Seeing the familiar name "Junk Guild," Zhou Tianming fell into reminiscence.
After the events of those years, he hadn't paid attention to that place anymore. However, he later unintentionally heard from Wei Jun that it had gradually declined due to its ruined reputation.
After searching on the library computer, Zhou Tianming discovered the situation there was far more complicated than he imagined.
It seemed even the Junk Dealers themselves had lost confidence in managing the Satellite and abandoned it again.
Later, due to the Space Force's large-scale crackdowns, remnants of pirates occupied it, turning it into a genuine Underground Black Market—utter chaos.
Since the Council of Nations' Space Force mainly stationed around PLANT at L5, the Junk Guild at L3 was too far away. As long as these remnants didn't cause trouble, no one was willing to go through the hassle of dealing with them.
Zhou Tianming frowned in thought.
Considering his current situation—due to his age, he couldn't obtain any licenses for the Black Tortoise.
In other words, he was essentially driving without a license. It wouldn't be wise to roam around official areas, as he could easily get caught.
"Looks like I have no choice but to check out that place."
Having made up his mind, Zhou Tianming left the library and used his phone to order a large amount of supplies to restock the Black Tortoise.
Mostly daily necessities and food.
Since there were no weapons or crew, it saved a lot of trouble.
On his way back to the hotel, Zhou Tianming also checked the Moon's position and found he was in luck—it was currently between L4 and L3.
If he set off in the next couple of days, he could save a lot of travel time.
"I am the righteous Blue Cosmos! Die, evil Coordinators!"
Suddenly, a childish shout came from nearby.
Hearing this familiar name, Zhou Tianming felt a complicated mix of emotions. Living in East Asia these past few years, he had almost forgotten these people were a bunch of lunatics.
Come to think of it, his school had even organized a tree-planting event at Blue Cosmos' cultivation base during Arbor Day. The scene had been surreal, with everyone chanting slogans.
Zhou Tianming couldn't help but ask Zhou Junguo about it back then.
"With things like religion, we must never relinquish control of the narrative. If we don't claim it, others will define it for us."
After explaining, Zhou Junguo had posed him a question: "Which version of Blue Cosmos do you think is the real one?"
The answer was obvious—East Asia's plan was to seize the nest after the cuckoo laid its eggs.
A rustling sound, accompanied by the noise of patting, interrupted his reminiscence.
Zhou Tianming turned toward the source of the sound—a small park where a group of children around six years old had gathered.
Seeing it was just kids, he frowned.
Were they already poisoned by Blue Cosmos at such a young age?
The children were divided into two groups, boys and girls standing distinctly apart.
At the front of the boys' group, a tall and sturdy boy brandished a tree branch with leaves, swinging it at a smaller boy opposite him. The branch struck with sharp cracks against the boy's body.
The smaller boy had short brown hair and a slender frame, his thin arms raised to shield his face from the attacks.
A group of girls huddled not far behind the bullied boy, their faces filled with fear.
A few brave girls shouted in trembling voices, "Honda! Stop it! If you don't, we'll tell the teacher!"
"Hahaha!" The sturdy boy named Honda laughed arrogantly. "Go ahead! My dad's with Blue Cosmos—see if the teacher will side with you!"
With that, he roared, "Ugly Coordinator! Take this sword! Die!" He leaped forward, raising the branch high and bringing it down with force.
In that split second, Zhou Tianming couldn't stand by any longer and intervened.
Dashing to the smaller boy's side, he shielded him and grabbed Honda's wrist with his right hand while seizing his collar with his left. In one swift motion, he twisted and flipped Honda over his shoulder.
Mid-air, Honda let out a terrified scream.
Realizing the boy was just a child, Zhou Tianming quickly adjusted his strength, spinning his body to avoid slamming Honda into the ground and instead skimming him across the surface, pushing him away.
The scene fell dead silent.
"So cool!!"
"Ahhh!!"
The girls behind them shrieked in excitement.
Honda slid a considerable distance, tumbling several times before scrambling to his feet, covered in dirt. His face flushed red with rage, his eyebrows furrowed, and his eyes burned with fury.
Without another word, he charged back with a furious roar.
A second later, Honda was pinned firmly to the ground.
He struggled violently, shouting, "How dare you hit me! Do you know who my dad is? He's a Blue Cosmos executive! You must be a Coordinator too! You freak!"
Zhou Tianming remained unfazed, feigning surprise instead. "Oh? Are you saying you're going to run home and tell your dad you got beaten up? And that you were helplessly pinned to the ground?" His tone dripped with sarcasm. "How brave of you. If it were me, I'd never admit it—so embarrassing! Your dad might even slap you and say, 'How useless can you be?'"
With that, he shot a glare at the other boys, who immediately scattered and fled.
Zhou Tianming released Honda and theatrically exclaimed, "Oh no! They're going to tell the teacher!"
Honda sprang up from the ground and took off after them. After a few steps, he turned back and yelled, "You just wait!" Then he sprinted away.
"Stop right there! Don't you dare tell anyone about today!" His voice faded into the distance.
Zhou Tianming turned to the bullied boy. "You okay?"
The boy lowered his arms from his face, revealing delicate features, and replied softly, "Thank you."
Zhou Tianming froze.
That face...
Just then, the girls rushed over, one of them calling out, "Kira, are you all right?"
Kira shook his head and walked up to a slightly frail girl among them. He opened his palm, revealing a small pendant. "Here."
Tears welled in the girl's eyes as she bowed deeply before taking the pendant back.
"Honda went too far, trying to snatch the pendant just because it looked pretty."
"Yes, this is Eiko's treasure—it has her mother's photo inside."
"Those boys just stood there watching without helping. Luckily, Kira was here."
"They say Coordinators are the bad ones, but I think they're the real villains. Blue Cosmos is full of terrible people!"
Amid the chatter, Zhou Tianming finally pieced together what had happened. Watching Kira, who was scratching his head and smiling awkwardly in the center of the crowd, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
As expected of you...
A real magnet for admirers!
He hadn't expected to run into Kira as a child here. Glancing around, he wondered—
Is Athrun not here yet? Has he not transferred to this school?
Doing the math, the two should have already met by now, since it's already 62 CE.
Lost in thought, he noticed the girls gradually leaving. Kira waved goodbye, and once they were all gone, he relaxed with a sigh.
Zhou Tianming chuckled at the sight.
"Big brother, aren't you leaving?"
Kira tilted his head slightly, his light purple eyes gazing at him.
Zhou Tianming asked, "Why didn't you fight back? You could've taken on that Honda guy, right?"
Kira shook his head. "Fighting is wrong."
"Fighting is indeed wrong," Zhou Tianming agreed. "But letting others walk all over you isn't right either. They'll just push you further."
Kira looked puzzled. "But Mom told me to be considerate of others."
Hearing this, Zhou Tianming understood Caridad Yamato's reasoning—she was afraid Kira's extraordinary abilities would make him an outcast.
In the original story, early Kira was practically a pushover, constantly being taken advantage of.
Sighing, he shook his head. "Come on, it's getting late. I'll walk you home."
Kira grew wary and took a step back. "I can go home by myself."
Zhou Tianming reached out, ruffling Kira's soft, coffee-brown hair.
"I want to talk to your mom for a bit."
"You know Mom?" Kira ducked away from Zhou Tianming's hand. "What's her name?"
"Caridad Yamato," Zhou Tianming replied. "Am I right, Kira Yamato?"
"Huh?"
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