Inside the fleet spaceships—
Violent collisions sent people tumbling, with pained groans echoing everywhere. Some crashed into hard metal walls, bleeding from head wounds, while others suffered broken limbs from crushing and trampling.
On the bridge, the ship's captain immediately ordered status checks the moment his dizziness subsided.
An operator fiddled with the computer before shouting excitedly, "Captain! The systems are responding again!"
The captain's eyes widened before his face lit up: "Contact the other ships! Check their status!"
This scene repeated across every vessel.
About ten minutes later, an announcement played through the ships, followed by thunderous cheers erupting throughout.
...
Mayor's Office—
The old man stared blankly at the screen, his mind struggling to process what had just occurred.
"What was that thing that just zoomed past?" he muttered in a dazed tone.
The wooden office door suddenly burst open.
Furious, the old man recognized the intruder as the mayor and grew even angrier: "Why are you back here? I told you to—"
"Teacher!" The mayor slammed both hands on the desk, leaning forward with exhilaration. "The spaceship crews made contact! The system issues are resolved—Sam no longer has any hostages!"
Stunned, the old man exclaimed incredulously: "Really?!"
"Really!" the mayor confirmed. "They said after the violent impact, the systems rebooted and became operational again!"
He marveled, "Who knew the solution was so simple—just needed a good collision. I think East Asia once—"
The old man smacked the mayor's forehead: "You think! You think! What nonsense fills that head of yours?!"
He roared: "Order everyone to locate and execute Sam immediately! We can't let the Atlantic forces find him first!"
Rubbing his head, the mayor nodded rapidly: "On it! On it!" before sprinting out.
...
Nelson Bridge—
The captain stared vacantly, having witnessed the entire event yet still mentally reeling.
He turned to his first officer: "Is something like this even possible?"
Beads of sweat formed on the first officer's forehead as his lips twitched: "Theoretically... yes, but..."
He paused: "But no normal person would attempt it, nor achieve such precision."
Typing commands, he brought up slow-motion footage on the main screen.
After reviewing the playback, the bridge crew grew even more dumbfounded, gaping at the spaceships ricocheting like billiard balls.
The captain noticed something more in slow motion: "That last ship that got knocked away..."
Cold sweat broke out: "Could that have been Sam's mothership?!"
"How is this possible?!"
The crew member exclaimed in shock: "Captain, are you saying the enemy could execute such a precise decapitation strike after that chain collision maneuver?!"
Swallowing hard, the captain ordered: "Try contacting Sam..."
Fifteen minutes later, the CIC officer trembled as he turned around, wide-eyed: "The signal's gone... we can't reach them..."
The bridge fell into dead silence.
...
Aboard the rapidly departing Black Tortoise—
Zhou Tianming massaged his temples, feeling slightly dizzy from exceeding SEED's duration limit.
In the captain's seat, Natarle stared blankly at the air before her, murmuring: "Did we... succeed?"
Hearing this, Tianming turned to her, giving a thumbs up: "We did. Your tactics were brilliant."
Snapping out of her daze, Natarle broke into a radiant smile: "We did it!"
"Captain Natarle!"
Tianming called twice until she looked over, then silently mouthed words.
Understanding immediately, Natarle straightened up and announced: "This vessel's first mission is successfully completed. All hands stand down from combat alert!"
As the words left her mouth, both of them relaxed simultaneously, leaning back into their chairs with satisfaction.
They exchanged glances and shared a smile.
[Trust] +29.
After having the Black Tortoise circle around to collect some "decorations" on its hull, they finally set course for home.
During the journey, both contacted their families.
After exchanging reassurances of their safety, they agreed to meet at the spaceport.
Over half an hour later, at Copernicus City Spaceport—
They spotted each other from over fifty meters away.
Tianming peeked out from behind Natarle to observe Zhou Hanxiang's expression.
She stood calmly with a gentle smile.
When their eyes met, Tianming shuddered before quickly flashing his brightest grin.
"Mom~"
Pitching his voice higher, Tianming spread his arms wide as he approached.
Natarle shuddered beside him, her lips curling downward in distaste.
Just as Tianming moved to embrace Hanxiang's slender waist, his ear was suddenly caught in a painful twist.
"Ouch ouch ouch—! It's gonna tear off!"
"We'll talk about this later!"
Hanxiang bowed apologetically to Williams and Olivia: "I'm sorry for putting your daughter in danger without permission."
Olivia stepped forward to help her up: "No need, no need. Just don't blame our Natarle for corrupting Tianming."
Natarle approached, cheeks flushed, struggling to speak: "Sis... sister..."
Her face turned crimson as she failed to voice the term.
Tianming snickered quietly.
Natarle clenched her fists until her knuckles cracked audibly.
"'Auntie' is fine," Hanxiang chuckled. "Thank you for looking after Tianming."
"N-no problem," Natarle stammered, waving her hands rapidly before glancing at Tianming and lowering her reddening ears.
Olivia's lips curved as she leaned close to Natarle's ear: "Taken with our little Tianming? Want mom's help?"
"Absolutely not!" Natarle blurted out reflexively.
Her sudden outburst startled everyone. Blushing furiously, she glared at Tianming before turning to flee.
With his sharp senses, Tianming had clearly heard their whispered exchange. Showing no embarrassment, he stood tall with puffed chest.
With such a handsome appearance and exceptional abilities in this life, having girls attracted to him was only natural.
During his school days, he was a frequent visitor to the girls' dormitory. The beautiful older sisters loved cuddling him to sleep, to the point where the school had to put up a sign outside the dorm: "No boys or Zhou Tianming allowed inside."
This made him somewhat unaccustomed to sleeping alone in the latter part of his time there.
Zhou Hanxiang pinched Zhou Tianming's ear, making him grimace in pain.
After exchanging a few casual words, they went their separate ways.
After walking a few steps, Zhou Tianming suddenly sensed something and turned around to see Natarle glaring at him from a distance.
He smiled, made a "call me" gesture with his right hand by his ear, then waved goodbye.
The next day, December 23rd, the entire day.
Unsurprisingly, Zhou Tianming was confined to the hotel room, with Zhou Hanxiang forbidding him from going out while she disappeared to who-knows-where.
December 24th, Zhou Tianming's birthday.
Due to his past life, Zhou Tianming felt indifferent toward birthdays.
Apart from the first grand celebration, Zhou Hanxiang had noticed his lack of enthusiasm and stopped making a big deal out of it afterward.
Unexpectedly, this time, Zhou Hanxiang went all out again, breaking from her usual approach.
Zhou Tianming spent the day in nervous apprehension, repeatedly wondering if he had unknowingly committed some grave mistake and if this birthday was his last meal.
He even secretly called his grandfather, Zhou Junguo, to confirm.
"Don't overthink it. She just suddenly felt like celebrating. Consider it a way to mark the end of your studies."
The tone felt a bit off, but he couldn't pinpoint why.
The day after his birthday, early in the morning at 5 a.m., inside the hotel's twin room—
Zhou Tianming lay curled under the blankets, fast asleep.
The dim morning light, further muted by the curtains, cast a soft gloom. Zhou Hanxiang sat on the edge of the bed, silent and without turning on the lights, simply gazing at Zhou Tianming's sleeping face.
"I will definitely find a way to save you..."
-Support me in Patreon for more chapters 35+ chapters in there
patreon.com/QueenTL
Thanks!