The footage on the recording was incredibly clear by today’s standards, even when zoomed in several times without any loss in quality.
They rewound and fast-forwarded it multiple times but still couldn’t spot anything unusual.
You Liang leaned back and stated the truth: “They’ve definitely analyzed every single frame inside out already. If the technical experts couldn’t find anything, do you really think the three of us could do better than them?”
Gu Xuning kept his head down, still focused on rewinding the footage.
Xie Jianxun pulled away, leaned back like You Liang, and said, “In that case, we’ll probably have to go check out the mech involved ourselves. Oh, right—what about that bug I mentioned last time?”
You Liang replied impatiently, “I sent it to the research institute. Don’t worry about how I handle things.”
Xie Jianxun innocently raised an eyebrow, not entirely agreeing with the city lord’s son’s self-praise.
The three young men huddled together, heads nearly touching, desperately searching the footage for any clues, their eyes nearly tearing up from the strain.
You Liang suddenly flung himself backward, clutching his forehead in agony. “I can’t do this anymore—I’m going blind. Come on, let’s go. I’ll pull some strings to get the mech for you. You two wait here.”
He strode out of the hospital room and gently closed the door behind him.
Gu Xuning glanced back at the door, frowned, and hesitantly asked Xie Jianxun, “Am I imagining things, or does that guy not really… like me?”
Xie Jianxun reassured him uncertainly, “That’s just his personality. Don’t worry… probably.”
Soon, You Liang sent a message.
He said the mech couldn’t be easily removed from the repair center, so they’d have to go there in person.
Once they arrived at the repair center, a technical expert guided them and explained the issues detected on the involved Brain Domain Mech.
These problems had already been compiled into a report and sent to the family, but given that the city lord’s son had come personally, the repair center called in an expert to accompany them and show them the mech itself.
The expert explained in detail: “…External damage is under fifteen percent, which is normal wear and tear. For example, this leg… this mech joint…”
The group stood below the display platform, looking up at the towering Brain Domain Mech.
Xie Jianxun circled it once and noticed a black tube that had been opened, pulled out from inside the mech, and left dangling loosely outside.
He turned back to the technical expert. “What’s this?”
The expert came over, glanced at it, and answered instantly: “It’s the mech’s energy conduit, where the energy fluid is injected. There’s corrosion from an unidentified liquid inside the conduit, but since the repair center had no relevant data, we didn’t investigate further.”
Unidentified liquid… no data…
Xie Jianxun immediately turned back and exchanged a glance with You Liang.
The other man raised his eyebrows high, looked down at his Light Brain, and saw that the research institute’s report on the dead insect corpse they’d brought in had just come through.
You Liang said lazily, “If you don’t mind, I’d like you to contact the repair center’s supervisor or someone in charge and head over to the city lord’s mansion research institute.”
…
“How’s your friend doing?”
Xie Jianxun was sprawled lazily on the sofa, gesturing in the air to switch channels on the TV light screen, planning to find a movie to watch after dinner.
Idis emerged from the elevator behind him and asked casually.
The mech engineer looked aloof and calm, like a teacher or a friend, with his hands crossed and elbows resting on the wheelchair’s armrests.
Hearing Idis’s voice, the Little Adventurer quickly shifted on the sofa and twisted around, looking at him in surprise from bottom to top. “Professor Idis, you’re out of the basement already?! That was fast this time.”
Idis nodded.
“He’s still in a coma.”
Xie Jianxun told the truth, scratching his chin with a finger. “But we have new developments. His coma might have been caused by an accident involving some other creature.”
“Other creature?”
Xie Jianxun furrowed his brow lightly, ignoring the movie that had just started, and scrambled up from the sofa to stare straight at Idis.
“Professor Idis, do you know about the Insect Clan?” He gestured emphatically.
Idis replied, “I don’t teach biology.”
“…But I have seen something these past couple of days.” He gestured for Xie Jianxun to open Star Net and check the hot search list, where the top spot was a blazing hot topic from the current sector—the Western Border.
Xie Jianxun didn’t catch his meaning at first but opened his Light Brain anyway, then froze. “…What?”
The Federation’s hot search list was neatly lined up with: #Border Planet Insect Clan Uprising!#
#Insect Clan Invades Federation Border Again—Explosive!#
#Military Deploys More Troops—Far Voyage Army Sets Sail Once More#
Xie Jianxun had been busy with the worksheets Yiwen brought and reading books these past two days, so he hadn’t been online much, let alone checking hot searches.
The outside world was abuzz with news of the Insect Clan’s re-invasion, but not a whisper had reached his ears amid the storm.
The Little Adventurer’s eyes widened as he hurriedly scrolled through the page’s information.
Idis sat on the sofa beside him, quite close, and Xie Jianxun instinctively pulled in his legs so he wasn’t sprawled out like a pancake.
[They kept saying the army was suppressing Alien Beasts at the border, and now they’re telling us those Alien Beasts were actually the Insect Clan?? Why change the name out of nowhere?]
[Holy crap, my planet is only two hundred light-years from the nearest border defense line. Will the fighting reach us? Save me!]
[How did this come out of nowhere? No warning at all.]
[What even are these things? They look so gross.]
[Did the Insect Clan just pop out of a rock? No warning whatsoever. Damn it, border star route tickets jumped from three hundred to thirty thousand credits—everyone’s trying to flee, huh?]
Thousands, millions, even billions of messages scrolled across Star Net, showing Xie Jianxun just how many people in the entire Western Border were fixated on this.
He refreshed once, and the messages he’d seen vanished into the ether.
Xie Jianxun shot up from the sofa and blurted out, “Could it be…”
The revival of the King Insect on Desert Star and the Insect Clan’s assault on Golden City were the harbingers of this massive invasion.
Just a few months, and things had progressed this quickly?
It might not even be limited to the border planets—even the Silver Watchtower in the Western Border’s interior had been affected.
…But that didn’t add up. If bugs had reached Silver Watchtower, shouldn’t the planets closer to the border have raised alarms earlier?
A message popped up in their temporary Light Brain group chat.
You Liang: Let me give you some bad news—we might be facing a regional lockdown soon.
Gu Xuning: ? What happened?
You Liang: They used the bug we brought to develop a Pheromone Detector.
You Liang: Haha, they’ve already spotted hundreds of red dots underground. Who knows how many more are in unprobed areas.
Xie Jianxun: …
You Liang: How are bugs reproducing this fast?? Where are they all coming from???
In that instant, Xie Jianxun felt goosebumps rise all over. He nearly leaped off the sofa to check the floor.
Idis glanced sideways at him. “What’s wrong?”
Xie Jianxun said gravely, “Professor Idis, you absolutely mustn’t go out casually for a while. Let me tell you, it’s terrifying outside— the streets are crawling with bugs right now!”
If You Liang had been there, he would’ve pointed at Xie Jianxun’s nose and called him a liar.
Unfortunately, he wasn’t, so the Little Adventurer got to dramatically scare his teacher.
The mech engineer paused, then said softly, “The streets…”
Xie Jianxun nodded vigorously. “Full of them!”
Fortunately, Idis rarely went out anyway, so he’d probably stay far from the danger.
Idis pondered for a moment and accepted his advice. “Mm, no going out. The materials are nearly ready anyway. I’ll do some prep work and start restoring the most important memory segment in the Mechanical Puppet’s brain domain.”
Xie Jianxun raised his hand solemnly. “Is there anything I can help with?”
He saw Idis smile faintly, then compose himself. “No need. This part requires full concentration. I’ll have Ela assist me the whole time. It’ll be tough, but you’ll have to watch the house alone for a bit.”
The young man turned sideways, his long hair falling, speaking softly to Xie Jianxun with a calm expression, though his eyes held an indescribable depth.
It seemed the most crucial phase of repairing the Mechanical Puppet had arrived.
Before Xie Jianxun could respond, Yiwen leaped onto the sofa armrest and chattered loudly at Idis. “How is it just one person? Did you forget to count me, or forget Xunnxun?”
Idis countered, “In what way are you a person?”
The mechanical female voice replied shyly, “My smart and wise chip is as swift and agile as a human brain.”
Idis said coolly, “I believe the Main Brain would convict you of fraud.”
Xie Jianxun sat up slightly from the sofa, gently hooked Yiwen onto his arm, and patted her head casing. Yiwen nuzzled into his hand with a hum, and Xie Jianxun even saw her roll her eyes at Idis.
Yiwen: “You’ll succeed, right?”
Idis: “Of course I will.”
They seemed to be speaking in riddles that Xie Jianxun couldn’t quite grasp. He’d heard this kind of exchange often lately—superficially one thing, but hinting at something else underneath.
Then Idis entered the elevator and pressed the button for the basement.
Xie Jianxun glanced at the screen, a bit surprised.
“Didn’t you say the basement is where Professor Idis locks himself away when his emotions are unstable?” he asked, looking down.
Yiwen: “Well… let’s just say restoring memory footage makes it easy to immerse yourself, which can trigger emotional fluctuations.”
While Xie Jianxun chatted with Yiwen, small rumors about a regional lockdown spread wildly across Silver Watchtower’s Star Net.
Tuls’s call came in right on time.
As soon as the comm connected, Tuls chuckled bitterly. “Boss, I’ve got the last bit of materials. Want me to have a runner deliver them?”
Xie Jianxun replied casually, “All set? Thanks a ton.”
Tuls: “Aw, it took a few extra days—makes me look incompetent if I drag it out…”
Xie Jianxun took Yiwen downstairs to pick it up and soon received the package from Tuls.
Now, every item on the materials list was neatly checked off, nothing missing.
Xie Jianxun had Yiwen deliver the materials to Idis while he stayed at the front door to settle Tuls’s pay.
It had been a while, and the ‘private detective’ Treasure Hunter looked different again.
His hair was trimmed shorter, and he wasn’t wearing that flashy suit jacket anymore—just a plain black coat, without the cheap elite vibe.
A scan from his Light Brain’s electronic eye, and the transfer went through successfully.
Before heading upstairs, Xie Jianxun said offhandedly, “Oh, right—Silver Watchtower might get unstable soon. Be careful when you’re out.”
“Thanks, boss, but I probably won’t need to.”
Tuls pinched his nose bridge with two fingers and shook his head. “With this money, I can ditch my rental and head to the planet where my daughter goes to school. Find a new job, save up for her college later.”
Xie Jianxun looked into his eyes. “Didn’t your wife…”
Tuls: “The kid survived.” He paused, then shook his head again. “But she didn’t grow up with me, so she doesn’t really know me as Dad. Sigh. Not much else I can do—saving money can’t hurt… What if she asks me for allowance someday?”
Another person leaving, bidding Xie Jianxun farewell as he headed to an unfamiliar planet.
Xie Jianxun waved goodbye, stood at the door for a moment, then slowly made his way back inside.
As soon as he entered, Yiwen darted over, climbed onto his shoulder, and said, “That egg moved!”
