PS: The author used "her" to describe Loran when he was called "Laura" and "him" when he was called "Loran".
Chapter 160: Escape Is Not Shameful but Useless
Ade slowly opened his eyes and was greeted by an unfamiliar ceiling. The room was empty, and a faint fragrance came from the pillow and bedding. He couldn't help but take a deep breath, his mind feeling a long-lost peace under the soothing smell.
"I'll be sleepy, I'll be tired, and now I'm a little hungry, I probably ate a pirated version of the fruit of life." He muttered to himself and grabbed the phone by his pillow and looked at it, "I slept for over twenty hours, neither missed calls nor anyone left me a message, hmmm…"
He didn't know if he should be relieved or feel lost, but his mood was a bit complicated. Ade struggled to get up from the soft bed, then noticed a small note on the bedside table, with the words "Call me when you wake up" written in crisp handwriting.
"I wouldn't be so rude as to sneak off on my own, what a waste of time." Ade laughed softly and picked up the phone to dial, "Hello?"
"Ah, Ade, you're awake?" The phone was answered almost immediately, after more than twenty hours, the reassuringly pleasant voice came again, "I'm out shopping, wait for me and I'll be right back. The blue toothbrush in the bathroom is yours, along with a new towel and a change of clothes I put next to it, so you can take it if you want to take a shower."
"I saw that." The house was really small, and he had walked to the bathroom before Loran finished his sentence, "Thanks."
"You're welcome, by the way, I have informed C.C. that you are working on a very troublesome subject, temporarily can not answer the phone, so don't be upset if you didn't see any missed call. And it's almost time for you to go back today, they're really worried about you." There was a sudden cry over the speaker, "Yikes!"
"What's wrong?!" Ade felt anxious all of a sudden, "Where are you?!"
"The pure and natural beef is 70% off for a limited time!" The voice on the phone sounded panicked, "Many people are grabbing, if I don't go, none will be left a little while later. I need to go, oh, remember to wait for me."
After saying that, the phone was hung up. Ade listened to the busy tone in the microphone, and his mind was still a little confused, "So, His Royal Highness is… shopping? This is too strange, right?"
He breathlessly put down the phone, dazed in place for a while, and decided to take a shower first. The warm water infused energy into the weary body bit by bit, and after a bath, he was really refreshed a lot. The room was warm. Ade wrapped in a bath towel and went to the kitchen, poured himself a glass of water and drank it all, then opened the refrigerator to find something to eat.
Ade understood that he did not really need to replenish calories and nutrition anymore, but the habitual peristalsis of his stomach gave him the delusion of hunger. But if he didn't eat, he would have the delusion that he is no longer human, and in order to maintain his own humanity, he still tries to eat as regularly as possible.
The refrigerator door just opened, the sound of opening the door also came. It should be the owner of the house back.
"There's nothing." He surveyed the empty refrigerator with some depression, and said to the person who came in without looking back, "As the big boss of Anaheim, you should at least store a few cases of Anaheim nutrients, right? The new products taste quite good and nutritious."
"Nutrition is important, the quality of life is equally important, don't keep drinking nutrients. I knew you were hungry, that's why I went out to buy ingredients intended for—" the voice stopped abruptly, "Ah … that…"
Ade looked back, a beautiful girl with a hat and a skirt was looking at him with a red face, stunned and unable to speak. Ade looked down at himself and felt only an instant rush of hot air to his face, "Uh… that… I didn't think you were dressed like this… No, I didn't mean anything else, I mean …"
"I was trying to disguise myself so I wouldn't be recognized." Laura quickly calmed down, as if nothing happened, removed the hat and put it on the table, and picked up the purchase again and walked to the kitchen, "It's okay, I'm glad, it means that you treat me as a friend and are completely unsuspecting of me. Are you hungry? I'll make something to eat, you go ahead and change your clothes."
"… Oh." Ade pretended to nod indifferently and walked quickly back to the bedroom.
Half an hour later, Laura put her hands on her cheeks and smiled as she watched the man in front of her wolfing down his food, "It sure is fun to watch the food made by myself being eaten. My cooking skill is average, and I can only enjoy such a sense of accomplishment when you are hungry."
Ade did not retort. Laura's cooking skill was indeed average, pretending to say it is delicious is unnecessary. They were friends, there was no need for anyone to bother pleasing anyone, and this mode of getting along made him feel very relaxed.
"I've just talked to C.C., you must go home tonight, don't go back to the lab later." Loran watched Ade swallow a large gulp violently and hurriedly handed him the glass of water, "Your family's problems are too complicated, as a friend, I can't help much, the most I can do is to give you an escape."
Ade took the glass of water and took a sip, patting his chest in an effort to swallow the food, "Recently, it may be too much pressure, I always feel out of breath. At least when I'm with you, I can have an empty mind and not have to think about anything, which is the greatest salvation."
"Do not always carry all the pressure down alone, even if the world is going to be destroyed, it's not a matter for you alone, I am also a part of the world." Laura took the empty cup and helped him pour a glass of water, "I can't help much, but please do tell me if you need anything, I will try to meet you."
Ade raised his breath in desire, and finally hmmed, stifling his food.
"By the way, there's something I need to discuss with you." Laura suddenly hesitated, "Friends have to help each other, right? So… hmm… can you lend me some money?"
"Huh?" Ade looked up in surprise, the cutlery almost fell to the floor, "Are you already poor like this?"
"I couldn't resist buying some new clothes after recently changing my body, and then the natural beef you're eating right now cost the last of the money." Laura was embarrassed and looked away, "The natural beef is still very expensive after the discount."
"You… ah…" Ade sighed and thought fast, "This secret base is yours, since you agree that in the future, I can casually come here, then it is only reasonable that I pay the rent every month, right?"
"You… ah …" Laura sighed with the same smile, "Since you will pay the rent, you should come often, otherwise, I do not feel safe to receive the money. "
Ade nodded, lowered his head, and continued to eat. Not long after the meal was finished, Laura pressed Ade back to his seat and took the initiative to clean up the dishes. When everything was over, Laura changed into a clean dress that she wore at home and sat down opposite Ade to look at him in a good way.
"Just feel you have something to say to me, is there something you want to confide in me? It's okay to complain, I'm willing to listen to it all, as long as you can feel better." Laura smiled coyly, "If I'm not making a fool of myself."
"I …" Ade took a deep breath, "I want you to have a contingency plan to retreat at any time, and to run immediately if things go wrong."
"Hmm." Laura met his eyes seriously, "Okay, I'll do it."
"The only information is that the Tenth Angel blew itself up, I guess it was because the enemy was the original moon-sized ELS, so it had to do it. I guess the ELS has the boson jump technology too, and our chances of winning are almost zero." Ade spoke faster and faster, "Aeolia is too optimistic, he reckons the ELS is communicating through brain quantum waves and can understand each other with NTs. I don't approve of his idea at all. They are coming here to grab resources, there is no possibility of reconciliation."
"I trust your judgment."
"MS is meaningless, ACE is meaningless, in front of metal-based beings with a diameter of 3,000 kilometers, even with 10,000 Amuros, it's no different from committing suicide to fighting it. I don't even know whether the satellite cannon is useful or not, it's just a haphazard struggle with the last of human money so that I can feel better in my heart."
"I approve of your choice."
"Angels are useless, the existing nuclear weapons are useless, I do not believe at all that the human race has any chance of winning. If the ELS comes before the satellite cannon is completed, I'll take my wives, child, you, and other important friends to run straight away, and if it's completed when ELS is coming, I'll give it a shot and then run away. I am not the savior, not the protagonist of the story, I have no way to build a weapon that can destroy an astral-sized creature in a year. I can not save billions of people, and all I can do is to run away."
"I support your decision."
"I have no world I want to protect. I'm a transmigrator, I'm an outsider, I won't be morally abducted, the billions of people's death has nothing to do with me. C.C. says trust me and I'll be able to solve it, Lacus says if it's me, it'll be fine, Ange says I'm so powerful, so I must have a solution. All bullshit! I also do not want everyone to die, but I don't have Getter Machine, how can I beat it?!"
Laura serenely looked at Ade, who was panting violently, holding his right hand on the table, "Although it is a bit sorry to say this, doctor, you are indeed the most powerful person I have ever met, more powerful than Dr. Aeolia. You must be right, and if even you can't come to the right conclusion, then no one else must be able to either."
"Lo … la?"
"I'm not really attached to the Prince's seat, and it's good to start from the beginning. Convincing Diana might be a bit of a hassle, but it's not something completely impossible." Laura smiled serenely, "Ade, I don't think we can fight either, shall we run away?"
Ade pounded the table hard and lowered his head in pain, his shoulders trembling slightly. Laura got up and slowly walked behind him, hesitated then gently hugged him, "You're right."
The room fell into silence with only a few inaudible sobs. The person being held struggled slightly, but the person holding him did not let him go, and firmly continued to hold him.
After a long time, even the sound of sobs could not be heard.
"Hey, Laura." A hoarse voice came out of her arms, "Although I guess it won't help, I want to try to fix TurnA."
