Chapter 59#
Information#
Ning Feng didn’t want to stay in the dormitory Yin Beichen had arranged, and the communal quarters had no usable charging ports. So, he applied to Big Beard for a small garage.
The officer’s special attention to Ning Feng was clearly noticed by Big Beard. So when he received Ning Feng’s application, he didn’t hesitate to clear out a small workshop in the heavy arsenal.
The workshop was tiny, cluttered with idle mechanical materials and various odds and ends. There was only one small, high window on the wall, leaving the space dim even during the day. However, it was far from the transport workshops, quiet and secluded. Besides, as a robot, Ning Feng didn’t actually need to sleep—just a plank bed to lie on for recharging would do.
Ning Feng was satisfied with this temporary lodging. After spending some time tidying up, he lay down on the hard plank bed and charged overnight. The next day, fully powered, he headed to the logistics department with Qiu Zhen to report for duty.
This time, the person assigning tasks wasn’t yesterday’s ground crew but the head of the logistics department, Lieutenant Colonel Yan Zhengsheng.
“These are your tasks for today.” Yan Zhengsheng sent the task list to both their tablets. Even while assigning work, he kept his back straight. “If there are no questions, confirm the list.”
In Ning Feng’s impression, Yan Zhengsheng lived up to his name—rigid and meticulous in everything, even in the way he combed his hair. He was even more so than Yin Beichen. This personality didn’t win him many favors in the base, but it made him well-suited to managing the busy logistics department.
Perhaps still haunted by yesterday’s missteps, Qiu Zhen carefully scrutinized the list word by word as soon as he received it, afraid of missing a single punctuation mark.
But before he could read two lines, he frowned. “This is all for today?”
“Yes,” Yan Zhengsheng replied.
“This is way too much!”
Today, they not only had to check cargo and arrange unloading but also tally every box marked with the character “G” on the base. Yesterday’s workload was only half of today’s, and Qiu Zhen had already worked late into the night. At this rate, he’d have to pull an all-nighter today!
Yan Zhengsheng glanced at him. “Do you have a problem with that?”
As soon as he spoke, nearby ground crew members looked over with expressions of amusement.
Usually, after Yan Zhengsheng said something like that, there would be further consequences. Ning Feng discreetly nudged Qiu Zhen. The latter opened his mouth, hesitated, and finally muttered a reluctant “No” before unwillingly pressing confirm.
“It’s less than a month until the New Year, and the base is short-staffed. Adjustments in workload are normal. I hope you’ll keep a clear head from now on and avoid doing anything foolish.” Ignoring Qiu Zhen, who was visibly simmering with resentment but dared not speak, Yan Zhengsheng turned to the robot, who had already confirmed the list without a word. “Do you have any questions?”
“No.” Ning Feng stood lazily.
Yan Zhengsheng’s eyes flickered briefly before he returned to his usual composure.
“This tally task was specifically assigned by General Yin. Please make sure it’s completed within the next two days.” He paused. “But I heard you were the one who voluntarily reported this to the officer. I’m sure you can finish it on time.”
“Of course.” Ning Feng gave a crooked smile.
Yan Zhengsheng was momentarily taken aback.
His gaze grew distant, as if he were recalling something or perhaps harboring a trace of doubt. But he quickly masked his emotions, gave a few more instructions, and turned to leave.
The nearby ground crew exchanged gleeful glances.
This guy had barely arrived and was already trying to show off and take credit. Who didn’t know that logistics was a mess of endless tasks? A tiny, insignificant symbol—nothing special—and he’d gone straight to the major general with it. Now look what happened: the task had fallen right back on him. Serves him right.
An AI just couldn’t match human intelligence after all.
Completely ignoring everyone else’s thoughts, Ning Feng rolled up his sleeves to get to work. But as he turned, he found Qiu Zhen glaring at him angrily.
“What? Got a fever?”
“Was it you who reported this?”
“Yeah, what about it?”
“Are you looking for trouble?” Qiu Zhen’s face turned red with anger.
“Relax. We’re definitely not working overtime today,” Ning Feng waved dismissively.
“Bullshit!”
“Wow, you talk a lot. Fine, fine. You handle these few tasks.”
Ning Feng grabbed the tablet, casually marked a few items, and sent Qiu Zhen off. Frustrated by Ning Feng’s indifferent attitude, Qiu Zhen spat out, “Don’t drag me into your all-nighters,” and stormed off in a huff.
With peace and quiet restored, Ning Feng started working.
Actually, finding the special boxes wasn’t difficult. He had a scanning system built in. After running it a few times, he had tallied all the boxes marked with “G.”
Ning Feng investigated the cargo ship’s manifest and found that the boxes contained all sorts of things: fresh fruit, towels and bedding, even birthday celebration supplies. These boxes had traveled via cargo routes—the same routes where the Federation had recently discovered Zerg activity…
After a moment of contemplation, he found a box that had arrived at port yesterday.
Its cargo hadn’t been unloaded yet, but there were signs it had been opened. Based on the cut marks, the person who opened it wasn’t part of the ground crew. After glancing around, Ning Feng pried the box open along the existing marks. As soon as the lid came off, a strong smell of durian hit him, mingled with a faint, medicinal odor.
Medicinal?
Ning Feng smirked and activated his air composition analysis system.
His processor whirred for a while, and soon, a stream of data appeared on the panel. Among the unidentifiable chemical compounds, he detected something used in scientific research—a synthetic agent.
Suddenly, his boss’s silent mouthing of a word flashed through his mind.
【Bugs.】
Synthetic agent? Someone on the base had purchased a synthetic agent!
Who was it?
Qu Yan?
Countless thoughts churned in his mind. Ning Feng grew restless, his engine humming anxiously.
Just then—
“Radish, what are you doing?”
Ning Feng nearly short-circuited from the scare. Turning around, he saw Qiu Zhen standing behind him, staring intently.
“Why are you opening boxes without permission?” Qiu Zhen frowned.
“Why are you back?” Ning Feng ignored the question, resealing the box along the cracks.
“…Why can’t I come back?”
“You can, you can. So, which step got stuck?”
“Hey, can’t I just come back to help?”
“Oh, sure.”
Stifled by Ning Feng’s lackluster response, Qiu Zhen’s face turned red. He glared for a long moment before awkwardly reaching out to help organize the boxes.
“What’s this? Didn’t you tell me not to drag you down?” Ning Feng found it amusing.
“Well, now I’m already dragging you down. What else can I do?” Qiu Zhen grumbled stiffly. “I’m an elite from Fox Team. I can’t abandon my teammates. Besides, if you don’t finish, I’ll get yelled at too.”
Ning Feng: …
Looking at Qiu Zhen’s awkwardly handsome face, he couldn’t help but laugh out loud, lightly punching the other’s arm. “Idiot.”
After that, Ning Feng reassigned tasks to Qiu Zhen and carefully taught him who to contact, what details to pay attention to during communication, and how to handle any difficulties. Qiu Zhen took notes and followed his methods, and sure enough, the process went much more smoothly.
The two worked together all day and finished tasks that should have taken at least two days before dinner. Others cast surprised glances, and even Qiu Zhen himself found it unbelievable.
When Ning Feng submitted the list to Yan Zhengsheng, the latter didn’t react much—he just gave them a deep look before clicking “Confirm Review” on the list.
Of course, there were no comments or praise, which left Qiu Zhen quite dissatisfied. After all, they had worked hard all day. Even if there was no credit, shouldn’t they at least get a “good job”?
Ning Feng was about to console him when a new message notification chimed. He opened it—it was Yin Beichen.
【Come to the office.】
Ning Feng narrowed his eyes and subtly sent a reply.
【Any advice, Boss Yin?】
【Something came up.】
【What’s the rush? You can tell me here.】
After a moment, two characters came back.
【Eat.】
The robot’s circuits gave a jolt, instantly recalling yesterday’s disastrous cafeteria experience. He unhesitatingly replied, 【Not going.】
After a thought, he added, 【I’m a robot. I only drink oil. Find someone else.】
A long pause later, Yin Beichen replied, 【Let’s go to the cafeteria.】
Ning Feng sneered inwardly.
He had come back to kill the Zerg, not to catch up. There was no history between them to revisit. Now Yin Beichen was switching his dorm, inviting him to meals—acting like there was something between them.
Too lazy to reply, Ning Feng brushed him off with a 【Already made plans】 and closed the interface. He turned and dragged the still-grumbling Qiu Zhen to the cafeteria.
Staring at the “Already made plans” on the chat interface, Yin Beichen’s brows tightened slightly, a trace of anger on his face.
“Sir?”
The scattered thoughts were called back by Big Beard. Yin Beichen turned off his optical brain. “Continue.”
“Alright.” Sensing that the officer’s mood wasn’t great, Big Beard decided to wrap things up quickly. He pulled out a stack of documents and placed them on the desk. “That’s all about the cockpit design. Also, here are the weapon blueprints I mentioned earlier—would you like to—”
“Leave them,” Yin Beichen said flatly.
“Uh… okay, sure.”
“Is there something else?”
“No, nothing!” Big Beard scratched his face, hesitating. “It’s just… well, sir, why the sudden interest in designing a new mecha?”
The materials for this mecha had no upper limit—it was clearly custom-made. But Dawn’s parts had just been replaced not long ago, and the other commanders’ mechas weren’t due for an upgrade yet. So who was this new mecha for?
Seeing Yin Beichen silent, Big Beard realized he might have overstepped and quickly waved his hands. “Just curious! Forget I asked!”
Yin Beichen’s thin lips pressed together. He slowly closed his eyes, looking somewhat resigned.
“I’ll bring him to see you in a couple of days.”
“Bring him to see me? Why?”
But Yin Beichen didn’t answer. He simply put away the blueprints and asked, “Has the exchange platform added any new items recently?”
Big Beard was taken aback. He thought for a moment and cautiously confirmed, “You mean the honor point exchange platform?”
“Mm.”
At that, Big Beard’s mouth twitched.
The military’s platform offered all kinds of supplies—rare goods you couldn’t buy on the market. In addition to fixed supplies, there were also equipment and blueprints designed by senior researchers, all one-of-a-kind treasures. The platform updated its inventory periodically, and when it did, it was a shopping frenzy for mechanical enthusiasts like him. Back when Ning Feng was still around, they used to pool their orders for discounts. But now…
His mood darkened slightly, followed by confusion.
“It has.” But what was the officer planning to buy?
Yin Beichen nodded. “I’ll send you some data later. Check the parameters of the parts for any issues.”
“Oh, oh! Sure…”
Big Beard nodded vacantly, listened to a few more instructions, and left in a daze.
Suddenly, the vast office was left with only Yin Beichen.
He rubbed his temples, opened Ning Feng’s chat, and typed words in the input box. But after frowning at it for a long time, he deleted everything.
Leaning heavily against the wide back of his chair, Yin Beichen tilted his head back, staring blankly at the ceiling.
Finally, he slowly sat up and opened the exchange platform.
First, he added ten bottles of special-grade oil to his cart. Then, he deftly switched to the machinery category, entered the engine section, sorted by time, and began scrolling through the newest listings one by one.
After dinner, Ning Feng said goodbye to Qiu Zhen. With nothing to do back at the dorm, he decided to sneak over to the warehouse to see if he could find anything else.
The night was quiet, with only a few sporadic ships taking off and landing at the spaceport. Even so, base security was tight—every few steps, there was a guard on duty.
Ning Feng circled the warehouse entrance but couldn’t get in, so he reluctantly headed back to his dorm.
But as he passed by a certain garage, he stopped.
This was his garage.
His metallic eyelids trembled. He stood silently at the door for a moment before stepping up to the keypad and entering a series of numbers.
Beep, beep—
The heavy garage door creaked open. Inside, it was pitch black. The air wasn’t too stale, meaning someone had been here before. Groping from memory, Ning Feng found the light switch. A sharp click and fluorescent light flooded the entire space.
Kirin No. 2 sat quietly in the center of the room.
The machine looked just as battered as he remembered—flat tires, a broken axle, and the front hood and rear engine were in even worse shape.
Ning Feng walked over slowly, brushing the scratches on its body. His hand came away covered in dust.
He remembered the last time he’d ridden it, with a freshly replaced engine. It had been sleek and impressive, roaring through the starfields with thrilling speed. Even at max throttle, there wasn’t a hint of noise. Too bad it had been at night—no one had gotten to see how cool it looked before it got smashed to pieces. Looking closely, there were even signs of disassembly.
Well, even a dead camel is bigger than a horse. Even broken, its scrap parts could still be of use. He figured if the Blade Mecha hadn’t disintegrated on the Zerg Nest Star, it would have ended up in the same condition when brought back.
He recognized every small part in this vehicle. He had picked each one out carefully, either buying them with credits or grinding away his honor points to trade for them. And all those ridiculously expensive maintenance supplies…
Now, the vehicle was unusable, but those parts had ended up on him.
Ning Feng gave a crooked smile.
Thinking about it didn’t help anyway. He wasn’t going to ride this bike again. What a waste of that new engine, though. Actually, when he thought about it, Yin Beichen was right—it was just a vehicle. Broken was broken. It couldn’t be fixed, so he’d just get a new one.
Stretching lazily, Ning Feng glanced at the time. It was getting late—time to recharge and oil up. Tomorrow was his first official day on the job, and with Yan Zhengsheng’s personality, there’d be a mountain of work to tackle.
He turned off the light, hummed a little tune, locked the door, and left.
Soon, the garage fell silent again.
Beep, beep—
Some time later, the sound of the door unlocking broke the night’s stillness. The fluorescent light flickered on, once again illuminating the room.
Yin Beichen walked into the garage, closing the door behind him. In his hand was a brand-new component. He walked familiarly to a metal shelf, picked up a toolbox, and crouched down beside Kirin No. 2.
In a few quick moves, he removed the old part from the vehicle. He pulled up the mechanical blueprints for Kirin No. 2, carefully checking the model numbers and wire routing, occasionally frowning as if deep in thought.
The bright white light shone on his face, casting faint shadows from his eyelashes. After a long moment, Yin Beichen picked up the component he had just acquired today and meticulously embedded it into the mainboard.