Stress relief tool

It was Saturday, and the sky was heavy with dense clouds. A persistent, cold drizzle kept people tucked under their blankets. Even by noon, traffic on the aerial rails remained sparse.

However, this dismal weather couldn’t dampen the fervor of the Mecha World Cup.

At exactly eleven o’clock, a high-level aircraft discreetly glided into the VIP parking zone.

As a world-renowned mecha engineer, Uriel’s professional expertise in industrial design was undeniable. But compared to building mechas, his piloting skills were merely mediocre.

During the landing, Uriel deployed the landing gear a second too late, causing the aircraft to lunge forward twice before finally coming to a halt.

Feeling the violent vibration, Bai Ling woke up from his nap.

He opened his cold grey eyes, glanced at the alpha beside him, and gave Yu Chen a simple greeting: “I’m heading out.”

Yu Chen pulled a bag from beside his seat and handed it to him. “Combat suit.”

Bai Ling was slightly surprised. He thought to himself that this guy was actually quite meticulous—not only had he come to find him with a change of clothes, but he hadn’t forgotten to bring back his washed and dried second-hand combat suit.

He was just about to offer a few words of praise when he opened the bag. “This isn’t mine.”

“Considering my mood, I suggest you wear this one,” Yu Chen said nonchalantly.

Bai Ling curled his lip.

Using his age to act spoiled, huh? Trying to blackmail me by using his seniority, huh? Well, I’ll just…

“Fine,” Bai Ling said, tucking the bag away. The rising lilt at the end of his voice carried a hint of sarcasm. “Since I’m someone who respects the elderly and loves the young.”

“You think I’m old?” Yu Chen arched an eyebrow.

“I don’t mind. I like them mature and sensible.”

As soon as Bai Ling finished, Yu Chen softly snorted, clearly amused by the word “sensible.”

Speaking of age, however, Bai Ling couldn’t help but look him over again. With a face that looked twenty-eight or twenty-nine, he appeared quite young. Blessed by his merfolk bloodline, time had left no traces of aging on this body.

But the depth of experience settled in those eyes couldn’t lie.

The emerald sea was deep and bottomless; one look was enough to know this man had braved countless storms.

Yu Chen held Bai Ling’s slender, bird-like hand, rubbing it in his palm for a moment: “The combat suit is for you. Make do with it for now; in a couple of days, I’ll have one custom-made to fit your curves.”

He calls this ‘making do’?

Bai Ling expressionlessly pulled out the brand-new suit. The one the Captain had lent him before was a big-brand item of at least upper-mid quality. But compared to this top-tier gear, which was stitched with multiple high-end heat-dissipation materials, the Captain’s version was merely a “basic model.”

There’s clearly a massive gap between an old aristocrat’s definition of “making do” and the universal standard.

Closing the hatch, Bai Ling jumped off the aircraft. After a few steps, he habitually turned back to look. The merman, as if knowing he would turn around, had lowered the pitch-black tinted glass and turned his face toward the direction Bai Ling was leaving.

Even though he was blind, he still performed the formality of seeing him off.

Bai Ling awkwardly tugged his scarf up, covering half his face. He lowered his eyes and suddenly remembered how the last time he wore Yu Chen’s clothes to the exhibition center that group of alpha pilots seemed terrified of the merman’s pheromones.

Since today’s arena was also crowded, why not… add a bit of “magical attack” for himself?

Silently finding a excuse, Bai Ling turned and went back.

He lazily leaned his arm against the car window. His aura was cold and aloof, but his eyes were wild and languid, as he spoke like a rogue:

“Give me a kiss.”

Uriel, in the driver’s seat: “?”

Why did I suddenly get this terrifying feeling that my Imperial Uncle is getting hit on by a young bird?!

Yu Chen slowly curled his lips into the smile of a successful predator, and deliberately tapped the floor with his cane.

Uriel tactfully raised the cockpit partition, leaving them a private space.

Bai Ling never felt any shame about using an alpha to please himself. To save trouble, he simply leaned against the aircraft’s shell and sticked his head inside to kiss the alpha.

Unbeknownst to him, someone was walking this way. Seeing him clinging to the window, the passerby clicked his tongue. “How wild.”

Lu Xun was about to whistle to join the fun when he saw that dandelion-like white hair. He felt as if he had been struck by lightning, freezing on the spot.

Bai Ling, naturally, had no idea what was happening behind him.

He looked at Yu Chen and frowned. “My cold isn’t better yet. If I keep kissing you like this, will I give it to you?”

Yu Chen smiled reassuringly. “No. My species is quite hardy.”

A rotten merman wouldn’t be easily knocked down by a small cold.

Bai Ling felt better and lifted his chin in agreement. “Good. I like things that are durable.”

Suddenly, he felt a sorrowful gaze behind him. Bai Ling whipped his head around.

When he was facing Yu Chen, his grey eyes rippled like liquid mercury. But the moment he saw Lu Xun standing not far away, his eye color instantly froze and solidified, his pupils shrinking into a dangerous slit.

Bai Ling reflexively pressed the switch and rolled up the window. His movement was so fast that Lu Xun didn’t get a clear look at the person sitting inside.

“Hi,” Lu Xun greeted awkwardly. “Did someone bring you here…”

I knew it… a thorny cold beauty like the Little White Bird definitely wouldn’t lack pursuers… I just didn’t expect it to happen so fast!

Bai Ling walked over, intentionally or unintentionally blocking Lu Xun’s inquisitive view of the aircraft’s license plate. He gave a curt “mm” as an answer.

Lu Xun, being young and restless after all, hurriedly followed behind him and asked, “What’s their relationship with you?”

Bai Ling said without thinking, “A guardian.”

Guardian? Lu Xun felt slightly relieved. A guardian, it’s perfectly normal to cling to each other and say a few words of encouragement for the match before leaving.

Bai Ling decisively changed the subject: “Do you know where I can get a combat suit altered? I’m in a hurry; I need it within an hour.”

Lu Xun was successfully diverted and immediately patted his chest: “You’ve asked the right person. There’s a professional tailor in the arena service area with high efficiency. They can definitely finish it in an hour. It just so happens that the new combat suit I bought needs a small adjustment, too. I’ll take you there.”

 

After they left, the cockpit partition in the aircraft lowered again. Uriel asked respectfully:

“Are you returning to the palace now?”

Yu Chen leaned back into the depths of his chair and raised a hand to slowly pinch the bridge of his nose. “No need.”

Uriel understood. Bai Ling’s match schedule was three hours, and it would take an hour just to travel to and from the Imperial Palace Tower. It seems his Imperial Uncle intends to wait here until it’s over and take him back directly.

The desk table rose automatically, and the built-in optical computer projected a touchable virtual voice-broadcast screen. Yu Chen made full use of his time, handling the backlog of affairs from last night inside the aircraft.

Seeing this, Uriel couldn’t help but feel admiration and emotion.

His Imperial Uncle’s self-control was terrifyingly strong. If he were the Emperor, he could never be so diligent for over a hundred years, let alone continue to manage the state-owned enterprises that Kaide had sold off after retiring”

A machine that’s always running perfectly.

The perfect machine suddenly sneezed.

Uriel’s expression turned tense. “What’s wrong? Has ‘that’ worsened?”

Yu Chen elegantly took out a silk handkerchief and tilted his head. “I caught a cold.”

Uriel: “……”

What’s with that subtly boastful and smug tone?!

Uriel, the single dog, silently clutched his own little handkerchief.

---

 

Bai Ling felt that a combat suit was optional, but aside from the expensive price, there’s another reason—

To increase heat dissipation and facilitate the spinal connection to the Brain-Computer Interface (BCI), this thing was designed as a backless outfit!

When a pilot put it on, it looked tightly wrapped from the front. But once you walked past, there was a wildly exposed patch of skin on the back, with the opening reaching all the way down to the waist dimples. Whether one’s physique was good or not was clear at a glance.

Thus, there’s a saying in the mecha circle:

[If an alpha doesn’t work out, the mecha is a waste of space.]

Because of this sentence, countless alphas desperately competed to train their abs, back muscles, and shark fins. Some even stuffed cotton into their suits just to catch a female’s eye during the live broadcast.

The style Yu Chen picked for Bai Ling was classic, with a <img class="size-full wp-image-121285" src="https://chrysanthemumgarden.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/images.jpg" alt="" width="183" height="275" /> i remember a KDJ fanart with a backless shirt but i couldnt find it so have this one instead[/caption] <hr /> <p id='paragraph-79' data-paragraph-id='79' >" footnote="false"]teardrop-shaped cutout on the back. There were no excessive gaudy decorations; the main body was moon-white, accented with blue-black stripes distributed across the arms, ribs, and legs.

In the Empire’s waterfowl culture, these stripes symbolize a storm crossing the sea, making the entire suit look clean and sharp yet subtle.

Bai Ling tried it on and felt that compared to the Captain’s brownish-black one, this one does indeed suit him better.

But this color scheme…

Bai Ling narrowed his eyes at the mirror. Blue, white, and black—why did it look exactly like the bunny milk candy the milk truck gave out back then?

The stereotypical aesthetic of merfolk.

However, Yu Chen’s habit of constantly holding his waist hadn’t been for nothing. Although this wasn’t a custom-made piece, it had been bought exactly to his size.

The tailor came over to inspect it and only said that the underarms and waistline needed modification. The underarms would be widened for smoother arm movement, and the waistline narrowed to better fit Bai Ling’s measurements.

As the tailor measured, she couldn’t help but marvel.

This pilot’s back was smooth and full of resilience; his spinal groove flowing down from the back of the neck was the most beautiful and sexy curve she had ever seen.

Admiration aside, the tailor asked professionally, “Do you usually drive automatic or manual? Automatic operations don’t require much range of motion, so this modification will suffice. If it’s manual, I’ll need to add an elastic strap to your lower back to prevent the material from twisting during high-speed sharp turns.”

This was a mere formality.

Because even the tailors at the arena knew that 95% of the mecha circle now relied on BCI, using computer calculations to input data.

Only a few old pilots still insisted on manual control, relying on experience and accumulation to judge wind direction, speed, and corner angles. Some even memorized hundreds of pages of fault codes.

However, the latter had long been considered a symbol of being old-fashioned and out of touch, being completely dismissed by the entire mecha community.

Bai Ling replied, “I drive both.”

The tailor was slightly surprised. She looked up to confirm his age, under twenty, and nodded. “You can come pick it up in half an hour.”

Taking advantage of the time, Bai Ling and Lu Xun queued up for the mental strenght test.

Although they had already submitted a full set of medical reports, this pre-match mental test was a fixed tradition that could not be changed.

As for the reason, rumor had it that in a previous tournament, a contestant had taken illegal drugs to forcibly boost their mental power, attempting to use mental attacks to suppress their opponent’s mecha.

But midway through, the drugged contestant suddenly went insane and began firing indiscriminately at the entire audience, resulting in one death and several injuries.

To this day, victims were still suing the pharmaceutical company, accusing them of recklessly selling illegal drugs.

However, the pharmaceutical giant named “Core” was Big Pharma bully and steadfastly refused to pay compensation.

To avoid similar accidents, the tournament mandated that every contestant undergo a quick mental scan to ensure stability.

The people queuing in front were chatting:

“I heard this year we have contestants who specialize in mental attacks.”

“Holy crap? I hope I don’t run into them. My mental defense is terrible. I’m starting to pray.”

“I know how to do that. You can pray to the Electronic Buddha. Just contribute 50 bucks for the internet fee, and you can accumulate cyber-merit for ultimate enlightenment.”

Lu Xun had been in a daze, still deeply immersed in the image of Bai Ling in his combat suit. Turning his head now, he saw it was indeed the person who had been mysteriously worshipping the Electronic Buddha the other day.

Bai Ling also cast a surprised glance at that person.

Electronic Buddha… such a thing has appeared this early?

He clearly remembered that those “Mechanical Ascension” religious groups wouldn’t become a massive trend in the Empire for another ten years.

That’s not a good thing.

“Next, Bai Ling.”

Bai Ling stepped onto the scanning platform. With a beep, the scan results were instantly read. His mental value was right on the red line, a low-altitude pass.

But overall, it was 50% higher than during the same period in his previous life.

Bai Ling rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

Hmm… maybe I can use that old fish as a stress relief tool.

Unbeknownst to him, at the same time, the “fish” he was thinking of let out a violent sneeze.

---

Author’s Note:

Tsk tsk, Little Bird is really… so wild, hahaha!

Old Merman: I am a devil; I will eat you.

Little Bird: (Taps cigarette ash) A devil? Is it useful? How many times can I use it? Show me your warranty card.

Old Merman: (Silently pulls out his medical insurance card).