Chapter 88: The Deputy Leah, Pretending to Be Aloof

“Phew, I’m exhausted!” Skinny Monkey plopped down onto the ground, tossing his energy gun aside as he gasped for breath, sprawled out as if his whole body had melted into the earth.

“Oh, come on, you can’t handle this little hardship? Look at the boss and the others!” Strongman sat down beside him, panting heavily but not nearly as lazy as Skinny Monkey. He propped himself up with his energy gun in one hand and fished out a nutrient paste with the other, biting it open and squeezing the contents into his mouth.

“Hey, hey, hey, give me some too!” Skinny Monkey was quick with his words and even quicker with his hands—no matter how awful the nutrient paste tasted, he could wolf it down in a flash. Now, only the standard rations remained, which he couldn’t be bothered to eat, so he made a fuss, trying to mooch off Strongman.

“Buzz off!” Strongman scolded, but after a few playful shoves, he tossed the paste over to Skinny Monkey, who eagerly devoured it.

Listening to their laughter and banter, Du Yun wiped the sweat from her forehead, a smile curling at her lips. Only one day remained until the arrival of the small starship; both access bridges had been blown, and the zombies in the port district were nearly all cleared out. With hope so close at hand, everyone’s spirits were light.

Suddenly, Strongman’s communicator crackled to life.

“Hello, hello!” Strongman sprang to his feet, his eyes lighting up as he stared at the communicator. “Hello, can you hear me?”

“This is the starship Hymer calling the captain, Hymer calling the captain,” a slightly deep, magnetic female voice came through, tinged with a hint of urgency.

“Hey, it’s Lia!” Skinny Monkey jumped up in delight, grabbing the device and shouting, “Lia, it’s us, we can hear you! Loud and clear!”

After Skinny Monkey’s excited shout, silence fell on the other end—only static filled the line. After a long moment, the same woman’s voice returned, now cool and distant, “Let the boss speak.”

“What are you yelling for? Lia wants the boss, not you!” Strongman scoffed, snatching the communicator from Skinny Monkey and reluctantly handing it to the boss. His expression was nothing short of woeful, as if his beloved had been taken from him.

“Hello,” the boss said coolly, not even bothering to reach for the communicator—just a glance and a single frosty word.

“Boss!” The voice on the other end instantly shed its icy facade, growing fervent with concern. “Boss, are you alright? Are you hurt? Boss—”

“Get to the point.” The boss’s cold interruption cut her off, and silence fell once more.

“Yes, Captain. The Hymer is one jump away from Greenwild. We expect to reach the rendezvous point in twenty hours, around eleven in the morning.” Lia’s voice resumed its cool composure, but a barely suppressed tremor betrayed her excitement.

“Good.” The boss nodded and ended the call.

“That’s fantastic—Lia will be here tomorrow!” Strongman exclaimed, cradling the communicator with a joy and relief he’d never shown before, something almost indefinably moved in his tone.

“Yeah, with Lia here, everything will be alright,” Skinny Monkey agreed, nodding vigorously. Clearly, Lia was a trusted comrade in their eyes.

“Who is this Lia?” Du Yun, having overheard the exchange, couldn’t help but sense from the woman’s tone a warmth toward the boss that went beyond the ordinary. She turned to the boss and asked.

“My adjutant,” he replied, his expression utterly unchanged—not a hint of embarrassment or warmth, not even a raised brow. It was as if Lia the adjutant was no different from Strongman or Skinny Monkey.

“A woman?” Du Yun raised an eyebrow, pressing further. For some reason, she felt a pang of jealousy, as if her favorite toy was about to be taken away.

“Mm.” The boss gave a noncommittal hum, completely unconcerned.

“Oh.” Seeing his stoic indifference, Du Yun figured she was probably overthinking it. Perhaps Lia and the boss really were just superior and subordinate. The thought soothed her heart, and she nodded in understanding.

“Lia is the boss’s adjutant—graduated from the Imperial Star Women’s Mecha Academy, one of the top students and—” As Du Yun reached for something to eat, Strongman and Skinny Monkey sidled up to her, chattering away about Lia.

It turned out that Adjutant Lia came from a prominent military and political family, graduated from the top university on Emperor Star, was a rare genius in both physical and mental abilities, and was as beautiful as she was aloof—the goddess of countless single men. Now, serving as the boss’s adjutant was a testament to her admiration for his abilities; she was the second-in-command of their team.

From their descriptions, Du Yun caught a subtle undertone—the boss and Lia, both from distinguished families, both outstanding and strikingly attractive, similarly reserved and cold, seen by many as a perfect pair.

At this, Du Yun couldn’t help but glance at the boss and curl her lip—handsome as he was, his icy demeanor was a bit too much.

“Aren’t you two tired?” The boss, hearing Strongman and Skinny Monkey’s increasingly outrageous tales and noticing the changed look in Du Yun’s eyes, hurried to cut them off. He’d finally found a woman who wasn’t scared off by his coldness—he couldn’t let their chatter ruin his chances of a good wife.

“Tired, tired! Boss, we’ll rest right away!” Strongman and Skinny Monkey, seeing the boss’s look, scurried away out of Du Yun’s sight. Whenever the boss was involved with Du Yun, he acted strange; if she ever learned that Lia secretly liked the boss, he’d probably skin them both.

“The Hymer is coming. We need to find cover.” After a half-hour break, the boss assembled everyone.

At his words, everyone exchanged puzzled glances, unsure what he meant.

“The Hymer is the latest model of small starship, with a propulsion system far superior to others. The impact on landing is huge—if we don’t find cover, we’ll be blown away,” Skinny Monkey explained, taking on the role of commentator. Only after his explanation did everyone finally understand.

“Let’s hurry and find cover!” they all responded in unison.