wanting to immediately see the person she wanted to see, and fearing finding them in these ruins.

At this moment, medical personnel shouted from not far away: “Bring a stretcher quickly! There’s someone still alive here!”

Just this one sentence brought Gu Junwan’s heart to her throat.

She turned and ran towards the broken wall where the medical personnel were.

A black mass of special operations soldiers followed behind her.

At the broken wall, a medic was kneeling in a pool of blood with one knee, injecting a syringe into a figure slumped against the wall.

His hands were shaking slightly, causing him to drop the syringe onto the bloodstained clothes of the figure in front of him when he pulled out the needle.

Gu Junwan stopped a meter away from the broken wall.

Great fear and bone-chilling cold simultaneously arose from the soles of her feet, climbing up her spine, then entering her back cavity.

Her ears suddenly became filled with a buzzing sound.

The world seemed to spin, and it felt like only the glaring red around Shen Han remained.

In the moonlight, the girl sat leaning against the remnant wall with her eyes closed, half her face crimson, the other half deathly pale.

One of her shoulder blades was slightly sunken, her clothes torn open, revealing flesh curled outwards.

And her other arm looked like it was about to separate from her body.

Sharp, exposed broken bones jutted into the air, with flesh scraped from the enemy’s neck still hanging on them.

Seeing this scene, the iron-willed warriors following Gu Junwan all stood solemnly with reddened eyes.

They were expressing respect for the unknown hero in their own way.

That alpha who had fought until only a breath remained was, after all, just a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl.

Gu Junwan’s mind seemed to have separated from her body.

She watched Shen Han being lifted out of the blood, watched people running over to salute her and speak to her, as if watching another space through a screen.

Her spirit seemed to have been extracted, leaving behind a shell without feeling or consciousness.

When her awareness returned, she was already sitting on a chair outside the emergency room in the hospital.

Armed soldiers blocked every entrance and exit.

Every passerby was subjected to strict scrutiny.

Footsteps sounded in the corridor, and a capable woman in a professional suit and skirt walked to Gu Junwan’s side.

The woman crouched down, looking up at her empress, and called softly: “Your Majesty.”

Gu Junwan’s phoenix eyes focused on her special assistant’s face without speaking.

This was the first time Xu Zhao had seen the empress looking so lost and dispirited.

In her memory, the empress had always been calm and reserved, resilient and fearless, like a deep pool.

But now…

Was it because of that alpha called Shen Han?

As a beta, Xu Zhao could vaguely guess that during the days after the sudden change, the empress must have experienced some entanglement with that alpha.

Otherwise, even if it was an S-rank alpha, it wouldn’t be possible to plunge the empress into such emotional devastation.

There were not few top alphas who admired the empress, but never had anyone been able to make her gaze linger.

Pulling back her thoughts.

Xu Zhao tried to speak again in a calm and powerful voice: “Your Majesty needn’t worry too much. I’ve already negotiated with the hospital. Shen Han’s injuries are severe, but her vital organs haven’t been damaged.”

“The broken bones can be perfectly repaired with the latest developed biomaterials without any rejection reaction. She will recover completely.”

After speaking, Xu Zhao silently added in her heart: As long as she can get through this crisis.

Perhaps hearing what she most wanted to hear right now, or perhaps just because of the name Shen Han.

A glimmer of life finally returned to Gu Junwan’s golden pupils.

She was silent for a moment, then spoke: “Have you found out the identities of those two Yin Country assassins and who’s behind them?”

Seemingly not expecting this to be the empress’s first question.

Xu Zhao felt somewhat surprised again.

She had thought the empress would first ask her about the situation of the internal strife in the Free Federation.

“We’ve identified them, but it will take some more time to determine exactly who dispatched them.”

Speaking, Xu Zhao softened her voice again: “Your Majesty, let me take you to change your clothes first. You can rest for a while, I’ll keep watch here. As soon as—”

Before she could finish speaking, Gu Junwan was already shaking her head and ordering: “Bring the clothes here.”

The black shirt she was wearing was stained with patches of blood, some Shen Han’s, some from the special agents who had already sacrificed themselves. It was indeed inappropriate to continue wearing it.

As the empress of the Free Federation, she couldn’t openly show any dishevelment or weakness to the outside world.

Especially in the current situation of being besieged on all sides.

…

Ten hours later, Shen Han was transferred from the emergency room to the intensive care unit.

The summer sun scorched the entire Federation land, but the atmosphere in the hospital was permeated with a suppressive coldness.

Various intelligence reports were continuously delivered, and the commanders paced anxiously in the waiting area.

War was imminent, but their empress showed no intention of leaving the hospital.

Colonel Ping Jiashi of the 12th Division of the Third Army Group of the Free Federation extinguished the cigarette in his hand and found Xu Zhao, quietly pulling her to a corner.

“When will Her Majesty give the order to act? Give me a straight answer.”

Xu Zhao pushed up her glasses, her tone flat: “That depends on when the one in the intensive care unit wakes up.”

Hearing this, Ping Jiashi’s brow furrowed into a ‘river’.

“Can’t you persuade her? It’s already at a critical point! Her Majesty has always considered the bigger picture, how can she be muddled at such a crucial moment!”

“Colonel Ping Jiashi, mind your words!” Xu Zhao raised her eyes, cold light reflecting off her lenses.

After a pause, she lowered her voice and continued: “Her Majesty is not muddled. The more critical the moment, the better to discern the demons from the snakes. Put your heart back in your belly. What Her Majesty wants to do is settle everything in one move!”

With these words from Xu Zhao, Ping Jiashi’s expression immediately relaxed.

He looked around to make sure no one was nearby, then asked in a small voice: “So what exactly is the relationship between Her Majesty and that alpha?”

Xu Zhao gave him a sideways glance and turned to leave.

In the empty corridor, a light and clear voice drifted back: “You can ask Her Majesty that question yourself.”

The tense atmosphere lasted for three full days.

When news came that the person in the intensive care unit had finally awakened, all the fully equipped soldiers were so excited they nearly jumped up.

It was as if the awakening of the girl called Shen Han had sounded some long-awaited charge.

Wearing isolation gowns, Gu Junwan, accompanied by the attending physician, entered the monitoring room.

Shen Han wore an oxygen mask and was almost entirely covered in casts, looking utterly miserable.

Only her clear black and white eyes remained bright.

Seeing Gu Junwan, she blinked, joy immediately flooding her gaze.

Gu Junwan, however, felt a sting in her nose, the corners of her long eyes tinged with a pitiful red.

The omega’s sensitivity and fragility were always exposed bare before this person.

Their gazes met silently in the still air.

The delicate cold plum, wrapped in the faintest snow cedar scent, received the greatest comfort.

The attending physician stood to the side with his hands down.

For some reason, he vaguely felt a sense of being superfluous.

“I need to leave for a while to handle some matters. Rest well.”

Gu Junwan couldn’t stay long, her voice suppressed as she spoke softly.

Seeing her about to leave just after arriving, Shen Han felt a bit anxious, but unable to speak at the moment, she could only use all her strength to move the fingers exposed outside her bandages.

This obvious small movement was not missed by Gu Junwan.

She hesitated slightly, slowly approached the bed, and under the terrified gaze of the attending physician, reached out to gently hold Shen Han’s fingers.

“I’ll be back soon.”

The gentle voice fell like a soft stream. Even through the oxygen mask, Shen Han felt she could smell her most beloved cold plum fragrance.

She struggled to grip the fingers tightly, holding onto the other, drawing in this warmth that belonged solely to her at this moment.

Gu Junwan’s ears reddened slightly. Though knowing time was pressing, she didn’t pull away from the other.

The attending physician was dumbfounded.

He glanced at the audacious one on the bed, then secretly peeked at the tall and dignified empress, feeling once again shocked.

Outside the ward.

The mass of soldiers maintained silence, but their hearts were all extremely anxious.

Why hasn’t the empress come out yet?

That attending physician was too unreliable, saying he’d only let the empress in for a look, but how many minutes had it been now!

If the attending physician could hear the soldiers’ complaints, he would surely retort: You try it if you’re so capable!

Fortunately, everyone didn’t have to wait too long.

A few minutes later, Gu Junwan walked out, followed by a dazed middle-aged doctor.

She reached out to remove the isolation gown, instantly revealing a white commander’s military uniform to everyone’s eyes.

Killing intent flashed in her golden phoenix eyes, a sudden burst of iron-blooded will.

In an instant, the blushing omega from the ward was gone.

In her place stood the majestic empress who commanded the allegiance and admiration of millions!

“Move out!”

The cool voice echoed in the ears of every hot-blooded warrior.

Their empress would lead them on the march.

Free Federation Capital.

The empress’s younger sister, Gu Yuwei, was studying an official document when she suddenly heard a report that the empress was leading a large fleet directly towards the Peace Palace!

The Peace Palace was located on the central street of the capital, equivalent to the presidential palace of the Free Federation.

After hearing the report, Gu Yuwei immediately stood up, supporting herself on the desk.

Her beautiful eyes, also tinged with golden light, were filled with disbelief.

“How is this possible? She has always believed in soft governance, how could she deploy troops to the capital!”