MPWATMBC Chapter 100

The “clues” that could be heard but not touched finally entered the docking port. Under the encouragement of Ryan, Bandner, along with Rennie and Carrie, followed the aide of General Tolkien and left. Bandner looked back three times, his gaze lingering on Auston, reluctant to leave. He found that Auston, wearing a military uniform, was much easier to recognize than on the Shakespeare ship. He was still so handsome, still so dazzling, still so attention-grabbing… He fell into deep doubt, wondering why, when they were on the Shakespeare ship, he never recognized the young man walking with Ryan as General Auston.

Was he really a fake fan?

Or was it the fault of not having a personal terminal and not being able to access the Star Network? If he could stay online and keep up with the General’s updates, how could he have failed to recognize him?

The informant who was brought back had already left, and after completing the mission, Ryan and the others couldn’t wait to be praised and went straight to the hospital for a physical check-up. External injuries were easy to recover, but internal ones needed time to adjust. Ryan’s superficial gastric bleeding could not be ignored. The doctor said that medication must be taken for a period to heal, and at the same time, attention should be paid to diet.

“I was hoping to come back and cook a big meal,” Ryan said. “During the mission, I didn’t have the leisure to eat and drink. The main thing was to get back as quickly as possible.”

Auston said, “No, at least not for now.”

The advance team of the Golden Crusade Legion was in a room on the first floor of the accommodation building at Omega Military Base. Ryan, who had been ordered by Auston to stay away from the kitchen, was sitting in a chair, directly facing the kitchen door, watching Auston busying himself inside. Auston had learned a few dishes, especially after learning to scramble eggs, he had practically mastered all dishes in the series. He had learned the recipes, but he was still a beginner. When busy, he had to pay full attention, as if it was his first time operating a mecha, full of enthusiasm and expectation while stirring a pot of millet porridge.

Millet porridge is good for the stomach, and Auston thought it was the best for Ryan to eat right now.

But Ryan craved fish, meat, and small barbecues. After taking medicine for his superficial gastric bleeding, it formed an organic protective layer. The doctor said that as long as he didn’t binge eat, there was no problem with eating, but Auston just wouldn’t listen.

Under Auston’s focused gaze, the millet porridge gradually thickened and was ready to be eaten. He let out a sigh of relief. Having not used kitchen utensils for a while, his hands had become unskilled. He scooped a thin bowl of rice soup and brought it to Ryan. Auston eagerly watched, “Try it, how does it taste?”

Ryan took a sip, and said, “Sweet?”

“I put a little bit of white sugar. Grandma said it tastes better this way.” To make the millet porridge, Auston had specifically sent a message to his grandmother, who was on the E69 plantation star. After receiving expert guidance, he successfully grasped the basic technique of making porridge. For the next period of time, Ryan would definitely experience Auston’s unprecedented enthusiasm for making porridge.

Ryan thought the taste was good, “But I can’t eat pickled vegetables with it.” The mix of sweet and salty flavors would make one uncomfortable.

Auston hadn’t considered this point and suggested, “Should I make another pot that’s not sweet?”

“No, no, it’s fine as it is.” Ryan turned his body and patted the chair beside him, signaling for Auston to sit down. “Let’s talk.”

Auston smiled gently. “Alright.”

Ryan talked about what he saw and heard on Cranberry, complained about the outdated star map version of Bandner and the others’ small starship, and also mentioned the century-long undercover mission. Rubbing his forehead, the exhaustion that had been suppressed during the journey surged up, and he said, “I didn’t expect the task I set up back then to still be in execution after hundreds of years.” He was also glad that in this world, he could still share his past experiences with Auston, and the shock and complicated emotions could finally be expressed.

“Ryan, the task you set up back then, is now being completed by you. It’s a perfect loop.”

Ryan said helplessly, “Not many people know this joy.”

“But I know.”

“Yes, you do.” Ryan extended his hand towards Auston, and when he grasped the other’s long and strong hand, he smiled and said, “It’s great to have you. Otherwise, who would I share my feelings with…” After finishing the last word, exhausted from the task, Ryan finally couldn’t resist his body’s reaction. He closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

The nap wasn’t long. When Ryan woke up, it was still before 8:30. He heard the soft, babyish voice of Tuantuan calling for “Papa” and asking for hugs. The sound of a child’s voice was so beautiful. Ryan opened his eyes and saw Auston sitting on the bedside, having a holographic video call with Tuantuan. Tuantuan kept trying to jump into Auston’s arms, again and again, attempting to actually land in his father’s embrace. But the holographic call couldn’t provide physical contact, so Tuantuan’s attempts were always in vain. However, he wasn’t discouraged or gave up, for this had become a frequent game for him recently.

“Papa, go home,” Tuantuan said, tired from trying to jump into Auston’s arms. He sat down on the ground, looking up at his father with hopeful eyes.

Auston raised his hand and gently patted Tuantuan’s little head. Although his hand only touched the air, his motion was serious and tender. Tuantuan rubbed his head against it and squinted his eyes as though he could feel his father’s warmth. Auston said, “Daddy and Papa have work to do, so we can’t go home right now. Tuantuan has to be good, okay?”

“Daifuku, ate it all,” Tuantuan said pitifully. He had been promised that once all the strawberry daifuku was eaten, Daddy and Papa would come home. But now it was all eaten, and they still hadn’t come home.

Auston said, “Tuantuan, I’m sorry. The work situation is complicated. Daddy and Papa couldn’t come back at the agreed time. This is work. When you grow up, you’ll understand that work can change at any time, and sometimes small situations can delay things.”

Tuantuan blinked, not quite understanding.

“Wait until Tuantuan grows up, and you’ll understand.”

Tuantuan pouted, “I don’t like it.”

Adults always use “growing up” to brush off children, but children can never remember what happened when they were little. When they encounter things in the future and understand them, the fragments of childhood memories fade away.

“Tuantuan hasn’t seen daddy for a long time,” Auston said, pointing to Ryan, who had woken up a while ago but had remained silent, not disturbing anyone. “Tuantuan, look, Daddy.”

Ryan looked at Tuantuan eagerly, unable to look enough. His eyes greedily scanned every change in Tuantuan’s expression.

Tuantuan looked at Ryan, a trace of hesitation in his expression. Then, decisively, he turned his head, pretending not to recognize him.

The old father’s fiery heart felt a bit cold. He lay down helplessly, his mind filled with the question, ‘Who am I? My own son doesn’t recognize me?’

“Dad?” Tuantuan called out in confusion.

Auston coaxed, “Didn’t Tuantuan call for Daddy yesterday? Daddy is here, why isn’t Tuantuan calling now?”

Tuantuan’s little finger scratched at the ground, and a conflicted expression appeared on his chubby little face. After holding it in for a while, he said, “Not Daddy.”

“What’s not Daddy?”

Tuantuan touched his face. His vocabulary was limited, so he couldn’t express it properly. He looked at the unfamiliar Daddy and then at Papa. Suddenly, an idea struck him. He puffed up his little chubby face, touched it with his small hand, and said, “Daddy.” Then, he shrunk his face inward, raised his hand, and pointed at Ryan, blinking his eyes.

Ryan and Auston exchanged a look and understood. After this mission, Ryan had clearly lost weight compared to when he was at home; his cheeks had sunken in (because of stomach discomfort, during the journey, he had only eaten liquid food, losing four to five pounds). In Auston’s eyes, no matter how Ryan changed, he was still Ryan. But in the eyes of a child, the thinner Daddy was no longer Daddy.

“Daddy just got thinner.” Ryan sat up, poking the air with his finger. “Tuantuan, you little annoying¹Here it mentions in Chinese as taoyan, which means annoying guy, not recognizing Daddy. Do you hear me? No more disliking²Here taoyan means dislike. Same word but conveys different meanings Daddy.”

Tuantuan let him poke, already feeling the familiar warmth from Ryan. “Oh, no dislike³Here is the word play. Tuantuan defends himself as not annoying, but Ryan understand the word as not disliking.”

The old father shed a tear of relief, looking at Auston and saying, “My son.”

Auston looked at Tuantuan, whose cheeks were puffed in displeasure, and then at Ryan, who was still caught up in his excited emotions. He decided not to tell Ryan. Tuantuan saying “no dislike” was actually a rebuttal to Ryan’s “little annoying guy” remark.

The time at the Omega Military Base was almost synchronized with E69, and the holographic call had to end at nine because Tuantuan was yawning incessantly. His mother, Pei Li, came over, picked up Tuantuan, and forcefully took the child to bed, leaving Ryan and Auston in the silence of the absence of the child.

After a moment of silence, Ryan grabbed Auston’s hand. “I missed you.”

“Mm.” For some reason, Auston felt a bit embarrassed.

Ryan lay down, pulling Auston along into the bed with him…

…

Bandner poured out everything he knew like beans from a bamboo tube when questioned. After arriving at the Omega Military Base, they were treated well, and no one made things difficult for them. The professionalism of the regular soldiers greatly appealed to Bandner. He had intended to reveal everything from the start, and now he was trying hard to think of even more details. He suggested that he could persuade some high-ranking members of the Red Spider to call all the pirates back to the home planet, planning a full-on trap to catch them all!

“My ancestors have always taken the completion of Emperor Qin Feng’s task as their goal. Now, cooperating with you, I will not hide anything. I will actively cooperate with you to fight against the pirates,” Bandner said with a serious face. “There are over thirteen thousand people on Savage Star, and I hope that through our cooperation, three thousand of us will gain freedom, get household registration, and be issued personal terminals. We want to be a part of the Empire… No, we have always been a part of the Empire. We now just hope to receive fairer treatment and enjoy all the rights that ordinary citizens are entitled to.”

The officer in charge of the questioning nodded. “Rest assured, as long as you are ordinary citizens, we will treat you fairly. Fighting pirates and rescuing hostages is what we soldiers should do.”

“Thank you,” Bandner pressed his lips together and added a small personal request, “I hope to receive the support and assistance of General Dalton in this operation.” As a small fan, he simply hoped to have a close connection with his idol, that was all.

The officer said, “I’ve noted it down and will mention it to the higher-ups when I report.”

Bandner made a victory gesture in his heart. Even if Admiral Dalton just spoke a few words to him, he would be very happy. “That’s great, we’ve been waiting for the day when the pirates are eliminated for a long time.”

 

---

Good day everyone!!! We have successfully reached the 100th Chapter. Thank you for your love and support!! We are almost nearing at the end of the novel. After completing this novel, I plan to take on a new one. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to let me know. Love you all!!