QT: LAC Chapter 86: Sixth World (10)

Chapter 86: Sixth World (10)
Translated by Shiya of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Due to Bai Duan’s deliberate avoidance, he didn’t have any decent communication with him until he landed on Hobian. The atmosphere between them seemed strange and cold, which was just two extremes compared with how they were glued together in the past few days.

Such abnormal performance, even the other star thieves also noticed the difference, and they all looked at Lao Lin in confusion, but only received Lao Lin’s irrelevant shrug and shaking of his head.

Fortunately, the star thieves were also too lazy to care about other people’s private affairs. They were dedicated to operating the ship to land in Hobian’s big airport, and Bai Duan, who had been avoiding Eddie by looking out of the window, was also attracted by the scene in the airport.

To tell you the truth, the buildings in Hobian airport were not very good-looking. They looked very old and dilapidated, lacked management, and the abandoned walls were everywhere. Yet, those abandoned walls were all covered with colorful but confusing graffiti, adding a layer of mysterious, rebellious and lively color to the airport.

Of course, this was not the focus of Bai Duan’s attention. His curiosity was on the ships and airships parked in the airport. Because Hobian was home to all the races in the universe, the ships here were also in different shapes, and they would be able to hold a big exhibition that would be very popular in the universe — a grand sight that couldn’t be seen on any other planet.

It was not only a variety of ships, but also the ‘creatures’ going in and out of the airport. There were all kinds of strange looking organic creatures and inorganic creatures that constantly challenged human’s aesthetic view and imagination.

Bai Duan forced himself to observe these rare interstellar races and ships, but looking at them, his focus still couldn’t help but float to Eddie who had just got off the ship.

This time, Lao Lin’s partner for several decades, Kaleid, was here to meet them. He would be taking over the ‘goods’ brought here by Lao Lin, including Eddie.

Kaleid was also an Alpha. He had long, gorgeous, and flamboyant red hair. He was tall and had sharp eyebrows and eyes. Although he looked very beautiful, he didn’t lack the aggression that an Alpha should have. He was like a red rose with thorns, which was particularly striking.

Next, Eddie would continue to exercise with Kaleid, get familiar with and integrate into the life of Hobian, and learn a series of knowledge that star thieves needed to learn, such as combat skills, warship driving, interstellar forces distribution, etc. When he was almost finished, he would participate in some relatively simple and easy tasks, and further improve his ability in practice — as for what he would eventually grow up to do? That depended on Eddie’s potential and courage.

“Don’t you want to go down and see him off? Or stay for two days to see how he adapts?” Lao Lin went to Bai Duan who was standing in front of a window of the ship. Lao Lin stood beside Bai Duan and said while playing with his ponytail, “If you don’t go, we will be returning immediately. If you want to go, seeing as you are my old partner, I can wait for you for another two days.”

Bai Duan hesitated for a moment, “Is that Kaleid person trustworthy?”

“Of course!” Lao Lin raised his eyebrows. “Although he doesn’t know how to savor beauties, he is definitely capable of training your sweetheart into a qualified star thief.”

“…Then that’s enough,” Bai Duan breathed a sigh of relief. He dodged Eddie’s gaze from the airport, and quickly turned around, walking back to the control room. Since there was no way he could stay with Eddie, Bai Duan knew he shouldn’t give him hope. If they were breaking up, then it was better to break it off cleanly, so as not to drag the mud around, which would only make it more difficult for Eddie to get rid of this feeling.

Lao Lin watched Bai Duan leave, then turned to look out of the window and stared at the window. Eddie’s eyes were dark and his expression was very cold. Lao Lin really didn’t know if he should pity the little devil who was severely rejected or his little partner who was targeted by the little devil.

Shrugging his shoulders, Lao Lin pressed a button to close the hatch and blew a kiss at Eddie, in exchange for Eddie’s undisguised dislike and frown. Then he saw Eddie open his mouth and made out the words, “Where is he?”

Lao Lin pointed to the interior of the cabin and saw that Eddie’s expression was darker. Lao Lin, who sold his teammate, waved his hand at Eddie and Kaleid. The hatch closed completely, and he leisurely went to the control room.

After a short rest and replenishment, Lao Lin’s fleet returned home with high efficiency. Along the way, Bai Duan, who didn’t like talking, was even more reticent and worried. His silent squatting in the corner made Lao Lin really worry about whether he would grow mushrooms.

Fortunately, although Bai Duan was in a low mood, he did not cause any trouble for others. He politely thanked Lao Lin. Later, when he got home, he quietly remained in the basement until the commencement of the first semester at the Royal Academy of Delmo. He either completed tasks assigned by Lao Lin or carried out his own research without ever mentioning Eddie.

Half a month later, Bai Duan packed up his clothes and went to the Royal Academy that everyone dreamed of and began his ordinary student life.

Bai Duan’s major was armor manufacturing. Similar to warship manufacturing, his major was the most cutting-edge subject that a Beta could learn. Mechas played a very important role in the interstellar society. After all, no matter how strong an Alpha’s flesh and body were, it couldn’t fight with other stars in the universe by its flesh alone. As such, mechas became an indispensable vehicle and weapon, which could cooperate with warships, complement each other and be indispensable.

In choosing a discipline, Bai Duan hesitated between armor manufacturing and warship manufacturing, but finally chose the former because warships were not things that one person could make successfully. It would require many professionals and designers to cooperate with each other. Bai Duan had a cold personality and didn’t like to communicate with others. His attitude towards his own works were more rigid. He was used to deciding everything by himself rather than compromising with others. That was why, in the interstellar age, it was easier for mecha designers to get famous than warship designers. A talented designer could independently design a new type of armor that would catch people’s eyes, and fully show his talent to the world. However, only a talented team could create a powerful warship.

Almost equal amounts of Alphas and Betas majored in armor manufacturing, while aristocrats accounted for the vast majority of the Betas who majored in the subject, which made Bai Duan, who was a commoner Beta, suffer a lot.

The gap between gender and status caused Bai Duan a lot of trouble, but what bothered him even more were his wild pursuers. Bai Duan has been very popular since he was a child, but because he was too good, the rest of the Betas were reluctant to approach him, but no one here was ashamed of themselves anymore. Instead, they actively pursued him.

Eighteen or nineteen was the age when pheromones were most restless. Since, Omegas were mostly ‘treasured and hidden’, except for those who were extremely self-confident and despised Betas, or were already engaged to an Alpha, most of the other students turned their eyes to beautiful Betas like Bai Duan. The restless pheromone would drive them to be eager to have a campus love affair — as for whether the love affair could last or not and whether it could succeed after leaving the campus, that’s not what they needed to consider.

It was true that Bai Duan did not look as beautiful as Eddie, but Bai Duan’s looks were still superior to most Betas. He was slim, white and had delicate facial features. In addition, he always seemed indifferent because he didn’t like to communicate with others. As soon as he entered school, he attracted many people’s attention. When he put on the uniform designed to imitate the military uniform, he brought the indifferent and ascetic temperament to the extreme, and those around him even spread the nickname of ‘Ice Cold Beauty’ unconsciously.

Such a beautiful and cold Beta aroused other people’s desire to conquer him. Not only Betas, but also some Alphas were half-serious in the pursuit, causing Bai Duan a lot of trouble. Even if Bai Duan expressed that he was uninterested, they kept pursuing him, so Bai Duan had to hide in the library or laboratory for a moment of peace. The so-called ‘gold always shines’. Due to ‘hard work,’ Bai Duan’s talent was soon discovered by his teachers. Not only was he given guidance beyond the course knowledge in his spare time, but he was also often pulled into the professors’ research labs.

Although Bai Duan could only sort out the materials in the research room for the time being, this was very rare for new students such as himself. In the lab, Bai Duan could view the teacher’s notes and information, understand their cutting-edge research, and use the equipment in the research room for himself, which were far superior to the students’ laboratory. It benefited Bai Duan a lot.

One day, Bai Duan was in the research room as usual. He had just completed an improved drawing of a common machine armor, and was inputting it into the instrument for feasibility testing — as long as the test was successful, he could apply for permission for further research, then upgrade the real mecha.

Looking at the screen carefully, Bai Duan recorded the feedback results of the instrument one by one with a pen and paper. Even Bai Duan didn’t know why. Although it’s more convenient and quick to record with an optical computer nowadays, Bai Duan preferred to use paper and pen as the original recording method, which had no change at all.

The feedback of the instrument was quite good, only a few small errors needed to be improved, Bai Duan smiled with satisfaction. Just after he put the pen down, he heard a low magnetic voice behind him, “This is your independent design?”

Bai Duan was startled. He was so focused, forgetting there were other people in the room, that he didn’t notice that someone was standing behind him for a while. Suddenly, Bai Duan turned his head and looked at the person behind him. His pupils suddenly shrank, but his expression and tone were calm, “Hmm, yes.”

“As a new student, it’s very good to do this. No wonder Professor Zieger has been praising you for your talent and diligence, which he has never done before. He also said that you will become a great designer in the future,” The man smiled, his handsome face full of appreciation and friendliness. He didn’t seem to notice the difference in Bai Duan’s expression, or rather he didn’t pay attention to it.

Hearing the name of Professor Zieger, Bai Duan’s expression turned a little softer, “Professor never said such a thing to me.”

“That’s because the professor is afraid that you would be clouded by pride.” The man’s smile deepened. He reached out to Bai Duan and said, “My name is Lestrot O’dean, I’m a third year student, your senpai. Currently majoring in mecha piloting, I’m also an investor in this research lab.”

“Hello, senpai. I’m Bai Duan,” Bai Duan pursed his lips, he reached his hand out, and politely shook hands with Lestrot, “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Lestrot O’dean, the next head of the O’dean family, had the highest potential in the family and everyone had high expectations for him. His mental strength had now reached rank S, while his physical quality was ranked at SS, coupled with his noble blood and beautiful appearance, even though he was still a student, he was already destined to soar and shine.

But that was not why Bai Duan paid attention to him. If it wasn’t for a certain incident, Bai Duan would never have paid attention to such an ‘irrelevant’ person. There was only one reason Bai Duan remembered and recognized Lestrot at first glance. It was just a single reason, but it was enough for Bai Duan to remember Lestrot for a lifetime, and he would never forget this person.

Since, legally, Lestrot was Eddie’s husband.