You Liang’s first reaction was: impossible.
“His works have first priority to be submitted to the City Lord’s Mansion. It’s impossible for there to be no response and for it to bypass the City Lord’s Mansion to give to another group!”
Xie Jianxun lowered his head and signaled Ela with his eyes: “Is there really such a clause?”
The assistant nodded indifferently.
Xie Jianxun smiled. “Mr. You, you’re quite familiar with the City Lord’s Mansion’s clauses.”
You Liang: “Of course, I was originally…”
He stopped midway through his words and saw a familiar icon on the button device—Idis’s personal signature.
“You have to tell me first: how did you get it?”
After he retracted the exoskeleton, accompanied by the rustling of clothing, You Liang returned to his normal height, but he was still half a head taller than Xie Jianxun.
Before Xie Jianxun could speak, Ela spoke first.
“He’s a guest staying at the Idis Family home. Idis likes him a lot, so he gave him the latest, unpublished version. Do you have any doubts?”
He spoke clearly, with a low voice and a dominant expression, completely at odds with his cute little face.
You Liang was stunned. “What? When I visited him, he never let anyone else in. How much did you pay? How could you possibly…”
Xie Jianxun scratched his chin, a bit embarrassed as everyone looked over.
“Uh, just provide him with one irreplaceable, difficult project? Something like repairing a Mechanical Puppet.”
The entire group set off again.
The Captain walked at the front. This stretch of mountain road had no dangers left, just the grueling climb, so everyone chatted with interest.
There were plenty of students climbing the mountain and camping nearby, their backs laden with bulging packs, full of energy.
“A bit further, and we’ll take a detour into the Wild Zone,” Captain Min Xingwen explained. “Once in the Wild Zone, danger can strike anytime. Mineral Beasts big and small might appear, so everyone form up as arranged beforehand. I’ll bring up the rear, Boss in the middle—don’t slack off!”
Behind the lush green shadows of the trees, the mountain steps turned to the other side, but they chose to leave the steps, descending into the leaf-strewn dirt toward an unfamiliar path.
It was Xie Jianxun’s first time being sandwiched in the middle, protected like a rare treasure.
It felt a bit novel.
Even when trekking through the Desert before, despite being logistics, he hadn’t had this experience.
It was just like a real spring outing.
But he noticed You Liang’s gaze flicking over repeatedly, glaring viciously for a moment before looking away when he looked back.
The Little Adventurer was a bit baffled.
“I didn’t offend him,” he muttered softly. “What’s with that look? Does he want… to replace me?”
Ela said coolly, “He’s farting.”
“…” Xie Jianxun ruffled his hair vigorously, lecturing, “No swearing at your age.”
The assistant shut his mouth, letting him mess up his hair. Then Xie Jianxun seemed to get addicted to it, finding the soft, fluffy texture particularly nice, and petted him more.
Ela endured it repeatedly before finally grabbing his clothes and expressing his forbearance through action.
Xie Jianxun withdrew his hand and coaxed, “Want an orange?”
Ela: “Yes.”
The two peeled oranges while walking in the middle of the group. Probably because their hands were empty, they moved more easily than the Wild Squad members.
After peeling, Xie Jianxun shared with those around him. When it came to You Liang, the young master said arrogantly, “How much did you buy these oranges for?”
A question mark popped up over Xie Jianxun’s head. “Ten bucks for three pounds?”
You Liang: “I don’t eat anything under three figures.”
Xie Jianxun gave him a puzzled look, then popped the orange into Ela’s mouth instead.
The crisp sound of footsteps crunching leaves rang out, and the Deputy Captain’s crisp voice called from ahead: “Captain, Wild Zone reached!”
Xie Jianxun looked up and saw a massive, sturdy electrified wire mesh fence before them, four or five meters high, like a solid city wall blocking their path.
There was a fence watchtower on the side, with someone seemingly on guard inside.
Min Xingwen went over to negotiate with the sentry. After a while, the sentry temporarily cut the power to this wire wall, opened the gate, and let them through.
“Do you need Distress Bracelets?” the sentry said. “Two hundred deposit each.”
Min Xingwen thought for a moment, glanced back at Xie Jianxun and You Liang, and said, “Give me five.”
Xie Jianxun got a Distress Bracelet and happily put it on. This thing could call the watchtower guards for immediate rescue—a real lifesaver.
But when the Captain handed one to You Liang, the young master got stubborn and refused no matter what.
“Why would I need this?” he frowned. “I’m out here today to hunt Mineral Beasts. Wearing this would affect my performance.”
The Captain took a deep breath and persuaded him, “I know, but the big Boss said it’s best not to let you get hurt.”
You Liang raised his voice: “Who cares about him?! Besides, with my exoskeleton, how could I get hurt?”
Xie Jianxun crouched down to put one on Ela.
The little one obediently extended his wrist, watching unblinkingly as the bracelet was fastened.
“Call for help if there’s trouble,” he said seriously.
Ela nodded, not protesting that Xie Jianxun had ignored his age again.
Over there, the Deputy Captain and Captain tag-teamed him, but even male-female teamwork couldn’t change the young master’s mind. They retreated in defeat.
“Fine, watch yourself then,” Min Xingwen said with a headache. “If anything happens to you, the big Boss will come after us.”
“Who the hell is he anyway?”
Tuls sidled over, panting and gossiping while hammering his sore legs. “Such a big entourage, hiring a whole Wild Squad to escort him.” He had a lifesaving Distress Bracelet too, no deposit—probably all thanks to the Boss.
Ela said flatly, “The City Lord’s son.”
Tuls: “Oh… ah?”
So it was such a big shot—the son of the Silver Watchtower’s City Lord!
No wonder the Captain called him an “irresistible” big Boss. Around here, everyone had to watch the big Boss’s moods to get by.
Xie Jianxun thought about it and was still a bit surprised. “The City Lord’s son—failing classes is okay?”
Their voices weren’t quiet at all. You Liang, walking nearby, heard them chatting louder and louder, his face growing darker.
He pulled a long face, lips pursed, and said, “I’m going to be a mech engineer like Idis, designing exoskeletons. Who wants to inherit his turf? So I flunk classes—what can he do to me?”
So he was an exoskeleton enthusiast!
No wonder his attitude toward Idis was special—he saw him as an idol, a future mentor.
As he said this, he crowded over and said unreasonably, “When you go back, take me with you. I want to see Idis too. He hasn’t checked in at the City Lord’s Mansion in ages. I’ve got a ton of questions for him personally.”
Xie Jianxun chuckled. The City Lord’s Mansion’s mech consultant had to punch a clock? It sounded odd.
He suggested tactfully, “Why not write down your questions? I’ll pass them to him later.”
You Liang: “No way, you’d see them first. Hey, give me that device in your hand. Let me see what’s different about it.”
Before Xie Jianxun could move, Ela reached out, stuffed the thing from Xie Jianxun’s hand into his own pocket, not letting You Liang see it at all.
He said earnestly, “Made for you.”
Xie Jianxun was surprised. “Custom-made… for me?”
Ela gave a muffled hum. You Liang thought Ela looked familiar, but it had been too long, and he couldn’t place him. Hearing this, he immediately forgot about it and yelled, “Idis custom-made an exoskeleton for you too?!”
Ahead, the Captain’s voice boomed: “Back there, pick up the pace! Camp site’s almost here!”
He was urging them to stop chatting, ancestors—hurry up.
After walking the entire morning, they finally reached a flat clearing, perfect for camping.
You Liang was still trailing Xie Jianxun’s butt, bombarding him: “How did you convince him?”
“He actually agreed!”
“What was that difficult big project of yours? I want to do one too.”
Xie Jianxun thought, You’d never dig up an ancestor from the ground.
The Little Adventurer sighed, headachy. “Sir, you should ask Professor Idis yourself.”
You Liang hissed: “You call him teacher too! That’s what a direct disciple calls him. I remember he took one before… it couldn’t be you, right?” He was probably thinking of Gu Xuning, but too long since seeing him, no updated info, so he missed the details.
Xie Jianxun: “Of course not.”
Ela shook the hand he was holding with Xie Jianxun and said softly, “We should set up camp.”
Xie Jianxun immediately turned and went to set up camp with Ela.
This leg had entered the wilds, technically the Danger Zone where Mineral Beasts could appear anytime, but the Captain and team were experienced, bypassing several large and small beast dens without encountering a single one.
Seeing Xie Jianxun not engaging much, You Liang got bored and walked off.
Xie Jianxun pulled the tent pack from his Space Optical Brain and asked the Captain nearby, “We’re camping this early?”
