Chapter 42
Note: Another early release chapter. Thank you again Sakuradahl for the generous Ko-Fi donation. I'm so happy you guys are still reading this. ヽ(´▽`)/ I'll release the next two chapters in one-hour intervals.
Mu Cai was the first to react, his face revealing a somewhat surprised expression. "Ruan Jia, how did you get here so quickly?"
Although both Claire and Nolan had promised him that as long as the military department confirmed the identity of his friends and family, they could come and see him at any time, no one had sought confirmation from him since yesterday afternoon.
Mu Cai thought that his relatives themselves would have to come, submit an application, and then notify him for confirmation.
Surprisingly, he saw Ruan Jia here today.
Ruan Jia glanced at Nolan next to him and said, "I asked my cousin to bring me here in advance."
Mu Cai suddenly understood.
Yesterday, as soon as Ruan Jia heard Mu Cai say that he was going to the military department with Claire, he sensed something was wrong. He waited for a long time, staring at the smartbrain, and finally received another message from Mu Cai. To his surprise, Mu Cai would be staying in the military department for the entire holiday.
Mu Cai went to the military department with Claire. From the very first time Ruan Jia saw this older brother through the smartbrain, he knew that this alpha had bad intentions. Now that Mu Cai was training in the military department, there was no way Claire would not stay by his side!
Of course, this made Ruan Jia restless.
When he received the first message that Mu Cai was going to the military department, he quickly summoned his private aircraft and flew to Zone F. When he later saw the news that Mu Cai would be stationed there, he couldn't wait for a second.
Ruan Jia immediately thought of Nolan at the military department. Nolan is a brother from his mother's side of the family, whom Ruan Jia was not particularly close to. Initially, he only approached Nolan to try his luck. However, to his surprise, Nolan agreed to help him immediately upon hearing that he was friends with Mu Cai. Nolan even confirmed his identity that same night.
Thanks to this, Ruan Jia was able to arrive at the training room early the next morning.
The young man on the other side was slender and was shoulder-held by a tall alpha, making it seem like he was nestled in the alpha's arms.
A flame of jealousy nearly burst out from Ruan Jia's chest.
Although discontented with his height and appearance in the past, Ruan Jia had never felt such intense resentment like he did today, resenting that he was only a bit taller than Mu Cai and not as built. Even if he was built like Mu Feng, he wouldn't just feel like a good friend when standing next to Mu Cai.
Ruan Jia also wanted outsiders observing him and Mu Cai together to think that they might be a pair, which would deter those people from trying to steal Mu Cai.
Seeing that the two individuals across from him were successfully held back, Nolan quickly turned to Mu Cai with a smile and said leisurely, "Are you going to test the new mecha? How about I teach you? I have been working in the military department for many years, and I have more experience with operating mechas than Claire. Moreover, Qingluan was a joint project between Master Baze and me. When it comes to familiarity with Qingluan, I am the most suitable."
He paused here and looked at Mu Cai with a somewhat eager gaze, "What do you think, Cai Cai?"
Upon hearing this, Ruan Jia's body trembled slightly.
He stared at Nolan in disbelief.
Could it be that his cousin also had feelings for Cai Cai...
Ruan Jia knew quite a few people in the military department. The reason he chose Nolan this time was not only because Nolan was directly related to the project that Mu Cai was involved in, which was more convenient, but also because Nolan was a Beta.
Moreover, the latter was not familiar with Mu Cai at all, so there would not be any competition.
However, he did not expect Nolan to also set his sights on his Cai Cai, the same way he did!
Upon hearing this, Claire frowned immediately.
A cold smile crept onto his face, "General Nolan is being overly concerned. Qingluan is a prototype mecha that mainly relies on mental power to control. The person sitting with Cai Cai in the cockpit only needs to assist with a few keystrokes to ensure Cai Cai's safety. Besides, the teacher and I have a close relationship. We discussed the design details of the mecha well before Qingluan was born."
Claire's hand remained on Mu Cai's shoulder, not loosening in the slightest.
He and Nolan were in a stalemate, neither willing to yield.
At this point, Ruan Jia, who had been silent, spoke up, "What do you think, Cai Cai?"
Immediately after, he hurriedly added, "Do you really want to operate a mecha? If you don't, you can come back with me to my house. I can cook delicious food for you every day."
After finishing speaking, Ruan Jia's small, palm-sized face displayed a hopeful expression, his eyes wide open as he looked at Mu Cai.
Despite saying all this, Ruan Jia was quite clear that he had no power to decide where Mu Cai would go or stay. If this was the military's decision, then it wasn't something that anyone could change on a whim.
Ruan Jia said all this with a glimmer of hope in his heart, hoping that Mu Cai hadn't reached that point yet, hoping that the other party could continue to stay with him, to interact with him. Instead of these two annoying people standing before him.
Upon hearing this, Nolan stopped in his tracks, his gaze turning to Ruan Jia, with a hint of annoyance in his expression.
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Looking at the three people facing off in front of him, Mu Cai felt utterly puzzled.
It was a matter that had been settled just yesterday, so why were they arguing about it again today? Moreover, all three of them were looking at him as if expecting him to make a decision.
Being very decisive, Mu Cai directly told Ruan Jia, "I willingly chose to stay and cooperate with Master Baze to test the mecha."
Disappointment immediately showed on Ruan Jia's face.
After saying this, Mu Cai's gaze rotated between the three people's faces and finally said, "Thank you for your enthusiasm, General Nolan, but I think it's better for me to train with senior Claire."
He thought for a moment, then added, "My younger brother, Mu Feng, might return to another training room later for training. If you don't mind, General Nolan, you could give him some guidance."
Nolan had no interest in guiding anyone other than Mu Cai, but he couldn't refuse and nodded with disappointment in his heart.
Mu Cai felt that he had only met Nolan yesterday, and they weren't familiar at all. It was certainly better to be with Claire, with whom he had already spent a semester.
Besides, his impression of Claire was quite good. Although Claire seemed cold, he was actually quite nice. Yesterday, he had even made the bed for Mu Cai and took him to eat dinner.
Moreover, when the trio, Baze included, had asked him to test the new mecha model, Claire had at least asked him if he was willing. In contrast, Nolan immediately imposed conditions as soon as he showed up, conveying an attitude of not giving up until his goal was met. His overly dominant approach did not appeal to Mu Cai and made him reluctant to interact with Nolan.
After uttering these words, Mu Cai nodded at the two people opposite him, and together with Claire, he started moving towards Qingluan.
By the time their figures had disappeared at the cockpit door, Nolan and Ruan Jia finally took their eyes off them.
Looking at Ruan Jia next to him, Nolan felt a flash of anger and regret. When he'd originally received Ruan Jia's request, he had considered the latter to be a good friend of Mu Cai, and that's why he agreed readily. Nolan had initially planned to interact with Mu Cai more under the pretext of Ruan Jia's request but he never imagined it would instead bring in another Claire!
Moreover, he had already confirmed Ruan Jia's identity last night, and now it was too late to reject him.
He felt like he had shot himself in the foot!
Ruan Jia also didn't show a pleasant face to Nolan.
As the two of them exchanged loathsome glances, on the other side, in the cockpit of the Qingluan, Claire had already helped Mu Cai properly wear the head sensor.
Mu Cai had an S-level psychic power, while Qingluan was only at B-level. It was a mecha specifically used for testing. For Mu Cai's S-level psychic power, controlling a B-level Qingluan was relatively easier.
Claire withdrew his fingers from the other's hair, but the soft, smooth sensation lingered on his fingertips. His face remained expressionless, yet his fingers discreetly rubbed against each other beneath the table, reminiscing the wonderful feeling.
Once the covert action was done, he finally spoke up, "Let's begin, we'll start with basic limb training."
Claire activated the remote, and in an instant, all the lights in the training room went out, plunging the enclosed space into darkness.
Soon, Mu Cai saw several yellow squares suddenly appearing on the ground in front of him. Like stars in the night sky, they were strikingly noticeable, and they were moving in his direction at a very slow speed.
This was limb training, which required Mu Cai to accurately control Qingluan to step on these yellow squares. Only when a certain accuracy rate was reached could it be considered that Mu Cai had passed the stage.
Even though the yellow squares moved at a very slow speed, Mu Cai still found it to be slightly challenging.
Qingluan, a mecha entirely controlled by psychic power, allowed Mu Cai to infuse his own thoughts into the psychic power. He could then issue commands to the mecha via the head sensor, thereby controlling the mecha's actions.
In reality, due to the absence of a control interface, the psychic power of the mecha controller needs to be more concentrated. Mu Cai had to not only be aware of his surroundings but also think about what to do next. He had to decide whether to make Qingluan extend its left leg or right leg, and then pass on this decision to Qingluan.
The time delay was simply too long.
At first, Mu Cai could hit some of the yellow blocks. But as they slightly sped up, he started missing them.
Not only that, Mu Cai felt his breath growing heavy, sweat pouring down his back, his forehead completely soaked.
He was not a robust omega like Mu Feng. Rather, he had the delicate and soft constitution of a traditional omega. Mechas have always been mostly operated by alphas and a few physically strong betas. His operation of the mecha was somewhat forced, and it was even more challenging to handle this new type of mecha that greatly drains the psychic power.
Hearing the heavy panting in his ear, Claire immediately hit the button on the remote. The yellow blocks vanished, and the overhead lights turned on, illuminating the entire training room once again.
Claire reached out and helped the now rather listless boy remove his head sensor.
Mu Cai, lounging weakly in the seat, was pale, his expression weary.
He seemed to have sweated a lot, and along with it, the sweet smell of peaches filled the small cockpit even more intensely. The sweet fragrance, like an invisible hand, firmly clung onto Claire's nose, filled his nostrils, and challenged his senses.
Claire quickly opened the small window next to the cockpit.
After steadying his emotions and calming his somewhat stirred body, he managed to feign a composed look and glanced worriedly at the boy across from him, asking, "Cai Cai, are you alright? Do you feel any discomfort anywhere?"
Mu Cai didn't feel like he had been operating the mecha for long, but he had sweated a lot. Most importantly, he felt mentally exhausted.
Collecting his strength, he finally responded with a slight tremble in his voice, "I'm okay, just a bit tired. I want to sleep."
Relieved, Claire, said, "It's normal to feel mentally tired since operating a mecha completely drains your psychic power." Additionally, Mu Cai's physical constitution wasn't particularly strong, so his mental endurance would naturally be weaker.
After some thought, he added, "Nevertheless, just to be safe, you should have a physical checkup."
Pausing for a beat, he casually asked, "Can you walk? If not, I can carry you, and you can catch a little sleep in my arms."
Mu Cai nodded.
He really didn't want to move anymore. Even his eyelids were starting to fight each other. Claire's last suggestion was incredibly tempting to him.
Claire immediately opened the door of the cockpit, reaching in to easily lift Mu Cai out.
The boy nestled in his arms, his soft black hair tickling Claire's neck. Mu Cai's eyes were barely open, but he was nevertheless muttering, "Please talk to Master Baze, see if he can modify it. Having to use psychic power for basic physical reactions is simply too draining..."
Claire smiled, whispering "Alright," as if afraid to wake the other person.
Indeed, he had experienced the same when he started learning to operate a mecha. What were typically instinctive and rapid reactions had to be transformed into a semi-psychic, semi-command input operation, essentially starting from scratch. It wasn't until he trained this instinct into a new reflex, combining physical movements with psychic command inputs when operating a mecha.
If someone else had asked him to speak to Baze about changing the operation mode of a mecha, Claire would have immediately branded them as overly delicate, suggesting that instead of exploring such deviant paths, they should probably pack up and leave the military.
But as it came from Mu Cai, Claire found his words quite reasonable.
Operating a mecha was already challenging enough, draining so much psychic power. There was a chance that the performance of the new model might not even match that of the old one! He should definitely have a serious talk with Baze!
As Claire mulled over these thoughts, he carried Mu Cai past the two people standing at the door.
Although his expression was cold, the defiant tilt of his head and his refusal to make eye contact made him appear like a cocky rooster to the other two people. It was incredibly annoying.
If it weren't for the fact that Cai seemed to be asleep, they would have loved to rush forward and give him a beating!
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Author's Note:
Claire, standing on the edge of danger, is full of pride: "Cai Cai is destined to be mine! Can any of you defeat me?"
Nolan readied his mecha, while Ruan Jia called ten people for backup.
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