Chapter 45: Move Forward
<Previous Chapter<Table of Contents>Next Chapter>
Dong Du practically fled from Novisane’s room. It felt like hundreds of planes were roaring in his head, and he didn’t want to think, nor could he.
He didn’t even raise a hand to hit Novisane.
Raptor chased after him. “Master, did you bring back the flower basket?”
Flower basket? What flower basket?
Dong Du entered the elevator with a bewildered expression. His mind wasn’t clear, and he absentmindedly pressed the elevator button, mistakenly selecting the first floor. The elevator took him to the lobby on the first floor, and in a daze, he walked out, only to not find his room after turning a corner.
“Where’s my room?” He turned back and asked Raptor.
Raptor’s mechanical arm extended, and a detector popped out from its palm. “No heat detected, but Master, your heartbeat is too rapid. I suggest you control your emotions.”
“You’re the one with a rapid heartbeat!” Dong Du grumbled unhappily. He then raised one hand and pressed against his chest. His heart felt like it was about to burst out of his throat, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t calm himself down.
Belatedly realizing he had gone to the wrong floor, Dong Du re-entered the elevator. He carefully checked the buttons, pressing the one for the 24th floor quickly and accurately.
During the elevator’s ascent, Dong Du received a message from the high tower. Zhu Di and others were always in meetings, and they couldn’t inform everyone individually. So now, any important news was sent out collectively from the main control room.
The message was short, only two words: “Set sail.”
They were setting sail for the wandering ancient city tomorrow.
Originally, this wasn’t something to be happy about, but Dong Du sighed in relief. At least, he wouldn’t have to face Novisane separately now.
The military departure time was very early. Dong Du floated into the ship with closed eyes. His long bag was broken, and he could only carry Little Treasure on his shoulder. He swayed all the way, and many soldiers made way for him because of this threatening Little Treasure.
But he suddenly bumped into someone, his drooping eyelids lifted in shock, and he took a big step. Little Treasure, hanging on his shoulder, fell off with a clang, hitting Qi Lin’s foot, who happened to be passing by.
“Your Highness, don’t bully people like this!” Qi Lin, holding his toes, cried out in pain. “Can’t you carry your knife more steadily!”
“Oh, are you okay?” Dong Du turned around to support Qi Lin. He deliberately acted a bit stiff, holding the knife in one hand and supporting Qi Lin with the other. “It’s my fault for being careless. Let me take you to the medical room. Come on, be careful.”
Novisane, seeing Dong Du trying to escape like an ostrich, kindly grabbed Qi Lin’s other arm. “I’ll help you. He’s such a big guy; it might be inconvenient for you to support him.”
“No need.” Dong Du stated firmly. He handed Little Treasure to Novisane, held Qi Lin horizontally, and lifted him up. “You help me carry the blade. I’ll take him there.”
Qi Lin: ???
He curled up like a quail, and his hands involuntarily wrapped around Dong Du’s neck. He was really afraid of being thrown to death, but… an Omega so easily gave him a princess carry, was this reasonable?
Regardless of whether it was reasonable or not, Dong Du carried Qi Lin swiftly until they were out of Novisane’s sight. Only then did Dong Du breathe a sigh of relief and put Qi Lin down.
Dong Du twisted his neck, blowing air through his mouth as he walked away.
Gone???
Qi Lin curled up on the ground, hugging his feet, feeling like he was just a tool!
The ships departing from the Black Gold Fortress docked with the main ship hovering in space, connected by gangways. They were all going to the main ship together, and Novisane still held Dong Du’s blade. He thought Dong Du would come to him to take it, as Dong Du always kept the blade with him. However, throughout the entire journey, he never managed to catch Dong Du.
He handed the blade to Dong Du, who cleared his throat awkwardly and said, “Thanks.”
After a brief meeting on the main ship, Novisane was about to return to Yars’ main ship. As he left, Dong Du immediately breathed a sigh of relief. However, at the same time, he found it challenging to control his own behavior.
He sneaked near the gangway, even though he knew Novisane had already left. Still, he wanted to take a look. Carrying Little Treasure, he walked openly, yet a bit cautiously, with his neck slightly bent.
There was no one on the gangway. Dong Du stretched his neck to glance around, not quite understanding why he came. Strolling here wasn’t as good as going back to the living quarters for a nap, especially since they would land again tomorrow.
Before he could turn around, someone suddenly covered his eyes from behind. The person wrapped their arm around his waist. “Looking for someone?”
Dong Du felt his heart starting to race again. He tried to break free from Novisane’s embrace but was afraid of hurting Little Treasure. Caught between two dilemmas, he stood there like a wooden stake.
“Why haven’t you left yet?” He said fiercely.
Novisane chuckled, resting his chin on Dong Du’s head. Dong Du could hear the sound of Novisane’s teeth lightly biting on candy. Novisane said, “If I leave, wouldn’t I miss catching a certain little thing that followed me secretly?”
Dong Du retorted, “You’re the little thing. Your whole family is little things.”
Novisane let go of Dong Du. Dong Du stepped back to the wall, staring at him defensively, afraid he might do something inappropriate again.
“Don’t worry, I just wanted to talk to you. I won’t kiss you again.” Novisane surrendered, raising both hands. “Dong Du, be careful tomorrow.”
“I will.” Dong Du swallowed, “You be careful too.”
Their squad’s target tomorrow was the queen bug. The entire plan was not for their squad to land and head straight to the center in an obvious suicide mission. Tomorrow, the alliance forces of Yars and Clos would land first. They would launch an attack, disrupting the insect’s vision. Then, their squad would take advantage of the chaos and head straight for the central area.
Yars would also have a squad with a clear target like theirs, heading directly to the center. Having two squads with the same goal would significantly increase the chances of capturing the queen bug.
Novisane didn’t expect Dong Du to express this kind of concern. He gently ruffled Dong Du’s hair, “Once this war is over, I really want to tell Xi Yuan that I want to marry you.”
Dong Du’s face turned bright red, and he muttered in a low voice, “You’re dreaming. I’m not going to marry anyone. I’m going to marry a little bride.”
Novisane didn’t argue with him. He had to return to Yars’ main ship.
“I’m leaving.” He handed Dong Du the candies from his pocket. “I’ll ask you again when I come back.”
Dong Du turned his face away, but the corner of his eye was fixed on Novisane’s figure. He felt like he should go to sleep, but maybe because Little Treasure was too heavy, he found himself unable to move.
“Little Prince, what are you doing here?” Hanchester led two soldiers over and saw Dong Du standing here absent-mindedly. “Please put on your helmet; the gangway is about to retract.”
“Oh, okay.” Dong Du put on his helmet. “I’m going back to the living quarters.”
Hanchester nodded, “Have a good rest.”
Post-confession, Hanchester was no different from before. He didn’t cling to Dong Du or force him to respond. It seemed like he just wanted to express his feelings, with almost no expectation of Dong Du’s response. Because everything was normal in his interactions with Dong Du, their friendship remained the same.
In space, day and night were determined by time. There was a unified timer on the main ship, which could also serve as an alarm when necessary. Now, Dong Du was awakened by the unified timer.
He opened his eyes, quickly tidied himself up, and then took the tray to the cafeteria.
The cafeteria was unusually quiet today. All the soldiers were fully armed, eating in a hurry.
Busy, even Hanchester and others who usually would greet him only cast hurried glances.
Dong Du didn’t say anything either. He started eating as soon as he had his meal. Just as he put down his tray, the broadcast announced the assembly order. The first batch of soldiers launching the attack was about to land.
He couldn’t care less about his custom-made tray. The soldiers barely had time to tidy up their trays before hastily heading to the stern. The main ship’s spacious deck was chaotic, with fighter ships and soldiers packed together. There was no spare space on the deck.
Soldiers were organized into groups of six, boarding the same fighter ship for departure. Twenty fighter ships would take off simultaneously each time, continuously landing. Yars’ main ship, not far from Clos’s main ship, followed the same landing method. The objective was to land a large number of soldiers as quickly as possible to achieve numerical superiority.
Dong Du’s group was the last to depart from the deck. They blended in with the soldiers. Fighter ships took off, broke through the atmosphere, and the appearance of the wandering city came into view.
Almost everyone took a sharp intake of cool air at this moment. In less than fifteen days, the completely destroyed church had been rebuilt, and the number of bugs on the wandering city had visibly increased.
On this small piece of land, it was densely covered with bugs of all sizes. The nests made of mucus were also taller.
Bug exoskeletons were tough, and individual gunfire posed no threat to them. Soldiers had to gather together to shoot at one spot on a bug, but gathering together made the bug’s attacks more threatening. A single sweep of a scythe-like leg could knock down a bunch of soldiers.
As soon as Dong Du’s team landed, they started running. The surroundings were completely hazy, as if there was heavy smog. Every breath added a bit more dust to the mouth.
With a large number of soldiers covering them, their actions this time were much easier than the last, and they reached the inner layer almost effortlessly.
The closer to the center, the more bugs there were. Soldiers were covered in splattered bug blood; not a single one looked like their original selves. Soft things were trampled underfoot, making it easy to stumble.
Dong Du had seen the scene of “a million corpses, blood flowing like a river” during the apocalypse, but he never wanted to recall that scene and didn’t want to see it again.
“Dong Du.” He heard someone call his name amidst the roaring noise. Turning his head, he saw Chu Xuhuan. His face was covered in blood and ash, looking almost fierce. He said, “Don’t lower your head.”
Don’t lower your head, just keep charging forward.
<Previous Chapter<Table of Contents>Next Chapter>
