After I Stopped Being a Simp, My Husband Fell for Me on His Own - Chapter 20

From the day he thickened his skin to attend the Defense Academy, Yu Yi had mentally prepared himself to be given the cold shoulder by everyone. He even felt that the Alphas from the Combat Academy were quite polite; at the very least, they maintained a level of decorum on the surface, did not cause him embarrassment, and refrained from saying anything too harsh.

He suspected this was likely due to Ji Xingxiao’s influence. Recalling what Ji Xingxiao had said earlier on the public communication channel, Yu Yi felt a stir of emotion. That message implied that if anyone had an objection, Ji Xingxiao had the capability to carry a “burden” like him and complete the mission alone.

What a formidable level of confidence that was. As Bai Changfeng had said, Ji Xingxiao truly was a natural ability user standing at the very top. Even though he knew Ji Xingxiao probably had no ulterior motives and perhaps simply took pity on him, Yu Yi was still moved by this special treatment.

The highly concentrated nutrition bar in his hand began to change color once it left the freezer. Yu Yi did not know the reason for this, so he hurried to the main cockpit and handed the tube, which had turned from transparent to white, toward Ji Xingxiao.

“It is not spoiled, is it?” Yu Yi looked at Ji Xingxiao nervously.

Ji Xingxiao was fully concentrated on the route displayed on the viewport and only spared the nutrition bar a glance. “Mm. You can just leave it over there.”

Given Yu Yi’s lack of knowledge, Ji Xingxiao did not expect him to find the biological interface on the combat suit designed for surface absorption, let alone expect him to follow the standard procedure to precisely insert and activate the nutrition bar. These specialized bars could penetrate efficiently through skin contact or be taken orally, both designed to provide uninterrupted energy in extreme environments.

Seeing that Ji Xingxiao made no negative comment about the color change, Yu Yi let out a quiet sigh of relief. He waited for a moment, but since Ji Xingxiao showed no intention of eating, Yu Yi felt he should do something to avoid appearing completely useless. He tore off the seal of the packaging and asked, “Can I drink this directly?”

Ji Xingxiao assumed Yu Yi was going to eat it himself and replied casually, “You can.”

Before his voice had even faded, the cool tip of the tube was already pressed against his lips. Ji Xingxiao was speechless. He hesitated to speak, finally moving his gaze from the viewport to Yu Yi’s face.

“Eat up. I will eat after you are finished.” Yu Yi’s eyes were bright, carrying a hint of a desire to please.

This person, did he actually know what he was doing?

Ji Xingxiao found the situation utterly absurd, yet he still accepted the nutrition bar from Yu Yi’s hand. Upon seeing the joyful expression of a “successful feeding” on Yu Yi’s face, he looked back at the front with an expressionless face. He simply did not want to waste his breath explaining the correct procedure for surface absorption to this idiot. That was all.

Yu Yi sat to the side, opened his own seal, and looked at the overwhelming number of metal buttons in front of Ji Xingxiao before staring out at the pitch-black viewport, slowly swallowing the nutritional liquid mouthful by mouthful.

He had often eaten nutrition bars as a child because Yu Qing was too busy with her romantic life to look after him. Many children in the Lower City grew up on nutrition bars; aside from the lack of texture, they had no nutritional drawbacks. However, Yu Yi could clearly sense that this one was much richer. The nutrition bars in the Lower City were clearly diluted and tasteless. This one was slightly sweet and salty, reminiscent of caramel. It was quite good.

In a pleasant mood, Yu Yi finished his meal and returned to his safety pod. “Call me if you need anything!” Yu Yi said before leaving.

Ji Xingxiao glanced at him.

“You can call me even if you do not need anything!” Yu Yi laughed brightly.

Ji Xingxiao looked away.

They were approximately dozens of kilometers from their destination, and the team members who had finished resting began checking their equipment. The goal of this mission was to detect the depth of the trench in this ancient ocean and record the status of the pollutants within.

Upon arriving nearby, everyone exited the mecha and changed into land suits suitable for climbing and detection. Yu Yi remained alone in the safety pod of the mecha, waving enthusiastically as he watched them go. “Safe travels!”

The Alphas nodded slightly at him, seemingly in response. The feeling of not being ignored made Yu Yi feel even better. Once everyone had left, Yu Yi could finally lie down in the safety pod and sleep without any mental burden.

Unfortunately, he had no idea when they would return, nor was he connected to the communication channel they were currently using. There was nothing in the safety pod except for a gauge showing the current oxygen concentration. When Yu Yi woke up, he realized the surroundings were terrifyingly quiet.

Time inside the safety pod felt infinitely stretched; Yu Yi could even hear the subtle mechanical hum of the mecha’s internals. He checked the time statistics on the oxygen gauge and could not help but gasp. They had been in the polluted zone for five days.

During these five days, not one of the Alphas had closed their eyes, while he had spent his time eating and sleeping. Ji Xingxiao had not assigned him a single task. Yu Yi looked out the window with boredom, but it was pitch black and he could see nothing. He had no idea where they had gone.

At that moment, a piercing burst of static noise suddenly came through his headset. Yu Yi was startled. Did something happen? He quickly steadied his headset and listened intently.

Then, a hurried and authoritative voice broke into the channel: “Emergency instructions! Emergency instructions! Teammate in the safety pod, please pay attention. Go to the main pilot seat immediately and manually turn off the central inhibitor button! I repeat, turn off the central inhibitor button immediately!”

Whose voice was this?

But Ji Xingxiao told him not to touch anything. Could a mutated pollutant from the zone have invaded? He had not heard any movement. Yu Yi’s suspicions grew. He steadied his mind and whispered, “What do you mean? Who are you?”

The voice immediately became more severe, even taking on a scolding tone: “This is an emergency! An inhibitor overload will reverse-contaminate the entire circulation system, causing nerve poisoning for all team members outside within three minutes! Do you want to kill everyone? This is a maximum-authority command! Defense Academy class of ’08 student Yu Yi, execute immediately!”

As the voice finished, the safety pod door in front of Yu Yi actually popped open automatically.

When the caller accurately stated his name, Yu Yi’s resolve began to waver. Seeing the door open made him even more astonished. This voice did seem to belong to one of the Alphas. It sounded familiar. Was it really his turn to be the savior?

A more intense blast of interference noise came through his ear, drowning out all other sounds. There was no time to hesitate. Yu Yi pushed open the safety pod door and rushed toward the main control cabin outside.

The massive pilot seat was somewhat difficult for him to manage. He climbed up clumsily, facing the incredibly complex interface, and suddenly hesitated. He had never seen these things before. What if?

While he was wavering, the voice exploded in his ear again, accompanied by the crackle of distorted electrical sounds. The situation was extremely urgent. “Find the red area marked ‘Inhibitor’!”

As Yu Yi’s eyes landed on the cluster of red buttons in the corner of the console, the voice of approval came quickly: “Yes, that is the one!”

“The red switch right in the middle! Push it down hard!”

The voice guided him step by step, leaving Yu Yi no room for further thought. Yu Yi gritted his teeth, took a deep breath, and pushed the button down.

Two hours earlier, the mecha had parked at the preset coordinates. The team members quickly changed into land suits, donned their detection instruments and weapons, and stepped into the polluted zone. In the eternal night, the only light sources were the spotlights on their bodies and the beams cast by the mecha.

“Captain, does he really not need to come down with us?” Wen Ruxu looked up at the mecha standing at the edge of the dried seabed, glowing with a faint blue light, feeling somewhat puzzled.

“No need.” Ji Xingxiao was checking his equipment, not lifting his head. “He does not know anything. Coming down would only slow our progress and add unnecessary risk.”

“But is it alright to leave him alone with the central hub?” Chen Yanqing expressed concern. “What if?”

Ji Xingxiao’s swift movements paused for a moment before returning to normal. “It is fine. I have locked his safety pod; he has no way of opening it from the inside.”

This statement completely dispelled the concerns of the others. Gu Han breathed a sigh of relief, wanting to lighten the atmosphere. “Captain, is that Beta from the Defense Academy?”

As soon as he said this, the other team members adjusting their equipment looked over with gossiping eyes, waiting for Ji Xingxiao’s answer. Ji Xingxiao had a cold face, clearly not intending to explain much. He simply said, “Do not ask about things unrelated to the mission.”

“But,” Gu Han wanted to say more when a sharp, ear-piercing screech suddenly came from the darkness above them.

A massive, twisted black shadow soared from a crack like lightning, heading straight for Chen Yanqing at the center of the group! The event happened so suddenly that the others did not even have time to draw their weapons. They could only shout: “Look out! A polluted creature!”

Ji Xingxiao’s eyes darkened. He raised his hand, and a blast of chilling air shot from his palm, an ice blade formed instantly by his natural ability. The ice blade was so fast it was invisible to the naked eye. It tore through the air, carrying a bone-chilling cold, and accurately struck the black creature. The powerful kinetic energy sent the creature flying a dozen meters away. Finally, there was a short, dull thud of a blade piercing flesh. The ice blade pinned the still-screeching and twisting creature firmly to the parched, cracked ancient seabed.

The cold air on the ice blade spread rapidly, instantly freezing the polluted creature and a small patch of the ground around it. By the time the group walked over, the creature on the ground had already died.

Chen Yanqing felt as though he had survived a disaster, with large beads of cold sweat seeping from his forehead. “Thank you, Captain.” If Ji Xingxiao had not been present, he would likely have been injured today.

Lying on the ground was a creature that had crawled up from the dried trench, covered in disgusting black tumors. To survive in this polluted zone, it had condensed countless mutated genes; it was no longer possible to tell what kind of creature it had been. The Upper City classified these creatures into five levels of pollutants, with higher numbers representing deeper levels of pollution. The creature frozen into a block of ice was a common Level 2 pollutant.

To use one’s ability as easily as eating or breathing was something only natural ability users could achieve. Ordinary ability users needed to imbue their power into weapons or mechas, but natural ability users were the most powerful weapons themselves. Even among natural ability users, those who could use their powers as skillfully as Ji Xingxiao were few and far between.

“Record it,” Ji Xingxiao’s voice was steady.

“Yes, Captain.” Wen Ruxu, who was responsible for recording data on-site, tapped the communication device on his wrist. His communicator was a silver bracelet snapped onto his wrist so it would not shake easily. Wen Ruxu opened a virtual screen, and a laser automatically focused on the Level 2 pollutant remains, recording all details.

[Contains 60 percent walrus genes.] [80 percent mutation level.] [Level 2 pollutant.]

The data scrolled rapidly across the screen until the entry was complete. Just as he was about to report to Ji Xingxiao, he suddenly felt a heaviness in his head. The alarm inside his combat suit began to blare, and a piercing pain quickly spread through his brain. Looking at the other team members nearby, they were all swaying unsteadily.

Almost simultaneously, alarms began to sound on everyone’s combat suits.

“What is happening?” Ji Xingxiao frowned. His own powerful nervous system sensed the abnormal fluctuations, though they were not as obvious as those felt by the other members.

“Captain,” Chen Yanqing said, barely enduring the intense headache, “it seems our inhibitors have been turned off by someone.”

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