Li Shu whispered back to him, “How do you want to help?”
Li Luo was panicking. Although he didn’t know who this sudden person was, he had an inexplicable feeling that this man could really do what he said. At this critical moment, he didn’t dare to gamble on even the slightest chance.
“Brother, I have something to do, I’ll leave first.”
This man was obviously on Li Shu’s side. Li Luo was furious. First, there was Helian Zheng, and now another Alpha of unknown identity. His brother was truly impressive—he could attract one outstanding Alpha after another without doing anything.
If Helian Zheng hadn’t shown interest in Li Shu, why would he have taken such a risky move? Now, things had clearly spiraled out of his control, and he had to come up with a plan.
Back then, they had counted on Li Shu’s soft nature, so their plan was rough and simple. Now, it was too late for regrets.
No matter how much resentment he had in his heart, he didn’t show it on his face. Only the flicker in his eyes gave away his inner turmoil.
Li Luo fled in a hurry. Li Shu believed that this person wouldn’t show up in front of him again anytime soon.
“Can you contact Major General Helian Zheng?” Gu Lin asked calmly.
In just a few hours, he had learned everything that had happened between the Li brothers. It was only because Helian Zheng wasn’t on the Empire Star that this rough plan had been able to progress to this point. If Helian Zheng had returned even a little earlier, or if he had paid a little more attention to the Omega he had met a few times before, these lies would have been easily exposed.
“How is that possible? I lied to him,” Li Shu glanced at Gu Lin’s face, smiled, and asked, “I’m just a university student who hasn’t even graduated yet. How could I get Helian Zheng’s private number?”
Hearing this, the man’s expression eased a little. Although he had already found out from his investigation that Li Shu didn’t have much of a connection with Helian Zheng, hearing it from Li Shu himself was different.
His life should have been completely bleak, but because of this person’s presence, it had gained a ray of light.
“You can contact me in the future,” Gu Lin noted his private communication number on Li Shu’s light brain without leaving any room for argument. “You shouldn’t have had to endure so much injustice for so long.”
“You… trust me that much? Maybe I’m just like those people say,” Li Shu raised an eyebrow.
“I know you’re not. Even if you were, what does it matter?”
—Yes, no matter what you have become and no matter what you’ve gone through, I will always find you first and stand in front of you, shielding you from everything.
—I don’t care what others think of you, I know exactly what kind of person you are. Even without knowing the full truth, I am sure that what they said isn’t the reality. You would never do such things.
—No reasons are needed. I just believe in you.
When the adjutant arrived, he saw his own marshal seemingly “luring” a delicate Omega—the very same Omega he had just been gossiping about with his marshal.
With one glance from Gu Lin, the adjutant stopped in his tracks, quietly retreating behind to avoid being discovered. It was best to wait. He certainly didn’t want to face the consequences of ruining whatever the marshal was up to.
Driven by his natural Alpha possessiveness, Gu Lin subconsciously didn’t want other Alphas to approach the Omega he had chosen. He hadn’t even realized what he was doing.
After that day, Li Shu frequently “ran into” Gu Lin at school. Gu Lin’s excuse was that he was there on a secret mission, and Li Shu didn’t expose him. He pretended not to know Gu Lin’s true identity, to see what he was up to.
At their first meeting, Li Shu had already noticed that Gu Lin was the person he had been looking for. Judging by his appearance, Gu Lin didn’t seem to remember anything. He had subtly tested him several times, but the results were always the same.
News spread on the star network about the Chiyan Legion encountering migrating Zerg during their return trip. To make matters worse, after defeating the Zerg, they were attacked by a group of crazed space pirates. The last update from the star network reported that Marshal Gu had been injured in both battles.
Li Shu hadn’t seen Gu Lin for several days now, and after thinking back to the timing, he realized it matched the widely discussed event on the star network, and he couldn’t help but feel a bit worried.
Returning to the Empire Star ahead of schedule had already deviated from the original plot. Gu Lin was indeed the protagonist of this world, but more importantly, he was also a native of this world and was capable of getting hurt. Despite leading the Chiyan Legion to great success, Gu Lin’s true situation was far less secure than it appeared.
His very existence had already violated taboos of certain people, not to mention everything he had done over the years, each action striking at the core of the powerful people on Empire Star. There were too many people who wanted him gone.
The original plot had also mentioned this. During this period, Gu Lin faced no less than ten assassination attempts, though the news had been suppressed. Li Shu believed that those people wouldn’t abandon their assassination plans just because Gu Lin had returned early. His return trip would definitely be filled with danger.
Why did Gu Lin return early? Li Shu had initially thought that he might have regained some of his past memories. At the end of the last world, Gu Lin had already begun to recall many things. He had assumed that in this world…
Looking at the drifting clouds outside the window, Li Shu forced a smile. It seemed he had been overthinking things again. After all, Gu Lin’s situation was quite different from his own. What was he even expecting?
“Li Shu, do you want to check out the mecha competition in two days?”
The Mecha Combat Tournament was jointly organized by Empire Star University and other schools. As the name suggested, it was a large-scale mecha competition open to all students. This year’s competition was being held at Empire Star University, and it took place once every three years. Achieving a good result in the Mecha Combat Tournament could lead to direct recruitment offers from several major military legions.
It was a highly anticipated event for most Alphas, especially the students from the Mecha Academy. In addition to opening doors to the military, winning in the tournament came with substantial rewards.
Whether Alpha, Beta, or Omega, everyone was excited about the tournament. Even though the majority of participants were Alphas, it didn’t dampen anyone’s enthusiasm.
After all, this was a fight between mechas. Apart from the battlefield and holographic simulated environments, there weren’t many opportunities to see these giants in action.
Lu Yao had noticed that Li Shu had been asking about things related to mechas lately, so he deliberately asked.
“Of course I’m going,” Li Shu quickly pulled his thoughts back. Not only did he plan to watch, but he intended to participate.
The original owner had B-level mental strength and D-level physical fitness, making it impossible to pilot a mecha. But he was different. Aside from his strong mental strength, his physical fitness had also reached B-level. Mecha operation primarily relied on mental strength, and while he couldn’t guarantee anything else, his mental strength was more than enough.
Li Shu had learned about this competition while looking up information about mechas on the star network a while ago. However, the recent flood of news about the Chiyan Legion had distracted him. He was worried about Gu Lin, so he put the matter aside.
Gu Lin was now with the Chiyan Legion, several space stations away from the Empire Star. No matter how worried Li Shu was, there was no way for him to go and check on him.
He did have Gu Lin’s private number, and he had sent messages asking about the situation. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to video call, but every time he tried, the other side would either claim it was inconvenient to answer or, if he did answer, he wouldn’t turn on the camera. After a few attempts, Li Shu stuck to just sending messages.
As the competition approached, there was a noticeable change in the atmosphere at Empire Star University. The campus became livelier, with many students from other schools wearing different uniforms. The place was bustling with people. The only place that seemed to have changed little compared to usual was the Omega Academy.
Due to the special nature of the students, the inspections for entering and leaving the Omega Academy had become stricter during this period.
The day before the competition, the school gave a holiday, and more than half of the Omegas in the school left. Li Shu and Lu Yao stayed behind—one to participate in the competition, and the other to watch the mechas.
After spending some time together, Li Shu realized that his roommate really loved mechas. Later, Li Shu found out that Lu Yao was the grandson of the president of the Mecha Association. He had been exposed to mechas from a young age and had even built his own mecha when he was just a child. Later, he became the first Omega president of the Mecha Association.
Li Shu and Lu Yao entered the venue together. The competition had arranged viewing areas, and as students of Empire Star University, it was easier for them to get tickets than outsiders. Lu Yao had some connections and managed to get tickets with a great view for both of them.
“Xiao Yao, over here.”
Lu Yao and Li Shu walked over, and Lu Yao introduced the person, “This is Senior Bai Yueci. Senior, this is my roommate.”
Li Shu looked over. Bai Yueci was a refined-looking Alpha, wearing silver-rimmed glasses, with a gentle temperament, unlike other Alphas who exuded a strong sense of aggression.
Bai Yueci stood up. “So this is the roommate Xiao Yao has been talking about, the one who’s very interested in mechas. Perfect, I have some knowledge in that area. If you have any questions in the future, feel free to ask me.”
Li Shu: “Thank you, Senior. I won’t hold back then.”
Their seats had been arranged with the help of this senior. Bai Yueci was good at keeping the conversation going. He made sure not to leave anyone out, which made it easy and comfortable to talk to him.
Since everyone loved mechas, there was no worry about running out of topics. Knowing that Li Shu was interested in mechas, Lu Yao had already given him a lot of information about them, like the virtual mecha combat platform on the star network and places where you could buy small parts to assemble mecha models yourself.
When it came to mechas, both Bai Yueci and Lu Yao were walking encyclopedias. There was almost nothing they didn’t know. Even though Li Shu had crammed a lot of knowledge recently, his understanding still couldn’t compare to theirs. For the questions Li Shu didn’t fully understand, the two of them could easily provide the answers in a few words.
The competition hadn’t started yet, but the three were already chatting away. Along the way, Bai Yueci introduced the new type of mechas that would be used in the competition.
As soon as Gu Lin, who was under disguise, walked in, the first thing he saw was Li Shu happily chatting with an Alpha. He gritted his teeth, feeling a bit of bitterness in his mouth.
Sensing something, Li Shu turned around, meeting Gu Lin’s gaze head-on.
