"Little brother! Where's your mecha?" Jin Quan Ao Tian shouted excitedly.
"No rush," Gu Ya said calmly.
At this moment, he was sitting in Mu Ye Xing Chen's exclusive vehicle, studying Black Star technology.
"I didn't expect you could pilot a mecha," Gu Ya asked.
Mu Ye Xing Chen, sitting beside him, crossed his legs, arms folded, and gazed forward. He exuded a calm and detached aura, as if having survived a great ordeal.
"Do you know why there isn't a number one mecha pilot in the Xing Chen military?" Mu Ye Xing Chen said faintly, "Because that number one is me, and I don't need to participate in rankings."
"A word from you is worth a thousand," Gu Ya said, half-jokingly.
"Hahaha!" Mu Ye Xing Chen suddenly burst into laughter, raising his holographic wristband to record Gu Ya's words.
Hei Yang the plushie, perched on Gu Ya's shoulder, peeked out with a large eye, looking timidly at Mu Ye Xing Chen.
"Master, I know him..."
"Of course, he's your real father," Gu Ya said bluntly. "Alright, analysis complete. It is indeed a good mecha. Black Star technology also has commendable aspects."
The cockpit armor suddenly opened, and Gu Ya summoned his full exoskeleton, flying out.
As the wild wind subsided with the closing of the cockpit, Mu Ye Xing Chen sighed heavily.
"Fate plays cruel tricks. Ten years of military service, yet I end up with countless sins and ruin."
"Alas, what fear does a dying man have for the future? I only wish to see the sky clear again, not to betray the wishes of my ancestors."
"When the time comes, I will personally meet my death and atone for my heinous sins."
The exceptionally star-studded team flew without rest, returning to the Wu He City Mecha Guard camp by the next morning.
Because they were led by the highly ranked Shu Fei Zhang, the Dong Yong Gu Zhi Lan war zone specially dispatched a deputy commander to welcome them.
That evening, accompanied by the veteran members of the Ao Ying Team Three, everyone gathered around a dinner table. After dinner, they chatted until the middle of the night before parting ways.
Qiao Wei Wei, being underage, was not allowed to drink. After escorting a slightly tipsy Tao Na back to her dormitory, she headed towards her own residence.
Halfway there, a boy with golden hair stood alone under a large tree, gazing at the starry sky.
Qiao Wei Wei recognized him as Jin Quan Ao Tian, who had dined with them that evening. She stared at him curiously for half a minute before shrugging and preparing to leave.
"Esteemed and beautiful lady, please stay," Jin Quan Ao Tian said, flashing a confident smile and calling out cheerfully.
Qiao Wei Wei adopted an arrogant demeanor, her eyes haughty, and asked testily, "What is it?"
"On the way here, I heard that little brother Gu Ya's girlfriend was as beautiful as a celestial being. But in my opinion, she can't compare to one person." Jin Quan Ao Tian casually walked up to Qiao Wei Wei, hands in his pockets, and said with a smile.
Qiao Wei Wei thought to herself, "Is this guy crazy? Not sleeping at night and acting so weird here."
But out of politeness, she still replied, "Who?" (138 Reading Net)
Jin Quan Ao Tian leaned down slightly, looking into Qiao Wei Wei's eyes, and smiled, "The person before you."
Qiao Wei Wei's face flushed. She kicked Jin Quan in the stomach and shouted, "You scoundrel!" then stomped away angrily.
As she walked quickly, Qiao Wei Wei cursed inwardly, "What kind of person is he to dare flirt with me! This young lady doesn't fall for this kind of trick!"
But the further she walked, the happier she felt, and it wasn't until she reached her residence that her thumping heart finally calmed down a little.
"Hmph, finally, a guy with good taste! How am I inferior to Ye Ying, hmph!"
Jin Quan, clutching his slightly aching stomach, watched Qiao Wei Wei's retreating figure disappear through the camp gate before laughing heartily, "Ha, interesting. She's the first woman to dare kick me."
Late at night, Gu Ya returned home with Ye Ying. After a quick hot shower, he lay down on the bed, exhausted.
Ye Ying emerged from her bath, her body radiating warmth, and entered the bedroom. She sat by the bed, packing Gu Ya's luggage.
"How long will you be gone?" Ye Ying asked softly.
Gu Ya lay with his arms behind his head, staring at the ceiling, lost in thought. "I don't know. This time is even more filled with danger and the unknown than the last."
"The journey is perilous. No one knows how to get there, nor what it looks like. Everything must be explored on my own."
Ye Ying got up, closed the suitcase, and placed it by the door. She then went into the kitchen and gently instructed, "Let me pack some more fruit for you. Eat it on time and don't let it spoil. Remember to drink plenty of water."
"When did you become so nurturing?" Gu Ya was already at the kitchen door, looking at Ye Ying with adoration.
Ye Ying smiled faintly. Before she could speak, she felt Gu Ya's warm hands embrace her waist.
"My hair isn't dry yet... Mmm..."
"...Doesn't matter..."
An intimate night passed.
Before dawn, Gu Ya kissed Ye Ying's forehead and headed to the camp's tarmac with his luggage.
The four of them had been waiting for a long time. To Gu Ya's surprise, Qiao Wei Wei was not far behind him, holding a pink thermos box that exuded a girlish charm.
"Men with families are truly enviable. Little brother must have had a roaring good time last night~" Jin Quan Ao Tian said boisterously, his tone childlike and mischievous.
"Children shouldn't pry into adult matters," Gu Ya replied, frowning.
Qiao Wei Wei walked up to Jin Quan Ao Tian, thrust the thermos box into his hand, and said, her voice hesitant but feigning arrogance, "I'm sorry! For kicking you last night, I made some snacks. Here, for you to eat on the road."
Holding the thermos box, still warm and retaining a faint scent, Jin Quan Ao Tian's eyes widened slightly in surprise, and he was suddenly rendered speechless.
"What! If you want to forgive me, keep it to yourself! This young lady isn't in the mood to hear your sentimentality!" After saying that, Qiao Wei Wei flicked her pigtails and arrogantly walked away.
As the ends of her hair brushed Jin Quan Ao Tian's nose, he murmured, "What a strange fragrance..."
"Alright!" Shu Fei Zhang called out sternly, "Time is pressing, let's depart quickly!"
Five mechas formed a wedge formation, with Mu Ye Xing Chen's mecha protected in the center, and soared towards the sky.
The group flew along the Black Star Empire's vast coastal defense line towards the far south, without stopping for three days.
On the fourth day, as the eastern sky began to lighten, Gu Ya saw the last continent leading to the far south appear on the horizon.
"The Merarilima Islands, the legendary southern island nation. Uninhabited, with abundant underground mineral resources. However, due to its proximity to the far south, the permafrost is nearly two thousand meters thick, making it unexploited to this day. The Black Star Empire only regards it as a reserve mineral deposit, guarded by heavy troops for future development."
The geography enthusiast Shen Jing Ming began his long pronouncements.
"Will we encounter enemies?" Jin Quan Ao Tian asked excitedly.
As soon as the words left his mouth, a thunderous explosion erupted in the sky.
Hundreds of mechas, painted in golden livery with black stripe decorations, plummeted rapidly from the extremely high clouds.
As the formidable enemy appeared, a large mass of black dots rose above the Merarilima Islands ahead and flew swiftly towards the team.
"Leave Jin Quan Ao Tian behind! And we'll spare your lives!!" A man's furious voice echoed from the sky.
Immediately after, the voices of Black Star mecha pilots came through everyone's communicators: "Hand over Mu Ye Xing Chen, a Black Star war criminal, to us."
A great battle was imminent, and everyone immediately prepared for combat.
Only Mu Ye Xing Chen's mecha made no defensive moves, its two giant mechanical arms clasped together, its posture as serene as a deity's.
"Mu Ye! Prepare to face them!" Gu Ya shouted angrily.
"Heh..." Mu Ye Xing Chen smiled faintly, "Why so nervous about a mere few hundred mechas?"
At that moment, an overwhelming rain of missiles came from both the sky and the front.
Thermobaric bombs, with an explosion radius of several kilometers, suddenly detonated around everyone.
Instantly consuming all surrounding air, they formed a massive vacuum zone with a radius of over ten kilometers.
Following that, immensely powerful shockwaves fiercely pressed upon the mechas, with the pressure reaching one ton per square centimeter.
Everyone's mechas made their respective defensive measures, urgently evading the high temperatures and shockwaves.
Hei Yang's assistance arrived in time. It transferred the Khorne spatial shielding to Lei Bao Zhao Xing.
Enduring the tsunami-like impact of the shockwaves, Lei Bao Zhao Xing deployed its energy shield and charged towards the golden mecha formation in the sky!
Jin Quan Ao Tian suddenly shouted, "Little brother, don't panic!"