Chapter 23 Try But I do have someone I like...

Alpha said as he stood opposite Beta, and his sharp gaze left Ji He with nowhere to hide.

"Responsible?" Ji He repeated the key word in Huo Yubai's words with a hesitant tone.

"Does the colonel mean to be responsible for me?"

It was a simple sentence, but it was spoken in a fragmented and halting way. After Ji He finished speaking, he wanted to find a hole to crawl into.

Colonel Huo's eyes swept over and stopped at the moment when Ji He's eyes met his. Only then did he realize what he had just said.

"Ji He, do you want me to be responsible for you?"

The man had deep brows, a high nose, thin lips, and a deep voice that sounded like cold water hitting jade.

This question was too tempting for Ji He. Even though he knew that the colonel probably didn't have that kind of intention towards him, the excitement in his heart grew like weeds, making him itchy.

"I……"

Ji He's mind was in a mess. If he said yes at this time, wouldn't that be threatening the colonel?

He was born a Beta, not bothered by pheromones, could never be marked, and could not be easily possessed by anyone.

The word "responsible" doesn't sound like something you should say to a Beta.

Besides, Ji He is not a person who would repay a favor.

"I like the Colonel, and I certainly hope that he likes me as much as I like you."

"But if it's just about being responsible, that's not what I want."

"Colonel, you can just forget about this. We can just pretend that nothing happened."

Ji He never dared to open Pandora's box, and tried hard to stay sober until the end.

Beta lifted his foot and left. He should try to clear away the scent left by Alpha until the last trace of cypress wood disappeared.

Colonel Huo was the only one left in the cell. He curled his lips and repeated, "Just pretend nothing happened."

Is this something that can be forgotten just by forgetting it?

He thinks Ji He should not be called Ji He, but Ji Ostrich, or the Ostrich that won the first place in the burying your head in the sand competition.

Colonel Huo sat alone for a long time. He didn't want to forget and even considered how to compensate Ji He.

Even if the other party wants to be with him, it is not worth a try.

Could it be that I also like Ji He a little bit?

Huo Yubai had never thought about this question before, and after thinking about it for a long time, he could not come up with a definite answer.

As the sun sets, the post-war finishing work is almost done, and Lieutenant Li cleans up the paper boats in the river under the guidance of Dr. Askler.

The colored paper that suddenly appeared, just as Ji He expected, would release the virus targeting Alpha after melting in water.

Unfortunately, the masked Alpha they captured blew himself up, and the information they obtained was still too little to even reveal a tiny corner of the conspiracy map.

Heat waves rolled in and sand drifted aimlessly in the wind.

"Lieutenant, look!"

Li Lie reached out and wiped the sweat from his forehead, then looked in the direction his subordinate pointed.

The clouds in the sky were shades of red, and the golden setting sun slowly set, illuminating the end of the desert planet.

"This sunset is so fucking beautiful!"

Li Lie originally wanted to ask Ji He to help him write a report, but he ended up being sick for two days. Li Lie silently sighed, "Beta's physical condition is still not good enough," and finished all the materials he needed to submit by himself.

In the past few days, Ji He has been avoiding the colonel and trying to appear in front of Huo Yubai as little as possible.

Perhaps, this will minimize the impact of this incident.

He sat alone on a sand dune, looking at the oasis not far away, with sand blowing in his face from time to time.

Li Lie suddenly appeared from behind, patted Ji He on the shoulder, and asked, "Thinking about life?"

Alpha sat down directly, and sank into the originally flat sand.

"Don't tease me, Lieutenant."

Ji He smiled bitterly and shook his head at the question of "thinking about life".

"I need your help with something."

"Is it about Li Ran?"

Li Lie reached out and touched the back of his head. The newly shaved head felt very good. He nodded generously and said, "Yeah."

"Ah Ran is a bit overused, but he has good intentions. I would like to ask you to give him some guidance."

Ji He hummed and said calmly: "Even if you don't say it, I think so. This is what I should do as an instructor."

Li Lie tilted his head, yawned, and kicked two feet of sand with his military boots. He commented: "You really haven't changed at all."

"He's still the same as before, looking aloof and unsociable, but actually stubborn and soft-hearted."

"By the way, I've always wanted to ask you, isn't that feather earring a specialty of the Tong Planet? Was it given to you by your sweetheart?"

Alpha's eyes were burning with gossip as he looked up at Sergeant Ji.

"That pair of earrings is not a specialty."

"It's not really a gift from my sweetheart."

Lieutenant Li pulled out a suppressed cigarette from his hip pocket and held it in his mouth, not showing any resentment towards himself.

"But I do have someone I like."

Seeing the other party bring up this topic, Li Lie's eyes lit up and he asked hurriedly, "Who?"

"Beta or Omega?"

“Neither.”

Li Lie's eyes widened, he swallowed, and said, "That... that's Alpha?"

Lieutenant Li reached out and took the cigarette out of his mouth. He and Ji He had been in the same school for many years. Suddenly, a bold guess came to his mind and he said it directly: "Ji He, you are not talking about me, are you?"

Ji He: ...

"Lieutenant Li, I like someone else."

Li Lie blinked his eyes, took a deep breath, and said, "That's good."

Although the school bag looks nice, Li Lie is too straight-forward and is still an Alpha with traditional ideas.

"Second Lieutenant Li, what should you do if the person you like is far away from you?"

Li Lie didn't have anyone he liked, so he knew that Ji He was talking about his sweetheart. He joked, "What's the matter? Is this Alpha in the Andromeda Galaxy?"

"That's okay. In a billion years, experts say the Milky Way and the Andromeda Galaxy will merge."

"It's true."

"Don't believe it."

The backs of the two people sitting on the sand dunes and chatting were not very conspicuous, but Huo Yubai, who was standing at the gate of the base, saw them at a glance.

The second lieutenant named Li Lie placed his hand on Ji He's shoulder.

These Alphas who came out of the military camp always like to put their arms around each other's shoulders. Where did this tradition come from?

Huo Yubai walked behind the two men and looked at Li Lie first, asking, "How is the post-war mecha repair going?"

Lieutenant Li had been busy for a while and just when he had some free time, he was about to listen to some gossip from his brothers in the shop, when he was caught by Colonel Huo. He smiled awkwardly and replied, "Except for the silver blade which was badly damaged, the others have been repaired."

Huo Yubai still didn't look at Ji He, but stared at Lieutenant Li's face and said, "You don't know much about the Silver Blade mecha, let Sergeant Ji and I be responsible for the maintenance."

Li Lie nodded. He was naturally happy to see someone helping him with work.

"Let's go."

From beginning to end, Ji He didn't even look at himself, as if he didn't exist.

He won't really forget it just like that. His mental strength must be so strong that he can pretend nothing happened.

Huo Yubai was angry and deliberately didn't look at the other person. The only last sentence he said was for Ji He.

"yes."

The two of them came to the place where the mecha was parked, one after the other. There were two mecha repairmen testing the Silver Blade's sensors.

"Colonel."

Huo Yubai nodded slightly towards the man and retrieved the initial parameters set on the Silver Blade Mecha sensor from the optical computer.

Most soldiers who have attended federal military academies have some knowledge of mecha maintenance. Colonel Huo originally wanted to find an excuse to let Ji He stay with him, but he didn't expect that this man would go into the mecha with the maintenance technician to check the drive system.

Ji He is a meticulous person. When he was at the Federation Headquarters, he was an excellent employee of the control center. However, Huo Yubai didn't know that he was so professional even in mecha maintenance.

"This is the first time I've touched such an advanced symbiotic system." The maintenance engineer's eyes were shining with moisture, and it was obvious that he was an old mecha fan.

"The first generation of Silver Blade mechas is a symbiotic system that combines consciousness and machine intelligence. The current third generation has been adjusted by Metis's database, and its reaction speed and accuracy have increased by 12% compared to the previous one."

"Doesn't the official figure say 7 percent?"

Ji He nodded in affirmation and explained, "That is the improvement in the comprehensive mode. If it is in combat mode, the limit can reach 12%."

When Colonel Huo stepped into the mecha, he saw Ji He standing next to the mecha repairman. Hearing him talking incessantly about the silver blade, his expression relaxed.

The mechanic looked up at the young Ji He and said modestly, "I've learned something."

Ji He was about to come out of the cab when he saw Colonel Huo staring at him. His expression became a little uncomfortable and he saluted.

"You seem to know more about Silver Blade than I do."

"How could that be? The Colonel is the owner of the Silver Blade."

Huo Yubai took two steps closer, and his warm breath almost touched Ji He's face.

"That night, you were also the master of the Silver Blade."

"It doesn't recognize anyone easily."

Ji He didn't say anything. When he turned his head to the side, the earlobe that was closer to Huo Yubai turned a little red.

"Thank you for the compliment, Colonel."

"Still want to hide from me?"

Colonel Huo, who was well versed in the art of kite flying, made Ji He upset and confused by his pulling and tugging.

They stayed in the maintenance area until night, and when they came out, the base was already quiet.

Ji He looked up and saw two comets passing by one after the other in the dark night sky. They were brief but brilliant.

Under the blue sky, the two stood side by side.

Huo Yubai glanced sideways at Ji He. His pale face was hidden in the crystal mist, and his eyes were as bright as stars falling into the bottom of the sea.

"Jihe?"

"Um?"

"Would you like to try it with me?"

"Try what?"

Ji He's face used to be as white as porcelain, but now it has turned from porcelain to jade. Her clear eyes are filled with love that Huo Yubai cannot yet clearly see.

"Don't you like me?"

"I can try it with you."

Colonel Huo always spoke in a cold and serious tone, but when he used this tone in these words, they seemed solemn and precious.

Ji He was stunned. He was used to having secret crushes, but this straight ball hit him so hard that he was dizzy.

"Want to try?"