NOVEL NEXT 20
Chapter 20: Why Don’t You Ask Yi Er to Be Your…
Early the next morning, Qi Yao showed up at the logistics mech department again. When Russell saw Qi Yao in the mech warehouse, he clearly hesitated for a moment. It wasn’t until Qi Yao politely greeted him that Russell, somewhat surprised and enthusiastic, regained his composure and smiled, “I thought you wouldn’t come.”
This statement seemed baseless to Qi Yao, who was momentarily puzzled before understanding Russell’s meaning. Russell probably thought he had only come yesterday to fool around.
Qi Yao let out an “ah” and nodded, saying, “Since Minister Russell has entrusted me with this task, I must fulfill it diligently. How could I come and go as I please?”
He added politely and sincerely, “Even if I don’t come, I will ask for leave from you in advance.”
This courteous and sincere response made Russell appreciate Qi Yao even more. The male lord of Yi Er was indeed different; even his work was so earnest. Those males who relied on females for everything should really learn from him.
“Where’s Locke? We agreed to continue our studies today, but I haven’t seen him. Did he take leave?” Qi Yao waited for Locke in the warehouse for an hour but still hadn’t seen him. He had to ask Russell now.
Russell replied, “Well, early this morning, I received a notification that Vice Admiral Ace needed a mech technician, and since he’s been free lately, I assigned him to Vice Admiral Ace’s task.”
Qi Yao felt regretful. He didn’t have any feelings towards Ace, but now that Locke was borrowed, without Locke around, he wouldn’t have a teacher to help him familiarize himself with mechs.
Relying solely on online video courses wouldn’t yield much result.
“How long will he be gone?” Qi Yao asked.
“It’s hard to say. It could be ten days, two weeks, or even two to three months.”
“…”
Forget it, let’s think of another way.
Russell noticed Qi Yao’s expression. “What’s wrong? Is there a problem?”
Qi Yao hesitated to speak, feeling embarrassed. “It’s not a big problem. It’s just… Minister Russell, could you arrange another mech teacher for me? I want to delve deeper into mech-related knowledge, but now that Locke isn’t here, I lack an excellent mech teacher to guide me.”
After witnessing Qi Yao’s seriousness and diligence yesterday, Russell wasn’t surprised by Qi Yao’s request for another teacher.
“Why don’t you ask General Yi Er to be your teacher?”
“Yi Er?”
Yi Er could indeed do it, but he must be very busy. Last night, after Qi Yao asked Yi Er to find some courses for him, Qi Yao found the courses Yi Er selected quite simple and easy to understand. He wanted to try them out practically with a mech, but he didn’t have permission to use any mech. Also, whether intentionally or unintentionally, Russell didn’t seem to realize this at all.
“Are you afraid of troubling General Yi Er?”
“That’s not it.”
Russell narrowed his eyes and said in a high voice, “Then what are you hesitating for? Maybe General Yi Er is actually looking forward to you troubling him.”
Qi Yao ultimately didn’t listen to Russell and trouble Yi Er. As the commander of the Second Military Region, Yi Er should have many things to do, and Qi Yao didn’t want to disturb him. However, as he thought so, Russell didn’t quite agree with that.
Half an hour later, Qi Yao received a terminal invitation from Yi Er: “Russell said you’ve encountered some difficulties?”
“You’re quite well-informed.” Qi Yao muttered to himself. Russell, the big mouth, had already told Yi Er so quickly. Qi Yao replied honestly, “I’ve encountered a not-so-difficult difficulty.”
Yi Er chuckled on the other end, “What kind of difficulty isn’t considered difficult?”
Qi Yao smiled wryly and followed, “My teacher ran away.”
Yi Er, unusually in a joking mood, teased, “Is it because you’re too difficult to teach?”
“It’s also possible that your fans don’t want to see me.”
“In that case, that fan is out of luck, losing such an excellent student like you.”
“Haha.” Qi Yao was delighted by the praise. “Who wouldn’t agree?”
After exchanging a few jokes, Yi Er had to attend to some serious matters, so he brought the conversation back on track, saying, “Russell brought me a new mech yesterday, and I haven’t had a chance to test it out yet. If you don’t mind, after I finish up, would you like to come and play with me?”
“Can I?” Qi Yao’s eyes sparkled with anticipation.
Yi Er replied, “As long as you have time, Lord Yao.”
“Of course!”
“Then wait for me to come find you.”
Since last night, Yi Er’s attitude towards him had noticeably changed. He was no longer as distant even in intimacy as before. Upon ending the call, Qi Yao summoned the system and asked it. Sure enough, his favorability had increased by two points since last night while he slept. It seemed he had to be a bit forceful with Yi Er after all. His single arrow didn’t feel so lonely anymore. Qi Yao felt delighted.
***
Yi Er finished his work in the afternoon, nearing the end of the workday. People from the mech department had already left one by one, and Yi Er arrived late.
Qi Yao wasn’t impatiently waiting. He had been taken care of by Russell, with food and drink provided, and even in just one day, he had managed to finish most of the online courses. He was idle compared to Yi Er, who seemed particularly busy.
“Am I making you work overtime?” Qi Yao asked as they walked out of the logistics mech department.
Yi Er tilted his head, smiling, “How could being with Lord Yao be considered overtime?”
These words seemed to have a magical charm as they entered Qi Yao’s ears, making his ears suddenly feel warm.
Yi Er noticed, “Why are your ears red?”
Qi Yao suspected Yi Er was asking knowingly and grumbled to him with a fierce look, “You’re too sharp.”
The place Yi Er was taking Qi Yao wasn’t far from the logistics mech department. If Qi Yao were to stand in the office Russell had prepared for him and look outside, he would see that they were heading towards the grey military building, in the direction of Yi Er’s office.
From afar, in the open space in front of the building, stood a majestic black and red mech towering under the azure sky.
This mech was as tall as four people, with sleek and sharp lines emanating a domineering aura. The sparkling, simulated metal bone wings lay quietly on both sides, and the black, integrated cockpit glass resembled giant compound eyes, arrogantly awaiting its master’s awakening.
Qi Yao had seen various types of mechs over the past two days, but none were like the one before him. Just standing beneath it made him feel small and powerless.
Yi Er invited Qi Yao, “Would you like to come in and take a look with me?”
Qi Yao rubbed his hands excitedly and asked, “Can I?”
“Why wouldn’t you be able to? I invited you to let you experience it up close,” Yi Er replied, then opened the cockpit door.
Yi Er didn’t rush to sit inside but stepped in with one foot, then turned around, holding onto the stabilizing handle inside. He leaned slightly outward, and his other hand reached out towards Qi Yao.
With half of his body leaning towards Qi Yao, bathed in the warm sunlight, his outstretched hand formed a sharp contrast with the black mech.
Qi Yao was reminded of the scene when he first met Yi Er, and for a moment, he felt a bit dazed.
Seeing Qi Yao hesitating, Yi Er gently lifted the sunlit hand, “Don’t you need help?”
“Of course I do.” Qi Yao snapped out of his thoughts, raised his face, and with a sweet smile, like grasping the sunlight in his palm, he held Yi Er’s hand. Then, with a firm pull from Yi Er, he was pulled into the cockpit.
Upon entering, Qi Yao was stunned.
The mech he had sat in with Locke in the warehouse yesterday was a dual-operator mech, but this mech in front of him now had only one control panel, indicating it was a single-operator mech.
“This…”
There’s only one seat, so who’s going to stand and who’s going to sit?
The heavy blast-proof door of the mech was closed tightly with a click by Yi Er, cutting off all external sounds.
“You sit.” Yi Er nodded towards the only seat.
“But… I don’t know how to operate it. Wouldn’t it be better for me not to sit?” Qi Yao hesitated.
Yi Er didn’t rush him, just calmly walked behind the seat, patting the brand-new chair, and said casually, “Mechs are all more or less the same. You watched the courses yesterday, so now it’s time to test your self-study results.”
Qi Yao: “…”
It sounded simple, but what if he broke something?
Ignoring Qi Yao’s hesitation and worries, Yi Er decisively put on protective headgear and an audiovisual receiver for Qi Yao.
With two beeps, the infrared imaging appeared on the audiovisual receiver.
Yi Er patted his shoulder, gently pressing him into the seat, and said, “Don’t worry, I’m here.”
Then he grabbed Qi Yao’s hand and pressed the mech’s startup button.
With a low roar, various instruments and equipment in the cockpit instantly lit up with a faint blue light. Qi Yao subconsciously looked into Yi Er’s eyes, which were the same color.
Yi Er kept his eyes straight ahead. “When controlling a mech, you need to focus on the front, fully entrusting yourself to the mech, and merging with it.”
He lowered his head, looking at Qi Yao. “So, Lord Yao, focus.”
Qi Yao awkwardly withdrew his gaze and followed Yi Er’s instructions, focusing on the front.
The mech slowly started moving.
Qi Yao sat calmly in the seat, not panicking at all.
It was a novel, exciting, and realistic experience.
“Am I the first zerg to operate this mech?” Qi Yao felt a bit proud.
Yi Er continued to hold Qi Yao’s hand, carefully controlling the speed of the mech’s movement, while also seriously considering whether Qi Yao could be considered the first to control this mech in a strict sense.
“I guess so,” Yi Er answered.
Qi Yao asked, “Then you’ll be the second. In the future, you’ll also pilot this mech and face the enemy, right?”
“Yeah.”
In the small cockpit, the gentle breathing of the two zergs blended into the sound of the operating console’s beeping. Qi Yao suddenly remembered what Russell had said this morning.
“This morning, Minister Russell mentioned that if Locke was borrowed for a mission like Ais’s, would you also bring a mech mechanic?”
“Yeah.”
“Who would you usually bring?”
Yi Er thought seriously, “I’ve brought many, including the one you mentioned, Locke.”
Qi Yao felt a bit hopeful and asked tentatively, “So if I also became a mech mechanic, would you bring me too?”
Yi Er paused for a moment, allowing Qi Yao to face a question squarely, “You’re a male.”
Qi Yao wasn’t happy. “So what? Can’t males become military leaders? Are you discriminating based on gender?”
“No…”
“I’m not stupid. I can tell what you mean.”
This male zerg was indeed not easy to fool. Yi Er remained silent for a while before finding the words, “You should familiarize yourself with the mech first.”
Qi Yao had no intention of giving up. “Once I’m familiar with this mech, I don’t believe I can’t conquer a small mech!”
Yi Er carefully considered. If Qi Yao was indeed suitable material for a mech mechanic, there was also the possibility of bringing him to the battlefield. Qi Yao didn’t give Yi Er any chance to refuse. He gripped the control lever with determination, intending to remember every sound and sensation of this mech.
“In that case, I’ll familiarize myself with this mech. I don’t believe I can’t conquer a small mech!”