Lu Yuan and Yan Shu, after their initial shock, moved their lips as if wanting to say something but stopped.
However, the people around them had already gone back to work. The two of them standing there so conspicuously felt awkward, so they sat back down with subtly complex expressions. Even after sitting down, they kept glancing at Xu Yin, again and again.
Speaking of which, on their way to this exile planet, Lu Yuan and Yan Shu had secretly discussed how to escape.
Both of their parents had died—on the journey here, no less—all due to an “illness”.
What kind of illness exactly, they didn’t know. Perhaps they would never find out in their lifetime.
After all, throughout history, among groups exiled for political reasons, it was all too common for many to pass away halfway through the journey from various “illnesses.” People had even come to accept this as an inevitable outcome. Evidently, even General Xu hadn’t been able to escape this fate.
Grief was inevitable, but the tragedy had already begun the moment their elders’ crimes were sentenced. By the time they reached this exiled planet, Lu Yuan and Yan Shu had grown numb.
However, unlike Xu Yin, they still harbored a trace of unwillingness—unwillingness to waste fifty years of their lives in such a place. That was why they wanted to escape.
At first, they thought Xu Yin, as General Xu’s son, would naturally become their ally.
To their astonishment, Xu Yin seemed to have turned into nothing more than a wandering soul. Forget planning an escape—whether he could even survive was a question.
Lu Yuan couldn’t help but wonder if one day Xu Yin might simply starve himself to death in that tiny dormitory.
This left Lu Yuan both deeply disappointed and furious. He couldn’t accept that the son of his idol, General Xu, would sink into such a pitiful state. But after several failed attempts to persuade Xu Yin, Lu Yuan gave up.
Xu Yin wasn’t General Xu. Whether he lived or died—what did it matter to him?
He wasn’t angry at all—what a joke.
At this moment, after sitting back down, Lu Yuan thought for a while, pursed his lips, and then turned back to focus on his work.
That mental energy from earlier? It was probably just his imagination—or maybe the machine malfunctioned?
No matter how he looked at it, there was no way Xu Yin could possess such powerful mental strength. Unless someone reached the level of a general, it was impossible to max out the gauge at 100%!
When Xu Yin noticed Lu Yuan turning back to his work with a stern face and Yan Shu looking like he had something to say but couldn’t get the words out, he decided to let it go for now and focused on his tasks instead.
018: “Those two seem to have a pretty deep prejudice against you.”
Xu Yin: “Mm, it’s not entirely unreasonable.”
Xu Yin roughly understood why Lu Yuan and Yan Shu felt that way toward him, but he also knew the issue wouldn’t be easy to resolve.
He’d deal with it later.
As Xu Yin pondered, he operated the machinery, working steadily. At the same time—perhaps out of habit carried over from the previous world—he tried to mobilize the mental energy within his body.
It was clear that Xu Yin could control his mental power freely. Gathering it into a thin stream, he instinctively let it flow through his body, treating it as a way to familiarize himself with this physical vessel.
…But halfway through, Xu Yin suddenly sensed something strange within him.
It was a peculiar presence, quietly lurking deep inside, like a pool of water wrapped in a thin, fragile membrane.
‘Huh?’
‘What’s this?’
Xu Yin closed his eyes and guided his mental power to circle around the “little water balloon.”
After a moment of consideration, he made a bold decision. Using his mental power, he lightly prodded the “water balloon.”
And with that, the “water balloon” burst.
—Instantly, a tidal wave of immense mental energy surged through his entire body like a flood!
Xu Yin’s eyes snapped open, and in the silence of that moment, his pores seemed to explode as an overwhelming torrent of mental power erupted within him. It crashed violently through his body, as though it was trying to break free from his physical confines.
On the side, Lu Yuan was silently reassuring himself: ‘It was just a mistake, definitely a mistake. It must be a machine bug, it must be a machine bug.’ Unable to resist, he glanced at Xu Yin again…
And then he saw it.
The mental power guage in front of Xu Yin suddenly “clunked” and shot straight to 100% once more, trembling violently. A split second later, with a loud *buzz*, the machine shut itself down!
Lu Yuan: “???”
With a loud *clang*, he stood up in shock once again.
This was a textbook case of mental power overload causing the machine to malfunction!
Xu Yin glanced at the machine he’d just rendered completely non-functional, slightly surprised himself. So the “little water balloon” was entirely made up of mental power?
As he probed deeper into his body, Xu Yin discovered something even more intriguing—the burst “water balloon” had another one inside it. This new one, however, had a much tougher exterior, and for now, it seemed unbreakable.
It turned out these “water balloons” were layered like Russian nesting dolls—one inside another. Roughly… five layers in total?
If each layer contained mental power, that would mean… this body could undergo five total mental power upgrades?
‘What incredible potential.’
The original host of this body had always been seen as a weakling with minimal mental power. But now, it was clear that his immense mental strength had been sealed deep within him all along.
Was this phenomenon unique to the original host? Or could everyone possess such hidden reserves of power, simply waiting to be discovered?
Xu Yin rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Meanwhile, Lu Yuan was utterly dumbfounded, glancing back and forth between the broken machine and Xu Yin, his expression completely blank.
The commotion had drawn the attention of others. A small group approached to take a look.
“Whoa, the machine stopped again!”
No big deal—this happened all the time!
Xu Yin often struggled to get the machine running, only for it to shut down within ten minutes due to his so-called “mental power exhaustion.” When mental power ran out, the machine naturally turned off!
Seeing this, they simply offered words of encouragement: “No worries, no worries. Take a break if you’re tired. You’re already doing better than before!”
Xu Yin responded with a faint smile, one that struck the crowd like a direct hit to the heart.
“Keep it up! You can do it!” they cheered, clenching their fists in excitement.
Lu Yuan: “…?????”
His mind was in chaos. ‘Better than before? Do these people have any idea what just happened?’
‘Was it him who had a problem, or was this world simply absurd?’
—
For the next several minutes, nothing unusual happened.
Xu Yin restarted the machine, this time carefully keeping his output steady at 10%, calmly completing the rest of his tasks.
As the workers began to disperse one by one, Lu Yuan and Yan Shu stood up as well, their expressions still dazed.
After some thought, Xu Yin broke the silence. “Um, can we talk?”
Lu Yuan flinched, snapping out of his trance. His reaction was a mix of wariness and awkwardness. “…What do you want to talk about?”
Xu Yin considered for a moment, then decided to be straightforward. “Can I join you?”
Both Lu Yuan and Yan Shu froze, clearly not expecting such a direct request.
“I’m sorry for what happened before,” Xu Yin continued.
He vaguely remembered that there had been a time when Lu Yuan and Yan Shu tried to reach out to the original host, only for the original host to lash out at them in frustration.
Although their encounters seemed superficial, the three of them had already developed subtle tensions in their short interactions.
Xu Yin didn’t want to judge the original host’s actions. What he did know, however, was that he had no intention of spending fifty years in this place.
And for that, certain steps had to be taken.
Xu Yin spoke earnestly, “I don’t want to be stuck here for fifty years. That’s why I want to join you and take action together.”
Hearing this, Yan Shu’s face softened, and he seemed about to respond, but Lu Yuan cut him off.
Lu Yuan glared at Xu Yin and snapped, “How do I know you’re serious? How do I know you’ll stick with it? How do I know you’re reliable? Xu Yin, you know how difficult this is, don’t you? If I trust you now, bring you into this, and a few days later you give up, fall back into your slump, and lock yourself in your room again, then what? All our effort and feelings will be wasted!”
He fired off a barrage of questions, but at the core of it all, his concern was simple: he didn’t believe Xu Yin could endure or that he was strong enough for this.
And that was indeed a valid issue.
‘How do I regain his trust?’ Xu Yin wondered, his mind turning over the problem.
Lu Yuan’s harsh words lingered in the air, but when he saw Xu Yin’s slight frown, his heart unexpectedly skipped a beat.
…Honestly, over the past hour, he had noticed that Xu Yin seemed different today. His instincts told him that this Xu Yin might actually be trustworthy.
The feeling was irrational and inexplicable, but Lu Yuan wasn’t entirely opposed to trusting it.
…He was just being stubborn about it!
Back then, he and Yan Shu had been so eager to help this guy. Not only did Xu Yin refuse their goodwill, but he also yelled at them.
Yan Shu tugged gently at Lu Yuan’s sleeve, but Lu Yuan shook him off, crossing his arms and glaring at Xu Yin.
That posture…
018: “He’s waiting for you to speak.”
Xu Yin took one look at Lu Yuan’s stance and couldn’t help but chuckle.
Sure enough, while Lu Yuan’s words were sharp, he hadn’t turned around and walked away. Instead, he stood his ground, staring at Xu Yin as if waiting for a response.
Seeing this, Xu Yin let out a helpless laugh.
As soon as Lu Yuan saw him laugh, he bristled, his face flushing as he jumped up. “What are you laughing at?!”
Xu Yin replied, “I’m not—”
Suddenly, 018 interrupted him. “Oh, there’s a random mission?”
Xu Yin paused, then opened the task bar. The next moment, from somewhere out of sight, a black, ferocious beast burst into view.
Its grotesque appearance and erratic movements startled both Lu Yuan and Yan Shu, who leapt back in shock!
“It’s a mutated beast!” Yan Shu exclaimed in a low voice.
On exiled planets like this, it wasn’t uncommon for interstellar black-market traders to pass through. These beasts were often left behind by traders after failed deals, frequently lurking in the shadows and launching surprise attacks on people. Every time one appeared, there were casualties, and the attacks wouldn’t stop until the planetary officials arrived with soldiers to subdue them.
At this moment, the area was completely deserted, and as soon as the beast appeared, it charged straight at the three of them. Lu Yuan and Yan Shu’s faces turned pale in unison.
“Run!”
Lu Yuan shouted, grabbing Xu Yin and attempting to flee alongside Yan Shu.
But escaping wasn’t so simple. The beast leapt forward, blocking their path, and with a deafening roar, lunged straight at Lu Yuan in the middle!
“Lu Yuan!” Yan Shu cried out in alarm.
Lu Yuan’s heart sank.
Once a beast locked onto a target, it wouldn’t stop until it killed them. Without soldiers to intervene, being targeted by a beast was essentially a death sentence.
In an instant, Lu Yuan gritted his teeth, shoved Xu Yin aside, and with a trembling voice shouted, “Yan Shu, take Xu Yin and run! Get him out of here, you HAVE to leave this place—leave this planet!”
He was already delivering what sounded like a final farewell.
Yan Shu’s eyes reddened.
Xu Yin could only shake his head in helplessness.
Meanwhile, Lu Yuan was thinking that since death was inevitable, he might as well buy some time to allow Yan Shu and Xu Yin to escape. He was about to turn and run in the opposite direction when he suddenly saw Xu Yin take a step forward.
“Xu Yin, what are you doing?!” Lu Yuan shouted in anger.
Before the words even finished leaving his mouth, Xu Yin raised his leg and *kicked*—the beast’s chin was struck with such force that its head almost flew off!
Lu Yuan and Yan Shu were stunned into silence by the sheer violence of the action, rooted to the spot in shock.
The beast staggered backward two steps, shaking its head, clearly disoriented.
It let out an angry roar, but before it could react, Xu Yin stepped forward and placed his hand firmly on the beast’s head. With an incredible display of strength, he slammed it to the ground. In one swift motion, he then kicked the cumbersome beast so hard that it flew through the air!
The beast let out a miserable howl as it crashed into the rocky mountain wall, producing a terrifying sound before sliding to the ground, unconscious.
Within a few seconds, the once ferocious beast was completely incapacitated, unable to move.
Yan Shu and Lu Yuan stood frozen, speechless.
Xu Yin let out a sigh of relief and turned to Lu Yuan. “Are you okay?”
Lu Yuan stood there, shaking his head in a daze, then shook it again as if trying to clear his mind.
Xu Yin smiled gently again. “Shall we continue our previous conversation? Hmm, I truly want to join you and act alongside you. I also promise I won’t give up halfway. Please… believe in me just this once?”
They looked at the extremely gentle young man, then at the dizzy beast lying at his feet. Lu Yuan and Yan Shu both swallowed hard.
018 couldn’t help but comment: “I know you’re used to it, but it’s really scary how you can go from being so violent to so gentle with just a smile! Look at Lu Yuan, he seemed like he was just sulking, but now he’s completely intimidated by your strength!”
Xu Yin: “…?”
He touched the corner of his mouth and cleared his throat.
