Chapter 8 – Naughty Child

Warning: Slight sexual content

Translator: Lucia Rose
Editor: Nine Knights

The second Livy’s aircraft sped out, the terminal behind him closed, and he was thrust into a battle that he could not escape.

“F*ck! Which squad do I even belong to?!” Livy thought that if he did what he wanted, he would be labeled as ‘capricious’ and ‘undisciplined’ even if he managed to return to the base alive.

“It’s every man for himself here, kiddo!” A voice broke out from the same radio communication frequency that he was using, answering his query.

Livy focused his attention on the current situation of the battlefield. Three fighter squads had been dispatched from another fortress city to K11, but all of them had encountered the enemy along the way. The two sides inevitably exchanged fire and ultimately reached a stalemate that persisted even after they had arrived at their destination; the airspace of K11 base.

The irony of this situation was that the allied side had fifteen fighters while the alien invaders only had five. Despite their advantage in numbers, Livy’s side still found themselves in such dire straits.

Suddenly, a laser missile was fired in Livy’s direction, and he had to steer his fighter sharply to the side to evade it. The missile grazed his fuselage as it roared past him.

Livy was furious, “I barely arrived, and you’re already sending me missiles?! Fine, I’ll play your game, you alien pigs! Go and die!”

Livy’s fighter weaved through the rain of missiles cast in his direction. His speed constantly disrupted the enemy’s pursuit of other fighters, and soon, he became the target of their hot pursuit as well.

※※※

Claude walked into the central control room with an icy face, just as the screens in the control room showed Livy being chased by alien invaders.

Lieutenant General Montel faced the former with a frown, “I know what you’re going to say, but I can only tell you right now: I am very sorry.”

“So, what do you expect me to do now? Pray to God for the safe return of that naughty child?” Claude’s expression did not ease one bit, and the temperature within the control room plummeted to chilling levels.

“I just wanted all the fighters who were available and able to fly to go out and provide support for our base, but I didn’t expect that to include Livy as well.” Lieutenant General Montel rested his hands on the table as he watched the progression of the battle in front of him, “Regardless of his status as a pilot candidate for the Pure-Hued Lady, he is first and foremost a member of K11. He is a fighter pilot, and it is his responsibility to respond against attacks, too.”

Claude did not reply; instead, he casually pulled out a chair and sat down. His head tilted slightly to the side as his eyes stared intently at the largest screen. Everyone inside the control room could sense the ominous presence settling on the premises.

Livy was currently being pursued; deftly yet thrillingly, he dodged two attacks.

However, it was clear that defensive flights were not his specialty. Furthermore, his personality was not inclined to prefer passive warfare. In the blink of an eye, his whole fighter jet flipped upside down and unexpectedly came above the enemy. While in that position, Livy dropped a missile, and the ensuing explosion created by him was so great that even he himself was shaken away by its force.

“Well done.” Lieutenant General Montel nodded in approval as he followed every move of the young staff sergeant.

It was at this time that Miller had also arrived in the control room. After witnessing the event that had just transpired on the big screen, the major couldn’t help but curse in a low voice, “That b*st*rd! Even if he was confident that he could hit the enemy, why didn’t he consider that he would also be in danger with that move?!”

Despite the risk Livy had put himself in, an alien aircraft being shot down meant that the pressure on the entire K11 Air Base would be alleviated by just a little.

Perhaps Livy’s performance just now had been so impressive that he had caught the eye of their enemies, but soon, he was targeted by two alien fighters who seemed intent on eliminating him.

¹Image by Robert Waghorn from Pixabay

Livy grinned. After suffering from the ravages of the Pure-Hued Lady, he suddenly felt that operating the system of the Blue Crisis was too easy. He maneuvered his fighter into a magnificent upward arc, and the two alien aircraft tailing him mirrored his movements.

This gave the other fighters a chance to take a breather, since they no longer needed to worry about their speed or technology being worse than the enemy’s. All they needed to do was muster up enough energy to shoot.

In less than two seconds, one of the enemy aircraft chasing after Livy was shot down. The speed at which the invaders recovered from that thrashing was quite good, however. Although there were only three alien aircraft remaining, when they formed a chain, they became a difficult-to-break link.

The events took a turn for the worse and soon, only two fighters remained as the injured ones hurriedly withdrew back to the base.

“I’ve made you guys feel too complacent!” Livy dived into his best helical spiral flight, and when the opposing parties began to launch their laser missile attacks at him, he descended violently and created an opportunity for the incoming friendly forces to attack while the enemies were focused on him. Unfortunately, the allied side missed their shot.

Livy was a little chagrined by this. He couldn’t help but think that if only his own fighter’s speed was as fast as that of the Pure-Hued Lady’s then those alien aircrafts wouldn’t be able to survive!

Subsequently, Livy continued creating opportunities for his comrades to fire more offensive attacks while he served as bait. However, these opportunities were all fumbled for various reasons.

“The battle’s been at an impasse for more than forty minutes now. I didn’t expect that Livy had so much patience.” Miller glanced at his watch as he spoke.

“He’s always been patient with his enemies. He just doesn’t have much patience for us.” Claude added. Over the course of the exchange, his temperament had calmed, and he became more composed. His posture had also shifted from one of rigidness into one that was more relaxed.

“The reason why Livy is more likely to hit the enemy than the other pilots is quite simple; it’s because he knows how to navigate his own fighter better. Hence, he is able to build upon his strengths and avoid his weaknesses. He’s well aware that the speed of the Blue Crisis is only ninety percent that of alien aircraft, so he never once thought of overcoming his opponents with speed. Rather, he incorporates dexterous maneuvers into his flight, such as the helical spiral, which makes being hit by a laser missile’s trajectory less likely, or else he flies in loops with tricky angles to make up for his disadvantage in speed. Haven’t you noticed that he hardly ever flies in straight lines or in large, angled arcs? However, this method of flying also requires a lot of skill.”

Miller propped an elbow against the table and chimed in, “Moreover, it requires a tremendous amount of patience to be able to engage with the enemy for long periods of time while looking for opportunities to attack. Although his shooting score in the Air Force Academy was only sixty percent, the data now shows that his hit rate is as high as seventy-five percent. Meaning, he hasn’t wasted any offensive missiles or bombs on mindless pursuits. If they didn’t hit the target, then they at least either served as disruptions or decoys to the enemy.”

Claude raised a slender brow at Miller, “It sounds like you approve of his technique?”

“I approve of his technique for operating the Blue Crisis. However, I suppose it’s also because he’s too used to the Blue Crisis that he can’t adapt to the Pure-Hued Lady’s systems.”

Miller sighed as he turned his attention back to the battle.

Soon, Livy put on a brilliant reenactment of his first performance from the day he had arrived at K11 Air Base.

He rushed straight for the ground, only to skim it at a speed where ordinary people would not be able to react. In fact, he did an even better job than last time, making a brilliant pirouette on the way back and impishly firing a missile that brushed past the tail of the alien aircraft chasing him. The other aircraft, despite having reacted in time and swiveled out of the way, evading Livy’s attack, still ended up cornered and shot down by the two other fighters.

Just like that, the battle was suddenly under the control of K11, and the two remaining alien aircraft did not pursue them any further and retreated at full speed.

Lieutenant General Montel then leaned over the microphone and issued an order, “All fighters withdraw. Depart from the battlefield and return home.”

All of the fighter planes quickly flew back to their respective channels.

The moment Livy’s cabin door opened, a tidal wave of applause and cheers attacked his eardrums and echoed deep inside his bones. Livy blinked the stars away from his eyes and gaped at his comrades’ zealous welcome in bewilderment, “What’s the matter?”

“Kid, you are really good!” The mechanic waved the tool in his hand as he complimented him, and Livy instinctively ducked to protect his head, just in case the instrument hit him.

“Our fighters haven’t held the high ground nor have we overpowered our enemies in battle as impressively as we did today!”

Livy nodded good-naturedly at their praises. However, if he was being honest with himself, he wondered that if so many allied warplanes on their side fought against only five alien aircraft, could the fight still be called ‘impressive’?

It was at this moment Claude made his way over to Livy from afar; his walk was graceful and elegant. However, the smile that crept at the corners of his mouth seemed to cast a damper on Livy’s small victory today.

“You seemed to have been having a good time out there.”

Livy looked across the crowd; his eyes met Claude’s handsome and extraordinary face, and his heart began to feel a little sour²Usually, in Chinese, when a person is described to be feeling sour, or 酸 (suān), it means that they are feeling jealous. again.

“It was okay.” Livy shrugged.

“I’ll take you to see a place tonight.” Claude told him straightforwardly before turning on his heels and leaving Livy alone with the enthusiastic crowd.³[Lucia]: Isn’t this way of asking for a first date a bit too ‘strong’? 😉
[99]: I think Mr. Darcy just walked into (or out of) the room…hehe.

The small exchange with the major general left Livy feeling a little dissatisfied. Clearly, they were all mortal men, but why did Claude feel so otherworldly, as if he were a different species altogether?

※※※

In order to have some fun, Livy and the other pilots who had participated in that night’s battle headed out to a bar to have some celebratory drinks together. In the venue, many beautiful female officers were also present, having joined in the festivity.

For the first time in a long while, Livy was able to drink to his heart’s content.

The fried squid in front of him was unbelievably delicious. He ended up staying till quite late. By two o’clock in the morning, everyone had already retired and returned to their respective quarters.

Luckily, Livy was not left alone, and he was able to hook up with a warrant officer named Sharon. The two of them headed to Livy’s quarters, half drunk on alcohol and on each other.

When they entered his dorm room, the air around them quickly became charged, and their blood felt like gasoline that was lit on fire. The heat emanating from them spread as their two bodies meshed together and their limbs grew more tangled. Livy wasted no time and crashed his lips onto Sharon’s and then caressed the insides of her mouth with his tongue.

Just as the kiss was in full swing, his AI system switched on, “Master, you have other appointments tonight.” Lilith uncomfortably reminded him.

Sharon pulled away from the kiss and laughed. She cupped Livy’s face, “Who else do you have an appointment with tonight?”

Livy was growing impatient as he pressed her body against his and trailed kisses along Sharon’s neck, “You, of course.”

After hearing his honest response, Sharon laughed.

Their hot bodies collapsed onto Livy’s bed as they continued kissing. Sharon then untangled herself from beneath Livy’s body and straddled him. As he stared at her hovering form, she leaned back and began to remove her clothes seductively.

Livy could no longer think straight as his eyes focused on every curve of her exposed body, and his senses on the softness of her touch. All of his blood seemed to be rushing to his head, as well as to another part of his body. He was ready to bring his gun onto the battlefield…

Unfortunately, at that exact moment, his radio came on, ‘Urgent announcement—urgent announcement—requesting Technical Sergeant Livy Van Perle report to Zone Z.’

“Hey… are you going on a mission tonight?”

Sharon wore an aggrieved expression, and Livy groaned, “Don’t mind it! It’s only for Zone Z; it’s not telling me to ‘stand by’ or to report to the front lines!” Livy smiled mischievously at Sharon. The sight made her breathless and nearly hooked her soul away.

She continued undressing as Livy prepared himself to receive her, and just as they were getting in the mood to escalate their kisses and groping, the radio switched on again, ‘Urgent announcement—urgent announcement—requesting Technical Sergeant Livy Van Perle report to Zone Z in three minutes.’

“F*ck!”

Livy was beyond furious as he could feel himself sobering up.

Sharon rolled off of him and began tossing Livy his clothes so that he could put them on, “I feel like tonight is not really a good time, Livy. Zone Z belongs to Major General Claude Sien, and he is the one person who no one wants to offend.”

Livy got up in a huff and grumbled, “Why? Because he’s a major general?”

“No, because everyone respects him. Every time he improves his fighters, the mortality rate of pilots goes down.”

Sharon then soothed Livy by kissing him on his cheek, “Go on, don’t be so childish.”

Her scent lingered in the air even as she pulled away. Livy sighed, “I’m sorry. I’ll make it up to you next time.”

Livy felt very apologetic towards her as he left. However, he felt even more apologetic towards his little brother, who was ready to go but wasn’t able to.

When he arrived at Zone Z, Livy realized that except for a few research rooms whose lights were still switched on, only the training room remained open.

Livy walked in with his hands tucked inside his pockets.

As Livy stepped further into the room, he realized that with the holographic equipment turned off, the whole training room felt very empty. There was no one around, except for Claude, who stood there, like a solitary sentinel in the center of the room.

“What did you want from me? Don’t you know that sleep is quite valuable to all fighter pilots when they don’t have a mission?”

“Indeed, that’s true. However, it’s obvious that you were not sleeping.”

Claude’s fingers flicked at Livy’s unbuttoned collar, and then he brushed his palm across Livy’s cheek, wiping away the lipstick mark left behind by Sharon with his thumb.

“I have emotional needs, too.”

Livy scowled as he avoided Claude’s eyes.

“You’re like a walnut; unless someone cracks open your shell, you don’t give away any emotion.” Claude’s gaze gentled, and the space around them seemed to soften, “All you have are physical needs.”

“Well, you’re a saint, and I’m a mortal.” Livy quipped back with a pout.

“Anyway, why did you use the radio to call me here?”

“Follow me.” Claude led Livy into a special fully-enclosed room, “This is a simulation space used for training astronauts.”

After Claude’s fingerprints and voice were entered into and recorded by the keypad, his fingers tapped out a few lines of code, and gradually, the entire space around them started to lose its gravity. Livy was taken aback when he found that his entire body was floating.

“Haha! This is so fun!” Livy slowly moved his limbs around. His face was painted with a child-like excitement, “I can even somersault like this!”

Claude inched towards Livy’s side, before grabbing his hand and pulling him over, “In this space, you can make as many moves as you would like. As long as you can imagine them, you can do anything.”

Just then, Livy turned his head. His eyes met with Claude’s azure irises, deep blue like the overflowing, boundless sea.

[Editor’s Note]:
Round of applause to Lucia’s translation of the battle; I barely touched it because she is already so good with it…

[Translator’s Note]:
Thank you so much for the sweet note, Nine! ( •̯́ ^ •̯̀)♡

• 1
  Image by Robert Waghorn from Pixabay
• 2
  Usually, in Chinese, when a person is described to be feeling sour, or 酸 (suān), it means that they are feeling jealous.
• 3
  [Lucia]: Isn’t this way of asking for a first date a bit too ‘strong’? 😉
  [99]: I think Mr. Darcy just walked into (or out of) the room…hehe.