ABFA Chapter 59

Jiang Yue ultimately couldn’t suppress her curiosity and asked Zhang San, “What’s your relationship with Old Pan?”

“So it seems you’re quite familiar with him, you even call him so affectionately and are willing to risk your life for him. That’s truly moving.”

Zhang San flicked his hair. Under the sunlight, his hair took on a golden-brown sheen, accentuating his refined and scholarly features, giving him a more appealing presence. The only problem was his expression, which was extremely punchable, so much so that Jiang Yue really wanted to throw a punch at his face.

After leaving First Prison, Zhang San’s quality of life had improved significantly. Having shed his haggard appearance, he now looked fair-skinned and tall. His features were quite well-defined and proper, but his careless, roguish demeanor made him look anything but like a good person.

Looking at his infuriatingly smug face, Jiang Yue had a lot of questions in his mind.

Was Zhang San even his real name?

What exactly was this person’s background?

And why had he been exiled to Garbage Planet?

What was his relationship with Pan Buen?

Why had Pan Buen come to Garbage Planet?

One question followed another, and Jiang Yue felt that her brain capacity was starting to run out.

The Chubby Boss poked half his head out of the window to size up Zhang San. He scratched his head, then suddenly remembered something. Slapping his hands together, he said loudly, “I remember now, you’re that scavenger who wore garbage bags, had a pomelo peel on his head, and was covered in rat fur!”

Zhang San’s expression showed faint signs of cracking. He forced out a smile and said to Chubby Boss, “No, you’ve got the wrong person.”

Jiang Yue let out a mocking snort and asked coolly, “Why were you wearing a pomelo peel?”

Zhang San scratched his head, looking a little disgruntled. “Better than getting bitten all over the head by the stinky mosquitoes in the junkyard, right?”

He swept his hair back, then stepped into the shack. Concerned for Pan Buen’s safety, Jiang Yue followed him in with her knife still in hand.

The Chubby Boss watched Zhang San warily, while Zhang San himself looked perfectly at ease. He even strode over to the table and poured himself a glass of water without hesitation.

Pan Buen was sitting on the heated kang bed resting. Seeing him enter, he asked, “Young man, why have you come looking for me?”

Zhang San smiled. “About what happened back then.”

Pan Buen suddenly broke into a violent coughing fit, as if he were about to cough out his lungs.

Jiang Yue and Chubby Boss exchanged a glance, and silently, in tacit understanding, they both stepped out of the room.

When Zhang San came out of the shack, his expression was gloomy. Even in First Prison, Jiang Yue had never seen such a dark look on his face.

What exactly had they talked about?

Jiang Yue’s curiosity flared up again.

That night, Jiang Yue continued her patrol on the rooftop. Holding her long blade, she tilted her head back and looked up at the night sky, which resembled a black curtain. There were no stars here, the sky looked like a gray dome, sealing the garbage star inside it.

Zhang San also jumped up onto the rooftop, holding Jiang Yue’s metal staff.

“They know they can’t beat you, so they’ll probably use other methods, like setting a fire.”

Jiang Yue had already thought of that. The wind direction today wasn’t good; not only was it strong, but it was also blowing toward the small shack.

All day, she had been considering whether to summon her psychic body for combat. If she released a golden eagle from the rooftop and dropped it down, it would probably be enough to smash a few people to death.

After the two of them had stood on the rooftop enduring the cold wind for half an hour, the group finally appeared. They were carrying buckets and began pouring waste oil around the shack.

This “waste oil” was similar to gutter oil, but at least gutter oil went through some level of refinement. This stuff, however, was truly just foul-smelling grease, typically found in the drains near small eateries.

Shit!

One of the scavengers lit the waste oil. The substance burned extremely quickly, and in just a moment, the flames surged up.

Pan Buen had once been a soldier, and he retained a soldier’s sharp instincts. There were no flammable materials near the shack, but the thick smoke produced by burning waste oil and scattered trash was extremely deadly.

The shack was illuminated by roaring flames. Jiang Yue could take on ten opponents alone, but she had no way to extinguish this kind of fire by herself, nor could she change the wind direction.

She and Zhang San jumped down from the rooftop. The rolling smoke made her cough uncontrollably. The Chubby Boss, his face wrapped in a wet towel, pulled her into the shack.

Amid the surging smoke, the Chubby Boss tapped the edge of the kang bed. The earthen brick floor in front of them suddenly split apart, revealing a pitch-black hole underneath.

Zhang San carried Pan Buen and jumped down into the dark hole. The Chubby Boss followed, and Jiang Yue came right after them.

The sensation of falling soon vanished. They landed in a large net. When Jiang Yue looked up, she saw the opening above them slowly closing.

She stood up on the net and immediately began surveying their surroundings.

It was pitch black. This didn’t look like a soil tunnel, it was more like an abandoned mine shaft.

Pan Buen was sitting on the net, coughing violently. Jiang Yue stepped forward and asked, “How are you? Are you alright?”

Pan Buen waved his hand, signaling that he was fine. Zhang San helped him up, and Chubby Boss clapped his hands three times. The large net suddenly shifted and began to descend slowly.

When it finally reached the ground, points of faint light appeared in the darkness. Their vision suddenly brightened.

It turned out to be a group of thin, frail children, each holding a dim yellow night lamp, standing there quietly.

About ten older youths stepped forward and began to collect the fishing net from the ground. With the light now clearer, Jiang Yue looked around and finally noticed a rail mechanism embedded in the wall above them. Beneath the net, there was a massive deep pit.

This place was full of the elderly, the weak, and the sick, it couldn’t possibly have been dug out by human labor alone.

Jiang Yue looked away and turned around, only to realize that a large empty space had formed beside her. The children holding lamps were huddled together, staring at her timidly.

She paused.

These children looked to be around their early teens. Judging from their builds and appearances, many of them were Omegas. Having lived without sunlight for so long, their skin was an unhealthy, pale white, making them appear especially frail.

Jiang Yue fished around in her pocket and pulled out a few pieces of breath-freshening candy. She held them out toward the Omegas.

The children with lamps immediately recoiled in unison, retreating another step back.

This left Jiang Yue completely confused. She stood there blankly, not understanding what was going on. The Chubby Boss coughed awkwardly and leaned in to whisper in her ear, “You’re a powerful Alpha. The aggression you give off is too strong—Omegas instinctively fear you.”

Jiang Yue: “???”

She glanced at Zhang San, deeply unconvinced. “He’s also an Alpha. Why aren’t the Omegas afraid of him?”

The Chubby Boss looked at Zhang San, then at Jiang Yue, and couldn’t help sighing. “Li Si, you are handsome, but you look fierce. Zhang San, on the other hand, is like jade among trees—elegant, refined, and gentle. His smile is so approachable, and the whole person just feels warm. Unlike you, who’s ice-cold. His friendliness is over a hundred times stronger than yours. Omegas naturally like Alphas like that.”

Jiang Yue pressed a hand to her forehead.

When she looked up again, Zhang San had already blended in with the Omegas and was even flashing that infuriatingly smug grin at her.

Her fists tightened. Tightened…

Jiang Yue reluctantly stuffed the breath-freshening candy back into her pocket and shot Zhang San a sharp glare.

The tunnel was very long. Jiang Yue glanced at the walls, and as someone with a month and a half of mining experience, she immediately sensed something was off.

The tunnel was extremely long. Jiang Yue looked at the wall, and with her month and a half of mining experience, she immediately sensed something was wrong.

She widened her eyes at the white patterns on the black wall and scraped a bit of it off with her fingernail.

This damn thing was white crystal!

The tunnel hidden beneath the shack was actually a white crystal mine!

Jiang Yue stopped in her tracks. Zhang San walked up from behind and stood beside her, saying, “Surprised?”

Jiang Yue turned to look at him. “What exactly is going on? Don’t tell me this is all just a coincidence.”

She met Zhang San’s eyes and tightened her grip on the hilt of Chang Geng’s blade. “Out of everyone in First Prison, why did you pick me?”

Zhang San patted her shoulder. “Be honest with me, how much white crystal energy have you absorbed?”

Jiang Yue glanced at him coldly. “Why should I tell you? Do you really think you’re trustworthy? And you’d better stay out of my business. If you’re tired of living, I don’t mind helping you get some relief.”

With a sharp clang, Chang Geng was drawn from its sheath. Jiang Yue looked at him coldly.

Zhang San let out a helpless sigh and rubbed his brow. “Do you always have to turn hostile at the slightest disagreement? Have I ever actually harmed you? Have I done anything to wrong you?”

Jiang Yue, expressionless, extended one hand toward him.

Zhang San glanced at her palm, his eyes filled with confusion. “What do you mean by that?”

Jiang Yue slowly raised a middle finger toward him and said coldly, “Ten million.”

Zhang San: “…”

He scratched his hair, his expression suddenly turning a little guilty.

“I’m not the kind of person who refuses to pay debts. It’s just… inconvenient right now. Inconvenient!”

Jiang Yue snorted coldly and stopped paying attention to him, continuing to walk forward.

Zhang San followed closely behind her, muttering under his breath, “I say, Jiang… Li Si, haven’t you ever suspected anything about your body?”

Jiang Yue replied flatly, “My patience is limited. Stop trying to keep me in suspense.”

She strode forward with her ridiculously long legs, while Zhang San jogged after her, lowering his voice.

“The crack we escaped through was full of crystal ore. Don’t tell me you dug that out by hand. Once white crystal energy is absorbed, it turns into dust. I don’t know how you absorbed it, but it’s definitely related to you.”

Jiang Yue stopped in her tracks. Zhang San continued, “I only ate three pieces of white crystal, and my body started mutating uncontrollably. Yet you’re completely fine. Don’t you find that strange?”

Of course she was curious. Her spiritual entity was a golden eagle, its curiosity was terrifyingly strong. How could she not be curious?

But Jiang Yue still looked impatient, as if she wanted to slap him across the face. “Can you be any more long-winded?”

With a sharp clang, Chang Geng was drawn again.

Zhang San immediately blurted out, “Actually, this is just my guess, your body and the white crystal might share the same origin. You’re both products of the same batch of experiments. That’s my hypothesis. There’s an 80% chance. I don’t know if you’ll believe me!”

Jiang Yue rolled her eyes and sheathed her blade again. “Thousand Threads isn’t a product of this era, and mutated species definitely aren’t either. You’re saying my body belongs to the same era as them?”

She looked at him coldly. “Zhang San, are you crazy?”

Zhang San swallowed. “Then let me ask you, were you born into this body?”

In the dim tunnel, Jiang Yue fell silent.

After a long moment, she finally said, “If you already have an answer in your mind, why bother asking me?”

Zhang San continued, “I think you must have guessed how the previous owner’s consciousness disappeared. Am I right?”

Jiang Yue had indeed considered it before, but her knowledge base was far too limited, and she couldn’t piece together any coherent explanation.

If the body itself didn’t die, then why did the previous owner’s consciousness disappear?

She had read some transmigration novels before. Most of the time, the original owner’s disappearance was explained by drowning, falling into a coma, or a serious illness that led to the fading of consciousness.

But when Jiang Yue first arrived, the condition of this body had been excellent. Those possibilities—serious illness or drowning—could all be ruled out.

Jiang Yue glanced at Zhang San and seriously considered whether she should silence him.

These secrets absolutely could not be known by others. She had no desire to end up on an operating table and be dissected piece by piece. Zhang San knew too much, he was a walking time bomb.

But if she killed him, she would lose any chance of understanding the origin of this body. She didn’t believe the Zerg race would leave her alone forever. The appearance of the “eyes” had some deterrent effect on them, which was why they hadn’t acted rashly for now, but what about the future? That was impossible to predict.

It was a real dilemma.

At this point, killing Zhang San was no longer just a matter of whether she could bring herself to do it, it was about the losses she would have to bear afterward.

She would lose a key source of information about mutated species and this body. That mattered to her too much.

While she was deep in thought, Zhang San suddenly said faintly, “I know, you’re definitely thinking about whether to kill me again.”

Jiang Yue looked up. Her gaze was cold and sinister.

Zhang San immediately took several quick steps backward, his face turning pale from fear.

He nervously swallowed and said with an earnest expression, “Li Si, you can’t be so ruthless. Keeping me around is still very useful.”

“What exactly are you useful for? After leaving the Garbage Planet, reporting me to the Federation, claiming credit, and trading me for wealth and status?”

Zhang San quickly shook his head. “I’m someone who has risen above such vulgar desires.”

Jiang Yue gave a cold laugh. “So you chose to become an outlaw instead?”

Zhang San raised his hands in surrender. “Fine, fine, I am an outlaw. But I don’t mean you any harm, and I won’t betray you or leak your secrets.”

He looked at Jiang Yue. “Besides, I think we can be partners. We have a shared goal. You want to know the secret of this body, and so do I. It’s important to both of us.”

Jiang Yue shot him a sideways glance. “That sounds very noble and all, but why should I trust you?”

Jiang Yue said, “I know nothing about you, not even your real name. But you know everything about me. Our information is severely asymmetrical. You’re also someone with deep schemes and an unknown background. Killing you would be the simplest solution.”

She made no effort to hide her killing intent. Zhang San let out a long sigh.

“Alright,” he said. “Let’s go find Pan Buen first, and then we can talk about us after that.”

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