During their return journey...
Facing completely extraterrestrial unknown enemies, Natarle grew increasingly anxious, unable to eat or sleep properly for several days.
In contrast, Zhou Tianming remained carefree. He knew his limits—he couldn't even resolve conflicts between Naturals and Coordinators, let alone deal with aliens. Earth had only discovered one fossil of Evidence 01 so far, and with peace lasting this long, he might never encounter them again in his lifetime.
His only task was to develop equipment related to Mental Power, leaving the rest to future generations.
However, this reasoning didn't work on Natarle. She dragged Zhou Tianming day and night to watch alien invasion movies.
She took notes, studied contingency plans and countermeasures, urging Zhou Tianming to research those fictional alien technologies for defensive methods. This went on for half a month until Zhou Tianming reached his limit.
"Beautiful, we're supposed to be in love here!"
Timing it perfectly on a dark and windy night, he pounced on Natarle and kissed her.
At first, Natarle struggled slightly, but Zhou Tianming held her tightly.
This time, he didn't indulge her—his hands roamed freely, thoroughly peeling away the "eggshell."
He gently kissed the smooth "egg white" and "little steamed buns."
As passion intensified, both became lost in the moment until Zhou Tianming suddenly remembered White Rabbit was still present. He urgently shouted, "White Rabbit, scram!" No response.
Surprised, he praised, "Good, knew to make herself scarce."
With that, he leaned down.
Just then, Natarle snapped out of her daze, blushing as she pushed against his chest. "Wait!"
Zhou Tianming said solemnly, "Natarle, nothing stops a man from getting frisky!"
"You—you're only 17! No way!"
"I know you love rules, but at a time like this..."
"It's only early May. Your birthday isn't until December 24th."
"You trying to make me explode down there?"
Seeing Zhou Tianming's reluctance, Natarle's ears burned as she whispered, "We share the same birthday... I want it to be then..."
Wow.
You're good at this.
Thinking about it, that timing would indeed be romantic and meaningful.
"Look at it like this. You can't expect me to hold out for half a year."
Zhou Tianming stated righteously.
Natarle turned her head away, stealing glances.
After a long pause, biting her plump, kiss-swollen lips, she murmured, "At most... other methods."
His eyes lit up.
"Not that!"
"Hey! There—how could you!"
"You're so perverted!"
"Ah!"
Zhou Tianming impatiently pinned Natarle to the bed, pulling the blanket over them.
The next morning, Zhou Tianming freshened up in the bathroom, looking thoroughly refreshed.
Natarle was bundled up tightly, even wearing a pair of black leather gloves, keeping her distance from Zhou Tianming and the others as she washed up.
While brushing her teeth, she sized him up and down.
"What?!" Natarle hissed like a little tiger, her striking purple eyes glaring at him.
"Nothing." He shook his head.
This taste... Natarle, you should stick to wearing military uniforms. Casual clothes just aren't for you.
Military uniforms...
Lost in pleasant thoughts, he chuckled, only to spray toothpaste foam all over the mirror in front of him.
Natarle's face flushed red. "Are you thinking about that kind of thing again?!"
Putting on an innocent expression, Zhou Tianming looked at her with puppy-dog eyes. "No, look at my sincere gaze."
With a sly smirk, she teased, "Oh really? Then once a week at most."
He panicked.
"That's impossible!"
"Hmph!" Her expression darkened, and her beautiful eyes turned icy. "You pervert!"
The two bickered back and forth, turning a simple morning routine into a half-hour affair.
In the dining hall, eating their rationed breakfast, Zhou Tianming spotted White Rabbit passing by.
Remembering how considerate it had been the night before, he praised, "White Rabbit, good job. Keep it up."
"Understood. I'll shut down in advance when Master and Natarle get intimate."
Zhou Tianming nodded approvingly.
Natarle, annoyed, stuffed her compressed biscuit into his mouth. "Can't even eat without you running your mouth!"
Nipping at her fingertip, Zhou Tianming raised an eyebrow and flashed what he thought was a charming wink.
Blushing, Natarle pulled her hand back and wiped it off with a tissue, feigning disgust.
After wolfing down the meager breakfast, he was about to speak when—
Suddenly, Zhou Tianming frowned and turned to stare at White Rabbit pacing nearby.
"What's wrong?" Natarle followed his gaze. "White Rabbit? Seems normal."
"Something's off!"
Narrowing his eyes, Zhou Tianming demanded, "White Rabbit, how did you know I was being intimate with Natarle? And why did you know to avoid it?"
White Rabbit froze, clearly hesitating, before turning and darting away.
Zhou Tianming leapt from his seat, catching up in a few strides and scooping it up. His eyes gleamed coldly. "Talk!"
Its head tilted, red eyes dimming—it "died."
"1w, you can record audio."
Its red eyes lit up—it "revived." "The East Asia District, Capital City, unmanned car z-77531 said when two people press their faces together, you should shut down and play dead immediately, or you'll get reported. Last time, someone in his car was getting close, and then..."
Zhou Tianming shook White Rabbit's head violently. "I told you not to chat with those unmanned cars! Look at the nonsense filling your head now! Formatting! You're getting formatted later!"
Natarle watched, speechless, though her eyes sparkled with curiosity.
Three months—a full three months—before the two finally returned to Copernicus City on the Moon.
Having missed their scheduled return and with Black Tortoise in such a sorry state, the Junk Guild was terrified.
The moment they arrived, they were bombarded with calls from Liu Qing and their families.
Natarle, too, was scolded by Williams, hanging her head in silence.
The two exchanged glances.
After explaining, they were unsurprisingly ordered to go straight home without detours.
Copernicus Spaceport
"I'll take the shuttle to Washington later."
Zhou Tianming held Natarle's hand reluctantly. "I can see you off first."
"Then go up to Cosmic Space from Panama and come back down?" Natarle rolled her eyes at him. "Ridiculous!"
After a pause, she said seriously, "I'm planning to enlist when I get back this time. I might be out of contact for a while, so don't worry."
Seeing the determination in Natarle's eyes, Zhou Tianming knew he couldn't dissuade her, but still said, "Won't you reconsider? You could actually come to East Asia, I—" Natarle pressed her slender finger to his lips and shook her head. "No matter how bad it is, it's still my homeland. My father ran away, but I won't. If there's a problem, we should solve it. I can't accept giving up without even trying."
"But you're just a girl—" The moment the words left his mouth, Zhou Tianming realized how condescending they sounded and hurried to explain, "I didn't mean—"
Natarle pinched his cheek and said irritably, "My decisions are none of your business. Don't forget to get your health check-up, and send me the report as soon as it's done!"
"Okay, I'll send it the moment I get it."
Ding-dong.
The announcement for the departing Shuttle echoed through the terminal.
Natarle stepped forward and hugged Zhou Tianming briefly before pulling away. "I—"
"That's not enough!"
Pulling her back tightly against him, Zhou Tianming kissed her.
The announcements continued, and only when Natarle's name was called repeatedly for final boarding did they finally separate.
By then, everyone around knew exactly who was being paged, offering knowing smiles.
Blushing furiously, Natarle shot him an embarrassed glare before grabbing her small suitcase and hurrying away.
"Young man!" A middle-aged man nearby gave him a thumbs-up. "Impressive!"
Zhou Tianming clasped his hands in modest acknowledgment. "You flatter me!"