Author: 易修罗 / Yi Xiu Luo

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 133

Hearing his name called by the other, Ling Xiao pointed to himself in surprise. “You know me?”

“Don’t you remember me?” The man approached, laughing and clapping Ling Xiao on the back. “I’m Huo Luo.”

“Huo Luo?” Ling Xiao still felt the name was unfamiliar.

Thankfully, Ying Feng clarified for him, “He’s Luoluo.”

“Luoluo?!” Ling Xiao’s voice rose an octave. “You’re Luoluo?”

He looked Huo Luo up and down in disbelief. “How did you grow so much?”

Huo Luo, already taller than Ling Xiao, crossed his arms. “You think you’ve only been gone a few days? I’ve grown up a long time ago. Now I’m the Wolf King of the entire tribe!”

His eyes sparkled with the distinctive gleam of the people from Wolf Star, and his kingly demeanor confirmed his words. Ling Xiao felt happy for him but also regretted not witnessing everyone’s growth over the years.

“You’re the Wolf King. What about Ying Feng?”

“Ying Feng retired many years ago. His successor stepped down two years later and went traveling with his love. Apparently, it was you who forcefully paired them up. Remember?”

Ling Xiao certainly remembered; he had a deep impression of the black and white wolf pair. “They really got together? And what about Shachi Bo?”

“He’s so old, he’s reverted to his beast form and will return to Mother Earth any day now. I rushed over as soon as I got Ying Feng’s message that you were back. He also asked Thunder Wolf to send his regards.”

“Thunder Wolf?”

Huo Luo stepped aside, and the mech wolf he had been piloting lifted its right rear leg and scratched behind its ear as if to greet them.

“Thunder Wolf now belongs to me. I combined it with my previous main mech. Doesn’t it look more imposing now combined?”

Indeed, Ling Xiao had to admit he wasn’t sure he could take it down with a single strike anymore.

Huo Luo continued proudly, “I’ve heard about the situation in Tianxiu, so I brought my subordinates to see if we can help. Our tribe is no longer the small thousand-person tribe you saw back then. We’re now a powerful nation with millions of members, part of the joint government, and have a say in the affairs of Wolf Star, thanks in no small part to Ying Feng’s efforts.”

Ling Xiao looked back at Ying Feng; pride evident in his eyes.

“We do need your help right now.” Ying Feng briefly recapped the situation.

“No problem.” Huo Luo slapped his chest. “The last 800 EAU distance for Ying Feng, leave it to me.”

“But the relationship between Wolf Star and Tianxiu…” Ling Xiao was a bit confused.

“Tianxiu revoked Wolf Star’s subjugated star status a few years ago. In fact, they’ve been maintaining mutually beneficial cooperation for even longer. Wolf Star is now our ally.”

“That’s right.” Huo Luo confirmed Ying Feng’s words. “If you go to Wolf Star now, no one will throw chicken legs at you anymore.”

“That’s something only you would do.”

Ling Xiao, feeling relieved, suddenly remembered there was a Wolf Star person in his own family. “Right, let me introduce someone to you.”

He gestured to Xiao Hui. “Come here!”

The humanoid Xiaohui ran over, and Ling Xiao proudly gestured. “This is my Xiao Hui.”

“Hey, just call me Huo Luo.” Huo Luo greeted Xiao Hui, ready to perform a Wolf Star greeting ritual, but Xiao Hui just stood there, clueless about his intentions. Ling Xiao, seeing Xiao Hui’s nonresponse, suddenly realized, “Oh no! Can Xiaohui understand the Wolf Star language?”

A cold wind blew, complementing Xiao Hui’s confused expression and making everyone realize Ling Xiao’s concern.

“Quick, give him a chip!” Ling Xiao exclaimed.

“You idiot.” Red Head smacked him on the back of his head. “Can Wolf Star people even implant chips?”

Rubbing his head, Ling Xiao was frustrated. “Then what do we do? Starting from scratch to learn a language is hard.”

Having learned ancient Tianxiu language himself, he could help but complain to Ying Feng. “How could you raise a child without teaching them their mother tongue?”

“I didn’t know he was human even later than you did,” Ying Feng replied coolly, leaving Ling Xiao to laugh awkwardly.

“No problem, we have another innate universal language.” Huo Luo transformed into a majestic male wolf, his brown-black fur gleaming. He howled, and Xiao Hui, understanding, also transformed into a wolf and happily howled back.

“Now that the final escort problem is resolved, shall we start planning?” Yu Quan inquired.

“I’m ready.” Ying Feng nodded.

After a few seconds of thought, Fu Yao agreed. “There’s no time to waste. Since it’s decided, let’s proceed quickly.”

While Ying Feng left with Yu Quan, Red Head pulled Ling Xiao aside.

“What are you dragging me over here for?” Ling Xiao was suspicious of Red Head’s secretive behavior.

“What do you think? You didn’t tell me about the stone earlier,” Red Head complained. “Even if we rush to the museum now, we probably won’t make it.”

Ling Xiao watched him pick and examine each stone on the ground. If dissatisfied, he’d throw it away and continue. This behavior looked very familiar to him.

“Are you carving a remembrance stone?”

“Yeah.” Red Head held one in each hand, asking him, “Which one’s better?”

“The left one.”

“Come here.” Red Head threw the one in his right hand away and sat down with Ling Xiao, pulling out a dagger. “How do you write those few characters?”

Ling Xiao, having carved many times, knew it by heart and wrote it on the ground. Red Head clumsily tried to mimic his strokes on the stone.

“Ah, that’s wrong. That stroke doesn’t bend like that.” Ling Xiao, unable to watch, tried to take over and correct it.

“Go away.” Red Head quickly leaned to protect his work. “I want to carve it for my little angel myself. Don’t mess it up.”

“You’re writing it wrong!”

“That’s my style!” The two bickered until Red Head finished his crooked carving.

“How’s this?” He proudly showed his masterpiece to Ling Xiao.

Ling Xiao smirked. “Probably only Bing Can won’t mind.”

“He’s going to love it.” Red Head looked down, fondly rubbing the stone. “I really hope he gets it.”

Ling Xiao, ready to tease Red Head, suddenly couldn’t utter a word. After a brief emotional moment, Red Head was back to his usual self.

“Here, keep this for me,” he said, handing Ling Xiao the remembrance stone.

“Why give it to me?” Ling Xiao didn’t understand.

“In case I don’t come back, remember to send it out for me.”

Ling Xiao struggled to find words, finally blurting out, “Are you stupid?”

“Heh heh.” Red Head warmly draped his arm around Ling Xiao’s neck. “They must be done by now. Let’s go.”

Ling Xiao, with the heavy memory stone in his waistband, joined Yu Ji and the others to reach the departure point. Ying Feng, Fu Yao, Nie Yun, and everyone from the military department, who showed no visible change, were waiting there. The Wolf Star people returned to their vehicles, circling above the base.

Nie Yun handed three orange syringes to Ling Xiao, Red Head, and Shuang Feng, but not to the others. “This is Ember II. Ling Xiao, you must be familiar with it,” Fu Yao teased.

Ling Xiao, a bit embarrassed to receive it, couldn’t forget it; in some ways, it was also the “culprit” that brought him and Ying Feng together.

Fu Yao continued, “The side effects of Ember II can be 70% neutralized by the saliva of a Qizhu, but it should still be used cautiously. As for the Qizhus, the medical conditions you’ll encounter aren’t sufficient to counteract its effects, so we haven’t prepared it for you.”

The three solemnly pocketed the syringes. Nie Yun added, “We’ve contacted Tai Ruo for support at Huoxiu. Once Ying Feng interfaces with their mainframe, we can briefly control it. We’ve timed it; once this process is completed, Ying Feng will be at his physical limit.”

“Understood,” Ling Xiao said determinedly. “I’ll seize the moment and bring Ying Feng back safely.”

Fu Yao nodded, his gaze sweeping over each of the six faces one last time. “Ying Feng, Ling Xiao…”

“Here!”

“…Bing Can, Qian Si, Yu Ji, Shuang Feng…”

Each name was followed by a strong response.

“Are you ready?”

The six stood in a row, answering in unison, “Ready!”

Fu Yao took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, “I wish you success.”

“With our souls as witness!”

Fu Yao stepped back, standing shoulder to shoulder with Nie Yun.

“Salute!”

Everyone saluted in unison. After returning the salute, Ling Xiao and the others boarded the spacecraft to Huoxiu. As the spacecraft slowly ascended, the soldiers below maintained their salute, watching the heroes depart. As the spacecraft rose higher, the figures on the ground shrank. The Wolf Star troops tactfully followed, surrounding them at a distance.

Ling Xiao and Ying Feng finally had a moment alone.

“What’s it like to be a human bomb?”

Ying Feng answered by holding Ling Xiao’s hand, letting him feel his warmth.

“You’re warmer than before.” Ling Xiao couldn’t help rubbing his hands, showing his true emotions for the first time since departure.

“Other species call this phenomenon a fever, a bodily mechanism to fight viruses,” Ying Feng explained, his scholarly habits intact.

“Thank you for not stopping me.” Ling Xiao didn’t want to dampen Ying Feng’s spirits and quickly gathered his sadness, speaking lightheartedly.

“You didn’t stop me either,” Ying Feng replied.

“Because I’m a Qizi you trust with your back,” Ling Xiao confidently said.

He stopped joking, gazing intently at the person in front of him. “I won’t let you dissipate in the cosmos.”

Ying Feng, seeing his reflection in those light gray yet bright eyes, replied, “I believe you.”

“They’ve already departed,” reported “Zhen He” expressionlessly on another warship to Zhu Yue.

“Who’s following them?”

“Only the people from Wolf Star.”

Zhu Yue sneered. “Have they fallen so low as to seek help from other races?”

“Enough.” He waved dismissively. “Go meet them… No, wait in ambush midway, just in case. But I doubt they’ll make it there.”

“Yes.” “Zhen He” left to carry out the orders, while Ying Feng, as expected, encountered the guests they had been waiting for.

Zhu Yue, leading the remaining forces of Huoxiu, intercepted Ying Feng and his team en route.

“I thought we wouldn’t meet again,” said Zhu Yue, connecting to the video communication of Ying Feng’s ship. After scanning the cabin and not finding the person he was looking for, he asked, “But where did Ling Xiao go?”

“To complete our plan, I alone am enough,” Ying Feng replied casually.

“I didn’t expect you’d actually go to your death willingly. But you probably didn’t expect that not all our people were dispatched,” Zhu Yue gloated. “Sadly for you, your plan has been leaked. You’ll probably never reach Huoxiu, and our plan has already commenced.”

He spread his arms, self-indulgent. “Soon, in this universe, you’ll no longer be alone.”

Ying Feng remained composed. “It’s because I anticipated you might still have some power left that I intentionally leaked our plan. Of course, I won’t reach Huoxiu because my destination is here.”

Zhu Yue, not getting the reaction he expected, found it dull. His smile faded, allowing him to better observe Ying Feng.

“You’re not wearing sunglasses anymore, but gloves? Your taste in clothing sure has changed.”

“Yes.” Ying Feng slowly curled one corner of his mouth. “Who says it hasn’t?”

Zhu Yue’s smile disappeared completely at this unfamiliar expression. “You’re not Ying Feng! Who are you?” He demanded, suddenly tense.

“Someone who’s eager to teach you a lesson with this hand.” Fei Jing casually removed his glove, revealing a sleek black mechanical hand, and clenched it menacingly.

Zhu Yue looked around alertly as warships bearing the Tianxiu military emblem started to decloak, surrounding the Huoxiu forces from all directions, outnumbering them several times over, trapping them like a net. Escape seemed impossible.

On the communication screen, Fei Jing disdainfully shifted aside. “Catching you was a task I could’ve handled alone, but an old friend insisted on seeing you, so I brought him along.”

Zhu Yue’s eyes widened as he saw the person descending the lift, blurting out in disbelief, “Principal?”

Ta Yun joined Fei Jing, his gaze regretfully meeting Zhu Yue’s. “I never expected we’d meet again under these circumstances. Your actions after leaving Bikong have deeply disappointed me. I need to reflect on my failure in education.”

“For a student as unruly as you,” Fei Jing smirked mischievously. “I’ll have to educate you on behalf of your principal.”

Zhu Yue angrily slammed the table. “Where’s the real Ying Feng?”

Fei Jing pointed upward with his metallic finger. “Look up.”

Zhu Yue looked up immediately, seeing dozens of Wolf Star mechs escorting a ship identical to Fei Jing’s speeding overhead towards Huoxiu, quickly becoming distant.

Fei Jing pressed the communication button. “The obstacle here is cleared. The rest is up to you.”

“Much appreciated,” came Ying Feng’s voice.

“Godspeed.”

Zhu Yue, realizing escape was futile, suddenly burst into hysterical laughter, his voice eerily distorted.

“What are you laughing at?” Fei Jing asked displeased.

“Do you think they’ll reach Huoxiu unobstructed after this?” Zhu Yue stopped laughing, grinding his teeth. “You’re naive. Tianxiu has made enemies all over the galaxy. Who knows how many are waiting for them ahead? Thinking you can safely deliver Ying Feng to Huoxiu is a fantasy!”

“Then let’s let you witness our dream coming true.” Fei Jing gazed in the direction Ying Feng had departed. “Looking so much like me, you better not embarrass me.”

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