Chapter 14: Enova Level Two

The landscape had been totally devastated by advanced quantum guns and particle cannons. Yuri and her friends weren't the only ones who'd come to the mining area, the entrance was swarming with others who had the same idea.

When Yuri, Tuss, and Zeek got there, the place was already packed.

"Let's head to the elevator," Yuri directed.

A voice from behind them sneered, "Why even try? You three, a disabled couple and an old man, might as well step aside and let others have a shot at survival," as he tugged on Tuss's shirt.

Tuss's expression darkened, her lips becoming a thin line.

Zeek went pale. He tried to step onto the elevator, but the guy held him back, nearly making him fall.

Yuri lost her cool. "Hands off him. If you're so ready to kick the bucket, kindly do it somewhere else," she snarled, delivering a swift kick that sent the guy tumbling.

"Zeek, Tuss, hop on," Yuri instructed, stepping between the elevator and her friends. Her eyes sparked with a fierce intensity that kept the others at bay.

The guy she'd kicked got up, his face twisted with fury. He lunged at Yuri, throwing a punch her way.

Yuri merely smirked. With a swift sweep of her leg, she sent him sprawling once more.

Fooling him once could be chalked up to surprise, but twice? The man wasn't weak; it was just that Yuri, the one-armed girl, was not to be messed with.

The three made it onto the elevator, which quickly plunged downwards. The underground mining area was brightly lit, as clear as midday.

The elevator landed after a drop of several dozen meters.

"That way," Yuri directed, pointing, following her gut instinct.

Without a question, Zeek followed. Tuss shot Yuri a confused look, wondering why they weren't going to their usual work area. Also, Yuri's strong kick just now made Tuss curious.

Most wouldn't notice, but Tuss felt a chilling intensity from Yuri. He'd only ever felt such ferocity from seasoned soldiers. But Yuri was only eighteen, which was quite baffling.

Tuss even started questioning if this was the same Yuri he knew from the Cheng family.

The reason Yuri chose this direction was that she had sensed the presence of metal "genesis."

During the past few days, the pirates watched them like hawks, their lives dominated by constant labor. One wrong move and a pirate's quantum gun could reduce them to dust. So, she never had the chance to gather the genesis power.

But now, she saw an opportunity.

"Here we are," Yuri announced, sprinting towards the largest deposit of genesis.

She pressed her back against the rocky wall, and her Enova, as thin as a hair strand, left her body to dive into the rich genesis deposit.

Zeek gently set Tuss down and turned to see Yuri leaning against the wall. Mistaking her action for weariness, he offered, "You can sit down if you want. We're no cleaner than the ground."

"You're right," Yuri chuckled, and promptly sat down. By this time, her Enova had feasted and returned to her body.

Her body, drained from days of stress, savored a moment of relief. However, if she wanted to protect herself and her friends, her Level One Enova wouldn't cut it. She needed to advance her Enova level as soon as she could.

Yuri rose to her feet, saying, "I'm not sure when the chaos up above will end. I'm going to take a look around."

"Stay safe," Zeek answered, assuming her eagerness was just youthful curiosity.

Tuss watched her go, lost in his thoughts.

"Don't worry, I'm sure Mrs. Hiro won't desert us," Zeek tried to comfort Tuss.

Tuss frowned. "That's not what I'm worried about."

Yuri hadn't ever seen a Blue Keystone, but she was sure that the "genesis" power inside it was the purest she had ever absorbed.

Her interest in the Blue Keystone was growing by the minute.

As Yuri moved through the mine, everyone who saw her grew cautious. But when they noticed her empty right sleeve, they relaxed and stopped paying her any attention.

Yuri smirked. It seemed like there were some perks to being one-armed after all.

After an hour or so, she had wandered through most of the mine, absorbing all the genesis power she could find. Her Enova had successfully leveled up from one to two.

The genesis in this Blue Keystone was pure, but it was scarce. If there was more, she felt confident she could level up again.

"How big is this mine? How much Blue Keystone have I missed?" She thought to herself.

The idea of mining didn't seem so bad to Yuri anymore. Compared to advancing her Enova, the challenges of mining seemed like small potatoes.

She thought back to her past life—battling zombies; that was much more dangerous than mining.

"She is back," Zeek sighed with relief when he saw Yuri. "We were about to go looking for you if you didn't show up soon."

"I'm sorry," Yuri apologized with a grin. "The mine is so big, I almost got lost."

"You know it's huge, so don't wander around," Tuss warned her quietly.

"I was scouting," Yuri explained, sitting next to him. "We don't want to be running around like scared chickens when it's time to escape."

Tuss examined her. "You seem different since you left."

Yuri raised an eyebrow. "In what way?"

"You seem more... mysterious," Tuss thought, but he simply said, "Oh, maybe I'm just imagining things."

Yuri: "?"

"The noises from the battle up above have stopped," Zeek noted.

Clang, clang, clang—

The piercing sound of a gong echoed throughout the mine.

It wasn't a whistle. Yuri felt a shiver run down her spine, wondering, "Has the ownership of the mine changed?"

Tuss seemed to have the same idea; his expression darkened.

"I hope the new owners of the mine will treat us better," Zeek voiced his worries.

Yuri and Tuss exchanged a look, feeling a strange sense of shared destiny.

"All miners down there, pay attention! You have ten minutes to get to the surface. If not, there's only one fate waiting for you—death," a voice boomed from the loudspeaker in the mine.

"Let's move," Yuri decided. They didn't have any mechs or spaceships, nor did they have weapons, food, or water. Two people with disabilities and an older man wouldn't stand a chance in a fight. They'd be better off simply mining as they were told.

The new pirates seemed surprised that two disabled people could mine. When they saw Yuri and Tuss, they frowned, questioning, "Can you two even work?"

"Sure thing," Yuri replied, standing tall and proud. "We might be handicapped, but we've got grit. I can handle a digger just like anyone else. My husband is even better; he fixes all the diggers in the mine."

The word "husband" made Tuss's face heat up, but his face was so smeared with dirt that the blush was hidden.

"Really?" the new pirate questioned, doubt in his voice.

"If you don't trust me, you're welcome to watch us while we're on the job," Yuri fired back, her confidence lending weight to her words.

The pirate's gaze darted around, and he randomly aimed his weapon at a man. "Does that guy with the missing leg really know how to fix diggers?"

The man being pointed at was shaking as he replied, "Yes, he does."

Hearing this, the pirate turned to Tuss, who stood taller than Zeek. "If he's valuable, we'll keep him for now."

Their shelters had been blown to ashes, leaving only charred rubble and a deep, one-meter hole in the earth. The new pirates didn't supply them with any resources, just allowed them one day to construct a sleeping area using whatever they could find from the ruins. Those who couldn't would have to sleep outdoors or in the mine.

Yuri surveyed the desolate landscape, wondering, "How are we supposed to find any construction materials here?"

Apart from soil and stones, there was absolutely nothing around.