Ten minutes later, men and women, old and young, all brought out food from their houses, piling it before Gu Ya, forming a small mountain as tall as a person.
The leading man bowed and apologized profusely, "My lord, esteemed sir, all of this is only 400 white star coins, ah, no, no, 337 white star coins. Ah, no, no, no... it's free! Take it all, my lord, as long as you spare our pathetic lives!"
Gu Ya suddenly felt like a foreign invader entering a village. He realized how easy and happy it was to snatch things, no wonder those invaders could never change their evil ways.
"Alright! I won't take your things for free. I'll even give you more, as long as you answer my questions," Gu Ya asked loudly.
"My lord, esteemed sir, speak your mind, and we will tell you everything we know," the man said with a smile, bowing low.
Gu Ya nodded and asked, "About eight or nine years ago, there was a place called 'Yetang Village.' Does anyone know about it?"
Everyone looked at each other, their eyes filled with confusion. They all shook their heads, saying they didn't know.
Gu Ya scanned the crowd, reading their expressions. This was the benefit of practicing his instant perception skills.
It made sense, Ye Ying had only mentioned it once, that her hometown was Yetang Village, in southern Yadaya.
Southern Yadaya was vast, with countless villages. It was understandable that they wouldn't know.
Gu Ya continued to ask, "Has anyone here seen a female freelance mercenary mech pilot named 'Ye Ying'? She pilots a 'Mountain Owl'."
Upon hearing this, the crowd began to murmur amongst themselves. Some said they seemed to have seen her, others said they had an impression, and some said they hadn't.
The leading man rubbed his chin, thinking for a long time, then said softly, "More than three years ago, a female mech pilot piloting a 'Mountain Owl' did come here."
"Old Grandma, she stayed at your house!"
A stooped old woman slowly walked out from the crowd. Half of her face was scarred, giving her a somewhat frightening appearance.
The old woman said tremblingly, "Yes... she was skin and bones, with short hair and a tattered pilot suit. I thought she was a boy. I took her in for two weeks."
"Later I found out she was a girl. She said she was looking for five people."
Gu Ya instantly became alert. The girl the old woman spoke of sounded very much like Ye Ying.
"What happened next? Did she find them?"
"Uh..." The old woman shuffled her feet and turned, "She left a painting in the house. Five people. She said she would never forget them."
"Then she left and never came back."
"I kept those paintings."
Those five people seemed to be the ones who ambushed Anai on the beach, Gu Ya thought.
Gu Ya followed the old woman, walking slowly towards her house.
The nerves of the others immediately relaxed, and they let out a long sigh. They all looked at the old woman with hopeful eyes, wishing she could get rid of this troublesome visitor.
"What else did she say?" Gu Ya asked as they walked.
"It was too long ago, I've forgotten. Ah, she mentioned something about escaping from some Cocoa organization once."
Yes, it was almost certain that it was Ye Ying. It seemed she had just escaped from the 'Saint Cocoa' organization and hadn't met Susan Lei yet.
"Also, when I mentioned 'Yetang Village,' I remembered. She did mention that place."
The old woman and Gu Ya had already entered the house. It was a simple and dilapidated dwelling, smelling foul. All the furnishings were scavenged junk, pieced together for use.
The old woman took out several palm-sized pieces of paper from a crooked little box and handed them to Gu Ya, saying, "She said she had to draw them, fearing she would forget."
Gu Ya flipped through them. Ye Ying's painting style was undoubtedly peculiar, with crooked portraits, but the general facial features were clearly visible.
"I don't know where she went, or if she's dead."
"She wouldn't even drink the meat soup I made for her, only eating some burnt grains. They were so hard and tough, no wonder she was so thin!"
Gu Ya raised an eyebrow and glanced at the old woman. A strange smile flickered across her face.
Such meager means, yet she had meat soup to drink. Gu Ya knew where the meat came from without even thinking.
"Thanks," Gu Ya said faintly, dropping a few cheap items from the system store as payment to the old woman before turning to leave.
Gu Ya took out a pile of mech parts from the system store, which were more than enough to exchange for food.
Before leaving, he even took out a food toxicity scanner to check, and only after confirming it was safe did he make the exchange.
This had delayed him by another hour. He had to hurry back.
Gu Ya felt a pang of sympathy. It seemed Ye Ying had never eaten human flesh.
That was good...
Otherwise, he wouldn't know how to face her.
Gu Ya glanced at his locator bracelet. She was still in that cave. She must be starving.
"I still have a lot to deal with when I get back. Scan the likenesses of these five people with the equipment to get actual portraits, then help Ye Ying buy a mech, repair the Brilliant Blue Swordsman, and return to the battlefield," Gu Ya muttered.
"Is Master going to participate in the war?" the Ancient Mech suddenly asked.
"Yes. To defend Xian Xia."
"Can I participate in the war?" The Ancient Mech's tone seemed to carry a hint of pleading.
Gu Ya said softly, "I will summon you when necessary."
"Let me ask you something. When you were in the [Void Package], what was your state? What did you see?"
The Ancient Mech let out an "uh," as if reluctant to speak.
"Is this question difficult to answer?" Gu Ya asked.
The Ancient Mech said, "Silence, complete darkness, unable to move my body. It was like the moment before a 'brain' is terminated."
Gu Ya nodded and said, "As it should be."
Dozens of mech tail flames streaked across the sky.
They seemed to have detected the Ancient Mech. After hovering for a minute, they slowly moved away.
Immediately afterward, lights flared in the far distance, indicating a battle was occurring.
This was Yadaya. War was always happening, and those clinging to life did whatever they could to survive.
Death, perhaps, was a release.
In less than an hour, the Ancient Mech returned to the cave.
Gu Ya was already impatient. Carrying a large bag of food, he excitedly ran towards the cave. Ye Ying must be ravenous.
Would her eyes light up when she saw the food?
She would surely be incredibly cute then!
She had lived such a miserable life before. From now on, with him, he would treat her well and raise her to be plump and fair, hehe!
"Ye Ying!" Gu Ya shouted excitedly as soon as he reached the cave entrance.
The cave was pitch black, so dark that he couldn't see his hand in front of his face.
"Didn't she use her bracelet to light it up? Is she still sleeping?"
"Ye Ying, the food is here! You must be starving!"
Gu Ya turned on his bracelet's light and walked quickly inside.
The cave was empty.
"Ye Ying?" Gu Ya called out softly.
After confirming again that no one was in the cave, Gu Ya opened his locator bracelet. It definitely showed she was still here!
He shone his light around, searching, and finally found her bracelet on the ground where Ye Ying had been lying.
A bad premonition immediately arose.
Gu Ya dropped the food and quickly ran out of the cave.
He looked again and saw that the alien giant snake mech had been destroyed by some unknown weapon, curled up at the foot of the mountain wall. In the darkness, it looked like a large rock if not examined closely.
Disaster!
Gu Ya's heart pounded, and the hairs on his body stood on end!
"Ancient Mech, scan and analyze the nearby combat information!!!" Gu Ya shouted with a grim face.
The Ancient Mech's dark red eyes immediately emitted blue | net-like light beams, scanning the area within dozens of meters of the cave entrance.
After more than ten seconds, the Ancient Mech said, "Master, based on the ground temperature and the direction the sand particles were blown, it can be determined that at least five mechs were here twenty minutes ago. They stayed for five minutes and then flew north."
Gu Ya felt a surge of self-reproach and unease. Why had he been so hasty when leaving! Why hadn't he considered this possibility!
If it was the Xian Xia army that found her, it would be fine. But if she was captured by bandits, mercenaries, or Black Star Walkers, the thought was unbearable!
"I'm such a failure! I can't even protect my own woman!!!" Gu Ya roared in anger.
Wait!
Every time Gu Ya encountered something frustrating, a string in his mind would pull him, forcing him to calm down.
He bought a combat trace scanner from the system store and scanned from the cave entrance all the way to where Ye Ying had been lying inside the cave.
A few minutes later, a general scene appeared in Gu Ya's mind.
From the footprints, he could tell that three people, all over 170cm tall, had entered the cave.
They stood firm in the cave, one body length away from Ye Ying, and did not move forward.
Then, Ye Ying voluntarily stood up and left with them.
"This means that it is highly likely that the Xian Xia army found Ye Ying."
The giant snake mech's color blended with the earth, and it was set to passive offense mode. It was not easy for high-altitude, high-speed mechs to detect.
To be able to quickly and accurately find Ye Ying in this desolate wilderness, there must have been a positional lock.
"Ye Ying's holographic chest tag probably has a locator. That would explain it."
Gu Ya quickly walked out of the cave and opened the system store.