LSDWTWHA chapter 17

Chapter 17

Admiral Qi Hanyi, of noble status, was received by the steward of the Mo family.

He had long been told by the family head that Qi Hanyi had been forced into marrying a mermaid, but he himself extremely disliked mermaids. So, when he saw the other party’s shuttle car, he became exceptionally cautious, resolutely avoiding giving the mermaid a single glance.

When the car door opened, the steward indeed saw Qi Hanyi stepping out of the car with big strides. He was dressed in a black suit today. The lines were simple and neat, yet it seemed to emanate an even stronger sense of dominance than when wearing his military uniform.

As soon as he got out of the car, he lived up to the rumors, not daring to look sideways, not gentlemanly enough to open the door for his mermaid partner or help her down. He merely coldly stepped aside, waiting for the mermaid to exit on her own.

The mermaid appeared to find everything quite novel. She first popped her head out, looking left and right, then stretched her long legs and stepped out of the car.

She wore a pure white off-the-shoulder evening gown, with a natural drape at the neckline forming a circle of petal-like decoration at her chest. The fitted cut accentuated her enchanting figure, and the tail-like gown trailed all the way to her feet. Her silvery-blue hair was braided at the top of her head, cascading gracefully over her shoulders.

The mermaid was quite tall; even standing next to the 1.9-meter tall Admiral, her head could reach his nose.

She looked stunningly beautiful. The steward could feel his heart skip a beat and did not dare to harbor any improper thoughts about the Admiral’s spouse, simply captivated and somewhat dazed by her beauty.

Especially since the mermaid stood beside Admiral Qi, one tall and handsome, the other charming and lovely, forming a pleasing match at a glance.

However, it seemed the mermaid was a bit reluctant to get out of the car, her fingers tugging at the door handle as she hesitantly followed Qi Hanyi’s steps, occasionally turning back to glance at the car.

It was indeed a troubled relationship. Was the mermaid unwilling to attend the banquet with the Admiral and wanted to return?

Just as the steward was pondering this, he saw the Admiral stop, lower his head, and say something to the mermaid. The joy that erupted in the mermaid’s eyes made her throw her arms around the Admiral excitedly.

!!!

The steward stood there in shock. That was the Admiral who despised mermaids the most! He actually embraced one so easily?

The steward had already conjured an image of Qi Hanyi ruthlessly dispatching blood from the mermaid, yet he noticed that Qi Hanyi did not resist at all, allowing the mermaid to embrace him for a while. Even when the mermaid whispered in his ear, he seemed to blush slightly. Although his expression remained stern, there was a softness in his gaze, like ice melting for the first time.

This hardly seemed like disdain!

The steward felt he had stumbled upon a huge piece of news.

However, work was paramount. He stepped forward a few paces, approaching Qi Hanyi and Su, bowing slightly while gauging the Admiral’s expression: “Young Master Qi, good day. This beautiful mermaid, Miss Su, good day to you as well. I am the steward of the Mo family; the villa is just ahead. Please follow me.”

Qi Hanyi nodded: “Thank you.”

The steward led the way, and he could still hear the mermaid chattering with Qi Hanyi, appearing quite interested in the decorations in the garden, asking questions like a curious child.

Qi Hanyi maintained his usual serious demeanor, but he answered the mermaid’s inquiries one by one.

The steward again confirmed his speculation in his mind; Admiral Qi was not like the rumors suggested. At the very least, his attitude toward this particular mermaid seemed very different.

The Mo family’s villa for hosting the banquet was located halfway up the mountain. After verifying their identities, a specialized shuttle car transported them directly to the villa’s entrance.

Inside the villa, the main host of the banquet, the head of the Mo family, had not yet arrived. However, the youngest son, Mo Lin, already dressed in an elegant suit and formal attire, began welcoming guests.

At this time, there were still half an hour until the official banquet commenced, but many guests had already arrived early.

They gathered in groups, chatting cheerfully.

Among them, of course, the most eye-catching were the group surrounding Mo Lin.

Although Mo Lin was not as outstanding or assertive as his older brother, this very quality made him appear more approachable. He interacted with others without any airs of a young master, engaging elegantly and humorously in conversations about music and art, discussing economics and politics, and could also casually talk about nobles’ gossip and tell inappropriate jokes.

This was Mo Lin’s self-positioning.

He didn’t need to worry about important figures in the business or political world. That was what his father and older brother were for. He only needed to act like a carefree young man, building connections with those well-favored young nobles, using them to reinforce his own social circle, managing relationships between the Mo family and these nobles on behalf of his father and brother.

At this moment, the young masters of various families surrounding Mo Lin were more interested in gossip than in politics or business, discussing the latest rumors, the popular games, and which places had new fun activities.

Mo Lin was already familiar with these people. Currently surrounded like a bright star, he said little, leaning lazily against the table with a glass of wine, responding casually whenever he was asked, signaling those who wanted to curry favor with the Mo family a response.

“Hey, Mo Lin, I heard your brother is planning to acquire the game company behind ‘Star Wars.’ Is it true?” someone suddenly asked from the crowd.

Mo Lin smiled, glancing at the questioner: “What’s true or false? The contract has already been signed.”

“Damn, really? I heard this game has military backing; how did you manage to procure it?”

Mo Lin proudly tilted his head, showing off the carefree arrogance of a young master: “What’s the big deal? My family has a longstanding relationship with the Qi family; my brother wants the operating rights for ‘Star Wars,’ and it was personally signed off by the old man of the Qi family.”

Instantly, voices of flattery erupted from the crowd, everyone clamoring to have a drink with Mo Lin to celebrate this momentous event, asking Mo Lin to open a backdoor for them in the game later.

Of course, such words were merely jokes; everyone knew that the regulatory rights for ‘Star Wars’ remained with the military, and it was absolutely impossible for them to get any special treatment.

‘Star Wars’ was the hottest online simulation game at the moment, faithfully recreating the most authentic starship piloting experience. It was said that it used the same operating system as real starship pilots. However, it would not release the latest starship data to players.

‘Star Wars’ boasted a terrifying player base, not only because its operations were rich and engaging, but because the very existence of the game was itself a way of testing and selecting talent for starship pilots.

The game featured three main sections: interstellar exploration, simulated combat (PVE), and the arena. Recently, there were rumors that a DIY mech assembly system was also set to be implemented.

If someone could shine in ‘Star Wars,’ it indicated they possessed considerable talent and could potentially be noticed by the Imperial military academy, receiving lowered scores or even exemption from exams for admission. Achieving first place in the arena could even lead to special resource allocations, focused guidance, and opportunities to work directly on the Bai Ze, the main starship.

Even those without plans to enlist could establish prowess by becoming a top player in the most popular game.

Most of the young people gathered here were destined to inherit family businesses rather than join the military. However, young people always have a competitive streak. If they could make a name for themselves in the arena of ‘Star Wars,’ they could gain prominence among their peers, even becoming objects of admiration and affection.

Thus, nearly all the young people present were playing ‘Star Wars,’ and their interest peaked as the conversation turned to the game.

Zhang Lu was also among this group, though at a distance. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to get closer to the center, but rather no one invited him to join.

Since the last outing on the cruise, he could sense Mo Lin’s intentional distancing. The young noblemen who played with Mo Lin began to gradually exclude Zhang Lu from their social circle after noticing Mo Lin’s attitude.

This made Zhang Lu feel a sense of crisis. After all, as a failing young master, the only thing he could rely on was his childhood friendship to gain entry into Mo Lin’s circle.

He was still counting on leveraging Mo Lin’s connections to board the grand ship of the Mo family, but after the last incident, Mo Lin changed his attitude, as if their friendship of over a decade was not as valuable as a few words from Qi Hanyi.

It was all Qi Hanyi’s fault. Zhang Lu thought bitterly, making him lose face earlier, and now he was being distanced by Mo Lin.

As he pondered this, he heard Qi Hanyi’s name mentioned. It seemed that during his moment of distraction, the group was discussing the newly launched mech assembly feature in the game, precisely mentioning Qi Hanyi’s university days when he assembled a mech.

“He’s really impressive; when it was time for the mech principles assessment, he actually assembled a super powerful mech himself. I heard that the military’s current model of the offensive mech, Model Feng Mang-999, is based on the mech he assembled back then.”

“So what? I heard the mech he’s currently using is the Empire’s only SSS-class mech—the Duanshui. He designed it together with the mech engineers.”

“Ah, if we could get our hands on that design blueprint and replicate it in the game, wouldn’t we be flying high?”

“What a dream, that’s top military secrecy.”

“Hey, I know, just joking.”

A group of people chat and laugh, completely oblivious to Zhang Lu’s increasingly dark expression beside them.

Zhang Lu felt indignant but couldn’t explode directly. After thinking for a moment, he forced a smile and deliberately brought up a topic: “Qi Hanyi recently took a mermaid home; have you all heard about it?”

However, the others clearly showed no interest in this topic: “That was over ten days ago; what’s new about it?”

“Isn’t he the one who hated mermaids the most? Why hasn’t he called off the engagement after so long? I heard he’s even bringing the mermaid to the banquet today.” Zhang Lu felt a sense of satisfaction bringing this up.

So what if he was an Admiral? He couldn’t even control his own marriage; not only did he marry the mermaid he hated the most, but he also had to bring her out to put on a show.

The others couldn’t answer this question either. They looked at each other and casually speculated: “Isn’t it the old man’s idea? Qi Hanyi listens to his grandfather the most; if he says to marry, he has to marry either way.”

“I think it’s probably to continue his genes. Isn’t he touted as having the most outstanding human genes? If he doesn’t merge with a mermaid of quality, it would be such a waste. If he were to marry a human, the next generation would be like a blind box; what if they end up with inferior genes? How could the old man agree to that? To put it bluntly, no matter how impressive, he’s just a tool at the end of the day.”

“Exactly! Just a few days ago, Qi Hanyi had a big fight at home with his grandfather over this mermaid thing. Of course, not only did he fail to win the argument, but he was also forced to bring the mermaid to today’s banquet.” A gloating voice chimed in: “I’m afraid there will be some laughter to watch.”

This caught Mo Lin’s attention. He put down his glass and scanned the room to find the source of the voice.

Qi Yang, a child from a relative of Qi Hanyi’s fourth uncle, was currently a student at the Imperial military academy with average grades and a penchant for creating trouble. He had gotten into over ten fights in just one year at school, and if it weren’t for his grandfather being the head of the Qi family and a national defense minister, he might have been expelled long ago.

When Qi Hanyi’s parents passed away, among the direct relatives, except for the fifth uncle who had long gone to the west to do business, the others all wished for Qi Hanyi to come to an unexpected misfortune, hoping the inheritance rights would fall to their families.

Had it not been for Qi Xingli’s protection, Qi Hanyi would have been harmed by them long ago.

So, naturally, these relatives of the Qi family were not looking forward to Qi Hanyi’s wellbeing. They already despised him, hoping their children could surpass him, win over their grandfather’s favor, and snatch back the rights to inheritance.

The pervasive dislike combined with those children’s hatred made Qi Yang, as a peer, harbor hostility towards his elder cousin.

“The young master of the Mo family has arrived,” someone suddenly announced in the banquet hall.

Everyone turned back to see the main door push open, revealing Mo Shan chatting amiably with the stern-faced Admiral Qi, while next to the Admiral stood an exceptionally tall and stunning “young lady.”