It's Not Easy to Be a Man After Travelling to the Future

Compared to Li Lanfeng’s silent crisis, Li Shiyu’s crisis was more obvious. Although Li Shiyu had already touched upon the area of special-class operators, he still wasn’t a special-class operator in the end. At the same time, he was operating an advanced mecha that was weaker by one level. Not long after pairing off with a special-class operator, Li Shiyu was in a crisis.

Advanced mecha operators and special-class operators—although the difference between them wasn’t as large as ace operators and special-class operators, there was still some difference. This difference was magnified in battle. Li Shiyu couldn’t dodge once again and the opponent’s beam saber hit his mecha’s right arm with great force.

A force field instantly appeared and deflected the beam saber. Li Shiyu wiped away the cold sweat he had shed just now. He was rejoiced that he had asked Chang Xinyuan for some contraband before coming into the battlefield, especially the force field that was from the original team. It was also because the two of them had a very good relationship that Chang Xinyuan installed another one for him. On Li Shiyu’s mecha, both the left and right arms had one installed. It was the extra force field that saved him this time.

However, with Li Shiyu tricks on used up, his situations was becoming more and more dangerous.

Li Shiyu once again exhaustedly blocked three attacks from the opponent. The nervousness and using up all of his strength made his fingers shake uncontrollably. He felt the numbness and soreness coming from his fingers. Li Shiyu knew well that this was the result of overusing his fingers. He didn’t know how long he would be able to endure. It was possible that he would lose the ability to operate the mecha in the next second.

“I see. This is the capability of a special-class operator. Even though I’m close to advancing, the difference between me and my opponent is still huge. I probably can’t even block 50 hits. I’m not sure how many hits I’ve blocked up until now. Was it 30?”

Li Shiyu’s mind was now in chaos. The shadow of defeat made Li Shiyu anxious. In reality, Li Shiyu hadn’t hoped to win against the opponent, but he had thought that he would be able to endure for certain amount of time. He didn’t think that he had miscalculated the strength of special-class operators… this miscalculation would not only have be faced with the crisis of failure, but at the same time it would bring catastrophe to the others in the team.

Reality was very harsh. The captain went against three special-class operators, two of whom were captain-level mecha experts. Zhao Jun intercepting two top level special-class operators was already his limit. Li Lanfeng was also dragging his weak body and fighting the death against his two opponents. The others in the team were all using all their strength to fight with their opponents… If another enemy appeared, they would definitely break the team and destroy their last hope.

“I will take my teammates into the future and create countless moments of success and glory. I will not allow failure to appear. Senior Li, do you know what it means to fail in the battlefield? It means death! That is a result that we cannot accept!”

Li Shiyu suddenly remembered a time when Ling Lan was beating on the team members and almost took half their life spans. He had gone to find Ling Lan to find out why after he was given first aid and this was what Ling Lan had told him:

“If I’m harsh to them now, they’ll live longer in the future!” Ling Lan’s expression at the time was deeply serious. Even if she was blamed by them, she would not back down. Li Shiyu still remembers how they had parted on bad terms afterwards!

Li Shiyu always thought Ling Lan was too ruthless, training the team members as if they were enemies, his methods so brutal to the point of being unbearable to write them all down. Li Shiyu was against this, defied it even. This was also why he was the one who drank Ling Lan’s poisonous tea the least.

Now, however, Li Shiyu realized that his mistake was beyond wrong. Qi Long’s operating skills had been weaker than his own back then, but not only did he successfully advance to special-class operator as of present, he could also operate an advanced mecha and be on par with the opponent using a special-class mecha. Furthermore, Li Lanfeng, who could only endure 10 minutes of intense fighting before, had managed hang in there to this moment while being sandwiched by two people. Even though he was breathing heavily, he didn’t lose any ground against the opponents.

While everyone was successfully holding their opponents at bay, he was the only one losing. Other than being attacked without the chance to fight back, he was backed up into a corner. He could lose and be eliminated from the battle in the next second. It was even possible that because of his failure, the entire team would face extermination…

Li Shiyu was regretting it all in this moment. He didn’t regret that he went to battle as a special-class operator—he only regretted not joining Qi Long and the others in the beginning to accept Ling Lan’s brutal training regiment. Maybe then, the situation now would have turned out differently.

“Dodge!” Suddenly a scream went through the commlink channel of the team. Li Shiyu immediately woke up from his thoughts and saw the large sword of his opponent special-class operator almost about to strike his chest area. If he was hit by this, just with the opponent’s positioning, it would be either the mecha becoming half broken or being determined to be eliminated. No matter which outcome it was, it would be a nightmare for Ling Lan’s team either way.

A loud boom! This was the sound of cold weapons striking each other and not the sound of them hitting mechas. Everyone’s attack seemed to slow down in an unplanned unison where all their focus was on Li Shiyu.

They saw a special-class mecha appear bside Li Shiyu, and the large sword in its hand blocked the sword strike that was about to hit Li Shiyu.

“Lanfeng!” Li Shiyu looked at the person who saved him from trouble with surprise. His face was full of disbelief. The Li Lanfeng who couldn’t even protect himself actually came to his aid…

“Shiyu, don’t forget the promise you made to that certain someone!” Li Lanfeng said angrily. In order to save Li Shiyu, the angry Li Lanfeng had operated to his limit in an instant, causing damage to his body greatly. Blood dripped out of the corner of his mouth uncontrollably.

Those words of his were like thunder that struck Li Shiyu’s heart.

“Brother, what’s your dream?” A young Li Shiyu was looking at Li Mulan in front of him, teeming with respect. That unparalleled face that made him want to see but did not dare to look at made Li Shiyu’s little heart always beat intensely for a few beats.

Li Mulan smiled faintly making Li Shiyu smile as well. His face uncontrollably blushed and his heart beat faster uncontrollably once again. It was as though it would jump out of his chest the next second.

“Dreams, huh?” Li Mulan’s expression was a bit blank. He looked at the endless ocean outside of the window. “I really want to go out and see the world. What else could be out there other than this endless sea? I want to become an exceptional mecha operator even more. To be able to operate the mecha and fly freely in the stars… freedom… free…” Li Mulan’s expression was sad because this was a dream that he could never make into reality.

Li Shiyu felt a pain in his heart. He suddenly screamed out, “Brother, you can definitely do it. I will travel the world and help you find medicine that can cure your condition. Then you will be able to operate a mecha and become a mecha warrior.” The young Li Shiyu still didn’t know back then that a medicine that could cure his cousin did not exist in this world. He was merely thinking innocently that since they world was so big, he would eventually find medicine that would be effective.

Li Shiyu’s words made Li Mulan turn around, his eyes filled with tenderness. He took out his pale white hand, softly flicked Li Shiyu’s forehead and laughed, saying, “Alright, but if you want to travel the world, you have to become a strong mecha operator.”

Li Shiyu instantly thumped his own chest and said confidently, “Don’t worry, brother, I will definitely become the strongest mecha operator!”

“The strongest? That goal is pretty amazing. You’ll be going through a lot of hardships then. Are you not afraid?” Li Mulan smiled as he asked.

“I’m not afraid! I will definitely become the strongest mecha operator! Definitely!” Li Shiyu was worked up. Why did his eldest cousin brother not believe him? Was he someone that people couldn’t trust?

“Okay, I will wait until you become the strongest mecha operator. My future is in your hands,” Li Mulan responded while smiling. The strongest? Not everyone was Ling Xiao.

Li Shiyu felt his eldest cousin brother’s perfunctory attitude. He suddenly took out his tiny hand and said seriously, “Brother, let’s make a promise. When I become the strongest mecha operator, I will travel the world and find the medicine that can cure you.”

Li Mulan saw Li Shiyu’s serious expression and the casual smile he was wearing gradually vanished. A few seconds later he asked, “You really want to make a promise?”

Li Shiyu nodded forcefully. “We definitely have to make a promise. I, Li Shiyu, will do what I promise.”

Li Mulan stared at Li Shiyu earnestly. Li Shiyu met his eldest cousin brother’s eyes without hesitation, showing his seriousness.

Li Mulan finally smiled once again. He took out his right hand and said, “Okay, then let’s promise.”

Li Shiyu carefully formed an oath with Li Mulan and set their promise in motion… After many years, when he understood that there was no medicine in this world that could cure his eldest cousin brother, his thoughts changed. He entered the military medicine major in order to do self-research and create that medicine.

Yes, the promise from then was five years ago. It had been tossed aside into a corner and completely forgotten by him.

“The strongest mecha operator?” Li Shiyu clenched his fists, his eyes reddening. He had actually forgotten the promise he had made with his eldest cousin brother. He actually forgot!

“How can I lose here? How would I become the strongest mecha operator if I can’t even defeat the special-class mecha operator in front of me? How would I complete the promise I made with my eldest cousin brother…” Li Shiyu’s eyes instantly became clear. “Forget the mistakes of the past. If I lose, then it would be adding oil to fire. I will not allow it.”

Li Shiyu’s fingers suddenly danced around. With the emotion of regret, frustration and agitation, Li Shiyu’s fingers moved faster and faster. In the end, he broke through the limit of advanced mecha operators and his fingers seemed to be leaving behind afterimages. It was indeed the speed of special-class operators where the fingers reach shadow level.

“Bang!”

Li Shiyu blocked the sneak attack from the advanced mecha operator who was trying to hit Li Lanfeng. While Li Lanfeng was busy helping, intercepting and splitting his focus to face special-class operators’ attacks, from a undetected position, a sword was silently stabbed towards Li Lanfeng.

Li Shiyu, who woke up in a timely manner, blocked the almost effective hit in a timely manner.

“Bang!”

Another block. This time it was Li Lanfeng. He once again helped block Li Shiyu’s opponent’s attack. While Li Shiyu intercepted the advanced mecha and unable to take into account of other things around him, a sword attack came towards him from the opponent.

Li Shiyu and Li Lanfeng helped each other intercept attacks. The original one-on-one fights had now became a two-man cooperation. The two of them had never collaborated before, but at this time, as if it they had a surprising mutual understanding of each other. This made their three opponents helpless to do anything to them in that moment.

Li Shiyu went through dangers and more dangers, making it out of his biggest crisis. The situation was once again stable. However everyone knew that the stalemate would only last for a moment. It would definitely be broken eventually, but it was merely unknown as to whether Ling Lan’s team or the allied battle team was going to break the stalemate.