Can Ci Pin/Imperfections(残次品)BL by Priest

Chapter 30

White stumbled down from the treadmill and then retched twice, tears almost coming to his eyes. "People? People! Are there any planets nearby? Even a teeny space station would be okay, I've been wanting to step on solid ground even in my dreams. I don't want to eat icy cold compressed nutritional meals anymore, I'd take even blanched greens..."

The students, pushing one another, all poked their heads out of the training room. Even Mint, who was resting in her bedroom, managed to scramble up. Having drifted in the vast, empty universe for over a month, their excitement to rejoin human society spilled out through their thrilled expressions and language. They looked like they wished the mech could warp into a giant hand and embrace their past journey away.

However, the grown ups' reactions weren't as friendly.

Monoeye Hawk pushed his door open abruptly, striding out of his room, his expression as dark as calmed waters. "What just happened?"

Jingheng Lin narrowed his eyes. "Bixing, report the arsenal's status to me."

"They're okay," Bixing Lu, who was already in the arsenal, replied automatically, "It's sealed pretty well, there's no problems with the arsenal's environment, ah......it's just that this program is quite slow, will it be too slow in actual combat?"

Finishing, he suddenly registered reality, realizing that Lin had just called him by his name.

A buzz went through Bixing Lu's mind. Not too loud, but more like a mosquito passing by. His eardrums jumped, Lu started  thinking that the gravity balancing system must have gone awry, as his feet felt light as feathers.

Lin never called him just by his name. Normally, it was his whole name––surname included. And when it was spoken sarcastically, anything that ranged from "Headmaster Lu" to "young master" was possible. When face to face, it was just "you".

Bixing Lu paused, and then asked dazily, "Do you need me to upgrade it for you?"

"Don't, just come back here." Jingheng Lin's voice sounded lower through the mech's broadcast system, "Activate the defense system."

Bixing Lu's head snapped up. A rumble went through the entire mech. The shield was directly turned on to the highest setting and the two missiles were loaded.

Jingshu Huang asked, "B......Commodore Lin, what's happening? Is there something wrong with the communication signal?"

"Since humans entered the interstellar times, the most dangerous things in the universe were never black holes anymore," Monoeye Hawk said. "Remember, kids, what's more dangerous than black holes are humans."

"This is a regional communication signal. It's fast and strong, but it's only used for internal communication and cannot be used to contact anything outside of the region." Zhanlu explained as if he was teaching a science class. "An internal communication-only network without an outer one is mostly seen in battle. Shutting off any communication with the outside is to hide oneself from being detected by any possible enemies, and the internal communication range is also their patrolling range, which means that we have already entered......"

Before he could finish his sentence, the mech trembled violently.

Jingheng Lin opened fire without warning, and a missile cut through the night sky, striking right into another one sneaking towards them. The remnants and rays impacted Beijing's defense system, sparks flying. A firework suddenly burst up in the blackness, illuminating its surroundings for a brief second.

At least sixty mechs surrounded them tightly, everyone looking much fiercer than "Beijing".

Giving them a missile as a welcoming gift on the first encounter——well, that definitely wasn't love at first sight.

Jingheng Lin and Monoeye Hawk looked at each other suspiciously, asking at the same time, "Is that one of your old enemies?"

Before they could start spitting at each other again, a voice hurriedly cut in, answering for both of them, "None of them are, can we first not fight with our own?"

Bixing Lu stood in the middle of them, separating them with his two hands. Though his right palm was indeed pressed on Monoeye Hawk's chest sturdily––even pushing him two steps back––his outstretched right hand was still a few inches away from Jingheng Lin's chest, dangling in the air. His fingers twitched twice, not daring to push his palm forward the remaining few inches––this ex-commodore's shirt had the top three buttons open!

Did he have to be so fed up with the Union Military Commitee's rigorous dress code back in Silver Fortress that he had to do this?

When he looked to the side and met Jingheng Lin's eyes, Bixing Lu pulled his hand back at lightning speed. He pretended like he was just going to fix his hair. Then he walked to the communication station like nothing had just happened.