Chapter 34

Wu Ying immediately thought of Asher's mention that Jiujiu had been taken away for modifications. She felt a twinge of doubt—could Asher really be this unreliable? If the modifications were spotted so easily, then the workmanship must not be very good.

She silently complained but kept a warm smile on her face. "I'm not really sure. I just brought it along for convenience. At home, it mainly does chores—it's very handy."

"I see. Actually..."

Luo Meng stepped forward, seemingly excited, and even tried to reach out and touch Jiujiu. Wu Ying's palms grew sweaty from nervousness. But the next second, someone hooked an arm around Luo Meng's neck from behind. "Hey, what are you doing? If you're going to hit on a girl, at least pick a better topic."

It was Li Ge, who had come over with Huo Lin.

He hadn't been there originally—he'd been standing near the stairs, chatting away—but he noticed that Luo Meng was acting like a reckless fool. Even from a distance, he could see the rejection and wariness in Wu Ying's eyes. Clearly, Luo Meng had said something that upset her.

Wu Ying was taken aback and glanced at Li Ge. Huo Lin followed behind, looking at Wu Ying with a puzzled expression. "What's wrong?"

Wu Ying shook her head. "Nothing. Luo Meng was just chatting with me."

Seeing that she wasn't saying anything, Li Ge dragged Luo Meng toward the room. The tall guy looked bewildered as he was pulled away, his eyes lingering on Wu Ying with reluctance.

Since they were in the living room, the commotion drew everyone's attention. Su Yi and Cynthia had already come over, looking at Wu Ying with concern. They'd been too far away to know what had happened.

"It's nothing. Luo Meng was just talking to me, and then Li Ge came and pulled him away. I'm not sure what that was about."

That was the truth. From Wu Ying's perspective, Li Ge had suddenly appeared and dragged Luo Meng off. She was fine—actually, she felt relieved.

Maybe she was being too tense, but Luo Meng's persistent questioning about Jiujiu felt off to her.

The living room was crowded.

They were all students, so it wasn't overly formal, but since they weren't familiar with each other, they stuck to their own groups and chatted in low voices. The senior students—the five of them—were more acquainted with each other and had plenty of field experience, so they spoke little, mostly keeping their heads down and playing with their Light Brains. Because Huo Lin and Li Ge knew each other, the two small groups had become somewhat friendly, even exchanging smiles and a few words.

The atmosphere was neither good nor bad—polite but distant.

There were too many people, and the air was heavy. Wu Ying felt the weight of the social environment: the coldness of interpersonal relationships was on full display despite everyone's efforts to mask it.

Su Yi stepped forward and took her hand. As the host of this event and a friend of Wu Ying, she was naturally concerned.

Now that the four of them were together, they managed to shift the topic and laugh, which eased the mood considerably.

Back in the room on the first floor, Li Ge leaned against the door, his face serious as he stared at Luo Meng.

He didn't know if Luo Meng had genuinely failed to see Wu Ying's wariness or was just pretending. The most important thing was why Luo Meng had approached her in the first place.

At the mention of this, Luo Meng's face flushed, and he scratched his head awkwardly. He hadn't done anything—just chatted a little.

"Just chatting? Didn't you see how the girl was looking at you like you were a criminal?"

Luo Meng was shocked. "What? Why?"

Li Ge rolled his eyes. A stranger randomly striking up a conversation and then asking sensitive questions—any fool could see that robot was special. Only he, in his naivety, would go ask about it. How could she not be suspicious?

A military robot that was brought out and flaunted around wasn't something you could just use as a conversation topic.

"Fine. Now that you know why, I'll explain it to Huo Lin."

Luo Meng grabbed Li Ge as he was about to leave. "Hey, how are you going to explain?"

Li Ge tilted his head, thought for a moment, and threw out a line: "Stupid, and too reckless to realize he's hitting on a married woman."

"I didn't!"

Luo Meng immediately jumped up, his face turning red down to his neck, and clung even harder to Li Ge. "You can't say that! What if others take it seriously?!"

He was just a bit curious. Wu Ying was different from any girl he'd ever met—fierce and strange. He just wanted to know how she was doing.

Luo Meng was so frantic that he might as well have wrapped his arms and legs around Li Ge, who was completely stuck in place.

The others, seeing the commotion, gathered around with curious faces. They'd thought it was just horseplay, but now it looked more interesting.

Several faces grinned at Luo Meng with mischief. He was overwhelmed. Forced by their pestering, he spilled a bunch of details before finally escaping.

Carter rubbed his chin thoughtfully and summarized, "So, you knew she was married, and you still had your eye on her."

"I didn't!"

Li Ge added, "And he won't even admit it."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Luo Meng, you're something. You don't make a move until you go all in—and you picked a real challenge."

Each teasing remark sent Luo Meng deeper into silence. He crouched in the circle like a mushroom, his hands still gripping Li Ge. "Don't talk nonsense, guys. This isn't a joke."

Carter and the others shrugged and exchanged smiles. They were just ribbing him anyway.

In the end, Luo Meng went to apologize to Wu Ying himself, with Li Ge and Huo Lin acting as intermediaries.

In front of Wu Ying, Luo Meng bowed a full ninety degrees, startling her. People shouldn't get too familiar too fast; Luo Meng had already shown signs of that before. His eagerness to strike up a conversation had come off as awkward.

Now, with Li Ge and Huo Lin watching, and since Luo Meng hadn't said anything too offensive, she naturally chose to forgive him.

However—cough cough—she'd already told Asher about this last night. He'd said he'd look into it when he got back. Well, it was too late to take that back now.

Wu Ying's gaze wavered, and she forced a polite, courteous smile. She could see Luo Meng's sincerity, which made it even more awkward. Last night, she'd been so confident, saying this guy was seriously suspicious, constantly staring at Jiujiu, and she suspected he was trying to pry into secrets.

She thought back to how she'd put it to Asher.

Last night, after saying goodnight to her friends, Wu Ying returned to her room and immediately called Asher.

Even though they'd reassured her, she still couldn't shake her unease.

Asher had said that many people were secretly watching the Fourth Military District, and even a single glance could risk data leaks.

Where there's risk, there should be a report.

Jiujiu stood nearby; it had already analyzed and assessed Luo Meng's movements and expressions. Based on the owner's memories, the two had only met once, but he seemed overly eager—his attitude was strange and his intentions unclear.

"What's wrong?"

Asher answered the video call. His tall figure was projected from the Light Brain. The background looked like it was on a warship.

After a long day of work, Asher received her call during his off time and, after some hesitation, didn't hang up.

Wu Ying sat up straight, her small face tense. Without wasting time, she recounted the whole Luo Meng situation. After she finished, she felt a lot lighter. Her back slumped slightly, and her restless foot came up to rest on the chair.

"That's it. Jiujiu also just analyzed that this guy is really strange."

Wu Ying had Jiujiu show Asher its analysis results. She hugged her foot, feeling anxious. How could she run into something like this right after arriving?

"Don't worry. I'll have someone keep an eye on him."

Through the projection, Asher saw Wu Ying's furrowed brow. She'd been so cheerful when she left, but now she was all deflated.

It was indeed strange that Luo Meng had focused on Jiujiu right away.

Asher knew Jiujiu's situation better than Wu Ying did. It was equipped with multiple systems—besides its built-in combat readiness system, they had recently added a mech auxiliary system. It was definitely qualified as a target for foreign intelligence.

Asher decided not to tell Wu Ying any of this. She wasn't good at hiding her thoughts, and knowing too much would only burden her.

He didn't press for more details but instead asked about other things. She hadn't sent him any messages along the way, so he figured she was still sulking and wouldn't talk to him if it hadn't been for the Luo Meng incident.

When the topic shifted, Wu Ying's attention moved on.

Feng-2 Star—just from the name, it was like Yun 8 Star, part of the "no-effort" series, named after the galaxy and its sequence. But unlike Yun 8 Star, Feng-2 Star's unique geography had earned it favor among many botanists and horticulturists.

The local government had capitalized on this, naming streets and districts after various plants, and the green belts were planted with matching flora. Some people were instantly drawn to the vegetation at the docking bay the moment they stepped off the ship.

With abundant rain and intense sunlight, the plants there grew tall. Apparently, there were even treehouses built after Blue Star history in some areas. If the practice team hadn't been so large, they would have liked to go check them out.

As she chatted about her journey, her mood gradually calmed.

Wu Ying looked at Asher in the projection. He was almost always like this when out—dressed in full military uniform, with the collar button tightened to the top. Fortunately, his neck was long enough that it didn't look too suffocating. The rigid collar matched his cold jawline, his expression impassive, and his deep eyes exuded boundless pressure.

He always wore gloves—white or black—made of some unknown material. They weren't bulky at all, adding to his mystique. When he raised his hand, his long, powerful fingers still carried an aura that could crack skulls.

From neck to fingertips, he had himself covered tightly.

Asher looked at her, seemingly wondering why she'd suddenly stopped talking. His phoenix eyes lifted slightly, his dark gaze fixed on her face. Even through the screen, Wu Ying felt a faint sense of oppression.

Her heart stirred. The intense gaze didn't frighten her, but it made her feel uneasy. Instinctively, she wanted to grab something. She looked around the room, and in the end, her fingers clutched at her skirt.

"What's wrong?"

Asher's cold voice came through the video. Wu Ying said gloomily, "I thought I was talking to myself, so I stopped to take a break."

She'd been talking so much, and he hadn't reacted at all. At least he could grunt to let her know to keep going.

In the projection, Wu Ying's pout was clearly visible. Asher paused in what he was doing, deciding to set aside his work for now—otherwise, the woman across from him was about to get angry.