Chapter 53
The ground beneath his feet was smooth and paved, no dirt or weeds, and he could walk without worrying about hidden potholes.
Shi Nuo, having grown accustomed to the smooth surface, no longer paid attention to his steps and looked around curiously.
A group of children were clamoring around a candy store, its display window filled with colorful sweets, their sugary sweetness almost palpable even through the glass.
Hugh Elvis, wearing the terminal on his left wrist, opened it and checked the map, looking for the nearest energy crystal exchange.
Long Xu had located an underground exchange with a slightly better exchange rate than the official ones, but it wasn’t a suitable place for Shi Nuo, its clientele often shady and dangerous.
Noticing Shi Nuo had stopped, he followed his gaze and asked, “Do you want some?”
Shi Nuo, slightly embarrassed, nodded.
“Let’s exchange some currency first. It’s not far from here,” Hugh pointed to a location on the map. Even the smallest energy crystal was worth tens of thousands of star coins, too much for small transactions.
“Okay,” Shi Nuo reluctantly tore his gaze away from the colorful candies and followed Hugh down the street.
The street was crowded.
In the more congested areas, they had to brush past other people, and Shi Nuo held Hugh’s hand tightly, staying close.
Hugh Elvis, with his white hair and blue eyes, didn’t stand out much in the diverse crowd, but his two-meter height and striking looks still drew attention.
He held Shi Nuo’s hand, his expression cold and aloof, and as they walked, with a thought, he retrieved a half-mask from Shi Nuo’s wristband spatial storage device.
The mask, the one he had taken from the dead man on the black market, its lower half broken off, covered the upper part of his face, concealing his features. He lowered his eyes and discreetly activated the terminal’s monitoring function. If anyone tried to take their picture, it would alert him.
He wasn’t too concerned about himself. After ten years, the Elvis family probably wouldn’t recognize him. But Shi Nuo was different. If his picture was posted online, it could be traced back to them.
Fortunately, this was just an ordinary shopping street, nothing remarkable, and few people were taking pictures.
Shi Nuo glanced at Hugh, his face partially hidden by the mask. Since they were both using fake identities, he understood the precaution and didn’t comment.
As they walked, he couldn’t help but steal another glance at Hugh.
“What is it?” Hugh asked, thinking the Omega wanted to say something.
“Nothing,” Shi Nuo mumbled, then blushed, his ears turning pink, and quickly looked away.
The energy crystal exchange was located in a large hall. Inside, Shi Nuo released Hugh’s hand. Holding hands while conducting business seemed inappropriate.
Hugh Elvis glanced back, saw that Shi Nuo was still close behind him, and then approached a staff member.
Their fake identities were those of landowners from a small, private planet, a common enough cover story. Many such planets existed, some naturally habitable, others terraformed.
This gave them a higher status than ordinary citizens, suggesting wealth, though not necessarily influence. The Shi family, for example, owned several small planets, some used for agriculture, others for manufacturing.
The ten energy crystals were pure and valuable, but only ten, not a significant amount. Small planets often had mineral deposits, so after verifying their identities as landowners, the staff member didn’t question the crystals’ origin.
After scanning and assessing their energy content, the staff member quickly completed the transaction, following the system’s calculated exchange rate.
The ten crystals were worth 1.5 million star coins. Shi Nuo, holding the credit chip, his eyes shining, was eager to start shopping.
Across from the exchange hall was a hot pot restaurant, crowded and bustling, the spicy aroma of the broth having tempted him earlier. It looked like a good place to eat. “Want to have hot pot?” he asked.
“Mm,” Hugh Elvis had no objections. He wasn’t picky about food.
They had been traveling for five hours, and he had only eaten one chicken leg. He was hungry.
Shi Nuo ordered a Mandarin duck hot pot, a split pot with two different broths, in case he couldn’t handle the spicy one.
As the broth boiled, the rich aroma of bone broth and spices filled the air, making Shi Nuo’s mouth water. He watched the pot eagerly.
The restaurant’s specialty was boneless fish fillets, a local freshwater fish unique to this planet, its delicate aroma enticing even before it was cooked. The cooked fish was tender and flavorful.
The fish was expensive, but after tasting one slice, Shi Nuo immediately ordered two more plates.
He ate quickly, his attention focused on the food, constantly adding fish and meat to the spicy broth, the vegetables in the milder broth untouched.
Hugh Elvis, seeing his red lips, a sign of the spicy broth, picked up some vegetables with his chopsticks and placed them in Shi Nuo’s bowl.
Seeing him open the menu again, about to order more, Hugh said gently, “Don’t order too much. There are other things to eat. I saw a baozi shop earlier. Didn’t you want to try those?”
The spicy broth was clearly too much for Shi Nuo, who was indulging his craving, but he was pregnant, and spicy food wasn’t good for him.
However, seeing how happy he was, Hugh didn’t want to spoil his mood and simply offered an alternative.
As expected, Shi Nuo immediately closed the menu, his eyes lighting up. “Yes! I saw a highly rated regional Chinese restaurant on the recommendation list.”
Since venturing into space, the culinary traditions of Huaxia had spread throughout the galaxy, conquering planets not with force but with flavor.
After finishing the hot pot, and after also having baozi and fried dumplings, they passed a stall selling roasted seabird eggs, and Shi Nuo, eager to try them, bought two.
The eggs, seasoned with local spices, had a strong, pungent flavor. He took a bite and frowned.
Hugh also frowned. He was a picky eater. Seeing Shi Nuo’s expression, he smiled slightly and said, “If you don’t like it, give it to me.”
Shi Nuo, slightly disappointed, handed him the half-eaten egg. “I should have bought one first and tried it,” he mumbled.
The white-haired man quickly finished the egg, his dislike evident, though his expression remained unchanged.
They passed another candy store, and Shi Nuo, still tasting the seabird egg, went inside and bought a large assortment of colorful candies.
He popped a sweet and sour hard candy into his mouth, then offered another to Hugh. “To get rid of the taste,” he explained.
Hugh accepted. He didn’t like the taste of the seabird eggs either.
The candy was sweet and sour, a pleasant flavor. He raised an eyebrow. It had been years since he had eaten anything like this. An occasional treat wasn’t bad.
The bag of candy was heavy, but Shi Nuo, his arms full, didn’t mind.
He had bought a lot, two of each type from the display window. Unlike other foods, candies were rarely disappointing.
They continued down the street, shopping and eating, and by the time they reached the Chinese restaurant, Hugh Elvis was carrying a dozen bags of various sizes.
He had bought expensive desserts and drinks, opting for those made with natural ingredients, not the cheaper, synthetic ones. Shi Nuo was pregnant, and even though it was still early, it was better to be cautious.
He had even bought a container of pre-washed fruit.
Shi Nuo, his eyes wide with excitement, looked at everything, his cravings insatiable.
After their second meal, he was so full he could barely sit still. They had been planning to go to a medical equipment store, but after paying for their meal, Hugh stored the leftovers in his spatial storage device and took Shi Nuo for a walk.
As they boarded the spacecraft, Shi Nuo looked back at the bustling street below, his expression wistful.
Seeing that their destination was a medical equipment company, he hesitated, then asked, “Are we going back after this?”
“Yes, after buying the medical equipment, we’ll go to the shopping center for the rest of the items on your list, then we’ll go back,” Hugh Elvis replied casually, then, seeing Shi Nuo’s disappointed expression, his eyes losing their earlier sparkle, paused. “Do you want to stay longer?”
Shi Nuo’s face lit up. “Can we?”
“There are a few other highly rated restaurants I want to try,” he said eagerly. “And the Orange Sea! It’s a sea of orange berries! A whole mountain covered in them!”
His enthusiasm was infectious, his longing so palpable that Hugh Elvis couldn’t refuse. He sighed softly. “Alright. I’ll have Long Xu book a hotel. How many days?”
“Two! No, three! Three days!” Shi Nuo exclaimed excitedly.
Their fake identities were registered in the same star sector as Therlun, so they didn’t need any special permits. The Orange Sea and Berry Mountain weren’t in the same location, so Long Xu quickly booked two different hotels.
Purchasing the birthing assistance device and the prenatal checkup equipment was straightforward. The devices were expensive and bulky, but Long Xu’s cargo hold was spacious.
Hugh paid with energy crystals and watched as the five devices, carefully calibrated and tested, were loaded onto the ship.
With the most important task completed, they took off again, their destination Berry Mountain.
It was only four in the afternoon. They could still make it in time to pick berries.
After three days and two nights of indulging in the city’s offerings, they had purchased everything on their list, and Long Xu carried them back towards their planet.
As they entered deep space, the noise of the city faded, and Shi Nuo, though slightly reluctant to leave, felt a sense of contentment.
The cockpit was quiet. Hugh Elvis was reviewing data.
While docked at the spaceport, Long Xu had discreetly infiltrated Therlun’s star network, gathering information without leaving a trace.
It had also downloaded a large amount of data on prenatal and infant care, creating a separate folder on the main screen.
It had also downloaded hundreds of new movies and TV shows, e-books, comics, recipes, cooking videos, and more.
Shi Nuo sat in his seat, looking through the pictures he had taken, a bowl of washed fruit on the console in front of him, eating as he browsed.
The journey back would take five hours. After he finished looking at the pictures, Long Xu automatically displayed a movie selection screen.
Still feeling the afterglow of their vacation, he randomly chose a movie, then quickly lost interest, his gaze drifting towards the stars outside.
Suddenly, a yellow light caught his eye.
He instinctively followed it with his gaze and saw multiple points of light, like tiny stars, flickering gently around him.
“What are these?” he asked, surprised.
Hugh Elvis, having already noticed the lights emanating from Long Xu’s control panel, replied casually, “Long Xu’s core. Its…heart.”
Shi Nuo knew Long Xu’s core was different from that of ordinary mechas, its technology still classified. Anyone who had interacted with the mecha understood that its existence, if revealed, would cause a sensation.
He knew Long Xu’s power source was a light-based energy entity and knew its location within the mecha.
More yellow “stars” appeared, gathering around Shi Nuo.
Curious, he reached out and touched one with his fingertip.
A soft humming sound, a faint warmth, the light brushing against his finger.
The “starlight” dispersed, then reformed, creating various patterns.
His eyes crinkled in amusement, and he reached out, playing with the lights.
Hugh Elvis watched calmly as Long Xu, to entertain Shi Nuo, even utilized its core energy.
Seeing the Omega’s complete absorption in this playful display, he lowered his eyes, entering a deep mental link with the mecha.
Through Long Xu’s eyes, he “saw” Shi Nuo, the Omega’s sweet pheromones irresistible even to a machine.
The white-haired man looked up, a flash of mechanical blue light in his eyes.
Having sensed Long Xu’s emotions, Hugh Elvis wasn’t surprised. Long Xu’s core had been activated by his genetic material. He was Long Xu, and Long Xu was him.
