Chapter 1417
We'll beat those who don't know what's good for them!
Therefore, they admired Cui Ming's current situation, but were not jealous.
Shinjo nudged Horii and lowered his voice: "Do you think the instructor saved the galaxy in his past life?"
"I've saved this life too." Horii patted his big, fat face, looking very serious. "And more than once."
"If I had this many girls surrounding me..."
"You?" Horii glanced at him. "You should be able to single-handedly destroy the dimensional anthill before you talk."
"...Never mind what I said."
As Megumi watched this scene from the side, the helplessness on her face slowly turned into a smile.
She walked over and patted Angie on the shoulder: "Alright, don't strangle him. I still need him tonight."
"Captain!" Angie's face flushed red, but she still reluctantly let go.
The other Norma sheepishly stepped back, but their eyes remained fixed on Cui Ming, like a group of puppies reluctant to leave their owner.
Cui Ming finally caught his breath, straightened his disheveled scarf, and looked at Ju Jianhui: "Are you sleeping in the command room again tonight?"
“Sleep my ass.” Ju Jianhui grabbed his collar and dragged him toward the door. “Go home, lock the door, draw the curtains, and let’s see which Pitt alien dares to come in.”
"……it is good."
Cui Ming was dragged away, but before leaving, he turned back and waved to Norma and the others: "Get some rest, don't be late for training tomorrow."
"Yes!" the Norma responded in unison, their voices so sweet they could drip honey.
After the door closed, the command room was quiet for a few seconds.
Then Xincheng sighed, "Instructor... truly a winner in life."
"Stop reminiscing." Daigo silently flipped through the mission report. "We have patrols tomorrow, go to sleep early."
"Daigo, are you jealous?"
"I do not have."
"You clearly have it."
"……I don't."
Horii watched the two bickering from the side and thought to himself:
What's with the sourness? Let's finish writing the underground operations report first.
Those Norma fighters are not someone an ordinary person can withstand.
At that moment, Choi Myung, who had been dragged home by Kijimae, was standing at the door, his gaze sweeping over a fleeting figure at the end of the corridor.
The Pitts are still around.
But he smiled.
Because Megumi's hand was gripping his wrist tightly, its warmth real and its strength firm.
"Come in," she said softly, and the door clicked shut.
Outside the window, the moonlight was blocked by the curtains.
The Pitt aliens could only wander in the darkness, while the people inside the house already possessed the most fortified fortress.
It's not a wall, and it's not a door lock.
It's the person who's willing to face everything with you.
Choi Myung leaned back on the sofa, listening to the sounds of Kijimae busy in the kitchen, and then thought of the chattering Norma in the command room.
There are quite a few troubles.
But it seems... not bad either.
He closed his eyes and smiled slightly.
Let's talk about tomorrow's problems tomorrow.
Tonight, I'll get a good night's sleep.
Today, Cui Ming patrolled with Lin.
Lindis was actually looking forward to the evening!
Because Cui Ming is with her today!
The two drove a modified SUV, cruising along a highway in the suburbs. The windows were open, and the wind howled in, ruffling Lyndis's short hair. She didn't seem to care, one hand resting on the window frame, the other twirling a dagger, its blade flashing in the sunlight.
"Ah... I want to cut off the heads of monsters or aliens."
Cui Ming gripped the steering wheel and glanced at her: "We don't have this business lately, and the Pitt aliens are too fragile to handle."
“Those good-for-nothings don’t count.” Lindis stuck the dagger into the back of the chair and curled her lip. “I’m talking about the serious kind, the kind with horns and teeth that can regenerate. I’d cut them off, make them into specimens, and display them in my collection. That would be so impressive.”
Cui Ming glanced at Lin.
"Lin, is there enough space in your collection hall?"
"Don't worry, it's definitely enough." Lindis patted her chest triumphantly. "I even set aside a whole exhibition hall for the monster's claw that you helped me with last time, and it's still being preserved. I could fit ten or eight more of them."
“That’s fine, I’ll take care of it for you.” Cui Ming turned a corner, his gaze sweeping over the bushes by the roadside. “Don’t forget that some monsters have the ability to regenerate. You don’t want your collection to be destroyed, do you?” “Indeed…” Lindis paused for a moment, then realized what he meant, her face turning bright red. “Why does that sound so strange? Oh dear! Cui, you’re being silly!”
Although Lin said that, she was smiling happily.
We're an old married couple, this is quite interesting.
Cui Ming smiled but didn't reply. He kept one hand on the steering wheel, and with the other hand, he took a protein bar from his pocket, tore open the packaging with his teeth, and offered it to Lindis's lips.
"Want to eat?"
"I'll eat whatever you feed me."
Lindis took a bite out of his hand, chewing until her cheeks bulged out like a hamster.
The two of them swayed along like that, the sun was shining brightly, the wind was blowing just right, and if it weren't for those inconsiderate creatures jumping out, it would have been a rare and wonderful day.
Then they encountered some clueless creatures.
Ahead of the road, a figure stood straight.
The thing wore a tattered trench coat and had a steel plate mask on its head. The mask didn't even have any eye holes, yet it accurately "saw" their car. The joints revealed a cold metallic gleam, and it made a clattering sound when it walked, like a moving piece of junk.
Steel-plate masked man.
Cui Ming and Lindis exchanged a glance.
Then the two acted simultaneously—Cui Ming slammed on the brakes, while Lindis braced herself on the dashboard with one hand and pulled the folding sniper rifle from under the seat with the other.
"Left or right?" Lindis asked, her gun already pressed against the window frame.
"You on the left, I on the right."
"receive."
Then the two of them immediately leaned out of the car window! And fired!!!
The steel-plate masked man originally intended to rely on his defense to launch a counterattack.
A piercing metallic scraping sound emanated from beneath the creature's steel mask, like some ancient gear being forcibly turned. Its arms suddenly shot up, two sharp steel blades springing from their joints, gleaming coldly in the sunlight—a typical close-combat counter-attack stance, relying on its steel armor to withstand bullets before charging in to slash.
But the next second, Cui Ming and Lindis pulled the trigger at the same time.
boom!!!!
Cui Ming's Radiant One was in Overload mode; the red beam pierced directly through the Steel Mask's chest, melting a large hole in its prized metal shell. Meanwhile, Lindis's sniper rifle fired not ordinary bullets, but EDF-designed armor-piercing grenades, which detonated the moment they entered the wound, blasting the entire body into countless fragments from the inside out.
The masked man with the steel plate didn't even take a single step.
Before it could even swing its two steel blades, it turned into a pile of smoking scrap metal, scattered on the road like disassembled Lego bricks.
"...That's it?"
Lindis leaned out of the car window, looking at the shards scattered on the ground, her expression somewhat disappointed.
"I thought I could make a couple more cuts."
“If you want to chop, you can pick up a big piece and chop it slowly.” Cui Ming put the luminous device back into its holster, pushed open the door and got out of the car. “Collect it first, this thing has research value.”
The two moved swiftly. Cui Ming pulled two special storage bags from the trunk, while Lindis squatted on the ground, using a dagger to sort through the fragments. Metallic, electrical, and some kind of viscous substance resembling biological tissue—this steel-masked man wasn't purely mechanical; it was a hybrid of biological and mechanical components.
“It’s warm.” Lindis poked a piece of metal that was still twitching slightly with the tip of her dagger and frowned. “It just died, but the core is still functioning.”
"Then isolate and bag it." Cui Ming tossed a larger fragment into the bag, his tone flat. "Don't touch it with your hands. It's an unknown substance; be careful of infection."
"Okay, Aunt Cui."
"..."
Cui Ming glanced at her but didn't reply, though his hands moved even faster.
Five minutes later, the debris was cleaned up completely, not even a screw was left behind. Cui Ming patted the bag and took out his communicator to call for backup.
"This is Cui Ming. An unidentified mechanical life form was discovered on the suburban highway. It has been killed and its fragments have been recovered. We need a transport vehicle and Horii to come and take over the research."
Ye Rui's voice came from the other end of the communicator: "Roger! Instructor, do we need the entire Victory Team to be deployed?"
“No need, it’s a small matter.” Cui Ming tossed the bag onto the car. “Have Horii bring protective gear; this stuff might contain radiation or biological contamination.”
"understand!"
After hanging up the call, Cui Ming and Lindis leaned against the car waiting for backup. Lindis took out the half-eaten protein bar again and continued to gnaw on it.
"What are we having for dinner?" she asked.
"What do you want to eat?"
"Barbecue!"
"Okay, go back and have Tom prepare the sauce."
"Won't Tom's sauce corrode the baking pan?"
"...Last time was an accident."
The two chatted casually, as if they weren't the ones who had just fired the gun. The wind blew across the highway, dispersing the last wisp of smoke, as if the masked man with the steel plate had never existed. (End of Chapter)