A few minutes later, in the previous low hut.
The tall man silently brought over two cups of green liquid, a drink offered to guests in their tribe.
Ji Mian smelled the faint herbal aroma and dlevel it expressionlessly.
Shou Ling knelt on one side, lowering his head. “I’m sorry, I was blind and offended the distinguished guest.”
Ji Mian didn’t respond. He put the cup down, and the tall man immediately refilled it.
Seeing that Ji Mian didn’t reply, Shou Ling dared to lift his head slightly. Their eyes met, Ji Mian’s gaze cold and unfeeling, and he instinctively blurted out, “I’m truly sorry!”
The others in the room were silent. No one dared to speak.
After all, in just a few blinks of an eye, this young man had dismantled their tribe’s strongest weapon. Now, he still sat there, effortlessly exuding an icy aura—he was clearly a powerful existence they couldn’t afford to anger.
The tribe’s residents, looking at him with fear in their eyes, saw Ji Mian’s indifferent expression as he picked up his cup.
His chest hurt, as if a dull blade had stabbed and shattered him. After drinking the herbal juice, the pain eased somewhat.
—Though the pain was intense, Ji Mian’s face remained indifferent, showing no emotion.
The robots were old and worn out—just three defective products.
In his current condition, his psychic power couldn’t last even two minutes. Even using psychic force to intimidate was a struggle.
So, he either had to not act, or when he did, he had to overwhelm everyone. Otherwise, he and Ji Cheng wouldn’t be able to leave this place in peace.
Beside him, Ji Cheng was also in shock.
Wasn’t it said… wasn’t it said that his brother’s psychic power had fallen to B level? Why was he still so strong?
If it were him, he wouldn’t have been able to defeat those combat robots. After all, he was an support-type, and auxiliary types weren’t strong in combat.
Wait, his brother was also an support-type.
…Was it not that his brother was too strong, but that… he was too weak?
So, that was why he couldn’t defeat those robots…
Ji Cheng was speechless, numb, and blankly picked up the cup to drink the green liquid inside.
Ugh, it’s so bitter, so astringent, so disgusting!
Ji Cheng grimaced and turned to glance at Ji Mian.
Ji Mian finished his second cup of herbal juice without changing his expression and spoke coldly, “Where did those robots come from?”
His voice was as cold as falling frost, and Shou Ling shuddered, replying honestly, “I found them.”
“Are you joking?” Ji Cheng was stunned. “Are those things just lying around for anyone to pick up?”
“Yeah,” Shou Ling said innocently, “I picked them up from outside the forest. You can find some from time to time. They’re probably left by other outsiders.”
Ji Mian said, “Go check.”
This was directed at Ji Cheng. He sat there in a daze, unsure of what he was supposed to do.
Where should he go? What should he look for?
Ji Mian added, “…Check if those three robots have military markings.”
Ji Cheng replied, “Oh, oh, oh!”
For some reason, the way his brother looked at him seemed even more disdainful.
Sigh.
Ji Cheng ran over, crouching among the robot remains, flipping them over.
After a while, his expression changed slightly. He quickly ran back. “Brother… there are no markings. They’re not military.”
Ji Mian wasn’t surprised. He turned to Shou Ling and asked, “Are there other towns here?”
Shou Ling replied, “No. This is a very small planet. Most of it is forest, and only a few tribes live here.”
Ji Mian said nothing.
There were no established towns, no civilization, and no way to produce such robots.
A well-trained military wouldn’t carelessly discard its equipment, and there were no military serial numbers on them.
So there was only one possibility—they were made by space pirates.
Space raiders and executioners. This uncivilized planet had been turned into a junkyard by them, where they discarded their defective products.
Ji Mian asked, “Have you seen the people who discarded the equipment?”
Shou Ling replied, “We’ve seen them a few times outside the forest. They don’t look easy to deal with, but they haven’t bothered us.”
“If you want to contact them… they come at fixed times, once a month. They just came last week, so it’ll probably be a while before they return.”
They didn’t seem to harm the locals, so these space pirates might not be indiscriminate killers.
Ji Mian asked his final question, “Is there a place here that leads to the outside world?”
Shou Ling replied, “Yes, outside the forest they built a signal station. It’s where you can contact other planets. It’s usually deserted when they’re not here.”
Ji Mian finished his third cup of herbal juice in one gulp and stood up.
Ji Cheng quickly followed suit and said, “Brother, are we going to that place?”
Shou Ling spoke up, “You probably don’t know how to get there. I’ll send someone… no, I’ll personally lead you there.”
Ji Mian nodded. “Thank you.”
Shou Ling immediately looked flattered. “No, no… don’t mention it.”
Once everything was packed, Shou Ling called for the tall man, and the two of them, holding spears, led Ji Mian and Ji Cheng toward the forest.
“This is the shortest route. We’ll be able to get out of the forest in about half an hour.”
As they walked, Shou Ling explained. Ji Cheng, a little worried about Ji Mian’s physical condition, quietly asked, “Brother, are you okay?”
Ji Mian replied calmly, “I’m fine.”
The herbal medicine had indeed worked.
His injuries had eased, and his mental strength had also recovered a bit.
“Did you come from a big planet?”
As they walked through the forest, Shou Ling asked curiously.
Ji Cheng grunted, “Of course, my brother and I are—”
Ji Mian shot him a glance.
Ji Cheng immediately corrected himself, “Uh… not really.”
Shou Ling nodded. “Alright.”
They walked through the forest for what seemed like a long time. Suddenly, Shou Ling raised his hand. “It’s over there, look.”
He pointed toward a small base at the foot of a hill not far away.
Ji Mian nodded. “Thank you. This will be fine; we’ll go from here ourselves.”
Shou Ling nodded.
His gaze lingered on Ji Mian’s face for a few seconds before he said, “Goodbye.”
Ji Mian replied, “Goodbye.”
Without lingering, Shou Ling and the tall man turned and made their way back through the forest.
As they walked, Shou Ling suddenly paused, as if remembering something. He hesitated before stopping.
“Wait,” he said, “Isn’t it true that there’s a time every year when those people come twice within a month?”
The tall man thought hard for a moment, then replied, “I think… I think so.”
His voice lowered. “And… it was recently.”
Shou Ling’s expression suddenly changed.
—Meanwhile, Ji Mian and Ji Cheng were hiding in a concealed spot, observing the signal station in the distance.
It seemed empty. Ji Mian was about to make his move when he heard Ji Cheng cautiously say, “Brother, you will go back with me, right?”
Ji Mian didn’t respond.
Ji Cheng wanted to say more. “Brother…”
“If you really think of me as your brother,” Ji Mian interrupted in a calm, emotionless tone, “don’t tell the Ji family about my existence.”
Ji Cheng froze. “What?”
Ji Mian didn’t say anything else. He just turned his head slightly and stared at him silently.
Ji Cheng: “…”
Faced with that kind of gaze, he could hardly speak. After several seconds, it was as if he had no strength left. He slowly nodded, “I understand.”
“I won’t say anything. I promise.”
Ji Cheng’s voice was barely audible.
“But, brother, where are we going…?”
Before he could finish speaking, Ji Mian suddenly yanked him back, pulling him away.
A white light swept across their previous position, then quickly fixed on their new location, following their every movement closely.
It was a signal locator!
Ji Cheng froze, instinctively looking up—
A small spaceship tore through the clouds. Its dark body was marked with a huge, pale white skull.
Space pirates!
Ji Cheng’s eyes widened.
Hadn’t the space pirates just left? Why were they back now?
No matter what, the space pirate ship had already locked onto them, and Ji Mian remained still.
At this moment, they were sitting ducks. Even the slightest movement could get them shot to pieces.
The spaceship slowly descended, hovering just two meters above the ground.
Several pirates jumped down from the ship, holding guns. As soon as they saw Ji Mian’s face, one of them whistled.
“Yo, where did this beauty come from?”
“Doesn’t look like someone from the forest, let’s take him back and deliver him to the boss.”
They laughed and walked toward Ji Mian, clearly confident that this person couldn’t escape their grasp, without even asking about his identity or origins.
Ji Cheng’s expression changed several times. “Brother, brother…”
This was his first time directly facing space pirates, the infamous intergalactic raiders.
It would be a lie to say he wasn’t scared. What was even more surprising to him was how the pirates immediately tried to take them without giving them a chance for negotiation.
Ji Mian remained silent. However, as the pirates drew closer, he calmly spoke, “Who’s your leader?”
The pirate leader at the front smirked and said, “He’s not here, but don’t worry, beauty, you’ll be with him soon…”
Before he could finish, a sudden ice-blue storm rose in Ji Mian’s eyes!
Mental Force Domination!
In an instant, the pirate leader felt like the sea had turned over, and mountains were crumbling. Under the immense pressure, he screamed in agony, his towering body collapsing to the ground.
The situation shifted dramatically. The other two pirates hadn’t even reacted before Ji Mian’s sharp blade was already hovering against the pirate leader’s neck artery.
“Don’t move!”
Cold sweat dripped down. Ji Mian’s head throbbed with pain, but his eyes remained as cold as ice and snow.
The other two pirates froze on the spot, and the pirate leader Ji Mian had captured couldn’t believe what was happening.
“You… you…”
Ji Mian’s voice was like ice, “Shut up, get away.”
The second part of his sentence was directed at the other two pirates. They hesitated for a moment, and just as they did, Ji Mian’s sharp fragment had already drawn a shallow blood mark across the pirate leader’s neck.
The pirate leader immediately panicked, shouting, “Move! Clear the way! Are you really going to watch me die?!”
The other two pirates quickly stepped aside, creating a path to the spaceship.
Ji Mian, still holding the pirate leader, moved forward. Ji Cheng stood frozen, his eyes wide in disbelief, quickly following behind.
The other two pirates dared not make any rash moves, but one of them stared at Ji Mian with a grimace on his face, gritting his teeth. “You wait…”
Bang!
Blood splattered from his chest.
Ji Mian swiftly turned his head, and in an instant, the fireball from the explosion engulfed his vision.
A deafening roar followed, and cannon fire burst out in rapid succession. Within seconds, the pirate ship crashed heavily to the ground.
The shockwave hit them directly. Ji Mian’s eyes felt as if they were scorched by flames, and intense pain coursed through his entire body. The sharp blade in his hand was no longer able to be held and clattered to the ground.
The pirate leader, attempting to flee, was struck once again with another “bang.” A beam of light shot from the sky, piercing through his chest.
The sky was set ablaze with rising flames, and a heavily armored airship slowly descended. The cabin door opened, revealing a figure standing within the flames. The face of the person was indistinct, hidden by the blaze.
“After all this chaos, it’s time to go back,” the voice called out.
The familiar voice pierced Ji Mian’s ears, causing a buzzing in his head. A sharp, metallic taste surged up from his throat, and he clutched his mouth, coughing up a large amount of blood.
Ji Tingyan.
The man stood in front of the hatch, his emotionless gaze cutting through the flames and landing directly on Ji Mian.
Ji Cheng’s expression was one of utter shock. “Dad, how did you…?”
He didn’t finish his sentence. His hand trembled as he pulled a small, flashing, beeping device from the inside of his jacket.
It was a signal tracker.
“…Brother,” Ji Cheng froze in place, his voice quivering as if he were about to cry. “I’m sorry, I…”
That was the last thing Ji Mian heard before he lost consciousness.
R : This brotherhood… sigh
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