Gu Ya, clad in a crisp, neat military uniform, looked sharp and handsome in the mirror.
Ye Ying turned from behind him to his front, adjusting his collar, and playfully remarked, "Well, you're starting to look like a real person."
"Wasn't I a person last night?" Gu Ya asked with a roguish grin.
"Oh, stop it," Ye Ying blushed, a shy, muffled response escaping her.
When the two first faced each other, their bare skin touching, they finally understood the madness of love overflowing.
No wonder Liu Feng and Zeng Lang were so obsessed with such things; two young bodies merging, igniting such fierce flames.
Ye Ying's firm yet slender figure, nestled in Gu Ya's broad embrace, was like a docile kitten.
The only hiccup was that after half a night tormented by anxious, unfulfilled desire, the two finally found the correct position to connect.
As Ye Ying's soft, shy whimpers punctuated the air, the two truly completed their "coming-of-age ritual."
When the thick curtains were pulled open, allowing warm, bright sunlight to fall upon the clean, disheveled bedsheets, Gu Ya chuckled foolishly as he recalled their "masterpiece" from last night.
"Stop grinning like an idiot, you'll be late," Ye Ying reminded him softly.
Gu Ya nodded, kissed Ye Ying's forehead, and said, "I don't know how many days it will be. Send me a message if you miss me."
"Mm, I'll be training the team these days. Qiao Weiwei's new exclusive mecha hasn't arrived yet, so she'll use a trainer mecha for now. And Liu Feng, his skills are the worst, he needs more intense training," Ye Ying stated seriously.
"I'm off."
Gu Ya quickly left their new home in the Proletarian Alliance and hopped onto his mecha motorcycle, heading towards his old place.
Now that he and Ye Ying were together, it was quite inconvenient to continue squeezing into a room with his two younger sisters at home.
Ye Ying didn't mind, but Gu Ya did. What if his two underage sisters walked in on scenes they shouldn't see? Gu Ya could only imagine the awkwardness.
Returning home, he glanced at Youyou and Youran, bid them a hurried farewell, and then Gu Ya flew towards the headquarters of the Wuhe City Mecha Guard.
Dou Mei had been waiting anxiously in the conference room for nearly an hour before Gu Ya arrived. The moment they met, Dou Mei grabbed Gu Ya by the collar, sniffed lightly, and smirked, "Little boy's all grown up, eh!"
"Be serious..." Gu Ya retorted unhappily and sat down at the conference table.
There were five people at the table: Dou Mei, Shen Jingming, and two unfamiliar middle-aged men.
Dou Mei got straight to the point, "Gu Ya, your proposal to assist Xianxia in researching void technology is already under consideration by the higher-ups. But there's a more important mission for you now."
"Four days ago, at dawn, after secretly interrogating Hong Lian · Zhi Wu as arranged, I rushed back without stopping. The higher-ups have officially decided to assign you the mission to rescue Mu Ye · Xing Chen."
Gu Ya nodded calmly. After a dozen seconds of thought, he stated coolly, "What are the time, location, personnel arrangements, and specific tactics?"
"Undetermined. The higher-ups have decided that you will personally plan and execute this operation. Regarding personnel arrangements, only Shen Jingming has been sent as external support. Shen Jingming previously served in the Ao Ying Third Team and participated in the operation to rescue you; you are practically half-teammates," Dou Mei said seriously.
"This rescue operation is a top secret. Only the five of us present know about it. These two senior military officers were sent by the higher-ups as supporting commanders. You can discuss the specific tactics with them."
The two men nodded at Gu Ya. One of them said, "Fan Pengyong."
The other said, "Wang Junxu."
After introducing themselves, Fan Pengyong briefed Gu Ya on the location where Mu Ye · Xing Chen was imprisoned: a coastal city southwest of the Black Star Empire, called Fa Lan City.
"This is a prison island. Based on the intelligence gathered, the surface appears to be a natural island, while the main prison structure is located within the continental shelf, three hundred meters below sea level."
"The main island has an area of 37 square kilometers, with two smaller islands, one of 3.7 square kilometers and another of 7.9 square kilometers."
"Currently, this is all the intelligence we have. We have no information on how to enter this prison island, what it looks like inside, or where Mu Ye · Xing Chen is being held."
Gu Ya shot Fan Pengyong a look, a hint of displeasure on his face, and said rather bluntly, "This little bit of intelligence is as good as saying nothing."
Dou Mei quickly smoothed things over, "This is the intelligence we obtained through immense effort. Besides, don't we have you, the 'World Glitch'? Entering the prison should be a matter of minutes."
Gu Ya was quite surprised by the nickname "World Glitch" that Dou Mei had given him. What was that supposed to mean?
"I can handle the preliminary reconnaissance," Shen Jingming said nonchalantly, playing a holographic game.
Gu Ya had heard Ye Ying mention that Shen Jingming, Xianxia's third strongest War God, was unfathomably powerful, especially his seemingly void-tech ability to appear out of nowhere and his domain of darkness, which made Gu Ya very curious.
The moment he activated 【Mecha God's Gaze】, Gu Ya's eyes widened in shock.
"This person... he... where's his head?"
In Gu Ya's vision, Shen Jingming was surrounded by disheveled black code forming a body, and he had no head.
Looking closer, those codes were strings of unfamiliar, mystical characters. Each character had a radical similar to '宝盖头' but without the dot, followed by two circles, and below that, various figures depicted simple, different actions. Upon closer inspection, they resembled the hasty scribbles of a child. 【Mecha God's Gaze】 was unable to decipher the meaning of these characters.
"What the hell?" Gu Ya muttered in astonishment.
"Hmm?" Shen Jingming raised his head, his gaze calmly falling on Gu Ya.
"Gu Ya, don't drift off, time is short," Dou Mei reminded him softly.
Fan Pengyong continued, "We plan to secretly transport you first to Shan Hai City in the Black Star Empire. What you do after that is up to you."
"Why Shan Hai City?" Gu Ya asked.
"The civil war in the Black Star Empire has just ended, and it coincides with the succession of a new leader. Shan Hai City is located in the northernmost part of the Black Star Empire, being the largest city in the northern region. It won't be properly reorganized anytime soon. Currently, Shan Hai City is a chaotic mix of various foreign powers, allowing us to slip in amidst the confusion," Dou Mei explained.
Gu Ya frowned. The planning for this mission felt as haphazard as a child's game, with a few casual words thrown out. Yet, the challenges he faced were as towering as mountain ranges stretching for thousands of kilometers.
First, how to enter Fa Lan City after arriving in Shan Hai City. Second, how to find Mu Ye · Xing Chen in Fa Lan City without anyone noticing. Third, how to bring him out after finding him.
These were the three main problems, with countless other difficulties extending from them, like water droplets in the ocean, and each step required extreme caution.
Gu Ya cursed internally, stewing in his anger for a while, even contemplating backing out and shirking responsibility. "Can't we just not save him? He's a war criminal. Both we and the Black Star want him dead."
Dou Mei shook his head heavily and said, "The higher-ups want Mu Ye · Xing Chen. Especially after a statement made by Hong Lian · Zhi Wu."
"After the interrogation, Hong Lian suddenly stopped me and mysteriously mentioned a place: the Underworld Continent."
A fleeting, subtle complex emotion flashed in Shen Jingming's eyes.
Gu Ya was somewhat confused, "What does this have to do with rescuing Mu Ye · Xing Chen? Does he know how to enter the Underworld Continent? Or is there some incredibly powerful technology there?"
"You guessed right," Dou Mei said calmly. "To research void technology, we need the help of subterranean technology. Wouldn't you agree, Shen Jingming?"
Shen Jingming's expression was complex, and he nodded slightly, saying nothing.
Now Gu Ya understood everything. The higher-ups wanted Mu Ye · Xing Chen to extract all his knowledge, to grasp the Black Star Empire's many secrets and technologies. On the other hand, they wanted to acquire subterranean technology.
No wonder such a heinous top war criminal was so highly valued by the higher-ups.
Dou Mei added, "It's not just that. It's also because Mu Ye · Xing Chen is a Xianxia native, surnamed Xian, a descendant of Xianxia's oldest and most sinful clan."
Gu Ya covered his face, his emotions somewhat unstable, and sighed, "So it turns out everyone famous in this world carries some secrets. What does this have to do with me? Why must it be me?"
"Gu Ya, don't be like this," Dou Mei said sternly and coldly. "I know you've only recently awakened and reunited with Ye Ying. You haven't had a few days of peaceful life before having to go to war again. Anyone would be reluctant. But for Xianxia, and to stop the Black Star from continuing to erode the world, we must do these things."
Everyone looked at Gu Ya, who was staring at the ground with his hands covering his head. After a long while, Gu Ya let out a long sigh, looked up with firm eyes, and said with a steady tone, "Alright, I'll take this mission. When do we depart?"