It's Kafka, We're Saved

When midnight descended on the camp, the heavy military canvas billowed slightly in the strong wind. The taut nylon guy ropes along its edges strained rhythmically with each gust, like the meshing gears of a clock counting down.

Atop a towering guard post in the distance, a searchlight's piercing, cold white beam swept over the camp's perimeter at regular intervals. It passed over the sandy, rocky ground, tracing a moving streak of light before turning away a few seconds later and giving the ground back to an even deeper darkness.

Jingxing sat quietly in the dark. The suitcase at the corner of the table was already empty. All that remained in the tent now were Jingxing himself, the "furniture" that had been there already, and the clothes on his back.

He lowered his head and glanced at his wristwatch by the moonlight outside. There were five minutes left until the time he and Robin had agreed to act.

His heart was beating faster and faster. Feeling his blood run hot, Jingxing got to his feet and paced back and forth inside the tent. Once he had calmed down a little, he reached out, pulled back a corner of the flap, and turned his head to look outside.

In the distance, the night patrol was walking slowly along the wire fence around the camp. One patrol member's flashlight wavered a few times in the darkness before pointing in another direction.

He let the flap fall and began silently counting his breaths in the dark.

Five minutes later, the first signal for the changing of the guard came from the north side of the camp, followed by the creak of heavy boots on hard ground. Next, there would be a gap of less than a minute in the patrols around the camp.

"Now!" Jingxing reached out, threw open the tent flap, and stepped outside.

The night wind hit him in the face, carrying the earthy smell of soil and a biting chill. Even so, his steps did not falter for an instant. Jingxing turned, fastened his coat collar, and headed for the fence to the north.

Beyond the fence lay a dried-up riverbed. This was the route he and Robin had chosen for their escape. Approaching during the changing of the guard, Jingxing could climb over the fence and enter the riverbed. After that, all he had to do was follow the dry channel north.

The riverbed beneath his feet was more parched and cracked than he had expected, its surface covered in fine gravel that made a faint scraping sound underfoot. Fortunately, the wind was strong enough at the moment, its howl masking most of the small noises. Jingxing bent low and moved quickly through the recessed shadows along the edge of the riverbed.

A few hundred meters more, at the end of the riverbed, lay a pitch-dark forest.

As Jingxing walked forward, he silently counted his steps.

But when he was less than a hundred meters from the edge of the forest, a piercing light suddenly flared behind him.

The cold white beam cut a sharp fan through the darkness, instantly illuminating the cracked sand and soil at his feet. It quickly swept upward across his back, stretching his shadow out long before him. The next second, Glenn's voice came from behind him, calm and icy. "Stop."

Jingxing didn't look back, much less stop. He broke into a run in an instant, shooting toward the forest like an arrow loosed from a bow.

Glenn's voice rang out again. "Stop him!"

Jingxing could already hear a dense clatter of footsteps behind him, but there was no turning back now.

Could it be Robin? The suspicion was cast from his mind in an instant, because Robin and another woman had appeared before him.

The woman had a mature air about her and wore a long black-and-purple coat of exquisite cut. She stood casually beside Robin, making no attempt to hide, as though she were standing there specifically to wait for the pursuers.

But when Glenn caught sight of the woman, his pupils abruptly contracted. He stopped in his tracks without thinking. "Everyone, stop! Quick! That's Kafka of the Stellaron Hunters!"

"The Stellaron Hunters?" Jingxing's eyes widened. As members of a "criminal organization" infamous throughout the cosmos, the Stellaron Hunters all ranked high on the Company's wanted list. Any one of them had a bounty of billions of Credits.

Why was a big star like Robin with the notorious Stellaron Hunters? Could Robin actually be one of them?

If I go over there, won't they think I'm a Stellaron Hunter too? Will I still be able to go home?

While thoughts raced through Jingxing's mind, Kafka clapped her hands. "Now, listen to me—"

The next second, an invisible ripple spread across the entire dry riverbed.

"Everyone, stop."

Kafka's tone was somewhat unhurried, but the effect was astonishing. Every pursuer behind Jingxing came to a halt. Expressions of shock appeared on their faces, as though they had witnessed something beyond common sense.

Well, an organization like the Stellaron Hunters was beyond common sense to begin with. After all, everyone else turned pale at the mention of Stellarons, while they alone were active across the cosmos, constantly acquiring them.

Kafka watched them and spoke again in a low voice. "Return to where you belong. For the time being, stay at the camp and take good care of the refugees you're supposed to look after. As for the lovely Halovian lady beside me, rest assured, she'll return after she accomplishes her goal."

Glenn and the pursuers behind him all went vacant-eyed at the same time. Their movements were as stiff as those of machines whose controls had been taken over remotely, and they answered in low voices, "Yes."

They turned around in perfect unison and returned to the camp.

Jingxing stood in the shadows at the edge of the forest, watching the scene unfold. It struck him as both eerie and wondrous.

"Is that hypnosis?" he muttered.

Hearing Jingxing's muttering, Kafka turned and glanced at him. "It's my ability. You two can go and do what you need to do without worrying now."

"Thank you!" Jingxing bowed deeply. He didn't know why Kafka had appeared here and helped them, but that didn't stop him from expressing his gratitude.

"Yes, thank you very much for your help, Miss Kafka." Robin bowed as well.

Then she straightened and continued in an inquiring tone, "I didn't expect the Stellaron Hunters to come to this planet. Could it be that the civil war here was caused by a Stellaron's influence?"

After speaking, Robin shook her head. "Probably not, right? If there were a Stellaron on this planet, its star rail should have been blocked."

"Stellarons aren't the only things that can stir up people's hearts." Kafka lowered her gaze. "You can think of it as me doing this on a whim while passing through."

She paused. "I know all you've heard about us from the Company is our ill repute, but I can tell you that our goal is to save this world."

"Save the world?" Robin's tone softened. "I can't do anything so great. I can only offer what help I'm able to."

Somehow, Jingxing had the feeling that Robin had recalled something.

"In any case, you should get going." Kafka waved a hand. "It's time for us to go our separate ways too."

A few minutes after Robin and Jingxing left, a ripple appeared beside Kafka, and a little silver-haired girl emerged from it. "Finished up here?"

"Mm, Silver Wolf, it's time for you to get started," Kafka replied.

"I really don't know why we had to come all the way to a place like this to help a student who just graduated." Silver Wolf pursed her lips. "Did Elio explain it to you?"