OVPBM 25 Part 2

What Chu Xuanzhou saw next was that on the other side of Planet Xuanxi were countless mecha lined up brazenly in an open space.

These machines were extremely valuable, yet most had not found owners.

At first glance, there was only one gray-blue-haired young man standing on the cantilever of a giant mecha, adjusting it with his optical-brain.

Lu Yunwan stopped. Pointing in that direction, he said to Chu Xuanzhou, “Your Highness, that is the GR-V model mecha, the same type Chu Zhengxu purchased last time.”

“It may look massive, but it’s extremely clumsy.” There was a faint note of disdain in Lu Yunwan’s voice.

There were not many people here, and he did not bother lowering his voice.

The moment his words fell, the young man in the distance suddenly looked up. “Clumsy? Do you even know what this is?” As he spoke, he tossed aside the optical-brain in his hand and jumped down from the mecha.

It was clear that he was human.

The young man came to a stop before Lu Yunwan and shot him a contemptuous glance. “This is the newest model, fresh off its test flight. And you already call it clumsy?”

Lu Yunwan’s gaze swept over him slowly, casual and dismissive.

He did not say another word, yet the young man felt an inexplicable pressure, as if he could not quite catch his breath.

Lu Yunwan said calmly, “There’s a structural flaw in its No. 4 gravity sensor, which causes delayed mental power conversion. That’s why it’s particularly clumsy.”

“You—” The young man’s eyes widened.

He had intended to retort, but the abnormal data he had received earlier clearly indicated that the human before him might not be wrong.

In fact, Lu Yunwan was not speaking casually. Chu Zhengxu’s GR-V mecha had already been brought back to Planet Cangrui and dissected thoroughly.

Of course, he knew its faults inside and out.

At that moment, the gray-blue-haired young man’s gaze landed on Lu Yunwan’s hands.

After a few seconds, he let out a cold laugh and sneered, “Copying him by wearing gloves? You’re also one of that Lu Yunwan’s admirers?”

Lu Yunwan?

Since arriving here, it seemed hardly anyone had addressed him by name to his face.

In an instant, Lu Yunwan realized that this fellow human standing before him deeply despised him.

“A traitor who sold out humankind. Sooner or later, he’ll die without a burial place,” the young man spat through clenched teeth.

Hearing this, Lu Yunwan had yet to respond, but Chu Xuanzhou’s brow had already furrowed.

Lu Yunwan gently patted Chu Xuanzhou’s arm, signaling him not to mind it. Then he smiled and shook his head at the human young man.

“No, I’m not his admirer. I’m just like you. I want to kill him too.”

“What?” He could tell that the killing intent in Lu Yunwan’s tone was not a joke.

“But dying without a burial place seems too easy on him, doesn’t it? And it lacks imagination.”

Lu Yunwan automatically treated the person being cursed as the original host. Not only was he not angry, he even began discussing it with the young man in earnest. “Crush his mental core. Destroy his cellular structure. What do you think of that ending?”

His voice was unhurried, as if he were seriously contemplating it, yet also as if he were speaking offhandedly.

This was the Regent’s ending in 《 The Merfolk Empire 》.

Perhaps because the punishment he described was too horrifying, the human on the opposite side was startled into silence. Meanwhile, an inexplicable tension tightened in Chu Xuanzhou’s chest.

He clenched his teeth silently.

The tortures Lu Yunwan described had never once appeared in interstellar history.

…How had he come up with them?

Was it truly just a casual remark, or had he thought about it seriously?

As though answering the question in Chu Xuanzhou’s heart, and also as though continuing the conversation with the human, Lu Yunwan slowly closed his eyes. He coughed a few times, and his voice grew fragmented.

“He signed the Heming Accords and sold out the stars, condemning countless humans to live in darkness forever. And… he became an enforcer of the inequality laws, even personally leading campaigns to suppress the Human Rebel Forces…”

Lu Yunwan listed his sins one by one.

When he reached this point, he smiled and opened his eyes again.

Looking at the young man before him, he said, “I’ve always wondered what kind of ending would suit him… Pain would strip away his pride, along with the stolen glory and dignity he clings to.”

There was a trace of fascination in Lu Yunwan’s voice.

But beside him, Chu Xuanzhou silently tightened his hand into a fist.

—He could not bear to imagine the scene Lu Yunwan was describing.

“…What’s your name?” After hesitating for a long while, the human finally asked.

“That’s not important.”

Seeing his unwillingness to answer, the young man instead extended his hand. “I’m Ji Xinhuai. Interested in trying the GR-V simulator?”

What… He’s Ji Xinhuai?!

No wonder he hates me so much!

After arriving in this world, Lu Yunwan had developed the bad habit of habitually posturing.

He truly had spoken just now on a whim, never imagining that his audience would turn out to be Ji Xinhuai.

But on second thought, encountering Ji Xinhuai here was not surprising at all.

In this world, those who admired the Regent most were humans. And those who hated him most were also humans.

Ji Xinhuai’s hatred toward “Lu Yunwan” was not merely talk. He had genuinely joined the “Human Rebel Forces” that Lu Yunwan had just mentioned casually and had become an important figure within them.

In the novel’s ending, it was Ji Xinhuai who found the original host fleeing to a desolate planet and captured him, bringing him back to the Capital Planet.

If not for today’s encounter, Lu Yunwan might have forgotten that in the original story, Chu Xuanzhou met Ji Xinhuai on Planet Xuanxi. The two had clashed at first before developing mutual respect and ended up working together.

After realizing who stood before him, Lu Yunwan paused for a few seconds before finally shaking his hand.

“Sure.” The Regent said with a smile.

—Thinking of the original host’s ending, Lu Yunwan’s competitive streak flared up.

The psychological barrier he had inherited from the original host only surfaced when piloting a real mecha. Driving a simulator posed no problem at all.

Without hesitation, he followed Ji Xinhuai and boarded the simulator placed nearby.

The scene before him was somewhat dazzling to Chu Xuanzhou.

Fortunately, Lu Yunwan and Ji Xinhuai did not remain inside the simulator as long as he had imagined.

Chu Xuanzhou had known that Lu Yunwan would win, but he had not expected the victory to come so easily.

Less than three minutes after entering the simulator, the match was over.

A black figure appeared at the hatch. Lu Yunwan adjusted his breathing slightly before gripping the ladder and descending slowly.

Although he had defeated Ji Xinhuai, the exertion was still considerable for someone who had not yet recovered from a serious illness. At some point, a faint metallic sweetness had risen in his throat.

“Your Excellency, are you alright? Should I contact Planet Cangrui?” Chu Xuanzhou strode forward, anxiety evident in his voice.

“It’s nothing… cough.” Lu Yunwan pressed a hand to his chest. After a few seconds, he slowly pushed the mask up, revealing his mouth and nose as he struggled to breathe. “Just a small problem.”

A faint flush tinged his chin, trembling subtly with the rhythm of his breathing.

A strand of black hair at his temple had stuck carelessly to his cheek.

The Regent was always meticulous about his image. He rarely revealed such a side of himself.

“Your body hasn’t recovered yet. Why take such a risk?” Chu Xuanzhou asked softly.

—In truth, Lu Yunwan had originally intended to stop at a draw. But the moment he sat in the cockpit, those four words had flown straight out of his mind.

He certainly could not tell Chu Xuanzhou the truth. That would damage his image.

So he could only attribute it to deliberate intent.

A thin trace of blood seeped from the corner of Lu Yunwan’s lips. He wiped it away with his fingertip, completely unconcerned.

He rested his hand against Chu Xuanzhou’s chest. Lowering his head as he adjusted his breathing, he said, “Cough, cough… Your Highness, do you know? I first touched a mecha at fifteen. Until now, I haven’t lost a single match.”

His voice broke apart between breaths, sounding terribly weak.

The young man’s heartbeat quickened at Lu Yunwan’s closeness, and he reached out to steady the person beside him without thinking.

Lu Yunwan smiled. Close to Chu Xuanzhou’s ear, he whispered, “That’s why I’ve always looked forward to it. Looked forward to the day I’m beaten down. To failure, even destruction.”

“But no one would like that feeling…” Chu Xuanzhou finally voiced what he had long wanted to say.

He had already noticed that Lu Yunwan developed an almost morbid fascination with things others avoided at all costs.

The Regent shook his head gently.

“That’s because they don’t understand.” Lu Yunwan drew in a deep breath. As he spoke, he stepped back slightly, meeting Chu Xuanzhou’s gaze with a smile. “Failure breeds unwillingness. In that unwillingness, you lose strength bit by bit, until you can’t even crawl. That sensation of standing on the brink of your limit and destruction must be wonderful.”

His voice was soft, his sentences still fragmented, yet Chu Xuanzhou’s breath caught at his words.

This time, Chu Xuanzhou was certain of his earlier suspicion.

Lu Yunwan was constantly seeking extreme experiences to awaken his emotions.

This world had long since become unbearably dull to him.

A faint unease and fear coiled around Chu Xuanzhou’s heart.

Just as Lu Yunwan’s breathing finally began to steady, a cold, strong wind swept through Planet Xuanxi from nowhere, forcing another cough from him.

At that moment, Ji Xinhuai, who had just lost to Lu Yunwan, finally stepped out of the simulator with a livid expression.

A burst of noisy footsteps sounded in the distance. “Who activated the simulator just now?”

“Ji Xinhuai, you actually lost?!”

A group of people hurried over.

Ji Xinhuai, clearly in a foul mood, nodded impatiently. “Yeah. So what?”

“What the hell? Who beat you?”

Lu Yunwan noticed that, like Ji Xinhuai, the people rapidly approaching the mecha platform were all human.

If he was not mistaken… They should be Ji Xinhuai’s comrades.

He was surrounded by the Human Rebel Forces!

“Let’s go, Your Highness.” Lu Yunwan pulled his mask back down, the smile fading from his lips as he turned with Chu Xuanzhou.

But before he could leave, a stranger stepped directly in front of him.

“Who are you?” The newcomer pressed a quantum gun against Lu Yunwan’s forehead, demanding his identity.

Lu Yunwan smiled faintly and slowly tightened his grip on Chu Xuanzhou’s hand.

Stay calm. Stay calm.

The novel had mentioned that in their early days, Ji Xinhuai and those around him were somewhat naïve, especially sympathetic toward fellow humans oppressed by the merfolk.

Since he was wearing a mask anyway, playing a small joke shouldn’t be a problem.

Still holding Chu Xuanzhou’s hand, Lu Yunwan looked at the human and smiled.

“I am this gentleman’s possession.”

𓇼 ˚｡⋆ 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞⋆｡˚ 𓇼

Author’s Note:

Lu Yunwan: Running my mouth isn’t illegal. Anyway, Xiao Chu won’t mind _（:з」∠）_；