Chapter 49: The Last Warrior, Section 3

The voice appeared suddenly, but Blackhair seemed to have known all along. Without turning around, he simply shrugged lightly and gave a resigned expression.
“After not seeing each other for so long, is this how you welcome me?”
“I’ve said it before—I don’t welcome you. Blackhair, don’t forget that when you left, you took away my only Puppet Worm. It made my life miserable for most of half a year. I’m a poor old man with so many kids to support, and you just took them all away in one go. I was even worried about your safety. Who would have thought you’re living so comfortably now? You’re not here to pay me back, are you?”
The voice behind him remained rude, but even a fool could hear the amusement in it. Blackhair merely smiled slightly and turned to look at the figure behind him. Wasn’t it OldBuick?
It had been years since they last met. OldBuick still looked the same—his face covered in deep wrinkles showing the hardships he’d endured. But one thing had changed: compared to when he last saw Blackhair years ago, his skin was much fairer.
“It seems like you haven’t carried out missions in person for a long time.”
“Mm.” OldBuick noticed Blackhair’s gaze and looked down at himself, then chuckled. “After you left, we made a big deal. My business grew from that. So now, I don’t need to get involved in digging up relics anymore. The kids below can handle it.”
“Oh?” Blackhair raised his eyebrows. “A big deal?”
“We discovered a large relic. I’ve claimed it exclusively.” Glancing around, OldBuick lowered his voice. “Come on. Let’s talk about this inside. And it’s good you came—I was just looking for your advice.”
“Hehe. Okay.” Blackhair nodded with a light laugh and followed OldBuick toward the factory. Just then, Sturi rushed out from inside. Perhaps because he hadn’t found OldBuick, the dark-skinned man looked embarrassed. Before he could figure out how to explain himself to Blackhair, he saw the two of them coming in together and froze.
“Dad, who is this…”
“No need to introduce him. He’s indeed an old friend of mine. Go back to your work. Count up what we’ve harvested this time and store it. I can handle this myself.” OldBuick put on a stern expression and waved his hand dismissively.
“Ah, yes!” Sturi was startled and quickly replied with a straight back. But after taking a few steps, he stopped, turned around with a troubled expression.

“But… Father. We didn’t gain anything this time. We encountered a sandstorm. It’s already great that we survived. If not for this gentleman by your side, I’m afraid none of us would have made it back.”
“Oh?” FatherBuick was stunned for a moment, then turned to look at Black Hair. Only after seeing Black Hair nod in agreement with Stury’s explanation did he wave his hand.
“Since that’s the case, forget it. Go down and rest properly. Did you bring back those puppet insects?”
“I left them at the scene, Father.” Hearing FatherBuick mention those expensive machines, Stury replied in a low voice, like a child who had done something wrong.
“What!?” FatherBuick flew into a rage, like a cat with its tail stepped on. He jumped up, ready to curse, but a hand gently pressed down on his shoulder. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t break free, filling him with fear. When he turned around, his gaze met Black Hair’s.
Black Hair’s gaze was gentle. Seeing FatherBuick looking at him, he shook his head lightly. “There’s no need to hold this young man accountable. I was there too; the sandstorm was only a few kilometers away from them. No matter how fast they ran, it was too late. My shuttle isn’t big enough to carry large machines, so I could only rescue these people first. If you insist on blaming someone, let me take the blame. Just tell me how much you want.”
“No!” Stury beside him was shocked and quickly spoke up to stop him. “How can we let you pay? I, Stury, will repay the cost of those machines little by little. Sir, you’ve already done us a tremendous favor by saving us. We can’t ask for more!”
“You don’t need to worry about that,” Black Hair said with a chuckle, waving his hand. “My life was also saved by someone else once. If not for FatherBuick’s kindness, I probably wouldn’t even be alive now.”
“It’s kind of you to remember that. I thought you forgot after taking away my only puppet insect.” Hearing Black Hair say that, FatherBuick couldn’t get angry any further and could only reply irritably, glancing at Stury.
“Go away, you brat. Go down and rest. Oh, and if you have time, make sure to see a doctor. Don’t get sick—the environment in the Desert of Loss is really harsh. It’s already a great fortune that you made it back. You don’t need to compensate for those puppet insects.”
“Really?” Stury’s eyes lit up, and he was overjoyed. “Thank you, Father.”
With that, he dashed off in a flash, leaving only FatherBuick and Black Hair behind. The two exchanged glances and both chuckled.

“Thank you for still remembering an old man like me. I’ll treat you tonight—let’s have a good drink together.”
“Okay,” replied Hei Fa without hesitation, taking a deep breath.
With that, the two walked into the factory.
The factory was huge, filled with massive mechs everywhere, many of them combat-type. This showed just how wealthy UncleBuick really was. At past prices alone, the cost of those combat mechs would have ensured him a comfortable life for the rest of his days. Hei Fa followed UncleBuick through the mechs and soon arrived at a room.
It was a room with simple decorations but was exceptionally clean. Clearly, this was UncleBuick’s office. A giant map hung on the wall; Hei Fa noticed it was likely a map of the Lost Desert.
“Alright. There’s no one here. You can explain in detail what we were talking about earlier. What exactly do you need my advice on?” Hei Fa sat down in a corner of the room and got straight to the point.
“Hehe, it’s not a big deal. You should rest first,” UncleBuick replied with a smile, rubbing his hands together.
“No need to be polite. This must be urgent. You can’t wait for me to rest.”
“Huh? How do you know?” UncleBuick was stunned by Hei Fa’s casual response and froze in place.
“If it weren’t urgent, you wouldn’t bring it up right away. So even though you act casual, I still know it’s very important and urgent. Alright, Uncle. You’ve saved me before. It’s only right for me to repay you. Stop being polite with me. I may not be able to help much, but I definitely won’t stand by. Just tell me if you need anything.” The smile on his face faded as Hei Fa stared straight at UncleBuick’s face, speaking slowly and clearly.
“Well…” UncleBuick felt embarrassed after being pointed out so directly. A faint blush appeared on his wrinkled face. After hesitating for a while, he finally gritted his teeth.
“Okay, Hei Fa. There really is a problem here. You must help me. Otherwise, I might not make it this time.”
“No problem. Go ahead. What’s the matter?” Hei Fa snapped his fingers decisively.
“It’s like this…” With a long sigh, UncleBuick found a seat and began to recall…

It all started withOld Buick’s path to success. After Hei Fa left,Old Buick fell into hardship for a while because his only Puppet Worm was taken away by him. Fortunately, Hei Fa had already built up quite a reputation for him, making him a prominent figure in the small town of Kucaire with great popularity. Eventually, by chance, he boarded a vehicle belonging to a large excavation team.

This excavation team was said to have powerful connections, and their purpose for coming to the Lost Desert was simple: to discover an ancient ruin. After joining them,Old Buick became one of their members. Through various inquiries, he learned more about this ruin.

It was an extremely huge ruin that had never been seen before. The team’s leader also only learned of its existence by chance and spent all his wealth to obtain a map. It was said that the civilization within this ruin far surpassed that of the modern world—a highly advanced civilization. If even a small part of it could be uncovered, the leader might instantly become a millionaire.

Upon hearing this,Old Buick became excited and dreamed of turning his fortunes around. But as the saying goes, misfortunes never come singly. He was too happy too soon.

During their journey, the excavation team encountered an unprecedented sandstorm. The storm nearly wiped them out, leaving less than 30% of the team alive, with countless pieces of equipment lost.Old Buick barely survived by hiding in the cargo hold of a Puppet Worm. By the time he emerged, almost everyone was injured.

After such a tragedy, the team should have returned, but the top boss refused outright. He had already spent all his money on this excavation and insisted on not returning empty-handed. So, despite everyone being terrified, they had no choice but to keep going.

Fortunately, the rest of their journey was smooth.Old Buick finally saw the place said to be an ancient prehistoric civilization—a flat desert no different from other areas.

At the same time, he witnessed the most terrifying sight of his life.

“It was a demon. A real demon,”Old Buick said to Hei Fa, his lips trembling, even though it had already happened.