Sis Ceci felt uneasy too. She stood between a.r.s.enal and I, glancing at both of us worriedly and awkwardly.
After a long stare, a.r.s.enal finally spoke, “Luo Bing, I know that you are bothered by what happened back then. But how could you take Noah from me like that the moment you come back? With just one command?” She questioned me with the integrity of a queen.
The people around us felt extremely awkward. The entire hangar was frozen.
Ming You frowned and looked away, sighing. Sis Cannon stiffened. Xiao Ying puffed up her face and looked away awkwardly. Xue Gie became more dazed than usual.
“a.r.s.enal...” Ming You came forward, standing between a.r.s.enal and I. Finding it awkward, she was at a loss for words. Still, her relations.h.i.+p with a.r.s.enal was relatively better. Glancing between the both of us, she persuaded, “Don"t be like this. We are all sisters. We have not seen each other for more than two years...”
“Sisters?”
“How can Queen a.r.s.enal and the North Star be sisters?” The crowd started murmuring. Among them were Ah Zong"s people and also Noah City"s people. The latter should be the miners that I had saved back then, although I wasn"t sure if Noah City had accepted other people over the past two years.
“Brother, why did you take Noah City away?” The little girl in a.r.s.enal"s arms asked, gazing at me with her pretty big eyes. “You can be my husband if you like Noah.”
“Pfft!” The awkward atmosphere instantly shattered with the child"s babble.
I frowned and sighed, removing my disguise and the voice changer. Exclamations were heard immediately.
“She is a girl!”
“The North Star is a girl!”
“I see this correctly, right? Luo Bing is a woman. She is so pretty!”
The girl stared at me blankly. She suddenly became unhappy, wailing in tears, “Boohoo. I want a brother. I don"t want a sister. A sister would be for my little brother, not for me.”
The girl started crying, effectively ruining a.r.s.enal"s dignified look. She was busy cajoling her little girl.
Sis Ceci put the little boy down and took over the little girl from a.r.s.enal. The little boy looked up at his sister who was being carried, and his face grew grave as he complained, “Sister is being a crybaby again.”
The little girl pouted and weeped in Sis Ceci"s arm.
I looked at a.r.s.enal and said, “a.r.s.enal, I understand that what you did back then was for my own good, but you never asked me about my thoughts. It"s just like today, where I seized the power of Noah without asking for your permission.”
a.r.s.enal lowered her face slightly. She frowned and shut her eyes. “I know. You are better than me. Grandpa would be more at ease pa.s.sing Noah to you than to me.”
The hangar was filled with over a hundred people but it was so quiet that everyone"s careful breathing could be heard.
Gazing at her for awhile, I continued, “I learned a lot in Silver Moon City but I lost… a lot more...” I looked down. If I had known that I was going to lose Harry when I had gone to Silver Moon City, I definitely wouldn"t have gone.
a.r.s.enal was stunned. She turned to me, apologizing, “I am sorry. It was my bull-headed decision that has caused Harry to…”
“Harry is still alive,” I interrupted sternly. I looked up calmly and stared into a.r.s.enal"s sorrowful gaze.
Sis Ceci wiped her tears secretly behind a.r.s.enal. I continued glumly, “I won"t take Noah away from you. It was merely due to the pressing situation, as I was the one who understood the situation best. I needed Noah"s full support and also the most authoritative voice. So, I requested Uncle Mason to let me take over Noah. I will leave Noah after things are settled.”
“You are leaving!?”
a.r.s.enal and the people stared at me in surprise.
I nodded in reply. “Yes. The war has begun. The Ghost Eclipsers have opened up a route in the east. There are too many civilians and normal people in Noah who need Noah"s protection. It"s not viable for Noah to join the war. a.r.s.enal, the war is coming. You have to safeguard Noah.”
a.r.s.enal stared at me in surprise for a very long time. I smiled faintly and continued, “Things have not ended yet. Uncle Mason has not reached Koont Village. I have a s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p of Ghost Eclipser captives waiting to be interrogated and judged. a.r.s.enal, do you have an empty s.p.a.ce for me? Also, the Honeycomb boys need a place to stay.”
a.r.s.enal came back to reality and exclaimed, “You brought the Ghost Eclipsers captives back here!? This is too dangerous. What if they run away?”
“Don"t worry. I will kill them if they try to run,” I said coldly. Looking around, I saw the people of Noah City becoming worried and terrified after they had heard about the Ghost Eclipser captives.
Thinking for a while, I said, “Okay, I won"t let the Ghost Eclipsers in. However, I have decided to let the Honeycomb boys stay here. I still get to decide things in Noah for now.”
a.r.s.enal didn"t speak, only turned away. “Okay, I will get someone to prepare a place for them.” a.r.s.enal took the little girl from Sis Ceci"s arms. Then, she walked away before me, leading her boy with her free hand.
Mosie looked at me awkwardly before he followed next to a.r.s.enal. He carried the little boy.
“a.r.s.enal!” Ming You shouted. She glanced at me awkwardly and went after a.r.s.enal.
“Sis Luo Bing.” A little girl ran out from the crowd and pounced at me. She was about eight years old. I recognized her right away. “Da Li!”
“Sis Luo Bing!” She gave me a bear hug. “Why did you take so long to come home? We missed you...” She started crying as soon as she hugged me.
I stroked her head, feeling my heart warm.
People surrounded us, all of them smiling at me.
“Don"t be mad at the Queen. She is pregnant. Pregnant women can get really sensitive,” Aunty Susan said.
“Yes. The Queen misses you. She always says that Noah would be better with you around,” Uncle Jack spoke up.
“The boys that you brought back are so beautiful. Don"t worry. We will find a s.p.a.ce for them,” Sis Meizi a.s.sured, smiling.
“Come, kids. Follow us.” The women of Noah City welcomed the Honeycomb boys pa.s.sionately, while the uncles looked jealous.
The Honeycomb boys glanced at Ah Zong and he nodded. He smiled like a blossoming flower at Sis Meizi. “Sorry to trouble all you, sisters. My mom is traumatized. Please prepare a room for her to get a good rest.” His sweet words and seductive smile made the women blush. They nodded repeatedly at him.
It wasn"t only Sis Meizi, the other boys also came over to help settle in the Honeycomb boys.
“I am going to help as well!” Williams left in a hurry. Everyone shook their heads at him.
“I am coming too!” Sis Cannon and Xiao Ying went as well. Khai, Sia and Joey stiffened, before they quickly followed.
Xue Gie was still staring at Pelos. Pelos blushed in embarra.s.sment while Bill looked really upset.
“You can stay next to my room,” Xue Gie said suddenly. Pelos" eyes opened wide, while Bill"s face grew grave.
The people surrounded the Honeycomb boys and left, but Ah Zong stayed. Zi Yi stayed with him as well. He continued to guard by Ah Zong"s side, looking at me with a complex expression.