My Omega Rival in Love [Interstellar] - Chapter 23

Four curved panels extended from the sides, surrounding He Yu in the center. Gu Jin stood outside the arc, her fingers pausing briefly over the control panel. He Yu asked anxiously, “What is wrong?”

“It is nothing,” Gu Jin replied, pinching the bridge of her nose. She steeled herself and pressed the button for Couple Mode on the control panel.

Immediately afterward, a platform rose where Gu Jin stood. Four similar curved panels flew out to enclose her as well. “This is the dual-pilot mode. However, you are in the primary control position, and I am in the auxiliary position. This design was originally intended for an Alpha and an Omega to operate together. When the Alpha bears the primary pressure of the mecha, all functions can be activated. If an Omega operates it alone, only partial functions are available.”

Piloting a mecha naturally placed immense pressure on the operator. The reason Omegas were generally prohibited from piloting was that most possessed C-rank or even D-rank constitutions, making it impossible for them to endure the physical strain. Of course, someone like He Yu was a rare exception to this rule.

Even so, the fundamental differences between Alpha and Omega constitutions meant that He Yu would find it difficult to withstand the multi-faceted pressures of the mecha.

He Yu finally understood why this was the only mecha an Omega could drive. It was clearly something Gu Jin’s ancestor had concocted for amusement. Requiring both an Alpha and an Omega to pilot seemed like a waste of resources when a single Alpha could normally handle the task.

“Begin the identity authentication,” Gu Jin said. As soon as she spoke, a display screen rose in front of He Yu. After entering her basic information, He Yu watched as her surroundings began to transform.

A faint light rose from the previously empty space beneath her feet, and the surrounding arcs began to rotate slowly. He Yu looked at Gu Jin with a sense of helplessness. “What is happening?”

“Stay calm. It is performing behavioral capture on you. It will be finished in a moment.”

Without looking at He Yu, Gu Jin entered various commands into the control panel with dazzling speed. It was only then that He Yu realized how much more convenient modern mecha technology had become compared to thousands of years ago.

Gu Jin worked quickly and was soon fully prepared. She looked up at He Yu, who was still holding her original posture, and gestured with her hand. “Look at the screen in front of you and try to move.”

He Yu redirected her gaze to the screen, which displayed the exterior of the Immortal Mecha. She attempted to extend her right hand. On the screen, the Immortal Mecha followed suit. He Yu looked at the display with delight, moving her arms and legs like a child while the mecha mirrored every motion.

“It truly worked! I can pilot a mecha!” He Yu turned to look at Gu Jin.

Gu Jin hurriedly averted her gaze and looked at the control panel, pretending to be focused. “The surrounding area is a mecha training base. Try to connect to the mecha through your terminal and then issue commands to it.”

In her excitement, He Yu did not notice Gu Jin’s odd behavior. She nodded, established the connection, and controlled the mecha to walk forward. As she slowly exited the doorway, Wen Ju, who had been napping nearby, was startled by the massive entity suddenly appearing beside him. He Yu crouched the mecha down to look at the tiny Wen Ju. She extended a finger, which was larger than Wen Ju’s head, and gently poked him.

Wen Ju was furious. He thought Gu Jin was teasing him. He stood with his hands on his hips, shouting at the mecha before jumping up to deliver a kick. He struck the mecha’s ankle.

A sharp pain shot straight through Wen Ju. He clutched his foot and collapsed on the ground in front of the mecha, shamelessly demanding compensation. “Gu Jin! Get down here! Pay me for the damages! Right now!”

He Yu looked down at Wen Ju and then turned to Gu Jin. “He wants you to pay him.”

Gu Jin pinched the bridge of her nose, unable to look at the disgrace to the nobility. She decided that she would have to be more selective when recruiting subordinates in the future. “Just fly over him. Ignore him.”

With Gu Jin’s approval, He Yu no longer hesitated. She eagerly issued a command in her mind. The mecha’s knees bent slightly, and in the next second, the black and gold machine vanished. The resulting air current sent Wen Ju rolling. He lay on the ground, staring at the sky with no energy left to even make a gesture of contempt.

Inside the mecha, He Yu stared at the ground rushing past. The sensation of flight felt incredibly real.

“Target the mecha combat arena at the ten o’clock position. I have found a sparring partner for you,” Gu Jin said. She sent the coordinates to He Yu and leaned back in her wheelchair, looking somewhat unwell.

He Yu quickly adjusted her flight path. She felt as though her heart would leap out of her chest. This was the thrill of piloting. It felt as though she and this giant machine were one, and everything in the world was within her grasp.

Despite her excitement, He Yu felt a flash of concern when she looked at Gu Jin. She remembered that Gu Jin was still severely injured, yet she was bearing the full pressure of the mecha. “Gu Jin, how are you? If you cannot hold on, we should go back. You have already fulfilled your promise by letting me pilot the mecha.”

He Yu looked forward to combat, but she did not want Gu Jin’s health to deteriorate further because of a temporary whim.

Gu Jin gave a disdainful smile. “Do you think I am as weak as you? This small mecha puts almost no pressure on me. Just play. You owe me a request, so I cannot let you lose out on your end of the deal.”

“Furthermore,” Gu Jin stood up from her wheelchair and crossed her arms, “I was never actually injured. I was just teasing you earlier.”

He Yu thought that she had never met someone as annoying as Gu Jin. She should have realized that Gu Jin would not be so self-sacrificing as to wander around while seriously wounded. Even if Gu Jin wanted to, Gu Ting would never have allowed it.

It was absurd. He Yu had protected her from toxic creatures earlier, yet with Gu Jin’s actual strength, she could have crushed them with a stomp of her foot.

As Gu Jin stood there playing with her fingers, He Yu suddenly brought the mecha to a halt. The immense inertia acted on Gu Jin. If not for the protective arcs, she would have likely crashed into the cockpit wall.

Gu Jin gripped the arc and looked coldly at He Yu before sitting back in her wheelchair. She said nothing and turned the chair around to face away from He Yu.

“I am making my request now,” Gu Jin’s voice came from the other side of the chair. He Yu listened with a frown. This was their agreement, after all.

“I want you to take every section regarding me from the Interstellar Fan Guidelines, including all the complimentary comments, and handwrite them one hundred times on paper. Then, you will recite them to me without missing a single word. You have three days.”

Gu Jin always knew exactly how to torment her. He Yu glared at the back of the wheelchair, wishing she could burn a hole through it. She could not believe someone could be so shameless as to force another person to copy and recite praise about them.

“Oh, and you have no choice but to comply. Good luck. I will be waiting. Also, as a word of advice, you must keep our meeting today a secret. I would rather not have to listen to your recitation in the Capital Star Prison.”

Gu Jin’s obnoxious voice continued. He Yu clenched her fists and grit her teeth, using every ounce of self-control to suppress the urge to strike her.

She controlled the mecha to land slowly in the center of the combat arena. Once she was steady, a silver-white, third-generation basic mecha landed in front of her.

“That is one of the guards responsible for my safety. He has an A-rank constitution and is a Beta, but he is highly skilled in mecha piloting. Fight him.”

Gu Jin finally turned around. He Yu caught a glimpse of her and noticed that Gu Jin’s face seemed even paler. She frowned, but then looked away, assuming it was just her imagination.

Gu Jin entered commands, and the arcs around He Yu expanded to give her plenty of room to move. After exchanging greetings, He Yu watched the opponent warily. The third-generation basic mecha relied entirely on close combat without flashy functions or weapons, making it quite similar to the Immortal Mecha.

The guard attacked first. He Yu watched the screen and quickly dodged a punch before counterattacking with a strike to the silver mecha’s chest. The guard reacted nimbly, blocking the blow with his forearm.

Gu Jin sat in her wheelchair, head tilted, watching the two mechas trade blows on the screen. She remained quiet to avoid distracting He Yu. After a while, she began to feel bored.

She propped her head on her hand and watched He Yu with half-closed eyes. Although He Yu was an Omega, she had never neglected her training. Her physique was perfect, and her agile movements were standard and elegant.

While watching mecha fights was boring to Gu Jin, she found He Yu’s movements captivating. She looked like a perfect work of art. Even a simple punch was something Gu Jin never tired of watching.

Perhaps because Gu Jin’s eyes were half-closed, He Yu did not notice the gaze. She focused entirely on her opponent. The guard was exceptionally skilled, fighting with enough restraint to make it a true learning experience for her.

Because one side was holding back and the other lacked practical experience, the battle lasted for a long time. Eventually, Wen Ju arrived and watched the fight from the edge of the protective shield. He shouted, “Gu Jin! Are you finished yet? Hurry up, I am hungry!”

As another round ended, Gu Jin saw the sweat on He Yu’s nose and clapped her hands. “That was a good fight. But are you not hungry?”

He Yu’s stamina was near its limit. She nodded and signaled for a truce. She looked at Gu Jin and asked, “How do we get out?”

“Disconnect your link with the mecha. I will handle the rest.” Gu Jin stretched and operated the control panel.

The moment the connection was severed, He Yu’s vision blurred. When she regained her focus, she was outside the mecha. Gu Jin was there in her wheelchair, but the massive mecha had completely vanished.

“I thought you said ancient technology was not this advanced?” He Yu asked. She did not believe a mecha that originally required rope ladders and manual doors would have modern extreme compression technology.

Gu Jin nodded without a hint of guilt. “That is true. But modern times have such technology. I modified it. Was that so difficult to imagine?”

He realized she had been tricked again. He Yu snorted and turned to leave.

“Do not forget the condition you promised. I am waiting.”

Gu Jin watched He Yu’s angry departure and involuntarily curled her lips into a smile. She waited until He Yu had completely disappeared before taking a deep breath. Her relaxed expression instantly turned pale. She knit her brows and leaned back in the wheelchair with her eyes closed.

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