Chapter 61 Meeting with “Netizens”

The innocent Mingyu and the innocent Cui Xiaoduo continued to eat noodles.

This noodle shop was indeed delicious. Mingyu finished half a bowl and couldn't help but imitate Cui Xiaoduo and add a braised egg. Before they left, they packed up three servings of noodles to take back for Mulian and the two observers, who were too lazy to leave the starship.

Mingyu, carrying a takeaway in one hand, turned around and waved to the old man who was watching over the shop, his son and granddaughter, and said with a smile, "It tasted great! We'll come back next time—"

"Bring more friends next time!" Cui Xiaoduo also turned around, his tone very satisfied.

This restaurant serves generous portions. Two servings of noodles were a bit too much, and I ended up not being able to finish any more. But because it was so delicious, I couldn't bear to throw it away, so I just forced myself to hold on. I couldn't help but burp while talking.

"Of course it tastes good," the old man said proudly as he picked at the two men's backs. "Back then, the Celtic King nearly had me transferred to the kitchen after eating this..."

Mingyu and Cui Xiaoduo didn't hear the old man's final words. They were already outside, following the lighted path back to the starport under the inky blackness of the universe.

There were noticeably more people on the street than when they'd arrived. The impact of the Kuroshio Tide still lingered, but those lucky enough to escape it continued to live their lives normally. Mingyu watched the passersby and couldn't help but think back to the old man's description of the Kuroshio's unusual energy activity, and the jacket with the bird-shaped medal pinned to it, draped over the back of his chair.

No one wants the Black Tide's energy to surge and the hellish scene like the Battle of Dawn to happen again.

Mingyu had seen it in a documentary before: a wave of black energy engulfing the city, the vanguard of the Kuroshio Star Beasts sweeping across it. Numerous starships crashed, and those humans who managed to evacuate were inevitably corroded from the inside out by the Kuroshio radiation, coughing up blood and rotting to death.

Even though Mingyu specifically turned off the holographic mode and only looked at the two-dimensional flat light screen, he still felt cold all over.

The Northern Star Region, once home to humanity, fell, and a vast swarm of black beasts flooded the starry sea. Within this black energy, new beasts emerged. The fleets of the Northern and Central Star Regions joined forces to desperately defend the human star region.

The only way to resist and reduce the energy of the black tide is to annihilate the king beast in the herd.

Although the combined fleet finally drew the star line at a heavy cost and blocked the black tide outside the star line, most of the northern star field had fallen, with heavy casualties, and was still recuperating. No one could enter the star sea that had been submerged by the black tide and kill the king beast.

To recruit new talent, the Star Navigation Competition is held every five years across all human star regions. Furthermore, numerous scientists are dedicated to the search for more accurate methods of monitoring the Kuroshio energy. Each star region has established monitoring posts along the star line and conducts regular patrols.

Despite this, relying on the current means of mankind, it is still impossible to know for sure whether a new king beast has been born, and whether the black tide energy will suddenly surge like last time and attack again.

The free star field that is not governed by any government is obviously a buffer zone reserved by the three major safe star fields for themselves.

Mingyu was heavy-hearted all the way, and he still felt depressed until the starship set sail again, crossed the uninhabited star sea, and entered the landing channel of the maze star.

Another thing that bothered him was that Mu Baixing hadn't replied to his messages in the past two days. Even though he had confirmed with Red Hair that their base hadn't been affected by the Kuroshio Tide, Mingyu grew increasingly worried.

Especially when Hongmao told him that Mu Baixing had not replied to any messages from them brothers in the past two days.

"Maybe we took some remote route and there's no signal along the way." Red Hair wasn't too worried. "We often can't receive star network messages when we sail, so we can only access nearby communication channels. Brother LU, you should be able to contact the boss when you reach Maze Planet!"

In the cab, Mulan was checking the star map.

A huge planet came into view through the front porthole.

It was a massive planet, a mixture of orange-red, black, and khaki. Nearly ten times larger than the capital planet of the Central Star Region, it made the starship seem dwarfed. As the starship slowed down to enter the atmosphere, Mingyu, clinging to the harness and looking out the window, saw the resource station hovering directly ahead. Unauthorized civilian starships were forbidden access and it was used exclusively for docking resources and materials shipped from the mining area.

Beneath the space station, a cluster of unassuming gray-black buildings nestled against the tan-yellow landscape. That was the only human settlement on Labyrinth Planet: Labyrinth City One.

Long, narrow starports stretched outward along the edge of the maze city. These harbors housed large starships, stretching over hundreds of miles in length. Once docked, everyone would take the high-speed horizontal elevators within the starports to the exit.

The mining ship that Mulan brought all the way from the capital star was sent into another closed parallel transmission shaft and will be directly transmitted to the docking station leading to the maze star at the star port.

Mingyu walked at the end of the team and called Mu Baixing again when he entered the elevator.

"I hope the call can be connected this time..." He couldn't help but mutter to himself.

After two steady beeps, the communication screen popped up. Mingyu's expression brightened, and the gloom on his face visibly faded. He called out, "Brother Mu!"

Mu Baixing's face appeared on the light screen.

He was in a bedroom.

The room was dimly lit and quiet, likely a room in an interstellar hotel. Mu Baixing sat on the edge of the bed, his head propped up by one hand, his brows slightly furrowed, as if he had just woken up.

"Mingyu?" His voice was a little hoarse. He pressed the button to open the automatic curtains, letting the sunlight outside the window fall on the bed.

"Did I bother you?" Mingyu apologized. He was so worried that he didn't realize Mu Baixing might be tired from the journey and was still resting after arriving at Maze Planet.

"No. I'm awake." The man relaxed his brows, and after being exposed to the light, he became much more awake. "I was just about to reply to your message."

He turned to look at the screen, and when he recognized the background behind Mingyu, he raised his eyebrows slightly, revealing a slightly surprised look, "You arrived faster than I thought."

He thought Mingyu would need at least another day to reach the Maze Star.

"I'll be there in half an hour." Mu Baixing put on his coat and said, "Wait for me in the Star Harbor Hall 2."

*

Hall No. 2 is the lounge closest to Mingyu.

There aren't many people coming and going here, but not too few either. Most of them are exploration team members who use their connections to enter the undeveloped areas of the Maze Star to try their luck and find resources.

Maze Star is a newly developed planet, so the starport building is very new, the hall is brightly lit, and there are patrol robots on duty.

After they got off the elevator, Cui Xiaoduo turned to look at Mingyu: "Will you wait with me, Brother Yu? After all, we're meeting an online friend."

Mingyu just took a look around and felt it was quite safe. He was about to say no when he suddenly froze.

He felt like he and Mu Boxing were already very familiar with each other. He had only been looking forward to and excited about meeting them. But… in that sense, they were indeed just “online friends.”

Not to mention that his understanding of Mu Boxing came entirely from his own narrative. Even so, he only knew that he had lost part of his memory in a space travel accident and was now the captain of the Outer Harbor Exploration Team...

Mu Baixing knew even less about him.

Mingyu was a little hesitant after hearing what Cui Xiaoduo said.

The Mu family has a lot of connections, so Mu Lian and Cui Xiaoduo don't need anyone to lead them. They can just use their connections and pay to enter the resource area. If they stay to accompany him, it would be a bit of a waste of time. But...

"Hey, I'd better stay and take a look!" Cui Xiaoduo said, "Your brother Mu looks like that. What if he's a con man who relies on his looks to attract people? Although I met him in the mining area and he seemed quite reliable...but what if!"

Mingyu: “…”

Mulian, Vincent, and Yang Haoyuan also stopped and sat on a bench in the lounge with Cui Xiaoduo. They were clearly curious about Mingyu's online friend, but out of politeness, they didn't ask directly.

Except for Mingyu and Cui Xiaoduo, the remaining three people had six eyes, like six searchlights, scanning the entrance of the lounge again and again, and then from Mingyu without leaving a trace.

Mingyu: “…”

Mingyu couldn't bear it anymore, so he stood up and walked to the other end of the hall. He bought a few bottles of nutrient solution from the vending machine and distributed them to them one by one. Four people in a row held four bottles of nutrient solution with different fruit flavors and drank them quietly.

I don’t know if it’s because the meeting is approaching or because Cui Xiaoduo just reminded him, but Mingyu is feeling more and more nervous.

He analyzed himself carefully and confirmed that he was not nervous because he thought Mu Baixing was a liar, but...

I'm just afraid that Mu Baixing is not as good as I imagined.

Mingyu bit the nutrient solution straw with a little too much force and almost deformed it.

Or maybe... I'm not as good as the other person imagines.

Mingyu: “…”

The young man took two deep sips of the strawberry-flavored nutrient solution, thinking about random things while drinking it, and drank the whole bag of nutrient solution very quickly.

He couldn't just sit there quietly, so he stood up and went to buy another bag. He stood in front of the vending machine, paid, and couldn't help looking towards the door.

Then, by chance, I caught a glimpse of a figure appearing behind the revolving glass door at the end of the hall.

The man is very tall.

He was wearing a black mid-length jacket, combat pants that were slightly loose at the top and covered his calves at the bottom, and long boots. He had broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and long legs. He walked with an upright posture, and the breeze he brought lifted the corner of his untied jacket.

His aura was hard to ignore, causing several members of the exploration team who were walking to the door to subconsciously stop and move aside, and when the other party passed by, they couldn't help but look back at him.

The man didn't mind their stares.

He had a handsome face and sharp eyes. He looked into the lounge with his usual indifference and coldness, but also a bit of inquiry, obviously looking for someone.

Then, he frowned slightly because he didn't find the person at the first time. With one hand in his trouser pocket, he stopped in front of the row of unoccupied lounge chairs closest to the hall door and looked around again.

Cui Xiaoduo and others sitting in the first row: "..."

Mingyu, who was standing in front of the vending machine on the other side, said: "..."

The designer was holding a bag of strawberry-flavored nutrient solution in his hand and recognized the other person the second he appeared.

Mingyu had imagined the scene of their meeting countless times. He felt that meeting Mu Boxing would be like revisiting a friend who had just parted ways a few days ago, with a smile on his face and a natural wave of his hand to say hello.

But in reality...

Mu Baixing appeared in Mingyu's field of vision, so abruptly that it seemed as if a virtual character had appeared in reality.

It was as if time had frozen for everyone else in the hall, and only the time passing for Mu Baixing was vivid and real.

Just as this vivid, real, and imposing man was about to glance over at him, Mingyu subconsciously held his breath.

For some unknown reason, he stepped into the shadow behind the vending machine and used the large iron shell beside him to block Mu Boxing's sight.

Mingyu: “…”

…What am I doing!!!

A silent cry rang out in Mingyu's heart!

Why would I want to hide?! ! Even if Mu Boxing's aura is overwhelming... I've gotten used to it by now! Besides, it's not because of Mu Boxing's aura!

Mingyu had no idea why he suddenly became so scared! Why were his cheeks still a little hot?

The designer then took a few deep breaths.

Then he stepped out of the shadows again, and when Mu Baixing's gaze was about to leave the area, he waved to him while holding up the strawberry nutrient solution.

There is a difference between real people and images projected into a virtual network.

Mingyu now understands this very clearly.

Even if Mu Bohang's appearance hasn't changed...

Perhaps it cannot be said that nothing has changed.

Errors in the data scanning, skeletal proportions that couldn't be perfectly restored, a few centimeters missing from the man's height, probably because he was absent-minded while filling it out, skin that was a colder white than the model, a gait that couldn't be simulated by the holographic model...

All these factors combined made Mu Boxing, who was standing in the hall at this moment, more oppressive than the virtual phantom in the star network.

Also more handsome and attractive.

The nutrient solution vending machine was far from the entrance of the hall. When Mingyu waved, he remembered that Mu Baixing might not be able to see him clearly through the crowd. He also remembered that the other party didn't seem to know what he looked like, so he planned to take a few steps forward.

But just as he raised his arm above his head and before he took a step, Mu Baixing's gaze had already landed accurately on him.

The moment their eyes met across the crowd, Mingyu realized that the other person recognized him.

The man's dark blue eyes looked over. He took another step, his slightly furrowed brows relaxed, and his pale lips curled upwards slightly.

He walked across the lounge and stopped in front of a vending machine painted strawberry pink. The designer's figure was reflected in his eyes, and the coldness on his body was almost completely removed.

"Mingyu." His slightly low voice penetrated the air and brushed Mingyu's eardrum. His tone was more relaxed and gentle than any time before, even tinged with warmth, and mixed with a hint of amusement.

Mu Baixing: "What were you hiding from just now?"