The sky had already darkened, taking on a dim hue, and the surrounding air had grown cold.

Jiang Zheyu had discovered that on this Deserted Star, the temperature was scorching in the morning but would plummet at night.

So, as the sun set, the air began to cool.

The sky here was always shrouded in a haze. Even when the sun rose, it was as if its light was filtered through a layer of gray gauze, casting a wan, muted glow rather than intense rays.

Shan Xun grabbed Jiang Zheyu’s hand and walked out of the research base. At the entrance, he transformed into a huge, sleek, black, and luxurious Mecha.

"Come on up." The massive, sleek, black Mecha crisply knelt on one knee, making the ground seem to tremble slightly. Its enormous mechanical palm came to rest on the ground in front of Jiang Zheyu.

The Mecha’s crisp movement stirred a gust of wind, making Jiang Zheyu’s jet-black hair flutter.

Jiang Zheyu hesitated for a moment before slowly climbing onto the palm of Shan Xun’s black Mecha and clinging to its large thumb.

"Where are we going now that we’re leaving the base?" Jiang Zheyu asked.

The sleek, black Mecha rose to its feet, kicking up another gust of wind before swiftly flying away from the base.

"I’m taking you to wash up," Shan Xun said simply. "So your face isn’t covered in blood later, making you unhappy again."

’Huh?’ Jiang Zheyu touched her face. Sure enough, it was covered in Zerg blood again.

She’d been drenched in Zerg blood once or twice now, and she was already getting used to it.

She hadn’t even noticed it herself, but Shan Xun had.

Jiang Zheyu assumed he was taking her to the underground spring and leaving her to wash up by herself.

She remembered the two buckets of water from the spring last night—they had been bone-chillingly cold.

’Wouldn’t it be even more bone-chillingly cold to wash directly in the spring?’

’The sky had darkened and the air was getting colder. She wasn’t going to freeze to death in that spring, was she?’

’She felt she didn’t need a full bath; just washing her face would be fine.’

’Yes, she would just wash her face then.’

’Using such icy water for a bath... wouldn’t it freeze her to death?’

’Normally, groundwater should be relatively temperate. But for some reason—maybe it was just this Deserted Star—the water here was freezing cold. She had no idea what geological formation could cause that; she didn’t understand it at all.’

After agonizing over whether to wash her face or take a full bath, Jiang Zheyu’s thoughts turned back to Shan Xun’s request to leave.

A little while ago, she had ordered him not to leave. He hadn’t replied, but had instead pulled her outside to take her for this supposed bath.

’So, was Shan Xun going to listen to her or not? Did he still want to leave? He wouldn’t give her a straight answer.’

"Shan Xun, are you still planning to leave?" Jiang Zheyu had to be sure, so she asked again.

She didn’t want to wake up tomorrow and find him gone, forced to face some other, unfamiliar Beastman.

The shimmering black Mecha flew swiftly through the air.

Several minutes after she spoke, Shan Xun finally replied, "I will follow your orders."

Hearing this, Jiang Zheyu was certain he wouldn’t leave, and she relaxed slightly.

Soon, the Mecha landed.

Shan Xun placed her on the ground. She hopped down from the Mecha’s palm, her feet touching the earth.

After recalling his Mecha, Shan Xun stood beside her, took her hand, and led her into the cave before them.

The cave was pitch-black. She felt the darkness deepening, her night vision proving more and more useless. Without any light, she was completely blind, as if a thick layer of ink had been smeared over her eyes.

"Shan Xun, it’s so dark. Do you have a light?" Unable to see the path, Jiang Zheyu could only grip the arm of the man beside her, following his footsteps forward.

"Your Light Brain has an illumination function," Shan Xun reminded her. "You don’t need a Star Network connection for the light."

Recently, chaotic currents had been passing through this part of the universe, cutting off the Deserted Star’s connection to the Star Network. This rendered Light Brains unable to connect or send messages, but basic functions like illumination still worked.

It clicked for Jiang Zheyu. She fumbled for the Light Brain on her wrist and asked, "How do I turn on the light function?"

After she spoke, the man beside her stopped walking, and Jiang Zheyu stopped as well.

Shan Xun took hold of the wrist wearing the Light Brain, lifting her arm. His other hand began to operate the device.

With her vision plunged into darkness, Jiang Zheyu’s other senses became sharper.

His large, rough, and powerful hand gripped her wrist, seeming to encircle it with ease. As he worked on the Light Brain, her skin inevitably brushed against his calloused palm.

Shan Xun’s palm was large and coarse, radiating a scorching heat just like the rest of his body. It was covered in calluses. Having her wrist held by him wasn’t exactly comfortable; it felt like being rubbed by a rough, uneven stone.

In truth, Jiang Zheyu had felt it before when he’d held her wrist, but now, in the utter darkness, the sensation was much more distinct.

’But it was understandable. They fought the Zerg Race and trained year-round; of course their skin wouldn’t be delicate.’

Jiang Zheyu could feel how nimbly Shan Xun operated the Light Brain.

’It made her curious what kind of Beastman Shan Xun was to have such excellent night vision.’

"Captain Shan, what’s your beast form?" Jiang Zheyu asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

Shan Xun’s hand paused for a fraction of a second before he replied, "Wolf."

’A wolf,’ Jiang Zheyu mused. ’Their night vision is indeed excellent.’

’Although, she didn’t think she’d ever seen a wolf with purple eyes.’

’Then again, the eye color of interstellar Beastmen didn’t necessarily match that of their animal counterparts. It was probably related to their individual bloodlines.’

"Captain Shan, does that mean you have purple fur?" Jiang Zheyu asked, thoroughly intrigued. A purple wolf was even rarer.

Shan Xun: "..."

"No." Shan Xun quickly finished turning on the illumination function of her Light Brain.

A beam of light promptly shot out from the Light Brain on Jiang Zheyu’s wrist.

Jiang Zheyu’s thoughts were pulled away from the topic of what color wolf Shan Xun might be.

With the Light Brain now illuminating their surroundings, Jiang Zheyu consciously let go of Shan Xun’s hand.

She also stopped dwelling on what color wolf Shan Xun might be.

Shan Xun glanced down at the hand Jiang Zheyu had released but said nothing. He simply started walking forward again, matching his pace to hers.

This allowed Jiang Zheyu to easily keep up, walking shoulder-to-shoulder with him deeper into the cave.