Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Above the principal's office, a white and a black mecha stood in tense confrontation.

Lin Youhan, amidst the ruins of the principal's office, coldly discarded an empty syringe.

In the distance, the last sliver of sunset vanished as the sun dipped below the horizon, giving way to a dim, bright moonlight that gradually illuminated the dark night sky.

Chen Wen glanced at the discarded syringe and chuckled, "Even you now rely on drugs to restore your Spiritual Power."

Lin Youhan's tone was icy, "But at least I can still defeat you."

Soon after Lin Youhan injected the reagent, his Spiritual Power surged, expanding outwards.

"If it weren't for the Blocking Agent, you probably wouldn't have survived this time," Chen Wen remarked, observing Lin Youhan's expression. As expected, Lin Youhan's face flickered, but he quickly regained his composure, as if he had already anticipated this outcome.

He calmly stated, "So what? I must reclaim Qinglan."

"Then we'll see if you have what it takes."

No sooner had he spoken than a deafening crash echoed above them. Qinglan raised its fist and swung at Migu. Perhaps due to their past connection, Migu made no attempt to evade the attack, standing motionless.

Seeing this, Chen Wen sneered, "What a touching friendship. Standing there waiting to be hit?"

"No matter how deep the bond, in a life-or-death situation, he'll abandon you without a word!" He looked up at Qinglan and commanded, "Qinglan, smash it to pieces!"

With a loud "boom—", Migu, unable to withstand the force, crashed into the wall of another teaching building.

"Migu!"

Migu clutched its damaged area and stood up, shaking its head weakly at Lin Youhan. "I'm sorry."

*I can't bring myself to do it.*

Ten years ago, everyone knew Lin Youhan and Gu Ci were close friends. What they didn't know was that Migu, created just after the Four Symbols Series Mecha, had also forged a deep bond with them.

AIs were originally devoid of emotion and couldn't perceive human feelings. Yet, from the moment it was fully coded into being by algorithms, it began to understand human camaraderie.

The same held true for the Four Symbols Series Mecha.

Watching Qinglan's increasingly alien gaze, Migu felt a profound helplessness, even a flicker of hesitation.

Qinglan was its friend—how could it harm it?

Lin Youhan wasn't surprised by Migu's words. If Gu Ci were standing here instead of Qinglan, he, too, would be unable to strike.

He and Gu Ci were like brothers; they couldn't bring themselves to fight each other to the death.

Chen Wen, standing opposite, observed the softening in both the mecha and the human and scoffed, "What heartwarming brotherly affection. No wonder you ended up with nothing ten years ago, no wonder you were imprisoned in the lab for seven years, and no wonder even after escaping, you left Gu Ci in the lab... Lin Youhan, if Gu Ci knew you escaped and did nothing but fritter away your time, what do you think he would say?"

"Then again, the current Gu Ci is just like you these past seven years—unable to open his eyes, unable to speak. Even after being injected with 'Feiming,' his rejection reaction was more severe than yours. Tsk, if we had discovered this talent earlier, you wouldn't matter at all." As he spoke, a gleam of excitement flashed in Chen Wen's eyes.

"Chen Wen." Lin Youhan was done with this person's nonsense.

From the moment Chen Wen first appeared, every word cut deep into his heart, making it hard to breathe.

"You're truly annoying."

"Is that so?" Chen Wen said with a smile.

Before the words faded, a white mecha appeared behind him and landed a powerful kick. Caught off guard, Chen Wen was sent flying several meters, too injured to get up.

He lifted his head, glaring hatefully at the two, and wiped the blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. "Fine, very good."

Lin Youhan had expended a lot of Spiritual Power and was pale. He said to Migu, "Hold him off."

Migu followed orders and flew toward Chen Wen.

Lin Youhan, meanwhile, walked toward Qinglan. But after taking just one step, Qinglan closed in on him first.

"Lin Youhan, forget about using your Spiritual Power! Qinglan has been modified by Soroya! It won't accept anyone's Spiritual Power now!" Chen Wen shouted.

Lin Youhan didn't look back. "Migu, gag him."

"Even if you gag me, it won't change the facts—" Chen Wen's mouth was suddenly covered by Migu, silencing him and bringing an abrupt quiet to the world.

Lin Youhan stared at Qinglan as it approached him step by step, slowly releasing his Spiritual Power to enter Qinglan's Spiritual Sea.

But just as his Spiritual Power was released, he noticed from the corner of his eye that the broken wall of the principal's office lit up again. The next moment, his Spiritual Power was violently repelled by a powerful force.

Lin Youhan was thrown back two steps, staring at Qinglan in disbelief.

Qinglan said, "Don't waste your effort, human. From the moment my master abandoned me, my Spiritual Sea locked itself down."

Lin Youhan replied, "Gu Ci would never abandon a mecha without reason."

"What are you to him? You say he wouldn't, so he wouldn't? Back then, I was lying in a scrap yard as a wreck. If it weren't for Soroya saving me, I'd already be torn apart for parts for ordinary robots!" Qinglan spoke angrily.

As a renowned mecha in the interstellar city, it absolutely could not tolerate being disassembled and used as components for other robots.

Moreover, Soroya later told it that Gu Ci had long since discarded it.

Otherwise, why hadn't he come looking for it after the incident?

After hearing this, Lin Youhan closed his eyes helplessly.

Soroya... it was Soroya again!

"You'd rather trust some unknown person than believe in your own master?" he said softly. The Qinglan before him was no longer the mecha he had built all those years ago.

It was frighteningly alien.

"Why should I trust him?!"

Lin Youhan gave a faint laugh.

"What are you laughing at?"

Lin Youhan opened his eyes and looked at it, no hint of their old bond remaining in his gaze. "Stupid."

"Damn human!"

Qinglan swung its fist at him: "Die!"

No one expected Qinglan to strike so suddenly. The distance between Lin Youhan and Qinglan was barely three meters—there was no time to dodge.

Lin Youhan watched, pale-faced, as the fist flew toward him. He hurriedly sidestepped, but suddenly, a white mecha stepped in, taking Qinglan's punch.

"Migu—"

"No—"

Lin Youhan desperately reached out to grab Migu, only to see the white mecha catapulted through the air. With a "clatter," the outermost parts of the mecha scattered uncontrollably to the ground, one piece, two pieces… Lin Youhan could already see the core assembly hidden beneath the shell.

Migu was flung to the edge of the principal's office. To avoid falling, it dropped to its knees, increasing friction with the ground and scraping out a deep black mark before barely coming to a stop.

It clutched its chest, lifted its head, and the red light in its eyes flickered erratically.

A system voice announced, "Mecha body severely damaged. Ejecting core component."

Everyone stood frozen at the sight.

Lin Youhan stared numbly at the mecha, his blood running cold.

"Migu…"

"I'm sorry, Master," Migu said apologetically. "My mecha parts… malfunctioned again."

Malfunctioned again…

Lin Youhan gave a bitter smile.

It was never fixed to begin with.

Just then, a teal mecha touched down nearby. Liao Baixing jumped down from it. "Sorry for the delay. I'll handle things from here."

Shortly after, a crimson-black mecha also landed.

Lin Youhan looked up and saw Si Muyun sprinting toward him with an anxious expression.

"Are you okay?" Si Muyun helped him up, but his gaze fell on Migu, whose parts were scattered across the ground, and he froze for a moment.

Migu's core component was ejected and landed at Lin Youhan's feet.

After steadying himself, Lin Youhan said to Si Muyun, "Si Muyun, I need your psionic energy."

Without hesitation, Si Muyun channeled his psionic energy. Suddenly, his hand was seized.

He looked down and saw Lin Youhan gripping his hand like a lifeline.

Lin Youhan took a deep breath, his white hair fluttering wildly in the night breeze. He looked at Qinglan and whispered an apology.

The next moment, twin torrents of psionic energy shattered Qinglan's sealed psionic sea.

On the other side, Chen Wen was pinned in a grip by Bai Liao. Liao Baixing found a rope to tie him up and stuffed some unidentifiable object into his mouth, effectively silencing his incessant ranting.

Bai Liao disdainfully released Chen Wen, who fell to the ground without warning, letting out a series of muffled obscenities.

Bai Liao: "Master, must you stuff your discarded leftovers into his mouth?"

Liao Baixing: "No choice. Waste not, want not. It works pretty well, doesn't it?"

Bai Liao: "…"

Realizing what was blocking his mouth was Liao Baixing's personal leftovers, Chen Wen immediately struggled, only to be kicked in the back.

Liao Baixing stepped on his back, leaning down to look at him. "Stay still, or I'll peel your hide off."

Chen Wen: "…"

Lin Youhan and Si Muyun, working in tandem, resolved Qinglan's issue, and the light on the wall vanished as well.

Lin Youhan let out a shaky breath of relief.

Before he could rest for long, his psionic levels began fluctuating wildly. His legs weakened, and he almost collapsed to the ground, but Si Muyun caught him in time.

Noticing Lin Youhan's unusual state, Si Muyun fumbled through his pockets for a stabilizer. Just as he pulled one out, a hand gripped his.

He looked down and saw Lin Youhan giving a weak head shake, his face pale.

Lin Youhan opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out.

Si Muyun understood his difficulty. "Just nod or shake your head."

Lin Youhan accepted the suggestion and nodded.

Si Muyun held up the stabilizer vial in his hand and asked, "Is there a problem with this?"

Lin Youhan nodded faintly.

Then he shook his head.

Si Muyun: "?"

"Do you want to take it?"

Lin Youhan shook his head.

Si Muyun promptly stuffed the stabilizer back into his pocket, moving with such speed that Lin Youhan felt it return the moment he finished shaking his head.

Lin Youhan: "…"

"Does your head still hurt?" Si Muyun asked.

Lin Youhan nodded tiredly.

Si Muyun's expression darkened with concern.

Lin Youhan looked up at him, his eyes glistening with unshed tears of pain. "Can't you?"

"Didn’t say it’s not allowed, just…" Si Muyun hesitated, looking at him. "We'll need to try a different method this time."

"What method?" Lin Youhan asked seriously.

Si Muyun didn’t answer, his gaze locked on his lips.

Lin Youhan noticed where Si Muyun was looking and already knew what he intended to do.

He whispered, "There are people here."

"Then let’s find someplace private."

After securing Chen Wen, Liao Baixing noticed complete silence from Lin Youhan and Si Muyun. When she turned to look, both men had vanished.

She glanced at the damaged Migu, then at the bewildered Qinglan unit, and without hesitation nudged Bai Liao with her boot. "Bring our prizes. Let’s go back."

Bai Liao: "……"

*You're human, you win.*

Liao Baixing adjusted her sleeves and said casually, "By the way, there's a Snow over there too. Bring it along."

Bai Liao silently glanced at his owner, grumbling inwardly: *We're here to work, not to collect trash.*

……

In the end, Bai Liao dragged Chen Wen with one hand and Migu, Snow, and Qinglan with the other, following behind Liao Baixing, who had both hands free.

The mechas following behind were either damaged or destroyed, leaving only one intact one, Snow.

As he dragged them along, Bai Liao looked back at this mecha, which hadn't suffered any substantial damage. Snow also silently raised its head and met its gaze.

Bai Liao was puzzled.

*One day, the mecha designated S0 would actually end up as junk for him to drag away.*

Not long after they left, the moonlight washed over the shadows of the principal's office.

Lin Youhan, legs weak, leaned against Si Muyun, breathing heavily:

"Si Muyun, more."

Si Muyun rasped, massaging his wrist.

When he looked up, he saw Lin Youhan's glazed eyes.

"Want to kiss it?"

"What?"

Si Muyun tapped the mole on his wrist bone.

"Yes." Lin Youhan said, spellbound.

The next moment, the wrist bone with the small mole was guided to his lips, Si Muyun's dark eyes locked on him.

"For you."