He, The Scumbag, Has Turned Over A New Leaf. - Chapter 17

Although Ivan was surprised by the result, Yinsa had won. Seizing the momentum, Yinsa immediately prepared for the final competition against the Kinsby family.

If Yinsa won this round as well, he would secure first place in the second competition, granting him control over the final selection process.

Ivan was indifferent to this, as they had already been arranged during the first round. However, seeing the shaken Kele and the grim-faced Hubaiguo, Ivan felt a twinge of concern for them.

The final match began quickly.

Although the Zerg subordinate brought by Ais was quite skilled, the difference in rank was significant. Apart from Tuoweisi, who was an S-rank, and Yinsa and Hubaiguo, who were A-ranks with some level of combat parity, the others were all B-ranks and lacked the power to turn the tide.

If S-ranks were unique across the entire interstellar space, A-ranks were exceedingly rare. In such a remote planet, a B-rank could be considered a powerful regional figure.

Therefore, without any suspense, Yinsa won.

The subordinate brought by Ais was narrowly defeated and returned to his side. Ais sighed helplessly, “Rank suppression is truly lethal.”

Ivan looked at Kele, who was apologizing to Hubaiguo with guilt, and replied, “It should not affect you too much. I suspect Yinsa will choose to assign the Hubai family’s participants.”

Ais did not comment. Sure enough, after a short while, Yinsa walked over to Hubaiguo and his group, laughing as he said, “Since you are so worried about your male, I will satisfy you. Let us all go together in the third round.”

Having said that, Yinsa draped his arm over Jieli’s shoulder and walked away unsteadily.

Seeing that there was nothing more for them to do, Ais took his subordinates back to prepare for the crucial final match the next day. At Lotte’s urging, Ivan also left with Tuoweisi to pack the supplies needed for the mining area.

In the open space outside the guesthouse, only the troubled group from the Hubai family remained.

Kele was overwhelmed with self-reproach and sadness. Although Hubaiguo was anxious, he did not blame Kele, instead comforting him repeatedly, “It is fine. Do not worry.”

Ivan did not pay attention to the others and returned with Lotte to prepare their gear. Along the way, Lotte began his non-stop, nagging routine.

“The terrain of the Pingzi Star mining area is rugged. Bring several pairs of shoes.”

“The weather is erratic and unpredictable, so bring enough clothes.”

“I do not know how long you will be in there. If it is inconvenient to start a fire, bring plenty of nutritional solution. And remember to bring some medicine, just in case you fall ill.”

Ivan agreed to every point. “I understand, Uncle Lotte. Do not worry. If there is any real danger, we will certainly prioritize our own safety. We can just forfeit the competition if necessary.”

“Haha, good.” Hearing this, Lotte finally felt at ease.

Tuoweisi stood to the side, packing his luggage. Listening to this, he felt a moment of envy. Once, when his own father and mother were still alive, they would give him such detailed advice before every mission. But now, those days were gone.

The voices of Ivan and Lotte continued to fill his ears. Tuoweisi did not allow himself to sink into useless, gloomy emotions; he finished organizing the necessary supplies and placed them into his backpack.

Soon, night fell.

Lying in bed, Ivan was quite nervous about entering an unknown mining area the next day. It felt like the pressure of having a test the next day without having studied properly.

After tossing and turning, Ivan could not fall asleep and ultimately could not help but voice his anxiety.

“Tuoweisi, are you asleep?” Ivan called out softly, lying on the hard bed of the guesthouse.

Tuoweisi’s mental power was formidable, and with Ivan tossing and turning less than a meter away, it was impossible for him to be asleep. However, Tuoweisi did not want to engage and remained in his rigid sleeping posture, unmoving.

Receiving no response, Ivan quieted down for a moment, but soon, a quieter voice followed.

“I am a bit nervous.”

Tuoweisi’s body stiffened for a moment. The voice was soft and weak; had Tuoweisi not been awake, he might not have heard it. But he did hear it, and his determination to feign sleep began to waver.

He frowned, ultimately unable to help but ask, “What is wrong?”

Ivan had not expected a response and had intended to just wait it out until sleep eventually claimed him. Unexpectedly, Tuoweisi was awake. Ivan became excited; he turned on his side and shifted toward Tuoweisi, reducing the distance from one meter to perhaps half a meter.

“Tuoweisi, tell me, since the mining area is undeveloped, how are we supposed to mine? With our hands?”

Hearing such an absurd question, Tuoweisi instantly regretted being soft-hearted enough to respond. Despite his internal speechlessness, he maintained his composure and replied, “There are blasting machines and specialized detection instruments.”

“Oh? What do those instruments look like? Why haven’t I seen one?”

“Males cannot use the instruments, so Lotte gave them directly to me.”

“Oh, I see. Then…”

Ivan wanted to keep chatting, but a loud bang suddenly echoed from outside, like something heavy smashing into the ground. It startled Ivan into sitting straight up, and any lingering drowsiness vanished instantly.

“What was that?”

Tuoweisi had also heard the loud noise. He perked up his ears to listen carefully for a while before lying back down, saying calmly, “Do not worry about it. It has nothing to do with us. Sleep.”

Although curious, since Tuoweisi said it was nothing, Ivan dismissed the urge to go and investigate. He was not stupid; curiosity in the middle of the night rarely led to a good ending, and he had no interest in getting involved in such chaos.

Thus, shortly after lying back down, as the sounds outside faded, Ivan finally drifted into a deep sleep.

Because they had to enter the mining area early, Ivan was woken up by Tuoweisi before dawn.

He splashed cold water on his face to clear his groggy head. Carrying his small backpack, Ivan followed Tuoweisi, who carried a large one, out the door.

Upon arriving at the undeveloped mining zone, Ivan was stunned by the scene.

Kele was still in his wheelchair, but Hubaiguo, standing behind him, seemed to be in a good mood today with a faint smile on his face. Ais did not appear, sending only his two subordinates. A few meters away, Yinsa’s expression was gloomy, and Jieli’s arm was in a sling, clearly injured.

Ivan was slightly baffled by this scene, but he was observant enough to ask nothing. Glancing at Tuoweisi and seeing his neutral expression, Ivan roughly guessed what had happened.

Everyone was present. While the group seemed mismatched in rank and condition, they were all carefully selected individuals.

The two subordinates under Ais appeared to be specifically trained by the Kinsby family; they were similar in build and had generic faces. Named Jin Yi and Jin Er, they were the first to step into the mining area. Jieli, despite his sling, was not hindered in his movements and followed after the sour-faced Yinsa.

Hubaiguo pushed Kele slowly. Before entering the mine, he greeted Ivan, and they exchanged a knowing glance.

Seeing that everyone had left, Ivan tilted his head toward Tuoweisi. “Let us go in, too.”

“Good.” Tuoweisi walked in front, and Ivan followed behind, walking into the untouched mining area.

However, Ivan did not know that the scheming and power struggles that began the previous night meant that this competition would be anything but peaceful. Even more unexpectedly, this competition would serve as the turning point for the relationship between him and Tuoweisi.