Chapter 18.2
Yin Mingzheng was very busy recently. He needed to fight against the Insects, manage the internal affairs of the base and prepare for the election. He barely had time to rest.
Even with such a packed schedule, he would always spend his scarce breaks holding Shi Qing and listening to his bird-like chattering about interesting things in the base.
The man could clearly sense Shi Qing growing up.
Before, if something happened to him, his little prince would cry his eyes out in his arms.
Now, the little prince who was supposed to be pampered indoors rolled up his sleeves and faced his problems head on. No matter if it was a battle of words or fists, he would always look like the fiercest one.
Of course, to Yin Mingzheng, an angry Shi Qing was more like a lovely pufferfish, huffy and cute. Every time he saw him like that, he wanted to poke him.
Although he thought it was pretty cute, it didn’t prevent him from holding a grudge against Le Youyuan.
He must be the one that led the adorable, innocent and sensible Shi Qing astray.
Yin Mingzheng didn’t know that, during this period, Le Youyuan who was stirring up trouble with little Shi Qing everywhere had a new understanding of him as well.
This old man was so dark.
He even taught little Shi Qing his wicked ways.
As expected, you can’t trust a person’s appearance.
It never occurred to the duo that the little Shi Qing they were set on protecting was blackened to begin with.
They scolded each other in their hearts:
You’re way past your expiration date!
During today’s break time, Yin Mingzheng rubbed Shi Qing’s soft hair and coaxed him in a low voice like he usually did: “Leave those things to the others. You don’t have to fight yourself.”
“I like it this way.”
The young man rubbed himself all over his chest. This was his signature style of acting spoiled.
When the two were sharing a warm moment, Le Youyuan arrived.
At the sight of Shi Qing in Yin Mingzheng’s arms, his heart became sour. He wanted to beat up this old man so badly, but he came to discuss official business. He could only restrain himself and sit beside the two of them with a miserable expression.
“The newest rumour spreading around the base is that you made a deal with the Insects to release you. In my opinion, the people behind this aren’t going to let you go anytime soon. Hurry up and find them and finish all this nonsense so that little Shi Qing and I aren’t working ourselves to the bone to avenge you everyday.”
Shi Qing didn’t get up. He was lying down like he had no bones. A pair of beautiful eyes rolled around where the others couldn’t see.
Le Youyuan was still talking: “Some people say that little Shi Qing is an Insect because of his eye color. What a f.u.c.king joke. I’ve seen red and blue eyes before, and those people were no more Insects than little Shi Qing is. It’s way more believable to say that little Shi Qing was a robot like that last wave of aliens. Weren’t they wearing silver battlesuits as well?”
Yin Mingzheng had become more steady recently.
Even if Le Youyuan inadvertently stumbled upon the truth, he could act like nothing was wrong.
Shi Qing was even more unresponsive.
Le Youyuan saw that both of them weren’t particularly interested, so he slapped his thighs and said, “Come on guys, did you two come from Zhongnan mountain? You’re behaving like monks.”
“Yeah, I guess it’s not a big deal. No one would believe this rumor unless we make a fuss about it.”
Just then, his mobile phone suddenly rang. Le Youyuan answered, and a worried voice came out: “Le-ge, Chen-er got into an accident. Hurry up and come over.”
“f.u.c.k. Where are you guys? Send me the address and wait for me!”
Chen-er has been a friend of Le Youyuan’s since they were kids. They have always had a good relationship because they were both hot messes. He ran out as soon as he hung up: “Hey, little Shi Qing. Ge has to leave first. I’ll take you out to play next time.”
Just after he left, Yin Mingzheng’s mobile phone also rang.
“The Insects got into the second layer?”
He screwed up his brows and jerked up. “Get our people together now. I’ll be right there.”
Hanging up the phone, he lightly placed the young man in his arms on the soft sofa while feeling guilty. He helped Shi Qing adjust the blanket, and quietly spoke in his deep voice: “Shi Qing, there’s a situation outside. Are you okay being alone for a bit?”
“Yes.”
Shi Qing blinked his eyes as he agreed. The man in the military uniform was still uneasy. He went to the kitchen to cut some fruit and stick toothpicks into the pieces before bringing them to him.
Since he discovered that Shi Qing could eat some human food, Yin Mingzheng, who had never utilized the privilege of his position before, ordered fruits with his ident.i.ty.
“I’ll be going. If you want to play outside, remember to call someone to go with you.”
The youth obediently nodded and watched the slender man leave.
Before he left, he glanced back at him several times with worry.
As soon as Yin Mingzheng left, Shi Qing jumped up from the sofa.
[Tricking the tiger away from the mountain!! This must be a scheme to trick the tiger away from the mountain!!]
System: [Tricking the tiger away from the mountain?? T-t-t-then let’s hurry up and hide. Is someone coming?]
[A true man would face danger head on!]
Shi Qing put on his shoes before running out the door. He walked to the road.
[It’s about time to finish this.]
He wandered around for about half an hour before his captors came.
A needle went into the back of the young man’s white neck.
Shi Qing, who was eating a lollipop, paused.
The System issued a reminder: [Host. It’s a sedative.]
[Oh ho ho.]
From the kidnapper’s perspective, the effects of the drug seemed to kick in. The young man quietly closed his eyes and fell back.
He quickly reached for him, and then he struggled to lift the outrageously heavy body.
Shi Qing immediately adjusted his weight.
This person barely managed to get up. He stared at the white and tender youth in his arms, puzzled.
He was as thin as a high schooler, so how could he be so heavy?
……It didn’t matter. In the end, his job was just to deliver this kid to his employer!!!
At the beginning, Shi Qing feigned unconsciousness as he was carried. But since this man was walking in such a light and fast fashion, he yawned from his position on his back and planned to take a nap.
It wasn’t until the System prompted, [Host. Host. We’re here.] that he woke up reluctantly.
He was overjoyed when he opened his eyes.
Wasn’t this somewhere in the desert?
He made so many good memories here in the past.
When he relied on rosemary pollen at the start, he never missed a chance to ‘mess around’ with Yin Mingzheng.
He was even happier as he looked in front of him.
Wasn’t this an old acquaintance of his ah!
Zhao Miaomiao was scrolling through her phone. When she looked up, she noticed that Shi Qing was awake. A malicious smile immediately spread across her face.
She shook her phone at Shi Qing, her eyes smug: “Do you know what’s on here?”
“I sent a message telling Yin Mingzheng to come save you.”
Shi Qing didn’t respond.
Zhao Miaomiao thought that the young man was just frightened. She sneered: “Aren’t you famous for being a crybaby? Save it for later. Don’t run out of tears when Yin Mingzheng charges straight into the ambush of the Insects to save you later.”
Shi Qing: “Insects? Are you working with them to kill him now?”
“It’s not that simple.”
She raised her chin and pointed behind Shi Qing: “This is the territory of the Insects. If Yin Mingzheng comes here, the Insects will greet him politely and refrain from harming him. If he doesn’t want you to die, he can only be patient in our trap. What do you think will happen when I record this encounter and send it to the base?”
Zhao Miaomiao’s laughter became louder. She couldn’t even stand up straight anymore from how amusing this all was to her.
“The hero of humanity of all people colluding with Insects!”
——Boom.
A s.p.a.ceship landed.
An Insect that had human-like features and was even dressed descended from the s.p.a.ceship with his strangely shaped subordinates behind him. They walked over to where Zhao Miaomiao was.
He casually sent a single glance to the young man tied to the chair and tightened his hairless eyebrows. His voice was hoa.r.s.e, as if a snake was hissing, “This is the human that Yin Mingzheng cares about the most?”
“Yes, my lord.”
Zhao Miaomiao kneeled respectfully to him. Her look towards Shi Qing was filled with malice: “When this is over, we can kill him and replace him with an Insect. Then the evidence of Yin Mingzheng’s betrayal of the human race will really be set in stone.”
“En.”
This Insect looked at Zhao Miaomiao contemptuously. “We’ll do it this way then.”
Shi Qing who was ignored by them this whole time suddenly opened his mouth. His voice was clear, fast and light, like a simple and ignorant child:
“Replace me with an Insect? Whose bright idea was that?”
The leader disdainfully turned around. “A human like you should be honoured that you can be regarded as part of my Insect race after your death……”
His voice stopped abruptly as Shi Qing leisurely stood up.
The young man rotated his somewhat stiff neck and rolled up his sleeves to reveal his slender wrists. He smiled at the gaping Insects in front of him while saying: “I never would’ve imagined there was a race as funny as you guys in the universe.”
The Insect blankly stared at Shi Qing’s clear silver eyes: “Ma-Machine……”
Zhao Miaomiao didn’t understand what was happening. She scrambled to get up from the ground: “My lord?”
The Insects were all shaking like a leaf in the wind. The leader pointed a trembling finger at Shi Qing: “He, he is a Machine, one of the Mechanical……”
“The mechanical what?”
Buzz–
Zhao Miaomiao’s words were interrupted.
It all happened in a flash.
In front of the eyes of the high-level Insect, hundreds of millions of humanoid machines arrived in response to their King’s summons.
They appeared one by one over the horizon.
In less than two minutes, the desert sky was filled with countless androids.
Zhao Miaomiao collapsed in sheer terror.
Standing in the midst of the unbelievable sight, the young man wore his usual sweet smile. His voice was soft and elongated like he was a purring cat:
“The Mechanical race, of course.”
As Shi Qing spoke, hundreds of millions of machines fanned out in a defensive position behind him.