The Max-Level Sacred Mountain Begs Me to Save the Interstellar [Apocalypse] - Chapter 10

Shen Ye was completely dejected, looking as if he had suffered a great injustice.

“Eat breakfast before you head back.” Seeing his state, Xie Songnian immediately dialed the internal line. “Send a breakfast in here.”

Shen Ye thought: Fine. Even if I can’t save my client, saving some money on a meal is a decent alternative.

Xiao Liu brought in a tray and, at Xie Songnian’s gesture, placed the food in front of Shen Ye. Shen Ye’s eyes instantly lit up; this wasn’t pig feed!

“Wow! Stir-fried tomatoes, rice, and even canned syrup fruits! Brother-in-law, where did this food come from?”

Xie Songnian remained buried in his paperwork, answering casually, “Grown by the Agricultural Alliance.”

“?”

Something wasn’t right. Shen Ye blurted out, “You eat this, but you let me eat compressed biscuits all day? Do you even have a heart!!”

Since his rebirth, Shen Ye had eaten nothing but compressed biscuits. He had assumed the entire interstellar population lived on that stuff.

Xie Songnian replied, “In the past… you didn’t like eating these things.”

Shen Ye decided that his past self must have been brain-dead. Fuming, he resolved to finish every bite of the food, leaving absolutely nothing for Xie Songnian.

“I haven’t asked you yet,” Xie Songnian said. “What were you doing running off into the Ghost Mist by yourself a while ago?”

Logically, Shen Ye’s status as a brother-in-law should have guaranteed him a life of comfort; there was no need for him to struggle for survival in the mist.

“I can’t remember.” Shen Ye truly didn’t know; he had no memories of the original owner of this body.

As he spoke, he scooped a large spoonful of tomatoes into his mouth. “Ugh! Brother-in-law, these tomatoes are so bitter!”

“Plant seeds are extremely difficult to cultivate, let alone crops. The total tomato production on Mars for an entire year doesn’t exceed five hundred kilograms. Or would you prefer to go back to compressed biscuits?”

Shen Ye didn’t want to choose either. “Is there no other delicious food? Something sweet? Or even spicy?”

“Forget sweet. Even the bowl of rice in front of you is something ninety-five percent of people have never tasted. If you aren’t going to eat it, don’t waste it. Hand it over.”

Shen Ye hesitated. He couldn’t handle bitter tastes, so he gently placed the breakfast on the edge of Xie Songnian’s desk. He decided that after returning to the dorm, he would stick to washing down compressed biscuits with water as usual.

Xie Songnian finished the food with remarkable speed. Seeing Shen Ye still standing there, he asked, “Is there something else?”

“Oh, right. About Zhang Hao…”

“Enough. I will get him out.” Zhang Hao was a good lure, perfect for flushing out some of the base’s parasites.

“Oh! One more thing! Brother-in-law, how exactly did you find me!” Shen Ye was incredibly curious, as Zhou Hui had thrown away his Star Ring and backpack.

“Zhou Hui left a vehicle she frequently uses at the base. Based on the car’s driving logs, I deduced she might have kidnapped you and headed northwest.”

“Brother-in-law, you are amazing! My sister is so lucky to have found a man like you!”

Xie Songnian: “…”

Xie Songnian didn’t tell the truth. In fact, he had installed tracking devices inside the buttons of all of Shen Ye’s clothes, which was how he found his location so easily. But now, looking at the starry-eyed, adorable expression on Shen Ye’s face, he suddenly questioned his original decision.

Is this kid really a threat?

Xie Songnian pondered for a moment. “You’ve suffered a lot these past two days. I will definitely give you an explanation regarding Zhou Hui before your sister returns.”

Shen Ye was about to leave, but he froze in shock. “My sister is coming back?”

What was he going to do? He wasn’t ready! What if the sister realized her brother had been replaced by a different soul?

Xie Songnian frowned. “You aren’t happy?”

Shen Ye: “How could that be! I’m thrilled! Hahaha… ha. Cough. Brother-in-law, I’ll be going then…”

Before Xie Songnian could reply, there was a knock at the door. It was Gu Que, the base deputy. He got straight to the point: “Captain, we found Zhou Hui!”

Shen Ye promptly sat back down.

Xie Songnian: “What happened?”

Gu Que: “Since the incident with Xiao Shen, we secretly added more surveillance. We happened to catch He Xiaoxiao from the cleanup squad entering Liang Changfeng and Zhou Hui’s residence without permission. After taking some items, she left the city. Our men found it strange and followed her, only to find her in an argument with Zhou Hui.”

Xie Songnian: “Could you see what He Xiaoxiao took?”

Gu Que pulled out his Star Ring. “A pink notebook.”

“Don’t alert them yet. Keep a close eye on her. As for Zhou Hui’s side, find a few agile men to follow her, but prioritize their own safety!”

“Yes, sir!”

“And you, Shen Ye.” Xie Songnian suddenly turned to Shen Ye, who was sitting obediently.

Shen Ye: “?” Why was he being involved again?

Xie Songnian had a strange expression. “I need you to fetch something for me.”

The Central Base armory was located on the third basement floor of the building. A heavy green door divided the space into two extremes. Outside was the armory monitoring center disguised as a small office; inside, it was like a metallic beehive, where every hanging weapon was a killing worker bee waiting to leave the nest.

Shen Ye walked briskly into the office of Chen An, the armory director. “Hello, Uncle Chen.”

Chen An looked up from a mountain of documents, pushed his old-fashioned glasses up his nose, and recognized the visitor. His wrinkled face broke into a smile. “Ah, it’s Xiao Shen. Captain Xie already reached out. Let me see, you’re looking for an autonomous navigation cargo box?”

“Yes! You know my sister works on Mercury, and the conditions are quite harsh. I want to send her some basic daily necessities.”

“What a good kid. Use Captain Xie’s access card to find Hive 201-4-25. What you need is there. By the way, you aren’t young anymore; why aren’t you married? Actually, my aunt’s cousin’s grandmother’s niece has a girl who works at the Agricultural Alliance. She is so beautiful…”

“Uncle Chen, let’s go get the cargo box first!” Shen Ye interrupted the matrimonial magic attack. Between the risk of human extinction and his own homelessness, marriage was the last thing on his mind.

Shen Ye jogged to the armory door, took out Xie Songnian’s ID card, and gave it a stylish swipe.

Beep! Insufficient balance.

…Shen Ye silently put away his bus card and swapped it for the access card while the staff member watched him like he was a fool.

The massive doors slowly opened. The lights overhead were like seeds being ignited, blooming one after another along the path. Shen Ye had never seen such a breathtaking sight; the hives were spaced apart, each storing different weapons, appearing to stretch on forever.

Staff member: “Go east for one hundred meters, then north for thirty meters to find Hive 201.”

Shen Ye: “Aren’t you coming in with me?”

The staff member pointed to the surveillance overhead. “Only the person holding the access card can enter the armory. Otherwise, you’ll be locked onto by surveillance and blown to bits instantly.”

Shen Ye: “I have to ask, if I go in but accidentally lose the card, will I still be blown up?”

Staff member: “Impossible. No one could be that unlucky.”

“Oh.”

Shen Ye followed the instructions and successfully found the autonomous navigation cargo box. Unlike what he had imagined, the cargo box was an irregular, flesh-colored rectangle that looked soft and prone to wriggling.

Shen Ye thought: Is this right? Zhou Zhou, do you want to eat this?

[Sniff, sniff. No smell. Zhou Zhou won’t eat it.]

Since Zhou Zhou didn’t want it, the box was likely fine. It seemed the designer just had a questionable sense of aesthetics to create something that looked so sanity-draining.

Shen Ye swiped the access card again to confirm the item retrieval. With a “beep,” the special bulletproof glass door opened.

[Eat, eat, eat!!!]

Shen Ye didn’t even look; he turned and bolted, shouting at the surveillance cameras as he ran, “Help! There’s a monster!”

Fortunately, the monitoring center reacted quickly. Weapons on the ceiling automatically locked onto the flesh-colored aberration. A single dark green bullet sent it to its grave.

Immediately after, the cleanup squad filed in, fully armed. Xie Songnian issued orders: “Search the entire armory! Ensure all aberrations are cleared!”

“Yes, sir!” The dozens of men shouted in unison, their voices deafening.

Shen Ye moved over to Xie Songnian’s side. “Brother-in-law, what is going on?”

Xie Songnian looked composed. “I read Zhang Hao’s report. During the investigation, I found something unusual: someone is transporting aberrations into the base.”

“But can aberrations survive outside the Ghost Mist?”

“Normal ones can’t,” Xie Songnian said, looking at Shen Ye. “Remember the one that lured you out of the isolation room? These things have been appearing on Mars, Jupiter, and Mercury lately. Neither human nor monster, half-and-half, they can leave the mist for short periods.”

“Oh.” Shen Ye stood there blankly.

“The traitor in the rescue team has been caught. This time, I just used your hands to clear out the armory.”

“Wait!” Shen Ye suddenly stopped him. “So lending me the access card was part of your plan? You used me as bait?! And here I thought our bond as brothers-in-law had reached a new level.”

“One hundred thousand Star Credits.”

“Huh?” Shen Ye’s foot, which was halfway out the door, stopped.

Xie Songnian: “Mental compensation for you, coming from my private account.”

“Am I… am I a greedy person?” Shen Ye protested, though he marveled at how well this man knew how to manipulate people.

“Shen Ye, I made perfect arrangements. You wouldn’t have been injured. Besides, if even the Veiled Guest couldn’t hurt you, these things certainly couldn’t.”

Shen Ye complained inwardly: That’s because there were no cameras in the wild!

“Even so, you should have told me in advance! It’s not like I can’t act.” He fidgeted with his hands.

Xie Songnian saw the longing for the money written all over Shen Ye’s face and decided that next time, he still shouldn’t tell him the strategy in advance. This kid couldn’t keep a secret.

“Whether it’s Zhang Hao or the armory, you’ve done a great service. Besides the one hundred thousand, you can make one request.”

Shen Ye: “Anything?”

Xie Songnian: “Yes.”

Shen Ye: “Then… I want a piece of land.”

Xie Songnian: “?” Everything Shen Ye said shattered the image Xie Songnian had of him. He asked in confusion, “What do you want land for?” Surely, he isn’t planning to flip it?

Shen Ye: “Actually, I have a dream.”

Xie Songnian: “…Speak plainly.”

Shen Ye: “I love farming.”

Xie Songnian: “I don’t believe you.”

Shen Ye: “Brother-in-law! Plants are so precious. What if I’m a natural talent and actually grow something?”

Xie Songnian decided that when he got back, he would investigate exactly who had been filling Shen Ye’s head with nonsense all day. “There is an empty lot behind the dormitory. I’ll help you apply for some seeds… it won’t be many.”

“That’s plenty! Thank you, Brother-in-law!”

Shen Ye felt like he had been possessed by a detective lately, encountering monsters wherever he went. He decided to change his strategy for making money,no, saving humanity.

Support The Max-Level Sacred Mountain Begs Me to Save the Interstellar [Apocalypse]