Li Chunyu, thin-skinned as he was, felt like spitting blood facing the disbelief in everyone's eyes. He pointed a finger, chin held high, and declared, "I'll gather all the mecha parts together, assemble what I can, power them up—who dares to try and steal them?"

A brilliant idea!

The thought flashed through everyone’s minds. This time, no one dared to look at him with pity. Even gentle sheep-like teammates could be terrifying when pushed to the limit.

After everyone dispersed, Li Chunyu sat up straight, grasped his sprained ankle with both hands, gave a twist, and with a soft snap, the dislocated joint finally settled back into place.

Yet, the instant, bone-deep pain nearly made him pass out.

He gritted his teeth, wiped the sweat from his brow, knowing his back was already completely soaked through.

Li Chunyu rested on the ground for a moment before slowly climbing up. He began assembling the parts that could fit together, placing the unassembled pieces aside. He rigged a makeshift electrical device, and once connected, the surface of all the components became electrified. He dared not touch them with his hands, instead opening his micro-optical computer to check the current—exactly one hundred degrees.

One hundred degrees wouldn't instantly stun someone, but nobody could snatch those parts away under that kind of charge.

Having finished, he leaned back against the hillside to catch his breath.

Above this base, two suns hung, one to the left and one to the right. The midday light was almost unbearable. He moved himself into the shadow cast by the mecha wreckage, listing out the missing components one by one, intending to hand the list to Ziye and the others when they returned.

There was also a duplicate part that he set aside separately to see if anyone needed it for a potential trade.

Perhaps the assembled mecha was too conspicuous, because soon, a team sent people over—one walking in front, one flanking behind. One kept Li Chunyu's attention, while the other crept stealthily towards the rear of the mecha, preparing to steal a few components.

Li Chunyu, preoccupied with the person in front, didn't notice the one behind. He scrutinized the front man with a wary gaze. "Which team?"

The man smiled obsequiously. "I'm from the Octopus Team, my name is Amu. Same year as you, though you probably don't know me. I wanted to ask, where did you find so many parts? Our eight-person team has only managed to find six components so far."

Li Chunyu remained seated, his gaze mild, though a sliver of exhaustion was detectable if one looked closely. "Hard work yields results."

Amu was overjoyed. He had indeed come to the right place!

He had actually run into the legendary, gentlest, kindest, and most brilliant youth, Li Chunyu!

Truthfully, Amu had always idolized Li Chunyu. If it weren't for this current situation, he would have loved to properly consult him on some design questions.

But this was the revival match, crucial for his team's survival, so he swallowed that small aspiration and appraised Li Chunyu with professional enthusiasm.

They said the Out-of-Sheath team was the smallest in number. Sure enough, everyone else was focused on the mecha wreckage, leaving him alone to stand guard—a golden opportunity sent from the heavens.

If he didn't make a move now, when would he?

So, he continued to distract Li Chunyu. "I don't know why, but I just can't seem to find anything. I heard your team was amazing, and it turns out that's true."

Li Chunyu was about to reply when suddenly—"Ouch! Electric shock!"

A scream rang out from behind the mecha. Amu startled, watching as Li Chunyu sprang up like a startled rabbit and dashed behind the wreckage. Amu rushed after him, only to see the normally gentle Li Chunyu snatch a rock from the ground and bring it down hard towards his teammate's shoulder, terrifying Amu senseless. "No—!"

Who on earth told him Li Chunyu was easy to bully? He was going to file a complaint!

This method of attack was swift, precise, and vicious. What sheep? This guy was clearly more terrifying than a wolf!

Li Chunyu’s stone didn't actually strike, stopping just an inch from Amu's teammate's head. He said coldly, "Which team are you from?"

Amu’s teammate felt like dying. He shouted, "I'm from the Octopus Team, I was wrong! I won't dare again! Someone told us if we could just stall you and keep you from advancing, they'd reward each of us ten thousand!"

Part of that was true—someone had indeed approached them with that offer. What was false was that they came to steal parts not to prevent the Out-of-Sheath team from advancing, but to ensure their own advancement.

Now that they were caught, they didn't care about the truth; it was time to push the blame onto someone else.

Li Chunyu pressed the stone onto his teammate’s shoulder, using his hand to push down hard. The rough edges of the rock made the teammate's eyes water uncontrollably.

Li Chunyu raged, "Who paid you?"

The man blurted out, "I don't know."

Amu found the scene too horrifying. He grabbed a rock from the ground, intending to threaten Li Chunyu, but he was timid. Holding the rock, he stammered, "Y-you, Li Chunyu, don't act recklessly! Lives... are important!"

As he spoke, another scream from someone being electrocuted echoed. Li Chunyu stood up, staring at the two men. "How many more of you are there? Come out now."

Amu protested anxiously, "That's not right. I swear only the two of us from my team came."

The three walked to the other side of the mecha, where they saw a person fleeing in panic.

Amu asserted, "That person is not from our team, definitely not. Our team doesn't have any fat guys like that."

As soon as he finished speaking, the fleeing person ran even faster.

Li Chunyu snapped impatiently, "Why aren't you leaving yet?"

Amu, pulling his crying teammate, left with a mournful expression.

He decided then and there that when they returned to school, he would tell everyone: Li Chunyu is a deep, dangerous pit!

Just as Ziye had predicted, it was still early, and few people were out foraging for food. She saw a dark patch far off to the front left and walked toward that direction, picking up a few spare parts along the way. Finally, she reached the dark area—it turned out to be a forest.

The soil in this area was grayish, and even the trees were gray.

There were few people looking for food at this time. To prevent them from starving, the competition organizers had placed numerous baskets throughout the forest, containing food in sealed packaging with the freshest dates.

Ziye grabbed a basket, pulled out two pieces of Star Cake, chewed them up, and stuffed them into her stomach. She instantly felt fully revitalized.

Splint went off on his own to find a fresh basket. Ziye said, "One basket should be enough for us to eat."

Splint smiled. "Silly girl, food is the most important thing. If they don't have food, they won't last long under this intense light. If they accidentally pick up parts we need, we can trade for them."

Ziye nodded. "Smart move."

She took a sealed cup of water from the basket, opened it, and drank it down in one gulp. Just as she was about to speak, Splint said, "Someone’s coming."

Ziye watched a few people enter the forest. She frantically shoved all the contents of her basket into Splint's, saying, "You go first, I'll be the bait. They’ll likely target me since I’m female."

Splint hesitated. "This..."

Ziye patted his arm. "I can do it." With that, she took the empty basket and ran deeper into the forest.

Those few people glanced at Splint, then at Ziye, and decisively chased after Ziye. Splint watched Ziye move as agilely as a startled rabbit, steadied himself, and decided he should trust her.

Though she was a girl, she was first and foremost his teammate. Not only did she know An Junlie's martial arts, but she also possessed a razor-sharp knife, and her jungle experience surpassed his own.

Splint clenched his teeth. While they were being led away, he placed the basket on top of the mecha parts, activated the magnetic levitation function, and pushed it back towards the rally point.

It was Ziye's first time entering the forest on this planet. She ran wildly inside until she was tired, then remarked, "There’s so much food here, why did you try to rob me? Didn't you see all the baskets in the area I just ran past?"

Several people had indeed spotted the baskets on their way chasing her, so they stopped. Two, however, were set on catching her and pursued her all the way. Ziye ran and ran, deep into the forest. When she looked back, the pursuers were gone, but she realized she was lost...

In the forest, as far as the eye could see, everything was a uniform gray.

Ziye wasn't overly worried; she had plenty of forest experience. Holding her knife, she advanced step by step, treating it as an exploration.

However, she felt something was off deeper in the woods.

It was eerily quiet inside, as if no animals existed, though there was no tangible dangerous aura either. Holding her breath, she turned a corner and suddenly saw strange markings on the ground.

"Ziye, how are you? Are you hurt?" Splint's anxious voice crackled over the communicator.

Ziye picked up the communicator and softly hissed, "Don't speak. I think I've found something incredible."

Splint asked curiously, "What is it?"

Ziye didn't answer, following the markings step by step until she saw a massive cave hidden by the foliage. Inside, it was packed entirely with bones!

No, it was a veritable mountain of bones! A mountain of gray bones!

Ziye’s heart felt like it was about to leap out of her chest.

She rubbed her sternum, forcing down the tension and excitement, and slowly approached the bone pile.

These were the skeletal remains of large animals, bigger than the corpses of the Base Tigers—perhaps elephants? Rhinos? What kind of creature would die in such vast numbers in one place?

Ziye drew her knife and gently poked a bone lying near her feet. Under the pressure, the bone compressed slightly but did not break or shatter.

What kind of material was this?

Ziye pulled gloves from her pocket and put them on. She lightly picked up a bone and squeezed it; it was incredibly resilient!

Could this be a mutation?

Ziye gazed at the mountain of skeletons, feeling an inexplicable surge of excitement, mixed with a profound, inexplicable dread, and a deep reverence for nature and life itself.

She had never encountered a mutation like this.

She gently scraped the surface with her knife, managing to shave off only a tiny amount of wind-weathered dust.

This was the same knife that could cleave a Base Tiger.

Indeed, every planet held surprising wonders.

But this mountain of bones was a surprise that bordered on the horrifying!

Although in this Great Age of Star Travel, few people still clung to superstitions like the belief in ghosts, standing before this vast, natural graveyard still sent a chill through her.

The only true surprise was that these bones, in terms of flexibility, were three points more resilient than the most supple alloy in interstellar space, and they were light in weight—perfect material to replace flexible light metals! -(To be continued.)