The City Lord suddenly opened his mouth, as if he wanted to retort, but he forcibly held it back, his face turning pale.
He mumbled, “I had no choice… If they returned to the Federation, it wouldn’t just be a matter of jurisdiction—they would definitely investigate that…”
The City Lord trailed off and pleaded humbly, “For the sake of all these lives in Golden City…”
Huo Jing said flatly, “What does that have to do with me?”
Suddenly, he revealed a rather malicious smile. “Do you think I’m the kind of person who cherishes human life?”
Huo Jing’s gaze swept over him, flat to the point of disdain, as if he were looking at a mere blade of grass. Indeed, would a top-ranked space pirate be moved by such words?
If he were, he wouldn’t have reached his current position.
The middle-aged City Lord understood this perfectly. He closed his eyes and suddenly turned to Xie Jianxun.
Before he could speak, Xie Jianxun waved him off. “I still have a whole sack of entanglements to sort out myself.”
Huo Jing: “One? What One?”
Xie Jianxun: “…You just said you didn’t know his name!”
The hand Huo Jing had draped over his shoulder tightened slightly, and he said dangerously, “What if I suddenly remembered? Can’t I?” It was so unreasonable it almost seemed like jealousy—terrifying. Xie Jianxun wrinkled his nose, thinking this man was a bit inexplicable.
City Lord: “Well, you two chat. I’ll take my leave first.”
He slowly turned around and walked heavily toward the exit. Moments later, his figure vanished around the other side of the corridor, followed by the excited shouts of maids.
His shoulder was pulled back, forcing Xie Jianxun to meet the man’s eyes. He pursed his lips slightly.
“I’ve never been this persistent before.”
Huo Jing said in a low voice, his lashes lowering. “Those who want to board my ship chase after me fanatically—they don’t need me inviting them one by one… You’re my first guest.”
He spoke word by word, inexplicably earnest.
Xie Jianxun thought for a moment and asked calmly, “You’re really not planning to help out?”
Huo Jing looked at him strangely, not quite understanding. “The Insect Clan was born in the insect hives deep in the universe. Their shells have special defenses, especially the King Insect—ordinary weapons can’t kill it; it requires massive amounts of energy.”
“But I get nothing out of this. Why should I do it?” He spoke as casually as if discussing a meal.
Xie Jianxun nodded. “Thank you. But I have many friends living here, and I want to help them. Leave the thankless tasks to me.”
With that, the little repairman shook off the hand on his shoulder and twisted around, running toward the stairs.
Huo Jing instinctively reached out but grabbed nothing.
He stopped in his tracks and watched as Xie Jianxun bounded up three steps at a time, vanishing in the blink of an eye.
Xie Jianxun climbed two more floors until Huo Jing was completely out of sight before slowly coming to a stop, his heart still pounding.
There was no doubt Huo Jing was some big shot, with his own territory and fleet.
And yet he had rejected Huo Jing’s invitation, even if his words had been somewhat tactful.
He hoped this big shot wouldn’t suddenly change his mind.
…He wasn’t some magical creature—what was with the obsession to take him away?!
He seemed to be the lord of some city-state… Were city lords that idle, wandering around most of the time with no real duties?
Xie Jianxun pondered as he ascended the stairs and spotted the steward peeking around furtively.
Seeing him approach, the steward let out a sigh of relief and hurriedly escorted him to the rest room.
They hurried down the corridor as the steward asked cautiously, “That lord doesn’t have the best temper. You didn’t anger him, did you?”
Xie Jianxun blinked, immediately replaying whether Huo Jing had truly been angry. “Sh-shouldn’t have?”
The rest room door opened, and Xie Jianxun was pushed inside. From the crack in the door, the steward half-warned, half-kindly advised, “Don’t wander around normally. Stay away from that lord, and there won’t be any trouble. Got it?”
Behind the door, Delin caught him and looked him up and down before relaxing.
The young man muttered, pressing Xie Jianxun’s shoulders. “Boss, that guy might look tall, handsome, and important, but you have to think about the one waiting at home!”
Xie Jianxun: “…”
As if he were some kind of player.
The little repairman said listlessly, “Let’s sleep, let’s sleep. I’m exhausted; dawn’s almost here.”
The rest room was modest, with two proper beds, two cabinets, and a matching small sofa. There was a window beside the beds. Since they’d been brought back, it was still the dead of night outside, pitch black.
Delin flopped onto one bed, curled up his legs, struck a pose, and mused, “Boss, do you know…”
Xie Jianxun sat on the other bed, neatly placing his removed shoes aside, planning to sleep in his clothes.
Hearing him speak, Xie Jianxun turned his head. “What?”
Delin said seriously, “Do they provide meals here? Anytime, or fixed times? I want to sleep till noon tomorrow!”
He’d find out the next day—they did provide meals, self-service style, eat as much as you want.
In the afternoon, Xie Jianxun’s workload suddenly spiked. He’d been able to chat idly with Delin before, but now he had to hustle.
Delin quietly asked around and returned worriedly to tell him that insects had appeared even inside the city.
“…Those bugs! How did they get in? Did they dig a tunnel through the city walls with those front legs that snap after one bend?”
Delin was baffled.
Xie Jianxun said offhandedly, “Maybe the insects have their own secret passages.”
The insects had appeared too suddenly, lurking in the shadows and attacking quite a few people.
The hospital was overflowing with wounded, panic spreading everywhere. The City Lord’s Mansion had finally announced the impending insect disaster but temporarily concealed the King Insect’s existence—that was the real bombshell.
Now, crowds roamed the streets with signs, demanding to know where the Patrol Troops had gone, if they were just eating their pay.
But the City Lord’s Mansion couldn’t tell the truth.
In reality, the Patrol Troops were secretly training inside the City Lord’s Mansion for a grueling mission:
Intercept and kill the King Insect on the road before it reached the city gates.
If it made it to Golden City’s doorstep, even if they killed it, half the city would collapse!
To ease the unrest, the City Lord’s Mansion hastily formed a militia group to handle the insects rampaging inside the city and ordered citizens not to go out after dark.
While Xie Jianxun helped transport crates of weapons, the conscripted militia stood in the open square before the City Lord’s Mansion building, forming two neat squares.
Xie Jianxun set down the crates and distributed equal shares of supplies to the militia.
These people had no training, no pay—they’d volunteered just to help exterminate the insects.
As Xie Jianxun bent to grab items, someone called out with a smile, “Little Xie the repairman.”
He quickly looked up and saw the familiar convoy captain standing among them, winking at him.
“Whew, little shell, how’ve you been these past couple days?” Basero half-jokingly complained. “Without you, Asa was ruthless, always shoving the biggest portions into my stomach… Oh, I really couldn’t eat it all.”
Seeing a familiar face, Xie Jianxun’s eyes lit up with a smile. “I’ve been fine. That must’ve been tough on you, Mr. Basero.”
There were people waiting behind, so he couldn’t dawdle.
Xie Jianxun finished the brief chat, moved to the next row, and looked up to see more familiar faces.
The massive, mountain-like Magm with his ocean-blue eyes, and behind him, his three half-siblings jostling around.
The mercenary squad and their hot-tempered captain, Bari.
The ever-polite Adventure Group Captain Antonio, who had swapped his elegant long coat for short boots and flashed Xie Jianxun a smile.
And more familiar or half-familiar faces.
The Joint Group had returned from that desert expanse—they alone knew what Golden City was truly about to face.
Contributing to their home was their consensus.
Xie Jianxun handed Antonio the supply pack, which included a personal weapon, ammo, rations, and compressed water—enough for basic patrols.
He smiled. “Captain, you’re all here.”
Antonio replied gentlemanly, “As residents of Golden City, we can’t sit by and watch it fall to the insects.”
Further back, a pair of inorganic, pale blue eyes met his. Xie Jianxun froze for a moment before realizing, until those eyes curved slightly at him in a faint smile.
One had changed into a short tactical assault jacket, black pants tucked into boots, with the curls on his forehead pinned back using a clip from Basero.
New clothes, but the aura unchanged.
Xie Jianxun instinctively stepped forward twice before stopping in front of it.
He tilted his head up slightly, wanting to speak but unsure what to say.
The mechanical puppet lowered its head and complained softly, “You didn’t message me, so I had to wait at the door.”
Xie Jianxun’s heart warmed, and he couldn’t help taking half a step closer. “Did you wait long?”
But One said, “No, just a blink. Later it got too late, so I asked around and learned you’d come to the City Lord’s Mansion.”
A mechanical puppet had a built-in clock—how could it not know how much time had passed?
It must have been thinking of him the whole time.
Xie Jianxun’s eyes stung, and he wanted to say more. “The City Lord’s Mansion confiscated our Light Brains, so we can’t contact the outside.”
One: “I know. I know. Are you… sad? Don’t be.” It coaxed in a low voice.
Xie Jianxun rubbed his eyes, his voice already hoarse and soft. “No, I just lost control for a second. I’ll go now—remember to come to the City Lord’s Mansion if something breaks and needs fixing.”
The mechanical puppet stepped out of line and wrapped its arms around his waist in one motion.
A gentle kiss landed on his forehead, seemingly casual, as it asked, “If I finish my mission and want to date, will you wait for me?”
It was so sudden—Xie Jianxun’s eyes widened, staring unblinking.
One: “If it’s you, would you accept a mechanical puppet’s… love?”
Xie Jianxun was at a loss, hearing someone confess so bluntly, so casually, laying their heart bare and pouring out their feelings.
A mechanical puppet—a humanoid weapon made of chips and data.
Could it love?
He hadn’t thought of that yet.
His nose tingled, and Xie Jianxun clasped his hands behind his back, pretending to mull it over. “We’ll talk after everything’s over, right? We still have thirty-six planets to explore together, oceans and fireworks to see.”
The mechanical puppet smiled faintly. “You’re right.”
The militia collected their supplies, the squares dissolving into lines that snaked out of the City Lord’s Mansion, heading to various parts of Golden City to exterminate insects.
Xie Jianxun leaned on the rest room windowsill, waving to their retreating backs.
Delin popped up behind him and said wistfully, “Looks like the competition’s over.”
Xie Jianxun turned back, puzzled. “What?”
Delin: “The official boyfriend grand prix—I bet that’s what you two were competing in. But clearly, long-term companionship beat a spur-of-the-moment pickup.”
