Auguste watched Haiâan twist his head and bury it in his arms. He knew that he didnât want Carl to see him cry. He turned his left hand over and gently covered Haiâanâs head.
âIâll take JianJian back first. Alia, see if you can detect life on the surface of that planet.â
âYes, sir.â Alia responded.
The Hammer Legion had not been able to penetrate the Mu 1892 meteorite belt for a while. Even if they succeeded in breaking away from the meteorite layer and did not advance their search army, they did not know anything about the flesh-pink planet. If they accidentally entered the gravitational circle, their fate would be predictable.
âMaybe I can help.â Lydney stood up. âMy previous major was also related to military equipment. If you need detectors, Iâm good at making them.â
âYes!â Carl rose alongside him. In his opinion, Lydney was good at everything, and Lydney had real talent and learning. Since he had been able to study the blockade wall in Titus before, his ability was absolutely good. It would be too wasteful for Lydney to stay a cook on the Vagrant.
Auguste nodded and asked Lydney and Alia to study how to prevent the probe from crashing directly onto the surface of the meat-pink planet. Last time, the mechanical fighters lost their images before they went near the surface of the meat-pink planet. They could only hear sounds, probably because the planet had a strong atmosphere on its surface. The mechanical fighters were pulled down by strong gravity; friction with the atmosphere during the landing and high temperatures had burned the image recording equipment.
The recording equipment was eventually damaged, and only by finding and improving the production materials of the recording equipment would a detector capable of transmitting images on the flesh-and-pink planet be able to be built. This would also help them quickly find out why the meat-pink planet had such a large gravitational pull.
âJamie, you go and get in touch with Tanamo and ask him if he has sold zirconium.â
âJust ask that?â Jamie did not believe that Augusteâs search for Tanamo was a simple concern for his old friends, this was unlike what Auguste would normally do.
âYou should contact him first. Be careful not to be spotted by the starfleet.â With that, Auguste pulled back his chair, stood up with Haiâan in his arms, and turned away.
âGeez, Iâve been with Auguste for so many years and I havenât even been treated like that.â Carl looked at Augusteâs distant back and took a sneaky glance at the side of Lydneyâs face. Carl would never admit that he was sad to see Auguste and JianJian together. It was too cruel for him. He and Lydney had not made any progress so far, and Auguste and Haiâan had already embraced each other.
It was true. But Lydney thought that Carlâs sentence was just random nonsense. He didnât care about it, but looked at him with a weird look.
Alia looked at Lydney, looked at Carl again, lifted her eyebrows and deliberately raised her voice, âOh, I see, letâs go.â
âGood!â Lydney promised cheerfully.
Carl, who was ignored: â...â
Lydney had been itching to go see the mechanical room on the Vagrant for a long time. He used to have access to some high-tech equipment at school and could secretly study military equipment. But since he graduated, he had no such âprivilegeâ and because of his special status as a pure human being, it was very difficult to find a job.
In fact, Lydney was very interested in the invention and research of armaments. After all, he was a weak pure human, but he was also a man, and his heart would inevitably be full of blood. He once hoped that, one day, he would be able to develop armaments that could be used by pure human beings and change their status in the empire. Even if they could not be equal to others, at least they would no longer be scorned by evolutionary human beings. But that was once upon a time.
Lydney grew up in the Port of Liberty, which, compared with other planets, was very lenient in its policy towards pure human beings. This made him think that the whole empire was so gentle and kind to pure human beings. But in his short time being enrolled in DiduXing, Lydney understood how big his dream was and how far away it really was.
It was not that no one had ever tried it, Dean had tried a hundred years ago, and others tried a hundred years later. But before Dean and after Dean, no pure human being was able to do it. Countless pure human beings paid with their lives for this cause, but more people died under the fist of evolutionary human beings. There was no law to protect the rights and interests of pure human beings in the entire empire. They died when they died. Their bodies were thrown into a corner of the city, gradually cooling in the cold night wind then swept away by cleaning robots after dawn.
No one would remember that their blood was once hot.
In the galaxies ruled by the Empire, only pure humans on Freeport under Keytonâs administration lived happily, which made Freeport a place that every pure human would like to live. But only in the beginning were pure humans who were born in Freeport were lucky. This was because pure humans on other planets may not be able to afford the price of a ticket to Freeport. They once stood alongside evolutionary humans thousands of years ago, but today they were the lowest animals.
Outside the window of the Vagrant, it was still dark. A strong storm from Pyramid was sweeping across the planet, blocking the stars from the universe. The ice and slag mixed in the wind smashed into the windows of Augusteâs room, making a slight impact sound, but not disturbing the quiet of the room.
The lights in Augusteâs room had changed into a warm yellow since Haiâan came in. Haiâan was still lying on Augusteâs chest. His hands were still holding on to Augusteâs shirt tightly and he had stopped crying, but his tears had soaked a small piece of the cloth. Haiâanâs face was red as he sniffed, looking at the wet place with a little embarrassment.
Haiâan raised his head and looked at Auguste. Auguste also noticed Haiâanâs sight and touched Haiâanâs hair tenderly. Augusteâs palms were large and warm, and Haiâan remembered that they could tear apart the thick shell of the tin truck without leaving a mark on his hands. But they were gentle when they embraced him, giving him the most appropriate comfort.
It was like he was Augusteâs most precious treasure. He feared breaking him but also feared containing him.
Auguste directly put Haiâan into the bathroom. Haiâan had cried for a long time and his hiccups were not yet gone. Without waiting for him to react, Auguste stripped him, and found a small basin for him to put hot water in. He threw some soap into it and made a pile of bubbles, letting Haiâan play in the foam. Moreover, Auguste was afraid that Haiâan could not swim, and that he would drown, so he also put a yellow duck in his arms to prevent Haiâan from sinking to the bottom of the water.
After doing all this, Auguste began to put water in the big bathtub. While waiting for the water to be full, he also took time to wash Haiâanâs dragon clothes and put them in the dryer to dry. After that, he took Haiâanâs clothes and walked out of the bathroom.
Haiâan was holding the little yellow duckâs neck in the basin, kicking the water beneath his feet and patting the bubbles with his hand. After finishing all this, Haiâan rubbed his face. He was no longer a child. How could he do such a stupid thing?
When Auguste came in again, he had his pajamas in his hands, and his whole body was naked. Only a bathroom towel around his waist. The strong pectoral muscles and eight abdominal muscles were all bare. The outline was clear and his figure was very long. Then travelling down was a smooth line of black hair and, starting at the edge of his crotch, was wrapped with a bath towel, which did not let the shape show.
Haiâan blushed even more. Even if he had seen a manâs naked body before, it was also a matter of bathing with friends when he was a child. Everyone was pale white and looked like everyone else. Augusteâs aggressive body gave him an inexplicable sense of oppression. It was the kind of nervousness that a rabbit had while being afraid of being eaten if it didnât run away from a large carnivorous tiger.
Haiâan hugged the little yellow duckâs neck and sank down, leaving only a pair of clear water-green eyes floating on the water.
Auguste also had a small towel in his hand, apparently prepared for Haiâan. He took a few steps forward, put the basin with Haiâan in the bathtub, and then, in front of Haiâan, released the towel tied to his waist without hiding.
Haiâan: â...â
He saw Auguste, but this was too shameful for the pure Haiâan. He did a foolish thing for a moment. Haiâan loosened his hands hanging around the duckâs neck and covered his eyes. As a result, he slid to the bottom of the water and swallowed several mouthfuls of water.
Auguste had untied the towel, straddled his long legs over the edge and went into the bath. He sat down and found Haiâan slipping into the water. He was struggling there. Auguste reached out to the basin and took Haiâan out of the water. He gently wiped the water from Haiâanâs face with his finger and put him on the back of the little yellow duck.
Haiâan learned a lesson. Once he touched the ducklingâs body, he hugged the ducklingâs neck and sat there. His legs were still tight and he was coughing with his mouth open. He was afraid that he would slip into the water again. When Haiâan calmed down and opened his eyes slowly, he saw that he was no longer in the small bathtub, but in the big bathtub with Auguste.
The bathtub was big for Auguste, but it was almost the size of a sea for Haiâan, now a little man. Having found out his situation, Haiâan wrapped his hands tighter around the ducklingâs neck.
As if Auguste hadnât seen Haiâanâs panic, he took another yellow duck and pressed the small yellow duckâs belly in front of him. The duck uttered a âquackâ very cooperatively.
Auguste also responded with a smile.
Haiâan: â...â
âAh!â Haiâan, lying on the back of the little yellow duck, had just cried. His body was small and soft, and his tear glands were well developed. Haiâan wanted to cry again when he was frightened, but he squeaked and belched.
Tears were forced back, but both eyes were still watery as they pitifully stared at Auguste.