Chapter 10: Unhappy Cary
Cillin did not give an immediate reply towards Dias’ invitation to join his squad. Dias was not in a hurry either; both parties needed an understanding process in between as this would be beneficial for their rapport in the future.
Everyday, Cary would pester Cillin about the benefits of joining the squad. Cary wasn’t one to be stingy with passion towards a capable person, and he was also a combat maniac. He would often drag Cillin to the training room to spar.
Since it was a spar, naturally both sides did not use what they would normally employ to kill people, but even then, Cary was still very happy with the fights. Cillin’s boxing style was something that he had never seen before. Not only was it flexible, it also carried with it a strange atmosphere. Be it forceful or gentle; peaceful or deadly, it could change instantly to Cillin’s whim.
Although Cillin was a B rank genotype, Cary would not purposely go easy on him either. This was because Cillin had the power to go up against an A rank genotype human. At the same time, Cillin had learned quite a bit himself while training with Cary. Being exposed to different fighting styles was greatly beneficial for self improvement, and while they were training, Cary had told him a lot of combat experience and provided examples. After all, Cary had far more experience than Cillin as a Hunter.
For a squadron that often traveled between sectors, their combat personnel must know how to dogfight. Even if they weren’t good at it, they had to learn at the very least the basic controls.
The cost of a good fighter was too high, so Dias would not allow Cary to drive one out for fun. And since he wasn’t allowed to drive one Cary dragged Cillin to the fighter battle platform on the computer instead. Although it wasn’t as enjoyable as the real thing, the simulation was still good enough that they could go at each other nicely for a few rounds.
At first, Cillin was unfamiliar with the vehicle. Although he had experience with hoverboards and triphibian flying cars on Planet Brown Earth, he had never really come into contact with a fighter before. Cary had won the first few rounds, but in less than five rounds, Cary began to lose, and every defeat was faster and more miserable than the last. Every time, Cary would request to change to a different type of mech before they began competing again, and the cycle of victory to utter defeat would renew once more.
Later on, Cary would still lose miserably even after they had changed to a new fighter.
“That guy isn’t human!”
After yet another defeat, Cary logged out of the online battle platform and complained while scratching his messy hair.
“Do you need me to comfort you?” A voice rang out. He sounded like he had just woken up.
Cillin looked over. A thin and tall young man about Cary’s age wearing a sleepwear with a strawberry picture on it and snow white plush slippers were looking at them curiously.
Was he a childish spirit? It was hard to imagine that there would be someone dressed up like this on this ship.
When Cary heard the voice, he wore a constipated look and kept silent. But anyone could see that he was feeling blue from the twitching of his facial muscles, because there would definitely be nothing good coming out of the voice owner’s mouth.
Did the fucker finish catching up on his sleep already? The fuck is he hanging around here for if he has nothing to do!
“Eh, you’re awake, Eudy?” Beaver said towards Eudy standing at the entryway when he walked in from the outside, then turned around and looked at Cillin while laughing rather smugly at Cary, “Cillin, you won again? You’re improving really quickly I see. The Lieutenant is looking for you; he wants you to go the control room for a moment.”
Cillin nodded towards Eudy and greeted him once before leaving along with Beaver; leaving Eudy and Cary behind to glare at each other.
“So he’s the Cillin the Lieutenant was talking about.” Eudy looked right at Cary, “Judging from his reflexes and body coordination, and the level of control he has towards fighters; and combining that with some of the information I heard earlier, I have come to the conclusion...”
Cary covered his ears, “I’m not listening I’m not listening!”
“That he went easy on you in the match just now.”
“...”
Cary had the impulse to strangle this bastard Eudy to death.
You call this comfort?! Is this comfort?!
Eudy scratched his head, yawned and walked out of the door. Before he left, he didn’t forget to leave behind a line that pissed off Cary so much he almost spewed blood, “You’re so shit.”
“Euuuuuuuuuuudyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy I’M GOING TO KILL YOU!”
Sounds of fighting rang out from the battle room. Dough stopped its footsteps towards the battle room, turned around and escaped. There were two dangerous people inside and when they fought, it was easy to be involved as an unwilling victim.
Cillin’s sleep time had been increasing lately, and other than the times where he was pulled away by Cary to the battle platform for a few rounds of battle, the rest of his time were spent on eating and sleeping only.
At first, Dias and the others had thought that it was natural to rest since a lot of mental work exhausted one’s energy. Eudy was one such example who would sleep for a period of time after making a large amount of calculations.
But that explanation was quickly rejected because Cillin was just too good at sleeping. Even when he didn’t fight Cary, he would still sleep like his life depended on it and there were signs that his sleeping time was growing longer and longer. The amount of time he used his brain and the amount of time he slept was completely out of proportion. Dias had let the doctor on the ship to examine Cillin before, and the results was that Cillin was extremely healthy and that he could not explain why Cillin slept so much. Cillin himself had expressed that it had something to do with his own constitution.
Dias was so worried about Cillin’s sleeping ‘phenomenon’ that he had saggy bags under his eyes. Originally, he was planning to recommend Cillin to join the squad after he had reconvened with the other members of the Sixth B Squadron, but some of the other lieutenant commanders had held an opinion against Dias in the first place. If it wasn’t for the fact that the Sixth Squad’s Commander, Shawton, was Dias’ elder brother, his own position as a lieutenant commander would be at risk. Adding Cillin’s lethargic situation into the mix; it might not be easy to convince them to accept Cillin into the main force.
The competition between the ten Vanguard B Squadrons were growing more and more intense, and the A Squadrons were already implementing a series of measures in order to surpass the other three Hunter regiments. Shawton did not explain any specifics to him, but Dias knew that the Sixth B Squadron was in urgent need for expansion and achievements. The current difficulty they faced was a shortage of talent, which was also why Dias was so eager for Cillin to stay.
“You are a Hunter, aren’t you Cillin?” Although it was a question, Dias had said this with a tone of certainty.
Cillin knew that Dias must have investigated him background already, but as long as the matter of the strange chip and Genya remained hidden, Cillin was fine with it. Moreover, Cillin believed that they would at most discover Cillin’s false identity and memory card, and anything before that would be largely conjectures. No one could have imagined that Cillin could alter his appearance from the roots of his DNA.
“Yes, but I was just a Shadow Hunter passing my days in a small planet.” The stray Hunters muddling about every day was nothing compared to a Hunter regiment, but Cillin saw no reason to feel inferior or run away from his past.
Dias let out a sigh, “I don’t care what you did in the past. As long as your character is fine and your strength is commendable, then I will welcome you with open arms. You’ve been on the ship for quite a few days, and you are familiar with how we operate already. As compared to the other three Hunter regiments, we Vanguards act far more freely, which was also why our captain had named our starships as ‘Free Fleets’.”
Seeing that Cillin was silent, Dias continued, “The universe is huge, and this endless space is every Hunter’s dream.”
But this dream needs a bedrock, or it will be impossible to sustain. A stray Hunter could never come into contact with this boundless domain, and only by joining a Hunter regiment can one go further and higher than ever before. A single person’s strength is limited after all.
Cillin understood all of the things that Dias had left out from his speech, plus joining a Hunter regiment was beneficial in seeking out the Gen Family Genya had mentioned as well. After the get-along period, Cillin was rather satisfied with the atmosphere of the Sixth Squad. He really looked forward to explore the field of stars that appeared within reach, yet ever mysterious.
“What do I need to do?” Cillin looked towards Dias.
That sentence was a clear expression of Cillin’s decision, and it dissolved much of the depression that had inflicted Dias for the past time. As long as Cillin had made up his mind to join the team, then Dias would do his absolute best to face those annoying Lieutenant Commanders.
“It’ll be fine as long as you’ve given your word. There’s no need to worry too much; I am here. Who else is the Lieutenant Commander but me?” Dias had put Cillin’s ‘sleep disorder’ at the back of his head and focused on thinking up countermeasures after they met up with the rest of the Sixth Squad.