She pondered for a moment. "Fine, we'll form a joint venture. Your pilots can train down below, and our Wolf’s Den personnel can as well. As for the investment amount and ratio between both parties…"

An Junlie beamed. "As long as we can partner up, everything else is negotiable. We can discuss the investment details slowly."

As soon as Ziye spoke, An Junlie also felt that cooperation was the best outcome. It was only natural for the Silver Talisman Star inhabitants to establish a base on Silver Talisman Star; even if the Interstellar Federation discovered it, they could claim the prisoners built it for fun out of boredom.

This way, the Angel Domain would shoulder significantly less risk.

Cooperation was definitely a win-win situation. The red-haired woman revealed a slight smile at the corner of her lips. "It's not tiring talking to intelligent people. We'll go back and discuss it, decide who will be responsible for liaison with your Legion, and then we can talk further."

The general direction was settled, and both parties stood up happily, shaking hands.

Ziye, seated in the pilot's seat, reluctantly withdrew her gaze. This was her idea in the first place! And they completely ignored her!

Hmph, they always treated her like a child!

"Ouch, the little brat is throwing a tantrum," the red-haired woman said, approaching her. Before Ziye noticed, she bumped her shoulder with her chest. When Ziye turned around, she immediately hopped away, grinning mischievously. "I love seeing you looking silly, Ah-Chou."

Ziye swung a punch at her. The red-haired woman swiftly intercepted the blow, grasping Ziye’s fist, and with a slight pull, she lifted her leg—"Aiy—"

Thump!

Ziye was pulled down onto the ground by the red-haired woman, landing hard on her backside, grimacing in pain.

An Junlie moved to pull her up, but the red-haired woman threw a punch. An Junlie turned, sweeping Ziye with him in a half-circle rotation to evade the attack. Then, he used his other hand to block the red-haired woman's next move, asking Ziye, "Does it hurt?"

Ziye looked up pitifully. "It hurts terribly. I suspect my butt is shattered."

An Junlie turned her back towards him, just about to check, when the red-haired woman put on a thoroughly disgusted look. "Don't go flaunting your affection in front of me, you're blinding this old lady’s tritanium alloy eyes."

Ziye immediately felt intensely embarrassed.

Having spent more time with An Junlie recently, she had naturally grown accustomed to acting spoiled. She looked up and saw the red-haired woman watching her with an expression that was half-smile, half-scorn. She hastily put distance between herself and An Junlie, returning to the pilot's seat, and changed the subject. "Shall we head back to school now?"

The red-haired woman settled into the co-pilot seat. She crossed her legs at the knee. "I want to go out and wander for a few days."

Ziye asked, "Don't you have another class tomorrow?"

The red-haired woman dismissed it with a wave. "A bunch of little brats, I don't feel like going."

Ziye casually remarked, "It’s a different batch of students tomorrow; maybe there’ll be something worthwhile."

Every profession has its own customs, and teaching has the most rules that one must abide by to succeed. Ziye wanted to suggest she restrain herself a little, but knowing the red-haired woman never listened to advice, she resorted to indirect methods to see if she could spark any interest.

The red-haired woman shrugged. "Alright, I'll stay one more day."

Returning near Karga, Ziye booked a room at the Majestic Palace. An Junlie specifically called out the twins, and the five of them ate together. The twins assumed An Junlie was helping them get revenge. Unexpectedly, An Junlie said to the red-haired woman, "These two are my apprentices. In the future, you don't need to give me any face; feel free to strike them as you wish."

The twins froze on the spot.

Master shouldn't bully his students like this!

Aix clutched his still slightly swollen cheek, complaining aggrievedly, "Commander. Teacher hit me so hard. Aren't you worried about me?" An Junlie’s face hardened. "Little Yezi took my beating for months without crying. Do you have any right to cry? If you're men, go win it back; otherwise, don't claim to be my apprentices!"

The twins looked at Ziye with newfound reverence. To survive so well under An Junlie’s harsh tutelage was truly worthy of deep respect!

An Junlie’s words successfully placated them, and after dinner, they dispersed.

Just as Ziye wished, An Junlie stayed with her in the apartment for three full days.

After three days, Ziye was feeling revitalized physically and mentally, and her basic physiological needs were met. An Junlie had matters to attend to and bid Ziye farewell. Ziye had been living a life fit for royalty these past few days.

Now that her guardian was leaving, what should she do?

Ziye tugged at the corner of An Junlie’s robe, looking at him with pitiful eyes, much like a child being abandoned.

An Junlie sighed in helplessness. He thought for a moment. "How about you come with me to Siatu? The induction field will be complete tomorrow, and I need to take a look and speak with them."

Ziye silently let go of his robe, lowering her head. "You should go. I won't tag along. It's too far."

An Junlie sighed, giving her instructions like an all-capable robotic butler. "If anything comes up in the future, contact me via SuperComm or SilverComm. Don't try to handle everything alone. Red-Haired is in Karga, and Aix and Bent are nearby; you can ask them for help too, alright?"

Ziye nodded with her head bowed.

An Junlie added, "In the future, you can't let Douzai into your room. And you need to be more careful generally, don't let it hurt you."

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Little Sprout glaring at him fiercely.

Right, he and Little Sprout were completely at odds because of Douzai.

He had originally intended to have Douzai moved and find an expert to improve its physical constitution, but Little Sprout kept obstructing him, so he decided to drop the idea.

While he was giving instructions, Ziye kept nodding obediently.

Seeing her still looking like a good little girl, An Junlie couldn't help but open his arms and pull her into an embrace.

It was not a man-to-man hug.

It was the way a man hugs a woman. Ziye was petite, and being entirely enveloped in his arms, she was practically submerged. Ziye buried her face in his chest and took a deep breath.

She loved his scent—it was warm, intensely masculine, and provided a profound sense of security.

But he was leaving.

Ziye silently released her hold. An Junlie gently ruffled her hair. "Be good. I'm leaving now." With that, he turned and walked toward the shuttle craft.

She looked up, watching his tall figure move toward the shuttle. The simulated natural wind on the space station was strong, tousling her hair.

All good things must come to an end.

She just wished she could keep him at the banquet a little longer.

She was becoming increasingly fragile lately, she told herself internally, silently wiping away the tears welling in the corners of her eyes, and then called out loudly, "Alien!"

An Junlie paused at the hatch, looking back at her. She waved her hand forcefully. "Thank you!"

An Junlie smiled, waved back, and entered the cabin.

The hatch closed before her eyes. Powerful thrusts erupted from the rear of the shuttle as it soared toward the station exit.

Ziye stood on the landing platform, watching the shuttle grow smaller and smaller until it vanished from sight. Tears slowly welled up again.

An Junlie’s departure meant she would have to live alone again, with no one to rely on, no one to cook for her…

It is easy to move from frugality to luxury, but hard to move from luxury to frugality.

She used to be undemanding; as long as there was food to eat and a place to sleep, it was fine. But An Junlie had spoiled her, and then he just packed up and left.

He was definitely a bad person!

"It’s over, it’s over! Ziye, your eyes are leaking water!" Little Sprout cried out dramatically, flapping its wings vigorously to keep from being blown away by the wind.

Ziye reached out and gathered it into her arms, using its soft fluff to dry her face. She said softly, "Let’s go back and see how much work piled up while we were gone."

The promotional video for the Mech Competition had already been released, fluttering down like snowflakes. It was playing on all public view screens across Karga; you could see it everywhere you went.

Ziye rubbed her forehead and sighed deeply.

They had agreed last semester to form a team for the competition and prepare in advance so they wouldn't be scrambling later. However, she hadn't done anything during this period. Now, she had zero preparation done. She quickly downloaded the competition rules and requirements and studied them carefully. She messaged the group, "When can we meet up? We need to discuss the competition."

Li Chunyu replied, "...I’m out doing a project."

Ziye subtly wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead. Well, there was someone even less urgent than her. Could she finally relax?

Aix replied, "I looked at the competition requirements. First, we need to conceptualize a mech, detailing the main color scheme, appearance, performance, firepower, etc. Then design it and estimate the budget needed for construction, and so on. What we need to do now is brainstorm the mech concept."

Bent followed up. "Should we divide the tasks? Aix and I will focus on the mech's performance aspects. You bring up any requirements you have. Little Yezi, you focus on the systems and structure. Chun'er, you handle the exterior, armor, and such. When Chun'er gets back in a few days, we'll unify all the aspects, get the mech’s overall framework done, and then refine the details slowly."

Ziye instantly had a clear objective.

Yes, she needed to have an idea first.

Li Chunyu agreed wholeheartedly, replying, "I'll be back at school on Friday. Let's discuss it together on Saturday."

Ziye set her SuperComm aside and entered the workshop, beginning to dedicate herself to the Mech Competition.

Mechs are the most singular weapon system in space, existing solely for combat. They are more specialized and refined than other units like robots or starships.

If a mech is designed well, it can be just as formidable as a starship.

Ziye listed the factors she needed to consider one by one, leaving placeholders for questions or areas requiring collaboration. She focused her main energy on aspects she could resolve independently.

The area she was responsible for was primarily related to mechanical engineering, which was one of the more stable parts of a mech. Whether the structural layout was rational, what structural integrity was required, and whether there would be enough time and opportunity to turn the tide when subjected to crossfire—these were all complex problems.

Ziye pondered while instructing Little Sprout to work on the structural system.

Just as she was thinking, she suddenly felt a strange sensation on her wrist. She snapped her head around and saw Douzai opening its mouth wide, ready to bite down on her SilverComm. She quickly pulled her hand back. Douzai missed the SilverComm but bit down hard on the SuperComm instead, immediately severing it.

That little terror!

Ziye stared at the teeth marks on the device, her face a mask of dark lines.

It had such discerning taste!

The main material for SilverComm was near-silver supermetal, whereas SuperComm was made of ordinary alloys. Clearly, the SilverComm tasted better; no wonder it had been fixated on her wrist.