Xin Hexue heard the sound of an aircraft fading away outside the window.
There was no doctor in the residential area of the mining site?
That didn’t make sense.
Perhaps it was just that there was no suitable doctor.
Pei Guangji needed to return to the core zone to bring a doctor here.
That was all Xin Hexue could speculate.
Pei Guangji had left in such a rush that he forgot to lock down the villa’s access permissions.
For the first time, Xin Hexue stepped outside the door and was met with the vast, wild mountain forest.
He took a walk around and quickly noticed something unusual.
This was indeed the mining site.
The villa was only the part above ground.
In the center of the forest, the surface suddenly dropped vertically, like a massive crater made by a meteorite, forming an inverted funnel that was wide at the top and narrow at the bottom. It was a massive underground structure, divided neatly and systematically into compartments clinging to the rock walls, like a beehive.
It was practically an underground city.
Or rather, an underground mine.
Xin Hexue looked down at the abyss-like opening from the edge.
Compared to this massive, sunken structure, a regular human standing at the edge looked no bigger than an ant.
Xin Hexue had good eyesight and he noticed that the wider areas of the beehive structure were likely residential and living zones. The deeper it went, the more he saw traces of excavation. Countless machines were working, mining white crystal ore. He saw tiny black dots moving, but it was too far to distinguish them, probably workers.
His gaze swept along the edge of the mining site. To the north, there was a long sunken staircase. There was a green sign that read “Safety Passage”, with steps going down one after another. It was easy to imagine people climbing up from the bottom, like ascending a pyramid.
Aside from that entrance, Xin Hexue also saw a vertical elevator. It looked more like a large glass box, stopping at every level of the underground beehive. At each level’s elevator entrance, there were crisscrossing cable cars connecting the north-south and east-west directions.
Robots patrolled the elevator entrance that connected the outside world with the underground mine.
Xin Hexue guessed that perhaps he had stayed there too long, which triggered the patrol robot’s alert.
The robot walked directly toward him and broadcasted in a flat tone: “Unknown individual detected. Identified as an ordinary human, Beta, male, danger level F-…”
After determining the danger level, the robot paused and then turned around and left.
Xin Hexue: “…”
Even if his combat ability posed no threat, wasn’t it a bit too much for a duty-bound patrol robot to outright ignore him?
A while later, the robot returned.
It held a glass of water and handed it to Xin Hexue. “Human sir, do you require assistance?”
Xin Hexue: “…Thanks, I don’t think I need anything for now.”
…
His request to enter the underground mine was not approved by the robot. Maybe it was because his low danger level posed no threat, so the request didn’t raise any red flags either. He was simply and politely advised to leave.
Before Pei Guangji returned, Xin Hexue went back to the bedroom on the second floor of the villa.
Sure enough, Pei Guangji brought the Pei family’s medical team to conduct a physical examination for him. Xin Hexue wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt that after running back and forth, Pei Guangji looked even more exhausted, with a heavy expression in his eyes.
Something must have happened outside that he didn’t know about…something even more troublesome.
The medical team couldn’t provide a clear diagnosis. For the time being, they found no physical abnormalities in Xin Hexue. All test indicators only showed that his physical constitution was weaker than average and needed rest.
Pei Guangji’s face was clouded with gloom, like a rainstorm about to burst and anyone could see he was in a bad mood. “There’s nothing wrong with his body, then why did he suddenly vomit blood?”
The doctor could only say, “President Pei, regarding Mr. Xin’s condition, our suggestion is to observe him for a week while resting. We’ll try to come up with a treatment plan as soon as possible.”
That was all they could do for now.
Moreover, due to the high confidentiality requirements of the mining site, once these people arrived, they could no longer leave freely. When they came, the aircraft’s cabin was completely sealed off from outside visuals to prevent memorizing the route, by, just in case, especially at such a critical juncture, no one will be able to enter and exit here freely in the short term.
Night fell.
There were no stars or moon.
Pei Guangji had already checked the surveillance and entry records of the villa, and knew that Xin Hexue had reached the mining site’s edge after he left.
He pretended not to know anything, fearing that questioning too much would irritate Xin Hexue.
Xin Hexue guessed that the food he received each day was delivered from the underground living area.
After dinner, he didn’t say a word or talk to Pei Guangji. Instead, he went straight to the bathroom to wash up.
When he heard a loud clatter from inside the bathroom, Pei Guangji’s heart tightened, and he forced the door open.
The bottles and containers on the shelf had been knocked to the floor, scattered everywhere, some rolling into the corners.
The young man had collapsed on the floor. His face was pale without a trace of blood, and exuded a fragile and translucent feeling, like a beautiful piece of broken porcelain.
[Pei Guangji heartbreak value +1]
The medical team, who had just settled down to rest, was called back in a hurry.
They still couldn’t determine why the young man suddenly vomited blood or fainted. For now, they could only administer a glucose IV drip.
The young man’s hand receiving the drip was ice cold.
Pei Guangji sat on the edge of the bed, gently holding Xin Hexue’s hand to provide warmth.
Xin Hexue hadn’t expected his body to deteriorate like this after activating the painless exit program.
He had set a one-month departure period. According to K’s explanation, that meant his organs would begin rapidly failing within a month. Even though nothing could be seen on the surface, his body’s metabolic functions would decline quickly. He would gradually become more and more drowsy, sleeping longer and longer.
On the final day, the first organ to shut down would be the heart.
Although it was supposed to be a painless departure, Xin Hexue could still feel his body’s decline. The only humane part was that there was no pain.
This lack of pain was intangible yet perceivable…like feeling life slipping through his fingers like sand. That uncontrollable sense made him feel even more unsafe.
The IV drip finished.
The cotton swab pressed on the needle site was thrown into the trash, and a faint bluish mark remained on the back of his left hand.
Pei Guangji tucked Xin Hexue’s hand back under the thin blanket.
The long eyelashes trembled slightly, and Pei Guangji caught the tiny movement immediately.
He asked nervously, “Are you awake? Do you feel unwell anywhere?”
Xin Hexue stared at the ceiling and blinked slowly, as if adjusting to the bedroom’s light.
“It’s too bright.”
He shook his head and rested the back of his hand on his forehead, just enough to block the light.
Pei Guangji turned off the ceiling light, leaving only the bedside lamp on.
Xin Hexue turned his head, and his black hair rested softly over the pillow. “I want to take a walk tomorrow.”
The young man hadn’t spoken so calmly to him in a long time.
Half of Pei Guangji’s face was hidden in the dim light; his expression unreadable.
He replied to Xin Hexue, “Okay. Tomorrow morning, I’ll have Xi Zhengqing take you out for a walk. Do you want to see the underground mine?”
Xin Hexue didn’t care why it had to be Xi Zhengqing tomorrow. He got the result he wanted, so he responded casually and turned over, closing his eyes.
His slightly curled sleeping posture outlined the thin curve of his back through the fabric of his pajamas.
Pei Guangji tucked in the blanket around him.
…
Pei Guangji left in the second half of the night, and Xi Zhengqing took over the shift.
They seemed to be hiding something from him, or were preoccupied with some serious matter. Xin Hexue could see the weariness in them.
But when he tried to probe, Xi Zhengqing always smoothly changed the topic.
The morning’s physical exam ended.
Xi Zhengqing accompanied Xin Hexue on a short walk nearby.
“You want to go down there?” Xi Zhengqing’s tone was slightly surprised. “…That’s fine, but the air at the bottom isn’t great. Let’s just explore the upper levels, alright?”
He still chose to accommodate the patient.
Xi Zhengqing had clearance. After scanning their biometric information, the patrol robot let them through easily.
They followed the passage into the elevator, and the elevator stopped at level eight underground.
It was indeed a shallow level. Xin Hexue noticed that the elevator had buttons going down as far as level ninety. That was likely where the actual white crystal mining took place.
The structures near the rock walls were all assembled from metal components, able to withstand extreme earth pressure.
There was a separate ventilation system for internal air circulation in the center, so Xin Hexue felt no discomfort breathing.
Powerful drainage pumps were installed in all four directions of each level, with higher density the deeper it went. Xin Hexue guessed there were even more pumps at the bottom to deal with potential groundwater seepage.
The upper levels still had daylight for illumination.
The lower levels probably relied entirely on light guides and strong electric lights for artificial lighting.
Xi Zhengqing explained, “The Hive was originally designed by my great-grandfather, who was the chief engineer.”
He told Xin Hexue this.
From his words, Xin Hexue learned that the white crystal mining had been going on for more than two generations, and the Hive’s design had become more refined over time. From manual excavation at the beginning, most of the high-risk jobs had now been replaced by robots.
Many people who lived here were descendants of the original workers sent in.
Due to the strict confidentiality, they couldn’t return to the outside world and were cut off from society. Plus, many of their parents and grandparents came from Lower District Two, where either their hometowns had been taken over by mutant species or the environment had become uninhabitable.
The Pei and Xi families had turned the Hive into a fully independent underground city. With complete infrastructure, it supported their daily needs. Workers no longer able to contribute would be cared for by elder-care robots until the end of their lives.
Xin Hexue couldn’t say whether this was good or bad.
If they returned to the Federation, their living standards might not even compare to here. But in the Hive, they would spend their whole lives as busy worker bees.
They had no access rights to the Hive’s outer gate. Even if they left, the Federation was just a bigger beehive.
Strictly speaking, Xin Hexue wasn’t from this world, so he didn’t offer any opinion. Xi Zhengqing did all the talking on the way.
On the way, they happened to run into a protest by workers and some robots. Xin Hexue took a look at the content of the slogans; they were protesting that the city management of the beehive was entirely run by robots and that robots couldn’t represent human interests. Humans were demanding more seats in management.
The crowd surged forward and separated them. Xin Hexue was pushed to the edge and stumbled back a few steps, nearly falling. Fortunately, someone caught him in time.
It was a middle-aged Omega man, wearing glasses. He looked gentle and scholarly, like a university lecturer.
Xin Hexue thanked him and looked up at where he had been pushed.
It seemed to be the man’s shop.
It was a mechanical repair store, and the wooden sign showed clear signs of age.
The man stuffed something into Xin Hexue’s pants pocket. Xi Zhengqing quickly pushed through the crowd and came over. Xin Hexue pretended nothing had happened and thanked the other person naturally, and Xi Zhengqing asked him nervously, “Are you okay?”
Xin Hexue shook his head and left with Xi Zhengqing.
But as they left, he noticed that Xi Zhengqing seemed to frown and looked back once.
…
If he wasn’t mistaken, the robot that had stopped him at the Hive’s entrance before was probably Number One.
Or rather, the Cutter.
But how did Number One know the location of this place?
If Number One knew, that meant Qiu Yuan probably knew too.
He still couldn’t determine whether the final scene of the video Pei Guangji had shown him, where Qiu Yuan was being taken to a military prison, was real or fake.
Xin Hexue closed the door and took out the note from his pants pocket.
It was handwriting he had seen before.
But what shocked him was…
It was written by Pei Ying.
—“Don’t be afraid. I will get you out safely.”
The message was short, only a promise, with no extra information.
The paper seemed old, with tea stains and yellowed edges. It couldn’t have been written in just the past few days.
Xin Hexue unconsciously rubbed the corners of the paper, his mind racing.
Pei Ying…
The Cutter…
And Qiu Yuan…
Suddenly, he thought of the middle-aged man with glasses in the repair shop.
Another image flashed in his mind
On the cruise ship, Qiu Yuan had shrugged and said: “I only found out two days ago that Pei Guangji had woken up.”
“The moment he woke up, he dragged down Old Master Pei and all the brothers and uncles who had been stirring up trouble during this time. The power of the Pei family is now completely in his hands.”
If Pei Ying had any brains, he would have made a second plan. He wouldn’t have bet everything on Pei Guangji staying in a coma forever.
So, before the purge happened, Pei Ying must have already joined forces with Qiu Yuan. Otherwise, even Xi Zhengqing didn’t know about Pei Guangji’s awakening, so how could Qiu Yuan know?
And during Pei Ying’s time as the designated successor, he had already come into contact with the mining site.
He even left a note for someone in the Hive.
Xin Hexue believed that no matter how smart Pei Ying was, he was still young and not that sharp. So this had to be Qiu Yuan’s plan, and Pei Ying was just the executor.
Did Qiu Yuan predict months ago that he would be brought to the Hive by Pei Guangji or Xi Zhengqing?
No. Qiu Yuan couldn’t have been certain. But back then, he must have intended to steer things toward that outcome.
Xin Hexue’s eyes darkened.
The encounter on the cruise ship had confirmed Qiu Yuan’s suspicion about his mutant identity. Qiu Yuan wanted to recruit him to his side, so afterward he kept trying to please him, including cooperating with his plan at the engagement party.
What Qiu Yuan had been planning all along was to win him over, and after gaining his trust, Qiu Yuan needed him to voluntarily find a way into the Hive.
The goal was simple. Blowing up the Hive required the right timing, ideally when the mutant species launched a full-scale counterattack from District Twelve. At the same time, it required a coordinated effort from inside and outside. Someone had to draw Pei Guangji’s and Xi Zhengqing’s attention away so they wouldn’t notice what was happening inside the Hive. This person also needed to be able to freely enter and exit the Hive.
After all, the Hive’s entrance and exit biometric verification system was extremely strict.
Even the external patrol robots couldn’t get inside the Hive. That was why Number One, even after possessing a patrol robot, had no access to the elevator and could only hover around the perimeter.
And no one from the inside could come out either.
Only the heirs of the Pei and Xi families could enter and exit the Hive. Pei Ying had been here before because he once obtained a temporary heir experience card, and now there was one more person who had entered and exited the Hive, Xin Hexue, who was brought in by Xi Zhengqing.
But Qiu Yuan seemed to have changed his mind halfway through, and no longer wanted him to be involved in anything related to the Hive.
So earlier, when he had spoken candidly about his desire to change the current state of the Federation, Qiu Yuan said he wanted to blow up the Hive, but that it was too secretive and he still didn’t know the address.
But in fact, he knew. He had already found out from Pei Ying.
At that time, Qiu Yuan could have simply gone along with it and brought it up, letting him participate in the plan to destroy the Hive.
He didn’t know what Qiu Yuan was thinking, or why he suddenly changed his mind halfway and refused to let him be part of it.
However, even the most meticulous plan has a flaw. He ended up imprisoned in this villa by the joint forces of Pei Guangji and Xi Zhengqing.
And so, everything circled back again.
That note, which was originally thought to be of no further use, finally ended up in his hands.
This indicated that things outside were likely proceeding according to the original plan.
He deduced that the reason why the two Alphas looked so exhausted and had dark circles under their eyes was most likely because the mutant species had launched a full-scale counterattack. Most of the factories owned by the Pei and Xi families were located in District Six or District Two, far from the core zone. It was impossible for them to be unaffected.
Since Number One had already reached the exterior of the Hive, he would definitely make contact tomorrow.
He needed to go to the Hive again. He had to find out who had passed him that note.
On the back of the note, the person had even drawn a simplified, mini version of the Hive’s map.
