My Omega Rival in Love [Interstellar] - Chapter 21

Seeing that Gu Jin did not look like she was dying, He Yu realized she had likely been fooled again.

Crossing her arms, He Yu looked at Gu Jin with a cold gaze. “You look perfectly fine, do you not? Stop pretending!”

“What am I pretending?” Gu Jin spread her hands. “I am indeed injured, and it is quite serious. Did you not see that I am in a wheelchair?”

“Yes, so serious that you could send an A-grade Alpha flying ten meters with a single punch.” He Yu did not believe a word she said. She glanced at Wen Ju, who was still sprawled on the ground, and remained entirely skeptical of Gu Jin’s claims.

Following He Yu’s gaze to Wen Ju, Gu Jin blinked. “Even if I were on the verge of death and unable to move from my bed, I could still take on ten people like him. He hardly qualifies as an A-grade.”

Wen Ju, the innocent victim of her words, thought to himself, There is no love left in this world.

He Yu did not actually doubt that point. Wen Ju relied on having a successful older brother and did not need to inherit the family business, so his goal in life was simply to “eat and wait for death.” He possessed an A-grade physique and the status of an Alpha, but in reality, he was a total combat novice. He could be defeated in seconds by someone of his own rank, let alone by Gu Jin, who exceeded him by more than two levels.

“Fine, just tell me what is going on quickly.” Not wanting to argue with Gu Jin further, He Yu changed the subject. She scanned the surroundings. The area was empty, containing nothing but a mecha docking station, and the station itself was currently vacant.

Since her own time was limited, Gu Jin did not dawdle. She hauled up the “playing dead” Wen Ju and tossed him by the door to stand guard. Then, she led He Yu toward the docking station.

“I promised you yesterday that I would let you experience piloting a mecha today. I have not forgotten. Surely you have not forgotten either?” Gu Jin rested her elbow on the wheelchair armrest with her fingers interlaced, glancing at He Yu from the corner of her eye.

Only then did He Yu remember. She had assumed Gu Jin was just speaking casually, and after hearing that Gu Jin was seriously injured, she had not given the matter another thought.

“Oh.”

Seeing He Yu’s cold expression and non-committal response, Gu Jin retracted her gaze. She felt a slight sense of disappointment, similar to someone who had spent all week planning a weekend picnic and preparing a surprise for a companion, only for that companion to show no interest.

However, Gu Jin’s emotion was fleeting. She did not truly consider He Yu a “companion” for a picnic.

Floating over to the docking station, Gu Jin tapped several times in the air. A screen manifested in the empty space, collecting her fingerprints, retinal scans, and even a blood DNA sample. After about thirty seconds, the verification progress bar finally filled, and the screen turned from red to green.

Then, He Yu watched as ripples distorted the air. Faint light emanated from the docking station, and a medium-sized mecha slowly materialized from the glow.

Watching the scene in shock, He Yu realized she had never seen such technology. She was certain this was not the usual teleportation or stealth technology achieved through quantum mechanics. In fact, she could not even determine where the mecha had come from.

Once the mecha fully materialized, He Yu instinctively took a step back. Despite being a mecha designer herself, she had never seen a machine like this.

It was entirely gold-plated with black patterns sprawling across the frame. There was not a single redundant or bulky design element. The nearly ten-meter-tall mecha had fluid lines, and every joint was perfect. It did not have the typical heavy, massive build; instead, it looked more humanoid, with no sharp edges and perfect proportions.

An image flashed through her mind. He Yu looked at Gu Jin in disbelief. “Is this the legendary ancestor of mechas from when the Gu ancestors conquered the galaxy? The one called ‘Coronation’? The legends say Coronation was black and gold. Is this the one?”

Her words were frantic with excitement. He Yu recalled the descriptions she had read in history books: The Ancestor of Mechas, The Glory of Coronation, Humanoid, Golden Body with Black Patterns. During its service, it never lost a battle. It was the only bonded mecha of the first Emperor of Weize. Later, its whereabouts became unknown and it became a myth. Due to military secrecy, not a single photo remained.

“Well,” Gu Jin said, seeing He Yu’s excitement. She felt a bit bad about telling her the truth. “This is not Coronation. This is its sibling mecha, called ‘Immortal.’ Coronation saw too much combat; it was eventually beyond repair and was completely destroyed.”

He Yu felt a pang of disappointment hearing it was not Coronation, but her interest piqued again at Gu Jin’s words. “Sibling mecha? Immortal? There is no record of this in history.”

“Coronation and Immortal were built at the same time. Coronation was heavier and had more destructive power. Plus, it was my great-great-great-great-great-grandfather’s bonded mecha, so it is more famous. Immortal is lighter and faster. Everyone knows the first Emperor of Weize, but few know he had a beloved wife. For his Omega wife, when he commissioned Coronation, he also had a mecha built suitable for an Omega to pilot—Immortal. Unfortunately, just as the mecha was finished, his wife died on the battlefield. Immortal was permanently sealed away before it ever met its master.”

“So you mean, this belonged to your great-great-great-great-grandmother?” He Yu was stunned. This was incredible.

“You missed one ‘great,'” Gu Jin said, unfazed. She had unearthed her family secrets back when she was still a toddler. “To be precise, she was only my great-great-great-great-great-grandmother in name. My actual great-grandmother was my great-grandfather’s second wife. In history books, the famous founding Empress was his fourth wife. There was actually a fifth and a sixth. I guess expansionist wars are hard on wives.”

He Yu thought to herself, So much for undying love.

“Though I suppose it was ‘until death do us part.’ After all, even the seventh Empress did not outlive the founding Emperor. When I read this history, I suspected my great-grandfather had a ‘wife-cursing’ trait.”

Well, He Yu finally understood why history only praised the first Emperor’s achievements and never mentioned his love life.

“I am getting sidetracked,” Gu Jin said, realizing she was badmouthing her ancestors. She pulled the topic back. “This is the only mecha I know of that an Omega can pilot. I will go in with you. If anything goes wrong, we can exit in time.”

So, Gu Jin’s solution was basically “grave robbing.” However, that did not dampen He Yu’s excitement. This was her first time seeing a legendary mecha, let alone piloting one. For her, this was an experience that would make her life complete.

Understanding Gu Jin’s concerns, He Yu did not object. She stared at the mecha for two minutes. “How do we get to the cockpit?”

He Yu was familiar with modern mechas using third-generation piloting technology. As for the first generation, those were state secrets. Even as a national-level mecha researcher, she was not authorized to see them.

Touching her ear, Gu Jin pulled out a walnut-sized remote and pressed the center button. The ten-meter-tall mecha moved. A rope ladder slowly lowered from the chest area, extending down to Gu Jin and He Yu.

“Do not tell me this is how we get up.” He Yu stared at the rope ladder in disbelief. It was a mecha, after all. Why a manual rope ladder?

“Yes. And once you are up, you have to pull the rope up yourself, or the door will not close.” Gu Jin pointed to the hatch on the chest. “You also have to pull that shut manually. It is a piece of technology from thousands of years ago. How high-tech did you expect it to be? Just make do.”

Under He Yu’s speechless gaze, Gu Jin gave a foxy grin. “Of course, there is a second way. Sit on my lap, and I will fly us up. Take your pick.”

“Heh.” He Yu gave Gu Jin a contemptuous look and glanced up at the mecha. “There is a third way.”

With that, He Yu rolled up her sleeves, stepped onto the armrest of Gu Jin’s wheelchair for leverage, and leaped. She grabbed the rope ladder, swung toward the mecha, kicked off the frame for a second boost, and performed a beautiful backflip. She landed steadily on the chest hatch with the rope in hand, looking down at Gu Jin.

Gu Jin raised an eyebrow at He Yu’s heroic silhouette and let out a playful whistle. Then, she manipulated her wheelchair to shamelessly and slowly float upward.

“Impressive, impressive. Sister He is truly amazing.”

Just as Gu Jin finished speaking and reached the hatch, He Yu grabbed the wheelchair, swung it sideways, and tossed Gu Jin firmly into the cockpit. She then slammed the heavy door shut behind them.

Dizzy from the toss, Gu Jin held her head and smiled with her eyes closed. That was He Yu for you.

“Alright, what is next?” He Yu crossed her arms, looking at the empty cockpit. She knew the manuals by heart, but those were for the third generation. This was clearly first-generation technology.

Gu Jin nodded solemnly and entered a password at the edge of the cockpit. Suddenly, the walls of the empty cockpit cracked open, and countless mutated venomous snakes and rats swarmed out.

He Yu’s pupils contracted. She moved instinctively to dodge a lunging snake, her skin crawling as she retreated.

Looking back, she saw Gu Jin sitting frozen in her wheelchair, seemingly caught off guard. A spotted venomous snake was crawling up her chair.

Without a second thought, He Yu dashed to Gu Jin’s side, kicked the snake away, and grabbed the wheelchair to pull it toward the door.

This time, Gu Jin was truly stunned. She stared at He Yu’s hand on her wheelchair. Just then, a rat with bared white teeth lunged for He Yu’s hand.

“Let go!” Gu Jin barked. He Yu looked back, and in a split second, she released the chair. Gu Jin’s heart settled for a moment until she felt her arm being gripped. As He Yu let go of the chair, her other hand had grabbed Gu Jin’s arm.

Having to pull Gu Jin while dodging the onslaught of vermin left He Yu struggling.

Gu Jin squeezed He Yu’s hand. “Let go. I cannot walk; I will only drag you down.”

“Nonsense!”

Without looking back, He Yu focused on the enemies in front of her, swearing for the first time—a habit she had picked up from Gu Jin.

The corners of Gu Jin’s mouth twitched upward uncontrollably. She held He Yu’s hand on her arm. “He Yu, why are you saving me?”

He Yu’s footing faltered as she clumsily dodged an attack. “Shut up!”

Looking at He Yu’s back, Gu Jin felt her heart swell. Holding He Yu’s hand and watching the growing swarm of creatures, her gaze softened with a hint of tenderness. She parted her lips slightly.

“Retreat.”

The voice was not loud, but it seemed to freeze time in the cockpit. The fierce tide of vermin stopped instantly. Then, one by one, they retracted their fangs and stood in neat rows. Some rats even stood on their hind legs, tilting their heads and looking at the two with curious, “ugly-cute” smiles.

He Yu was speechless.

Catching her breath, He Yu looked at the orderly rows of animals, then back at Gu Jin, who was playing dumb. Her eyes narrowed. She stepped onto Gu Jin’s wheelchair, grabbed her by the collar, and growled, “You had better give me a reason to let you live.”

Gu Jin blinked and held He Yu’s hand. “Well, how about I introduce you to my friends?”

“Friends?” He Yu’s tone was dangerous. She looked at the animals. Wherever her gaze landed, the little creatures bobbed their heads in unison, looking so well-behaved that it was impossible to recognize them as the killers from a moment ago.

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