The Oasis Sand Bandits broke through the restraints of the ventilation ducts, dropping one by one from the ceiling passages, their bodies covered in dust that hadn’t been cleaned for over a decade.
Sand bandit: “Pah! Pah pah!”
The silver-white corridor lit up their field of vision. Jack looked up in a disheveled state. Ahead stretched an unobstructed long walkway, with rooms arrayed on either side.
The floor and doors were all tilted, and with every step they took, they felt their thighs straining to push forward.
After a few more steps, their knees began to tremble.
Fortunately, the tilt wasn’t too severe, allowing them to explore upward step by step.
One of the sand bandits groaned in pain, “How did this ship get buried like this… Something this huge, how come no one discovered it and pulled it out?”
Jack walked silently at the front, occasionally tapping the passing doors with his knuckles.
He noticed that after he tapped, each door lit up with a faint glow, indicating a response—the ship still had sufficient energy reserves and remained in an open state.
But he lacked communication privileges, so the glow eventually turned red.
“While we still can, before those Golden City dogs catch up, we need to find the ship’s full route map first, then head to the control room to unlock the permission management.”
He spoke in a low voice, clarifying the plan for all the sand bandits.
“Then we’ll take the stuff on the ship and leave. If luck’s bad, we might run into them, and a fight’s inevitable. But the terrain here’s narrow—we’re not afraid of them. Even better if we take them out right here.”
As Jack spoke, he counted the sand bandits still following behind him.
Around twenty people, all armed with guns.
He, the invincible hero who could take on ten alone, had never feared Golden City.
Finally, his gaze met Antonio’s.
The Adventure Group Captain, who was also the temporary Captain of the entire Joint Group, met his stare without fear. The shock ring still encircled his neck, yet he offered a faint smile—impossible to tell if it was serene or disdainful.
Just a captive…
Jack averted his gaze and grunted, “Move!”
Ahead, they discovered an elevator.
One sand bandit asked in confusion, “Boss, what’s this?”
Jack didn’t move and jerked his chin toward Nir. “It’s an elevator, a cargo transport pod. We live on flat ground, so we don’t need them—you’ve probably never seen one… Go check if it works.”
The short, middle-aged man acknowledged and stepped forward to fiddle with the elevator buttons. About twenty seconds later, the doors slid open slowly.
The elevator was enormous, designed to shuttle ship soldiers quickly in emergencies. On the elevator walls hung a simplified schematic of the entire ship.
Jack spotted the control room instantly—it was at the tip, on the uppermost level!
This elevator provided the fastest route straight to the control room—exactly what they wanted!
But the sand bandits had rarely seen elevators, let alone used one.
Jack stepped in first and pressed the button.
The ones behind hesitated, inching forward tentatively with one foot.
The doors opened and closed a few times, startling them, and they yanked their feet back.
Jack: “…You bastards better not make me throw you in there…”
…
Hearing the Patrol Army Captain’s voice, One finally seemed to abandon the idea of touring the entire ship with Xie Jianxun.
The mechanical puppet sighed leisurely, then looked down at the doll tucked in its arms. “What do you think?”
Xie Jianxun looked at it and blinked.
“Alright.” One read his thoughts and pressed the topmost button with regret. “Then we’ll head straight to the control room. It has surveillance for the whole ship.”
The elevator doors sealed shut, blending seamlessly with the ship’s structure once more.
One reminded them, “Grab the handrails.”
No one understood, but in the next second, the elevator shot upward at breakneck speed, hurtling everyone inside toward the top-level control room.
Their souls stayed behind.
…
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
The elevator finally closed its doors intact and began ascending.
The sand bandits slumped against the walls in disarray, full of curiosity about this unfamiliar contraption.
“Boss, how does this thing pull us up?”
“Why don’t we get one?”
“What are you thinking? Our rundown shacks don’t need elevators. Even Golden City doesn’t have ’em.”
As they chatted, the elevator screeched—a malfunction.
Everyone heard the massive friction of the pod grinding against the shaft walls. The noise grew louder the higher they went!
Their brows furrowed tighter with each sound, and amid the final screech, they reached the top floor without incident.
The doors opened a bit slower than usual, but no one minded.
They shuffled out slowly and cautiously, wary of the doors clamping their feet.
Jack exited first. The Oasis Sand Bandits behind shoved each other, none eager to go next.
He quickly scanned the surroundings, a vague sense of foreboding filling him.
It soon became reality. Someone behind shouted in terror, “Boss! Boss! They’re still inside!!!”
Jack whipped around to see the elevator doors slowly closing.
At least half the Mase People remained trapped inside, staring helplessly as the warped doors sealed shut!
These idiots hadn’t exited immediately, cowering like turtles and waiting for others to scout first!
He froze for two seconds, then lost control and bellowed a curse. “Hit the elevator button! Now!”
Nir had already lunged at the control panel, pounding it furiously, but the doors stayed shut.
“No good, Boss—the doors are jammed!” he gasped.
In the final second, the doors closed fully.
The panel buttons flashed and dimmed to gray.
They watched the floor display drop: one floor, two floors, accelerating like freefall!
No sound from the shaft—the pod plummeted to the bottom.
Thud!
Thud!
Thud!
The corridor lights all turned red, warning beacons spinning, casting eerie glows on their faces and making the sand bandits’ ferocious features look ghastly.
Jack stared fixedly at the display, then remembered something and frantically contacted them via his light brain.
No response. The sand bandit leader’s chest heaved, and he smashed the light brain against the floor.
“I should’ve realized,” he said coldly, “This ship’s been buried for over a decade—where’s all that energy coming from for the elevator!”
The silver-white, daylight-bright corridors had blinded him.
But really, it was just self-luminous material!
His knowledge was lacking.
His vision too narrow.
The other sand bandits kept their distance, eyeing him fearfully.
Someone approached cautiously from behind, fawning, “Uh, Boss, we gotta keep moving. Can’t let the brothers down… Ah! Boss…”
He didn’t react in time—Jack spun and slammed a fist into his gut!
The skinny middle-aged man flew like a bamboo stalk snapped by gale-force winds, crashing heavily to the ground.
He tasted blood and coughed it up. “Boss…”
Jack loomed over him. “Now, we head straight to the control room and seize control of this ship.”
“Disconnect all remaining energy sources—divert everything to this elevator!”
Moments later, he calmed and added, “What about the hostage?”
“The hostage…”
Seeing Nir speechless, another sand bandit stepped up tentatively. “The hostage… he’s in the elevator too.”
…
Xie Jianxun’s legs wobbled as he stumbled out of the elevator, nearly tripping. One followed, utterly unfazed.
The mechanical puppet’s eyes flickered, as if spotting something amusing, and it smiled.
Xie Jianxun glared at it.
Was making people unable to walk really that funny?!
One noticed his stare, turned its face innocently, and pretended nothing happened as it explained, “This is a transit lift designed specifically for mechanical puppets, so it’s a bit faster.”
“You call that ‘a bit’ fast? Ugh…”
The girl with the long black braid couldn’t hold back; she clutched the wall and dry-heaved. Gris rushed over to support her.
The Patrol Army Captain finally noticed her and said incredulously, “Why is there a one-legged girl in my squad? Why didn’t you go back with the others?”
Gris rolled her eyes. “So what if I’m missing a leg? Even if I lost an arm, I’d still kick sand bandit ass!”
“You’ll just slow us down here!”
“You think your thick armor makes you run any faster than me?!”
Aisia grabbed Gris’s arm and shook her head pleadingly. “Don’t fight, Gris. You really are injured.”
The control room doors loomed ahead.
Crafted from dark gray special alloy, they looked extraordinarily heavy—impossible for ordinary people to force open.
But as they approached, the doors parted silently, as if operated by an invisible hand.
Lights flickered on one by one, revealing the control room in full.
File cabinets and mechanical probes cluttered the space. At the front stood the main control console for the room and the entire ship, covered in dense arrays of buttons.
They entered orderly, surveying like timid animals in new territory.
Afraid to trigger any alarms.
But none came. The control room welcomed them warmly.
“Welcome back, Commander.”
Recognizing a VIP, a light screen descended, projecting a holographic video comm. One stepped forward and opened it deftly.
The screen’s blue glow bathed its face and eyes in ethereal white light.
“Commander.”
A mechanical puppet soldier appeared, its transparent energy regulator on the neck revealing its identity.
Dressed in gray-black soldier uniform with a belt and Federation emblem on the side.
Helmet under one arm, standing ramrod straight like a utility pole.
Face stern, voice flat, it saluted first.
“In three days, Federation ships will arrive at this Desert Star to pick us up. But since you launched the ‘Sand Pit Plan,’ no further updates came from you. Golden City reported the plan succeeded—you and your comrades defeated the King Insect but perished underground.”
“The deputy believes the plan executed early, but the King Insect’s vitals did vanish. You shouldn’t have failed to escape after the city collapsed.”
“Ship comms are still operational. If you receive this, contact us upon return.”
Silence fell. One closed the hologram and tapped delete, sending it to the trash.
Looking down, it saw Xie Jianxun’s face tilted up, eyes sparkling with intense curiosity.
The mechanical puppet thought it was the perfect moment to ruffle that hair.
Xie Jianxun asked solemnly, “So, Commander, may I ask why you didn’t evacuate in time?”
One stood under the command room lights, faint glow in its pale blue eyes.
As a true commander, it summarized concisely: “Simple. An accident occurred.”
“There wasn’t just one King Insect.”
