“Your teammate?”
Nir let out a strange chuckle and reached out to grab Xie Jianxun’s shoulder.
Magm spun around, slamming his hard knee into Nir’s abdomen, nearly making the man spit up blood. But Nir endured the pain without flinching. Instead, he pulled out an electric shock pen and jammed it heavily into Magm’s body.
With the faint crackling sound of electricity surging, the steady, mountain-like captain crashed heavily to the ground, smashing onto the hard tiles of the bell tower.
“What nonsense are you spouting? He’s ours now.”
Xie Jianxun stumbled as Nir seized his shoulder and shoved him forward.
The nominal leader, Jack, carefully examined his face and encouragingly patted his hair.
He looked benevolent, like a kindly old teacher—especially after they obtained that precious Light Brain Wristwatch and checked its contents.
The massive sum was worthless on this Desert Planet, but they had enough saved up to buy ship tickets.
They had originally thought that even if they went elsewhere, there would be no place for them to settle in Mase.
But what if they possessed such a vast fortune—one large enough to sustain three generations in luxury… an inheritance?
“I have a contract here, sir,” he said softly, pulling an independent electronic screen from his pocket. It was filled with clauses about transferring the inheritance.
At the bottom, the signature line was blank. “Just sign it, and I won’t touch your… poor captain.”
Xie Jianxun instinctively glanced back and saw Magm’s deep blue eyes open, his lips moving weakly but emitting no sound.
Of course—because he was lying on his side, unable to get up.
Uncle Isaiah pointed at the electronic screen. Xie Jianxun silently lowered his head, took the capacitive pen, and slowly wrote his name. His handwriting wasn’t particularly elegant, but it was straight and neat enough.
“Jump.” Uncle Isaiah pointed at the well.
Xie Jianxun instinctively peered into the well. He couldn’t see the bottom—it was pitch black inside, not even a glimpse of Krimus, who had just been thrown down.
Xie Jianxun thought to himself.
Would he land on Krimus when he jumped?
“Hurry up. Need me to help you?” the bandit behind him urged.
Xie Jianxun instinctively turned his head and heard someone in the crowd shouting his name, screaming at him not to do it. Others struggled to rise from the ground as the Oasis Sand Bandits swung their electric shock pens repeatedly, like harvesting a field of upright leeks.
Chaos reigned.
Then he locked eyes with the mechanical puppet.
The bionic person, Mr. One, seemed to have just been shocked. His cheek was smeared with ash as he silently rose from the ground.
He placed one hand on his knee in a posture ready to spring into action. No one else noticed his movements, and naturally, no one saw the cold cruelty faintly emerging on the mechanical puppet’s face—no smile.
One raised his eyes and met Xie Jianxun’s gaze.
Finally, his pale blue eyes fixed in place, unmoving. Xie Jianxun seemed to read something else in them.
A countdown.
“Still thinking it over? Or give me a name, and I’ll have him die in your place…” Jack mocked in a low voice.
But the handsome young man suddenly straightened his back and said, “No need.”
Three.
Two.
One.
His heart pounded wildly as one foot stepped on the edge of the well mouth, his knee slightly bent.
His descent was like a slow-motion shot, reflected in the eyes of the captain on the ground.
The team’s pretty little repairman silently set down the signed pen without looking back or at them again.
His expression focused, his clothes fluttering like butterflies, knee bent, his other foot gradually sinking into the well’s darkness, swallowed by death.
Soon, his head vanished into it as well.
“Don’t—”
In the instant Xie Jianxun jumped, the mechanical puppet hidden in the crowd leaped out like a black eagle soaring over a cliff, following his steps. It stepped onto the well mouth and jumped down too, the gap between them mere blinks of an eye.
The Oasis Sand Bandits didn’t react in time. They fumbled panicked for their electric pens, but the blood-red laser sights couldn’t catch up to that figure. They watched helplessly as another person followed suit!
Jack rushed to the well mouth and peered down.
He saw only the pitch-black depths—no reflections, no sound of a heavy impact.
“Who was that just now?!”
“Anyone else who wants to die, step forward!”
He released his grip on the well edge and shouted, a ruthless glint flashing in his eyes. “I won’t mind sending him to meet God… God won’t forgive you!”
No one else acted out. Everyone quietly watched him and the well behind him.
How could someone willingly, proactively jump into a death trap?
In the back of the group, Basero crouched low and slowly exhaled.
With the mechanical puppet there, the delicate Little Rose should survive… even if it meant broken arms or legs—it was better than death.
It seemed like a long time passed before they heard a faint “thud.”
“They’ve gone down… May God protect them.”
Jack said coldly, shifting his focus. “Let’s go, everyone. Our vehicle’s waiting.”
…
Xie Jianxun felt like he was falling forever.
It was as if he were plummeting from the surface to the planet’s core—this endless fall couldn’t compare.
But soon, someone caught him, firmly hooking his waist while the other hand gripped a protruding stone on the wall, halting the descent.
Then, he was jostled and tucked neatly into an embrace, like a pupa hanging on the wall.
The impact against the wall was heavy, but the mechanical puppet’s face remained calm, as if nothing had happened.
A moment later, the human in its arms spoke in a light, trembling voice: “One?”
One replied steadily, “I’m here.”
“…I feel like I’m bungee jumping without a safety cord,” Xie Jianxun said weakly.
“That’s called jumping off a building.”
The mechanical puppet lowered its head and lightly brushed its lips against his hair. “You were truly brave.”
The human fell silent for a moment, then smiled bitterly. “My heart nearly stopped.”
Xie Jianxun had never imagined that when he locked eyes with One, he suddenly believed One would catch him. So he jumped into the deep black well without hesitation.
Now that the adrenaline had faded, he came back to his senses.
He tilted his head and lightly rubbed One’s cheek. “I didn’t misjudge you.” One had really jumped after him, mere instants later.
Hanging on the wall forever wasn’t an option. One turned its head and scanned the depth below.
After a moment, it said, “I’ll climb down partway, then drop to the ground. Hold on tight.”
Xie Jianxun straightened his legs, trying to reach the protruding brick edges with his toes, inching along so he could hook his arms over One’s shoulders. That way, it would be easier for both.
He said solemnly, “I’m ready.”
Soon, they landed lightly, kicking up only a bit of dust.
Xie Jianxun tried to get down from One but was stopped by the mechanical puppet.
One’s single eye glowed, illuminating the full view of the underground world—deep in the darkness, numerous compound red eyes flickered.
Not far away in the shadows lay a twisted human figure, emitting unintelligible groans.
It looked miserable, but at least he seemed alive.
Honestly, surviving a fall from that height was sheer luck.
“Save me…”
The figure in the darkness cried out frantically, his voice filled with agony, as if struggling.
Xie Jianxun couldn’t see into the deep shadows, but One activated its flashlight mode. He gasped in fear.
As the light swept around, they saw Krimus lying on the ground—and the bugs attached to his body.
Blood pooled around the back of his head, his limbs twisted from repeated impacts before smashing down.
And those bugs… like frail parasites, clung tightly to his wounds. They covered him densely, greedily sucking his blood.
But perhaps it was these bugs that kept him alive, sustaining his life through some unknown ability.
In excruciating pain, Krimus’ face contorted as he silently shed tears. His eyes were wide open, staring blankly toward the well mouth.
Xie Jianxun’s scalp tingled; he was speechless. “Th-this… what are these?”
“Bugs,” One answered. “The ones with sturdy shell defenses are Army Bugs. Those with specialized forelimbs for division of labor are Worker Bugs. There are special types too, like Infestor Bugs that inject neurotoxins to create puppets for the King Insect.”
Xie Jianxun gestured at the man on the ground, not daring to extend a finger.
“Uh, will he die?”
The mechanical puppet sighed lightly. “This gentleman won’t die for now. Infestor Bugs parasitize via neurotoxins and won’t let the host die easily… but another type from the Insect Clan can.”
One drew its knife, slowly igniting the blade with flames. “I’ll handle it. Be right back.”
The bugs’ chirps vibrated and overlapped in the air. More Infestor Bugs hanging on the well walls descended from above.
Without preparation or weapons, one would surely be overwhelmed by the swarm, bitten open with wounds all over.
But the mechanical puppet feared nothing of the sort.
When killing bugs, it used no finesse—just the long knife and raw power, chopping them like vegetables.
Before long, only piles of Insect Clan corpses littered the ground.
Krimus still lay there, gaze dull, his eyes tracking One’s movements.
Seeing the danger gone, Xie Jianxun relaxed.
He approached Krimus and pointed at him. One nodded.
The mechanical puppet used the knife tip to slice open Krimus’ skin, extracting the bugs that had burrowed deep, then burned them cleanly.
As if the painkillers had suddenly stopped, Krimus let out a agonized howl, but his expression gradually cleared.
His first reaction: “What… what happened to me?”
One said, “Any later, and you’d have been fully parasitized, turned into a puppet for the King Insect.”
Krimus said dazedly, “Then, Uncle Jack and the others…”
One sheathed the knife, walked over, and picked up Xie Jianxun. “I don’t know how they retained their minds after parasitization… a new Insect Clan?”
It jostled him lightly to check for injuries on the fragile human.
Xie Jianxun quickly pressed down on its arm.
The mechanical puppet looked at him innocently.
Xie Jianxun pushed at it.
Reluctantly, the mechanical puppet set him down.
Krimus slowly rose from the ground. Fearing the utter darkness on the other side, he cautiously shuffled into the illuminated area facing One.
Trembling, he checked his wounds—including the fractured back of his head, arms, and ribs. Most had been healed by the bugs.
Without the final parasitization, he had turned misfortune into fortune and kept his life.
But thinking that disgusting bugs had healed him made Krimus retch.
Without the parasites sustaining him, he collapsed weakly, panting heavily on the ground, unable to move.
The well bottom was cramped, lightless, with murky air thick with the foul stench of bug blood. A couple of breaths made his lungs burn.
Krimus moved his leg and suddenly realized it felt paralyzed—no sensation!
He screamed, “My leg! Why can’t I move my leg?!”
Xie Jianxun quietly surveyed the dim surroundings.
The mechanical puppet turned, pressing the knife tip to Krimus’ neck, finally calming him enough to stop his noisy interruptions of the human’s thoughts.
Xie Jianxun looked up, gauging the way back.
Too difficult—and unlikely there was a direct climbable path on the walls.
He said confidently, “Those people must have exited from here. There has to be a way out.”
Fortunately, One had burned the bug limbs cleanly. He circled the walls and spotted something suspicious. “One! Look, isn’t this a door?”
Unable to see in the dark, he hurriedly called the mechanical puppet over.
One approached slowly and indeed saw a door, concealed under remnants of bug blood, moss, and debris, blending into the wall.
It was locked, but fortunately with an ancient iron lock.
“Step back,” One said politely.
Xie Jianxun knew what it was about to do and retreated a few steps. Suddenly, his ankle tightened—someone grabbed it tightly, the touch ice-cold and slimy.
Startled, he lost balance and stepped on Krimus’ finger.
“I…!”
He nearly cursed aloud.
In that instant, the mechanical puppet drew its knife and slashed heavily at the lock. The two sounds overlapped, startling both Xie Jianxun and Krimus.
Bang—
The blade’s glow and flames sparked everywhere, briefly lighting the well bottom as the lock shattered and fell.
Krimus gazed weakly at him. Half his face was covered in wounds and blood, a miserable sight too gruesome to look at directly. Strands of hair stuck to his face in clumps—anyone could tell he was in bad shape.
“You’re… Xie Jianxun, right?”
His voice was hoarse as he tried to appeal to sympathy. “Take all the money I have on me. For the sake of someone who’s about to die, please… take me out of here, okay…?”
He was a naive, worldly-inexperienced little repairman whose every thought and emotion showed plainly on his face… Krimus had secretly observed him before, hiding at the back of the crowd.
Young, inexperienced.
He didn’t know what kind of monster that adult man was, the one who could pull weapons from his own body.
But the one in front of him now had to be a pure-blooded human—one who could laugh, feel sad, and… soften.
A particularly loud thought screamed in his mind, right into his eardrums: Grab him! Control him! Use him!
“…I don’t want to die underground. Look how dark it is here—no wind, no light… Let me, just let me die under the sun…”
He groaned, on the verge of tears.
Xie Jianxun did indeed stop.
He lowered his head and seriously examined Krimus for a moment. Before One could turn around and approach, he crouched down first.
Krimus’s heart leaped with joy.
Then, he saw Xie Jianxun raise his hand, take One’s long knife, and press the blade against his neck. It was the sharp edge, the one that could slice right through skin and windpipe.
Even without the flames burning above, Krimus’s heart jolted as if he were a lamb awaiting slaughter.
He instinctively let go and shrank back.
“Y-You…”
Xie Jianxun took a deep breath and said, “You’re the traitor who stole the supplies.”
“You damaged the Landship!”
“You leaked our advance plans to the Oasis Sand Bandits and worked with them to trick the Joint Group into eating drugged food!!!”
With every sentence, the blade pressed in a fraction deeper.
Xie Jianxun demanded, “So, what reason do I have to save you?!”
Krimus screamed in terror. “Don’t kill me, don’t kill me!!! Spare me, and I’ll tell you their next plan!”
