"What's going on? How could they find out our hiding spot so quickly?" Canette roared in the command room. The third fleets had not only precisely found their hidden location, but they also attacked them very accurately.
Everything happened too suddenly. The fifth fleet hadn't been able to put up much of a defense, but the staff members in headquarters were busily rushing around. Everyone was nervous and they all had tense looks on their faces.
"Reporting to Vice Captain: The jamming devices have lost their signals." The staff impatiently reported their findings.
"What?" Canette cried out in alarm. "Why did you only find this out now? Hurry up and go fix it!"
"Not enough time-I'm afraid it can't be fixed in such a short amount of time." The staff member replied and wiped the sweat off his forehead.
"You're all useless!" Canette quipped. Then he turned to the Special Ops team currently in combat and ordered, "You better beat them back to where they came from! Whatever you do, you must not allow them to occupy our headquarters."
The soldiers didn't even a second to spare, so they couldn't reply to the command. The members of the fifth fleet were busy struggling under the intense attacks from the third fleet. Canette watched the situation on the screen. His breathing became rough and his heart rate sped up from the tension. His hands tightly gripped both of the arm rests beside him, and his brain frantically worked to come up with any possible countermeasures they could take.
Soon, the third fleet's ships appeared over the base and Canette knew that nothing could be done. They had lost with such an embarrassing defeat. Their headquarters would be seized within the next few minutes, and the crew would become captives. This complete and total defeat left them with no dignity to speak of. It was an utter disgrace to lose in such a manner.
"Vice Captain." Greene called out as he quickly rushed to Canette's side.
.....
After Qiao Chen and Auray finished setting up the metal net and hooking it up with electricity, they had sat on a nearby tree branch. They were waiting leisurely to see whether or not any unsuspecting fish would be caught in their net. Auray massaged Qiao Chen's calf with one hand, while he watched the combat situation through the communicator on his other hand.
Qiao Chen also watched Auray's communicator, but he felt that watching little dots that moved every now and then was very boring. He leaned his back onto the trunk and closed his eyes.
Auray stopped his massage and looked towards the cave's entrance. Qiao Chen's attention perked up as well. He opened his eyes and followed Auray's line of sight.
"Agh!"A scream rang out from the cave and an uproar followed soon after.
"There are fish in the net." Qiao Chen smiled.
"Electricity! There's an electric current running through the net." The fifth fleet had crowded in the cave. The two who were just electrocuted lied on the ground clutching their arms in pain.
"Greene! What's this all about? Is this supposed to be the escape route you prepared?" Canette asked angrily.
"It didn't have this metal net when I finished it." Greene explained as he looked at the net that sealed them in. Greene was suspicious. Who in the world sealed the cave?
"You coming?" Qiao Chen asked as Auray notified the rest of the team of their location.
"Yes." Auray glanced at his communicator and replied.
"Then let's go now." Qiao Chen urged. He really wanted to see Canette and Greene's incredulous looks.
Qiao Chen walked to the cave's entrance and peered in. He attentively watched the fifth fleet's confusion. "How lively." He commented, effectively catching the attention of the people who had yet to notice him.
The group inside the cave finally noticed Qiao Chen and Auray standing outside the cave's entrance. Canette looked at Qiao Chen in shock, "Qiaoyi? What are you doing here?"
"Oh just setting up a net and waiting for you to fall right into my trap~" Qiao Chen replied.
"This net was your doing?" Canette asked. His eyes burned with a desire to kill.
"Bingo."
"So you broke our jamming device too?" Greene asked, holding the remains of the jamming device he just found.
"Yep. That was me too." Qiao Chen nodded.
"You bastard!" Canette seethed.
His face contorted in fury. In a fit of anger, he forgot about the electric current running through the net. He ran up and was just about to force his way through the net before Greene stopped him.
"Vice Captain. There's electricity running through the net." Greene quickly interjected. He stopped Canette just in time. Canette came to his senses and backed away from the net. His rage burned as he glared through the net. It was as though he wanted to burn Qiao Chen to death with his glare.
Greene turned to Qiao Chen and accused, "You used to be a member of the fifth fleet, but now you're scheming with the third fleet against us. Aren't you at all ashamed?"
"But I'm working for the third fleet now. They're giving me a great salary with a high status to boot. It's my job to do all I can to help the fifth fleet win, so what should I be ashamed of? Before, when I was employed by the fifth fleet, didn't I give it my all? It was just that a certain someone didn't want to give me an easy time, so I was forced to resign." Qiao Chen shrugged.
Both Greene and Canette thought that Qiao Chen was referring to them self, so they shut up. Qiao Chen didn't correct them.
"Just you wait, Qiaoyi. I will never let you have an easy life." Canette snarled.
"OK~ I'll wait and see. I've already left the fifth fleet and gone elsewhere. I'd like to see how you'd continue to give me a hard time." Qiao Chen happily replied.
Several of the third fleet's mechs landed near the cave. They retrieved Qiao Chen, Auray, and all the fifth fleet staff members who escaped from the base. The third fleet had completely taken over the fifth fleet's headquarters. As long as they brought the fifth fleet back before the competition ended, they would able to announce their victory.
Qiao Chen sat on the ground next to a nearby tree. He watched as the fifth fleet members were taken away, one after the other. He completely relaxed the tension from his body and the fatigue fully set in. When all the people in the cave were taken away, everyone headed back onto the mechs.
Qiao Chen pushed himself up only to feel his legs give out from under him. He fell back onto the ground. His muscles were overextended. He abandoned the idea of walking and looked around for help. Qiao Chen looked around. He saw that Henry stood a few meters away conversing with some other team members, so Qiao Chen called out.
"Henry!"
Henry looked back and saw Qiao Chen on the ground. He immediately turned around, headed to Qiao Chen, and asked, "What's up?"
"I can't walk. Help carry me to the mech." Qiao Chen motioned him to crouch down.
"Oh, OK." Henry turned around and crouched down.
Qiao Chen pulled himself up to Henry's shoulder and was about to lean onto his back, when Auray suddenly appeared. Auray grabbed Qiao Chen's arm and interrupted, "I'll carry him."
Qiao Chen was whisked away and positioned on Auray's back before being carried back to Auray's mech. Henry was stunned and just blankly stared at the two as they departed.
The Triennial Combat Combat Pratice officially concluded. The third fleet achieved a total victory and the fifth fleet received a complete and utter defeat. During the after party, Captain Rouble's praises focused on Qiao Chen, and he made sure to note Qiao Chen's great contributions to the rest of the crew.
In this year's competition, the third fleet's final results showed that they won with flying colors. With the win tucked under their belts, they as the victors would gain the advantage of being ranked at the top of the other fleets. For the next three years, they would be able to dominate with the choice of, most if not all, important tasks. Needless to say, the captain and the rest of the fleet were extremely happy. In addition to scheduling a day to celebrate, the food served in the canteen became more like a rich banquet for the next several days.
After returning to the base, Qiao Chen once again threw himself into the restoration of his father's mech, the Z-801. On this day, Qiao Chen was busy all day, so he missed dinner time. He returned to his room at the base's dorm. Qiao Chen prepared to shower first and then he planned to just grab a bite to eat after.
Just as he finished his shower and came out of the restroom, the doorbell rang. Qiao Chen saw the person on the door's peephole camera and pushed the button to open the door.
"Can I help you?" Qiao Chen asked.
"I'd like to ask you something about the Z-801." Auray replied, as he stood outside the door.
"Then come in and we can talk." Qiao Chen turned around and walked further in.
Qiao Chen had just finished his shower, so he was wearing a bathrobe that was loosely fastened. After he sat down on the sofa, the front flap of the robe opened up on his chest to reveal his freshly bathed and slightly ruddy skin underneath. It was a very obvious indication that he had just gotten out of a nice and hot bath.
"What did you want to ask?" Qiao Chen crossed his legs and the hem of the bathrobe slipped off to the sides of his thighs. His slender, long legs were revealed.
Auray's gaze was immediately attracted to Qiao Chen's chest, and as Qiao Chen sat down, his line of sight dropped to Qiao Chen's legs.
"I wanted to ask how the progress is coming along."
"It's going well. Everything's coming along smoothly." Qiao Chen said.
"After the repair, there should be someone to pilot the mech during the testing phase. Have you chosen the candidate yet?"
"The Z-801 is categorized as an extremely powerful mech. Not everyone is fit to pilot it. Well, when the time comes, I will look to your Special Ops team and select the most suitable candidate to help me with the testing." Qiao Chen looked at Auray and asked, "Did you want to be the one to help me with the testing phase?"
"Driving a mech is every man's dream, while driving the best mech is every solder's dream." Auray said. Inevitably, he finally stopped beating around the bush and explained that if he was deemed unsuitable, than he wouldn't argue with it. However, he knew the Z-801 and believed that no one else was more suitable than him to pilot it.
Just as Qiao Chen was about to reply, the doorbell rang again. Qiao Chen looked at the door and stood up to open it.
"Wait a minute." Auray also stood up and then grabbed Qiao Chen. He fixed Qiao Chen's robe together and tightened the belt before he let Qiao Chen go.
Qiao Chen allowed Auray to tidy his appearance before he left to open the door.
Henry stood outside the door with a small box in his arms. When he saw Qiao Chen open the door, he hesitantly said, "I came to give you something."
Qiao Chen looked inside the box. Surprisingly, he still accepted the box even after knowing who the sender was.
"You won't throw it away, right?" Henry asked uneasily, "If you want to throw it away, then its better just to give it back to me."
"These are the things I like. Why would I want to throw them away?" Qiao Chen calmly replied. "Do you want to come in for a bit?"
"I won't-uh, you should rest now." Henry scratched the back of his head and said. Then he quickly left.
Qiao Chen carried the box and returned to his sofa. He sat opposite of Auray and look through the box. It contained some of his favorite foods, items he used often, and medicine. The things that he liked and used often were all things that were difficult to obtain.
"You close to Henry?" Auray could see that they seemed to have known each other for a long time, but Henry had never mentioned Qiao Chen before.
"Close?" Qiao Chen didn't think they would be considered close. "When we were younger, we had only met once in a while. However, I had a really bad attitude towards him. He was probably afraid to see me, so I didn't see him much after we grew up a few years later."
Qiao Chen took out an expensive and beautiful glass jar from the box. He happily said, "This is one of my favorite foods. It's wild snail meat. It can only be found on the Teal Mountain Seas of Kashar. They only produce, at most, 10 jars a year. It just so happens that I haven't had dinner yet. Would you like to join me?"
Auray had eaten dinner, but he saw Qiao Chen's happy smile and reflexively nodded.
Qiao Chen headed to the kitchen and began cooking. He chopped some vegetables, poured some of the snail meat in, and seasoned it. He added the dressing as he tossed the salad and then made a few other simple dishes to serve as a filling meal. After he finished cooking, Qiao Chen pulled out a bottle of fruity wine from his shelf and poured a glass for himself and Auray.
Auray looked over the dishes on the table. He never would have guessed that Qiaoyi would be so skilled in the kitchen. He assumed that, like himself, Qiaoyi's status as an aristocrat meant that he never even stepped foot into a kitchen. No one on the Special Ops team was a good cook either.
"Don't just look at it. Why won't you try it?" Qiao Chen picked up a piece of snail meat, put it in his mouth, and chewed. It was delicious and chewy. Even though he was separated from this delicacy for several lifetimes, he still remembered its familiar and delicious taste. Although the snail was rare and difficult to obtain delicacy, every year, someone would help him get a jar. When he thought of the previous amount made Qiao Chen's eyes faintly watered.
"Is it tasty?" Qiao Chen asked.
"It's delicious." Auray answered wholeheartedly. The dishes were beautifully plated and were honestly delicious. However, Auray believed that Qiao Chen's flushed and rosy cheeks after a few drinks seemed to be even more beautiful than the dishes on the table.
Qiao Chen ate and drank and ate and drank. It wasn't long before the large bottle of wine was emptied. Finally, Qiao Chen lied on the dinner table in a drunken daze and was motionless. Auray took him back to his room and put him on the bed. After Auray pulled the blankets over Qiao Chen, he sat beside the bed and watched Qiao Chen's sleeping face. Soon, Auray couldn't help but move his hands and touch Qiao Chen's face. Auray leaned his head low, kissed Qiao Chen on the lips, and got up to leave.
Qiao Chen heard the sound of the door closed and opened his misty eyes. He used the system to dissolve the alcohol in his body and his eyes showed soberness.
Obviously, Qiao Chen knew about what Auray had just done. But for him to steal a kiss and still kiss so innocently? If he was Wei Zhennan, then I wouldn't even have known how many times he would have thoroughly eaten me up. Sure enough, my choice to turn off the good will and intimacy pack for this life made it so that he didn't fall into such a deep love with me that easily. Now, it was best for him to just have a good impression of me. If he didn't, then the soul download would never start up.
Qiao Chen turned around and adjusted his sleeping position. It wasn't long before he fell asleep.