Chapter 1: The Stranded Man with Black Hair, Section 10

Black Hair’s suggestion was not acted upon.
In fact, the moment he saw those mysterious carvings, OldOldsmobile knew he had truly uncovered a treasure. Such carvings only appeared in the most important ruins, and each time they appeared, they brought not only vast wealth but also miraculous machinery.
Men die for wealth, birds for food—this truth holds true in any world. After pondering for a moment, OldOldsmobile merely gave Black Hair an apologetic glance before ordering another exploration.
If a team of thirty was wiped out, then sixty would be sent, along with the most powerful weapons aside from magic mechs. By the time the second exploration team was ready, it resembled a small mercenary unit.
They were equipped with simple armor, shoulder-mounted micro-crystal cannons, mental enhancement devices, dynamic image transmission crystals, and more. OldOldsmobile brought along everything he had accumulated over decades. Even so, he still felt it wasn’t safe enough. After thinking for a while, he walked up to Black Hair.
“Black Hair, please forgive my boldness. I know you’ve just joined this team, and I shouldn’t make such a request, but…”
“You want me to go down with them.” Black Hair raised his eyebrows, causing the long scar on his face to twitch, leaving OldOldsmobile extremely embarrassed. He could only rub his hands together, stammering helplessly.
Black Hair raised his head and drained the red wine in his cup. Then he stood up, walked up to OldOldsmobile, and patted his shoulder.
“Very well, sir. Since I’m your employee, it’s my duty to serve my employer. I’ll go down with them.”
“Thank you, thank you!” OldOldsmobile nodded repeatedly, his face turning red.
“However…” Black Hair paused briefly. When OldOldsmobile showed a surprised expression, he smiled, revealing his snow-white teeth.
“As a security guard responsible for safety, I have the right to use my own methods to deal with threats.”
“Of course, of course!” OldOldsmobile nodded vigorously in agreement.
With this promise, Black Hair smiled, turned around, and strode away. Behind him, the room fell silent.

It was undeniable that although he had been part of this team for only a short time, after that fierce battle, almost everyone’s view of the black-haired man had completely changed. The previous pity and sympathy instantly turned into awe. This could be seen from the reactions of those around him as he walked to the center of the excavation team.

Sixty fully armed scavengers could, in many cases, even rival a squad of mercenaries. It was their combat experience and aggressiveness that also contributed to the high crime rate in the town of Kukare. However, when the unarmed black-haired man walked among them, these usually fierce men turned into sheep.

The excavation of the ruins was actually quite simple—just going deep into the core layer to plunder what could be taken. After countless years, the so-called mechanical ruins had long become obsolete, leaving little for the scavengers. Even if any machinery was unearthed, it was mostly used for research and disassembly. The rest ended up in the low-class markets of the planet Xek, for use by the working class and ordinary people. After all, compared to advanced magic devices, these unearthed machines were hardly worth mentioning.

Of course, perhaps they didn’t even realize the true value of these machines.

As the team delved deeper, they unknowingly reached a depth of over 300 meters below the surface. The sixty scavengers formed a small group, tightly surrounding the black-haired man, as if protecting him. Meanwhile, he looked around with interest, as if enjoying the sight. It wasn’t that he was particularly relaxed; as a human from a mechanical civilization, he hadn’t seen such massive transport ships in a long time.

Unlike the gene research base from which he had escaped, the facilities here were clearly the result of years of evolution. Their technological level even surpassed that of his own era. If he was correct, they must be new types of ships developed by the Earth Federation over time, with significant modifications in many aspects.

Take the pitch-black corridors around him, for example. Though their exact material couldn’t be determined due to dirt and age, the black-haired man could guess that they were made of polymer alloys. Compared to ordinary steel, they offered greater lightness and durability. However, due to the rarity of the material, large-scale production was impossible. In his era, it had been one of the best materials for building warships.

Yet Black Hair was not surprised. After countless years, he had long understood where he was. He had also made up his mind—perhaps it was time to return to who he truly was. Looking at the terrified figures ahead, Black Hair’s eyes gradually lit up…

The progress of exploring the ruins was astonishingly fast. After countless attempts, there was hardly anything left to plunder in these ruins. The scavengers’ focus was set on the lowest level, where the team had encountered trouble last time. It was a small room; to reach it, one had to descend over 300 meters and navigate through dozens of meters of winding steel corridors. The corridors were completely dark, with no lighting at all—only the scavengers’ own lighting devices allowed them to proceed further. After that, there were over twenty steel doors, each two meters thick. Just from this, one could see the importance of this room.

Of course, as the core area, it should have had many sophisticated security measures. But due to energy depletion and age, none of them were functional anymore.

So, within ten minutes, they arrived at their destination.

“Good heavens, what happened here?”

“It’s terrifying! Don’t come closer.”

“This isn’t real… Get up! No, no…”

Dead bodies everywhere, blood everywhere. In an instant, everyone thought they had stumbled into hell on earth. In a room of less than 50 square meters, broken limbs were scattered everywhere. Internal organs mixed with blood formed a lake. Walking on it would cause one to slip instantly. The intense stench hit everyone’s nostrils, and several scavengers immediately started vomiting.

No matter how advanced their equipment, the scavengers were not professional fighters. Facing such a scene, they panicked instantly. Some vomited, some cried, some searched for their companions, and some shouted—chaos reigned supreme. If a battle broke out now, not to mention attacking, even self-preservation would be difficult.

Black Hair stood silently behind them, observing the scene with a peculiar gaze. He didn’t interfere or warn them. It seemed as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening. And on his face was once again that familiar… gentlemanly smile.