Chapter 6: The Nascent King

Chapter 6: The Nascent King

K420 is located far from the incandescent giant star that brings light and heat to this galaxy system, at the very edge of the universe.

Therefore, the morning light reaching K420 doesn't bring much warmth. Yun Huai needs to wear two layers of clothing when he goes out every day, removing one when noon arrives.

The species in the interstellar society are very robust, but he doesn't share their physical prowess, so he takes extra care of his body.

Yun Huai arrived at the starport as usual. He had gotten to know a few familiar spaceship owners. Although not much of a talker, somehow they still entrusted him with their work, paying him generously in Lug coins.

To some extent, he could be considered to have graduated from Hu Lin's tutelage.

In a corner not far from the starport, several tall figures huddled together, whispering.

"Did you actually put the thing in there?"

"…Yes, I did! I'm sure I put it in there!"

"Then why isn't he showing any reaction? Isn't he supposed to have a good relationship with Hu Lin?"

The speaker was a familiar-looking individual, with two tentacles on his forehead entwining anxiously.

"Damn it, a just-matured brat is giving me the runaround, and that freakishly strong woman is protecting him—" His gaze briefly turned sinister and greedy as he scanned Yun Huai nearby.

"This kid is tougher than I thought. Despite Hu Lin being so good to him, he doesn't seem to have any intention of 'saving' him!"

The man increasingly saw Yun Huai as a liability. With the strong woman gone, he thought of eliminating Yun Huai once and for all, considering that even as a specimen, Yun Huai could fetch a good price on the dark web market.

But what they hadn't calculated was the steeliness of Yun Huai's seemingly fragile heart; he completely ignored his past benefactors!

……

In the spaceship yard, Yun Huai finished a task and casually asked a familiar spaceship owner, "Mr. Sangmu, have you seen Master Hu Lin today?"

The young owner named Sangmu, decent-looking, thought for a moment and replied, "No, but Hu Lin likes to drink. If he's not around the next day, he's probably in a robot bar somewhere. Don’t worry, he knows K420’s environment well."

Yun Huai acknowledged with an "Oh," and nodded, "The engine fault is fixed. A small meteorite particle was jamming it. Just remember to steer clear of meteorite belts next time."

"So that was it!" The young owner excitedly patted his spaceship and said, "Thank you! You’re very meticulous and skilled!"

Yun Huai smiled slightly, receiving a generous tip of seven Lug coins and three copper coins from the appreciative client.

In the evening after work, Yun Huai, with a bag of nutrient solution, arrived at the entrance of the robot bar mentioned by Sangmu. The bar was next to a dark alley where there seemed to be voices.

Yun Huai glanced over and saw two humanoid robots passionately kissing, their light-emitting parts flashing intensely.

He quickly averted his eyes and walked past. The bar had no bouncer, only a smart surveillance spider installed above the door, which quickly descended from the sign, its eight mechanical eyes scanning Yun Huai's face.

"Warning, underage cubs cannot consume alcohol. If you proceed, I will administer a sedative."

Yun Huai, resigned to his youthful appearance, said, "…You're mistaken, I'm of age. I just came here looking for someone."

The spider didn't let him in, merely asking, "Citizen number?"

Yun Huai quickly checked the contact information Hu Lin had given him on the chain code: "161103, male."

The spider hugged its legs, spinning a web in front of Yun Huai as if searching: "K420 citizen Hu Lin Foster has not registered entering the robot bar in the past three days. Pretty cub, you should look elsewhere, good luck."

“……”

Yun Huai gave up emphasizing his age and quickly asked, "Do you know about K420’s war robots? Do many people go looking for them?"

The mechanical spider stopped spinning, curling into a ball and shouted, "Warning! Warning! War robots are made by the Ita tribe, they only recognize Ita people. All other species approaching will be indiscriminately shot! Bold cub, you better stay away from those crazy machines!"

Yun Huai stepped back from the bar area. The spider, seemingly ready to inject him with a sedative, quickly clattered away and disappeared around the corner.

He exhaled lightly, realizing that he was indeed surrounded by a conspiracy.

Even a "little spider" knew the dangers of the war robots. Having lived in K420 for so many years, Hu Lin couldn’t possibly be unaware that those robots only recognized their creators.

Therefore, it was impossible for Hu Lin to seek him out for a midnight adventure in the Abyss. It was more likely someone else, aware of the situation, trying to trick a naive “cub” who knew only about repairing ships into a deadly trap.

Carrying his toolbox, Yun Huai walked towards his home, his expression slightly troubled, pondering why living a peaceful life was so difficult.

It was getting dark and cold again as Yun Huai stepped onto the underground staircase, intending to use his chain code to open the door, when he felt a slight sting at the back of his neck.

Instinctively reaching back, he found something quickly latching onto his wrist, followed by a sudden numbness and pain.

Yun Huai's pupils dilated as he turned around, only to see several dark figures closing in from all sides.

His vision blurred for a second, and in the next, he collapsed in front of the door.

In a daze, Yun Huai heard people talking.

"…He's too vigilant, it took all day to find this one opportunity."

"Why not just sell him directly! It saves us the trouble."

"No! The starport is weirdly strict lately, inspecting smuggling and illegal ships. Carrying an unconscious person is like waving a flag. It's best to let him 'die naturally'—"

"Then stick to the plan. Dump him near the meteorite hill. There’s nothing there. He’ll die of thirst in three days. Then we can invite a specimen maker to K420 to collect... The Ita tribe is coming soon, we need to grab the money and leave this junk planet!"

……

The noise gradually faded, and Yun Huai found himself back in the psychic world.

Unlike the calm last time, this time, countless waves were roaring and crashing. Yun Huai stood on the shore, but strangely, a vacuum formed around him.

As if, in their extreme anger, they still refused to harm him.

He tried to reach out and touch the waves, but his psychic power was like an enraged child, its wind sounding like wailing cries, weeping while furiously thrashing.

"Is it because I was attacked?" the youth said softly, "It's okay, I'm still conscious, which means there's no immediate danger to my life."

The waves crashed violently against the island.

"You want to help me?" Yun Huai frowned, "But you'll make them all go crazy, and then it'll be even more dangerous."

The waves eerily paused for a moment, then fiercely formed a massive mouth with white foam in front of Yun Huai, even ominously snapping shut twice.

Yun Huai now understood its intent.

His expression became more complicated as he scolded, "You really have mutated in this world. Don't just pick up anything to eat; they are ugly and stink."

The giant mouth dejectedly collapsed at the youth's feet, washing over his feet like a kiss.

In the past, Yun Huai would have panicked in such a sudden attack, but perhaps because he had experienced death, his heart was unexpectedly calm now.

He was just troubled by the inability to wake up due to the drugs, praying that Hu Lin was safe and that these people wouldn't really throw him too far.

Because he really disliked being thrown away, left alone to face unknown dangers.

He didn't know how much time had passed when he suddenly heard the sound of rolling stones in the wilderness and the roaring of a hovering sand motorbike fading into the distance. When he opened his eyes again, he was greeted by the dark night sky.

Yun Huai rubbed his sore neck. In the cold night, he saw a circle of red dots where his wrist had been punctured.

"...No wonder I couldn't wake up, this dose could knock out an elephant person."

Sitting up, he looked around and saw nothing but stones blown by the wind on K420's surface. Turning around, he found himself facing a huge, chaotic meteorite hill.

Hovercrafts leave no tracks, so Yun Huai couldn't determine which direction he had come from.

The bluish chain code signal was intermittent, likely due to the meteorite field's magnetic interference, making it impossible for Yun Huai to find a signal to connect with the outside world.

A sigh echoed in the air, followed by rustling sounds. Yun Huai circled the area several times but found no sign of Hu Lin.

It seemed, at least, that this man hadn't encountered any danger.

Yun Huai tried to find his way home, but after circling back to the same spot three times, he realized the malicious intent of those who had left him here.

Without a super-fast vehicle or special navigation, it was impossible to escape this lifeless sandy terrain.

He remembered Tang Sisi's warning not to go near the Abyss. Yun Huai would have avoided it anyway, but plans never keep up with changes. It seemed wherever he went, disaster followed.

Yun Huai attempted to climb to the top of the meteorite hill, hoping to see further from that vantage point.

He pulled a strand of psychic energy from his fingertip and wrapped it around a protruding meteorite. After much effort, he finally managed to hoist himself up perilously.

But even from this height, the view was still barren. He turned around and saw a massive scar on the surface not far behind him.

It was the Abyss they had spoken of.

On Earth, such a fissure could only be created by natural forces, but in the interstellar future, bombarding a planet could easily do it. This scar was likely formed during a battle.

Yun Huai couldn't discern the full length of the Abyss; it seemed boundless within his field of vision.

Winds gushed from underground, spreading in all directions. Yun Huai had an idea: if psychic power could manipulate threads, then using sensitive psychic threads to cast a wide net might work to detect hovercraft exhaust. He thought for a moment and then, for the first time in this world, released his psychic abilities without any restrictions.

After all, there were no life forms around.

In the night, the meteorite hill seemed like a stone beast guarding the Abyss, with a tiny human figure standing atop its highest ridge.

The contrast between their forms was striking, yet paradoxically, the colossal beast was subdued underfoot, exuding a bizarre sense of submission.

Yun Huai’s palm faced downwards, his snow-white, faintly glowing psychic energy moving like threads, its sweet scent spreading endlessly. He looked calm and indifferent, in that moment resembling a fearless and supreme enforcer.

The threads diligently searched, but possibly due to the wind direction, the fragile psychic tendrils all ended up curving in the opposite direction.

The youth's light voice carried a note of helplessness: "This way, not that way."

The snow-white threads still stubbornly pointed towards the Abyss.

Yun Huai: "Stop playing around, that’s not home. We need to get back quickly."

They timidly pointed in the opposite direction under Yun Huai's tone, as if to say, 'this is the way.'

Yun Huai sighed, "There might be monsters inside. I'm taking a risk by letting you out."

The snow-white tendrils suddenly formed a ghostly shape, as if to say, 'I am more terrifying than any monster.'

They performed wildly, trying their best to show their master that they could protect him from harm.

"How did that anesthetic needle get to me?" Yun Huai suddenly asked.

"The ghost" exploded with a bang, scattering into ashamed specks of light. When they reassembled, they became smaller, as if to say, "I'm still a baby. When I grow up, this won't happen again."

For the first time in the interstellar world, Yun Huai released his psychic abilities, not expecting them to become so rebellious. Seeing his unmoved stance, they tugged at his body, dragging him towards the direction of the Abyss.

At that moment, Yun Huai, resisting, suddenly heard something.

Something heavy was approaching in the darkness, sounding like human movement mixed with mechanical friction.

Yun Huai's expression changed, and he quickly ducked down. He instantly withdrew his noisy psychic abilities and hid behind a meteorite, using the terrain to quickly determine the sound was coming from the bottom of the Abyss.

The whistling wind still carried his scent. The black night seemed endless, with a dense belt of meteorites possibly blocking cosmic light from this desolate expanse, causing the visible horizon to intermittently disappear.

Yun Huai held his breath and concentrated, thinking it couldn't be.

Surely there couldn't be unknown cosmic monsters in this lifeless place.

This was a situation even more difficult to handle than not being able to return home. Due to his unrestrained release of psychic power, the air was filled with the sweet scent of fruit wine. If there really were monsters...

Yun Huai closed his eyes and took a deep breath. After a few moments, more similar sounds emerged from the ground.

And at this moment, he could see clearly again.

Yun Huai peeked out, his hair tousled by the wind. He looked towards the source of the sound with a complex and innocent expression.

Suddenly, a rust-covered mechanical hand clutched the edge of the fissure, and the next second, a huge shadow leaped out of the Abyss.

Its figure was heavy, nearly two meters tall with a humanoid shape. Under the dim light, the armor covering it was full of red and green rust spots. Despite its immense size, it looked like a pitiful child who hadn't been cleaned by a parent after rolling in the mud.

Yun Huai: "..."

In his slightly widened eyes, one after another humanoid robots climbed up from the Abyss. Each one was extremely worn out but still barely intact. The one in the lead was the most complete, with more and more missing arms and legs towards the back.

But whether walking or crawling, they moved in dense crowds, like hounds searching for a direction, then step by step, they firmly approached Yun Huai.

……

They were the Ita tribe's war robots, the crazy machines described by the little spider that would indiscriminately kill anything not of their kind.

Yun Huai closed his eyes, then looked at his pale palms and non-lethal physique, wondering if he was about to leave this world again.

The air seemed to solidify, and the noise continued, but Yun Huai noticed something strange.

Every time he poked his head out to observe,

They would freeze and stop moving.

When Yun Huai withdrew his head and stopped looking,

They resumed their rustling movements.

After an eerily long standoff, a gentle tapping sound suddenly came from the huge meteorite under his feet.

In this bizarre situation, Yun Huai oddly thought they were being somewhat polite.

But he dared not let down his guard. This place was once an ancient battlefield, and who knew how many war machines lay beneath the ground.

They were awakened for unknown reasons, perhaps by timing, or perhaps attracted by his recently disobedient and wildly acting psychic abilities. Yun Huai wondered if he could even entice machines!... Anyway, he found himself surrounded by an array of unbeatable monsters.

The air grew colder, reaching the lowest temperature of the day.

Yun Huai's cold palms covered his reddening nose, and he let out a nearly inaudible sneeze, but the war robots below suddenly stopped their movements.

After a moment of silence, Yun Huai bravely stepped out from behind the meteorite where he was hiding. With no other option, he crouched low and cautiously looked down at the dark mass below.

A gentle and cold breath watched over them. The head of the war robot mechanically lifted, it seemed to have a bit of energy left, allowing its eyes to emit a white light.

Their armor was covered in green moss, perhaps the Abyss's way of giving these cold machines a touch of life.

But at this moment, as they looked at the youth, they pondered with their remaining energy. The leading and most intact war robot raised its jerky arm. Yun Huai closed his eyes tightly, then upon reopening them, saw it didn’t attack. Instead, it gently plucked weeds growing in its mechanical joints, using the part that was once most lethal.

Then, its pale gaze locked onto the youth on the rock, adjusting its mechanical arm to an angle suitable for embracing a cub.

Yun Huai realized something was off, but couldn't articulate the strange feeling in his heart. His psychic power was subtly agitated.

He didn't know what their actions meant, perhaps harm, as he was not their master.

But the next moment, Yun Huai heard a mechanical voice repeating, originating from four hundred years ago.

It sounded urgent but lacked any aggression, and was severely stilted due to low energy.

"Protect. Danger."

"Protect. Danger."

"Protect. Danger."