The Emperor’s Runaway Lover

Along with the creaking of the elevator cable, the ground of the tower gradually moved further and further away. After a while, only a small cluster of dim lights could be seen.

“Are you afraid?” Fu Yucheng raised an eyebrow.

“Of course I’m not afraid.” Bai Mo glanced at him, confused. “Why would I be afraid?”

His temperament was cold and precocious, and there was almost nothing that could provoke strong emotions in him, be it fear, resentment, jealousy or joy, sadness or pain. Of course, in the near future, destiny would let him have a proper taste of each and every one of them.

All of a sudden, the elevator jolted violently.

“Shit, what the hell?” Fu Yucheng staggered, hitting the railing hard with his waist, and he let out a curse.

Without thinking, Bai Mo reached out to support him, and said with a frown, “Are you okay?”

Listening to his tone, resembling a small adult’s, Fu Yucheng couldn’t help but look at him in amusement. “Brat, you should take care of yourself first.”

Fortunately, the elevator resumed its movement upwards, taking the two of them slowly and creakily to the top of the tower.

Through the narrow door at the back of the elevator they reached a cramped machinery room, resounding with the low hum of the machine. There was a rusty ladder on the brick wall of the room, and at the top of the ladder, on the ceiling, there was a square trapdoor.

“Above is the outdoor platform of the windmill. It’s very spacious.” Fu Yucheng looked up.

The two of them climbed up the iron ladder one after the other. Bai Mo’s eyes opened when he saw the scenery.

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They were now standing on the platform at the top of the windmill tower. At their backs, three huge blades turned with a whirring noise, and beneath their feet the boundless, brown rocky desert stretched all the way to the horizon.

Fu Yucheng walked to the edge of the platform and sat down.

Bai Mo hesitated for a moment, then sat down beside him.

The cool breeze blew across their faces, and the endless rocky desert spread out in front, desolate and vast. A faint silvery white appeared at the furthest point the eye could reach. The edge of the Devil’s Antarctic.

“How about it, isn’t it beautiful?” Fu Yucheng pointed with his chin.

Bai Mo took a deep breath, and the cold and fresh air filled his lungs. “It’s beautiful.”

“Whenever I couldn’t seem to think straight, I would come here and use the chance to have a couple drinks.” Fu Yucheng unscrewed the bottle cap and took a sip.

He squinted his eyes, swinging his two long legs gently in the air. “Up here, it feels as if all the issues in this world are no big deal.”

Bai Mo glanced at him out of the corner of his eye.

Fu Yucheng guarded the bottle vigilantly. “Minors can’t drink.”

After pondering for a while, he stuffed the peanuts Old Sun gave him into the other’s hand. “You can eat these.”

“I don’t want to drink alcohol.” Bai Mo paused, not knowing how to express himself for a moment, before continuing. “I was just thinking about how you also have things you can’t think about.”

He couldn’t avoid remembering what the proprietress said back in the locomotive bar.

Xu Nana said that, a few years back, Fu Yucheng used to drown his sorrows in alcohol in her bar. He got so drunk that he even threw hands with a bunch of gangsters and crashed in the bar with blood all over.

At that time, what could have happened to make this person behave in such a way?

Did it have anything to do with that green ghost?

Fu Yucheng seemed to have realized his own slip of the tongue. He cleared his throat. “Ahem, who doesn’t have some troubles?”

Bai Mo took a good look at the other. He thought to himself, this man is lying.

For some reason, he felt a little unhappy.

Fu Yucheng pretended not to notice the other’s questioning gaze. He pointed into the distance with his finger and changed the subject. “Little Mo, can you see those circles?”

Of course, Bai Mo realized that Fu Yucheng was trying to not talk about it anymore. He didn’t ask anything else, and looked at the direction the man was pointing in.

On the distant horizon, there were about a dozen black, indistinct circular buildings. They looked strange, like some kind of heavy defense military bunkers.

Bai Mo wondered, “What is that?”

“That’s Fort Hurricane.”

“Fort Hurricane, the one you’ve mentioned, built by Admiral Mo Hanchuan himself?” Bai Mo stared at the weird buildings. “So these windmills, the parking lots, and the underground factories are all under Fort Hurricane’s jurisdiction?”

Fu Yucheng nodded. “Yes. You have a good memory, brat. I just mentioned General Mo Hanchuan casually, but you still remember him.

“General Mo Hanchuan was a hero.” The man sighed softly. “Back then, if he had followed the Rong family, he would have enjoyed all the wealth and glory the world has to offer.

“Mo Hanchuan and Rong Qian were originally military school classmates. Rong Qian, his close friend, became the founding emperor of the Dyson cloud Rong Empire, and he was also the commander-in-chief of the Deep Space Fleet. After taking control of the military, he insisted on proclaiming himself emperor. Mo Hanchuan was firmly against it, and their friendship broke apart. Rong Qian exiled this former friend to Earth, but Mo Hanchuan did not give up. He established a dissident base in the twilight belt, which became the predecessor of Fort Hurricane.”

Bai Mo listened attentively. “So that’s how it went. And the big characters on the Twilight Boundary Tablet were written by Mo Hanchuan when he was exiled to Earth.”

“That’s right.” Fu Yucheng nodded. “After sensing his intent to revolt, Rong Qian decided to nip it in the bud. He sent five divisions of the Extrasolar Fleet1 to destroy Fort Hurricane in one fell swoop.

“Unexpectedly, one of the fleet divisions betrayed Rong Qian and rescued Mo Hanchuan. It was the fourth division, and Mo Hanchuan single handedly managed to get it out of there. After rescuing Mo Hanchuan, the division decided to leave the Solar System altogether in order to avoid Rong Qian’s pursuit.

“However, when the fleet passed by Jupiter’s moon, Titan, the fleet split internally. Many soldiers were unwilling to leave the Solar System and preferred to make Titan their home. Mo Hanchuan did not force them to go, and left alone with the remaining handful of starships. His whereabouts ever since have been unknown.

“Back when Mo Hanchuan was on Earth, he adopted a wandering child and named him Mo Heng. Once he grew up, Mo Heng led the inhabitants that remained at the Twilight Belt and spent decades working on Fort Hurricane until it was finally rebuilt.

“Afterwards, for over a hundred years, the Dyson cloud colony, Earth and Titan have been independent, and besides occasional visits from gold diggers or pirates, there’s been almost no official contact between them.”

Bai Mo looked at the black Fort Hurricane in the distance as he listened to Fu Yucheng’s slightly hoarse voice reach in his ears. He felt fully immersed in those events from centuries past.

Fu Yucheng smiled. “Look at the bright side. Although Earth might look like this now, most civilians still manage to hold on, and Fort Hurricane’s underground factories continue to produce basic daily necessities.”

Bai Mo was silent for a moment before finally asking the question that had been lingering in his mind. “Are you going to work in an underground factory in two months?”

“Oh, that, I forgot to tell you about it earlier. It’s the rules of Fort Hurricane. Civilians living in the parking lots between the ages of sixteen and sixty must go to the underground factories to work for a year out of every three years. There are no exceptions. The job is very simple, it’s all assembly lines. Although it is a bit taxing, you get trading currency out of it.” Fu Yucheng shrugged indifferently. “I think it’s alright.”

Bai Mo stared at the man, as if he wanted to say something.

However, in the end, he tightly pressed his lips together and didn’t say a word.

Fu Yucheng, noticing his expression, seemed to realize something, and let out a laugh. “Haha, brat, you’re not worried about me throwing you away, are you?”

Bai Mo, startled, turned his head abruptly to the side and said, “Who would worry about that?”

Tsk, so irritating.

Fu Yucheng touched his chin, feeling amused, but he also felt his heart soften at this kid, who had no sense of security.

He casually patted the boy’s tight shoulders to comfort him. “Don’t worry, little Mo, I will take you with me. According to Fort Hurricane’s rules, if there’s no guardian at home, you can bring a minor into the factory.

“Besides, if I don’t take you with me, who will wash my clothes and cook for me? You’re such a virtuous, perfectionistic clean freak, there aren’t many people like that, haha.”

Bai Mo got a little annoyed by his laughter, but his stiff shoulders relaxed nonetheless.

After a long time, he sullenly said, “Then swear that you’ll take me with you.”

“Deal. I, Fu Yucheng, No. 40012 resident of Parking Lot No. 4, swear that I will leave clothing, food, housing and transport to the management of the young Comrade Bai Mo while in Fort Hurricane, and I will not go back on my word.” Fu Yucheng raised his right hand in a pretentious manner and made a formal vow.

He put his hand down, smiling, and couldn’t help but shake his head. “Hey, I fear that in a few years you will regret it and, thinking back on it, you’ll feel stupid enough that you’ll want to kill me.”

Bai Mo did not say a word.

He thought to himself, ‘Why would I regret it?’

The two sat on the platform for a while, and the wind gradually grew stronger. Fu Yucheng’s nose got itchy, and he couldn’t avoid a sneeze.

His physical fitness had always been excellent, and normally he’d never get sick. However now he was recovering from a serious injury, and the cold wind made him a little uncomfortable.

Bai Mo glanced at him, and after thinking about it for a bit he took off his jacket, which was actually an old one of Fu Yucheng’s. Reaching out, he offered it to the man.

Who would have thought that the damn guy would not only not appreciate the gesture, but that he would even let out a snort and rub his head casually? “Come on, kid, why are you pretending to be an adult? That’s right, where’s your pacifier?”

“…” Bai Mo, whose good intentions were mercilessly mocked, put the jacket back on with a stern expression.

He silently thought to himself that he should just let him freeze to death.

Fu Yucheng, who didn’t know how to appreciate people’s good intentions, received a quick payback, and sneezed several times. Seeing as the wind was growing stronger, the two decided to go back down.

The ride down the tower went smoothly.

Soon after, the lift hit the ground, but Old Sun was nowhere to be seen.

Just as Fu Yucheng was about to call out, Bai Mo noticed something. The boy tilted his head slightly. “There’s people outside. One, two, three, four, eight in total, all male.”

Fu Yucheng froze and listened closely. Sure enough, there was faint noise coming from outside the tower.

He couldn’t help but glance at Bai Mo. Noticing that there was a group of people outside was easy, but judging their numbers and gender by hearing wasn’t something just anyone could do. Even Fu Yucheng himself, after losing his psionic force, was unable to do something like that.

This brat.

The noise outside was getting louder and louder, voices mixing with hoarse, angry curses from Old Sun. Fu Yucheng frowned, guessing the identity of the visitors.

He did not have the time to ruminate about Bai Mo, so he ordered in a low voice, “Little Mo, stay in the tower and don’t move around.”

Then, he pushed open the iron door and walked right outside.

Sure enough, there was a group of men outside. Exactly eight, not one more or less.

“Tsk tsk, look who’s here. If it isn’t our handsome Fu.” A man sitting on the hood of Fu Yucheng’s vehicle with a cigarette dangling from his fingers said sullenly, his words dripping with acid.

The visitor was He Lei, the famous Parking Lot 4 gangster.

Old Sun, with his arm twisted behind his back, was crying something out, while the bald Aaron and one more thug held him against the side of the car.

Fu Yucheng stared at He Lei expressionlessly. “He Lei, what do you want?”

During the past few days, He Lei had tasted defeat both regarding Fort Hurricane and the bar’s proprietress. Today, he hadn’t been able to collect his protection fees, and he had even been rebuked by the old geezer that guarded the tower. At this point, he was simply in a terrible mood, and Fu Yucheng’s appearance only added more fuel to the fire.

He Lei sullenly stared at the handsome and hateful pretty boy, and slowly raised the corner of his mouth, pressing the cigarette butt against the brightly painted surface of the front of the car. There was a small ‘plink’, accompanied by a burning smell. A small piece of the vehicle’s bright paint was burnt off.

Wooh, I got the time to update! Thank you for reading, and thank you Wintery for editing!

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Footnotes

恒星级舰队 literally ‘fixed star fleet’, looking into it it appears that fixed stars is a(n old) term for all stars outside the sun (since they don’t move visible through the day), and linking that to the Deep Space Fleet it appears to refer to a fleet active beyond the boundaries of the Solar System, therefore extrasolar.