Hua Lian felt immense love towards her future working buddy.
She gave the other guy a sly peek, her eyes saying, 'Look, it came on its own; don't say I snatched it.'
The situation turned into an awkward silence. Hua Lian didn't care and hummed a sweet-sounding tune.
In a sneaky motion, Hua Lian took a step back and then another step, getting closer and closer to the mecha.
She hasn't learned the intellectual way to argue yet. She'll be at a disadvantage if this brother reasons with her.
Unfortunately, she calculated well, but the guy still caught her actions and continued blocking her.
"Little girl, please don't go. You really can't take him with you."
"But it came to me on its own." Hua Lian wrinkled her brows.
The dean was full of grievances that he couldn't express.
"That isn't how it works. How about this? You follow me and..."
"This brother! You can't be a kidnapper?!"
Hua Lian blurted out anxiously and then clamped her mouth. Her eyes darted around, feeling wary.
Looking more carefully, he wears a clean white coat and has the face of a gentle and intellectual person. Just his image alone doesn't make him look like a bad guy; in fact, she doesn't feel any maliciousness coming from him.
But people doing bad things don't necessarily target others out of maliciousness.
After all, she's tiny, like an excellent prey. Targeting her was a natural instinct of predators.
Hua Lian felt she had acquired a new understanding of high-level bad guys.
Seeing the change in her demeanour, the Dean lamented that the kid's sense of danger focused on the wrong guy.
Obviously, General Liele was the most dangerous one here.
"... Please look at my identification."
A system virtual screen flashed, showing the dean's identification, work documents, and working ID.
Hua Lian stared at the gene signature, trying to see its authenticity.
"Doctor Xiao?"
"Yes. Hello. Hello. I apologise for the late introduction. I'm the dean of the sanatorium in the outer district. You may call me Dean Xiao."
"Oh~, I'm Hua Lian."
She peeked at his work document, trying to understand his specific work. A flash of inspiration surfaced in her head.
"Doctor Xiao, do you really need to take it?"
"He's my patient."
Hua Lian wondered, "... A Zerg?"
"No!"
You want to be beaten! Insect type mimics hate being associated with Zergs the most!
"So he's a mimic." Hua Lian wasn't too concerned and brought back the topic: "He won't go with you; why don't you follow me instead?"
Dean Xiao didn't think much. "That's fine."
"Really?" Hua Lian wanted to seize the chance, she continued without pausing, "I live outside. In the next galaxy, which is far away, yes, but it will only take one space jump. I have a mech so we can go right away. If you come with me, I'll be responsible for your shelter and food, and you can continue to take care of him. Oh, but we need to make it clear; you must listen to me. And Eggy!... So, are you sure?"
"...Sure. Sure." Dean Xiao was dizzy from her rapid chattering; he wasn't able to hear clearly. Anyway, he decided to stall for some time, follow the general and this child, and prevent further accidents while he waited for the guards.
His thoughts were beautiful, but suddenly, something swift grabbed his ankle, and then his view turned upside down.
He was shaken silly before being bound.
"Please bear with me for a while, Doctor Xiao."
The docile-looking child coaxed him in a sweet voice before ruthlessly throwing him into the mech cabin.
Well damn, are kids nowadays also traffickers?
The little girl called him a kidnapper, but she's actually the real one! What a perfect example of a thief calling a thief.
Just how unfortunate he was to be forced to bear witness to the distortion of morality.
With a swift movement, Hua Lian closed the cabin door and started the emergency return navigation.
The mutant creeping vine considerately masked the dean's spiritual fluctuation, fully hiding a grown man in plain view. It was confident that it could deceive a nameless planet's security system.
It was only at this time that Dean Xiao saw what was binding him.
Before he could exclaim, it wrapped around his face and stuffed his mouth shut. It wrinkled in disgust, then poked him hard in the temple, as if saying, 'If you dare bite me, I dare poke you to death!'
He was shocked to see a very… 'individualistic' mutant plant.
While the two were having heart-to-heart communication, Hua Lian didn't delay. She sent her exit permit to the planet's main brain, accepted the security checks by the satellite system, and decisively made a space jump once outside the atmosphere.
As for the light brain of the doctor, Hua Lian wasn't afraid of being tracked.
Standard military mechas are all required to have signal blockers that prevent the use of light brains and similar devices.
According to the Imperial Army, Mecha Pilots are only allowed to use and install communication devices that have been approved by the relevant personnels. Any unauthorised modifications will be dealt with under military law, depending on their severity.
One of the reasons was to prevent the pilot's light brain from being hacked or traced. Another one was to further control the flow of information.
After all, the military and the government must have multiple layers of security to protect themselves. They can never be too careful.
Dean Xiao saw the only city on Planet S0914 disappear into a tiny dot, then saw its satellite station floating in the vast universe, and when the stars receded like rain, he was finally jolted awake.
This was no joke! They were really kidnapped! Two grown men!
No, wait, the general was a willing participant. He allowed himself to be used as a bargaining chip! The general was an accessory to the crime!
Dean Xiao finally remembered to struggle. If he was taken without a fight, he would be ashamed to show his face to the ancestors.
He leaked a whiff of his spiritual aura without restraint, trying to intimidate the little girl with his A-rank spiritual power. Seeing that she didn't react, Dean Xiao concentrated his energy to materialise.
However, even before conjuring something tangible, he was slapped into a daze by the mutant vine.
It was so angry that it constricted until the bastard was moaning in pain. Not only that, it also decided to slap him into being unrecognisable.
The bastard wanted to hurt its baby! The baby is just a tiny seedling and is very fragile!
Bad guy! Bad guy!
Fight! We must fight this out!
Dean Xiao was beaten so badly that he doubted his life. A weak-footed doctor wasn't a match for a wild plant!
Afraid of being tormented, he no longer cared about shame and turned into his mimetic form.
In a flash of light, a sea turtle appeared, and the mutant vine was confused for a second before reacting.
Too late, the bastard retracted himself into the safety of his shell.
The mutant vine wasn't discouraged; it can still stab him!
Inside the shell, Dean Xiao cried himself into sobs.
He lamented, what is shame when morality is dead?