Ji Yu could feel it—the mental power enveloping him, tenderly wrapping around his wounds. His cheek felt slightly tickled, a sensation brought by the delicate comforting of mental power.
His nose tingled, and tears welled up in his eyes.
This was the most profound comfort Li ZouXing’s current state could convey.
Ji Yu is also a young man who has just grown up, and he has never experienced the edge of life and death. At this moment, with three holes pierced through his body, all the fear and pain from before flowed out with his tears.
It was as if, since Li ZouXing appeared, beneath the protection of his mental power, an unparalleled sense of security had emerged by Ji Yu’s side.
This brought tears streaming down his face uncontrollably.
Hearing his cries, the long blade in Li ZouXing’s hand grew even more imposing. Blazing mental power accompanied by raging fury tore through the middle-aged man’s throat. With an expressionless and furious face, Li ZouXing swung the long blade without hesitation.
“Wait!” the middle-aged man shouted, “I can tell you about my accomplices and—”
He didn’t finish his sentence; he clutched his neck and collapsed, his eyes wide open with disbelief, unable to fathom that he was dying like this.
But he truly was dead.
Li ZouXing was still a child, only aware that Ji Yu was crying, that Ji Yu was in pain, and this person deserved to die.
So he couldn’t waste time because Ji Yu needed him.
Passing over the middle-aged man, Li ZouXing saw Ji Yu’s eyes welled up with tears the moment he looked at him. He sniffled, bent down, and cradled Ji Yu in his arms, unsure of where to go, and dashed toward the seaside.
“What should Xing Xing do?” Li ZouXing ran swiftly, holding Ji Yu as if holding a delicate piece of paper, yet Ji Yu’s form in his arms remained stable, not letting another drop of blood escape. “What should Xing Xing do?”
He didn’t know anything; he didn’t even know where to carry Ji Yu.
But his heightened senses told him that Ji Yu’s breath was growing weaker, and the person in his arms tightly shut his eyes, having already fallen unconscious.
The forest was quiet, as if devoid of any living beings. Only the rustling of leaves echoed. In the distance, the seaside stretched endlessly, devoid of any human figure on the beach.
Li ZouXing couldn’t even find anyone to ask for help.
All he could do was run faster and faster toward the seaside, his eyes bewildered, his grip on Ji Yu’s hand tightening.
He now loathed his own inexperience as a child.
“I need…” Li ZouXing began to feel a headache; this headache was like needles stabbing at his brain. “…I need a rescue cabin.”
His voice was so faint that the wind seemed to shatter it. “I need a rescue cabin.”
The next second, a spacecraft streaked across the sky above White Star Sea, breaking through the clouds, disrupting the air as it hurtled downward like a tempest.
The pale sand was tossed high into the air, and the massive spacecraft thudded heavily onto the coast.
Such a loud noise startled the merfolk under the sea and Xi Nan.
More astonished than them were the people aboard the spacecraft.
Their ship had gone out of control, deviating from its course as if it had its own consciousness. Then, at the fastest speed, it entered White Star Sea.
God knows what a frightening mood they were in when they experienced top speed! It will directly hit the ground and be torn apart!
Fortunately, the spacecraft came to a stable stop.
They gasped for air with deep breaths, their breaths heavy, their eyes filled with fear. Their vigilance was at its peak, and the ship’s weapons and shields had been activated to the highest level.
However, under the highest mode, the ship’s door opened on its own without their consent!
Li ZouXing carried Ji Yu and stepped onto the spacecraft. His mental power had reached the point of almost overflowing.
The panicked people on the spacecraft aimed their weapons at him.
“Where’s the rescue cabin?” he asked, cradling Ji Yu, who was covered in blood. “I need a rescue cabin.”
The indicators on the ship’s panels began to sound, and the lights on the walls lit up red, guiding him to the locations of the rescue cabins and repair fluids.
Following the lights prompted by the spacecraft, Li Zou Xing’s speed increased, and the lights on the ship blinked faster and faster.
OH MY GOD! Their ship was rebelling!
The people on the ship were dumbfounded. “Wait, wait!”
The people on the spacecraft had no idea what was happening! The boy who boarded the ship was also quite direct, making them unsure whether to attack while holding their weapons!
Because this person seemed to just want to save the person in his arms, as if he had no ill intentions.
Captain Jin Di pondered for a moment, ordered his crew to lower their weapons, and followed the people who entered the ship in the direction of the rescue cabins.
Li ZouXing cautiously placed Ji Yu inside a rescue cabin. At this moment, while looking at the complex control panel, he was at a loss. When Jin Di came in, Li ZouXing looked at him with starlit eyes. “Can you save Xing Xing’s friend?”
This caught Jin Di off guard. The resolute, sturdy captain recovered quickly, walked over, and closed the lid of the rescue cabin. He quickly manipulated the controls.
“Don’t worry, kid,” Jin Di saw concern and sadness in his eyes. Even though they were both covered in blood, there was no malice. This made Jin Di have a favorable impression of them and showed them kindness in advance. “He’ll be fine. He’ll stand before you again in a day.”
Li ZouXing nodded, his expression strange. It was a mix of mature adult and childlike innocence. After realizing there was no danger from mental power, the severe headache in his mind suddenly stopped.
He blinked, obediently saying, “Thank you.”
Jin Di was shocked by the strength of his mental power. “Can you tell me what happened to you?”
“Somebody bullied Xing Xing’s friend,” Li ZouXing said, “so I killed him.”
Before Jin Di could respond, cries outside the still-open pod door pierced the air: “ZouXing, Ji Yu—?!”
…
Xi Nan and the merfolk reached the shore, and the spacecraft on the beach gleamed with metallic light. However, his two companions were nowhere to be seen.
The little mermaid sniffed the air, tears in his eyes. “It’s the scent of the boss’s mental power.”
The merfolk race had always been sensitive to mental power, their primary sense.
Xi Nan clenched his fist, fury propelling him closer to the spacecraft. “This ship must have abducted them! I’ll take them down!”
He could walk on the sand, but the underwater merfolk couldn’t. They could only emit sound waves that humans couldn’t hear, summoning dangerous and aggressive sea creatures.
Though the White Star Sea merfolk were sensitive and timid, they were brave and fearless when it came to helping friends.
After Xi Nan approached the spacecraft, he saw the door open, and a few drops of bright red blood dripped onto the pale sandy beach in front of the open door.
These drops of blood stained the young man’s eyes, and he couldn’t believe what his friend had gone through while he swam in the sea.
He looked into the hatch, and the people on the spacecraft who had just put away their weapons instinctively raised their dark guns at him.
Xi Nan’s fists clenched, his expression fierce, tears in his eyes. “What have you done to them?!”
“What?” the people on the spacecraft asked, confused.
They didn’t dare to admit to anything they might have done, which could imply that his companions had been harmed.
Xi Nan wiped his tears, his expression turning fierce. He clenched his fist, and his knuckles cracked. “I’ll avenge them!”
His face flushed, his neck bulged, and his anger caused veins to pop out. Amidst his intense emotional upheaval, a hint of mental power emerged, enveloping his clenched fist.
Facing Xi Nan’s explosive reaction, the people on the spacecraft: “…”
When Li ZouXing and Jin Di came out, they saw the burly man crying while waving his fist at the people on the spacecraft.
Jin Di: “What’s going on?”
He couldn’t help laughing, why are the children on this planet so…unique? cute?
Li ZouXing disdainfully found a tissue and walked over, calling out, “Xi Nan.”
Xi Nan’s fist froze mid-air, and he turned to look. Seeing him, his tears flowed even harder. “ZouXing, are you both okay?”
“We’re fine,” Li ZouXing paused and repeated, “Both Xing Xing and Yu Yu are fine.”
Xi Nan hiccupped as he relaxed completely. “You scared me.”
Only then did he realize that something was off. He raised his own fist, and was startled by the wisps of mental power wrapped in it, “I, I, I!”
“Are you happy?” Li ZouXing asked.
Xi Nan noticed he was acting strange too, and he widened his eyes joyfully. “Are you all right now? You’re not acting like a little kid anymore?”
Li ZouXing pouted. “Xing Xing is already nine years old, a big kid!”
Xi Nan sighed disappointedly. “And what about Ji Yu?”
“He’s injured,” Li ZouXing frowned. In his current state, he really made Xi Nan suspect that he was just pretending to be naive. “That big bully was beaten away by Xing Xing.”
Listening in, Jin Di got the message from their conversation. So this child had suffered a head injury and was now in a nine-year-old state.
Xi Nan was shocked, sniffled again, and wanted to cry. “Is he seriously hurt?”
Jin Di answered, “Don’t worry, your friend will be healthy again in a day.”
“Who are you?” Xi Nan noticed the older man only now.
The man had a beard and looked quite cool.
“I’m the captain of this ship,” Jin Di smiled and handed him a tissue with the ship’s logo on it. “Want to wipe your tears?”
It was rare for someone to cry and still have a normal expression like Xi Nan’s. Embarrassed, he wiped his tears and blew his nose. “Can I go see Ji Yu?”
Li ZouXing led him towards the rescue cabin, raising a finger to his lips, and whispered, “Yu Yu is sleeping; we need to be quiet.”
Xi Nan obediently nodded and tiptoed behind him. After they saw Ji Yu, Xi Nan’s eyes were swollen from crying. Even though the wounds were continuously healing, they could still see the pain his friend had endured.
Luckily, he was still alive.
Xi Nan felt so relieved. If something had happened to Ji Yu and ZouXing while he was indulging himself in the underwater world, he wouldn’t have forgiven himself.
“Thank you, ZouXing.”
The big guy hugged Li ZouXing tightly, wiping his tears onto Li ZouXing’s shoulder.
Li ZouXing sighed like an adult, feeling helpless. He patted the big guy’s head. “Alright, Xing Xing is still young and needs to grow taller. You can’t crush Xing Xing anymore.”
Xi Nan laughed and tapped his chest muscles along with his abs. “Which nine-year-old is as strong as you?”
“I can be stronger,” Li ZouXing said, “and my… uh… ‘little birdie’ can be bigger too.”
“Come on, man,” Xi Nan seriously advised, “don’t make it any bigger. This size is already enough to make people envious. If it gets any bigger, girls will be scared.”
“Really?”
Li ZouXing walked ahead with large strides, quite doubtful. “Are you intentionally trying to prevent Xing Xing from growing up?”
Xi Nan felt exasperated. “You really can’t grow up anymore!”
They reached the control room. The guy who had fought with him earlier was glaring at Xi Nan with a swollen, bruised face. He realized that this guy was nowhere near as tough as he looked. Unable to wield a weapon effectively, he had basically been on the receiving end.
Li ZuoXing rolled his eyes and taught Xi Nan a lesson in public, “Look at what you did!”
Xi Nan scratched his head. “Sorry.”
“Does sorry help?” Li ZouXing pretended to be fierce, while also observing the people on the spaceship from the corner of his eye.
Xi Nan was completely on the same wavelength and suddenly bent down ninety degrees, loudly saying, “I’m sorry! Please forgive me!”
“Hahaha,” Jin Di laughed good-naturedly. “It’s okay.”
Looking at the two in front of him, he hesitated for a moment before continuing, “Kids, your friend won’t wake up until tomorrow, but this is a commercial ship. We still have goods to transport, so we can’t stay here for a day.”
Xi Nan couldn’t help but glance at Li ZouXing. The nine-year-old Li ZouXing was indeed capable of being the leader. Without any hesitation, he said, “We’ll go with you.”
Jin Di was about to nod in agreement when an exclamation from the subordinate who was monitoring the display screens caught their attention. “Captain! Look at the beach!”
They turned to the beach, and the humans who hadn’t seen much of the world were shocked, their mouths forming ‘O’ shapes.
The calm and waveless sea had changed. Massive sea creatures, dark and imposing, were swimming towards the shore. Their enormous bodies were comparable to the size of a spacecraft. With a single glance, the entire sea surface was filled with these large moving creatures.
This sight sent shivers down everyone’s spine.
Li ZouXing jumped off the spacecraft and headed towards the beach. The little mermaid was at the forefront, and upon seeing him intact, he cheered, “Boss!”
“Tell them all to retreat,” Li ZouXing waved his hand confidently, his pose especially cool on the spaceship. “Your boss has everything under control.”
“Boss is amazing!” The little mermaid looked at Li ZouXing, swimming around jubilantly. “Boss is incredible!”
Li ZouXing nodded with a distinctly big-brother-like demeanor, then turned to walk back towards the spacecraft.
After a few steps, he turned back again, crouching down to look into the eyes of the little mermaid. “Ji Yu is injured. The boss is taking him for treatment and will be back in two days.”
“Let Gu WenCheng know,” he continued, “there’s not just one person involved in stealing the energy crystals.”
The little mermaid memorized the information, nodding vigorously.
He felt that the boss was different now, as if he had become even more formidable.
Li ZouXing patted the little mermaid’s head and whispered, “Commercial spacecraft, Tilan.”
The little mermaid looked confused, but Li ZouXing had already started walking back to the spacecraft.
Author’s note:
Li ZouXing, acting cool and mysterious: Today is another cool day.
