Exclusive Possession – CH 027

Chapter 27.

The pillars of time remained as somber and magnificent as ever, and space remained deep and tranquil. Because of the distance, the fighter jets still appeared as a small patch of densely packed dark dots.

Mu Xian released my waist, his gaze sweeping indifferently over the outside of the cabin before turning the plane around and slowly heading back. I did not know what he was planning, and I was afraid of a sudden firefight, so I held on to him tightly.

“I will never put you on the battlefield again.” A slightly gloomy voice sounded from above.

I was startled and looked up. He was also looking down at me, his expression somewhat cold.

“This is the last time,” he said.

Did he make this statement because he saw that I was scared?

He…felt sorry for her?

I felt a pang of sadness and said softly, “Thank you, I am actually fine. You just focus on what you are doing.” I did not ask him what he planned to do, because he probably already had an idea, and there was nothing I could did to help. It was best to just listen quietly to his arrangements.

He did not say anything more. After a while, we sailed behind a floating black boulder. There, a wrecked warplane floated silently; it was one of the enemy planes that Mu Xian had just shot down. Mu Xian piloted the plane slowly closer until our cockpit door touched the wing of the wrecked aircraft, then shut down the engine.

“Loosen your grip for a moment,” he said softly.

I awkwardly released his waist and straightened up.

He unbuckled his seatbelt, stood up, and took a long bundle of metal rope from the wall, tying one end around his waist. I saw the other end secured to the back of the seat.

I realized what was happening and felt a little uneasy: “Are you going out?”

He nodded. “Stay put; I will be right back.” He retrieved a large box from the rear cabin, then opened the hatch and stepped out. I glimpsed the black expanse of space beneath his feet, a seemingly bottomless abyss, and felt a chill run down my spine. But he had vanished without a trace.

My body slowly floated up, but I was still secured to the seat by the seatbelt. Time passed by, and all was quiet except for the sound of my breathing inside the helmet. I suddenly remembered that there was a radio in the helmet that I could use to talk to him, so I quickly lowered my voice and asked, “Mu Xian, are you alright? How much longer?” My voice sounded hoarse and trembling.

There was a moment of silence on the communication channel before his deep, crisp voice came through: “I will be right back.”

I was taken aback and quickly said, “I am not rushing you; come back after you are done. I just…”

I just wanted to see if you were there.

Before I could finish speaking, a figure floated in slowly, and the hatch slammed shut. I turned to look at him, feeling a huge weight lifted from my heart. He landed gently, put the box he was carrying on the ground, and quickly walked up to me.

Looking at his solemn face and concerned eyes, I regretted interrupting him earlier and quickly said, “I am fine…” Before I could finish speaking, he had already bent down and reached out his hand to me.

I thought he was going to hug me, and since we were in a dangerous situation, I naturally and obediently hugged his waist. To my surprise, he paused, quickly pulled my waist close, and then released me, a hint of amusement in his voice: “Wait a minute, let me unbuckle your seatbelt first.”

I was stunned… Unbuckle my seatbelt?

With a few soft “snap” sounds, the seatbelt snapped open. He helped me to my feet, took my wrist, and led me to the suitcase. I felt a little embarrassed looking at the lingering smile on his lips. But when he opened the suitcase, my attention was immediately drawn to it.

There were two sets of black military uniforms and some metal components of various shapes. I recognized the uniforms as mercenary uniforms I had seen on DVDs—this made me feel somewhat heavy-hearted. As for the components, I naturally did not recognize them.

He glanced at me and said in a low voice, “Take off your clothes.”

I was startled, then realized—the uniforms were wrinkled, and I had just seen deep, wet stains on the cuffs of one of them, which looked like bloodstains. They were clearly taken from enemy pilots. Could he be trying to get us mixed up as mercenaries? That made sense; with so many enemy planes, he could not possibly win.

Pretending was also risky.

I nodded, took off my helmet, and began unbuttoning my spacesuit: “How…how?”

He had already taken off his spacesuit, revealing a dark gray military uniform underneath. He looked at me intently for a moment, then replied, “Only my underwear.”

My face felt a little hot, but the enemy planes behind me were closing in, leaving no time to hesitate. I quickly took off my shirt, leaving me only in a bra.

He had been undressing while keeping a serious expression on his face, seemingly lost in thought. Suddenly, his gaze flashed, slowly moving upwards until it clearly stopped on me.

I stiffened slightly and took off my trousers. He glanced at my legs and handed me his military uniform. I hesitated. “Would it not be too big?” He replied, “The co-pilot is an orange-blooded person, quite small, about your size.”

I thought to myself that I was not exactly short, and as I grabbed the military uniform to put it on, he suddenly said, “Put this on first.”

He took off his military vest and handed it to me, revealing he was only wearing shorts. Thinking there was something fishy going on, I casually asked, “Are you not using it?”

He gave me a deep look without answering, picked up the mercenary uniform beside him, and put it on with a frown, seemingly enduring it, but his gaze naturally returned to my chest.

As my skin touched the soft, slightly sweaty vest, a sudden thought struck me—making me wear his vest was probably an attempt to minimize the contact between my skin and the mercenary uniform. It was a bit of self-deception, but I could not help it. He was a bit of a germaphobe himself.

We quickly changed our clothes. He glanced at me briefly, his gaze lingering slightly, and said in a low voice, “Unexpectedly…beautiful.” Then he rolled up his sleeves, took the metal components, and went to the rear cabin.

I looked down at my military uniform. It was a bit tight in the chest, a bit big in the waist, and the trousers were baggy. It did not look neat at all on me, yet he actually said it looked good.

I could not help but look up at him—he was still as tall and straight as ever, the pure black outfit making his handsome features and fair skin stand out even more. Compared to the stern look he had in dark gray, the black outfit made him appear even more aloof.

A dozen minutes later, he returned to the driver’s seat, still looking aloof, arrogant, and methodical.

This made me strangely calm down.

By this time, the distant fighter jets had already reached the Pillar of Time. Now they looked like giant steel birds, obscuring not just a small patch of starry sky but my entire field of vision.

Mu Xian started the plane’s engine and picked up the communicator. His handsome profile appeared calm and composed, but his eyes were cold and sharp.

“Report, this is Captain Cong En of the 37th Squad, 5th Column. We just engaged an Imperial fighter… My identification code is…” He recited a series of numbers. “The enemy aircraft has been destroyed, with casualties. Please send a rescue ship immediately. Clearance? Which unit are you the communications officer for? 3rd Column? Lieutenant, this is not within your authority. Tell your superior, Captain Anrui, to contact the 5th Column command directly if there are any problems. Any other questions? Send someone over, and quickly.”

The call ended, and he turned to look at me: “You are Lieutenant Neu. Leave the rest to me.”

I was completely stunned. I nodded, then hesitantly asked, “Will they check our ID photos?”

He smiled faintly: “Mercenaries are composed of bandits from multiple star systems and races, a mixed bag, and their information systems are not always up-to-date. Their most effective verification method is identification codes and access passwords.” He paused, then added, “I have both.”

I suddenly remembered what Mop had said: Mu Xian was leg bone was injured three years ago in a battle against a mercenary group. He must have known a lot about mercenaries, which was why he was so fearless now.

I felt relieved and watched quietly with him as two of the fighter jets in the formation ahead deviated from their original course and flew towards us.

Things progressed relatively smoothly. Two orcs and two robots boarded the enemy fighter jets. After checking our electronic credentials—I did not know how Mu Xian prepared them; they even had our photos on them—and asking Mu Xian a few questions, they went to salvage the bodies from the wreckage. One of them said as he left, “Since you are from the Fifth Column, come with us.”

Mu Xian said, “Okay.” He turned the plane around and slowly flew into the group of mercenary fighter jets.

Surrounded by dark, cold fighter jets, we were like the most ordinary member of a swarm of bees, simply being carried along. Mu Xian remained expressionless for a moment before picking up his communicator.

This time he spoke in a language I could not understand at all. I guessed he was issuing commands to the fleet via an encrypted channel. After the communication ended, he pondered for a moment, then suddenly turned to look at me.

“That is good.”

“……What is wrong?”

“You are very calm and obedient.” He paused, his voice softening slightly. “Keep it this way; leave everything to me.” I immediately understood—he was praising me for not causing trouble and quietly following his instructions. I already felt that was how it should be.

However, the faint hint of pleasure in his tone made my face flush slightly.

After sailing for about ten more minutes, a very large black spaceship appeared ahead, about the same size as the main ship of Mu Xian’s fleet.

“All fighter jets, return to the space fortress and rest for 10 hours,” a steady command came through the communication channel.

Mu Xian glanced up at the space fortress, and I was startled—spending 10 hours in the enemy camp was no easy task. Who knew what might happen?

But the gates on the belly of the space fortress had already slowly opened, and fighter jets, like birds returning to their nests, landed and flew into the deep deck.

After a brief gliding, we drove in.

The plane came to a stop with some turbulence. As soon as we got off the plane, two ground crew members came up to greet us. I looked at them, feeling a little nervous, while Mu Xian gripped my hand tightly.

“Idiots, do not touch my plane with your filthy hands,” Mu Xian said coldly. “Fill up the fuel and get out of here.”

The ground crew member paused, a hint of resentment flashing across his face, then stood at attention and saluted: “Yes, sir. I guarantee no one will cause trouble.”

This was the first time I’d ever heard Mu Xian swear, and I was secretly shocked. After walking a bit further, I looked back and saw the ground crew indeed wave his hand, instructing another soldier to drag the fighter jet to a corner without even glancing at it.

I understand—although the fighter jets look exactly the same, and he had modified them before, it would not be good if the ground crew discovered anything. He is… bold and meticulous, I could not help but glance at him sideways; his cool, fair face was expressionless.

The deck was in complete chaos, with more and more planes landing and people coming and going in a noisy din. Soldiers kept passing by, some even bumping into us.

Mu Xian kept a cold expression as he walked forward with his arm around my waist. When we reached the hangar exit, an orc suddenly approached and said, “Captain, I’ve already asked logistics to arrange your food and lodging. You can go to the mess hall for dinner now; it is over there.” He pointed to a passageway behind him.

I recognized the man as the pilot who had just checked our IDs. Mu Xian nodded to him, then put his arm around me and followed the crowd toward the restaurant.

The restaurant was very spacious, with soft lighting and clean tables and chairs, making it much more comfortable than the hangar. It was not crowded; out of several hundred seats, about a third were empty.

The aroma of food made me feel hungry. But Mu Xian’s expression was not good; it was as if a layer of cold air covered him. He had not looked this bad when we were in danger earlier.

I could not help but worry—had some new, big problem arisen?

We chose a corner where no one was around and sat down. He brought over both plates and two sets of cutlery, saying in a low voice, “You can use the cutlery; they have a sterilizer.”

I did not pay much attention to what he said. The plate was rectangular, containing four boxes. The largest one contained a perfectly square piece of rice, each grain of which was three times the size of a grain of rice on Earth. The other three boxes contained cooked beef, a mushy vegetable soup, and a piece of bread.

I was just about to start eating when I suddenly heard him say calmly, “Wait.” His tone was somewhat inexplicable… Was he trying to hold back?

He took the rice container from in front of me. I looked at him questioningly, only to see him give me a deep look, frown, pick up his knife, and coldly cut off a piece of rice along the edge, then another. The rice, which was originally about the amount of a normal bowl, was reduced to less than half its original size after he cut it. But he did not stop there; he used a fork to pick up the rice and cut off another layer from the bottom.

His brow relaxed slightly, and he picked up his fork and handed it to me: “You can eat now.”

I took the last third of the rice, looking puzzled. He glanced at the dishes on my plate and said casually, “There is nothing we can do with those. Just eat the rice. There is still food on the plane; you can eat that tomorrow.”

I suddenly realized something.

He was a germaphobe; he thought the food here was dirty.

That was why your face looked so bad just now?

This was understandable, of course. When we walked past the kitchen window earlier, we did see a burly man with bare arms, covered in sweat, arranging lunch boxes.

But I knew that the food on the plane was prepared by Morin himself, because they were preparing to return that day, so the amount was very small, enough for at most one person.

Before I could answer, he started shredding his own rice. I just stared at him, dumbfounded. Soon, he had finished shredding the rice grains as well. Although he was frowning, he was clearly hungry and quickly finished his rice.

I had only taken a few bites when I thought about it and handed it to him.

“I am not a germaphobe. You need to get us out of here, so eat something.” I took his plate and scooped the remaining rice into my own lunchbox.

His gaze froze, his voice suddenly softening as he slowly asked, “You…give it to me?”

Before I could speak, his expression returned to its usual coldness, but a strange undercurrent flickered in his eyes: “I am happy, but I will not accept it. I will not let my woman…”

He did not finish his sentence because I had already scooped up a piece of beef and stuffed it into my mouth.

His eyes flickered slightly, and he stared at me without saying a word.

I felt a little uncomfortable under his gaze, so I said in a low voice, “You can eat this. You ate the food on the plane too. I can eat these normal meals without any problem. My grandma is old, and I’ve been boarding at school since middle school, always eating in the cafeteria. This is much better than the school food.”

After a while, I looked up at him and said, “I am full. It would be a waste if you did not eat.”

He paused for a moment, then finally put the rice core into his mouth and gently bit into it, one bite at a time.

“Okay.” The voice sounded low and soft.

I smiled.

But my smile quickly faded. He just stared at me as he slowly ate. His posture remained elegant, but a faint blush slowly crept onto his handsome, fair face, and his dark, restrained gaze remained fixed on me.

People around us chuckled at our strange expressions. Mu Xian completely ignored them, staring intently at me. My face burned. Was I hallucinating? Was he mistaking that piece of rice for me and swallowing it mouthful by mouthful?