"But in front of Xiao Yun, Luo Jun had to stay strong. He was Xiao Yun's last pillar of support."
That year, that month, a girl in white had spoken with a serious expression to the pale, helpless boy on the sickbed, his gaze unfocused.
Luo Bing still remembered Koizumi Junko's sweet smile, carrying a hint of confidence, when she came to the base for an exchange last month and announced that she was the pilot of the Sakura Saber.
As sunny as Junko had been back then, she was now just as gloomy.
Walking alone behind the Lin Sisters and the Li Family Siblings, her solitary figure looked desolate and lonely.
"Junko!"
Luo Bing called out to her from afar.
He passed the others and called out to Junko before Old Luo could.
When she raised her head, he waved and forced a bright smile onto his face, hoping it might warm her heart.
Koizumi Junko's expression shifted involuntarily at the sight.
She wanted to say something, but eventually lowered her head.
"Trying so hard to smile is still too difficult for you, Luo Jun."
After that year, Junko had never seen Luo Bing smile.
She could tell that his smile just now had been deliberately put on.
But she did not find it foolish. Instead, warmth filled her heart, gentle and comforting.
Lin Wange glanced back. Upon seeing this, her first reaction was to tug at her little sister's clothes and reveal a mischievous smile.
"Little sister, you're in danger."
As someone who had maintained a deep memory connection with her little sister for years, Lin Wange could still sense some of the thoughts buried deep in her sister's heart.
No matter how calm and cold she appeared, there would always be some ripples deep down.
If there were no reactions at all, then what difference would there be between her and a robot?
Hearing her elder sister's playful voice, Lin Changge raised her head and stared ahead expressionlessly.
Seeing that, Lin Wange shook her head and said nothing.
That was simply her little sister's personality. She was used to it.
Meanwhile, the two pilots who had just climbed down from Blue Blood Blade, Li Chuyi and Li Shiwu, exchanged a glance, both somewhat bewildered.
They had come to see Old Luo.
They might have heard Luo Bing's name before, but this was their first time meeting him.
Neither spoke. After taking a few quick steps over to Old Luo, they gave him a military salute.
"General Luo, Commander Lan instructed us that after arriving at the Sakurajima sub-base, we were to follow all of your arrangements!"
"You are the pilot of the first-generation mech Thousand Jun Bedrock and have experienced countless battles. With you in command, we can rest easy!"
Li Chuyi enthusiastically praised Old Luo the moment they met, but to Old Luo, such words were nothing worth reacting to.
Still, the usual pleasantries were unavoidable.
"Chuyi, and Shiwu too. General Li's two children are already so grown up. Seeing young people like you mature, old men like us can finally rest easy..."
While they spoke, Luo Bing had already arrived in front of Koizumi Junko. Looking at her somewhat dejected expression, he quietly asked, "What's wrong? Did your first battle scare you into tears?"
Junko shook her head hard.
"No, I wasn't scared into tears by the monster!"
"It's just... I still let you down, Luo Jun."
Junko's expression was somewhat despondent.
"Because of my cowardice, I nearly harmed countless people... I disappointed everyone too. I was so proud after becoming a pilot, but now that I think back on it, I just want to find a crack in the ground and crawl inside!"
Luo Bing comforted her.
"It's fine. Everything's fine now. Just stay by my side from now on."
"That co-pilot of yours will get what's coming to him! But the Sakura Saber still needs pilots, so I've been drafted into service on short notice. From now on, you'll be my co-pilot. Let's work hard together!"
Junko froze for a moment, then nodded earnestly.
"I'm happy to be able to fight alongside Luo Jun!"
Nearby, Old Luo was already waving his hand, signaling for the two whispering to each other to come over.
After Luo Bing and Junko walked over, Old Luo introduced them with a smile.
"These two are Luo Bing and Koizumi Junko. From now on, they'll be the main and co-pilots of the Sakura Saber."
"Wange and Changge will pilot Wulei, Chuyi and Shiwu will pilot Blue Blood Blade, and Little Bing and Junko will pilot the Sakura Saber!"
"With brave and intelligent young people like you, along with those of us at the base providing logistical support, we'll work together, fight shoulder to shoulder, and hold the Sakurajima defensive line!"
Old Luo encouraged everyone.
"Although Sakurajima faces a vast stretch of coastline, I believe that if we work together, there will be no obstacle we cannot overcome!"
Li Chuyi was somewhat surprised after hearing that.
After Old Luo finished speaking, he looked at Luo Bing in astonishment.
"You're Luo Bing?"
Luo Bing raised an eyebrow.
"That's me. Brother Chuyi, this should be our first time meeting today, right? Why do you look so surprised?"
Li Chuyi scratched his head.
"It really is our first meeting, but your name, Luo Bing, is famous among several batches of trainees."
"You're the first person in five years to reach a Spiritual Connection Index of 99!"
Li Chuyi's reminder naturally brought back a memory buried in Luo Bing's mind.
Oh, so I'm a genius too.
My hands are shaking so badly right now. I'll definitely keep up three updates a day and won't slack off.
Please give me some votes and some positive feedback, dear readers. T^T
Disappearing Monster Corpses
Given that a Spiritual Connection Index of 100 was impossible to achieve.
A Spiritual Connection Index of 99 was basically humanity's current limit.
As long as pilots with such aptitude completed their training and had some talent in combat, they could unleash most of a mech's power!
Of course, there were also geniuses with tremendous aptitude who simply could not fight and lost every time they got into a battle.
Geniuses with that kind of drawback would ultimately be recommended to the Analysis Department or the Staff Department.
Unless things had truly reached the point where there was no one left to use, clerical work suited them better. Fighting and killing should be left to the combat faction.
Koizumi Junko was a typical negative example.
Sakurajima truly had no qualified pilots left, so they could only make Koizumi Junko the main pilot.
Even though her personality was actually more suited to being a co-pilot.
But there was no helping it. It was a classic case of forcing a duck onto a perch.
As for Luo Bing, he was a genuine genius, a top-tier pilot with a Spiritual Connection Index of 99.
If not for his youth, combined with the fact that the deaths of his relatives a few years ago had caused significant emotional instability.
Some base commanders had concerns because of those unstable factors, so Luo Bing's previous position had been as Wulei's reserve pilot.
If he had performed steadily and avoided extreme emotional swings, he could have become an official pilot a year ago.
Ever since transmigrating here, Luo Bing had constantly lamented that Luo Yun, despite her young age, carried hatred in her heart.
But clearly, before he transmigrated, the original owner's outlook on life had been the same.
Luo Yun had certainly been influenced by the original owner to some degree.
"Aptitude is all in the past. From now on, we'll speak through our battle records."
Luo Bing extended his right hand and bumped fists with Li Chuyi, smiling as he spoke.
"May we win every battle from now on, and may there be fewer and fewer monsters in the future!"
Li Chuyi's words had unlocked some memories sealed deep within Luo Bing's mind.
They made Luo Bing realize that the original owner had hidden himself very deeply. If he did not carefully comb through all the memories, there would probably still be things he missed.
There was no helping that.
No one could read through someone else's nearly twenty-year life story in just a few days.
Even transmigrators with cheats could not do it... though perhaps a few special cases could accomplish everything while in a state of extreme anger.
All that could be said was that Luo Bing had once again embarrassed transmigrators everywhere.
Li Chuyi nodded lightly. His pleasantries with Luo Bing ended there.
Although he was somewhat surprised, his eyes held even more desire for victory and fighting spirit.
Young people were full of passion and carried an unyielding spirit in their hearts.
Beside Li Chuyi stood his youngest sister, Li Shiwu. Her name was somewhat strange, but that did not stop Li Shiwu from being a plain and pretty young woman.
Luo Bing described her as plain because he could tell she wore no makeup at all. Yet she was naturally beautiful, and with her ponytail, she gave off a faint scholarly air as she stood quietly there.
She was completely different from Lin Wange, whose personality looked lively and playful at a glance.
After hearing her brother's surprise at Luo Bing, curiosity also appeared in her eyes, but she did not speak.
Instead, she quietly remained an observer.
Lin Changge had also remained silent as an observer, but she gave people a somewhat cold impression.
Li Shiwu was different. She seemed like the kind of person who would quietly stand beside you and listen to your voice.
Li Chuyi seemed to have another task. After giving Luo Bing an apologetic smile, he took a stack of sealed documents from his clothes.
He handed the documents to Old Luo and said gravely, "Before Commander Lan sent my sister and me here, he argued with people at headquarters for quite some time before deciding to reinforce Sakurajima."
"In the end, Commander Lan sent us here. When he saw us off, he took out this document and asked me to hand it to General Luo."
"Commander Lan said that once you read this top-secret document, you'll understand his intentions."
Old Luo's expression turned solemn as he immediately accepted the document.
Standing nearby, Luo Bing also glanced at it.
Aside from seeing the two words "Top Secret" on the outside of the sealed envelope, he saw nothing else.
Old Luo did not open it immediately. Instead, he waved his hand and said, "This deployment happened to make us miss mealtime."
"I had the kitchen prepare a special meal. Let's treat it as a celebration banquet."
"Although we didn't contribute today, two monsters really did die, so it's worth celebrating."
Good grief, you're using my achievement to host a dinner party!
Before you continue