Treasure Hunter Tuls had regained his boss’s favor.
However, he didn’t dare to walk ahead of his boss with his head held high now. He only followed behind, acting as the boss’s little sidekick.
As for odd jobs and errands, he was quite experienced, Tuls thought.
Xie Jianxun curiously passed by a few stalls and saw plenty of rare but broken mechanical parts—even a seemingly brand-new, shiny bionic human leg bone. No wonder it was being sold at the black market; regular shops couldn’t easily sell such things.
His assistant’s footsteps paused, but no one noticed.
Seeing his attention on the leg bone, Ela stepped forward and reminded him, “Mechanical puppets don’t need them.”
Xie Jianxun nodded and pondered, “Can bionic persons’ legs be replaced at will?”
He picked up the leg bone. It had some weight in his hand, made from a special metal that could combine with bionic materials to generate flesh and blood.
The seller stood behind the stall with a heavy nasal voice, buzzing, “It can be replaced. If your bionic person breaks down, just go to a bionic repair shop, and they’ll swap out a leg bone like this… Hey, others charge twenty thousand, but I’m only asking for two thousand—no surgery fee!”
Xie Jianxun said, “This looks unclean. Second-hand goods, right?”
The seller faltered and mumbled, “It works anyway…”
Tuls leaned in and whispered to him, “It’s taken from scrapped bionic persons—maybe from a factory or a junk recycling station.”
Xie Jianxun pretended not to care and quickly placed the leg bone back, feeling as if he’d stumbled into a gruesome crime scene. He now desperately wanted to find a restroom to wash his hands.
Fortunately, Ela pulled out a wet wipe from his pocket and handed it to him, resolving Xie Jianxun’s psychological aversion to dirt.
As he wiped, he asked Ela, “I just thought of Mr. Idis… His legs don’t look too promising either.”
Xie Jianxun tactfully expressed his concern.
Tuls’s gaze patrolled the surroundings. He quietly walked away, upholding professional ethics by not prying into his boss’s private matters.
Ela seemed unconcerned about his employer’s legs. His eyes darted away, not sure where to look, and he casually said, “He doesn’t want to get treated, so no one can do anything.”
Xie Jianxun gossiped, “Mr. Idis’s legs—were they really injured over a romance?”
With someone so close to the truth standing right there, Xie Jianxun couldn’t resist asking.
Ela glanced at him and said lightly, “In a way, it’s not far off… Injured over family ties—does that count?”
Xie Jianxun replied, “Mm… Sounds like Mr. Idis’s private business. We shouldn’t talk about it.”
But Ela stood there rigidly for a full minute before volunteering, “Idis has no family. His closest kin was his adoptive father.”
“His adoptive father wanted to saw off his legs for money but failed. Still, he ended up unable to stand.”
He tossed out those two sentences nonchalantly, then walked over silently, gripped Xie Jianxun’s dangling hand with his own, and looked up at him. “Shall we keep going?”
Xie Jianxun froze. He hadn’t expected the story behind the legs to be like that.
After a long moment, he said, “Let’s go, let’s go.”
Ela pulled him along for several steps before he snapped out of it.
No wonder doctors couldn’t heal the disability—it involved a psychological wound too… He wondered what nightmarish scene the still-young Mr. Idis had witnessed in that moment.
From then on, he sat in a wheelchair, deprived of the right to walk on his own two legs.
When he got back, he’d make something extra delicious for Mr. Idis, Xie Jianxun thought worriedly.
Now, seeing the bionic human leg bone displayed openly made him feel an inexplicable disgust… even though it wasn’t part of a real human.
Ela didn’t look back but seemed to have eyes in the back of his head. He pulled Xie Jianxun forward without turning around.
Xie Jianxun didn’t react until Ela tugged him again, realizing they should keep moving.
“Don’t overthink it.”
His assistant’s thick eyelashes fluttered as he looked up at him. “Idis doesn’t care about it himself. Once he lets go of the past, he’ll definitely want to get treated.”
He lied with a straight face, but Xie Jianxun didn’t know and felt comforted.
Little Adventurer said sympathetically, “Looks like I need to show more concern for your boss. He hasn’t had it easy.”
Ela’s eyes widened, his pupils flickering with an anticipation even he couldn’t quite discern.
“How will you care for him?”
Xie Jianxun confidently replied, “Greet him—good morning, good noon, good evening. How’s that?”
The light in Ela’s eyes vanished.
Ahead, Tuls called out in surprise, “Boss! Check this out!”
Realizing something, he abruptly lowered his voice, glancing left and right, afraid others might compete with them.
He waved Xie Jianxun over urgently, as if he’d spotted something great.
Xie Jianxun approached. On the wooden stall lay a single flat card with a string of barely legible words printed on it.
Puzzled, he asked, “What’s this?”
Tuls leaned in close. “Underground auction entry ticket!”
The stall owner looked at them in astonishment and admitted generously, “That’s right, it’s an auction entry card. You actually recognized it.”
Tuls grumbled as he picked up the card from the wooden stall and showed it to Xie Jianxun at an angle. “I went once before with Mr. Dobin.”
Having an assistant who’d dabbled in everything was far better than Xie Jianxun fumbling blindly.
Little Adventurer said cheerfully, “Are we heading to the auction?”
Tuls took a small step back, opened the material list on his light brain, checked off a few items for Xie Jianxun to see, and highlighted the key ones.
“These, yeah, we can find in the wilderness. We’ll gather them together in the mining district.”
“These are basically nowhere outside, and prices are sky-high on the market. Mining district hunters usually send them to auctions for better returns.”
“These, haha, pretty common. We can collect them just by browsing around.”
He closed his light brain, stowed the list, and exchanged a smile with Xie Jianxun.
The path forward was crystal clear. Xie Jianxun felt optimism about what lay ahead!
He stepped up and asked the stall owner directly, “How much for this entry card?”
Stall owner: “Thirty thousand.”
Tuls: “…”
Xie Jianxun had little sense of market prices. He stepped back and quietly asked, “Is this price normal?”
The treasure hunter with empty pockets had razor-sharp price sensitivity. Shocked, he said, “You don’t even know what grade of auction this is, and you’re asking thirty thousand?!”
The stall owner yelled back, “What’s wrong with thirty thousand?! What if it’s a black grade auction? That’s a steal!”
Tuls rolled up his sleeve, ready to argue, but suddenly remembered the patches on it and quickly lowered his arm.
He tried haggling. “So, what’s your supply source?”
Stall owner scoffed, “Picked it up off the ground.”
Tuls: “Damn!” He praised, “You’ve got some guts.”
The stall owner pressed them to pay. “Anyway, I’m right here. Pay up, activate it—if it doesn’t work, come beat me up. Deal?”
Xie Jianxun: “…”
Not only did Tuls roll his eyes; even he thought the guy deserved a punch.
He exchanged a glance with Tuls. The treasure hunter cracked his knuckles to warm up. “Fine. Take the money and don’t run.”
The stall owner took the money and, true to his word, didn’t run. Xie Jianxun entered the code on the card into his light brain, pulling up an unfamiliar contact number.
After adding it, a string of address and time details came back instantly.
Stall owner: “Heh heh, I knew it was real. Don’t worry, I do honest business with young and old alike… No tip?”
Tuls: “I’ll give you a tip from the boss—a punch.”
The address was unfamiliar: entry at dusk three days from now, auction starting promptly at seven.
Xie Jianxun mused, “Three days from now, huh.”
The stall owner packed up and left. Tuls clutched his chest, still heartbroken over the thirty thousand.
Watching his boss casually drop tens of thousands, his facial features scrunched up in agony.
He sucked in a pained breath and subconsciously asked upon hearing his boss, “What’s wrong with three days?”
Xie Jianxun sighed. “Sigh, if it takes that long, I won’t be able to bring Xun Jia along to see the world.”
Tomorrow at ten in the morning, Xun Jia’s flight departed from the East Aeroport at Silver Watchtower, heading south all the way to his home planet.
Which meant one member of their trio was leaving.
The next morning, they gathered early at the aviation port.
Xun Jia dragged a single suitcase, wearing the snow-white designer hoodie Xie Jianxun had first bought him. Outside the aviation port building, he shivered from the cold. Once inside the terminal, the warm air revived him.
Xie Jianxun accompanied him to the baggage check. Overhead, the large screen scrolled with flight schedules and today’s news.
“…The latest brain domain mech is about to launch: 360-degree full view with no blind spots, free your hands, and enjoy lag-free neural control thrill…”
Xun Jia struggled to place his suitcase on the conveyor belt, watching it join other travelers’ bags into the dark security scanner.
He muttered, “This ad is everywhere. Did you see it coming in from outside? Even the taxis were blasting it! Honestly, I don’t see the point.”
Seles, hands in his pockets, said casually, “Plenty of people still head to the wilderness mining districts for a living. They need strong combat power combined with protection.”
Xun Jia: “If they’re scraping by, they probably can’t afford it—this thing’s pricey…”
He watched his suitcase disappear, frozen in place.
Xie Jianxun nudged him with an elbow. “Not going through? What if someone swipes your bag?”
Xun Jia: “Then I can shamelessly stick around here guilt-free.”
Seles: “…”
Xie Jianxun chuckled helplessly. “You still have to study. Can’t waste the exam prep you crammed last night.”
Xun Jia reluctantly passed through security. As he did, the doorframe mech scanner went off, and he grabbed his suitcase on the other side.
Outside the curtain wall glass, the sky was clear blue. Xun Jia gazed at it for a moment and sighed.
He waved to them over the railing.
Once Xie Jianxun and the others approached, Xun Jia cleared his throat and said formally, “I have two goals now. First, get into Silver University to hang with Seles. Or get into East Border Capital Star to be with Xunxun.”
Seles opened his arms. “Silver Watchtower welcomes you.”
Xun Jia: “Get lost! I know East Border Capital Star’s score line is insanely high, but can’t I dream?”
Cursing under his breath, he stormed off dragging his suitcase. Its four wheels rumbled loudly, swallowed by the noisy crowd in the aviation port building.
Perhaps he’d buckle down and ace into East Border Capital Star’s university, or maybe join Silver University and plan with Seles to reunite with Xie Jianxun in neighboring East Territory someday.
As his figure vanished at the aviation port exit, Xie Jianxun finally understood what it felt like to see someone off.
Before, others had always sent him away. Now it was his turn, and he truly felt the reluctance, a hollow emptiness in his heart.
The clamor faded to background noise. Little Adventurer inexplicably felt melancholic.
He walked alongside Seles for a stretch. The young man brought up a topic. “These past couple days following my brother, I’ve seen a lot.”
Xie Jianxun perked up and turned to him. “Anything interesting?”
Seles said, “My family’s in biotech with a dedicated bionic factory—unique in Silver Watchtower. That’s why Miss Nevi came to us to expand brain domain mech production. From our recent dealings, she’s taken control of a few more foreign trade routes. Heh, and I happen to remember those routes were in Emory’s hands before.”
Xie Jianxun was a bit surprised. “They…”
The young man said leisurely, “Obviously, their engagement isn’t off. Emory probably handed over his most competitive foreign trade routes to Miss Nevi in a panic. Hmm, smart move… Don’t let the ads fool you—they’re rushing the handover. We’re just watching the show from the sidelines. After all, we only handle the production line, nothing else.”
Xie Jianxun sighed. “Looks like Mr. Emory’s days ahead won’t be easy.”
Seles nodded in agreement. “Honestly, we all thought he’d get dumped once the routes were gone. Him lasting this long is thanks to Miss Nevi’s soft heart.”
As he spoke, his voice gradually weakened, as if he had spotted someone, revealing a rare vigilant expression.
Xie Jianxun followed his gaze and saw a familiar face.
“Mr. Idis!”
He called out in surprise and dashed over, gripping the back of Idis’s wheelchair.
Idis sat in the wheelchair, his expression calm and unruffled, nodding at Seles.
A half-second later, he quietly shifted his gaze to Xie Jianxun.
Xie Jianxun said cheerfully, “It’s been days since I last saw you leave the workshop, Mr. Idis. What brings you to the Aviation Port today?”
Idis replied, “A batch of ordered materials just landed. The Aviation Port called me to come inspect them.”
Seles politely greeted him before saying goodbye to Xie Jianxun, “I’m afraid I have some business to attend to, so I’ll head out first. There are a lot of people here, Jianxun, so stick with Mr. Idis and don’t get separated.”
“See you later, Seles.”
Xie Jianxun gave him a small wave and watched him walk away.
“There’s something you need to explain,”
Idis suddenly spoke up, causing Xie Jianxun to turn his head in confusion. “When I came downstairs, I saw a bionic leg structure in the restaurant—what’s that about?”
The Little Adventurer was stunned, not understanding. “Bionic structure? Wait, didn’t I put that thing in the corner?”
The mature Advanced Mech Engineer kindly informed him, “Before I left, it was under a huge glass cover on the dining table. Yiwen told me it was your prized creation.”
Xie Jianxun: “…”
After inspecting the ordered goods, the Aviation Port promised to deliver everything to the Idis Family home by tomorrow.
They rode home together, and the moment the elevator doors opened, Xie Jianxun understood what Idis meant by his “masterpiece.”
A brand-new bionic leg bone was encased in a gleaming glass cover, placed squarely in the center of the dining table, shimmering with a metallic sheen under the lights.
The Mechanical Arm coiled atop the glass cover, moving sluggishly as if just woken from sleep.
The mechanical female voice carried a sleepy tone: “You’re back… Yawn…”
Xie Jianxun: “No, I just said to please keep this basic replacement model I bought from the bionic repair shop safe—I wanted to study its structure later… Not to put it on display like some altar piece!”
Yiwen replied guiltily, “I thought Jianxun really liked it.”
Idis suddenly asked, “Do you have a foundation in mechanics?”
Xie Jianxun had already rushed over to lift the glass cover off the table. Yiwen, quite satisfied with her “masterpiece,” dawdled a bit before finally helping out to prevent Xie Jianxun from dropping it and hurting his foot.
The Little Adventurer was struggling with the heavy object and turned his head slightly upon hearing the question. “I’ve studied traditional mechanical structures and integrated mechanics… a little bit. I’ve never touched bionic science.”
Finally, they placed the glass cover in the corner, and Xie Jianxun let out a long breath of relief.
After all, looking up during a meal to see a metal leg bone right in front—how could that not be creepy?
Idis continued, “Do you want to learn bionic structures?”
Xie Jianxun: “Sigh, sir, you probably don’t know—there are bionic people all around me…”
Idis froze, staring intently at Xie Jianxun, his brows slowly furrowing.
Xie Jianxun gave an example. “Like my butler. Sometimes I really want to crack open his head and see what’s inside. If possible, I’d actually prefer to learn Mechanical Puppet repair techniques.”
Idis wheeled closer to him and said softly, “That technology is outdated now. Learning bionic repairs isn’t all that different in theory.”
Xie Jianxun replied lightly, “It doesn’t sound easy. Maybe I should hire a private tutor. …Huh?”
The ghostly mech genius looked down at his face and said, “If you want to learn, I permit you to come and go from my workshop freely. I can also lend you the textbooks.”
His pupils still swirled with streams of code—memories copied once more from the Mechanical Core.
Xie Jianxun stared at him blankly, seeing that Idis’s expression hadn’t changed—he was clearly serious.
Realization dawned, and a smile overflowed from the corners of his eyes and brows. “That good? Teacher Idis?”
