Arc 8: Interstellar Programmer Officer 3
On the day they were to complete the marriage procedures, Tao Yuan opened the wardrobe and casually picked out an old outfit that the original host hadn’t worn in a long time. After putting them on, Tao Yuan got ready to go out.
The parents and siblings of the original host were dressed formally, and seeing Tao Yuan in such casual attire didn’t sit well with them. Despite their displeasure, they kept silent because it was already time to leave, and they didn’t want to waste any more time arguing.
A group of bodyguards surrounded and trailed behind them as they walked to the gate. The original host’s parents were in one car, the siblings and their spouses had another, while Tao Yuan rode alone in a separate car. But in Tao Yuan’s car, there were two bodyguards.
In the past few days, Mai Wei didn’t show up. Tao Yuan was worried if something had come up for him. But he also thought that even if Mai Wei was occupied, he should have sent someone else to pick him up. Anyway, the road to the marriage bureau was the last time and opportunity. If Mai Wei’s people didn’t show up when they reached the bureau, Tao Yuan would have to rely on himself to escape.
The cars here were all moving fast, too fast to even catch a clear glimpse of the streets outside. Tao Yuan closed his eyes, mentally rehearsing the plan when they arrived at the marriage bureau.
Suddenly hearing two muffled groans, Tao Yuan immediately opened his eyes and saw that both the bodyguards in front of him and beside him had passed out.
Tao Yuan breathed a sigh of relief and closed his eyes again.
The driver in the car behind saw that the car Tao Yuan was in was heading in a different direction. They hesitated for a moment before quickly giving chase. But suddenly many cars appeared, blocking their way. After a chaotic moment, those blocking cars quickly drove off, and Tao Yuan’s car had already disappeared from their sight.
The panicked bodyguards hastily called Bruno and the original host’s father, informing them that they had lost track of Tao Yuan.
“What?! He ran off again?!” Yaduni slammed the window with frustration and, after hanging up the phone, shouted, “How did I end up raising such an ungrateful beast without a shred of conscience!”
“What’s going on? Did Yi Yu run away again?” The original host’s mother asked anxiously. “The one driving is from the Bavis family, and there were bodyguards in the car, right? How could he escape again?!”
“Who should I ask if not you?!” Yaduni’s face turned red with anger as he roared, “If I had known he had such an ungrateful and disobedient nature, I wouldn’t have raised him in the first place!”
Bruno and his family had already arrived at the marriage bureau. After receiving the bodyguards’ notification, they were furious, feeling that Tao Yuan truly had no sense of gratitude. He had married into the Bavis family without any disadvantages, but actually tried to escape several times. The current disparity between the two families was big. If it weren’t for the fact that he had a more than ninety percent chance of giving birth to a child with an A1 mental power, and he himself was a programming genius, their family could never have reached the heights of the Bavis family. Each time he escaped was like a slap in the face to their family.
Bruno ordered the bodyguards to immediately investigate Tao Yuan’s whereabouts. No matter what, they had to find him and bring him back. And he decided that once they got him this time, he would lock him up and not allow him to go anywhere.
However, when Tao Yuan met with Mai Wei, the people sent by the Bavis family would not be able to find Tao Yuan and take him away, no matter what.
Tao Yuan originally thought that those people would take him aboard a civilian spacecraft to depart, but instead, they led him to a small-scale ship. A few hours later, he had already left the cosmic territory of the Nandi Kingdom.
Uncertain about where they were taking him, Tao Yuan spent several more hours traveling until they reached a certain planet. There, he was taken to the top floor of a very luxurious hotel.
As Tao Yuan walked in he saw the tall figure standing by the floor-to-ceiling window. He felt a mixture of relief and grievance. Just a dozen hours ago, he had been almost forced into marriage. Unfortunately, he couldn’t vent his grievances to this person yet.
Mai Wei turned around, observed Tao Yuan for a moment, and then said, “Have a seat.”
Tao Yuan walked over to the sofa and sat down, while Mai Wei also approached and took a seat on the sofa opposite him.
“You should be aware that the current relationship between your Nandi Kingdom and our Nanmeng Empire 1 is extremely tense. If you come and join us, you might be accused of treason. So, have you made up your mind to come and seek refuge with our Nanmeng Empire?” Mai Wei got straight to the point, asking the most important question without any unnecessary introduction.
“You’ve managed to bring me here so effortlessly. I believe you’ve already thoroughly investigated my situation. Being pushed to this extent, I couldn’t care less about which country or family. As long as someone can help me seek revenge, I’ll work for them,” Tao Yuan said expressionlessly.
“How can you make me believe that, while working for us, you won’t suddenly betray us? Or rather, how can I be sure you haven’t colluded with those people, using a ruse to infiltrate our side?” Mai Wei questioned, eyes scrutinizing.
“You can arrange for someone to monitor me continuously, or you can provide me with some drugs that will assure your peace of mind. I’m open to both,” Tao Yuan replied seriously.
“It seems you’re quite determined.” Mai Wei looked at Tao Yuan and said, “However, you should remember, about three years ago, because of the interference waves you caused, we lost over ten units of second-level military mechas.”
The original host was a genius in programming. He is not only good in mecha program development but also in various other types of programming. One could say he was an all-around talent in the field of programming. But such a talented individual was forced to death by those driven solely by self-interest.
The interference waves caused by the original host led to the Nanmeng Empire losing over ten mechas. A widely known incident within the empire. While they were aware of the existence of the original host, they didn’t know who exactly it was. Even Mai Wei had to conduct a special investigation based on the information provided by Tao Yuan to uncover the original host’s past.
“General Mai Wei, are you trying to settle old scores with me?” Tao Yuan looked at him and said, “Or do you want me to take responsibility for those ten or so mechas?”
“I didn’t mean it that way,” Mai Wei raised his hand and said. “What I meant is, three years have passed, have you made greater progress? Can you help us destroy more enemy mechas?”
“General, you can rest assured. I’ve made progress compared to before. It’s just that some things have happened in the past two years, and I had to conceal my true strength. As long as you can give me enough trust and agree to help me seek revenge, I will undoubtedly provide you with returns beyond your expectations.”
“I’ve already had this crystal card checked. If I agree to your conditions, when can you give me the complete program details?” Mai Wei asked.
“I can provide you with the complete program details in five days. But having just the program details isn’t enough. It requires debugging and subsequent modifications. To complete all the processes and truly put the program into action, it will take approximately half a month.”
“Only half a month?” Mai Wei questioned skeptically. “My people informed me that even with the completed program details, it would take at least two months before it could be formally put into operation.”
“I don’t like empty talk. I prefer proving things through actual actions. As long as you give me the opportunity to prove myself, I will show you,” Tao Yuan continued.
“Why do you know me?” Mai Wei asked.
“In the past, I had access to some classified documents,” Tao Yuan calmly lied. The original host had no idea who he was.
Mai Wei looked at Tao Yuan in silence for a moment, as if trying to look at his inner thoughts. Tao Yuan calmly maintained eye contact, and their gazes intertwined. Mai Wei noticed a complex and somewhat sorrowful emotion in Tao Yuan’s eyes, giving him an indescribable feeling.
According to General Mai Wei’s personality, he rarely easily trusted even those considered his own people, let alone someone like Tao Yuan who suddenly came to align himself. To trust him was a considerably risky behavior.
In truth, Tao Yuan was well aware that if it were someone else, he wouldn’t have the confidence to make them believe in him. But the person sitting in front of him was his lover. Even if Mai Wei didn’t completely trust him now, he would surely give him the opportunity to prove himself.
“I’ll change your identity and name, then take you back to the main star. I’ll arrange for you to work as a mecha maintenance technician. I hope you won’t disappoint me,” Mai Wei said. He didn’t know why, but he really liked Tao Yuan’s eyes. There was something beautiful about them, a feeling that made him want to treasure them in a special way.
“You can change any identity and surname. I don’t care about my previous identity anymore. But the name cannot be changed. No matter what I do in the future, no matter what achievements I make, I want to use my current name,” Tao Yuan said. He felt that the original host didn’t even want his life, so he probably wouldn’t care about the current identity. But the name represented the person, and Tao Yuan wanted to use that name to represent his continued existence. Whether his identity was exposed and criticized or he achieved significant success and received praise, he would always be Yi Yu.
After making a verbal agreement, and after reaching a consensus, Mai Wei directly took Tao Yuan back to the Nanmeng Empire’s main star.
Mai Wei’s father was one of the five Marshals with the highest military authority in the Nanmeng Empire, and Mai Wei himself was a general with significant power. So it was not difficult to arrange a new identity for Tao Yuan to become a mecha programmer.
After boarding the spacecraft, Tao Yuan was resting in the room. He closed his eyes to recuperate while contemplating the upcoming plans and how to proceed step by step.
Hearing the doorbell, Tao Yuan got up to answer it. He was unsurprised to find Mai Wei standing outside. Then he stepped aside to let him in.
“Is there something, General?” Tao Yuan closed the door and followed him, asking from behind.
Walking into the living room, Mai Wei turned to face him. “I’ve seriously considered it and decided that there’s no need to give you any medicine. Just wear this,” he said, showing Tao Yuan an object in his hand.
Tao Yuan glanced at the item and stretched out his hand.
Mai Wei grabbed his hand, sliding a transparent bracelet that resembles a communicator to Tao Yuan’s wrist. “Once you wear this bracelet, I can track your movements at any time, even observe what you’re doing. Only I can unlock this bracelet, and it also has some special functions set up inside. Hopefully, we won’t need to use them,” he explained.
Tao Yuan had long expected that he wouldn’t be given medication. When he wore the bracelet, he was indifferent. Still, because of what he had just said, he had to pretend to have some concerns.
“You mentioned being able to observe me at any time. What if I’m taking a shower? Will you be able to see that too?” Tao Yuan looked at him, intentionally feigning a worried expression.
“If you’re taking a shower, the bracelet will show humidity levels. As long as you don’t have any strange reactions during your shower, I won’t open it to check,” Mai Wei answered seriously. Showering was a highly personal and private matter. Mai Wei believed that, even if monitoring was necessary, a level of personal respect should be maintained. After all, they were in a cooperative relationship, and Mai Wei thought that if Tao Yuan was really capable, he hoped they could work together for a long time.
Tao Yuan nodded to express his understanding and then looked at Mai Wei, who had been holding his hand.
Following his gaze, Mai Wei immediately released his palm. However, the sensation that lingered in his hand made him involuntarily clench his fist, as if trying to hold onto it.
“General Mai Wei, if there’s anything in the future, do I communicate directly with you?” Tao Yuan asked, looking at him.
“For important matters, you can always contact me. I hope you won’t hide your abilities. In case your identity is exposed one day, only by showcasing your utmost value do I have a reason to continue keeping you and help you achieve what you want,” Mai Wei stated.
“For important matters, feel free to contact me. I hope you won’t hide your abilities. In case your identity is exposed one day, I only have a reason to keep you and help you achieve what you want if you showcase your utmost value,” Mai Wei reiterated.
“I understand.” Tao Yuan looked at him, expressing sincere gratitude. “Thank you, General Mai Wei. I will definitely repay you.”
Mai Wei looked into Tao Yuan’s eyes, an inexplicable feeling surging within him and remained silent for a long while.
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- 南盟帝国 Nán méng dìguó: South Alliance Empire [From here on out it is Nanmeng empire. It is different from Nandi Kingdom.] [↩]