The hot wind swept dead leaves along the street with a whistling sound; under the blazing sun, the eerie wind somehow chilled people’s hearts.
The language of Changsui Star was within the scope of the smart brain’s database, so the mechanical gloves couldn’t have mistranslated. Then the question arose: how high was the chance of having several people with the exact same name?
Since stepping off the warship, Su Cha had wrapped himself up extremely tightly — unconsciously giving the answer.
Xie Rongjue instinctively glanced toward the abandoned building Su Cha had entered, just catching sight of a head looking out.
The glass was ordinary home window glass, with a high outer edge. If it weren’t for deliberate levitation, the less-than-one-meter-tall mechanical doll couldn’t have climbed up, so Xie Rongjue didn’t see the system.
Even so, Su Cha, uneasy, pressed one hand on the system’s head: “Don’t look up.”
Facing the meaningful gaze below, he smiled awkwardly and pointed at the super giant in the middle of the street… “Why look at me? At a time like this, of course, you look at the enemy.”
“Su Cha, kill…” The super giant took an axe from behind; the demonic poison infecting humans also triggered some special powers. This giant could wield fire abilities — the axe was burned glowing red in terrifying flames — and the next moment swung directly at Xie Rongjue.
Xie Rongjue vanished from where he stood and reappeared above the giant, his gun aimed precisely at the giant’s skull. But at the moment the bullet fired, a shell of flames formed. The giant was immune to that temperature, but both bullets and the ground beneath were melting furiously.
Xie Rongjue raised an eyebrow; this was a bit unexpected.
At this moment, Land finally spoke: “At such a high temperature, whether it’s telekinesis or spirit power, the attack strength will weaken.”
The super giant didn’t understand their conversation, only knew brute force attacks.
Xie Rongjue said: “Then find a way to distract him.”
“Hey—”
Suddenly, Su Cha on the upper floor waved, appearing to greet warmly.
During missions, he usually wore a mask, but there were times he showed his real face — for example on Changsui Star, to reinforce the rumor that he was the reincarnation of Buddha, Su Cha’s overly exquisite face was very convincing. The faint flower mark on his forehead spoke to his special identity.
Dead memories did sit-ups at this moment, heavily assaulting the super giant.
That face inexplicably made him angry, furious, burning to ignite everything.
Ignoring the enemy behind him, the super giant turned and walked straight toward Su Cha, even throwing the burning axe at the building.
Su Cha quickly bent down, using spirit power to slow the axe mid-air and moved upstairs. Along the way, he glanced around; the system was elusive, disappeared again without a trace.
The axe smashed into a nearby wall, which immediately collapsed with a crash.
“Su Cha.” Ji Tianjin came down from upstairs hearing the noise.
“I’m fine,” Su Cha said, “but the ‘executioner’ outside probably isn’t.”
He suddenly said something strange: “In my past life, I must have been a lark.”
“Want to sing again, right?” Ji Tianjin asked.
Su Cha began to hum: “Ah friends goodbye, goodbye, goodbye…”
The cheerful singing didn’t drift onto the street, drowned out by the footsteps of the charging super giant.
Land’s nearly transparent telekinetic threads blocked right in front of the giant; the sprinting giant’s neck was cut deeply, and Xie Rongjue took the opportunity to switch to a more lethal weapon, firing multiple shots at the wound.
The giant’s fall made a huge noise; in alleys, residential buildings, subway stations… the zombies, who originally disliked sunlight, rushed out. Xie Rongjue and Land darted into the building where Su Cha was.
The zombies inside had already been cleared; they hid on the rooftop, waiting for the torrent of zombies outside to subside.
Xie Rongjue holstered his pistol: “Tell me, why does that monster hate you so much?”
“Sleepwalking.” Su Cha had long prepared this explanation: “Before adulthood, I was asleep for a while; my soul wandered across different planets, possibly causing some friction with people.”
The strongest trait of purebloods was their soul. Xie Rongjue didn’t quite understand the characteristics of the Fog Star people, but Cyril’s soul power was undeniably strong. The emperor had once mentioned that even if the other party was asleep, they could still use their soul to destroy invaders.
Ji Tianjin intuitively felt Su Cha was lying but didn’t expose him, helping to change the topic: “For now, it’s safe.”
Su Cha: “We can’t stay in this city for long; more zombies will appear after dark.”
“Zombies?”
“Bodies that lost reason.” Su Cha casually explained, then said, “We can go to the wasteland or forest — just right to collect soil samples from different places.”
Xie Rongjue rejected the suggestion: “Things in the wild tend to be fiercer. Then besides the zombies you mentioned, there’ll be other animals too.”
Land pondered: “If any humans survive, they’ll definitely build bases. We can go there.”
Su Cha: “…”
You understand well.
“Where there are people, there’s fighting,” he muttered, “that place might not be very safe.”
At these words, all eyes focused on him.
After a pause, Xie Rongjue was the first to ask: “You’ve offended the living too?”
“Wrong logic,” Su Cha explained, “I offended the living first, then they turned into the living dead.”
“…”
Regardless, the base was definitely a place they needed to visit to collect water and microorganism samples from different zones.
On the way, Su Cha explained: “Not everyone is an enemy; it depends on our luck.”
Not all the people he saved turned ungrateful — some still had good intentions.
Xie Rongjue: “What exactly did you do?”
Su Cha seriously countered: “If I said I saved the world, would you believe it?”
The only response was a cold laugh.
Su Cha shook his head. These days, nobody believes the truth.
Fortunately, professional supporters quickly spoke up for him.
“I believe you,” Ji Tianjin said. “Changsui Star definitely owes you justice.”
Su Cha nodded heavily.
Yes, that’s how it is.
For the next several hours, Xie Rongjue was completely speechless.
He sent out a spirit form to scout ahead; Su Cha gave a direction based on his memory. Through the spirit form’s perspective, Xie Rongjue saw tall walls and multiple layers of defense at the entrance—getting inside wouldn’t be easy.
Su Cha: “I have an idea. I’ll keep saying hi, you guys sneak in quietly to collect samples, then retreat.”
Same strategy as fighting zombies.
Ji Tianjin frowned: “No, it’s too dangerous.”
Xie Rongjue gave him a long look.
Is that really the key point?
Shouldn’t the real question be how many people Su Cha has offended to be so confident that once he shows up, all eyes will be on him?
“Have the warship come here. You create chaos inside the city to draw fire, and I’ll use the opportunity to retreat.”
Ji Tianjin shook his head: “If you get surrounded…”
“It doesn’t matter.” Su Cha said, “I have a way to escape unscathed.”
He pulled Ji Tianjin aside: “Remember that missile Shen Ningze changed direction on? I have a ‘protective umbrella.’”
Earlier, he had used spirit power to block the sound waves, then withdrew the shield and said seriously: “All this is for Chief Xie. I will definitely help him collect the samples.”
Xie Rongjue, just about to take out a nutrient solution, suddenly lost his appetite.
The decision was that Xie Rongjue and Ji Tianjin would enter the city using the space-folding device.
Because it was too damaged before, the space-folder could now only be used intermittently. The human base was heavily guarded inside and out; someone had to draw attention. Land couldn’t leave Su Cha alone to take risks, so he stayed behind to complete the mission with him.
They contacted the warship nearby for support. Xie Rongjue glanced at the folding device Ji Tianjin had; there was no change in expression.
Ji Tianjin was calm as well. It was impossible for Li Huai alone to fool the investigation department. The folding device was exchanged with Ji Chong secretly, which must have had Xie Rongjue’s tacit approval.
Why the other side turned a blind eye wasn’t Ji Tianjin’s concern.
The base was guarded everywhere by patrol teams.
Sure enough, the space-folder didn’t last long and began rejecting them.
When the air fluctuated, the patrol captain seemed to sense something and was about to turn, but his gaze was caught by the little white flowers drifting outside.
“Hi~”
Unexpectedly, Su Cha didn’t go in person. Instead, he sent out his spirit form first; thousands of little white flowers spoke the language of Changsui Star in the air.
“Friends, it’s me, Su Cha. How are you all?”
The name Su Cha might be unfamiliar to children today, but the older generation knew it like thunder.
Inside a tall tower, the city’s leaders—six in total—usually composed and steady-faced, all showed signs of change: “Check it out, who’s causing trouble?”
Not feeling reassured, they personally left the tower, ready to smash the little white flowers, but suddenly felt a comforting aura emanating from the flowers.
Years ago, Su Cha also had a special ability that calmed people down. Some elderly in the base gasped: “Is that Su Cha the Buddha? Has Su Cha the Buddha’s reincarnation succeeded?”
“…”
Far away, Xie Rongjue, who was collecting samples, nearly slipped and broke a test tube.
The little white flowers spoke affectionately: “It’s me!”
“Playing tricks.” One leader suspected an intruder and was about to gather everyone to verify identities, when suddenly thousands of little white flowers turned to the highest-ranking person: “Don’t believe us? Let’s do a secret sign.”
The leader was suspicious: “What sign?”
The flower’s tone dragged a bit: “Trust the fool who cuts off his own flesh…”
The leader instinctively replied: “I’m just joking with you.” Then froze: “Su Cha, it really is you.”
The little flowers linked leaves and circled him: “I told you, it’s me!”
If not for the secret sign’s content, one might think their relationship was very close.
Little flowers: “I came to tell everyone to always believe in love. Do you remember those hardest times? My spirit has always been with you.”
Many who had been helped by him before, though afraid to speak then, now couldn’t help but cry: “Buddha, Su Buddha—”
This touching scene was destined to have no connection with the two inside the base. Xie Rongjue got goosebumps all over, scalp tingling.
“Speed up.” If they stayed another minute, he might develop a psychological shadow.
Ji Tianjin: “What they said isn’t wrong. Su Cha is indeed kind…”
“Shut up.”
“…”
***
While Xie Rongjue was suffering spirit torment, outside the base Land chuckled: “I thought the little lord would rush out directly.”
Couldn’t blame him for misunderstanding; Su Cha just now looked like he was going to shout rap lyrics under the high walls.
“That kind of talk mainly highlights my tall image,” Su Cha raised an eyebrow: “Got Ji Tianjin’s concern and made Xie Rongjue owe me something.”
Land: “Little lord is really both brave and clever.”
Su Cha nodded. “Thanks for the compliment.”
The leaders inside the base weren’t so easily fooled; they already deployed troops nearby to search. Land took Su Cha and retreated first; the warship was about five or six kilometers away.
“Don’t know if Ji Tianjin and the others are okay.”
“No, they won’t.” Land was confident. “The troops behind us have found us; all attention is here.”
And those two were likely to board the warship before them; Xie Rongjue would surely use a flyer.
There were many monsters in the forest. To draw fire away, Land and Su Cha didn’t use flyers—this was also a live teaching session, with Land demonstrating the many ways of using spirit power.
Su Cha imitated, and before he knew it, he could already see the shadow cast on the sky far ahead.
The warship hovered in midair ahead, continuously under attack from bird-like monsters. Compared to the ship’s sturdiness, they were like moths flying into fire. When the pilot saw Su Cha, he stopped hiding his movements and opened fire directly at the infected bird flock. After quickly clearing them out, he lowered the floating ladder.
The high-altitude wind stung Su Cha’s cheeks. He didn’t use spirit power to shield himself, but waved to the troops behind: “I’ll be back.”
Once the hatch closed, he breathed a long sigh of relief: “Finally, a close call without incident.”
After less than a day’s journey, Xie Rongjue had already had enough.
“I’m heading back to deliver the samples. You all do as you please.”
Su Cha felt it necessary to confirm with Ji Tianjin the other travel locations before regaining momentum to continue interstellar travel.
“The toxins in Changsui Star’s air are probably pretty bad,” he pressed his brows, “I have a strange feeling I can’t quite explain.”
Xie Rongjue and Ji Tianjin noticed it too, but only Land didn’t feel anything.
In terms of distance, Changsui Star is closer to the Galan Empire, so avoiding the interstellar battlefield could save a lot of time.
To be safe, Su Cha decided to go back with them for a physical check.
The empire’s largest hospital was run by the Ji family. As soon as they arrived in the Galan Empire, Su Cha was immediately arranged for a full check-up—blood tests, MRI… everything was tested, but no problems were found.
Ji Tianjin had the same results. The doctors almost suspected they were hypochondriacs.
Su Cha: “But I really feel something is wrong.”
Land worried: “Better go back and have the king personally check again.”
Just as Su Cha was about to nod, the communicator rang—it was Xie Rongjue calling.
When he answered, he was puzzled: “Weren’t you supposed to return to the palace to deliver the samples and report?”
Why call me now?
Inside the palace, Xie Rongjue’s footsteps stopped on the high steps. He looked up at the sky: “Just met His Majesty. He asked me a question I couldn’t answer.”
“What question?”
Xie Rongjue: “Where is the other person?”
“…”
Su Cha suddenly stood up from the bench outside the examination room and looked at Ji Tianjin: “Oh no, we forgot the deputy chief.”
Ji Tianjin was silent for a moment, then suddenly realized: excluding the pilot, five people went to Changsui Star, but only four returned.
Su Cha hung up. The two looked at each other, and after a moment, he said incredulously: “How could this be?”
One person missing, and they had no memory at all.
Ji Tianjin sighed: “No wonder we’ve been feeling off.”
It wasn’t the air toxins—it was their subconscious warning them someone had been left behind.
The one least aware was Land, who was full of concern only for his little lord and didn’t even remember there was a deputy chief.
Seeing Su Cha furrow his brows tightly, he sympathized: “My lord, there’s no need to worry over unrelated people.”
Su Cha shook his head: “Still unbelievable.”
He tried to recall but couldn’t even remember when the deputy chief got lost; it seemed the person wasn’t there when they left the Dead City.
…
After leaving the hospital, the group set off again toward Changsui Star. Xie Rongjue was no exception—he felt heavily responsible for this matter.
Everyone on the warship was very silent.
After a long while, Su Cha quietly asked: “When we see the deputy chief, what are we going to say?”
The deputy chief was certainly capable of survival; he must still be alive.
“What else to say?” Xie Rongjue pushed up his glasses: “Say sorry, I guess.”
“…”
Ji Tianjin: “Just don’t admit it. Pretend we never left.”
Su Cha pressed his lips: “But it’s already been half a month back and forth.”
Ji Tianjin: “Then confront him. Ask where he’s been for the past half month—we’ve been going crazy looking for him.”
“…”
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