The newcomer was a soldier because he was also wearing a uniform.
The Norse Empire's military uniform had a strong John Deacon style to it. The combat uniform was a very retro suit with a tight collar, a short jacket, and a pair of tall combat boots. The entire uniform was khaki in color.
If this military uniform was worn by Ding Meng, it would definitely look out of place because Ding Meng's figure would not be able to achieve such an effect. However, the soldier in front of him was completely different. He was tall, handsome, and had a smile on his face. This smile looked a little cynical, but it also felt very friendly.
After all, there were only a few people who could make Ding Meng smile happily, and Xin Jie was one of them.
The restaurant's lighting was also khaki, and the two of them looked at each other under the soft light. Ding Meng noticed the golden cross inlaid on Xin Jie's uniform, and he could not help but speak first. "I didn't expect you to have already become a flight sergeant."
Xin Jie smiled and said, "But I'd rather go to the Christine Academy and be a free student."
Ding Meng also smiled. He did not ask how Xin Jie knew his identity, nor did he ask about Xin Jie's experiences during this period of time. For people like them, as long as they could see each other alive and well, that was enough.
Of course, there were still some changes. In the few months that they had not seen each other, Xin Jie had become even more handsome. Even Ding Meng, who usually did not pay much attention to his appearance, had to admit that Xin Jie was really handsome now. When he stood in the middle of the light, all the exquisite furnishings in the restaurant became a foil to him.
"Your shoes are nice," Ding Meng suddenly said.
Xin Jie was not wearing combat boots, but a pair of shiny black leather shoes. Even though he had joined the military, this man still seemed to adhere to his principles: You can break your head, but your hair must not be messed up; you can bleed, but your shoes must be polished.
Therefore, he gave Ding Meng a thumbs up. "Your taste is still so unique. I polish my shoes every day, Zebra brand shoe polish."
After saying that, the two of them burst into laughter. Ding Meng had not been so happy for a long time. Although he had not known Xin Jie for more than a day, as long as he saw Xin Jie, especially that complacent, confident, cunning and weird smile of Xin Jie, Ding Meng felt a sense of familiarity.
The two of them sat facing each other. Xin Jie fiddled with the menu. "Do you want steak?
My treat. "
Ding Meng thought back to when they first met over a steak. Now that Xin Jie mentioned the two words' steak ', Ding Meng felt exceptionally close to him, but he still had some doubts. "Don't tell me, you're also participating in this mission?"
"You're such a killjoy. It's such a waste not to eat the good food, but to talk about business."
Xin Jie sighed and then turned on his wristwatch. The face of a middle-aged man appeared on the screen.
Ding Meng had seen this man before. During the space chase with Baines, the one who saved the two of them in the end was this officer — the commander of the patrol fleet.
Xin Jie said, "Major Thunderous Battle, the commander of the patrol fleet numbered NX3DDT51. He's also my commanding officer now. We were rescued because of him, but this time, I took the initiative to ask him to pilot this Songqing exploration ship."
Ding Meng nodded. "It seems that the fleet that sent us here was also numbered this way."
Xin Jie switched the screen, and an interstellar map rose from the dining table. The map was not big, and it showed the star fields around the TCP121 nebula.
"Do you have any impression of it?" Xin Jie asked.
Ding Meng could only shake his head. His memory was good, but such images were everywhere in space. How could he have any impression of it?
Xin Jie sighed. "It seems that you really don't know anything."
Xin Jie switched the map again and continued to ask, "Then you will definitely have an impression of this place."
The map changed again. This time, it showed a large brown star. Around it, there were five suns of different colors orbiting it. The five colors were: azure blue, fiery red, brownish yellow, lavender, and milky white.
Not only did Ding Meng have an impression of this place, but it was also very memorable. The planet where the Black Gold Base was located was in this strange and terrifying star system.
The screen changed again. The star system shrank, and the entire map was enlarged. Starting from the TCP121 nebula, a straight line crossed space, and its destination was the star system where the Black Gold Base was located. There was a green cursor flashing on the straight line, and the data showed that it was very close to its destination.
Xin Jie pointed at the green dot and said, "These are the coordinates of our spaceship right now."
"This is the destination of this mission?" Ding Meng could not help but ask.
"Yes!"
Xin Jie answered affirmatively. "As the pilot of the spaceship, I am definitely the first to know the destination of the mission."
Ding Meng took a deep breath. "But why are you so sure that I have been to this place before?"
Xin Jie sighed. "Do you still remember the Swordfish transport ship of Xing Da Corporation?
I recalled the route later. The flight path that the Falcon Spaceship used to chase us is exactly the same as the route that we are taking now. It's just that the direction is different. We are now flying in the opposite direction, and this trajectory has not changed at all. The coordinates, route, angle, and space, the error is not more than 0.005%. Don't tell me you don't know what this error rate means? "
Ding Meng, of course, knew. This error rate meant that the Swordfish spaceship had taken off from a planet in this star system, and the probability of it was more than 99.995%.
Suddenly, Ding Meng fell silent. He did not know whether to cry or laugh, whether to regret or to rejoice. In any case, he could not describe his feelings at this moment.
Sometimes, fate loved to joke around. Back then, he had risked his life and tried his best to escape from Black Gold Base. How many lives had been lost in the process?
Although most people did not die because of him, Little Four had always made him unable to let go. That bracelet was still on him, and he had never thrown it away even when he was so poor.
Now, in order to avoid the pursuit of the Surprise Mercenary Group, he had no choice but to leave planet TT12. God knew that this mission would send him back to Black Gold Base, and the bracelet would be sent back to its original place. Did this mean that his hope would be destroyed again?
For those who tried their best to survive, fate was sometimes really like an endless net. The more you struggled, the tighter it would be, until you could no longer struggle.
As for the bold words like "Man can conquer nature" or "My life is in my own hands", they were all shouted by those ignorant and fearless brats. If you put him in Black Gold Base for a year and a half, would he still dare to shout like that?
Xin Jie stared at his uncertain expression and said word by word, "What did you steal from them?"
Ding Meng came back to his senses and sighed. "Actually, I didn't steal anything."
"I can see that." Xin Jie nodded. "You don't have the potential to be a thief."
Ding Meng asked curiously, "Why do you say that?"
Xin Jie said meaningfully, "How can you be hunted down for such a long distance after stealing something?
A real thief always comes and goes without a trace, leaving no trace at all for the enemy. "
Ding Meng laughed involuntarily. "If I'm lucky enough this time, I'll definitely ask you to teach me how to steal things in the future."
Xin Jie said lightly, "Your luck has always been good. Think about how you were saved in that situation last time. One is bound to have good fortune after surviving a disaster."
If it weren't for Xin Jie's "incredible evasion" last time, Ding Meng would have died five times over. However, he still sighed and said, "It's just a pity that this thing can't be shaken off once it's tainted. That's the problem."
Xin Jie remained silent. In fact, he also had a faint bad feeling. Back then, the enemy had chased after them for thousands of miles in an airship. Even though they were right under the nose of the Imperial Fleet, they still tried to kill them. Just based on this, Ding Meng would be in a lot of trouble.
If the trouble last time came from the Federation, then this time, it came from the Empire. Some things didn't make sense just by thinking about it. Even a colonel from the military was paying attention to this mission, and the people executing it were a bunch of inexperienced students. This meant that the thing on Ding Meng's body had too many implications. Perhaps it was a whirlpool of death, and those who got sucked into it wouldn't have a good ending.
Xin Jie suddenly said coldly, "Don't worry. I can't afford to offend someone like you. I won't accompany you to your death."
His tone was cold, and his expression was not good. However, Ding Meng felt a long-lost warmth at this moment.
He did not know Xin Jie very well, but he understood Xin Jie's behavior.
Back then, he had unintentionally released the half-dead Xin Jie from the hibernation pod and gave him a plate of steak, pulling Xin Jie back from the clutches of the grim reaper. However, Xin Jie had also saved his life from a hail of bullets more than once. Now that he saw his name on the mission list, Xin Jie volunteered to be the flight pilot for this mission.
Some people's hearts could not be seen from their appearance. Their hearts were often expressed through concrete actions. At least, Xin Jie's appearance on this ship was enough to explain many things. At the very least, he was paying attention to Ding Meng.
Ding Meng could not help but sigh. "I owe you again."
"You don't owe me."
Xin Jie waved his hand and said, "I just find it strange. Why are you students so bold?"
Ding Meng frowned and said, "We are bold?"
Xin Jie glanced at him, his eyes full of ridicule. "You know almost nothing about the time, place, reason, specific details, and other elements of this mission, but you dare to accept it rashly. That Qu Xiaoqing is not simple. Do you have a crush on her?
Is that why you followed me? "
Ding Meng laughed self-deprecatingly and said, "Do I have the right to have a crush on her?"
Xin Jie also laughed. "So, it seems that you have received a bribe from her?"
"You can understand it that way."
Ding Meng thought of the ancient sword. "She is my classmate at Christine's school, and she is also my sparring customer at the martial arts school. Is our relationship clear enough?"
Xin Jie turned off the wristwatch and stood up. "Haha, it's almost time. Come with me to the command cabin. Your classmate may have arrived before you."