Chen Ci had long put on his hat, covering himself up tightly. Fu Tianhe gave his hat to the Matchstick Girl, even though she insisted she was used to the wind and sun after years of exposure, Fu Tianhe still forced the hat onto her head.

“I’m a big guy, there’s nothing to worry about,” he said.

The hat was a bit too big for the Matchstick Girl, so he helped adjust it a bit: “But you, remember to protect your skin when you go out. Getting sunburned can be really painful.”

The Matchstick Girl bit her lip and nodded vigorously.

The camp was about ten miles from the coast. Last night, the Matchstick Girl had wandered in the opposite direction in the dark, so it was no wonder she couldn’t find her way back no matter how hard she tried.

Strictly speaking, the camp was just a bunch of low shacks and tattered cloths thrown together for shelter, relying on the skeletons of collapsed buildings to shield from the wind and rain.

As they caught sight of the camp’s outline from a distance, the Matchstick Girl visibly perked up, her steps quickening, surprising everyone with how such a frail and small body could have such remarkable stamina.

Even Fu Tianhe said, “That’s great.”

In contrast to their excitement, Chen Ci was eerily calm. He was the first to notice something was off about the camp.

The wind rustled the brown cloth strips fluttering in the air. It was noon, and logically, it should be mealtime. Even if the scavengers usually went out in groups during the day, there shouldn’t be a single person left behind.

But Chen Ci couldn’t find any signs of anyone’s presence.

His mental energy arrived first, exploring the area and confirming his suspicions. 

“Is this your camp?” Chen Ci asked.

“Yeah,” the Matchstick Girl replied.

“There’s not a single person inside.”

“Ah?” The Matchstick Girl was stunned. “How could that be? Usually, someone stays behind to guard the camp.”

Fu Tianhe also stopped in his tracks. His eyesight wasn’t as sharp as Chen Ci’s, and he didn’t have mental energy, but since Jiu Yue had mentioned it, there had to be something wrong.

“Should we go take a look?” Fu Tianhe suggested.

Chen Ci nodded, and the three of them continued forward, but their steps were much slower and more cautious.

As they entered the camp, just as Chen Ci had said, the entire area was empty and eerily quiet.

“Dam? Water Bottle? Bicycle?” The Matchstick Girl called out a few names, likely the scavengers who would usually stay at the camp, but there was no response.

Chen Ci used his mental energy to thoroughly scan the camp and discovered clear signs of a struggle. He called the Matchstick Girl over and led her to the scene.

A boiler had collapsed, low-quality energy stones were scattered everywhere, and there were splatters of fresh blood on the ground, along with numerous deep scratch marks on the walls. Just seeing this scene made the Matchstick Girl’s face change.

She quickly rushed to the remains of a central building and shouted after a few seconds, “The camp has been robbed!”

“Robbed?” Fu Tianhe exclaimed. “Are you saying people from another camp came and took everyone away?”

The answer was obvious.

Chen Ci arrived at the spot where the Matchstick Girl was. There were several large boxes, all of which had been opened, leaving only some mechanical scraps inside.

But from the traces on the ground, it was clear that there had been more boxes than just these.

“What did they take?” Chen Ci asked.

“Mechanical cores,” the Matchstick Girl said, trying to calm her breathing. She was doing her best to keep it together, but her voice still trembled. “We collected them for over a month and were planning to sell them at the production workshop next week to save up for living expenses for the second half of the year.”

Only large primordial creatures contained mechanical cores, and after exploring the abandoned suburbs for three days, Chen Ci and Fu Tianhe had only found five or six.

The scavengers probably didn’t have the ability to hunt large primordial creatures and could only scavenge what remained from their corpses, which were precious treasures for them.

The Matchstick Girl looked at the chaotic warehouse, stifling a few sobs. What terrified her the most was not just that their belongings had been looted, but that all the people from their camp were also missing.

It was normal for major camps to fight over resources, but what would they want with people? Even if they tied everyone up, they wouldn’t work for them.

After a long day of running around and being harassed by a giant squid, she was finally relieved to find the camp, only to discover she was all alone.

It was truly a heart-wrenching situation.

Fu Tianhe felt a pang of sympathy. He looked at Chen Ci, whose expression remained as calm as ever, as if he were completely unaffected.

He could sense that Jiu Yue wanted to leave.

But Fu Tianhe couldn’t bring himself to say it. After all, they had spent a few hours with the Matchstick Girl, and telling her they were leaving at this critical moment felt a bit too cruel.

Fu Tianhe awkwardly tried to comfort her, “Why don’t you wait here for a bit? Maybe everyone will come back by tonight.”

“They must have been captured. The Mom Camp has always looked down on us,” the Matchstick Girl forced back her tears. She was finally back at the camp, but if she was the only one left, there was no way she could survive in this area.

She cast a desperate look at Fu Tianhe and Chen Ci, knowing it was inappropriate to ask these two saviors for help again, but they were her last hope.

Fu Tianhe was already softening. He glanced at Chen Ci, knowing that if Jiu Yue was willing, he would definitely help.

Chen Ci remained indifferent.

He didn’t plan to take on any extra tasks. They just wanted to get the Matchstick Girl back to the camp, and that mission was already accomplished.

His time was precious, and he still had other places to travel to.

Seeing Fu Tianhe looking at Chen Ci’s reaction, the Matchstick Girl understood who had the final say.

Having grown up in the abandoned suburbs, she was quite clever. She had already figured out from their brief interaction that the older Alpha brother was kind and helpful, while the younger Omega brother was more self-absorbed and somewhat cold.

Without hesitation, the Matchstick Girl said, “If you two are willing to help me again, I’m willing to give you half of the mechanical cores as a reward.”

Upon hearing this, Chen Ci began to consider the feasibility.

Half of the mechanical cores was indeed a significant temptation; selling them could earn a good amount of money. Although he had Shavri’s transfers, he wasn’t short on cash.

Besides selling, mechanical cores had other uses too.

“How many do you have?” Chen Ci asked.

“We collected sixty-four over the past month. I will do my best to persuade the camp leader to give you half. If you really save our camp, the camp leader will definitely reward you as well,” the Matchstick Girl replied, trying to calm her emotions.

Chen Ci nodded, “Deal.”

Fu Tianhe was taken aback.

Although they ultimately agreed to help the Matchstick Girl save her camp, Chen Ci had managed to secure over thirty mechanical cores with just a few words.

Fu Tianhe felt a bit complicated. It wasn’t because of Chen Ci’s indifference or self-interest; after spending so much time together, he knew what kind of person Jiu Yue was.

Moreover, Chen Ci’s various charming traits made even his small flaws seem like strengths.

What struck Fu Tianhe was the realization that sometimes, being too eager to help could backfire.

Things that come too easily often lead people to forget their gratitude and can also result in missed opportunities for profit.

“We need to head back and restock. Our food supply is running low, and since we need to ask other camps for help, we should also get some suitable weapons,” Chen Ci said flatly, making arrangements. “We’ll leave all the remaining food in the bag for you. We won’t take too long, and we should be back around this time tomorrow. You stay here in the camp and wait for us.”

“Okay, okay,” the Matchstick Girl quickly agreed, feeling even more grateful when she heard Chen Ci say they would leave her food.

Fu Tianhe took off his backpack, leaving the remaining food for the Matchstick Girl, and found her a thicker jacket: “You stay here today and don’t go out. We’ll meet up tomorrow.”

He thought for a moment and pulled out a small device from his inner pocket: “This is a locator. Keep it on you at all times so we can find you later. Otherwise, this camp is too far, and it will take a lot of time to find our way back.”

The Matchstick Girl took the locator, holding it tightly in her hand, and nodded, “Okay, I’ll keep it on me and wait for you to come back.”

Chen Ci and Fu Tianhe carefully checked the camp again to ensure there were no other anomalies before saying goodbye to the Matchstick Girl and leaving.

The two of them headed towards the main body of Cinnabar. After more than four hours, they finally reached the public bus stop by the roadside.

After three days of roughing it, Chen Ci and Fu Tianhe were both looking quite worn out. They boarded a public bus with only a few passengers and headed into the main part of Cinnabar.

The sunlight was blocked, and artificial light sources reclaimed their supreme position. After several days, they finally returned to the inn they had settled on.

Fu Tianhe felt a bit pained to have paid for two extra days, not knowing that this money meant nothing to Chen Ci.

Once they entered their respective rooms, Chen Ci immediately stripped off all his clothes and headed for the shower. Fu Tianhe did the same; after three days, they could only manage to wipe themselves down. If it weren’t for their AO status and pheromones, they probably would have stunk by now.

Rescuing the Matchstick Girl’s companions shouldn’t take too long. They had a mission to complete and could travel light, only needing to restock on food and drinking water, and of course, the most important weapons.

Fu Tianhe thoroughly cleaned himself from head to toe before finally emerging from the bathroom, towel-drying his hair and flopping onto the bed.

Although he had incredible stamina, he was still quite tired after several days, especially since he had only slept three or four hours the night before.

Just as Fu Tianhe was about to rest, he suddenly heard a knock on the door.

“Who is it?”

“It’s me,” came the familiar calm voice.

Fu Tianhe quickly jumped out of bed, grabbed a clean shirt from the side, and threw it on haphazardly. He hung the wet towel on a rack and strode over to open the door for Chen Ci.

When the door opened, the young man was standing outside.

Chen Ci had just taken a shower as well. His hair was damp but not fully dried, the wet tips weighing it down, making it appear even darker against his porcelain-white face.

He wore a loose T-shirt that hung loosely on his shoulders, and his arms, exposed by the short sleeves, were round and delicate, showcasing the youth’s transparency and slenderness.

But Fu Tianhe wouldn’t be fooled by appearances; he knew how strong Chen Ci’s physical condition was.

“What’s up?” 

Chen Ci didn’t speak. As Fu Tianhe stepped aside to let him in, he walked straight into the Alpha’s room.

In the evening, a freshly showered Omega entering an Alpha’s room was quite suggestive, so Fu Tianhe steadied himself and closed the door.

Chen Ci sat down at the edge of Fu Tianhe’s bed and pulled out a few small balls of various shapes from his pocket.

Three mechanical cores quietly landed on the pristine white sheets. Fu Tianhe sat down on the other side, keeping a considerable distance between them.

“These should be usable as power sources, right?” 

Chen Ci fiddled with the three mechanical cores. He had found one on the corpse of a jellyfish, and the other two were obtained during their travels. As for Fu Tianhe’s bag, he still had a few cores as well.

Fu Tianhe replied, “Sure, otherwise the Matchstick Girl wouldn’t have said they were all sold to the production workshop.”

Chen Ci directly asked, “Can we use this to make an aircraft?”

Fu Tianhe was taken aback, “Ah… huh???”

At first, Fu Tianhe thought he had misheard. What? An aircraft?

He could try to use other materials to make some weapons, but directly making an aircraft was asking too much of him!

He had a decent amount of engineering knowledge, but he had always just been a mechanic!

Chen Ci asked, “Is that not possible?”

A man couldn’t say he couldn’t do something, but this time Fu Tianhe genuinely couldn’t. No matter how much he tried to bluff, he couldn’t pretend to weigh over a thousand pounds.

Fu Tianhe awkwardly chuckled, “It’s a bit difficult.” 

Chen Ci nodded and fell silent.