A Promise in the Wind ‘SEE YOU MORNING’ 148 Roman Holiday

Li Haojun and Malaya’s mission in Las Vegas had to continue, so they had to stay locally even on their day off. Li Haojun was waiting for the new testing equipment to arrive for installation and commissioning. But how would the two of them spend this day off?
At the hotel’s breakfast table, Li Haojun looked at Malaya across from him with a smile on his face.
Malaya glanced at him and continued eating her food.
Li Haojun knew she probably sensed what he was thinking. He had just remembered the trip they had taken here last year with Qin Wenjing. It seemed that this little girl had grown up a lot in just over half a year, and he could no longer interact with her as freely as before. Li Haojun really missed the happy times back then.
“Ethan, do you have any plans for today?” Malaya finally spoke up.
“No, my schedule is all arranged by you, so I haven’t thought about it.”
“Today is a day off.”
“Oh, right,” Looking at Malaya, whose face seemed somewhat unfamiliar, Li Haojun could only sigh silently.
“Then? What do you want to play? I’ll go with you, okay?” He thought to ask this because he noticed that Malaya had gotten up at some unknown time this morning, had braided many tiny braids for herself, tying them section by section with colorful hair ties and coiling them on top of her head. She had also applied light blue eyeshadow, orange-red blush and bright red lipstick, looking completely different from the pure little girl she used to be.
Perhaps this was the color of youth that she wanted for herself.
“Hmm, shall we go to the Global Village again?”
“Sure.”
In summer Las Vegas, the early morning sun was already blazing fiercely. A gentle breeze carried the scent of sun-baked gravel, and waves of heat rushed toward them.
Holding Malaya’s hand, he walked onto the path in front of the hotel and finally saw a smile appear on her face.
Li Haojun thought to himself whether he had been deliberately distancing himself from her because she had grown up, which had made her unhappy.
Just as they reached the intersection waiting for the reserved taxi, Li Haojun’s hand holding Malaya’s was already sweating. He looked at Malaya again. Her white blouse reflected the scorching sunlight perfectly, and she showed no sign of sweating at all.
“My uniform has temperature regulation function,” Malaya explained.
“Oh, that’s good. But actually, sweating also has a metabolic function for the human body. Sweating appropriately in summer can expel the cold qi accumulated in the body during winter. That’s how I understand it.” Li Haojun immediately thought of the topic he cared most about regarding Malaya’s health, not wanting her to develop cold and dampness in her body because of this air-conditioned uniform.
Malaya smiled and said playfully,
“Okay, got it.”
As they spoke, Li Haojun’s hand holding Malaya’s had become slippery with sweat. He didn’t know if it was because of the hot weather or because he was feeling hot.
With so much sweat, he was afraid Malaya wouldn’t like it, so he quietly tried to pull his hand away, but Malaya didn’t seem to have any intention of letting go.
The reserved air taxi arrived, a two-seater light quadcopter. The local taxis were painted blue and white, just like the clear blue sky and white clouds over the Las Vegas desert.
Actually, the hotel where they were staying was not far from the Global Village in downtown Las Vegas, but there was indeed some vertical height difference. So as soon as the air taxi took off, it began to climb altitude. Looking down, one could clearly see the gradient of building height changes from the city center to the outlying areas.
“What should we play?” Malaya asked, flipping through the project reservation screen.
But Li Haojun was still thinking about the question just now, about Malaya wearing the temperature-regulating uniform. She was young, and perhaps her vigorous metabolism made her body temperature naturally high, but what about her joints? Would long-term low temperatures affect the health of her joints? Or was it that her Western ethnicity was different from mine, and these problems didn’t exist for her?
“What?” He hadn’t heard what Malaya had suddenly asked.
“I said what game project do you want to play with me?”
“Ah, you choose, anything is fine,” As he spoke, Li Haojun also leaned his head over to look together.
“Let’s ride the roller coaster.”
Li Haojun hesitated for a moment.
“Hehe, are you scared?” Malaya laughed.
“Well, I just don’t think there’s any point in taking unnecessary risks,” As soon as he finished speaking, Li Haojun quickly added,
“I mean, if there’s any improper maintenance, we don’t have to…” He said while looking at Malaya’s expression, then quickly added again,
“I’d rather ride in a plane you fly than this.”
Malaya looked at him and smiled, saying nothing.
Li Haojun also grinned and smiled bitterly.
“Then let’s play the simulated Colosseum. This one shouldn’t have any danger at all.”
“Okay, I’ll play with you if you like it.”
“Hmm.”
Soon the air taxi landed at the transportation hub of the three-dimensional city, and they took the elevator to the amusement park.
This simulated Colosseum amusement project was a simulation game combining 3D virtual space with real-person interaction. Due to the electromagnetic force, players needed to change into tight-fitting clothes and could not wear any metal items. Then each person took a human-computer interaction position.
First, the holographic vision revealed the ancient Roman Colosseum, along with the audience, hehe. Li Haojun turned his head to look at Malaya beside him. In the game environment, she was already wearing armor. Looking down at himself, he was wearing the same matching couple outfit, haha.
“How is it?” Malaya asked, not clarifying what exactly she was asking about.
“Alright, do we need to coordinate with each other?”
“Just improvise. Choose weapons, choose weapons!”
Under Malaya’s urging, Li Haojun looked at the prompt menu in front of him. The starting difficulty featured 8 wolves, and the optional weapons included short sword and shield, long-handled battle axe, spear, heavy sword…
He turned his head and saw that Malaya had already made her choice, holding dual swords. The weapons held by the players were physical, but their different mass characteristics could be simulated through electromagnetic force to adapt to the players’ feel and strength levels.
According to Chinese tradition, even a thin stick can beat a wolf, so Li Haojun wanted to choose a long staff. There wasn’t one, so he chose the spear instead.
When the game started, Li Haojun realized it was different from what he had imagined. These wolves would not stop advancing just because someone was holding a stick. They were real vicious wolves, interacting with each other and tentatively approaching from different angles.
Li Haojun glanced back at Malaya, who was standing back to back with him.
“Ready?” Malaya asked him in her clear voice.
How to answer? He had never done anything like this before. He only knew how to swing the stick in full circles, but now with Malaya standing behind him, he could only swing it half a circle, otherwise he would hit his own teammate. What should he do?
“I’ll do my best.”
“Hahahaha,” Amid her clear laughter, she had already lunged forward in a single step and stabbed the left sword at the nearest wolf.
Canines are unique creatures with collective interaction, sensitive and cunning. Malaya’s single move had already triggered the entire pack’s offensive.
Fortunately, Li Haojun’s spear had the advantage of length on his side. He lowered his left hand and suddenly thrust forward with his right hand, scaring off a wolf in front of him.
At this moment, a wolf to his left front tried to circle around and approach. Li Haojun drew back his spear and stabbed at it fiercely. He should have been able to hit it at this distance, but the beast was cunning, twisting its body and dodging away.
Li Haojun never dreamed that the starting difficulty would be like this. This didn’t feel like an entertainment game! As he sighed, he noticed out of the corner of his right eye that a wolf was circling toward Malaya’s direction.
Using the momentum of drawing back the spear, Li Haojun swung it over his head with both hands, leading his aim slightly, and struck the wolf’s waist with all his strength.
This time he hit it squarely. It yelped and ran away with its tail between its legs.
As he dropped to his left knee, Li Haojun glanced at Malaya. There was also a wolf limping away on her side.
In an instant, out of the corner of his left eye, a wolf had jumped and pounced right in front of him. Li Haojun quickly pulled the spear shaft back with his left hand to block in front of his face.
The pouncing wolf bit right onto the crossbar, missing Li Haojun, but the impact was so great that it knocked him off balance. He twisted his upper body accordingly, pulled back with his left arm and lifted with his right to rotate the spear shaft 90 degrees, driving it into the ground as he fell. His right arm followed with an elbow strike, pinning the wolf to the ground.
Immediately after, out of the corner of his right eye, the circling wolf had pounced right in front of him. Li Haojun’s right hand was already occupied. He tried to roll over and swing his left arm to strike, but only saw a flash of cold light in front of him. Malaya’s right sword had already slashed into the wolf’s shoulder blade.
“Challenge completed. 6 injured, 2 fled. This round of the game is over,” With the prompt sound, the wolves on the ground and the one that had crashed into him due to inertia all disappeared.
Li Haojun stood up and saw Malaya standing right in front of him. The setting sun of the ancient Colosseum seemed to travel through time and space, illuminating the armor she wore. But beneath the armor was an elegant female figure.