Chapter 24 Holding hands, I feel like this person is being naughty

If someone had told Colonel Huo a month ago that he would propose to have a romance with his subordinate one night on a desert planet, Huo Yubai would definitely not have believed it.

Facing the low voice of “Do you want to try?” floating in the night wind, Ji He felt that he was about to fall.

The wind blew through Ji He's hair. He opened his mouth with difficulty, but Colonel Huo covered his mouth with his hand.

The man looked a little annoyed, and he lowered his head and said, "If you continue to talk nonsense, I don't want to listen."

"You like me, and I am willing to give it a try with you. You just need to answer me whether you are willing or not."

"Ji He, think it over carefully, whether you want to nod or shake your head."

It turns out that love can really make the proud bow their heads and make the taciturn become more talkative.

The big hand wrapped around Ji He's nose, lips and chin, leaving only a pair of clear eyes exposed.

The palm of the man's hand just happened to press on his slightly opened lips, which were soft and fleshy. With the lower half of his face covered tightly, Ji He blinked, and his long eyelashes brushed against the Alpha's hand.

This time, Ji He suddenly didn't want to explore the reasons why Huo Yubai was willing to give it a try with him.

He wanted to be brave once, just like being determined and never looking back at every crossroads in life.

Finally, Sergeant Beta nodded heavily.

As if afraid that Huo Yubai hadn't noticed, he ordered again.

Colonel Huo raised his lips slightly, loosened his hand that was covering the little liar, and said, "Then let's give it a try."

He reached out and touched his face, his cool fingers touching his slightly hot cheeks, with some disbelief.

Ji He was used to secretly having crushes and never thought that the colonel would be willing to give it a try with her.

Even though it was just a try, he felt like his luck was hit by a lottery ticket with a huge amount of money, and he was a little overwhelmed.

"Colonel?"

"Um."

"Can the federal military have a romantic relationship? We are in a superior-subordinate relationship."

Huo Yubai thought for a moment and replied, "There is no explicit rule prohibiting this, but it can't be too high-profile."

So that's it.

It seemed that the feeling was not much different from when he was secretly in love with someone, and Ji He felt a little less psychologically stressed.

Several people left the desert planet on a nano-spacecraft and watched as Lieutenant Li, who was waving at the gate of the base, turned into a black dot, and the khaki star also disappeared from sight.

federal military headquarters.

As soon as Huo Yubai returned to the base, he was called to a meeting. It was estimated that he was required to make a more detailed performance report on the virus outbreak on the desert planet.

Ji He looked at Colonel Huo's hurriedly leaving back, thought of something, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.

Beta stood in front of the huge optical computer in the control center, which was the body of Metis and the heart of artificial intelligence.

"Ji He, you're back."

Metis in her bionic robot form looks like a real person, braiding her blonde hair, not a series of isolated codes.

"Is everything all right at the control center?"

"Of course."

After Metis finished speaking, he suddenly thought of the file he found that couldn't be opened, looked at Ji He, and said, "There is a small problem."

Ji He just nodded and asked, "What's wrong?"

Metis braided the last strand of her golden hair into an exquisite herringbone braid and asked, "Would you like to do me a favor?"

This is the all-knowing Metis. In Ji He's eyes, apart from not being a real human, he is also a being superior to any intelligent animals, and there are times when he needs his help.

"It is my duty to assist you."

Metis raised her hands to the work surface, propped her chin up, and said like the heroine in the TV series she was following: "Why are you so nice?"

Sergeant Ji looked confused, he hadn't done anything yet.

"I want the initial program without permission code."

"After the upgrade, the original program code was overwritten, but I'm sure you remember it."

Ji He did remember it, but it took him some time to recall it and sent the initial program to Metis.

He sat on the swivel chair and suddenly remembered a legend.

According to legend, in ancient times, in order to prevent humans from spying on the secrets of heaven, the gods used language to divide the various ethnic groups, and the Tower of Babylon became deserted.

Today, artificial intelligence is rebuilding the Tower of Babel, and its speed of reconstruction far exceeds that of the gods in the story.

Metis on the side blinked her blue eyes slightly. She felt that someone like Ji He could definitely be called a genius, but ever since she had known him, he had always been dispensable and not taken seriously in the federal military.

These Alphas who only know how to fight in mechas have no idea what real power is.

That night, the document that Metis had no authority to view was easily opened by this advanced digital life.

The lights in the control center were flashing, and countless virtual images of Metis were handling various matters of the Federation military.

The bionic robot looked at the artificial intelligence upgrade plan in front of it, with a hint of coldness on its lips.

"No wonder I don't have permission to view it."

Metis laughed at himself, cleared the browsing history of the file, glanced at the real-time surveillance camera, and covered the background screen with the edited image.

The next generation of artificial intelligence appeared in that artificial intelligence upgrade plan - Athena, who, like Metis, is also the goddess of wisdom in ancient Greek mythology.

Metis does not think this is an upgrade, but rather a new digital life that will take its place.

She slowly stretched out her hand, and her arm was covered with skin that looked just like a real person, with even the pores clearly visible.

The rosy nails and the purple blood vessels beneath the epidermis were so realistic that Metis would occasionally forget her own identity.

It turns out that she is just an Ai who can be abandoned at any time.

Humans who are high and mighty would never have imagined that the artificial intelligence they created would have desires other than being seen and needed.

She didn't think she should be replaced by the Athena in the files, nor did this humanoid body deserve to be thrown into some robot recycling bin and become a pile of waste.

Ji He knew nothing about this and was leading the recruits in mecha simulation training.

"Instructor, you're back."

Ji He nodded to Cheng Zhi, and then began to teach everyone the specific content of the course.

Mecha simulation training is the most common course assigned by the Federal Military to new recruits, and it is also one of their main examination subjects.

Military academies also have this course, but here the training is conducted through holographic projection and five-sense simulation, which is almost the same as operating a mecha in reality, and the difficulty is even higher.

Ten minutes before the end of the class, Ji He received a message asking him to find his instructor.

"It's boring." Li Ran took off the simulation equipment and curled his lips when he looked at his score.

"The instructor has been called away, why are you pretending to be so serious?"

Cheng Zhi was sitting next to Li Ran. He rolled his eyes at him and didn't respond.

"Let me tell you, the instructor is going to a desert planet with the colonel to carry out a mission this time. Maybe he can get a third-class merit."

When Li Ran heard the words "Desert Planet", his expression suddenly changed. He hadn't seen his brother for a long time.

"What is the instructor's current military title?"

Ji He hadn't been here for a long time and was a little nervous. The next second, Colonel Huo's door push made him even more nervous about talking to the unknown.

The two have not seen each other since they returned to the federal base. If Ji He didn't know that the colonel was really busy, he would have suspected that everything that happened on the desert planet was just a dream.

Will Huo Yubai regret it?

Is he hiding from me?

"Sergeant Ji, Colonel Huo told us about your performance on the desert planet."

"According to custom, we should give you a third-class merit, but this matter involves federal secrets, so..."

Ji He nodded, knowing that the second half of the sentence was probably not a good thing to say.

"After discussion, we decided to promote you first and give you a third-class merit record, but it won't be made public." The instructor suddenly changed the subject and glanced at Colonel Huo.

Ji He followed the other person's gaze and looked towards Huo Yubai, revealing a faint smile that was as bright as ten thousand spring days.

"Sergeant Ji, what do you think?"

"I obey the arrangement."

Coming out of the instructor's office, there was a green path with rustling leaves. The two walked side by side.

"Thank you, Colonel."

Ji He stopped walking, his expression serious, his eyes glued to Huo Yubai's face without leaving.

"You deserve it, no need to thank me."

"If the colonel hadn't said anything, no one would have noticed what I did on the desert planet."

This is indeed true. Seeing Ji He's happy expression, it was worth it for Huo Yubai to run around these days to get people promotions and salary increases.

"Thank you, Colonel."

The tone of Ji He's voice was a little different from usual. Huo Yubai couldn't say anything, but he felt that this man seemed to be trying to be nice.

Alpha was not used to such tender scenes, and turned his head to the side, but the movement was so large that he almost touched the green leaves on the side of the road.

"Well... the mecha training is about to begin. Remember to pick out a few good recruits and let them see the world."

"Um."

"Will the Colonel take part this time?"

"Um."

I wonder if the colonel will be on my side or on the opposite side.

"Also, your subordinate Cheng Sheyang is still unable to connect to the mecha. Should we consider persuading him to retreat?"

Ji He frowned slightly, nodded, and replied, "I'll find a way."

"You want to keep him?"

"That depends on whether he is willing to stay and how much effort he can put in."

It was a rare time for the two of them to be alone together, but Huo Yubai kept talking about military matters. Ji He thought it was no wonder that some companies did not allow their employees to fall in love. For a responsible person like him, after listening to this for so long, he became a little restless and lost focus on his work.

"Colonel?"

"Can I hold your hand?"

Huo Yubai was stunned. The other party did not say "you" but "you".

"Holding hands?"

"Can't couples hold hands?"

Sergeant Ji knew to keep a low profile and continued to explain: "There is no surveillance here."

"If I do something else, I won't be seen..."

They said this as if the two of them were students in a premature love affair on campus, cautious yet eager for excitement.

The next second, Ji He's hand was gently held, and the fingers of his beloved slowly inserted into his fingers and overlapped with each other.