Chapter 451: The Impulsive Princess
Translator: Abyssruler Editor: Lucas
Cang Yan and the others were 300 meters away from the Solar System Federation's energy tower. They were already on their knees. They could not accept this result. When they first heard the result, they were furious. After watching the video that was transmitted to them, they were helpless…
Their great, God-chosen warrior, Bordia, was… defeated.
Perfect Bordia, who was without flaws… a man like God, had actually lost.
Bordia walked out of the Phantom King. He was alive, but he felt as though his soul had died.
He could not imagine such a failure; this was perhaps the most painful thing ever. He was defeated by the Phantom King that he knew so well, and his opponent was only a human, a human who had suffered three blows from the laser cannon.
But he had lost.
This was a nightmare…. Bordia blacked out…
Wang Zheng was carried out as well. From the start to the end, he had been in peak condition. You could say that from the moment the battle started, the world had already disappeared. This was the strongest state of mind that he had; not even when he was in the Rubik's Cube was he as focused. Even Wang Zheng could not believe that he had really done it. Because when he was doing those things, he did not consider the outcome at all. Even the slightest tremble in his hands could have led to his death.
Now it was as though all the energy had been sucked out of him. He had no strength at all. He performed no lesser than 50 plus strong maneuvers. Even if he was a robot, he would be exhausted.
Wang Zheng wanted to stand, to look more formidable, but he really could not move even a finger.
The transportation machine immediately brought both teams back. At this moment, people were moving in the viewing hall. Some had never talked to Wang Zheng before, some were elites that thousands of people looked up to in their countries, but at this moment, they were all impressed by one person.
Vincent and Kong Zhang's groups cheered the loudest. They had no way of disliking him, no way of not being conquered by him. As a warrior, as an addict of the mecha world, once they saw this battle scene, they were intoxicated.
Once Wang Zheng appeared in the viewing hall, an explosive round of applause sounded. At the front was a group of old men.
"Damn it, you people are so old already, please don't squeeze over here!"
The old man turned back. Kong Zhang had a shock. F**k, the Lieutenant general from Silver Snake. He was overly excited, but obviously the old general did not care for this.
The strong Atlantis team had actually lost.
This was a battle that they could win with their eyes closed, but they had actually lost.
When the Atlanteans really wanted to take home a championship, as long as they wanted to, they had never failed to do so.
However, they had fallen at the hands of a human called Wang Zheng this time around, and he had used their Phantom King.
From this day onwards, there would no longer be a King of Phantom Kings in Atlantis.
At this moment, someone separated the crowd. Everyone made way. They had to because only this person could force the crazy crowd to restrain themselves.
Because she was the princess of the Aslan Empire, Aina Aslan.
But… your highness, what are you going to do?
Aina almost ran all the way. Everyone was staring wide-eyed. Was it because Aslan and Atlantis had such a good relationship?
Atlantis had lost and the Princess was sad?
But the direction did not seem right.
At this moment, Aina had already forgotten her status and identity. She ran to Wang Zheng.
The whole scene fossilized. Even Olivios', who was a manly man, jaw dropped.
Wang Zheng forced a smile. "Do you like the present that I gave you?"
Aina's tears fell, then she did something that made everyone go crazy.
Aina kissed Wang Zheng and hugged him tightly. At this moment, what princess, what identity? She was only Aina, and she liked a man called Wang Zheng!
This was no doubt a dream-like semi-final, regardless of whether you were at the scene. Wang Zheng had defeated Bordia's Phantom King in one show with such amazing operation. There was a frightening attack power packed in the last attack, and the supposedly King of Phantom Kings Bordia's attacks had actually all missed.
This battle would be enjoyed for a long time, but everyone, young and old, were all shocked by the Princess's passion that closely followed the battle.
Princess Aina had actually fallen in love with Wang Zheng?
Even though there was kissing in international socialization norms, Aslan did not seem to have such a practice.
This romance was as unbelievable as Wang Zheng's defeat of Bordia using a Phantom King. It was two miracles landing in one day.
Even though the Solar System Federation team had won the semi-finals like a story, creating the classic miracle of the weak beating the strong, the main strengths of the team were mostly injured. The only one that did not require hospitalization was Lear.
Looking at their overall strength, this round's Solar System team did indeed have the ability to be in the top 10. But to be honest, they were still lagging far behind Atlantis. However, Wang Zheng had forcefully led the team to snatch the victory. His ability was no doubt in the top 3 of this round's IG, maybe even the strongest. Except that he was exhausted from this battle. After all, the Atlantis team's strength was absolute. After this battle, other than Bordia suffering dual blows, the others were not injured at all.
The victory this time was evidence of how anything was possible.
Wang Zheng's injuries were not minor. From the start of the battle, Bordia had continuously dealt spiritual attacks, and in the last instant, even though he had avoided the mech's attack, he had expended himself pushing his limits just on dealing out the attack. Once the competition was over, his whole body was in an extremely weak condition.
The injured team members were all having full body checkups and treatment. Except there were quite a lot of people waiting for Wang Zheng outside.
After she kissed Wang Zheng in public, Aina let go of herself. She did not hide her concern for him at all. Beside her, Hui Yin was the most happy. She gave her cousin a thumbs up from time to time. Love needs courage. Sometimes the girl had to be more active. Her cousin was so cool just now. It was just like a fairy tale.
Aurora and the others must have been shocked to the core. Princess Aina actually liked that guy called Wang Zheng?
Even though Wang Zheng was a warrior, he was not a good match for the Princess. But it was Wang Zheng who had just dealt that amazing, miraculous blow. Even if they wanted to say something, they did not have the cheek to do so. Their aura was totally suppressed by Wang Zheng's.
Yan Xiaosu and the others were naturally unwilling to leave. They had also received news of Wang Zheng's checkup. Tyrant Su was not very surprised. He and Aina could be considered as quite familiar, but to be honest, he did not expect this relationship to end well. All along, Boss was the one giving too much, even though he understood that the Princess's status made it inconvenient for her to do anything. But humans were all selfish, and Tyrant Su was no different. He was inclined towards girls like his third sister. But today he had seen it. When the Princess was crazy, she could be quite cool too. She had actually done that in front of so many people…
Ye Zisu was happy yet disappointed at the same time. All along she had thought that Aina could not do it, but she really did it. This time, she kept telling herself that she had to keep her feelings to herself and wish the two of them the best.
As for the others, to be honest, they felt that the things happening today were more shocking than those that happened 10 plus years ago.
The commoner and the princess, it had been long since something like this had happened. The prince and Cinderella – such cases have been more common, but for the opposite to happen was rare.
Snow Li finally understood why Wang Zheng could never see her. Perhaps no matter who, if they had a girlfriend like Aina, they would not be easily attracted by any other girls.
Zhang Shan and the others were already very impressed by Wang Zheng, especially Lie Xin. Miss Lie's lips curled into an evil smile as she underwent treatment. He had hidden his secrets deep. This Wang Zheng guy looked like some country bumpkin, yet he actually dared to pursue the Princess. She wondered if there was any internal gossip on how far these two had gone.
Martians were the famous wild star of the Solar System. When Martian girls met guys that they liked or were impressed by, they would take initiative to start something. Hence, single men who went travelling to Mars wanted to get this kind of romantic experience the most. Also, the more charming the man, the more popular he would be.
After more than an hour, Meng Ao walked out. "Everyone, please be assured that Wang Zheng's life is not in danger. He just needs treatment and rest. Please go back."
Everyone nodded their heads. Obviously this was not the right time for a party. It was good enough that Wang Zheng was alright. Olivios opened his mouth but e did not ask, because what he was concerned was whether Wang Zheng could take part in the finals.
The problem was that there was only one day to rest before the finals, which meant the finals would be on the day after tomorrow.
Whether or not Wang Zheng could participate in the finals was definitely important to Olivios. If Wang Zheng could not fight in his peak condition, it would be a bigger regret.
But did he have the confidence?
Before participating in the IG, Olivios thought he was invincible. He hoped that there would be one or two worthy opponents in the IG. However, now, no matter whether it was Wang Zheng or Bordia, their levels were similar to his. It was just that Wang Zheng and Bordia had fought each other first. This was equal to him benefitting unexpectedly, but he did not want to have this kind of unexpected benefit. To Bordia and Wang Zheng, this battle definitely had great significance, and they had learned a lot from it.
"Boss, looks like Bordia is done for. This battle is too traumatizing for him; it's likely he will sink into depression. That Wang Zheng is too amazing." Beo shook his head. The moment he closed his eyes, images of the battle flooded his mind. The more he thought, the more details he found.
Olivios nodded. "He will either be silent forever or have a breakthrough. This will be a test for Bordia, but this kind of opportunity is also very rare."
"Looking at Wang Zheng's situation, I'm afraid that his injuries will be quite serious. Bordia was thought to have the strongest spiritual power in Atlantis. When he counter-attacked, Wang Zheng suffered a lot. In this case, we will have an easy win," Beo said.
Olivios was silent. This was what he was worried about.
The Arbiter Republic was neither afraid of challenges nor failures. They had hearts of the strong. To them, glory was important, but it also depended on how it was earned.
As for Wang Zheng… it was a blessing to be injured.
Others could not enter, but Aina was clearly not one of them. Aina sat quietly beside Wang Zheng, and just like this, quietly held his hand. Wang Zheng was in a calm state. Such deep sleep would help the body to recover. Not to mention that with the presence of the Princess, his treatment would definitely be the best.
Wang Zheng's battle had broken the ice in the IG. Suddenly, people who knew each other and people who did not know each other were all chatting away. When there was a common topic, it would be possible to become friends.
Chapter 452: A Royal Gift
Translator: Abyssruler Editor: Lucas
The Solar System suddenly became popular. Even Zhang Shan, whose level was actually slightly below average, received respect. The overall execution ability of the Solar System team was very high, and it was not just based on Wang Zheng alone; he would not have made it to this step.
They were a popular topic amongst the generals as well. These last few years the Solar System Federation had been looking to revitalize. They had been saying it for so many years, but there were no real changes. They were always lagging even in the military procurement aspect. The reformists in the military wanted to get rid of old equipment, but the budget proposal could not pass parliament. On the whole, the Solar System's own production of mecha had already failed to fulfill demands. The level in general was lagging behind, and if they wanted to raise the level, they would have to import. However, the parliament always had a reason to reject such ideas, largely because they wanted to protect the benefits and profits of their own military production facilities. Once they started importing, their losses were quite substantial, but to the reformists, what they wanted was the rise of the Solar System and increased right to speech.
Riding on the high wave of this round's IG, the military also hoped to reach a procurement agreement with Aslan. Even if the parliament wanted to stop it, they were powerless to do so. Just thinking of how a large supply of new weaponry could equip their elite troops, Meng Ao and the others could not help but feel excited.
Especially Meng Ao, as the dominating role of Earth was very important to Earthlings. Wang Zheng and Lear had done it, they were the true twin Gemini. As for the competition amongst the youths, from Meng Ao's perspective, he of course felt that it was a good thing. At the end, they still had to cooperate to defeat Atlantis.
The significance of defeating Atlantis was too great. This was the real reason why others looked at them differently. The Solar System was weak for too long. If they did not perform strongly, it would be difficult to have such an effect.
Of course, things never happened overnight, so not much could happen just based on one IG, but it was a very good beginning.
As soon as he thought of that rascal Wang Zheng, Meng Ao could not help but laugh. "I originally wanted to introduce Meng Tian to him, but it looks like I have belittled him."
"Haha, I thought that I was the only one who wanted to match-make him and Lie Xin." Lie Wuqing also laughed. He had not been so happy for a long time. As a soldier, his face and glory were too important. He never thought that this day would come, that the Arbiter and Manalasuo generals would socialize with them. This was really something that they did not even dare to dream of.
The stronger the country, the more emphasis they put on cultivating the young. This was also the reason why they were respected.
"I said it, that rascal Wang Zheng is our lucky star!" Meng Ao laughed.
"You are right. Even I feel like I'm in a dream," Drachmach said emotionally. Achilles did not become weak. It was already very surprising that he could force Bordia to use his full strength. But who would have thought that Wang Zheng could reach such a level, totally masking the glory of the others?
But this rascal's level of wooing girls was most likely even better than his mecha piloting level. How did he make the Aslan Princess fall in love with him?
The three generals looked at each other and could not hold back their laughter. After all, they were young once too. Wang Zheng, that rascal, they really were at loss on how to describe him.
After Olivios returned, he did not do anything. He only asked for the video and shut himself in the tactical hall and watched it silently.
Again and again, gradually, his whole person was as though he had entered the video and he became Bordia. If it were him, how would it end?
Bordia did not underestimate his enemy. He used his full strength when attacking, even when Wang Zheng's energy shields were totally used up. This could be seen from the aggressive and accurately timed attacks. Bordia had taken this opponent seriously from the beginning. But what the humans or Atlanteans could never control was confidence. He was overconfident…. Perhaps Wang Zheng was too strong. The series of actions appeared in Olivios' head. If it were him, would he have been able to evade?
A whole half an hour had passed and Olivios did not move. Beo appeared and stayed quietly at a side. The others waited outside. They knew that Olivios was going through an imaginary battle. While they were not clear on the actual situation, Olivios could use this method to crack any opponent's attack.
Including the ability that targeted the Atlantean mech.
After a while, Olivios slowly opened his eyes.
"How was it?" Beo asked anxiously. Olivios went over the imaginary battle. Beo watched him quietly again. As he watched, his heart turned cold.
Olivios laughed, but Beo's face darkened. "How is this possible?"
"Haha, I also think that this is unbelievable, but there is no way to crack it. At that type of situation, no matter who it is, they would lose."
Olivios smiled brightly because he had finally found a situation he could not solve. This was something worth celebrating. His life was no longer lonely!
Beo could never understand Olivios' thinking because he was just an ordinary person. How to defeat Wang Zheng became the biggest difficult problem. Perhaps they could only hope that his injuries were too severe for full recovery?
Olivios' conclusion was that he had no confidence in the battle between him and Wang Zheng. But Olivios was definitely not one to back down from a fight. Winning or losing was nothing to him, what he wanted was that one battle.
Olivios looked at Beo calmly. "You don't need to think too much. Wang Zheng is unlikely to take part in the finals. Bordia's counter-attack was not light."
The video froze. At the last attack, Wang Zheng avoided all of Bordia's Phantom King's attacks and dealt a fatal blow. But Bordia himself had still activated the strongest spiritual explosion he could muster.
Based on Bordia's state, he could definitely not have controlled the move well. This was a move that hurt the opponent by 1,000 points but then hurt himself by 800 points. This was why Bordia could not withstand the aftershock and had fainted. But Wang Zheng, who had suffered a blow, actually still had strength to destroy the energy tower. He had really surpassed normality. But no matter how strong he was, he was still just a fleshy body. If Wang Zheng could jump around energetically the following day during the final battle, there was really no need for Olivios to fight at all.
The Solar System team members gathered. Other than those who were injured, the rest were present.
With Lear as the leader, along with Luo Fei, Masasi, Lie Guang, Taros, Meng Tian, and Zhang Runan. Zhang Shan and Achilles were also there, but they were barely able to fight. But Meng Ao did not intend to let them fight.
"Lear, for the finals, we will rely on the seven of you. Winning or losing is not important. We have already won."
Meng Ao would definitely not want to risk this group of hope for the Solar System's rise. Under this circumstance, if not for the fact that they could not surrender directly, they did not even intend to fight at all, especially against that bunch of crazy Arbiters.
"For the fight against Arbiter, you guys do not need to fight too hard. The important part is in the experience and battle practice. When it's time to admit defeat, just admit defeat."
Meng Ao said. It was really not easy to have a general say something like this. They had already proved their courage, so they did not need to use their lives again to prove these unrealistic things.
Lear nodded. "Yes, General. We will let Arbiter see our strength under safe circumstances."
Meng Ao smiled. Lear was usually reliable. When Wang Zheng was not around, he could pick up the role of the leader and there was no chaos.
"Little Fatty, you are not bad, just a little cowardly." Before leaving, Meng Ao patted Luo Fei.
Fatty Luo was the only one not injured. This guy was a living treasure. As long as he completed his own mission, he was unwilling to put in even one ounce of extra strength.
Being a hero was not a man's job. This was Luo Fei's motto. He would not be so narrow-minded. As long as he was alive, just getting by was good enough.
The other teams' members were all watching the replay. They could only get a basic understanding from watching the replay at the competition scene. There were a lot of details that they did not understand. Except that after they had watched the real situation, it was likely that many people would not be able to sleep tonight. To perform this type of technique, Wang Zheng most likely had trained with the Phantom King so much that his understanding of the mech was etched deep in his bones.
Aurora and Oz were stunned while listening to Si Jiali's report.
"What did you say? You saw him practicing with the Phantom King?"
Si Jiali nodded. To be honest, she did not really understand the underlying meaning to all this. However, from the reactions of the others, she also understood that this was something very shocking. All along she thought that the Princess' feelings for Wang Zheng were her own imagination. She did not think that it was real and that the two of them were really a couple.
"Why did you not say so earlier?" Oz could not help but grumble.
"Even if I said it, would there be any use?" Bi Yuyan rolled her eyes at Oz. "Who would have thought that the Solar System team would be so strong? And Si Jiali wouldn't know whether he was considered strong or weak."
Oz realized that it was him who was anxious. He quickly apologized, whether it was regarding Wang Zheng's ability or regarding the Princess' relationship.
The Princess was the goddess in everyone's hearts. The Princess falling in love with Wang Zheng was something that he could not adjust to.
"The Princess must have known Wang Zheng for a long time." Si Jiali sighed. She knew that Aurora and the others actually had secret crushes on Aina. This was definitely a big blow to them.
Aurora did not say anything. He gently sighed. He was not disappointed, just worried.
The whole night, Aina did not leave Wang Zheng's side.
But in the next morning, when Wang Zheng woke up, who he saw was actually Huiyin.
Seeing Wang Zheng waking up, Huiyin immediately jumped up. "You are awake. Cousin looked after you the whole night yesterday. She was just called away, I think it's something urgent, but I'll take care of you. You don't have to worry!"
Wang Zheng nodded. He had really fainted from happiness yesterday. He also did not think that Aina would be so bold.
Huiyin pouted and said, "Hey, what, not happy to see me? Tch, I'm also a princess, OK!".
"Hehe, our little princess Huiyin is the cutest."
"That's better. Oh, right, wait here." Huiyin opened her Skylink. Not long later, footsteps approached them from outside. Ye Zisu and Tyrant Su walked in.
"You see, I told you that I'm the most considerate," Huiyin said, hinting for credit. Originally, Yan Xiaosu and Ye Zisu could not enter this place, but with the Princess' orders, it was another matter. Aina might have to take note of her influence, but Huiyin did not care for that.
Tyrant Su rushed in very excitedly and directly… ignoring Wang Zheng. "Your Highness, I'm your fan, please give me an autograph!"
As he said that, he took out a pen and pointed to his stomach. "Please sign here."
Wang Zheng was stunned. He thought that Tyrant Su would rush in with tears in his eyes. What was this? Playing with a brother's feelings?
"You traitor, giving up your friends for a girl!"
Yan Xiaosu winked and said laughingly, "What, Boss, you can't give up the opportunity to socialize with your idol."
"He's an interesting fellow." Then Lin Huiyin really signed Yan Xiaosu's shirt, signing it to "Tyrant Su".
He could be considered to have been gifted a name by the Princess.
Chapter 453: The Royal Family's Reaction
Translator: Abyssruler Editor: Lucas
Ye Zisu looked carefully at Wang Zheng and smiled. "It's great that you are okay."
Wang Zheng smiled. "I have worried you guys."
The two of them exchanged glances. Actually they knew what they each wanted to say. Ye Zisu knew that Wang Zheng had already guessed that the reason Aina was called away was most likely not a good one.
She represented Aslan's image and she suddenly created such a "scandal"…
Such a big thing happened yet there was nothing from the outside world. Obviously the royal family was involved.
Outside the door, Angela was helpless. She felt a little pity but she had to report this. This matter was too big. The departments related to the royal family had already handled the difficult matters these few years as an emergency. All the news had been blocked and suppressed. All the generals of various countries had also received a notification. Of course, this type of things would not be said clearly, as long as the meaning was conveyed.
This news would not be passed out. No one was willing to offend Aslan. Also, even if this piece of news was leaked, no one would believe it.
Of course on the surface, it was like nothing had happened.
The final battle between the Solar System Team and the Arbiter Republic Team would proceed as scheduled, but compared to the semi-final, this was the most boring finals in history. The Arbiter team won the championship for this round's IG, 4 to 1.
Olivios did not participate. Lear was up for the battle and he was the only one who won. Arbiter did not deal too heavy a blow this time. Suddenly, this battle-hungry team was like in a friendly school competition.
Obviously, even the proud Arbiters were conquered by Wang Zheng's battle. Under the circumstance where Wang Zheng was not fighting, they had no killing intent at all.
People like Lie Guang and Zhang Runan all got the chance to fight. Even though they were defeated but they had the opportunity to come into contact with the highest level. This was invaluable.
In the end, the championship for this round's IG was won by the Arbiter Republic team. Olivios won the best team leader and was at the same time the MVP for IG.
But everyone knew that the strongest person for this round's IG was a person called Wang Zheng. He was the undisputable king!
IG had ended, no matter whether they earned something or was disappointed, the journey had come to an end. The various representative teams returned to their countries.
Wang Zheng sent Aina a message but the message failed to send. This meant that he was blocked. Wang Zheng understood what had happened.
He did not get the championship in the end but this was not the main point. No matter what happened, he had no regrets to all these. All he hoped for was that Aina would be happy.
The Solar System Federation team was also returning to their country, but they split up. This round's team members had gained glory for the Solar System Federation, especially Wang Zheng. Hence the military had decided to give them in advance citizenship as a reward. There was a 2 year practicum period where each member would be assigned to a region to carry out international and local missions. Wang Zheng was sent to a place called Titatitan Star.
There was no stopping. It had to be carried out immediately.
This military order came very suddenly and very urgently. A Federation Lieutenant came direct to them to announce the orders and used armed transport plane to send Wang Zheng directly to the Space port.
In the transport plane, Wang Zheng looked at the Federation Lieutenant who sat beside him. He was expressionless.
Wang Zheng tried to be friendly and get some information. This military order for a mission that required moving was too sudden. There was not even time for him to contact the Ares College to notify them of the situation..
"I'm only responsible for conveying the military order."
The lieutenant was meticulous, serious like a wood sculpture.
Being in the military, it was their natural duty to carry out orders. Wang Zheng also had nothing to say.
Entering the space port, the transportation plane of the Solar System Federation was already prepared to leave. Once the procedures for leaving the port was completed, the flight pathway to leaving the port had also cleared.
He did not see the 3 generals, Meng Ao, Lie Wuqing and Drachmach. It was a direct message from the military. Wang Zheng also felt that this was abnormal but he was helpless. Orders had to be followed. Anyway, he had no luggage. He only managed to give Tyrant Su and Zisu a heads-up. He heard that after this military posting, everyone would receive official military ranks.
It was the same for Lear and the others, not only Wang Zheng. Everyone had their own path to take. They all had to train their ability to be independent.
Wang Zheng walked into the spaceship and was stunned. In the huge cabin, there was no one at all. Was he early?
Hong…
The spaceship trembled slightly and left the docking pliers. Obviously, Wang Zheng was the only passenger in this space ship.
Du… Wang Zheng's Skylink received the order from the Federation Army again. Destination: Titatitan Star.
Mission: To fill in the position of Special Military Officer in the Solar System Federation Base Camp at Titatitan Star. Term of office was 2 years and details of the mission were to be confirmed.
Wang Zheng smiled bitterly. Even though he had guessed what happened, but Titatitan Star? Where the hell was that place?
Special Military Officer? It sounded impressive but the term of office was 2 years?
He was still a student okay? Even though in the military school, those really elite students were all filling positions in the army before they graduated. But they were at least seniors.
Wang Zheng was not stupid, in his heart he had guessed what happened. The 2 big killers of love had come for him, time and space.
Recalling how he could not connect with Aina for this period of time, and seeing on the news about her undergoing some sort of ritual in Atlantis… most probably she was not having any good days too.
Holding back a bitter smile, Wang Zheng had totally expected for this reaction. He felt that the Atlantis Royal family were already considered being quite kind, at least they did not kill him.
2 years time?
Actually that was good too.
Aslan Prime Minister's mansion…
The Prime Minister was dealing with some government affairs. Aina was sent urgently to Atlantis to study the courses that were supposed to officially start only 1 year later. Hence, some matters that were already handed over to Aina were pushed back to the Prime Minister at the last minute. These 2 days, she only slept 3 hours.
Having quickly processed another file, on the government affairs system, there were only 10 matters left.
Heaving a sigh of relief, she finally could relax a little. These matters were originally for Aina to process. They all involved the royal family. These things might not be big but they could not be dealt by others.
The Prime Minister's hand stretched out and massaged her neck, stiff from sitting too long. Even if she was alone in the room processing these government affairs, she still adhered strictly to her own high expectations of herself. When she sat, she would sit with her back straight. She would never have any signs of a lazy or comfortable slouch.
A guard stood outside the door. He most probably waited for quite some time, except that he did not disturb her while she was busy. This was the person she sent specifically to spy on Wang Zheng.
Waving him in, "Say."
"The Solar System Federation has just sent him to Titatitan Star. 2 years. The condition was that there would be an addition of a few techniques in this time's military procurement."
"Just 2 years?"
She was extremely unsatisfied. This bastard Wang Zheng who dared to reach out to the princess should stay forever in those dark corners. It was best he never came out again. Her original intention was at least 10 years!
The guard lowered his head and opened his mouth. He seemed to have something to add.
Wang Zheng was at the least the hero for the Solar System IG, in an instant he was sent to a place like Titatitan Star.
The Prime Minister looked at him calmly. "Anything else?"
"There's another power that is following up on Wang Zheng. However, their aim should not conflict with ours. They are willing to maintain a good relation with us and are willing to solve the problem once and for all."
"Just ignore them. I only want to make sure that he will never appear in front of Aina, that's enough. As for the others, they are not of our concern." The Prime Minister smiled coldly. Someone actively initiated good will. It really was the style of the Solar System. It was good this way too.
Outside the door, Lin Huiyin who heard the 2 words "Wang Zheng" blinked her eyes. Her heart pumped loudly. She eavesdropped some of the conversation and she knew what was happening. Wang Zheng was not powerful enough to woo away the pride of Aslan.
Once and for all? This phrase gave Huiyin an unpleasant feeling.
Lin Huiyin ran out quietly. Her movements, the guards were already used to it and did not think of it being weird.
The transportation ship just left the space port. Wang Zheng's Skylink vibrated. Lin Huiyin's message: Be careful, someone wants to end you once and for all.
The phrase once and for all was bolded. Obviously this was the original phrase that Huiyin overheard. Wang Zheng was a little stunned. Perhaps they wanted him to die at Titatitan Star?
The speed of the spaceship was still accelerating, and then there was another fierce tremble. The transportation ship had entered Beta-space before the cabin stabilized. Wang Zheng looked at his Skylink, there was no signal at all. This spaceship actually was not equipped with any Beta-space signal exchanging machine! He had a tinge of regret not using Skylink to check up information on Titatitan Star earlier.
The transportation ship's ultra-speed engine was a little outdated. It made this round's space travel much longer.
At the beginning, Wang Zheng could still sit quietly in the cabin but when he discovered that it was a smart robot that served him his meals during dinner time, Wang Zheng was starting to feel a little rattled. Could it be that this space ship had no other people at all?
Rushing into the control room, luckily… there were 2 veterans piloting the spaceship. There were other people in this space ship, but it was very obvious, the 2 veterans had no intention of socializing with Wang Zheng. They chased Wang Zheng out of the control room and close the big door of the control room with a loud bang. Wang Zheng was sharp eyed and spotted that there were many resources inside, including a culinary robot.
Recalling that the little girl Hui Yin's message, Wang Zheng could not describe how he felt.
Other than the control room and the engine room, he explored idly the rest of the spaceship. This spaceship was actually the Sparrowhawk 19. Its beta-space engine used third generation technology. This beta-space travel would take a whole standard years' time to move from one end of the Milky Way to the other end of the Milky Way!
Newer fourth generation beta-space engine took only 3 months. If spatial displacement theory had a mature product, this timing would be shortened to 28 days. The shortening of travel time would strengthen human's control of the Milky Way.
And Wang Zheng who theorized the space displacement theory, was ironically bored to tears because of this soon-to-be-eliminated outdated third generation engine.
It was indeed a bitter wait. It was like becoming a hermit. He was in the cabin alone and there was no signal for his Skylink. It was impossible even if he wanted to pass time playing some games on the Skylink.
It was not Wang Zheng's style to not do anything. Speaking of this, this was the first time Wang Zheng had so much free time and no one to disturb him after gaining the Rubik's Cube. Even if he took a long holiday, there was still a Tyrant Su to look for him to drink beer and watch the stars.
Now that he was alone, he could quieten his mind. It actually felt a little like when he was inside the world of the Rubik's Cube. Naturally, Wang Zheng tried to enter the Rubik's Cube again. This time he succeeded.
Chapter 454: Crisis
Translator: Abyssruler Editor: Lucas
"Master, how can I help you?"
Upon looking, Wang Zheng had a shock. A pitch-black robot jumped into his view and stood in front of him. It was really ugly.
Wang Zheng recognized that this fellow was Charcoal. He looked left and right happily. He had entered the Rubik's Cube.
Thinking, he thought that this was right too. The Rubik's Cube could draw energy from the virtual battles of CT, so the IG, where each opponent was stronger than the last, was even better. Unknowingly, while Wang Zheng was trying his best, the Rubik's Cube's Battle Energy had also gotten a great boost.
Charcoal was a little proud. He explained that the Rubik's Cube's energy usage had become more efficient under his optimization.
Wang Zheng looked to the left and then looked to the right. He did not see Bonehead. Usually, Bonehead would be fighting with Charcoal like he was defending himself against a thief. Where was he?
"Where's Bonehead? Did you bully him?"
Bonehead looked scary, but this humble-looking Charcoal had come in without an invitation and had even forcefully built a home inside the Rubik's Cube. Wang Zheng was still worried for Bonehead in the depths of his heart. Even though he had been abused by Bonehead before, even after considering he had his life threatened before, Wang Zheng still took Bonehead to be his teacher.
Charcoal looked at Wang Zheng, and actually started cackling. Wang Zheng glared at him. Did he have to laugh so sinisterly? Did he really get rid of Bonehead?
"Based on Bonehead's and my analysis and judgement, Master, you need a super mech that is way more advanced than what is currently available. Bonehead is preparing for this. He's now in a crucial period, and at the moment cannot leave."
Charcoal pointed towards the back. The pitch black background lit up. Far away, there was a huge, dark shape that indeed looked like a mech.
"You guys can make a mech for me? F*ck. If I can't bring it out, what's the use?"
Charcoal's eyes sparkled and sparkled, as though they were mocking him. "You can bring this out of the cube. But don't you think that there's a problem with his aesthetic sense? My design aesthetics are much more handsome compared to his!"
Charcoal took the opportunity to take jabs at Bonehead.
With Charcoal, Wang Zheng was no longer lonely. They chatted from the north to the south, from the sky to the sea. Most of the time, he was asking about Charcoal's previous owner. Wang Zheng had strong suspicions that there must have been an app that was specially installed for the purposes of boasting in Charcoal's data memory cache. He boasted about his previous owner until his owner seemed to be the best person in the world and the only one in history that no one could ever compare to. It sounded even more mystical than novels. What, a casual punch with a stretch of his hand and even battleships fell before him? How could it possibly be any more exaggerated?
After chatting the whole day, the cabin darkened. This was hinting that it was time to sleep. Wang Zheng shut his eyes and counted the little sheep that appeared in his head. One, two… as he counted, the sheep became Aina. There were so many Ainas, and they all listened to him. One was thrown at the royal family to be their princess and queen, one accompanied him to the ends of earth, touring the whole of the Milky Way, and then they even did various embarrassing lovey dovey things…
Suddenly, a blushing Aina became a skeleton head!
F**k, Bonehead! Wang Zheng instantly woke up in shock from his dream
The empty eye sockets were gleaming, and it was when he was having a good dream that he appeared!
But at the next second, Wang Zheng had forgotten his good dream because he realized that Bonehead was actually as big as a mech. And he had actually planted himself on something that looked exactly like the Rubik's Cube.
Charcoal appeared and was checking Bonehead' situation. "Initial integration is complete. Progress is at 15%. Integration rate is at 71.59%…"
Wang Zheng pointed at huge Bonehead. "Don't tell me you want to implant yourself into a mech and give it to me?"
"Yes. This is the Gideon energy and material integration technique…" Bonehead's skeleton eye sockets flashed twice. A perfectly good piece of high-end technology was described so nonchalantly. Bonehead was also an artificial intelligence who had a… temper.
After Charcoal had appeared, they kept arguing about who was of greater help to Wang Zheng. Charcoal was, in many ways, more suitable than Bonehead in compatibility with this sub-universe's rules. Even the Primordial Regression Technique had been adapted to fit the universe. Bonehead really gave it his all this time. He wanted to integrate himself into an undefeatable super mech and help his highness revive his country. He was the real first helper, and not Charcoal, who was an invader who had occupied Bonehead's home.
Wang Zheng did not understand that long, technical term "Gideon Energy and Material Integration Technique", and at the moment, he was not interested in understanding it either. He pointed at the huge skeletal frame. "Please don't tell me you are growing a mech that is based on how you look."
That would be too scary! It seriously did not match Wang Zheng's aesthetic tastes. His dream was to pilot the universe's coolest mech and ride it through the Milky Way. A hero needed an image to match.
If he changed to piloting a sinister-looking skeleton… Wang Zheng shook his head and shook away this image. Even if he was undefeatable, it would still feel as though he was no better than a pirate.
Wang Zheng just smiled and said that he was boasting, and then continued to complain that the growing mech was too frightening and not handsome. Piloting it would bring him no satisfaction.
Charcoal's eyes lit up like a 1,000 watt light bulb. "I told you, Master's taste is very high-class. Bonehead is so ugly. Look at me, so boxy, so symmetrical. I'm the embodiment of perfection!"
"Can you change the looks halfway? I think that the Phantom King looks good, how about you refer to its appearance?" Wang Zheng got more curious. This mech-growing technology was a little amazing.
Bonehead and Charcoal were on the same side this time and rejected him together. "No, you can't use it. You can only use either one of us to be the model."
This mech was either going to look like a skeleton like Bonehead, or it was going to look like Charcoal…
Wang Zheng hugged his head in frustration. He gave up. Skeleton was still the better look. At least a skeleton could scare people. He could have a cool, fierce image. Charcoal was so ugly, what look could he go for? The short and ugly look? Without even fighting, he would cause his opponents to die of laughter first.
Bonehead was still muttering to himself. This was not just a simple case of something "growing", it was Gideon energy and material integration… followed by a long string of terms. Wang Zheng could not really understand fully.
Luckily, most of the time, Bonehead was focused on "growing" and the time he had to communicate with Wang Zheng became lesser and lesser.
Charcoal became Wang Zheng's confidante. But when it came to training methods, Charcoal was not able to provide more ways to train. It was not that he did not know, but it was because he could not tell. This guy was secretive and mysterious. Sometimes he would reveal some vague theory.
Wang Zheng's understanding was that the stronger his spiritual power, the greater his Ability X. The road that he was now taking was one that no one had taken before. There were lots of challenges, it was a bumpy ride and not very smooth sailing, but he was indeed moving forward.
After the battle with Atlantis, Wang Zheng had his own understanding of spiritual imprints, spiritual explosion, and the removal of a spiritual imprint. However, compared to the Altanteans, his understanding was still too superficial. They won in terms of speed, accuracy and strength. In physical battles, Bonehead had already taught him everything. It seemed like he had to rely on himself in this aspect.
This was one long interstellar trip. The transportation ship did not stop at any place. It flew without stopping in the beta-space for over 300 hours before jumping out of beta-space.
After jumping out of beta-space, there was finally a signal for the Skylink network, except there was a red color restriction symbol behind it. It meant that he could not connect to the interstellar net and could only enter the star's own network. The signal exchanging machine was actually encrypted here, meaning to say that this Skylink could only receive Titatitan's signal. News of the outside world was blocked.
Even using his toes to think, he knew that Titatitan was definitely not a good place.
Walking to the transparent cabin window, he could already see a sky blue planet appearing in front of his eyes. It looked a little like Earth. The spaceship was flying towards the planet at a high speed.
Entering the planet's atmosphere, the spaceship would not stop trembling.
At this moment, Wang Zheng's heart suddenly shivered. He sensed danger!
Weng…
At the same time, the escape warning sounded through the transportation ship.
Through the cabin window, an attack craft emerged from the clouds. It was as though it had been waiting there.
Three streaks of fire light lit up. Poison Snake Missiles, cheap and reliable – they had a smart lock-on system. Their petite size contained huge explosive power. It was the top weapon choice to destroy armed merchant ships or transportation ships.
Instantly, every cell in Wang Zheng came alive. He kicked open the cabin door. At the end of the long corridor was the escape cabin.
With one punch, he broke the protective shell meant to prevent people from pressing the button mistakenly and pressed down forcefully. The whole process took not more than three seconds only.
The door of the escape cabin opened and Wang Zheng quickly entered it. Inside was a snow-white anti-collision wall. Its material was the soft anti-explosive, anti-fire soft plastic. At the instant the cabin door automatically yet slowly closed, three Poison Snake Missiles hit the transportation ship at shocking speed.
To this small transportation ship with no shields, these hits were no different from being hit by Beam Cannons. Cheap missiles usually caused greater damage.
In a blink of an eye, the transportation ship was engulfed by the power of the Poison Snake Missiles.
The huge shock wave blew away the escape cabin with a bang. The cabin door which was not closed was like a black hole and sucked out all the items in the rescue capsule.
Wang Zheng grabbed onto a chair forcefully. His whole person was hanging horizontally in the air because of the suction. Wang Zheng's expression darkened. He had not expected that what waited him was actually an ambush!
There was no time to think. As for the shock wave, together with the open cabin door, a device at a side lit up a bunch of malfunctioning lights. The oxygen device failed, the signal device failed…
What made Wang Zheng's expression change was the red light that lit up for the parachute device. If there was no parachute to decrease speed, the escape cabin was no different from a coffin.
Wang Zheng suddenly let go. The strong wind pressure instantly sucked him towards the cabin door. At the moment he was going to be sucked out, Wang Zheng reached out and grabbed the cabin door handle. His legs stepped onto both sides forcefully, resisting the strong pressure.
The cabin door's manual hatch was opened. Wang Zheng tried his best before he managed to close the cabin door. The pressure finally stabilized, but the danger was still there. He had to open the parachute.
Rushing to the parachute control device, he cut opened the protective cover of the outer layer. A charred smell immediately rushed out. The whole control chip was burnt.
Di di di…
The height detection device of the rescue capsule was actually still working. At this moment, its irritating alarm sounded. He was only 8,000 meters above ground, and this number was decreasing.
6,500 meters… 5,000 meters…
4,000 meters!
Manually controlling the parachute, sweat dripped from Wang Zheng's head.
Ka cha, at 3,000 meters above ground, the giant parachute finally opened.
Chapter 455: Critical Moment
Translator: Abyssruler Editor: Lucas
However, the speed at which the rescue capsule dropped was slightly slower since the parachute was deployed. The attacking aircraft appeared again and locked onto the rescue capsule. Boom…
"Target has been destroyed, but we've been spotted by the planet's systems. Retreat!"
The fighter plane made a quick turn and quickly disengaged.
The damaged escape capsule descended rapidly, and it would have had turned into a pile of mush if it hit the ground.
Boom… The escape capsule suddenly exploded from within!
A huge shadow engulfed Wang Zheng!
Boom. The Skeleton mech did not fly up with Wang Zheng but instead fell heavily onto the ground. Meanwhile, Bonehead started melting like ice. The sturdy, rocky ground started breaking apart and huge amounts of dust formed.
Bonehead made his move just as the specter of death loomed over Wang Zheng. Unfortunately, he had to pay a huge price for that. Skeleton was unfinished and did not possess any fighting capabilities. The mech collapsed immediately after that.
Wang Zheng's entire body shook as if a rag doll was tossed to the ground. Blood poured out from his mouth like spring water. Only the outer layer of the Skeleton mech was complete, and even though this was able to block most of the incoming impact, he could not resist the remaining force. His reinforced bones were broken, his ribs pierced his lungs, his spleen was bleeding out, he was losing consciousness…
Darkness…
Endless darkness…
He wanted to move, but he was too tired. He wanted to open his eyes, but he felt sleepy.
He was tired and wondered if he was dreaming.
"Miss, this is not possible. He should already be dead…"
A voice pierced his ears, causing him to be alert and sensitive.
He should have been dead…
"There is brain wave activity. Can he still hear?" This was a female voice, which was nice and soothing.
"This should be the natural reaction of the brain towards sound and not a sign of consciousness. This is not good, his body is rejecting the repair robot and has surpassed the load line. We need 100 CCs of sedative number 9."
Darkness resurfaced like the tide and engulfed the light that had just formed. The feeling of distress drowned his consciousness.
A long time passed…
Another ray of light allowed Wang Zheng to regain consciousness. His vision was blurry and he could not see clearly. The voices heard were like messages from the sky that entered his consciousness.
"Why is his fever not subsiding? His inflammation should be under control by now…"
"Miss, why are you here?"
"How is his condition?"
"This… He should have died yesterday. But it seems now that his will to live is extremely strong. If it was anyone else, giving the person ten lives would still be insufficient to overcome an injury of such an extent. His body temperature has indeed lowered. It is strange that we still cannot locate the cause. However, Miss, are you sure you want to save him? We checked his personal items and found that he is from the Milky Way Alliance."
The woman made a cry of surprise and said, "This can't be. Is he really not a pirate?"
"This has been confirmed multiple times, there should be no mistake."
"According to our satellite records, patrolling ships of the Milky Way Alliance shot him down."
The woman's voice started to quieten but still pierced through like thunder.
In an instant, the blurriness wore off and Wang Zheng regained consciousness. However, he could not move his body and could not open his eyes.
The sounds surrounding him became all the more clearer. The breathing sounds, the footsteps, the equipment. He could not move because he was placed in a medical tank.
He heard a few footsteps leave the room. After the soft sound of the closing door, he could not hear anything else aside from the sound made by the medical equipment.
Quiet…
He could not move physically, but his mind was racing.
Aina's smile crossed his mind like a shooting star. Short, yet beautiful.
His mind kept replaying scenes from the explosion of the spaceship.
Why was he the only one on the whole transport plane? Why did the two drivers lock themselves in the control room?
It was obvious that the fighter plane that attacked the spaceship he was on intended to take him out.
But… why?
Boom…
The whole room was shaking. The instruments monitoring his brain waves did not move, but the equipment on the table beside him started flying in the air.
Wang Zheng was not a man made out of clay! He felt enraged.
He felt a sudden, abrupt pain in his chest.
"Alert, alert. Energy capacity exceeded, emergency protocol activated."
Charcoal started making sounds. Wang Zheng was startled and immediately returned to facing the darkness…
A dark dreamland.
Who wanted to target him?
Someone who was defeated by him in the IG?
Impossible!
There were many people who had treated him as an enemy. However, these people were proud and would get over a defeat and regain their confidence in no time. These people believed that they could eventually be the best in the world.
These people had a thing in common. They were not fond of using such cheap methods to strike back at someone. Wang Zheng's existence would only serve to motivate them to become stronger.
If everyone were to employ such tactics when they faced a small obstacle, even geniuses would become useless in the huge Milky Way.
Aside from them, who else wanted him to permanently disappear from this world?
The Aslanian royal family…
An unwilling answer popped out in his mind like a wild beast set free. He screamed and experienced a momentary blackout.
However, Wang Zheng felt a sense of helplessness when he thought of Aina with a face full of tears. Was this not within his expectations? This was reality. The Aslan Empire did not allow romance or even rumors about romance to happen under their watch.
Wang Zheng slipped into deep thought. Slowly, he fell into a dark slumber as his body felt heavy and lethargic.
Everyone else was on another ship back to the Solar System. Meng Ao and the others did not show themselves on the journey back.
Meng Ao could not do anything. He realized something was up when he witnessed the Princess' performance. Thankfully, Aslan's reaction was not too huge and they only requested for the separation of both parties and not allowing them to meet. To accomplish this, the Princess was sent to Atlantis for her studies on paper. In reality, it was equivalent to grounding her. The military was also thick-skinned in its attempt to please Aslan. Fortunately, Meng Ao fought for him and Wang Zheng ended up being sent to Titatitan for two years. Although it was unique there, it could prove to be a good thing for Wang Zheng. They would not be so heartless as to allow a talent to be degraded. Regarding the others, Wang Zheng had to overcome his own psychological barrier as the world was divided into classes.
"Wang Zheng's treatment is indeed different. There are even special ships for him."
"Look at who he is. He is our king, and he is the best." Zhang Shan laughed. Everyone was allocated separate tasks, and Zhang Shan was to follow the Solar System Federal Fleet for two years. He was elated when thinking of the beautiful female military officers in uniforms.
The rest were happy. Lear was quiet and he left because, perhaps, he did not enjoy interacting with others. The rest did not care, and Fatty Luo followed him out immediately.
"Boss, you should not care about what they are saying. They are immature and have not experienced much," said Luo Fei in an attempt to flatter Lear. If not for Wang Zheng, Lear would have had all the glory.
Lear shook his head and said, "Actually, Wang Zheng is an interesting person at times. Humans are so tiny and are like droplets of water who would evaporate before even reaching the sun."
Luo Fei could not smile after listening to Lear's praises. When Lear praised someone, that person was not a threat to Lear.
"Boss, you are saying…"
Lear patted Luo Fei's shoulder and said, "What I am saying is, Wang Zheng is pretty good. Understand?"
Luo Fei nodded. The hidden message was that he had only ever said that the dead were good.
No wonder Lear had been calm recently…
Looking up at the sky full of stars, Lear let out a faint smile which seemed to be of a mocking nature. If Wang Zheng had not offended Aslan, how could he have landed such an opportunity? It was a pity that there had not been a victor determined between the both of them, given that the Solar System was destined to belong to only one person.
King Lear!
Wang Zheng did not know how much time had passed. He only knew that he had woken up twice in the middle of his sleep.
He heard the same nice female voice again. Only she was there this time.
She was naggy and had plenty to say.
From her words, he found out many things about her. He discovered that her name was Lan Ling and what family she was from. She was also the person who had rescued Wang Zheng.
She described the rescue situation. There was a ten-meter crater where the rescue capsule landed. "It looked like an impact crater, and everybody thought that it was impossible that there were any survivors. I was worried and noticed you. Surprisingly, you were still able to move. Uncle Qi said that you would succumb to your injuries and asked me to leave you alone. He said that such an attack on you meant that you must have offended people with authority. However, you still survived. Despite becoming a vegetative person, people say that your brain is very active. Your chance of awakening is pretty high, but there is potential memory loss. Actually, I feel a bit of envy towards memory loss. I want to lose my memory too sometimes so I do not have to worry about so many things…."
Wang Zheng had survived because of Bonehead and Charcoal's protection, and not because he was tough. As for the crater that seemed like it was caused by a meteor impact, this should have been caused by Bonehead when protecting him.
Lan Ling's conversation topics had already ran out. From the impact crater, she moved on to herself. "Today I went to the swimming department, and the situation there was terrible. Youngsters there were determined to use violence as a solution to their problems. It took me plenty of advice to get Khalifa to handle those people…"
Lan Ling clearly regarded Wang Zheng as a listener who would not reveal her secrets as she kept talking about herself. Initially, it was just small troubles at work. Slowly, it progressed on to some secrets which should not be talked about. "Actually, I am not fond of Uncle Dong's son. However, my father would always tell me that Uncle Dong is the president of the Chamber of Commerce and that his son is a genius. I know what my father's intention was, which was to marry me to his son.
"Robin of Ye Luo said that we humans are liars and would not work with us anymore. He is also in the midst of moving back to the jungle, and he ignores any advice."
…
Lan Ling kept looking for topics to talk about, and she went on for quite a bit. She let out a long sigh of relief and said, "I feel much more comfortable after talking about all these things. It is a pity that you could not hear any of it. Luckily, you cannot hear, or else I'd have no other place to talk about all this. OK, I have something to do, but I'll visit you tomorrow."
Chapter 456: Tita's Lan Family
Translator: Abyssruler Editor: Lucas
Wang Zheng could hear her as she walked out. Her graceful footsteps revealed that she was probably wearing a pair of flats. Perhaps she was a petite beauty.
Within his scattered mind, Wang Zheng vaguely imagined how his savior, Lan Ling, looked like.
He did not think of anything else anymore. While he was slightly angry, it was nothing compared to the quiet surrounding his own accident. Wang Zheng was not naive. The worst thing was that even if he became the world's strongest warrior, in the eyes of the Aslan Empire, he would still be considered just a soldier – a slightly skilled soldier at best.
"The diagnosis is complete. Body is in recovery; progress at 37/100… Energy warning, activating emergency backup energy…"
Charcoal's voice suddenly rang out.
Wang Zheng came to his senses, calling out to Charcoal, "Charcoal are you alright? How's Bonehead?"
At the last moment, it was Bonehead who had protected him. The incomplete Skeleton mech rigidly resisted the fall impact for him, shattering as a result. Nobody would have been able to survive a fall from such a height otherwise.
Charcoal was silent for a long time before finally speaking again. "Reset complete… Master, it was far too dangerous this time. Bonehead's hard work over this period of time was all for naught."
Thump. With a beat of his heart, Wang Zheng realized that he had entered the Rubik's Cube. The space in the Rubik's Cube was clearly smaller after the reset, and bizarre fragments were scattered all around as well.
In the center of the Rubik's Cube space, a palm-sized Bonehead lay with his two legs buried underground. The eye sockets in his skull emitted dim, red lights that were flickering unsteadily like candles in the wind.
"Is Bonehead alright? I don't need the mech anymore, just let him recover as quickly as possible." Wang Zheng was very concerned, for it was clear that Bonehead had suffered serious damage.
Charcoal walked over from the side. "Bonehead's recuperation process is irreversible, and right now 97 percent of the energy in the Rubik's Cube is being used on Bonehead. My recommendation is that replenishing Battle Energy would be better for him. We aren't from the same generation, so I can't really interfere in his inner world."
Wang Zheng let out a heavy sigh. "Charcoal, if I start a massacre, would the Rubik's Cube recharge faster?"
"Master, obtaining Battle Energy and committing a massacre are two different things altogether. You have to achieve a breakthrough, so you might as well put some thought into it." Charcoal shook his head.
Wang Zheng blinked in surprise. He was undoubtedly aware that he could hear the sound of the outside world, but his body could not react to this awareness of his. "I can't wake up now because…"
"I'm currently making some modifications to Master's body systems for future purposes. This way, you can better adapt to Primordial Regression Technique upgrades," Charcoal said.
"Can we hold off on making any more modifications? I feel fine as it is." It truly did not matter to Wang Zheng. He did not fully understand the technique as it was yet, so it felt like there was still no need for these further efforts.
"We are already past the point of no return," Charcoal stated. Wang Zheng seemed slightly disappointed, or perhaps he was just perplexed.
In the end, Wang Zheng did not mind. He would occasionally enter the Rubik's Cube to stare blankly at Bonehead. While Bonehead and Charcoal were not humans, they were the people that Wang Zheng felt the closest to now.
Bonehead definitely had not saved him just so he could give up all hope. He had to have some reason to live!
Lan Ling visited Wang Zheng every day, mostly accompanied by others. Sometimes she was accompanied by an old man who known as the Seventh Uncle, but most of the time it was her assistant. This assistant had a booming voice and was always complaining. She grumbled about how Wang Zheng had not woken up after so long, the nutrient fluids in the IV being drained extremely fast and being very costly as a result, the fact that there was nothing beneficial about the whole enterprise, as well as the fact that it would have been alright if Wang Zheng was a woman, but he was a grown man and saving him tarnished the Miss' good name…
All in all, her main point was to convince Lan Ling to send the vegetative Wang Zheng back to the Milky Way Alliance as soon as possible. If he was to be healed, the Milky Way Alliance should be the ones to do it.
Lan Ling always just smiled in response. She simply pointed out that she had saved Wang Zheng with her own hands and wanted to be responsible for him till the very end.
It was apparent that Lan Ling commanded a high position of authority. Even as she called out for her Seventh Uncle, he was extremely respectful before her.
Occasionally, Lan Ling would visit alone. She would talk a lot while changing Wang Zheng's nutrient fluids.
Wang Zheng was able to piece together an impression of Titatitan Star from Lan Ling's words.
When the Titatitan Star was first discovered by humanity, there was already a highly advanced Tita civilization present. The Titans were truly extraordinary, for two siblings born of the same mother could, as a result of making different choices, grow into two entirely different beings – the elder or the warrior.
The elders were the wise men of the Titans. There were not many of them, and they were often short and had wrinkled faces. Despite this, they possessed high levels of intellect. According to the sayings of the Titans, the elders were blessed by Titan, and they inherited the wisdom of all the elders from previous generations.
On the other hand, the warriors were the soldiers of Tita. They averaged three metres in height and were extremely strong. The strongest of these beings would be able to use just simple weapons to defeat human mecha in single combat.
The people who discovered the Titatitan Star were actually from Lan Ling's family.
It was during the Interstellar Voyage Period that the Lan family discovered the mystical Titatitan Star.
Under the guidance of the Lan family, the Titans halted their resistance and actively integrated with the Milky Way Alliance. A large number of humans began to migrate to Titatitan from then on.
The Titans also started to take a liking to human technology and culture, for they were able to transform their lives for the better. New weapons also allowed their warriors to become more formidable.
In the wake of humanity's further establishment of the Milky Way Alliance, it was only recently that the Titatitan Star had finally an expressed interest in joining the Alliance.
However, just as the Titatitan Star was about to become a member of the Alliance, a business corporation discovered that the Titatitan Star contained large reserves of Titan Ore. This was a type of gravity-defying ore. A piece of this ore around the size of a fingertip allowed one to free oneself from gravity and soar freely in space. This was an extremely rare resource used in the construction of mecha and battleships, and even more crucial was the fact that this mysterious mineral provided much potential for further research.
The situation became complicated for the humans wanted to extract the Titan Ore, whereas the Titans believed that the Titan Ore was the spirit of Titatitan Star and was a sacred entity that should only be extracted naturally. In the Titans' words, only the amount bestowed by the heavens should be allowed to be taken away. The humans, on the other hand, held a different point of view, for large-scale extraction was a necessity for the progress of mankind. In the face of this conflict, the Titans began to withdraw their application to join the Milky Way Alliance.
It was obvious that the business alliance would not give up on the Titan Ore. In the entire Milky Way, there were only a couple of extremely dangerous places where the collection of such an ore was possible, and, furthermore, there was only an exceptionally small amount found at these locations. On the other hand, the Titatitan Star contained this rare ore under its entire surface. While the exact volume of these untapped reserves had not been determined, word was going around that the reserves could be extracted for at least five hundred more years.
If not for the restrictions set in stone by the Milky Way charter, the only ones with the rights to develop the Titatitan Star would have been the Lan family that discovered it. If that were the case, the Milky Way Alliance would have totally annihilated the Titans long ago.
However, the Laws of Voyage were unable to stop the business alliance from gradually spreading their influence to the Titatitan Star. A large number of mercenaries bearing business alliance flags set up outposts one after another. They demarcated the ground and began their preparations. If the situation were to turn in their favor, they were willing to bend the rules.
At the same time, a special supervision team formed by various nations from the Milky Way Alliance was established on the Titatitan Star. The Milky Way Alliance Parliament condemned the conflict publicly, but privately they endorsed such an expansion. As a result, the peace of the Titatitan Star was broken, they had gotten into trouble for possessing treasures.
This was the complicated situation on the Titatitan Star.
The three powers involved were the first-generation immigrants led by the Lan family, the business alliance that arrived later, and the indigenous Titans.
There was also the Milky Way Alliance's special supervision team, which was a neutral party made of members from various nations.
The business alliance and the Titans were in clear conflict, whereas the Lan family served as the lubricant between them. Based on strength alone, the Lan family as early immigrants benefited more from being partial towards the Titans. If the business alliance managed to obtain the rights of ore extraction, then the Lan family would lose their ability to lead the Titatitan Star. Within the Lan family, there were various opinions regarding what to do with the ore as well. Some supported the plan of sustainable development, whereas others wanted to extract it all for development due to the tremendous benefits involved.
On the other hand, the special supervision group was more partial towards the business alliance. The extraction methods that the Lan family proposed were entirely unable to appease the different nations' interests. At the same time, all-out war was a situation that they wished to avoid, for the Titans were a force to be reckoned with after all.
Charcoal's body modifications were finally complete. However, Wang Zheng honestly could not feel anything different other than the sense that he had finally survived once again.
At long last, Wang Zheng opened his eyes.
"Miss! He's awake!"
A shriek greeted Wang Zheng!
It was Lan Ling's female assistant, Sun Xin. She was currently changing Wang Zheng's nutrient fluids. While she was doing it unwillingly, she knew that if she did not do it, Miss would personally do the job. Sun Xin knew that Miss had already done it many times, but as long as she was present, it made no sense for her to let Miss personally intervene instead.
Wang Zheng blinked and immediately saw a brutish woman rushing towards him. Cheh, did he really have to suffer such a shock the moment he woke up?
Thankfully, a delicate face quickly revealed itself through the fiberglass of the treatment pod. "You're awake! Oh, that's great!"
However, Wang Zheng noticed a tinge of regret from her pleasantly surprised eyes before they were swiftly engulfed with joy. This was probably from the loss of someone to talk to. Over the past few days, the words that Lan Ling spoke to him included the heartfelt concerns that girls faced. Even if they were secrets, much thought had to be had before saying these things out loud, for Wang Zheng was an adult male stranger after all.
Immediately after, a large crowd of people surged in to carry out a diagnosis on Wang Zheng. All was fine, and it seemed that his body had already recovered completely.
Wang Zheng emerged from the treatment pod. After a standard sterilization procedure, he changed into clean clothes. An old man came up to him. Wang Zheng recognized his voice instantly – this was the housekeeper that Lan Ling called Seventh Uncle.
"Miss has some questions for you in the guest hall."
The strict rules of a renowned household meant that Wang Zheng would not receive any special treatment just because of Lan Ling's kindness.
The quiet corridor was filled with paintings that depicted the historical struggle of the Lan family.
Upon entering the guest hall, the imposing aura of a renowned household was immediately felt. Portraits depicting Lan family leaders of past generations hung on the wall. Their stern gazes overlooked the hall as though they were judging every visitor.
"Please take a seat."
Upon Wang Zheng's entry, assistant Sun Xin interjected before Lan Ling could even say anything. She threw a plastic bag containing Wang Zheng's personal effects into Wang Zheng's hands. It even contained the tattered federation military uniform. Sun Xin flipped her large, goldfish-like eyes and glared at Wang Zheng. "Little Brat, in order to save your life, Miss Lan Ling spent 1,630,000. Have you even thought about that yet?"
Chapter 457: Hostage
Translator: Abyssruler Editor: Lucas
Lan Ling grabbed onto Sun Xin, "Don't listen to her rubbish. Just take care of your wounds, alright?
"Missy, that money was your own money. You always let others walk all over you. When you employed me we agreed that you decide on public matters, whereas I make decisions for private matters." Obviously, the money was a private matter.
"Sun Xin, I'm thirsty, go make two cups of coffee." Lan Ling embarrassedly wiped her forehead.
"Hng, just one cup will do. He shall have to make do with plain water!" Sun Xin angrily stormed out.
Wang Zheng opened his plastic bag and took out his Skylink. It was entirely destroyed, so it seemed like he would not be able to pay off his debts immediately. He laughed bitterly, "Miss Sun wasn't wrong, but my Skylink can't carry out any transactions now. Hope that you'll give me a few more days."
Nowadays all transactions were made via Skylink. Without a Skylink, doing anything was extremely difficult.
"Don't worry about it, Little Xin has a sharp tongue but a soft heart. Oh right, what's your name, and why have you come to Titatitan?" Lan Ling inquired curiously.
Wang Zheng smiled, "I'm Wang Zheng from the Solar System Federation. I'm from Earth, and am currently on active service here. My specific task hasn't been assigned."
"You're really from the Milky Way Alliance?"
"I guess so."
Lan Ling blinked her large eyes and asked: "Do you know what happened to you?"
The corners of Wang Zheng's eyes trembled as he slightly smiled, "I know, my transport ship got shot down."
Only after a slight pause did Wang Zheng continue: "If I'm not wrong, it should have been shot down by a Milky Way Alliance spaceship."
Lan Ling gaped for quite awhile before asking: "So you already knew. However, you're from the Milky Way Alliance yourself. Why would you be attacked by your own people?"
"There must have had been some mistake with their information. I'm definitely rather unlucky."
Wang Zheng bitterly laughed. It definitely had to be a mistake, or else what else could it have been? It would be unwise to dig deeper, at least not for now.
Lan Ling was elegant and tender, and only gazed quietly at Wang Zheng. "On Titatitan, my word carries weight, but if you do not wish to say more I will not force you.", she nodded.
Wang Zheng smiled, "Thanks for saving me, I don't really know how to repay you."
"If it were someone else, I would have done the same."
It was apparent that Lan Ling really wanted to help him. In this short amount of time, hearing Lan Ling think out loud allowed Wang Zheng to sense her kindness. This made Wang Zheng really want to see more of Titatitan Star.
"Let me tell you a story. There was once a powerful empire with a perfect princess as the heir. However, one day, when the princess was in another country on a diplomatic visit, she crossed paths with a destitute young boy. They involuntarily fell in love with each other, but soon, they were separated by the sheer distance between their respective positions in society. The young boy knew that the princess was far above his reach, so he worked extremely hard. The princess and the young boy restrained themselves at all costs to keep their love under wraps. Alas there was finally a day where both the princess and the young boy could not resist any longer and announced their relationship to the world. At the time, everyone started to applaud and offered their congratulations to the couple. Well, what do you think happened next?"
"What a shame." Lan Ling shaked her head slightly. Clearly this kind-hearted girl was also very sharp. "The princess should have endured for a little more, waiting for either the boy to grow more, or for her to attain more authority."
Wang Zheng nodded, "Those who congratulated them turned their backs on them and took the princess away, preventing the young boy from contacting her ever again. After that, they also used their authority to transfer the boy away. Perhaps even that was not good enough for them, and they could only be at ease if the boy was dead. What a melodramatic story, don't you think?"
Lan Ling shook her head strongly, "This storyline does seem a little old-fashioned. Didn't expect you to have some talent in storytelling."
Wang Zheng laugh, "People from Earth are all good at telling stories."
He only hoped that Aina was not implicated in this incident.
Lan Ling exhaled and nodded her head, "Does the stupid boy still love her? Such a difficult love is so impractical. No matter how hard he tried, how would he ever be fit for the princess? If they had given up sooner, both parties would have been better off."
Wang Zheng shook his head: "The princess was very dedicated. The link between the princess and him was like a tightly stretched rubber band. By the time they realised that, it was already too late. If one party were to let go, the other would be hurt.
Wang Zheng finished his speech and originally assumed that the kind-hearted Lan Ling would be touched to tears. Unexpectedly, Lan Ling was laughing and slapping the sofa really hard. "Look at your unforgettable appearance! Could it have been your first love?"
Wang Zheng's face darkened. Keeping in mind that Lan Ling was his savior, he just nodded his head. Urgh, in the future, even if someone beats him up, he would never repeat such words again. However, he felt an indescribable sense of relief. In the past he would never have been so open with his words. A man must have dignity! When facing such trivial matters, a true man would just grit his teeth and get past it. As long as Aina was alright, he would endure it.
As Lan Ling watched Wang Zheng nod his head, she stopped laughing and stood up. She spoke to Wang Zheng with a serious tone: "Well, you should be happy. You didn't die, and the facts have been settled. First love is just meant to be reminisced about anyway. Oh right, are you still going back to the Milky Way Alliance's side? If you are unwilling to do so, I still lack a bodyguard by my side."
Crack! The guest hall's front door was pushed open by the sturdy Sun Xin. She carried a saucer with both hands, and there was only one cup on it; clearly Wang Zheng did not have a share. She just happened to hear Lan Ling mention her bodyguard. Her eyes opened wide in surprise and she opened her mouth to speak, but Lan Ling glared at her, so she simply twisted her mouth and glared intently at Wang Zheng without saying a word.
Wang Zheng definitely had to return to the Milky Way Alliance. His Skylink was broken, but the Federation Army's transfer orders were saved on his memory card. If he didn't go back, the entire federation would think that he had died.
However, it was not time to return yet. There were some things that he had to clarify, in particular the situation on Titatitan Star. The Lan family was one of the three big powers, and if he were to return to the Milky Way Alliance, he would not be able to understand the actual situation as well as he could here. At the same time, he had to at least wait for Lan Ling to recover the data on his Skylink.
If the ambush had not happened, Wang Zheng would not have minded. A soldier is meant to follow orders, but while orders are meant to be followed, the preservation of one's life has to still remain in one's hands.
"If it's alright, I would like to spend some time recuperating here." Wang Zheng ignored Sun Xin's loathing expression and made his request.
Lan Ling was very generous. With a smile, she recommended Wang Zheng to be a member of her bodyguard team. After all, if Wang Zheng were to stay, he had to have an official designation.
Lan Ling's bodyguard team was in fact the first part of the Lan family's personal troops. The usual family troops mostly consisted of multinationals, and of course also included some of the Lan family's descendants. Wang Zheng was brought over by Sun Xin, but Sun Xin's expression was not great at all.
"Little Brat, you must be the hostage that Missy's brought back. Come, take my hand, let's see how strong you are."
Captain Miloxius gestured to Wang Zheng to arm wrestle. This blockhead was 2.3 metres tall. His nickname, "God of Strength", appealed to Wang Zheng immediately.
"Captain, take it easy, this hostage spent a lot of Missy's money, make sure not to break him." a squad member roared from the side, with a gaze full of ridicule at Wang Zheng. Lan Ling was rather renowned on Titatitan and she treated others well too, but people like Wang Zheng surely did not deserve it.
The moment they linked hands and before any strength was even exerted, Wang Zheng already started to wrinkle his brow. Miloxius stared blankly, for his opponent did not seem to resist at all. Perhaps his opponent was too weak, and his complexion also seemed to reveal that he had not fully recovered from his wounds. Miloxius felt like he was being too much of a bully.
Releasing his hand, Miloxius gave Wang Zheng a pat on the shoulder, "Little brat, let your body recover first, then you can start working hard to pay back your debts!"
Wang Zheng smiled and nodded, "Thanks."
Miloxius clapped his hands, then started to assign the day's bodyguard tasks. There were five people per shift. The completion of every four hours of duty would be followed by eight hours of rest in order to ensure that the bodyguards were alert while on-duty.
Wang Zheng had an easy time as well. His work would last for eight hours. Whenever the on-duty squad members needed something, they would call for him. If they were thirsty he would deliver water, and if they were hungry he would send food – these were the miscellaneous tasks he had to do.
While these people looked down on Wang Zheng, they were not truly evil. However, thinking about it, while the saying goes that saving a life is more meritorious than building a seven floor pagoda, this was a rather outdated concept. This was not a game either, and a large amount of money was estimated to have been spent. As long as your life was slightly lowly no one was willing to cure you, and furthermore Titatitan was only considered a third-rate planet in the Milky Way Alliance's eyes, so the spending must have been higher than usual as well. It was definitely no small sum, but Wang Zheng was now rather well-off, so he intended to repay his debts immediately once the Skylink data was recovered. However, Lan Ling had mentioned that the procedure was still rather troublesome.
There were no taboo topics to the bodyguards. Their idle chatter consisted of either news known to all Titans, or rubbishy gossip instead.
At the same time, the latter was the type of information that Wang Zheng was most interested in. The gossip contained small details that could be extracted and analysed, such as how the Titans were like, the conflict between the trade unions and the early immigrants, the position the Lan family held among the immigrants, etc. Wang Zheng really wanted to know more about the planet's overall situation as well.
With over a million immigrants, the Lan family was the clear leader of them all, and were loved and respected by all immigrants.
These millions of immigrants were not be underestimated. Their long-term interactions with the Titan people led to a strong sense of trust being developed over the years. Other people would not be able to easily obtain such a strong trust, not even the Milky Way Alliance.
From the chatter, Wang Zheng gained a better understanding of some of the unique characteristics of Titatitan Star. The ground's magnetic field in this place became extremely erratic due to the presence of the Titan ore. In some areas, it was similar to space in the sense that there was no gravity, whereas in other places gravity was ten times or even a hundred times stronger.
Of even greater interest to humans was the fact that within the unique environment of the Titan Ore's magnetic field ring, light-based weapons would deviate in an unpredictable way.
As a result, laser weapons were nowhere to be seen on Titatitan Star. They were still present as old-fashioned firearms, but their power was severely reduced. This was also the reason why the people from the chamber of commerce did not dare to rush indiscriminately into action, for the Titans were frighteningly skilled at combat on their own planet. No one dared to use large-scale weapons of destruction either, for directly breaking the rules of the Milky Way Alliance's charter would have unbearable consequences.
"I heard that women from Earth are very conservative?"
"It's not that bad." Wang Zheng wiped away his sweat. With this bunch of old perverts, the conversation inevitably turned toward women in no time at all.
Chapter 458: When in Rome, do as the Romans do
Translator: Abyssruler Editor: Lucas
"Do lovers dare to hold hands in public?"
Hearing these ridiculous questions, Wang Zheng gave up and continued sweeping the floor, leaving the others to their idle chatter.
An outburst of laughter rang out when Wang Zheng left. A few hours later, a new group of bodyguards took over the shift. Wang Zheng took the initiative and prepared drinks for the new bodyguards.
���Good kid. I heard that you're a soldier?"
"I'm sure that you're a Milky Way Alliance soldier. Your actions and build fit the stereotype exactly. Man, you must have really offended many people to have been sent to such a wretched place at such a young age."
The Lan family spent hard-earned capital to hire these mercenaries as their bodyguards. The bodyguards' gazes were more piercing from one bodyguard to the next, and they regarded others without any trace of bias.
"I'm a military school student, currently in my second year of university. Due to my bad luck, I've been sent here on attachment."
"Ah, so you're still a student. Eh, maybe there was really a mistake, your luck must really suck. On the bright side, the Lan family holds the most power here. Furthermore, you know Missy as well, so I'm sure that will help your reputation when you return to school," Miloxius remarked. Missy had specifically instructed him to take special care of this young one. If not, Miloxius would not have bothered at all. However, while this youngster was rather weak, his personality was not too bad.
"I also consider myself fortunate. Hopefully, I'll find a chance to repay her."
"Haha, actually, many years back, I myself decided to stay on after receiving a favor from Missy. For now I think it's fine if you just earnestly take care of yourself and avoid causing any unnecessary trouble." Miloxius laughed. While this kid understood the importance of gratitude, he did not seem to be able to help much in any way. His arms looked like they were not strong enough to even handle a chicken. The frailty of the Solar System's people was well known, and Miloxius was from Manalasuo after all. "Also, try to cheer up. There are plenty more fish in the sea, don't wither away just because of one woman."
Wang Zheng did not know whether to laugh or cry and just nodded in response. In Lan Ling's eyes, being a princess was at about the same level as being a girl from any decent family on Earth at best. It was no big deal at all.
Another person chimed in. "Count yourself lucky to be in the favor of the Lan family's daughter. If you had been first found by the Titans instead, heh, ever wondered where the black skull hanging on the entrance to Windbreak City came from?"
"Stop spouting nonsense. The Titans aren't as savage as you imagine. Their civilization deserves some respect. As for the skull, that was a warrior who failed at the Tucha Ceremony, a distinguished event where only brave humans recognized by the Titans can participate."
"Cheh, I was just scaring the young one, why'd you bother to expose me?"
"What is this Tucha Ceremony?" Wang Zheng blinked in surprise. Even though he had heard of many events involving the Titans from Lan Ling, he knew nothing about the Titans' customs.
"It's a warrior's ceremony that occurs three months after their coming of age ceremony. The ceremony is kind of similar to our Ironman triathlons, but the stages are far more perverse. They are pretty much impossible to pass if you are not a true expert.
"What kind of place is Windbreak City? Isn't it a little too sadistic to hang the skull of a failed warrior in the city?"
"They are Titans after all. We can't use human standards to judge their customs. Their civilization is different, and their way of honouring the dead is different from ours. We humans have concepts such as a peaceful burial and utmost respect for the dead. To us, the skeleton is the soul's dwelling place, closely linked even after death. When the ashes of the dead disperse to all, their souls return to the sea. On the other hand, the Titans believe that skeletons of the dead are to be cherished by the living. Once someone passes away, their soul returns to Titan, which is the ore that we are currently standing on," an old man suddenly interjected from the side with his long-winded explanation.
As one ages, the more one feels tempted to show off one's knowledge in front of young people. There are often old people who want to give youngsters a taste of their ample experience.
Wang Zheng chuckled as he patronized the old man. On the other hand, the bodyguards around him had started fidgeting long ago. They kept shooting glances to Wang Zheng to no avail. So what if this old man was a big figure? He seemed to be as much as a show-off as any other old geezer.
It had been too long since Lan Jiang was last able to talk to his heart's content. As the Lan family's barely surviving elder, he held a frighteningly high position of authority in the family. Just the simple clearing of his throat would result in people obediently preparing tissues, spittoons, and mouthwash before he could say anything. Don't they know that the older you are, the more you love lively situations? In his house, the places he walked were cold and cheerless. Other than his loud footsteps, other people around him walked around as silently as ghosts, without a sound to be heard.
Respect for elders is a pretty good tradition, but whenever he started to speak, his children and descendants would think that they had a better understanding of the family's history. Behind his back, they whispered remarks such as "It's so annoying to talk about the past!", "I've grown tired of all these stories!"…
Fine! Since his family members did not want to listen, he decided to talk to outsiders. Before he could even leave the house, he was "escorted" back. Two big men clamped him from his left and right and chased him back into the house. Seemed more like a kidnapping than an escort!
It sure was lonely at the top.
Lan Jiang sized Wang Zheng up with great interest. "Are you the youngster that Ling Ling saved? I'm warning you, Ling Ling is kind-hearted by nature, so you better not have any ulterior motives regarding her. You barely have any meat on you, definitely gotta train more as a soldier."
Wang Zheng did not know whether to laugh or cry, and just nodded. He did not dare utter a word in response. While he was not that old, his past relations with the Old Merchant had led him to have a favorable impression of interesting old people. Old and young, it was the same.
"I don't want to assume anything about you, but from your countless questions on the Titans' traditions, I'm guessing that this is your first time on the Titatitan Star."
Lan Jiang remarked as though he was encountering a profound mystery, giving off his best impression of Sherlock Holmes in the process.
He had heard that his precious granddaughter had saved someone from the Milky Way Alliance, a young man with explosive vitality. He originally wanted to commend his granddaughter on her grace, but on second thought, he realised that his granddaughter was around the age where she would meet her first love. As her grandfather, how could he not personally come out and find out more!?
It was alright, though; this fella wasn't handsome at all. Even from an objective point of view, this young man was at most just slightly good-looking and could never steal his granddaughter's heart away.
"When are you going back to the Milky Way Alliance?"
Lan Jiang inquired with the tone of chasing a person away. The bodyguards' interest was piqued, and although they stood at attention, they could not help but smile. They were awaiting Little Wang's reply.
"I'm getting off work." Wang Zheng beamed, as he turned around and started to return to the room the bodyguards had assigned to him. He was supposed to get off work an hour ago, and there was no overtime pay in this place.
"How dare you!"
Lan Jiang was infuriated, but at the same time genuinely excited. He did not really want to get rid of Wang Zheng. Was there anyone in the Lan family home that would dare to toy with him? Even if this was just to attract his attention, it was pretty fun.
"Why, are you frustrated by my long-windedness? This old man just wants to reason with you!" Lan Jiang grumbled.
Wang Zheng deeply regretted his decision to volunteer for overtime. Not getting any overtime pay was annoying enough, now he had to deal with this inconvenience as well.
Lan Ling came to visit at night. With a pleasant smile, she remarked, "Grandfather is actually a nice person, he's just a little bored. If he has any requests, we usually try our best to fulfil them, so please try to understand."
Wang Zheng agreed without any hesitation. After all, this was a request from Lan Ling. If he could not even help out with this small request, what kind of person was he?
The next day, Old Man Lan Jiang arrived bright and early in the morning. "Follow me, young one, I happen to lack an assistant."
"Can I go back to the Milky Way Alliance right now?" Wang Zheng commented deliberately. Sometimes, when old people were bored, teasing them a little could make them happy.
"No can do, I haven't even found out who you are exactly. Furthermore, you still haven't paid up. Do you know how much your treatment cost? That was the girl's personal money." Lan Jiang's head was shaking like a rattle-drum.
Lan Jiang unquestionably had the most understanding of the Titatitan Star's affairs. The dwarves were the wise and the giants were the brave. The wise controlled knowledge, whereas the brave were natural-born warriors. Whatever weapon they wielded, they were able to exhibit their best abilities. This included human weapons as well.
The Titans had already adapted to human technology. Lan Jiang had specially designed close-range weapons and armor for the people of Titan Star. Over here, laser weapons and energy shields were ineffective. The warriors of the Titatitan Star grew up to five or six meters at adulthood, and they had enormous strength. Once they were fitted with custom-made equipment, their combat skills were astonishing.
Old Man Lan had attained his position not only because of his experience, but also because he had a natural gift for weapon design.
The laser weapons that humans preferred were useless on the Titatitan Star. Furthermore, the design of cold weapons was directed at the Titan people's body conditions, and were basically all made by the old man. Everyone remarked that Lan Jiang wasn't called "Jiang 1 " for nothing, but Wang Zheng was suspicious that he had changed his own name. After all, Lan Da Chui didn't have quite the same ring to it as Lan Jiang, and one would definitely fail to become a guru with that name.
While Guru Lan Jiang was researching, he never let Wang Zheng leave the house. Besides the tea and snacks to eat and the television to watch, how different was this from confinement?
Even worse… the television was not fun to watch!
In total, there were only two channels!
One of them was the Tita entertainment channel. They were showing reruns of Milky Way Alliance variety shows from a year back. The one currently showing was "Genius Da Zheng Gu", where a group of self proclaimed geniuses tackled various challenges… the content left Wang Zheng cringing.
The other channel was the kid's channel, which wasn't worth watching at all. One could never guess that such an antiquated place still existed today.
Turning off the television, Wang Zheng started to drink the tea. While he did not know much about tea, he could tell that this tea was of high quality. It was especially fragrant, and simply exhaling after drinking the tea made one feel at ease.
Even though one would sincerely like to play down the significance of some matters, sometimes the impact of the aftermath could get so out of control that even asking questions would not reconcile the situation.
Thankfully, Wang Zheng was always able to keep himself entertained. In the corner of the room were a few pieces of scrap paper with several math problems written on it. This was it.
Wang Zheng pulled out a few pencils from the side. The old man seemed to like using these old-fashioned tools, and so did Wang Zheng. The joy of writing was something that people with messy handwriting could never understand, but Wang Zheng's handwriting was rather neat.
Wang Zheng started writing faster and faster. The more he wrote, the more pleased he became. The question was rather difficult, and the knowledge Wang Zheng needed to tap on gradually increased…
Halfway through his writing, Wang Zheng furrowed his brow for he could not continue. The question was missing a key variable that could not be found on either of the two pieces of scrap paper.
Forget it, time to quit.
Wang Zheng nonchalantly tossed the papers on the table, and shifted his attention to the bookshelf on the side. The bookshelf could be described with a single word – spotless.