TCFGBH Chapter 112

Countless stars stretched across the vast expanse in the boundless universe, forming a dreamlike and resplendent backdrop.

Two mechas—one black and one silver—stood face to face. Inside the ship, everyone crowded by the windows, staring intently at the scene outside as whispers of discussion filled the air.

“Why did the boss go out?”

“No idea.”

“Shouldn’t he just capture that runaway little lover, toss him in a gilded cage for a few months, and teach him a good lesson? Make sure he can’t escape or find anyone to rely on. That’ll fix him for sure.”

“Hey! Old Three, you can say that here, but don’t let the boss hear it. He’ll sew your mouth shut.”

“…Really?” The burly man shivered violently. “No way!”

The man sighed deeply and took a drag from his cigarette, exhaling a smoky ring before speaking with utmost sincerity, “Believe me, it’s true.”

The group fell silent.

A “love-struck” boss? Were they still talking about their leader—Ian Hyde—the same man who, upon coming of age, overthrew the previous leader, tortured him with nineteen cuts, and only killed him after his vengeance was sated?

Seeing their doubtful expressions, the man nodded solemnly, his cigarette bobbing with the motion. “I swear it.”

Meanwhile, compared to the relaxed and jovial atmosphere among the star pirates, the people on the other side were in utter disarray.

“Why did Young Master Xia go out?”

“Boss,” a mercenary asked in a hushed voice, “should we sneak out and cover the young master? Maybe we could…” He gestured a slicing motion across his neck.

“If we kill the pirate leader, they’ll be headless. It might be our only chance to survive.”

The man stroked the space ring containing his mecha, his resolute face betraying a hint of hesitation. Finally, he made his decision. “Young Master said to remain here and await orders.”

“But—”

“We’re mercenaries. We don’t disobey our employer’s orders.” The man cut him off. “The young master voluntarily requested a 1v1 duel with the enemy leader. If he wins, the pirates have to let everyone leave unscathed.”

He raised his voice so everyone could hear him.

The people who had been crying, writing farewell letters, or praying for divine intervention all looked at the mercenary leader with wide eyes.

“He said he’s a soldier, and it’s his duty to protect civilians.”

It was a plain, unadorned statement, devoid of flowery language or impassioned declarations. Yet, in this moment of peril, it carried an undeniable weight.

The maintenance crew and servants had always admired Xia Yan. Though he had a temper and enjoyed making life difficult, his beauty was so breathtaking that even his arrogance felt like an exquisite oil painting come to life.

They admired him but had never thought of him as a king.

To them, the poised and dignified Grover seemed more like a leader—noble, composed, and impervious to emotions.

But now, the young man was stepping forward for their sake, risking his life to protect civilians. The noble scion, who had always seemed disdainful of commoners, revealed a fiercely kind and selfless soul.

They felt deeply ashamed of their earlier thoughts.

The deputy captain, clutching his face, murmured, “But he’s… just a student. He’s so young. It should be the adults protecting him…”

The crewmembers bowed their heads in shame.

They were all older than Xia Yan, yet now they relied on him for protection.

“Damn it, let the pirates kill me instead!” a woman cursed, standing up abruptly. “I’ve lived two hundred years and enjoyed everything life has to offer. You guys should help the young master escape.”

“Yeah… With so many mechas covering him, he might be able to get away.”

“…”

The plan to flee in mechas sounded plausible, but it was perilously risky. Even if they escaped the pirates, colliding with a wormhole or star debris would seal their fate.

The leader didn’t point out the flaws, only saying, “He wants to protect you.”

“…”

“If he’s chosen to duel, he must have a plan. We need to trust him,” the leader continued, defending Xia Yan. “After all… he’s always been number one.”

He muttered the last part so quietly that only he could hear.

Did Xia Yan have a plan?

Kind of…

First, this was a novel’s world.

Based on the plot provided by the system, the protagonist shou, Ian, was a person of clear love and hate. Even as a star pirate, he refrained from killing indiscriminately, which is why he ultimately ended up with the imperial ruler, Ludwig.

Otherwise, if they were mired in blood feuds, it would’ve been a tragedy instead of a romance.

Second, Ian still had feelings for him.

Although he knew Xia Yan was a “scumbag,” love wasn’t something that could be erased instantly. It required time to process and accept.

When facing someone they liked, people naturally hesitated in fights, giving Xia Yan a slight advantage.

Finally, the protagonist shou was a mecha designer.

Most of his energy was devoted to drawing blueprints, leaving him less proficient in combat. Their win rates were evenly matched during previous sparring matches in the virtual world.

Considering all this, Xia Yan felt confident enough to propose the duel.

… Well, he had to gamble. Things couldn’t possibly get any worse, could they?

“Are you really going to fight me?” Ian asked over the comms.

Xia Yan adjusted his mecha leisurely, raising an eyebrow. His peach-blossom eyes seemed deep yet indifferent. “Are you scared already?”

“Yan Yan, I really don’t want to be your enemy.”

At this moment, Ian shed all his disguises.

His naturally curly red hair fell softly over his forehead, and his emerald-green eyes shone like exquisite jade. His upturned feline eyes carried a hint of allure, while his baby face made him appear youthful and charming.

He pouted, voice soft and pleading. “Brother Xia Yan, don’t break up with me…”

“…”

“I really like you. Don’t you want to be king? I’ll help you take down Grover, okay?” He smiled, his tone light and tempting. “It’s a good deal, isn’t it?”

“It does sound tempting.”

“Then let’s—” reconcile.

“I don’t accept threats.” Xia Yan sneered. “That Grover? I can handle him myself. I don’t need your interference.”

Ian blinked in surprise. “Brother, your confidence is very attractive, but Grover seems to be gaining the upper hand. Many of the families supporting you have left after he pressured them. Are you okay with that?”

It didn’t matter anyway; ultimately, everything would belong to Ludwig. Both he and Grover were destined to lose.

Ian was remarkably persuasive.

Had it been the original Xia Yan, he might’ve yielded temporarily, extracting all the benefits he could from Ian before discarding him. But for this Xia Yan? He had to break up.

While Xia Yan lamented his plight internally, he maintained a frosty demeanor. “Stop talking. Let’s fight.”

“…” Ian scratched his head and muttered, “That’s odd… You should’ve agreed…”

Under Xia Yan’s puzzled gaze, Ian hesitated, then said softly, “Is it because I’m taller than you and you feel self-conscious standing next to me?”

Xia Yan, who was 181 cm: “…”

He was 181!

181!!!

It’s just that you star-dwellers develop too much!

Suppressing the storm in his heart, Xia Yan quietly asked the system: [Wasn’t my character supposed to be a scumbag gong?]

[Yes.]

[Then why is the protagonist taller than me?]

The system quickly checked the data and murmured, [In the virtual world, you were taller than him.]

[…]

[There’s another section mentioning that when the protagonist shou entered the Central Military Academy and saw you in person, he was disappointed because of your height.]

System: [He never expected to fall for someone shorter than himself.]

Xia Yan: […] The original owner in the holographic world didn’t adjust his height. What’s Ian so shocked about, anyway?

In short, the original owner was just a tool to connect the protagonist gong and the protagonist shou.

Without wasting more words, Xia Yan piloted his mecha and launched an attack on the protagonist shou.

His mecha, painstakingly built by the Xia family at great expense, was crafted to perfection in every aspect, making it far superior to the mechas in the holographic world.

Ian, being a mecha engineer himself, also had an exceptional mecha.

As soon as the battle began, their capabilities became apparent.

Xia Yan’s attacks were ferocious and aggressive, and his moves were clean and precise, wasting not a single second. Ian, on the other hand, demonstrated ghostly agility, honed through his experience among star pirates with deadly combat techniques.

Because they had clashed many times before, they were familiar with each other’s styles. The battle quickly reached a stalemate.

Everyone on the spaceship held their breath, silently praying for Xia Yan.

Ten minutes passed. Twenty minutes… Half an hour…

Neither side claimed victory.

The captain furrowed his brows, deeply worried.

Mecha energy was limited. The brutal fight might end in a draw, and if the star pirates refused to release their captive, they’d be back to square one.

Should he follow his subordinate’s suggestion and launch a sneak attack?

But… If they made a move, the star pirates wouldn’t just stand by and watch…

Just as he hesitated, the tide of the battle changed. The silver mecha charged straight at the opponent’s light sword without hesitation…

The trajectory aimed directly at the cockpit. If the blow landed, the pilot would undoubtedly be injured.

“Young Master Xia…”

“Don’t.”

Captain: “He’s risking injury to destroy their energy core. Prepare the medical bay.”

“Yes… Wait, sir, maybe we don’t need to…”

“What?”

“The star pirate withdrew the light sword…” The man stared out the window in shock, dumbfounded.

Ian felt incredibly wronged. How had he mistreated Xia Yan? He had willingly let himself be used. Why would Xia Yan choose to get hurt just to break things off?

At the moment the silver mecha charged, Ian’s mind went blank. Unable to think, he instinctively didn’t want to harm Xia Yan. It wasn’t until his energy core was blasted and his mecha issued a red alert that he snapped out of it. “Yan Yan…”

“I win,” Xia Yan said flatly. “As agreed, you’ll let us go.”

“…I know.” Ian bit his lip hard. He had so much to say, but he didn’t utter a word in the end. Instead, he slumped dejectedly over his control panel.

Looking at him, Xia Yan felt a strange sense of familiarity.

Where had he seen him before?

Controlling his mecha, Xia Yan flew back to the spaceship, greeted by cheers as he entered the hatch. Long after, a blurry image suddenly surfaced in his mind.

[Wow! System, Ian’s curly hair looks a lot like Chu Zizhe’s from the first world.]

The man who flirted at the bar and loved to act coy.

And their personalities were quite similar, too.

System: [Really?] It had long since forgotten unimportant people.

Xia Yan nodded affirmatively.

“The star pirate group has lifted the signal blockade. Messages can now be sent out.”

Someone exclaimed, and at the same time, Xia Yan’s intelligent brain vibrated with a message notification. He opened it to see a message from Ian: [I won’t give up. See you next week.]

Xia Yan: […] He probably meant… revenge? Even Xia Yan couldn’t lie to himself convincingly enough to believe that.

He opened the system’s task panel.

From the analysis of the previous two worlds, there were usually seven tasks.

He had already completed three. Task Four, defeating Huo Ruihe, and Task Five, participating in the mecha tournament, just needed a bit of time to complete. The remaining two tasks hadn’t been unlocked yet.

Judging by the storyline, only the tournament section was left, so it shouldn’t be too difficult.

Once he finished the tasks, he would make his escape.

As for whether the protagonist couple fell in love… It didn’t matter, as long as the world didn’t collapse… Probably… For some reason, Xia Yan had a nagging feeling that if the plot fell apart, a side mission to save the world would inevitably appear.

The spaceship trembled nervously as it powered up. Xia Yan dismissed his thoughts and watched the star pirate group fade into the distance, eventually disappearing from sight.