Chapter 35

Chapter 35

With the arrival of the rescue team, the roar of engines pierced the sky above the village.

Limited space for passenger pickup and drop-off meant aircraft landed and took off in sequence, steadily evacuating the villagers. According to signals from the B-23 unit, support teams were imminent. Trainees still awaiting evacuation only needed to ensure their safety until withdrawal, marking a temporary end to the immediate crisis.

Finally, the second wave of rescue teams arrived.

Simultaneously, all mechas received the signal to retreat and regroup at the rear.

"It's over." Bai Luming quickly checked his mecha's ammunition, fired the last Blue Flame Bullet to draw the surrounding insect swarm away, and then piloted his mecha into the bushes without a backward glance. The basic D-type mecha had a very limited ammunition capacity, yet his control over its consumption was astonishingly precise.

He Yilan's voice crackled over the communication channel: "Just heading back like this?"

Bai Luming knew what he was asking. He glanced towards the co-pilot's seat and replied, "Yep."

The two mechas retraced their path. As they neared the village entrance, Bai Luming suddenly spoke: "Let's stop here."

As he cut his engine, He Yilan's mecha also halted nearby.

Bai Luming said, "We'll walk the rest of the way."

Chu Xiao clearly didn't grasp his intention: "Huh? Aren’t we taking the mechas back?"

Bai Luming turned to him: "Can't drive them back. I haven’t gotten my license yet. It wouldn’t be good if we got caught."

Chu Xiao: "?"

The abrupt statement left Chu Xiao's brain momentarily frozen: "Haven’t gotten what?"

Bai Luming repeated the full term: "The Comprehensive Mecha Operator’s License."

Chu Xiao: "???"

After all that maneuvering just now, you're telling me that was driving without a license!?

As if completely oblivious to Chu Xiao’s thunderstruck silence, He Yilan’s calm voice also came through the communication channel: "Me neither."

Chu Xiao felt like he couldn't quite integrate into this surreal world: "...Hold on, let me process this."

"You can process it slowly after we get back," Bai Luming smiled. "You promised to do me a small favor earlier, remember?"

Chu Xiao nodded mechanically: "I remember."

"You also know that driving without a license carries serious consequences." Bai Luming turned to him, batting his eyes innocently. "So after we get back, please just pretend none of this happened tonight. If anyone asks, just say you were the one driving this mecha the whole time. Okay?"

Chu Xiao’s brain was completely jammed: "Huh?"

Bai Luming's lips curved slightly, his smile becoming even more earnest: "Captain, you wouldn’t want us to get disciplinary action over this, would you?"

A full ten seconds of silence followed.

Then, after analyzing the pros and cons, Chu Xiao nodded solemnly: "I understand!"

Bai Luming and Chu Xiao dismounted their mechas one after the other. After storing the basic D-type mecha back into its storage unit, they caught Pei Suqi, who had been dropped out of the co-pilot’s seat by He Yilan.

Bai Luming hoisted the young master, who had slept through the entire night, onto Chu Xiao’s back. Looking up, he saw He Yilan tinkering with something in the co-pilot’s seat before unhurriedly returning to the ground and storing his mecha as well.

The walk back was shrouded in prolonged silence. Chu Xiao was clearly still struggling to update his understanding of the world.

Only as they neared the village entrance did he seem to snap out of it and ask: "We can say I was driving our mecha, but what about Pei Suqi’s? If they ask, He Yilan…"

"It’s fine."

Bai Luming hadn’t expected Chu Xiao to walk all this way with such a grave expression only to bring up this point. He glanced at He Yilan with an amused smile, completely unconcerned. "He can handle this kind of thing himself. Right, He Yilan?"

He Yilan: "Yep."

*

The open space in front of the village.

The accompanying instructor checked on the trainees’ condition and was relieved upon confirming there were no serious casualties.

But during the headcount, he frowned: "What’s going on? Why is Squad 13 missing four people?"

A nearby guard also looked anxious: "Not sure. During the headcount earlier, only these few were present. The four missing seem to have been in two mechas. We’ve searched the area but found no trace of those two mechs. Should we… send someone to search the vicinity?"

The instructor clearly didn’t want any actual casualties during this elimination assessment: "Have you checked the mechas’ positioning signals?"

"Yes, we have. The signal sources have been completely cut off. We can’t pinpoint their location."

The instructor took a deep breath and gritted his teeth: "What are the reconnaissance teams doing right now? See if there are any available aircraft and conduct a thorough search of the surrounding area. The area is hazardous and unsuitable for mecha movement. They couldn’t have gone far. Hurry up and—"

"Did something else happen? Why so tense?"

A leisurely voice suddenly reached their ears. The instructor looked up and saw Bai Luming at the front, his military uniform impeccably clean, waving enthusiastically as he met their gaze. "Sorry, Instructor. We were delayed by a minor issue and are back a bit late."

He Yilan followed behind with a neutral expression. Only Chu Xiao, carrying the still-unconscious Pei Suqi on his shoulder, glanced between the two and the instructor, looking as if he had something to say but couldn’t find the words.

The events of the night were vivid in his mind. That casually uttered "minor issue" could easily inspire a lengthy essay of observational reflection from him.

The instructor immediately noticed Pei Suqi on Chu Xiao’s back and hurried over: "What happened to him? Is he injured?"

He Yilan replied softly: "Not injured. Ran into some trouble and fainted from fright."

The instructor frowned but didn’t press for details about the "trouble." He immediately called the medical team, who soon took Pei Suqi away.

The aircraft were now parked, and all trainees boarded in an orderly sequence.

Due to the sudden nature of the incident, they weren’t directly returning to the fortress but were instead being taken to a nearby medical zone for temporary accommodation.

After the aircraft took off, looking out the window, they could still see the brightly burning curtain of flames in the distance, illuminating almost the entire sky.

Clearly, even with the trainees’ departure, the battle on the front lines was far from over.

Upon arriving at the medical zone, the trainees gradually returned their mechas and headed to the assigned accommodation area to rest.

It was finally Bai Luming’s group’s turn.

Zhou Lubin took the mecha storage device from Bai Luming, connected it to the detector, and frowned upon scanning the displayed data: "What’s wrong with the display system?"

Chu Xiao glanced guiltily at Bai Luming: "Ah… probably got damaged accidentally in all the chaos."

Zhou Lubin looked puzzled: "Damaged?"

According to the mecha’s diagnostics, there was no damage at all. How could only the display system be broken?

Zhou Lubin had always been deeply impressed by Chu Xiao's mecha, given its exceptionally unique configuration and attributes. Although it was only a basic D-class mecha, it could pretty much be considered a custom unit tailored specifically for his operation alone.

From the remaining test results, the internal system configuration of the mecha remained perfectly suited to Chu Xiao, without any adjustments made whatsoever.

After completing the tests, Zhou Lubin logged the parameters in the logbook.

When he came across one particular entry, he suddenly turned back to look at Chu Xiao: "You actually used up all the Blue Flame Bullets?"

Chu Xiao: "...Ah, yes."

Zhou Lubin frowned at him: "I heard from other cadets that one of the mechas was running around igniting bushes, leading a swarm of insects on a chase—that wasn't you, was it?"

"..."

Chu Xiao glanced at Bai Luming again, his voice growing even softer: "Maybe...?"

Zhou Lubin stared at Chu Xiao, frowning, and went quiet for a bit.

Under such close scrutiny, Chu Xiao couldn’t help but nervously swallow.

Suddenly, Zhou Lubin reached out and gave him a solid clap on the shoulder, breaking into a smile: "Not bad at all! If I remember correctly, your name is Chu Xiao, right? To be chased by a swarm of winged insects and still escape without a scratch—your operational skills are truly impressive!"

"Ahaha... haha, it really wasn’t that impressive," Chu Xiao laughed nervously under the praise, instinctively unscrewing the cap of his water bottle and taking a sip to calm his nerves.

Fortunately, Zhou Lubin soon turned his focus to Bai Luming: "You were in the co-pilot seat the whole time? Then you must have seen the whole thing. It seems you two work well together. Keep working together like this, and there’s plenty of room for growth in the future."

Bai Luming responded with utmost humility: "What coordination could I possibly contribute? It’s mainly thanks to Chu Xiao’s extraordinary talent and quick reflexes."

Zhou Lubin let out a light snort: "His quick reflexes are his own skill. Those in the Mecha Department still need to put more effort into working on their mecha skills."

Bai Luming nodded repeatedly: "You’re right, Instructor. Once I get my pilot’s license, I’ll definitely work hard."

"Pfft—! Cough, cough, cough!"

Chu Xiao, who had just taken a sip of water, completely choked and spit it out upon hearing this.

A pilot’s license again... Could someone without a license really pull off the kind of maneuvers he did tonight!?

Zhou Lubin shot Chu Xiao a confused look, clearly not understanding such an abrupt outburst.

He turned and took the mecha storage unit from He Yilan. The next second, the smile on his face froze completely as he saw the data report from the diagnostics: "This is..."

He Yilan replied calmly: "Yes, it’s broken."

Zhou Lubin: "..."

Just broken? Judging from the readings displayed, this mecha was totally wrecked!?

Bai Luming also took a sip of water from his bottle. As his gaze swept past He Yilan, he suddenly recalled the operations the other had performed from the co-pilot seat when retrieving the mecha at the village entrance. A look of understanding crossed his face.

So that’s how he covered up what happened tonight.

The best way to ensure certain data remains undiscovered is to make it disappear entirely.

Makes perfect sense.

Zhou Lubin clearly hadn’t expected this. It was hard to imagine what could have happened to wreck a cadet’s mecha this badly.

After all, from the outside, it shouldn’t have been this bad.

After staring at the data—which was practically beyond repair—for a long time, he turned back to He Yilan: "The pilot of this mecha was..."

"Pei Suqi."

He Yilan replied, "There was an incident. He passed out from excessive fright. By the time I rescued him, the mecha was already in this condition."

Bai Luming took another sip of water, silently listening to someone lying through his teeth with a straight face.

Zhou Lubin: "Pei Suqi, right? I’ll talk to him and find out what happened once he wakes up."

He Yilan: "Understood, Instructor."

Zhou Lubin, looking completely baffled, finished all the recordings, closed the logbook, and turned back to Bai Luming: "But, you still don’t have a mecha pilot’s license?"

Bai Luming nodded: "That’s right, Instructor."

Zhou Lubin thought for a moment and said: "For someone in the Mecha Department, not having a license is always going to hold you back. Once we return to the fortress, when you have time, I’ll take you to get your mecha pilot’s license. It’ll make future progress much easier."

Bai Luming replied: "Instructor, I appreciate your kindness, but... our team triggered the distress signal early this time. I got a zero on this assessment, so I’m afraid I won’t be able to continue studying in the Mecha Department after we return."

He spoke with genuine emotion, and his words, paired with his expression, sounded truly sorry about it.

Zhou Lubin glanced at Bai Luming but broke into a smile: "You don’t need to worry about that."

Bai Luming’s performance halted mid-way: "No need to worry?"

Zhou Lubin smiled and patted him on the shoulder, then glanced at He Yilan: "If I remember correctly, you’re all from Squad 13, right? The intelligence you provided this time was critical and timely. It’s thanks to you that the losses from the crisis were minimized. To commend your contributions, higher-ups have announced that Squad 13 will be spared from the elimination process. Congratulations are in order—the entire squad has been advanced!"

This news snapped Chu Xiao out of his daze. Excited, he turned to Bai Luming: "That’s great, Lu Ming! You won’t be eliminated!"

Bai Luming: "...?"

He Yilan: "."

When Bai Luming turned to look, He Yilan happened to be looking back at him.

Their eyes met.

Both fell into a prolonged silence.

Indeed, this was truly—just—great!

After what felt like an eternity, Bai Luming spoke again: "Instructor, Yi Lan doesn’t have a license either. Bring him along when you take us for the test."