Chapter 9: New Forces, Section 8

Cruelty?
The Meatballs were confused. As far as they knew, that seemed like a human flaw.
“That’s right—cruelty,” Core affirmed again.
“Not only cruel to enemies, but also cruel to themselves. I wonder if you’ve scanned his physical condition. Right now, his biological energy is almost completely depleted, and his physical exhaustion has reached a critical level. Yet look at his battle just now—he didn’t hesitate for a moment due to his own condition. All his attacks were made under conditions that bordered on self-harm. I can say with certainty that now, even just one more slave would be enough to knock him down.”
“If that’s the case, Core, isn’t that a major weakness?” Number Three asked doubtfully. “Doesn’t that contradict your opinion?”
“I said ‘probably.’ Pay attention to my words, Number Three. My inference is based on a comparison of strengths between the two sides. But if he really encounters another slave, that human will still win. No, even if it’s three, four, or ten more—as long as he keeps breathing, my bet remains on him.” Core’s tone was slow, but extremely firm.
“It’s an illogical inference, Core. I can’t reconcile your words with the logic of the Wandering Ones. But since it’s your decision, we’ll obey.” After hesitating for a while, Number Three finally spoke.
“We obey,” the other Meatballs echoed in unison.
In truth, as the ruler of the Wandering Ones, Core’s decisions didn’t need to be discussed by these subordinate minds. It was only because Core didn’t want his subordinates to be mere puppets that he occasionally revealed some of his thoughts. But due to the uniqueness of the Wandering Ones race, no matter how hard they tried, their subordinates would always remain subordinates—never able to surpass or replace him.
Information transmission throughout the space suddenly stopped.
The corridor was pitch black, the air murky. Hei Fa had been searching this strange place for over half an hour, yet he still hadn’t found any other exits. The dark corridor seemed endless, as if it would never end.
But Hei Fa showed no signs of anxiety.
The more dangerous the situation, the more calm one needed to be. This belief had taken root in him long ago, during his training in the Special Operations Group of China. After so many years of adventuring and facing life and death, he was no longer afraid—even if he knew he might die in the next moment.

Half an hour had passed, thought Black Hair inwardly. He turned and headed back the way he came. Based on his experience, the training process could not be interrupted. He could only wait for Blood Pupils to wake up before acting to save him. Until then, he had no choice but to remain hidden patiently.

His steps were light, and in such a silent corridor, Black Hair’s movements made no sound at all. The pitch-black shadows completely enveloped him, making him seem like a ghost. If one relied solely on sight, it would be impossible to detect his presence.

But before he could take a few more steps—

“Bang!!”

A huge alloy plate suddenly fell from above, followed by a dark shadow shooting out violently. Its sharp tip was aimed straight at Black Hair’s chest. Its speed was so great that it was impossible to even see its shape.

His expression changed drastically. Without even time to think, Black Hair desperately sidestepped, extending his right hand to protect his vital chest area!

This showed his combat skills—under such urgent circumstances, he still managed to rely on instinct to protect his most vulnerable parts. Only a well-honed combat reflex could allow such a reaction.

Yet the shadow’s speed was simply too fast. Before Black Hair’s right arm could even lift halfway, the sharp tip pierced deep into his chest like an arrow! Instantly, blood gushed out like a fountain. Black Hair felt all his strength drain rapidly through the wound, and exhaustion along with a deadly sense of dizziness overwhelmed his nerves like a tsunami. His vision went dark, and he lost consciousness immediately.

“Thud!!”

Black Hair collapsed softly on the ground. His body twitched slightly, and a pool of bright red blood slowly appeared beneath him, spreading outward. On his body, a dark red tentacle was clearly visible—one end buried inside him, the other connected to a huge hole in the ceiling.

Death?

While Black Hair was unconscious, on the other side of the corridor, near the hole he had used to escape—

“Bang!!”

With a loud noise, a bulge appeared on the hard alloy floor, causing a massive vibration. Before the vibration faded, three more loud explosions followed. The bulge exploded instantly, sending sharp alloy fragments flying everywhere, hitting the corridor walls with a crisp ringing sound. A gap about a meter wide had formed in the floor.

A dark red figure began to crawl up.

“Damn, is this really my power?” the figure murmured to itself, seemingly stunned by something strange. After a long while, it regained its senses. It raised its hands and examined them carefully.

“Is this my hand? How can it be so hard? Could it be that beneath it…” The light on the wall flickered, revealing his face clearly. It was Blood Pupils. After a long period of training, Blood Pupils had finally awakened. Unlike Black Hair, he didn’t feel weak at all; instead, his entire body seemed filled with explosive strength. His muscles bulged like steel, and when he tapped them, they made a “thud” sound. “Hmph, never mind. If I can survive being swallowed by that thing, that’s already good enough. While I’m feeling this strong, I’d better find where the head is first.” Shaking his head fiercely, Blood Pupils stood up. With a glance, he immediately spotted another entrance nearby. “Hehe, it seems there’s no need to look. This guy is faster than me. I hope he isn’t caught.” With a chuckle, Blood Pupils quickly understood his situation. He turned around and followed the traces left by Black Hair, moving slowly. As a killer, he had plenty of experience in pursuit, so he was an expert at tracking clues. Even though Black Hair had remained hidden throughout, the traces he left were sufficient for Blood Pupils. Moreover, after the training by the Core, his physical strength had reached an almost superhuman level. His sharp senses even surprised him himself. Darkness and shadows were like daylight to him. After all, the Core was the ruler of the Wandering Tribe, whose instincts were evolution and consumption. Human technological achievements were as natural to them as eating and drinking. How could Blood Pupils, trained by their ruler, be weak? But Blood Pupils wasn’t fully aware of this. He simply felt great. Moving along the wall, he didn’t even need to distinguish clues. Since this passage had no branches, he just needed to figure out the direction. All he had to do was hide his presence as much as possible. Because he saw the wreckage of those three bio-mechanical suits. Without even checking, Blood Pupils could tell at a glance that they were Black Hair’s work. There weren’t many wounds on the wreckage—just a few—yet they were all in fatal areas, and the wounds were so severe that even Blood Pupils doubted he could have done such things. “It’s definitely this way.” Delighted, Blood Pupils quickened his pace silently.

He didn’t care that Black Hair hadn’t saved him right away. In fact, if he had escaped first, he would likely have made the same choice. It had nothing to do with coldness or emotion—purely an instinct as a warrior. How could one who couldn’t even protect himself expect to help his comrades? All Blood Pupil cared about was whether he could catch up to Black Hair before he found a way out. Only then would his chances of escape increase. After what happened with the White Warship, he had no idea what kind of place this passage he was in might be. If only he could find a mech. At this moment, Blood Pupil longed for his new demon—that powerful mech he had managed to get Black Hair to assemble for him! It was far superior to his old mech, with nearly storm-like firepower, agile reactions, excellent maneuverability, and a long range—almost tailor-made for him. Yet it had only been used in one battle before being swallowed up. The thought alone pained him. He spat fiercely and suddenly stopped in his tracks. In his eyes, about 300 meters ahead on the ground, there was a somewhat emaciated figure crawling. “…” He crouched down abruptly, his eyes narrowing instantly. All the hairs on his body stood on end. That ready-to-attack stance was exactly like Black Hair’s. After scanning the area once, he slowly approached the figure. As he got closer, a sense of foreboding crept over him. Black combat suit, a similarly lean build. Without even needing to look closely, Blood Pupil could tell who that figure was. But why was he lying there unconscious? And what was that dark red liquid beneath him? “Black Hair… is it you?” He accelerated rapidly, turning into a gust of wind and arriving beside the figure in an instant. He turned the figure over. Upon seeing the face, his expression changed drastically. Black Hair’s pale face appeared before Blood Pupil’s eyes. Blood Pupil felt dizzy for a moment, but his combat skills quickly brought him back to his senses. He quickly picked up Black Hair and hid in the shadow of the wall. One finger was already placed on Black Hair’s nose. Thankfully, there was still a faint breath. Blood Pupil felt relieved. He immediately began examining Black Hair’s injuries. But no matter how hard he searched, he couldn’t figure out where Black Hair was hurt. Although there were bowl-sized holes in his combat suit’s chest and back, the skin underneath showed no damage.

“That can’t be right?” Blood-Pupiled frowned. How was it possible not to find the wound? Could it be that he fainted on his own?
Lost in thought, Blood-Pupiled didn’t realize that as he turned over the black-haired figure, its eyes gradually opened, revealing a hint of blood red inside…