It was official—bad luck was Ji Yuxi’s destiny.

  First, he was reborn into a body that had been thrown out like expired milk. Then, he had spent three days surviving on nothing but wild fruit in the forest. Now?

  He was kidnapped by Star Thieves.

  Ji Yuxi sighed as he sat in a cold, damp prison cell on some unidentified spaceship, staring at the pitiful child next to him—a sweet-looking Guide who was currently crying like someone had just deleted all his saved game progress.

  “WAAAAHHHHH! WE'RE GOING TO DIEEEEE!” The Guide hiccupped dramatically, his entire body shaking like a malfunctioning robot.

  Ji Yuxi massaged his temples. He was already starving, exhausted, and grumpy from three days of foraging in the wild like some prehistoric human, and now this? This child was so loud his mental state was actively deteriorating.

  “Shut up,” Ji Yuxi finally said, eyes twitching.

  The Guide immediately stopped wailing and instead crawled toward Ji Yuxi, clutching his tattered sleeve. “D-Don’t leave me alone! I—I’ll protect you!” he sniffled, his big doe eyes shining with fear.

  Ji Yuxi blinked.

  “...You need protection, not me.”

  The irony of the statement wasn't lost on him—he himself was weak as hell. Three days of eating fruit had barely helped recover this body from months of malnutrition, and the original owner had been so physically pathetic that Ji Yuxi was surprised he hadn’t colpsed on day one.

  Still, he wasn’t as pitiful as this Guide.

  Ji Yuxi took a deep breath. “What’s your name?”

  The boy sniffled. “Xiao Yu.”

  Ji Yuxi raised a brow. “Your name is also ‘Yu’? What, are we supposed to form a band? The ‘Two Yus'?”

  The Guide blinked at him, confused. Ji Yuxi sighed. Of course, 22nd-century humor didn’t exist in the 31st century.

  Except for Crybaby Xiao Yu, there was one other unfortunate soul in the cell—a young man, around 18 or 19 years old, lying unconscious in the corner.

  Ji Yuxi observed him silently. His body was covered in wounds, and his uniform was in tatters. This guy had definitely been through some serious battles.

  “Who’s he?” Ji Yuxi asked.

  Xiao Yu gnced at him and whispered nervously, “I don’t know… He was already here when I woke up. I-I think he’s an Esper…”

  An Esper?

  Ji Yuxi’s eyes narrowed. That made sense. The violent aura around the boy’s unconscious body was strong, and there were faint traces of an aggressive mental power leaking out.

  If he woke up and suddenly went berserk, then Ji Yuxi and Xiao Yu might become mincemeat.

  “Wonderful,” Ji Yuxi muttered sarcastically. “What a great day to be kidnapped.”

  Let’s rewind a little.

  Before the kidnapping incident, Ji Yuxi had spent three whole days eating nothing but wild fruit.

  Now, don’t get him wrong—he loved food. But three days of ONLY fruit? That wasn’t survival; that was a tragic diet pn.

  Ji Yuxi hadn't been zy—he really wanted to work. But his body, after months of malnutrition and begging on a waste pnet, had no strength left.

  Even breathing felt exhausting.

  So, like any sensible person, he slept.

  Slept for three days straight, only waking up to eat some more fruit, contempte his miserable life, and then go back to sleep.

  Finally, on day four, when he thought he had enough strength, he dragged himself to the city in search of a job.

  And then—boom! Kidnapped.

  Life was truly unfair.

  Star Thieves. The interstelr version of old-school space pirates.

  They kidnapped people for ransom, forced bor, or—if you were really unlucky—organ selling. Ji Yuxi did not want to be sold for spare parts.

  He gnced at Xiao Yu. This kid was doomed.

  A beautiful, delicate-looking Guide like him? The Star Thieves were definitely pnning to auction him off.

  As for Ji Yuxi?

  After half a year of looking like a starved ghost, even if he used all the Instagram filters in the universe, he still wouldn’t be cssified as ‘valuable goods’.

  And the half-dead Esper? Probably too dangerous to sell.

  Ji Yuxi leaned back against the cold metal walls of their prison cell. “Alright, Xiao Yu,” he sighed. “You’re a Guide, right? Got any cool tricks? Maybe a ser beam? Mind control? Supernatural crying ability?”

  Xiao Yu pouted. “I—I can heal a little… but I have no energy left…”

  Ji Yuxi gave him a deadpan look. “So, basically, you’re as useful as a decorative housepnt right now.”

  Xiao Yu pouted harder.

  Ji Yuxi rubbed his chin thoughtfully. He wasn’t actually as helpless as the original owner.

  The previous owner had no mental power. But Ji Yuxi did.

  The fusion of their souls had changed something. This body, once powerless, had started evolving into a Guide’s body. His mental spirit hadn’t awakened yet, but it was only a matter of time.

  And once it did…

  Well, let’s just say, these Star Thieves wouldn’t know what hit them.

  Ji Yuxi’s thoughts were interrupted when the ship suddenly shook violently.

  BOOM!

  “What the hell was that?” Ji Yuxi snapped, grabbing onto Xiao Yu before he face-pnted on the floor.

  The ship shuddered again, and a sharp arm bred throughout the corridors.

  WARNING. WARNING. UNAUTHORIZED ATTACK DETECTED.

  Xiao Yu clutched Ji Yuxi’s arm, shaking. “A-Are we under attack?!”

  Ji Yuxi’s eyes narrowed. Maybe this was their chance to escape.

  But before he could think further—

  The unconscious Esper in the corner finally opened his eyes.

  Bright blue. Innocent. Clueless.

  He blinked, looking at Ji Yuxi and Xiao Yu like a baby seeing the world for the first time.

  Ji Yuxi narrowed his eyes. Great. Just what we need. A big, strong, overpowered Esper… with the memory of a goldfish.

  The ship shook violently again. The arms bred louder. The Star Thieves were too busy dealing with the attack to pay attention to them, which meant it was now or never.

  Ji Yuxi took a deep breath and grabbed the confused Esper’s colr. “You! Break that door open.”

  The Esper tilted his head. “…Door?”

  “Yes! Door! The big, metal thing keeping us from running away!” Ji Yuxi snapped, already regretting his life choices.

  The Esper stared at the door like it was the most complicated puzzle in the universe. Ji Yuxi sighed. “Just punch it.”

  The Esper perked up. Ah! Punch! That, he understood.

  BANG!

  With one casual punch, the thick, reinforced metal door flew off its hinges, soaring down the corridor like a frisbee of death. Somewhere in the distance, a Star Thief screamed as it knocked him out cold.

  Ji Yuxi blinked. Well, that worked.

  “Good job, big guy,” he muttered, dragging Xiao Yu forward. “Now, let’s get out of here before someone realizes we’re missing.”

  The Esper grinned proudly and followed after them. Ji Yuxi quickly decided to name him Lan, because of his bright blue eyes and the fact that he looked as lost as a stray puppy.

  (Note: Lan is Xiao Yu’s love interest, NOT Ji Yuxi’s. Let’s not create misunderstandings here.)

  Ji Yuxi scanned the area as they sprinted down the hallways. The attack on the ship was still raging outside, and most of the Star Thieves had gone to fight the unknown enemies. The rest were busy trying to stabilize the ship.

  That gave them a clear path to the escape pods.

  “Over there!” Ji Yuxi pointed at the small hangar where several round escape pods were docked.

  Without wasting a second, they climbed into one. It had four seats, just enough for their group. Ji Yuxi shoved Xiao Yu toward the controls.

  “You know how to fly this thing?”

  Xiao Yu sniffled but nodded. “Y-Yes! I trained with my older brother before!”

  “Great! Then don’t crash us!”

  Just as Xiao Yu started activating the unch sequence, Ji Yuxi reached for the hatch to seal them inside.

  But before he could—

  “P-Please…! Take her!”

  Ji Yuxi froze.

  A woman was limping toward them. Blood covered her clothes, and there was a gaping hole in her stomach. But even in her critical state, she was desperately clutching a small child—no older than two or three years old.

  A little girl with messy hair and terrified eyes.

  Ji Yuxi gritted his teeth. He knew. He knew she wasn’t going to make it.

  The woman staggered forward, eyes pleading as she stretched out the child toward him.

  “Please… protect her…” she whispered.

  Ji Yuxi cursed under his breath.

  They were seconds away from takeoff. If he hesitated, they’d all be captured or killed.

  But…

  He looked at the little girl. She was so small. So helpless.

  His chest tightened.

  Damn it.

  Ji Yuxi reached out and took the child from her hands.

  The woman gave him a grateful smile—and then colpsed.

  Ji Yuxi smmed the hatch shut just as gunfire rang out behind them.

  “Go, GO!”

  Xiao Yu hit the controls, and the escape pod shot out of the hangar, unching into space at full speed.

  For a brief moment, Ji Yuxi let out a sigh of relief. They escaped.

  And then—

  “Uh… we have a problem.”

  Ji Yuxi groaned. “What now?”

  Xiao Yu pointed at the radar screen.

  There were TWO groups of ships chasing after them.

  The first group? The Star Thieves, furious that their prisoners had escaped.

  The second group? The attackers—who thought they were Star Thieves escaping the fight.

  Ji Yuxi massaged his temples.

  Bad Luck.