While the teachers and students were entirely focused on the second stage of the assessment, an inconspicuous starship slipped out of the flight bay, setting course for Nanming Constellation N2533.

Inside the starship’s rest cabin, Song Jin stared at Li Xiao, who sat across from him leisurely reading a book, feeling incredibly displeased.

No matter what channel Li Xiao had used to find out about 2533, the fact that he was able to wait for him in the flight bay meant the guy had a thorough grasp of the intelligence in his hands. For all he knew, this trip to 2533 could be a trap. On top of that, regarding Qi Ge’s previous intrusion into the student council—where Li Xiao just happened to pass by and later pushed the guy out to take the blame—it could all very well be a tactic to deceitfully gain his trust.

“You’ve been staring at me for an hour already, why don’t you take a break?” Li Xiao casually picked up a piece of chocolate and handed it over. “Eat a piece of candy to cool your head.”

“Are you trying to fool a child?” Despite his words, Song Jin snatched it away, tearing open the wrapper with an aggression usually reserved for ripping apart enemies. “Are you going to confess on your own, or do I need to interrogate you?”

Li Xiao didn’t answer, casually flipping to the next page: “A place like 2533 is filthy and chaotic, and you have so many people under your command. Why bother coming personally?”

Song Jin: “Then why do you need to go?”

Li Xiao: “Because I don’t have any people.”

Song Jin pressed down on the book on the table, grabbed Li Xiao’s collar to yank him closer, and lowered his voice right next to his ear: “Darling, if you still want to see the person you want to see, you’d better be honest with me. Otherwise, let alone breaking our agreement, I’m capable of doing anything.”

Li Xiao leaned his head back slightly to look at this face that was excessively close.

Song Jin’s looks scored a perfect ten, but his approachability was a negative ten, making people only dare to look from afar. His sense of oppression was particularly strong when facing an opponent, which Li Xiao had already experienced firsthand several times. This crazy lion was indeed not to be trifled with, but the moment Li Xiao remembered he was still chewing on candy, the threat level instantly plummeted by 99.9%.

Li Xiao pulled Song Jin’s hand away and meticulously straightened his clothes: “At least for this trip, I am not your enemy. As for other aspects… whether we are enemies or friends isn’t decided by me alone.”

The doorbell rang, and Song Jin signaled the AI to open the door.

The metal cabin door slid open, and a beta dressed in black brought in some clothing items used for disguise.

“The starship will arrive at the space station in twenty minutes. We need to transfer to a civilian starship bound for N2533 there.”

The transit space station was extremely dilapidated, with quite a few poorly modified starships docked around. Some of their hulls even bore graphics resembling skulls or monsters; one didn’t even need to think to know they weren’t legitimate vessels.

The departure hall was unexpectedly lively, packed with all kinds of colorful passengers. The thick, stagnant air was filled with the stench of sweaty feet, body odor, and various pheromones. Clearly, the air purification system here had been broken for a very long time.

Li Xiao followed Song Jin’s group through the hall toward the boarding gate for N2533 to wait for the next flight. Along the way, he inadvertently overheard several betas dressed as miners mentioning the Bique tribe.

“Are you guys going to Sector B to strike gold too?”

“I heard the final stage this time hides the Bique tribe’s Shaman Child blood.”

“Can drinking that stuff really prolong your life? I somehow feel like it’s a scam, specifically designed to fool those rich people.”

“Reselling it can net you a nine-figure sum! Who cares if it’s a scam or not!”

“That much?! Then I’m going too!”

Li Xiao chimed in: “Is the Sector B you mentioned located on N2533?”

The several betas turned their heads to look. The speaker was a handsome young lad around seventeen or eighteen years old, wearing semi-worn overalls stained with quite a bit of engine oil. He looked like a laborer coming here to work, which instantly gave them a strong sense of familiarity.

“That’s right, you also know about N2533’s gold-mining sector?” a beta uncle asked with a beaming smile.

Li Xiao: “I heard my foreman mention it before. Money has been tight lately, so I wanted to head there to see if there’s any opportunity to make a fortune.”

The beta uncle: “Then you’ve certainly come to the right place! In Sector B, as long as you have good physical stamina and are willing to endure hardships, you can make money. If you’re lucky, you can even hit the jackpot!”

Another elderly beta added: “A young alpha with a strong body is someone the gold-mining companies fight to recruit!”

Li Xiao: “Where exactly is it located?”

A few paces away, Song Jin silently watched Li Xiao skillfully gather information.

A disguised secret guard behind him asked in a low voice, “Is it too risky to let him follow us?”

Song Jin: “With so many of us, we can’t handle just one person?”

N2533 was quite similar to N2781. Located on the border between the two countries, its sovereignty had historically been disputed. It belonged to the scraps left over from the two nations’ tug-of-war—neither side wanted it. Later, it was occupied by pirates, and over time, it developed a significant permanent population.

The dilapidated civilian starship touched down in Sector B of the Southern Continent.

When Li Xiao and Song Jin stepped out of the broken-down tarmac, everything within their line of sight consisted of mountains of metallic garbage. A massive transport starship hovered over an open clearing in the distance, discarding huge quantities of metal components like snowflakes, stacking up into another garbage mountain in the blink of an eye.

Li Xiao had heard from those miners that these were all metallic waste materials purchased at low prices from various planets by recycling companies. They were shipped here to be sorted, smelted, and resold. On a lawless planet, there was no need to consider waste emission standards or production safety issues, and one could employ cheap labor, making it highly favored by small companies.

Furthermore, if a worker managed to pick out valuable rare metals during the sorting process, they could receive a commission as high as 50%. Many people rushed over here to work for the high commissions, earning them the name “gold prospectors.”

An old-fashioned hovercar descended in front of them. Song Jin and Li Xiao each opened a door and climbed inside.

Li Xiao: “Go to your—”

“Go to the place you just dug up information about,” Song Jin cut in first.

Li Xiao straightforwardly provided the address: “Aren’t you afraid I’m digging a hole for you to jump into?”

Song Jin looked out the car window at the boundless metallic mountains: “Worst case, I’ll drag you down with me. It won’t be a loss.”

The hovercar drove for thirty minutes before landing in a residential area.

Heavily patched hover-crafts flew back and forth in the sky at varying distances, and recruitment advertisements flickered across virtual screens. Brilliant neon lights illuminated the filthy, chaotic streets. Various models of decommissioned flight cabins were stacked together, crudely remodeled into bizarrely shaped buildings.

Stepping out of the car, Li Xiao looked toward the western side of the residential area, where a hollow, Rubik’s-cube-shaped building constructed from discarded metal stood tall. On its left side was a strange, giant wheel mechanism. The building was at least three hundred meters high, exceptionally conspicuous amidst the low-rise houses.

Song Jin raised his hand, and all the secret guards split up to gather intelligence.

Li Xiao teased, “Not leaving even one to protect you?”

Song Jin shot back, “Don’t I have you?”

The street was bustling with pedestrians. Pretending to be passersby, Li Xiao and Song Jin chatted idly about nothing in particular, walking forward at a leisurely pace.

A piercing engine roar approached from afar, scraping past them from behind and kicking up a cloud of dust. Li Xiao covered his nose and mouth, catching sight of Song Jin out of the corner of his eye, who was glaring at the vehicle with a sour face, already angry enough to kill someone.

The modified mountain off-road vehicle parked by the roadside. Several burly, rough-looking men got out and sat at the entrance of a noodle shop, loudly clamoring for the owner to serve food.

“Tell them to be quick with their hands and feet, the race starts tomorrow!”

“It can be settled by 8:00 PM at the latest. It’s the newest model of metal detector, hehehe.”

“After pulling off this gig, I’m heading back to my hometown to retire!”

Hearing the conversation of these few individuals, Song Jin nudged Li Xiao: “Go dig up some info. Does it have something to do with that Rubik’s cube?”

Li Xiao scrutinized him up and down: “Why don’t you go?”

Song Jin looked at him: “You look more like a laborer.”

Li Xiao nodded: “True, and you look every bit like a kid who was kidnapped and brought here.”

Song Jin’s tone turned deep and cold: “Do you want to just go gather information, or do you want to take a beating before you go?”

Li Xiao: “…” Where did this little tyrant come from?

The noodle shop was converted from a discarded train carriage, and the tables and chairs were hodgepodges of various metal parts.

Li Xiao and Song Jin sat down at the table next to the burly men and called over a waiter to order. The shop’s business was too good; the waiter was running around off his feet, dropping down two bowls of beef noodles before instantly leaving.

Seeing the waiter’s thumb dipping into the bowl and the soup spilled all over the table, Song Jin’s face darkened. This is so filthy, even a dog wouldn’t eat it.

Li Xiao handed over a pair of chopsticks, locking eyes with Song Jin. Even if they didn’t eat, they at least had to put on a show. Song Jin reluctantly accepted the chopsticks, stirring them around in the bowl.

Once the neighboring table had finished most of their food, Li Xiao stood up and went over to ask, “Hey brothers, my younger brother and I just arrived from out of town. I wanted to ask if the race you mentioned earlier is the gold-hunting competition?”

The table of burly men had grease all over their mouths. Seeing that Li Xiao was handsome and refined, they exchanged looks and cheerfully invited him to sit down.

“Yes, yes, yes! Come, sit!”

A bald beta in his thirties crossed his legs, pointing his metal prosthetic limb toward the distant Rubik’s cube building: “See that metal Rubik’s cube? It hides countless gold bars inside. Whatever you find during the game time is yours to keep. If you can break through to the final stage, you can even get an eight-figure prize!”

Song Jin pricked up his ears to listen. Seeing Li Xiao remaining completely calm and collected while surrounded by a group of foul-smelling, rough men, his admiration reached absolute heights. This kid is built for big things.

The so-called gold-hunting competition was a regular monthly event; one could participate just by paying a one-thousand-credit registration fee. Various game stages were set up inside the Rubik’s cube, and as long as you passed them, you would receive rewards. It sounded quite ordinary.

A tattooed alpha threw his arm over Li Xiao’s shoulder: “Why don’t you two brothers join us? We’ll look out for you!”

Li Xiao showed a look of worry: “Will it be very dangerous?”

The bald beta: “Not dangerous at all! Worst case, you just won’t find any gold bars—it’s only a matter of a thousand bucks!”

Li Xiao knitted his brows: “Can there really be such a good thing?”

“Really! Trust your brother!” The tattooed alpha pulled Li Xiao up, gesturing for the others to leave. “Everyone full? Let’s go, let’s go, we’ll take our two younger brothers out to have some fun, hehehe.”

The group dropped their chopsticks and prepared to leave, only to be stopped by the owner who chased after them.

“Sirs, you haven’t paid yet!”

“You dare ask me for money?” The bald beta poked the owner’s shoulder. “Do you know who I am?”

The owner slapped his hand away, shouting angrily, “I’ve run this shop here for decades. Even if the Heavenly Lord himself comes, he has to pay! If you don’t have money, why come to a restaurant? How embarrassing!”

“You old bastard—” The bald beta swung a punch over.

The owner was struck, crashing into a table and grimacing in pain. With a wave of his hand, four or five waiters rushed out, preparing for a group brawl.

The tattooed alpha led Li Xiao toward the off-road vehicle, turning his head to give his lackeys a look, signaling them to bring Song Jin along.

A beta lackey walked over to look. His eyes lit up, and he reached out his hand to touch Song Jin’s face: “So beautiful! I’ve never played with someone so—ah!”

Song Jin used his chopsticks to pinch the dirty hand, pinning it to the table, and slammed them straight through the palm.

The beta’s entire body writhed in agony. Howling, he drew a short knife to stab at Song Jin: “You’re looking for death!”

Song Jin locked onto the beta’s wrist and twisted it. After seizing the knife, he pinned the beta’s hand back onto the table and brought the blade down, lopping off two fingers.

“Ah—!” The beta clutched his hand, kneeling on the ground in excruciating pain.

Seeing this, the bald beta threw his jacket onto the ground and rushed toward Song Jin: “Where did this wild donkey come from? I’ll tear your head off!”

Simultaneously with Song Jin’s strike, Li Xiao slammed his hand over the tattooed alpha’s face, smashing him against the off-road vehicle’s door. The alpha’s back of the head suffered a heavy impact; before he could even react, he let out a muffled groan and slumped limply to the ground.

Li Xiao took a few steps forward, single-handedly turning over two burly beta men who were beating up a waiter in just a couple of moves.

The moment the bald beta got close, Song Jin held a chopstick against his neck. His pupils shook violently, and he immediately raised both hands.

“Don’t do anything reckless!”

Song Jin tilted his chin up with the chopstick: “Are you going to tear your head off yourself, or are you waiting for me to do it?”

The bald beta swallowed nervously, originally wanting to call for help, but looking out of the corner of his eye, his crew had all been flattened.

“Wh-who on earth are you guys?!”

Just as Li Xiao was about to speak, he heard Song Jin say in a leisurely tone, “We don’t change our names when we travel, nor do we alter our surnames. Li as in ridiculous, Xiao as in arrogant. My grand name is Zhang Pu.”

Li Xiao: “…” Play by yourself.

Seeing Li Xiao turn around to leave, Song Jin called out to stop him: “Brother, report your grand name.”

Li Xiao gave him a deep look, turned his head toward the bald beta, and said with complete seriousness: “Song* as in sending you to your death, Jin as in gold bars. Song Tiao.”

Song Jin: “…” Childish. Terrible-sounding.

Song Tiao? Zhang Pu? They had never even heard of these names before!

The bald beta broke out in a cold sweat: “Y-you… whatever you want, I’ll give it to you!”

Song Jin: “Leave the car behind, pay the food bill, and get lost.”

The bald beta hastily agreed, paid the money, and hauled his unconscious boss away with his lackeys, fleeing in a wretched state.

The commotion here had only drawn gasps from passersby at the very beginning, but things quickly returned to calm, as if everyone was already accustomed to such scenes.

The noodle shop owner hadn’t expected Song Jin and Li Xiao to possess such incredible skills despite looking tall and slender, instantly taking down that gang of thugs.

Li Xiao walked over to the owner: “Apologies, we disrupted your business.”

As the saying goes, one doesn’t strike a smiling face. Seeing how polite Li Xiao was, the owner waved his hand: “Fortunately we had your help just now.”

Li Xiao asked as if completely casual, “Boss, you’ve run this shop here for many years? Do you know about that gold-hunting competition?”

The owner hesitated for a moment. Seeing that both Song Jin and Li Xiao were looking at him expectantly, he signaled the waiters to clean up the mess while inviting the two to sit in a corner spot.

“I advise you two not to go. That kind of competition isn’t something ordinary people can play.”

Li Xiao expressed confusion: “They said gold bars can be found inside.”

The owner chuckled mockingly: “They just want to trick you into entering so you can serve as human detectors for them! There are countless traps inside. If you really go, even ten lives wouldn’t be enough!”

Song Jin: “If it’s truly that dangerous, then why do so many people still go?”

The owner looked toward the distant Rubik’s cube: “There are always people blinded by money, thinking they are that one-in-a-million lucky soul.”

Li Xiao subtly probed, “I heard that passing the final stage tomorrow will also reward a type of blood that can sell for hundreds of millions.”

Hearing this, the owner’s expression changed dramatically, and he abruptly stood up.

“In light of your help just now, I will give you one final warning—don’t go! Especially that blood of the Bique tribe, don’t touch it under any circumstances!”

Song Jin: “Why?”

The owner’s face was solemn, his voice pressed very low: “The Bique tribe is an ominous clan. Wherever the blood of the Bique tribe appears, disaster follows. There has never been an exception.”

Li Xiao’s eyelids twitched, suddenly thinking of something, but he was unable to grasp it in time. “You understand the Bique tribe very well?”

This time, however, the owner didn’t answer him again. Using the excuse that the shop was busy, he left in a hurry.

Leaving the noodle shop, the two drove the stolen off-road vehicle to a trading market on the eastern side. Quite a few people were gathered in front of stalls selling knives and firearms. Several individuals wearing uniforms paced back and forth carrying rifles, looking like gang members.

Li Xiao parked the car, and he and Song Jin went to look around. Many people were making preparations for tomorrow’s gold-hunting competition; the moment some stalls brought out a batch of weapons, they were instantly snapped up.

Song Jin observed several nearby stalls and said in a low voice, “The stall owners all belong to this gang.”

Li Xiao: “A single competition can drive quite a few industries.”

By 6:00 PM local time, the sky had turned completely dark.

Li Xiao drove the car into a small alley next to a row of discarded flight cabins. A person dressed as a miner climbed into the back seat.

“What did you discover?” Song Jin asked in a low voice.

The secret guard disguised as a miner projected a scanned structural diagram of the Rubik’s cube’s interior: “The internal mechanisms of the Rubik’s cube aren’t controlled by an intelligent AI. It’s purely mechanical, relying on the giant external gears to wind up and operate. We only detected a small number of sensory components.”

Li Xiao and Song Jin inspected the scanned diagram.

The corridors inside the Rubik’s cube were intricately labyrinthine, with countless rooms. The so-called sensory components were of the crudest variety, not even installed with smart chips, making external interference impossible. Because there were too many compartments, Song Jin couldn’t locate where the blood was hidden. He lifted his eyes to look at Li Xiao: “Did you find it?”

Li Xiao: “You’re asking me?”

Song Jin: “Aren’t we in the same boat?”

Li Xiao: “If I told you, would you dare believe it?”

Song Jin: “…”

Previously, from the terminal they recovered from the Snow Leopard, they had tracked the person sending messages to a wasteland over fifty kilometers away. During this period, the secret guards had practically turned the ground upside down, yet they still found nothing. From the messages sent out from Jiang Hao and Qi Ge’s dorm, the recipient’s coordinates were in another residential area thirty kilometers away. Currently, they hadn’t found the person who sent the messages; the terminal might have already been destroyed.

The only clue in front of them right now was this Rubik’s cube.

Li Xiao: “Since we can’t figure it out from the outside, we can only go in to take a look.”

After the secret guard got out of the car, the two located the registration office, paid the fee using the terminal provided by the guard, and looked for a temporary place to rest nearby.

Because the competition was starting tomorrow, the influx of people here was massive. The hotels and inns were completely packed. They managed to find one with a vacancy with great difficulty, but only a single room remained.

Li Xiao / Song Jin: “…” How were they supposed to sleep in one room?

“Hey, are there any rooms left here?” Several betas walked in from the entrance.

Seeing Li Xiao and Song Jin hesitating, the receptionist said to the other group, “Yes, there’s still one room left.”

A beta: “Then I—”

“I’ll take it!” Li Xiao and Song Jin spoke simultaneously.

One room it is; it was better than sleeping in the car.

After paying the money without providing any identification documents, they received the room key.

Walking through the rusted metal corridor to the front of their room, they saw that it was originally an intelligent sensor metal cabin door, but it had been modified with a mechanical lock, looking entirely mismatched.

Song Jin gestured around it for a long time, not knowing how to open it.

“Give it to me.” Li Xiao skillfully popped open the cover plate and turned the key. “Aside from killing people and chopping off hands, what else can you do?”

Song Jin snorted coldly, suddenly registering the words, and narrowed his eyes slightly: “When have I ever killed anyone?”

Li Xiao: “…” He’s particularly sharp in this kind of place.

Song Jin shut the door behind them, pressing further, “You’ve seen me kill someone? Where?”

Just as Li Xiao was thinking of a random excuse to brush it off, he caught sight of the room’s furnishings, and his pupils shrank.

Following behind, Song Jin was a bit puzzled when he saw him suddenly stop. Tracking his line of sight, his expression turned stiff.

There was only one bed in the room, and it was shaped like a heart. The walls were covered with numerous posters of beauties which, judging by their level of yellowing, had quite a few years on them.

How could anyone sleep in this kind of room?!

Song Jin stared at the pink bedding set, struggling internally for a long time. Gnashing his teeth, he dragged over the only two chairs in the room: “The bed is yours, brother Song Tiao.”

Li Xiao, who was a step too late: “…You sure are generous.”

Song Jin leaned against a low cabinet with his arms crossed: “I’ve always respected the old and cherished the young.”

It wasn’t early anymore. After a quick wash, the two prepared to rest.

Li Xiao pulled open the blanket expressionlessly and lay inside: “Then take your time sitting. I’m sleeping, Zhang Pu.”

Song Jin: “…”

Messages kept coming through his terminal. Song Jin checked the reports sent back by his subordinates one by one. Inadvertently lifting his head, he saw that Li Xiao had actually already fallen asleep.

Song Jin walked over quietly, listening closely to his breathing.

He really was asleep? Talk about being thick-skinned.

Song Jin turned around and was just about to leave when he suddenly paused.

The room was booked with his money, so on what grounds was he sleeping on chairs while letting Li Xiao sleep so comfortably? The more he thought about it, the more he felt he was getting the short end of the stick. Song Jin simply decided to go all the way, walking to the other side of the bed, lifting the blanket, and slipping inside.

As long as he didn’t think about what shape the bed was, sleeping on it felt the same. An alpha had to be adaptable.

After successfully comforting himself, Song Jin fell asleep peacefully.

Once Song Jin was fast asleep, Li Xiao quietly opened his eyes and turned on his backup terminal. Several messages from Jiang Chi came through.

Last time, he had asked Jiang Chi to locate the sender’s position. Jiang Chi’s reply was Sector B, but a more precise location couldn’t be pinned down.

Jiang Chi: 【The Raven has been active near N2533 recently. I’ve already found someone to track them.】

The Raven?

Li Xiao knitted his brows slightly. A coincidence?

The last time he encountered a Raven attack on N2781 was because Jiang Hao had mentioned to him in his past life that the Raven and the Hidden Dragon had fought off and on for a long time back then.

Wherever the blood of the Bique tribe appears, disaster follows.

The noodle shop owner’s words flashed past Li Xiao’s ears once more.

Unable to make sense of it after a long time, his back suddenly grew warm as a small furnace pressed against him. Li Xiao turned his head, seeing that Song Jin had rolled over at some point, sleeping like a log.

Li Xiao: “…” I don’t know who was acting so disgusted earlier.

The sleeping Song Jin had retracted all his sharp edges. His exquisite features were even more prominent, and pressing against his back, he looked somewhat well-behaved.

Li Xiao: “…Truly a little darling.”