Chapter 31

The isolated island after the rain beneath the night sky exuded a serene beauty for some reason, as if it were a paradise on earth.

It was just that the fragments of an MS and a Lesseps on the beach left this beauty with a slight imperfection.

In a sheltered spot near the MS, someone seemed to have piled up firewood, adding a touch of human warmth to this serenity.

"Where is this?"

The crackling sound of burning branches reached her ears, and Shihe groggily opened her eyes.

Wasn't I finished off?

She struggled to sit up, but discovered her hands were bound, and sharp pain radiated from her shoulder and lower leg, causing her to lie back down in agony.

Furthermore, her pilot suit had actually been stripped off, leaving her in only her undergarments.

Could it be!!!

"You're awake?"

Li Boyong, lying nearby, noticed the movement and got up to check.

"Shameless Natural, let me go!"

Shihe glared at the Alliance pilot before her.

Seeing Shihe's red-eyed, shamed, and angry expression, Li Boyong immediately realized she had misunderstood something. "Hey, hey, don't overthink it. This was to treat the gunshot wound on your shoulder, and your lower leg is fractured and needs to be set."

Shihe froze upon hearing this, then realized that aside from her shoulder and lower leg, her body felt no strange discomfort, and she let out a sigh of relief.

However, she still glared at Li Boyong and scolded, "Are all Naturals as shameless as you? Saying high-sounding words while always doing despicable and shameless things?"

Li Boyong knew what she was referring to, shrugged, and explained casually, "Your emotions were too unstable at the time. To prevent any accidents, I had no choice but to subdue you first. Besides, I kept my word; I did treat your wounds and helped you out of your predicament, didn't I?"

"Then why did you tie me up?"

Li Boyong retorted, "It's because I was afraid you'd do something reckless after waking up. It's my first time seeing someone choose to self-destruct at a time like that. Do you not value your own life at all?"

"Death is better than falling into the hands of you Naturals," Shihe said, turning her face away.

Li Boyong continued to retort, "But didn't you choose to survive?"

"........."

"Alright, alright, I really don't have any ill intentions; it was just to prevent any unexpected situations." Li Boyong walked over and untied her. "It's best not to move around; my suturing skills are quite average. If you exert yourself too much, they might burst open."

Shihe was stunned, perhaps not expecting Li Boyong to actually untie her.

Li Boyong didn't pay much mind to this; he had checked all of Shihe's wounds himself, and he knew very well that she was extremely weak right now and had no ability to resist.

"Here, eat something. It's emergency rations from that CGUE."

Li Boyong said, placing a portion of emergency rations in front of Shihe, and added, "Can you manage on your own?"

Shihe tried, but couldn't sit up. She didn't make a sound, however, just kept trying bit by bit, her silence revealing her stubbornness.

"Do you hate Naturals that much?"

Li Boyong sighed helplessly, helped her up, and placed the food in her right hand.

Shihe was helped up by Li Boyong, her eyes catching the pistol at his waist. Just as she hesitated, she heard Li Boyong's warning: "I went to great lengths to save you; you'd best not do anything foolish."

Seeing that Shihe wasn't acting impulsively, Li Boyong breathed a sigh of relief and praised her, "Very good, it seems you've regained your reason."

"Alright, eat up."

After Li Boyong helped her tear open the packaging, he returned to his own spot, picked up his half-eaten emergency rations, and shook them. "Consider this payment for your treatment. No problem, right?"

Shihe ignored Li Boyong, silently ate a bite of food, and after hesitating for a moment, she asked, "What do you intend to do with me?"

"Don't worry, I don't intend to do anything. You aren't my prisoner, and I have no such plans." Li Boyong explained while eating, "We've already said it: we're just two poor souls stranded on this island together. I just hope we can help each other and survive to leave this place. It's that simple."

This was indeed Li Boyong's honest sentiment; he didn't want to kill her, and he couldn't count on her to betray her country to help the Archangel get to Alaska...

What else could he do? He had to let her go.

Shihe paused and didn't make a sound, continuing to eat her food, not knowing whether she believed him or not.

Li Boyong didn't pay much attention to it either. After filling his stomach, he stood up and walked toward that MS.

Shihe immediately became tense, struggling to go over and stop Li Boyong.

"Don't go near that machine!"

"Why?" Li Boyong asked in return. "You can't move, and someone has to send a distress signal. My machine can no longer send one."

Shihe shouted intensely, "In any case, it's not allowed! That is an important experimental machine of our military. Unless I'm dead, don't even think about touching it!"

Seeing that she really had the posture to crawl over regardless of her wounds, Li Boyong was a bit dumbfounded and hurriedly shouted, "Alright, alright, I won't go over."

What a stubborn and serious girl............

Li Boyong walked back and saw the wound on her shoulder beginning to seep blood again, unable to help but complain, "I told you not to move around. Now the wound has split open again."

Saying this, he took a disposable anesthetic needle and a stapler from the first-aid kit.

Li Boyong: "Lie down and don't move. Shall I help you suture it?"

Shihe hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

Li Boyong helped her lie down and re-sutured the wound.

Watching Li Boyong suture the wound with a serious expression, she suddenly felt that this Alliance pilot didn't seem so hateful after all.

"Done."

Li Boyong finished suturing the wound, re-bandaged it, clapped his hands, and stood up.

"Thank you."

Shihe felt a stir in her heart and couldn't help but thank him.

Seeing the surprised look on his face, she couldn't stand that awkward feeling, as if she really owed someone something.

"Isn't... isn't it normal to say thank you after being helped?"

"Why are you looking at me with that expression?"

Looking at the girl before him, who was at a loss for what to do, Li Boyong couldn't help but grin.

Seeing that she seemed to be getting angry again, he hurriedly said, "Sorry, you're right; saying thank you is normal."

Li Boyong crouched down next to Shihe again; he suddenly felt a curiosity about this girl. "Seriously, why do you hate Naturals so much? Is it because of the education you received?"

"Or do you think Coordinators are inherently superior?"

"Or did a comrade die at the hands of the Alliance military?"

Shihe was silent for a moment, then said, "Don't you Naturals know what you've done yourselves?"

"Launching a nuclear missile at a civilian satellite as if it were nothing—is this what someone with a normal conscience should do?"

Shihe's voice was calm, but it contained a suppressed accusation, subtle and heavy.

Li Boyong scratched his head upon hearing this, not knowing why he wanted to explain. "Although you might think I'm shirking responsibility by saying this, that was truly the stupid act of a tiny minority of madmen. I personally also despise that extremist organization, Blue Cosmos."

"Why blame the sins on all Naturals? There are many good people among Naturals, too."

Shihe pursed her lips and didn't make a sound. Li Boyong asked again, "Is it because you had relatives at Junius Seven?"

"No." Shihe shook her head. "But those who perished under the nuclear missile were all my compatriots."

Li Boyong sighed. The atrocities committed by those madmen in Blue Cosmos had indeed caused irreparable cracks in the hearts of Coordinators.

Actually, he could empathize with that kind of scar; it was like the disasters his own motherland had suffered. The complex and painful feelings whenever it was mentioned didn't seem to dissipate with the passage of time.

Shihe looked strangely at Li Boyong, who had a complex expression on his face. This Earthling seemed different from the Earthlings described by her instructors and compatriots; there was a strange feeling about him.

He would go to rescue an enemy, would compromise because of an enemy's request, and didn't show that look of viewing her as a 'monster,' just communicating normally. He was more like a friend who could communicate than an enemy...

A friend?

Shihe shook her head, forcing herself to forget this absurd thought.

"Let's not talk about this; let's return to reality." Li Boyong changed the subject. "I can understand that you don't want me to touch that machine; I can see it's a precious experimental machine. But we really need to send a distress signal as soon as possible."

Li Boyong pointed behind him. "After all, my machine can't send a signal, and the food you brought won't last a few days. Can you understand this current situation?"

Shihe sighed. "You can help me get into the cockpit, and I'll send the signal."

"Helping you into the cockpit is no problem, but what if you want to self-destruct again?"

Li Boyong spread his hands with an innocent expression, as if to say he didn't want to be buried with a fool.

Shihe was a bit angered by this expression. If you hadn't come over, would I have self-destructed?

Taking a deep breath to calm her emotions, Shihe said seriously, "Don't worry, I won't self-destruct. After all, I still want to go home and see my mother."

"I don't quite believe you..." Li Boyong still looked hesitant.

Shihe rolled her eyes and couldn't help but say, "I wanted to self-destruct at that time because I didn't want myself and the valuable machine to fall into the hands of the Earth Alliance."

"Not afraid now?"

"Now... now you've given your word." Shihe hesitated for a moment, her face blushing as she said somewhat coyly, "You... you're a decent guy; I trust your character."

After all, if Li Boyong really wanted to, she wouldn't be able to stop anything, yet he had gone to the trouble of saving her first.

Seeing Li Boyong show that 'surprised' expression again, Shihe pulled a long face and asked, "You guaranteed we would help each other and wouldn't have designs on the machine."

When did I say that?

I only guaranteed to help you out of your predicament............

"Alright, alright, I get it. I won't have designs on the machine, and you don't need to think about self-destructing." Li Boyong sighed, approached Shihe, and reached out to scoop up the back of her knees.

"Wait... wait, what are you doing?" Shihe was suddenly a bit flustered, pressing her hands against Li Boyong's shoulders.

"Carrying you over."

"No... no need to carry me; you just need to support me as I walk over."

Seeing her cute, resistant appearance, Li Boyong instead had a mischievous thought. "This is faster. Hold onto my neck."

He went straight for a bridal carry, holding Shihe in his arms.

"You... wait, I can walk myself." Shihe struggled a bit and almost fell, so she had no choice but to hold onto Li Boyong's neck.

This... this is the first time being carried bridal-style, and the object is actually an Alliance pilot. This is a lifelong humiliation.

It feels like my luck has been really bad lately. As a proper test pilot, I was dragged to the desert to execute a special mission to pursue Junkers, only to have my Lesseps cut down and lose the mission target. After that, things started to get strange.

The mission failed, but I received orders to transfer to the special forces Kruse Team. I thought I was going to space, but then I heard Kruse wanted to use existing combat power on Earth to form a temporary squad to pursue the Earth's latest cutting-edge warship.

Then, because I was inexplicably being transferred into this temporary squad, I finally managed to rush from the desert to the Gibraltar Base, only to find there weren't enough transport planes for the machine, and I had to use a Lesseps to send the machine to the temporary squad's submarine mother ship.

Even though I was within my own air superiority zone, I inexplicably encountered Earth Alliance fighter jets, and after a battle, I was shot down onto this island...

As a result, my lower leg got stuck in the deformed cockpit seat, and then I encountered this man and ended up in this state...

Shihe thought about her miserable affairs as she was carried all the way into the cockpit by Li Boyong.

"Thank you."

Shihe sat in the pilot's seat and nodded her thanks, then saw Li Boyong staring at her hands and the self-destruct device with a vigilant expression.

She suddenly felt it was somewhat funny. "Don't worry, I really won't self-destruct."

"Don't... don't worry, I've always been very at ease."

Being told this to his face, Li Boyong could only maintain an awkward but polite smile.

Shihe first sent her distress coordinates to the Gibraltar Base, then sent a distress signal to the surroundings according to the coordinates Li Boyong gave her; that seemed to be on the other side of the island.

Shihe secretly glanced at Li Boyong, having a guess in her heart.

No wonder I encountered Earth Alliance fighter jets in the air superiority zone; it turns out he is a carrier-based pilot from that 'Long Legs,' and that ship is right in this vicinity.

"Let's go back then." Li Boyong saw that things were settled and laughed.

As long as Shihe was still sitting in that position, he felt somewhat uncomfortable; after all, that sudden self-destruct was truly too terrifying.

At that time, he was almost scared out of his wits. How did she suddenly self-destruct...

"Shouldn't we wait a bit to see if there's a reply?" Shihe looked at him strangely. "What if both sides arrive at the same time?"

"You're right, too." Li Boyong thought about it, and it really was true. If that happened, he would have to think of a way. The reason he gave the Sky Grasper's coordinates was also considering this point.

After waiting in the cockpit for a while, the CGUE received replies from the Archangel and Gibraltar, both sides marking their approximate arrival times.

The Archangel seemed to arrive before the Gibraltar side, which made Shihe nervous again.

Li Boyong comforted her helplessly, "Don't worry, I said I wouldn't have designs on you or the machine."

After finishing, Li Boyong and Shihe looked at each other, and for some reason, they both laughed together.

It really was somewhat strange; not long ago they were drawing guns and shooting at each other, but now the atmosphere had suddenly become friendly and cheerful.

If there were no war, this guy might be a good friend, Shihe thought with some emotion as she looked at Li Boyong.

Li Boyong didn't lack similar sentiments in his heart.

"I'll just wait in the cockpit; it's not good to trouble you to carry me back and forth."

Shihe checked the time and spoke.

Actually, thinking of that bridal carry, she couldn't help but blush a little.

"Alright."

Li Boyong nodded. It seemed it was time to say goodbye. "Then I'll head back to my side."

"Okay."

Shihe nodded.

Li Boyong turned to leave. Shihe watched his back and couldn't help but call out to him, "Hey, your name?"

Li Boyong hesitated for a moment, then turned back and smiled, "My name is Li Boyong."

"I've remembered it. My name is Shihe, Shihe Hafunis." Shihe revealed a smile.

"Okay, I've remembered it too. Goodbye."

Li Boyong nodded with a smile and exited the cockpit.

Of course I know your name, otherwise why would I go to such great lengths to save you?

"Goodbye." Shihe whispered as she watched Li Boyong's back.

We will meet again soon, it's just a pity that the next time we meet, it will be on the battlefield. I hope you won't be too surprised then.