MLiS – Chapter 10.1

Fear Not, For I Am With You

Alikarta has two satellites. Every night, there were two moons which were called Gemini. The larger one was called Big Gemini and the smaller one was called Little Gemini.

It was said when the Gemini was in development, the Federation had just been unified. With a stroke of a pen, the first consul only reserved the Little Gemini for the Federation and generously handed over the Big Gemini to the seven Dukes for joint development.

At first, the seven Dukes laughed triumphantly. Later, they found that they had been calculated by that little fox of Consul, and they could only proceed to work with a bitter smile.

The Big Gemini was slightly smaller than Alikarta, but the environment there was extremely harsh. It would cost a frightening astronomical number if the Dukes wanted to transform it into a planet suitable for habitation.

The seven Dukes repeatedly discussed it. In the end, they decided to transform only one-eighth of the planet into a suitable place for habitation, and the remaining seven-eighths remained as they were.

It was a helpless move from them, but they gradually learned to take advantage of the harsh environment.

On Big Gemini, there were habitable areas built by humans, which could ensure goods and materials supply and provide shelter; There were vast wilderness areas that could be explored until people were satisfied.

Some would come there to seek experience so they could break through their physical ability level; Some would come there to vent their instinct when they were tormented by natural mutation; Some would come there to sightsee the scenery and the different species.

The seven Dukes took advantage of the trend and simply treated it as a business, earning them a lot of money.

When Luo Lan followed Chen Sha down the spaceship, she saw two groups fighting because of their parking position. One moment later, guns and knives were unsheathed, flesh and blood flying in all directions. Yet, people passing by were very calm, like they were accustomed to this kind of situation, and no police appeared. This kind of thing was totally unimaginable in Alikarta.

Only after the commotion ended, a man with a pipe in his mouth and dirty overalls appeared. He lazily quotes a string of numbers, charging the fee for destroying public facilities.

Some people were unwilling to pay. The man with a pipe directly punched the other party until they were willing to pay.

Luo Lan whispered, “Is that even legal?”

Chen Sha said without a care, “If he could beat them to the point they didn’t dare to sue him, it’s legal.”

Luo Lan was dumbfounded.

This planet and Alikarta were like two different worlds. This planet seemed like it was still in the era of war. With the survival of the fittest as the law and the winner would be the king.

Luo Lan watched around as she walked, like a fool who had never seen the world before.

Chen Sha slowed his steps and walked beside her.

The spaceport was crowded. No matter how weak people looked, they all had shrewd and fierce eyes.

They looked fiercely at Luo Lan, yet when they caught a glimpse of Chen Sha beside her, they immediately restrained themselves and fled.

Luo Lan noticed that everyone gave way wherever she went. No matter how crowded the place was, they would part and give her space. She couldn’t help sending a curious glance at Chen Sha.

He didn’t wear his military uniform. He was dressed as an ordinary adventurer. He was wearing trousers, boots, a jacket, and a hat. His goggles even covered half of his face. No one should be able to recognize him.

Luo Lan asked, “Do they know you?”

“They don’t, but they could smell the danger.”

Luo Lan sniffed hard, “You smell of danger? Is it some kind of ability?”

“It’s not an ability. When you have experienced many life and death situations, you can naturally smell danger. “

Luo Lan excitedly pointed to herself, “What about me? What did they smell from me?”

“A fat sheep.”

Luo Lan pouted, “Do I look like a fat sheep? Anyway, at least I have a level B physical ability! People running all over this street couldn’t be all level B, right?”

“On Big Gemini, people with level D physical ability can kill you.”

Luo Lan silently scratched the wall on her heart and sobbed^[1]… She was seriously looked down upon by them!

————·————·————

After leaving the spaceport, Chen Sha took Luo Lan to find the person who came to pick them up.

There was a woman with a sweet and lovely loli face, but she had a circle of terrible scars on her neck. Her ears are like two delicate horns, standing in her curly and fluffy short hair. She should have a hearing ability. However, she continued to sit lazily on the front cover of the shabby old car, as if she didn’t hear anything. It was only until Chen Sha and Luo Lan came to the side of the car that she reacted. She jumped back and got into the car directly from the window.

The door opened and she hooked her finger, signaling them to get in.

Before Luo Lan could sit down, the car rushed out.

Luo Lan was knocked forward, her head was in pain. She searched for the seat belt in panic.

The loli-faced woman glanced at Luo Lan while driving the car up and down, she smiled, “Just find a place to hold on. There has never been a seat belt on the Big Gemini.”

Without wasting any time, Luo Lan grabbed the back of the front seat and stabilized herself.

The loli-faced woman said, “My name is Su Qi. I’m a slave who sold myself to the Duke of the First District house to repay him.”

She held out her hand and wanted to shake hands with Luo Lan. The other hand was used to drive the car wildly without care.

This wasn’t a good time to socialize! Luo Lan’s heartbeat accelerated. She tightened her hold on the seat in front of her and reluctantly used her other hand to shake Su Qi’s hand.

“Hello, my name is—” the car shook, it was hit by another car that overtook them. Luo Lan’s body wavered and her head directly hit the roof. She wasn’t able to finish her words.

“How dare you overtake laoniang’s^[2] car!” After Su Qi cursed, the engine roared once more, and the car galloped like a wild horse.

Before Luo Lan could properly sit on her seat, Su Qi made another sharp turn and she was thrown directly to the window. Just when her whole face was about to hit the glass window, Chen Sha stretched out his hand, half-hugged Luo Lan’s shoulder, and fixed her firmly on the seat.

Luo Lan firmly grasped Chen Sha’s hand, acting as if it was a humanoid handrail. With another crazy bump, she filled in the rest of her words “—my name is Luo Lan.”

————·————·————

After Luo Lan was knocked dizzy^[3] for the nth time, the car finally landed.

In front of them was a simple but magnificent two-story castle, It was surrounded by a garden of large red roses. On the grass in front of the castle, the flag of the first district was erected. On it was an upright black long sword without a sheath. Red roses were entwined on the sword body.

Luo Lan subconsciously looked down at the personal terminal on her wrist—— a bracelet engraved with red roses.

Turns out it wasn’t only for aesthetic purpose, but also for other reason.

On the mountain slope, several other castles could be seen scattered around, and a flag was erected in front of each castle.

Luo Lan was curious, “That’s are…”

“The other six Dukes govern over the Big Gemini together” Su Qi grinned maliciously, “The only advantage of living close to everyone is the convenience for fighting. If someone comes to trouble you, explain your identity as soon as possible, otherwise, you will get beaten up. It won’t be good if your hands or feet were cut, right?”

Luo Lan looked blankly at the castle in the distance.

Chen Sha glanced at Su Qi.

Su Qi’s face quickly changed into a gentle expression. She sweetened her voice and said, “Don’t worry about it, if you really cut off your hands and feet, you can have a limb-regeneration surgery. You won’t ever forget the taste, though.”

Luo Lan felt that her “comfort” was more intimidating. Where on earth was this? When she was in Alikarta, she felt that there was never any big contradiction between the seven Dukes. How come when she got here, everyone became enemies?

Su Qi had already stepped into the gate with one foot, then halted abruptly. She pointed to the top of the mountain, “There is the consul’s territory. He keeps some nasty pets there, don’t go there and try to provoke them in case you are bored.”

Luo Lan tried to take a closer look, but nothing could be seen except lush green trees.

————·————·————

The room Su Qi arranged for Luo Lan was on the second floor. There was a vine covering the window. It comes from the rose garden below.

The red roses were as warm as fire and breathtaking in beauty. It was said this was the previous Duchess’s favorite room in the past.

Su Qi said, “If you don’t like these dazzling flowers, I’ll change the room for you.”

“No need, I think it’s very beautiful. Red roses symbolize love in the ancient earth era. Every woman would like to see such flowers.”

Su Qi was puzzled, “Such fragile flowers were used to represent love, did women from that era believe in love or not, ah?”

Luo Lan laughed. “What do you think should be used to represent love, then?”

Su Qi had a constipated expression on her face. “I’m leaving. If you need something else, just search for the housekeeping robot.”

Before the door was fully closed, she suddenly turned back, pointed to the big bed in the middle of the room, and said solemnly, “The castle may look old, but all the building materials used are the best. The sound insulation is very good. Don’t worry about being heard by me at night.”

Uh… It was Luo Lan’s turn to have a constipated expression on her face. 

After Luo Lan packed her luggage, she looked around the room and found a 3D photo frame on the dressing table. It had no energy left, so the screen was pitch-black.

She thoughtfully looked at it before deciding to put it in the drawer,

Luo Lan checked her personal terminal again: Two messages were from her assistants, asking her for work information. One message was from Feng Lin, offering peace. None was from Qian Xu.

She replied to each message. Lastly, she sent another message to Qian Xu.

“I will stay in Big Gemini for six months. There is a time difference between here and Alikarta. If you contact me later, I may not be able to reply in time.”

Luo Lan waited for a while, but her personal terminal remained quiet.

She spread her hand and lay on the bed, staring at the roof blankly.

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Footnotes

1. 呜呜-wū wū; a sobbing sound.↵

2. 老娘 – lǎo niang;lit. Old Lady. “I, your old lady,” Su Qi used this to call herself. It doesn’t mean she wants to be an old lady, no, that’s not it. Old ladies are usually respected. So laoniang is a prideful and arrogant way of “I”, usually used by women. It’s like saying “Respect me, bish”. Another variation of arrogant “I” is 老子 (lǎo zǐ), which could mean “I, your father/master/daddy/etc.”↵

3. 七荤八素- qī hūn bā sù; lit. Seven meat and eight vegetables. Another meaning for 七荤八素 is dizzy mind.↵

Amoeba’s Corner

It must be awkward for Chen Sha when Luo Lan keeps sniffing him, lol.

For personal safety, please don’t ever drive like Su Qi!

“Don’t worry about being heard by me at night.” 笑笑笑笑笑.

Chen Sha finally got more screen time. Good boi./where’s my Qian Xu, though.

We are back to the regular Thursday and Sunday update schedule! See you next update!

This chapter words count (excluding title, footnotes, and TL’s corner): 1896

Obligatory Closing
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