Chapter 29: Yi Cradles His Human… Part 1

In the end, of course, he didn’t have to sleep outside. The kindhearted boss shooed both of them into the washroom and said benevolently that if they couldn’t get clean, they could sleep inside anyway.

Fortunately, the paint washed off easily with water, so they were soon able to lie refreshed on the bed.

Xie Jianxun kicked at the blanket and began calculating how much money he had spent that day.

As he calculated, he grew drowsy. He grumbled reluctantly about going to sleep, curling up and bumping his forehead against the mechanical puppet’s arm, asking One to keep him company with some chat.

The mechanical puppet Mr. fell for this trick completely.

It also rolled onto its side, placing its arm properly on its body in a perfectly decorous pose.

Even though the human lying next to it on the bed had grown bold enough to nearly drape a foot over its stomach.

Xie Jianxun mumbled, “Tomorrow, you’re going with Basero, while I have to go with Magm.”

One thought for a moment and said, “I’ll kick the boss out, and you can take me instead.”

Xie Jianxun: “…” He chuckled and said, “We just signed the contract. Who conspires to breach it after one night? Doesn’t your chip have a section on contractual integrity?”

“It does. My hard drive read speed is slow; I haven’t gotten to that part yet.”

“What Stone Age speed. I’ll swap it out for you later.” Xie Jianxun grinned lazily as he lay there, chin propped on the pillow, yawning softly. “I can’t sleep. Got any bedtime stories?”

One turned its face toward him, soft curls half-draped over its eyes. “What would you like to hear?”

Xie Jianxun mumbled, “Hmm… One’s past. What was it like?”

The mechanical puppet fell silent.

After a moment, it spoke in a low voice: “When I opened my eyes, my memory was a blank slate, no different from any other mechanical puppet.”

It had stepped down from the assembly line and followed the Main Brain’s orders to head to a border planet.

To exterminate the Insect Clan and guard the Federation’s frontier territories.

Before all the mechanical soldiers were loaded into transport vehicles, it was ordered to meet the Main Brain alone.

The Main Brain had told it, “Take this.”

It was the Blazing Fire Long Knife bestowed by the Main Brain. Flames blazed before its eyes, illuminating the mechanical puppet’s pale blue gaze.

With that weapon, slaughtering Insect Clan was like chopping vegetables. In less than half a year, it rose several ranks to become a mid-level officer.

But at that time, mechanical puppets didn’t hold high status. Its rapid promotions bred resentment in some.

So the superior officer assigned it to night watch duty that no one wanted.

It raised no objections and did it for over half a year.

On those nights, it sat in the oval transparent transport pod, observing the Insect Clan’s movements in the desert. It even mapped all the desert terrain it traversed, silently enduring those long nights.

…

The next morning, the United Exploration Action Group assembled at the city gate, turning the once-quiet gate into a noisy marketplace.

The independent groups began roll calls while inventorying supplies.

After arriving, Xie Jianxun parted from One and was led by Magm to his own caravan.

As he wove through the crowd, he curiously counted the badges and found quite a few people. Including his own group, there were about five caravans, three mercenary squads, and one large Adventure Group.

Caravans focused on transporting goods, usually familiar with routes and terrain, with members needing some wilderness survival skills.

Mercenary squads leaned toward escort duties, hired for pay as bodyguards and occasionally taking small jobs for extra cash.

Adventure Groups had more varied compositions, making money by taking missions. They included geologists, bounty hunters, doctors, retired soldiers—anything went. They weren’t as strict as mercenary squads or caravans in recruiting, but the captain kept them disciplined.

Everyone got familiar with faces and met temporary partners from other independent groups.

Xie Jianxun followed behind Magm to meet his future new teammates.

Magm walked ahead, saying, “I know your friend is with Basero, but don’t worry. Our team doesn’t care about that. Just be with us when it’s time to work. Basero’s a good captain. I didn’t expect you’d choose me over him.”

His strides were long, and he was tall, so Xie Jianxun had to trot to keep up.

The burly captain noticed keenly and slowed his pace.

Xie Jianxun finally caught up. “Thanks… Because you’re the only one who formally invited me. Basero doesn’t lack repair techs.”

They reached the team’s badge station, where several young men and women stood, a few looking more weathered—likely the surviving veterans, Xie Jianxun guessed.

“Unexpectedly, you’re willing to lead a caravan into the expedition,” Xie Jianxun said softly. “The desert is a terrifying place.”

Magm said gruffly, “I won’t fall here.”

He raised his voice. “Everyone, this is Xie Jianxun, our new repair tech.”

Xie Jianxun met their gazes and introduced himself with a grin. “Hello, everyone. From now on, I’ll handle weapon maintenance and all sorts of repairs.”

“Hello, hello!”

A young man immediately stood up, and the others followed suit.

He looked a bit excited. “I never thought I’d see you here!”

Xie Jianxun recognized his face—it seemed familiar.

Then it hit him: this was the customer from a few days ago. The job was simple, so Xie Jianxun had knocked it out quickly, handing it back hot off the tools before the guy even left.

Seeing a familiar face, he smiled. “How’s the item?”

The young man nodded vigorously. “Great! Super smooth.”

Seeing them chat familiarly, the other members introduced themselves. “Hi, just call me Kuangfeng… What, real name? Everyone says my real one’s too damn long, so stick with this.”

“Hello, I’m Palas.”

“Good morning, great repair master. I’m Laike, logistics manager. Sweet or savory? You have ten seconds to think—don’t give me an answer you’ll regret.”

Xie Jianxun pondered calmly for a moment and decided to be honest. “I like sweet.”

“A kid with taste.” Laike grinned. “I prefer savory myself, but I like your honesty.”

Once the new members finished, the veterans spoke reservedly. “I’m Joel. Xie Jianxun, right? Big bro’s got your back.”

“Oh oh, I’m Anong. H-hi. Y-you look so young. H-how come you don’t have any muscles?”

“Shoo shoo! How old is he? Does he need to be all ripped like you? Hey, little guy, call me Jie Ge.”

Xie Jianxun greeted them one by one. “Joel, Anong, Jie Ge.”

A hand landed on his shoulder from the side.

It was caravan captain Magm. He had quietly watched the members get acquainted, a faint smile on his lips.

“Alright, let me show you your new ride.”

Magm said, leading Xie Jianxun to the supply depot behind the Joint Group. There sat an entire fleet of landships!

“These are our landships. We don’t have many people—one per person is plenty.”

Magm pointed to one landship for Xie Jianxun and gestured for him to look up. “I picked a new one for you, freshly serviced, in top condition. Can you drive it?”

It was a brand-new landship!

And it belonged solely to him!

Xie Jianxun nodded eagerly. He couldn’t do drifts or speed stunts, but for a landship, steady driving was what mattered most.

Plus, it was foolproof—anyone could master it in three minutes.

Magm motioned for him to try it out. “Go check it out.”

And!

Xie Jianxun reached for the landship’s cabin door handle—it opened smoothly at his touch!

No need to climb over the guardrail!

Seeing him settle in and drive steadily, the caravan captain relaxed.

“Get used to it first. If anything’s off, come find me.” With that, he hurried off, probably to assign landships to the rest.

Xie Jianxun didn’t hit the accelerator, just circled in place properly a few times. His heart still pounded.

He hopped out and fondly stroked the landship’s exterior. He spotted Basero leading his team to divvy up ships.

The young captain grinned at the sight of him. “Little Rose, is this your ride? Magm gives great perks—newbies getting top ships.”

Xie Jianxun glanced behind him and spotted only One among the familiar faces—no sign of that other figure.

“Alex—he really isn’t coming?”

Basero shrugged helplessly. “I asked him several times, but he refused. The inn’s still under renovation; Alaje can watch it this time. I have a feeling we’ll find that thing this trip…”

A woman behind him interrupted softly. “Captain, are these our ships?”

Xie Jianxun looked curiously. She was a pretty woman, around forty, with long curls over her shoulders and slim silver-framed glasses that gave her an intellectual air.

She stared at Xie Jianxun for a couple beats before looking away, suddenly fascinated by the landship nearby.

A stranger’s face—he hadn’t seen her at Basero’s caravan dinners before.

A new member? She seemed on good terms already.

Basero: “Oh, yes. These are ours. We have more people, so two or three per vehicle… Sir, do you know how to drive?”

His gaze turned to the mechanical puppet.

One nodded—probably similar enough to capsule patrol cars.

After ships were distributed, Xie Jianxun returned to the caravan station.

Magm’s personality differed from his rugged exterior; he was more meticulous and patient. It was hard to imagine his caravan suffering an Insect Clan disaster before this.

He called roll one by one, confirming everyone, then directed them to board their landships and await orders until the Joint Group departed.

Xie Jianxun returned to his landship and buckled up.

But less than five minutes later, noise erupted outside the glass—someone shouting loudly.

Xie Jianxun peered through the window and saw people poking heads out of nearby landships.

He hesitated, then like the others, unbuckled and stepped out. A new batch of uninvited guests had arrived at the Joint Group’s assembly point.

They wore new-material armor in white with blue trim, bulkier on average than the Joint Group members by a full size. Just standing there, they exuded intimidation.