CH 44

Lin Han saw himself in He YunTing’s eyes.

He was a mess, and he was weak.

How am I beautiful? he thought to himself.

But He YunTing’s hand was still warm and strong, even though he had just consumed much more than him in terms of both physical and mental energy.

Lin Han was strangely not uncomfortable hearing such words, and didn’t want to let go of the other’s hand. He YunTing was only wearing a shirt without a jacket, so he was still neat, but his hair was also messy with sweat at the corners of his forehead.

He also looks handsome.

This thought popped into Lin Han’s head for no apparent reason.

And when this thought entered, his heart contracted violently, as if being drained of strength, and as if being filled with something else. It was like walking on a soft cloud with no boundaries, and worrying that the next step would be a step into the abyss of uncertainty.

He began to feel that every movement of He YunTing was different, his hands were broad and secure, and even his cold, indifferent eyes became like a lake that had just broken through the ice in early spring, with his tenderness in every inch of the place he passed.

Lin Han began to think of the dust nebula he saw that day.

If all the dust in the universe was traceable, then in He YunTing’s blue eyes, there might be a river of stars that he had quietly buried in his heart.

“I’m a little tired.” Lin Han looked up at him, “Are there any other Zerg?”

He YunTing voice affirmed, “No more.”

Lin Han remembered what he had just said, he clearly wanted He YunTing to give him a hand. He knew that He YunTing had turned on the mecha’s post-war self-testing system, and they now finally had a short bit of rest. He understood that he should go and wash his face now, it wasn’t good to be so messy all the time.

But Lin Han suddenly wanted to have a little fun and hooked He YunTing’s hand, “Can I take a two-minute break? Just two minutes.” Without waiting for He YunTing to agree, Lin Han added, “Don’t let go of my hand.”

Just hold me like this, for two minutes.

Lin Han understood that he wasn’t a capricious person. Since he was a child, he knew that he only had his mother, and as an Omega who wanted to raise him alone, the hardships involved were unimaginable. So he always knew how to behave, didn’t argue with people, didn’t fight with them, just studied and lived quietly, and only talked to his mother about everything.

He was always the most obedient and the best student in school, and he was the one that all the teachers liked. They all said that Lin Han was ‘the most trouble-free.’ He was never out of line and never made any mistakes.

Sometimes his mother would look at him with a mournful and regretful look and say, “Sometimes I wish Lin Han could be a little more capricious.”

At that time, he didn’t even know the meaning of being capricious, and when he vaguely understood it, he didn’t have the chance. But now he suddenly wanted to be capricious with the person in front of him.

It was like… He finally knew what ‘capricious’ really meant.

He wanted to prove through these mundane moments that He YunTing would do what he wanted at this moment. The real meaning of the so-called bullying, probably also needed someone willing to tolerate it.

Lin Han felt a little ridiculous, he never had this kind of pretentious mind before, not to mention that he could clearly hear what was in the other person’s heart, but still felt unsure. But He YunTing would obediently approach him every time — just like now.

He never said no to Lin Han, he just said, “Yes” quietly.

Lin Han closed his eyes, and in those two brief minutes, all the tactile cells were magnified more than twice.

There were some ideas that were becoming clear, but now was not the time to sit down quietly and run through his thoughts. He was also really tired, and the moment he closed his eyelids, his entire body felt like falling into a dark and deep dream, and he just wanted to fall into a deep sleep.

But he could still feel the warmth of He YunTing’s palm, and every inch of his skin.

Lin Han had touched these hands too many times, from the initial disbelief to the need to use such tricky tricks now, and it’s only been a few months. He had long been familiar with the path of the veins of these hands, the location of the calluses, and every inch of the veins.

No matter what, this was his secret, no one could take it away.

Lin Han actually made up for some sleepiness in the short two minutes, his thoughts began to drift up, wanting to fall asleep, but not daring to.

Half asleep, half awake, when the two minutes were about to end, Lin Han felt He YunTing’s other hand move, finally touching his face very gently, rubbing it softly.

【Why is Mr. Lin so cute?】

The cute Mr. Lin’s cheeks reddened, but luckily his face was already dirty now, so He YunTing didn’t see it. He let out a breath and started to continue the conversation he just had.

“I’m going to check the exact damage of the mecha.” He didn’t look at He YunTing, fearing that the other would notice his not-so-natural face at this moment.

He YunTing answered and followed Lin Han over, observing the surroundings himself as Lin Han began to work, opening the interstellar map and continuing to contact the warship.

Because of Lin Han’s participation, the time to solve the Zerg was faster than expected. If the mecha’s condition could be turned on full speed travel now, they might be able to catch up with the warship and leap back to the Empire together.

Lin Han walked to the part that was poked by the sandworm, then combined the current energy left, measured it carefully and told He YunTing.

“The damage isn’t serious and can be repaired, but that’s not the key problem,” Lin Han said. “The energy consumption of the fierce battle just now was really high. I calculated that if we turn on the full speed, it will take about two hours to reach the leap point.”

He YunTing listened to him in silence.

“But it must be noted that the energy consumption at full speed is very high, which must ensure that it can provide sufficient energy support when it reaches the leap point, otherwise there will be no energy at all — in other words, the battleship is still there, and the leap point is still there. One without the other is futile without satisfying either one.” Lin Han finished and asked He YunTing with some concern, “Were you able to contact the battleship?”

He saw He YunTing’s communication glowing red and rustling.

The other failed to give him a positive answer.

“Then I’ll see if I can get the mecha fixed first.” Lin Han didn’t ask about it again, “After all, it’s broken now and the outdoor environment is too harsh. We can’t stay like this for a long time.”

“Okay.” He YunTing said.

Lin Han walked to the first cockpit and took away the jacket He YunTing used to block the hole.

As soon as he came into direct contact with the strong wind of the sun, Lin Han subconsciously took refuge.

After all, this wasn’t in the Institute, and there were no materials at hand, so it was still very difficult to repair it to the same condition as before the battle. He looked down and pondered for a while, evaluated the damage and began to formulate a plan.

Lin Han looked through the display at the broken Zerg corpses and shattered metal outside.

In the border area, which was extremely short of resources, the only thing that mattered was to get to the leap point as soon as possible.

Until then, they’d have to make up for it with whatever we can, Lin Han mused.

And at that moment He YunTing’s communicator finally lit up, and Lin Han heard Lu AnHe’s anxious voice.

“Boss, how’s your side? Are there any injuries?” Lu AnHe’s background voice was noisy, and he talked fast.

“It’s fine. It’s all settled.” He YunTing replied, “We’re preparing to go to the leap point.”

Lu AnHe’s reaction to these three words was agitated, “Don’t come! Don’t come to the leap point!” Lu AnHe gasped, “You were right, the leap point has been surrounded by the Zerg for a long time, there are at least thirty of them here…”

Lin Han’s hands stopped moving.

He saw He YunTing’s grave look and didn’t interrupt Lu AnHe.

“Now the sergeants with mecha are all out there. The Zerg must have understood long ago that we’re going to return from this leap point. I don’t know how long they have been waiting here!”

“The death and injury situation?” He YunTing’s tone was getting colder and colder.

Lin Han heard Lu AnHe take a deep breath and try to calm down, “At the moment… Two of the reserve pilots who came to participate in the exercise have been killed and one was seriously injured, the rest… Not yet sorted out.”

“Where’s the Omega from before?”

“Qi Jiamu’s brother? Your three shots didn’t kill him, his recovery power is amazing.Those holes have almost closed up, and after checking, he already has the initial Zerg some genetic traits, but there has been no time to understand, so we could only wait to go back and then have an interrogation. Now Qi Jiamu has him under control, so he hasn’t caused too much impact again.”

“Hmm.” He YunTing, who understood the basic situation, said. He probably knew the reason why Lu AnHe was sending communications to him in such a fierce battle situation.

Sure enough, the next second Lu AnHe said in a shaky voice, “Now… now we’re planning to use the remaining P-1 type nuclear particle beam cannon, and have recalled all pilots who are still capable of action, and plan to draw the Zerg to one place. After all of them leap with the remaining energy…” Lu AnHe still seemed to be trying to calm the tone, “…we’ll blow up the leap point.”

So the two possibilities Lin Han had just raised were gone, and the leap point had to disappear with the Zerg in order for most of the people to get back. The battleship would leave with the last of its energy, and the leap point, which was constantly generating energy, would eventually become a pile of rubble.

Lu AnHe was silent for a moment as Lin Han heard the explosions and noise of gunfire from the communicator.

“Boss, you and Mr. Lin… There’s no need to rush over.”

He YunTing, however, was more calm than usual, “Got it.”

Lu AnHe was still confiding in He YunTing about something, including the batch and time of departure of the reinforcements.

The two had a tacit understanding, sometimes He YunTing didn’t even need to ask questions, Lu AnHe competently explained everything.

“The reinforcements have received the message, but if there are no other Zerg to follow, they won’t send warships to pick them up, so it will be slower,” Lu AnHe finally said, “but it shouldn’t take long, you guys…”

Lu AnHe was interrupted.

Probably re-entering the melee, the rest of his words of taking care weren’t finished.

He YunTing’s tone remained unchanged, as if he was just reporting a training report that was the simplest of all. Lin Han knew that after this communication, the leap point that had existed for a long time would be destroyed.

Surprisingly, he found himself just as calm as He YunTing.

Even though the situation was that they had been temporarily stranded in the border area with only a damaged M2742 at hand.

Communication would be cut off at some point, where should they go now, and how long could they last if they turned on the minimum power consumption. He silently looked at the desolation in front of him.

The sky seemed to darken gradually, slowly becoming peaceful after everything was over, as if all those deaths and smoke had not existed before. Lin Han didn’t ask any more questions and just continued with the repairs.

“Mr. Lin.” After a while, He YunTing suddenly called out to him.

Lin Han was still thinking about how to reduce the energy consumption of the mecha as much as possible, and when he heard He YunTing’s voice, he turned his head to look at the mecha system and the program, “What is it, General?”

Instead of answering immediately, He YunTing asked a rare question in return, “Do you remember what I told you about the Erinnerung Nebula before we came here?”

Lin Han nodded without thinking, “Yes, but I didn’t get to see it when I arrived at the border area, which is a pity.”

He said it was a spectacle that could only be seen from the border area.

“Don’t regret it.” He YunTing still spoke in a direct and awkward way, but tried to tell Lin Han the truth, “Raise your head and have a look.”

Lin Han then subconsciously obeyed and raised his head, seeing a brilliant and romantic purple starry sky that he had never seen before.

“——This is the Erinnerung Nebula.”