Chapter 106: Pilot Duty Only

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

The consequence of making that suggestion was that Zhou Yunchen found himself stuffed into a bulky plastic protective suit, lugging an oil canister as Lu Yao pushed him into the mecha’s cylinder oil storage chamber to perform the oil change.

While Zhou Yunchen worked inside, grunting and sweating, Lu Yao stood on the lift with his arms folded against the rail.

“This was the second mecha I built,” he said. “But it was only half-finished when the Federation Intelligence Bureau came looking for me. Some of its technical problems hadn’t been solved yet—especially its insufficient energy supply. I suspect it was the bulk purchase of different materials and fuel for testing that tipped the Bureau off.”

“But you chose to conceal this base and this mecha from them,” Zhou Yunchen’s muffled voice came through the helmet, distorted.

“Because manufacturing flying craft without a license is illegal,” Lu Yao replied. “The first mecha didn’t even have a flight mode.”

Zhou Yunchen crawled out of the machinery, glancing up at him. “But this one can fly? Its design… it’s unusual.”

Truth be told, he still couldn’t see how those four massive components were supposed to form a mecha.

“It is unusual,” Lu Yao agreed, lifting his gaze. The cold gleam of metal, like starlight, reflected in his eyes. “I thought it would only ever collect dust in storage. But then you appeared, Zhou Yunchen. In the human world, only you can pilot this machine.”

“Why?”

When Lu Yao designed it, he hadn’t even known Zhou Yunchen. How could he have built a mecha meant for him alone?

“Come. Over here,” Lu Yao called. Zhou Yunchen shed the protective gear and set the oil canister aside, then stepped onto the slowly rising lift. Lu Yao guided the platform away from the mecha until they were suspended in midair, at the perfect vantage point.

He keyed commands into his tablet. A deep rumble shook the ground as countless mechanical arms rose, carrying the massive modules. The components began to slide and interlock, the assembly process underway. First the main frame, then elongated structures, then a triangular piece fixed to the top. Gradually, a colossal, uniquely shaped mecha revealed itself before Zhou Yunchen’s eyes. Was that… a cat?

Lu Yao frowned slightly. “Maybe I should shrink the head. I designed it according to a housecat’s proportions, but now it looks a little top-heavy.”

“This is the cat-shaped mecha from your documentary?”

“Yes. They’re like twins, but this one’s technology and functions are more complete,” Lu Yao said. “Because piloting a mecha requires linking with human consciousness, and the human brain can’t usually control feline movement, I thought this one could never be activated. But you’ve already experienced the snow leopard’s form, so you should be able to pilot it smoothly.”

The four massive parts locked together. Lu Yao pressed a remote switch. The cat-shaped mecha came to life, its eyes glowing blue, its long tail swishing before arching high in the air. Zhou Yunchen realized—the sixteen cylinders from earlier were the tail’s control mechanism.

“Once I adjust the head proportions and install the new energy drive in a few days, we can run flight tests and prepare to leave B13,” Lu Yao said.

He stood there in the deserted base with the same focus, severity, and cold efficiency as he had in the bustling First Research Base. The crowded noise of people or the absolute silence of the wasteland—it made no difference. His eyes belonged only to the machines.

The modern and the old blurred together in Zhou Yunchen’s mind, the dim light cutting through mist as he asked, “Lu Yao, if the Federation Intelligence Bureau hadn’t found you back then, would you have stayed on B13 your whole life?”

Lu Yao disliked crowds. Could this desolate, red wasteland have suited him instead? He thought for a moment. “Hard to say. Building mecha is an extremely costly endeavor. Back then, aside from using the materials left behind in this base, I bought huge amounts of fuel and parts off the black market. I nearly exhausted my parents’ inheritance and all the money I earned from selling patents. And since I would never sell the mecha themselves, it wasn’t sustainable. But… if I only wanted to live here, the base’s stored water, food, and energy could have lasted me five hundred years. Why do you ask?”

Lu Yao sensed the unusual weight behind the question. Zhou Yunchen didn’t answer right away, so he pressed further. “Do you like it here?”

What was there to like about B13? Dust storms, searing heat and bitter cold, endless ridges and gorges, the howling of winds that clawed the horizon—it was breathtaking in its vast, savage beauty, yes. A travel company could market it as a tourist attraction. But a livable world? Hardly.

Zhou Yunchen stayed silent. Lu Yao preferred to read his silence as denial rather than agreement.

“You don’t want to go back?” Lu Yao tried again.

“There’s nothing on New Blue Star for me to miss,” Zhou Yunchen said. “I only have you.”

Lu Yao wasn’t so tactless as to start listing his titles, achievements, wealth, or the Silver Halberd Fleet with its ships, mecha, and duties. If none of that could hold Zhou Yunchen, then how could New Blue Star itself compare to this barren frontier world? Harsh as it was, these carefree days they shared here were already beautiful, like their own hidden paradise.

Paradise was supposed to be spring, with blossoms and grain, petals dancing in the breeze. Here there was only yellow desert and shrieking winds, sand whipping down from the sky in rattling sheets. On New Blue Star, the towering buildings and cultivated parks were pleasing to the eye, but also fragile, artificial—made by human hands, easily built and easily destroyed. This desert was different. It was theirs alone, impossible to replicate, impossible to erase.

“I understand,” Lu Yao said quietly. “But the only path left to us is to leave B13.”

The Black Sea Pirates hunted ahead of them. Behind, the Federation military knew General Zhou had landed on this planet. Neither side would allow them to simply vanish into B13’s wastes. Fate had already surrounded them with its walls. They could look beyond, but the path forward was only one—and it was narrow and winding. “I’ll be at your side,” Zhou Yunchen said.

In the days that followed, Lu Yao threw himself fully into repairing and perfecting the cat-shaped mecha. Zhou Yunchen had studied the basics of mecha repair, but when it came to design and construction, he was utterly out of his depth. He couldn’t be of much help to Lu Yao.

So, General Zhou once again took on the role of the dutiful husband, the perfect caretaker. Each day, aside from checking the defense and counter-reconnaissance systems of the abandoned base, he handled the laundry, cooked meals, looked after the daily life of the famed Chief Engineer Lu—and also made sure to “serve” him well.

Chief Lu, for his part, complained that his “bewitching consort” had recently been far too attentive, so much so that he was often delayed for court at dawn. The consort, however, refused to mend his ways. Instead, he grew even more relentless. Whenever the sovereign dared to shut him out, he would transform back into the snow leopard and cry pitifully at the door. Chief Lu’s love for his leopard was too great; he always gave in, opening the door again and scooping the snow leopard into his arms.

After several days of this, Chief Lu felt he could fully sympathize with King Zhou of Shang, who also had to endure the same trials with his own charming, furred consort. To avoid distraction during his work, Lu Yao finally issued an order forbidding Zhou Yunchen from stepping into the mecha assembly zone. The General obeyed without complaint. With his spare time, he often wandered up to the massive sinkhole above the base—not to do anything, just to walk.

It was a colossal impact crater, its rocks pressed and hardened by heat and force. Inside, the dark walls trapped air that was cooler and gentler than on the surface. Above, the vast, cloudless sky was framed like a perfect circle, and anyone looking up from below seemed as small as an ant.

Zhou Yunchen wondered how Lu Yao had endured his solitary years. Had he also walked here? Had he traced the cool shadows of the cliff walls by day, avoiding the searing sun, and by night stepped into the center of the pit to sketch the Apple Constellation and the Southern Gate Constellation blazing across the heavens?

Walking through the sand-swept sinkhole felt more alive, more eternal, than the carefully protected Pavilion Lake back on New Blue Star. Unlike modern technology and architecture, which smothered nature under steel and glass, the abandoned base seemed to yield to its surroundings—hidden in the sand and rock, wrapped in silence, stripped of all noise and clamor.

“Zhou Yunchen.” The voice echoed across the pit, bouncing against the stone walls. He turned and saw Lu Yao standing in the shadow of the passageway opposite. Just as he had guessed, Lu Yao avoided the sun whenever possible—especially this scorching heat that could burn the skin. Even the shade of the cliff was not enough for him. He stood tucked safely in the passage, refusing to step out. Zhou Yunchen smiled and jogged across the bright strip of light at the pit’s center to reach him. “What brings you up here?” he asked.

“I finished today’s work ahead of schedule.” The words sounded like nonsense, but Zhou Yunchen understood. What Lu Yao really meant was: I said I’d stay by your side, so as soon as I was done, I came to find you.

“Should I reward you for that?” Zhou Yunchen asked. Lu Yao frowned, and Zhou Yunchen guessed his thought: You’re not my superior. How could you reward me? But after a beat, Lu Yao still played along. “And what kind of reward could you give me?”

Zhou Yunchen kissed his forehead. “That’s all?” Lu Yao asked.

“This is just the beginning.” Zhou Yunchen slid an arm around his waist and pressed him back against the cool stone wall. “We have to take things step by step. You can’t set the cylinders running at maximum power right from the start, can you?”

“Old-model cylinders, yes, but with current technology it’s already possible to—mmph!” Zhou Yunchen silenced him with a kiss. He had no intention of letting Chief Engineer Lu lecture him through the entire history of engine design. He was a mecha pilot, after all. His job was hands-on practice.

Author’s Note: 

A natural line is born in brilliance; a deft hand only stumbles upon it by chance~

 

 

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