Chapter 29
After clarifying the specific situation with Yu Qingcang, Lu Jingning ended the communication. Seizing the opportunity while no one was paying attention, he pulled Yan Hebin aside and asked in a hushed voice, “Yan, do you remember the terrain near Building E on the west side of our school?”
Yan Hebin didn’t understand why he suddenly asked this but nodded hesitantly, “Yes, what’s the matter?”
Lu Jingning was overjoyed and quickly set up a temporary modeling system on his terminal to create a simple representation. He asked, “Look, if we get trapped in this area, is there a way we can evacuate through another route?”
Yan Hebin glanced at him and casually adjusted the virtual model, pointing to the left, “Building E is linked to the adjacent Building F through an aerial platform system that is not used much, so it’s easily overlooked. But if the routes on the upper and lower levels are blocked, we should be able to escape through this system. However, there’s one thing, the floating platform is usually retracted at the top of Building F. I’ve only heard about it and I’m not sure how to activate it.”
Lu Jingning exclaimed, “That’s enough! Thanks, buddy!”
Yan Hebin noticed Lu Jingning’s eager expression and vaguely sensed that something was off, “What’s going on? Are you planning to go out?”
Lu Jingning feigned a worried look and spread his hands, “I have no choice; my son is trapped outside, and I have to go out and find him.”
Yan Hebin was speechless, “Son?”
Lu Jingning continued, “A big, tall, and foolish son. If he survives this ordeal, I’ll introduce him to you!”
Yan Hebin’s lips twitched slightly, “No thanks.”
Realizing it was not the time for idle chatter, Lu Jingning didn’t say much and glanced at where An Huo was. He then pulled Yan Hebin’s shoulder and said, “One more thing, could you help me with something?”
Yan Hebin replied, “Hmm?”
For some reason, he had an intuitive feeling that this wasn’t going to be something good.
Due to An Huo’s vigilance at the entrance, it was impossible for Lu Jingning to leave in such a conspicuous manner. Even if he came up with a compelling reason to go out, they wouldn’t allow a freshman to take risks at such a critical moment.
Thus, he had to sincerely implore Yan Hebin for help.
Yan Hebin owed Lu Jingning a significant favor from their previous incident involving the Mecha Club. Being someone who repaid kindness, he found himself unable to refuse, even though he wore a strange expression. He walked over and tried to divert the attention of a certain senior sister.
When An Huo saw Yan Hebin suddenly approaching, she felt something was off, “What’s the matter, junior brother? Do you need anything?”
With one eye on Lu Jingning’s location, he received a signal from the other party and suddenly cleared his throat, struggling to force out a seductive tone, “Senior sister, are you interested in my pheromones?”
Such words were full of allurement and, under normal circumstances, he probably wouldn’t have dared to say them out loud.
An Huo clearly didn’t expect him to make such a move and was momentarily stunned, “Huh?”
Yan Hebin’s face was almost burning, but it had come to this point, and he had no choice but to bite the bullet, “What I mean is, senior sister, how do you feel about me?”
This time, An Huo couldn’t even utter an “ah.”
Though Lu Jingning had improvised this technique in a playful manner, he couldn’t help but chuckle at Yan Hebin’s iceberg-like allure. After seeing his successful reaction, he took advantage of An Huo’s momentary confusion and, in a flash, slipped away through a side door.
As he left the airspace, the deafening sounds of explosions outside became clearer. Lu Jingning, now acting alone, reduced his target size compared to when they were in a group. After a few glances at the sky, he quickly assessed the current distribution of enemy firepower.
Taking a deep breath, he concentrated his psychic energy and enhanced his leg strength, then moved with incredible speed.
Lu Jingning’s movement speed was impressive, and in no time, he was close to the E building, where Yu Qingcang and the others were being held captive.
As described earlier, the lower half of the building was riddled with bullet holes, and the upper section was engulfed in raging flames, looking like it could collapse at any moment.
The only silver lining was that the battle had shifted towards another direction due to the intense fighting, leaving some space for future actions.
Lu Jingning didn’t focus on the E building and turned around, heading directly for the relatively intact F building.
The aerial platform Yan Hebin had mentioned, capable of accommodating hundreds of people, was docked quietly on the rooftop of the F building. Previously, it was mainly used for leadership inspections and visits, and no one would have thought that it would be used for a rescue operation one day.
The plan seemed foolproof, but sometimes things didn’t go as expected. When Lu Jingning reached the top floor, he was unexpectedly stumped by an AI intelligent password command.
Lu Jingning couldn’t help but be speechless, “AI, can’t you be more accommodating? This is a life-and-death situation!”
The AI intelligence was as unyielding as ever, “To activate the rescue platform, please connect to the fire system within the building. It’s not under my jurisdiction.”
Lu Jingning gritted his teeth, “Do you believe I’ll dismantle you after this?”
The AI intelligence responded, “If threats worked, we wouldn’t need the interstellar police. You’re too naive.”
Lu Jingning exclaimed, “Damn it!”
He resisted the urge to dismantle the stubborn AI on the spot and was pondering whether such actions would be effective against the AI. Suddenly, he heard footsteps behind him.
When he turned around, he found himself face to face with Wen Xingchen.
Both of them were taken aback for a moment before almost simultaneously asking, “What are you doing here?”
The sudden air raid left no time for them to worry about others’ situations, or it might be more accurate to say that, in such a life and death situation, it was a blessing to ensure their own safety, let alone concerning themselves with others. So, if Yu Qingcang hadn’t contacted them to say goodbye, Lu Jingning probably wouldn’t have considered contacting anyone at all.
However, now that they ran into each other face to face, it was a different situation.
In the next moment, they almost simultaneously asked, “Anyone injured?”
The question slipped out, and Lu Jingning couldn’t help but laugh, “Alright, alright, the injured won’t come running here.”
Seeing Yan Hebin’s soaked clothes, he gestured to him, “So, are you here for the same thing?”
Wen Xingchen nodded, “Jian Luan is trapped. I came to check on him.”
Lu Jingning didn’t know what to say. Both Yu Qingcang and Jian Luan were troublesome characters, and he admired Wen Xingchen for worrying about them like this, just like he did with
his father.
Unfortunately, both of them were Alphas; otherwise, it would have been quite fitting to have a story of destined love or something like that.
As he had these thoughts, he casually asked, “You got the password then? This AI is a blockhead and won’t allow any exceptions without a password.”
The AI intelligence chimed in, “You’re pig headed too!”
Lu Jingning couldn’t bear it anymore, “Do you think I won’t dismantle you?!”
AI intelligence retorted, “If threats were effective, there wouldn’t be any need for interstellar police. You’re too naive.”
Lu Jingning grumbled, “Ugh!”
Seeing him argue with the AI at a time like this, Wen Xingchen couldn’t help but be in awe of his courage. He lightly patted Lu Jingning’s shoulder to signal him to move aside and then entered a series of codes on the nearby panel.
AI intelligence responded, “Welcome to activate the Sky Platform System, which will provide you with an entirely new sightseeing experience. I wish you a pleasant journey.”
Lu Jingning was stunned, “How did you get the password?”
Wen Xingchen had already stepped into the platform and looked back, “Aren’t you coming?”
Lu Jingning, seeing his outstretched hand, smiled slightly and unceremoniously accepted the offer, jumping up alongside him, “Lao Wen, you’re reliable!”
As the two of them operated the aerial platform, it descended onto the connecting platform of Building E. The teachers and students who had escaped death were overcome with tears of joy.
Many people inevitably got injured during their escape, but at this moment, a new glimmer of hope appeared on their previously lifeless faces.
When Yu Qingcang saw Lu Jingning, he rushed over wailing and tightly embraced him, “Daddy Lu, you really came!”
Lu Jingning struggled to break free from the bear hug, nearly passing out from the pressure, but seeing Yu Qingcang’s lively appearance brought joy to his heart. He patted his shoulder heavily and said, “Good son, when we get back, I want to eat braised pig’s trotters!”
Yu Qingcang ingratiated himself, “Sure, I’ll prepare a potful for you!”
After everyone successfully transferred to the platform, they began their slow return along the original route.
Beyond the transparent barrier, fires raged, and deafening explosions filled the air. Gradually, the jubilant atmosphere gave way to silence.
As they witnessed the scene of fiery warfare, they couldn’t help but fall into a state of contemplation.
Lu Jingning leaned against the transparent barrier, his gaze fixed on the mother ship in the sky. For a long time, he remained silent.
From this angle, the view was vastly different from observing under the anti-air zone. The perspective was now lateral, magnifying the details several times. He could even discern the faint blue energy beams gathering at the bottom of the mother ship, as if… as if they were charging up!
A sudden realization flashed in Lu Jingning’s mind, causing his blood to momentarily freeze. At that moment, an undeniable sense of coldness washed over him.
Wen Xingchen noticed his abnormality and looked over, his tone surprisingly calm, “It seems you’ve noticed too.”
When Lu Jingning turned to meet his gaze, he saw the same shock in Wen Xingchen’s eyes.
Noticing the glance from Yu Qingcang beside them, Lu Jingning calmed down, “Can you contact the command center?”
If they managed to obtain the password for the aerial platform, it meant Wen Xingchen had at least communicated with the mid-to-high level management.
Wen Xingchen nodded, “I can try.”
As Yu Qingcang was bewildered by their cryptic conversation, his recent experience left him still feeling dizzy, making him uninterested in probing further. Some matters were best left for these two bigshots to handle, and he didn’t want to get involved needlessly.
After descending from the aerial platform, the medical team, who had received prior notice, was already waiting below, efficiently conducting the safe transfer.
Relieved to see things settled, Lu Jingning sighed in relief. However, his relief was short-lived as Wen Xingchen approached with a serious expression. Lu Jingning couldn’t help but ask, “What’s wrong?”
Wen Xingchen furrowed his brows slightly, “Communications have been jammed since a moment ago, most likely due to interference.”
Lu Jingning glanced at his communicator and confirmed that he could no longer receive any signals.
It seemed that the enemy had entered the final phase of their preparations.
Wen Xingchen asked, “I’m going to the central command. Are you coming with me?”
Lu Jingning thought for a moment, “I’ll stay here.”
His response was indeed unusual, and Wen Xingchen looked at him with suspicion, “What do you plan to do?”
Lu Jingning stared back at him with a strange expression, “What can I do?”
“Better that way,” Wen Xingchen assessed his demeanor, still uneasy, and before leaving, he reminded, “I’ll be right back. Wait for me in the safe zone.”
“Hurry back!” Lu Jingning waved him off, watching Wen Xingchen’s figure receding into the distance. Finally, he couldn’t help but raise an intriguing smile, murmuring, “What’s there to wait for? Naive! Of course, I have my own plan!”
In reality, he didn’t think that the intelligence even the two of them, as school students, could uncover would have gone unnoticed by the command center’s experienced personnel. However, informing them was still a necessary precaution.
On the other hand, if the military had indeed noticed the enemy’s intentions but still refrained from taking action, it indicated a high possibility that they were unsure how to handle the situation.
The blue energy level’s charging had already reached a considerable magnitude, and in terms of destructiveness, a single explosive discharge could easily obliterate ten Imperial Navy fleets.
Given the ad hoc composition of the operation and their current control over the battlefield, successfully intercepting such a self-destructive energy source would be virtually impossible.
Lu Jingning had heard countless stories of heroes, but he never considered dying young. His father was still waiting for him to pay his respects back home; he couldn’t just give up so easily.
Thus, in the face of the uncertainty surrounding the school and military authorities, he could only contemplate executing his own little plan.
Looking around, he casually grabbed a member of the medical team and asked, “Excuse me, do you know where the Omega students from the dormitory building were relocated to?”
After a moment’s thought, the person pointed in a direction, “You mean those Omegas? They were sent to the No. 23 anti-air zone over there, I believe.”
Lu Jingning glanced in that direction.
As expected, the view revealed a tumultuous scene of fire and explosions.
For some reason, the interstellar pirates seemed particularly interested in that area. Numerous mini-bomber planes hovered above, heavily guarded. They had seemingly taken full control of the vicinity.
A knowing smile formed on Lu Jingning’s lips as he murmured with great interest, “So it’s the Pruxians, huh? Quite the fascinating hobby they have…”
T/N: Hey there! There is plenty more where that came from, so stay tuned! And stay healthy! Straighten your posture, so some stretches and drink some water before continuing hehe~
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If you like cats, check out Revenge of the Garfield
If you like dragons, check out I’m Pregnant with the Hope of the Entire Planet and The Dragon and the ‘Princess’
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What about the perfect, most non-toxic male lead ever? Laws of Love
How about MC nursing ML back to health? Forced into the Deep
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