C46 – Challenge

When Ji Canghai brought Xiao Yu back to his room, Xiao Yu was still reflecting on the battle. Although both battles were very short, they were enough for him to gain many insights.

 

 

“I realized that Yao Chengwang and Xue Qingping both have a lot of strength; are they the only ones with so much strength, or do people nowadays have extraordinary strength?” Xiao Yu asked.

 

 

Ji Canghai helped him find a good change of clothes and stroked his head in amusement. “Don’t think that humans in this era are much stronger than before; in fact, apart from the development of mental energy, many places are still not as good as in your era. Think about it: with all the high technology around us, how many people can restrain themselves and put their time and energy into exercising their bodies?”

 

 

He continued, “It is true that mecha warriors are respected and sought after by all interstellar humans, and there are many people who aspire to become mecha warriors, but how many people can truly become mecha warriors? Talent alone is enough to wipe out ninety-eight percent of the population. And for those who have enough mental strength, there are a large number of mecha warriors who only want to take shortcuts and neglect their training. Old Xue and Old Yao are considered to be the best of the best amongst today’s mecha warriors.”

 

 

Xiao Yu’s thoughts drifted off: “No wonder it was so hard to fight against them.”

 

 

Ji Canghai: “……”

 

 

You can call a one-hit k-ill a strain? He wondered how Yao Chengwang and Xue Qingping would feel if they heard this.

 

 

But in reality, Xiao Yu wasn’t being modest when he said this. Both Yao Chengwang and Xue Qingping had brought him a lot of pressure. When facing them, he could clearly feel the difference in strength between himself and his opponent.

 

 

This kind of strength had nothing to do with the outcome of the battle; he could tell from Yao Chengwang and Xue Qingping’s eyes that both of them were powerful mecha warriors who had been through countless battles and had honed their skills. If their sparring sessions were coupled with mechas, then he would stand no chance.

 

 

The fact that his tentative punch was easily blocked proved that his opponent’s strength was superior to his. His body’s physical abilities were not fully developed, and his endurance was naturally not as good as that of his two predecessors, who were in the prime of their lives. He could only rely on his skills to strike first, not giving his opponent any chance to counterattack.

 

 

He reflected deeply: “I shouldn’t have just wanted to win; I’m sorry, I failed you. You asked me to spar with them because you wanted me to get a close-up feel of how a mecha warrior fights, but I didn’t follow the original plan of circling around them for the sake of a momentary opening, because I didn’t want to embarrass you; I chose to fight a quick battle.”

 

 

What else could Ji Canghai do? With his boyfriend apologizing so sincerely, even if he had any more grievances, they would immediately subside.

 

 

Besides, he wasn’t angry with Xiao Yu at all, and even seeing his boyfriend fight so hard for him filled his heart with insatiable satisfaction.

 

 

He reached out and pressed down the corners of his mouth that couldn’t stop turning up. He couldn’t show too much complacency in front of Xiao Yu; otherwise, the benefits that should have been there would run away. “I don’t blame you; it’s a human’s instinct to chase after a victory, and it’s not as if you’ve gained nothing.”

 

 

“I gained something?” How come he didn’t know?

 

 

Xiao Yu looked at Ji Canghai in confusion. When he fought against Yao Chengwang and the others, the other party simply didn’t have the time to fight back, so what could he have gained?

 

Ji Canghai responded in an old-fashioned manner, “At least you know that when facing these senior mecha warriors, the best way is to not give them any chance to attack.”

 

 

Xiao Yu nodded slightly. “I have been taught.”

 

 

“There is one more thing that I have to remind you of.” Ji Canghai revealed a meaningful smile: “The opponents I picked for you, Yao Chengwang and Xue Qingping, are both notorious battle maniacs. After you defeat them today, they will definitely find every opportunity to challenge you. If you don’t accept, they will stalk you.”

 

 

Xiao Yu immediately felt that he had been set up by Ji Canghai. “Stalking?”

 

 

As one of the victims who had suffered greatly, Ji Canghai’s gaze towards Xiao Yu was laced with sympathy and gloating.

 

 

Sure enough, the next day, as soon as Xiao Yu and Ji Canghai opened the door, they saw the two men guarding the doorway, and they said in unison, “Please accept my challenge, Mr. Xiao.”

 

 

Xiao Yu carefully sized them up for a moment before saying to them, “I can agree to accept your challenge, but I have one condition.”

 

 

“What condition?”

 

 

“As you all know, I haven’t trained under Ji Canghai for long, and my foundation is very unsound. Therefore, I hope that you two can help me learn mecha control together and be my accompanying trainers, and then I will accept your challenge after I think I have learned something.”

 

 

Xiao Yu had long thought about it; if Yao Chengwang and Xue Qingping were really as stalkerish as Ji Canghai said, then he simply shouldn’t refuse. He wanted to become a mecha warrior anyway, so he might as well use the name of the challenge to learn from the outstanding mecha warriors.

 

 

It wasn’t that Ji Canghai taught him badly; Xiao Yu was very agreeable to the training plan Ji Canghai had made for him, but whenever he reached the duel training stage, Ji Canghai always held back for fear of hurting him, and along with that, the training in the actual combat sessions never kept up with the progress. This was also the reason why Ji Canghai decided to let Xiao Yu spar with his subordinates.

 

 

“It’s settled!” Yao Chengwang was overjoyed; he was afraid that Ji Canghai would get involved, but he didn’t expect that the chief’s wife would be so powerful that he would be able to make the decision himself.

 

 

Xue Qingping also agreed, “Then we will wait for you at the training ground, and we will do our best to be Mr. Xiao’s chaperone.”

 

 

Ji Canghai revealed a rare look of remorse.

 

 

Xiao Yu asked him, “What’s wrong?”

 

 

Ji Canghai sighed. “It feels like I lifted a stone and smashed my own foot.”

 

 

Regardless of how much Ji Canghai regretted it, he had completely lost the opportunity to take advantage of the accompanying training to gain benefits for himself.

 

 

After another three days, Xiao Yu was sweating at the training ground when he saw Liu Yilian hurriedly running to report to Ji Canghai, “Chief, an unidentified flying object has appeared not far away; please instruct us on what to do.”

 

 

Ji Canghai’s expression was solemn but he first turned to Xiao Yu, “Today’s training will be suspended for now; I have to take care of something.”

 

 

Xiao Yu nodded to express his understanding, and then he heard Ji Canghai continue, “Lieutenant Liu, immediately send a communication request to the UFO while sending scouts to probe the other party’s identity and send back image data in a timely manner.”

 

 

“Yes.” Liu Yilian got the order and immediately followed Ji Canghai’s instructions.

 

 

Xiao Yu wiped his sweat while asking Ji Canghai, “What is the UFO? Is it also a spaceship?”

 

 

Ji Canghai frowned slightly. “It’s hard to say; if it’s a spaceship, it’s fine; the other party will most likely accept the request for communication, and the two sides will still be able to negotiate. But if it’s not a spaceship, if it’s a meteorite or something else, then it’ll be a bit troublesome.”

 

 

Xiao Yu was also nervous. The shell of the spaceship could withstand a certain degree of impact; once it exceeded this limit, the ship would be damaged by the impacting object, and in serious cases, it might explode, so there was no room for sloppiness.

 

 

“You don’t have to worry either,” Ji Canghai comforted in a soft voice. “Before the spaceship sets sail, we all set the routes ahead of time while clearing out as many dangers as possible from the route. Things like meteorites, galaxies that are about to explode, and so on—all of these belong to extremely dangerous situations, and it’s impossible not to take them into consideration when setting the routes.”

 

 

Xiao Yu probably understood, “Are you saying that the other party is most likely a spaceship as well, or some other artifact that is being artificially manipulated?”

 

 

Ji Canghai nodded slightly. “Eight out of ten… nine.”

 

 

Just as the words fell, Liu Yilian’s video communication request came in, and Ji Canghai pressed answer.

 

 

The communicator projected the figure of the other party: “Chief, the communication request has been sent and no response has been received so far. Scout Du Ou has already sent back the image data, and the other party seems to be a Star Pirate as well.”

 

 

Also a star pirate, one that was strong.

 

 

Ji Canghai pondered for a moment and suddenly asked Xiao Yu, “Do you want to feel mecha w-arfare up close?”

 

 

Xiao Yu looked at him in confusion but saw him smile as he continued, “Let me take you to see what a real life-and-death battle is.”

 

 

---