Chapter 121

Chapter 121

At nearly the same time, in the Sacred Heart Church on the main planet.

Duke Jedd, sporting a monocle, peered through the glass at the lively crowd below. Further in the distance was the eastern port, where the massive hull of a spaceship appeared blurred by the distance. Against the backdrop of the endless starry sky, the ship looked minuscule, no bigger than an ant.

"Are you certain Bai Chuan will board that spaceship with Yi Ye?" Jedd, after a long look, turned back to the blond man opposite him and asked.

"He will," the Pope replied gracefully, pouring a cup of tea for Jedd. "The Twelve Seats is too protective of his brother to let him venture to such a distant place alone."

"But the journey to Blue Flower Star is fraught with danger. Is Bai Chuan worth risking his own life for?"

The Pope smiled faintly. "It appears your grasp of human nature remains shallow, Jedd."

"I don’t need a fraud like you to school me," Jedd scoffed, then changed the subject. "So why are you sending Eugene? He’s your only nephew."

"That’s a good question. Eugene needs to toughen up, and death isn’t the end of everything. If the gods knew his death could bring hope to the empire, they’d cheer him on."

"Your pious fantasies are downright ridiculous."

Jedd stirred the dark, heavy tea in his cup, no longer questioning the Pope’s intentions. But as for whether it was really to give Eugene experience... Having served in the court for decades, long before Melville arrived on the main planet, he knew all too well the scandals that lurked beneath the surface. He’d known all along that Eugene was the Pope’s illegitimate son with the late princess. Whether sending Eugene to Blue Flower Star was for experience or just a ploy to eliminate a growing threat, he could guess without it being said.

But this wasn’t a loss for him either; it’d also take care of that pesky kid, Yi Ye. It looked like reclaiming the Twelve Seats was within reach.

Thinking this, Jedd set down the untouched cup, stood up with his cane, and said, "The tea was excellent today, but alas, I have duties at the palace and must be off."

"Safe travels, Duke," the Pope said with a nod as he watched him go.

As the door slowly closed, the blond man turned his gaze back to the port where Duke Jedd had been looking. The spaceship’s engines seemed to have started, and even from this distance, one could faintly feel the air vibrating.

"All will go as planned," the Pope reflected with a knowing air, then smiled faintly after a while. "It’s a shame the gods have never been kind enough to bless the world. Yi Ye, Bai Chuan, Eugene... you might as well remain there."

Just like Anderson, perish.

*

Inside the spaceship. Eight soldiers from the Vanguard Legion and the Central Legion sat in two distinct rows, one in silver-white uniforms, the other in Prussian blue, clearly demarcated like the Chu-Han boundary. The looming peril of Blue Flower Star was more daunting than the specter of a world war, the atmosphere was particularly tense. On the other side, two blond youths were the same, the tension was palpable, sparks crackling in the air. Whoever gets killed, so be it.

A flight attendant peeked out from behind the curtain, nervously making a praying gesture. "Yi Ye, do you think I’ll be torn apart when I go to serve them food later?"

"Hard to say," Yi Ye, wearing a mask, stood in front of the convection oven heating the food. "Did you get insurance before boarding the ship?"

"Don’t say that!" The flight attendant looked mournful. "Why don’t you go instead?"

"If you’re not concerned a sneeze from me might set them off, then fine," Yi Ye agreed readily. "Shall I go then?"

"...Never mind, never mind, never mind! You can go out when there’s something else to do. We’re about to make the jump, let’s not cause any other trouble."

Yi Ye shrugged and remained silent, but he was relieved inside.

If he were to go out now, Bai Chuan might just order the spaceship to turn around and send him back to the main planet. At least before successfully landing on Blue Flower Star, he couldn’t be discovered. But fortunately, this spaceship was small with few people, and although the soldiers from each legion looked down on each other, they were all well-trained soldiers who knew to focus their energy on important matters. No quarrels, fights, or such unexpected incidents occurred during the journey. Just one round of serving drinks and food would end the duty, so the flight attendant decided to handle it all himself.

Unable to do anything else, Yi Ye volunteered to clean the toilets. Just before landing on Blue Flower Star, he had just finished cleaning the toilets.

Pinching his nose as he walked out, he disinfected his hands over and over. He met the flight attendant who said they needed to prepare for the landing service. He quickly tucked his black hair into his hat, sprayed some disinfectant on himself, pressed down his hat brim, secured his mask, and followed. They stood by the door as members of the exploration team disembarked one by one. During this time, he deliberately kept his head low, fearing Bai Chuan might spot him. But Bai Chuan and Eugene went straight down the gangway without even glancing their way.

...

After stepping off the gangway, Bai Chuan suddenly turned back to look inside the spaceship, only catching a glimpse of a blurred side profile.

"Don’t waste time, let’s move," a soldier urged.

Bai Chuan turned back: "...Yes."

...

"Finally, it's over! Let's pack up and head back to the home planet." The flight attendant lowered all the sunshades, speaking as he turned around, "You look pretty young, probably haven’t been in the job long. Who knows, next time we might still be on the same team—"

His voice cut off abruptly, his eyes widening in shock.

The youth in front of him removed his mask and cap, revealing a clean and handsome face.

"You—" He almost screamed.

"Shh." Yi Ye made a gesture for silence, "Sorry for tricking you, but I’ve got my reasons for being here. I'll be getting off the ship here. When you get back, just pretend nothing happened. If anyone from the Senate comes to question you, just say I forced you."

"What about Kevin?"

"I knocked him out and left him in the bathroom on the first floor of the lobby. You should be able to find him when you go back. Got it?"

The man nodded dumbly, only snapping out of it as the youth walked off the ship. But when he ran to the hatch, the ground was empty—the guy was already gone.

...

Yi Ye followed the team all the way to the city center.

The landing point of the exploration team was located in City C in the northeast of the continent, surrounded by mountains, with a relatively high terrain and a dry climate with distinct seasons all year round. Since the game was made by Earthlings, Blue Flower Star’s model borrowed the urban environment of that era. As Yi Ye walked, he spotted various abandoned signs, even catching the words "Sha County Snacks" among them, instantly a mix of emotions swept through his heart...

Damn! I didn’t have time to eat this morning, and now I’m craving Sha County’s chicken leg rice.

Yi Ye touched his stomach, there was still a piece of chocolate in his pocket that he had taken from the flight attendant he knocked out. Before he could unwrap it, the team ahead suddenly stopped, and he quickly crouched behind a tree.

But the team soon moved on again.

After nearly twenty minutes, the team arrived at the first mission point. Everyone set up camp on the spot, and the eight soldiers were divided into four groups to go to four places to install detection instruments, leaving only Bai Chuan and Eugene to guard the spot.

It was the perfect time for a grand entrance. He’d already planned what to say when he met Bai Chuan: He’d put his hands on his hips, flash a flawless smile, and say cheerfully, "That’s right, your big bro’s here. Nothing in this world can stump me. See? I’m awesome!"

After imagining the scene, Yi Ye nodded, satisfied.

He crouched to adjust his collar and hat, brushing off the dead leaves stuck to his head and cuffs, making sure everything was just right.

But just as he stood up, his body suddenly froze—

In an instant, his body jolted like an electric shock, and without hesitation, he spun around and kicked! His ankle was grabbed, and a powerful force yanked him forward!

Bang! The tree shook, shedding dead leaves as Yi Ye’s body was slammed into the stump with a force that sent sharp pain through his chest. He groaned, hitting the ground, but barely paused before pushing himself up to dodge the bullets. He rolled twice, then lunged forward to kick the guy’s elbow! His body, honed by countless battles, moved on instinct. His legs clamped around the opponent’s thick arm, and with a twist of his body weight, he hurled him back! Boom—they both hit the ground, the earth trembling!

Yi Ye frowned, sprang up, and the short knife hidden in his sleeve shot out, aimed straight for the opponent’s eye!

Whoosh—

His hand, moments from stabbing the guy, suddenly veered and plunged into the ground beside his face.

Spotting the Prussian blue military collar under the guy’s coat, the wariness in Yi Ye’s eyes vanished.

"Central Army?" he said, pulling back the dagger and removing his hat and mask. "Do you know me?"

The guy pinned under him widened his eyes in disbelief, then suddenly grabbed Yi Ye’s hand: "You’re... the Twelve Seats?! Sir, are you the Twelve Seats?"

Yi Ye was startled by the sudden move, tried to pull his hand back, but couldn’t. "Ah... yeah, it’s me," he said.

"I can’t believe I’m meeting you here, oh my god, I’m so lucky! I’m your fan, The Twelve Seats! I, I’ve liked you for so long." The handsome youth stammered excitedly, then, noticing the marks he’d left on Yi Ye, quickly got up to apologize, "I’m sorry, I’m sorry! Are you hurt? I should’ve seen clearly earlier. Really sorry—maybe you should hit me back now!" He picked up the gun and shoved it into Yi Ye’s hand, "Just shoot me in the left shoulder. It’s not life-threatening, but it’ll still hurt, especially since I’ve got tasks later. Go ahead, shoot me here!"

"No, no!" Yi Ye quickly tossed the gun aside, thinking, *What’s up with this guy?*

"You have to! That hit I gave you must’ve hurt a lot. I’ve got plenty of medicine in my bag. Idol, take it all if you need it!"

Idol?

Idol?!

Yi Ye was horrified. He’d never been called an idol before. *Is this guy actually from the Central Army?!*

"Can you let go of me first?" Yi Ye tried to pry his hand open, but failing again, he patiently negotiated, "We shouldn’t keep sitting on the ground like this."

Hearing this, the youth’s face turned red, and he quickly hid his big hands behind his back. "Sorry, sorry! It’s my first time meeting my idol in person. I’m too excited… I’ve got a ton of your merch at home. I even saved your Military Academy League videos to the cloud, watched them twenty times! I wanted to watch them again before setting out on the mission, but didn’t have time… but I downloaded them to the cloud. I can watch them right on my terminal! And your speech at the tribunal—even though those clips were quickly taken down, I was clever enough to record them right away and save them to a separate hard drive. I can even recite the lines word for word! Idol, do you have a second? Could I get your autograph? I really like you so much…"

"Wait, wait." Yi Ye’s ears were practically ringing from the noise. He made a pause gesture. "Soldier, aren’t you supposed to be arresting me?"

"...Oh right!"

He realized, pressed the miniature earpiece, and his tone quickly returned to calm: "This is Qi Wen from the Central Army. The person we were tailing has been caught. No, no, he’s not a threat, not a bad guy… yes, yes! I’m bringing him back now."

After ending the call, he looked back at Yi Ye, his expression lit up like he had a tail wagging furiously behind him. "Idol! The captain asked me to bring you back to report. Can you walk? Need me to carry you?"

"Uh, no…" Yi Ye asked in return, "You found me long ago?"

"Not long ago." He moved his ears, his peach blossom eyes shyly squinting. "You know how Alphas have senses sharper than a dog’s."

Yi Ye: "..."

*No, I don’t want to know.*

Yi Ye was taken back to the team by Qi Wen.

He kept his head down, hiding his face with his sleeve. He’d planned to make a grand, cool entrance, but who would’ve thought he’d be escorted back to the team like a prisoner, with marks from the fight all over him.

He brushed off the leaves stuck to his clothes, and in a few steps, he was in front of the exploration team. The air was heavy with awkward silence. Yi Ye silently put down his sleeve, glanced at Eugene and Bai Chuan’s expressions, and put on a forced, natural smile. "Uh… good afternoon. The sun’s pretty nice today… So, are you guys hungry?"

Eugene/Bai Chuan: "..."

Ten minutes later, Yi Ye roughly explained his intentions and assured that he definitely wouldn’t cause trouble for the exploration team. Everyone looked at each other, and a man in silver-white military uniform who looked like the captain spoke: "The spaceship can only land again in ten days. You can act with us during this time, but if anything happens to you, we won’t be responsible for your life."

"That sounds nice," the man in blue military uniform interrupted. "Erevan, he’s The Twelve Seats. If he dies here, do you really think we can get away with it?"

"I don’t need the Central Army to comment on my orders," the Alpha named Erevan turned to look at the other. "Take care of the cowards in your own team, Stark."

"Huh? Cowards?! You know the safety of the entire main planet depends on us. You’re the useless idiots! Talking about finding the Zerg Queen—for more than fifty years, you haven’t found a thing!"

"That’s because you’re holding us back."

"How ridiculous. How do you know—"

"You don’t need to worry about that," Yi Ye timely interrupted their argument.

The man in blue military uniform turned his head with displeasure. "Does The Twelve Seats have any great insights?"

"If I die, it’d still be a great achievement for you," Yi Ye’s attitude was as if he wasn’t talking about himself at all. "Duke Jedd and General Moshe are eagerly awaiting my death. Besides, I’m a stowaway—I sneaked into Blue Flower Star by irregular means. If I really die, it’s no one’s fault, and you can still receive commendations from Duke Jedd."

"...Really?" He was half-believing.

"Sure," Yi Ye shrugged.

The man in the blue military uniform pondered for a moment, then turned to the three other soldiers from the Central Army behind him. After a brief, hushed discussion, he quickly turned back: "Alright, you can stay, but we won't share our military supplies with you."

"I’ll give him my share," Bai Chuan chimed in, breaking his silence.

Yi Ye turned to look at him, blinking in surprise. Bai Chuan pursed his lips, a mix of joy and anger crossing his face, before he awkwardly turned his head away.

"Alright, everyone, back to the mission," the man pointed to a young man with flaxen green curls, the Alpha who had been ordered to capture Yi Ye earlier. "Qi Wen, you take them to the east to set up the detectors. Keep an eye on them, don't let anything go wrong."

"Yes, sir!" Qi Wen replied with an eager salute. He quickly walked up to Yi Ye, his slightly long curls swaying, his amber eyes shining brightly: "Idol, we’re teammates now!"

"Yeah, sure..." Yi Ye chuckled awkwardly.

Eugene shot Bai Chuan a look: Who’s this idiot? You know him?

Bai Chuan kept a straight face: Beats me.

He's used to it.

"Let’s move, idol!"

Yi Ye: "You go ahead, we'll follow you."

"Don’t lag behind."

Qi Wen loved the feeling of his idol following him at a leisurely pace. He flicked the stray hair on his head, hugged his gun, and happily led the way.

He walked briskly, like a dog on a walk, quickly pulling ahead by several meters. Meanwhile, Yi Ye, Bai Chuan, and Eugene were still walking slowly.

Being stuck between two nearly identical faces was unnerving. On his left was a blond, on his right was also a blond. Yi Ye felt as if he were being cornered by two ferocious dogs, with the looming threat of being devoured at any moment.

"Uh..."

"You shouldn’t be here," Bai Chuan said flatly.

"I think he belongs here," Eugene cut in, cigarette in mouth. "Coming up with that ‘genius’ plan to sneak into Blue Flower Star, our Twelve Seats guy really went all out. Seems like your brother’s been busy breathing and polluting the air for the past 8 years, yet he still doesn’t get Yi Ye like I do."

"What’s that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, just giving you props. After all, I won't deny all your efforts to come here like Bai Chuan. On the contrary, I'm glad to see you here."

Even though he was being complimented, Yi Ye felt uneasy, like he had a lump in his throat: ...Maybe you shouldn't be so happy, because I'm not exactly thrilled to see you.

"Anyway, I’ve got tons of gear. Sharing half with you won’t even make a dent," Eugene took out his cigarette, opened the terminal to show the detailed list of all the equipment he had brought, several pages long like a treasure trove, and casually tossed it to Yi Ye. "Take whatever you need, no strings attached."

"No catch?"

"Not so fast. You owe me an apology for the church thing," Eugene paused, then rolled his eyes. "Or just take back what you said about me not being good enough."

Yi Ye had long forgotten what he had said to this guy that day, and only after some effort did he recall.

Eugene had asked if he had done it with Bai Chuan, and in a fit of anger, Yi Ye had coldly said that Eugene wasn't qualified. Seriously, dude, he’s still hung up on that? I didn’t even swear.

"Are you nuts?"

"...?" Eugene’s expression turned sour. "I’m hooking you up, and you’re gonna throw shade?"

Yi Ye: "You don’t have to offer."

"Here, use mine. I brought plenty."

Yi Ye immediately turned around with a bright smile: "That's great!"

After saying that, he grabbed Bai Chuan's hand and walked forward quickly, "Let's pick up the pace. We don’t want to hang around someone with a weird mindset—it’s catching."

"Sure."

Bai Chuan went along without resistance, slightly turning his head to glance at Eugene, and when Yi Ye wasn’t paying attention, he flashed a super sarcastic look.

Dumbass.