He, The Scumbag, Has Turned Over A New Leaf. - Chapter 19

The newcomers did not arrive with good intentions. Ivan’s expression remained unchanged as he stepped forward slightly and said, “Have you never seen how to mine? Let Tuoweisi blast this rock face for you to see. Do you want to join us?”

These specialized explosives used for mineral surveying were extremely rare. Although every family would certainly carry extra supplies beyond the four given, they were not meant to be wasted on reckless fun.

Yinsa clearly did not believe Ivan’s explanation. Jieli stood at Yinsa’s side; despite his bandaged arm, he remained alert. If Ivan and his partner showed even the slightest hint that they had discovered ore, he would immediately block their escape route.

Tuoweisi narrowed his eyes, his expression impatient. The disparity in their ranks was insurmountable. To him, dealing with a B-rank Zerg was simple. Even eliminating Yinsa, an A-rank, was not impossible, but he could not guarantee Ivan’s safety in the process.

Although an A-rank Zerg could not defeat him, they could delay him. Since Ivan was a defenseless male, Tuoweisi could not ensure he remained unharmed if a real fight broke out.

Tuoweisi did not act rashly. Ivan, however, smiled brightly and even strolled forward two steps, saying to Yinsa, “Why don’t you contribute some of your own explosives? We are just about to run out. If we find ore, we will rely on our own skills to claim it. If we do not, you cannot blame us.”

Males possessed the inherent advantage of being tall and striking in appearance. Although Yinsa disliked males, he could not muster up any suspicion toward Ivan, who was grinning broadly. However, upon seeing the stoic Tuoweisi standing behind Ivan, Yinsa remained skeptical of their excavation activities.

“Oh? Are you not interested?” Ivan asked, pretending to be disappointed when Yinsa and Jieli did not respond. “Well, since you are not interested, I will continue mining. If we find ore, you are not allowed to fight us for it.”

With that, he directed Tuoweisi to place explosives on the lower end of the other side of the mountain to blast the formation into a rhombic shape. Tuoweisi did not know what Ivan was up to, but he played along.

He moved quickly, and a few seconds later, a deafening roar echoed, leaving the mountain in the shape Ivan had envisioned.

“Hahaha, look at this. Does it not look like a slender waist? Tuoweisi, I am telling you, you should lose a little more weight. I like a slender build.”

Tuoweisi twitched, but a hint of a smile appeared in his eyes as he watched Yinsa and Jieli leave the area due to Ivan’s bizarre behavior.

“Should we not wait a bit longer?” Jieli had been frowning since they left, feeling that things were not that simple. How could Tuoweisi, a Zerg rumored to be ruthless and cold-blooded, let Ivan mess around like this? It made no sense.

Yinsa sneered. “Males are brainless creatures. As a former marshal, Tuoweisi now only knows how to coddle his male. It is truly disgraceful. Let us not waste more time; we should search the deeper areas.”

Jieli’s furrowed brow did not relax, but he stopped arguing and followed Yinsa deeper into the mining zone.

“Whew, they are finally gone.” Ivan looked around and let out a sigh of relief.

Tuoweisi nodded and prepared to move forward to continue digging, but Ivan grabbed his arm.

“Tuoweisi.”

Due to their physiological differences, Tuoweisi’s forearm was firm and powerful. The male’s pale hand resting on it looked striking. Tuoweisi stared at the emerald ring on Ivan’s finger, which matched his own, and felt a sudden surge of patience. He turned and asked, “What is it?”

Ivan looked up, masking the unease deep within his heart, and spoke calmly. “You will protect me, right?”

Unlike the sparring sessions at the guesthouse, the mining zone was incredibly dangerous. Having witnessed the overwhelming combat power of Zergs, Ivan understood that only this Zerg could protect his life. Although he died due to Tuoweisi’s mental breakdown in the original book, he had no choice but to place his hope in Tuoweisi now.

“Of course,” Tuoweisi replied firmly. To reassure Ivan further, he explained, “The claim that you are my male spouse might not be entirely credible, but it is true that I will protect you. After all, I still need you to return to the Capital Star and rely on the Tuixiu family’s wealth to uncover the truth behind my dismissal.”

True sincerity was hard to believe, especially since there was no genuine love between him and Tuoweisi. However, their intertwined interests formed a relatively more reliable relationship.

Ivan smiled, walked to the depression in the rock face where the detector had reacted, and changed the subject. “Let us keep digging. I want to get out of this ghost town as soon as possible.”

“Good.” As if nothing had happened, Tuoweisi took out the detector and began to work.

The afternoon on Pingzi Star was no different from the night. The sky remained gloomy, and the wind grew stronger until it was soon too dark to see. Ivan was about to reach into his backpack for a flashlight when, thanks to his B-rank male Zerg perception, he spotted a familiar figure at the edge of the mountainside.

Hubaiguo was pushing Kele along slowly. Ivan narrowed his eyes and offered a friendly gesture as they approached. “What a coincidence! You two move so fast. When Tuoweisi and I came in, we did not see a soul.”

Hubaiguo remained silent. Kele seemed unaccustomed to the harsh weather and looked even paler, but he offered a soft, gentle smile in response to Ivan. “Ah Luo wanted to find a safe place for me to rest, but we could not find anything suitable. We heard the noise from this side and followed it here. Could we set up our tent next to yours?”

“Sure.” Although Hubaiguo clearly did not have good intentions by choosing him for this competition, Ivan felt a sense of goodwill toward the fragile male Kele, so he did not refuse.

Seeing that Ivan had agreed, Kele was visibly happy, his smile broadening. Hubaiguo parked the wheelchair and began setting up a tent nearby. Tuoweisi was busy elsewhere at the rock face and did not come over, so Ivan sat on a rock and chatted with Kele.

Ivan did not feel uncomfortable being stared at by Kele’s pale blue eyes; they were pure and full of curiosity.

Just as he was wondering why Kele was staring at him, he heard Kele ask in a whisper, “Are you a male who grew up outside?”

“Hmm?” Ivan was stunned for a moment, not understanding the meaning of the question.

Kele continued, “You know, with your father and mother by your side, able to go anywhere, not having to…”

“It is time to rest.” Before Kele could finish, Hubaiguo approached, draped a coat over Kele, and handed him a strawberry-flavored nutritional supplement. Kele took it, his expression losing its previous relaxed air. He stopped speaking and slowly drank the supplement.

Only after Kele was taken away by Hubaiguo did Ivan realize the implication. Kele had come from the Male Zerg Protection Association, where males were well-protected. Usually, they were only allowed to leave with their matched Zergs and could not go out alone. Ivan stared at Kele’s departing back, lost in thought.

“Come with me.”

Tuoweisi’s voice sounded from behind. Ivan turned around, and seeing that Tuoweisi seemed to have something to say, he followed him back to the area they had been surveying earlier.

Once they were far enough from the tents that Hubaiguo could not overhear them, Tuoweisi pulled out a white-gold metal box about the size of a palm.

“What is this?” Ivan asked.

Tuoweisi opened the box. Resting in the center was a rhomboid-shaped stone. Even though it was stained with mud and grit, one could still see that it was flawless and pure white.

“Found it. The ore.”