Chapter 29: Harmony of Light and Dark, Section 5

What appeared before all the pirates was a room surprisingly small—just a few dozen square meters in size. Like the unique architectural style of the Rockmen, this room was entirely made of stone. The difference was that it wasn’t built by piling up many stones, but rather by hollowing out a single rock. The furnishings inside were simple as well—just one stone table. Aside from that table, there wasn’t a single extra thing in this small room.

But what stunned the pirates wasn’t just that single stone table—it was the completely transparent crystal ball placed on it. Inside the crystal ball, there was a tiny creature only a few dozen centimeters in size, jumping frantically while continuously uttering a word… “Doropuya…”

“Damn! No way! Are those roars all coming from this little guy?” One pirate stared dumbfounded at the creature, which kept jumping, utterly speechless.

It was a tiny being about ten centimeters tall, with large, bright eyes. Its skin was green, sharing some similarities with the Pol tribe, who disguised themselves as Blackhair and others. Its thin arms and legs made it seem extremely fragile. Yet inside the transparent crystal ball, its movements were intense—jumping nonstop, as if it could never stop. When it saw the pirates discover it, its eyes widened in clear fear, and its screams of “Doropuya…” became even more frequent. Along with its screams, similar roars came from deep within the cave.

“What is this? A little elf?” One pirate was amused by the creature’s behavior. With a click, he opened the cabin’s outer cover, ready to go out and take a look himself.

“Stop!!”
“Don’t go out!!”

Bloodshot Eyes and Blackhair’s shouts rang out simultaneously from behind. That instantly stunned the pirate. But before he could react, the little elf in the crystal ball had changed. Its panicked expression had turned into a sinister smile—the kind that appears only when prey steps into one’s trap. At the same time, the crystal ball it was in flickered briefly, followed by an inconspicuous green light.

The green light was incredibly fast—so fast it was hard to imagine. It reached the pirate almost the moment it appeared and then vanished just as quickly. If not for Blackhair and the others’ sharp eyes, they would never have noticed such a light at all.

Ignoring the little guy’s expression, Blood Pupil rushed forward. The massive hand of the blood-red mech grabbed the pirate’s cockpit cover and locked it shut. Then he hurriedly asked, “How is it? How do you feel?” Blood Pupil was extremely anxious, his concern evident in his voice.

To be honest, the pirate had been careless. After all, this was Rockman’s territory—a dead city that had been abandoned for countless years. No one could predict what dangers might lie ahead. Although this little creature appeared fragile, it was still a being no one had ever seen before. To recklessly open the cockpit was surely seeking death.

But it seemed there was no time to waste now. Blood Pupil had sharp eyes—he had clearly seen the green light that had doomed the pirate earlier. So he could only keep asking anxiously, praying in his heart that his companion would be fine.

“No, Boss Blood Pupil, I’m okay,” the pirate’s voice came through the communicator quickly. Perhaps Blood Pupil’s actions had been too drastic; he was still a bit panicked. But there was no trace of pain in his voice, which undoubtedly relieved everyone greatly.

Before they could fully breathe a sigh of relief, the pirate’s voice rang out again. “Wait… What did you do? Why has my mech grown bigger?”

“That’s not right, stop it! Boss Blood Pupil, don’t mess with me. The passage is too small—if it gets any bigger, we won’t be able to get out!”

“Ah! What’s going on? My skin… my skin!!” The pirate’s voice suddenly turned frantic. Everyone was shocked and quickly turned on the video function of the communicator, only to find the cockpit empty—no sign of the pirate anywhere.

“This…” Everyone gasped, hardly believing their eyes. Through the video, they saw a tiny creature in the pirate’s cockpit—exactly the same as the one in the crystal ball! The creature was jumping around in panic, screaming—those screams were none other than their companion’s!

“Transformation… So that ray actually causes transformation…” Another pirate groaned softly, closing his eyes in pain.

Like him, everyone in the black-haired team was stunned by this unimaginable reality.

“J-Just kidding, right?”

“Bang!” A series of gunshots rang out, and dark gun muzzles immediately rose like a forest, all pointing at the little creature in the middle. Seeing this, the smile on the little creature’s face instantly turned into extreme panic. Its big eyes were filled with fear, and tears streamed down. It opened its mouth in a scream…
“Waaah…” A deafening wail came from deep within the passage.
At that moment, the dark-haired man behind them finally moved. He slowly parted the crowd and stepped forward to the little creature. The fierce appearance of the Killing Emperor immediately scared the little one, and clearly, its crying subsided.
“What’s your name? Why are you here?” His gentle voice was like a breeze, causing the pirates around to roll their eyes.
They certainly knew their leader’s personality, so seeing him act like this, everyone began to worry about the little creature’s future.
“Giggly… giggly…” Looking in terror at the increasingly menacing figure approaching, despite the dark-haired man’s gentle tone, the little creature couldn’t help but tremble. When the Killing Emperor got close to the crystal ball, its body suddenly convulsed, and it… simply fainted outright.
The pirates exchanged glances, each seeing the hidden smiles in the others’ eyes.
What was this? Although the Killing Emperor was a bit fierce, his fighting style was brutal, and his methods cruel. But it was the first time they’d seen a creature faint after just one question. Still, they were puzzled—this little thing was clearly trapped here, so why was it so nervous upon seeing them? After countless years, any creature should have died by now. How could it still be alive?
More importantly, since it was a strange creature, it surely couldn’t understand their language. Why then would their leader ask it so gently?
A series of questions swirled in the pirates’ minds, but none of them dared to ask. They had absolute trust in the dark-haired man. In their minds, since he spoke, there must be a reason.
And indeed, there was.

I saw with my own eyes the entire process of that pirate’s transformation, including his black hair. But unlike others, he also noticed the expression on that little guy’s face. That fleeting sly smile might have gone unnoticed by others, but he would never miss it. So now he was well aware that this little creature was by no means ordinary—it was likely a being with extremely advanced intelligence.

It is said that in this universe, some life forms do not rely on language to convey information. In their lives, brain waves also serve as a medium. Seeing the behavior of this little creature and its casual reactions during conversations with others, Black Hair already had his plans.

That’s why he asked in a gentle tone. Of course, the little guy’s sudden fainting was also beyond his expectations.

“What a sly little thing,” Black Hair thought, both annoyed and amused. His fingers twitched a few times, and the Killing Emperor immediately raised his right hand and placed it on the crystal ball.

“Don’t lie to me, little guy. I know you can understand me. If you keep pretending, I’m afraid I might lose control and crush this crystal ball.”

No response… The little creature inside the crystal ball remained unconscious, seemingly unaware of its surroundings at all.

But who was Black Hair? Once the most notorious thug on Earth, he also had some knowledge of psychology. He clearly saw that just as he finished speaking, the corner of the little guy’s mouth trembled slightly. To others, this might have been just a natural spasm, but for him, it was an unmistakable signal.

It was a smile—a look of disdainful mockery.

After a brief thought, Black Hair understood the meaning behind that smile. Just by looking at the layout of this room and its location, it was clear that this little guy must have been imprisoned here, not an original resident of the dead city. Then, this crystal ball must be the container holding it. By threatening to crush it, he was actually playing right into the little guy’s hands, right?

So…

Black Hair changed his tone. “Oh, I forgot. The environment here is harsh and may not be suitable for your survival. If this crystal ball breaks and you die upon contact with air, that would be bad. How about we change the temperature?”

Blood-Eyed, standing nearby, picked up on something in Black Hair’s words. He stepped forward and, with his right hand from his blood-red mech suit, pulled out a compact tubular device from his backpack. With a slight movement, a blazing flame erupted from the front end of the device.

Seeing this, the little creature in the crystal ball could no longer lie still; it jumped up abruptly, and true horror finally appeared on its twisted face…