The Counterattack Plan of A Villain With Ten Thousand Fans - Chapter 153 (Patreon)

Chapter 153

Under the spotlight, Tang's company's press conference officially kicked off with much fanfare.

Ling Chunann opted out of the hustle, choosing to watch the live broadcast from the impeccably clean house arranged by the prince, while Nole busied himself in the kitchen. Recently, he had taken up learning new dishes, seemingly determined to fatten Ling Chunann up a bit.

098 said, "Host, I still haven't figured out why Nole had the courage to hold the press conference." The failure of the experiment was a foregone conclusion. Normally, it would be impossible to proceed with the press conference, especially to broadcast it live and with such high profile.

Ling Chunann did not respond; his communicator rang. It was Marui's voice, whom he hadn't seen for a long time, coming through, "Ah Chen, Ah Chen! Are you home?"

"Just a second, I'll come to open the door." Ling Chunann got up from the couch, put on his shoes, straightened his slightly disheveled robe, and strode to the door.

"Ah Chen, long time no see."

As the door opened, Marui, who had not slimmed down, stood at the doorway, smiling brightly at Ling Chunann. Then he turned and waved at Karlode standing behind him, "Come on, what are you waiting for?"

After graduation, Karlode also joined the imperial army and lost contact with Ling Chunann. However, his relationship with Marui had warmed up, and they got along well. If it weren't for 098 frequently noticing Karlode's enduring fondness for Ling Chunann, it might have thought he had moved on.

Karlode stepped forward and smiled at Ling Chunann, "Long time no see."

"Yes, come in." Ling Chunann made way for them.

"Baby, who's come?" Nole's voice came from inside the house. The expressions of Marui and Karlode stiffened simultaneously, though for Marui it was shock—knowing about Ling Chunann and Nole being together was one thing, but seeing it was another. Karlode's expression was more complex.

"Two old friends." Ling Chunann called back into the house and then glanced at the two, "Why are you still standing?"

Finally coming to his senses, Marui said, "Oh, oh," and pushed Karlode, who was still dazed, "Go in."

Ling Chunann pointed to the sofa, "Sit wherever you like."

Once the two were seated, Ling Chunann brought up the press conference stream.

Marui perked up, "I came here to talk to you about this, Ah Chen. I've checked the mecha parameters released by Tang's company. Their mecha is clearly based on your designs from a few years ago. Though not as aesthetically pleasing as yours, the core design and even the materials used are from your designs. This is obvious plagiarism. Just give the word, and I'll come forward to accuse them!" He tugged at Karlode's sleeve, "Say something! Weren't you the most outraged before?"

Then, under their gaze, Karlode simply hummed in agreement.

The atmosphere turned awkward just as the live broadcast started.

At the press conference venue, the large hall was bustling with people, each one wearing a look of anticipation.

The chairman of Tang's company, beaming with joy, cleared his throat, "Welcome, distinguished guests and media friends, to our company's new mecha launch."

"Surely everyone already knows the name of our mecha, 'Starlight,' symbolizing that it will become an indispensable part of every interstellar citizen's life from now on. The era of mecha democratization sets sail today!"

"Please welcome our chief mecha designer—Pran—to explain the operation and features of this mecha."

Nole, with a gentle smile, raised his hand to signal for quiet, then with a wave, a silver mecha appeared on the previously empty podium.

To Ling Chunann and 098, this mecha looked crude compared to Ling Chunann's War God and Nole's Lantia, but it was still considered exceptionally refined in the current empire's mecha design standards. The audience showed expressions of surprise.

Looking around, pride flickered in Nole's eyes, but he maintained his gentle smile and began to explain the mecha's capabilities.

At this moment, Nole came up to Ling Chunann, wrapped an arm around his shoulder, and Ling Chunann leaned into him, embodying 098's description of becoming boneless whenever men were around, utterly languid.

Unsurprisingly, the features Nole described were exactly the ones Ling Chunann had initially set for Lantia, almost perfectly replicated.

Until the end, Marui couldn't pinpoint any differences from Ling Chunann's designs, watching Nole's smiling face, Marui was so angry he almost smashed his cup, "I've lived so long and never

 seen anyone so shameless! No, I must expose him, this is too disgraceful! Ah Chen, just say the word, I..." Then he suddenly noticed Nole behind Ling Chunann and stopped abruptly.

It took Marui a while to muster a weak, "Nole, teacher."

Ling Chunann, who had been yawning, laughed, "I didn't expect you'd still be so afraid of him after all these years."

"I, I'm not, I just, respect, yes, I just respect teacher Nole." Marui reflexively retorted, but didn't dare to look in that direction.

Ling Chunann glanced at Karlode, who seemed lost in thought from the beginning, then said with a half-smile to Marui, "Yes, yes, respect."

Marui: "…"

"Since you're so eager, help me with one more thing," Ling Chunann said.

"What's that?"

"Book me a 'Starlight.'"

Marui was taken aback, "What?? You want one of their mechas?" His expression said 'are you out of your mind,' but he quickly adjusted, laughing, "Sure, I'll get one for you right away." As a rival company, they were among the first batch of customers to preorder Tang's new mecha, but if Ling Chunann wanted one, Marui naturally wouldn't hold back.

After the live stream, Marui and the silent Karlode left together, declining Ling Chunann's lunch invitation.

Especially Marui, who ran off as if chased by something invisible.

"Why didn't you ask me about the mecha?" Nole inquired after the uninvited guests left.

Ling Chunann glanced at him, "Any objections?"

"None." The man nuzzled into Ling Chunann's neck and whispered in his ear, "Whatever baby decides is right."

Feeling the evident excitement beneath him, Ling Chunann glared and hissed, "Beast."

The promised mecha from Marui arrived that afternoon, but Ling Chunann had no time to check it until the next afternoon, when he finally made his way to the living room, pulling out the package's spatial button and heading to the mecha room.

Facing the mecha, Ling Chunann said, "098, scan."

"Yes, host." 098 promptly got to work and five minutes later, it suddenly screamed, "Host! This mecha is alive!"

"What do you mean?"

098 paused again, "It seems to have disappeared. Strange, I clearly sensed life fluctuations inside the mecha just now, and now they're gone? But this doesn't make sense, even if a mecha has artificial intelligence, it shouldn't have life fluctuations."

"Ah, right, Host, the test results for the mecha's parameters are out, and there are no discrepancies from my previous calculations. Moreover, with this design, the main control system couldn't possibly facilitate manual operation." 098 was very confident in this result.

Ling Chunann nodded, then walked towards the mecha.

"Host, what are you doing?" 098 sounded uneasy, "I think this mecha is peculiar, it's best if you don't pilot it."

"It's fine, I just want to try." Ling Chunann answered from inside the mecha's cockpit.

A light screen appeared in front of Ling Chunann.

[Connecting to psychic power.]

[Connection complete. Welcome to using the Starlight Series 0030 mecha. Would you like to bind it as your mecha?]

Ling Chunann chose no.

[Welcome to the test drive of 0030. Please select a control mode: psychic control, manual control.]

His finger hovered over psychic control before selecting manual.

Then, the light screen disappeared, and in front of Ling Chunann was the mecha's control console, which was much simpler than those of standard mechas. It took Ling Chunann only a few minutes to figure it out.

Just as he maneuvered the mecha to take a few steps, 098 suddenly spoke up, "Host, it has appeared again!"

"Hmm, I feel it." Ling Chunann stopped his movements, looked at the control console, then at his fingers, a thoughtful look in his eyes. He didn't continue testing and instructed 098, "Check who Nole has been in contact with recently, or if anyone around him has been acting unusually."

"Right away, Host."

Seeing Ling Chunann emerge from the mecha so quickly, Nole, who had been waiting outside, approached, "Baby, is there something wrong with the mecha?"

Ling Chunann hummed in response, giving the man a glance, "You take a look."

Nole nodded and entered the mecha. After a few seconds, the mecha moved slightly and then stopped. Not long after, Nole came out and spread his hand open to Ling Chunann. In his palm lay a crystal-clear tiny insect, about the size of a little finger, seemingly dead. Seeing Ling Chunann look over, he explained, "This creature is called Guhuan, the most mysterious race of the insectoid species. It's known as a phantom insect because it doesn't have a fixed form while alive. The reason it's called Guhuan now is that this type of insect was supposed to have gone extinct a thousand years ago."

"But now it's appeared inside this mecha." Especially in this mecha, which claims to be accessible to all interstellar citizens, this is obviously an insectoid conspiracy. Nole frowned, then suddenly turned to Ling Chunann, "Baby, you might have saved the entire human empire."

Ling Chunann raised an eyebrow, "So, are they going to give me a medal next?"

Nole also laughed, leaning in to kiss Ling Chunann's lips gently, his voice deep, "How about making you a prince?"

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