Chapter 254: Girl Talk

Pen-drop silence descended in the room like time itself had frozen.

Specifically, the eyes of Ava and Claire were narrowed to the size of needles, as if they had just been splashed with cold water. Their breathing hitched.

Meanwhile, Ruby and Amelia didn’t display such extreme reactions, but they too appeared surprised.

Some might have wondered why Victoria had revealed her confession to Michael so openly.

The reason was simple: she knew Claire and Ava loved him. Though the future was uncertain, as a comrade-in-arms, she felt it was only right to tell them the truth, even if they hadn’t suspected a thing. Such was the strength of their bond.

Not to mention that Victoria had already seen enough pointless drama in TV shows and romance novels, where secrets like this were glorified, only to lead to catastrophic fallout later. She didn’t want that kind of mess affecting their group.

Of course, she had already discussed it with Michael beforehand, and he had given her the green light.

“How…” Ava gulped audibly. “How did he react?”

Victoria blushed slightly. “It seemed the feelings were mutual.”

After a few seconds of silence, Claire’s lips parted.

“Can you… start from the beginning?”

With a nod, Victoria settled on the bed and began to retell the tale. The girls silently circled her, all listening eagerly.

She more or less relayed the conversation, even mentioning the flash drive, since Michael had said there was no issue with it. As she reached the later parts of the story, she hugged a pillow tightly to her chest, trying to provide as much detail as she could. At some point, though, it became hard to tell if everything she said was the truth or if the butterflies in her stomach had caused her imagination to run wild.

Regardless, by the end, her face as well as Ava’s and Claire’s was utterly flushed red.

Amelia’s brow twitched.

“To think you were so shameless as to make fun of me for kissing Enzo… when you went all the way with Michael in a public space!”

Victoria cleared her throat. “Well, nobody noticed us, unlike you two…”

“Unbelievable…” Amelia shook her head as she observed the bewildered expressions of Ava and Claire.

“Okay, since nobody seems to have the guts to ask, I will do the honor.”

Amelia exclaimed, glancing at Victoria.

“…How big?”

“…”

Victoria’s body visibly shivered.

“It was hard to see in the dark, but it was s—something like this…” She held her index fingers apart to demonstrate.

“Gods… T—This big?” Ava whispered.

“Actually…” Victoria moved her fingers even farther apart.

“I—It was more like this.”

“…”

For a moment, they wondered if Victoria was taking them all for fools, though considering her expression, they realized she was telling the truth.

“How did it…” Claire began, though the latter words refused to come out.

“Warm…” Victoria said softly, not elaborating further.

Fortunately, the girls didn’t feel dejected nor depressed. Having spent so much time together, they were genuinely happy for Victoria’s success… Though a feeling of rivalry began to take root, with none of them wanting to be outdone for long.

As such, after Ava managed to shake off her shock, she declared:

“Okay… I admit you beat me!” Her fists clenched. “But! Don’t think even for a second that you will have him all for yourself!”

Claire glanced to the side. “Normally, I’d be against this… But I don’t think I’ll feel satisfied leaving him all to you.”

On that day, the feelings of rivalry were finally shared, giving birth to the spark of fierce competition.

Amelia groaned, face-palming. “Heavens… Where did the merciless soldiers on the battlefield disappear to? And who are these lovestruck girls?”

Ruby, who had remained mostly quiet, interjected. “Is there something weird?”

She tilted her head to the side. “Though I didn’t participate, during my time in the underground tunnels, I saw a few groups of women sharing a single man. It’s not like anyone was forced into it. So, is there something wrong with that?”

Amelia exhaled. “Not really… I guess it depends on your outlook on life… Still, I am perfectly happy with my Enzo. At least I get to avoid this kind of drama…”

What was meant to be a quick stop to change clothes turned into a conversation that lasted over an hour.

Meanwhile, at the boys’ room, which they too had decided to share…

Ahco!

Michael sneezed abruptly.

“Did the water make me catch a cold?” He wondered.

“Boss!” Richard called out to him. “Please, be honest with me, when you dipped with Victoria during the fireworks show… Did you hit?”

Michael sighed.

“I did.”

Richard laughed. “Nice!”

Leo nodded thoughtfully. “Nice.”

Enzo, seemingly love-struck, nodded slowly. “Nice…”

And that was the extent of their conversation.

Eventually, once everyone was ready, the crew headed toward the best mecha workshop they knew. Cyberfang deserved nothing but the best, after all.

On the way there, Michael could swear a few pairs of eyes were fixed on him, so intensely that it almost felt like they were trying to burn a hole through him. Though, despite glancing around, he couldn’t spot anyone suspicious.

’Must have been the wind…’ He reasoned.

Under normal circumstances, the mecha workshop should have been out of business for at least a few weeks. With the whole rogue AI crisis and the damage yet to be cleared, nobody wanted to risk stepping in just yet.

However, thanks to their connection with the Minister of Defense, Livia, a meeting had been arranged practically in a flash.

Inside the colossal mecha plant, opened specifically for them, the crew was greeted by dozens of mecha engines and designs.

“Is that the White Angel?!”

It seemed Claire’s fame had spread far and wide as one of the best mecha operators to exist.

“Michael, can I—”

Claire wasn’t able to finish her sentence as he instantly nodded.

“Out of all of us, you have the most knowledge on the matter. The honor of designing Cyberfang’s new body shall fall on you. Though, I recommend discussing things with Amelia since her mastery of electricity was able to power up the beast last time.”

Ruby’s ears immediately perked up, rolling her sleeves upward.

“Okay, little brother needs a new body! Let’s get to work!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep