Chapter 21 Lancelot's invitation to sleep at my house
The healing type who had lived an ordinary life for the previous 19 years has been extremely nervous since he stepped into the bricks and stones of the underground city.
Be strong and brave. This is just a territory that even the Star Patrol doesn't care about. Haha, it's no big deal...
Xin Fei touched the metal mask on his face, and the cold touch made him shiver.
Although he wanted to turn around and leave immediately, with a sense of responsibility as he was one year older than the other person, after entering an abandoned factory, he cautiously protected the person behind him and moved forward at a snail's pace.
Xin Fei also realized this, and said stumblingly: "I'm sorry, Youan, I wasted your time."
"There are so many puddles on the road. If you hadn't reminded me, I would have stepped into one. There's no harm in going a little slower... Okay, here it is." The little face under the black robe was full of energy, looking like it had just arrived at a promotional store. He gently patted Xin Fei's shoulder and said, "We'll go back after we buy the materials. Don't worry."
Hearing the comfort in the gentle tone, Xin Fei blushed, lowered his eyes and nodded continuously: "You are right..."
You An stared at him without blinking, then suddenly tiptoed closer: "You blush so easily."
The sweet persimmon-colored lips are slightly raised, like petals, and the breath exhaled between the teeth seems to be able to make people float up to the sky.
Xin Fei stepped back suddenly in shock, then grabbed his hood and pulled it down hard. He ignored Youan's complaints that were shouting into his ears, turned his back and buried his red cheeks in his hands.
Damn it, it's hard to win even if I try my best.
There are various factories all around. Not far away, the hazy outline is a heavy crane standing in the open space but not started. It is like a silent and dormant giant, waiting for the command to start.
Suddenly, the ground shook slightly, and the factory gate about ten meters high in front of them opened inward with a "clang clang", and the high-hanging searchlights lit up one by one.
"Welcome to the Hummingbird Club's factory, children."
Si Wangjin walked slowly towards them, leaning on his scepter with one hand, surrounded by a group of tough subordinates wearing metal masks.
This attitude, as if welcoming guests to a banquet, was as if the rumbling machine tool behind him and the human-like figure hanging from the huge hook did not exist.
Xin Fei finally stopped slapping his cheeks, but before he could suppress the fear in his heart, he saw Youan walking towards the man.
"Don't be nervous. We just caught some pirates selling hallucinogenic pills in my territory. I won't treat my customers in such a rude way."
Si Wangjin waved his hand, asking someone to dispose of the dirty things, and turned to them, "Tell me, what can I do?"
The cooperation on the starship went exceptionally smoothly. Everyone was delighted with the exceptionally capable mechanic. Even his subordinates polished their blood-stained masks until they were shiny when they heard that Youan was coming.
Xin Fei originally thought that he came to the factory to pick up some waste, but he didn't expect that he would go directly to Fengniao to buy directly.
He was still trembling to organize his words, and Youan had already spoken -
"Well, give me half an ingot of super crystal steel and ten ingots of peptide black."
Xin Fei was stunned. Why would he need peptide black? This metal was much cheaper than supercrystalline steel, but its sensitivity and load capacity were quite different. But Youan's assurance was inexplicably convincing, and the slight doubts that had arisen in his heart were temporarily suppressed.
Si Wangjin didn't ask Youan what these materials were for, and led them directly to a pile of mecha limbs.
Youan picked up a piece of metal arm and began to pick and choose as if he were picking carrots in a supermarket.
Xin Fei stood silently in the corner, not even wanting to open his eyes. He didn't want to know why the well-behaved straight-A student was so familiar with the leader of the dungeon gang.
Until Youan slid down from the hill of steel with a pile of metal blocks in his arms, and nudged him with his elbow, indicating that he should pay.
"How much?"
"Fifteen thousand six."
"Fifteen thousand six!"
Xin Fei knew how cheap this price was. Just half an ingot of super crystal steel cost this much!
You An: "They are all second-hand goods. I dismantled them myself, so I lowered the price."
In fact, Si Wangjin didn't mind giving it away for free, but You An believed that debts of favor were the hardest to repay. Under his stubborn insistence, the other party could only accept the money symbolically.
After buying the materials, You An prepared to go back with Xin Fei, but was stopped by Si Wangjin before leaving.
The other party offered extremely generous conditions, hoping that Youan could stay in the Hummingbird Club, but he refused again without much hesitation.
"Thank you, but I said I won't get involved in what happens next."
Si Wangjin, like a powerful genie, patiently explained, "The Hummingbird Club can give you everything you want."
Youan thought for a moment and said, "I want a Kagano diploma, and then at least publish 20 first-author papers in top Granton academic journals before I turn 28. Is that okay?"
Xin Fei was startled, and reflexively blurted out a word: "Take it."
“…”
A crack appeared on Si Wangjin's confident face.
Youan tried hard to make the tough guys of the Hummingbird Society look less depressed, but the atmosphere of embarrassment was already lingering in the entire factory. He could only sigh regretfully and leave with Xin Fei.
"I saved for a long time, but I didn't expect to spend less than a third of it."
Xin Fei was quite happy that he had successfully purchased the materials. He had more surplus to pay to Youan as compensation.
Back in the Federation, they weren't rich, but they had enough to eat and drink. Later, Mr. Xin was involved in a traffic accident, and despite receiving compensation, life became difficult. Although his parents didn't say anything, Xin Fei saw the weariness on their faces. So, even though he was coming to Granton to study, he insisted on moving the family to spare his mother from overwork.
Youan lowered his eyes and listened quietly, as if he was listening to a warm fairy tale.
Suddenly, Xin Fei turned around and reminded him, "Oh, by the way, when we go back, don't mention the dungeon. Just say these are materials that the school's mechanical department doesn't want."
Yu An had exactly this in mind. He certainly hoped that Xin Fei would keep tonight's events a secret so that the other party would keep his mouth shut. One reason was the friendship of willingness to help, and the other was the sense of oppression that comes with being a hummingbird.
This is also the reason why he insisted on taking people to buy materials in person. Instead of guessing afterwards, it is better to experience it personally and make the decision on his own to keep it secret.
Hearing Xin Fei mention it, You An took off his cloak and put it in his bag, pretending to be confused, "Why?"
Xin Fei pursed her lips, half in distress and half in embarrassment: "Ah... If my parents knew I was working after school to earn money, they would definitely nag me about it out of guilt, so I'd better not say anything."
“…”
You An straightened his lip line instantly, and after a while, he hesitantly agreed, "Oh, okay."
The last ray of afterglow was swallowed up in the sky, and sticky clouds rolled. Before the first drop of rain fell from the sky, the two returned to Xin Fei's house.
The cheerful theme song of the Bottled Wisp filled the entire cabin. You Tuantuan spun around the table, slipped, and fell flat on his face. He quickly got back up, shook his head, and continued to jump, excitedly inviting...
"Ho, ho, uncle and auntie, dance together!"
"Okay, okay... dance slower."
The middle-aged couple sitting on the sofa laughed heartily and clapped their hands to the rhythm of the music.
Xin Fei's throat choked. He was worried that his father's empty trouser legs would scare the little guy, but he didn't expect that the other party didn't take it seriously at all.
"Tuantuan, stop being so noisy." Youan put down the box and tapped the middle of the rabbit's head with his finger. "Why are you eating again?"
The furry little rabbit fell down after being poked, hugged Youan's fingers, and skillfully licked the biscuit crumbs into its mouth to destroy the evidence.
Youan scooped him into the palm of his hand, weighed him, and shook You Tuantuan upside down, groaning and shouting "Brother, I was wrong".
"Let him play. It's been a while since we've had such a lively atmosphere at home." Mother Xin smiled and waved her hand to show she didn't mind. She looked at the pile of materials at their feet and asked in confusion, "What are these? Where did you get them?"
Youan and Xin Fei looked at each other and gave a brief explanation according to the prepared words.
The two elders looked at Youan with a little surprise. Although they didn't think a student could repair it, they still took out the old prosthesis and said that it didn't matter even if it couldn't be repaired.
"Don't worry, uncle and aunt, I have proof."
Youan opened his toolbox and showed off his mechanic qualification certificate which he had just obtained.
Xin Fei turned her head suddenly, her eyes wide with disbelief. Isn't she a freshman? So cute!
A certificate is more earth-shattering than a thousand words.
His parents' eyes showed their admiration for the top student: "Oh, it's good to have a certificate, it's good to have a certificate! Young people should get more certificates!"
Xin Fei didn't dare to say anything at this time, for fear that the wind of involution would blow on him.
Mr. Xin's prosthesis is made entirely of supercrystalline steel. His family originally wanted him to feel comfortable using it, so they used all the compensation money to purchase this expensive model.
"I didn't expect it to break down so soon..." Mrs. Xin felt quite sorry and worried that such an expensive machine would have quality problems. If they used the peptide black brought back by Youan, wouldn't it break down even faster?
“No, it’s not about quality.”
Youan disassembled the damaged core component and used the smallest mechanical pliers to fiddle with the power unit that stored the crystal core. "This type of super-crystal steel machinery requires a crystal core of Grade B or higher, otherwise it will be excessively damaged."
A crystal core that is too low-level cannot provide sufficient energy, but purchasing an appropriate crystal core is a considerable expense.
Mrs. Xin felt extremely guilty. She had not considered the future maintenance and consumption at all, and thought it was okay to use low-level crystal cores alternately.
"It's okay, it's okay. After all, I have experienced luxury goods." Mr. Xin comforted with a smile.
After figuring out the main cause of the damage, Xin Fei also understood: "So you want to replace the material with Peptide Black?"
"Yes, but not all of them."
There is a reason why supercrystalline steel is expensive. Its comfort and sensitivity are incomparable to ordinary materials.
"Look, this is uncle's fibula... This is the tibial joint and the patellar joint..."
Amid the dry smiles of Xin Fei and others, Youan dismantled the machine and held it up for display.
He retained the main nodes, especially the metal surfaces that contact the muscles, but simply strengthened the connections of the neural network system to achieve a higher level of sensory feedback.
As for the conversion of all quantum circuits and core components to peptide black, You An took decisive action as soon as he designed the plan.
You Tuantuan was not idle. He jumped around the table, picked up the small parts, and arranged them in the order his brother was used to, so that he could reach them with just one hand.
The smooth coordination felt like something they had simulated a thousand times.
Xin Fei quickly came back to his senses and put on his auxiliary glasses to help. Although his mental power had just reached level A, he thought he could start the induction circuit. Unfortunately, Youan just threw a few equations at him and asked him to calculate.
However, before he could finish the calculation, Youan was already asking for the result.
Xin Fei's ears turned red as blood, and he stammered, saying to wait a moment. Then, for the first time, he saw a hint of disgust in the other person's dark eyes.
He was pushed away in a trance. Youan operated the mechanical clamp with one hand and tapped on the light screen with the other hand. The column formula that had been stuck for a long time quickly produced data.
After calculating the values of the mechanical nerves, Youan adjusted the interface to Mr. Xin's severed limb. After repeating this several times, he felt that there was no problem and began to concentrate on engraving the quantum circuit.
Soon, he handed the modified prosthetic limb to Xin Fei.
"The modified version is compatible with D-level crystal cores. The market price ranges from 2,000 to 4,000. A single core can provide energy for about half a year. Just buy the cheapest one."
"Half a year?" Xin Fei held the prosthetic limb and looked at it over and over again. He paused after hearing this. "What's its conversion rate?"
"89%"
Youan quoted a value that exceeded the basic release level of most prosthetic limbs, rubbing his hands with a bit of guilt, "This is my first time modifying a prosthetic limb, so this is the only way."
Only?
Only!
Xin Fei's lips trembled, and he wanted to kowtow to him on the spot.
Mr. Xin didn't understand all this. He only knew that his prosthesis had been repaired and he wouldn't have to pay high maintenance costs in the future. This was all thanks to the little dwarf rabbit classmate.
Under the expectant gaze of his family, he put on his prosthetic limb and stood up to walk around. The feeling seemed even more comfortable than before, and even his coordination seemed to be automatically corrected.
At first, Mrs. Xin and Xin Fei were still nervously supporting him, but gradually, they let go and watched with excitement as Mr. Xin walked more steadily and faster.
"Great! Dad!"
"Yeah, helping with housework after get off work won't cause any more trouble, and your mother can rest more."
"No need, no need, I'm not tired at all!"
The Xin Fei family hugged each other tightly to celebrate, and everyone's eyes were filled with joy and love.
It was as if an invisible wall was slowly rising in front of him. Youan picked up You Tuantuan and slowly took a step back, then another step back.
"Bang."
Noticing a slight movement at the door, Xin Fei was stunned for only a second, then turned around and hurried out.
He shouted at the solitary figure, "Euan! Money! Your money!"
Youan stopped, stared at him and the cozy little house behind him, and suddenly said, "I don't want it anymore. Let's change to something else."
"Anything else?" Xin Fei repeated stupidly, then quickly asked, "What do you want?"
He thought that Youan had helped so much, so he would try to get whatever he wanted. However, the cool breeze had already brought the other party's soft voice to his ears -
"Four-year-old cookies your mom baked, okay?"
Cookies?
Xin Fei hesitantly said, "No problem."
Youan gave a very faint smile, as if he was satisfied with this.
After sunset, the quiet streets were filled with the smell of earth. The pebbles on the road rolled and Youan kicked them as he walked, just like when he was a child and didn't want to go home too early.
Unfortunately, no matter how much I dawdle, I still have to enter that door, see those two twisted faces, and then when they open their mouths, I can hear—
"Burp, burp, burp..."
You Tuantuan, huddled in the back of her shoulder, had eaten too many cookies. She clutched her belly in distress, burping. "It's delicious, but not as good as the cake we had before."
You An asked blankly, "Which time?"
"How could you forget? That time! It was our birthday, and you took me to see the bakery. We met a delivery truck behind the supermarket, and there was a flattened cake they had thrown away. I saw it right away! It was so creamy and sweet, and so delicious!" You Tuantuan finished speaking in one breath, and at the end, he couldn't help but sniffle again, "Burp."
You An smiled, held him in his hands, and rubbed his head against him: "I'll buy you some juice, drink some water and relax."
“No need.”
A drop of dew fell from a large green taro leaf by the roadside, and You Tuantuan jumped down and opened her mouth to catch it.
Well, free is delicious.
You Tuantuan licked his three-petal lips and nodded seriously. Suddenly, there was a loud thunderclap and bean-sized raindrops fell like gradually louder notes.
Wow, that's a lot of free water.
You Tuantuan was holding his rabbit head up when You An picked him up with one hand and ran away.
The sudden heavy rain prevented them from reaching the train station. The humid air made Maomao wet, making him feel very uncomfortable. Youan found a convenience store to take shelter temporarily.
He felt a little regretful for not bringing the floating umbrella that Lancelot bought him. The umbrella cap was made of a small amber crystal, which looked very impressive and beautiful. But then he thought, that thing cost seven or eight thousand yuan, so he might as well just keep it in the dormitory.
At this time, lights were flashing opposite the convenience store, and a huge building was towering into the clouds, with its roof far out of sight.
"Brother, there are so many houses across the street."
"Yeah, a lot."
“It’s so high!”
"Yes, very high."
"well……"
You Tuantuan leaned over to You An's ear and sighed.
Youan: "Why are you sighing?"
You Tuantuan chuckled and said, "I wish my beast form was this big too."
Youan imagined a bunny taller than the building and asked, "Why?"
You Tuantuan stretched out his body to block the raindrops that were drifting obliquely towards his brother's head. He didn't care that he had turned into a mochi ball dipped in sugar. He thought happily to himself that when he turned into a majestic giant rabbit, he would be able to hold his brother in his arms to protect him from the wind and rain!
Youan didn't wait for an answer, nor did he ask any further questions.
Because a flying vehicle with a shape as flamboyant as its owner landed on the roadside.
The familiar crimson pierced the rainy night, and his shadow stretched out on the ground, extending to Youan's feet.
Youan blinked: "Why are you here?"
His anxious steps gradually slowed down, Lancelot raised an eyebrow and quickly glanced at the glittering shop signs.
"Buy food."
"That... is quite a coincidence."
"really."
Lancelot didn't bother to say another word. His eyes fell on his eyelashes which were covered with raindrops, and he pulled him into the store.
He glanced at the towels that were sold without outer packaging, with disgust almost overflowing from his eyes. He frowned slightly and took out a handkerchief from his pocket.
Bright light fell from his tall nose. Lancelot narrowed his eyes slightly and gently pinched Youan's cheek.
With just a little effort, she turned his restless face towards herself.
First wipe off the wet water marks, then wipe the little rabbit ball on top of his head.
"Tsk, why does it still smell?"
He was a delicate little rabbit before he left the house, but in the blink of an eye he became sloppy. Lancelot bent down to smell his hair and frowned, "Don't go back to the dormitory tonight, sleep at my house."
Youan could smell the faint plant fragrance of his handkerchief. He looked up at the pair of olive green eyes and said, "Lancelot, you are so kind..."
Familiar tone, familiar opening remarks.
"You'd better not say something weird like I'm a good father." Lancelot looked around and lowered his voice to remind him, "This is outside."
"No, no, no, I mean—"
You An opened his eyes brightly and spoke earnestly, "If one day you go bankrupt, we will definitely feed you even if we have to beg for food."
Lancelot paused, then smiled, crumpled up the handkerchief and stuffed it into his mouth.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
