Legend of the Supreme Soldier - Chapter 381

n the record of history, there had been different eras where there would always be a particular problem that haunted humanity, such particular problem had received different comments and visionary from the great historical figures while had also puzzled folks of all walks of time – that is, if humans could truly throne themselves as the greatest entity in the law of nature? The problem might not be a problem when asked as a question itself, that it had answered itself, obviously whenever one would look into the speed, the strength, the vitality of human’s anatomy which none of those could surpass even the most ordinary beast in the galactic wild, not even those of the Jie experts.

Most lifeforms in the galaxy were never something humanity could fight barehanded. Humans would always be required assistance, assistance like mechs or supreme weaponry in order to even stand a chance to win the beasts.

And those beasts were beasts like the fearsome Whipper Snakes.

Fei Lidu looked all calm when he observed the havoc happening in the accommodation. No one else could have recognized the potency of a Whipper Snake than himself. Countless great ones had been annihilated by those slithering, zigzagging madness. It was only that his nature of staying low kept these avenging murders in dark, unaware by the people. But well, there would be times when he would need to flash his trump card and this was it.

It was a monstrosity that could even conquer the practitioners, let alone a mere folk who only knew how to pour from one flask to another. Alchemist, oh merely an alchemist. He never worried about if his snakes would get the job done, instead, he was worried of Qi Wei’s response on this. The frowning, the heavy breaths were not a good sign of approval from a great leader of the mighty Qian system like Qi Wei. Lidu only wanted to expand the influence of Incense branch and so he did something, brutally yet strategically. But the capability of the Qian system was not something he could simply replace. Assuming if this was the lighter to the war between the two branches, these Whipper Snakes would do very little instead. Thus, it would be a no-no to enrage the Qian system.

He knew, it would only be a matter of time till he was caught red-handed on owning two dangerous beasts. So he just demonstrated them, before things went wrong, to tell the world that he was not a pebble to simply fiddle with.

He was right. People had been convinced, frighteningly convinced, as notorious those snakes were, while unheard rumors of them being tamable were. And somehow the Incense branch had made a miracle, of taming the untamable beast. Fei Lidu’s move was not meaningless after all.

…

Pant… Pant…

Ha…Hah….

Ye Chong’s mind had been wiped, as an exhilarated intensity swarmed upon his body, the muscles of his arms and legs were jiggling, somehow demonstrating an untamed thrash due to the instincts he had formed over the long adventures in the galaxy, which turned out to be his savior.

Every bit of his muscle was wriggling beneath his torn clothing, like countless snakes the tendons intertwined and separated, tightened and loosened repetitively. Strength had been unleashed as Ye Chong’s movement grew superbly precise under the lead of these muscles. Ye Chong’s movement looked mechanical however, probably due to the over-precision of movements, which gave a rather peculiar sense to his usual dodging techniques. He dodged and flipped, the movements formed seamlessly, as Ye Chong traveled in the briefest straight lines.

The September Lan’s technique.

Well, probably even the forebears who created the technique would never expect such use of muscle manipulation.

Generally, Whipper Snake’s attacks were all linear attacks, which justified the quickness of the stinging attacks – the universal law of mathematics – it always would form the shortest distance if one travelled from point A to point B in straight.

Ye Chong gradually discarded the fanciness of his movements as he moved crudely, intuitively, back to who he was inside. It was amazing, unfortunately it was done subconsciously or Ye Chong would be overpowered if he had mastered it.

A monstrosity could be potent, but there would always be a limit to its destruction.

Whipper Snakes were fast, while also being violent but they could never maintain their acceleration for all eternity, and that was when they hit their limits, the maximum speed in simpler terms.

Their maximum was a total horror as they had veiled the entire room in dense network of scarlets with their afterimages.

The situation had gotten a strange twist, as Ye Chong had broken his speed cap under intense pressure, which was just enough to hold the Whipper Snake’s attack. Unlike the Whipper Snake’s bouncing zigzagging, Ye Chong’s movement had been intuitive. If Ye Chong depended on his consciousness to make movements, he would have been slow, but now his muscles had taken the lead and dodging had become an effortless act for him, while becoming a consuming fight for the Whipper Snakes. So they had slowed down. The situation had changed. Ye Chong was probably winning.

In reality, it had only been few ten seconds after Fei Lidu unleashed his pets. People were waiting by the window, unaware of the snakes’ habit, anticipating the next action taken by this fairly strange leader of Incense branch.

That was when a group of people were hurrying towards the place.

“Report. There are about 54 people surrounding the space before the mysterious alchemist’s accommodation,” concisely one person stated.

It was odd, as it was different from what the unknown leader had expected. The leader, as experienced and strategic he was, knew it was a critical point to make decision, that a second of hesitation would possibly disrupt the entire operation. Apparently their main target was the mysterious alchemist so they had studied him carefully, while also being fully informed of his capabilities.

“Finish them.” The eyes of the leader were cold, as briefly the three syllables went.

“Yes sir.” The group then broke into 3 small parties where one of them sneaked towards Ye Chong’s accommodation. Their steps were silent yet extremely agile and organized. The street was soundless as they passed by a few dead bodies.

“Siege completed,” said one member.

The head of this small party was a man with red string over his wrist, well, everyone was wearing black and covered in mask, some sort of marking would be needed.

The red-stringed wrist swung, “Attack!”

…

Guang Wei’s eyes were large, as he squeezed through the crowd, he felt he had lost his mind but that one thing was teasing his mind, scrapping his last bit of sanity.

Silver strand pendant.

That’s the silver strand pendant…

The smoke branch, the smoke branch would be resuscitated.

If I regained my silver strand pendant…

I had enough of those humiliations, those snickers, those degrading comments…

It was when Guang Wei thought his true strength would sink for the rest of his life.

Then the silver lining had come from the sky.

Silver strand pendant.

“What the hell are you doing?” Cursed one man.

“Oh, wasn’t this Guang Wei the big man from the Smokin’ BBQ branch? What you’re doing? You wanna show off your smoking skill when all of us are here?”

“We are not having a BBQ party you know!”

“HAHAHA!”

Guang Wei was ignorant of the comments he somehow grew old hearing, as he carried on forcing himself through the crowd, with his lips bleeding from his constant bites. The laughter continued, the comments echoed in the space, his legs were dragging him all the way to the front.

In the midst of laughter, no one had noticed how the few alchemists at the end of the crowd had been struck down. The assassins raided the souls of the little alchemy pioneers in their mask. The assassins were practitioners after all, and no flask-wielding potter could brace themselves against the fist and swords.

Coincidentally, that was where Guang Wei formerly stood as the alchemists fell without sound.

Back in the room of Ye Chong…

Zap! Klink! Klink! Klink!

Something had changed.

The Whipper Snakes maintained their momentum and shattered the entire row of flasks on the table. Ye Chong’s colorful efforts had been destroyed as they pierced the glasses.

The enormous force smashed the collection as it burst into countless pieces!

Clouds of different colors soon flocked the place. Those were the collection of hallucinogenic reagents. Oh no… Yup Ye Chong had been working on hallucinogens ever since he recognized their importance from the last fight, and in fact this time he did again, since…

Those vaporizing hallucinogens became the factor to his salvation.

The Whipper Snakes froze in the air as they zapped through the thick clouds of hallucinogens. They fell and crashed into the wall. Because of the law of conversion of energy, they had to receive the complete impulsive energy from their kinetics. And there they splashed, into a splat of blood.

Ye Chong recovered from the insane fight very soon after the threat had disappeared.

The catch was… he did not even have the strength to lift his finger, as those colorful clouds had drained the last bit of him. He panted, and panted, carelessly breathed in the hallucinogens as he landed to the floor with drizzles of his sweats showering the nearby ground.

Battle… the battle had ended?

And right outside the window, something had happened again.

hat was that smell?

Alchemists were all sensitive to smell. Who released the alchemy substance? Some of them could not help but looked back.

“Aah!” A sharp and horrified cry came from the back. More cries followed. No one expected someone to be following them. If one of the alchemists had not been careless and accidentally released his alchemy substance, the entire group would have been neatly and silently wiped out .

There were bloody corpses everywhere. The ambushers came in huge numbers, killing their victims from behind their masks. It was a chilling sight.

However, most of the alchemists were prominent characters of the alchemy world on Dankwood planet, all seasoned fighters themselves. They quickly released their own alchemy substances. Colorful smoke drifted into existence, enveloping the entire place. Human figures were vaguely visible through the smoke.

The situation turned chaotic.

Ye Chong sat on the ground, gasping for breath, his mind blank after strenuous physical exertion. The room was filled with impenetrable smoke. Ye Chong pressed his palms to the ground for support, but was cut by a fragment of broken alchemy flask. He felt a sharp pain on his hand and retracted it. The pain also woke him up from his daze.

The ground was covered with broken fragments of alchemy flasks. All his days of hard work were lost. The whipper snakes were too quick, and the broken fragments of the alchemy flasks flew just as quick, spraying off like deadly weapons. It was these broken fragments that caused most of the alchemy flasks to be broken.

The smoke had a faint, sweet smell. Ye Chong jolted abruptly, cursed himself, and quickly pushed himself up, fighting against his fatigue.

He remembered that he had synthesized a few more dangerous products. Could they be released into the air as well? Ye Chong was anxious. He knew exactly how dangerous they were. Besides, his smoke pearl was only useful against knockout agents and the like. He had no intention of trying out his latest products.

Ye Chong picked up his wooden spear from the ground in a hurry and stumbled to the front door, leaving the mess behind him. His gaze fell on the wooden box placed beside the door. A stroke of luck for him. Ye Chong brought the box with him as he exited the room.

The sudden burst of smoke knocked Guang Wei out instantly. He never would have guessed that this would save his life.

Looking down from above the city, it was hell down below. The ambushers had decided to attack without reservation in their brute force attempt. There were no preambles or intel gathering beforehand. The battle escalated quickly.

The maidservant who had been waiting by the door all this while was surprised to see the mysterious alchemist suddenly appearing before her. The alchemist had stayed inside ever since he arrived. She heard the ruckus from inside, but ever since she began serving the alchemist, there would be noises from within the room, so she had grown used to them.

“What are you doing?” She saw Ye Chong with a spear in one hand a wooden box in the other, and asked respectfully. It looked like he was about to leave. She was baffled, but dared not stop him. Now, she was thinking informing the news to the Mayor immediately.

With the box in his hand, Ye Chong felt much safer. He had kept all the maps and money that Han Yue had given to him in the box. On the other hand, he was using up more and more of his raw ingredients. His research these days were exhausting his raw materials rapidly. However, he had no choice. The price for improving himself faster would of course be higher.

“Nothing,” Ye Chong answered politely, almost reflexively. He quickly moved on to other matters, as he was struck with a brilliant idea.

He looked around him and saw a flower vase. He picked it up and freed the vase from its flowery contents, leaving them on the floor.

Just what was he up to? The maidservant looked at the rumored legendary alchemist, and could not figure him out. The vase was a valuable item that not even her annual salary could afford it. Even the flowers were just delivered this morning from the largest florist establishment in the city.

Ye Chong did not reply her, only testing the material of the vase, and seemed quite happy with it.

He immediately took out a few chemicals and began to do some alchemy right in the corridor.

The maidservant looked at the alchemist with interest as he chucked in all sorts of strange things into the vase as his left hand swirled the vase rhythmically.

People had given him an almost godly reputation. She watched nervously at the vase in Ye Chong’s hands. Just what would this turn out into? To her, Ye Chong was just like a magician performing his magic trick.

He looked at the final product in the vase with satisfaction. The snow white vase now carried a yellowish thick fluid. It filled almost half of the case.

“Take a few steps back,” Ye Chong said to the maidservant.

The maidservant hurried a few steps back.

“A few steps more.”

The maidservant took another half a dozen steps back. She steadied herself and looked at the alchemist curiously, eager to see his next move.

Ye Chong looked solemn, holding the vase carefully in his hands. If any combat experts were here, they would notice that Ye Chong’s did not tremble at all, almost like a statue.

Ye Chong did not know why the people outside wanted to attack him. However, since he had just escaped from death, he did not feel like reasoning with them. He would teach them a lesson, one they would never forget!

The room he was staying in was filled with many alchemy products. Perhaps it was out of habit, but most of them were dangerous or lethal ones.

He would not enter the room now. The room was full of dangerous materials. Entering without sufficient preparation would only kill him. Besides, there was a huge variety of them. Mixing the chemicals together might lead to some surprising elements.

Ye Chong switched the vase to his right hand, and held onto the door knob with his left.

He took a deep breath and opened the door by a small crack, then he threw the vase into the room. Before the vase made its landing, he quickly shut the door. After that, he pushed hard against the door, bracing for what came next.

Bam!

It was the sound of a muffled explosion. The door shook violently, but the quality material of garnetwood held.

The maidservant was shocked. She covered her mouth tightly, trying not to make a sound. That muffled explosion had startled her, and her heart was still racing. Just what was he up to? Her dim, blue eyes betrayed her fear and uncertainty.

Ye Chong did not linger for long, and made to leave. Leaving this place as soon as possible was his best option for now. The maidservant was scared frozen, still standing where she was.

Ye Chong had did something quite ruthless.

He had thrown an explosive into the room. The explosive was much stronger than the one he used back in the tent. This explosion would definitely break all the remaining alchemy flasks in his room. The room was sealed well, and the only entrances were through the door and windows. Since he had kept the door shut, the only possible venting points were the windows. The explosion pushed the air from inside the room out into the open. The air was filled with all kinds of dangerous products of alchemy.

Not far out from the windows, the alchemists and ambushers were still in the thick of the fight. This deadly airflow was about to deal a heavy blow to them.

The first to react were Qi Wei and Pei Libei. Both them were surprised. While they were not exactly alchemists themselves, they were involved with alchemy for years and had seen their fill. They knew how terrifying this airflow could be.

Guang Wei was very lucky. Since he tried hard to push himself forward, he was now just between Qi Wei and Pei Libei. He had them to thank for his surviving the airflow.

A frontal attack depended entirely on brute strength. Tricks were usually difficult to execute, especially against a place so tightly defended as the Mayor’s Mansion.

However, they were left with no choice, since now was the time when the Mayor’s Mansion was least defended. Just a few days after, not only would combatants from nearby cities arrive, even the Han Family’s strongest warriors would be here.

But can they really take down the place? Looking at the stubbornly defended Mayor’s Mansion, the leader of the ambush squad felt a moment of doubt.

In the corridor, Ye Chong ran ahead quickly.

Crash! A window was broken, spraying glass every which way. A figure darted towards him.

Ye Chong reacted quickly, lifting the spearhead and aiming towards the throat of the attacker.

Crush! A crimson flower bloomed! A second figure appeared behind the attacker just then, but Ye Chong pushed forward and ran right into the first attacker.

Ye Chong was like a mech flying at high speed, while the now dead attacker was just like a sandbag. He was flung straight out the window. The person right behind the first attacker never expected it, and was caught off guard. Everything happened so quickly, and Ye Chong did not give him time to think. The second attacker reflexively tried to catch his comrade.

Wham! The two sandbags collided! They both flew out the window.

Ye Chong ignored them and continued running down the corridor.

As he passed through a door with a semicircular arch, what he saw gave him quite a surprise.

uo Shi was being surrounded, under attack by dozens of men.

Ye Chong did not manage to see Luo Shi fight during the ambush attack on their campsite. This was his first time witnessing the man in combat.

He fought with the typical combat style of the Ye Family. There were no fancy moves, and every move was either damaging or fatal. The man made evasive steps to avoid being trapped by his attackers. Ye Chong could not read his opponents accurately, and he could see that Luo Shi was using authentic combat moves of the Ye Family, much stronger than the instructors in Black Cove.

Compared to him, the instructors were basically newbies to the arena.

Luo Shi moved with ease, never keeping still for a moment too long, preventing his attackers from trapping him. It was impossible to see skills like these in the Five Galaxies or the He Yue Galaxy. In those places, mechs were the main ways of combat.

“Hah, you’re here!” Luo Shi noticed Ye Chong. His eyes shone brightly, and he sounded oddly warm.

Ye Chong was perplexed. He had noticed early on of Luo Shi’s strange attitude towards him. Luo Shi was always trying to be closer to him. Ye Chong had thought that his disguise was blown, and became wary of the man.

Just then, three ambushers went to attack Ye Chong.

Child abductors! They wore the same masks that Ye Chong saw when he first encountered these child abductors. The strange masks left a deep impression in him.

A lance came for Ye Chong, striking like a snake.

Another longsword routed itself to stop Ye Chong from escaping. The sharp edge of the blade shimmered. Once Ye Chong entered its effective range, he would have to face its continuous attacks.

The last man had a dagger in his hand. He was skinny, but his eyes were cold and attentive, like a cat watching its prey in the night.

They thought of this alchemist, the man who caused their last ambush attack to end in failure, as an even more important target than Luo Shi. The alchemist had safely arrived at this place, thus their group that was assigned to the campsite must have failed. While they did not know how it happened, they were still confident of their abilities. Any strong alchemist would still have his or her own weaknesses. If an alchemist were to face off against a combat expert, then the alchemist would be as good as dead. Besides, this was three of them against one alchemist!

Ye Chong’s eyes widened!

Their attacks were exactly the same as the ones he faced when he escaped from the Black Forest.

So it was them last time! Ye Chong’s eyes turned cold.

In just a short instant, Ye Chong understood the whole story. At the first village he visited, he had killed a child abductor, and let another one go. The one who escaped must have told of his story to his organization. Later attempts on his life must have been their act of revenge.

Back in the forest, the complicated territory and their peculiar ways of camouflaging themselves among the greenery had given them a huge advantage. More importantly, Ye Chong was too heavily injured last time till he was forced into a tight corner.

Now, however, they would face Ye Chong, fresh from a new breakthrough. While it was only an instinctive body reflex, the leftover subconscious effects left in his body were still enough to make him even more dangerous.

Ye Chong turned his left leg, swinging his body to the side and avoiding the lance attack. The wooden spear in his right hand stabbed in the direction of the longsword. It was a simple stab, one that Ye Chong did without much thought, done almost reflexively.

The wooden spear hit its blue spot target spot on.

The wooden spear bounced back to him with a rattle of his right hand. Ye Chong seemed to know what was behind him. The wooden spear’s shaft whipped backwards, almost softly, onto the chest of the child abductor with the dagger, ready to attack Ye Chong.

Crack!

A soft sound was heard. The two persons sandwich-ing Ye Chong in between fell down like puppets with their strings severed. They died horrible deaths. The man with the longsword had a stab wound in his throat, and the flesh around the wound was now in an eerie black. As for the man with the dagger, his chest had collapsed inward from a blow to his body center.

The only surviving child abductor was shocked. They had rushed into their deaths when facing Ye Chong. The man had easily dealt with them both.

“Wonderful!” Luo Shi exclaimed, full of admiration. As he finished pronouncing that single word, he had already switched position five times, killing two more people.

Looking at the way he was, Ye Chong knew that the man was not giving it his all yet. Luo Shi must be more powerful than this.

Suddenly, Luo Shi waved towards Ye Chong, smiling a secretive smile as he said, “Hey, brother, let’s get out of here. I’ve something you’ll probably be very interested in.” He did not seem concerned about the child abductors around him at all.

Luo Shi’s suggestion confused Ye Chong completed.

Luo Shi said nothing more. He made a few evasive moves and escaped from his enemies’ grasp. He waved for Ye Chong to follow again, and fled outside.

Luo Shi’s departure was a relief for the rest of the child abductors. They now turned their attention to Ye Chong, but did not attack immediately. Ye Chong had just shown that he was no weaker than Luo Shi. Besides, he was an alchemist!

The leader of this attack squad was now sighing hopelessly to himself inside. Meeting that crazy Luo Shi was unfortunate, but now they were up against another even crazier man.

Ye Chong did not understand Luo Shi’s intention, but looking at his enemies, he also knew that he should leave as soon as possible. He made a turn and fled out of the house, light as a bird.

As the two strong men left, the child abductors all heaved a sigh of relief. Just then, however, a thunderous sound of animal footsteps came from outside, sending a soft tremor through the ground.

The leader of the child abductors was shocked beyond belief!

When Ye Chong left the Mayor’s Mansion, he saw a group of men riding canterelles forcing their ways through the city gates.

However, Ye Chong was more focused on the sight of Luo Shi, waiting for him not far off. Luo Shi waved at him and continued running, heading out of the city. Ye Chong considered for a moment before following him.

The two figures leaped across houses like shadows.

The man at the forefront of the canterelle troop took a quick glance at the two fast-moving figures with surprise. However, he kept his eyes forward and said hoarsely, “Forward, to the Mayor’s Mansion.”

Ye Chong followed Luo Shi, but keeping a reasonable distance between them.

They were both fast, and running with all they got. Emerald City grew smaller and smaller behind them. It was when they were about 30 kilometers away from Emerald City that Luo Shi finally stopped.

Almost at that same moment, Ye Chong halted as well, still keeping a reasonable distance between them.

He held the wooden spear in his hand, ready for anything. The wooden box was put aside.

Seeing Ye Chong thus prepared, Luo Shi stared for a moment before laughing and said, “No need for all this, no need at all, we’re not enemies.”

Ye Chong did not respond, but asked, “Start talking, why bring me here?” He stared into Luo Shi’s eyes. Shang once told him that when a person lied, he would be able to tell from the eyes.

Luo Shi turned sombre. His next sentence was earth-shattering. Even Ye Chong could not help but show his surprise on his face!

“Ye Chong, it’s you isn’t it?”

Ye Chong said nothing, staring fixedly at Luo Shi. Inside however, he was desperately trying to figure out how he had exposed himself. In the end, he quickly calmed down. He could not understand what he did wrong, and if that was the case, then it was better if he just left it at that and prepare for battle!

Luo Shi shook his head and explained, “Ye Chong, I mean you no harm.”

Before Ye Chong could respond, he continued, “It’s not just me, the entire Ye Family means you no harm!”

Ye Chong was unconvinced. The relationship between him and the Ye Family was already complicated as it was, and he did not wish to dwell on it any more than necessary. However, he kept quiet and listened anyway. Luo Shi had surprised him too much.

“When you were in Black Cove, you had already drew attention from the higher ups of Black Cove. You must know how special your body is. Normally, for anyone as thin as you are, he should be physically weaker, and can only develop his speed, flexibility, reaction time.

“But not you!

“Black Cove quickly notified the Ye Family of this. In fact, the Patriarch grew interested in you. Hmm, I’m not sure how much you know about the Ye Family, but in recent years, successors of the family are in decline, and true descendants of the Ye Family are all worried about it. This is also why you gained attention from the Patriarch.”

Luo Shi shrugged with an air of self mockery.

“You’re very vigilant, a quick learner, and strong as well,” Luo Shi said this with approval, “Every attempt by Black Cove to recover you ended in failure. The Patriarch was vexed by this, but he could do nothing about it.” At this, Luo Shi seemed to remember something, and grinned.

“The real deal breaker for the Patriarch is this – you had used the silver liquid, but remained healthy and unscathed!” Luo Shi turned serious and looked straight at Ye Chong, speaking his next words with care, “Do you know what this means?”

Ye Chong remained silent.

Luo Shi did not answer his own question, but switched topics, “The silver liquid is an early invention, but its side effects are obvious. It’s supposed to simulate an element uniquely found in the blood of any Ye Family member. However, current technology is still insufficient to replicate it exactly. There is only one group of people who can use the silver liquid and remain unaffected. Just one group!

“It’s the Ye Family members!”

The simple sentence was like dropping a bombshell for Ye Chong!

“You used the name Ye Chong before, so it’s actually convincing that you’re actually from the Ye Family. However, no one expected you to be so slippery to catch. It seemed as though you always have a mysterious someone by your side, protecting you. Our operations failed every time,” Luo Shi said with a wry smile on his face.

e Chong thought of Mu and Shang. Without their help, who knew how his life would be now? The memory of his time with Mu and Shang sent a warm feeling to his heart.

“Then you arrived in the He Yue Galaxy out of nowhere. In all honesty, we still don’t know how you got here,” Luo Shi smiled even more wryly.

“Our people were still searching for you in the Five Galaxies. When they saw you in the He Yue Galaxy, they were shocked! Haha, you should’ve seen their faces. Ye Wuqin was all just plain flabbergasted! It was awesome!” Luo Shi laughed, obviously enjoying the memory.

His easy laughter was soothing to Ye Chong, but he did not lower his guard.

“You know what happened next. The Three Aristocratic Families ended up all in a nervous wreck because of you. But we’ve been curious, why are the Xue Lai Clan and Xi Feng Tribe hot on your heels too?”

“Don’t know,” Ye Chong answered calmly.

“They don’t matter anyway. Hey, if you think about it, we might be brothers,” Luo Shi said, excited, “My siblings back at home were all wondering who your parents are, but none of them have any obvious conclusions. The elders at home are also watching you closely.”

Ye Chong kept his expression neutral, but a strange feeling was bubbling into existence within him. Parents? What an unfamiliar term.

“You mind if I verify with your blood?” Luo Shi looked at Ye Chong nervously, his eyes shining with enthusiasm.

“Verify how?” Ye Chong asked. That was something he was curious about all this while.

With Ye Chong’s agreement, Luo Shi seemed to relax a little. He calmed down and explained, “It’s simple. For members of our tribe, their blood will turn into a sky blue color when mixed with Bolmanshek solution.”

He chortled as he produced a transparent crystal test tube from his waist. “Good thing I brought this with me, it’s providence alright. No one brings this around with them!” He flicked a finger and opened the cap. The crystal test tube was filled with a transparent liquid. Luo Shi offered the test tube to Ye Chong and said, “One drop of blood. Just one drop will be enough.”

Ye Chong studied the crystal test tube with a plain expression, even though his emotions were all over the place. His blood rushed through his veins in dysphoria.

Perhaps, he’ll finally have an answer! This was a question that had troubled him for so long, and now, he was about to find out the truth.

Was he a member of the Ye Family?

Ye Chong could not stay calm in spite of his usual composure. He had told himself many times that his origins should not bother him. These were matters that did not affect him in a concrete way. His biological origin was just that, and nothing more.

However, now that the truth was about to be revealed, Ye Chong found the coolness that he prided himself on was so brittle against reality!

His pulse raced like never before. His long, even breathing turned shorter as his blood rushed with excitement.

Ye Chong closed his eyes and forced himself to take a long, deep breath! It took almost all of his strength to inhale this time, then he exhaled the air within him heavily outwards! All his troubles seemed to escape from him, following that exhale.

When Ye Chong opened his eyes again, they were once again determined and focused.

Whatever will be, will be!

He took out his dagger and touched his index finger lightly against the edge of the blade. He reached his index finger to the crystal test tube’s opening and squeezed gently. A drop of crimson blood dived into the test tube. Plop! It met the transparent Bolmanshek liquid.

Luo Shi watched nervously at the crystal test tube in Ye Chong’s hand.

The crystal clear liquid in the test tube suddenly transformed. When the blood was mixed into the liquid, it diffused quickly like smoke in air, and a sky blue color began to spread its tendrils quickly in the test tube, dying the entirety of its content in a beautiful sky blue.

The sky blue test tube dazzled under the sun like a flawless blue diamond.

Luo Shi’s face reddened as he leaped up in excitement. His loud voice carried out across the entire plain as he cried, “Hahahaha …. I have a new brother! … I have a new brother! …” He jumped around happily like a child, an entirely different person from the gentlemanly Luo Shi that he usually was like.

Ye Chong stared at the crystal test tube with its sky blue content.

He was not the least bit happy. The Bolmanshek solution, now dyed a sky blue, had filled up every corner of his heart and soul. Even the softness beneath his strong and emotionless surface was affected.

It felt salty, bitter and biting.

“Wonderful! This is wonderful!” Luo Shi was rambling, “You’re really one of us, of the Ye Family! Haha, now Ye Family has another strong member! I’m so happy! Ah, brother of mine, are you really called Ye Chong?”

Luo Shi’s excitement and enthuasiasm did not move Ye Chong at all. He acted cold as always, nodding his head in reply, “Yes.” Almost instantly, Ye Chong buried away the softness in his heart with his determination and coldness.

“Hehe, come come, let me introduce myself as well. My real name is Ye Luo. You can call me Lil’ Luo, or Lil’ Lil’ Luo. They all call me that.” Luo Shi grinned widely as he introduced himself, but he quickly asked in return, “What do your friends call you?”

“Ye,” Ye Chong answered concisely.

“No way!” Ye Luo looked at Ye Chong oddly, and did not speak for a long moment. “What’s with that unimaginative nickname? Don’t you know that half the people in the Ye Family’s have Ye as their nickname too?”

“I don’t,” Ye Chong answered without emotion.

“That’s no good, that’s no good at all, let’s change it,” Ye Luo shook his head vigorously like a tidal wave, and suggested, “How about Lil’ Chong, or Lil’ Lil’ Chong’s fine too …”

“How did you recognize me?” Ye Chong cut him short. This was another question that had bothered him from the start.

“‘Cause I’m smart,” Ye Luo answered with a pleased expression, almost beginning to spill out his entire thought process. “No one expects you to enter the free space zone. They’re probably still trying to guess where you would be hiding. Hehe, try and guess, how did I find you?”

Ye Luo looked at Ye Chong with mischievous eyes, just begging for Ye Chong to ask him.

Ye Chong stayed as he was like a wooden stump, and refused to budge.

Ye Luo waited for a good few minutes until he was convinced that Ye Chong was not going to ask him, before he began, “Alright alright, I’ll tell you. What a downer, like those emotionless guys back home, so boring. The thing that exposed you was the glider.”

Ye Chong’s eyes widened. He finally realized what the problem was.

“Han Yue told me that you appeared from the sky, riding some bird-like thing. I was curious then. In the middle of my journey, I also dropped by the place where you were attacked by the fangwolves, and found the glider. That’s when I knew that you are an outsider like me. The locals wouldn’t know things like these.

“Besides, you didn’t respond much when you saw me. Hehe, you wouldn’t know it, but here’s the thing. The Three Aristocratic Families have some influence in the free space zone, but we can recognize each other almost instinctively. After all, we’re outsiders here. We can usually tell if someone’s from which aristocratic family. You, are obviously not from any of the Three. Later on, you revealed your excellent skills in alchemy. We knew early on that you were an alchemist, so I immediately thought of you.

“Even then, I wasn’t sure. There are only three routes to enter the free space zone, and each of them is guarded by one of the Three Aristocratic Families. Security is tight, and it’s virtually impossible for outsiders to enter. So the fact that you are here came as a shock to me too.

“But you exposed yourself just now. Hehe, I’m not much of a mech pilot myself, but not many people can top me in combat. Your moves earlier have a very faint influence of the Ye Family style. Haha, it’s very faint, but you can’t fool me. What do you think? I’m good, right? That was when I was certain that it’s you.”

Ye Luo looked openly pleased with himself.

Ye Chong was also impressed. Ye Luo may behave like a child, but he was a very detailed person.

“You’re really good at combat! As expected of one of the Ye Family, to reach this level by self taught. You don’t know how many of our brothers and sisters back home are just swooning over you. But you gotta be careful of Ye Yin. That man’s just very close minded. When it comes to mechs, only about two or three in the family can match against him evenly. I’m way behind in that, but if it’s combat, hehe, then he’d better not mess with me.” Ye Luo seemed to be quite confident of his combat abilities.

“Ye Yin …” Ye Chong said the name softly to himself. It was said that he was the number one elite of the Ye Family.

“When are you thinking of going home?” Ye Luo asked, “The Patriarch is going crazy just waiting for your return.”

“I’m not,” Ye Chong answered with steeled resolve.

“You’re not? Why not? Don’t you want to go home?” Ye Luo looked at Ye Chong curiously, then he seemed to realize the problem. “Maybe you like combat as much as me? Haha, that’s wonderful, finally there’s someone to accompany me. Hehe, you don’t know how often they asked me to go home, but I ignored them every time. Those people just slip into their mechs every day. Here, though, is where combat is mainstream.

“I’m going to defeat all the combat experts in the free space zone before I go home!” Ye Luo announced meaningfully.

Ye Chong was quiet however, his eyes wandering. It was hard to figure out what he was thinking inside.

Just then, a few black spots appeared in the distance.

Ye Chong and Ye Luo looked up in unison, and exchanged looks. Ye Chong’s was cold and calm, but Ye Luo’s was hot and feverish.

oth of them quickly dived to the ground, hiding in the tall grass. It was difficult to notice them, even up close.

Dozens of people ran past them not too far away. From between the blades of grass, Ye Chong could see that their eyes were full of fear and dissatisfaction.

What a speedy retreat! Ye Chong and Ye Luo exchanged a look, and saw the surprise in each other. The child abductors had attacked fiercely in large numbers, and had the obvious advantage. However, they were now forced to escape in such a short amount of time.

“That’s too fast,” Ye Chong thought.

The child abductors were all running with all they had. Some of them fell down on the way, but no one gave them a second glance. Those who fell tried to get back up, their faces contorted horribly as their eyes told the story of their deep despair. They gritted their teeth and did not yell for help, their faces pale, possibly due to fatigue.

They knew what awaited them ahead, and knew that no one would stop for them. If it were them, they would never delay escaping because of another person.

Soon, everyone was gone, leaving behind the few people who fell down on the grassy plains.

The escaping group was now just visible as black spots in the distance.

Ye Chong and Ye Luo stood up.

“They sure lost quite fast! Han Family’s elite squad is truly powerful. If it’s combat, they’re probably on par with our guys back at home. Aristocrats are aristocrats, I guess. Either they stay quiet, or they roar like thunder,” Ye Luo mused.

The few injured child abductors in the grass saw Ye Chong and Ye Luo, and recognized them both immediately in fear.

Ye Chong nodded, agreeing with him.

Both of them ignored the injured child abductors and spoke to each other as though they were not there.

“Let’s go after them,” Ye Luo said, his face full of excitement.

“Why?” Ye Chong looked at Ye Luo, curious.

“Intel from the Family suggests that the Xi Feng Tribe might be behind the child abductors. The Family would like to confirm this. The power behind the child abductors has always been a mystery. Besides, I’m tired of seeing those sick b*stards. Hehe, is this an opportunity or what?” Ye Luo rubbed his hands together with enthusiasm.

Ye Chong thought of Huang Baiyi.

A rumbling sound came from afar. The ground shook trembled slightly, and the child abductors all showed horrified expressions.

“I say, those guys will never let their enemies escape just like that, it’s not their style at all. Now they’re finally here. Hehe, let’s get on the bandwagon,” Ye Luo said with twinkling eyes as the cavalry beyond approached them.

The cavalry came like a tsunami. They consisted of only about 200 men, but sounded like an army of thousands. The uniform sound of hoofbeats created a huge pressure of subjugation and power.

Ye Chong and Ye Luo stood out like a sore thumbs in the grassy plains.

The leader gave a command and the entire cavalry shifted directions towards them.

The thunderous sound of hoofs beating closed in on the two of them with increasing pressure. The cavalry did not slow down. The animals stepped heavily on the grass, bringing soil and broken blades of grass up with their hooves, marching out a deep trail through the plain.

What a powerful force!

Ye Luo stood in a dignified manner, his earlier easy demeanor gone without a trace. He was now back to the man that Ye Chong first came to know. Ye Chong stood silently, his expression unchanged. This was a magnificent spectacle, but for someone like him who had seen wonders in the space between galaxies, and fought against hundreds and thousands of mechs in outer space, this was only a small scale event.

Be it Ye Chong or Ye Luo, they maintained their standing positions, unperturbed.

The calvary closed in.

500 meters … 400 meters … 300 meters …

The leader at the front of the army lifted his right hand smoothly.

The cavalry came to a complete abrupt halt. The entire cavalry stopped just 10 meters away from the two men. The motion was executed while maintaining their formation perfectly.

The thunderous sound of their advance stopped abruptly, and the grassy plain was now silent.

The soldiers sat on their canterelle rides without expression. Their aggressive rides were now docile as a lamb.

Han Yue was beside the leader.

Han Yue saw Ye Luo and smiled. “I see that Brother Luo is here. Thank you for your help back there.” He saw clearly how Luo Shi had took on one of the enemy forces, so that their reinforcements could arrive in time.

Han Yue then introduced him to the lead rider, “This is the young and competent fighter, Luo Shi. Gehong must have heard of him.”

The man called Gehong was surprised. “Luo Shi! An elite of the Congregation, it’s an honor!”

Ye Luo smiled gently and said, “You’re too kind. And you are?” Seeing Ye Luo acting all courteous, Ye Chong found it hard to reconcile this image with the child-like Ye Lu he had seen just now. The transformation was too glaring, like switching characters entirely.

“I am Han Gehong!” His hoarse voice was low and uncomfortable to listen to. His cold profile made him seem difficult to approach, and the killing aura emanating from him was strong enough to keep Ye Chong and Ye Luo on their toes.

This was an unfamiliar name. Ye Luo looked to Han Yue, and the man explained, “Gehong is usually with the Tribe Leader, and rarely shows himself.” Ye Luo seemed to accept the explanation, but Ye Chong could see the wariness in Ye Luo.

“This is?” The hoarse voice spoke again. Han Gehong looked towards Ye Chong, his cold eyes revealing a moment of surprise. Ye Chong looked like the odd man out, with his wooden spear in hand and a wooden box by his feet. When Han Gehong saw the blackened spearhead, his eyes widened and lit up with recognition.

Ye Chong remained silent.

Han Yue panicked. This was not a man they could afford to offend. He quickly whispered to Han Gehong, “He’s the alchemist.”

Han Gehong took another glance at Ye Chong.

Ye Chong’s silence was almost unbearable. Han Yue quickly spoke up, “We’re pursuing the escaping child abductors. What are your plans?”

Ye Luo turned serious and said, “Brother Han, you’re too kind. With the kind of kinship between us, I refuse to just stand by and watch. Besides, the child abductors are notorious for their absolutely deplorable actions. We will try to our best to assist. If you can provide us with two canterelles for the occasion, and we will return them after.” Ye Luo made his request without feeling embarassed at all.

Han Yue looked at Ye Chong curiously. He had anticipated Luo Shi’s agreement in helping him, but Ye Chong came as a surprise. Aside that, from Luo Shi’s behavior, it seemed that the two of them had forged a closer relationship. Luo Shi’s use of the term “we” and the request for two canterelles had Han Yue planning ahead for all kinds of possible scenarios.

“Of course,” Han Gehong easily agreed, his hoarse voice grating against the ear. “With two able men with us, we’re more prepared against the enemy.”

Two riders shared rides with their comrades, leaving two canterelles for them.

Ye Luo climbed onto one of the canterelles in one flowing motion.

“Excellent riding skills!” Han Gehong applauded.

Ye Chong looked at the canterelle before him. Now this was a problem. He had never ridden a canterelle. As the people in the Five Galaxies would say, he had no driving experience at all, much less a driving licence.

The canterelle was as large as a rhinoceros, with four strong legs and a short neck. Its entire body was covered with grayish black fur. Its two large eyes glowed with a kind of animalistic violence. Ye Chong could tell that the black horn on its forehead must be strong and hard. Secured on the canterelle’s back was a black saddle.

From Ye Chong’s point of view, this was probably the most primitive medium of transport ever.

Ye Chong climbed onto the canterelle without hesitation. The canterelle was momentarily agitated, and Ye Chong felt slightly unstable. To the rest of the people watching, however, his upper body did not move at all.

Han Gehong’s half lidded eyes seemed to lit up. He was now curious of this alchemist. From his movements, it was obvious that this was his first time riding a canterelle. However, he could also see that this alchemist had a very strong waist.

Han Gehong’s eyes fell on the wooden spear in Ye Chong’s hand again, feeling perplexed.

An alchemist? Was he really an alchemist?

However, there was no time to further consider it. Han Gehong waved his arm down and spoke in a low voice, “Advance!”

The entirely cavalry moved instantly. Ye Chong felt the canterelle beneath him rush ahead, and he nearly fell backwards. However, his strong waist supported and maintained his sitting position.

Not that it mattered, but his rigid riding made him look mightily ungraceful amongst the other riders.

“Relax, so long as you don’t fall off, you’re good. These canterelles are well trained, they’ll follow the cavalry without needing you to direct them,” Ye Luo shared his experience with Ye Chong from beside him.

The cavalry advanced with their canterelles, following the tracks of the child abductors.

o one expected the pursuit to last for five days. The enemy’s strength, inspired by desperation to survive, was astounding. While there were some escaping child abductors left behind along the way, there were still many who continued running tenuously. After so many days, even Ye Chong felt a sense of admiration for these child abductors.

The cavalry no longer looked down on the child abductors, and instead, showed respect for their determination.

Han Gehong did not order his cavalry to move faster, but continued their pursuit steadily from behind.

However, something unexpected came up.

Looking at the forest in front of him, Han Gehong could not help but knitted his thick, bushy brows tightly together. Everyone knew that the child abductors were good at hiding in the forest. They were all experts in combat in the forest.

This battle had nearly wiped out the entire force of child abductors on Dankwood planet. If any of them escaped, it would be troublesome. If they enter the forest to pursue, they might not find all the child abductors. On the other hand, these remaining child abductors would surely fight back viciously, given their desperation. The forest also provided them a huge advantage.

These days, he had chased after the child abductors at a steady pace, hoping to wear off the enemy’s determination and avoid casualties on his side. He took great care of his subordinates, and would not want any of them to be harmed due to their pursuit. No one expected there to be a forest in this area.

Could this be fate?

“These few remaining ones will probably not cause any more great harm,” he thought to himself.

After discussing with Han Yue, the two of them came to an agreement on their next move. There was still business to attend to in Emerald City, and they did not want to waste too much time here.

“Never expected to see a forest here. We’ve made a mistake this time. There is still some business we need to attend to in the city, we’ll head back immediately,” Han Yue said to Luo Shi and Ye Chong from his ride.

“Sigh, it is Heaven’s will. Perhaps it’s not their time yet, don’t worry too much about it, Brother Han. We plan to head east from here, towards Abyss City. It’s a shame that I cannot accompany you back to Emerald City, Brother Han!” Ye Luo’s expression was one of regret.

“Of course not, Luo Shi. If we did not get the help from you both, the Han Family would probably have fallen. Your assistance is greatly appreciated. If there comes a time when you need help from our Family, just send the word over and we will do all we can!” Han Yue said this solemnly.

After a pause, he continued, “It’s still some distance from here to Abyss. Take these two canterelles with you. That way, you would not be too burdened by your travels.”

Ye Luo shook his head and declined Han Yue’s generous offer. “These quality war canterelles are not easy to tame, and it’d be waste to use them for simple travelling. We appreciate Brother Han’s offer, but we’re planning to get there on foot, and enjoy the scenery along the way.”

“If that is so, then I bid you farewell! Safe travels to you both!” Han Yue bowed to them both, and Han Gehong did the same.

Ye Luo returned the gesture. “Safe travels to you as well!” Ye Chong said nothing and simply bowed back to them.

Han Yue and Han Gehong, together with their cavalry, marched into the distance.

“That Han Gehong is strong,” Ye Luo looked in the direction of the cavalry where they had vanished and said.

“Yes, very strong,” Ye Chong agreed.

Ye Luo looked on with yearning. “There are so many strong people in this world, too many to count. I’ve thought that at my level, I’m probably quite close to the limits of combat world. Later, when I arrived at the free space zone, I realized how wrong I was! There are so many strong people here, be it the famous, the nameless, the young, the old, the men, or the women … There’s so, so many of them! Ever since then I decided not to return. Do you know? My childhood dream is to become the best combat expert, and not a mech pilot.

“I’m going to stay here and search for the essence of combat!”

Ye Luo’s young and determined voice echoed throughout the grassy plain.

Ye Chong looked at Ye Luo, and felt a sense of forlornness. Here was Ye Luo, so sure of his goal in life. What about himself? It seemed that he had never thought about it before.

Was his goal to survive? To find Mu and Shang? What about after that?

Ye Luo interrupted his thoughts. “Hehe, however, if I want to stay here, then I gotta help deal with the Family’s business here, to earn more freedom. Come, let’s go find those tenacious b*stards!”

“You can find them?” Ye Chong asked Ye Luo. The child abductors knew the forest like the back of their hands. Ye Chong knew that he would not be able to find them himself. Could Ye Luo have some trick up his sleeves?

Ye Luo stared at Ye Chong as if the latter was an idiot for a long moment, and said, “Brother, do you not know that there is such a thing in this world called a mech?”

Its body was all jet black with a matte finish. Only the barbs at the joints glistened with warning. The mech was tall and slender, at a standard 12 meters tall. It did not look unwieldy at all. Be it the joints or its limbs, the mech was perfectly designed.

There were crescent blades at each of its wrists, and a parrying spear on the inside of each arm. A black shield that looked like a cogwheel hung on its back. Ye Chong could tell from its aerodynamic surface that it was a weapon that could be flung out. The sharp edges of the cogwheel design reminded Ye Chong of the strange star-shaped creatures he encountered in the valley.

Unlike the thick legs commonly found in mechs, this mech sported a pair of long, slender legs, like a woman’s. The knees were covered with barbs, typical of Black Cove. However, the tips of the feet were fitted with crescent blades too. Ye Chong imagined what would happen when those legs do their kicks.

Besides, Ye Chong also found that the mech’s alloy material was unlike any of the alloy he had seen used for Black Cove mechs.

“Not bad, right?” Ye Luo stood before his mech, smiling widely. “This now is top of its class. There are no more than 50 mechs of this level back at the Family. I suck at mech piloting, but well, my dad’s the Patriarch, hehe, so I get to enjoy the perks.” Ye Luo smiled like one of the extravagant sons from rich families.

Ye Chong did not seem to hear him. He was studying the mech, entranced.

Mechs from the Three Aristocratic Families were undoubtedly the best of the known universe. Xue Lai Clan’s mechs were elegant; Ye Family’s were minimalistic; Xi Feng Tribe’s were inspired by nature. The Three Families had very different motives of design, and they stayed true to their own styles. The one common feature shared by their mechs was attention to detail.

In terms of manufacturing, every tiny detail was scrutinized, every one of them studied intensively through calculations and repeated experimentations to produce the perfect design. This was something that Ye Chong realized as he got to know the mechs from the Three Aristocratic Families.

This mech in front of him was a perfect example.

The mech’s proportion and measurements, positioning of installed parts, and even the streamlining designs of the leg curvatures were all perfect in Ye Chong’s eyes! The concept of minimalism was expressed perfectly in this mech’s design. Aside from the parrying spear and cogwheel shield on its back, the mech had no other weapons. However, in a way, every part of the mech was a weapon. Some may find the mech too simple, but for someone trained in the eye like Ye Chong, every detail of the mech was the result of its designer’s labor and wisdom. Every detail contributed to a slight improvement in the mech’s performance, but as the improvements were accumulated, the end result could be staggering.

Ye Chong was moved by the mech’s design. Mu and Shang’s information archive had nothing on this mech model.

This mech could probably represent the peak of Black Cove’s mechs, and reminded Ye Chong of Mu and Shang. Overall, this mech was still slightly inferior to Mu and Shang, it was still the mech closest to Mu/Shang’s level that he had ever seen, despite its different design concept compared to his friend.

Standing before this mech, Ye Chong realized that his knowledge in mech design was truly lacking.

Ye Luo was entirely pleased to see Ye Chong’s entranced look.

“What do you think? About this mech,” Ye Luo asked on purpose.

“Wonderful! Absolutely wonderful! No, it’s perfect!” Ye Chong muttered to himself, answering out of reflex. He probably was not too self aware at the moment.

“You like it?” Ye Luo asked with a wide grin.

“Of course,” Ye Chong replied in all earnestness. He thought Ye Luo’s question strange. After all, he could not imagine anyone saying that they did not like this mech!

“Then consider it a gift to you.” Ye Chong snapped his head to look at Ye Luo upon the latter’s calm offer.

“What? You don’t want it?” Ye Luo wagged his eyebrows mischievously.

“Why?” Ye Chong asked, straight to the point.

Ye Luo shrugged and said matter-of-factly, “I’m not interested in mechs, at all. Hehe, don’t you see how new it looks? It’s actually been used a grand total of three times, and I’ve used it only as a scanner every time. You know, its scanning system is actually not bad.” Ye Luo commented on his mech’s capabilities like it did not matter to him.

Ye Chong felt for the first time an impulse to yell at someone! Using a mech like this as a scanning device was just a pure waste of heavenly resources. There was no way around it!

“That’s why, I’m giving it to you. After all, we’re family,” Ye Luo said this like he was gifting Ye Chong a hand towel, “It’s waste for me anyway, and you’re skilled enough to pilot this mech.

“That’s why, it’s a gift to you. Remember, it’s name is Moon King.”

hanging the owner of a mech was troublesome business, but Ye Chong did not mind it at all. Ye Luo was a little impatient, however, mumbling complaints to himself as he followed the procedure, step by step. When it was finally done, Ye Luo heaved a sigh of relief, as if he had just rid himself of a terrible burden. Moon King required a blood sample for authentication, and this reminded Ye Chong of Mu and Shang. He remembered clearly that Mu and Shang was also activated by blood.

Ye Luo was flabbergasted by Ye Chong’s confusion at this point. “What? Now look here! This is a first class mech, a Mandate class mech! What? You’ve never heard of it? Mandate is the name of the class for this kind of mech. I may not use this mech often, but it is definitely a world class mech! Humph, this machine here can only be used by true descendants of the Family. Without blood authentication, we might lose it to outsiders! Come on, brother, this is common knowledge!”

If that was the case, then Mu and Shang … Ye Chong remembered the moment Mu and Shang was activated clearly.

When Ye Chong entered Moon King’s pilot cabin, he was astounded by the luxurious installations and equipment inside!

The engine was the heart of a mech, and the photon processor the mech’s brain. Ye Chong had heard of this metaphor a long time ago. Moon King’s photon processor model was unfamiliar to Ye Chong.

Nonetheless, it was astonishingly quick in its computations, and never ceased to work. Even right now, it was continually scanning its surroundings and updating its statistics. If Ye Chong was not aware of Mu/Shang’s photon processor, he might have believed that this was the most advanced photon processor in the universe.

Of course, that was a purely physical assessment. Compared to Mu/Shang, they were at very different levels. Mu and Shang had a self-aware PSI, with a mind of its own. This photon processor, however, was only a dead object, albeit with massive computational power!

The sleek, crystalline texture of the control console was one of the most beautiful that Ye Chong had ever seen. The console was a pure jet black with a network of red lines criss-crossing on top, dividing the black universe that was the console into multiple segments. The main controls had a matte finish, giving it an excellent feel to the touch.

The flexible hydraulic suspension system felt like a water cushion all around him.

Ye Chong initiated the control console, activated the photon processor, and began to initialize Moon King.

He was once again in the familiar world of mechs. Memories of his earlier training and battles came back to him. After a long time away from mechs, Ye Chong felt excitement boiling in his veins.

It had been too long since he last felt this excitement!

Being a mech pilot …

Ye Chong recalled the time when he was younger, piloting Winnie. Back then, his dream was to find a few good mech parts from the trash mountains. Later, when he met Mu, his life changed drastically.

How many mechs had he piloted since then? Ye Chong could not remember himself. He had flown mechs of various levels, and even interesting mechs such as Han Jia and Guardian. These were fortunes that he did not even dare to wish for when he was younger.

He had learned how to build mechs, and even designed full-skeleton mechs. No longer were mechs unfamiliar to him. It was hard to find things that could excite him the way when he was younger. He had learned combat, alchemy, and many, many more.

However, what was the one thing that he desired the most?

Ye Chong asked quietly to himself.

His one wish had always been very simple! Ye Chong caressed the smooth console. He removed himself from his fascination in Moon King’s beauty and extravagance. The puzzlement and indecision in his eyes vanished, replaced by a clear vision.

A mech pilot! The desire to excel as a mech pilot had always been an integral part of him!

He must survive and become stronger!

He must become the strongest mech pilot, a mech pilot worthy of piloting Mu and Shang!

Ye Luo never would have guessed that gifting Moon King to Ye Chong would bring about such a huge impact on the latter.

Ye Chong explored Moon King’s controls systematically. He must now familiarize himself with Moon King’s various peculiarities. Of course, this was not enough. For an advanced level mech like this, Ye Chong would need some time to unleash its full potential. Every tiny detail of the mech was the result of careful deliberation, and this meant that the pilot must be more skilful in controlling the mech.

Ye Chong was no longer in his earlier moment of amazement. He was now just a mech pilot, studying his mech calmly.

Soon, he grasped the basic controls of the mech. Moon King’s controls were designed quite well, and he did not have to do much to understand the system. Now, as long as he did not encounter any particularly strong opponents, he should be able to take care of himself just fine.

With a mech, it would be much easier for him to look for Rui Bing and the rest of his group.

However, now was not the time to think about that problem. On the holographic screen, a few of the escaping child abductors were displayed. Moon King’s scanning system was powerful, unaffected by the complicated terrain of the forest. Both scanning range and accuracy were not significantly impaired.

Moon King signalled to Ye Luo in a fluid motion, a demonstration of Ye Chong’s mastery in controlling the mech.

The mech lifted its right arm, slightly bent, with all the fingers curling inwards into a fist except for one that pointed towards a particular direction in the forest. The two crescent blades by the wrist were like crescent moons hanging in the sky.

Ye Luo grinned.

Huang Zheng was dealing with the final stages of the task handover. The higher-ups had instructed for him to leave the place. The Tribe will send someone else to take over matters in the free space zone.

The truth was, he never liked the free space zone, and he did not like his job too. However, with orders that came directly from Tribe Leader, he simply had no choice. Besides, he knew what the significance of this place to the Xi Feng Tribe. Hence, despite feeling more than unhappy with his current job, he still went about his duties diligently.

Now, someone was finally here to take over him.

As a combatant inclined for battle, he was not interested at all in administrative duties. If he was not sent here, perhaps he would have earned the right to pilot a Phoenix class mech by now. He had long yearned to pilot a Phoenix class mech, but the requirements for their pilots were strict. His current abilities were not enough to satisfy those requirements.

However, rumor had it that the colleague who was sent here to replace him had just only been awarded a Phoenix class mech. How wonderful it must be for that person!

As he looked at the people bustling around busily around him, he could not help but feel repulsed. He had always maintained his view regarding the cooperation between the Tribe and the Abductors. While the Abductors were not directly dealing with him, he still felt disgusted by those people.

Now, at last, he could leave this wretched place! The thought was placating for Huang Zheng.

There were not many people here today, so he knew that they were up to something big. Almost all of their men were deployed. He did not care to ask them about it, however. After all, what else could they be up to but trouble?

He looked down at all of them with disdain.

Just then, a few heavily injured men stumbled into the base. Everyone stared at them in surprise, momentarily halting their tasks.

Looking at them, Huang Zheng had an ill premonition.

A huge, functioning base of operations appeared on Moon King’s photon processor. Iris, Moon King’s scanning system, performed splendidly once again. The structure and interior details of the base were all displayed on the photon processor. Even the obscured corridors in the base were captured by Iris.

When Huang Zheng saw a mech approaching, he knew something had gone terribly wrong!

When he saw the mech clearly, his face went pale!

“No one gets away!” Ye Luo’s loud voice from afar made Huang Zheng panic even further.

The jet black Moon King floated silently in midair, its 12-meter bulk radiating the Ye Family’s unique sense of menace of beauty. Everyone was shocked to the core.

Huang Zheng looked around him, and quickly retreated to the base amidst the chaos.

He rushed to his room, bursting through the door, and opened all his drawers. Huang Zheng looked at the information inside them, his eyes shining meaningfully.

He drew in a deep breath and fed all the information in the drawers into the shredder beside his desk.

Crunch crunch crunch! When all the information was reduced to micrometer dust, he finally exhaled in relief.

Now that he was done, he drew up straight, fully alert.

What he had to do next was to fight for his own survival!

He did not know the name of the mech outside, but he could tell that it as one of the Ye Family’s Mandate class mechs. As for how a Phoenix class mech would fare against a mech of equivalent class in the Ye Family, no one knew.

Mandate, Pheonix and Hexalice were not names of specific mechs, but mech classes. They refer to the mech class for each of the Three Aristocratic Families, respectively, that was just below the top class mechs. Mechs of these classes were rare, and their pilots were rigorously selected.

Perhaps he could feel out the true power of these legendary Mandate class mechs!

Huang Zheng’s eyes burned with eagerness for battle.

EEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Ye Chong nearly jumped off from his seat. What was that? There seemed to be an alarm coming from Moon King. Had something been detected?

It was a shocker when he took a cautious look at the screen.

Was that a mech? There’s mech here?

A green mech had flown out of the base.

The Xi Feng tribe… It must be. Thought Ye Chong upon recognizing it at first glance, well since typical Xi Feng was typical, that their mechs were of the same typical design portraying the beauty of Mother Nature itself. The green mech that just flew out for example, took the appearance of a bird with that pair of dark green wings of its. Such an eye-catcher they were.

And this mech was not an ordinary one. The level was different. Reviewed Ye Chong in his mind. Based on his encounters with the Xi Feng members, only those great ones would be the rightful owners of those great wings.

The dark green wings spread out neatly like films of leaves which were metallic foils in actuality. A green metal was a rare sight in the industry when all those grayish and darkish minerals filled the boundless sky. A chivalrous kind of elegance could be felt from the mech’s pale green main body.

It was pretty surprising to encounter a mech at a place like this, especially a mech with such standard.

“It’s the Phoenix!” exclaimed Ye Luo.

Ye Chong would love Ye Luo to brief him on this particular strange machine called “The Phoenix” but the green mech was not patient enough to wait apparently. The Phoenix rushed towards them after spreading its wings fully, like an eagle to its raid, gracefully yet forcibly.

The air was giving off piercing cries as the metallic wings sliced their ways forward.

Such speed! Ye Chong was shocked. As expected from an advanced mech of the great Xi Feng! Ye Chong could not help but to compliment in his head.

Well, of course, Ye Chong would face such foe with the same courtesy!

Drawn the parrying spears, Moon King made a slight swing and shifted itself from course of The Phoenix.

The foe had seemingly predicted Ye Chong’s move as it made an aerial ace, a fancy turn back towards Ye Chong, while three red beams welcomed Ye Chong from the metallic wings.

The beams zapped through the body of Moon King. That was a close shave.

Ye Chong wiped his cold sweat, as realizing how his once-nightmare had returned, the impeccable attacks haunting him from the future! Exclusive to the Xi Feng clan, who held the ability to foresee his moves!

It had been quite some time since Ye Chong last held the steering, he could certainly feel the numb strangeness convincing him the lack of awareness in battle. The Moon King would have been shot dead if the beams came from a mech of the Xue Lai Clan, since their mechs were known for the horrendously accurate ranged attacks.

Dang! He got to retrieve that battle sense in the briefest time, or this would be the last chapter of a supreme soldier! But the strangeness was really distracting, it was slowing him down especially when Moon King was also something new to his hands. Was he fighting a losing battle?

The foe had powerful ability to read his cards while countering all of them the whole time. The red beams always came at a frightening timing, like for few times Ye Chong was almost a goner as he could no longer cope with the attacks.

Ye Chong only managed to make drastic turns from time to time, that it felt like a training back in his NR Training days. No doubt, it was a painful experience to make sure he lost that unhelpful dizziness while making him highly agile in battle. The training course designed by Mu consisted of an astronomical amount of turn practices daily.

Ye Chong was investing all his strength, in making turns.

Was he at the training center again? He felt so because he was forced to perform all techniques he knew. He did a few sets of Condensed Multiple Turnings, one Thomas’s Spin, then few U-shaped Splits… what else? What else? His brain ran through the entire skill list, as he already made Moon King withdraw the parrying spears which seemed like a pure burden by then.

The foe raided Ye Chong every few second like an aggressive serpent in the dark. One moment Ye Chong let down his guard, a beam would come at him and he would be a no-more.

Meanwhile, Huang Zheng looked at this mech which was making insane amount of turns like a chihuahua on fire, confused, very confused.

The heck he’s doing? And Huang Zheng thought he had seen enough of the battlefield to perceive the situation. The scene was beyond his comprehension that his eyes just enlarged themselves.

Ye Luo lifted his head, staring at the dancing Moon King with an opened mouth. On the ground he stood, no word was heard other than the soft whimper coming from his mouth as the corners twitched.

That… that is… one strong guy…? I s-supposed?

Ye Luo never fancied the pilots, however he had undergone similar training when he was much younger. Making turns was the bread and butter of a close-combat model, while also being the hardest to master. Certainly to cope with the torturing experience of drastic turns, a pressure buffering system was already created to aid the pilots, however every turn would pack a different punch at the pilot’s body and those punches would only be magnified over time, like a combo stack.

Multiple turns at the quickest would be extremely wearing to one’s physique. So the examination on this category always had a considerably high rating of difficulty, and truly, only the superior pilots could execute it well.

But hey, how many turns had this fella made? Ye Luo could feel the insanity just from counting the turns, and Moon King did not seem to be stopping anytime soon.

At this point the rating of difficulty would only go higher as more drastic turns consecutively performed. Let’s see… 10 stars? 12? 15? Do we see ratings this high back in our family?

Huang Zheng’s head was pounding as much as Ye Luo, as cold sweat dripped his forehead. The control panel was completely wet. It would have been a chaos of short-circuit if it was not the exceptional water resistance of the technological amazement.

He was at the edge of losing himself. He recognized the strength of the foe, as his heart sank and rose as quickly as that dark-glowing mech.

The flaming will had extinguished. The passionate heart ran cold.

The turns the foe made were in true continuation. Every set consisted of moves perfectly chained. The foe had become unpredictable, even when inspected with the Xi Feng’s exclusive ability.

That means! Huang Zheng realized something.

The speed of the foe changing had surpassed the limit of his foresight!

Who is this pilot? When did the Ye family have such talent?

Ye Yin? Was that Ye Yin the whole time?

That name rang horror in his head.

It must be Ye Yin! Only the topmost pilot of the family could perform such terrifying moves!

So I finally met Ye Yin…

Muttered Huang Zheng, being unsure whether it was excitement or fear that seized his heart. It was good news that he had the opportunity to fight against a legendary figure but it was also bad news that he also had the likely opportunity to survive.

Ye Chong, being unaware of the actuality, was risking his life to make more moves in the air. His greatest record had been set, which consisted of a 15-minute non-stop rapid multiple turns and his body did not feel like stopping.

Mu had once told him that every advanced move was composed of multiple basic moves. As long as one was able to master the basic moves, the advanced move would be cake walk.

That was easy to say. It was a highly investing process to put more points into the basic skills. Ye Chong only could achieve such standard after countless harsh, mundane trainings. Nothing cake-walk at all.

Bear in mind that Ye Chong was the one who smacked an advanced mech with a Raven, merely because of a faster execution of basic moves.

One could see the movements of Moon King maturing over time at close observation. The operation had been streamlined and the direction improved.

Ye Chong was regaining the familiarity quite quickly. He could feel confidence surging in him again as he finally had the leisure to take a glance at the foe, who had been… hovering… there…?

Well, he was not the hesitant kind like Huang Zheng.

The Moon King rolled into a ball out of sudden. It was a strange sight to see a complete-metallic mech to curve into a perfect ball…

The Gear Shield of its had fallen into its grip.

Moon King then bloomed like a monstrous abyss as the gears guided the shield, spinning towards the foe maniacally in blueish sparks.

The blue lining travelled like a shooting star.

Boom!

Huang Zheng did not expect the attack after being confused by the extreme turns. He nearly threw his handle just to make a clumsy dodge but it was too late!

The shield had struck at left chest of the mech, few centimeters away from the actual cabin. Sparks were bouncing around mischievously like a child.

ALERT! ALERT! CRITICAL DAMAGE! ALL SYSTEM DOWN.

Under the alarms that had gone haywire, the pale face of Huang Zheng froze.

A dark shadow was enlarging quickly in his shaking pupils.

The shield lifted itself back into the air. Moon King was coming, with its parrying spear.

The afterimages had returned, as the fair hands of our hero waved upon the control panel.

The parrying spears had pierced the open wound soon as the shield returned to the back of Moon King.

Moon King treaded the chest of the foe with grace, with the knees slightly bowed. One tramp and momentum sent both away.

Boom.

An unofficial long kiss Huang Zheng good-bye.

The mech had transformed into a fireball.

“God dammit! Can’t you just make your dramatic tramp AFTER you identified a proper direction to do so!?” Ye Luo cursed as one piece of the fallen mech almost smashed him. He ran back and fro as being showered by falling armors, “This is madness!”

The Moon King, the silent killer, was a gorgeous angel with the arms crossed at its chest. The blades at the wrists glossed in the air, while the soulless mechanical eyes looked at the world.

It felt like judgement when it came.

An apocalypse when it left.

t was a close match for Ye Chong, as it felt like it had been centuries since he last battled on a mech. Ye Chong was considered fortunate that Huang Zheng’s performance dropped as drastically as he fell with that silly mistake of his. Technically piloting Moon King as a mere transportation was not an issue, still that did not mean that Ye Chong would ace combating on a test drive.

Other than the sheer luck, it was the endless loop of daily basic training that saved him. If it was not because of theses sets of movement techniques seamlessly connected, he would not be able to reveal that opening by the foe. If he did not manage to unearth that opening, well, it would have been a different tale, who knows…

Ye Luo was giving off a stare as if he was looking at a monster when Ye Chong got off the cabin. Our hero had grown up being given a strange stare at, so he took it pretty well.

“Don’t judge a pilot by the badges. I must admit that is very true. You are a born pilot. It turned to be not an entire blasphemy for Moon King to be in your hand. It is an honor in fact.”

And there Ye Chong was, making colossal eye-roll in the dark.

OOH. “Blasphemy” huh? What happened to whichever that “blasphemy” when you used Moon King as a giant walking detector?

Well of course, the salty line rang only inside Ye Chongs mind, since this very pretentious being was still the one who gifted him the Moon King. It would be a bad timing to hurl saltiness at the moment.

“So, you call this mech ‘The Phoenix’?” asked Ye Chong.

“Not exactly. People don’t call this model ‘The Phoenix’, rather it is a name for one rank of mechs in the Xi Feng tribe. Generally, ‘The Phoenix’ is pretty much on top of all units in the Xi Feng tribe, with only ‘The Phoenix Lord’ above. To be frank, ‘The Phoenix’ was one rank lower than Moon King but it is remarkable for you to master the battle control of the mech so quickly. Yes it is!” Ye Luo complimented.

“What exactly is its battle control?” asked Ye Chong.

“Beats me. Where should I get that answer for you? Do I look like Dr. What?” Ye Luo responded irresponsibly. That was when Ye Chong realized the fact that this ex-owner of Moon King had only piloted his baby no more than thrice. If that was the case, Ye Chong did sound silly for his question.

“So is this the strongest mech of the Ye family?” Ye Chong asked as he thought about the rank system mentioned by Ye Luo. So, above the Phoenix, there was only the Phoenix Lord and the Phoenix shared a similar standard with the Moon King, judging from these premises, the Moon King should be quite superior in the family.

“Nope,” Ye Luo shook his head in disagreement. “Only Brahmara, Huang Jiming and Ye Yin own the one true, greatest mech in the entire galaxy. Well, if you ask me which one is slightly better, I can’t tell. I don’t know, nobody knows, the great trio had never fought against each other before, although we all strongly believe that all three of them are at the same level. They are extremely low-profiled when it comes to the name of their models. Ye Yin seems to know the names but I don’t really care. Never ask particularly.”

He carried on, “The three aristocrats had been leading the world in mech development, as the generation of their mechs lapsed as quick as the sunrises and sunsets, even supreme models like this would be replaced every 20 years or so, longer than the average mechs below still.” He looked above and pondered.

“Hehehe!” He sneered and elaborated upon Ye Chong’s curious eyes,” 20 years ago, it has twenty good old years. It was the time when the finest mech of each family was notoriously loud in the fields, unlike the generation who never hit the bright outside today. Well, those pilots of the finest craft did not seem to have a good ending anyway. Back to my story, during that decade, somehow the top player of Xue Lai clan and our family just vanished one day. Don’t ask me the hows and whys, we too have not arrived at a satisfying theory on this. The top player of Xi Feng tribe though, had a tragic death at the free space zone. Well, it is more like a comical death to me if you ask. The person just got a fine slice-through before he could even deploy his mech. It was a mentalist who did this, I heard, to be honest I never expected a mentalist of such capability exists in this world. Only the core members of the three aristocrats knew the news while the world outside remained confusingly oblivious of it as they saw the top players of the three families just vaporized without sight. You know it was a big news when it flooded the headlines of every network back then.” Said Ye Luo teasingly.

Somehow… Ye Chong somehow felt he knew who that mentalist was. The story reminded him of Huang Baiyi. Ye Chong wondered if Huang Baiyi was that legendary mentalist who knocked out the top player of Xi Feng in one turn.

“So what would happen to these men?” Ye Chong asked as he pointed at the men trembling like little animals. Certainly they could never release these men since that would expose two of them as trespassers here.

“I don’t know.” Ye Luo shrugged and said, “Knock them out for the moment I guess?” And both of them leaped and slammed the men.

“HAH! Look what I’ve found!” Ye Luo said as he brandished the communicator in his hand proudly. “Gimme a sec.” And he dialed to make reports to the authority.

“Okay, we’ll let them do the remaining.” Another irresponsible willful demonstration from Ye Luo as he tossed the communicator to one corner.

“The Xi Feng tribe does have something to do with the Abductor. Probably those newbies in their base are poor little kids being abducted from the free space zone. Jeez, talk about hypocrites. I seriously once thought those of Xi Feng tribe are the good guys.” Stated Ye Luo disdainfully.

Well… Ye Chong was silent. He knew the odd relationship between those two like centuries ago, but he did not intend to spit everything since it would involve Huang Baiyi.

They carried on searching in the base. Even though Huang Zheng had wiped out all the main data stored at the processor, there remained lots more things waiting to be wiped out. From this one could see how the authority of Xi Feng tribe was still sane since the supports given to the Abductor were rather limited in the end, as overpowered technologies that could wreck the entire space zone like the mechs were not seen here.

“Get going. We are leaving and we must be fast, can’t be waiting for the adults to get home. They would drag me all the way back into this prison again. Man, I can’t. I can’t,” Ye Luo said intensively.

The request was not something against Ye Chong’s will, so no doubt he would accept it. To begin with, he was not related to this place anyway.

And they left.

“Well where are you going next, pal?” Ye Luo asked as he rubbed his nose.

“Here.” Ye Chong took out a map he got from Han Yue, with his finger positioned at the area labelled “Wang Family Village”. Yup, he would be looking for Rui Bing, he would want a reunion right away. Rui Bing was his pal, his mate, his companion. He could not care less if the others survived, but towards Rui Bing, he could not show complete negligence.

“Wait, this far?” Ye Luo was shocked. Based on the location, it did look insanely distant. He estimated the distance on paper with his hands, then magnified the figure in proportions, he thought of their speed and the time it would need. “Okay,” he said as he scratched his chin and got an answer, “It would take about a month and a half if we walk fast enough.”

“Uhh, you do know we have a mech, do you?”

“Oh…”

That one line from Ye Chong rang coldly, smashing the tensed expression of Ye Luo.

“Right.”

Absolutely, the mech was impeccably rapid. A travel that was about a month and a half by foot only lasted less than two hours by mech.

However…

“Ugh…” Ye Luo’s face was pale, as he collapsed on the ground with his insides rumbling, soon he began discharging his soul and he felt like it would only be a matter of time till his bile fell out along.

Ye Chong stood by innocently.

“Remind me…” He gasped, “T-that… that I am not taking a ride from you… a…again!” Ye Luo tried standing up, and he fell. Another round of puking.

It was a nightmare for a condensed ride.

It was more than a nightmare when the cabin could not fit two persons naturally and Ye Luo could only travel in Moon King’s grip. That was surely some first-class seat on a fancy flight. The Moon King did not travel fast, the incoming gales rubbed on Ye Luo’s face, those were not a problem Ye Luo thought, as he actually found the experience expressing.

Well, at first he thought so.

Ye Chong felt it would be too dull and incompetent to just fly in the air. His sense of incompetency only intensified after that close fight he had which convinced his unfamiliarity with the mech. So he would not want to waste any chance of practicing on the Moon King.

And so, in the dark, when the gorgeous moon hung over the nightfall, the Moon King attempted multiple extreme moves in the air, from the moment it launched till it landed somewhere near Wang Family Village.

Ye Luo’s safe flight then transformed into the most chaotic rollercoaster ride in the history of humankind as he finally understood how his laundry felt when he cleaned them. There were tumbles, then sharp turns, insane lifts and torturing falls. Sudden accelerations and random jerks were common in this ride. The worst part was… Ye Chong seemed to be so indulged in the session that he forgot Ye Luo was in his grip.

“Stop!”

“NOOOOOO! I SAID STOP!” Ye Luo screamed helplessly.

Ye Luo, being part of the Ye family, was strong by nature. A saving grace it was. Still it felt half of his soul had dropped somewhere on their way when they had finally landed. There was never a time when he would appreciate the ground so much.

Ye Luo’s spiteful stare had triggered the motherly sympathy in Ye Chong, as he comforted, “It always hurts on your first time at the back. I’ll try a different position when you ride on me next time. Don’t worry.”

Ye Luo who was standing on his waists suddenly crashed to the ground again. The puking continued.

It took about 30 minutes till Ye Luo got a hold of himself.

His face looked drained, his legs were shaking.

Ye Chong looked fine, but he was pretty alarmed by then. This was because they had treaded the territory of the Wangs. He must not be recognized or he would be done for.

Well he took a different camouflage this time, hopefully it would help. “Hmm…” On second thought…

Ye Chong took out a bottle of camouflage formula and passed it to Ye Luo.

“What’s this?”

“Something to change your look.”

“OH?” Ye Luo’s eyes lustered out of the blue as he proactively massaged the solution on his face.

At this point, Ye Chong was confident enough to say that Rui Bing must have gotten into something.

The detection system of Moon King was strong that they found the sea where he parked Cornerstone. But somehow, he failed to connect to the communicator inside his steed under the sea.

Did something really happen to them?

n the dark, Ye Chong looked at the village from above, looking for that figure he recognized, that had been imprinted in his mind. The capability of Iris had once again been demonstrated to Ye Chong as search performed. He had detected all sorts of things, the mobile and the immobile yet Rui Bing was not there. He got to admit that the three aristocrats were quite something for they were able to reproduce such master craft in mass. He knew Moon King was the standard model used by the family and a standard model could never represent a family’s potency, yet Moon King remained as a spectacular technological amazement to Ye Chong, be it the design of the main body, the little details on all parts, the liquid pressure buffering system.

Moon King was the finest craft he could ever imagine.

And that was only the standard model for the slight rookie. Imagine the topmost craft of Ye family.

Ye Chong was intrigued, very intrigued.

“Okay, be honest, tell me who are you looking for.” Ye Luo could hold it no longer. It felt like a galactic myth to see a desperate search performed by such an indifferent man who would not give a damn even to a meteorite.

“Companion.” The keyword popped up in his mind after the input.

“I see.” It all made sense to Ye Luo by then. Still… it felt off? “So… A boy or a girl?” He decided to give his hypothesis a try.

“A girl,” replied Ye Chong briefly.

“OOOOOH!” Everything had made sense! Ye Luo gleefully responded, “And I was wondering why the desperation, so it’s a woman after all. Tsk, tsk, no wonder you were in such a hurry. Is she your wife?”

“Wife?” Ye Chong was unaware of such term, “You mean… life partner?”

“Yes, yes, yes. You caught on quick!” Ye Luo’s expression was mischievous.

“According to the information on the table, statistically, a likelihood of 50%,” stated Ye Chong, the statistic seemed about just right.

Ye Luo was tittering. That was probably his first time seeing a man giving such an odd reply in such a serious tone. But as too strange this man was, he eventually exploded into pure chuckles.

And there Ye Chong was, confused again.

“Was there something wrong?”

“Uh, n-nope. Hahahaha… nope. Really! Nothing wrong at all! Tssshh Tshh…” Ye Luo responded with an expression indistinguishable of whether laughing or crying.

“Hah…” It took quite some time for Ye Luo to calm down, still one could see the corner of his lips twitching sometimes.

“That explains a lot. I finally knew the reason you refused to get back to you family. Sigh, the likelihood would surely fall to 1% and below if you ever reunited with our family.” Ye Luo’s face tightened, as remembered something.

“Why?”

“Don’t you know? All descendants of the family are forbidden to mate with the outsiders.” Ye Luo sounded bitter as he spoke.

“Nope. Can’t understand at all,” replied Ye Chong promptly.

“Alright…” Ye Luo patiently explained, “It was not only a thing in our family. It’s the same for all three aristocrats. I am not sure about the perks of the other two bloodlines but they do have the same mating rule as ours. Only member with member of the same family, just to make sure our bloodline remains pure, which is why our family has always been extremely authoritarian on our marriages. Sigh… including me.” Ye Luo looked sad as he spoke, “No freedom… no liberty at all. I am the son of the head of the family yet I can’t even choose my own wife. Oh, by the way, hehehe, for your information, I have a wife, only in name though. I can’t really remember when we last met, but it felt like two years ago… she has her own life and I have mine. And I’m not going home to lose my life.” He looked persistent, “Well, if you ever went back home you’re gonna be at home for good.” Shrugged Ye Luo, his eyes were surrendering to the reality, although with slight disgust.

“It’s my life, as determined by my own fate. And I decide my own fate.” Ye Chong sounded intensely tenacious in that faint line of his.

Ye Luo was showing admiration in his eyes, but something appeared in his mind, he frowned, “You know, we were very bewildered when you first showed up. We really wondered who your parents were, well, since you really do have the absolute bloodline of our family so your parents must be inside the house, yet we could not find any relevant record on you.”

Ye Chong was silent.

“Meh, that aside, let’s do something more fun. Say… we get down and grab a few guys since who knows, maybe they know where your wife is. We could ask them a few questions, kindly.” Suggested Ye Luo, diabolically.

… (Meanwhile at the other place) …

Feng Su gave her dimensional keystone the last few caress before handing it over to the chief with a heavy heart. The Wings of Nirvana… the mech who had been through the thick and thin with her. It might not be the top-ranked model in the Xi Feng tribe but it was a highly regarded model in the Sanctuary.

It was already an unfortunate beginning when she was suddenly knocked out by that white-garbed woman. Thanks to her stunning spell, Feng Su had stayed nicely on the ground for quite some time after that. The only joy was, also because of that stunning spell, she managed to make a breakthrough in her mentality as she woke up much earlier than Rui Bing expected.

It took almost forever for Feng Su to find the Wings of Nirvana then, that it felt like a miracle when she found that revealing wings under the river.

But maybe, it was god’s mercy of giving her a chance to bid a proper farewell to her old Wings. It was probably the time for the old Wings to go for real. Feng Su was feeling a lot as she stared upon this new mech – the Phoenix Lord. Well it was the mech rank she would see in her dream every night but unexpectedly it felt odd when she really looked at it with the correspondent keystone in her grip, as she realized how she missed her old Wings.

Nevertheless, regulation existed for a reason and the tribe demanded her an immediate upgrade, so she took it obediently. This new piece of mech, her new Wings, would need a name, that would set as monument reminding Feng Su that old friend of hers, and that would be… “Wings of Memorial.” Whispered she as she got into the cabin quickly.

She had been assigned to the free space zone to take over Huang Zheng’s duties. The authority presumed Huang Zheng’s incapability in the administration while recognizing Feng Su’s vision and this being the perfect opportunity to train her. So there she was, departing, as the chosen one of the tribe.

Beep! Beep!

The communicator rang, she glanced at the incoming code. She shuddered and picked up immediately, “Yes?”

“Lord Feng Su, please head to the chief’s room right away. You have 15 minutes.” The voice was cold.

Chief’s room? Chief?

Does that mean…

“Ah!” She tried to sound calm but her speculation seized her sanity.

“It has been confirmed.” The chief was grim as he spoke, “Huang Zheng is dead. Our relationship with the Abductor has been exposed to a certain degree. Fortunately Huang Zheng had erased all data at the base, I would call that a saving grace, maybe we have not been exposed beyond help. You would be taking care of these right after you got there. Cease all ongoing operations with the Abductor for the moment. Do you understand?”

“Yes, chief,” replied Feng Su.

The old chief nodded happily, “Your vision had always been great. You also performed exceptionally in the Sanctuary, keep up the good work and hopefully you would not let us down.”

“Yes, chief!”

… (Meanwhile at the other corner of the galaxy)…

“You seemed to have mastered the method. With this, your mathematical capability should be about my standard now. And you still have more rooms for expansion. You are far more talented than Ye. Nonetheless, you have a long way to go if you want to be a professional Maverick.” Stated Mu/Shang flatly at Little Rock.

“Yes, I know,” nodded Little Rock expressionlessly, “Regarding that, when would I get the information from you?”

“About 5 days later. I would need some time to prepare.” Mu/Shang gave an estimation after a moment of calculation.

“Alright.” And Little Rock zipped his mouth and turned back to the processor.

Zhu Ling put her practice on hold and gave a glance at Little Rock, who then returned a smile at her.

“Ahahahahahahahahaha!” That was when Lian Yue’s insanity roared throughout the ship, “Brilliant! Brilliant! Brilliant! I got it!” Lian Yue exited the lab and waddled to Zhu Ling, grabbed her silky hand, muttered, “Ling my girl, look at this! I did it! I had finally completed the blueprint of this engine’s modification! See what a genius I am, praise me…” His two hands were caressing the fair hand of hers, endearingly.

Towards such act, Zhu Ling only lifted her leg, “Ow ow ow owww…” A thump was heard as Lian Yue fell onto the ground.

Qiu Man took a look at the busy folks, feeling emotional. The members of the ship might seem scarce at strength, but she knew the power of these folks in her heart.

A supreme machine with imaginably two different personalities, an aloof mathemagicians, a truly talented genius in engines, and a female warrior from the dark and…

“Yeah, me myself, a lady strategist behind the scene.”

Such combination… how much strength would it produce I wonder…

“Any news on Ye?” asked Mu/Shang.

“No. They had not found anything on him. Ye seemed to have vaporized completely, somehow… None of the aristocrats have found him at the moment. ” Reported Qiu Man as she placed the information down. She looked at that handicapped machinery, whom people called it “Mu/Shang”. After countless glances, it still felt like a new surprise whenever she looked at it.

Like who, who was capable of creating such intelligence?

Thought she as her thin index finger scratched the polished chin of hers. She was trying to focus. She was well-aware of the importance of the disappeared boy to this handicapped mech, so she could not risk putting herself into a bad situation because of a little trickery in the search.

She might be important in this group but that did not mean she was irreplaceable. This handicapped mech had another side apparently, whose nature was cunning and dark, that her little tricks had been long read before she even initiated them.

“Also, the Shi family wished that we could provide them some techniques, on the engine for example.” Her eyes shifted at the rolling genius on the ground.

“What’s your opinion?” asked Mu/Shang calmly.

Qiu Man had an idea in mind apparently, “I believe we could reveal the unimportant portion of our techniques but we would need a corresponding payoff from them.”

“For example?”

“A node laboratory at the Virtual World. That’ll be great.” Qiu Man gave a thought as she glanced at Little Rock.