Rebirth: The Universe's Hidden Heiress-Chapter 119: A Big Hug (2)

Lory and the Ichiro brothers scattered clumsily for cover. They didn’t dare to spread out too far and quickly regrouped, to avoid anyone getting lost.

Lory turned around and fired his last cannon at the space pirates chasing them. He deeply regretted teaming up with three people armed only with cold weapons. They couldn’t put any distance between themselves and the space pirates.

They had a chance to escape with the help of the Alliance Army, but for some reason, a new wave of space pirates flooded into the valley. The Alliance Army couldn’t hold them back, so they had to run first.

Even though Lory knew more Alliance Army reinforcements would soon arrive, he couldn’t help feeling incredibly tense. He had used his last remote attack. If they couldn’t widen the gap from their pursuers...

Bang!

A space pirate’s mecha, closing in on him, was suddenly knocked down by a huge hammer. Lory was startled and turned to see the rescue team emerging from the thick fog.

But when he saw the number on the mecha and realized it was a classmate of his, and that there was only one of them, his heart sank. With their current situation, one more person would just be another victim of the space pirates.

Lory thought the newcomer didn’t know how many space pirates were chasing them and was about to yell at Mecha 666 to run away. But Mecha 666 charged into their group, throwing a hammer at the space pirates.

The chained hammer was a wide-range weapon. The more enemies and the closer they stood, the better it worked. They would get tightly tangled in the chains. If one tried to break free, it would tighten more on the others, trapping them all. Apart from being tricky to master, it was one of the fastest ways to get the enemy under control.

Seeing the space pirates temporarily controlled, Ichiro and his brothers rushed in. Their swordsmanship was fast, precise, and fierce, quickly taking down four or five of the space pirates’ mechas.

Yuka relaxed the chains in her hand, letting the defeated mechas fall to avoid hindering their attack. Then, she reversed the grip in her other hand, thrusting her long sword into the cockpit of the nearest space pirate’s mecha.

One space pirate foolishly tried to grab the hammer’s chain to pull the opposing mecha closer. But Yuka swung him around with the hammer and threw him out, landing at Lory’s feet.

Luckily, Lory hadn’t exhausted his psychic power like a tall boy might have. He quickly reacted and thrust his long sword into the cockpit of the mecha on the ground, finishing him off.

Ichiro and his brothers cautiously avoided the attack range of the hammer, wanting to help, but they soon realized their concern was unnecessary. Mecha 666 alone was outmaneuvering the space pirates effortlessly.

The pilot used the hammer to maintain distance, skillfully allowing only one mecha to approach for a close attack, then quickly parried with a long sword. She’d either use a knee or a kick to push the attacking space pirates out of the fight, leaving them vulnerable for a finishing blow by Ichiro and his brothers.

Lory was deeply impressed by the incredible strength of this ally. He felt a bit embarrassed, remembering how he had thought of them as cannon fodder. The Chen brothers, watching in awe, realized something.

’That familiar weapon combo, those moves, that elusive fighting style... It’s Lady!’

At that moment, Ichiro and his brothers recalled the fear they felt being dominated by "Lady" in the underground arena. They shuddered involuntarily, their looks complex and respectful.

Just then, the space pirates surrounding Yuka discovered her attack pattern. They decided, just like Ichiro and his brothers had in the final of the underground arena, to ignore the damage from the chained hammer and close in for a multi-pronged attack.

[Pinky is in danger!]

[She’s being targeted by so many space pirates, someone help her!]

[Reinforcements are coming, I see someone!]

[Is that Admiral Kuba? Am I seeing it wrong?]

Kenji, having made up his mind five minutes earlier, turned on his opticomputer. Seeing Yuka unharmed, his heartbeat slowly returned to normal, and he started following her trail.

Now, he had finally caught up.

A long sword thrust from the side, intercepting the space pirates rushing at Yuka.

Kenji didn’t care how much he was attacked; his only goal was to make contact with each pirate mecha. His powerful psychic power was enough to connect through the mecha shells to nearly ten pirate mechas, immobilizing them on the spot.

The sudden entry of another silver-white combat mecha, Kenji’s, disrupted their pace. The space pirates’ movements became chaotic, and Yuka drove them back again.

Though all Alliance Army mechas looked the same, Yuka knew it was Kenji.

The butler also excitedly announced, "Master, Admiral Kuba is here to help us!"

Yuka slightly curved her lips, coordinating with Kenji’s actions. She used the hammer to herd all the space pirates towards Kenji, giving him the chance to establish a psychic connection during combat.

In the next second, all the space pirate mechas stiffened simultaneously, standing frozen as if under a spell.

Yuka wasted no time, leaping forward and quickly stabbing her long sword into the cockpits of the space pirates.

Some of the space pirates, realizing this newcomer was the legendary Kuba Kenji, scrambled out of their cockpits in a panic, but Lory and the others swiftly finished them off from behind.

After they dealt with the last space pirate, the viewers erupted in cheers.

[Wow, Pinky, I knew you were the best, love you!]

[Pinky and Admiral Kuba are so in sync.]

[I smell chemistry there.]

[Don’t overthink it, Pinky and Admiral Kuba are just a teacher-student duo.]

In the valley, the long-awaited sunlight finally appeared, slowly rising from behind the mountains, illuminating the cold, damp valley, and dispersing the lingering white fog.

The Alliance Army reinforcements had arrived. They brought trailers to transport the damaged mechas out of the map and off-road vehicles to take them away.

Lory and his friends, utterly exhausted and suddenly relaxing after their life-and-death ordeal, couldn’t hold themselves up and collapsed on the ground.

They were overwhelmed with a sense of surviving a great calamity. It was their first time truly taking lives, and although it was in self-defense against evil wrongdoers, they felt a faint discomfort and nausea.

The arriving medics from the Alliance Army, while treating their wounds, asked if they needed psychological counseling, but they declined, just like the students who had left earlier.

Their eyes turned to Mecha 666, planning to sincerely thank the pilot once they disembarked, and then give a proper gift later.

As everyone watched, Yuka jumped down from the mecha cockpit. Only then did she notice that the hair on her forehead was soaked with sweat. The bump that had formed from an earlier collision was now swollen and purple, painful to the touch.

Her delicate, pale skin also showed several bruises from the recent bumps and knocks, visible on her arms outside her sleeves, looking both startling and pitiable.

Despite her injuries, Yuka still looked enchantingly beautiful. Her long curly hair was loose, and the pink butterfly hair accessory chosen by the butler, though skewed during the battle, added a playful charm to her appearance. Bathed in sunlight, she seemed to glow, like an angel descending from heaven, bearing new wounds in the process of saving mortals.

[The sun has come out, how wonderful.]

[Pinky, my dear Pinky, you’ve suffered so much.]

[Pinky, you’re amazing!]

[That’s the fierce Pinky you were talking about? Totally in love.]

Just as Yuka’s feet touched the ground, a man rushed over and hugged her tightly. Sensing the slight trembling of Kenji’s hands wrapped around her back, Yuka paused, then reached up to touch the protruding part of Kenji’s exoskeleton on his back. She rested her forehead on his shoulder and softly comforted him, "I’m okay."

Kenji held Yuka even tighter. He couldn’t bring himself to ask her not to do such things again. He knew if it were him, he would have done the same thing, rushing in to save others. He had no right to ask Yuka to be selfish.

"Next time..." Kenji’s heavy breath brushed Yuka’s ear. His voice was hoarse, pleading, "Don’t go into danger alone, wait for me, okay?"

It was the first time he had begged someone like this, and the first time he had been so afraid of losing someone.

Yuka sensed his unease and earnestly rubbed his shoulder, whispering in his ear, "Okay, I promise."

The butler screamed excitedly, "Master, you’re hugging him back! You said you didn’t like him! I’m going to tell your father!"

Yuka ignored it, continuing to enjoy the comfort of Kenji’s chest and his fervent heartbeat.

Meanwhile, Lory and the others, with their mouths agape, were utterly dumbfounded.

The Alliance Army personnel who came to their aid lowered their heads, continuing with their tasks while exchanging surprised and gossipy glances, occasionally sneaking peeks at the intimate embrace.

The chat in the live stream was silent for three seconds, then flooded with a deluge of exclamation marks.

[They hugged, right? Definitely hugged, right? They’re still hugging, right? I’m not seeing things, right?]

[Yes, yes, yes, yes.]

[The romantic tension between them is so thick you could cut it with a knife.]

[OMGOMGOMG. I’m so delighted by this development! I’m rolling around in bed, trying to stifle my laughter?]

[They won’t have my blessings!!! Admiral Kuba is so aloof and always busy with work, how can he take good care of our beautiful and strong Pinky!]

[I actually think... maybe only Admiral Kuba is worthy of Pinky...]

[Hold on, folks, they haven’t even announced they’re in a relationship and you’re already thinking about their marriage?!]

[Where’s the commentator? Where’s the commentator? Please come and explain what’s happening right now!]

Yonda, in the commentary booth, drank water to calm his nerves. ’Sorry, I really can’t explain this one.’

Outside the valley, Philip, still watching the live stream, feels his heart breaking into pieces.