Chapter Twenty-Nine: Rescue Team? An Impostor!

After hearing Lu Changqing’s explanation, everyone understood the situation.

“So they’re treating us like prey?”

“If only I had a weapon—I’d let those bastards know the fury of a gold prospector!”

The group was furious. They were all seasoned employees, not fresh graduates. Everyone was well aware of the chaos in the planetary graveyard, where there were no laws—only competition. Under normal circumstances, the moment shots were fired, the Heavenly Law system would react. But now, the Heavenly Law Blocker was covering this area.

So, before knowing the situation, those people naturally assumed this was still the planetary graveyard.

“Thank you for helping us,” Lu Huaiyuan, Lu Changqing’s second uncle, said. “I work on Earth No. 7 Star. If you ever need anything, just reach out.”

“Let’s deal with the immediate problem first,” Jiang Taichu replied.

“For now, we can’t contact the regulators. Either we head for the Star Hall, or we wait here.”

Lu Huaiyuan’s voice was heavy. “With something this serious, the company must have already sent people to handle the ground beasts.”

“We’d better wait for rescue. We don’t have weapons, there are ground beasts below, and we might run into more hunters. Going to the Star Hall is too risky.”

A timid voice piped up.

“Yes, waiting is best,” others quickly agreed.

Tang Yu and Zhang Jing exchanged a glance. “Taichu, let’s wait here too.”

“I have no objections,” Jiang Taichu said. Waiting didn’t bother him. Their mechs, floating in the air, barely consumed energy, and they could use the particle gathering array to recharge.

Everyone sat idly in the air while Jiang Taichu questioned their captive. “When you came in, did you notice anything unusual?”

“No,” the man replied, not daring to hide anything, visibly shaken. “We entered through the Star Hall’s Heavenly Gate, headed to Taifeng Star.”

“Brother, I swear it wasn’t on purpose. Could you let me go? I can take you to the Heavenly Gate.”

“Why would we go to the Heavenly Gate? Or to Taifeng Star?” Jiang Taichu’s voice was cold. “Even if it was an accident, you broke the law by attacking us. The only place you’re going is prison.”

“Brother, I’ll pay you, a ransom—will that work?”

“Not interested. How much could someone scraping by in the planetary graveyard possibly pay?” Jiang Taichu sneered.

Judging by the man’s strength, he’d be lucky to have a hundred or two thousand credits on him—maybe not even that.

The man’s face fell. “You can have everything I own—fifty-three thousand credits. It’s all yours.”

Pathetic—practically penniless!

Lu Huaiyuan interjected, “If you meant to go to Taifeng Star and ended up here, either someone altered the Heavenly Gate’s route, or they physically moved Taifeng’s Heavenly Gate here.”

“Which is easier?” Jiang Taichu asked.

“Both are difficult,” Lu Huaiyuan replied. “Changing the Heavenly Gate’s route requires reporting to the Heavenly Law system under the company’s name—it can’t be concealed.”

“As for moving Taifeng’s Heavenly Gate here, you’d need the proper authority and the consent of the relevant company.”

“So either way, nearly impossible,” Jiang Taichu frowned. After all, Earth Company had no stake in the planetary graveyard industry—Taifeng Star’s Heavenly Gate belonged to another company.

Suddenly, all their radars lit up. A rough voice cut into their comms: “This is the Earth Company rescue team. If you hear me, respond! If you hear me, respond!”

“We’re in the sky!” someone immediately replied, transmitting their location.

“Hold position, we’ll be there right away.”

The rough voice came again, and thirteen figures flew toward them from the distance. Golden light flashed as everyone waved in excitement, responding over the comms.

“We’re safe now,” Lu Huaiyuan sighed in relief, watching the approaching figures.

Jiang Taichu’s brow furrowed. He contacted Lu Huaiyuan on a private channel, “Something isn’t right. They’re too slow. A real rescue team wouldn’t move this slowly.”

The newcomers’ speed didn’t even match his, about the same as the old, dilapidated mechs he’d captured.

Lu Huaiyuan narrowed his eyes. His visor glowed gold as he scanned the thirteen mechs—and noticed the words “Earth Rescue Team” printed on their armor.

“Go! They’re not the real rescue team!” Lu Huaiyuan shouted urgently. “The words are just printed on. The real rescue team’s markings are integrated into the mech itself!”

“They’re not the rescue team?”

“We’re doomed!”

Panic erupted. Lu Huaiyuan grabbed Lu Changqing, and Jiang Taichu was ready to leave. “Let’s go.”

“Fatty, Zhang Jing, follow them! Take these guns and the cleaver!” Jiang Taichu tossed a gun to Lu Huaiyuan and Tang Yu, then took the cleaver himself and dived downward.

“They have guns—what good is a cleaver?” Lu Huaiyuan was anxious.

“Semi-automatic rifles can’t hit Taichu,” Lu Changqing said. “Everyone stick together. Combine your shields—they won’t break through for now.”

But before he finished, the other employees, terrified, scattered in small groups, fleeing quickly into the distance.

In the blink of an eye, only the four of them remained in the air.

The thirteen attackers stared in surprise at Jiang Taichu as he dove toward them. “Well, isn’t this odd—he figured out we’re fake, and he’s still coming at us?”

“Send him to his grave!” one mech sneered as bullets whizzed through the air.

Jiang Taichu simply shifted aside—the bullets grazed past him as his mech suddenly accelerated, becoming a blur.

“He dodged the bullets?”

“Is he a Qi Practitioner?”

The thirteen were startled, swinging their gun barrels, firing wildly.

A hail of bullets filled the air, but Jiang Taichu moved so fast they couldn’t even see him clearly, let alone aim.

In an instant, he was upon them. Mech energy surged into his cleaver, which gleamed with blade aura, and he struck.

With a wet sound, a mech’s shield shattered like paper—a head flew, blood gushed, and the body tumbled earthward.

Jiang Taichu swooped down, snatching up the fallen semi-automatic rifle.

Gunfire erupted, but Jiang Taichu was prepared. He twisted in midair, dodging the barrage, and returned fire.

A golden shield flared, merging the mechs’ defenses in rippling waves as bullets bounced harmlessly away.

Lu Huaiyuan and the other two huddled together, their shields glowing as they fired and kept their distance.

Even with their three shields combined, they couldn’t withstand the assault of twelve guns.

Bullets rained down on the shield, ricocheting away.

“This guy’s not a Qi Practitioner. If he were, he would’ve used spells to tear through our shields by now.” The attackers relaxed.

“Split into three—deal with those three,” one ordered.

“Nine against one—is that enough?” someone asked nervously.

“What, you think he can turn the world upside down? Even if he’s mastered Inner Training to ninety-nine percent and can use fifty percent of his energy, he still can’t break our shields.”

With those words, three broke off, charging at Lu Huaiyuan’s group.

Seeing them split up, Jiang Taichu didn’t rush in. Instead, he dove toward the ground.

Nine of them pursued, guns blazing relentlessly.

With a crash, he slammed into the earth, tunneling below.

“Trying to escape underground?” All nine followed, their mechs glowing.

A moment later, they checked their radars—then their faces changed. “Damn, he went up!”

He unleashed forty-five percent of his energy, streaking through the night sky like a golden rainbow.

In a flash, he was high above. The three, fully focused, were exchanging fire with Lu Huaiyuan and Tang Yu.

In the next moment, the cleaver shimmered with blade aura, combining with the gunfire to strike the shields.

With a crack, the shields shattered—the blade swept through, three heads flew, and blood rained down from the sky.

Jiang Taichu reached out, grabbed three rifles, and tossed them to Lu Huaiyuan’s group.

Zhang Jing, Lu Changqing, and Lu Huaiyuan surged forward, catching the semi-automatic rifles and unleashing a torrent of bullets.

Just as the nine attackers reached them, they found themselves facing six guns firing in a relentless barrage.

Six semi-automatic rifles poured out bullets, their shields cracking under the onslaught.

“Attack with everything you’ve got! Their mechs are old and basic. Even with combined shields, there’s a limit—they can’t match more than nine new mechs, and they barely have six or seven!”

Lu Huaiyuan spoke calmly.

“Retreat!” the nine barked, grim-faced, turning to flee.

Jiang Taichu dove again, energy at full blast. He emptied the rifle’s magazine, then poured forty-five percent of his energy into the cleaver, unleashing a three-meter blade aura.

With a thunderous crash, the mechs’ shields shattered, and crimson blood rained down from the sky…