Chapter 28: Military Region 01

Chapter 28: Military District 01

At ten o'clock in the evening, Luo Le returned home, his body weary.

The robot glided over, its voice a blend of coldness and artificial human-like warmth, "Madam, shall I prepare some food?"

Luo Le rubbed his flat stomach. After so long on nutrient solutions, he was getting tired of them.

"Mmm, same as yesterday would be fine."

"Understood."

The robot turned and entered the kitchen.

Luo Le trudged over and plopped himself into the soft sofa, staring blankly at the chandelier above his head for a while.

Suddenly, something came to mind, and he activated his smart brain to check the date.

Just as he thought, there was something he had forgotten.

Tomorrow is Huo Lanjing's birthday.

Strangely enough, since he entered the Huo family, they have never celebrated his birthday.

He had inquired about it, but the Huo family told him to mind his own business and not ask about matters that didn't concern him.

The Huo family had a long history of military and political service; even their family affairs were considered state secrets.

Thus, Luo Le couldn't uncover any information, but he speculated that perhaps someone close to Huo Lanjing had passed away on his birthdate.

The Huo family neither hosted birthday parties for Huo Lanjing nor gifted him presents.

It was as if no one had anticipated his arrival on the day he was born.

Luo Le couldn't comprehend how, even if there was a tragic loss on the day Huo Lanjing was born, not a single person could have looked forward to his birth?

Upon realizing this, Luo Le began giving Huo Lanjing a gift every year on this day.

If Huo Lanjing wasn't around, Luo Le would leave the gift in the storage room, knowing he would eventually return.

In previous years, Luo Le could only give his gifts to Huo Lanjing during the New Year celebrations.

But this year... he could deliver the present earlier.

After all, he would be enlisting in the military in half a month.

At this thought, a smile tugged at the corners of Luo Le's lips.

The next morning, Luo Le packed up and prepared to leave.

Suddenly, he noticed a reply from Captain Lin.

The letter stated that he had found information on the original owner of the mecha, but since it involved classified data, he needed to view it at the research institute within the Empire's military zone. His application for entry had already been approved.

Luo Le glanced at the time. The military zone was quite a distance away.

It would probably take two hours by a hovercar.

He had visited the area a few times before due to Huo Lanjing, so he was somewhat familiar with the route.

Unless one holds a special exception from the military district, there are strict regulations on hovercars.

Luo Le could only drive close to the ground.

The mountain road was rugged, snaking through more than a dozen mountains and dense forests before they finally reached the gates of the military district.

"Who is it? Do you have clearance?"

Luo Le alighted and accessed his smart brain to retrieve the application for the guards to inspect.

Upon scanning the document and spotting Luo Le's name, disdain and displeasure flickered in the guard's eyes.

"Oh, go on in then."

Everyone in the military district knew that General Huo had a wife, the eldest son of the Luo family.

Spoiled, prone to causing trouble, and always stirring up mischief.

General Huo despised his wife the most.

No one in the military district had any affection for this individual.

Even though he had only been here for a year, Luo Le had still heard of this lady's exploits.

He didn't mind; few people in the military district had ever treated him kindly.

Taking the pass from the guard, he strode straight inside.

At the very end was a row of sleek white single-passenger hovercars.

Luo Le made his way over familiarly, tapped his card, and the hovercar automatically set off towards its programmed destination.

In the military district, you could only go where your approved application specified.

Before long, the hovercar pulled up to the base of a towering, seemingly transparent skyscraper.

As soon as Luo Le stepped out, a robot walked over and stood before him. "Good morning. I'm your personal navigation robot. Please swipe your card."

Luo Le did as instructed.

Robot: "Please follow me."

Like the hovercar, he could only access the floors and departments listed on his application.

"Oh, who's this? Isn't this our General's wife?"

Luo Le furrowed his brow. Why was it this person?

This person was named Xu Fei. He had once served as the chief medic in the First Army, but after being injured on the battlefield, he had moved to a behind-the-scenes role.

He couldn't stand Xu Fei, and vice versa.

The two of them had had their fair share of clashes.

"What's with the sarcastic tone?"

Xu Fei nudged him. "Hey, I am being sarcastic. So what?"

Luo Le stumbled but regained his balance, then looked at Xu Fei. "Try pushing me again."

Xu Fei waved the documents in his hand and nudged Luo Le again. "What if I push you?"

Luo Le glanced at the papers and felt annoyed.

He reached out, snarling, "Give them to me."

Xu Fei took a step back. "Ask me nicely first."

Looking at Xu Fei's attitude, Luo Le gritted his teeth, veins pulsing on his forehead.

He lunged forward and grabbed Xu Fei's collar. Xu Fei, undaunted, hid the documents behind his back. "What are you doing? Trying to hit me? Go ahead, but if you do, don't expect to see these files."

Luo Le didn't respond, merely giving his badge a cold glance before letting go.

In their past altercations, Luo Le had always come out on top. However, he knew Xu Fei was injured, so he never pushed too hard.

At most, he'd leave a small cut on Xu Fei's lip – mainly because Xu Fei's mouth was just too provocative.

Luo Le turned away from him, expertly tapping a few numbers on the holographic screen.

Just as Xu Fei was about to say something more, a sweet female voice rang out, "Good day, this is the Complaints Hotline of Military District 01. How may I assist you?"

Xu Fei's face darkened. He had to admit defeat. Fine then.

He threw the documents over.

Luo Le received them with satisfaction, hanging up the call with one hand before immediately flipping through the files.

Curiosity written all over his face, Xu Fei leaned in. "Why are you looking into this person?"

Luo Le dodged slightly to the side without taking her eyes off the documents.

Xu Fei approached again, disgruntled. "Are you deaf? I'm asking you a question."

Luo Le turned away again, ignoring him.

There wasn't much information in the file – just a brief biography of the mecha's previous owner. Luo Le finished reading it quickly.

The clues within were almost non-existent.

Seeing that Luo Le didn't reply for a long time, Xu Fei crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. "I've fought this guy before, so I know him like the back of my hand. I know more than what these files say. Are you sure you don't want to butter me up?"

Upon hearing this, Luo Le looked up from the documents, only to see Xu Fei winking at him with a provoking expression.

Luo Le's face turned cold. "You really know?"

"Of course, do you think your old man was just twiddling his thumbs back then?"

"Were they treated here before?"

The file mentioned that the previous owner of the mech had been attacked by a psychic insectoid on the battlefield, suffering severe injuries.

After that, he was unable to operate any mechs for a long time. It was only after Teacher Tang built him a new one that he could resume combat.

"How did they manage to pilot a mech again later?"

Xu Fei had intended to give Luo Le a hard time, but for some reason, he changed his mind when he saw the earnestness in Luo Le's eyes.

"He could only operate the new mech built by Teacher Tang. Others were out of the question."

Luo Le paused, "Was there anything special about the mecha?"

"That person's mental power fluctuated between C and B+ after being attacked by the insectoids. The mecha could only recognize stable mental power, so it no longer accepted him. After Teacher Tang learned of this, he became very interested and spent a year developing a chip that could identify fluctuating mental power. That's how he was able to continue serving in the military."

Sure enough, it was the chip causing the issue. But the chip had been destroyed.

"Did Teacher Tang leave any record on how the chip was made?"

Xu Fei shook his head regretfully. "No, alas. If only there had been a record, fewer soldiers would have been forced into retirement."

Luo Le replied, "Alright, I understand."

"Huh? You're leaving already?"

Luo Le glanced back at him. "What else would I do? Stay and have dinner with you?"

Xu Fei's face twisted in disgust. "Scram, scram, who wants to eat with you? Not that I'm saying this, Luo Le, but can't you just be reasonable and divorce him? Let the general go, okay? Admiral Huo rarely left the empire before, but now, to avoid you, how often does he come back?"

Luo Le halted in his steps.

Xu Fei continued, "Look at you now, with nothing to show for it. Your father dotes on you so much. Just go back and act cute, get the marriage annulled. Then, you can do whatever you want without being constrained by the title of General's wife. Wouldn't everyone be happy?"

Luo Le's entire body froze.

In all the years he had been alive, he had never received a single compliment, smile, or word of concern from Luo Lu.

Now, someone was saying that Luo Lu pampered him – what kind of absurd joke was this?

Luo Le's eyes drooped slightly as he gave Xu Fei a casual glance. "Are you done?"

Xu Fei: "I've said my piece. Think it over."

Luo Le scoffed coldly. "Not an option. Let me tell you, unless the day I die comes, I won't divorce him. Do you understand? I just can't grasp why you always hold such malice towards me. What benefit would you gain if Huo Lanjing and I divorced? Or are you vying for his position? If that's the case, please use a more subtle approach. Otherwise, I might think there's something off with you."

Xu Fei's face turned ashen with anger at his words, and he rapidly sorted through his thoughts, determined to come up with a retort.

Luo Le didn't give him the chance, and promptly rushed out.

"Luo Le, you damn well stop right there! Who do you think is vying for power here..."

Luo Le waved it off. "No need for you to send me."

As he got into the hovercar, the thought of Xu Fei's defeated expression brought him immense satisfaction. He hummed a tune all the way back.

He hadn't forgotten about selecting a gift for Huo Lanjing. Upon arriving in the city, he promptly entered a familiar luxury goods store.

The salesperson's face lit up into a blossoming smile upon catching sight of Luo Le approaching.

Luo Le was their VIP of the highest tier, spending a substantial amount annually in the store.

"Mr. Luo, welcome back. Would you like the usual?"

Nodding, Luo Le allowed himself to be escorted to the plush sofa.

Not long after he settled down, a few attendants wheeled over a trolley, arranging pastries on the table.

Luo Le hadn't eaten anything since early morning, and with it now being noon, his stomach had been protesting for quite some time.

He picked up a pastry, gently biting into it. It was sweet yet not cloying, filling his entire palate.

It still had the same taste as before.

He ate at a steady pace, and soon finished three pastries.

"Mr. Luo."

Just as Luo Le took a sip of tea, several rows of Alpha appeared in front of him, standing straight and tall.

The one he had consistently chosen before was nowhere to be seen.

Luo Le scanned them from head to toe, then pointed at one Alpha with an erect posture and a well-built physique.

"I'll take him."