Chapter 17: Sudden Strike; Broad Shoulders and a Narrow Waist—A Sight to Behold
Du Yu had actually guessed wrong; Zhuang He wasn’t intentionally using Lu Yin. To him, Lu Yin was his student. Coupled with the boy’s past, he always felt that Lu Yin was a lonely child who yearned for the guidance of an elder.
As his only student and the hope of the Empire, it was only natural to take good care of him.
Lu Yin watched the Zhuang He beside him. The man seemed used to the gazes from all around, strolling inward with leisure.
He followed a step behind, his gaze lingering on the man’s broad, straight back.
Today, Zhuang He had simply thrown on a shirt, but in Lu Yin’s eyes, it was as if a tidal wave had been triggered.
The sleeves of the white shirt were rolled up, caught by his muscles at the mid-upper arm. The top two buttons at the collar were undone, revealing a bobbing Adam’s apple and a fleeting glimpse of his chest.
The shirt was ironed crisp, yet it couldn’t hide the breadth of his chest.
And over the white shirt, he was actually wearing a black vest. The vest outlined Zhuang He’s already thin yet full upper body, making him look increasingly enticing.
Broad shoulders and a narrow waist—he was simply a masterpiece.
Lu Yin’s Adam’s apple bobbed once, a look of desire he hadn’t even noticed appearing in the depths of his eyes.
“Teacher…”
Hearing the voice, Zhuang He turned back to look at him. His tied-up silver hair lightly brushed against Lu Yin’s cheek as he turned, bringing with it a waft of fragrance.
Suddenly, Lu Yin felt as if his muscles were about to explode, and he even forgot what he was going to say.
“What is it?”
Zhuang He was usually expressionless. He wasn’t used to exaggerated, vivid expressions, but Lu Yin could discern his hidden emotions from the slightest of shifts.
“Teacher, it’s just dinner. Why are you dressed so formally?”
When Lu Yin asked this, a secret expectation he wasn’t even aware of flared in his heart.
But Zhuang He just glanced at his own attire. Formal? It seemed his entire wardrobe consisted of clothes like this.
“It’s alright.”
“I think the clothes Teacher wore last time looked very good.”
Last time? Zhuang He thought about it. He didn’t often wear private clothes in front of Lu Yin. Last time…
“The white set?”
Lu Yin nodded, only to find Zhuang He’s expression looking a bit complicated. He asked curiously, “Teacher? Was there something wrong with those clothes?”
The two of them chatted as they reached the third floor. Since it was dinner time, the canteen was quite crowded. He decided to book a private room for him and Lu Yin to eat.
Lu Yin had once been a wanderer, so his family conditions must have been average or even poor. The food in the third-floor faculty canteen was much better than the first and second floors. He assumed Lu Yin wanted to eat with him because of this.
Zhuang He didn’t call out what he assumed were Lu Yin’s little intentions. It was just a few meals; it wasn’t a big deal.
“I didn’t buy those clothes.”
Lu Yin paused, giving a puzzled “Huh?”. Zhuang He sat in the chair Lu Yin pulled out for him and said, “Zhang Tanxing gave them to me.”
This made Lu Yin even more confused. Why would Zhang Tanxing give Teacher clothes? Such an intimate gesture… had he guessed wrong about the relationship between Zhang Tanxing and Shi Yan?
Seeing Lu Yin’s puzzled look, Zhuang He didn’t bother to explain. Regarding the events between the three of them—or more accurately, the events between Zhang Tanxing and Shi Yan—Du Yu had once commented: “You’re the most innocent one. Those two are two of a kind; they’re the ones who should be acting in a melodrama.”
For that reason, Zhuang He had specifically looked up what “melodrama” meant.
Seeing that Zhuang He didn’t intend to explain, Lu Yin scratched his head and didn’t pry further. His intuition told him that Zhuang He didn’t want to talk about it.
“How is school life? Are you getting used to it?”
At this moment, Zhuang He had forgotten the firm attitude he had when he initially refused to take this student. After all, he hadn’t expected Lu Yin to be so talented.
Everyone cherishes talent, especially someone in his position.
“It’s okay. There are some common-sense theories I don’t quite understand, but Liang Tong and the others are very patient in teaching me.”
Lu Yin’s eyes were bright, and he looked very satisfied with the food before him, like a kitten that had been hungry for a long time seeing a can of food.
Faced with the Lu Yin who was so simple he was almost pitiable, Zhuang He’s heart softened. He nodded and said, “That’s good. If there’s anything you don’t understand, you can come ask me.”
Lu Yin also nodded, looking at Zhuang He with deep reliance and admiration. Zhuang He found this quite satisfying.
During the meal, Zhuang He didn’t like to talk much, but Lu Yin would always find topics to keep the conversation going. Fortunately, he didn’t mind, and they chatted idly.
Suddenly, a piercing alarm rang through the entire school. Before Lu Yin could react to what it was, he saw Zhuang He’s expression change. Without a single word, he bolted out the door, leaving a dazed Lu Yin behind.
By the time he snapped out of it, he also ran down to the canteen entrance, seeing that more or less students had already gathered around.
Everyone was discussing the alarm that had just rung.
“What’s going on?”
“Enemy attack alarm. It’ll be fine.”
“So scary. Will we also…”
Someone patted Lu Yin’s shoulder. He turned back to see Liang Tong and Hua Huijiang looking at him with solemn expressions. “Let’s head back first. The dorm has a live broadcast of the battle situation.”
＊
The moment he heard the alarm, Zhuang He’s military instincts drove him to rush out. He reached the assembly point at top speed. Du Yu was already waiting there, but no one else was in sight.
“Where are the others?”
He asked while putting on his combat suit. Du Yu checked her light-brain. “Shi Yan and Zhang Tanxing are on their way. Xiong Wei and Lu Jin are still on mission; they’ve been told to jump back directly.”
Zhuang He gave a slight nod, his expression solemn as he walked to the control console to observe the situation.
Beneath this building, countless top-tier machines were humming into life, providing the military with the most convenient combat mode.
“Three, four… ten locations.”
“Mhm. Eight of them have weak signals, judged to be low-tier Zerg. The first and second squads have already headed out to purge them. But these two signals are extremely strong; they might be hard to handle.”
Du Yu pointed to two spots glowing red, her expression serious. Zhuang He observed for a moment. “No more time. Tell them to jump directly here once they return.”
“Yes!”
With a rumbling sound, the aluminum alloy door on the other side of the building slowly opened. Inside was a bottomless pit, but one could see upon standing beside it that the four walls of the “pit” were entirely covered in steel mesh, emitting a faint mechanical blue light. At the bottom of the pit stood a sleek, massive combat Mecha.
The Mecha was entirely silver-white, yet it shimmered with flecks of gold under the lights, as if reflecting the color of Zhuang He’s eyes.
Currently, the Mecha stood quietly in place. Zhuang He waited above, and soon a small elevator platform descended to him. After stepping onto it, he entered the interior of the Mecha as the platform moved.
The interior of the Mecha was similar to the assembly point control console, but with a 180-degree seamless glass window in front, allowing Zhuang He to see the situation outside.
The radar station beside him flickered, informing Zhuang He of the current battle situation.
As his golden spiritual power surged, the entire Mecha was enveloped within it. Zhuang He’s spiritual power merged with the Mecha, and the Mecha’s pitch-black eyes lit up like two golden beams scanning the surroundings.
A pair of flame-like wings spread behind the Mecha. With a pneumatic thrust, the platform beneath the Mecha opened, and it immediately jumped into the infinite reaches of the interstellar universe.
Zhuang He’s fingertips swept across the control console before him, skillfully piloting the Mecha through jumps. On the screen before him, the red front line surrounded the Empire’s perimeter like blood.
Static—
“Zhuang He in position. Everyone, enter combat readiness immediately. First squad jump to Southwest 363. Second squad jump to Northeast 455. Acknowledge.”
“Commander Ke Ling of the First Squad, copy that!”
“Commander Zhao Zixing of the Second Squad, copy that!”
Zhuang He’s voice was like tempered ice—cold yet authoritative. He methodically laid out the combat strategy, carefully observing the overall trajectory.
He raised his hand to check his light-brain. The next second, two shimmering mechanical lights appeared behind the Mecha.
After the black and white Mechas jumped over, they floated to the side and rear of Zhuang He’s Mecha, poised in a combat stance.
“Shi Yan, Zhang Tanxing.”
“Here!” “Here!”
Zhuang He’s gaze darkened. He was waiting for the arrival of the other two teammates.
“Xiong Wei, here!” “Lu Jin, here!”
With the two voices, Zhuang He looked up at the dark wormhole before him. The final order was issued—
“Shi Yan and Lu Jin, follow me to Southeast 699. Zhang Tanxing and Xiong Wei, go to Northwest 586.”
As his voice fell, the silver-white Mecha took the lead and jumped into the wormhole. Shi Yan and Lu Jin, piloting their Mechas, also jumped in without hesitation, as did the two on the other side.
The sound of flesh being torn nearly pierced the starry sky. Insects as thick as dark clouds were tirelessly attacking the sturdy combat ships and Mechas before them.
As the fires of war erupted, the disgusting and eerie flesh-worms were cut in half, falling limply to the ground and oozing green liquid.
Some distance away from these insects was a swarm that looked quite different from them.
Those insects had grown either sharp or curved forelimbs. Beneath their fleshy bodies lay the scattered remains of shattered spacecraft.
The pilots were desperately dodging. Just as a scythe-like forelimb was about to strike before his eyes, one pilot tried to push his comrade away, resigned to his own sacrifice. But then, the curved blade suddenly jerked. A streak of silver and gold light flashed, and the forelimb crashed to the ground.
The pilot’s eyes lit up, and he shouted to his comrade, “The Chief is here!”
This Zerg raid was too sudden. They had to enter the battlefield early, only to find that these insects had evolved again. A single swing of their limbs could almost knock down their ships. Fortunately, the Chief had arrived in time!
The silver-white Mecha sliced through the flesh of the insects before it. The foul, disgusting liquid spilled onto the ground, but the pilots who had narrowly escaped death didn’t have the heart to watch, immediately boarding the rescue ship that followed close behind.
The Mecha brutally tore through the barriers and flesh of these evolved Zerg. With the boost from the fiery red wings, it moved as if through a vacuum, taking down the massive and distorted evolved Zerg one by one.
Eerie dark green liquid dripped onto the ground, gradually forming a small puddle. The liquid elsewhere seemed alive, frantically gathering toward that single puddle.
As the liquid increased, an imperceptible mist rose. Lu Jin, who was fighting hard behind Zhuang He, keenly noticed this. Her agile assault-style Mecha used the pair of golden eagle wings on its back to slowly descend. The moment the Mecha touched down, that puddle actually rose into the air out of nowhere, transforming into a massive green spiderweb.
Countless small, low-tier Zerg gushed out. Looking at the situation, it seemed they intended to take Lu Jin down with them.
Lu Jin also realized this. The wings on her back spread, and she shot into the air with a shing. She turned and flew toward the center of the battlefield, with the dense swarm of insects following closely behind.
Inside, Zhuang He saw Lu Jin’s situation, but his gaze remained deep, the corners of his mouth curving slightly.
Shi Yan and Lu Jin immediately drew close to Zhuang He. As a golden barrier lit up, the chasing insects crashed into it, letting out violent explosions.
Because of their excellent positioning, the remaining evolved Zerg were actually destroyed by their own kind, who carried a self-exploding mechanism. Seeing that the time had come, Shi Yan, acting as the highly defensive unit, immediately rushed out to harvest the remaining evolved Zerg that were still clinging to life.
He and Zhuang He worked side by side until both of their Mechas were splattered with a bit of the disgusting green liquid.
Finally, this central battlefield seemed to return to peace.
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