The departure time the next day was set for 7 PM on Academy Star time. Rong Shi and Song Yu were to take a school-arranged spaceship to report to the Second Legion, then depart with the troops to Andromeda V99.

Based on Rong Shi’s previous experience, this trip would take at least two months.

He got up early in the morning and prepared some easy-to-store snacks.

Song Yu glanced over several trays: little biscuits shaped like bunnies and dogs, sweet potato balls, fruit candy balls, melt-in-mouth beans, and honey-glazed meat strips.

“Being your little brother is too lucky.”

He casually pinched a sweet potato ball and bit off half, enjoying its sweet aroma and chewy texture.

“I’m going to the kindergarten department. What about you?” Rong Shi put the filled glass jars into a paper bag.

Song Yu fed the remaining half ball to Rong Shi and smiled: “Seeing how good you are to Mianmian, I’ll definitely get jealous, so I won’t go.”

“Mm.” Rong Shi said nothing but clearly understood. Since they would be gone for two months, Song Yu had many things to arrange.

Today wasn’t a weekend; the two kids had classes.

Since the incident with the cold water splash, Qian Fan arranged for Cola and Mianmian to be in the same class for easier care.

Rong Shi stood outside the adorably decorated classroom, watching the two kids through the window for a long time.

Unconsciously, the bell rang.

Tuanzi sitting by the window called in a babyish voice: “Mianmianzi, your brother is here!”

“He’s called Mianmian, not Mianmianzi!” Cola made a funny face at Tuanzi, then spotted Rong Shi and brightened, pulling Mianmian, his deskmate, to run outside. “Gege!”

Mianmian had been exercising for months; though his body hadn’t improved, it hadn’t worsened either. He stumbled behind Cola into the corridor.

“Ge, why did you come?”

Just as Rong Shi squatted to speak, he noticed a group of curious kids pressed against the window watching.

Rong Shi: “…”

This prickly feeling was worse than being surrounded by a pack of fifth-level mutated beasts.

He carried the bag in one hand and scooped up the two kids with the other, heading for the temporary rest room.

“Wow!! Mianmian’s brother is so awesome!”

“Is he a superhero?”

“He must be a transformed gorilla!”

“No, he’s a bear!”

Rong Shi: “…”

Hearing the kids’ chatter, Cola grew prouder, shaking his short legs and shouting back, “He’s not a bear! He’s my ge’s wife!”

Maybe the kids didn’t understand what “ge’s wife” meant, but they immediately got Cola’s expression.

—Look, the big shot you admire is mine!

“Wow—!”

The kids were impressed.

Rong Shi: “…”

Mianmian: “…”

The boasting worked, and Cola showed a dimpled smile with his neat baby teeth.

“I want to find a very awesome wife too when I grow up.”

Rong Shi: “Having ideals is good.”

In the previous life, the apprentice was obsessed with making mechs, spending all his time in the legion. Many secretly called them the lonely master and apprentice.

Closing the rest room door, Rong Shi told the kids about their temporary departure.

“On weekends, you’ll stay at Grandpa Qian’s. He will come pick you up.”

Mianmian nodded, “Ge, be careful.”

During their conversation, Cola was completely distracted by the snacks in the bag.

“What’s this? Looks so delicious.”

01 quietly slipped off the decorative buckle, trying once more.

It shrank down on the low table to the size of a candy ball and even deliberately turned pink.

Cola was immediately drawn to it, pinched it and held it up to his eyes.

[Iris scanning in progress—]

Rong Shi heard 01’s prompt in his mind and tilted his head.

[Verification successful, unlocking classified module—]

Rong Shi’s eyes flashed.

The so-called classified module was generally used to store core armor data, which wouldn’t be lost even if the mech was damaged.

But since 01 was reborn, it had changed a lot, and Rong Shi was suddenly unsure if this space contained something else.

[Unlocked, but some data remains inaccessible.]

Rong Shi asked by thought: [Can it not be opened with Cola’s permissions either?]

[No, I’ve tried over a hundred times! Who the hell tampered with my body! Why can’t I track this data at all?]

Rong Shi: “…”

Someone found 01 after he died and installed the pheromone matching system?

But if that’s the case, why was 01 still in his hands?

That planet was always icy and snowy; without any protection, his corpse should have rotted down to bones after ten years. How could someone have picked him up?

This line of thought was obviously wrong.

There was another important question: only commanders and kings have permission to the pheromone matching system.

Then why did they install it on 01?

And after installing, why put it back on his hand?

In the dorm, Song Yu sat on the sofa with his long legs crossed.

“You don’t need to care about the Qian family’s attitude. Even if they don’t take sides, at least they won’t harm us.”

Not far from him was a hologram of their assistant.

The assistant frowned worriedly, “The Wan and Qian families only superficially support Rong Shi. In reality, they’re probing our weaknesses.”

The Qian family was huge; whichever side they stood on gained a huge advantage.

“No. I trust Rong Shi wouldn’t lie to me.” Song Yu leisurely spun the ring on his ring finger. “This expedition won’t be peaceful. Gather some people to wait near V99. You and Qin Zhuo handle things on Imperial Star.”

The assistant’s gaze flickered to his ring finger, looking grim.

“Understood.”

“What about Song Ke?” Song Yu asked lazily, “Does he still dare to show his face recently?”

Assistant: “The queen personally arranged for him to take a leave of absence. He’s been locked in the palace recently, and every day a different omega is carried out.”

Song Yu sneered, “All over his body, only that thing is good for anything—”

Halfway through, he suddenly thought of something and his smile stiffened.

“Different omegas every day?” Song Yu frowned.

Assistant: “Yes. On average, four or five a day.”

Song Yu frowned more.

In the royal succession competition, Song Ke had much more advantage, at least on the surface.

Wouldn’t an alpha with no scruples be easier to assign omegas to deal with?

There was no reason the organization wanted to control him but spared Song Ke.

Qin Luo returned to the dorm and saw Song Yu sitting by the bay window, staring out.

“Brother, I picked up the custom knives and guns from last time. You should carry a spare.” Qin Luo took out a square metal box from a black velvet bag.

After fingerprint scanning, the box opened, revealing a new pistol by the Gu company.

The pistol was compact and easy to carry but had limited damage. This new model used air compression to increase bullet penetration and range.

“Put it there.” Song Yu’s voice was indifferent.

Why this reaction? Qin Luo brought one out and held it in front of Song Yu: “Nice feel, bro—Whoa! Where did your ring come from?!”

Qin Luo froze seeing the ring on Song Yu’s ring finger.

“No way that’s from Rong Shi—”

Song Yu turned his head and waved his hand. “Pretty, right?”

Qin Luo nervously swallowed. “Yeah, it’s… nice.”

Song Yu chuckled softly, “A gift from my wife.”

Qin Luo: “…Fully prepared for props, huh.”

Song Yu averted his gaze, not responding.

Damn complicated.

Thinking of his father’s instructions, Qin Luo rubbed his short hair, feeling anxious.

By now, he couldn’t tell if the prince and Rong Shi planned a serious relationship or just mutual use and play.

“Qin Luo.”

Song Yu’s voice brought him back.

“Hmm?”

Song Yu looked through the window at the garden below.

“I’m afraid my dad’s death wasn’t as simple as I thought.”

Qin Luo frowned. This topic was always taboo; anyone who mentioned it in front of the prince had to be on guard for punishment.

“Why do you say that?” Qin Luo asked carefully. “What did you find?”

Song Yu shook his head, “I was just thinking why dad’s mood changed suddenly, why he went crazy.”

Qin Luo was puzzled, “Why?”

Song Yu didn’t answer directly but said something completely unrelated:

“If only I were born into an ordinary family.”

In the afternoon, the two changed into training uniforms and headed to the campus helipad.

Students lined both sides, crowding together—

“Hail to the Chairman and Goddess—Safe travels!”

“Wish for a victorious return!”

“The salty vibe in combat gear is perfect!”

“Ah—Go Chairman!”

“Really making us freshmen proud! Keep it up!”

“Ahhh so handsome! I’m fine again!!!”

On the dorm balcony, Lu Ming stood in a corner, listening to the cheers and jeers, his eyes cold.

“It’s already been arranged.” Zhao Wan standing beside him smiled smugly, “Several of our family members are in the Second Legion. Once they join, let’s see if they’re still arrogant.”

Liu Hong, Chen Chen, and others waiting in the helipad lobby immediately rushed over hearing the commotion.

Liu Hong gave Rong Shi a dagger he had treasured for a long time and never wanted to use.

“This is my white moonlight; don’t mess it up.”

Rong Shi took it, flipping it over.

It was a limited edition from the Gu company made of special precious metal—tough, sharp, and not easy to bend; the main feature was being expensive, costing almost a whole apartment.

“Thanks.” Rong Shi didn’t bother with formalities and directly sheathed it in his leg pocket.

Chen Chen also gave a detector.

“This can detect mutated beast scent within a kilometer and has infrared life detection. Should come in handy.”

Hu Feng and Lao Bai also brought small gadgets.

Rong Shi accepted them all.

“Thanks.”

“Why didn’t anyone give me anything?” Song Yu took a dagger from Rong Shi and examined it, teasing.

Chen Chen was about to speak but suddenly noticed the ring on Song Yu’s finger: “!!!”

“Damn! The ring!”

The hall was crowded, and someone shouted this, causing a commotion.

They came to send them off, but instead got hit with PDA!

Liu Hong grumbled, “The best gift is already given by the chairman. Whatever we give can’t top it.”

Song Yu deliberately showed off the ring, his smile deepening.

“That’s true. With a wife’s gift, no one else’s gifts matter.”

Chen Chen and the others: “…”

They’d heard of couples looking alike and bickering like a married couple, but this was something else.

__

Author’s note:
Song Cat: The ring from the husband, I can show off for a hundred years.
Crowd: I’m not listening! I’m not listening!
Rong Bunny: Not listening? Then write a hundred essays as punishment.
Crowd: QuQ