Chapter 7
A huge alien ship was gliding through the sky, surrounded on all sides by a thick layer of flying robots. Every single one of the at least millions of robots had enough firepower to at least reduce a skyscraper to rubble.
Shi Qing was standing by the clear glass looking at the forest below.
Yin Mingzheng approached him from behind and placed his arms around the youth in a familiar manner. A deep voice that rumbled pleasantly could be heard. “What are you looking at?”
Shi Qing pointed towards the forest that appeared so small from this distance. “My planet only had the Mother Tree. There were no forests.”
Yin Mingzheng followed his gaze. With the superior sight of an ability user he could distinguish the figures of Insects as they traversed through the lush canopy of the forest.
His heart grew heavy. This forest was clearly in human territory before, so was it lost to the Insect race?
Shi Qing looked up to see his dazed expression. The smile on his lips became even more dazzling. He nuzzled into the man’s arms like a spoiled leopard cub and carefully counted off his fingers: “In 17 years 11 months and 17 days, we can make a baby.”
The System’s despairing voice rose up as well: [In twenty days we’ll be kicked out from this world.]
[Host, we’ve already been here for ten days and Yin Mingzheng’s animosity value is still 80. What do we do?]
Shi Qing: [Waterworks should do the trick.]
[What?]
The System was just contemplating what the Host meant when it saw him lean bonelessly on Yin Mingzheng. He murmured a request like he was a small child: “I wanna go potty with Mingzheng.”
Yin Mingzheng didn’t consider Shi Qing’s request to be too outrageous. He had completely gotten used to Shi Qing’s desire to be sticky over the past couple of days. He obligingly picked up the youth in his arms.
When it was time to hug or kiss, the sprite-like Shi Qing made sure to reduce his weight significantly.
There was originally no washroom on the spaceship because robots have no need to use it.
Some were built after Yin Mingzheng arrived. Since he promised to stay on the ship a few days ago, Shi Qing modified himself with a digestive system similar to humans to be more like him.
It was just that he could only drink oil instead of eating human foods. He only needed to go number one.
This was just a way for the alien youth to be closer to Yin Mingzheng after all. There was no need to sweat the details too much.
After accompanying Shi Qing to the washroom, Yin Mingzheng saw him run excitedly to wash his hands at the sink, dry his hands and stand before him looking to be praised.
Ever since Yin Mingzheng agreed to stay, Shi Qing’s face was almost constantly smiling. He circled around him like a little bird that never grew tired. To grow closer to him, he mimicked everything he did.
Shi Qing began to sleep like humans. Yin Mingzheng woke up every morning to a youth pretending to sleep in his arms.
Every night before he went to bed, the teen would get on the bed first and impatiently pat the bed with his long legs for Yin Mingzheng to ‘sleep’ with him.
–Even though he couldn’t sleep at all.
Yin Mingzheng only discovered that later. Shi Qing tirelessly copied his every move, but it was just that, a copy.
One night when he opened his eyes to see Shi Qing staring right at him, his heart almost skipped a beat.
“Why aren’t you sleeping?”
“I don’t have the systems necessary for sleep.” Shi Qing blinked and focused with a laser-like intensity on Yin Mingzheng’s small part.
“Since you’re awake, let’s run through the sequence again.”
Due to the fact that a certain energetic little fairy kept him busy all night, the normally punctual Yin Mingzheng slept until noon the next day.
Yin Mingzheng never said anything. However, he never woke up later than six since then.
Shi Qing took this in and complained to the System: [He’s afraid that he’ll be converted if he spends too long in my Garden of Eden. Pah, men.]
He was deliberately acting naughty. He knew what Yin Mingzheng was thinking, but he kept keeping him up at night. If Yin Mingzheng tried to gently reject him, he would shamelessly act spoiled like a newborn kitten or puppy by climbing into the man’s lap.
Yin Mingzheng could only allow him to do as he wished.
After a few days, the once valiant and cool hero of humanity had dark circles under his eyes.
The System felt despair looking at his overjoyed Host.
It finally realized something.
His BOSS-like Host was probably not just toying with the man. It was likely that he had forgotten about the task altogether.
With his personality it wasn’t impossible.
Whenever he wanted to give a friendly reminder, Shi Qing would start to bother Yin Mingzheng and force the System to activate its censorship program.
There’s nothing to be done. There was no entertainment on this ship. There was plenty to eat and drink. Wasn’t there a saying that good intentions were filling or something? Shi Qing wasn’t about to hold himself back when there was such a tasty specimen before him.
After several rounds of this, the System was well on its way to enlightenment.
Today, Yin Mingzheng was sleeping with Shi Qing curled up on his chest. His finger was circling again and again above the man’s heart. It would be a beautiful scene to outsiders.
But in actuality, the Shi Qing that appeared pure on the surface was corrupting his System: [Look at how sweet these pecs are, so bouncy ah. This is the legendary concealed musculature. It’s so comfortable here, delicious.]
System: [The Dao is Dao, but not all is Dao......]
[What are you blabbering on about?]
The System that converted to buddhism laughed (in despair): [I downloaded a monk mantra from HQ. Occasionally reading it grants me inner peace.]
Shi Qing: [So you’re a System with taste. Oh, my sweetheart woke up.]
The first thing Yin Mingzheng saw after opening his eyes, as expected, was the alien youth snuggling against him.
“I want to see Mingzheng’s small part.”
The System glanced at the blurred out screen calmly: [Names are names, but not all names.....]
While it was preoccupied with the mantra, Yin Mingzheng finally used the excuse of breakfast to pull the teen off of him.
Shi Qing couldn’t eat human foods even though he wanted to imitate his companion, which is why he ordered the robots to bring him a clear cup of oil. He sipped at it while keeping Yin Mingzheng company.
His sensory system was that of the Mechanical race, so different oils had different tastes to him.
For example, today’s cup tasted like shark fin soup.
Yin Mingzheng had an indulgent smile on his face as he watched the youth drink oil. After he saw that he was done, he even attentively dabbed at his mouth with a napkin. He was a model companion.
As expected, Shi Qing’s gaze towards him became softer after this. His leopard cub persona came out again as he laid down on his companion’s knees to watch him eat.
Yin Mingzheng reached out his left hand and began to comfort him like he was a kitten. His hand ran again and again through the soft hair of the youth.
“Shi Qing.”
He watched the androids respectfully clear the table after the meal as he wiped his mouth with a napkin. He asked softly: “Can you not go to sleep like humans?”
Shi Qing shook his head: “I need to make a sleeping system for that.”
Yin Mingzheng smiled as he lifted the youth up: “Why not make one? I feel guilty leaving you alone at night to guard me.”
Hesitation bloomed on the youth’s face. He always wore his heart on his sleeve like this.
The man looked at his with pampering eyes: “What’s wrong?”
“I’m afraid you’ll run off.”
Shi Qing paused before deciding to tell the truth: “What if you run off while I’m sleeping?”
“I wouldn’t do that.” Yin Mingzheng’s eyes darkened but his smile remained the same: “I don’t have permission to leave the ship so I can’t leave even while you sleep.”
Seeing the doubts remaining in Shi Qing’s eyes, his smile grew wider as he patted the youth on the back: “Okay okay, not sleeping is also fine. You’re of the Mechanical race and don’t need to sleep anyways.”
The youth obediently laid against his chest listening to his heartbeat. He said in a small voice: “If I add a sleeping system, I need to also install a human heart to sync the brain waves. If the heart is injured, I will be too. This would be a weakness, and the Mechanical race is not allowed to be weak.”
“Don’t worry, I was just mentioning it in passing. If Shi Qing can’t sleep, I’ll just stay up with you. It’s no problem at all.”
“Really?!” The youth became extremely happy. His eyes lit up as he tightly hugged the man: “You’re the greatest Mingzheng! I like you the best in the whole world!”
Yin Mingzheng smiled as he returned the embrace while patting Shi Qing on the back. His eyes were covered in shadows as he thought deeply about something.
From that day, the man really did stop sleeping.
The first day when Yin Mingzheng only slept three hours, Shi Qing was really happy and played with him all night. But by the second day there was a noticeable deterioration in Yin Mingzheng’s mental state. He was in a daze and often couldn’t reply to Shi Qing by the third.
Shi Qing told him to rest, but he stubbornly refused while saying he wanted to keep Shi Qing company.
The smiles on the teen’s face grew rarer. His often happy eyes were covered with a layer of worry.
Finally, Yin Mingzheng didn’t see the alien youth by his side when he woke up. He rose and asked a nearby robot: “Where is Shi Qing?”
“The King is in the Observatory.”
Yin Mingzheng went to the Observatory. On the way there, the robots that could blow a hole in him all respectfully parted for him.
He was the King’s companion and the highest authority besides the King.
The man finally arrived at the Observatory and clearly saw the scene within.
In a sea of white on the throne, the youth’s chest was open as several robot arms installed a mechanical heart inside.
—Thump thump thump.
It began to beat inside of Shi Qing’s body immediately.
His skin healed automatically. The youth quickly opened his eyes and smiled widely at Yin Mingzheng. His eyes were filled with mirth:
“Mingzheng, now I have a heart too, just like you! Now we can sleep together.”
Yin Mingzheng stared at the scene before him for a long time. He managed to force his lips into a facsimile of a smile.
“Yes, we’re the same now.”
But his heart was clear.
They were not the same.
He was a human, and Shi Qing was of the Mechanical race. This was a truth that could never be changed.
****
That night, Yin Mingzheng opened his eyes under a dim yellow light.
He slowly got up and looked towards Shi Qing who was lying beside him.
Shi Qing was sleeping soundly. His red lips were slightly pursed and his eyes were closed. It was like he was a sheltered little prince.
One of his hands was still on Yin Mingzheng’s body.
Yin Mingzheng’s gaze towards him was complicated. His hand slowly rose as his ability swirled to life, aimed straight at Shi Qing’s heart.
With one strike, the mechanical heart that just learned to beat will stop forever.
Shi Qing, the alien that has prevented him from returning to Earth this whole time, will also die.
After his death, the robots he created will all fall dormant.
Yin Mingzheng could then escape without complications.
The man’s hand shook as it approached the completely unguarded body sleeping beside it.
The youth was unaware of the danger approaching him as he continued to sleep.
He was so quiet, obedient and innocent.
He had never mistreated Yin Mingzheng, but instead shared everything he owned with the man he deemed to be his companion.
Yin Mingzheng suddenly clenched his hand into a fist and turned away.
Under the dim yellow light, the man slowly rose. He adjusted the blanket over the teen and silently left the Garden of Eden imprisoning him these past couple of days.
He didn’t know that Shi Qing slowly opened his eyes after he had left.
With a wave of his hand, a display of the ship’s interior map appeared in the middle of the room.
There was a red dot travelling from the hallway all the way until the cargo bay. After getting gear for flight, it turned to head towards one of the five main exits of the ship.
Yin Mingzheng was putting on the flying gear while glancing cautiously at the giant robot in the corner of his eye.
“Inquiry, release?”
Shi Qing thought it over as he accepted a cup of oil that tasted like Kung Pao Chicken from a robot.
“Release him.”
–Beep.
The exit slowly opened up. Yin Mingzheng glanced one last time at the expanse of white behind him. Guilt flashed through his eyes before he jumped down without hesitation.
[Ding! Yin Mingzheng’s animosity value: 60/100]
Author’s Note:
I originally wanted to write that Big Yin stabbed Shi Qing in the heart and then escaped while Shi Qing was hurt. But then I remembered I wasn’t writing a tragedy~
So I pulled back in time. I’m such a conscientious author ah.
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