CH 7

The top cover of the capsule cabin is only half transparent, and due to the angle, Chu Shici can only see two people.

He is unsure how many alphas are outside, but from their noisy and argumentative voices, he can determine that there are at least five individuals.

The leading man holds a thin metal wire in his hand and fiddles with the edge of the capsule cabin.

The next moment, the capsule cabin cover is forcefully opened.

The man places four small metal patches on the inner wall of the capsule. The patches are thin, small, and the same color as the interior, making them indistinguishable to the naked eye.

One of the men outside claps his hands. “Alright, split into three groups and hide in the pre-selected locations. When he gets stunned, come and capture him.”

Unable to resist, Chu Shici peeks out to observe.

The rugged-looking man casually props up the cover with one hand, his expression relaxed and nonchalant. It seems like they frequently engage in such activities.

He casually closes the cover and turns to the person beside him. “Using one less patch. Hopefully, that beta is good-looking and not a waste of money.”

“Whether he’s ugly or not, it’s all the same in the dark. Although I didn’t see his face clearly, his figure is great, slim waist and long legs. Plus, he’s wearing military boots, definitely a gender-concealed soldier. Regardless of his appearance, being a former soldier alone can raise the price.”

“True, now that I think about it, it seems like a guaranteed profit. The alpha pheromones here are overwhelming, even smelling them is boring. When you consider it, having a beta is not bad. At least he’s scentless.”

The leader suddenly berates, “Why didn’t you mention earlier that he was wearing military boots! Call a few more brothers over! Damn it, soldiers are not easy to deal with.”

The conversation gradually fades away, and Chu Shici quickly emerges from under the bookshelf. He holds a marker pen and marks four small black dots on the areas where the patches were installed.

By the time he finishes, he can no longer hear any voices.

Chu Shici estimates the number of people in ambush, at least six alphas, not including any potential reinforcements.

Thinking about this, he becomes anxious and asks, “System, did the original story encounter this plotline with the male lead?”

The system, reading documents and sipping tea, responds, “Why are you in such a hurry? He’s a male lead in a light-hearted story, not an explicit one. Even if he’s feeling down, he can still single-handedly defeat a group. In the original story, he immediately went to the city and dominated all alphas, spreading his fearsome reputation throughout the desolate star. No one would dare to bother him.”

“So what’s happening now then?” Chu Shici asks.

“Oh, his vitality is too low, he doesn’t have the energy to dominate the Desolate Planet. Before you came, he was just living aimlessly, and those alphas had no idea that such a person existed. If we were to quantify his prestige value on the Desolate Planet, in the original text, the male protagonist’s prestige value would be at least 80 during this period. But now, the male protagonist’s prestige value is -80.”

“Why is it a negative number?”

“Because he is a beta, and on the Desolate Planet, betas and omegas are hunted by criminals. So you have to work hard and quickly increase the male protagonist’s vitality value, so that he can become the pride of the heavens again, just like in the original text, where he punched the Desolate Planet and kicked the empire, commanding respect from everyone.”

Listening to its words, Chu Shici suddenly felt absurd.

He couldn’t understand what had happened to Su Zheyan that caused a person who should have been as dazzling as the sun to fall into dust. From then on, even the dignity of being human was trampled upon.

Although he hadn’t spent much time with Su Zheyan, in these spend days , Chu Shici already considered him as one of his own.

Moreover, Su Zheyan may appear cold, but he treated Chu Shici quite well. If Su Zheyan couldn’t win, Chu Shici would step in to help. He couldn’t just stand by and watch the male protagonist being bullied.

Chu Shici picked up a princess dress and rummaged through the capsule, eventually finding a thin, long iron nail.

He swung the iron nail a few times, feeling empowered.

The system looked at him expressionlessly and said, “Forgive me for being frank, but you shouldn’t go up there. You’re just a toy robot, and your combat power is inferior to the cockroaches in the south.”

“How can that be? I’m much bigger than them.”

“But they can fly and are amphibious, can you do that?”

Chu Shici fell into silence.

Such a cruel reality, it made him want to cry.

…

Today, Su Zheyan went into the city to buy things and saw the body of a beta on the roadside.

The person was wearing tattered military uniform, black and gold, belonging to the Empire’s mecha division.

From what the onlookers said, this person concealed their gender and joined the army, but was exiled to the Desolate Planet.

Their landing point happened to be outside a camp of alphas in the city. Before he could recover from his dizziness, he was forcibly dragged away by people.

After they had their fun, those people took him to a small market to sell him.

In just five days, the former mecha soldier had become a mutilated corpse.

Su Zheyan stood in front of the body for a long time, took off his coat, wrapped the person in it, and carried them to a place outside the city to bury them.

Looking at the scattered tattered military uniform on the ground, Su Zheyan fell into contemplation.

He remembered when he was born, betas accounted for 80% of the total population. Compared to Alphas and Omegas, they were ordinary and average, but they were an important part of society.

At some point, betas became a minority and a disadvantaged group. The enactment of labor protection laws forced betas to leave their jobs.

At the same time, the Empire excluded betas from military service and banished those who violated the rule to the Desolate Planet.

Su Zheyan couldn’t remember why betas had disappeared in large numbers.

Not only him, many people didn’t understand what was happening.

There was a mysterious influence or power that erased the memories related to betas from the minds of the people in the Empire. It was as if someone had deliberately stolen all knowledge and recollection of betas. People couldn’t even remember the names of the betas, and when they searched the Empire’s database, there were no records or evidence of their existence. It was a baffling situation where an entire group seemed to have been erased from collective memory, leaving no trace behind.

But occasionally, someone would claim that they faintly remembered that there were many betas living in the Empire.

The events of this morning cast a shadow over Su Zheyan’s heart.

While he was buying clothes for robot in the city, he was harassed by a group of alphas in an alley.

Killing those pieces of garbage didn’t improve his mood; instead, it became worse.

On the way out of the city, someone threw coins at him and asked how much he charged for a night.

He chopped off that person’s head and walked out while carrying it. No one dared to stop him this time.

Although those people didn’t even touch the hem of his clothes throughout the ordeal, Su Zheyan was still unusually irritable.

As long as he got close to a crowd, he would have the urge to draw his knife and attack.

The air was filled with pheromones from alphas, so strong that even he, as a beta, found it suffocating.

He always felt difficulty in breathing, and only when he returned to the capsule and smelled perfume, would he feel a bit more comfortable.

Perhaps among those group of criminals, there might be good people. However, Su Zheyan couldn’t communicate with them, and he couldn’t fit into this society.

Despite being on the desolate planet for only a short time, just three days, thoughts of suicide began to enter his mind.

But on the third evening, the robot suddenly came to life.

It could run, jump, speak, and even enjoyed playfully fighting with his fingers.

Compared to suicide, the robot fascinated him even more.

…

Chu Shici had been waiting for a long time until, at 7 o’clock in the evening, he heard familiar footsteps outside.

It was the sound of military boots, and he knew immediately that Su Zheyan had returned.

He propped the ladder against the capsule and climbed up, poking his head out to look.

Through the transparent cover of the capsule, Chu Shici saw Su Zheyan, and the words of Old Zhang came to his mind again.

“He looks incredibly handsome, but his face immediately turns cold upon closer inspection.”

The more Chu Shici looked at him, the more he felt that Old Zhang’s words were spot on.

Su Zheyan had golden hair, emerald eyes, and fair skin, exceptionally handsome as if he had stepped out of a fairy tale.

But his eyes lacked any vitality, and there was no trace of the liveliness that a living person should possess. He seemed like a walking corpse, sending shivers down one’s spine.

Chu Shici couldn’t fathom what Su Zheyan had experienced during the day that had caused his eyes to become dim again, when Chu Shici had managed to brighten them up the previous night.

He couldn’t help but reach out and touch the transparent cover.

Su Zheyan didn’t respond to him, but as soon as he saw Chu Shici, a barely noticeable smile appeared on his face.

“[Vitality +1, current Vitality level: 21/100.]”

Chu Shici felt delighted. He knew that the protagonist loved him.

Su Zheyan wore a lifeless expression outside, only to smile in front of him.

What was this? It was a special favor exclusive to him.

Chu Shici pointed at the four black dots on the inner wall of the capsule and waved the iron nail, as if he was reporting to Su Zheyan.

The sound insulation here was good, and the robot’s voice was too low.

Su Zheyan couldn’t hear what Chu Shici was saying, but he could guess his meaning from his actions.

He took a deep breath, and his slightly improved complexion darkened once again.

Seeing him about to turn away, Chu Shici hurriedly tapped on the cover and extended all eight fingers, indicating that the enemies outnumbered him by more than both his hands combined.

Su Zheyan didn’t understand, but he didn’t need to.

The fog was very light tonight, which was why those people chose tonight to capture him.

He looked around and his gaze paused in a few places. “Stop hiding and come out,” he said.

The people hiding behind cover gradually emerged, sensing his icy gaze.

In total, there were thirteen people.

While Su Zheyan was searching for the enemy, they were also observing him.

It wasn’t until they saw his face directly that those people understood what Old Zhang had meant.

The light illuminated him, showcasing his handsome and noble appearance, resembling a Greek deity. The first sight of him would leave one amazed by his beauty.

But after the initial amazement, a chilling sensation would follow. Compared to a living person, he seemed more like a cold statue. There was no vitality, no liveliness. From his eyes to his demeanor, there was a strong sense of lifelessness.

The leader momentarily lost his composure but quickly regained his calmness. He looked back at his comrades and noticed their complex expressions.

The man muttered under his breath, “Damn, I thought the term ‘dead face’ was just an exaggeration, didn’t expect it to be so accurate.”

Someone nearby suggested, “Boss, why not gouge out his eyes or blindfold him? I think it’s mainly his eyes that are intimidating. Blinding him might…”

His voice abruptly stopped.

The leader only saw a blur before a dagger pierced through the throat of his subordinate. He turned his head sharply, and their prey for tonight was still standing in front of the capsule chamber.

His face showed no expression, but his icy blue eyes ignited with anger.

Holding a bloodstained dagger, Su Zheyan steadily approached the alpha before him. Each step of their military boots made a steady sound, causing the leader to involuntarily take two steps back.

Showing fear in front of a beta infuriated him. “We have more than ten people here, and he’s just one person. Let’s all attack together, brothers!”

The commotion outside was loud, and Chu Shici inside the capsule chamber could hear it.

He found the switch for the lid from the inside, raised an iron nail, and leaped out of the capsule chamber.

Anyone who dared to touch his mission target, would have their feet pierced!