“……？”
“What's going on here?!”
Su Zhe raised an eyebrow.
Good heavens.
Pam glared at Kong Xu Wan Zang, steam practically coming out of his head.
And Kong Xu Wan Zang was not backing down.
Ji Zi's brows furrowed, clearly suppressing her anger.
Walter seemed to want to step in and mediate, but ultimately said nothing.
However, from his stance, he wasn't siding with Kong Xu Wan Zang either.
“Su Zhe!”
“You’re back?”
Ji Zi noticed Su Zhe the moment he appeared.
After all, she had grown accustomed to this kind of entrance over the past five years.
Every time he teleported, ‘whoosh’, he would appear beside you.
“What are you arguing about?”
Su Zhe took Ji Zi's soft little hand, gently rubbing it as he comforted her.
“Su Zhe!”
“It’s all him!”
Pam glared at Kong Xu Wan Zang.
Su Zhe glanced at him indifferently before saying, “Alright, tell me what happened.”
“What am I supposed to say? I did nothing wrong!”
Kong Xu Wan Zang stiffened his neck.
He’s quite brave, huh.
…
Just then.
“Ugh~”
“Good opportunity!”
Xiao Ge Mo La glanced around twice.
His emerald green pupils shimmered with mischievous light.
Slowly, he began to inch towards Su Zhe’s back.
Then!
Like the ‘fox leap’ in the sand earlier.
But this time, he wasn't burrowing into the ground.
His small body leaped high into the air, spinning rapidly.
Then!
A ‘Spinning Tail Whirl’, a whack with his tail against Su Zhe’s back of the head.
【Bang!】
“A sneak attack!!”
“Su, you’ve been bested by me!”
“Wah hahahahaha~”
Xiao Ge Mo La puffed out his chest, proudly raised his little head, crossed his arms, and was quite pleased with his sneak attack.
Seize the opportunity, and strike swiftly.
“……”
Ji Zi shook her head and rubbed her forehead.
She’d witnessed this kind of ‘greeting’ many times.
Xiao Ge Mo La was full of energy and often ambushed Su Zhe.
He especially enjoyed using his tail to whip him.
Little A Lei Wang was the same. He looked harmless, but he would occasionally use his tail to zap Su Zhe.
Walter was a bit confused. ‘Greetings’ like this are too weird, right?
Su Zhe was speechless.
Is the little guy rebelling again?
His face darkened, and he immediately grabbed Xiao Ge Mo La and held him under his arm, slapping him down.
【Slap!】
“You’re sneak attacking?”
“Next time, are you going for a left-leg kick?”
“Hmm?”
After a stern lecture, Su Zhe finally released the little guy.
“Humph!”
“Next time!”
“Next time I’ll definitely win!”
Xiao Ge Mo La was adamant about his defiance.
“Alright, alright, you go for it.”
Su Zhe waved his hand and looked at Ji Zi.
Ji Zi simply explained what had happened.
In short, after much effort, they finally found the ‘翔鹰的绒羽绑带’ belonging to the fishing team captain.
A leg-warming strap used during flight, adorned with feathers from an empty fishing hawk.
The air fishermen’s hunt for the Fuel-Water Jellyfish is no simple task.
It is a long survival competition.
Legs far from the heart need the warmth of the feather strap.
Otherwise, they will be severely frostbitten, leading to leg necrosis.
The metal shell built into the strap shows traces of limestone and aluminum powder usage. It is an emergency heating method.
Kong Xu Wan Zang poured everything out.
Ji Zi had repeatedly emphasized.
It must not be destroyed.
Out of respect for Walter, she held back her anger.
Then, Ji Zi planned to bury the ‘fishing team captain’ intact in the yellow sand.
After all, they had taken his relic.
But!
Kong Xu Wan Zang burned him to ashes.
Now!
Ji Zi couldn’t take it anymore.
A heated argument erupted.
Then Pam stepped in to mediate, only to be cursed by Kong Xu Wan Zang as well.
“Did I do anything wrong?”
“You should be a Earthling too!”
“You should know the custom of cremation!”
Kong Xu Wan Zang didn’t think he had done anything wrong.
“I said earth burial!”
“I distinctly remember saying it!”
“In the traditional rites of the Sarsoto, «touching the ground» is death, it is eternal rest.”
Ji Zi’s brows furrowed.
Kong Xu Wan Zang’s eyes flashed with a hint of embarrassment: “Uh…”
“The earth is no longer suitable for the survival of the Sarsoto. Though forced to live in the sky, they yearn to return to the earth at all times.”
“When a Sarsoto dies, their loved ones will bind them and let them fall to the earth.”
“They will be buried by the sand, returning to their homeland.”
“Being buried in the sand is their ritual!”
The only two mobile cities, the Airport and Tumbleweed, are that big.
There’s no way to bury the dead on them.
That would crowd the living.
They are all made to return to the earth.
“……”
Su Zhe was taken aback for a moment.
This plot is so familiar. It’s like, a certain anime had a similar plot?
What was the female protagonist’s name?
Right.
Kodoro.
Ji Zi wasn’t angry that Kong Xu Wan Zang had violated the Sarsoto people’s burial customs, but that he was clearly disobeying orders.
If this isn’t suppressed, similar incidents will continue to happen.
“So that’s how it is?”
Su Zhe chuckled lightly and walked towards Kong Xu Wan Zang.
“What are you trying to do?”
Kong Xu Wan Zang cautiously took a step back.
He had never seen Su Zhe fight.
But the power of his subordinates, that Jeton and Gomora, he had witnessed firsthand.
His back of the head took a solid blow from a ‘Spinning Tail Whirl’.
Nothing happened.
This guy must be even stronger!
“I remember I told you to be obedient before I left, right?”
“What?”
“I just left, and you’re already throwing your weight around?”
Su Zhe chuckled lightly and patted Kong Xu Wan Zang’s face.
“Well, I didn’t even think about it.”
Kong Xu Wan Zang was wronged. Who would have known that the Sarsoto had such a bizarre custom?
“You don’t understand.”
“The custom doesn’t matter, what matters is that Ji Zi is the captain, and you have to listen to the captain.”
“I don’t need team members who disrupt the team.”
Su Zhe snorted.
Then, he grabbed Kong Xu Wan Zang’s neck and, like tossing a chick, ‘whoosh’ he flung him towards the car window.
Pam’s heart instantly leapt to his throat.
He thought the window was about to shatter.
However, Kong Xu Wan Zang, in a bizarre way, passed through the window, disappearing silently into the vast expanse of space.
The window merely rippled with subtle waves before returning to normal.
Su Zhe clapped his hands in disgust.
“Done!”
“Let’s wrap this up!”