Ironclad: How can hand-crafted knight belts not be considered genius?

"Excuse me... excuse me..."

Leira weaved through the crowded throng and finally made it to her best friend's side.

"Phew—at least I made it in time..."

Luna glanced at Laira, who was panting heavily beside her, and then looked at the dark circles under her eyes that were hard to hide.

"Xiao Lai...aren't you pushing yourself a little too hard? You've got dark circles under your eyes from staying up so long. Is it worth it for that guy?"

Luna gently rubbed her best friend's cheek with a touch of tenderness.

Leira raised her hand and pressed Luna's hand down, the resentment in her eyes almost overflowing.

"Who would want to do this for that guy?! Isn't it all just a trade-off?"

Don't even mention it... Can you keep watch for me while I take a nap? I haven't slept all night, I'm so tired...

After speaking, Leira leaned on Luna's shoulder and slowly closed her eyes.

Luna sighed helplessly and turned her gaze back to the "current stationmaster" who was speaking eloquently on the stage.

…………

Jiang Ning, hands in his pockets, wandered around the Black Tower Space Station alone.

The once-crowded Black Tower space station was now like a ghost town, with groups of staff seemingly vanished without a trace.

"Or... how about we call Leila and ask which cabin segment the farewell ceremony will be held in?"

Jiang Ning took out his phone from his pocket, staring at the dial pad, his finger hovering in mid-air.

Jiang Ning, who was struggling with whether or not to make a phone call, was completely unaware that a petite figure was rushing towards her from behind, moving so fast that it was just a blur.

"Woof—!"

Jiang Ning turned around at the sound and was stunned for a moment. Before he could see who it was, he was hit in the lower back by a rocket-shaped headbutt.

Effect broadcast group!!

Jiang Ning lost his balance and fell forward, the immense impact nearly knocking his soul out of his body.

"Um... um... I'm so sorry, sir, are you alright?"

Jiang Ning struggled to his feet, clutching his aching lower back.

It was a close call that the kidneys didn't fly.

"No... I'm not dead..."

Taking a deep breath and forcibly holding back the tears that welled up in his eyes from the pain, Jiang Ning finally managed to see clearly who was speaking to him.

With his head of "premature white" hair, he wore a white short-sleeved shirt and shorts, his pure black skin contrasting sharply with the colors of his outfit.

Although the opponent was not tall, his strong arms and legs exposed to the air still revealed his considerable strength.

Even a novice like Jiang Ning, who lacks training, could tell at a glance that the other party was definitely a trained fighter.

Putting everything else aside, Jiang Ning could immediately guess the other party's identity just by looking at their dark skin, which was etched into their very bones.

It's you! The dark-skinned PE student—Alan!

Seeing Jiang Ning's shocked expression, Alan scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly.

"I'm so sorry, sir, I didn't watch the child properly..."

"This child seems a little too excited about visiting the famous Black Tower Space Station for the first time."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ning looked down at the culprit who had "ambushed" him—a small white dog with a bow tied around its back.

You can't tell the breed just by looking at the pure color and the soft texture of its fur; you can tell at a glance that it has a noble lineage.

At this moment, the little white dog was sticking out its delicate pink tongue, looking at Jiang Ning with great interest.

"Woof woof—!!"

"Pepe! You bumped into someone, you know that? Apologize to them!"

Alan accused him with a hint of resentment.

Pepe seemed to understand what Alan meant, and she immediately retracted her little pink tongue.

Its tiny, bean-sized eyes suddenly lost their luster, and it drooped its head as it moved to Jiang Ning's feet, gently rubbing its little head against Jiang Ning's trouser leg, as if begging for Jiang Ning's forgiveness in this way.

Jiang Ning, the tough guy, was instantly charmed.

Good heavens! How can such an adorable creature exist in the world?!

Peipei was completely bewildered when Jiang Ning suddenly picked her up.

"Your name is Peipei? Never mind, let me rub it, and we'll call it even."

Jiang Ning asked the question knowingly, and took the opportunity to reach out his long-planned hand and stroke the other's delicate head hard.

Peipei wasn't annoyed by being patted on the head. Instead, she stuck out her tongue again and seized the opportunity to lick Jiang Ning's hand.

"Woof—!"

Seeing Jiang Ning and Pei Pei getting along so well, Alan completely relaxed.

"Sir, it seems Peipei likes you very much."

Judging from your clothes… you must be a staff member of the Black Tower Space Station, right? …Oh right, you haven’t introduced yourself yet.

My name is Alan.

"It's Pepe, our young lady's pet."

Alan politely extended a hand to Jiang Ning.

Jiang Ning handed Peipei back to Alan, reluctantly pulling his hand away from the fluffy little head.

Hearing the other person's extremely concise self-introduction, Jiang Ning couldn't help but mentally complain.

The description of yourself is shorter than the description of your dog. Does that mean that in your eyes, your identity and importance are less than that of a dog...?

Alan, what did Estelle do to you? How come you're doing worse than a dog?

"Alan, right? It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Jiang Ning, and I'm the head of the defense department at the Black Tower Space Station."

Jiang Ning extended his hand and shook hands with the other person.

Alan's palms were rough, and the calluses formed on his palms from long hours of sword wielding made Jiang Ning's hands a little uncomfortable, but out of politeness, Jiang Ning still tried to hold them for a while longer.

At the same time, Alan was also pondering Jiang Ning's intentions.

To him, Jiang Ning's hands were too delicate, not at all like someone who had been trained.

But the other party actually claimed to be the head of the security department? Was he just bragging, or did he actually have something going on?

Alan glanced at Jiang Ning with some suspicion.

Thin arms and thin legs... I can't see through them.

Has the Black Tower space station become so secure that the defense department can just find anyone to fill in?

What if we really encounter danger?

Thinking of this, Alan couldn't help but worry about his young mistress's personal safety...

Looking at Alan's pensive expression, Jiang Ning quickly guessed what was troubling him.

Uh...it seems I, the "security captain," have been completely underestimated...-_-||

"Oh, by the way, Alan. Do you know where that handover ceremony between the old and new stationmasters is held? I've been looking for it for ages..."

"Stationmaster handover ceremony... Mr. Jiang Ning, are you going there too? Perfect timing, we're also going there to find a lady, let's go together."

Alan spoke with some surprise.

The two chatted casually along the way.

When the conversation turned to Alan himself, he seemed a little embarrassed and quickly moved on from the topic after only a few words.

But once the topic turned to "Miss" in Alan's words, the other party seemed to open up and talked endlessly about how wonderful the Miss was.

However, this was also a good thing, as Jiang Ning took the opportunity to deepen his understanding of the two people.

That being said...

Hagiran…you're the real dog, aren't you? Your loyalty is a bit too much!