MPWATMBC Chapter 107

Since the bloody massacre of the cave town by the pirates, a delicate balance had been maintained between the eastern and western sides. The “east” cave town sent workers once a month for two to three days to gather vitamin-rich materials that promoted calcium absorption, while the “west” pirates refrained from approaching the “east.” Regardless of how many supplies the easterners brought back or what new developments occurred, the two sides had coexisted peacefully for decades.

During the day, the sun outside the cave burned fiercely. Without protection, anyone venturing out risked severe sunburn—a critical injury in the cave town that, if untreated, could lead to death. Thus, unless absolutely necessary, the townsfolk avoided going out during the day. Due to the balance maintained between the two sides, the supplies Bandner brought back were not immediately moved into the cave but locked inside the small spacecraft. The townsfolk would only act after nightfall.

During the day, only a few people were assigned to guard the cave entrance. Today, Audie noticed her brother was busy, so she voluntarily took over the watch duty. She and a few others took turns climbing to the entrance to monitor the situation outside.

A surveillance monitor was mounted on the lid covering the sandy golden surface outside. The cables were too short to reach below, and the weak wireless signal meant they could only monitor the equipment up close. When Ryan and his team descended earlier, they hadn’t noticed that about a meter from the entrance was an inward-facing recess in the passage, designed for one person to sit and monitor the surveillance screen.

The monitor’s screen was small, displaying black-and-white images that flickered with static and “snowflakes.” The space in the recess was cramped, forcing anyone sitting there to hunch forward, unable to straighten their back. With the seat so close to the ground, the temperature was high, the air stagnant, and the environment suffocating. Within five minutes of sitting inside, Audie was drenched in sweat. She lightly bit her lower lip to stay alert, curling up with her knees drawn to her chest, her unwavering gaze fixed on the small monitor.

The screen displayed the same unchanging scenery as always, and their duty here was merely a precaution.

Suddenly, Audie shifted, craning her neck closer to the monitor as if doing so would somehow make the blurry image sharper and allow her to discern the details more clearly.

The surveillance camera faced directly at the small spacecraft. Bandner, familiar with the exact landing spot, always landed the spacecraft precisely in this location. Apart from the spacecraft, the screen showed only a vast expanse of yellow sand. Yet, from behind the spacecraft emerged a moving figure, tightly wrapped with no skin exposed, making it impossible to identify who it was.

Had Ryan, Bandner, or Fan Lanting been present, they would have instantly recognized the outfit—it belonged to one of the two pirates they had encountered upon arriving on the desolate planet. Judging by the clothing, it was the younger of the two.

The desolate planet was inhabited by only two groups of people: pirates and those living in the caves. Audie didn’t need to think twice to know what kind of person would be circling the small spacecraft. She switched on a flashlight she rarely used and aimed its beam downward, signaling with three long flashes followed by two short ones—a prearranged code indicating an emergency.

Audie suppressed her anxiety. She wasn’t the impulsive type and didn’t recklessly open the passage to rush out just because someone was pacing around the spacecraft. But what happened next forced her to reconsider. Another figure appeared, also completely covered, revealing no part of their face. It was the older pirate, who shared the same name as Ryan.

He walked straight to the tightly sealed hatch of the spacecraft, pulled out tools from his satchel, disrupted the spacecraft’s signal, and began carefully dismantling the hatch.

Bandner’s small spacecraft was an old, heavily modified model, passed through countless owners before ending up in his hands. To avoid arousing the pirates’ suspicion, Ryan had refrained from upgrading it further, leaving the hatch vulnerable to manual cracking.

“Audie!” someone called urgently from behind when they saw her push open the lid, about to head out.

Without turning back, Audie replied sharply, “They’ve opened the spacecraft door!”

“What?!” The others, just arriving, were still trying to make sense of the situation.

Audie, already gearing up and fully covered for protection, hurriedly explained as she stepped out, “Two pirates broke into the spacecraft—they’ve already gone inside. Damn it!” The scorching desert air, heated by the relentless sun, rushed unimpeded into the passageway as Audie dashed out. She sprinted toward the spacecraft with all her strength, clutching a weapon in hand, ready to fight. After all, the supplies aboard the spacecraft were the lifeline of the entire town.

Her voice echoed behind her, loud enough for those following to hear. “Damn it, damn it! They’ve started the spacecraft! Our supplies!!!”

…

“We couldn’t stop the two pirates. Quaco… he was shot in the head, and—on the spot, he…” The survivor who had managed to escape and return for help was sobbing uncontrollably, his face and head covered in blood. “We’re no match for the pirates at all. Their weapons are far more advanced than ours. They didn’t just kill Quaco; they injured several others, hijacked the spacecraft, and—” His voice broke as he choked out the final words, “They took Audie with them.”

Audie was a highly capable woman with a Y genetic sequence, stronger than many men with the same sequence. However, she was a Y who couldn’t bear children, so everyone was baffled—what value did Audie have to the pirates?

Ryan’s gaze darkened. Audie, with her sharp, short hair, sun-kissed skin, and clean-cut, striking features, was a unique and captivating woman. In the chaotic world of pirates, even knowing a fraction of their depravity was enough to be deeply unsettling.

Now wasn’t the time to debate why she had been taken. It was time to figure out how to rescue her.

“Three days from now is when you’re supposed to head ‘west’ to work. Going a few days early shouldn’t be a problem, right?” Ryan asked.

Bandner, torn with worry for his sister, struggled with the responsibilities of leadership. He couldn’t selfishly risk the tribe’s safety for Audie’s sake. “We can go early, but it’ll be difficult and dangerous. In the past, the pirates always came to pick us up.” His voice was tinged with helplessness.

Ryan stood up and said, “Then we’ll set off now.”

“That’s impossible,” someone immediately objected. “The sun is about to set, and it’ll be dark soon. When night falls, the desert is teeming with wild beasts. Traveling at night is suicide.”

Hunting was usually done in designated grounds, where the cave residents, familiar with the environment, relied on a “wait-and-see” approach, lying in ambush for prey. Rarely did they venture out actively to hunt dangerous beasts. For those without weapons and with fragile bodies, the night was as lethal as the scorching day.

Ryan said, “We can cover more ground before it gets completely dark. Bandner, are we heading out?”

Bandner stood up, his expression grave, and nodded. “I’ll go with you. Everyone…” He turned to face his companions—these trustworthy brothers and sisters. He was willing to take the risk to save his sister, but the others didn’t need to follow him into danger.

“Haha, Audie’s our sister too. How could we not go with you to rescue her?”

“Exactly! I’ve never traveled at night before. This could be exciting!”

“Hey, you two better show us what you’ve got. Let’s see those skills.”

“And that little cutie over there shouldn’t bother coming—such a delicate X.”

Fan Lanting: “…”

He rolled up his sleeves, showing off his muscles to the group. “I’m not delicate, thank you. Out in the wider world, everyone’s equal. As long as you meet the physical standards, you can enlist. I was a pretty decent scout, even fought against the Zergs. Honestly, I can say not many of you here could take me on.” He said this modestly, giving the others some face. If he were blunt, the truth was: except for Ryan, he could take on anyone here without breaking a sweat.

The others exchanged looks. Their deeply ingrained mindset wasn’t something that could be changed easily. While they didn’t say anything out loud, they inwardly disagreed with Fan Lanting’s claims.

Rescuing someone and traveling at night couldn’t be done without preparation. Weapons were essential. Food wasn’t necessary, but water was a must.

Ryan sorted through the gathered weapons, picking them up one by one, but none of them met his standards. Shaking his head, he began modifying them on the spot.

Fan Lanting picked up a well-maintained single-barrel firearm and remarked, “This isn’t military-grade.”

“It’s civilian.”

“This model’s ancient—probably something my grandfather used.”

“This is the best firearm we could get our hands on,” Bandner said as he took the weapon back from Fan Lanting. With his only family member’s fate unknown, his heart was in turmoil, and he could only rely on responsibility to keep himself steady. He meticulously wiped down the firearm, muttering bitterly, “The good ones are all on the spacecraft. If I’d known earlier…”

“There’s no such thing as ‘if I’d known,’” Ryan replied calmly as he completed his modifications. “We’re ready to head out.”

Less than ten hours had passed since their descent into the underground cave. At that time, the sun was blazing, and the breeze felt like fire. Now, as they emerged, the sun hung low in the west, the sky painted with a blood-red sunset. Darkness crept in from the west, the moon already quietly rising. Small creatures, emboldened by the fading light, began to emerge. Once the sun fully disappeared, even more beasts would prowl the land… By day, they were nowhere to be seen, likely hiding deep underground.

The beasts of the wasteland planet were all mutations of insects from their home planet—without exception.

A cluster of fist-sized ants scurried past, their amber-colored spherical abdomens gleaming. These were sugar ants, with their abdomens containing a sweet syrup. They were one of Bandner’s people’s primary sources of sweetness.

In the sky, a dragonfly over a meter long flew by. Ryan had tasted their legs before, finding them similar to crab meat, though with an overwhelming fishiness. The residents of the cave mitigated this by using a powder made from a type of rock as a seasoning. It added a spicy flavor that masked the unpleasant taste.

Ahead, a dung beetle half a person’s height rolled a dung ball even larger than itself, moving effortlessly across the soft, loose sand as if it were solid ground.

“This is the safest time for nighttime hunting,” Bandner explained. “You can catch plenty of smaller beasts around now. If you’re lucky enough to encounter a mantis beast, you might even get a nest of eggs.” Mantis beasts carried their eggs beneath their abdomens and had no specific breeding season—they were almost always carrying eggs. Finding a female mantis beast meant a rich haul of protein, making it one of the townsfolk’s favorite prey.

“But while it’s safe, the small beasts don’t provide much food. Our real target is the larger ones,” Bandner continued, lowering his voice and crouching so low his body was nearly parallel to the ground. The others followed suit, instinctively bowing their heads in fear born from their deep-rooted dread of the darkness. “They’re coming out soon.”

Ryan and Fan Lanting, however, remained composed, scanning the surroundings with calm vigilance. While cautious of the unknown creatures, they showed no signs of fear.

The vast, undulating dunes stretched endlessly before them, a magnificent backdrop as the desert sunset faded into twilight. The last rays of light vanished beyond the horizon, and from the far side of a dune came the heavy sound of footsteps. Emerging from the darkness were enormous beasts of indeterminate number, radiating an ancient aura as though from another era.

These towering, armored creatures seemed like oversized insects, yet their sheer bulk and prehistoric bearing suggested dinosaurs that had strayed down a divergent evolutionary path.

Alongside the monstrous beasts, strange phenomena emerged across the desert. Beneath the scorching sands, life stirred. Flexible tendrils pushed through the surface, sprouting upwards, green and tender, as if ripe for the picking. The once dry and yellow tamarisk trees, which had withered under the harsh sun by day, now flourished with vibrant green shoots.

This was nature’s way of sustaining countless forms of life on the rugged, desert-covered Savage Star.

Night had fully descended.