Shadows of the Deep Space
Chapter 316 - 306: A Sudden Blackout (Five-in-One)_6

Chapter 316: Chapter 306: A Sudden Blackout (Five-in-One)_6

Su Ming came out with a large plate of fried fish, the fragrant aroma spreading throughout the room.

"It smells so good!"

An Ruoxue and Lin Chuyu, upon smelling the fish, exclaimed in surprise.

"The ingredients were limited so I made do. Try it and see how it tastes."

Su Ming placed the fish on the coffee table.

An Ruoxue and Lin Chuyu picked up their chopsticks, took a piece, and tasted it. Their eyes suddenly lit up as they said joyfully,

"It’s so delicious!"

"Glad you like it, eat more! This fish weighs over ten pounds; it’s too big and not easy to fry well."

Su Ming said, smiling at the two.

An Ruoxue looked up at Su Ming, her face a bit smitten.

Handsome, from a good family, strong, with a good character, and great at cooking—he was just perfect!

"Ruoxue? Ruoxue?"

At that moment, Lin Chuyu spoke up, breaking into An Ruoxue’s reverie.

"Ah, what is it?"

An Ruoxue snapped back to reality and responded.

"Why are you zoning out? Why aren’t you eating?"

Lin Chuyu asked An Ruoxue.

"Nothing, I was just thinking about something,"

An Ruoxue said with a laugh.

Just then, the television, which had been playing a soap opera, suddenly cut to a news bulletin.

"Latest update: The Imperial Army’s Third Corps, the ’Crimson Fangs’, have mobilized the majority of their forces towards the Anfas Empire. According to expert analysis, both sides are ready for a major battle, expected to make contact in three days and trigger a full-scale war...."

Watching the breaking news, Su Ming pondered for a while before speaking,

"It looks like this war is set in stone."

"Pretty much. The Imperial Army is too powerful; the Neutral Country has been pushed into a corner with no way out."

Lin Chuyu agreed.

"It can’t be helped,"

An Ruoxue responded with a sigh.

...

1 AM.

Inside the kitchen, Lin Chuyu and An Ruoxue were washing dishes and plates.

The three of them devoured the entire fish, leaving only a pile of bones. It had to be said that the cost of the fish was justified; the quality of the meat was truly exceptional.

As Su Ming watched the two wash up, he checked the time on his phone and then said,

"It’s getting late; I should head back."

"It’s so late; why not stay here for the night? An Ruoxue and I can share a room, and you can take mine,"

Lin Chuyu turned to Su Ming and offered.

"Really!"

An Ruoxue also agreed.

"Never mind, it’s better I get going. If I don’t sleep in my dorm, those guys will probably come up with some melodramatic tale,"

Su Ming said, politely declining.

Of course, this was just an excuse by Su Ming; his biggest worry was being seen by others.

Having been the center of attention lately, if he were seen staying over, it would probably hit the campus headlines.

"Alright then."

Lin Chuyu and An Ruoxue nodded in response.

"I’m off."

After bidding farewell to the two, Su Ming turned and left.

...

-------------------------------

The next day at the training ground’s waiting area.

Zhang Yi and the others were operating the First Generation Mecha·Iron Head, engaging in routine combat training.

Mia, holding a megaphone, shouted angrily at Zhang Yi,

"Zhang Yi, don’t make such large movements, strike hard; he’s your enemy right now!"

At that moment, the person sparring with Zhang Yi, Cao Wei, bewilderedly shouted back at Teacher Mia,

"Teacher, I’m his classmate, not his enemy! We’re just doing routine combat training; is it really okay for him to chop at me like this?"

"What’s wrong with that? You should go all out on him too, pretend he’s your sworn enemy who killed your father,"

Mia shouted back, quite heatedly.

In the waiting area, Su Ming and the others watched the scene, looking at each other in bewilderment.

At that moment, Ankaga spoke to Su Ming uneasily,

"Squad leader, has the teacher reached menopause? She seems so irritable."

"It’s not menopause; it’s because of that guy,"

Su Ming said, pointing casually in a direction.

Upon hearing Su Ming’s words, Ankaga turned to look and saw Lieutenant Colonel Alako, dressed in a black coat, with a cast on his foot and a bandage on his nose, standing not far off, looking at them.

"Damn, how did this guy even chase us here? He’s not here to ask us for medical compensation, is he?"

Ankaga swallowed hard and said.

"I don’t know."

"Squad leader, you can’t go so hard next time."

"Nonsense, you were pretty heavy-handed too. His leg was you who crippled,"

Su Ming retorted.

Su Ming joked to Ankaga.

Ankaga immediately shook his head and said,

"No, it’s you who broke his nose and knocked out his teeth. They should be looking for you!"

"You seem to remember quite clearly, huh!"

Su Ming looked at Ankaga with a cry-laugh expression.

"Hehe! That’s not important. What matters is, what do we do now?"

Ankaga asked somewhat sheepishly.

"Alright, no more joking with you. He’s probably not here for us. Look, he’s been staring at Teacher Mia the whole time. You can tell he’s looking for her. We’ll just pretend we didn’t see anything,"

Su Ming said, reassuring Ankaga with a smile.

"That’s a relief. Phew~"

Ankaga let out a long sigh of relief.

...

The next day, at five o’clock in the afternoon.

In Classroom 23 of the teaching building at Imperial Court Academy.

Mia had just finished her lesson and said to everyone with a serious expression,

"We’ll end the lesson here for today, but I have an announcement to make!"

"What is it?"

Su Ming and the others looked at Teacher Mia curiously.

"The school will start a holiday from tomorrow,"

Mia simply said to everyone.

"Ah? A holiday?"

"Why the holiday, and so sudden?"

...

Rhein and the others were completely confused; normally, there should be classes tomorrow.

"Stop the noise, and let me explain briefly. The reason for the holiday is that the Neutral Country and the Imperial Army are about to clash. The school will activate the ’Starlight Sphere’ device and intermittently stream battlefield footage sent back from the front lines. Everyone is required to watch—it’s a rare opportunity! You can learn a lot from the war between the Imperial Army and the Neutral Country!"

Mia explained to everyone briefly.

"Teacher, how long is this holiday going to last?"

Rhein asked curiously.

"Until the Neutral Country and the Imperial Army decide the winner. Alright, you can all leave now!"

Mia said, then waved her hand impatiently.

Su Ming and the others got up and started discussing tomorrow’s battle as they left the classroom.

"Rhein, do you think the Neutral Country can win?"

"Hard to say, probably tough."

"Chairman, what do you think?"

...

Su Ming didn’t respond to their questions. Instead, he stopped, furrowing his brows tightly as he looked into the distance.

Seeing Su Ming stop, Rhein was also taken aback for a moment, then he too turned to look into the distance.

There stood Lieutenant Colonel Alako, staring at them from not too far away.

"It’s this guy again; he never gives up, always staring at Teacher Mia."

Ankaga couldn’t help but complain.

Watching this scene, Su Ming grew even more curious. What on earth did this guy want with Teacher Mia? So he said,

"Let’s go over and ask."

"Okay."

Ankaga and the others responded in unison.

Su Ming led them toward Alako.

Alako naturally saw Su Ming and his group approaching, yet he didn’t pay them any attention, his gaze still fixed on the classroom door.

Soon, Su Ming and the others were in front of him.

"Excuse me, Mr. Alako, what do you want with Teacher Mia, since you’ve been staring at her this whole time?"

Su Ming asked politely.

Alako’s soft expression did not change, and he completely ignored Su Ming and his group.

"Didn’t you hear our chairman asking you a question?"

Rhein said, rather annoyed.

Regrettably, Alako remained indifferent.

Zhang Yi, who was also curious, said,

"You come here every day, watching our Teacher Mia. You couldn’t possibly have taken a liking to our teacher and want to court her, right?"

"Eh?"

Su Ming and Ankaga, hearing this, were both dumbfounded, staring at Zhang Yi.

"Uh, did I say something wrong?"

Zhang Yi asked, puzzled.

At this point, even Alako broke his composure, his genteel face showing anger.

"Are you sick?"

"You’re the sick one! You won’t answer when asked, and you keep staring at our teacher."

Zhang Yi challenged him with conviction.

"That’s because..."

Lieutenant Colonel Alako started to say something but then stopped, holding back.