“Boss, what do we do? We’re completely trapped in here!”

The members of A8 squad listened to the noises coming from the roof of the armored vehicle, their hearts pounding in terror.

Stage-four mutated hermit crabs were at least two meters tall, with famously indestructible shells. Normally, they wouldn’t attack unless they were desperately hungry.

Right now, the squad felt like fish trapped in a can. The moment the roof of their vehicle got cracked open, they’d be dumped straight into a hermit crab’s stomach.

Old Lin wiped the sweat dripping profusely down his face, unsure whether to call for help again.

“Activate the vehicle’s defense mode! Hold out as long as you can. The rescue teams should be here soon.”

On the roof, 01 and 00 crouched side by side, scanning the surrounding three kilometers.

[01: At one o’clock and five o’clock, two sets of three warships each are docked.]

[00: A total of 189 enemy troops detected. Equipped with M80 machine guns, X56-1 laser rifles, and rocket launchers.]

Against a full circle of hermit crabs, the assassins’ momentum visibly slowed. Their machine guns blazed wildly, spraying bullets like mad.

But the bullets simply clanged against the crabs’ shells and ricocheted off without leaving a mark.

In just minutes, the ground around the encircling hermit crabs was littered with bullet casings.

Under the hail of gunfire, 00 raised his fat pincers to block the shots and asked in a flat voice: [Brother, are we just going to sit here and get shot at?]

01 swatted bullets aside with crab legs, enjoying himself: [The master hasn’t given us orders yet. I’ll ask.]

Up in the sky, Rong Shi had already acclimated to operating his antique mecha. His warm-up was complete.

He reallocated energy—minimizing ammo output, pushing 90% into boost and movement. Offense relied solely on his long blade.

Then, 01’s voice chimed in his head.

[Master, can me and my brother handle the enemies ourselves?]

Rong Shi: [As long as you protect the people in the vehicle, the rest—you can play however you like.]

[01: Roger that!]

Right after replying, Rong Shi heard 01 gleefully say to 00: [Brother, that guy is annoying. Let’s wreck him!]

Rong Shi: “……”

“Rong Shi, careful!”

Qing Song’s shout crackled over the shared channel.

Four of the enemy mechas launched tracking missiles toward Rong Shi at the same time, from sharp angles that made them nearly impossible to dodge altogether.

Rong Shi just glanced at the monitor, casually. Then he slammed the throttle to max.

His long fingers danced across the controls. The mecha suddenly banked hard in mid-air—a dazzling maneuver—racing straight toward the enemy formation.

“What’s he doing?!” Qing Song froze.

Seeing this, Qiu Tianhao recalled Rong Shi’s simulated battle against Liu Hong. His eyes lit up: “Using the enemy’s missiles against them?”

“You think the enemy are idiots?” Qing Song said in disbelief. “That kind of trick only works on noobs in games. No trained pilot would just sit there and wait to be hit!”

But suddenly—BOOM!

The blast thundered in their ears. Qing Song looked again, stunned.

Damn it—Rong Shi really did it! The missile had hit its target, blowing the enemy mecha apart!

“It’s not over yet!” Qiu Tianhao’s voice grew excited.

If he didn’t have hostiles of his own to deal with, he would’ve sat back just to spectate Rong Shi’s performance.

At blinding speed, Rong Shi redirected more of the tracking missiles toward enemy units. Then, charging his blade with high voltage, he rammed it straight through another mecha’s cockpit.

Two enemy mechs destroyed in an instant.

He kicked the wreckage aside, drew his blade free, twisted his body to slip past a laser blast—then launched himself at his next prey.

The enemy pilot startled, panicked at Rong Shi closing in. He spun his mecha around and bolted. As long as he kept distance, that blade couldn’t reach him.

But Rong Shi curved in a wide arc, then suddenly changed direction. Out of nowhere, he pounced on another mecha that had been preoccupied bombing their allies, completely unawares.

With one stroke, Rong Shi severed its main power line—and then casually tossed a tracking missile right into the cockpit.

“What a brilliant feint! A strike from the east, hit from the west!”

Qiu Tianhao’s excitement echoed over the channel.

“Beautiful!”

On the main ship, Jin Dazhao and his subordinates all cheered at once.

“Why does he look so relaxed… this guy is fighting like it’s a performance.”

“Rong Shi’s not just ‘good’—he’s ridiculously skilled. Unreal.”

“I only dare to show off like that in games. On a real battlefield? No way!”

“Going solo, diving into the enemy fleet, chasing them down? I gotta respect that.”

“Heard he single-handedly caused such a boom in missile sales that launchers sold out and prices tripled. After this, the T800 model will probably become the hottest mecha in the business.”

“One of those ‘easy to watch, impossible to imitate’ monsters… hahahaha—”

The real battlefield was far more complex than simulations. Lives were on the line, fear of death hung over every move.

Few dared to fight with the sheer style Rong Shi displayed—open, aggressive, dazzling. It had been a long time since anyone had witnessed such audacious skill in live combat.

By the military hover vehicle, 01 had just finished striking a deal: trading four shrimp with two smaller hermit crabs, persuading them to crawl onto the roof and take the brothers’ place.

Leaping down to the ground, 01 stretched his crab legs: [Brother, fight harder! More kills means more food!]

00 slammed his fat pincers into the ground in what he thought was a provocative gesture: [Come fight!]

When the assassins suddenly saw the two hermit crabs leap toward them at absurd speed, they nervously staggered back.

They had prepared to scare them with rocket launchers—but the crabs lunged first.

01 picked a man up with crab legs and spun him around furiously.

[Aaahhhh being a crab is so fun!!]

00 went around clamping men’s arms with his heavy pincers—snapping and smashing them into the dirt.

[Fun.]

“Damn! These two hermit crabs are vicious!”

Inside the vehicle, A8 squad members watched the surveillance feed with terror mixed with thrill.

“Those assassins are really running fast.”

“No way to fight! Hermit crabs have insane defense. Small firearms don’t even scratch them.”

“Why do they look like they’re… having fun?”

“Kinda cute, actually.”

“Cute? Wait till one of them picks you up and swings you around—you won’t be saying that.”

“…Sh*t! Can’t even imagine.”

On the rescue ship, Jiang Huai delivered the injured to the medical bay. Afterwards, he searched all over before finally finding Song Yu sitting on the floor of the little medicine cabin.

He walked over, about to sit beside him, when Song Yu’s cold voice cut him off: “Half a meter distance.”

“……” Jiang Huai froze.

Song Yu’s eyes were locked on the surveillance screen sent by his subordinates. He didn’t even glance at Jiang Huai.

“Rong Shi’s not here. You don’t need to bother me.”

That attitude—all but had “I find you annoying” written across his forehead.

Jiang Huai could only laugh dryly, then sat a whole seat away, leaning against the wall. He pulled a small medical kit from his pocket.

“Take off your left shoe. Stretch your leg out.”

Song Yu turned to him, impatient: “What—couldn’t get Rong Shi to bite, so now you’re trying with me? I’m not playing your game.”

“……” Jiang Huai’s hands itched to hit this guy.

He pointed at Song Yu’s shin. “You don’t feel your leg injury?”

Song Yu looked down where Jiang Huai pointed.

On the way back, he’d brushed against vines and sliced them off with his knife. He thought nothing of it. But now that it was mentioned… it did itch.

He pulled off his boot and rolled up the trouser leg. Sure enough—red swelling circled just below the knee.

Jiang Huai sprayed disinfectant gently onto the wound. “In a stage-four danger zone, everything’s toxic. Don’t be careless.”

Song Yu’s brows knitted together.

Back then he’d been shielding wounded comrades, fighting assassins, and dodging warships and mecha fire—all at once. Even he hadn’t noticed this minor injury. Yet Jiang Huai had picked up on it?

Next, Jiang Huai dabbed ointment on with a cotton swab. “Any later and it would’ve festered. Pretty sad, to be crippled at your age.”

“……” Song Yu cursed under his breath.

An alert buzzed. Song Yu unlocked it: a message from his subordinates.

[Zheng Long has been captured. Do we need to explain the situation to Jin Dazhao?]

Song Yu replied:

[I’ll handle it personally.]

“You like Rong Shi, don’t you?” Jiang Huai suddenly asked.

Song Yu’s train of thought froze. He looked over, not knowing what Jiang Huai meant.

“Yeah. And he likes me. You don’t stand a chance.”

“……” Jiang Huai.

Why on earth was he getting painted as the ‘love rival’?

“…How much do you like him?” Jiang Huai pressed.

Song Yu turned his cold face away. “None of your damn business.”

Jiang Huai: “……”

Once Jiang Huai left, Song Yu connected to Jin Dazhao.

The two men faced each other across the virtual screen. Song Yu refused to yield an inch.

“Major General Jin. How do you see it?”

Jin Dazhao’s expression gave nothing away.

“You want me to cooperate. You’ll hand the targets over in the end. So what’s in it for me?”

Song Yu smiled lazily. “The merits are yours. I’ll cover the budget. I’ll even help you get rid of traitors in your own house. Isn’t that enough?”

Jin Dazhao stared long and hard.

“…I won’t report this. But I do need to know who they are.”

“Knowing too much won’t do you any good. Just know this—we’re not your enemies.”

Once the call ended, Jin Dazhao gazed at the floating virtual screen, then waved his adjutant over.

“Proceed as instructed.”

The adjutant blanched at what was displayed.

“Sir—can this work? If by any chance—”

“Just execute it!”

The adjutant still hesitated.

Jin Dazhao leaned forward. “If this heist succeeds, the corps can acquire at least two top-config battleships.”

The adjutant’s eyes lit up. “Say that first next time, sir!”

“……” Jin Dazhao.

Meanwhile, on the enemy base’s warship, Lin Jing was livid.

“Trash! Useless garbage! With all these forces, you can’t take out a handful of mechas?!”

On his left, the beta commander bit his lip. “The army’s mecha squad is too strong. Beyond what we accounted for.”

The beta second-in-command quickly added: “Don’t worry. Our reinforcements already departed base. We’ll finish them off!”

Lin Jing’s expression eased—but suddenly a lookout shouted:

“Military reinforcements incoming! They’re here first!”

Looking up at the magnified tactical display, Lin Jing saw ten medium warships breaking through the atmosphere straight toward them.

“What?! This fast?” His brow furrowed deeply.

“This is bad—we’re surrounded!”

Another window expanded.

Radar showed enemy troops converging from all directions. Alarmingly close.

“Impossible!”

The beta commander shook his head, stunned. Their systems should’ve detected them long before. How had they only picked it up now?

“Report! Energy system failure. Usable reserves below 10%. Barely one hour’s power left.”

“Report! Navigation systems malfunction—”

One after another, the failures mounted.

“What’s happening?!” Lin Jing roared. The proud systems they relied on were collapsing.

“Retreat! Withdraw immediately!”

In the skies, Rong Shi had just destroyed his thirty-seventh enemy mecha when Song Yu’s voice whispered in his ear.

“Brother, we’ve begun.”

“Good.” Rong Shi saw enemy mechs pulling back and ordered calmly: “Take the captives quietly.”

He used the front-line battlefield as a distraction while 01 and 00 slipped into the systems, altering the data unseen. In this fog, the enemy military had been reduced to blind men.

Now, they could be surrounded or picked off at leisure.

“I’ve already negotiated with Jin Dazhao.” Song Yu suddenly shifted topic. “I hurt my leg.”

Rong Shi’s eyes snapped sharp. “Show me.”

Song Yu mischievously refused, voice tinged with false grievance: “Big wound. Hurts so much.”

Rong Shi frowned. “I’ll return at once.”

With reinforcements arriving, Qing Song ordered the mechas to pull back. When he saw Rong Shi bolt off like a rocket, he thought something urgent had happened.

“What’s wrong?” he asked over comms.

Rong Shi’s voice was cool: “The rest is yours. I’m done.”

Cadets weren’t required in real engagements anyway. Qing Song didn’t mind—but asked, concerned: “Did something happen?”

Rong Shi: “My wife misses me.”

“……” Qing Song.

“……” The other squad members.

Back in the med bay, Song Yu shut off comms, lips curling upward in smug delight. Mischief sparkled in his eyes.

Less than five minutes later, the cabin door opened. Rong Shi rushed in.

“Where’s the wound?”

Song Yu tugged him down to sit, pointed at the faded ointment ring around his leg. “Swollen all around.”

Rong Shi lifted the leg onto his lap, carefully pressing a few spots. Relieved it was just superficial, he finally exhaled.

“Did Jin Dazhao object?” Song Yu asked.

Rong Shi: “Given the fine way we handed him this gift? Naturally, he said yes.”

Jin Dazhao was one of the rare, unaffiliated commanders. He wasn’t ambitious, lacked family background—easy to overlook.

But for him to have risen to Second Corps Commander, he was surely no simple man.

When Song Yu, as the Second Prince, proposed cooperation, Jin Dazhao immediately grasped the depths at play. Even without promises, he would have stayed cautious.

“So long as we have consensus.” Rong Shi gently massaged the injury. “The military’s too unstable. The fewer who know, the better.”

The larger the chaos, the greater the risk of an organization-wide counterattack. But it wasn’t yet time to cast the net. Push too hard now, and the fish would scatter.

Within two hours, the Second Corps had scored a decisive victory.

Song Yu received reports: “We’ve captured a few. Already escorting them.”

“Good.” Rong Shi held his hand and led him outside.

All across the beach, Second Corps soldiers were combing the battlefield, packing away everything useful.

“Rong Shi!”

Qiu Tianhao jogged over. “Ride back with us later?”

Rong Shi nodded. “Sure.”

The three strolled down the shore.

“Didn’t expect your mecha skills to be that insane,” Qiu Tianhao grinned. “We didn’t even compete, but I already concede.”

“You’re strong too,” Rong Shi replied evenly.

In his past life, Qiu Tianhao’s skill ranked near the top of the military.

Qiu Tianhao shook his head. “Compared to you? Not even close.”

“Don’t compare yourself with me,” Rong Shi said.

“……” Qiu Tianhao. Couldn’t continue the conversation.

“Look there—it’s hilarious.” Song Yu suddenly pointed ahead, laughing.

They turned to see Old Lin and the A8 squad huddled behind a giant tree, craning their necks.

Not far away, a line of hermit crabs was marching down the beach, toward the sea.

From the waves burst a flamboyant purple spider crab, each leg clutching a wriggling shrimp. Only two legs left for walking, wobbling comically.

It scuttled ashore, offering a shrimp to the first hermit crab in line.

The hermit crab eagerly accepted the shrimp and trotted off contentedly.

[01: Brothers, good work out there. Payment for your labor—eat shrimp, replenish your calcium.]

Rong Shi: “……”

From the waves, a bright red short-arm crab emerged, also carrying shrimp. Together with the purple crab, they distributed them to the hermit crabs.

[00: Eat shrimp, build calcium.]

Qiu Tianhao: “……”

Were these hermit crabs… becoming intelligent?

Song Yu leaned lazily on Rong Shi, whispering with a grin: “01 has real potential to be a labor foreman.”

Rong Shi: “……”

---

Author’s Note:

Cat Dad: This child is hopeless. [smile]

Song Cat: QuQ

Rong Bunny: Then give him to me.

Song Kitty: Snuggle~ [instantly happy again]

Cat Dad: ……