Dating partner

Zhou Jiuya⁠‍‍‍‌​​⁠‍‌‌‌⁠​⁠⁠‍‍‍‍‍​⁠‍ had no idea how Huo Xianfeng managed it, but somehow, in the midst of fierce combat, he instantly replaced Jiang Ci in controlling Bai Ze. What’s more, his connection to the mecha seemed even more knit together than the original pilot’s. However, this was not the time to ponder such things.

After being thrown more than a hundred meters, Wan Jiang finally found an opportunity to stab its greatsword into the ground, stabilizing its stance. The sword gouged a massive crack, dozens of meters long, into the ground before Wan Jiang finally came to a halt.

Zhou Jiuya was still recovering from the shock of what had just happened. The overwhelming feeling Huo Xianfeng had given him was indescribable. Zhou Jiuya had lost fights before, but never had he encountered an opponent who could learn his move in an instant and immediately throw him away like that.

This terrifying learning ability was simply…

“—You’ve finally seen how dangerous this guy is, right?” The Forbidden Abyss’ voice suddenly sounded in Wan Jiang’s cockpit, with a tone of both regret and awe.

Zhou Jiuya was taken aback. “Forbidden Abyss, aren’t you…?”

“No problem. Separating a parenting system isn’t that difficult, though it’s a bit inconvenient since I have to stay there to transmit data,” Forbidden Abyss replied lazily. In truth, Forbidden Abyss’s personality was more like Huo Xianfeng than its actual owner, Huo Chao, because the core AI of a mecha typically initializes its personality based on the owner’s preferences. So Wan Jiang’s calm and steady nature mirrored Zhou Jiuya perfectly.

Jiang Ci had also initially configured Bai Ze with a similarly mature and stable personality, with a touch of gentleness like his father. Back on Earth, Bai Ze had a stable personality, like a gentle elder brother. But after encountering Huo Xianfeng, Bai Ze had experienced numerous breakdowns. Additionally, strange data packets from Xiao X were inadvertently synchronized with Bai Ze, leading to its recent erratic behavior.

As for the Forbidden Abyss, it seemed to reflect what Huo Chao had envisioned Huo Xianfeng to be like. But at the end of the day, a mecha is still a mecha, and it couldn’t perfectly mimic its owner. During its time with Huo Xianfeng, Forbidden Abyss had gradually taken on more of Huo Chao’s cautious nature.

When Huo Xianfeng started causing trouble, the Forbidden Abyss quickly connected to the temple’s external surveillance, watching quietly. After witnessing the Zerg King’s involvement, it couldn’t resist any longer and came over to chat with its “little brother,” Wan Jiang.

“Anyway, you should still be careful. Even though that guy won’t kill you, still… Never mind, it’s a good thing Huo Chao can’t see this. Otherwise, he’d probably cry.”

“Marshal Huo Chao?” Zhou Jiuya was stunned.

… Cry? 

Sorry, but Zhou Jiuya, the Legion Commander, couldn’t even imagine his idol crying.

“Yeah,” the Forbidden Abyss sighed. “Back when Huo Chao first started learning about mechas, he loved begging Huo Xianfeng for help. But the latter was ridiculously arrogant, so Huo Chao practically had to beg for days just to get a few pointers. And if Huo Xianfeng said ten things, seven or eight of them would be sarcastic.”

“But look at this now!” the Forbidden Abyss continued. “This is the difference an omega status makes! He specifically smashed this place, dragging you in as a sparring partner and personally giving hands-on lessons! Tsk, tsk, tsk!”

Zhou Jiuya: “…”

Even though the Forbidden Abyss made it clear that Huo Xianfeng treated Jiang Ci well, why did he feel so frustrated instead of comforted?

Meanwhile, on the other side, Huo Xianfeng didn’t rush to launch another attack. After all, the point of this sparring session wasn’t to beat Zhou Jiuya, it was a teaching exercise for his wife, with Zhou Jiuya as nothing more than a sparring partner.

In Bright City, if you needed a SS rank mecha with considerable strength and someone who could be a highly instructive sparring partner, Zhou Jiuya, the Legion Commander, was the ideal choice.

Most importantly, Huo Xianfeng could clearly tell that Jiang Ci’s combat style was heavily influenced by Zhou Jiuya. Using Zhou Jiuya as a model would help Jiang Ci quickly see his own flaws and facilitate rapid improvement through instruction.

From every angle, it was the perfect arrangement.

“Jiang Ci, did you get it from those last few moves?” Huo Xianfeng asked.

“…”

Actually, at first, when Huo Xianfeng’s mental energy had invaded his mind, Jiang Ci had blanked out, which caused him to miss the initial moments. But as he regained his focus, the fusion of their mental energies allowed Jiang Ci to clearly, and not just from an observer’s perspective, experience every detail of the combat through a strange state of shared perception.

It was only now that Jiang Ci fully understood Huo Xianfeng’s intentions. Although he had casually said something like “I’ll teach you how to beat your uncle,” the truth was that Huo Xianfeng had pulled Zhou Jiuya in as a sparring partner to tutor him.

“I get it now. But if it were me, in that moment, I would’ve just thought about activating the energy shield to block. I couldn’t have thought like you did,” Jiang Ci admitted.

He knew the gap between his abilities and Huo Xianfeng’s. When it came to objective matters, Jiang Ci didn’t shy away from acknowledging his limitations and did so with ease.

“That’s because Zhou Jiuya’s approach doesn’t suit you.”

Zhou Jiuya, the Legion Commander of the First Legion, had honed his combat experience and style over a hundred years on the battlefield, built upon life-and-death struggles and the bodies of his enemies. His style exuded the savage and bloody aura unique to alphas.

—Huo Xianfeng had wanted to say this for a long time.

“You look fierce when you fight, but that’s Zhou Jiuya’s style. It seems intimidating at first glance, but in reality, your foundation is unstable. You’ve always been imitating him, which is like forcing the growth of seedlings. When you encounter enemies of the same level or stronger, you’re easily crushed.”

Moreover, Jiang Ci was an omega, and his combat mindset naturally differed from that of an alpha.

Making an omega learn an alpha’s combat style was already a stretch. Fortunately, Jiang Ci was an S-rank omega with exceptional talent, and combined with the SS rank mecha Bai Ze, most opponents could still be overwhelmed.

But once you face a true powerhouse like Leinster or the centuries-old monsters of the Illusory God Church, in a real life-or-death battle, that won’t be enough.

Moreover, Zhou Jiuya has fought the Illusory God Church so many times that the enemy was already well-acquainted with his combat style. This was also why Jiang Ci often suffered when confronting members of the Illusory God Church.

“And besides, that guy uses a sword, a heavy one at that, while you use a spear. Your weapon logic has been different from the very beginning.” Huo Xianfeng recalled that when, back on Earth, he first saw someone use a spear as a sword and used it to slam enemies down, he had been shocked.

But Bai Ze was a SS rank mecha, and even a casual slash from it could overwhelm an ordinary A-rank mecha.

“…”

Jiang Ci was taken aback.

He had never thought about it from that perspective.

To everyone, Zhou Jiuya was the ultimate symbol of strength. Whether as his nephew or as a junior in the military, it was only natural for Jiang Ci to admire and want to imitate him.

On top of that, Jiang Ci had achieved many victories following Zhou Jiuya’s methods, which only strengthened his belief in them.

But Huo Xianfeng hadn’t always been strong either, nor was he naturally skilled at everything from the start.

The combat style of the Zergs is usually crude and straightforward, a pure display of violent aesthetics. They focus solely on power and speed, caring little for technique, much like the ferocity of wild beasts in a fight.

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But at that time, he was easily pressed to the ground by a seemingly frail human. That was the first time Huo Xianfeng truly understood the strength of humans.

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—After all, at that time, he was nothing more than a prisoner.

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That terrifying learning ability was something that left even Huo Chao deeply shaken and uneasy. This is why Huo Chao later frequently sought Huo Xianfeng for guidance, even when the problems were unrelated to combat. He eventually turned to Huo Xianfeng for advice on various matters.

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[You really are hopelessly stupid.]

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Huo Chao, was not only quick to grasp his friend’s hand, but would also enthusiastically rush forward to hug him tightly:

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At that moment, Huo Xianfeng casually pulled his silver spear from the ground,

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It’s much like how a top student, after being pestered with endless questions, can end up explaining things even better than the teacher.

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Wan Jiang stood up, pulling his greatsword from the ground. But in the next second, Bai Ze swiftly closed the distance.

Buzz——!

If it were Jiang Ci, this strike would have been a straightforward downward slash. But for Huo Xianfeng, he would feint, and then, just when the greatsword reacted, he would exploit the brief opening during the opponent’s attack or block.

Thrust——!

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This was its weakness.

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The precision of this spear thrust was so sharp that even with all his experience, Zhou Jiuya barely managed to dodge, looking slightly flustered in the process. Despite his fast movements, Huo Xianfeng’s tone was calm and steady as he instructed, “Bai Ze’s strengths are flexibility and mobility, so its speed will always be the fastest. Don’t try to compete with force.”

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As if on cue, Zhou Jiuya’s next move matched Huo Xianfeng’s prediction perfectly. Wan Jiang quickly adjusted his stance, twisted his wrist, and advanced with a heavy blow, pinning the silver spear firmly to the ground, rendering it immobile.

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Now, neither had a weapon.

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For the first time, Jiang Ci witnessed such an unusual teaching method and saw his seemingly invincible uncle getting beaten up so thoroughly. However, through their mental connection, Jiang Ci gradually started to follow Huo Xianfeng’s movements. Since he had always imitated Zhou Jiuya’s fighting style, viewing the fight from this opposite perspective allowed Jiang Ci to clearly see all the flaws in his previous approach.

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The onlookers were immediately puzzled.

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“Did they switch again??”

“Since when can they swap mecha pilots like this?”

“…”

However, this disadvantage was different from the beginning. Jiang Ci’s fighting style had started to shift, but he wasn’t yet used to the new approach, making him appear even more awkward and suppressed than before.

Yet, every time Zhou Jiuya felt he was about to win, Jiang Ci would suddenly pull off a surprising move.

Boom——!

Wan Jiang was caught off guard and flipped over.

The crowd erupted in astonishment!

Zhou Jiuya’s forehead twitched. There was no doubt—this had Huo Xianfeng’s fingerprints all over it.

Of course, after that single strike, Bai Ze reverted to its earlier unpolished, rigid movements, and Wan Jiang regained the upper hand—only to be knocked down again just when he was on the verge of victory.

Zhou Jiuya: “…”

This cycle repeated over and over.

Until the onlookers were numb, and Zhou Jiuya was also numb.

When the sun finally set, the strange teaching session came to an end when Jiang Ci managed to thrust his spear into Wan Jiang’s cockpit door. Even though the energy shield blocked the last hit, it still marked significant progress.

Zhou Jiuya immediately retracted his mecha and left. He felt like he had been mentally devastated the entire afternoon. Even when Huo Chao had beaten him down before, he hadn’t felt this humiliated. Meanwhile, Huo Xianfeng was thoroughly enjoying himself.

“How was it? Was it fun?”

Jiang Ci: “…”

—Fun.

And very, very exhilarating.

But after all, since he had just publicly beaten the head of the entire Legion, Jiang Ci chose to keep a low profile. Although his eyes sparkled with excitement, he only softly replied, “Mm.”

“Wanna grab something to eat?”

“Sure.”

Now that Jiang Ci thought about it, he was getting a bit hungry.

However, just as they exited their mechas, Jiang Ci’s peripheral vision suddenly swept over the row of dandelions staring at them upstairs.

“…!!!” 

At that moment, Jiang Ci suddenly remembered that his teachers were still waiting for him.

“No, wait!” He grabbed Huo Xianfeng’s wrist, paused for a few seconds, and then said, “Do you… want to come and say hello?”

“…Huh?”

And so, a few minutes later, Huo Xianfeng found himself being stared at by a group of elderly academicians.

Before his passing, Jiang Jinsheng had been the head of the Academy of Sciences, and since Jiang Ci inherited his father’s talent, he had been held in high regard from a young age. Even though Jiang Ci only spent a year in the academy’s youth program, calling him the “precious genius” of the Academy was not an exaggeration.

Jiang Ci’s growth had followed a clear path, one that seemed destined to mirror his father’s. If not for that kidnapping incident, Jiang Ci would probably be working at a research institute right now. After all, a 13-year-old who could independently modify an A-class mecha was certainly a prodigy. His decision to leave the youth program and instead join the military academy had been a huge blow to the Academy’s senior academicians.

“Xiao… Xiao Jiang…”

The one speaking was the deputy director, Zheng Songlin. Although he was addressing Jiang Ci, his eyes were glued to Huo Xianfeng with a dazed expression, unable to look away. Even his normally stern voice sounded somewhat shaky, “And this… this is…?”

Since the moment they had arrived in Bright City, the academicians had been distracted by the excitement of looting materials and the joy of seeing Jiang Ci again, relieved to discover he hadn’t completely given up on military tech research.

Also, Jiang Ci had taken precautions to avoid becoming a walking source of Alpha pheromones, changing clothes and applying a pheromone suppressant to cover Huo Xianfeng’s scent. As a result, the group of old academicians remained blissfully unaware that their precious prodigy had already been “claimed.”

Jiang Ci wasn’t quite sure how to explain the situation, but he had to introduce him to his teachers.

“Um, Professor Zheng, this is Huo Xianfeng… the highest-ranking commander of the Zerg.”

After all, calling him the “Zerg King ” sounded a bit too arrogant and dramatic, so Jiang Ci opted for a more modest title.

Huo Xianfeng glanced at him, arms crossed, and coolly asked, “Oh? Just a commander?”

Jiang Ci opened his mouth but couldn’t bring himself to say, “He’s the Alpha who’s fully marked me,” so he settled for a more tactful explanation:

“He’s also… the person I’m currently dating.”

“……”

The group of elderly academicians froze in place, and even the wrinkles on their faces seemed to smooth out.

Wh-what??? 

A Zerg?!! 

Did that mean their precious genius had been… eaten by a Zerg???

—Is that what he meant?!!!