Cannon fodder in the Interstellar

“Speaking of Ruo Manni, I find it hard to describe,” Dean Atchison said. “Mom, you have no idea. I’ve never met a girl like her; it’s really hard to put into words.”

After more than two months of interaction, he had completely shattered his first impression of Ruo Manni. Initially, he thought she was a delicate yet strong girl.

But now, he felt that describing her as delicate was an injustice to the term; her appearance inherently carried a sense of fragility that made it hard for new acquaintances to see through her contradictions.

“Oh? How so?” Hua Defei’s eyes flickered slightly.

Dean Atchison didn’t notice the change in his mother’s expression and replied somewhat awkwardly, “If she hadn’t said she was a civilian from a third-class planet and an orphan, I would never have guessed that her background was so poor.”

“How did she introduce herself?” Hua Defei raised an eyebrow.

“She just said, ‘I’m a new student from a third-class fringe planet.’ Her tone was quite similar to how we introduce ourselves as being from the capital planet. Over these past few months, her demeanor has been consistent—neither too distant nor too familiar, just very composed. Not to mention, even when she’s with the Second Prince, she treats everyone like classmates, with no sense of anyone being special.”

“This girl is extraordinary… to have such a mindset at her age… her abilities must not be any worse than yours,” Captain Atchison remarked.

“She is indeed very capable. But what’s most important is that she’s incredibly bold; she speaks and acts with confidence. Mina-Olli holds a lot of pride in our circle, yet in front of her, she can’t show off at all. Sometimes, when Sheila tries to mock her, Ruo Manni can return the jibe without missing a beat, leaving Sheila speechless every time. Eventually, she didn’t dare to provoke her anymore.” Although Dean Atchison felt somewhat at a loss for words, he couldn’t deny that he admired that girl.

“Do you really like this girl?” Hua Defei asked with a smile.

As a boy who had spent a long time with his mother, Dean Atchison felt a chill run down his spine at her smile, as she had once warned him not to date until he was an adult.

“Mom, look at these two people. What do you think?” Dean Atchison quickly turned his attention to the holographic display and brought up the projections of two individuals.

Upon seeing the images on the screen, both Captain Atchison and Hua Defei were taken aback.

“Hua Deli and this girl have a six out of ten similarity, and this girl resembles Hua Deyu by three points and Lixi Amber by five. Who is she? I thought there were no girls in the Hua De family’s direct line of this generation?” Captain Atchison asked his wife.

“She’s that Ruo Manni. I asked Hua Deli privately, and he said that Ruo Manni has no relation to either the Hua De or Amber families; she is genuinely an orphan from a fringe planet. It’s amazing how two people with no blood relation can look so alike,” Dean Atchison remarked, truly astonished.

Hua Defei stared at the images for a while before asking her son, “What’s this girl’s name?”

“Ruo Manni!”

“Ru…” Hua Defei’s gaze drifted, as if she were trying to recall something.

“The empire is so vast that it’s not surprising to find similar-looking people; it doesn’t imply anything. Besides, they both have black hair and black eyes, which already gives them a natural similarity. A genius like her wouldn’t be left to wander without a family if she were from the Hua De or Amber bloodlines. You also bear some resemblance to her; I remember when you were at the advanced academy, you looked just like that when you were young…” Captain Atchison reminisced.

“Yeah, Mom, you and her do have some resemblance. If you two stood together, people who don’t know the situation might very well think you’re sisters,” Dean Atchison agreed with his father’s point and threw in a little compliment for his mother.

With the father and son praising her like this, Hua Defei’s smile grew even sweeter as she gently patted her son’s shoulder, saying, “You little flatterer.”

“Mom, it’s not that I’m trying to force you to do anything, but you know how it is; beyond that threshold, everything else is meaningless. I just hope you put all your effort into improving your cultivation and don’t let other matters distract you. The higher your strength, the better your chances of survival,” Hua Defei said, her tone turning sentimental as she stroked her son’s hair.

She could hide in the background, but her son couldn’t, especially since he was her child. When that day came, he would still be a relatively low-ranking officer, always on the brink of going to battle.

It was a heavy topic, and the atmosphere fell silent for a moment. Dean Atchison then casually said, “Mom, it’s true that being around strong people leads to greater progress. You wouldn’t believe how monstrous the Second Prince is; training with him always makes me unknowingly surpass my limits…”

“The changes in the Second Prince are remarkable; who would have thought he would evolve into such a formidable figure?” Hua Defei remarked with admiration.

“The First Prince has acted very graciously in this matter,” Captain Atchison praised. “At times like this, his actions resonate well with the people. Even the Amber family has been less active behind the scenes, which is beneficial for the First Prince’s reforms in the military.”

“But the Queen is still not giving up,” Hua Defei said with a hint of sarcasm in her eyes.

“The Second Prince’s attitude toward me is different now; he seems to genuinely want to get along with me. Even the way he talks about Cousin Xiahai has changed compared to before,” Dean Atchison added.

“Though I can’t be sure whether this change is genuine or if he has ulterior motives, the fact remains that the Second Prince has changed. If someone of his status can grow stronger, it’s undoubtedly a blessing for the empire,” Captain Atchison concluded, still believing it to be a good thing.

This was something even Hua Defei couldn’t deny.

When Hua Deli returned home, he did not receive the same kind of welcome as Dean Atchison. The only one there to greet him was the butler who had grown up with him; his parents were still not back. However, he had long been accustomed to this and felt no sense of loss.

Even when his father, Hua Deyu, returned that evening, he heard that his mother was busy with urgent matters at the military and wouldn’t be back for a few more days. Hua Deli didn’t feel surprised at all.

According to tradition, his mother usually had time to return only before his school started. His father and mother merely maintained a tenuous marriage; since he could remember, Lixi Amber had never been warm toward his father or him. The home often felt empty, with only him and his father, and he had grown used to it.

After the father and son had dinner together, they naturally moved to the study and began discussing Hua Deli’s special training over the past two months.

“Hebrew Adam has indeed made significant progress,” Hua Deyu asked.

“Yes, he really has the strength of a Level 5 Initial Warrior, which is much stronger than me,” Hua Deli did not hide his disappointment in front of his father.

For the first fifteen years of his life, he had always been praised as the most outstanding young genius among the elite circles of the capital star, while the Second Prince was the epitome of a playboy. But after the Second Prince disappeared for two years and then reappeared, Hua Deli no longer dared to call himself the best.