Zhong Yun returned home alone. His parents had gone to the company, where they were about to hold an employee meeting and prepare for hiring new staff. From today onward, their days would be even more hectic than before.

Stepping into his courtyard, he looked at the two towering birch trees by the front gate. Their fresh sprouts shimmered with emerald vitality, exuding vigorous life force.

"Zhong Yun----"

The moment he opened the door and just slipped off his slippers in the hallway, a voice thick with rang out from behind him. A delicate figure crashed into his chest, carrying a hint of sweet perfume.

He raised his hands helplessly to fend off this sudden embrace, feeling her trembling body through the fabric as muffled sobs escaped. Only then did he realize what was happening, gently patting her back and asking, "What's wrong?"

Only Xiao Ruo would be at his home unannounced. Hearing him ask directly, she only cried harder.

Helplessly, Zhong Yun continued to soothe her with pats on the back while speculating the cause of such anguish in his mind.

Was it anxiety about me? Probably not - she hadn't behaved this way last time either.

Had she been dumped? No, the girl had always liked him. When he confirmed his relationship with Yun Qi, she knew and didn't cry then. Had something happened during his absence? The thought caused a surge of sourness in Zhong Yun's chest.

Just as he was speculating wildly, Xiao Ruo's sobs gradually subsided. After some time, she freed herself from his embrace, looking at him with red eyes full of apology.

"I'm sorry..."

Her voice cracked slightly and her haggard appearance suggested a sleepless night. He gently pinched her nose and said, "Foolish girl. What are you apologizing to your brother for?"

Helping her sit on the sofa, he handed her tissues before asking softly, "Feeling better now?"

Xiao Ruo lowered her gaze as a faint blush painted her pale face. She nodded slightly, wringing the tissue into shreds in her hands.

A smile tugged at Zhong Yun's lips - she was finally showing some modesty now. "Xiao Ruo," he said gently, "what actually happened?"

Her body stiffened and her face paled again as she bit her lip tightly.

Zhong Yun placed his hand on her shoulder to turn her toward him. Looking into her eyes seriously, he declared, "Whatever the problem is, I'll help you solve it. Tell me."

"I don't deserve your help," Xiao Ruo shook her head, speaking in a voice like a lost fawn that had just lost its mother. Fresh tears welled up in her eyes.

"That's enough crying," Zhong Yun felt a headache coming on - while these delicate girls were undeniably endearing, their emotional outbursts could really test a man's patience.

"If you keep this up I'm leaving," he pretended to rise from his seat.

Xiao Ruo quickly grabbed his arm, her big eyes full of pleading. The tears rolled in her eyes but didn't fall yet.

"No more crying," Zhong Yun pinched her nose as warning.

Xiao Ruo nodded vigorously, only for the vibration to finally send the tears tumbling down. She frantically wiped them away before sticking out her tongue at him.

Zhong Yun was amused and after a while asked casually, "How's school? Isn't it about to start again?" He didn't want to press further if she wasn't ready - everyone had their own private matters.

Xiao Ruo shook her head. "School has been postponed indefinitely. They told us to wait for notice."

"Why?" Zhong Yun was puzzled. Although the war impacted civilian life, the conflict hadn't reached this area yet. It wouldn't be logical to send students into battlefields.

"They say the school's been requisitioned by the government as a research facility," Xiao Ruo explained.

Zhong Yun nodded in understanding - Mingzhu Academy had top-tier equipment nationwide rivaling major research institutes. Government confiscation made perfect sense.

"All because of this damn war," anger flashed across her face, "Damn Hongxian Federation! Die already!"

This was the first time Zhong Yun saw her curse like this. He found it amusingly endearing.

After chatting for a while and seeing her spirits lift slightly, Zhong Yun went upstairs to his room. Xiao Ruo often visited their home - Yun Rong had even set aside a spare bedroom for her occasional overnight stays. She'd practically become part of the family now.

"Xiao Ling, check this out," he locked the door before immediately pulling out the mecha key Yang Bingchang gave him from his pocket.

"Mecha key," Xiao Ling's hologram appeared in the room as he examined the gray crystal, "This is an advanced mecha key capable of storing three mechas."

Zhong Yun grinned and flipped it through the air with one hand. "Guess what rating those mechas have?"

Xiao Ling's eyes flashed with dark light before declaring a number: "Six stars."

Zhong Yun froze mid-flip as the mecha key tumbled from his fingers, striking the floor with a clear metallic ring.

"S...six stars?" he stared blankly at it in his palm. Only after hearing its fall did he snap out of shock to carefully inspect for damage before exhaling deeply when no cracks appeared.

"Found treasure," he smiled foolishly as realization dawned.

Much of Zhong Yun's mecha knowledge came from Bai Yuwan at Yudaqing's training base. Bai had once mentioned that most standard-issue mechas in intermediate civilization nations were only two or three stars, with some even being one-star.

Only countries reaching the fifth phase of intermediate civilization deployed four-star mechas as standard equipment - but they could barely manufacture five-star mechas beyond that.

Six-star and above? Those required advanced civilization technology. Every mecha pilot's ultimate dream... that remained just a fantasy for most. High-tier mechas were extremely scarce on Freestar.

The highest rated mechas appearing there had only been four stars, with few numbers available each time. Whenever one surfaced everyone would fight over it until prices skyrocketed beyond comprehension - an impossible dream for ordinary pilots.

Eventually these rare four-star mechas ended up in the hands of wealthy conglomerates who used them to lure elite pilots. Many skilled operators would work for the highest bidder just to obtain top-tier equipment.

At Yudaqing's base, the best was only a single four-star mecha - "Sabertooth Tiger" belonging to their commander. The rest were mostly two-star units.

Six-star mechas existed purely in legend. Not even Bai Yuwan had ever seen one, and neither had Yudaqing himself.

Now, this legendary six-star mecha was literally in his hands - how could Zhong Yun not rejoice?

"However," Xiao Ling's dark light faded slightly as he added, "This unit has sustained partial damage."

"What?" Zhong Yun felt like getting struck by lightning. He sat there stunned. "You mean to say the mecha is broken?"

"Yes. Its core database suffers severe corruption and energy reserves are critically low - it cannot be operated," Xiao Ling diagnosed.

Zhong Yun leapt up in frustration. "After so much trouble acquiring a six-star mecha, you're telling me it's unusable?" He wanted nothing more than to smash Xiao Ling's emotionless face into pieces right now.

But remembering he was just an AI program made this futile. Zhong Yun decided mercy over punishment and flopped onto the floor to stare at the gray mecha key like a fool.

He chuckled bitterly - if it couldn't be used, then it was merely a fancy scrap of junk.

"Do you want to repair it?" Xiao Ling suddenly offered.

"Repair it?" Zhong Yun snapped. "What tools do I have? A screwdriver?"

"You needn't do anything. Simply replenish its energy and you can operate it," Xiao Ling's eyes flickered with strange light.

Zhong Yun watched him suspiciously, sensing some hidden agenda. "How do I charge it?"

"Primorials," said Xiao Ling simply.

Zhong Yun slapped his forehead dramatically. "You definitely have ulterior motives!"

After staring at the ceiling for a long while, he muttered under his breath, "Money... Looks like I need to visit Ou Feng again."

He really didn't want to see him if it came down to that. What would he say about Yudaqing? Just thinking made him feel a headache coming on.

But aside from Ou Feng, who else could he trust? The mission involving collecting "Black Mandala" was too critical for anyone but Ou Feng to handle. He didn't have time to second-guess others now.

How could he possibly cover up things with Yudaqing's whereabouts? Zhong Yun rubbed his temples in confusion. Ou Feng must already know something, though the extent remained uncertain...

Better set that aside for tomorrow - today had more urgent matters waiting.

After taking a shower and changing clothes, Zhong Yun secured the mecha key before heading downstairs, "Xiao Ruo, I'm going to my father's company."

As he prepared to leave, Xiao Ruo called him from the kitchen. She poked her head out, "Wait - I'll go with you right away." Then she disappeared back inside.

Curious about what she was up to, Zhong Yun peeked into the kitchen where Xiao Ruo stood in a pink apron holding a spoon and bowl while monitoring an automatic cooker's timer.

"What are you doing?" He leaned closer and sniffed - besides her faint perfume of lemon and vanilla, nothing else registered.

"I want to make soup for them," she said without looking away from the display. Her parents had been absent so long...

"Won't this poison someone?" he asked with obvious doubt in his tone.

"You..." Xiao Ruo turned around threateningly to pinch him but stopped when Zhong Yun pointed at the cooker and warned, "Time! The soup!"

Afraid of overcooking it, she ignored his antics and returned to monitoring. From behind her, Zhong Yun noticed how the cartoon-print apron strained slightly where her chest bulged.

He realized suddenly why his parents adored her so much - Xiao Ruo truly knew how to win their hearts. But as he glanced lower...

Wait! His thoughts took an unexpected turn when he noticed her figure had developed faster than expected. Last year a single hand could have enclosed what was now... just barely fitting in one palm?

A sudden heat surged through his body, igniting from his abdomen directly into his temples.

Some things were devilishly tricky - normally they didn't cause issues unless you started thinking about them. Once that door opened, thoughts would flood like a breached dam, unstoppable until...

Xiao Ruo's frequent visits initially made him uneasy. But after growing accustomed to her presence he stopped noticing anything unusual, especially since his full attention had been on Liu Yunqi at the time.

But today's odd recollection of last year's accidental contact suddenly awakened his primal instincts.

Suddenly, Yang Tianlie's words about "picking up women outside" echoed in Zhong Yun's mind as he licked dry lips. With immense willpower, he shifted his gaze away from Xiao Ruo's emerging curves and was about to leave when she said, "Hurry - help me get the lunchbox."

Following her finger towards a cabinet above their left side, but seeing how engrossed she remained with the timer display made Zhong Yun hesitate before deciding to assist.

He stepped back slightly to create distance then stretched up toward the edge of the cabinet. Just as his fingers grazed the bottom of the container...

It wobbled, teetered at the rim... and fell.

"Clang!"

The sudden noise startled Xiao Ruo into stepping back - right onto Zhong Yun's foot. Losing balance entirely she tumbled backward into his arms.

Zhong Yun had already realized something was wrong when knocking over the lunchbox. He bent forward to catch it but failed completely as the container crashed to the floor just before she landed in him.

His instinct took over instantly, gripping her waist tightly while their bodies collided with his back against the wall where he barely avoided a full fall.

But this position was arguably worse than simply collapsing together - the thought only briefly crossed Zhong Yun's mind before fading away entirely.

Sudden heat surged through him as Xiao Ruo's entire back pressed into his chest. A firm arm encircled her waist while, due to his bent legs, her hip nestled firmly against his most sensitive area with perfect alignment.

Xiao Ruo's heartbeat nearly stopped as she froze completely in place. Her brain went blank except for the scorching heat radiating from behind that felt like it would reduce her body to cinders.

Her hand hovered over the arm gripping her waist, but not only did it refuse to loosen - if anything it tightened further until she could barely breathe.

In this moment of utter helplessness, Zhong Yun's instincts drove him forward with teeth gritted in a primal thrust.

"Mmm----"

The soft moan escaping Xiao Ruo's nose caused veins on his forehead to throb dangerously. The hot breath he exhaled directly onto her neck sent shivers through her body as she melted like ice.

Kitchen silence was broken only by their ragged breathing and the automatic timer counting down its numbers.