Chapter 58: Meeting Again

He did not know how much time had passed. The person inside the Mecha room seemed tireless, exercising at high intensity the whole time. The whistling of the air, faint yet piercingly sharp, never stopped.

Yan Qingming’s expression became grave. As far as he knew, the Earthling inside was operating a primitive Night Demon Mecha. To keep this kind of Mecha moving at the speed of sound in a confined space for nearly an hour—the nerve reaction speed and endurance required for that far exceeded his own capabilities.

What a peculiar guy! Only at this moment did Yan Qingming truly start to take this Earthling named Lin Lei seriously.

Yan Siyu, standing to the side, felt her thoughts becoming more and more chaotic. She began to retreat.

“Brother, how about we leave first and come back later?”

Just as she spoke those words hesitantly, the door to the Mecha room opened, and a tall figure walked out. It was Lin Lei.

Lin Lei looked exhausted, and his hair was a bit messy. He was not surprised to see two figures in black cloaks standing at the door. Aliens these days wore all sorts of things. Simply wearing cloaks and playing the part of wizards could be considered a fairly standard outfit.

Lin Lei paused for a moment, then walked past the cloaked figures.

Was this the desk mate from back then? After more than three years apart, he had changed so much she almost didn’t recognize him. He was taller and stronger. He was no longer that green boy, but a mature male with a calm gaze and a heavy presence.

Yan Siyu stood there, not knowing whether to go up and greet him or just silently watch him walk away. She hesitated.

But Yan Qingming did not hesitate. He took off the hood of his cloak, strode forward, and threw a punch at Lin Lei’s back. He wanted to test this kid’s capabilities to see what right he had to steal his sister’s heart.

Yan Qingming’s Physical Energy Level reached 15.5, which was not much different from Lin Lei’s before his strengthening. But compared to the current Lin Lei, the gap was very obvious.

Lin Lei suddenly sensed the attack from behind and instinctively took a step forward, slamming his elbow backward at the same time. He did not sense any killing intent from the guy behind him, so he did not use his full strength.

Fist met elbow, and they seemed evenly matched.

Yan Qingming immediately stepped forward with his other hand in a claw shape, grabbing for the back of the neck, while his right hand changed from a fist to a claw, locking onto Lin Lei’s elbow joint.

But in the next moment, Lin Lei’s arm shook violently. The space between Yan Qingming’s thumb and index finger went numb from the shock, and he actually couldn’t hold on. At the same time, the arm that had broken free suddenly straightened and thrust into his inner guard. The speed was so fast it was like lightning.

“Bang!” With a muffled sound, Yan Qingming took a punch to the chest. An irresistible force directly knocked him back two steps, causing his left hand’s attack to fail as well.

Only then did Lin Lei turn around. He looked indifferently at Yan Qingming, who was clutching his chest, and said, “You have a Protective Force Field on you, so you must be an Aostarian. I don’t recall knowing you. Explain what is going on.”

The target’s information was quickly read by the System.

Yan Qingming (Aostarian ordinary warrior, wearing Light Armor)

Height: 189CM

Weight: 95KG

Physical Energy Level: 15.5 Standard Energy Level

Maximum Attack Intensity: 4.0 Standard Energy Level

Protective Force Field Intensity: 8.0 Standard Energy Level

The Protective Force Field on this Aostarian was powerful, much stronger than Yan Siyu’s had been in the past. Even with Lin Lei’s current attack Energy Level of up to 6.0, he could not break through his defense.

Of course, not being able to break through the field didn’t mean he couldn’t inflict harm. For instance, stepping forward and twisting his neck. In that situation, no matter how strong the field was, he would be finished. Besides, he still had the mysterious System inside his body that could crack force fields.

What Lin Lei was wary of was merely the Ao Star Civilization behind him.

“My surname is Yan. Now you should remember something, right?” Yan Qingming was also secretly shocked. He had originally guessed that he was no match for Lin Lei in a purely physical contest, but after exchanging blows, he realized the gap was huge; he couldn’t even keep up with his speed.

Surname Yan. The only person with the surname Yan that Lin Lei knew was Yan Siyu. His gaze swept past the man in front of him and landed on the petite figure behind him.

His heart trembled. Scenes from deep within his memory surfaced. That nearly perfect silhouette, that beautiful girl with the charm to topple nations, and also his first love from his youth—Yan Siyu.

“Yan Siyu?” Lin Lei’s tone was a bit uncertain. He wanted to step forward to confirm, but Yan Qingming blocked his path.

That petite figure slowly raised a hand and gently removed the cloak’s hood, revealing that perfect face which had hardly changed at all. It really was her.

Time seemed to flow backward at this moment to the riverside from three years ago.

“Will we meet again?” asked Lin Lei, who had just completed Level 1 Reinforcement and was waiting for teleportation.

“Perhaps we will meet again.” That was Yan Siyu’s answer back then.

Now, on this stranded Galaxy Flight, they met for a second time.

The beauty remained, but Lin Lei’s state of mind was different.

His lips curved upward, and the cold light in his eyes softened. The knife-like lines on his face also relaxed completely, revealing his inner joy—a pure joy, like seeing an old friend.

“It has been three years, and you haven’t changed at all.” Lin Lei’s tone was gentle too.

“It has been three years, but you have become so strange.” Seeing Lin Lei’s gaze, Yan Siyu’s heart was filled with sadness. It turned out that in his heart, she was merely a friend.

Ruthless time had erased a boy’s novelty and mystery towards the opposite sex. What remained was merely some pure friendship, which was not what Yan Siyu wanted to see at all.

“Of course, because I have experienced many things and have been walking on the edge of life and death. Seeing you today is very lucky.” Even with the mysterious System, he was not immortal. Like that time he encountered an Epic Beast; if Fuweili hadn’t been there, the best outcome would have been mutual destruction with that beast.

Yan Siyu’s eyes showed some heartache and loneliness. She knew she had missed the most critical period of a man’s maturation. From now on, no matter how hard she tried, it would be difficult to enter this man’s heart.

And during this period, the one accompanying Lin Lei was another woman, an Apocalypse Star woman named Fuweili.

“Does ‘many things’ include Fuweili too?” For some reason, Yan Siyu couldn’t hold back and asked the question.

Lin Lei was a bit surprised, but he understood immediately. If Yan Siyu could find him, then she should be able to look up most of the things that happened to him after he entered the civilized world. It wasn’t hard to understand.

“Yes, she is a good woman. She saved my life and helped me leave that primitive planet. And who is this?” Lin Lei didn’t want to talk about Fuweili, so he changed the topic to the Aostarian man in front of him.

Yan Siyu felt even more pain in her heart. She took a deep breath, forced back the tears in her eyes, and said with a trembling voice, “This is my brother. His name is Yan Qingming.”

I see. Lin Lei extended his hand to Yan Qingming. “Nice to meet you.”

“Hmph.” Yan Qingming had been acting as a background foil for quite a while and was very unhappy. He didn’t even look at the hand Lin Lei extended. He knew his sister best and knew she must be very sad right now. And the culprit behind all this was precisely this Earthling!

Seeing that Yan Qingming ignored him, Lin Lei didn’t mind and withdrew his hand. He certainly saw Yan Siyu’s abnormality and guessed the reason for Yan Qingming’s displeasure.

Lin Lei had a rough idea of Yan Siyu’s feelings, but he was no longer a green boy. There was already a woman in his heart, one who filled his heart completely, leaving no room for anyone else for the time being.

So he could only pretend not to see. “Well, Yan Siyu, are you here for this Galaxy Flight? I assume you know this ship was looted by pirates and is now waiting for rescue.”

Yan Siyu opened her mouth to speak, but Yan Qingming cut her off. “Yes, we are Star Alliance special agents. In a few days, the Star Alliance’s rescue will arrive.” This wasn’t a lie; Yan Qingming had already sent the flight’s situation back. Rescue would likely arrive soon.

“Oh, then I’ll leave you to it. I’m going now.” Staying any longer, Lin Lei had nothing else to say. He owed Yan Siyu a favor, so if she was in danger, he would naturally help with all his might, but he really had no mind for anything further.

One woman had already consumed too much of Lin Lei’s energy. Two women would be more than he could bear. So, he turned to leave.

Yan Siyu instinctively wanted to chase after him, but Yan Qingming held her back.

“Brother, why did you let him go?” Yan Siyu complained.

“What else could be done? Siyu, you’ve seen him and asked your questions clearly. Staying here any longer is meaningless. It’s time to return to Ao Star!” Yan Qingming had figured it out. This Earthling had no feelings for his sister at all. It was purely wishful thinking on her part.

Yan Siyu didn’t speak, but her stubborn gaze clearly told Yan Qingming that she didn’t want to leave. She had already missed Lin Lei for a long time and didn’t want to keep missing him.

“You!” Yan Qingming was truly angry this time. “You have to leave even if you don’t want to! Forget him! Do you hear me? Forget him!”

Yan Qingming, bursting with anger, was still quite intimidating. At least Yan Siyu, after facing Yan Qingming’s determined gaze, only managed to hold out for ten seconds before she couldn’t take it anymore and backed down. She knew her brother was serious this time. Playing pitiful or acting spoiled wouldn’t work anymore.

Just as she was preparing to temporarily give up, fate played a huge joke.

This 20-kilometer-long Galaxy Flight, at an altitude of ten thousand meters, suddenly let out a violent shake!

Immediately after, the two standing at the Mecha room door saw Lin Lei rush past them like the wind. Five seconds later, a Night Demon Mecha had returned to the door.

“Get to a safe place quickly! A big guy is attacking the flight. It’s the Ancient Giant Falcon, the aerial overlord of the Black Prison Star!”