Circumstances

Yuan stood up. Silvery light flowed constantly over his body before gathering in his eyes.

Within his black pupils, two faint, strange silver-white symbols took shape. It was a sign of profound insight into Conception. Although Yuan was still completely at a loss about how to use Conception...

Yuan was overjoyed. He clenched his fists and swung them forward. "Bang! Bang!" He could even produce sonic booms in Dongyuan Planet's dense air now!

"Congratulations on entering the Earth Rank of Genetic Warriors through the Spirit Reader path. Focus on building a solid foundation, and Flying Star Rank will be within reach!" Seeing Yuan's excited expression, Qiaona felt inexplicably closer to him and developed a fondness for his talent.

She stepped forward and stopped Yuan as he tried to climb back into the mecha. "What's your name, and which district do you live in? With the talent to comprehend Conception while only at the first stage of Earth Rank, you shouldn't be unknown!"

"Qiaona isn't involved in this?" Yuan was a little surprised.

Remembering that he was still one of her Scavenger Team members, and that his information wouldn't be hard to find, Yuan answered humbly, "My name is Yuan Stone. My talent is actually average. Comprehending Conception was just a lucky coincidence."

"You're Yuan? Yuan Stone, living in Living District 15, with both parents working at the mines?" Qiaona raised an eyebrow, looking quite surprised.

"Captain, you know me?" Yuan was even more surprised than Qiaona. The people around him were fairly friendly.

But among those outside his circle of friends, people he rarely interacted with had a poor impression of him. Jealous people called him a pretty boy with no strength, good for nothing but his looks!

On Dongyuan Planet, where strength ruled, that was a serious accusation! In the past, Yuan had felt rather dejected about it, but he'd put on a carefree front and done his best to stop his friends from confronting them.

"Sure, I'm good for nothing but my looks! But I really would trade this handsome face for over six thousand years of life at Flying Star Rank. What a deal!" That had been one of Yuan's most sincere thoughts for a long time.

Qiaona's expression suddenly turned strange. Perhaps she'd thought of something. She seemed to want to laugh, but was trying hard to hold it in. "My name is Jona Guila. Brandy Guila is my younger sister!"

The people around them still didn't quite understand, but Yuan's expression had already become [shocked.JPG, see book review].

For a moment, a complicated mix of embarrassment and shame welled up inside Yuan. Brandy Guila was also famous among his circle of friends.

Not because she was pretty, too, but because Brandy was the number-one fan among his little group of admirers! A menace!

She was famous throughout the advanced division of the Martial Arts Hall in Living District 15 of the Tuka Tribe for her glorious daily record: whenever she saw Yuan, she had to shout, "Xiao Yuan, I love you! I want to have your babies!" or she'd feel uncomfortable all day!

"I actually made that kind of face in front of Brandy Guila's sister." Yuan stood there, covering his face with one hand. He wished he could die of embarrassment on the spot!

But what had to be faced had to be faced eventually. Yuan lowered his hand and forced out an expression that might have been a smile or a grimace. "Hello, Sister Jona!"

Seeing Yuan's twisted expression, Jona couldn't help smiling. She teased him, "My sister was just talking about you today!"

"But don't worry, I won't tell her you were on my Scavenger Team! Otherwise, she'll make a huge scene and cry and carry on until I let her join!"

"After all, she's only at the first stage of Earth Rank. Not every first-stage Earth Rank warrior can be like you..."

"I'm in a hurry to get to the mines. Let's talk another day!" Seeing that Jona seemed ready to keep chatting, Yuan reminded her with some difficulty.

"Right, right!" Jona came to her senses, called everyone to their mecha, and led them toward the mines as planned.

As Yuan climbed into his mecha, his mother sent him a message through his Smart Wristwatch. The two Light-Deriving Snakes had left, and Autumn would soon be rescued! She told him to relax at home and focus on his training...

Yuan breathed a sigh of relief. The people hiding in the shadows probably wouldn't keep an eye on Autumn and his wife anymore. Trapping Autumn had only been a means to an end; their target had been the Purple Crystal from the start!

But now Yuan had been forced to wander the wilderness, and he still didn't know how to explain it to his parents.

The Purple Crystal was still cackling in his mind. "See? I told you so! Hahaha!"

Yuan ignored it and secured himself in the mecha. Then it suddenly hit him, and he roared in his Consciousness Sea, "My dad is safe, but I'm in danger now! Hurry up and show me your method!"

Only after Yuan reminded it did the Purple Crystal react. Usually, it could only sense Yuan and the external information available to him.

No longer concerned about the risk of being detected by a hidden powerhouse in the team, it extended its perception out of Yuan's body...

"You were right! I can sense it—a powerful presence ahead! Someone's concealing their presence and closing in fast!"

The people following them hadn't expected Yuan to stop and break through again not far outside the city. Thinking something had gone wrong, they'd immediately changed their original plan!

The Purple Crystal cackled in the Consciousness Sea. "Quick! Move the mecha twenty meters to the left, then relax and let me take over! Just watch this!"

Yuan channeled Origin Energy and brutally punched the red emergency stop button in the middle of the mecha's front panel. With a crack, the transparent safety cover shattered!

Before anyone could react, Yuan moved the mecha twenty meters to the left in 0.05 seconds. Only then did the others in the team react.

"Damn it!" A few Sky Rank (Universe Rank) warriors hiding among the team cursed inwardly. The sudden turn of events had left them in a dilemma by the time they could react!

Sky Rank powerhouses could cover twenty meters in less than one hundred-thousandth of a second, but only if they weren't inside mecha!

Even if they used the fastest method to break out of their mecha, it would take 0.05 seconds. Who knew what might happen in that much time?

The four Sky Rank warriors hidden in the Scavenger Team reacted in an instant, relying on years of working together.

Two of them burst with energy and broke straight out of their mecha. The other two decisively copied Yuan's move, smashing the emergency stop buttons on their mecha as well.

The four split into two groups and pursued Yuan from separate directions!

The two still in their mecha reached Yuan in just 0.02 seconds, but it was already too late!

In that 0.02-second window, Yuan relaxed his body, and the Purple Crystal took over instantly!

An irresistible force spread through Yuan's body, and he immediately lost all feeling and control of it.

To Yuan, time seemed to slow down. Suddenly, he could clearly perceive the speed and mass of the light that was everywhere around him!

He could even clearly feel how light of different wavelengths produced different colors when it gathered in his eyes!

The Purple Crystal controlled Yuan's body and manipulated several specific wavelengths of light around them. The light seemed to come alive, twisting and intertwining until it formed another bizarre, complex pattern, as if perfectly complete!

The pattern generated a strange force that surrounded Yuan's body and the entire Action Mecha.

"Light art: Light Chasing Flash activated~~!" The Purple Crystal roared in Yuan's Consciousness Sea, pleased with itself.

"What a cringey line..." Before Yuan could finish his complaint, he lost all sensation and sank into complete darkness...

In that 0.02-second window, just as the warriors in their mecha were about to reach Yuan's, they saw him seemingly swallow all the light around him.

The light around him twisted sharply, plunging everything into a large patch of fantastical darkness. Then the darkness vanished in an instant, and Yuan and his mecha were gone!

The four were left empty-handed, staring at one another alongside the other members of the Scavenger Team.

"Should we kill them to silence them?" the honest-looking team member transmitted quickly. His usually smiling eyes had turned murderous.

The one who seemed to be the leader of the four refused through a transmission. "Jona has some connections. There's no need to create more trouble. Leave one person behind to check whether anything is wrong with them."

"The other three should search in three different directions and report the situation to our superiors!"

By the time Yuan regained consciousness, he had no idea how much time had passed. He hadn't opened his eyes yet when he heard water dripping onto stone nearby. In the distance, Desolate Beasts seemed to be howling strangely, one after another.

A bonfire nearby warmed one side of his body.

After struggling for a long while, Yuan finally opened his eyes. It was dark, and he was inside a cave. The bonfire beside him was the only source of light, and his Action Mecha stood not far away.

"Where is this?" Yuan tried to speak, but his voice came out extremely weak.

"Are you awake?" A little girl who looked about seven or eight, wearing animal hides and with messy hair, stared at him with wide, adorable eyes.

When she saw Yuan react, the little girl suddenly shouted, "The mecha big brother is awake! Mom, come quick!"

Her voice was so loud and powerful that it didn't suit her age or appearance. Yuan was startled. He tried to lift his arm, but found he could only move his fingers before he ran out of strength.

A man and a woman who looked like a married couple came over at the sound of her voice. The woman wore animal hides and spoke gently. "You're awake, young man? Here, have some soup."

Yuan managed to sip a couple of mouthfuls of soup and felt some warmth return to his body. "Who are these people?"

The man wore crude armor made of colorful metal plates. He shoved a slightly warm stone into Yuan's hand and said coolly, "Use your Isis Race cultivation method to absorb the power in this stone. You'll recover."

The woman smiled warmly. "Don't worry, we won't hurt you!"

"Purple Crystal? Purple Crystal? Are you there?" Though Yuan couldn't sense his Consciousness Sea, he tried calling out to it twice in his mind. Unfortunately, there was no response.

Yuan did as he was told. Given his current condition, he had no better choice...

Warm energy flowed out of the stone. It felt rather strange to draw in energy on purpose for the first time.

After all, for ordinary lifeforms below Sky Rank, the energy density inside their bodies was far lower than the average concentration of Universe Energy in Dongyuan Planet's air...

The man in crude armor sounded somewhat impressed. "You're only at the first stage of Earth Rank, yet you managed to drain all the energy from your body and pass out. That's quite something!"