Chapter 38#
Grave Digging#
The air was thick with the pungent smell of dust, mixed with the unpleasant odor of decaying soil.
Yin Beichen seemed oblivious to it, silently burying his head in digging. The pale starlight spilled over his slender figure, making him look cold and lonely.
He could have used a machine to dig up the soil, but that would damage the bodies, so he had to dig carefully handful by handful. He had already forgotten that he could use tools, digging deeply with his fingers, scraping away the dirt above to reveal the person underneath.
The first grave held an old man, the second a woman, the third had scattered limbs with tattered clothes, the fourth, the fifth… His fair fingers were already stained with blood, but Yin Beichen didn’t notice, continuing to tear open the graves one by one.
Finally, at the eighth grave, the person underneath was a young man.
Yin Beichen didn’t dare look closely at the face. He tightly embraced the cold body. After a long while, he slowly wiped the dirt off the face, then slumped his shoulders in despair and pushed the body away.
It wasn’t him. It wasn’t him…
Yin Beichen’s expression was blank. He staggered to his feet again and walked toward the next grave.
Ning Feng.
Ning Feng…
Where are you?
Slowly, the sky began to lighten. The orange-red dawn spread over the mountain.
Looking at the grave before him, Yin Beichen was about to reach out and continue digging when a startled cry from behind snapped him back to reality.
“Who are you! What… what have you done!?”
Turning around, he saw a staff member who had come for the shift change. Yin Beichen looked behind him and realized that the area was littered with opened graves.
He glanced down at his hand and noticed that the base’s morning training had already passed.
It seemed he had to stop here for today.
Yin Beichen thought calmly as he slowly stood up.
The man cursed and shouted, demanding compensation.
But Yin Beichen’s face showed no extra expression. He pointed at the messy ground. “For those I’ve opened, give them coffins. Don’t move anything else. I’ll come again tomorrow.”
“Again?” The man wanted to yell, but the short notification sound of a transfer made him shut up.
He was full of doubts and couldn’t help sizing up the newcomer.
This person was wearing a uniform, covered in mud, hands all bloody, and his face was smeared with dirt. He looked like some officer who had come from somewhere. It was strange enough that he was digging graves for no reason, and now he wanted to give them coffins?
His face wasn’t bad, but his expression was like a dead man’s…
Suddenly thinking of something, the man shuddered, turned pale, and stepped back two paces. Then he politely saw the person out.
After kneeling all night, his muscles were sore all over. Yin Beichen moved stiffly onto the aircraft and pressed the return command. Only then did he feel the piercing pain at his fingertips.
He lifted his eyes to gaze at the gray sky. It was hazy, like an invisible net from which one couldn’t escape, only to be ground to pieces.
He sat quietly for a while, then dialed that familiar number again.
【Hello~ I’m your Ning Feng. This is a voicemail.】
…
After listening to the familiar, careless automated message, Yin Beichen struggled to open his lips.
“Ning Feng, it’s me.” He paused for a long time before continuing. “I went to find you today, but I searched all night and didn’t find you.”
His eyelashes trembled, and then he closed his eyes tightly, his chest heaving violently.
Then, Yin Beichen only said hoarsely.
“Ning Feng, where are you?”
**
Meanwhile, Ning Feng’s days were not easy either.
After a few days of chaos, his team finally looked like something. They weren’t exactly cooperating with each other, but at least they weren’t tripping each other up. Every time his teammates’ various crazy antics almost drove him to a system crash, he would open the mercenary points mall, look at the parts in his shopping cart, and feel that the future was still full of hope.
After all, even robots needed a sip of chicken-soup-flavored oil to stay motivated.
Finally, it was the day before the selection tournament.
They arrived early at the venue to check in. Since their team level was too low, they didn’t have their own rest room, so they could only wait in the lobby.
The lobby was bustling, crowded with mercenaries.
They gathered in groups, talking loudly and laughing softly. In the center hung a huge high-definition screen that would be used to live-stream the battle inside. There was also a small bar in the corner providing cheap drinks and certain services. The entire place was smoky and foul, with the smell of sweat, alcohol, and sourness mixing together. Even though Ning Feng didn’t have a nose, he still felt suffocated.
Ning Feng carefully protected his arms and legs, finally squeezing into a sofa in the corner, waiting quietly for Shahmu to finish the registration procedures. Suddenly, a male voice came from behind.
“Hey, isn’t this Shahmu? What, taking your little sheep out for a walk again? Don’t say we’re bullying you later.”
Looking toward the sound, Ning Feng saw a few burly mercenaries.
Wen Qianyong glared at them, stepping sideways to block them. But Shahmu just smiled and shook his head, not refuting.
“Who are these people?” the robot asked.
“Our first opponent,” Wen Qianyong said indignantly.
“Strong?”
“Ranked over twenty places higher than us, with dozens of active members.”
“So what if they have more people? They can only send three into the ring,” Mad Mouse said dismissively.
“What do you mean ‘so what’? Any one of us could take all of you down easily,” a member from the other side scoffed.
“Look at you: one only knows how to fire a cannon, one only knows how to run away, and you’ve even got a broken cleaning robot. Shahmu, what future is there in this little team? Why not join ours? As for Wen Qianyong… it’s not like we can’t afford to support one extra waste.”
“Hahaha…”
Shahmu still smiled faintly, but coldness gradually crept into his eyes and brows. He was about to speak, but unexpectedly, Ning Feng behind him made some strange noises.
“Garbage detected. Beginning cleanup mode.”
Then, he somehow grabbed a large broom and swung it around, flailing wildly.
The other group was caught off guard, yelping as they were hit by the sudden attack, and roared to fight back. But the robot moved nimbly; it looked chaotic, but in fact, it dodged all their counterattacks.
“Where did this robot come from?!” They were furious and about to draw their guns when suddenly, a gruff… female voice sounded from not far away.
“What are you yelling about?!”
A tall, short-haired woman walked over. She wore a neat combat suit, a gun at her waist, and was followed by two well-equipped big men. If not for her voice, her aura wouldn’t lose to any man present.
“Captain Marcia.” Those men immediately smiled ingratiatingly when they saw her.
Captain? This woman was their mercenary group’s captain?
Ignoring the stares, Marcia glanced at them.
“Registration done?”
“Not yet…”
“Then what are you standing here for? Get lost!”
With a glare, the troublemakers shrank their necks, apologized repeatedly, and quickly ran off. Others were stunned for a moment, but soon forgot the small incident—after all, here, the competition was the most important.
“Garbage cleanup complete.” Playing the part fully, Ning Feng retracted the broom and retreated to the corner.
“Marcia, why are you here?” Shahmu smiled lightly.
“To see when you’ll quit your little ragtag team. You know I’m the one who appreciates you the most,” Marcia said with a smirk, punching his shoulder.
Wen Qianyong pursed his lips. Shahmu just smiled and said nothing, stepping back half a step gracefully and patting the man’s back casually.
“Hmph, always taking care of kids,” Marcia snorted, but didn’t come closer.
Her eyes swept over the robot in the corner, so she walked up to Ning Feng and looked him up and down carefully. Ning Feng didn’t move, only his antenna kept rotating to follow her direction.
“I heard you recently made a smart robot?”
“Something like that. It’s just an ordinary robot.”
“With Dr. Shahmu’s hands, there’s no such thing as ordinary?” Marcia laughed loudly, while Shahmu smiled silently.
They chatted briefly, and then Marcia left the lobby with her bodyguards.
As she passed Wen Qianyong, she deliberately stopped and glanced at him without politeness. “Little Yong, I’ve placed a heavy bet tomorrow. Don’t disappoint me.”
Wen Qianyong’s fingers clenched into fists, a complex expression in his eyes.
“What bet?” Ning Feng asked.
“Betting on who wins or loses,” Mad Mouse said, picking his ear. “Every match has odds based on the teams’ strength.”
“What are our odds?”
“1.1, 2.3, 4.6.”
“How does that work?”
“Betting we last over 15 minutes pays 1.1x, over half an hour pays 2.3x, over an hour pays 4.6x.”
“…And if we win?”
“Ha, over ten times,” Mad Mouse sneered. “Win within 15 minutes, a hundred times.”
Rubbing his square chin, Ning Feng pulled up the system and glanced at his account. He only had two star coins, generously donated by Shahmu. His pupils contracted slightly as he looked at Mad Mouse.
“Hey, want to make some money?”
“What?”
“Lend me a thousand star coins. Bet on us winning within 15 minutes.”
Hearing this, Mad Mouse was stunned, looking at him like he was crazy. “Are you out of your mind?!”
It’d be a miracle if they won at all, let alone within 15 minutes?
Betting ten star coins was one thing, but a thousand?
He thought this guy should be called Blade Mad, not Blade Edge.
“Oh, just buy it. Or do you think you’re sure to lose?” Ning Feng smirked. Strangely, even though it was a flat mechanical voice, the tone made one’s teeth itch.
“Fine! Who’s afraid of who!”
So Mad Mouse grumpily transferred a thousand, repeatedly stressing that interest would be owed, and also personally put down another five hundred on the bet. But he was cautious—only betting on win/loss, not the time. Business had been bad lately, and he hadn’t taken any decent commissions. This was all his living expenses for the month.
The group was about to head back after checking in.
As they were leaving, a few mercenaries entered.
They kept a low profile, but those around them still made way automatically. Though they looked scruffy, they exuded a faint bloody scent that made Ning Feng become alert.
As they passed by Ning Feng, he suddenly heard a strange hissing sound, vaguely familiar yet unfamiliar. He turned his lens to listen closely, but they had already left.
“Who are those people?” Ning Feng asked quietly.
“Them? They’re the elite group ranked second,” Wen Qianyong said with envy. “They’re amazing! They have a long-term contract with the Federation, never short on money, and have tons of points.”
“Elite? They just have good equipment,” Mad Mouse spat.
“What commission have they taken recently?” Ning Feng asked again.
“Not sure.” Wen Qianyong frowned as he thought hard. “I heard they’re escorting supplies for the Federation?”
“Federation supplies? Where to?”
“Who cares where,” Mad Mouse fiddled with a mini hand grenade.
“People like us just work for money. Whoever pays more, we listen to.” He tapped the robot’s body and cackled. “Little radish, you need to learn. Clients are harder to deal with than those bugs.”
Ning Feng said nothing, only stared fixedly in the direction those people had disappeared.
Bugs?