Chapter 66: Falling Firebird (Part 1)

The sky of Labyrinth Star is pale white, and the ground is covered with a layer of orange-red sand.

Not far away, deep in the rift valley, aftershocks rumbled. The lava tsunami raised by the underground river had not yet subsided, and the red-gold lava lake under the towering hills was still expanding outward.

They were at the top of a hill. The ground was rough, with sharp rocks standing beside them. Beneath their butts sat the body of Ivy, who had just attempted to kill them.

Mingyu was chewing a heart core in his mouth. This heart core of ivy had a fresh grassy smell, making Mingyu feel like he was chewing a piece of cheap hard candy.

He didn't know how anyone could confess at a time like this.

Mingyu looked at Mu Baixing in disbelief. He didn't move for a long time, as if the whole world had been paused.

He looked at the scenery around him, which had no beauty at all, looked at the layer of dust on his and Mu Baixing's clothes, and the wound on the side of Mu Baixing's neck.

In any case, the confession should be made at a less embarrassing moment.

Mingyu: “…”

Wait. Mingyu's teeth crushed his heart, his scattered thoughts paused, and his eyes suddenly widened.

Confession.

...Mu Baixing is confessing his love to me? !

Mingyu blinked, feeling as if what he just heard came from a movie dialogue rather than reality.

It’s not that I haven’t thought about changing my relationship with Mu Baixing.

After all, he is a man who meets Mingyu's aesthetic standards from appearance to personality!

only……

Mingyu always felt that no matter how a relationship ended...

Even if you act impulsively at the beginning, you must also have the responsibility to confirm that you will take it seriously and have plans for the future together, at least at this moment!

This was the insight he gained from studying emotional studies textbooks for a while, even though he had never had any emotional experience!

The young man opened his mouth and wanted to speak, but suddenly felt dizzy.

A heat surged into his head, just like a person who couldn't drink alcohol drank a glass of strong liquor without any preparation. He covered his forehead, trying hard to keep his thoughts, but his eyelids drooped, and the words he wanted to say turned into a groan.

"Mingyu?!"

Mu Baixing noticed that something was wrong with him and put his arm around Mingyu's waist.

Mingyu's hands and feet went limp, and he mumbled, "Brother Mu..."

"I'm a little sleepy..."

In the space of a word, the young man completely collapsed, his strength gone, and he fell on top of Mu Baixing. He rested his forehead against Mu Baixing's neck, and his unfinished words became a whisper. His warm breath pressed against Mu Baixing's neck, and he mumbled, "Still a little warm..."

"Mingyu."

Mu Baixing lifted Mingyu's shoulders and found that the designer had closed his eyes. His breathing was even and steady, as if he had just fallen asleep, or suddenly lost consciousness.

This sudden change was so sudden that Mu Baixing's breathing stopped for a moment.

The next second, he carefully held Mingyu in his arms.

Mu Baixing frowned, stood up and quickly brought Mingyu back to the starship, and took out a portable medical device to examine Mingyu.

"Ding—the patient's physical signs are normal, his mental activity is normal, and his mental energy activity is elevated. It's suspected he over-ingested nutrients. No special treatment is needed, and he will awaken on his own after the nutrients are absorbed."

Mu Baixing: “…”

He did not feel relieved immediately, but instead took out the medical manual and compared the examination data on the medical instrument screen one by one, repeatedly confirming that Mingyu's mental domain activities were normal.

Perhaps it was because Mingyu's spiritual realm was too lacking in the internal nutrients carried by the heart core, so he fell into a deep sleep while absorbing it.

Mu Baixing: “…”

He laid the seat flat and let Mingyu lie down.

Although this violent reaction is extremely rare, it is clearly the aftereffect of the young man's mental awakening accident.

Mu Baixing's expression was cold, and he brushed his fingers gently across Mingyu's face. He smoothed down Mingyu's messy hair and gently touched his forehead to confirm that Mingyu did not have a fever.

"It's my fault that I'm just an ordinary driver in the Outer Port Star Region." Mu Baixing whispered.

Even if he wanted to vent his anger on Mingyu, he could only beat Mingyan up in the virtual sex picture of the Star Navigation Competition.

But how can a virtual star map compare to the real thing?!

The young man leaning on his arms seemed to be disturbed by the low voice and hummed softly again.

Mu Baixing lowered his eyes and checked Mingyu's condition again.

The young man clearly wasn't feeling any discomfort. He looked relaxed, his fair face a healthy complexion. Feeling Mu Boxing's touch in his drowsiness, he stirred and muttered something indistinct in his sleep.

Mu Baixing relaxed his expression as he heard his mumbling, and curled the corners of his lips helplessly.

"It's my fault," he whispered. "I didn't think it through."

He rashly let Mingyu absorb the ivy core directly.

He was silent for a moment, helped Mingyu put on the fastener, and whispered, "That's fine."

"It's not like I'd be rejected so quickly."

Mingyu comes from the central star field.

In any case, he grew up in a safe star field, lived a peaceful life, and had unlimited potential.

No matter what my past was like, I now belong to the chaotic outer port.

His future is unclear, most of his mental area is necrotic, and his memory is incomplete.

Deciding whether an intimate relationship has truly begun should not bypass the assessment of these factors.

If the conversation just now continued, he thought...

You will probably get a polite rejection from the designer.

Mu Baixing lowered his eyes.

He participated in the Star Navigation Competition originally to obtain the rewards for the first game of the Star Domain Competition to build a large starship that can travel longer distances.

But now, he wants to enter the top five in the star field competition and qualify to move to the central star field.

Only in this way is he qualified to confess to Mingyu.

This was Mu Boxing's original plan.

But every moment after seeing Mingyu, he couldn't help but... couldn't help but want to tell the other person.

My own thoughts.

Mu Baixing starts the starship.

He glanced at the star map and confirmed the starship's energy reserves. Instead of returning, he began to sail towards the area where the Firebird and Nightbird had appeared.

Now that the problem of the young man's spiritual domain durability has been solved, the starship still has surplus energy.

...Then we can't let go of such a rare resource.

Money is an important guarantee for Mingyu to have a better life.

*

"...From the weather station in Labyrinth Star City No. 1, underground energy activity on Labyrinth Star has intensified. All starships are advised to return—...Rebroadcast again...——"

"Rustle...beep—the long-distance communication signal is interrupted..."

"System prompt: Thunderstorm area ahead, it is recommended to detour—"

"Hmm..." Mingyu drowsily heard a series of warning sounds. He moved his body to turn over, but was stuck in the seat by the restraint. He frowned unhappily, unable to change his sleeping position, and began to fight against the restraint, pulling himself out of his sleep.

Mingyu: “…”

It was already dark outside. Mingyu looked at the time on his communication bracelet and found that he had slept soundly for more than ten hours.

I slept very well, as if it washed away the shackles that had been lingering in my spiritual realm for a long time.

The Hot Rock Ivy's effectiveness lived up to its reputation. Mingyu was certain his mental endurance had increased significantly! A bright blue flashed across Mingyu's fingertips. He manipulated his mental power to form small clouds, feeling his control over it improve as well.

Mingyu didn't notice anything when the shackles existed, but when they disappeared, Mingyu felt extremely relaxed and at ease, just like a person who had had shot put tied to his wrists and ankles for a long time and suddenly had the weight removed, feeling relaxed and at ease in doing anything.

Mingyu was somewhat surprised by this feeling. While manipulating the mental cloud into various shapes, he searched for Mu Baixing.

The starship wasn't sailing, but rather parked in the lee of a mountainside that dipped inward, operating in defensive mode. All the sensors in the starship's cockpit were on automatic reporting, suggesting that Mu Boxing had been relying on the sensors' reports to navigate the ship until recently.

According to the position on the star map, they were in Area F of the Maze Star Field, near a firebird sighting site.

Mingyu rubbed his eyes and sat up straight, thinking that Mu Baixing might be here to hunt firebirds.

But now, he was alone on this docked starship, the hatch locked, and Mu Baixing wasn't aboard. Mingyu pushed open his anchor, sat up, and glanced at his communication bracelet, only to discover that Mu Baixing's signal was disconnected. However, there was a message from Mu Baixing in the message bar.

"Wake up and wait for me in the starship. Don't run around."

The message was posted very recently, just one minute ago.

Mingyu: “…”

It is raining.

The rain on Labyrinth Star also carried a mineral red hue, rushing down like blood pouring from the sky. Bright white balls of lightning, with unpredictable paths, streaked through the clouds, leaving behind dazzling yet terrifying trails of light.

In such weather, even with the help of an observer's spiritual power, sailing would be extremely dangerous. No wonder Mu Baixing wanted to stop the starship.

"What a horrible weather...where have all the people gone?" Mingyu whispered.

He touched the gun at his waist, walked to the cockpit door, leaned against the glass, and released his mental power to look outside.

The red rain was terrifyingly cold.

The lava lake spreading not far away cooled down in the cold rain, losing its original brilliant golden red color and becoming covered with a layer of black scab.

Mingyu hugged his arms and shivered. He did not find Mu Baixing's figure, but saw a flash of fire sliding across the sky.

Like the phoenix in ancient mythology.

A flaming bird with wings that covered the sky and blacked out the sun flew through the air, emitting a loud wail as it fell. With its last bit of strength, it skimmed over the hillside, its tail leaving clusters of flames on the rocks. It crashed headfirst into a high rock face in the distance, burning in a vast expanse of fire.

A black starship followed closely behind the Firebird, with black smoke coming out of its tail. It lost control and crashed into the mountain above Mingyu's starship, landing in the flames of the Firebird's tail wing, making a loud bang.

The falling rocks, sparks and starship fragments hit the starship where Mingyu was, mixing with the red rain. The broken debris smashed the hull of the starship where Mingyu was, making a loud bang.

Mu Boxing had parked his starship in the depression beneath the rock face, so it wasn't affected much. Ming Yu paused, then quickly walked to the rear of the cockpit, opened the weapons locker, and took out the powered exoskeleton he had ordered.

Given the speed at which the starship crashed, the damage to its hull was significant. The escape pods didn't even have time to eject, and the pilot and observer inside were likely seriously injured...

“Bang!”

A second explosion echoed from above the cliff. The black starship, engulfed in flames, broke apart in the center. The portion of the ship that had been dangling from the cliff lost its support and was swept away by the blast's air currents. It plummeted, engulfed in flames, and with a resounding bang, it crashed onto the black rocky ground a dozen meters off the side of the cliff.

Mingyu fastened the exoskeleton buckles, rechecked the connection parts, pulled up the mask, put on the raincoat, and pushed open the hatch.

The falling starship was burning in flames, making crackling sounds. The cold rain hit Mingyu painfully through his raincoat, and the extremely low temperature made him shiver.

Mingyu activated the power propulsion device under the feet of the exoskeleton, sped forward, and came to the gradually extinguishing flames.

The blue mental force rushed into the sea of ​​fire first, and penetrated through the twisted hatch of the crashed starship.

This is a medium-sized starship that combines the characteristics of a mining ship and a warship. It is not a standard model and is a very new model. Judging from the decoration inside the cab, it seems to have just been manufactured. However, the situation inside is terrible.

The front window of the cockpit was shattered, and the control panel, the driver's seat, and the observation post were all covered in blood. The ground was littered with the limbs of large, black insects, which emitted a foul odor.

The starship's observer lay on the side, a terrifying hole in his chest, no longer breathing. The pilot fell to the ground, dragging a broken leg, struggling to move outward, reaching for the weapons storage cabinet at the rear...

He touched a spare portable energy gun.

At the same time, a long brown-black insect antenna protruded from the chest cavity that was broken open by the observer's hand, followed by its head and limbs.

The next moment, an insect more than half a person's height spread its wings and flew out of the corpse at a speed that humans could not catch, and its slender and sharp mouthparts attacked the back of the driver's head.

The starship pilot heard the sound of air vibrating behind him.

But his palm had just grasped the energy gun.

He didn't know where his arm had hit during the fall, perhaps a broken bone had broken on impact, leaving him without strength. His once skilled gun-wielding movements had become slow and clumsy, making it difficult for him to turn and fight back...

"Damn it...!" the driver cursed angrily. Just when he thought he was going to die, a bright blue light flashed in his sight.

"Get down!" The young man's clear voice pierced the air. The driver subconsciously crawled to the ground.

A scorching air stream swept past his ears. Following a series of bangs, blue mental threads transformed into dozens of tiny bombs that exploded in the cockpit, blasting the black insect in two and sending it flying backwards.

Mingyu gasped, activated the thrusters of his exoskeleton mechanical arm, and forcefully opened the starship cockpit door.

His mental power told him that the strange black insects were no longer in the cab, but Mingyu remained at his ready position. He raised the small cannon mounted on his right exoskeleton arm, charging it. He bent down and extended his left hand, lifting the wounded man from the ground.

The horrific scene in the cockpit and the tension brought about by the critical moment just now came to Mingyu's mind belatedly, and his outstretched hand trembled slightly.

"Thank you..." The driver panted hard, not noticing this detail, using Mingyu's strength to push forward. He raised his head, his eyes fell on Mingyu's face, and his voice suddenly stopped.

The still-unextinguished flames and the lightning in the sky illuminated Mingyu's delicate profile. The young man wore a transparent mask, his black eyes illuminated by the blue threads of spiritual power floating at his side.

The young man had beautiful features and an innocent demeanor, a pure and clean appearance, as if he had never seen the dangers of darkness. However, the incredibly powerful mental power explosion that had just occurred had left an impressive impression of strength and elegance on him.

Such appearance and temperament will undoubtedly surprise and impress people, but the driver's pause does not come from this.

Or not entirely from that.

"Ming...Yu." He called out subconsciously after a pause, his body stiffening in disbelief, "...Second Young Master?!"

There was a brief silence between the two sentences.

The name "Second Young Master" was rarely used, so his pronunciation was hesitant and his tone was unfamiliar.

Mingyu: “…”

He led his men out of the still-burning wreckage of the starship, his gaze moving downwards to the other man's uniform which was completely stained with blood and black slime and was unrecognizable. He finally caught sight of the lieutenant's epaulettes on his shoulders and the silver numerical collar ornament on the collar of his uniform.

Mingyu's heart tightened, but his expression didn't change.

"The Third Legion." He looked away. "Which unit? What's its name?"

Mingyu's tone of questioning was so natural that the driver subconsciously said, "Sun Nian, first team..."

The elite squad of the Third Legion, and also the right-hand man of Mingyan in the future.

He had just used his mental power in front of the other party.

"Mingyu."

A slightly cold voice sounded.

Mu Boxing approached quickly from a distance. He wore an exoskeleton and a black raincoat, a heavy cannon barrel slung over his shoulder, the length of his arm, and a red skeleton half a man's height, like reindeer antlers. The tail of the skeleton dragged along the ground, leaving a long trail in the black gravel.

Mingyu recognized it as the hot rock deer vine, a plant mineral whose core had no value. However, its vines could be used as raw materials for certain special medicinal herbs.

The exoskeleton's thrusters were powerful enough that Mu Baixing arrived in front of Mingyu in an instant.

He threw the hot rock deer vine aside and frowned as he watched Sun Nian being supported by Ming Yu into the starship.

One of the man's arms was supported by Mingyu, while the other was slightly bent, muscles tensed. It wasn't a relaxed, natural posture, but rather one with a subtle aggression.

The uniform he wore revealed his identity: he belonged to the Central Star Region Military.

"Brother Mu!" Mingyu, who had been a little nervous since seeing the crashed starship, relaxed. He let Sun Nian sit down in the aisle against the wall, lifted his raincoat, and went to look for the treatment device. "Where did you go just now?"

Mu Baixing pressed Mingyu's shoulder and asked him to sit on the seat beside him. He walked past the designer and entered the cockpit. He dragged the treatment device that he had just used and put aside to Sun Nian.

Sun Nian leaned against the floor in the aisle outside the cockpit, took the treatment device to treat his wounds, and whispered his thanks to Ming Yu and Mu Baixing.

"Hot Rock Deer Vine." Mu Baixing turned to Mingyu and said.

Because the special medicine configured for his special genetic disease system requires a large amount of this material, Mu Boxing temporarily left the starship after confirming that he would not be away for too long and that the surrounding environment was safe.

But he didn't expect that he had been away for only about five minutes, and when he came back, there was a new trouble in the starship.

The trouble wasn't because the other party was injured and had obviously just been attacked.

It was because the other party tried hard to hide his hostility towards Mingyu.

"Their starship was attacked and crashed." Mingyu explained to Mu Baixing.

"The cockpit of that starship..." Mingyu shuddered, "There's a kind of black bug inside..."

"Black Tide Bugs." Sun Nian whispered, "These are the lowest-level Black Tide creatures. They must have hid inside the rocks and reproduced after the Black Tide energy fell on the Maze Star. We didn't notice them when we were chasing... the Firebird..."

Mingyu: “…”

Mingyu then remembered the firebird that had just crashed on the top of a distant mountain in front of the starship.

It is an extremely rare star beast that Mingyan and his group came to the Labyrinth Planet to find.

The starship fell silent for a moment.

Sun Nian is not a stupid person.

The useless second son of the Ming family, who was originally a non-awakened human, unexpectedly possessed a high level of spiritual power. He avoided the eyes and ears of the Ming family and secretly went to the Maze Planet. He was accompanied by a powerful ship...

As a fellow awakened human being of the ship-type, Sun Nian knew at first sight that he was no match for Mu Baixing.

Even... his own superior, or his superior's superior... is no match for him.

The other party only glanced at him once, and he was almost overwhelmed by the man's aura and could hardly raise his head.

But the Ming family knew nothing about all this.

This means that Mingyu is now... standing on the opposite side of Mingyan and the detachment dispatched by the Third Army.

Sun Nian was horrified, knowing that he had discovered a huge secret.

The next moment, a second voice arose in his heart.

Mingyu can’t be allowed to get the Firebird’s energy crystal.

The entire Third Legion regarded Ming Yan as the person who would succeed Ming's father in power, and the First Squadron he belonged to was a team of trusted people specially trained for Ming Yan by Ming's father and mother.

They had already sent a message to Ming Yan when they discovered the Firebird, and he was on his way...

No matter what Ming Yuhuai's purpose was, or whether he saved his life or not, as long as he was Ming Yan's opponent...

Sun Nian couldn't let Mingyu get the extremely precious fire crystal first!