DS Extra 15

The Youth Lit Up the Lamp in the Sky (3)

What he’s trying to do? Jiang Jianming wondered.

Contempt, mockery, foul language—having experienced too much of these, or perhaps simply because he was tired, he no longer wished to pay them much attention.

In the prosperous imperial capital, any force could easily crush a bird that stuck its head out. He didn’t want to court destruction, nor did he want to become a blade in the hands of powerful figures, so he tried to keep as low a profile as possible, hoping only to complete his studies smoothly.

But there were still others in the world who would stand up for him. Tang Zhen was like this, and so was His Highness Ryann.

So sometimes, he would be pushed by these external forces and couldn’t help but reveal a hint of his edge.

“I want…”

Jiang Jianming said with a smile, “I want to jump onto that mecha, drag my dear roommate out, and sit in it myself.”

Ryann thought he was talking nonsense, or that he was mad with anger. So he reached out and pinched the disabled human’s nape again, coaxing him in a soft voice, “Next time I’ll let you sit in my mecha.”

“I’m starting to think,” Jiang Jianming sighed, “that coming to Aslan has brought more good things than bad after all.”

Ryann: “Mm.”

They sat like that in the spectator seats for a while longer, feeling the night breeze brush their faces.

Until the lights above the mecha arena went out, and Tang Zhen came up, calling out to him from afar, “Xiao Jiang!”

Waver had already slipped away smoothly and skillfully. Tang Zhen’s heart was in turmoil, his expression stiff beyond measure.

He didn’t dare approach rashly—the concealment device would fail at close range, and getting close would be equivalent to offending the other party. But he dared even less to just leave Jiang Jianming behind and walk away. He was afraid his roommate had provoked some important figure without knowing it and would suffer calamity in the future.

“Well, um,” Tang Zhen still steeled himself and stepped forward two more paces, “Sorry, Xiao Jiang, for dragging you into this. It’s getting late, let’s go back to the dorm—oh right, have you eaten dinner? My treat.”

Jiang Jianming’s mind was clear as a mirror, knowing his roommate was worried about him. He grasped Ryann’s hand beside him, interlacing their fingers, and held it up for him to see. “It’s fine, he’s my friend. You go back first.”

Tang Zhen breathed a huge sigh of relief, but quickly became vigilant again. This time he began to fear that Jiang Jianming didn’t know how deep the waters ran in the imperial capital, and like a little lamb might be deceived and led astray…

Finally, after emphasizing several times to remember the curfew and that he must return to the dorm tonight, he left with frequent backward glances.

Ryann gave a soft snort, casually pinching Jiang Jianming’s fingertips. “He certainly cares about you.”

Jiang Jianming was about to respond when he saw the Little Highness turn his emerald eyes toward him in the night, holding his hand and saying, “But can he take good care of you? He couldn’t even handle those people just now. If I had arrived a bit later, he could only have watched helplessly as you jumped down.”

Jiang Jianming blinked, thinking to himself, “But no one has the obligation to take care of me for nothing,” when he heard Ryann continue, “Is that kind of outcome the sense of security you’re pursuing?”

——The disabled human’s words about lacking a sense of security at the restaurant seemed to have dealt a heavy blow to the Crown Prince.

Jiang Jianming couldn’t help but laugh, wanting to reach out and ruffle his hair to smooth it down, but was dodged by Ryann turning his head away.

“Look at you, I specially rushed over here… and you didn’t even say thank you.”

As he spoke, the young heir’s usually aloof tone actually became subtly aggrieved. “You only cared about how the dishes you ordered turned out.”

He then went on to mention the situation at the Far Star battlefield, saying with a stern face things like “If tomorrow alien creatures launch a massive attack on Aslan, who could protect you.”

“…Little Highness, please watch your words. You’re the Crown Prince—how can you curse your own empire like this?”

“I’m making a serious hypothetical. Anything could happen in the future. So what’s your answer?”

Jiang Jianming didn’t answer, just looked at him with smiling eyes full of warmth.

Being gazed at so tenderly, Ryann quickly fell silent. A moment later he admitted defeat in the eye contact. “…Never mind, are you hungry? Let’s go find a place to eat.”

But Jiang Jianming shook his head. He stood up, his fingers slipping away from Ryann’s palm.

Then the disabled human turned around. Behind him were the gray iron railings and the open mecha arena, along with the night sky where thin clouds were just dispersing, and the wind.

“Ryann,” Jiang Jianming looked down at the mecha arena below and said gently, “Will you play a round of mecha combat with me?”

****

Clang, clang clang!

Five minutes later, blinding white light illuminated everything. Jiang Jianming stood beneath the light pole, withdrawing his hand from the controller—he had turned on the lights overhead.

The night sky had been washed clean by the recent autumn rain. Between the thin clouds, scattered stars began to appear, and the water’s surface reflected the azure blue mecha.

Jiang Jianming had chosen the M-Icearmor 02, a small humanoid mecha. Both mechanical arms were equipped with 60cm new crystal blades—high burst damage, high power, but extremely fragile. Among mechas of the same grade, it was a dangerous model with extremely high operational requirements.

Ryann sat in the cockpit of the M-Rapid Stream X that Waver had just used, the purple mecha’s hatch still not closed.

“Jiang, let’s do this next time.” Ryann’s expression was very ugly. In fact, he had already begun to regret it the moment he saw Jiang Jianming choose this type of mecha.

“Beep beep beep—beep beep!“

The referee robot slid over, issuing instructions for the pilots to enter their cockpits and prepare for battle.

“You just agreed.” Jiang Jianming walked back, bent down and adjusted the referee robot’s mode to make it shut up. “No scoring, let’s play a free match.”

In the blink of an eye, the disabled human had already nimbly climbed into the mecha cockpit and closed the hatch. “I can start now.”

Ryann: “I’ll definitely accompany you next time, and I’ll choose the venue. This type of open mecha arena won’t have protective measures specifically for disabled humans, and the mechas for rent are very low-grade. It’s too dangerous.”

Jiang Jianming fastened his safety belt. “You don’t need to worry. I know all those most basic mecha operation techniques, including self-rescue methods in emergencies.”

“No!” Ryann became somewhat anxious. “You may indeed be well-versed in mecha knowledge, but theory and actual combat are completely different things. You have no idea…”

Jiang Jianming interrupted him. “—I know.”

Inside the cockpit, the black-haired youth caressed the cold alloy inside the mecha.

He changed the crystal bone control system to manual operation, adjusted the values one by one to ranges he was comfortable with, and finally pulled up the visual screen.

“The one who doesn’t know is you, Your Highness the Crown Prince.”

Jiang Jianming said slowly, “Your Highness doesn’t understand me well enough yet, and also…”

Everything was adjusted to the right settings. He pushed the control stick forward. “My mecha.”

Instantly, M-Icearmor 02 slid into a sprint, its azure body becoming an afterimage. The mechanical feet repeatedly trampled through the puddles in the mecha arena, splashing water all the way.

Ryann’s expression changed drastically. His instinct only gave him time to slam the cockpit door shut. The next second, Icearmor’s arm blade had already reached before his eyes, the blade reflecting a piercing light!

Clang——…

With a long, crisp sound, mecha M-Rapid Stream X turned sideways, its purple-black shoulder shield barely managing to block M-Icearmor 02’s blade.

However, the blade tip slid downward with a hiss, revealing the pitch-black, sharp eyes of the young pilot across from him. Icearmor suddenly dove down, the blade’s back locking tight against the purple mecha’s neck joint!

Bang!

The world spun. Mecha Rapid Stream was directly seized at the joints by the opposing mechanical arm, swung up, and heavily slammed onto the surface of the combat arena.

After the dust settled, the azure humanoid mecha pressed down on top of it, a pair of arm blades crossed, hovering over the position of the body’s energy chamber.

“…”

A few drops of water splashed onto the glass alloy in front of the cockpit. Ryann lay facing upward, eyes wide open in a daze, his heart beating violently.

In his field of vision, the black-haired youth sitting inside the Icearmor gazed down at him with deep eyes and spoke, “You let your guard down, so this one doesn’t count.”

Jiang Jianming manipulated the mecha to release the suppressing force, then retreated, opening up some distance. “Let’s start over.”

For a moment, the vast mecha arena was silent.

This time, Ryann said nothing more.

His expression recovered its cold solemnity and seriousness. He manipulated the mecha to stand up, adjusted his stance, and charged forward.

Two steel mechas began to fight in the night.

Both M-Rapid Stream X and M-Icearmor were D-grade mechas, the lowest grade of military mechas. The two pilots’ operations completely exceeded the mechas’ capabilities, and it quickly became a competition of tactics and strategy.

Five minutes later, Jiang Jianming was forced to fire the first shot. Ryann retaliated, and after that the entire arena began to fill with flying beams of light. Although the mechas rented out by the mecha arena weren’t equipped with truly lethal mecha cannons, just watching the display was already shocking enough, and the echoes were continuous and unending.

At one moment, both fired simultaneously, and the shockwave pushed the two mechas apart some distance.

Inside the azure mecha, Jiang Jianming’s face was illuminated snow-white. He breathed lightly and said with a laugh, “Little Highness, am I a bit stronger than you imagined?”

“No, much stronger.” Ryann corrected.

Jiang Jianming raised his face in the cockpit. The intense physical exertion had already soaked his back with sweat. He gazed at the alloy space he was in.

His fingers flicked across the control panel, and the tireless steel machine perfectly obeyed his commands, brandishing its arm blades and charging forward.

This is… a mecha.

The significance of mechas to Jiang Jianming was actually far more important than others might imagine.

Not just interest, not just skill, and not limited to sentimental meanings like “commemorating his adoptive father.”

If one had to make a comparison, perhaps it was similar to the ancient times of the Blue Mother Star era, when weak ancient humans faced the fangs of beasts and raised the first torch.

As a disabled human, mechas were the only weapon in this era that could possibly allow him to stand shoulder to shoulder with new humans.

They were his strength, his support, his… hope.

Icearmor’s arm blade narrowly scraped past the purple cockpit door.

In a flash, mecha Rapid Stream twisted and counter-kicked, its cannon muzzle pressed against the joint between Icearmor’s body and mechanical foot, firing three consecutive shots. The data inside the cockpit immediately all turned red.

Ryann was moved. “A beautiful strike. If that had hit solidly, my cockpit might have been dismounted by now.”

“You don’t need to humor me.”

The high-consumption mecha battle made Jiang Jianming’s voice somewhat hoarse. He smiled bitterly with some helplessness. “…I actually know.”

“That I can hold out this long before Your Highness is first because the grade of mechas we’re using is too low, and second because you’re controlling your crystal bones and not using the power of crystal particles to harm me.”

“Even so, I’m already starting to run out of stamina and mental energy. Soon I won’t be able to maintain highly precise operations. Originally choosing ‘Icearmor’ was to try for a quick victory…”

Sure enough, trying to achieve a quick victory before His Highness Ryann was nearly impossible.

And this was when the other party was already holding back. The black-haired youth raised his face, but his expression was very clear and open.

“I know I’m going to lose this round, and I know the innate species gap is very difficult to overcome.”

“But even so, I still hope…”

His pale, lean arms tensed with fine veins. Jiang Jianming composed himself and suddenly made Icearmor leap up—

“To possess the ability to not have to rely on others, and even to protect others.”

“I understand.” Ryann said softly. He looked up to see Icearmor’s massive shadow fall across the glass before him, the mecha cannon rapidly gathering light.

“I understand you… and your mecha.”

Through the cannon fire, the two mechas collided again. They were like two savage beasts in the vast wilderness, tearing at each other’s bodies with sharp claws and fangs.

The violent impact shook the cockpits, both pilots bearing this force. And it was precisely in this frenzied collision that they seemed to touch the spring water gushing from the deepest part of each other’s souls, certain intangible things merging together.

Jiang Jianming gritted his teeth, enduring the dizziness and soreness transmitted from his body. His highly concentrated mental state made his blood vessels throb chaotically, gradually transforming into a sharp ringing in his ears.

“Ryann,” he said with difficulty, “thank you… for being willing to rush here to protect me.”

“But, if tomorrow alien creatures really do attack Aslan Star City, I…”

—I don’t want to be protected by others, taken care of, to become a weak burden.

If possible, I would rather sit in a mecha with you, fly through scorching gunsmoke together, and fight for the star city and people behind us.

Jiang Jianming truly thought this way.

However, such words were far too arrogant, too presumptuous for a disabled human merely fifteen or sixteen years old.

So he didn’t speak them aloud.

From beginning to end, he only gazed deeply at the young heir with his black eyes, like the clear, sharp wind blowing at this moment.

When the two mechas brushed past each other, when the mechanical arms collided in mid-air striking sparks, Jiang Jianming asked softly, “Can you truly understand?”

Such a soft voice was naturally drowned out by the ear-piercing roar.

Both mechas dragged deep grooves in the arena, maintaining a back-to-back stillness for a few seconds.

A few seconds later, the deep purple M-Rapid Stream X slowly turned around.

The cockpit door opened, and white projected light shone on the Crown Prince’s beautifully contoured features.

Ryann said in a low voice, “I understand.”

—Crash!

M-Icearmor 02 fell down, slamming onto the ground.

“Jiang!!”

Ryann was scared out of his wits, but immediately saw an arm push open the cockpit. Jiang Jianming extracted himself from the fallen mecha, rolling embarrassedly on the ground, breathing heavily.

Ryann rushed over, picked him up and pulled him into his embrace, nervously stroking his sweat-dampened forehead. “How are you, are you hurt, is your body uncomfortable anywhere!?”

Jiang Jianming was dizzy and spoke intermittently, “I’m fine, I’m okay. But how did you… how did you break the mecha, cough cough…”

He looked back at the azure mecha, then fell silent. Ha, one leg was already ruined.

“Really okay? Can you still stand up?” Ryann’s heart was still pounding. Now that he had calmed down, his back was cold with sweat. He could hardly believe he had fought so fiercely against a disabled human.

Without saying more to Jiang Jianming, he helped him up and headed outside.

The referee robot came rolling over, extending its little claws to block the path, displaying the penalty amount on its screen.

Jiang Jianming closed his eyes, unwilling to look, burying his head in Ryann’s shoulder. The latter consciously bent down to pay the damages, patting him. “It’s done.”

“Let’s rest for a bit in the stands, then go have dinner.”

Later, they sat in the empty spectator seats of the mecha arena, hastily eating takeout meals. The night was thick as ink. Ryann wrapped his outer garment around Jiang Jianming, pointing out constellations in the distance.

“I know what to give you now,” Ryann said. “Next time I’ll get you a folding mecha from the military department to play with, want it?”

“…No. I’ll be arrested and sent to prison, Little Highness.”

What happened after that was already blurred in memory. Jiang Jianming couldn’t even remember clearly whether he had returned to the dorm on time that night.

He only remembered the open mecha arena where only two people gazed at each other, the puddles and chaotic grooves on the field, and the starry sky overhead that had just been washed by rain.

That starry sky, beautiful and distant like the ideals of young people.