It was precisely because of this that Song Jinze could not co-pilot a starship with anyone.
For a long time, he had taken on both roles alone—serving as both the energy supplier and the controller.
He had been running at extreme capacity for years, multitasking under constant overload. As a result, his physical strength and endurance had been honed to a terrifying level.
But it was also because he was excessively powerful, uncontrollable, and preferred to operate alone without attaching himself to any faction, that he naturally became a living target for countless enemies.
Every move he made was monitored. Some people tried to curry favor with him, but far more wanted to drag him down.
So when Song Jinze encountered someone as brazen and shameless as Xu Lian, his first assumption was—
She had been sent by some faction to bring him down.
Meanwhile, Xu Lian was leisurely messaging Lin Zhaocai, completely ignoring the dark look above her from Song Jinze.
Expressionless, he said, “How long do you plan on making me carry you?”
Xu Lian grinned. “Keep carrying me for now. It’s pretty comfortable in your arms—I want to stay a bit longer.”
Song Jinze stiffened slightly, his gaze turning complicated. “Are you flirting with me?”
Xu Lian ignored him and sent the first location name to Treasure in the chat—one of the streets she and Lin Zhaocai had once walked together.
It had been a breezy afternoon. As for what exactly had happened, she no longer remembered.
All she knew was that Lin Zhaocai had been the first high-level pilot she had met who didn’t change his attitude after learning she was an F-class.
She stared at the screen with a faint smile, seemingly in a good mood.
Song Jinze narrowed his eyes at her. “Who are you messaging? Smiling like that.”
Xu Lian turned off her wristband. “Stop trying to fish for information. Go away.”
Song Jinze shot her an annoyed glance and deliberately squeezed her shoulder harder.
Xu Lian immediately cursed, “Can you be gentler?! You’re going to crush me to death!”
She was completely overbearing, showing no concern for his feelings.
And she had no obligation to.
“Oh.” Song Jinze remained unmoved.
She shifted slightly. “Put me down.”
He lowered his gaze to her bare, cold feet. “Why?”
Xu Lian replied, “Just looking around.”
Song Jinze was speechless. Did she think this was a tourist attraction?
He set her down on a chair. “Wait here. Don’t get off the seat. If you don’t want to make your condition worse, stop messing around.”
Xu Lian responded casually, “Oh.”
Song Jinze stepped out and quickly returned, bringing her a pair of warm shoes and a thick coat. He wrapped them around her and adjusted the cockpit temperature upward before asking, “What else do you want? Say it.”
Xu Lian kicked her legs, shaking the fluffy slippers on her feet back and forth.
She stared at them for a moment.
Standing beside her, Song Jinze grew impatient and leaned closer. “I’m asking you a question.”
Xu Lian, still basking in comfort, clicked her tongue. “Why are you rushing?”
Song Jinze suppressed the urge to curse. After all, Xu Lian still held a fatal leverage over him.
For now, he could only endure.
Xu Lian licked her lips, stood up, and clasped her hands behind her back as she began strolling around the cockpit like an old man out for a walk.
Spacious. Bright. Look at the materials. Look at the texture. Look at the massive display. Look at the seats—premium!
The more advanced the system, the simpler the design. For S-class pilots, manual operations were almost entirely eliminated—they relied solely on mental commands.
So Song Jinze’s console was absurdly clean. Xu Lian even felt like she could set up a banquet on it.
Having never seen anything like this before, she couldn’t help but touch everything.
Song Jinze couldn’t stand it. He felt like his cockpit was being violated.
When she pulled up the camera and tried to take photos—
“What are you doing?” he stopped her. “Collecting intel right in front of me?”
Xu Lian brushed his hand away. “Don’t be so stingy. I’m not carving ‘visited here’ into your wall. I just want a souvenir. Later—”
She suddenly stopped.
Right. She had no “later.”
Song Jinze didn’t notice her momentary pause. Hearing the first half of her sentence almost made him choke.
The next second, Xu Lian said something shocking again:
“Commander Song, fire one for me to see.”
Song Jinze blinked. “What?”
Xu Lian repeated, “I said… fire once for me.”
He showed an indescribably complicated expression. “Miss, is it appropriate for you to ask me to do that?”
Xu Lian absentmindedly picked at her fingers. “It’s not like you’ve never fired before. What’s one more time?”
Song Jinze grew irritated. “What do you mean ‘not like I’ve never done it before’? Is that the same thing?”
Xu Lian, already uncomfortable, became impatient. “Hurry up. Right now. Immediately—do it so I can see.”
At that moment, Song Jinze wanted nothing more than to throw her out.
What exactly was she trying to do?
A weird hobby? Did she really need to go this far?
Seeing him unmoving, Xu Lian urged, “Come on, hurry up, I want to see.”
Song Jinze froze.
Honestly, he had never encountered someone like this.
Was she lustful or just bizarre?
He asked coldly, “What exactly are you trying to get from me?”
Xu Lian was getting annoyed. “Why is it so hard to fire once? I’m not asking you to sacrifice anything. It’ll only take a moment—why are you dragging this out?”
“A moment?” Song Jinze looked at her, his gaze deep.
Xu Lian looked confused. “What else? Does it take long?”
He stared at her without speaking.
Xu Lian felt a bit uneasy under his gaze, but reminded herself she shouldn’t be afraid. Straightening her posture, she said sharply:
“What, Commander Song? You’ve only been away from your fleet for a few days and you’re already unwell—can’t even manage once? Or is there some other problem, like you can’t function properly when someone’s watching?”
Song Jinze remained silent, head lowered, tapping the back of a chair lightly with his fingers.
Xu Lian scratched her hair and softened her tone slightly. “Hey, it’s just once. Don’t be so petty. I’ll just watch, I won’t do anything.”
He lifted his eyes again, lashes half-lowered, his expression dim. “Just watch? Do nothing?”
Xu Lian nodded obediently. “Mm.”
After a long pause, he suddenly let out a faint, slightly teasing laugh.
Click—
The lights in the room went out.
He pulled over a chair and sat down. In the darkness, his voice sounded lazy. “Come here. Sit on my lap.”
Xu Lian froze. “Huh?”
He paused. “Don’t like it this way?”
Xu Lian scratched her head. “Uh… is that step necessary?”
Song Jinze replied, “Isn’t it?”
Xu Lian thought about it. She didn’t really understand cockpit operations, but… sitting on his lap?
She hesitated. “Is it really required?”
He fell silent for a moment.
“Then how am I supposed to get the feeling?”
Xu Lian was even more confused. “What feeling?”
The air froze.
After several minutes, his voice sounded again—this time directly in her mind, very soft:
“The feeling… of wanting to fire.”
Xu Lian was baffled.
That required a feeling?
But she had never been inside a cockpit before, nor had she ever seen an S-class pilot in actual operation.
So, half-believing and half-doubting, she walked over and sat on his lap. “Start.”
His breathing grew heavier for a moment before he quickly controlled it. “Are you sure?”
Xu Lian said, “What else? Hurry up.”
Song Jinze replied, “…Don’t rush me. Or I won’t do it.”
“Oh.” Xu Lian waited quietly in the darkness.
She was genuinely excited—and enjoying it.
She had never experienced life inside a cockpit before, so she actually hoped Song Jinze would take longer to “start,” just so she could stay here a bit longer.
She sat there patiently.
Song Jinze still hadn’t moved. “Have you ever done this with anyone before?”
Xu Lian, half-understanding, shook her head. “No.”
As an F-class, who would want her?
Song Jinze smiled. “So this is your first time?”
Xu Lian felt like he was mocking her and shot back, “So what if it is? That’s why I have you, right? You’ve got experience. You’re so capable—why not guide me? What, you can’t handle it?”
Song Jinze fell silent.
Did he really look that experienced?
He suddenly asked an unrelated question. “You think I’m capable?”
Xu Lian didn’t understand. “Aren’t you? Do I even need to think about it?”
As his enemy, she might hate him—but she knew exactly how formidable he was.
Besides, wasn’t Song Jinze’s strength common knowledge? His reputation was known everywhere. Why was he asking something so obvious?
Song Jinze asked, “Why do you think I’m capable?”
Xu Lian sighed. “Why are you asking so many questions?”
“What’s wrong with asking?”
“… ”
She thought for a moment.
Could it be… he wanted to hear her flatter him?
As someone who had spent her life flattering superiors, Xu Lian felt her judgment was probably correct.
She didn’t want to praise him—but given the situation…
Fine.
She forced herself to speak, suppressing her disgust to sound sincere:
“Look—you’re handsome, well-built, tall, smart, powerful, rich, influential, young, with a good background. What part of that isn’t impressive?”
After saying it, she felt his gaze on her.
Song Jinze said, “You’re quite good at praising.”
Xu Lian sneered inwardly.
She had nearly clenched her teeth while saying that just now to keep herself from exploding.
Otherwise, she might’ve jumped up on the spot.
What exactly had God taken away from Song Jinze?!