Chapter Sixty-Two: The True Form

“What’s with all this racket!” Just as Commander Garcia stepped through the mess hall hatch, the overwhelming noise inside struck him so hard his head spun.

Yes, the Archangel’s soundproofing is excellent—nothing could be heard from outside.

The original mess hall had been transformed into a social gathering. After Hao Ren introduced the Three Kingdoms Kill cards, he continued pulling out poker decks, mahjong tiles, dice, and various rule sheets.

With nothing else to do, civilians and crew members aboard the Archangel, led by Hao Ren, threw themselves into the games with feverish enthusiasm.

Golden Flower, Blackjack, Japanese Mahjong, Landlord—each game was played in turn.

Hao Ren, how much free time do you really have!

Even the guards couldn’t resist joining in. Of course, the stakes weren’t money, but playful challenges: sit-ups, squats, eating three lunch packs in a row, shouting, “My illness is cured!” at the wall—harmless fun.

Little Theater: Star of Generals Falls, Fate Cannot Be Defied!
Characters: Zhuge Liang (Hao Ren), Huang Yueying (Sai)
Health: Zhuge Liang (three blood drops), Huang Yueying (irrelevant)
Skills: Zhuge Liang (Star Watching, Empty City), Huang Yueying (irrelevant)
Card: Lightning (delayed strategy card; if the judgment card is Spade 1–9, receive three points of thunder damage)

Battle Scene: With lightning hanging over his head, Hao Ren leered wickedly at his next player—Sai, who anxiously eyed the five cards Hao Ren drew from Star Watching: Spades 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.

…

Hao Ren’s face instantly turned awkward, while Sai beamed with delight.

Hao Ren pursed his lips, placed all five cards at the bottom of the deck, then flipped over the lightning judgment card above his head…

A huge Spade 9!

Thunder Summons!

Zhuge Liang (Hao Ren) receives three points of thunder damage, falls into a critical state. No one plays a Peach card. Zhuge Liang (Hao Ren) is eliminated!

A mouthful of old blood!

Uncle Kojero spat his coffee straight onto Thor’s face.

“This is outrageous!” Hao Ren, with a comically exaggerated expression, threw all his cards onto the table.

“Who shuffled the deck!” All heads turned at once.

“Commander!” Artemis’s soldiers snapped out of their gambling frenzy and hurriedly saluted Garcia, cold sweat pouring down. How did they fall so easily into this breach of military discipline? Because they didn’t want to lose their teeth, yes, that must be it. Keeping their salute, they comforted themselves once more.

“You dare organize gambling here in public! Who’s the ringleader?” Garcia angrily slammed the table.

Everyone in the gathering pointed directly at Hao Ren, whose face still bore its comic expression.

Selling out a teammate, quick and clean.

“So it’s you disturbing the order here? Come with us.” Vidal’s deputy—a bull-horned officer whose name was impossible to remember—grabbed Hao Ren by the collar.

The entire room suddenly quieted, all eyes fixed on the bull-horned officer.

“What…” The officer realized the crowd was subtly closing in around him.

“Are you planning a mutiny?” In the distance, several muscular men had already taken off their shirts, and some women clutched scissors and nail clippers in their hands.

One cannot lightly provoke the wrath of the masses; it’s impossible to imprison everyone. Realizing this, the bull-horned officer unconsciously let go of Hao Ren.

“Ahem, well! Let’s get to business.” The commander stepped in to mediate; after all, they were soldiers, and it wouldn’t do to act too harshly in front of civilians.

“Uh, well, where are the MS pilots and technical staff on this ship?” Since Mu had locked the OS and startup system of the Strike, no one but Kira could activate it. With no other options, they sought the actual pilot.

“Captain Flada. If you need anything, speak to the captain.” Uncle Kojero held back Kira, who was about to stand.

“I saw the battle footage just now. Only Captain Flada could operate the Zero so skillfully; I’m certain of that.” Commander Wu had clearly reviewed the Archangel’s battle records. But why didn’t he mention the Black Astray or the loli enthusiast? Hao Ren glanced at Kira’s Sharp, whose screen showed a triumphant ‘V’ sign.

So that’s it—they blacked out parts of the record.

“Although I doubt the pilot is a woman, considering the captain of this ship is female…” Commander Wu’s lips curled as he approached Miriallia and twisted her arm behind her back.

Tsk! Old scoundrel!

At Hao Ren’s signal, Nemesis and the others made no move to intervene.

“Stop! That’s despicable! The one sitting there was me!” Unable to watch any longer, Kira bravely stood and admitted the truth—a fine young man.

Commander Wu smiled and released Miriallia.

“I understand your desire to protect her, but that’s not something a brat like you can handle!” Commander Wu looked down on the stubborn Kira, his expression full of disdain. Commander, are you judging by age? Then what about Miriallia earlier? Isn’t she the same age as Hao Ren? Or is she, like Hao Ren, a mature student, hence her more adult appearance?

For some unknown reason, Miriallia, rubbing her arm, suddenly grew furious. The veins on her forehead popped, startling Thor.

“Don’t talk nonsense!” The commander swung at Kira, but Kira countered, flipping him to the ground with a smooth move.

Such a frail constitution! He’s a commander, for heaven’s sake; should do more push-ups. Instead, he spends every night with those risqué DVD covers—no wonder there isn’t a single female soldier in this fortress.

All of the above, according to Hao Ren’s imagination.

“I have no reason to let you hit me,” said Kira, rightly so.

“You little punk!” Seeing the commander knocked down, the bull-horned deputy’s heart raced as he rushed over and grabbed Kira by the collar, striking a pose as if to say, “Commander, look, I’m teaching him a lesson for you.”

Unable to stand it, Sai stepped forward to stop him, only to be slapped aside and land on Frey’s lap.

“Sai, what’s wrong! Sai, don’t die!” Hao Ren, always playing the fool, snatched up Sai’s fallen glasses, spittle flying as he shouted.

“No, no, that’s not me, I’m right here.” Sai, who had landed in Frey’s arms, waved hurriedly.

“Damn, such serious injury!” Hao Ren, finding a crack in the lens, hammered the floor in frustration.

“Hey! Are you listening to me? Hey!” Sai, ignoring her bruised left cheek, still tried to stop Hao Ren’s antics.

“You must hold on! I’ll get some super glue right away!” Clutching the glasses, Hao Ren dashed out of the mess hall, leaving a crowd of stunned, bewildered onlookers behind.

“Damn it! My nearsightedness is over a thousand degrees—I can’t live without my glasses!” So Sai’s true form is the glasses after all?