"Hahahaha, thank you everyone! Ah, I'm so happy!"
Seeing the young man laughing so hard that tears came to his eyes, everyone became less reserved and gathered around Jian Jingyu one by one.
"You kid, you'll be bragging about this birthday for the rest of your life!"
"Do you know I haven't danced like this in over a decade? I didn't even dance like this in elementary school, I kid you not!"
"I think I've found a new hobby~ Look, aren't my moves super smooth? Hahahaha."
"Lucas, are you crazy!?"
"..."
Jian Xian and his lover watched the energetic young kids in the video, grinning from ear to ear.
"Jingyu, you guys have fun. When you come back to Shuomo Star, Uncle will treat everyone to a meal. You all have to come."
"Thank you, Uncle Jian. We'll definitely be there."
"Yes, Your Honorable Chief Judge!"
"Hehehehe."
Hanging up the video call, Jian Xian immediately uploaded the screenshot he had just taken to his social media account, which he barely used a few times a year, with the caption:
"Happy 18th birthday to my son! May you always be healthy, safe, upright, and happy. I hope every one of you has a bright future!"
It quickly garnered a flurry of likes and reposts:
"Ah~ My birthday is next week too! @HatesCilantro, dance for me! I'm begging you!!"
"To borrow the Chief Judge's words, wishing us all a bright future!"
"Hurry and watch the live stream! Sir Huang is going to barbecue!"
"Latest update: the barbecue tongs have been snatched by Wen Tuo from Yuying!"
"My goodness! There are even recorded birthday wishes from military fighters, safety instructors, and mecha masters from major military districts? Jian Jingyu, you lucky bastard!"
"May I ask just how many outfits Sister Zebra prepared..."
"His teammates are actually willing to go this far for him! Wuwuwu, while my teammates only know how to grin idiotically at the video!"
"I've been under so much pressure these past two days, but looking at them makes me feel like I can keep going! What's a little fatigue for these smiling faces? Say no more, fam, I'm off to work!"
"They're doing this for the Federation... which basically means they're doing it for me!"
"Alright, my pan is hot, I'm going to barbecue too!"
"Hahahaha, Hiranuma Yusho looks so lost holding that plate..."
"The young master of Valk probably never expected a party purely dedicated to eating, right?"
After watching everyone's recorded blessing videos, Jian Jingyu made a special trip to where the safety instructors, fighters, and mecha master teachers were staying to thank them.
The adults looked at the flushed, happy young man and offered their blessings once more.
"When we get back, I'll give you a newly developed front-mounted rapid-fire cannon. It'll blind the other squads in the next match!"
"Thank you, teacher!!"
"Hahaha, as a solo fighter, I don't have any accessories to give... But after so many years on the frontlines, I do have a set of training methods for assaulters. I can send it to you if you want."
"Really!? Thank you so much!"
Afraid that every teacher would want to give him something if he stayed any longer, the "introverted" Jian Jingyu only said a few words before returning to the center of his squad.
Seeing him return, Zhang Lyra immediately pulled out a giant light purple preserved flower she had bought back on Planet Karen.
"Happy birthday!"
Jian Jingyu hoisted it over in pleasant surprise.
"Little Bear, you actually brought me a preserved flower! Hahaha, later we should bring yours out too and take a group photo? Where are Sister Zebra's and Sir Huang's?"
"Mine is sitting on my nightstand. Let's take the squad photo when we get back to Qilin, alright?"
"Okay!"
"Mine is in the bedroom too..."
"Oho~ Sir Huang actually put my preserved flower in the bedroom? So you can see it every day when you open your eyes? Hehe, hehehe~"
"...The bedroom is spacious."
"Shh, I understand, I understand!"
Wang Tianwei smugly handed over Jian Jingyu's spatial button, while Huang Yan timed it perfectly to cut off the live stream's audio.
"Here, haven't you always wanted a 'flying car'? I've installed it for you."
"Really!? Ah! Thank you, Sister Zebra~ I'll take you guys for a spin later?"
"No rush, hear me out first. Doesn't the underground of Planet Kashile produce an abundance of Lianxun crystals? I learned how to use them from the military mecha masters and melted them into your mecha's outer shell. From now on, it can shield against external mental energy. At a distance, it's essentially invisible; you can detect others, but they can't detect you."
"Awesome, Sister Zebra! Will it still affect our communication like it did underground?"
Wang Tianwei gave a soft snort.
"Rest assured, it's the same signal receiver as the live stream 'Little Bee'. From now on, no matter where we are, it won't affect our communication!"
A nearby military mecha master looked shocked.
"Where did she find the time? Teacher Shi! You taught her how to fuse Lianxun crystals into the mecha shell, didn't you? Did you take her mining?"
"...I saw her modifying the mecha in the shed in the middle of the night instead of sleeping, so I went in and asked a few questions... But I really didn't take her to mine!"
Chai Ran held a plate of barbecue, his gaze profound.
"Does this count as illegal mining?"
Shi Zhixin coughed lightly twice.
"Ahem, it's the kid's birthday... The utilization rate of Lianxun crystals is very high. Being just one person, how much could she possibly mine? Besides, compared to their contributions, what do a few pieces of Lianxun crystal matter?"
Chai Ran stuffed a piece of meat into his mouth, thought for a moment.
"Alright then... It looks like she has no intention of telling those other military academies, so let's keep our mouths shut tight."
The mecha master who had noticed first couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"I'm going to watch the entire next match too. Just thinking about it is exciting!"
Huang Yan had cut the live stream audio at the perfect moment, leaving the anxious viewers scratching their heads in frustration.
"What? What exactly did Sister Zebra give him? What is it that we're not allowed to hear!?"
"It looks like another modification was made to the mecha. Goldfish, hurry up and show us! Don't make me beg you!"
"I can't take it! Having a cross-level supreme mecha master on the team is just too good!"
"Sir Huang, quickly turn on the sound!"
The gift Huang Yan gave Jian Jingyu was a brand-new spatial button.
With five hundred square meters of space, the latest spatial compression technology, and an ion passivation field, it could extend the shelf life of whatever was placed inside.
No matter how long a mecha stayed inside, its lubricating oil wouldn't dry out. It had been developed less than a month ago, and purchases were currently limited.
The reason for giving this was also because he noticed Jian Jingyu's recent hoarding tendencies were evolving to be more like Wang Tianwei's...
And although his previous spatial button wasn't small, the technology was a bit outdated. Star beast corpses placed inside couldn't be kept fresh for long, so he simply got him a new one.
"Adoptive father!! This is too amazing, isn't it!? I'll transfer my old stuff over later!"
After hearing this, Wang Tianwei looked rather eager.
"Is this Taihe's new product?"
"...Because it's limited, I only managed to get one from the first wave of sales. But I've already used your and Little Bear's names to queue up. We should be able to buy them in the next wave."
"Adoptive father! I really need it, you know I do!!"
"...I do indeed know."
