Chapter 437: Reunion II

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

In that moment, Ye Chong felt thunderstruck. He froze for while, but this momentary calmness was immediately broken by a surging warmth from deep down, that spread out to every inch of his skin.

"Mu … Shang …" Ye Chong still sounded calm, but everyone in the Captain's cabin noticed the unusually strong emotions in his voice. Captain Airi looked at the young man with disbelief. He never imagined that the apathetic young man could actually speak with such rich emotions.

The holographic screen was silent for half a minute, then a one-armed mech came into view. Even when missing an arm, the blue and white alternating lines on the mech were gorgeous and elegant.

"It's me!" Mu and Shang's electronic voice made it hard to discern the emotions behind it. His blue, bionic eyes flashed excitedly. Of course, a mech's emotions was a tricky subject.

"I finally found you!" Ye Chong breathed a long exhale in relief.

The reunion with Mu and Shang brightened his mood from thinking about the problems at planet Yi Ju. He, Mu and Shang were much more than just normal friends.

However, be it Mu, Shang or Ye Chong, they did not like to waste time reminiscing on the past. Ye Chong quickly described his current situation to the mech.

"Understood. We will meet up with you as soon as possible. Estimated time of arrival is 15 days later, with an error margin of seven days." Mu or Shang did not give Ye Chong any advice, only briefly stating his time of arrival. Even so, Ye Chong was overjoyed. After being separated with the mech for so long, he had truly missed them.

Rui Bing stared at the one-armed mech on the holographic screen, and thought it looked familiar.

Mu suddenly spoke up, "Oh, Shang has asked to speak to you. It's not his time to surface yet, but given the circ.u.mstances, I have agreed to his request!"

In the next moment, the mech's voice changed abruptly. "Little Ye, hee, it's been too long! You're looking more and more handsome. Aha, so you've actually won over Bing Bing so quickly!" Shang's voice sounded just as naughty as he remembered.

Rui Bing's face instantly reddened.

Her blush made Shang even more excited. "Bing Bing, my dear, what stage are you at with our little Ye? How's it going so far? Err, I say, Bing Bing dear, you gotta be more proactive in some matters, our little Ye is just clueless all the time. Ah, you've gotten so huge, it's different from the numbers in my database, looks like it's time for an update. I gotta say, Bing Bing's maturing quite splendidly …"

Shang was just blabbering at Rui Bing with so much excitement that Ye Chong was basically ignored.

Rui Bing was now blushing even more intensely.

Everyone in the Captain's cabin stared at the holographic screen in astonishment. They did not expect the mech's cold, mechanical att.i.tude to undergo a complete shift!

Listening to Shang's constant blabbering, Ye Chong did not feel impatient at all. Instead, he felt a warmness enveloping him. Yes, very warm indeed.

___________________________________________________

On Yi Ju, the Papatte Mech Squad had become the dominating force in the area. Ever since the Papatte Mech Squad arrived in Yi Ju, the pirates nearby all vanished without a trace. Unlike other mech squads, the Papatte Mech Squad had never welcomed visitors. Even when Yi Ju's Governing Officer, Torres had asked for a visit, they had firmly refused the man.

However, no one expressed any dissatisfaction in this matter, since the fact was that the Squad was just too powerful!

All their external affairs were handled by a man called Old Chief Guo.

All residents on Yi Ju knew that any mission given to the Papatte Mech Squad would be completed without a hitch. From the beginning, the Papatte Mech Squad had achieved an average success rate of 98 percent. Besides, it was rumored that the Papatte Mech Squad had strict discipline. Even locals in Terry City had never seen the mech pilots leave their base, much less interfere with local affairs.

The only thing that puzzled them was why a mid sized mech squad as strong as Papatte would choose to stay so far out in the universe. What's stranger was the fact that they only ever accepted missions in the vicinity. No matter how large the reward offered, they would always refuse missions far from Yi Ju.

Every once in awhile, there would be many resources shipped to the base. The large commercial fleets had given Terry City's economy a strong push.

The isolated mech squad was a mystery to all the local residents.

However, on this day, things changed!

The door that led to the Papatte Mech Squad's base had opened without warning. Countless odd looking mechs flew out to the skies. The peaceful base was suddenly filled with activity.

All the areas around Yi Ju came under control of the mech squad. All starships and mechs were ordered to stay aground. In one day, Yi Ju was plunged into a state of emergency.

Torres had been sweating nervously since 8 o'clock that morning. The cool autumn weather suddenly felt annoyingly hot. He was already drenched in sweat all over. Sweat beads covered his fair, chubby face. His tiny eyes were filled with terror and panic.

"What are they doing?" Torres gritted his teeth. When he first heard of the odd movements of the Papatte Mech Squad, he had immediately flew on his own starship to Terry City. After all, while the Papatte Mech Squad had remained low key during they stay, their dominance in the area was already established among the locals on Yi Ju.

The presence of a towering force in his area of governance was a huge problem for him. However, there was nothing he could do about it. Planet Yi Ju was secluded and economically backwards, with a low population. As a Governing Officer chosen by his people, Torres did not have much military power at his disposal. Besides, his job was mostly an empty t.i.tle, without much to do.

Unexpectedly, the arrival of Papatte Mech Squad had made his life easier. Since their arrival, the pirates that appeared occasionally in the area had all gone without a trace. Besides, the Papatte Mech Squad seemed to practice tight discipline. Their members had never created trouble, and even helped maintain peace in the neighborhood. He had always thought well of them.

However, he had received a report from his subordinate today that the Papatte Mech Squad was performing a large scale operation. This shook him very much, since the mech squad become grown to become a local power that could no longer be ignored. Their every move would affect planet Yi Ju greatly.

Even so, he was not too worried. No one understood Yi Ju better than him. This place had nothing to offer, and besides, the Papatte Mech Squad had a clean track record.

He had wanted to meet the person in charge of external affairs, Old Chief Guo, for a chat to understand the situation. However, halfway through his flight, he had encountered the mechs from Papatte Mech Squad, despite his holographic screen showing nothing around his ship.

He was ordered to land immediately!

"The Squad has taken control over the airs.p.a.ce around planet Yi Ju! All flight vessels please land immediately! All flight vessels please land immediately! In five minutes, all aerial targets will be attacked! The five minute countdown begins now!" The cold voice of a man came through the comms, his emotionless delivery convincing Torres that should he failed to land his ship in time, the other party would attack him without hesitation! Given his position, of course Torres was able to grasp the gravity of the situation.

"Sir! Our holographic scanning systems show no targets!" A crew member reported with a voice that betrayed his fear. Torres could almost hear the man's teeth clattering together.

"In three minutes!" The cold and flat voice came through the comms once again.

The crew member shuddered.

Torres gritted his teeth, and forced his next words out, "Land immediately!"

The crew member seemed relieved to hear that. He maneuvered the ship to land as soon as possible, almost wishing they could just teleport themselves there!

Torres and his ship landed safely. Torres had wanted to speak with the Papatte Mech Squad pilots, but the man had left in his flying vessel immediately after another warning.

"If you go airborne again, we will shoot to kill without further warning! Please value your lives and cooperate! Thank you!"

Torres watched as the mech turned smaller and smaller in sight, until it finally vanished in the sky. He looked grim as he gave the order, "Prepare our land transport, we must reached Terry City as soon as possible." Torres was no longer angry, but felt deeply troubled instead. What were they trying to do?

In just a short span of time, the entire airs.p.a.ce around planet Yi Ju was cleared of all but Papatte Mech Squad's mechs.

Papatte Mech Squad's unusual behavior had incited all kinds of rumors on Yi Ju. People were panicking. However, no one dared to step out and protest, since rumor had it that a starship was shot down for refusing their orders. Even though the Papatte Mech Squad had always maintained a low profile, the locals never doubted their strength.

Every resident of Yi Ju knew that something big must have happened. Or else, why would the low key Papatte Mech Squad suddenly behaved so aggressively?

What was going to happen next? Everyone waited with dread! Whatever large event that was about to occur, how would it affect the locals? Would their lives be changed forever?