Reunion on the Beach

"Couldn't even take a single punch? Such trash."

Chen Xing shook the mecha's fist and stood up.

He looked at Black Crow on the ground, whose head was dented into the deck and no longer moved, with a face full of disgust.

He really couldn't take a hit.

He cast his gaze back toward Black Crow's lacklings, who were currently slumped on the ground shivering, staring at him in terror.

Chen Xing waved the mecha's fingers, shaking them in the air:

"Your boss is dead, and you're scared like this? The psychological quality of you Evil Soul Masters really won't do."

"L-Lord, my lord, you have a vast and merciful heart, p-please spare us?"

"That's right, my lord, w-we were also forced into this."

The scar-faced man knelt directly in front of Chen Xing's mecha, kowtowing hard and begging for mercy. Seeing this, the rest of them hurriedly followed suit.

Chen Xing gave a cold sneer: "Spare you?"

The several Evil Soul Masters nodded repeatedly.

However, Chen Xing directly activated the annihilation cannon on the mecha's palm and blasted them into a pile of slag, one shot per person.

"Spare you Evil Soul Masters? That's a matter for the King of Hell to consider."

"And as for me, I'm only responsible for making you vanish into thin air."

After finishing off these Evil Soul Masters, he turned around to look at the passengers behind him.

"The crisis has been temporarily resolved, I'll be getting off the train first."

He didn't want to continue staying on the Astral Express. As someone who had saved the entire train, he was bound to be surrounded and thanked by these people.

He wasn't good at handling this kind of thing, so he simply left everyone with a dashing and carefree back view.

"Little hero, doing good deeds without leaving a name, now that's a true hero!"

Hearing the praise coming from the train behind him, Chen Xing's mecha almost failed to fly steadily.

Good thing he slipped away fast.

However, this place was less than ten miles away from Aolai City, so he could completely fly back in his mecha.

"Astral Express, I'm back."

A dozen minutes later,

Chen Xing jumped out of the cockpit of the Purple-Rank Mecha.

Still that same beach, still that same setting sun.

He raised his eyes to look, and that abandoned Astral Express was still lying in its old spot.

Over the past three years, every time he came back, he would always come here for a look first.

"Big brother!"

A familiar shout suddenly came from behind.

Chen Xing had just turned around to see who it was when a figure rushed over, crashing straight into his arms.

It was Na'er.

"Big brother, you lied!"

She tightly clamped her two small hands around his waist, burying her entire face against his chest.

"You promised to come back every month!"

Chen Xing looked down at Na'er in his arms, suddenly feeling somewhat guilty.

This time it really had been quite a while; he had only returned after three months. It was mainly because Zhen Hua had taken on a huge order over there, and he had been busy following along for a good while, making it truly impossible to spare the time.

"Na'er, I..."

"You promised me!"

Na'er raised her head, her purple eyes brimming with tears, her nose tip red:

"You said you'd come back to see Na'er every month!"

"In the end, Na'er waited for three months..."

The more she spoke, the more aggrieved she felt, and her tears pattered down.

"Na'er waited for big brother to come back every day..."

Looking at her like this, Chen Xing felt that tiny bit of guilt well straight up inside him. He reached out and wiped the tears from her face:

"I'm sorry, it's big brother's fault."

Na'er sniffled:

"Then tell me, will you do this next time?"

"I won't."

"Really?"

"Really."

Na'er stared at him for a few solid seconds, as if judging whether he was lying, and then buried her face back into his chest, her voice growing soft:

"Then Na'er will forgive you this time."

Chen Xing let out a breath of relief and patted her on the back.

This little girl had grown quite a bit taller over the past three years, but her clingy habit hadn't changed at all—no, he should probably say she had become even clingier.

"Big brother."

Na'er spoke in a muffled voice.

"Hmm?"

"There's a smell of machine oil on you."

Chen Xing paused, lowering his head to sniff his own sleeve.

Sure enough, having just come down from the mecha, his body was full of the scent of metal and lubricating oil.

"Does it smell bad?"

Na'er shook her head, burying her face deeper:

"It doesn't smell bad, it's big brother's smell."

Chen Xing felt a warmth in his heart and didn't speak again, just holding her like that as they stood on the beach.

The sea breeze blew briskly, and the setting sun sank bit by bit.

After quite a while, Na'er finally burrowed out of his arms. The tears on her face had already been wiped clean, but her eye sockets were still red.

"Big brother."

Another voice came from beside them.

Chen Xing turned to look and saw Tang Wulin standing a few steps away, carrying a bulging package in his hand with a smile hanging on his face.

But Chen Xing could tell at a glance that this kid had something to say.

"Wulin, what is it?"

Tang Wulin opened his mouth, closed it again, and scratched the back of his head.

Seeing him hesitate and look like he had more to say, Chen Xing simply spoke directly:

"Just say whatever's on your mind. Are you still hiding things from me?"

Tang Wulin took a deep breath:

"Big brother, I've been accepted into Eastsea Academy."

Chen Xing's eyes lit up:

"Eastsea Academy, that's a good thing!"

"Yeah, I passed the assessment and I'll be reporting in a few days."

Tang Wulin nodded forcefully, and the smile on his face finally couldn't be contained anymore.

"Not bad, you." Chen Xing smiled and patted his shoulder. "As expected of my younger brother."

A happy smile appeared on Tang Wulin's face, and then, he was seen fishing a silver bracelet out of his pocket and handing it over:

"Big brother, this is for you."

"This is a Storage Silver-Sink Ring, Master Mang Tian gave it to me. I figured you've always wanted a Storage Soul Tool."

Chen Xing was taken aback.

He did indeed remember telling Tang Ziran three years ago that he wanted a Storage Soul Tool. Conditions at home hadn't been good back then, and Tang Ziran had even been troubled by it for quite a while; he hadn't expected Tang Wulin to always remember.

"Keep it and use it yourself." Chen Xing pushed the bracelet back.

Tang Wulin grew anxious:

"Big brother, didn't you always want one?"

"That was three years ago's matter." Chen Xing shook the black bracelet on his own wrist. "Teacher Zhen Hua equipped me with one long ago; it's much higher grade than this one of yours."

Tang Wulin looked down at the Silver-Sink Ring in his hand, then looked at the noticeably more exquisite black bracelet on Chen Xing's wrist. He opened his mouth, momentarily not knowing what to say.

Seeing him like this, Chen Xing's heart softened.

When this kid got his hands on something good, the very first person he thought of was this big brother of his.

"Wulin, I've received your sincerity." Chen Xing looked at him earnestly. "But this Silver-Sink Ring is something you earned yourself, you should keep it for your own use."

"But..."

"There are no buts." Chen Xing interrupted him. "You're going to Eastsea Academy soon, and carrying a Storage Soul Tool on you will make things much more convenient. As your big brother, how could I possibly let you go off to school empty-handed?"

Tang Wulin's eye sockets turned slightly red:

"Big brother..."

"All right, stop dawdling. Put it away, you'll find it useful later."

Tang Wulin was silent for a few seconds before finally putting the bracelet back onto his own wrist. He lowered his head, his voice a little hoarse:

"Thanks, big brother."

Chen Xing smiled and didn't speak.

As he watched Tang Wulin's lowered head, some thoughts suddenly popped into his mind.

This kid should also be awakening his Golden Dragon Bloodline soon, right?