Xie Ji had considered all the possibilities, but he never expected that the person Zhuang Huan was talking about was actually Mu Yao.
He was looking up from a pile of wrecked mechs when he saw Xie Ji and froze for a moment before his eyes quickly welled up with tears.
Xie Ji walked over, feeling a little like crying, but he bravely held back and asked Mu Yao:
"Why are you here too?"
"Of course I came, since you're all here."
Mu Yao rushed over, seemingly wanting to hug Xie Ji, but quickly realized that he was covered in the smell of engine oil and probably not suitable to hug anyone, so he abruptly stopped the car.
Unexpectedly, Xie Ji ran over and gave him a bear hug. "It's so good to see you're alright. Zhuang Huan said things are very chaotic in the country right now, and I was worried about you guys. When did you come to the front lines? Where are my brother and Zhou Heyu?"
Mu Yao smiled slightly, then reached out and pulled Xie Ji into his arms, whispering, " Shang Yan is in charge of transporting supplies to various war zones. He should be in the Thirteenth War Zone right now. As for Zhou Heyu... he joined an individual soldier squad, and I don't know his current situation. I came here shortly after you left."
Zhuang Huan stood to the side with his arms crossed, and said coldly, "Keep hugging, yes, just keep hugging like this. Lu Xunji is here."
Xie Ji shrank back, feeling extremely guilty as he released Mu Yao: "So how are the three of us going to get the mecha from Lu Xunji?"
"Of course we should talk to him," Zhuang Huan said. "Do you know why, out of so many war zones, only Lu Xunji can handle all the messes? Stealing mechs right under his nose, are you trying to kill yourself or do I want to die?"
Xie Ji said, "I think either of you can go and borrow from Lu Xunji, don't drag me along."
Mu Yao looked at him. "Quite the opposite."
Zhuang Huan: "That's not actually the case."
Xie Ji: "?"
Zhuang Huan: "You can only borrow this mecha if you go to borrow it yourself."
Xie Ji sighed, "I tried when I heard about Ji Shi's news, but he didn't agree."
"Before he went to the front lines, didn't he also disagree with you coming along?" Mu Yao glanced at him. "I've never seen him refuse you a second time for the same question."
Zhuang Huan suddenly smiled.
Xie Ji turned her head sensitively and asked him, "What are you laughing at?"
"I never imagined that the Commander-in-Chief, now revered as a god by the entire empire, is actually a love-struck, henpecked husband in private."
Xie Ji: "..."
Although that's how things are, Xie Ji, a straight man who's been straight for a hundred years, was still a little awkward scratching his head as it was his first time being someone's "wife."
"Okay, I'm going now."
Xie Ji closed his eyes briefly, then turned and walked towards Lu Xunji's office.
-
Lu Xunji's office was still bustling with people, and the communicators were constantly ringing. Lu Xunji sat behind the screen, with noticeable red blood vessels in his eyes.
Xie Ji went in, intending to get straight to the point, but when he saw Lu Xunji's bloodshot eyes, he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
Lu Xunji said that he didn't actually want to be a hero. The reason he was sitting here trying to turn the tide was because Xie Ji wanted everyone to live.
Come to think of it, Lu Xunji doesn't even care about his own life or death, so how could he care about the life or death of others? He was the only person Lu Xunji cared about, but even that little bit of care was easily broken by Xie Ji.
That's a bit too cruel.
Lu Xunji looked up at him, and Xie Ji met his gaze, unsure how to begin.
He was definitely going to borrow that mecha anyway; not only did it contain the Ji Shi, but it might also hold the key to ending everything. He had no choice but to go.
"Come over."
Lu Xunji finally spoke, and the shorter the sentence, the stronger the sense of control and command. Xie Ji almost involuntarily walked in front of Lu Xunji.
Lu Xunji tapped his finger twice on the table. "What do you want to say?"
Xie Ji sat down on his lap, attempting to seduce him.
Then he realized he couldn't do it this way, so he could only bluntly say:
What I'm about to say might not be something you'd like to hear.
Lu Xunji lowered his eyes and said, "You don't care about me at all."
Xie Ji: "..."
Xie Ji: "You're at it again. What does this have to do with whether I care about you or not? There are always things I have to do. You've seen the situation now. Although the Second District, where you're stationed, is temporarily safe, if the black hole continues to collapse, the entire empire will perish sooner or later."
Lu Xunji, like an unreasonable rogue, continued to speak on his own:
You don't actually love me that much.
Xie Ji: "How did you come to such an absurd conclusion?"
"In your heart, the Ji Shi are ahead of me, the empire is ahead of me, and maybe even that fat cat at home is ahead of me."
"No, you're really number one in my heart, really, my princess baby."
"You always bully me like this, Xie Ji."
"..."
"You force me to compromise, force me to watch you risk your life, never considering my feelings; you're only happy when I'm dead."
"I didn't—okay, stop talking. I've realized I don't really like what you're saying."
Xie Ji stood up from Lu Xunji's lap. "I came to borrow the mecha, Lu Xunji. I promise you, I will ensure my own safety in all my actions. I will definitely come back safely, okay?"
Lu Xunji lowered his eyes. "I want to die."
"..."
I can't chat anymore, it's Yu Yu again, Princess Bro.
"Ten days," Lu Xunji said in a low voice. "If you're not by my side, I can only hold out for ten days at most. If you haven't returned within ten days, I won't care about anything else; I'll kill you first—"
Xie Ji quickly covered Lu Xunji's mouth to stop him from making further outrageous remarks, then looked down at him and said, "Fine, I'll be back in ten days."
Lu Xunji: "..."
He was already handsome, and now that he was looking so aggrieved, he was even more pitiful. No one would be willing to leave such a beauty behind and go to the battlefield.
But Xie Ji was willing to part with it. He lowered his head and kissed the back of his hand that was covering Lu Xunji's lips. "My sweet baby, wait for me to come back."
Lu Xunji glanced down, swallowed hard, and whispered, " Mecha No. N709."
Xie Ji lowered his head and kissed Lu Xunji's lips hard again. "I love you the most."
Lu Xunji didn't speak, but pursed his lips and said, "Ten days. Start counting now, not a second more."
Xie Ji turned and ran towards the office door. "I know, don't worry, I'll definitely be back in time!!"
Lu Xunji watched his retreating figure, then lowered his head expressionlessly to continue handling military affairs.
The adjutant beside him sighed, "Commander Lu is so worried about Little Xie, he could have sent someone else."
Lu Xunji said, "He will be unhappy."
"Even if you're unhappy, it's still better than taking such a dangerous risk, right?" the adjutant said. "Perhaps Little Xie won't blame you once he's figured it out himself, after all, you're his own brother."
Lu Xunji leaned back in his chair and rested for a while, without replying to his adjutant.
Xie Ji took Lu Xunji's mecha transfer order and rushed back to the medical department to find Zhuang Huan and Mu Yao.
"So now the question is, of the three of us, who can pilot a mech?" Xie Ji looked at the tall and imposing spherical mech in front of him and asked, " Zhuang Huan?"
"I'm just a doctor, although I did study a little bit back in the day." Zhuang Huan pushed up his glasses. "Have you forgotten that we have top students in the repair department here?"
Mu Yao inspected the mecha's exterior and said, "No damage. We can set sail now. Let's go."
Xie Ji jumped into the mecha. The interior space was large enough to seat not only three people, but even thirty. There was a large control panel in the center, with buttons of various colors and several joysticks, which looked very complicated.
Mu Yao sat in the driver's seat.
"I've never done anything so heroic in my life. If it weren't for that kid Ji Shi... never mind, if I really come back safely this time, Ji Shi will have to kowtow to me."
The mech rumbled, accelerated off its trajectory, and instantly flew away.