Chapter 61
Wen Han was extremely angry, with a face turning pale, he turned and left.
Lu Jingning watched the departing figure and cheerfully whistled, waving his hand with a smile.
When he turned back, he saw Yu Zeyang looking at him with a complex expression. He couldn’t help but raise the corner of his mouth and said, “Why are you looking at me like that? I’m just annoyed by that pretentious attitude, it has nothing to do with you, no need to thank me too much.”
He wasn’t sure what had happened two years ago, but he had his own judgment on the matter.
Lu Jingning still remembered how Yu Zeyang looked when he first saw him on the day of the pirate attack. A person like him, willing to risk his life to protect an Omega classmate, how could he sacrifice others’ lives for so-called honor?
He was willing to believe in that kind of Yu Zeyang.
The interruption earlier seemed to have dampened everyone’s mood. Their excitement from before had disappeared, and they sat down at their representative delegation’s positions.
The content of the first day of the university mecha exchange was conducted in the form of a symposium. For Lu Jingning, it was not much different from attending a theory class. He lay on his seat, feeling drowsy all day, only waking up when the applause sounded in the venue. He stifled a yawn and clapped half-heartedly with the crowd.
The first day passed uneventfully.
After having dinner together outside, An Huo enthusiastically invited a few people to go shopping. After all, they were in a big city, and everyone’s interest was piqued. They quickly organized and even Yan Hebin surprisingly decided to join.
Lu Jingning felt uncomfortable not having a good nap in the afternoon, so he declined their invitation and decided to go back to the hotel room to continue his rest.
Before he even reached the door, he saw a figure leaning against the corridor.
He was somewhat surprised that this person was waiting for him here, but at the same time, it didn’t feel entirely unexpected. Yu Zeyang wasn’t the kind of person who hid things; it seemed appropriate for him to take this opportunity to have a private conversation after not saying much in front of everyone during the day.
However, this person still didn’t understand him well enough.
Lu Jingning walked over, and before the other could say anything, he spoke first, “Vice President, haven’t I told you already? Really, there’s no need to thank me so much.”
Yu Zeyang still had half a cigarette in his hand, almost enveloped in smoke. He fell silent for a moment and said, “I want to talk to you about what happened two years ago.”
Lu Jingning stared at his bitter and resentful expression for a while and suddenly said, “I have a question.”
Yu Zeyang asked, “What is it?”
Lu Jingning inquired, “So, the reason the Mecha Club never recruited Omega members was because of that incident?”
Yu Zeyang nodded, “Yes, that year…”
“That’s enough,” Lu Jingning interrupted without waiting for him to go into storytelling mode, “I know what I wanted to know. You don’t need to explain the rest to me.”
Ignoring Yu Zeyang’s dazed expression, he opened the room door and stopped halfway. He smiled ambiguously and blinked, “I said this in the afternoon too. I can’t control or want to meddle in what happened two years ago. I don’t like to interfere in other people’s business. If you’re really interested, just listen to Wen Han this afternoon. Why bother going in circles? Isn’t that reasonable, Vice President?”
Yu Zeyang said, “Seems like… you’re right.”
Lu Jingning waved his hand, “If there’s nothing else, I’m going to bed. Goodnight.”
Yu Zeyang muttered, “Goodnight…”
Even after the door closed, he was still somewhat stunned.
From the corner, there came a soft laughter, “Well, I told you there was no need to do this. You didn’t believe me.”
Yu Zeyang glanced at the figure emerging from the shadows, his gaze falling slightly, without saying a word.
Bing Yunlin approached, patting his shoulder gently, and handed him a cigarette, “Want another one?”
Yu Zeyang took it, lit it, and placed it at the corner of his mouth. Leaning against the wall, he tilted his head slightly, looking at the ceiling as if lost in thought.
Unknowingly, two years had passed.
This was also the fourth year since he met Wen Cu.
Although Wen Cu was an Omega, he had the same ambitious dream as him—to become an outstanding mecha pilot, standing at the forefront of the battlefield, charging into the enemy lines.
Even if they couldn’t achieve that, they at least wanted their designed mecha to grace the interstellar stage.
Wen Cu had said he knew how difficult this path was, and even his family consistently opposed it. But he believed in himself, believed that one day, this dream would become a reality!
Yu Zeyang believed too because at that moment, he seemed to see the vast stars in Wen Cu’s eyes.
So, in that semester, he invited Wen Cu to join the Mecha Club.
Over the next two years, they researched cutting-edge mecha technology together, developed new mecha models, participated in various mecha competitions as a team, and actively pursued their common dream…
Until, the preparation for the Mecha Field Challenge hosted by the Mecha Master Association began.
Like all the previous competitions, as the top combination in the Mecha Club, the only spot without any doubt fell on them.
To prepare for this competition, they immersed themselves day and night in the research and development of the new mecha. Finally, with Yu Zeyang as the control prototype, they jointly developed a competition model with all indicators deemed perfect.
Everything seemed ready, but unexpectedly, on the day before the challenge, Yu Zeyang entered his sensitive period.
Wen Cu, feeling uneasy, suggested a last-minute adjustment and as a result, they had a big argument that night.
Irritable, quick-tempered, and sensitive – these are common attributes for any Alpha during their estrus period.
Yu Zeyang could hardly recall the specific situation at that time. He only remembered the starless sky filled with dark clouds, and how Wen Cu left with a heavy slam of the door, leaving behind an extremely oppressive empty room.
To relieve his uncontrollable restlessness, he drank a lot of alcohol alone in the room. He ended up so intoxicated that he didn’t wake up until the next day when Bing Yunlin kicked the door open and dragged him up from the bed. Bing Yunlin told him bluntly that Wen Cu had gone to participate in the outdoor challenge alone.
At that moment, Yu Zeyang seemed to suddenly wake up, and he rushed out as if driven by madness, heading straight to the venue.
However, it was already too late.
The mecha designed specifically for him didn’t match Wen Cu’s control habits, and the argument from the night before made him completely forget to inform Wen Cu, resulting in an increase in the threshold of pheromone intensity during the final debugging process.
He had hoped to have a higher intensity of explosive power on the field to deal with potential crises, but now it had become his biggest hidden danger.
The mecha wilderness challenge tests the operator’s emergency response under various critical situations, and this extremely perilous combat environment was filled with potential abysses at every turn.
In such a situation, there was absolutely no room for any deviation in the threshold.
But at this moment, Yu Zeyang arrived too late. No matter how he explained to the staff, he was perceived as intentionally disrupting the order and was repeatedly barred from entering the arena.
In the end, he could only stare at the live broadcast on the big screen, hoping that Wen Cu would notice the deviation in the mecha’s data sooner.
However, the thing he least wanted to see happened.
Due to the insufficient physical energy of Omega itself, Wen Cu’s excessive consumption of energy during the competition led to the complete loss of control over the mecha.
When he tried to contact the central observation platform for assistance, it was already too late.
The red mecha descended like a wingless bird from thousands of meters high.
At this moment, it was only a stone’s throw away from the final destination.
Yu Zeyang could feel his entire body falling endlessly like the mecha on the screen, descending, descending…
After the incident, the Mecha Pilot Association discovered a far higher than standard level of pheromone intensity output in the wreckage.
If the required pheromone intensity of the mecha deviated too much, it often led to operational accidents. And Omega’s pheromone intensity was naturally weaker compared to Alpha’s. Normally, various mecha organizations prioritized Omega’s safety by assigning only low-level threshold mechas for their control. However, the mecha Wen Cu operated clearly far exceeded this standard.
This accident made the Mecha Pilot Association suspect that the Imperial Navy had overlooked safety hazards by forcing Omega players to participate and promptly issued a ban.
However, Yu Zeyang no longer had the energy to care about these matters. Perhaps because of the damage to the communicator, he received a delayed message.
It was the last image Wen Cu sent him: “Yu Zeyang, I’m sorry I couldn’t bring the trophy back for you. In the future, you must carry our shared ideals and continue to move toward more distant goals together!”
“Also, I like you.”
As the last words echoed, Yu Zeyang felt as if the whole world had fallen into silence.
“If only I hadn’t been so temperamental, if only I hadn’t forgotten to tell you how important it was to adjust the threshold, or if only I hadn’t brought you into the Mecha Society in the first place, perhaps none of this would have happened.”
“But now, how can I let you know that I like you too…”
As if it were too bright, Yu Zeyang blinked, and suddenly everything was covered in tears.
Subconsciously, he reached out to cover it but forgot about the cigarette butt between his fingers.
The sudden burst of flames made him let go instinctively, and the cigarette butt fell to the ground.
It flickered twice and then dimmed out silently.
It was just like the energy beam that had surrounded the mecha back then, completely lifeless.
Bing Yunlin sighed lightly beside him, “You should have cried out long ago…”
Yu Zeyang’s body trembled slightly. The 1.85-meter-tall Alpha suddenly held his head in agony, slowly squatting against the wall, crying silently.
…
After returning to his room, Lu Jingning fell into a deep sleep.
It was only when Yan Hebin returned and heard the faint sound that he woke him up from his slumber.
Lu Jingning opened his eyes drowsily and picked up the terminal to check the time. He found that he had received several messages intermittently.
He was about to open them when Yan Hebin suddenly walked to his bedside, looking hesitant, and asked, “Lu Jingning, is your heat coming soon?”
Although it was faint, he could still smell the pheromones spreading around him.
Lu Jingning had always been good at controlling himself, even when he was asleep, he rarely leaked any pheromones. But now, after being asked, he couldn’t help but be stunned for a moment before responding awkwardly, “Maybe?”
Due to the previous period of pheromone disturbance, his heat seemed to have been delayed, and he gradually forgot about it. Now, upon reflection, these days he did seem to be exceptionally drowsy, and he finally realized that his long-lost heat was coming.
However, it really wasn’t the best timing for it.
Yan Hebin also fell into silence.
This mecha had been tailored entirely for Lu Jingning, and finding a replacement operator at the last minute would be difficult.
Lu Jingning knew his concerns and comforted him, “Don’t worry, I can still go tomorrow.”
Yan Hebin furrowed his eyebrows, “Is it too dangerous?”
Lu Jingning patted his chest and assured, “Don’t worry, my heat hasn’t arrived yet. I’ll buy some suppressants and take them after the exchange meeting. It will be foolproof!”
Although Yan Hebin still wanted to say something, seeing that Lu Jingning didn’t seem like someone who would listen to advice, he eventually relented, “Okay, you handle it yourself.”
Lu Jingning saw him still standing by the bed, not moving, and couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow, “Is there anything else?”
“… Nothing,” Yan Hebin replied.
In fact, when he returned just now, he vaguely saw a figure that looked very close to Lu Jingning, a certain Alpha who seemed to be very close to him.
But at that time, the distance was too far, and it disappeared in a flash. Considering their current location, he thought he must have been mistaken.
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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How about MC nursing ML back to health? Forced into the Deep
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