Chapter 68: Fight
"I've been so anxious for a long time." Mingyu muttered while huddled in his raincoat as he and Mu Baixing walked over there. "Good things are falling right in front of us. How can we just watch... I don't know when Mingyan will come, but I can't let him see my face..."
Instead of driving a starship, the two men wore raincoats and used powered exoskeletons to rush towards the opposite mountain.
Mu Baixing: "Don't you want your family to know about your abilities?"
Mingyu hummed: "Trouble."
His voice suddenly paused.
There was a severe thunderstorm, and Mingyu knew that Mingyan would definitely sail in the rain to get the information about the Firebird, but the other party arrived faster than he expected.
The young man heard the roar of the starship's engine mixed in with the thunder.
They were already very close to the cliff where the Firebird had crashed. As they climbed from the side toward the top, they could vaguely see the red body of the beast on the cliff above.
Every feather that fell from the firebird was burning, and the broken sparks rolled down from the undeveloped black mountain, illuminating the surrounding scenery and the rain with incredible clarity.
Mu Baixing took a look at the black aircraft that appeared in the thunderstorm. After taking Mingyu to shelter behind several huge rocks, he gathered his raincoat in the middle and tightened his arms to completely cover Mingyu's figure.
The designer was caught off guard and felt a black screen in front of his eyes. All he could see was a piece of black raincoat canvas.
Not only that, because the space inside the raincoat was limited, Mu Baixing almost pressed Mingyu into his arms in order to cover him.
Mingyu: “…”
His face was forced to be buried between Mu Boxing's shoulders and neck, feeling the heat of the man's body, his tense muscles, and his chest rising and falling with his breathing.
"Brother Mu..."
Mu Baixing's breath caught in his throat, and he unconsciously tightened his grip, saying, "Don't talk."
When Mingyu opened his mouth, his breath, carrying the other person's warmth, brushed against his neck, which was not covered by any clothing, like a feather sliding past with a teasing touch, making it almost impossible for him to control himself.
Mingyu felt the vibrations in the man's chest and shifted uncomfortably. Mu Baixing increased his strength, pressing him against him and emphasizing, "Don't move."
Mingyu: “…”
Mingyu could neither speak nor move, so he could only lie in Mu Baixing's arms, releasing two blue mental threads, hooking Mu Baixing's fingers, asking him not to press so tightly.
Mingyu felt a little pain from the clamp.
Mu Baixing loosened his grip. Dark golden threads of spiritual power also extended out, covering the bright blue strands wrapped around his fingertips and gently rubbing them.
Mingyu: “…”
Mingyu took a breath quietly.
His mental power was sensitive. To him, this aimless rubbing felt like Mu Baixing was gently caressing his skin...
"Very..." Mingyu couldn't help but whispered, "Very... itchy, Brother Mu..."
The blue mental power spread outward, rapidly expanding, and became tiny particles sparsely diffused in the air, lurking in the black holes and cracks in the rocks. Even in the light of the firebird's blazing flames and the chaotic lightning balls in the sky, it was inconspicuous.
Mingyu "saw" the scene in the sky clearly.
"There's more than one starship coming," he whispered, "Why is it so lively..."
The leading black starship was shrouded in a shimmering red spiritual energy, undoubtedly piloted by Fei Lun and Ming Yan. This starship, similar in shape to the one piloted by Sun Nian, functioned somewhere between a battleship and an exploratory starship. A row of gun barrels on its underbelly emitted a terrifying black glow, appearing to be fully charged.
Behind them, a gray starship was still following closely. Its hull was even more slender, and the area around the main gun port above the cockpit was empty, devoid of any light. The next second, the red rain in the air suddenly twisted, as if being rapidly pushed away by a colorless wave of air, scattering in all directions.
"Is that Mu Lian and Cui Xiaoduo?" Ming Yu asked in confusion, "How did they get together?"
The colorless light cannon was so powerful that the starships of Feren and Mingyan in front moved to the side at the last moment, but did not turn around to fight back. Instead, they sped forward.
They saw a huge fire burning on the top of the mountain.
"I was wondering why they suddenly turned around and ran!" Cui Xiaoduo jumped up and down in the starship piloted by Mu Lian, shouting, "Ha! Turns out they received a message from the Firebird! These two damn guys ruined our plan! Let's get rid of them too!——"
After receiving Mu Baixing's reminder, they first went to the most crowded trading hall in Maze City. After spending a lot of money, they found the location where the night bird was. At first, they didn't find any trace of the night bird, but they did come across a lot of high-quality materials that Cui Xiaoduo wanted. They collected them and brought them back to Cui Xiaoduo for experiments.
Finding night birds requires luck, and the few people did not have the idea of finding them, so they were quite satisfied with their harvest.
Until the thunderstorm started.
Perhaps because of the tremors coming from the distant underground, the night bird had taken the rare step of leaving its nest. As Vincent and Yang Haoyuan used their extended mental powers to check the intensity of the thunderstorm, they caught a glimpse of the black bird's tail.
So they followed it stealthily all the way, knowing that if they missed the first strike, the Night Bird would hide its body and would be difficult to spot. So they followed it patiently, planning to launch a sneak attack when the terrain and timing were right.
They followed Nightbird for a day and a night, and watched as it entered a forest of dead trees and perched on a treetop. This was the perfect opportunity to sneak up on them and attack...
Unexpectedly, Ming Yan's aircraft suddenly appeared! Fei Lun was so arrogant! He rushed forward and attacked head-on, startling Ye Niao and sending him flying.
Seeing that the Nightbird was about to disappear, Mulan simply opened fire first. However, due to the insufficient distance, the Nightbird took off in pain after being hit and escaped. Mulan only had time to pull off a few of the Nightbird's tail feathers with a collector.
Although the tail feathers of the night bird are also very rare and important materials, the more valuable thing is of course the energy crystal of the night bird.
So Mingyan gave chase, and Mulian followed closely behind. In the end, Ye Niao was not caught, and the two sides just started fighting.
Mingyan and Mulian had always been at odds, and once they opened fire, it was unlikely either would be the first to withdraw. The two starships pursued each other amidst the red rain and thunderstorm.
Under normal circumstances, Fei Lun and Ming Yan were still slightly stronger than Mu Lian and the others. However, they also had to focus on searching for traces of the Firebird, which might appear at any moment, according to the information provided by Sun Nian. Furthermore, during a thunderstorm, both sides were hampered by the environment, and the performance of the starships played a greater role in the battle.
Cui Xiaoduo had been hailed as a prodigy in starship design since childhood, and the starships he designed far outperformed Song Lan's. They fought Ming Yanfeilun in a thunderstorm, holding their own. For a long time, the two sides remained evenly matched, each bearing numerous charred scars on its starship's hull.
Vincent's and Yang Haoyuan's mental powers were connected, and a silver-gray light film composed of fine mental power threads spread outward.
"There's a big fire on the top of the mountain ahead," Vincent said. "It's a huge fire! It looks like someone shot down the Firebird."
"Was it done by the Third Legion?" Yang Haoyuan guessed. "No wonder Ming Yan went this way! I wonder if the Firebird's energy crystal is still there..."
"Who cares! What if he's still here?" Cui Xiaoduo shouted, "Let's go first! Overtake! Brother Lian! Let's not fight that rubbish Ming Yan Fei Lun! Let's go and steal their Firebird Energy Crystals!"
Without him saying anything, Mulan had already turned the starship's thrusters to the maximum.
A brilliant orange flame erupted from the rear of the gray starship, and it suddenly accelerated.
"Damn it!" Feren couldn't help but slam the steering column and cursed, "When can we find a good starship designer to replace Song Lan?"
Even if he had 2S-level mental strength, he could not make up for the gap in starship engine performance.
He watched Mulian's starship leap over from above, almost fuming with anger. He raged, "Those Third Legion designers are just useless! How come the Third Legion's standard starship engine can't outperform Cui Xiaoduo's design? Haven't they dug up any information about LUCE yet?!"
"Damn it! We made a million for him before! He didn't even contact us! The same thing with Mu Baixing! There's no relevant information at all."
Mingyan thought of Mu Baixing's mental strength, and there was still some residual fear in his heart.
As an observer, he was much more sensitive to energy than Feren, and he also understood more deeply than Feren the terrifying effect of Mu Boxing's mental power explosion.
"The Star Navigation Competition is so well-kept secret!" Ming Yan said irritably. "Luce hasn't shown up since we met once in the Designer Library... It seems like he's trying to distance himself from us."
"These two people... whether it's Luce or Mu Boxing, if they can't be used by the Third Legion and are instead deployed to other forces, they will become a significant obstacle for us."
Feren tutted.
"What do you mean?" he said, "If we can't dig them out, we'll kill them? Then what about my starship design?!"
He is simple-minded and never gets involved in these complicated things.
"It's best to dig him up! Let's go to the Designer Headquarters Library and try again! Maybe Lucé changed the time to go to the Designer Library for some reason." Ming Yan said unhappily, "If that doesn't work, we're sure to find a better one... Fire! Feren!"
Mulan's starship was approaching the top of the mountain and was sliding in an S-shape to lower its altitude to check the situation in the flames below.
Feren knew that now was not the time to discuss finding a designer, so he channeled all his anger into his mental power and opened fire in anger.
The mental cannon barrel roared, and three black light cannons shot out, forcing Mulan to raise his altitude again and slide away from the flames on the top of the mountain to the west.
Mingyan and Feren used this opportunity to gain a better position. Mingyan's fiery red spiritual power poured down and merged with the firebird's flames.
Mingyan felt a slight burning sensation, as if he was about to be scalded, but not to the point of melting.
This means that although his energy fluctuations and those of the firebird are not completely compatible, at least they are not mutually exclusive!
Mingyan almost held his breath.
A few months ago, he had begun to show signs of improving his spiritual power, but he hadn't found the right energy crystal to reach that threshold. His father had been keeping an eye out for him, and finally, a few days ago, he received news of the S-rank Firebird's whereabouts.
As long as the energy fluctuations are not mutually exclusive, his mental power level may be improved!
"The Firebird should be dead!" His voice rose slightly with excitement. "It must have been attacked by Sun Nian and the others. The energy crystal... I can't determine its exact location for now, but it should be in the center of the flames! To our... right!"
Mulan's hidden cannon suddenly attacked from the right side in front, and Feren had to deviate from the course to dodge.
"They're like annoying flies!" Ferran said angrily. "We have to shoot them down first!"
It was thunderstorm weather, and no starships were likely to depart from Labyrinth City. Exploration teams in the wild would also choose to temporarily land and take shelter due to inclement weather. Fehren was certain that apart from his own team, who had received the news, and Mulan, who had just gotten on the bandwagon and couldn't shake it off, no one else would come to this area.
No one will come to snatch the spoils on the ground for a while.
Since you're like that! Why not just ignore it, fire at full speed, and hurry up to swat those annoying flies!
“BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM—!”
Fei Lun and Ming Yan changed their previous strategy and no longer tried to determine the location to obtain the Firebird Energy Crystal. Instead, they turned the ship around and fired at Mulan with all their might.
Mulan was not as interested in fighting with them as in obtaining the energy crystal, but under duress she had no choice but to concentrate on the battle.
The two sides fought fiercely in the sky.
Threads of psychic energy and artillery fire exploded and fell from above, blending into the crimson rain, forming a curtain of light. The brilliant light from the colliding artillery fire nearly obscured the shape of the mountain. Ming Yan, Vincent, and Yang Haoyuan were all focused on their opponent's attacks. For a moment, no one paid attention to the subtle shifts in the flames below, let alone a dark shadow moving beneath the dark rock of the mountainside.
Mu Baixing carried Mingyu with him, and using the momentum of his feet to propel him upwards, he jumped lightly, slightly bent his knees to cushion the impact, and landed silently behind another rock.
Under his raincoat, Mingyu was surrounded by a small cloud of spiritual power. He was still carefully calculating the angle of light and shadow projection and the distance the spiritual power tips would pass above him, to prevent Mingyan from noticing. He leaned over Mu Baixing's shoulder and whispered in his ear, "See that gap thirty degrees to the left? Brother Mu, I'll count to three, and we'll go there... Brother Mu, loosen up! You're hurting me again!"
The two were so close, Mu Baixing's arm was wrapped around Mingyu's waist. Their limbs were covered in powered exoskeletons, so even the slightest movement was painful.
Mu Baixing: “…”
His Adam's apple rolled, and after a while, he could only hum "hmm" with a slightly hoarse voice, and it was hard to tell whether he felt enjoyment or torture.
“Three…two…one…——!”
The powered exoskeleton made a slight sound that no one noticed, and landed with the two people at the next place.
This is already the edge of the sea of fire.
Mu Baixing: "If it hurts, let me take your place."
Mingyu said "oh" without taking it too seriously, and whispered, "What can you see in there with your mental power..."
Mingyu's mental thread stuck tightly to the ground, tentatively probing the fire.
The flaming feathers of the firebird turned the icy rain water boiling hot, slamming into Mingyu's spiritual threads. It felt like an overheated bath, but not too uncomfortable.
Mingyu's expression paused slightly, and he turned his head to glance at Mu Baixing.
Although this fiery red didn't make him feel as comfortable as Mu Baixing's golden spiritual power...
But it seems pretty good?
"Uncomfortable?" Mu Baixing's voice was pressed against Mingyu's ear, and his breath was warm.
Mingyu quickly shook his head and whispered, "The energy waves of this firebird seem to be very similar to mine... and to all of us."
His mental power continued to penetrate under the cover of the firelight.
"The energy crystal should be around here..." The sea of fire was all red. Even though it didn't feel like it was burning, Mingyu felt a little dizzy. He could only search forward along the place where the energy fluctuations were the most intense. "The energy crystal... the one in front should be it. This is the energy center... Hmm!"
Mingyu suddenly opened his eyes slightly.
What was reflected in the mental vision was not an energy crystal.
But it was a white bird's egg.
Mingyu: “…”
Mingyu: “???”
This bird's egg is so small that you can even hold it between your thumb and index finger.
It sat on a red crystal-like round base below, rapidly absorbing the surrounding blazing firelight.
Mingyu's mental force moved forward and tentatively poked the bird egg.
As if it was disturbed in the process of absorbing energy, or as if it was a natural reaction to a crisis, the tiny bird egg suddenly moved slightly and let out a long and clear cry.
At this moment, the flames in the sky quickly gathered into the small bird egg.
The fire covering the entire mountaintop suddenly went out.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
