Apocalyptic Mechanist Section 15

Viper Clan.

Even more displeased.

Old Gear groveled obsequiously, scurrying to the iron cage and yanking the black cloth off in one motion.

Jiang Xiao, who hadn't been paying much attention, froze, his expression gradually darkening.

Inside the iron cage was a curled-up, frail, tiny creature. Even without seeing its head, Jiang Xiao was certain it was a human child!

"A Pan-Human cub is a genuine rarity on Prison Star, sure to satisfy your palate, Lord Kazi. Take a look first."

Old Gear stepped aside, watching expectantly as the Viper Clan member approached the cage, then remembering there was still a customer at the front of the shop, he spoke impatiently.

"What did you say you wanted just now?"

Jiang Xiao was silent for a few breaths.

Finally, he slowly exhaled and pulled back his hood.

"Your lives."

Chapter 16: Pan-Human · Starfire Camp

A cold gleam flashed. Old Gear clutched his throat in disbelief, stumbling backward, knocking over a table and collapsing to the ground.

"Old geezer, you—" Kazi turned to scold, but his voice cut off abruptly.

He saw Old Gear, who had been fawning moments ago, writhing in a pool of blood. A human youth stood at the door, holding a blade in both hands, the goggles covering half his face gleaming with cold light.

Stunned for an instant, Kazi then erupted with the aura of a Tier 1 Peak.

"What nerve, daring to kill my ally right under the Viper Gang's nose!"

But the next moment, Kazi suddenly felt the world spin. Vaguely, he saw a familiar headless body slowly collapse to the ground.

Ignoring the two alien corpses, Jiang Xiao walked to the iron cage and crouched down, looking at the trembling child who dared not raise its head. His tone was calm: "It's alright. Wait here a bit, I'll take you home later."

This was what the captain of the Doran often said when encountering suffering Pan-Humans.

The child, curled into a ball, seemed to sense the kindness in Jiang Xiao's voice and unconsciously peeked up.

But by then, Jiang Xiao had already stood up, leaving the child only the sight of a straight-backed silhouette and a silver-blue streak of light shooting into the sky!

Boom!!

Then, with a violent roar, chaos and screams instantly swept through the camp.

The child hugged its legs tightly, fragmented noises coming from outside in bursts.

"Damn it! It's an attack! The attacker is from inside!"

"He killed Old Gear, open fire!!"

"How is that possible..."

"..."

Boom, boom, boom!!

"Ah!! No! I'm a Viper..."

"Old Capital Killing God! He's the Old Capital Killing God, run!"

"Gone! The vehicles are gone, all blown up!"

"Kill!! There's so many of us, I don't believe we can't beat him, fight!"

"Pfft! Quick, send a message to the main gang, it's, it's the Old Capital Killing God, he broke through the outer swarm's blockade alone..."

"..."

The sounds of wailing and desperate pleas continued without end. A wave of drowsiness washed over her...

She didn't know how much time had passed. A vaguely familiar jostling shook the child awake.

She seemed to be held in someone's arms.

It was pitch black, she couldn't see anything, but the stench of blood and burning in the air made her subconsciously shrink into this not-so-warm embrace.

"Do you still remember the direction of your home?"

A cool voice reached her ears.

She paused slightly: "Hmm..."

"You still remember? That makes it easy. I'll take you home now."

The voice was a little surprised, then relaxed.

Soon, she heard the click of a door opening, then felt a soft cushion beneath her. The black cloth covering her slipped away.

Her vision cleared.

A smiling face with goggles appeared before her. The bright smile beneath the black-silver goggles carried warmth, and she could feel the vitality it contained.

Jiang Xiao: Brothers, all positive energy.

Jiang Xiao smiled: "Come on, little girl, you ride shotgun with it. It's your Uncle Sniper."

"..."

Hmm, even within the camp, she had never seen someone so full of vitality, as if they were brimming with hope for the future.

Jiang Xiao sat in the driver's seat and pulled a large backpack in from outside.

"In my rush, I only managed to scavenge this much compressed food and water, plus some Sin Coins. Didn't know how their purchasing power is."

"Sigh, I was planning to sneak in, grab some intel and supplies, stay one night, and leave. Who knew I'd run into an idiot and get forced back into my old line of work."

Jiang Xiao hadn't encountered a fellow human in a long time, and regardless of whether the little girl could understand, he started muttering complaints to himself.

"Let's stay near here for the night. Mutated Monsters probably won't show up around the camp—or rather, if this camp has lasted this long, the monsters here can't be that strong. Main concern is them damaging the vehicle."

He closed the car door and turned on the heater.

Jiang Xiao handed the little girl a bottle of water and a piece of compressed biscuit. "Use these to tide you over for now. Once you've eaten your fill, tell me about your situation, and I'll see how to get you back."

The little girl opened her mouth, then finally said, "Thank you..."

Huh, pretty polite. Educated?

Only now did Jiang Xiao have the chance to take a good look at her.

Curiosity sparked in his eyes.

Thin but not emaciated, she looked about fifteen years old, wearing a tattered small-sized jumpsuit. Her face was dirty, but he could tell her features were quite delicate—she didn't seem like someone who often went hungry.

Especially her long, loose hair, which reflected that the child's basic living conditions weren't an issue.

Otherwise, how could she keep long hair?

Fortunately, the aesthetic differences between races were vast; otherwise, this little girl might not have lasted until he showed up.

Feeling Jiang Xiao's gaze, the girl shyly lowered her head.

Hmm, her personality didn't match that of a child living hand-to-mouth. Could it be that Pan-Humans on the Prison Star were actually doing okay?

No, it was also possible that the number of children was extremely low, and they were well cared for by the Pan-Human community. He'd seen such cases while hopping around on the Doran—it wasn't unheard of.

Many environments across the starry river caused a sharp decline in human birth rates.

Seeing the girl eating intently, Jiang Xiao leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes.

"Personal Panel."

[Player: Jiang Xiao]

[Level: Second Order (Evolution Progress: 4%)]

[Talent Ability: Origin Data]

[Talent Value (Dual Talent): 2.58]

[Spirit Energy Affinity: Medium (5 exp/h)]

[Source Energy Affinity: Medium+ (7 exp/h)]

[Source Energy Intensity: 52 (113/1000)]

[Spirit Energy Intensity: 17 (11/300)]

Gotta say, going for quantity was a solid choice. Even if most of the out-of-rank alien races only provided a dozen or so Experience Points, killing enough of them still brought considerable gains.

That wave with Guda, plus wiping out this camp, had pushed Spirit Energy up to 17 points of intensity, and Source Energy had gone up by 2 points as well.

Not bad. I truly have the makings of an emperor!

"Big brother, I'm full."

Just then, a timid voice came from the right, interrupting Jiang Xiao's internal boasting.

"Ahem, perfect. Tell me about your situation."

The little girl fell into thought at his words, then began describing things seriously.

A moment later, the car fell into silence.

Jiang Xiao was lost in thought.

"Starfire Camp..."

So that's it. Most humans on the Prison Star weren't in the Sin Capital but had built a settlement—one not listed in the Sin Capital's network information.

To get there, he first had to reach a medium-sized alien camp, then follow frequently updated hidden intel to find the specific location—Starfire Camp moved its position irregularly.

Alright, he'd take back what he said earlier.

Pan-Humans didn't have a high status on the Prison Star; they couldn't even establish a foothold in the Sin Capital.

Not that it was surprising. Compared to races like the Viper Clan, where the entire clan were criminals, born with a species-wide bounty, and had even built a star pirate civilization, the proportion of Pan-Human criminals was indeed much lower.

"Since we know the target, let's rest a bit. We'll set out before dawn."

"Hmm, I understand."

The night passed without incident.