Chapter Seventy-Nine: Father

After Mr. Dexterous communicated with Dogmeat, Sun Licheng finally learned the truth: upon hearing that Sun Licheng and his group had chosen a new camp for their tribe, the Moon God Tribe had proactively dispatched warriors to escort them along the way, which allowed Dogmeat to break away and come to their aid.

“Thank goodness Dogmeat arrived, otherwise the outcome would have been unpredictable. This was far too reckless this time,” Sun Licheng sighed inwardly as he tended to the wounds of the Flower-backed Spider.

Because the spider was unable to move easily, Sun Licheng had left it outside, then led Mr. Dexterous and Dogmeat inside.

They entered a steel base, its long corridor stretching into the distance. The ceiling was studded with many glowing stones, but owing to the long passage of time, most had gone completely dark; the remaining few flickered intermittently, casting the corridor in a nervous, blinking light that made Sun Licheng feel a twinge of anxiety.

“Boss, look here. It’s very clean—no signs of fighting, no corpses. I suspect the goblins who once occupied this base left in an orderly, planned retreat,” Mr. Dexterous whispered, floating to Sun Licheng’s side.

Pausing, Sun Licheng examined the pristine steel corridor ahead and nodded in agreement.

They walked on, and soon a T-junction appeared before them. Sun Licheng signaled caution, pressed himself to the corner, and cautiously peered around.

To his surprise, the moment he poked his head out, he found himself face to face with a fully armed battle mech, its crossbow bolts glinting with cold light.

His heart skipped a beat, and he hastily drew back his head.

Yet after a tense wait, Sun Licheng, still on high alert, heard nothing—not a sound. Puzzled, he carefully peeked out again.

The mech remained motionless, still poised for battle. Looking closer at the cockpit, he saw that the goblin pilot within had long since become a shriveled, ashen mummy.

Exhaling in relief, Sun Licheng straightened and beckoned to his two companions, then strode confidently toward the mech.

This was likely a cargo mech, but its armor was far thicker than the one Sun Licheng had left at the mountain fortress—larger too. More importantly, this mech had undergone professional weapon modifications, sporting at least eight crossbow launchers, with each main arm fitted with a long blade and a war hammer, and the cockpit shielded by an extra layer of metal armor. The entire machine looked menacing and grim.

“Mr. Dexterous, is this a battle mech from the Goblin Empire?” Sun Licheng rapped on the mech’s hull and turned to ask.

Mr. Dexterous shook his head, circled the mech, and replied, “This was custom-modified, not a standard model from the Goblin Empire. But the craftsmanship is impressive—aside from being a bit slow, its combat strength isn’t much inferior to those two steam battle puppets outside.”

“Open the cockpit,” Sun Licheng ordered, stepping back.

Mr. Dexterous flew behind the machine, quickly located a connection ring, and pressed one of his tentacles against it. With a hiss, the cockpit swung open.

Sun Licheng climbed up, intending to pull out the corpse, but the moment he touched the mummy, the former goblin warrior crumbled into powder.

After ten thousand years, the body had carbonized—exposed to air and touched, it instantly disintegrated into dust.

The cockpit, now filled with black residue, made Sun Licheng frown, but when he saw the intact combat suit and helmet within, his mood brightened.

By now, Sun Licheng could hardly bear to wear those prickly fur clothes against his skin, but he had only one set of combat gear and nothing else to change into, making each wash a miserable experience.

Though this suit had belonged to the dead, Sun Licheng no longer minded such things in this world—any clothing was better than none.

“Hm?” Sun Licheng now noticed something special about the combat suit and helmet—especially the helmet, which featured a transparent visor he’d never seen before.

Curious, he picked up the helmet for a closer look. It wasn’t heavy, and when he tapped the visor, it wasn’t glass, but rather some kind of resin.

Holding it up, Sun Licheng asked Mr. Dexterous if he recognized it. Mr. Dexterous shook his head, equally at a loss.

With no other option, Sun Licheng tossed the suit and helmet into his backpack and led the group onward.

After a while, they found a place that strongly resembled a control room.

It spanned about three hundred square meters, with numerous small doors around the perimeter, likely leading to different parts of the base. In the center stood a raised platform, atop which were a crystal ball table and a single seat. Surrounding the platform were dozens of crystal ball control stations, arranged in a circular formation.

Sun Licheng surmised this must be the nerve center of the base. On asking Mr. Dexterous, he received a nod in confirmation—this was indeed the main control room, with the raised platform as the commander’s station.

The room was immaculate. After a moment’s thought, Sun Licheng ascended to the command seat and placed his hand on the crystal ball.

Immediately, a beam of light appeared before them. After a series of flickers, the image of a stern-faced goblin general materialized.

Drawing on the information in his mind, Sun Licheng identified the insignia: this figure was at least the equivalent of a lieutenant general—a high-ranking officer by Earth’s standards.

“Successor, welcome to Goblin Empire Research Facility No. 367134. I am Commander Joe,” the goblin general intoned.

“By order of the Goblin Empire High Command, we evacuated this location on November 3rd, Year 851 of the Goblin Calendar, and sealed the base completely,” Joe recited, enlightening Sun Licheng as to why the base was so pristine.

“Successor, I do not know whether the Goblin Empire still exists. As a soldier, I expect I have perished by now. For the glory of our empire, I hope you will make good use of the supplies and records we have left behind, and strive to restore its former brilliance.”

With that, the goblin general launched into a summary of the base’s remaining resources and research achievements.

Only then did Sun Licheng learn that the helmet he’d found was the latest innovation of the Goblin Empire. The visor could display an opponent’s combat strength figures—though the technology was still imperfect, it worked rather well. Sadly, by then the Goblin Empire was already in decline, and further research had been abandoned.

Delighted, Sun Licheng realized this helmet was akin to the power level scouters from Dragon Ball, if a bit bulkier.

Just then, the tone of the image softened. Sun Licheng looked up to see a trace of embarrassment and a plea in the general’s eyes, his stern expression giving way.

“Though I am a soldier and consider dying in battle an honor, I am also a father. My son Joey was too young to go to war, so I left him here. Successor, if Joey is still alive, please take care of him, will you? As a father, this is my final request—I hope you will agree.”

As Commander Joe finished, tears welled up in his eyes.

Sun Licheng, helmet in hand, stood frozen, his heart twisting with pain. He had already guessed the identity of the mummy in the mech.

He sighed deeply.

“To wager the lives of an entire people on the gamble of war—was it truly worth it?” Sun Licheng thought bitterly, clutching the helmet tightly in his hands.