CH 11

Lu AnHe, after waiting for He YunTing to come out, unexpectedly didn’t say a word, but only asked if there were ‘no problems with the mental power operating system,’ after He YunTing nodded his head, he asked no more questions.

In the mecha, probably because He YunTing’s pheromone was really effective, Lin Han continued to stay in the cockpit alone to work.

Since his gloves isolated his mind reading, Lin Han also didn’t think about what the General was thinking at that time. He immersed himself back into his work, so that his mind could slowly quiet down.

Mind reading is not a good ability, Lin Han thought. If he hadn’t taken off his gloves that night and heard He YunTing’s mind, he might have been a little more willing to get closer to the General.

Lin Han was lost in thought as he removed the sixth piece.

When he got busy, he lost track of time, not to mention that the rest of the Institute was still in shock from the General’s visit until Shen XiuNan, worried that he had slept overnight in the repair room again, came looking for him.

When Shen XiuNan entered, Lin Han was re-editing the operating system in the mecha, and the automated repair machines were humming along, fixing little by little what didn’t require manual attention.

Lin Han smiled and explained that the General had been here to test the mental power system, and that he was working really hard to get the mecha operational as soon as possible.

Shen XiuNan had no choice but to tell him to remember to use nutrients and suppressants on time, and when he was about to leave, he looked up at Lin Han, who was measuring the data, and said with a frown, “I think you’re in good spirits today.”

Lin Han said, “Am I?”

“Yes, think about how long you’ve been in the repair room.” Shen XiuNan said, “…Are you really in heat? I’m even going to suspect that what you took wasn’t a suppressant, but a stimulant.”

Lin Han looked at the other helplessly, “No, really.”

Shen XiuNan thought about it and finally came up with a possible answer, “Could it be that the General just came to you, so you were so excited that you ignored your fatigue and continued working?”

Lin Han, “…”

How was that possible?

But since something happened between them, he wasn’t going to tell Shen XiuNan about it.

Putting aside the thought of marking him, the General might be a really nice guy, but he was really dull and uninteresting, and didn’t look like he was on the same page as anyone.

Lin Han sent Shen XiuNan away and went back to his research.

The reason he was the best mecha designer in the academy was that, in addition to his superior grades, his mental strength was also a factor. In this area of design and manufacturing, the higher the mental strength, the more favored the mecha master was. Mecha were also graded, with the average B or C grade mecha only needing to be approved by the academy for design, and then could be mass produced by the mecha manufacturing department for simple, indiscriminate patrol operations by ordinary soldiers.

In the empire, mecha generally relied on mental strength, and all three genders had varying degrees of mental strength, so a mass-produced mecha could be used by almost any gender with less mental strength.

Of course, driving such a top-of-the-line mecha also required a higher level of mental strength and control, otherwise it couldn’t be activated or it may cause problems later.

Lin Han was involved in the design of many models, from mass-produced ones for front-line soldiers to exclusive mecha like He YunTing’s or Lu AnHe’s, which required a bit of careful study and design, and then countless tests and adjustments before one could have one of these.

He YunTing’s M2742 was used earlier than he entered the mecha institute, and before Lin Han was officially involved in design, two-person mechas had almost ceased to be prevalent in the empire.

The higher the mecha grade, the higher the mecha master must be, and He YunTing really cared about his mecha, which was why he was so eager to fix it.

It all seemed logical… if only He YunTing didn’t have those inner thoughts.

—

While Lin Han was doing his best, Lu AnHe was busy.

Since the General’s mecha hadn’t been repaired, there was no reason to participate in daily training, and not leaving the house for two days in his own manor finally allowed both the main and radical factions to each find an opportunity.

Simply put, each continued to browbeat the other, hoping that one day General would join their camp and thus rest easy.

The main peace faction wanted He YunTing to join them before asking the Emperor to reduce mecha production and military supplies, on the grounds that the situation was now stable and the Zerg were also very peaceful. Except for the Star Pirates who occasionally rebelled. It would be better to invest the money spent on armaments in people’s livelihood and make the Empire stronger in other areas.

The radicals, on the other hand, believed that Star Pirates were a secondary concern, and that the Zerg must not be left untouched.

He YunTing, although he didn’t belong to any faction, he never rejected either side, so Lu AnHe became a busy man.

Poor Lieutenant Colonel Lu had to help deal with the people who sent gifts and condolences from both sides one after another, while he also had to secretly spy on the waiter who stole the samples during the celebration banquet.

After sending off the fourth group of people, Lu AnHe was finally able to take a break and walked up to He YunTing to report the news he had just received.

“It’s too clean, there’s no way to find that person.” Lu AnHe said bitterly, “I’ve checked, the waiter who pretended to deliver wine last time, but in fact deliberately hit your wound, appeared to be in fear for the entire day after hitting you. The next day, the family found that… the person was gone and committed suicide.”

He YunTing looked astonished, “Dead?”

Lu AnHe nodded with a serious expression, “How can we ask the dead? His family has a civilian background, and he also just became a waiter not long ago. There are no abnormalities.”

The civilian waiter was so scared that he committed suicide in his home because he bumped into the unbeatable Imperial General… It was always the case with news like this, people who just heard it would certainly find it unbelievable, but once the word spreads, eventually there would be people who believed it.

The general public would either comment that this person was too timid and too inferior, or that the General was too serious and too scary, but in any case, it was impossible to dig for deeper clues.

“Boss.” Lu AnHe seemed to make a great effort and finally decided to ask, “Do you think, this time could it be… ‘those people’ orchestrated this?”

When saying those words, Lu AnHe obviously hesitated for a long time, and his expression was grave. But He YunTing snickered contemptuously. The corners of his mouth gave the slightest smile, but the mocking look still hung on his face, “No.”

Lu AnHe said, “Is it possible that they’ve made some progress…”

“Impossible.” He YunTing replied categorically, “They don’t have the guts.”

“But now the problem is, we can no longer actively investigate. We can only be prepared to passively wait for the other side, see what other tricks they have up their sleeves.” Lu AnHe then no longer dwelled on this issue, “The sample was destroyed, so I guess the other side planned to use a fake mental power sample to destroy the AI center of mecha M2742. When it was repaired and returned to you, your mecha would’ve no longer been your mecha…”

“Good thing you were there in person the other day, so that didn’t happen.” Lu AnHe sighed in relief.

He YunTing’s icy face was melting, “But it really doesn’t matter.”

Lu AnHe didn’t understand at first, “What?”

“I meant,” He YunTing looked out the window at the tulip fields that weren’t yet in full bloom, “even if I weren’t there, or even if I used the fake sample, he would recognize it.”

This ‘he’ didn’t have any reference, but Lu AnHe just heard his boss’s tone of voice was filled with more than a few points of confidence.

The two were talking when the butler knocked politely on the door, “General, there are guests.”

Lu AnHe’s head was spinning when he heard this, and he shouted at the door, “Which side is it from this time? Is the last name Jiang or Luo?”

“Neither.” The butler’s voice turned a little more cautious, “The visitor… It’s His Royal Highness.”

—

When He YunTing changed his clothes and walked to the main hall, the prince that the butler spoke of also happened to enter with a smile on his face.

Wen TianYao, the Empire’s only prince, had been making frequent appearances in the past few years, such as hiding his identity and sharing a room with civilians in a group home in the N district, saying that he wanted to experience the people’s feelings and sufferings together. Coming to the army from time to time, saying that he wanted to learn how to drive a mecha from He YunTing, and even going on a campaign against the Zerg himself… 

After all, he was the one who would eventually succeed the throne and must accumulate some popularity. He had done a good job and was really approachable, many civilians had already started to accept him, praising him as a good prince and surely the future hope of the Empire.

As soon as Wen Tianyao saw He YunTing coming out, he took a few steps enthusiastically, “Good day, General.”

Except for his previous ‘private visits,’ Wen Tianyao didn’t like to wear casual clothes, but wore the exclusive royal dress, with the floral flap at the cuffs and the embroidery of the family crest at the collar to show his identity, vintage and gorgeous. His features weren’t aggressive, especially when he smiled, and he was an affable prince who was liked by the people.

He YunTing approached, pressed his right hand to his chest, bowed his head slightly, and gave a restrained salute. He had just finished saluting and stood up straight with a face full of indifference, when Lu AnHe, who was on the side, walked over quickly and whispered something in his ear.

“Boss, I just received a communication from Lin Han from the Research Institute, saying that M2742 is fixed. When do you want to go and get it?”