Chapter 20: A Weak Enemy...

The wind and snow are getting stronger and stronger.

Thirty minutes have passed.

Lu Yuan and the third team successfully left the storm circle. Almost the moment they walked out, cracks appeared on the windshields of two mechas.

Those chosen by the Marshal and Lan Heng to come to the Desolate Planet were all outstanding soldiers from the Alliance Army, carefully selected from thousands of elite, well-trained top talents. However, even their exceptional abilities struggled to cope with such a harsh environment, which was why the West Region had remained unmined for so many years.

Even if we take a step back and look at the worse situation, an officer with outstanding abilities like Lan Heng is used to the mechas that pursue lightness and speed, and the agile and cunning space pirates, rather than this harsh climate.

Therefore, when everyone saw Lu Yuan's mecha come out intact, they were all stunned.

Lu Yuan was able to escape unscathed... This is simply impossible!

Before today, there were still many young Alliance soldiers who were unaware of Lu Yuan's great achievements and fame at a young age, nor did they understand how terrifying Lu Yuan was as the master of the underground city. They were just dissatisfied with Lu Yuan, a mercenary from the lower city, and did not understand why His Majesty insisted on cooperating with him.

But at this moment, all objections became convictions.

Lu Yuan took a look at the condition of the mechas of several people and let out a breath.

Enigma's mind, which had just been overwhelmed by anger, gradually calmed down. He kneaded his temples to suppress the burst of pheromones.

It was indeed unrealistic to ask the Allied Forces to stay and rescue people. He had been away from the Allied Forces for too long and had forgotten the differences between the Allied Forces and mercenaries as well as their respective strengths and weaknesses. He only thought of the time when he and he were teenagers and rushed into the restricted area together without any regard for the consequences.

Crash——

The blizzard behind them was even bigger, covering up the path they had taken previously.

The team accelerated all the way towards the safe gathering point, crossing a rugged mountain road.

The southern part where Lu Yuan and others went was full of mountains and hills made up of ice cones and snow, with many caves formed. However, there was a risk of collapse everywhere, so even after the team left, they followed Lu Yuan's tracks very carefully.

Many people were still in shock. One of them was a buddy of Team 3. After leaving the storm, they confirmed their safety. He held the intercom in surprise and said, "Captain...! Captain Black Shadow has lost contact?!"

Lu Yuan didn't say anything.

"Captain... don't we really need to go and rescue them? I, we can try--"

"That's right! Captain Sombra failed because he was trying to save my brother. I can't just ignore it!"

"Don't try." Lu Yuan said coldly: "Go back to the meeting point."

"But……"

Everyone has been training with Black Shadow lately, and we've developed a bond. Before this operation, everyone also told each other to look after and support each other...

How could someone be abandoned?

At the same time, the group's mechas passed through the last hill and came to the plain, where they could vaguely see the warships at the assembly point.

Lan Heng is assisting the wounded, pilots with side effects, and damaged mechas to return to the battleship for treatment.

The windshields of most mechas were cracked, and the medical staff on the battleship were rushing to move oxygen cylinders.

"Don't risk your life in vain." Lu Yuan said, "I will take care of it myself."

To be honest, it has been a while since the black shadow had the accident. It would take him a whole hour to go there now. With such a long time... Even if he finds the person, it is likely to be dangerous.

but……

Lu Yuan made a quick decision and turned the mecha around, heading towards the storm.

"If you really want to help me, don't tell Lin Zhi about this."

He set a twenty-minute warning for the system.

He had completed his mission and now had twenty minutes to disobey military orders.

The rest depends on the shadow's own luck.

…

…

The black shadow woke up in a daze, and saw a windshield with all its vision and escape route blocked by heavy snow. There were also many ice spikes piercing into the mirror, making many holes in the windshield.

The system's repeated alarm sounds are still ringing in my ears.

[Warning! Warning! The windshield is 90% damaged! The cockpit oxygen is running low.]

The black shadow looked down at his legs. An ice spike had pierced through his right leg, and blood was slowly flowing out of the wound. The whole cabin was filled with a strong smell of blood.

The shadow remembered that he was swept into the depths of the valley by a blizzard, and the heavy snow buried him at the bottom.

The mecha was completely damaged. He should have put on a space suit and climbed out, which might have given him a chance of survival. But at this moment, he was covered in wounds and unable to move. He was also completely exhausted and even dizzy due to suffocation from lack of oxygen.

He didn't know how many times he had been unconscious and awake until he heard a different sound.

Wow...

Crash...

Um?

The black shadow's consciousness was already very weak at this moment, but this voice made him use all his strength to try to keep his eyelids open.

Is... is there anyone coming to save me?

Clang——

The snow on the windshield was peeled off by the big hands of the mecha, and light finally came into the dark cockpit. The dark shadow squinted his eyes to adapt, and saw a figure in a space suit coming towards him against the light in a halo of light.

Is it the boss? The only one who would come to save him is probably the boss...

But why did the boss become thinner?

Eh? Why is the boss golden?

…

…

After Lin Zhi found the black shadow, he saw that the person was already a little dazed due to excessive blood loss and hypothermia in the hypoxic chamber.

He frowned and looked at the dazed boy in front of him, wondering if he had frozen silly.

"Boss...you're here!"

Okay, it seems he is frozen silly.

Lin Zhi couldn't care less about all that right now, as every second counted. He finished his conversation with Lu Yuan and the others, and after learning about the situation, he immediately asked Lan Heng to lead the team back, while he rushed over as quickly as possible.

He, Lan Heng and others were much closer to the black shadow than Lu Yuan.

But even so, Lin Zhi still spent a lot of time searching for the missing black shadow in the valley. The blizzard also obstructed the vision, making the search even more difficult.

Fortunately, he managed to find Sombra before his oxygen ran out.

Lin Zhi first opened the medical kit in the mecha, used a bandage to stop the bleeding of Black Shadow, tied the wound tightly, and then cut off the excess ice cones. During this process, Black Shadow fainted from the pain.

It was not until Lin Zhi fitted Black Shadow with a flight suit and oxygen tank and took him back to his mecha that Black Shadow slowly woke up with sufficient oxygen.

The shadow leaned back in his chair and said weakly, "Boss, I almost thought I was going to send it..."

He turned his head slowly, and then...

"Your Majesty certainly doesn't take us seriously. Fortunately, the boss is here..."

“What the hell?!”

The black shadow, who was halfway to the gates of hell, was frightened by Lin Zhi and shuddered out loudly.

Your Majesty, Your Majesty? !

Lin Zhi crossed his arms and looked at the black shadow expressionlessly.

The black figure was so frightened that his face turned red and blue. He collapsed in his chair and stammered, "How...how did you...come to save me?"

The black shadow finally reacted. Yes, the distance between the boss and him was like poles apart. How could he possibly come?

Lin Zhi looked at the black shadow strangely.

What else?

The shadow swallowed, "Is it because the boss is so important that His Majesty will save his subordinates? Otherwise, if the boss leaves in anger, the project will be..."

"You're overthinking it." Lin Zhi said coldly, "First, I won't die without your boss. Second, your boss has a bad temper and doesn't think before he speaks, but he knows his limits. Even if you die, he'll still do his job well."

Lin Zhi thought to himself that at most he would just hate him even more.

But how could he think highly of Lu Yuan?

He and Lu Yuan had more than one conflict, and Lu Yuan's prejudice against him was not caused by one or two things in a day or two.

He didn't care at all.

Night blinked.

Why does Your Majesty sound like you know the boss so well?

Lin Zhi said in a cold voice: "I have no other intentions in saving you. No matter who is in danger today, I will consider their location and ability to save them."

And in this situation, he is the only one who still has the energy to save the black shadow.

There was no extra emotion in Lin Zhi's tone, and the black shadow was stunned. He wanted to say something when the system's voice sounded in the cockpit.

[Warning! Warning! The windshield is 48% damaged!]

Lin Zhi frowned.

The mecha has been in the blizzard for too long, and the process of searching for the shadow requires exploring over mountains and across rivers. No matter how good the technology is, the mecha cannot withstand this harsh environment.

“…?!” The black shadow’s eyes widened, “Your Majesty…!”

The shadow then realized that Lin Zhi's mecha was the same as his. The engine was too cold to start, and the windshield was also...

Although it is only 48%, there are now two people in the cabin, so the oxygen consumption will be greater and it will soon be exhausted.

The shadow felt a little guilty. "How about... you take the oxygen tank and leave first? It's better than being trapped here..."

He thought he was saved...but he didn't expect that Dora would be buried alone.

The black shadow had regained some of his spirit after returning to the cockpit, but Lin Zhi's cockpit was not airtight, and now as he stayed there for a while, his consciousness began to fade again.

The young man curled up in the chair and murmured softly, "Your Majesty, please don't send anyone over... I, I'm fine, I just need a little sleep..."

Lin Zhi raised his eyebrows slightly.

He didn't leave or do anything, but just looked at the shadow and asked, "When did you start following Lu Yuan?"

"Uh-huh……?"

Lin Zhi: "Don't sleep, I have something to ask you."

"Follow, follow the boss?" The shadow suddenly grinned. "I've been following the boss since I was seven years old. The boss is the best person in the world!"

Lin Zhi's original intention was to ask casually, to prevent Black Shadow from falling asleep due to hypothermia and falling into danger, but it seemed to open Black Shadow's mouth. He began to talk in a weak voice, "My boss helped a lot of people in the dungeon, not just me."

"Although he's from the Upper City, he's different from those nobles there. He formed an army to... protect us, not to gain power. He also saved many people, both in the Upper City and the Lower City..."

Lin Zhi paused.

Saved someone?

His eyes dimmed slightly, as if he understood something.

"The boss is the best man. Even though the Upper City abandoned him, he still went to... secretly help the Alliance when they were fighting the pirates. My boss overturned the pirates' flagship with his own strength!"

Lin Zhi paused again.

Then the black shadow's words began to become disjointed, without any content or logic.

Lin Zhi listened patiently, occasionally replying with a few equally meaningless words.

Ten minutes passed.

The windshield was covered with a layer of fog, and wisps of cold air penetrated into the cockpit.

To be honest, it wasn't just the black shadow, Lin Zhi himself was starting to feel cold.

He was already in poor physical condition and the effects of the pheromones had not yet subsided. Now, after all this, he felt even more uncomfortable.

But Lin Zhi still didn't leave, not even a bit panicked.

Fifteen minutes passed.

The oxygen in the cockpit was exhausted, and the oxygen supply system had long been scrapped along with the mecha engine. Lin Zhi and Hei Ying, wearing aviation suits, started the spare oxygen cylinders.

When the black shadow occasionally regained consciousness, it would let Lin Zhi leave.

Lin Zhi still sat there calmly.

Twenty minutes passed.

The shadow was almost crying, "Your Majesty...are you really not leaving?"

If His Majesty died with him, would the boss just unify the alliance?

Did he also contribute and sacrifice his life for the boss's cause?

Twenty-five minutes passed.

The black shadow fainted completely, and when Lin Zhi himself began to see double, he heard a roar coming from afar.

It's the sound of a mecha.

He curled his lips slightly, with a look of expected understanding and a hint of pride in his eyes.

Lu Yuan finally arrived.

Although later than he expected.

This rescue operation originally required the two of them to relay the work. The mechas of the others were already in a semi-scrapped condition and needed to be returned to the battleship for repair. Even if the situation was still good, they would not be able to carry out the rescue.

Only he and Lu Yuan have sufficient control over the mecha.

If Lin Zhi hadn't come, Lu Yuan would definitely not have been able to make it; and if Lu Yuan hadn't come, Lin Zhi and the black shadow would have been trapped here.

No link can be missing.

But Lin Zhi didn't want to cause any more trouble, nor did he want to make the others worry and follow him, so he said nothing.

Anyway, he was so sure that he didn't even need to think about it - Lu Yuan would definitely disobey military orders.

There is no doubt that Lin Zhi knows more about Lu Yuan than Black Shadow.

…

…

"Bang!"

The cabin door was roughly pushed open by Lu Yuan, but Lu Yuan froze.

The black shadow huddled in the corner, trembling all over but obviously still breathing.

Lin Zhi leaned on the other side, his slender body hidden in the aviation suit. At this moment, he looked a little weak, with his blond hair sticking to his cheeks, making his lips look even whiter, but his face and nose were red from the cold, and his beautiful eyes seemed to be almost unable to open.

He clasped his hands together, pretending to keep them warm.

Lu Yuan stood there in a daze.