Chapter 103: He Is Right Here

Yuxing was still carefully inspecting the necklace he had snatched. When that Makindoan pulled his head out of the helmet, the pendant had slipped out from his collar. The sapphire was about the size of an olive, swaying temptingly, its facets irregular and free, untouched by any polishing—a raw stone, pierced and worn as a pendant.

Was this the gemstone where Windhorse resided?

Yuxing wasn't sure. He glanced at the pendant, then down at the Makindoan at his feet.

Maybe he should ask the fellow?

As Yuxing lowered his head, the Makindoan let out a sly, low chuckle.

What was wrong with this guy? Was he scared senseless?

Yuxing stared in confusion at the captive, who had suddenly begun to laugh foolishly.

“Are you... are you here for money?” There was no discernible expression on the mantis-like face of the Makindoan, yet Yuxing could clearly sense the obsequiousness radiating from him.

He understood—the Makindoan must have assumed, seeing the necklace taken, that Yuxing was here to rob him.

“I have valuables, I have money, lots of coins... ah!” The pressure on his shoulder suddenly increased, and the Makindoan cried out in pain, while a voice from above, tinged with disdain, said, “What use do I have for coins?”

Thinking he grasped the meaning, the Makindoan hurriedly replied, “I have other things, other treasures worth billions on the market. I... I’ve hidden some, didn’t give them all to those bastards. I can give them to you... Please, please spare me...” He rubbed his hands together, pleading meekly.

Suddenly, a clear voice rang out in the room: “Watch out!”

Yuxing instantly pulled the trigger. With a muffled thud, a gaping hole opened in the Makindoan’s abdomen, extinguishing the electric sparks brewing at his claw tips.

What happens when someone is shot in the abdomen? Don’t be fooled by movies where actors, wounded in the gut, still fight, run, and deliver lines. In reality, those hit or stabbed in the stomach lose all ability to move at once—not only can’t they act, they can barely speak.

Just like this Makindoan, who could only collapse on the ground, gasping, staring helplessly as fluids and dubious organs oozed from the wound, lacking even the strength to cover it.

Having dealt with the would-be attacker, Yuxing kicked him aside and, holding the sapphire, strode to the desk and began rifling through its contents.

He had allotted himself an hour—not just for sneaking in and striking. In less than three minutes, he had already finished that. He still had one crucial task: investigation.

“That voice just now, was it Windhorse?” Yuxing kept searching, hands moving swiftly. Time was short, but he could multitask. If his ears didn’t deceive him, the warning had indeed come from Windhorse.

“Do you know me?”

A blue Ultraman figure appeared atop the gemstone—only as tall as a finger, tiny and semi-transparent, seemingly just a projection. Yet Yuxing could confirm: this was Windhorse, famed as the “Master of the Wind,” one of Taiga’s companions, a member of the “Triple Team.”

“I am Yuxing, Taiga’s partner.”

“Oh, oh, Taiga!”

“No, no, I’m Yuxing…”

“Hey, I know you’re Yuxing, I heard you!” Windhorse placed his hands on his hips. “I mean, you’re Taiga’s partner! So am I!”

Yuxing continued rummaging through the drawers, pulling out piles of paper documents and stacking them on the desk.

Windhorse glanced at the growing mountain of files at his feet—soon higher than himself. He looked up and asked, “So, where is Taiga?”

Yuxing paused, his hands still.

Windhorse fell silent, then lowered his head, wiping the corners of his eyes, sighing theatrically, “...It’s fine, go on, I’m prepared for bad news.”

Was Windhorse always this comedic in the original story?

“He’s right here.” Yuxing placed a hand on his chest. “He seems to be sleeping, but he should still be here.”

He had no evidence, no certainty—just faith that Taiga remained, believing he was still alive somewhere, merely slumbering.

Windhorse tilted his head, scrutinizing Yuxing for a moment, then floated up, trailing a blue afterimage, and swiftly appeared beside Yuxing’s hand on his chest—a true speedster.

The blue apparition hovered, observing a while, then reached out and patted Yuxing’s chest.

Yuxing felt nothing, yet Windhorse nodded.

“Taiga is here,” he said, patting Yuxing’s chest again as if to reaffirm.

“I can feel him. He’s right here.”

As soon as these words were spoken, a notification appeared above Windhorse’s head—visible only to Yuxing—in the script of the Land of Light:

Bond Value +1.

“Is that so? That’s wonderful.”

Truly, wonderful.

A mysterious stirring bloomed in Yuxing’s chest, and the constricting emotion called “guilt” instantly vanished.

He had always told himself that as long as he could use the Taiga Light Key, Taiga must still be present—alive, but sleeping. Yet this logic was merely Yuxing’s own conjecture, an assumption invented for the Taiga Light Key, fundamentally unsubstantiated.

For Yuxing wasn’t sure if the Taiga Light Key had an identity verification module at all.

What if… what if it didn’t require confirmation of the user as Taiga to activate?

What if Taiga was already…

Yuxing dared not pursue those thoughts.

He couldn’t bear to imagine the possibility that he had caused Taiga’s death.

However, all those fears melted away in this very moment.