Chapter 47: Oh No! The Ship Exploded!

Fortunately, the ship’s surveillance system was fully active, exposing the Sand Bandits’ every move right under their noses.

This included their laborious trek, their elevator ride.

And finally, the elevator’s plunge.

It was eerily quiet.

But in everyone’s minds echoed the thunderous crash of impact. Aisia even covered her mouth.

“Are they… dead?” someone murmured, voicing what everyone was thinking.

One casually pressed a button, activating the infrared scan.

The display showed life signs in the elevator—vital signs, even movement, as they fiddled with something.

Phew—

Everyone let out a collective sigh of relief.

“As long as they’re alive,” the Patrol Army Captain said, “we need to rescue Captain Antonio as soon as possible and get out of here.”

Their next steps were clear: leave the control room, intercept the Sand Bandits closing in, pry open the elevator shaft, and free the hostages.

It sounded straightforward.

The elevator’s position was known, and the remaining Sand Bandits had been cut down—only a few left.

Yet everyone present, especially those from Golden City, wore faces etched with anxiety and worry.

They faced One repeatedly, words on the tips of their tongues, only to swallow them back.

The intellectual lady was one of them. Her face held not just anxiety, but a touch of conviction—she had long known about the second King Insect.

Xie Jianxun recalled that Basero had introduced her as…

What was it again?

Oh right, an insect research expert, with her own findings on the Insect Clan’s breeding habits and lifestyles.

Meeting her meaningful glance, Basero asked casually, “For everyone’s safety, I have to ask one more time—sir, is that second King Insect dead? It couldn’t be some millennium-old turtle that’s lived on for over a decade, could it?”

“Regrettably, that’s precisely why I’m still here.”

The Mechanical Puppet’s cold, low voice echoed through the control room.

“Over a decade ago, it was gravely wounded and fled deep into the desert to recuperate. And now, over a decade later, it’s on the verge of resurgence. Haven’t you noticed how outrageously frequent the Insect Clan attacks on human merchant convoys have become lately?”

The King Insect, on the verge of revival.

When this brutal truth hit them, even if they didn’t want to believe it, they had no choice— the insects had been far too active recently.

As if… desperately breeding to pave the way for their king!

Back then, Desert Star had been under the Federation’s tight control, with ships and soldiers dispatched to exterminate the Insect Clan. But now?

Half-detached from the Federation.

Communication stations ruined for years.

No planetary ambassador.

Just a City Lord’s Mansion that was inefficient, autocratic, and dictatorial.

If the King Insect emerged, it would bring an Insect Tide.

How could Golden City withstand an Insect Tide? How could it fend off a King Insect invasion?!

The Patrol Army Captain suddenly strode toward the exit, saying as he went, “We can’t waste any more time. The signal here’s bad—we need to get back to the city and have the City Lord’s Mansion prepare for an incoming Insect Tide!”

He hadn’t reached the control room door when the sensor door slid open ahead of time.

A mass of dark figures appeared from behind it, their sinister, bloodthirsty faces revealed as the light shifted.

“So you’ve already made it here.”

“Perfect—saves me the trouble of hunting you down. Step aside, everyone. If you’re obedient, I might even leave you with whole corpses.”

The Sand Bandits had traversed the tilted ship corridors and finally reached the control room.

No sooner had the words fallen than the Patrol Army Captain rolled aside, dodging a hail of bullets!

The Sand Bandits swarmed like inescapable locusts, seizing the control room entrance and sealing the only exit!

Bang-bang-bang-bang-bang—

A storm of gunfire erupted in an instant. Xie Jianxun slipped on his feet, sliding along the tilted floor and his own momentum right behind a cabinet, evading the barrage!

The Joint Group scattered and hid, each finding cover and biding their time.

The Patrol Troops relied on their armor to deflect the bullets.

Click—a synchronized sound of magazines being swapped.

The Patrol Army Captain bellowed, “Fire! Don’t leave a single one!”

The Sand Bandits swiftly retreated behind the control room door, using its thick bulk as cover, popping out occasionally to shoot. The two sides fell into a deadlock.

Something heavy landed on his leg. Xie Jianxun looked down to see a single-shot gun, about forearm-length.

From behind another cabinet, Basero signaled him: “Take it—protect yourself!”

Xie Jianxun thought for a moment—his Light Brain wasn’t even on him, and he had no weapons—so he nodded gratefully to Basero, slinging the gun over his arm.

One crouched half-kneeling beside him, first checking if he was safe.

With the hail of bullets outside, Xie Jianxun didn’t dare peek out, opting instead to turtle up.

Suddenly, the noise stopped, plunging the control room into an eerie silence.

He whispered, “Why’d they go quiet?”

The Mechanical Puppet finished its check—no wounds—and relaxed: “Still deadlocked.”

Suddenly, Xie Jianxun remembered something, his face twisting in horror.

He vaguely recalled that when the Patrol Troops attacked the Sand Bandit Camp, they’d used heavy-caliber ammo for suppressive fire!

What if the Patrol Troops couldn’t overpower the Sand Bandits and, in frustration, pulled out bombs…

After hesitating, Xie Jianxun asked gravely, as if making a momentous decision: “There’s something I have to ask.”

“Go ahead.”

“How sturdy is this ship?”

One replied, puzzled: “Generally, only cosmic-grade laser weapons can breach the hull, but the internal structure lacks that level of defensive coating.”

Xie Jianxun: “…”

One asked politely: “What do you mean?”

Xie Jianxun stammered, answering his own fear: “Are they going to just blow this place up?! They wouldn’t, right?!”

Amid the Sand Bandits’ point shots, they realized they couldn’t penetrate the Patrol Troops’ defenses.

They switched targets, firing at the Joint Group’s cover spots. The Patrol Troops had to reposition, using their armor to block the trajectories.

As hits accumulated, even the armor showed deep dents.

It wouldn’t hold much longer!

The Sand Bandits noticed too, pouring on even more fire, bullets flying like they were free.

They’d thought the Sand Bandits would be easy pickings, but they had ample firepower reserves! The control room floor was pocked with craters, sparks flying sporadically.

The Sand Bandits hadn’t expected the Patrol Troops to seize the control room first.

Had they found a closer entrance?

Or had Golden City already taken control of this ship?!

Jack thought, his arms trembling. If he had a massive ship like this, Mase wouldn’t be huddled in that tiny oasis.

The Patrol Army Captain lay near a half-wrecked metal cabinet, quietly waiting for an opening.

With the Sand Bandits blocking the door, they couldn’t get out—and staying meant being live targets!

He needed a breakthrough…

Suddenly, his heart tightened. In his line of sight, a girl crawled out from behind a cover cabinet, staggering to her feet.

Without thinking, the Patrol Army Captain tackled her: “Get back!”

He pinned her shoulders, but she didn’t collapse.

Bracing herself, she shouted: “Uncle Jack! It’s me, Aisia!”

Her disheveled long black braid hung before her. Even pinned down, she supported herself with her arms, as if trying to rise again.

Jack crouched behind the door, gun raised, swiftly reloading.

He thought coldly: The Patrol Troops could mimic Aisia’s voice? But Aisia was still at the oasis, living carefree…

Wait—they’d been to the oasis?

They’d captured Aisia?!

That familiar clear voice rang out again, choked with sobs: “Uncle, you said you’d build a new Mase City…”

Yes, he had—but Desert Star was so barren, resources so scarce…

Nearby, Nir stood stunned, gun raised, frozen.

His face was exposed under the control room’s flickering lights, but no one fired. He said soberly: “Boss, it’s really Aisia.”

“…”

A long silence.

No one pulled a trigger.

“…So what?” Jack said.

If they weren’t in the middle of a fight, he’d probably sit cross-legged, light a smoke.

He imagined phantom smoke curling in his mind, hands still working—reloading without looking, sweeping the control room blindly.

That imaginary cigarette dangled from his lips, seductive in its aroma.

Jack said: “It’s gone, Aisia. There won’t be a Mase City on this planet anymore.”

He didn’t even glance out.

The Patrol Army Captain silently shifted aside. Aisia crawled out from under him in silence, her palms smeared with floor grime.

Composing herself, she said: “Uncle, tell them to lower their guns. We can still rebuild Mase. It’s our roots, deeply embedded in this planet.”

Jack: “Little girl, you don’t get it. Mase will soon leave this planet for greater horizons. All these changes are just revolution—and revolution demands blood…”

“…And you forgot Mase’s creed? Threw it all away?”

Her voice trembled. “‘Hospitable Mase, diligently rooted’—you taught me that.”

Something heavy pressed into her palm—someone had slipped her a hefty… miniature laser bomb?

Aisia glanced at it, then again.

Tears welled up in her eyes; she could barely hold back.

From choked sobs to outright crying, she nearly yelled: “Uncle, then tell me! Those merchant convoys that passed through and vanished soon after—were they just rushing through the night, or did you…”

“I fed them to the bugs in the bell tower.”

Jack exhaled slowly, as if puffing nonexistent smoke. “You’ve never been inside, so of course you don’t know what’s there… You were always such a good girl.”

The once-warm oasis Mase had long changed.

She’d been kept in the dark, alone.

Better that way.

If she’d known the truth, she’d have protested or run away—maybe not lived so happily till now.

Nir glanced at the girl. He’d watched her grow up; his heart ached dully now.

He couldn’t help saying: “Aisia, you’re the next clan leader—always so sensible. Your uncle did it all for Mase. Come over to our side; avoid getting shot.”

Aisia took a few steps forward. Nir smiled, relieved.

Jack’s eyes snapped open.

“Kill her!” he roared. “Don’t let her come over—she’s with the Patrol Troops now!”

Aisia froze.

Her instincts turned her blood cold; she instinctively stepped back.

Still, she didn’t move, saying: “Uncle…”

But the Sand Bandits trained their guns on her.

Before they could pull the triggers, Aisia finally yanked the pin.

The Sand Bandits were a beat slow.

Boom—

Xie Jianxun thought: What had he just said?

Currents and flames erupted in response, weaving into a blinding white light filling the room.

He couldn’t see ahead, but he knew One was there.

So he reached out, fingertips brushing a familiar texture—then the other gripped his wrist in return, pulling him tight.

Thud!!!

The entire ship shuddered violently. The control room deck blasted open, and everyone tumbled down like dumplings.

The miniature laser bomb had a small effective range but intense burst radius—enough to maim the Sand Bandits from the waist down, while the Joint Group luckily escaped unscathed.

However, with the ship unmaintained for over a decade, the ruptured deck expanded, sending everyone plummeting to the level below amid an explosion of dust and debris.

Xie Jianxun opened his eyes.

He dangled unsteadily in midair, chaos and ruins below, his arm raised high, wrist gripped firmly.

He looked up to see the Mechanical Puppet perched on a jutting board, one hand clutching exposed wires, the other holding him steady with effort.