silence and stars

Time seemed to speed up suddenly.Before Leo came back to his senses, the first year of university had passed.He and Teddy met on the last day of the Poseidon holiday, at Teddy's place.It was a rare mild weather, and the windows facing the Avenue of Horus were open. It seemed that there was a concert in the small square a hundred meters away, and the dense drumbeats and bursts of human voices could be clearly heard.

Inside, Teddy was eagerly unwrapping Leo's birthday present.He peeled off the inner protective film and guessed: "Coyote? It seems to be shorter, CoyoteLite?"

"Can I send you the Lite?" Leo laughed. "This is the out-of-print original DireWolf, and the later Coyote is based on this design. You see there is a number on the barrel, just one batch, until now It is estimated that there are not many of them."

"Hey, antique!" Teddy looked at the gun over and over again, excited, "Thank you so much!"

"Just like it!" Leo was also very happy.As he and Teddy got older, their interests diverged.He himself always liked dealing with people, but Teddy became more and more focused on things.Of course, the friendship of more than ten years will not be changed because of this little difference. They still meet regularly, exchange each other's life status, and think of each other when they are in trouble, but it is undeniable that the things they pursue are obviously different. .Maybe this is the sadness of growing up, watching the partners who had a tacit understanding go further and further in another direction, and at the same time realizing that all companionship is temporary, and no one can stand by each other all the time.

Still, Leo wished Teddy the best of luck on his path.Whenever they get excited about the same thing, Leo will be very happy, just like going back to his childhood.

Teddy handed over a glass of drink, and Leo held the spoon and stirred the dark green paste suspiciously: "What is this?"

"Fitness meals, I have been eating them for more than ten days. This is the recipe I got from the coach. I plan to participate in this year's Ring Triathlon." Teddy said.

Leo pinched his nose and took a sip, and found that the taste was not bad, but it looked too disgusting. "You don't eat this three times a day, do you?"

"Only for dinner."

Leo complained: "It's terrible, I have to do mental preparation before I swallow it. Triathlons are long-distance running, flying shooting and what?"

"Obstacle diving, that's what I did. I made my own diving suit and tried it on during the competition."

Leo almost looked at him with admiration: "You designed it yourself? I didn't see that you still have this ability."

Teddy smiled: "I can't compare to you. Let me tell you, in the Kubus semi-final at the end of last year, a bunch of supporters of Lehr Business School popped out of nowhere on the Mount of Olives, all for you. If you work harder and win a championship or something, your appeal will be comparable to that of Atlas."

"Hahahaha!"

He sat down opposite Leo, and sighed: "Myron is really strong. From this point of view, he is not at the same level as others. Why doesn't he play professional games?"

Leo said: "Injuries, there is no way. For him, the college league can only be regarded as play, and the intensity and density of professional games are completely different. His training time has to be strictly controlled, and he will definitely not be able to play professional games. Our new This season, I plan to change the formation to play two Raiders, and I will partner with Myron so that he can return to the position he is best at."

"I think you two snipers almost mean it."

"The two of them have graduated and left, and the replacement is called a job. It depends on whether there is a suitable person among this year's freshmen." Leo shook his head, drank the green paste in the cup, and continued: "You know, Joe Nas Merman bought a piece of land next to the main campus and donated it to the school to build a new Kubbs Hall." He saw Teddy stand up and quickly covered his cup: "I don't want it anymore!"

"Okay. Jonas Merman also graduated from Lear Business School?"

"correct."

Teddy frowned and said, "Don't go into that new building in the future, maybe he's messed with something inside."

Leo sneered: "How do you do it, secretly develop a biological tracking system that is not subject to the "Privacy Act", just wait for me to go in and trigger it? Or send two people to squat in the locker in the locker room and wait for me? Are you heading towards the horse?" In order to evolve in the direction of Captain Si, predict various disasters and accidents every day, and beware of meteorites falling from the sky and hit his head, Leo said with a smile, "It wasn't built by Jonas Merman himself, he just paid for it.There will be an inauguration ceremony in a few days, and he will come to give a speech. "

"You must not go!"

"Hey, let me say that you have persecution paranoia! Can he pull out a gun and kill me in public? The group of people surnamed Merman are shrewd. The 143 bombing was the last time they made a public move , and then several times after that, they were wiped clean. The two bartenders in the Bolero bar attack were killed on the spot, and there was no way to confess who was behind the scenes. There were several suspicious incidents later. Find out what happened, and finally let it go." Leo sighed.

Teddy said darkly: "They would rather not do anything than risk leaving a clue. What kind of shit is this, when will it be the end..."

"Probably wait until Jonas Merman dies of old age. Or if a meteorite actually falls from the sky and hits him, he will be completely at peace."

"Wait a minute, Ellie Lin is on your side, right? What he's doing in the fleet is good for you now, isn't it?"

Leo nodded.

"That's good. If you are not in the same camp, you will be even more useless."

Leo turned his head and glared at him: "Why are you not likable at all when you talk? Let's have a 'more'..."

Teddy said frankly: "I thought you would meet someone when you went to college, and then forget about him. It's no use in any way, it's really better to give up as soon as possible-pass the glass. Oh, I know you don't drink That's it, bring it here, and I'll pour you a cup of tea."

"I really want to hit you with this cup." Leo gritted his teeth.

The new year begins with a heinous storm.After heavy rain for several days, there was a drainage failure in Leo's small garden downstairs, and the heating facilities on the ground also stopped working. When he found out, all the plants were soaked in the cold water, leaving only The lower shrub hedge was alive.

In the school, looking out from the No. 4 teaching building where Leo spends most time, the new Kubus building is particularly bright after being washed by the rain.On the day of the inauguration of the new building, Leo did meet Jonas Merman himself.As the donor of the new building, he came to the school to give a speech, with neatly combed hair, deep eye sockets, hooked nose, wearing an impeccable suit, standing on the podium and waving to the students.

The buzz of chatting in the audience disappeared, and the applause sounded less enthusiastic, with a hint of perfunctory.Everyone was asked to be here.

Jonas Merman speaks in a haughty, sure voice, slow and obnoxious.But it was what he said that really caused discomfort.

"...Kubs has symbolized human beings' exploration and conquest of extraterrestrial space since its birth. More than a hundred years ago, driven by the joint immigration plan, Kubus has gradually become the most popular sport. In a low-gravity space of 100×100×100m, contestants must rely on physical fitness, will, skill and teamwork to defeat their opponents. Almost unlimited resources, and the quality required in this process is exactly the same as the requirements of Kubbs's sport." He paused for a few seconds and scanned the audience.

Leo frowned.Every sentence of Jonas Merman's is fine when viewed separately, but it is awkward when connected together.Leo himself also likes Kubus, but he doesn't feel that this sport symbolizes "reproduction" and "conquest" as he said.For Leo, it's pure sport.

Jonas Merman continued: "...the newly completed Kubbs Pavilion will become part of his alma mater and accompany everyone present to spend their wonderful university years. What Lear Business School gave me many years ago is a lifetime We are four immigrants from the moment Ernst Merman led the first generation of immigrants to land in Anson The most special one on the planet, as the orthodox successor of the joint immigration plan, we have always—”

"It's disgusting," Cassia sneered next to Leo, "he's ashamed to say that two of the four immigrant planets are Anson's rebels, and Ernst Merman is an indecisive idiot. He didn't even notice when he formed an army. Which big hole in Anson's history was not dug by their surnamed Merman, how could he have the face to speak out here!"

Cassia didn't lower her voice at all, and several people around heard it and laughed.

Leo said in a low voice: "Jonas Merman is 53 years old. He'd better hurry up and make some achievements to comfort his ancestors. It's not enough to do a little damage. You have to do something big to deserve it." Such a glorious surname. It was not easy for Ernst Merman to do those things back then. It was not enough to rely on stupidity alone. You had to have resources, IQ, and courage, and you had to match a series of decision-making mistakes, and then withstand the pressure Stick to it."

Cassia was lying on the back of the front seat laughing; Jonas Merman was still chattering on stage for another 10 to [-] minutes before finally reaching the questioning session.

The people up front were asking innocuous questions until someone said, "I thought it was interesting that you mentioned 'the orthodox successor to the United Immigration Program'. As the successor to Ernst Merman, what do you think of Anson Relationship with the old world?"

Jonas Merman replied without thinking: "It is dangerous and useless to artificially split history. We can never deny where we came from and what we have experienced to get to where we are today. Even if Anson broke away from the political level The United Immigration Program, whose impact on us at every level still cannot be ignored—”

"Your statement is very realistic." Leo stood up and said loudly.The spotlight directed to the questioner turned from the questioner just now to him, and his voice was amplified and transmitted to every corner of the venue. "Someone in Anson really inherited the essence of the joint immigration plan, such as manipulating the fleet as private property, and the tradition of relentless foreign enemies and insisting on internal strife."

The audience was in an uproar, and Ursula turned around and gave Leo a thumbs-up in the first few rows, taking the lead in applauding.Cassia whistled loudly.Jonas Merman looked at him in astonishment, as if he didn't immediately recognize who he was.

Leo continued: "——If everyone can think about what Anson has gone through to get to where he is today, as you said, probably they will not regard consolidating their status and making money as more important than Anson's safety gone."

There was no doubt that Jonas Merman recognized him now.But amidst the applause and laughter of the students in the business school, he didn't say anything, but watched Leo sit down with a gloomy expression.

Leo clearly knew the consequences of these words: first, it would be interpreted by the group of sensitive media as "Prince Leo publicly accused the Merman Group of interfering in the fleet"; second, he would be taught a lesson by Ird's advisory group Three days and three nights; on the third, Ellie Lin would see this scene.