Yikra City was a small city on the outskirts of the Lawless Civilization. It was so desolate that even bandits ignored it, as there was nothing worthwhile to steal.
The chmouse King pulled a cart with Ji Dezhu acting as the coachman. He had purposely rebuilt the chmouse King to look like a janky automaton instead.
At the back of the cart, Ji Zhongyi lay struggling in his bonds. The uneven road was a nightmare for him. He didn’t want to co to this forsaken place, but he couldn’t defeat his father and was tied up as a result.
Just you wait, once I recover from my wounds, I’ll escape and never co back! Ji Zhongyi swore to himself.
Ji Dezhu casually smoked while gazing at the road ahead with his old, failing eyes.
Suddenly, the chmouse King stopped. Ji Zhongyi almost rolled off the back of the cart, but Ji Dezhu’s quick reaction just barely saved him from falling out.
“I’ve had enough! Let go! I don’t want to follow you to that shitty place!” Ji Zhongyi snarled.
Ji Dezhu ignored him in favor of warily eyeing their surroundings, but nothing seed out of the ordinary.
Carefully tapping the chmouse King, he asked, “Old friend, did you notice sothing?”
Despite being an automaton, the chmouse King was trembling. Realization flashed in Ji Dezhu’s eyes, and he quickly grabbed Ji Zhongyi.
“Wait, I’m just complaining. Why are you trying to hit again...” Ji Zhongyi whined, assuming his father was about to lay into him again. When Ji Dezhu started untying the ropes, he muttered in confusion, “Old bastard, you...”
Ji Dezhu looked him in the eyes, a grave look on his face. “Leave now! Find your master! Do whatever it takes for him to accept you as his disciple!”
“What? Old man, what are you talking about?” Ji Zhongyi was utterly baffled. Any ntion of Han Wu typically resulted in a thorough beating, so the abrupt change in tune caught him off guard.
“Stop talking and go! And bring the chmouse King with you!” Ji Dezhu instructed, releasing the ropes on the chmouse King.
Ji Zhongyi stared at his father, bewildered at his unusual behavior. Contrary to his previous defiance, he showed no excitent at his newfound freedom.
“Old...” Ji Zhongyi started awkwardly, voice trembling. “Old man. Are you alright? Did you knock your head, or am I dreaming?”
Ji Dezhu continued to urge his son to run like a maniac, “Go! Run away. Didn’t you want to leave? Do it now! Don’t co back.”
“Old man?” An unsettling feeling rose up within Ji Zhongyi. His gut told him that he would never see his father again if he ran.
When Ji Zhongyi still didn’t leave, Ji Dezhu hastily grabbed the titanium feather duster and slapped him. The pain convinced Ji Zhongyi to ride away on the chmouse King.
As they left, Ji Zhongyi glanced back at Ji Dezhu. His father had slumped onto the ground, expression twisted unsettlingly between laughing and crying. The details of his face beca blurry and indistinct as they ran further away until all Ji Zhongyi could see was a head full of white hair.
Ten kiloters later, Ji Zhongyi had mustered a modicum of resolution. He wanted to know why Ji Dezhu had urged him to run. “chmouse King, take back. I want to go back.”
The chmouse King ignored him, continuing to run as if short-circuited. Frustrated, Ji Zhongyi angrily smacked its head. Much to his dismay, all he got for his efforts was a throbbing hand. The chmouse King stuck firmly to Ji Dezhu’s directive.
As Ji Zhongyi was about to jump off its back, an explosion bood behind him. Glancing back, he saw a huge mushroom cloud where his father had last been. A strange sensation of sadness and despair welled up from his heart.
“I need to go back. I want to go back,” he said desperately. “That old man—I’ll only leave on my terms. I won’t leave if you tell to!”
Ji Zhongyi jumped off the chmouse King and ran toward the explosion, but the chmouse King turned to seize him by his clothes before continuing their escape.
“Let go, you scoundrel! I said, let go! You defective piece of shit! Why did you leave your master? Get away! I’m not your master, that old man is!” Ji Zhongyi wept, voice rising with a shrill note of distress. His scathing words were for both himself and the chmouse King.
The chmouse King stopped as if affected by his words—or perhaps it was simply a coincidental error. Tossing its head, it swung Ji Zhongyi onto its back and ran back toward Ji Dezhu.
Ji Zhongyi assud that there was simply a delay in the chmouse King’s processing of his orders. Panic slowly overtook him as they neared where they had left Ji Dezhu.
The harsh sll of gunpowder lingered, and the charred ground was warm from the explosion. Torn limbs and body parts were scattered among the debris. Ji Zhongyi’s mind went blank as he stared at the site.
His eyes vacantly swept across the area when he spotted a half-buried chanical leg. It was the one his father often used to catch up with him when he ran off.
A frantic, desperate hope filled him as he ran toward the chanical leg, clawing at the ground with his bare hands. He dug it out, but the only thing attached to it was a few chunks of flesh stuck to the top.
“Old man... Old...” he hollowly repeated, clutching the chanical leg close to his chest.
He stayed in that position until his hunger grew too overwhelming to bear. Still hugging the leg, he climbed up onto the chmouse King and headed for the nearest restaurant.
The waiter chased him away before he could even enter. “Go away, you beggar. Shoo.”
Ji Zhongyi did look like a beggar. He was wounded, thin, and dirty. However, the chanical beast he had with him looked powerful. It was big and seed suitable for labor.
Strangers approached, looking to seize the chanical beast from Ji Zhongyi.
“I saw that first. It’s mine.”
“I saw it first!”
“Are you stupid? A chanical beast only obeys its owner. We have to kill the owner first before taking it.”
All of them turned to gaze at Ji Zhongyi in unison.
“Kill that beggar. Whoever kills him gets the chanical beast,” soone shouted.
Everyone made to attack, so pulling revolvers and others rifles. Ji Zhongyi stepped back in fear. He didn’t know what he had done wrong to be on the receiving end of such killing intent.
At this mont, he finally understood how stupid he had been in the past. He was nothing without Ji Dezhu’s protection.
Fortunately, the chmouse King acted before they could strike Ji Zhongyi. Several chanical mice jumped out from the chmouse King and bit the assailants.
The chmouse King then quickly grabbed Ji Zhongyi and tossed him onto its back before fleeing once more.
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