Great, we're doomed now!

Olga frowned, her mood worsening.

He walked to the edge of the platform and peered out through the narrow gaps in the steel plates, only to be met with chilling darkness. Looking up, the opening disappeared, and a transparent dome covered the area three meters above.

Because of the bright light, he couldn't see the specific situation clearly, but an ominous premonition spread in his heart.

This looks too much like it was done on purpose!

He glanced at the camera in the corner above, then deliberately turned around and, under the cover of his companions, pulled out a palm-sized object from an extremely concealed pocket inside his work clothes. It looked like a communicator from the last century.

He had gone to great lengths, using his hard-earned savings to obtain this from a reasonably reputable smuggler, specifically for contacting the outside world and discussing smuggling arrangements in critical moments. The signal was very weak, usually unusable deep within the mines, but now that the platform was stuck here, there might be a sliver of hope.

He carefully turned on the device, and the screen lit up faintly, displaying intermittent signal bars. He tried a few times, but it was no use at all.

"So it really won't work..."

I'm such an idiot!

Even if he manages to connect with the snake's head at this point, what good will it do? He still can't fly down!

[Squeak...Violent...Disaster...People...]

Just when he was about to give up, the communicator suddenly connected successfully!

However, the person on the other side of the screen wasn't someone Olga knew, but rather some blurry live video signal—it seemed to be connected to a public band.

But in this dark and cramped space, any means of contacting the outside world are extremely precious!

"I've got it! I've got it!"

"Does anyone outside know that we've had an accident?"

When will you rescue us?

The surrounding miners cheered and crowded around Olga, prompting the white-haired man to shout.

"Get out of here! There's no signal!"

"Signal... Yes! We'll lift Olga up!"

"good idea!"

"Come here, all of you, come here!"

The miners' resourcefulness in dire straits was astonishing. In no time, they had piled up a human pyramid on the platform. Olga was lifted to the height of three or four people and struggled to reach upwards, trying to receive more radio waves.

[Squeak...squeak...beep...]

The images flashing on the screen weren't clear, but they were enough for Olga to see what was on them.

It looks like a news announcement. Judging from the background, the reporter thinks it's in the city of Vulcan... wait, right here in their mining area?

The once lifeless mining area in the scene has become chaotic!

Several large lifting platforms that were originally operating smoothly were either tilted and stuck, or stopped working while emitting black smoke, just like the ones on their side.

Further away, some conveyor belts and sorting machines used for transporting ore were also paralyzed, and flames could be seen shooting up in some places, with explosions heard from time to time.

Many miners like them were running around, and some people in uniform work clothes were gathered in an open space, looking restless. Then, Olga noticed several people whose faces were not clearly visible in the corner of the frame, waving something and distributing it to the people around them.

...It's an energy rifle and explosives!

One of them jumped onto the abandoned mechanical wreckage, raised his weapon high, and shouted something at the gathering crowd. Although her voice was inaudible, Olga could almost hear the inflammatory words from his impassioned movements and lip movements.

As luck would have it, the reporter bravely ran over, seemingly oblivious to the danger, and plunged into the rioters.

"...Fellow workers! Brothers! We've been oppressed long enough!"

The lords of Earth and Mars, and those damned companies, have never treated us like human beings!

Think about it, we work hard every day but can't save any money, we eat food that's worse than dog food, we watch helplessly as our family members linger on their deathbeds, and we can't even afford the cheapest tranquilizers!

My life is miserable, and yours is too!

Just now, another hundred young men were buried forever in the dark mine. The company knew the machines were malfunctioning but still forced them down there... Sooner or later, we will be like garbage, used up and discarded by them!

Smash these shackles! Conquer Vulcan! Make Titan our own!

"Occupy Vulcan! Occupy Vulcan!"

The crowd in the video was enraged, brandishing their newly acquired weapons and storming nearby office buildings and blocking the mine entrance. It was a riot that broke out suddenly, but it was presented as if it had been planned for a long time. The whole process was as smooth as a script.

Olga's pupils constricted as she stared intently at the chaotic scene on the screen, her fingers gripping the communicator so tightly they turned white.

According to outsiders, these people are already "dead"!

This is no accident!

And they are probably not the only casualties of this riot!

“Olga…” Mikazuki’s voice remained calm, but the flickering firelight on the screen was reflected in his usually expressionless eyes.

"What should we do now?"

"..."

Olga didn't know, and dared not look into Mikazuki's and his companions' eyes. He didn't even know how to climb out of this deep pit... Perhaps all he could do was pray that after everything was over, someone would remember them and come to "collect their bodies."

He lowered his head, facing the faces around him, some filled with fear, others with feigned composure, and tried to smile, but in the end only managed a strange expression.

"It seems... we've been dragged into the 'game' of the big shots."

The white-haired youth was unaware that this news was not only on Titan, but had also been transmitted via quantum communication to distant Mars and Earth, with a delay of about half a minute—roughly equivalent to live streaming on a cosmic scale.

This is indeed a game, and it's ridiculously large.

The miners' lives are not even considered chips at the poker table; at most, they are just a deck of cards that must be destroyed at the start of each game.

"If it were me, I wouldn't leave any hidden dangers..."

Olga suddenly realized something and her expression changed: "Quickly put me down! No! Quickly search around, there might be something hidden here!"

The miners weren't stupid either. Once they realized why Olga was so afraid, they panicked and started frantically searching the platform.

A thin, frail boy, only fourteen or fifteen years old, tremblingly took out his backpack and looked inside: "I...I..."

"What are you doing? Hurry up and—what is this?"

"The manager told me... he told me to give it to..."

"Don't just stand there like an idiot!"

Olga rushed over, snatched the backpack, and froze when she took out what was inside.

Although he was not very knowledgeable, he knew that this was a bomb... The person above, perhaps out of a twisted sense of humor, had put a countdown screen on it even though it was completely unnecessary.

He glanced at the security camera subconsciously and suddenly understood:

Right now, some people are probably enjoying this scene through virtual projection!

Throw it out! Time is running out!

Olga and her companions lacked the ability to defuse the bomb, so they tried to throw it away, but the surrounding steel plates were exceptionally sturdy, and even using a power hammer couldn't solve the problem. The small laser guns were simply not powerful enough, making the situation even more hopeless.

"Is there no other way...?"

Olga stared at the bomb in her hand, its countdown drawing ever closer, her eyes filled with resentment and bitterness—she had made the necessary connections and was just a few days away from leaving this place with at least two of her companions.

Do not!

There's another way!

Although it's highly likely to be completely useless...

Olga stared at the countdown, which had dwindled to single digits, then glanced at the pale-faced, despairing miners around her. A self-deprecating smile suddenly appeared on her face as she inexplicably thought of Ye Shou.

"If I had known this would happen, I would have preferred to have been caught smuggling myself in... Ah, so that's what he meant."

The white-haired youth suddenly realized the truth:

What Ye Shou said that day was actually implying that he could take them away, so there was no need for them to smuggle themselves across the border.

"Now that things have come to this... are you kidding me!"

Olga gritted his teeth and was about to lie down when a figure rushed out from the side, snatched the bomb from his hand, and ran to a corner to curl up like an armadillo.

“Mika!”

Without hesitation, while everyone else was still in a daze, the man had already chased after them. He didn't try to snatch it back, but instead leaned over Mikazuki, put his hands over Mikazuki's hands, and the two of them held him firmly.

……

Olga never imagined that she possessed the superpower to slow down time.

At that moment, he clearly sensed and saw the trajectory of light gliding through space, and a burst of expanding heat erupted in their arms, flames and flashes enveloping them like giant cotton candy—

【! 】

Time and spacetime stood still.

Perhaps it was just too fast, completing the entire process in a single frame, making it impossible to discern whether time was flowing.

Incredibly, Olga, Mikazuki, and the miners who reached out their hands all realized what had happened at that moment.

—Because a glimmer of "light" suddenly appeared in their eyes.

It's not as blinding as a bomb, nor as scorching as a raging fire; it gives you an indescribable comfort, like being bathed in the light of the finest sun lamp...

Unfortunately, this group of people had never been to Earth or Mars. In their minds, the sun was a distant and small white sphere. They had never enjoyed the blessings of life. Otherwise, they would have used a more apt description—it was undoubtedly the warm sunshine of spring.

A figure in the soft golden light walked slowly, gently separating Olga and Mikazuki. Ripples quickly repaired their injuries, turning their torn ribs and charred flesh back to normal as if time had reversed.

The slowly expanding crimson flame was nimbly "picked up" by the figure.

An invisible force enveloped the fireball, dense and unstoppable, forcibly shrinking it to the size of a fist before lifting it into the air—

call out!

boom!!!

Everything returned to normal. The miners heard a loud explosion, but they were not injured. Instead, a streak of fire pierced through the protective shield and flew up thousands of meters into the air before exploding!

"……well?"

Olga, her clothes tattered, suddenly awoke, raising her head in a daze: "You...you are..."

Ye Shou glanced at him, left a gentle smile, and then his figure turned into a stream of light and disappeared.

……confusion!