Jing Xi was originally standing quite far away. By the time he got there, Chi Yao was already spinning the child around playfully.

“How can there be a fourth-level mutated species here?”

“It suddenly popped out and scared the hell out of me. It ate all the wild pheasants.”

“No way, my trypophobia can’t handle it!”

Both groups were discussing it.

The members of the star pirate crew often roamed around in third and fourth-level danger zones, so they weren’t afraid of fourth-level mutated species.

But to have one suddenly appear while they were killing chickens in a second-level danger zone still scared them.

Several new recruits were already experiencing physical discomfort, leaning against tree trunks and dry-heaving.

The blood of high-level mutated species had an exceptionally foul smell. If it got on your clothes, it could stink for a year.

Chi Yao carried the child over and checked the surrounding situation.

Centipedes were not social animals. Under normal circumstances, you wouldn’t pull out a whole string of them just by pulling one.

If there was a fourth-level mutated species here, it meant—

“You should know what your identity is now, right?”

Jing Xi walked to his side and warned in a low voice.

Chi Yao turned his head to look at him and sneered, “You know what I’m thinking?”

Jing Xi just stared into his eyes, “Are your thoughts that hard to guess?”

Tie Xiong saw him coming and immediately cried for help, attempting to escape the enemy’s control.

“Boss, hug!”

Chi Yao flicked Tie Xiong on his big forehead and threw him into Jing Xi’s arms.

He took out a wet wipe from his pocket and walked into the group while wiping his hands.

“Oof!” Tie Xiong held his head, feeling very wronged. “This young master can’t beat him, but won’t cry.”

Jing Xi: “…”

---

In the new recruit group, the round-faced instructor was so anxious he was about to faint.

It was bad enough confronting Extreme Shadow, and now a fourth-level mutated species had appeared!

The dark-skinned instructor was relatively calmer and cautiously suggested, “Sir, I think we should terminate the operation and return to the camp first.”

The round-faced instructor immediately chimed in, “Yes, yes, this is too dangerous!”

“Retreating at the first sign of a challenge? Then what’s the point of training?” Chi Yao looked at all the new recruits. “Considering you’re new recruits, I’ll make an exception and give you a chance to choose. Those who want to give up, step out.”

The hundred-odd new recruits looked at each other. No one dared to step out, but the thought of the mutated centipede’s power made their legs feel a little weak.

They were simply no match for a mutated beast of that level.

But to give up right at the beginning of the training, would it leave a bad impression on the officer?

Chi Yao: “No one?”

Someone couldn’t hold back and raised their hand, “W-we can’t handle it.”

Chi Yao: “Who is born knowing how to fight a fourth-level mutated species?”

The person was choked for words and lowered his head, his face flushed red.

Catching Jing Xi’s gaze from the corner of his eye, Chi Yao deliberately said nothing.

When the atmosphere became most tense, he sighed, “Since you all think you can’t do it, then go back.”

After saying that, he turned and walked away without looking back, in front of everyone.

“Sir, I want to continue training!”

Suddenly, someone in the new recruit group shouted loudly.

Just after he finished, two more new recruits chimed in.

“I want to continue training too!”

“Me too!”

Soon, the other new recruits followed suit.

Chi Yao’s lips curved up. When he turned around, his face was cold again.

“Are you sure you want to continue?”

All the new recruits: “We’re sure!”

If nothing else, with a Major General who could kill a fourth-level mutated species with his bare hands leading the team, what did they have to be afraid of?

If they hesitated any longer, the officer would be disappointed.

With this thought, they pumped themselves up again.

The officer had such high expectations for them, they absolutely couldn’t let him down!

---

On the star pirate side, Jing Xi retracted his gaze. His peripheral vision noticed that Chi Yao’s hand, or rather his own hand, was a large patch of red.

Allergic to wet wipes? That shouldn’t be possible.

He suppressed this question and didn’t pay it much mind. He said to the star pirate crew, “The situation is currently uncontrollable. Retreat first.”

Li Yuan, Chen Sheng, and the other old crew members were stunned.

A fourth-level mutated species has already appeared. Retreating is impossible.

Li Yuan: “We’ve already found a fourth-level mine. It would be a waste not to dig it.”

Chen Sheng: “Old Li is right.”

Fang Liang: “We’ve got the funds for team building.”

Jing Xi: “But we’re in intensive training—”

Li Yuan: “Can’t raiding a mine be a part of the intensive training?”

Chen Sheng: “That’s right, boss. This is our old trade.”

Fang Liang: “The environment is less dangerous, and the enemy is weak. It perfectly fits the conditions for raiding a mine.”

Jing Xi: “…”

“You guys are going back? Then our new recruit group wins this match.” Chi Yao strolled over.

The star pirate crew: “…”

Fuck!

Chi Yao smiled, “Remember to roast chicken to welcome us tonight. I want the honey-glazed flavor.”

The star pirate crew: “…”

How about some fucking charcoal flavor?

Jing Xi was unmoved by his provocation, but the others exploded.

“Boss, we can’t retreat! If word gets out that we lost to new recruits, how are we supposed to survive in the underworld!”

“I don’t want to roast chicken for them!”

“Think it’s a big deal to kill a fourth-level mutated species in seconds? Our boss can kill three with one punch!”

“Boss, show him what you’ve got!”

Jing Xi’s face was cold, and he didn’t speak.

Chi Yao was very good at inciting emotions. Whether it was his subordinates or his enemies, he played them all in the palm of his hand.

This method wasn’t very clever, but it made you act according to his wishes even though you knew his purpose.

Because he was just too damn punchable!

Considering the safety of the new recruit group, Jing Xi finally nodded.

With the fourth-level mutated centipede as a precedent, everyone raised their guard.

They were carrying wild pheasants, and the smell of blood easily attracted nearby mutated beasts.

Chi Yao identified the direction of the fourth-level mine and gradually went deeper into the primeval forest.

Suddenly, a continuous rustling sound came from the grass diagonally behind them. Something was sliding quickly.

Chi Yao gripped his military knife and listened carefully.

“Roar!”

A mutated centipede dozens of meters high suddenly hung upside down from a large tree, its washbasin-sized mouthparts lined with thousands of sharp teeth, emitting an unbearable stench.

“Ah—!”

The few star pirates directly below were so scared they raised their guns and started shooting wildly.

But the bullets couldn’t possibly penetrate its shell!

Chi Yao’s face was grim. He stared at a certain spot on the centipede, twirled the military knife in his fingers, and raised his hand, ready to throw it.

But before he could move, another person moved first.

Jing Xi threw a military knife, which happened to pierce into the centipede’s body segment.

“Roar—!”

The centipede, in pain, writhed and struggled wildly with its countless legs.

If a person were to touch it, they would be instantly chopped into several pieces.

The people below took the opportunity to run.

“Fuck!”

Chen Sheng suddenly got his ankle tangled in a vine on the ground and fell hard.

Looking up, the centipede’s legs were almost at his chest.

“Old Chen!”

“Get into the bushes!”

The star pirate crew shouted as they fought.

But the sharp, blade-like legs suddenly stopped, unable to move forward another inch.

Chen Sheng’s heart pounded wildly. He looked up.

Jing Xi had jumped onto the tree the centipede was hanging from. A very thin steel wire shot out from the ring on his right middle finger, wrapping around the centipede’s mouthparts and holding it tightly.

“Boss!” Chen Sheng’s eyes were filled with tears.

In a crisis, you still have to rely on the boss!

That guy next door can’t compare at all!

This was the first time Jing Xi had used Chi Yao’s ring, and he was a bit unaccustomed to it.

After being tied up, the centipede turned around, its sharp horn on its forehead stabbing towards Jing Xi.

Jing Xi nimbly jumped off the branch, closed his fingers, and pulled hard.

The steel wire embedded itself in the centipede’s soft body segment, sharper than a military knife, and instantly sliced off half of it.

“Roar—!”

The centipede struggled in pain.

Seeing Li Yuan and Fang Liang pulling Chen Sheng away, Jing Xi twisted his wrist, and the thin steel wire instantly decapitated the centipede.

Mucus mixed with blood gushed out, spraying the entire tree red and green.

Jing Xi: “…”

So this was the gesture for tightening. Then which one was for retracting?

“Boss is mighty!”

“Boss is awesome!”

“Boss is invincible!”

Over there, the star pirates were trying hard to flatter him awkwardly.

Jing Xi: “…”

Their vocabulary for praise is so empty.

Chi Yao: “…”

The price of being uncultured.

Chi Yao made a gesture of turning a ring, his eyes hinting—this is my ring.

Jing Xi tapped his finger, and the thin steel wire immediately retracted into the ring, not a single drop of blood on it.

He looked over—but now it’s on my hand.

Chi Yao: “…”

The new recruits had already run far away, holding their breath, unwilling to get close at all.

Seeing the decapitated fourth-level centipede on the ground, they truly experienced Chi Yao’s terror for the first time.

Wearing such a thing on his hand, couldn’t he take anyone’s life at any time?

Even the shell of a fourth-level centipede couldn’t withstand it. If a person were trapped by this, it might be easier than cutting tofu.

So scary.

---

The further up the mountain they went, the fewer mutated beasts there were. Let alone fourth-level mutated ones, even the wild pheasants were much scarcer.

“We’re almost at the mining area,” Li Yuan rubbed his wrists, eager to try.

It felt like he had suddenly woken up after sleeping for two days.

Although minerals and mutated beasts coexisted, the mining area was not suitable for plant survival, which was why that area was always barren. Even the beasts wouldn’t go there because they couldn’t find prey.

Fang Liang: “We didn’t bring much equipment. We have to make it quick.”

Chen Sheng: “Luckily, I’m used to bringing the transport vehicle when I go out, otherwise it would be hard for us to move it, hehe.”

Jing Xi, walking in front: “…”

He thought for a moment and tentatively said, “The fourth-level mine we raided last time should still be enough.”

Fang Liang’s expression was serious, “Boss, do you know how many mouths we have to feed in the crew? Do you know how many bullets and how much energy each mission consumes? Do you know how much it costs to maintain the military equipment? That little bit of fourth-level ore isn’t even enough to fill the gaps between our teeth.”

Jing Xi: “…”

---

By evening, they had walked along the mountain tops to a cliff.

Chi Yao stood on the edge of the cliff and looked ahead.

Below the cliff was a basin, surrounded by mountains, like a middle-aged Alpha’s Mediterranean-style bald spot, completely barren.

From their angle, they could vaguely see a spaceship parked there, and some transport vehicles flying around.

“We’re here!”

“That must be a high-level mine! We’re rich!”

“Follow the boss and you’ll have meat to eat!”

The star pirate crew was like it was New Year’s, everyone’s face flushed.

Catching Chi Yao’s smug smile from the corner of his eye, Jing Xi raised his hand and gestured, “Set up camp on the spot.”

The star pirate crew: “Huh? Why?”

We’re already at the doorstep, why set up camp?

Jing Xi: “This mine is already being dug by someone. Rest for a night, and we’ll head back tomorrow.”

The star pirate crew: “…”

Are we here for sightseeing?

---

In the new recruit group, the two instructors had wary expressions.

The dark-skinned instructor asked in a low voice, “Sir, shouldn’t we stop them?”

Mineral stars that were designated as open zones, anyone who discovered minerals here had the right to develop them, as long as they paid a certain fee.

But the star pirate crew obviously wouldn’t pay.

They would only snatch the ore that others had worked hard to dig and leave.

Chi Yao: “They haven’t done anything. Why should we stop them?”

The dark-skinned instructor: “…”

Won’t it be too late by the time they do something?

---

Jing Xi didn’t leave, so Chi Yao could only set up camp on the spot. After all, his people were in the other’s hands.

Having slept in the same tent for two consecutive days with no effect, Jing Xi couldn’t be bothered to go again. He observed the situation until the latter half of the night before falling into a deep sleep.

Before dawn the next day, Chi Yao was awakened by the faint sound of machinery operating.

He pulled the blanket over his face, and a moment later, his eyes suddenly flew open.

Chi Yao shot up and hesitantly touched his hair.

It was short!

Which meant—

__

Author’s Note:
Jing Xi: This ring is barely usable. [Inner thoughts: I love it!]
Chi Yao: Then I’ll give it to you. Hmm? How come it only fits on your left ring finger?
Jing Xi: …