Do You Know Xu De?

Listening to the conversation between Bella and this Cook.

Revil, hearing this from the side, opened his mouth wide, casting a look of shock, confusion, and admiration toward Xu De.

"You brat, you look so honest, when did you hook up with her?"

Watching the young girl still acting spoiled, Revil hurriedly whispered into Xu De's ear.

"...Sir, if I had hooked up with her, would she not know what I look like?"

Xu De explained, speechless.

"She's likely from the Garrison Force; I suppose I saved her."

"You brat..."

Looking at the youthful, invincible girl who was clearly a second-generation official, he didn't know what to say for a moment.

He had originally thought two Ginns were the limit, but now another one had appeared, and this one might even be more valuable than a Ginn.

Although he didn't know what kind of connections this girl had behind her.

But looking at the cautious way Cook was acting, she at least had significant connections at home.

"I don't have time yet. I'll help you look after they finish their meeting."

On the other side, Cook was explaining to the girl with a face full of helplessness.

"You're lying to me! You never intended to look!"

Bella glared at the middle-aged man in front of her, not at all deceived by his gentle words.

She knew what Cook meant.

It was obvious he didn't believe Xu De could have escaped a Ginn unscathed and had already assumed the man was dead.

But what if he wasn't dead?

What if Xu De was just injured?

What if he was waiting for rescue?

Regardless, he had saved her without a second thought; even if she was mischievous, she still possessed a basic sense of loyalty.

"Bella... look at the situation outside right now."

Cook pointed helplessly out the window.

Mistrals were everywhere, scrambling to repair their own ships that were constantly exploding or losing power.

At the same time, they were recovering valuables from the debris scattered throughout space.

In short, they were busy as hell.

Don't look at the fact that Xu De had free time; if it weren't for their military merits, they would have been working overtime long ago.

"Look and tell me who has the time to go find a Garrison Force soldier."

Cook's tone grew a bit heavier.

It wasn't that they couldn't search, it was just that the Xu De the girl spoke of simply wasn't that important.

"You..."

Seeing the girl's eyes turn red, Cook sighed helplessly.

Just as he was about to say something, his gaze was drawn to the young man standing before him.

"Say, Corporal, do you know a Xu De?"

Both being East Asian, Cook's question was quite natural.

"Reporting to the officer, I do."

After a brief silence, Xu De finally spoke up under Revil's increasingly urgent gaze.

"Really!"

A look of relief finally appeared on Cook's face, but the girl beside him, hearing Xu De's voice, stared at him blankly, as if she had only just noticed there was an East Asian youth here, and that this voice faintly overlapped with the one in her memory.

"Can you contact him?"

Cook asked.

"Well... Lieutenant Colonel Cook, Xu De is this subordinate of mine."

At this moment, Revil, finally feeling triumphant, was full of self-satisfaction, patting Xu De on the shoulder as he spoke.

It didn't look like a subordinate; it looked like they were brothers.

"It really is you!"

Hearing Revil's words, before Cook could recover from the shock of this news, the girl, having confirmed Xu De's identity, kicked off with her slender legs, using the inertia in the zero-gravity environment to lunge toward Xu De.

"..."

Quick-witted, Xu De hurriedly reached out his hands upon seeing this.

His palms made contact with the rounded shoulders encased in the tight-fitting pilot suit.

Waves of warmth radiated outward, yet Xu De's expression remained indifferent, save for the slight upward curl of his lips.

"Miss Bella, please be careful."

"Ah... yes..."

Meeting the gentle gaze of this young man, Bella's face flushed an even deeper shade of red.

Although she had imagined what her Prince Charming might look like, facing his resolute, handsome, and gentle appearance in the flesh made her heart race uncontrollably.

Even her shoulders, touched by Xu De through the pilot suit, felt scorching hot, that searing sensation flowing through her veins and straight into her heart.

Watching Bella's lovestruck expression, Cook finally snapped out of his daze and coughed loudly.

"Ahem!"

The gruff sound echoed through the lounge, finally pulling the young girl's wandering heart back to reality.

"I didn't expect... this is Xu De."

"But Revil, why did you bring him here?"

The coldness on Cook's face could no longer be maintained, and he could only speak with suspicion.

It was as if a wealthy relative were suspicious of someone else trying to climb the social ladder.

"Why don't you ask Xu De how he managed to return in one piece first?"

Revil lifted his chin, wearing an arrogant expression as he spoke.

"It's not like he shot down Ginn, right?"

Cook remarked.

"Not quite, but he did shoot down one and capture another."

"???"

Cook had only been making a casual comment, but upon hearing this, the corners of his eyes twitched, his expression looking as if his brain were about to fry.

"Xu De, you're amazing!!!"

Compared to Cook's shock, Bella accepted this achievement of Xu De's with natural, absolute trust, the stars practically popping out of her deep brown eyes.

Amidst their vastly different reactions.

Revil quickly and proudly gave a brief account of what had happened.

Xu De, meanwhile, felt no surge of secret joy, maintaining his usual air of unruffled composure.

Revil was truly a stand-up guy; he hadn't spoken earlier likely because he feared Cook might try to cheat them, but seeing Bella's attitude, it was clear Revil had shifted his approach.

In this regard, he could place even more trust in his superior.

As for Cook on the other side, his contempt had vanished, replaced by genuine astonishment in his eyes as he looked at Xu De.

He could never have imagined that this recruit, participating in his first battle—and a massive war that staked the nation's strength at that—had actually pulled off such a feat.

Now, a chaotic era was approaching, and all sorts of heroes were beginning to emerge.

Though he didn't know if Xu De would be the one to have the last laugh, Cook completely discarded his previous disdain.

There was no sycophancy, but there was no longer any trace of contempt, either.

Following that, Cook turned his gaze toward Bella beside him.

Unsurprisingly, the young lady's shyness grew even more intense now that she had heard the specifics of Xu De's achievements.

Forget it, let her family worry about that themselves.

Muttering to himself, Cook stopped paying attention to the lovestruck girl and resumed a serious expression.

"I can help you pass the word along, but as for whether the Admiral will see you, that's not my call."

"Much appreciated."

Revil nodded in satisfaction, and Xu De followed suit with a salute.

Seeing Xu De's polite demeanor, Cook's expression softened slightly as he stood up.

"Follow me."

"Understood."