“Owner! I’ve detected abnormal fluctuations in airflow up ahead, consistent with those of a large mecha. According to my analysis of the data, it’s very likely an S-class mecha! Please tell me what to do.”
Egret’s voice sounded next to his ear. Xi Wei looked in shock at the viewscreen in front of him, where there was a small round dot representing the S-class mecha Egret had noticed. That mecha was approaching them with great speed.
—Who could it be?
His uncle had already investigated the situation here in detail before sending him out on the mission. Right now, there weren’t any other corps in the Cepheus solar system, only the Morningstar Corps who were responsible for defending the capital planet. There was a limited number of S-class mechas in the empire, and most of them were the personal property of the generals of major corps. How could one suddenly appear here?
“Could it be the mecha of General Byron from the Morningstar Corps?” Xi Wei asked.
“It’s not, owner. I couldn’t retrieve any information on that mecha.” Egret quickly transferred over a set of data. Right now, of the S-class mechas the Mecha Association had registered, including His Majesty’s Leo, General Craig’s Goldencrane, and the other corps leaders’ Ouroborous, Blackdragon, Suzaku, Phantom, Blaze, Fallingstar, and Silversnow, there were only nine in total. These nine mechas all had detailed files on record at the Imperial Mecha Association, and there were even backup copies, for the sake of restoring the mechas should they one day be destroyed.
If this was one of those nine mechas, Egret should’ve been able to immediately figure out who he was. Since Egret couldn’t find out his origin, that proved that this mecha was probably the same as Xi Wei’s Egret, and didn’t have any information on file at the Mecha Association.
Xi Wei frowned slightly, and immediately sent down a command: “Hurry up and go! Land at Locke Castle!”
When Egret heard his owner’s command, he turned his speed up to its highest, and flew like lightning towards Locke Castle.
In the cockpit next door, Bluestar was still frantically jumping up and down. “Owner, we should hurry up and run! The general told you, right? My arsenal still hasn’t been equipped yet, and I don’t have any heavy firepower. The other side also has an S-class mecha, and I definitely won’t be able to beat him! I’d be embarrassing you.”
Klaire reached out a hand and patted the blue star that was jumping back and forth, saying, “Be quiet for now, and follow after him. Pay close attention to his movements, I need to report this to my father afterwards.”
Klaire was all kinds of confused. How could an unfamiliar S-class mecha that wasn't in any records just suddenly appear on the capital planet? Not to mention, this S-class mecha had actually broken through the Morningstar Corps’s defense network and avoided its patrols, infiltrating the capital planet. It was clearly some kind of secret operation. Could it be that the general of some corps was conspiring against the law?
He’d better report it to his father and let him decide. After all, his father was the one in charge of defending the capital planet. Having thought of this, Klaire connected to General Byron’s communicator, and gave him the outline of the situation: “Father, Bluestar and I discovered traces of an S-class mecha on the capital planet, and we can’t figure out who it is.”
General Byron frowned slightly and said, “Forward me the coordinates, I’ll go take a look.”
“I can’t catch up, Owner! He flies so fast!” Bluestar squirmed around and the words flew from his mouth: “This mecha’s speed is unimaginably fast! I can’t track his position. Owner, could it be that he’s landed nearby? Should I scan a few kilometers around us to see if there’s any suspicious people?”
Klaire said, “Zoom in on the ground so I can see it.”
“Okay!”
Bluestar enlarged a three-dimensional live image of the ground on the viewscreen. Klaire looked it over carefully. What surprised him was that the area all around them was desolate, and he couldn’t see a sign of any people. There was only a dense forest.
Klaire narrowed his eyes and examined the landscape. Suddenly, he saw a tiny figure in the forest. The strange thing was, that figure's back actually looked familiar…
“Go down, let’s take a look!”
Klaire gave him instructions, and Bluestar immediately landed. Klaire carefully concealed himself behind a big tree, wanting to find out who this mysterious person was.
But he didn’t know that the other had long since discovered him, and had already hidden himself among the trees.
Egret spoke to Xi Wei through their mental connection and said, “Owner, we’ve been discovered. He’s also landed in the vicinity, what should we do?”
Xi Wei was silent for a moment, then said, “It looks like we can only kill him to silence him.”
Egret obediently replied, “Oh, should I handle it or do you want to do it yourself?”
“If you activate, it’ll be too loud. Leave it to me.” Xi Wei resolutely took out a pistol with a silencer attached from his pocket. His uncle had given him this for self-defense, and he had practiced his marksmanship over the last six months, making progress daily. Unfortunately, it was already late at night, and the weak moonlight wasn’t enough to aim by. He could only see a vague silhouette in the near distance, and for the time being he had no way to lock onto his target.
Suddenly a gust of wind blew by, and the black clouds overhead parted. Bright moonlight spilled on the ground, dappling the shadows with silver.
Xi Wei’s field of vision lit up, and he immediately pulled the trigger!
There was a quiet “pop,” and the person behind the tree fell to the ground. He hit him precisely in the center of his back, without any deviation.
Egret couldn’t help but praise him. “Owner, you’re so amazing!”
Xi Wei smiled slightly, and quickly walked up to the tree. Under the moonlight, he took a good look at the person in front of him, and his eyes suddenly widened in surprise. “...Klaire?”
Klaire, who was lying on the ground, vaguely saw the person he’d been yearning for day and night right in front of him. He couldn’t help but smile, and said, “Xi Wei, how come you’re here?”
Bluestar shouted, “He was the one who shot you! He was the one who shot you!”
Klaire’s consciousness was already beginning to fade, and he couldn’t clearly hear what his mecha was saying. He only felt very happy, because he could finally see Xi Wei.
He hadn't seen him for a whole year, and he missed him so much. Every night he’d dream of him, and when he had nothing to do he couldn’t help but wonder what Xi Wei was up to. Was he eating well? Was he busy studying? Was he adapting well to his new surroundings?
This kind of deep-rooted concern and longing seemed to already have sunk into his blood and marrow.
Xi Wei seemed to have grown a little taller. His body looked slender and well-proportioned, and he was wearing a tightly-fitted, all-black outfit. It gave off a kind of youthful sex appeal, completely different from his manner of dressing before. His black eyes were bright. He was really good-looking.
Klaire couldn’t help but reach out and hold Xi Wei’s hand, saying softly, “I really missed you. Have you been doing well?”
Bluestar was about to cry. “Owner, it was him who shot you, it was him who shot you! Be careful he doesn’t kill you! Warning: danger! Warning!”
He suddenly felt that his owner’s IQ had already sunk into the negatives. He really wanted to reboot his owner’s brain.
But Klaire was already lost in the excitement of seeing his sweetheart, and it was as if he hadn’t heard his mecha’s warning at all.
Xi Wei crouched down and clasped Klaire’s hand, smiled and said, “Klaire, how could you see me on the capital planet? Just think of this as a dream.” After having spoken, he injected Klaire’s nape with anesthetic, and made him lose consciousness completely.
Bluestar: “...Owner’s not listening to me, this time it’s over!”
Xi Wei turned his head and gave an order to his own mecha: “Egret, check and see if that S-class mecha was what Klaire brought with him. If so, hack into his system and shut it down, and while you’re at it, erase this period from its memory.”
“Yes, owner.”
Bluestar wailed: “Don’t hack into my system! Mechas also have their dignity… Don’t…”
Egret didn’t listen to his wailing, and hacked into his system without a trace of politeness.
S-class mechas were controlled by their owner’s will. Klaire was lying on the ground, knocked out, and had no way to give his mecha orders. Bluestar had only completed his mental match with Klaire a little more than an hour ago, and didn’t know how to protect him on his own yet. Added on to the fact that his system had only just been finished, and wasn’t perfected by any means yet, he easily fell victim to Egret’s attack.
Xi Wei brought Klaire and Bluestar to a safe place, then had Egret change into the form of a hovercar and take him in a different direction.
When General Byron rushed over with his people, all he saw was the scene of his son lying unconscious on the ground, with Bluestar forcibly shut down nearby. Not far from them was a dense forest. There was no trace of anyone else.
Byron frowned and woke his son up with some medicine, asking, “What happened?”
Klaire rubbed his aching head. “I’m not too clear on it either. I had Bluestar track that mecha down. He landed nearby, and I followed him to try to learn more about the situation. In the end, he discovered me, and used anesthetic to knock me out.”
Byron said sternly, “You were too rash. If you came across an S-class mecha, you should have told me about it first, and waited for me to arrive before deciding what to do. You’re only fifteen years old, so you shouldn’t act rashly on your own! You should be glad he showed some mercy and used anesthetics to knock you out, otherwise you would have lost your life!”
Klaire said embarrassedly, “I’m sorry, father, I was too careless.”
He’d been rushing after him back then, and thinking of it now, he really was too rash. It was just that he’d had a sort of strange feeling in his heart, forcing him to follow him and take a look. He even had the bold guess that when he saw Xi Wei, it wasn’t a dream, but something that really happened. That mecha might really be Xi Wei’s. Otherwise, why would his face be so clear in his mind? He had even grown a little taller than he was last year.
Unfortunately, Bluestar had been shut down and his memory had been erased, so there was no way to confirm this guess.
Klaire wisely chose not to tell his father about seeing Xi Wei. Although General Byron was suspicious, Xi Wei had long since driven Egret in another direction. Egret’s speed ranked first among all the S-class mechas. Since they came so late, it was already impossible to chase after him.
General Byron had the surroundings searched for a while, but they couldn’t find any traces of an S-class mecha. He could only recall his troops, and give out an order: “For the next few days, strengthen the defense of the Morningstar Corps. All the spaceships and mechas coming and going from the capital planet have to be thoroughly inspected!”
Xi Wei purposefully had his mecha land in a distant forest, in order to give his pursuers the wrong impression. His actual destination was in another direction—the Underground Alliance headquarters, Locke Castle.
Egret soon brought Xi Wei to a patch of forest near Locke Castle. He could dimly see the castle looming over him. The moving shadows of the trees looked like a devil with bared claws and teeth, giving the castle an insidious, terrible air.
Locke Castle was originally a very lively, flourishing place, but due to a virus outbreak many years ago, almost all of its residents died of illness. Since then, it became a ghost town. The military sealed off the place and cut off the power and water. They closed the gates, erected high walls, and didn’t allow anyone to enter again. That year, there were a few pregnant omegas who survived by hiding underground while the epidemic was wreaking havoc. Among them was a man called Dr. Shaun, who developed omega suppressants. That was the origin of the Underground Alliance that Xi Wei’s teacher recounted to him.
Having finally arrived at the headquarters, Xi Wei felt a little excited as he brought Egret through layer after layer of security checkpoints, heading underground.
The underground factory here was even bigger than the facility at Ellen Academy. As far as the eye could see, machines were operating in an orderly manner. Xi Wei walked along a corridor to a room at the heart of the factory, where he saw a man with his head bent studying mecha components. This should be the omega in charge of the Underground Alliance’s manufacturing division, Dave. His uncle Berg was next to him, and the two of them seemed to be looking at a mecha blueprint.
When he saw Xi Wei, Berg immediately turned and walked over, asking with concern, “How was it, Xi Wei? Did the trip go smoothly?”
Xi Wei nodded. “Yes, I got through it fine.”
Berg reached out a hand and patted Xi Wei’s shoulder. He smiled and said, “I just knew you’d be able to finish the task. Come with me quick and put the things away, you still have to rush back.”
Xi Wei followed his uncle Berg to the underground storage room, where he sorted out the suppressants he needed to take. Berg was distributing these suppressants to the omegas living near the capital star. The quantity he transported during this one trip would be enough to take care of their heats for many years.
Xi Wei put away the suppressants, then said, “Uncle, can I go back to the palace to see my father and the rest of them?”
Berg said, “You can’t. This time, you left Ellen Academy for a secret mission. If you’re discovered by people from the military, it’ll lead to unnecessary trouble. Your father and mother are doing fine right now, and they know you’re doing this. Don’t worry, once you get back to school your father will contact you on his own.”
Xi Wei could only nod. “Alright, then I’ll head back now.”
“The capital star’s defense is very tight, so you have to be twice as careful.”
“I know.”
Xi Wei gave his uncle a hug, then quickly turned and left.
He had to return to Ellen Academy in the Andromeda galaxy before the sky turned light, and go to class with his classmates in the morning. This way, he could maintain the secrecy of his mission and avoid arousing suspicion.
But what surprised Xi Wei was that as soon as he walked out of Locke Castle, he received a video call from Klaire.
“It was you I just saw, right? Xi Wei, I’ve said it before, but in this world, you’re the one I trust the most. I’m fine with not asking you why you have an S-class mecha, or why you came to the capital star, but if you need my help, I definitely won’t abandon you.”
In the picture, Klaire looked much more mature than when they had parted a year ago. His appearance was getting more and more handsome, and his expression when he spoke was very gentle.
“The Morningstar Corps sent more troops to inspect the spaceships and mechas coming and going from the capital planet, and the electronic defense network is also tighter than before. If you want to leave here by yourself, it won’t be easy. If you trust me, I can bring you out.” On the screen, Klaire smiled and said this.
Xi Wei was silent for a long time facing the communicator.
He and Klaire had been brought together by fate in two worlds. The understanding between them was deep. In this world, Klaire was the only one who knew about his past, and he was the one who was most deserving of his trust. But the secret of the Underground Alliance was a matter of life and death for many omegas, and he had promised his uncle not to tell anyone about it.
So even if it was Klaire, he couldn’t tell him about any of it.
But Xi Wei hadn’t thought that even when Klaire didn’t know what the situation was, he would still be willing to help him without a second thought. This kind of trust was enough to make anyone moved.
“You don’t even know what I’m doing, and you’re still willing to help me. Aren’t you afraid that I’ll get you into trouble?” Xi Wei connected to his communicator and asked him.
Sure enough, the boy in front of him was wearing all-black, just like when Klaire saw him a while ago. It wasn’t a dream at all.
Faced with his clear eyes, Klaire couldn’t help but smile. He said, “What do I have to be afraid of? I just want to stand on the same battlefield as you. In the last lifetime, we died together in a car crash. If worst comes to worst, we’ll just die together again, how about it?”
Xi Wei couldn’t help but smile. “Alright. I can’t thank you in words for this favor. You helped me this time, I’ll remember it!”
Klaire said, “Go to a safe place, and I’ll meet you there. Right now, my father is personally leading troops to the east side of the capital star. We should hurry and go out from the west side. The Morningstar Corps just changed their password for the defense network, but I can crack it.”
“Okay!”
Xi Wei quickly drove Egret to an area without people, then sent Klaire the coordinates. After a few minutes, he saw a light blue mecha drop out of the sky. Klaire came out of the cockpit and reached out to Xi Wei. “Quick, come in.”
Xi Wei immediately ran up to him, took hold of his hand, and was pulled into the cockpit.
The mecha’s interior was very spacious. A blue star was jumping up and down in front of the dashboard. “Hey, owner, how come I feel like this person and this mecha look a little familiar?”
Egret: “...”
I just hacked into his system and made it crash, and he actually can’t remember it.
Egret couldn’t help but quietly say to Xi Wei, “Owner, this Klaire is your friend? His mecha’s pretty stupid.”
Xi Wei laughed and said to Klaire, “When did you get such a good mecha?”
“He’s called Bluestar, he’s a present from my father. Right now he’s just a prototype, he’s not completely finished yet.” Klaire looked back at Xi Wei, and seeing his clear eyes, he couldn’t help but reach out a hand and lightly touch his head. “After not seeing you for a year, you’ve grown taller again.”
Xi Wei pushed away his hand and said seriously, “Let’s hurry up and go, if we’re found, we’ll both be in big trouble.”
Klaire smiled and said, “Bluestar, let’s go!”
“Okay!” Bluestar excitedly soared into the sky carrying his owner and Xi Wei, soon disappearing into the horizon.
While flying hard, he tried to start a conversation with Egret. “Hello, our owners are good friends, so how about we also be good friends?”
Egret: “...”
Bluestar: “Oh right, what version is your system?”
Egret: “...”
“What model is your power source?”
Egret: “...”
“How long is your wingspan?”
This guy was asking questions and squirming around at the same time. Egret was pestered until he was so annoyed he couldn’t bear it. Xi Wei reached out a hand and swatted Bluestar. “Quiet! Concentrate on the road.”
Bluestar felt wronged. “Owner, he hit me.”
Klaire said, “Then just let him hit you, it’s not like it hurts you anyway.”
Bluestar: “...”
Poor Bluestar had fallen to the bottom of the food chain. Egret bullied him, Xi Wei bullied him, and his owner didn’t speak up for him. What was he going to do in the future?!
With Klaire’s help, Bluestar quickly cracked the defense network the Morningstar Corps had upgraded.
The son cracked the defense network his father had set up, and let the person his father had been tracking down go free. This way of doing things wasn’t really right, but as a mecha, Bluestar had to listen to his owner’s orders. Also, his IQ wasn’t that high in the first place, so he just did what he was told.
Klaire took Xi Wei out of the Cepheus solar system, then told Bluestar to stop.
Xi Wei looked at the familiar scenery of the universe outside his window and finally let out a sigh of relief. He smiled and said, “Thanks, Klaire.”
Seeing the sunny smile on Xi Wei’s face, Klaire’s heart softened. He couldn’t help but reach out and tightly hug Xi Wei, saying, “What are you thanking me for, you don’t need to be polite with me.”
Xi Wei said, “I should go.”
Klaire suddenly tightened his hold, and he looked at Xi Wei with intense reluctance in his eyes. “I don’t know when we’ll see each other again.”
Xi Wei smiled and said, “It doesn’t matter, we can keep in touch through video calls.”
Klaire was silent for a moment, then gently stroked Xi Wei’s hair, and said softly, “Go on then, take care.”
“Okay, bye!”
Xi Wei waved to him and went out of the cockpit. He started up Egret, drove him away, and soon disappeared into the vast universe.
Klaire looked at Xi Wei’s back in a daze.
Bluestar looked at Egret’s back in a daze.
Mecha and owner stared blankly at the universe for a long time, before Bluestar twisted around and said shyly, “Owner, Egret’s really beautiful. Can I marry him?”
Klaire swatted his head. “Shut up. I haven’t even married my wife yet, how could it be your turn as a mecha!”
“Oh…” Bluestar sulkily carried Klaire back to the capital planet.
——————————8:01 for 3,786 words, or 12.7 minutes for every 100 words. An improvement in rate by four minutes! ✌️
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