Mecha Chapter 67: Materials

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Sulo

 

After this, Luo XiaoLou’s heart was sore from the respect the Shadow People had for Yuan Xi. Even though Yuan Xi was arrogant and proud, the Shadow People still treated him like a savior. The patriarch and the priest could not wait to be with Yuan Xi at all times, and even called Leia along.

Hey… Are you going to go ahead with the princess-marriage plan? Yuan Xi will never marry a woman who tries to control him! This guy’s control freak nature is unbeatable, Luo XiaoLou thought angrily.

“I bet Yuan Xi wouldn’t be interested in that woman. I’ve scanned her body. She’s not as supple as you. After all, you’re the most advanced Blue Origin Star Exotic Beast. I don’t think Yuan Xi is that insensitive.” 125 swore in Luo XiaoLou’s ear.

Luo XiaoLou was silent. What do I expect from your aesthetic vision and standards? In your eyes… Humans are not as beautiful as bugs and beasts. Besides, how the hell was this about being supple?

It’s a good thing that Yuan Xi wasn’t blinded by flattery and beauty. The first thing he did was ask the patriarch to take him to see Yates. He ordered Luo XiaoLou, who was busy groveling in the back, to come to him with his eyes.

The group arrived at Yates’s place and saw him walk out of the house while wearing his coat. He was followed by the young girl who had been accompanying him. The young girl was anxiously waiting on him and kept saying, “Sir, you are not well enough to move.”

Yates spotted Yuan Xi and Luo XiaoLou not far away. He smiled. “Men are not so delicate. This little wound is nothing.”

Apparently the message had been received, and Yates was un-hypnotized.

Yuan Xi looked over at Yates and asked, “How’s it going?”

Yates clearly understood what Yuan Xi was asking. Immediately and energetically, he replied, “Team leader. Ready to go. I’m fine now.”

Yuan Xi nodded. He ignored the glaring stares around him and turned his head to look at Luo XiaoLou, who was clearly not in good spirits. He said, “Let’s go back today.”

The patriarch and the priest were busy advising them. They wanted them to stay a few more days and let them do their duty as landowners. The young girl looking after Yates also stepped forward fearfully and said. “From the state of this gentleman’s health… he’d better rest for another day. Otherwise he will be left with lingering effects. It would be a pity for a warrior such as him.”

Leia, who had been watching Yuan Xi quietly for some time now, softly said, “Lord Yuan Xi… Even if you are in a hurry to return, you should think about the health of your comrades. Except for you, the other two are actually not in the best of shape.”

Yuan Xi and Yates looked at Luo XiaoLou at the same time. After seeing Luo XiaoLou’s pale face, Yates didn’t say anything… but Yuan Xi had already changed his tone with a frown. “We’ll leave first thing tomorrow morning.”

It was at least an eleven hour flight back to Planet Anse. If they left now, they wouldn’t be able to rest for half the night. And Luo XiaoLou, who hadn’t slept well last night, was obviously dragging his feet.

The Shadow People around them cheered. Many of them looked at Leia cheerfully. As expected, their princess was still very charming.

And so… The patriarch immediately invited Yuan Xi to live with him. As the head of the clan, his place was much larger than the other houses. It was more elegant and the perfect place to host Yuan Xi.

And… The patriarch also had other plans in mind.

He wanted to use this opportunity to promote the relationship between Yuan Xi and Leia again. At any chance he could get, he wanted Leia to marry Yuan Xi. 

Firstly, it would be safer for Yuan Xi not to leave the Shadow People behind later. And secondly, the more he looked at Yuan Xi… the young man had a lot of power and authority, and he was the future savior of the tribe.

As the Shadow People’s Holy Maiden… If Leia could marry such a man, it would be the greatest blessing from the gods to the Shadow People. But to everyone’s surprise, Yuan Xi casually pointed his finger and said, “No need. We’ll stay at his house.”

Ashe was flattered and took Yuan Xi and the others home. Only then did Yuan Xi come to him in private and bossily asked him to hand over all his secret medicine. Ashe was bitter. He… he had someone he liked, too, okay?

That afternoon, the patriarch and the priest had many of the Shadow People’s specialties brought to Yuan Xi. Exotic fruits, jeweled daggers, and most surprising of all, there were rare materials, too.

Yuan Xi, of course, was not impressed. He was about to say no but he caught sight of Luo XiaoLou’s face. Luo XiaoLou was almost drooling at the sight of the rare materials. Yuan Xi asked the man who brought the gifts to leave it behind.

When the man left, Luo XiaoLou pounced on the materials. He looked like a rustic person who’d never seen the world before. It was a gift for the Shadow People’s savior and so almost all the materials were Grade 5. There were also a few Grade 6 ones. Even in Master Yan’s place there were hardly any.

Ashe couldn’t even bear to look at them. He rolled his eyes at Luo XiaoLou and carefully brought dinner to Yuan Xi. Carefully, he investigated into the patriarch’s mission, “Lord Yuan Xi, will you marry Princess Leia?”

“No.”

The rest of Ashe’s prepared sentence about what he was going to do for the wedding couldn’t be continued. His face scrunched up. How could anyone not want a beautiful girl like Princess Leia!

“Wh, why?”

Yuan Xi glared at Ashe with impatience. Then he looked at his slave who was currently ruining his image. “I have someone I want to marry,” he said quietly. “There will be no one else.”

Ashe looked blankly at Yuan Xi. Finally, he said, “I am sorry. My people didn’t know. We almost made a big mistake.” Someone who could compare to Princess Leia. What a beautiful woman she must be…

Ashe sighed, rolled his eyes at the drooling Luo XiaoLou again, and went outside to work.

After a while, Luo XiaoLou, whom he deeply despised inside, came out. Smiling, he asked, “Ashe, do you have a lot of materials?”

Ashe shrugged his shoulders, “Particle storms don’t just bring danger, they also bring us many essential things. For example, the abundance of materials on the asteroid.”

Luo XiaoLou took a few materials out of his hand. Hesitantly, he asked, “I’d like some more of these. Can I? I can pay for it — it’s also fine for me to trade things with you guys.” Luo XiaoLou changed his mind halfway through, since the Shadow People probably couldn’t use federal coins. 

The reason for the urgency was because these were all materials that could be used to repair 125.

Ashe looked Luo XiaoLou up and down a few times. Compared to the other two, Luo XiaoLou was weak. At first glance, he didn’t seem to have any status. Ashe asked, “What do you have? Our clan is very rich in materials. You probably won’t get much in exchange for the materials.”

“Then what do you want?” Luo XiaoLou, however, was worried. He had almost nothing on him. Except for a few leftover pills. Even if he was optimistic… He didn’t think the Shadow People would be interested in this.

Ashe obviously felt the same way. “Don’t count on it,” he said as he worked. “We have nothing to lose here. The only thing we’re willing to take from you Federation people is the seed of natural food. And you don’t have any, do you?”

“Natural food seeds?” Luo XiaoLou was stunned.

Ashe nodded. His face was a little gloomy, “As you can probably see, most of the plants on this asteroid are inedible. And over the years, it has become increasingly difficult to cultivate natural food throughout the Federation. Our patriarch and the priests have stumbled upon a place that is not contaminated by radiation. If someone with high Spiritual Power is around to unblock it, it will be possible to cultivate natural food.”

“But we have nowhere to get plant seeds. We don’t have your communicators, and won’t dare to go to the Federation. So now, we feed mostly on un-irradiated meat and mushrooms. Our clan hasn’t eaten vegetables in a long time…”

The communication device in Federation was something like an identification card.

Luo XiaoLou’s heart sighed. It was a pity for the Shadow People. Even if he went and bought plant seeds back home, he probably won’t have the chance to come back again.

“I don’t think so. I guess I won’t trade…”

Luo XiaoLou hadn’t even said a word… and 125 was already screaming in his ear, “Trade, trade, trade… As my foster carer, you don’t care about me at all! I need those materials! I can’t live without them!”

Luo XiaoLou frowned. He reluctantly went towards the window. Whispering, he said, “As you can see, I don’t have anything to trade with them.” Thoughtfully, he reassured, “Don’t worry. We can always get everything later.”

“No… that’s the last of the stuff I need. I can’t bear to give them up like this. You’re an irresponsible foster at the worst possible time. I…” 125 cried, accusing Luo XiaoLou. In the end, it seemed to have made up its mind as it made a big decision. “I’ll give you something. You can exchange it for the materials. I promise this is the last time I’ll take anything out of my private storeroom!”

Luo XiaoLou was in a daze. All of a sudden, boxes of rice and beans and peanuts appeared in front of Luo XiaoLou. Then, it was followed by potatoes, eggplants, tomatoes and all kinds of vegetables Luo XiaoLou had previously bought. Some of them had lost some moisture over time and were wilted. But most of them were in good condition. It would make a great meal. And a few big pots of porridge.

Probably to add to the ingredients, there were even some of Luo XiaoLou’s socks… and some of Yuan Xi’s underwear. All brand new, of course.

Luo XiaoLou stared at the pile of stuff. “How the hell did you store all of these?” He mumbled.

125 smugly said, “My space is much better than your refrigerator. I wouldn’t have thrown it out if it wasn’t so badly damaged.” 

Luo XiaoLou said with a grimace, “I mean, you’ve been taking my stuff secretly!”

“You don’t have to be so mean.” 125 said, shrinking. “Even if I’m a pet, you still have to feed me……”

“No pets that need energy boxes.” Luo XiaoLou interrupted 125. The embarrassing things like socks and underwear were handily put away before anyone else noticed.

125 endured. Finally, it whispered, “Hey, I was wrong. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. You’re not going to change me, are you?”

Luo XiaoLou didn’t pay any attention to it. He just picked up the rice, beans, peanuts and vegetables and walked towards Ashe. He asked, “Do you think I can trade with these? The others should work.”

Ashe, who was busy, stared blankly at what Luo XiaoLou was holding. Then he snatched it out of his hand. Teary-eyed, he looked at it. “Is this… Is this all real? This isn’t a picture from the digital book?”

“Of course. And if I can trade with them, they’re yours.” Luo XiaoLou said.

Ashe stared at the rice, beans and plants for a long time. He looked twice at Luo XiaoLou. Suddenly, he put down his things, thought about it and picked up a box of rice porridge ingredients. He solemnly promised Luo XiaoLou, “I will return these to you” and then ran out.

In the midst of 125’s incessant chattering, footsteps finally sounded outside but they weren’t just one set of footsteps.

The door opened, and the patriarch and the priest were the first to enter. They saw what was in front of Luo XiaoLou and their eyes lit up.

This time, the group was mostly the old men, with Leia at the back.

The group of people excitedly finished examining the items. The patriarch looked solemnly at Luo XiaoLou. The tone of his voice couldn’t be more different from that during the day. With a hint of respect and excitement, he questioned, “Do you really mean to give us these in exchange?”.

Luo XiaoLou nodded his head subconsciously. If he didn’t trade… 125 would probably cry so hard, he wouldn’t be able to sleep for days.

“Thank you so much. You have no idea what a difference your decision will make for us. It may be nothing to you… But to our clan, it is very precious. It’s too precious.” The patriarch and the priest looked grateful. Luo XiaoLou felt uncomfortable.

It was only things that had been collected by this guy 125.

Then… the clan members sent over several large boxes of the materials he needed. They almost filled the whole room.

When Luo XiaoLou recovered from his giggling, he saw Yuan Xi leaning against the doorframe, looking at him.

Luo XiaoLou was immediately sober. Blinking innocently, Luo XiaoLou said, “I…” He said, “I… I’m just trading for some materials.”

Yuan Xi nodded. Flatly, he said, “I don’t have any objections. I just want you to take them back.”

Luo XiaoLou opened his mouth wide in surprise. Cautiously, he asked, “Aren’t you going to take it for me?”

Yuan Xi’s forehead jumped, “All I know is that my space button is almost full of your materials.”

Yates coughed next to the dumbfounded Luo XiaoLou. He advised, “There’s still some room in Knight’s space button. It’s not much, but I can help a little.”

Yuan Xi didn’t say anything else. He glared at Luo XiaoLou and then carried him inside. “Go to bed early. We’ll be going back in the morning.”

 

The next morning, Yuan Xi and Yates took most of the materials with them. Luo XiaoLou wasn’t too sorry that he couldn’t bring some with him. He thought he probably had a lot for 125 in his stash.

The Shadow People all came to see them off. Leia looked at Yuan Xi. Her eyes were a little lost and she was reluctant. But… Leia bit her lip. If only she hadn’t lost her temper in the first few days. If only she had spent more time with Yuan Xi… Maybe she could have been together with Yuan Xi now. What would it be like?

The priest looked at Luo XiaoLou who was by Yuan Xi’s side with a thoughtful gaze. He was unable to speak.

In the end, Yuan Xi and Yates’s mecha flew into the sky in front of everyone’s eyes.

After a good night’s sleep, Luo XiaoLou stretched out on the passenger seat of Yuan Xi’s mecha. “We’re finally out of this hellhole,” he lamented.

Yuan Xi gave him a sidelong glance. He set Cloudy Sky to auto-fly and then he looked at Luo XiaoLou. Calmly, he asked, “When are you going to explain it to me?”