Chapter Nineteen: The Machinist

Ji Weijie had arrived as well. Initially, Wang Xiao told him he didn’t need to come right away, since Wang Xiao himself was out of locators. But who could have guessed this guy would be so eager—and he had his own locator, too.

“Bro, the moment I heard you needed me, I rushed right over!” The bald man was all smiles, looking like he wanted a big bear hug the instant he saw Wang Xiao.

Ugh, I’m not into men, and besides, when was the last time you showered? With a sidestep, Wang Xiao deftly dodged Ji Weijie’s embrace.

Ji Weijie didn’t seem embarrassed in the least, and just kept grinning. “Bro, I’ve missed you so much!”

Hearing Ji Weijie’s voice, Xia Mengsi and Yang Ming came out as well.

“Ha, you’re both here too? That’s great!” Ji Weijie greeted them cheerfully.

Ji Weijie was beaming with happiness—this time, he’d really latched onto a powerful ally. With these few here, wouldn’t it be easy to deal with anyone who crossed them?

“What’s he good for?” Xia Mengsi finally spoke up.

Now things got awkward. Yes, what exactly was he good for?

Yang Ming also turned his gaze on Ji Weijie, curious as to what use this bald man might be.

Wang Xiao tried to smooth things over, laughing, “Come on, he’s someone who’s been through thick and thin with me.”

“I know, but our team doesn’t keep dead weight,” Xia Mengsi replied, her tone softer.

She was really thinking of Ji Weijie’s best interests. The team would be taking risks more and more often; if Ji Weijie couldn’t keep up, he might lose his life because of it.

Yang Ming nodded slightly. There were only a handful of them now, but he believed more would join in the future. Talented people were needed, and whoever joined at this stage would become the core of the team. To become a leader, one had to command respect.

Now was not the time for sentimental appeals.

Wang Xiao didn’t know what else to say, but he had no intention of driving Ji Weijie away. If he didn’t stand out in some way, Wang Xiao would find a way to help him do so.

“It’s alright. What I need most right now are people I can trust. I don’t care whether you’re strong or not.” Wang Xiao’s words stunned the other three. No one was more moved than Ji Weijie.

Xia Mengsi said, “Alright, if the boss doesn’t mind, then neither do I.”

At that moment, Ji Weijie spoke up. Gone was his usual flippant manner; instead, he was solemn and sincere. “You can trust me. Since Brother Wang believes in me, I won’t let any of you down.”

After a brief pause, he continued, “When that last instance ended, I got a profession scroll—Mechanic.”

“This class lets me create all kinds of machines, but I’m weak now because I lack resources. Still, I believe I’ll become stronger one day.”

“And I hope you’ll believe in me, too.” Ji Weijie lowered his head.

Wang Xiao went over and hugged him, while Yang Ming clapped him on the shoulder. Xia Mengsi felt a little embarrassed—her earlier words had been harsh.

Ji Weijie had once worked in a mechanical research institute and had always been passionate about machinery. Getting the Mechanic class had thrilled him, but reality hit hard: without resources and with low strength, his dreams were out of reach.

By now, Xiao Gu had finished cooking, and the aroma of the food drifted out.

Wang Xiao said, “Come on, I asked Xiao Gu to make a couple extra dishes today—even broke out my precious red wine!”

“Let’s have a good drink today.”

Wang Xiao led the way to the Bone Hut, Yang Ming close behind.

Xia Mengsi paused in front of Ji Weijie. “Sorry, I was a bit harsh earlier.”

Her apologetic words eased Ji Weijie’s heart. After all, no one was obliged to accept a useless person—only by improving himself could he win everyone’s approval. Ji Weijie cheered himself up quietly; he couldn’t keep being a slacker. He had to contribute, or he’d feel too ashamed to stay.

Besides, he knew Wang Xiao and the others treated people well.

“Let’s go eat. Xiao Gu’s cooking is delicious.”

Ji Weijie was puzzled. Who was Xiao Gu?

“Xiao Gu?” he asked.

Xia Mengsi laughed. “You’ll see in a minute.”

He followed her to the Bone Hut and, upon entering, saw a tiny skeleton carrying a dish toward the table.

Ji Weijie glanced at Wang Xiao—of course, only Wang Xiao would make even a little skeleton do chores.

Wang Xiao would have helped, but the little guy insisted on doing everything himself, his stubbornness almost cute.

A delicious lunch chased away any lingering discontent.

Yang Ming wasn’t a heavy drinker, but Wang Xiao managed to get a few drinks into him anyway.

Once drunk, people tend to let their guard down, to speak from the heart.

Yang Ming told them about his life: raised by a single mother, she passed away when he was nineteen, and he became even more withdrawn. He rarely spoke, spending all his time at home playing games to support himself; at one point, he went six months without speaking to anyone.

Everyone fell silent. The world wasn’t as wonderful as people imagined, but neither was it as terrible. The future lay at their feet, and what kind of world it would become was up to them.

If the world wasn’t beautiful, then they’d make it beautiful themselves.

After several rounds of drinks, their bond grew deeper.

Xia Mengsi, completely uninhibited, dragged Wang Xiao and Ji Weijie into a drinking contest.

As for Yang Ming—he was already fast asleep on the floor, snoring.

The only one still sober was Xiao Gu. Seeing everyone else drunk, he tiptoed out of the Bone Hut, off to who knows where.

Like old friends reuniting after years apart, they drank more wine and soon all fell asleep on the floor.

While they were still drinking and laughing, a storm was brewing on the regional channel.

Something big had happened: several names had suddenly disappeared from the top fifty of the Kill Leaderboard.

People tried to contact them, but there was no response.

The strangest part was that the missing names all belonged to the same team. If they’d been solo players, it wouldn’t be so odd—but this was a group.

Outside the Bone Hut, Xiao Gu sensed something but found nothing unusual.

Yet, in the direction he didn’t check, a shadow slowly appeared—a lizardman. After surveying the area around the Bone Hut, the lizardman slowly retreated and vanished into the mist.

A new crisis might be looming. How many secrets still lurked within the fog?

No one knew, and no one wanted to know.

The enemy hid in the dark, while we stood in the light.