CH 10

Flying geese (2) 

The prince landed on the mecha.

—Obviously, this was the simplest sentence to describe it.

But the more detailed facts were—

His Royal Highness fell from a high altitude and was bombed all the way by the bandits, yet he was unscatched, however, his acceleration increased layer by layer as he went down.

When the red golden crystal bone unfolded in a millisecond and slammed into the wings of the mecha, the huge impact it brought to the cockpit was no less than a cannonball on the top of the head.

Jiang Jianming’s vision darkened in a physiological sense, buzzing in the ears filled his consciousness sharply, and the blood in his chest rolled to the point of almost suffocation—after a while, he firmly believed that he was not flustered at present because of his strong perseverance.

I should have changed to a more advanced Snow… 

Jiang Jianming bit his tongue, forcing himself to wake up, and squinted to see the figure on the mecha.

His Highness obviously suffered the same impact, even without a pressure-relief protection, however he straightened up, like it was nothing.

The platinum curly hair stretched in the strong wind. Prince Garcia put away his long crystal bone, looking like a handsome and ruthless God of War.

Jiang Jianming reluctantly felt the huge difference between the human races again…. He even felt that the gap between the disabled humans and the new humans might be bigger than the gap between the humans and chimpanzees in the old era.

Warning, warning! The degree of damage of the mecha reached 27%, the possibility of a crash may happen any time….

Jiang Jianming turned sideways, raised his voice and shouted, “Your Highness.”

His expression was still gentle and unrestrained, even though the intelligence was madly shouting emergency in his ears.

Because the prince was close at hand, he noticed he had a face that was almost exactly the same as the late Prince Ryann, but a little more mature and handsome, as if the face in his memory had indeed passed three years.

“Launch.” Garcia just glanced down at this strange young man, then gave a sharp order, “Pursue the remaining bandits.”

After the attack just now, the Lava’s losses were not small and they’re already in formation to flee and withdraw. What this group of space pirates were best at was guerrilla warfare, immediately escaping after one shot. They were the elites in having the best fleeing ability, to the point of making the enemy stomped their feet in anger.

Jiang Jianming. “Your Highness, this mecha can’t hold it anymore.”

Garcia’s tone was unquestionable. “It won’t incur damages anymore, lift off.”

Jiang Jianming immediately deciphered the meaning of the prince–

–because he is here, he is standing here, so even if he shuttles through the hail of bullets, this mecha will not be damaged again.

Too similar.

Even with such a cold and aggressive personality and a frivolous manner,

Jiang Jianming still manipulated the mecha into the sky, with his gaze looking dark and gloomy.

The only difference between them was that the Ryann he remembered would never speak to him in such a condescending tone.

Even at their last meeting back then……At that time, the Little Highness unusually spoke cold words to him and then resolutely decided to leave. But even so, it was a break between lovers, not an order from a superior to an inferior.

Warning, warning! The degree of damage of the mecha reached 27%, please land immediately..

The several broken mechas of the pirates were still firing frantically, but Garcia unfolded his crystal bones again behind him, protecting the tattered M-IP 18 in the center like a pair of celestial wings.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Explosions continued, but not a single attack was able to penetrate the pair of huge red gold crystal bones. His Royal Highness meant what he said, and actually blocked it all.

“…..”

Jiang Jianming was silent. He remembered Ryann’s crystal bone. When it unfolded, it seemed that all the lights in the world would be swallowed up. It was terribly powerful, as if it was born with utmost cruel aggression.

Its kind was one among the few super S-rank crystal bone in the Empire, its toughness was one that mecha cannons can’t penetrate, and one that can also be extended at will.

He thought he would never witness something like that again in this life.

“One o’clock, 16.39 inclination, fire.”

The prince’s slightly cold voice sounded from above.

Jiang Jianming fired a shot obediently. There seemed to be a gray-black mecha sitting down in the distance–it appeared to be two of them….doesn’t matter.

He heard his heart pounding fast in his chest, his eardrums thumping, and the blood vessels all over his body were pulsing along with it, turning from icy cold to boiling hot.

Appearance, voice, personality, crystal bones, bearing–even if there were slight differences in the details, it was still too similar. Similar enough to be identified as the same person.

Jiang Jianming gritted his trembling teeth.

He made all kinds of plans for this trip. In fact, it was just for the sake of these eight characters: To see “live without people, die without corpses.”

(t/n live without people, die without corpses-whereabouts of the person are unknown, and its life and death are unknown.)

The possibilities were many, but they were nothing more than–finding Ryann alive, or finding Ryan’s corpse, or turning himself into a corpse first before he could find anything.

The current situation clearly does not fit into any of these categories.

——On the first day he came to the Far Star, he met his Little Highness who should have died in the depths of the universe. His Highness had another name and identity, and seemed to have never known him.

***

Occasionally glancing down, Silver Big Dipper base was gradually being left behind. Jiang Jianming slowed down the mecha, and the mechas of the Lava space bandits in front of them broke through the clouds one after another, and soon disappeared without a trace.

Garcia’s eyes sank. “What are you doing?”

Jiang Jianming said indifferently, “Your Highness, this mecha is just a weak and pitiful M-IP 18, you can’t force it to chase the specialized mecha of Lava.”

Garcia: “I said…”

“—You can’t force me.” Jiang Jianming raised his cold eyes, his face was slightly pale, yet his expression was serious.

He leaned back on the driver’s seat and pointed to himself.

“After all, I’m just a mediocre recruit, and I can’t handle such a high-intensity mech battle. If I suffer a sudden shock later and cause the mecha to crash, will a legendary third prince appear in the empire after?”

Above the sky, the damaged M-IP 18 hovered, letting the wind blow around it.

Surprisingly, Garcia was not irritated by the remarks that could be called great injustice.

He simply turned his eyes unhurriedly, and settled on Jiang Jianming for the first time.

The prince’s emerald eyes were deep, he suddenly leaned over, and placed one hand on the alloy glass outside the cockpit, his slender five fingers vaguely brought a sense of oppression.

“Disobeying orders in battle, laying preposterous views onto a royal member,” Garcia said in a deep voice, “The recruits Silver Big Dipper accepted this year are quite courageous.”

Jiang Jianming replied in a low voice, “Just a mere recruit, it doesn’t matter if I am brave , but you’re a prince, even if it’s to protect the fortress, you shouldn’t take risks like this.”

Garcia raised his brows.

….The performance difference of the mecha was like a natural moat, and everyone knew that it was impossible to catch up. But now the fortress was surrounded by alien creatures, and it would take at least half an hour for the mechas to lift off. If Lava were to fire another shot from the sky, a number of casualties would surely be found in the fortress.

A moment ago he was still sitting on the tallest watchtower and bombarded indiscriminately, of course it was not because the wind was cool there, but to attract the firepower of the space bandits.

Just now, the reason why he chased after the Lava mechas alone, of course, was not to pursue victory… but because, if he didn’t do enough bluffing, those space bandits would definitely turn back and continue to attack the fortress.

Garcia took a deep look at Jiang Jianming, a little surprised that such a young recruit could see so clearly. Seeing that the Lava had gone far, the prince was no longer interested in chasing them. Instead, he felt that the person in front of him was more interesting. He asked, “Who told you to come here with your mecha alone?”

Jiang Jianming said: “No one. Lieutenant Colonel Louis told us to stand by. I’m… As you said, I disobeyed orders in battle.”

Garcia couldn’t help but chuckle in surprise, thanks to the magnificent face bestowed by the god’s love, the prince’s eyebrows seemed to be dazzling and sharp when he loosened his face. “Why?”

…the situation became somewhat magical for a moment.

An imperial prince and a military cadet who had just arrived in the distant interstellar space were actually chatting on a hovering broken mecha in midair that could crash at any time.

One was sitting alone outside the mecha while the other was sitting alone inside the cockpit. The atmosphere was actually very gentle, not one would expect when meeting for the first time, rather, it felt like meeting an old acquaintance.

Jiang Jianming: “I once met another person with a golden and red crystal bone, and it was unforgettable… But he died, at least the world said he had died.” He paused, then he suddenly raised his eyes, “Your Highness, has someone ever told you that you are very similar to Prince Ryann?”

“….” 

For a moment, Jiang Jianming clearly saw a line of fire passing through the deep emerald eyes of the prince. 

Kacha…. 

The five fingers in front of the cockpit suddenly pulled back, the alloy glass that machine guns couldn’t even break, showed a few lines of cracks.

Jiang Jianming narrowed his eyes.

He couldn’t help thinking to himself: Why is this man angry?

However, just a moment later, the prince restrained his anger again—just like how he had retracted such a dazzling and dangerous crystal bone into his body.

“…Return,” Garcia calmly retracted his hand, sat down in a comfortable position on the mecha and rested his elbow on his knee, “Return to the fortress.”

Jiang Jianming was pondering where Garcia’s anger just now came from, but when he heard the word “return”, his expression changed subtly.

He cannot return. He made too much noise, and the military’s censorship and questioning would be impossible to avoid. If his status as the “widow of the old crown prince” would be revealed, it would at the least be frightening when entered in Silver Big Dipper’s general file.

In fact, if he hadn’t met a living Ryann—or Garcia halfway, he should have found a chance to use Snow to form a space jump to Alpha Alien Star, and met with Tang Zhen and Beimaner, and joined the First Fortress as a cadet of Kaios Military Academy.

But now, the whole plan has been disrupted.

“Your Highness,” Jiang Jianming thought for a while then opened his mouth and tentatively said, “Lieutenant Colonel Louis, who led us all the way from Albourne Star City, said that you usually don’t stay in the Second Fortress for too long?”

Garcia bent his finger, knocked on the glass outside the cockpit and casually said, “The Second Fortress is in the rear of the Far Star, and usually with no war. If there’s a useful soldier, sooner or later, they will be taken to the front line…Again, return.”

This was too rude, Jiang Jianming seemed to see a big imputed bad reputation buckled on the top of the entire Second Fortress, with the word “useless” written on it.

He wanted to laugh a little but instead gave a quick and clear cough, grabbed the lever, and asked, “Where are you going next?” 

Garcia: “Alpha Alien Star, the first fortress, will set out tomorrow night.”

In mid-air, the blue-black body of the mecha swayed, and the IP that had just started to move stopped again.

It seems that the plan has not reached the point where it has been completely disrupted.

“?” Garcia frowned and looked down.

However, he saw the black-haired young man look up, with a mysterious smile in his eyes. He raised his index finger to his curved lips, making the black gloves contrast more clearly with his fair skin.

He whispered, “Your Highness, we happened to be going the same way—let’s not return, I will take you directly to the First Fortress, how about it?”