Cow was never a good citizen who was law-abiding. Although the use of electricity was restricted in this shabby base, the private prison was well-constructed. The prison hiding deeply under the base was like a labyrinth, and it was equipped with double electromagnetic s.h.i.+elding layers. Once the layers of the doors shut down, even the tiniest mosquito or ant would not find a way out, not to mention Cow.

"Mr. Spencer, can you just 'be sick' for a couple of days? I will come here whenever I want you " Jingheng Lin confiscated Cow's and the guards' weapons and kicked them into the individual prisons one by one. Before leaving, Jingheng Lin gazed around this well-designed underground prison and waved at Cow, "This is such an exquisite place. What a pity if you just stay here for a few days."

Cow tried to break out into curses.

Jingheng Lin halted his steps: "By the way, I am not good-tempered, remember to pick your words carefully."

Cow didn't dare to enrage him. Hearing his words, Cow held his profanity back, the suppression choking his neck: "Just you wait!"

Afterwards, Jingheng Lin's taunt hadn't arrived yet, Cow himself felt the blush first. Such a line sounded like a p.u.s.s.y coward and made him look like a girl, the shame almost driving him to crying.

Zhanlu as a mechanical hand raised one of his fingers: "Sir, you have just violated the relevant clause of 'no abuse to the captives' from the Union military rules. According to my estimation, the area and the lighting condition of the prisons are not in accord with the Union standard, which is violating the prisoners' basic human rights, and you have also threatened the prisoners..."

"Well," Jingheng Lin replied mindlessly, "so are there anyone coming here to ask me for penalty?"

Zhanlu: "......"

"No penalty, no human rights." Jingheng Lin pressed down Zhanlu's mechanical little finger, "Don't record unnecessary data, who taught you that? Look at your little finger."

Deeper under the private prison laid the storage that Cow used to put his mechs, Jingheng Lin and Zhanlu took the elevator down— the three-core ma.s.sive mech was called 'Mech Three', its body could be one kilometer long. This type of mech was completely weeded out from the Union military since NSC 240.

"The last time I saw 'Mech Three', I was still in the BOC," said Jingheng Lin.

"The first year after you entered the school, you got a full mark on mech operation, however your scores for other subjects were not satisfactory." Zhanlu said, "General Xin Lu called the princ.i.p.al personally to ask him for withholding your scholars.h.i.+p that year, this is to prevent the unhealthy tendency of fostering academic bias, but the princ.i.p.al was doctrinal and he rejected the general in the grounds of the school rules."

Jingheng Lin did not know that: "What?"

He was only 14 when he entered the BOC as the youngest student there. His rebellions made lots of teachers complain to General Xin Lu. Then, he got impatient about the General's lectures so he made a bet with the General that if he could get the scholars.h.i.+p, General Xin Lu must shut his mouth for a summer holiday...being "silent" for two months would be a torture to the General.

Zhanlu tried to hold it back for his former master but the truth was getting obvious: "General Xin Lu really cared about your academic performance but not for winning the bet."

Jingheng Lin: "......"

Okay, then he was quite guileless.

Although Mech Three was too old now, it still was a ma.s.sive mech which would be very different with normal mech. Mech Beijing seemed like a plastic tiny beetle in front of this giant. Even activation of it would trigger a little earthquake. If it started to move underground, the block above would be devastated.

Fortunately, it couldn't move casually.

By the time Zhanlu's mental network covered in, Jingheng Lin found that the mech was damaged so badly that it was almost broken down, the only thing it could do was just warming up. This mech must have experienced some fatal accident and the mech was collected by a certain black market seller. Its sh.e.l.l was maintained well and was sold as a scarce item in the market to deceive those fools who did not know the truth —Cow still believed that it could not be started because the rubbish in the base didn't have enough mental power.

"It is the last set of three-core mech produced by the IU in NSC 170. After this set, the technology progressed a lot and entered into a super-s.p.a.ce ma.s.sive mech era, and then the old type stopped producing." Zhanlu's voice resounded in the storage. While speaking, the mechanical hand emitted a beam, s.h.i.+ning at the tail of the mech, "See, there is the production code."

"All the ma.s.sive mech has been recorded by the IU. Even if they are broken, the IU would reclaim them, so it should not be here," Jingheng Lin looked up at the large mech," Check your database for the code, find out what has happened to this mech."

"Sir, I can't find this code in my database, this is a mech which is not recorded since it came out of the factory."

Jingheng Lin frowned deeply.

Ma.s.sive mech was not like the normal one, it was one of the most important tools of the union therefore the control of the military was significantly strict, from producing to sc.r.a.pping, they counted them clearly like the stones in the stone tablets behind the IU congress. There was no chance that one mech would get lost for no reason.

What did it mean?

Jingheng Lin suddenly turned around, and then strode out.

Monoeye Hawk was waiting for him at the entrance of the private jail. He refused to go down in case he couldn't hold back to shoot Cow. There was already a pile of cigarette b.u.t.ts scattered around his feet. Right as he was breathing smoke out of his nostrils, he heard the sound of footsteps. Not turning around to see who it was, he asked, "What do you plan to do?"

"Count the number of supplies and arms, including this base and his two hidden warehouses in the back, check if this is operationally ready." Jingheng Lin answered, "Then I'm going to use the base's hardware to start up external communication and location, and a.s.semble the Ten Squadrons. Squadron Nine lost contact in the outskirts of the Eighth Galaxy, so they shouldn't be far from here. Also, there's a heavy 'Mech Three' below us. Its mech core is heavily damaged, which is perfect for us to install Zhanlu on it and then fix his energy consumption problem. The other parts need a mech expert for maintenance, I'm going to have Bixing Lu do it."

Monoeye Hawk let out an "oh". Quite unusually, he didn't argue with him. Following Jingheng Lin, he paused, and abruptly asked, "This coordinate is going to be exposed when you start up external communication."

"I know," Jingheng Lin said. "Once we finish counting the supplies, we'll follow the underground pa.s.sage and transfer everything to Spencer's two hidden warehouses first. Just right for us to use this base as bait, and let Squadron Nine draw first blood."

Monoeye Hawk asked, "I wasn't asking about the supplies--what about the people in this base?"

Jingheng Lin didn't even bother to turn around. "Why should I care?"

Staring at his back, Monoeye Hawk's expression was conflicted. "Five years away from the Union hasn't rubbed a bit of sympathy on you, hasn't it?"

Jingheng Lin scoffed. "Do you want Ares Von's head, or do you want to play 'Planet Monopoly' in this s.h.i.+thole with sympathy?"

Between their exchanges, they had arrived at the administrative building's entrance. Right at this moment, a torrent of cheers burst out not far from them. Everyone dashed towards a single direction. The unkempt housewives poked their heads out of the crowded residential buildings, and all the kids that were running around craned their necks--

To see that in the center of the base, the huge, towering 360 degree rotating screen had come to life again. A black transparent film appeared above the artificial atmosphere which cut off the suns.h.i.+ne and made it more clearly to see screams. The screams under the light shelter unfolded as a blooming flower, holding the stereo images.

It was the opening of an old film. As the lens moved, flowers were blooming one by one all over the hill. A beam of light shone into their fields of vision, and the speakers buried in every corner of the base played a low violin concerto. Old, and out of repair, some were already broken. Although some were barely functioning, their out of tune sounds, when mixed together, were almost like a reverberation from a distant s.p.a.ce.

At first, there was only silence. But then cheers sounded, pouring into the tiny square below the screens like it was New Year's.

The square had long since become the temporary resting place for the base's household waste. The smell was unbearable, and no one ever went there. But today, people started to clean out the trash on their own, the screams and whistles almost drowning out the movie's sound.

This isolated s.p.a.ce station had been here for fifty years. The people had only each other to rely on, living in fear every single day. They had never dared to expect any changes in their monotonous life.

An elder cried, because even though there were skysc.r.a.pers in the s.p.a.ce station, artificial blue skies, and realistic gravity, there were no mountains and valleys, no seasons s.h.i.+fting year after year. The beautiful scenery on planets were too far from them, so far that she had already forgotten what the smell of spring wind that had just brushed past wet mud was like.

Not far away, Bixing Lu was tossed up into the air by a group of people in rags.

"No no no! Keep the enthusiasm to a minimum, I can't take so much. Be civilized, civilized!" He declined them in a flurry of limbs, "That grandpa over there, don't get so hyped like them, get out of the way or I'm afraid I'm going to smash your bones! Isn't it just a screen? Don't get so excited yet, there's still a lot of work for us to do!"

Jingheng Lin frowned slightly, stopping in his tracks.

Bixing Lu weaved out of the crowd nimbly. He bounded onto a trash can, and then found a loudspeaker out of nowhere. It might be an Earth Era product as well, with two eras of dust on it. Bixing Lu leaned down and grabbed Rickhead. In Rickhead's innocent expression, Bixing Lu used his white s.h.i.+rt to wipe the thumb-sized loudspeaker clean, and paused the movie on the screen.

Bixing Lu could probably gather a cult in days -- a tiny garbage can with him standing on it was no less intimidating than Starry Sea Academy's auditorium.

"Hey," Bixing Lu shook his head, "The sound effects are terrible, how long have they been out of repair? Find the design sketches in a moment, we're going to dig them out and fix them one by one--Hi, everyone, I'm the teacher who was taken back by your boss Spencer from s.p.a.ce, and my side occupation is a mechanic. From merchant mech atmospheres to pipes, stoves and energy boards, you can all ask me for advice, except plasma energy towers above and the toilets in your houses."

The crowd burst into laughter.

Monoeye Hawk sighed, about to go through the crowd and call Bixing Lu back.

But Jingheng Lin didn't move. He leaned against the buoyant administration building, gazing at the young man making a speech on a trash can from afar.

"This is only the first step," Bixing Lu excitedly drew out his big plans for the base's residents, "The screens have been fixed, so next, we can also fix the surrounding speakers, since entertainment is life's biggest event. And when everyone can watch movies while they work, we're going to do another grand thing."

"What other grand thing?" Someone in the audience asked.

"First, we're going to dredge the base's energy system, and try to make everyone have electricity supply 24/7, and make sure that the Self-Defense Force can have a drill whenever they want," Bixing Lu said, "When the power supply can keep up, we're going to redesign all sorts of living facilities in the base, complete the ecological cycles, build a planet-grade anti-missile defense system..."

Even the Eighth Galaxy's capital, Cayley Planet, did not have an anti-missile defense system. The b.u.mpkins in the base were sh.e.l.l-shocked by this humongous daydream. Before Bixing Lu could even finish his words, the audience roared in laughter.

Someone yelled, "And then can we beat up the pirates, and conquer all the Eight Galaxies?"

"We're also going to set up our own Union government, and reach the height of our lives! Ha, then I'm going to set a law to make all the commoners outside bow before my feet, kiss my smelly feet and lick my soles, except the pretty girls of course."

"Come down now, youngster, I have a movie to watch."

"Can you fix the Self-Defense Force losers first?"

"He can't, he just said that he doesn't fix toilets."

"Hey, kid, how can you discriminate toilets, did your b.u.t.t agree?"

Unable to tolerate it anymore, Rickhead, using his height and broad frame, leaped up in the crowd, grabbed the loudest one and started punching him. At the same time, a Self-Defense Force member who was off duty was also in the crowd. They originally wanted to just watch a movie, but insulted for no reason and bristling with anger, they immediately joined the fight, tangled into a mess of limbs.

Unconcerned, Bixing Lu tore off the loudspeaker, already used to jeers from the audience. He sat down on the trash can, tinkered open the base's multimedia library, and picked an ancient bullfighting song. Background music for the brave fellows. He whistled along to the tune.

Someone next to him pa.s.sed over a cigarette, a crude and cheap one. Bixing Lu looked over to the side. The one that pa.s.sed him a cigarette was a young man. His facial features were soft, and he still had a strong youthful vibe. He couldn't be over twenty, but he already wore the Self-Defense Force uniform.

Bixing Lu took the cigarette gratefully. "Thanks. Do I address you as..."

"Sat.u.r.day."

"So your surname is Zhou*? You don't look like you have oriental heritage."

*In Chinese, Sat.u.r.day is p.r.o.nounced as Zhou Liu. That's why Bixing Lu mistook 'Zhou' as his surname.

"No, I'm an orphan without a surname. The day they found me was a Sat.u.r.day, so they all call me that." The young man shrugged. "In the Eighth Galaxy, your name isn't that important anyway.'

He had a full forehead, narrowed yet brooding eyes, and thin lips with slightly downward corners. His face looked pretty intelligent, but so intelligent that it seemed proud.

"Aren't you angry that they got into a fight?" Sat.u.r.day asked.

Bixing Lu sighed, "I'm also tormented by the trouble my charisma brings."

"Foreigner, you're actually a writer, aren't you?" Sat.u.r.day asked. "Is this your first time to the underground?"

Bixing Lu, holding his cigarette between pinched fingers, turned around to look at him.

"This base was originally an abandoned supply station. The government didn't want it anymore, that's why the smugglers were unafraid to bring it back as their own," Sat.u.r.day said, "The energy tower up in the sky was also brought back from the trash--have you ever seen a proper s.p.a.ce station with a fake sun? That energy tower was an experimental product that wasn't recycled in the Old Sidereal Era, and it drifted to the Eighth Galaxy. We patched it up into our own 'sun' because if we can't see sunlight, the old sc.u.m's going to commit ma.s.s suicide. Our base is made up of sc.r.a.ps. It's no different from a dog hole a homeless guy patches up with paper boxes at the side of a road. Maybe someday a huge wind will just blow them all apart. No one dares to say it, but no one's at peace in their head. Stop making jokes anymore."

"So your 'sky' and 'earth' were both scavenged?" Bixing Lu seemed astonished.

Sat.u.r.day laughed a self-deprecating snicker.

Then Bixing Lu exclaimed, "Then aren't you guys like the G.o.d of creation in myths? That's so dope."

Sat.u.r.day somehow couldn't find a retort to that.

Cackling, Bixing Lu patted his shoulder. Then he saw Monoeye Hawk shoving through the crowd with a stormy look on his face from afar, and he had to jump down from the trash can. "My dad's here, I think he's going to force me to go to lunch. I'll talk with you some other day. You're about the same age as my students', feel free to listen to my cla.s.ses when you have the time."

Monoeye Hawk waved at him, his expression stony. "Where are the little heavyweights in your luggage, are you going to leave them like that?"

"It's nothing," Bixing Lu said, "They're all experienced hooligans. They know how to get in fights without hurting themselves. Let them exercise. I'll take it as PE cla.s.s."

Monoeye Hawk, a laser gun holstered in his belt, had a ferocious look on his face. The brawling crowd automatically avoided him, quickly yielding a path.

His hands behind his back, Monoeye Hawk stayed silent for a while. "You already knew that Cow hid the pirates' news."

"Yes."

"When?"

"Our first encounter," Bixing Lu tossed the cigarette b.u.t.t into the trash can a few steps away, "His so called Self-Defense Force's level isn't much higher than my students'. I knew at a glance that they haven't even touched a mech before. The moment I heard you say that he ma.s.s purchased mechs, and asked for payment by installments, I knew it--but I thought that you were planning to rest here for a while, I didn't think that Lin would openly turn against them so soon."

Monoeye Hawk looked at him deeply. "So that's why you asked the students to stay outside?"

"Mint's whole family was on Planet Beijing, White's parents were already prepared to emigrate," Bixing Lu 's smile faded, "So were Vitas and Huang..."

"Were you afraid that they would get irrational and start a fight?"

"You were the one that started a fight, wasn't it?" Bixing Lu looked at him. "Dad, you're going to get the *three highs if you act like this."

*three highs: high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, and high blood sugar.

Monoeye Hawk slapped him on the back. "If it wasn't for your students leaving at the exact right time, you might never have been able to leave Planet Beijing."

Author's Note: "Planet Monopoly" was a simulation game in the NSE. Player could build their own "Brave New World" on barren planets.

Because it was boring and unpopular on the market, the company shut down. ╮(╯▽╰)╭