Chapter 68: Preparing for the Exchange Competition

Chapter 68: Preparing for the Exchange Competition

What could he possibly want at this hour?

Cang Cheng couldn’t help but feel irritated.

After all, this person hadn’t made any contact with Cang Cheng during their two days on the starship, acting like they had nothing to do with him.

With a cold expression, Cang Cheng said, "Come in."

The door opened, and Hilmeth, dressed in a sharp military uniform, entered. What he saw was Cang Cheng with his shirt buttons undone.

Cang Cheng had drunk quite a bit of fruit wine in the evening. His usually pale skin now glowed with a soft pink, and the delicate flush around his eyes gave his dark gaze an almost ethereal quality.

Pure and deep, yet with a hint of haziness.

The black shirt draped loosely over his slender frame, its buttons undone, exposing his lightly flushed chest. It was as if the creamy filling of a macaron, inviting Hilmeth to indulge.

Yet, the thought of Cang Cheng being alone with Mo Yu in such a state made Hilmeth struggle to keep his jealousy in check.

His treasure had been admired by another, observed with unwanted interest…

He wanted to pull Cang Cheng into his arms, marking him as his own, every inch of him saturated with his scent.

Hilmeth radiated a chilling aura, the veins on his hands and neck standing out starkly against his pale skin, like a map of barely contained fury.

Cang Cheng had a decent tolerance for alcohol. Whenever new fruit wine was brewed on Luo Ri, he would sample a few sips.

He couldn’t handle a thousand cups, but a few glasses of 5-degree sparkling fruit wine tonight weren’t a challenge for Cang Cheng.

His mind was clear, though the alcohol had flushed his face, making him feel a bit warm.

"It's pretty late, General. What brings you here?"

Cang Cheng fanned himself with his shirt.

Hilmeth couldn't tear his gaze away from Cang Cheng’s exposed chest, his hands clenching into fists.

He knew this was wrong, but he couldn’t control his instincts.

Forcing himself to shift focus, Hilmeth’s gaze moved upwards, to Cang Cheng’s light red neck, then to… his lips, which were more red than usual.

Elegant lips, a rich red color, with a slight upward curve as if smiling, inviting endless fantasies.

He felt a desire beginning to sprout.

Hilmeth tried to calm his emotions, but his eyes told a different story.

"How was your exchange meeting just now?"

"It was fine, everyone was easy to get along with."

Cang Cheng gave a very official evaluation, his expression indifferent.

"Oh? So you're feeling better, then?"

Hilmeth moved closer.

Cang Cheng pondered for a moment, then nodded.

When he's with the participants, Hilmeth isn't the governor of Luo Ri; he doesn't have to weigh the pros and cons. He's just an ordinary person who needs protection.

This feeling is oddly comforting, and Cang Cheng doesn't mind it at all.

"Indeed, it's not bad."

"So, you continued to talk with others after the meeting? Two people? Here, in your room?"

His voice deepened with each word, the tension in the room thickening as he spoke. By the time he finished, Hilmeth was locking onto Cang Cheng with a gaze so intense it could devour him.

His gaze, heavy with intent, lingered on the redness at the corners of Cang Cheng's eyes before moving to his slightly parted lips and the exposed cream-colored skin of his chest.

He scrutinized, his gaze greedy and possessive, as if trying to consume every detail.

This wasn't the usual Hilmeth.

Cang Cheng couldn't ignore the jealousy in his tone and the heavy emotions in his gaze, and said seriously, "Your state is not right, General."

"Not right? Cang Cheng, you don't understand me."

The calm tone carried an unusual pitch, accompanied by an undeniable sense of oppression.

He was no longer his usual self.

Hilmeth reached out, gently lifting Cang Cheng's chin with a single finger. "Cang Cheng, what do you think of me?"

Facing the advancing Hilmeth, Cang Cheng showed no sign of fear. His pure black eyes locked onto Hilmeth, sharp and unyielding.

"The General is naturally disciplined, impartial, and cold as ice."

Hilmeth chuckled, the sound tinged with a fiery intensity that sent a shiver down Cang Cheng's spine.

He traced Cang Cheng's jawline with his thumb, the roughness of his skin making Cang Cheng shift uncomfortably.

"Anyone else can see me that way, but not you, Cang Cheng."

Hilmeth moved closer, his usually cool body now radiating heat that felt even warmer than Cang Cheng's alcohol-flushed skin.

His blue eyes were utterly captivated by Cang Cheng, as if the world had narrowed down to just the two of them.

He wanted to make him... his own.

Thinking so, Hilmeth acted.

He leaned down, about to claim the other's red lips when...

With a sudden splash, a torrent of ice-cold water drenched Hilmeth, shocking him to his core.

The cold temperature jolted Hilmeth back to his senses instantly.

He stepped back two paces, bowed, and covered one of his eyes with his hand.

One of his eyes had transformed into the exotic amber eyes.

He breathed heavily, his reason and instinct waging a fierce battle.

The room was filled with the sound of Xilimus's breathing, while His Highness Cangcheng merely watched him coldly, without uttering a word.

The scent of mint suddenly became intense, then gradually subsided.

After ten minutes, Xilimus regained his composure on the surface, though his thoughts were still in disarray.

"Forgive me, His Highness Cangcheng. I couldn't control myself."

Cangcheng gave a cold laugh.

He stood up and walked to Xilimus, mimicking the gesture Xilimus had just made towards him, lifting the other's chin with one hand and gently pressing his fingers against the side of his face.

The admiral's beautiful cyan eyes were clouded with a light mist, making him seem more approachable than usual.

Cangcheng raised his gaze, his black eyes piercing.

"Admiral, coming to my place alone and drenched at this late hour, do you intend to spend the night in my room?"

The words were highly suggestive.

Xilimus didn't find anything wrong with their current position.

He was still a bit dizzy.

The sensation of Cangcheng's breath and touch on his face, combined with the brightness of Cangcheng's black eyes, which reflected only him at that moment, made it even harder for Xilimus to think.

He blinked, his pure white lashes as clean as snow, his expression utterly innocent.

"Is it okay?"

?

A huge question mark seemed to hover above Cang Cheng’s head.

"What did you say?"

"Can I stay overnight?"

Cang Cheng was left speechless by the question.

Stay overnight? No way!

Suddenly, Cang Cheng seemed to bristle, his entire demeanor becoming chaotic and flustered, his eyes darting around.

Why was Xilimus not playing by the rules?

Cang Cheng suddenly felt his hand, which was holding Xilimus's chin, grow warm.

He awkwardly released his hand and then pushed Xilimus into the bathroom, tossing him the disposable toiletries from the starship.

"You’re not thinking clearly right now. Go wash up first."

After a moment, the sound of water filled the air.

Listening to the water, images of the person getting wet flashed through Cang Cheng’s mind, and he pursed his lips.

Just... someone looks quite good.

No more than five minutes later, Xilimus emerged from the bathroom, wearing a loose bathrobe.

His eyes were clear, his jawline taut, and his presence as cold as snow, clearly having recovered from his previous state.

Xilimus apologized sincerely.

"Earlier, I wasn't in the right state. I apologize."

Cang Cheng snorted, his gaze sweeping over Xilimus's chest, which was overly exposed due to the ill-fitting robe.

A few glistening droplets of water clung to his powerful pectorals, giving his skin an ambiguous allure.

He has a great body, I kind of want to touch it...

Cang Cheng suddenly came to his senses.

He felt something was off with him.

Feigning calm, he drank a glass of ice water and returned to the topic: "So, what brings you to me so late at night?"

Xilimus grew serious. "The Exchange Competition list has been found to be tampered with by the Third Prince. The leak of weapon configurations also seems to involve the Third Prince.

To gain support from the outer territories for the throne, the Third Prince likely leaked the Cyan Star Domain's information, which makes sense as a motive."

As he spoke, Xilimus frowned.

Noticing Cang Cheng's robe still open, he walked over, picked up a clean towel, and draped it over Cang Cheng, covering the exposed skin.

Cang Cheng vaguely felt that there was something wrong with Xilimus's action, but he didn't want to think about it now.

He focused his thoughts on the Third Prince's matter.

"Is it really that simple?"

Although Cang Junting is quite foolish, the motive for the crime is so obvious... Cang Cheng always felt something was off.

"It's still under investigation. In any case, this Exchange Competition is fraught with danger. And if nothing goes wrong, I should be on the hit list too."

Cang Cheng raised his eyes and asked, "So, this is why you've been ignoring me these past few days? You're in danger and don't want to involve me?"

Xilimus opened his mouth: "Partly."

"Then what's the other part?"

"I thought you didn't want to see me."

Xilimus lowered his head, his gaze dimming, looking somewhat pitiful.

Cang Cheng suddenly remembered that he had cold-shouldered Xilimus after the latter bit him during a practical lesson.

Although later... he still used his ANKEN identity to teach Xilimus every night.

Hmm?

The phrase "teach every night" sounds a bit strange.

Cang Cheng: "I never wanted to avoid you."

The gray-blue eyes sparkling with a soft light, Hilmeth stared straight at him. "Really none?"

Feeling irritated by Hilmeth's gaze, Cang Cheng said, "If I don't come to you, won't you come to me? I'm not heartless, you know."

Hilmeth chuckled. "Alright, I understand."

Cang Cheng's frustration melted away instantly, a bright smile reaching his eyes, making him quite charming.

He pushed Hilmeth. "Go now! If you stay any longer, I’ll get into trouble."

Hilmeth, wearing an ill-fitting bathrobe and carrying his clothes, left Cang Cheng's room unseen.

If anyone had seen, the scandal involving General Hilmeth and the fifth prince would probably top the Star Net headlines the next day, staying there for at least three days.

The next day, the starship arrived at the border resource planet.

The team from the Canglan Star Region changed into uniform dark blue uniforms, representing their star region in the Exchange Competition.

Meanwhile, the team from the Giant Rock Star Region, dressed in deep red uniforms, was already waiting at the assembly point.

The competitors from the Giant Rock Star Region, true to their name, averaged a height of 2.5 meters, with skin resembling gray rock, incredibly hard and possessing strong defensive capabilities.

Even if a Giant Rock person was shattered into pieces, as long as a 5 cubic centimeter body tissue remained, they could regenerate by consuming energy.

The Giant Rock people were formidable and excelled in prolonged battles.

The Giant Rock Star Region and the Canglan Star Region, both being C-grade civilization star regions, were evenly matched in strength. However, in the Spirit Runes combat scenarios last spring, the Giant Rock Star Region lost to the Canglan Star Region, leaving the Giant Rock people eager to avenge their defeat.

And here was their chance.

When the Canglan Star Region invited them to the Exchange Competition, the Giant Rock people readily accepted.

This Exchange Competition, the Giant Rock Star Region was determined to win!

Shi Ying, the nearly 3-meter-tall leader of the Giant Rock Star Region, walked up to General Hilmeth with a fierce aura.

"Long time no see, General of the Canglan Star Region. I heard that after the last star region battle, you were severely injured and recuperated for half a year. Has your body rusted from disuse?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, the expressions of the Canglan Star Region team changed slightly.

The general was injured and recuperating?

Why hadn’t they heard about this before?

"No need to worry, I could still tear you apart," Hilmeth replied coldly.

Shi Ying sneered and didn't take Hilmeth's words seriously.

His gaze swept over the Canglan team, pausing briefly on Cang Cheng.

So this was the weak link in the team?

With such an obvious weakness, the Canglan Star Region was doomed this time.

He didn’t think Hilmeth, still recovering from his injuries, could lead this ragtag group to victory over their elite squad from the Giant Rock Star Region.

Shi Ying was determined to make the Canglan people fail in this Exchange Competition.

*

Host Mimi: "Hello everyone, welcome to the live broadcast of the C20 Summit Star Region Exchange Competition. I am your host, Mimi."

"I am host LEE!"

The two hosts, who had previously hosted ANKEN Arena, were fortunate enough to be selected for this grand interstellar event.

Mimi: "The summit exchange competition is held every four years. Not only are the prizes generous, but it also showcases the strength of the young generation from each star region."

LEE: "The competition follows a base capture and defense format.

Two teams, the Canglan Star Region and the Giant Rock Star Region, with comparable overall strength, start from the selected Base 0. They expand their bases, collect resources, and eliminate star beasts. These actions earn points.

Occupying the opponent's base and repelling their members can earn major points.

Teams must have adjacent bases to plunder the enemy's base. Attacking the opponent's members is unrestricted.

Within the three-day competition period, the team with the higher points wins.

The match ends early if one team is wiped out and loses all its bases. The other team automatically wins.

For fairness, the star region leaders and deputy leaders will have their communications blocked and be locked in the opponent's Base 0 at the start of the competition. They cannot leave or act independently unless team members enter Base 0 and find the room."

Mimi: "The competition will begin in one hour. Let's take a look at the participants' lists."

After she spoke, the information cards of both sides flashed one by one.

First, the team leaders' information cards appeared. Hilmeth, dressed in a stern military uniform, faced off against Shi Ying, the smirking leader of the Giant Rock Star Region.

Hilmeth's information card featured a polar ice special effect, with white snowflakes and blue ice pillars, making his cold gaze even more chilling.

Shi Ying's card featured a blazing flame effect, exuding power.

Hilmeth's combat value was listed as: 19,000.

Shi Ying's combat value was displayed as: 9921.

Real-time comments:

"Oh, it's the Giant Rock Star Region that lost to us in the Spirit Runes combat scenarios. We've got a strong advantage."

"The general is so dashing!"

"Wow, the last time I saw the general was quite a while ago."

"If the general could join from the start, we would likely dominate the competition."

……

After the team leaders were displayed, the vice leaders and other team members' cards were shown.

The cards were generally arranged by combat value, and both star regions were evenly matched, with Canglan's members having a slight edge over their counterparts.

Until the last card appeared…

Canglan Star Region

Name: Cang Cheng

Combat Value: 666

Giant Rock Star Region

Name: Shi Qing

Combat Rating: 5101

???

Among a long list of four-digit combat ratings, this three-digit 666 seems to be here just for laughs.

"I think I'm seeing things. Is our star region's combat rating missing a digit?"

"You're not seeing things, it's that useless decoration Cang Cheng! How can he even have a three-digit combat rating?"

"Is he here just to bring down the average?"

"There's no helping it, the general's combat rating is too high, so we need someone to bring down the average."

"Does it even matter if he's here or not?"

"Hmm... But having said that, at least he's easy on the eyes!"

...

The photo of Cang Cheng was likely taken without his knowledge; he wasn't looking at the camera.

In the photo, the soft afternoon sunlight shone on his pure, flawless face, casting a golden glow over him.

He lowered his head, fiddling with the holo-device at hand, his expression calm, his aura gentle and clean.

As if he were the only peaceful sanctuary in the midst of a battlefield filled with smoke, a stark contrast, yet irresistibly captivating.

Indeed... He's good-looking.

This photo was taken when Fu Congfei confronted Cang Cheng that day.

It must be said, Fu Congfei's photography skills are impressive. She once captured a photo of Hilmeth from 3 kilometers away through a sea of people at a celebration. She managed to capture Cang Cheng with great ambiance.

However, when Hilmeth saw this photo, he didn't seem too happy. He gave her a sharp word but was stopped by a glance from Cang Cheng.

Fu Congfei found it strange that the general had shown his emotions so openly but didn't delve deeper into it.

Inside the specialized tent, both sides were making their final equipment adjustments.

The Exchange Competition does not allow the use of spatial devices, nor the use of firearms and Spirit Runes exceeding Level A. Each participant can carry up to 5000 units of personal items.

All items must be inspected by professional detection equipment to record data before they can be brought into the Exchange Competition.

Level B weapons count for around 2000 units.

Level A weapons require at least 4000 units.

Spirit Runes of the same level take up one fewer zero compared to firearms.

As for tents, clothing, food, and other such items, each takes up only 1 unit.

Cang Cheng glanced at the rules.

Hmm... A Level A Spirit Rune only takes up 400 units.

He can still perform runecrafting without a carrier, so not carrying any Spirit Runes didn't seem like a big deal.

Cang Cheng discreetly glanced at Hilmeth, who silently returned his gaze.

Clearly, Hilmeth had also noticed the pricing of this Exchange Competition, which seemed quite favorable to Cang Cheng.

However, Cang Cheng didn't go completely unprepared, so as not to stand out.

He brought a Grade B burst gun—a modified version of the dual guns he had tested in the military, crafted by Ming Bai, and trustworthy.

He also brought a few Grade B Spirit Runes, just for show—three stone golem runes—before organizing the items in his suitcase and placing them in the detector for scanning.

The biochemical agents, healing agents, and Tengmang agents made by Mù Xīng were uniformly detected as Grade B compound agents, with one vial containing 5 units.

Ming Bai's explosive pills were identified as stimulant drugs, with a pack of six capsules worth 12 units.

The black fur ball brooch on his chest.

The machine announced: "Accessory, 1 unit."

The ruby tail ring.

The machine announced: "Accessory, 1 unit."

The AI contact lenses.

The machine announced: "Daily necessities, 1 unit."

Cang Cheng was surprised, frowned, and fell into thought.

This detector is really cutting him some slack.

Besides, since the detector was provided by the other star domain, he figured it wouldn't hurt to bring some unusual items.