After the gale passed, the small shack shared by Cheng Li, Yuan Mu, and Uncle Zhao remained standing against all odds. It was the only intact shelter left.
No one bothered counting the dead and injured. The star pirates did not care. They drove everyone back into the mine tunnels and ordered them to continue mining.
“From now on, you’ll sleep in the tunnels. No need to come back up.”
Everyone’s expressions changed, but no one dared say a word.
Cheng Li frowned. The star pirates would probably become more and more ruthless from here on out. If this continued, even if they did not die outright, they likely would not survive much longer anyway.
And indeed, the star pirates gave them less and less time to rest. Some people, exhausted beyond their limits, lost control of their stone-cutting machines and were sliced clean in half by the flying blades.
The rocks became harder and harder, while the chances of uncovering Blue Key Stones increased more and more frequently. After Cheng Li’s ability advanced, the energy she could release from her body could reach much farther away. Taking advantage of the opportunity, she secretly absorbed a large amount of metal-source energy and even conveniently pocketed more than a dozen Blue Key Stones.
By now, a ring of blue crystals had already gathered around the stump of her severed arm.
That night, a riot broke out among the sentinels and guides. Aside from sentinels and guides, ordinary people had joined in as well, and the commotion was enormous.
“Rather than work ourselves to death mining, we might as well fight them!”
The moment Cheng Li heard that impassioned roar, she jolted in alarm. Without another word, she shut down the stone-cutting machine and looked toward Chu Feng and the others nearby.
“Which direction did Yuan Mu go?”
Chu Feng pointed toward one side. “Seemed like he went that way.”
“Thanks.”
Cheng Li replied quickly, and in the next second, she vanished from the spot.
“She’s seriously fast!” Hu Li exclaimed in surprise.
“At a time like this, she’s running around everywhere? Isn’t she afraid the star pirates will mistake her for one of the rioters and shoot her dead on sight?” Chu Feng asked.
“Looks like she really does love Yuan Mu,” Li Shuixi said with a complicated expression. “Even missing an arm, she’s still far better than that Lan Weiying.”
After Yuan Mu lost both his legs, Lan Weiying had openly mocked him, even publicly joking on the university forums that “a cripple missing an arm paired with one missing legs are a match made in heaven.” The matter had spread across several major academies until practically everyone knew about it.
Gunfire and explosions echoed through the mine tunnels as people fled in all directions. Cheng Li stopped anyone she saw to ask, “Have you seen Yuan Mu? The one who repairs the stone-cutting machines?”
Several people said they did not know. Finally, one person told her, “He’s with those sentinels.”
Cheng Li froze.
Yuan Mu was mixed up with those sentinels? He had joined the riot too?
Her steps slowed in hesitation. A feeling of betrayal rose within her, mixed with faint disappointment.
She had thought that after enduring hardship together these past days, even if they were not the kind of companions who would entrust each other with their lives, they were at least close friends.
Yet for something as serious as launching a riot, he had hidden it even from her…
Cheng Li let out a cold laugh. ‘So I was just flattering myself.’
She immediately turned and left. As though venting her emotions, she deliberately headed for places rich in metal-source energy. Power surged from her body, releasing a terrifying pulling force as one Blue Key Stone after another, each as hard as diamond, was forcibly extracted.
One hour. Two hours.
Her speed grew faster and faster. She nearly swept through the entire mining area, and even the Blue Key Stones buried deep within the rock layers escaped none of her harvesting.
She did not know if it was just her imagination, but over the past few days, she had noticed her mental power increasing dramatically. Her control over her ability had also become increasingly effortless. Even metal hidden dozens or hundreds of meters deep inside solid rock could be extracted by her so long as metal existed there.
Just four or five days ago, she had still been incapable of doing this.
Now, however, it barely required any effort at all.
‘No wonder people said mental-type ability users were freaks.’
Cheng Li thought to herself, trying to figure out why her mental power had suddenly surged so dramatically.
Lost in thought, she unconsciously walked toward the area with the densest concentration of metal-source energy, which also happened to be the center of the riot.
The battle there was still ongoing. Perhaps because they feared collapsing the mine tunnels, the star pirates were only using low-powered weapons, greatly reducing their combat strength. Even after two hours, the fighting still had not ended.
When a dark figure lunged toward her, Cheng Li instinctively lifted her leg to strike. But the moment she saw who it was, she forcibly shifted the direction of her kick midway.
“How are you here?” Cheng Li asked.
Yuan Mu clenched his teeth, seemingly suppressing his anger with difficulty. “There’s a riot going on here. What are you doing coming here?”
“What about you? What are you doing here?” Cheng Li shot back instead of answering.
Yuan Mu let out a deep breath. After glancing around, he pulled her into a secluded corner.
“Two guides went into heat. They used their guide pheromones to drive those star pirates insane. I got caught up in it too…”
Yuan Mu paused. Meeting Cheng Li’s clear eyes, he found it difficult to continue.
“The crazed star pirates subjected those two guides to inhuman abuse. The ordinary people took the chance to strike back.”
“You weren’t involved in planning this riot?” Cheng Li asked.
Yuan Mu shook his head. “Their chances of winning are low.”
But the outcome would certainly be brutal enough.
Cheng Li wrinkled her nose slightly. She caught the faint scent of cold woody fragrance in the air.
Her eyes widened as she looked at Yuan Mu.
If she remembered correctly, that was the scent of Yuan Mu’s pheromones.
Yuan Mu looked slightly uncomfortable under her gaze and turned his face away. “My current level is too low. A guide’s pheromones don’t affect me that much.”
But they still affected him.
He had hidden himself here, relying purely on willpower to forcibly suppress the urge and impulse to seek out the guides in heat.
Cheng Li fell into thought. Just as she was about to speak, her expression suddenly changed.
“Someone’s coming.”
Yuan Mu heard the footsteps as well. “Go, quickly.”
Cheng Li could not be bothered arguing with him. She grabbed his arm and flung him behind her.
“Hold on tight.”
Yuan Mu skillfully wrapped his arms around Cheng Li’s neck as he watched her dart through the mine tunnels with practiced ease. She moved so fast that afterimages even appeared in his vision.
At this speed, she was hardly any slower than he had been at his peak.
Was she really just an ordinary person who had never undergone differentiation?
After running for several minutes, Cheng Li finally stopped once she confirmed they had shaken off the people behind them.
At that moment, the harsh clang of a gong rang out again.
“Everyone down there, listen up! Get your asses back to the surface right now! Anyone who hasn’t reached the surface in ten minutes will meet only one fate. Death!”
The vicious voice echoed throughout the tunnels. Cheng Li silently estimated the speed of a quantum gun against the speed of her ability, then resigned herself to carrying Yuan Mu toward the elevator platform.
Once her ability reached Level Three, perhaps she would be able to contend against quantum guns.
Cheng Li and Yuan Mu boarded the lift and rose to the surface together with the others.
The moment they emerged, they were greeted by a row of pitch-black gun barrels pointed directly at them.
“Spare me!”
“Don’t kill me!”
The others all raised their hands one after another.
With Yuan Mu on her back, Cheng Li also raised her only remaining hand. As for Yuan Mu, both his hands were occupied, so he merely lowered his eyes, looking obedient and harmless.
“Get out here!” a star pirate barked coldly.
Cheng Li did not know when she had been squeezed to the very front, leaving her no choice but to step out of the lift first. Carrying Yuan Mu on her back, with both of them disabled and posing little threat, she only earned a brief glance from the star pirate before he said, “Go squat over there.”
Cheng Li did not squat. She simply sat down on the ground with Yuan Mu, breathing lightly as though exhausted.
The others did not share her nerve and obediently crouched down one after another until a whole crowd was squatting there.
“Huh? Look over there. Isn’t that a storm cloud?” someone asked in confusion.
“It’s all black over there. Is it going to rain?” At the mention of rain, the man’s tone became excited.
The others also turned to look toward the horizon. The moment they saw the dark clouds, anticipation and excitement appeared in their eyes.
At last, they could finally bathe.
Cheng Li also looked toward the horizon and frowned. “There’s no moisture in the air.” It did not look like rain was coming at all.
“It’s the insectoid race.” Yuan Mu’s expression darkened.
Cheng Li whipped her head toward him. “You’re sure?”
Yuan Mu looked at her, his eyes carrying a heaviness Cheng Li had never seen before.
“I’m sure.”
“Then what are we waiting for? Run!” Cheng Li suddenly shouted. “That’s the insectoid race, not storm clouds!”
The star pirates were startled and immediately turned to look at her.
The black mass drew closer and closer. Cheng Li could already make out the silhouettes of the insectoid race. Pointing toward the horizon, she shouted, “Look for yourselves!”
Everyone looked again at the so-called storm clouds, and their faces changed instantly.
“Damn it! It really is the insectoid race!”
“To the starship, now!”
“What about this place?”
“Forget this place, saving our lives comes first! We’ve already made a killing on this trip!”
“………”