Chapter 40
"…What's wrong?"
Yael felt a little pain from his grip, but seeing that something was obviously wrong with Caesar's expression, he did not struggle and asked hesitantly.
The department store was not far behind them. Caesar took two steps at a time and pulled him to the escape passage. Hearing this, he said briefly, "It's a star thief."
Yael's pupils shrank slightly.
Although wars with other races have stopped in recent years, pirates have become more rampant, burning, killing and looting everywhere. Planets that are targeted will inevitably suffer a disaster. Most of the disasters are small in scale, but they are as annoying as locusts.
I often see pirates attacking somewhere on the news, but it seems far away from my life until this disaster unexpectedly befalls me.
"Hold on tight."
As if he thought the speed was too slow, Xize suddenly turned around, his dark eyes were cold.
Before Yael could react, an arm tightly wrapped around his waist and half lifted him up. After a moment of dizziness, he was put down and found himself in the corner of the escape passage.
"Wait for me here for a moment, okay?"
Yael took a deep breath, suppressed his panic, and nodded.
"……wait for me."
Xi Ze pursed his lips and couldn't help but press the male insect's head. It seemed as if a piece of his chest collapsed, making him worry before he left.
The female insect quickly disappeared behind the door. Yael calmed his racing heart and slowly regained his sanity.
He looked a little depressed, and woke up the computer to call the police center.
The communication seemed to be interrupted by something and was directly disconnected. When I looked again, the signal bar had been cleared, and even the optical computer itself was affected and stuck.
“Damn it.”
Yael closed his computer and was thinking about how to notify the ignorant insect swarm outside when he heard the distinctive sound of an air raid alarm.
It turned out that Xi Ze went to sound the air raid alarm.
He felt relieved.
I almost forgot that large buildings in the edge galaxies are equipped with air defense alarms to facilitate the transmission of information about attacks in the first place.
Department stores are built with special materials that can resist artillery attacks to a certain extent and facilitate the evacuation of insect swarms.
Military females are very sensitive to situations like this and can handle emergencies very well. He doesn't need to worry about anything and can just stay here and wait for Xize to pick him up.
"Bang--!!"
The next second, the door to the escape passage was knocked open, and frightened insects came running in one after another, walking hurriedly down the stairs.
"Why are there thieves here? Call the police!"
"Damn it! No signal! Those guys turned on the jammer! I can only ask the planet's central control station to quickly find out what's wrong...!"
The situation gradually became a little chaotic. Yael was bumped and quickly leaned against the triangular area of the corner to avoid being swept down.
It was hard to deny that his heart was beating very fast now. He was overwhelmed by the surge of panic and could only pinch his palms to keep calm.
Come back soon.
Yael closed his eyes, grasped the laptop tightly with trembling fingertips, and muttered silently.
…
After the air raid alarm successfully sounded throughout the city, Xize did not leave immediately. After pondering for a moment, he took out his computer and entered a series of secret commands into it.
And the communication actually broke through the blockade of the jammer and successfully connected to the other side.
"The central city was attacked by pirates. Please help contact the central control and send a team to support immediately..."
Xi Ze passed on the instructions in an orderly manner, and then he went against the tide of insects to break into the top floor of this large building. In the sight of the terrified working insects, he kicked open the door of the control room.
"Bang--!!"
He was still cursing inside, wondering who had turned on the air raid alarm, but was caught off guard by the loud noise and his voice was stuck in his throat.
"It is a serious crime to break into the control room without permission! Guards, arrest him!"
The female insect in a military shirt stood up straight and shouted angrily. The surrounding female insects immediately rushed towards the female insect with white hair and golden eyes in the center.
This problem has already happened and it is troublesome enough, but there are still people who are so blind as to dare to break into the control room. They really don't know what is good for them!
The female insect tugged at the crooked collar and spat fiercely.
"Activate level 1 defense immediately."
Xi Ze said coldly, staring at the female insect behind the guard with gloomy eyes.
"...It's you?" The female insect seemed to have suddenly realized something. Her expression suddenly became excited. She signaled to the guards around her, "He sounded the alarm without permission and disturbed the city's security. Catch him for me!"
This time he didn't have to deduct his bonus. As for whether there were really pirates coming, he never believed it from the beginning to the end. After all, the radar did not detect any trace of any starship.
Knowing that the female insect in front of him would not listen to his advice, Xi Ze did not waste any more words.
The female insects around him rushed forward like cannonballs. He stood still and waved his hand lightly.
The mental force as hard as steel needles flew up and pierced accurately into the mental images of those female insects, instantly making them lose their fighting power. They fell to the ground with thuds, raising fine dust.
"Activate level 1 defense immediately."
His molten-gold pupils shrank like a beast, staring at the female insect with a dull expression in the center, "I don't want to repeat it a third time."
“Yes, yes, yes…!”
The female insect ran to activate the defense system in a hurry. Regardless of whether the pirates attacked or not, at least she could save her life from this monster.
Through the transparent protective cover of the control room, one can see that the night sky outside is dark and gloomy, with no stars or moon. Beyond the thin cloud layer is a blurry and chaotic black.
Although there is clearly nothing there, if you look at it for a long time you will feel an inexplicable shudder, as if there is something huge lurking in it that cannot be captured by the naked eye, and is wantonly spying on the panicked tiny insect swarm below.
…
"Boss...Boss?"
A cautious voice sounded, obviously not daring to disturb the boss who was resting his eyes, but he had to take on this difficult task.
A female insect was leaning against a chair with her eyes closed, her hair shaved very short and a hideous scar running across most of her face, severing her left eyebrow.
His facial features were three-dimensional and deep, and even with his eyes closed he couldn't conceal his fierce and domineering aura.
Herrick was so annoyed that he kicked the female insect away with his foot.
"Why is the dog barking so loudly?! If you have something to say, say it now! If you have something to say, say it now!"
That face looked even more terrifying when he opened his eyes. The deep red pupils seemed to be full of blood, so red that it made his heart palpitate. He stood up from the chair and moved his shoulders with a click.
"Report to the boss! Just now, I suddenly detected that the air raid alarm was activated in the locked-down city. The deputy regiment commander asked me to ask you... What should we do next?"
"So fast?" Herrick was a little surprised, but thinking about it, the bug was right there, it was possible to predict it in advance, but -
"Didn't Anto say that he was seriously injured and nearly died? Is the news so unreliable?"
Herrick rolled his eyes in dissatisfaction, but he couldn't give up halfway after receiving all the benefits. "According to the original plan."
"yes!"
The disguise covering the surface of the starship gradually dissipated, revealing the fierce and dark body underneath, which was pressing down heavily over the city. The high-particle cannon was loaded and extended from the hull and aimed downwards.
"This area has been blocked."
The deputy commander who was in control of the control panel nodded as his subordinates reported the situation. He looked at Herich who was on the phone next to him.
"You've kept him locked up for so long, but you never thought of implanting more trackers? The only one you have is the one you secretly placed ten years ago when he was injured? And it can only be used once???"
Herrick was speechless. He had seen idiots before, but he had never seen such an idiot.
"Forget it, forget it... It's enough for me to have him. I'll just kill him this time and prevent him from causing any trouble in the future."
He placed the computer against the control panel, and after receiving the signal, a screen with a faintly flashing red dot unfolded directly.
"I was originally planning to sweep this galaxy in order, but who would have thought that this would happen? I can only blame myself for my bad luck. Whoever dies first is dead anyway—"
Bang!
BANG BANG BANG BANG!!!
Under the intensive sweep of the particle cannon, buildings collapsed, dust flew everywhere, and some insects that didn't have time to escape were crushed under the ruins. The originally harmonious city area suddenly turned into a screaming hell.
The female insect, who had been forced to activate her defense, was stunned. Her legs went weak at the sight in front of her. "It's actually true...!"
When he looked back again, the female insect with white hair and golden eyes had disappeared. If it weren't for the guards lying on the ground wailing, he would have thought it was just an illusion.
"Why did you leave?! Then who will guard this place... Help me——"
Since the alarm was sounded very timely, most of the insects in the city had been successfully evacuated and found suitable defensive locations, and the department stores that served as intermediaries were the most congested.
There were horrifying noises coming from overhead, and the intensive bombardment made every witness feel terrified. The fleeing people stirred up dust under their feet, and the emperor's screams and gasps of fear continued to ring out.
Yael put on his hat to block the falling rocks, covered his mouth and nose with a scarf, and hunched over in a corner.
He was breathing rapidly, staring at the door of the passage that was knocked open, but he still couldn't see the familiar figure. He closed his eyes exhaustedly.
But the next second, a strong force came, and he was suddenly pulled into an embrace——
"Are you okay?"
A familiar voice rang in his ears, and a hand touched his face, wiping away the few streaks of dust.
Before Yael opened his eyes, he clearly felt the sound of his hanging heart falling to the ground.
"I'm fine." He put down the scarf on his face and looked at the female insect in front of him, "What should I do now?"
"They said there's a passage behind the department store that connects to the other side of the city. Should we go there?"
This was the message conveyed to him by the insect that had just escaped. There were also a few enthusiastic people who wanted to pull him away, but they were all rejected.
But before the female insect could answer, a huge explosion suddenly occurred above her head, and at the same time, the most violent shaking occurred.
"!!!"
耶爾下意識抱住頭，感覺到雌蟲的身體正緊緊壓着他，兩條手臂摟着腰背，掌心承托住後腦勺，把他死死護在牆角裏，擋住了飛濺上來的沙石。
他勉強睜開眼向前方看去，心中一沉：通道已經被落下的石板阻斷，走不了了。
等震動稍停，西澤松開雙臂，背對着耶爾半蹲下來，低喝道，“上來！”
不重甚至還有些輕的重量壓在背上，卻讓西澤的神色無比凝重，那是曾經挑戰極限的負重都無法給予他的壓力。
——于是他知道，這次“負重穿越”絕不容許絲毫的錯誤。
有些慌亂的呼吸噴灑在耳後，雄蟲的雙臂摟緊了他的脖子，明明還在顫抖，卻難掩聲音中的擔憂，“可以嗎？要不還是放我下來自己跑吧，你的腿才好……”
“沒事，雄主一點都不重，手可以再摟緊我一點……別擔心，會沒事的。”
西澤努力辨認着一片混亂中的道路，一面放輕了聲音安撫道。
他已經無數次面對這種混亂，甚至可以說是駕輕就熟，但背上的雄蟲肯定沒有經歷過這些，被吓到留下陰影就不好了。
線路已經被破壞，燈管明滅不定地閃爍，再加上煙塵四起，尋找安全的地方變得有些困難。
“我們出去嗎？”
眼看着這棟大樓愈發岌岌可危，好像很快就要倒塌的樣子，耶爾不免擔心起來，在雌蟲耳邊低聲道。
“等等。”
西澤分出一些心神回答他，視線不斷在滿目瘡痍的地方移動，似乎在确認着什麽，最後不斷後退到了一處餐廳的落地窗邊緣。
這時，外面密集的轟擊終于停止，似乎在準備第二輪，雌蟲神情一凜，雙腿瞬間發力，打破玻璃從三樓一躍而下——
“！！！”
刮面的寒風裹着未散的硝煙氣，從耳邊尖嘯着掠過，在意識到發生什麽之前眼睛就自動緊閉，耶爾将臉埋到西澤的肩膀上，咽下湧到喉間的聲音。
“好了，睜開眼，我們已經到地面了，深呼吸……對，正常呼吸……！”
尖銳的耳鳴聲減弱，變成雌蟲低沉的聲音，耶爾勉強睜開眼，發現自己正躺在西澤懷裏，眼前是一片昏暗又狹窄的空間。
他從過度呼吸中找回節奏，恢複了一些力氣後坐起來，低咳了幾聲，“這裏是哪裏？外面的炮轟好像停了……？”
從大樓離開後眼前豁然開朗，但也已經看不出來原先的樣子了，到處都是一片斷壁殘垣，剛才還熱鬧非凡的地方，現在安靜得只能聽見肅殺的風聲。
卻更加令他不安起來。
西澤剛才已經脫下大衣墊在雄蟲的身下，現在一身利落的襯衫和行軍褲，正單膝跪地蹲着，借着掩體觀察外面的情況。
“……”
耶爾靠坐在斷裂的牆面上，腦海裏一片空白，視線忍不住追逐西澤的背影。
他不知道接下來還會發生什麽，但只要一直看着雌蟲，好像就沒那麽恐慌了。
但還不等他喘口氣，一陣極其細微的腳步聲從廢墟後面響起。
西澤猛地轉過身，将仍然茫然的雄蟲迅速抱起來，放到了更深處的一個角落，卻也沒有離得太遠，是一個跨步可以走到的距離。
而在耶爾被藏好後不久，耳邊就炸響了一道得意洋洋的喝聲，“我就說吧！他就在這裏！”
西澤頓了頓，倏地擡起眼。
從廢墟的縫隙中朝外看去，原本空蕩的街道不知何時已經被星盜占領，密密麻麻地分散着，一眼看去幾乎看不到盡頭。
但所幸的是，這些基本都是炮灰級別的星盜，手裏沒拿着什麽高科技武器，是被派來探路和消耗抓捕目标的精力的。
“老大說了，誰能弄死他，把頭割下來奉上去！就可以晉升為小隊長，管理一百號蟲！”
這個獎勵甚至比巨額星幣的誘惑力都大，星盜們全都神色亢奮，躍躍欲試要沖上去搶這個蟲頭了。
“兄弟們！沖啊！！”
西澤垂眸，掰斷了一根裸露出來的鋼筋，握在手裏試了試手感。
他選的這個地方其實還不錯，雖然說被炸毀了，但恰好形成了一個低矮的防空洞，只要守住大門，就能阻止那些星盜闖進來。
精神力只能起到攪亂別蟲意識，讓他們短暫失去行動力的作用，面對這些窮追不舍的星盜顯然不适用——
便只能用最直接、性價比最高的方法。
西澤漠然擡眼，握緊了手中的鋼筋。
但這時，衣服下擺傳來細微的拉拽感。
他低頭，見到一雙漆黑的眼眸，帶着不加掩飾的憂慮和擔心，好似黑曜石一樣明亮。
“……小心點。”
“好。”
他朝雄蟲安撫地笑了笑，同時直接将手中的鋼筋朝一個方向刺去。
“噗嗤！”
鋼筋尖銳的尾端一連洞穿了幾個星盜的脖子。
一擊斃命。
還不等回過神來，讓聽者都膽寒哆嗦的、切割血肉的聲音接連炸響——
“噗嗤！——噗嗤！——噗嗤！”
西澤利落地抽手，無視了臉和身體沾染上的斑斑血跡，順勢扯開了襯衫第一顆扣子。
“來。”
他倏地笑了一下，熔金的瞳眸微微收縮，像是即将進入狩獵狀态的野獸。
……
不知道多長時間過去，屍體已經堆滿這片廢墟的周圍，甚至已經堆疊了幾層。
深黑的血已經深深滲透了雪地，彙聚成數條蜿蜒流動的暗河，從各個方向蔓延開。
那些亡命之徒殺紅了眼，完全失去了理智般沖殺上來，一個倒下另一個就踩着他的屍體上去，幾乎不給多少喘息的時間。
但幾十輪上百輪下來，西澤臉上沒有流露出一絲疲态。
只是星盜還是太多了，而雌蟲終究不是真正的戰争機器。
他重傷初愈，身體根本承受不了這麽高強度的拼殺，耶爾已經看到雌蟲的小臂上裂開細小的縫隙，襯衫背後滲出新鮮的血來。
“兄弟們快上！他已經撐不住了！”
一個眼尖的星盜同樣注意到這絲異樣，無比興奮地大喊道，但下一秒就被西澤面無表情地取走了脖子上的蟲頭。
“噗嗤！”
這道聲響不減幹脆利落，讓剛剛才振奮起來的星盜打了個激靈，又萎靡下去，猶豫着要不要繼續往前沖。
站在那裏的軍雌神情漠然，金色的眼眸中空無一物，沒有自傲于眼前敵蟲的屍體之多，也沒有對實力不佳的炮灰們的輕蔑。
他只是拿着武器站在那裏，就像一堵無法攀越也不可能擊倒的防線，流露出幾乎無機質的強大和冰冷來。
退縮是從一個星盜開始的，因為高強度的恐懼而當場發了瘋，尖叫着扔下武器逃跑了，然後就是第二個、第三個……直到大半的星盜都停下了進攻。
“……沖上去就是送死，要不聯系老大來？”
“要死啊你！讓老大知道我們和軟腳蝦一樣，怕是活不到明天啊！”
“那你沖啊！你去啊！……能不能活過一秒都不知道啊！白癡！”
那些星盜顯然不像軍隊一樣有組織有紀律，沖上前拼殺憑的就是一股狠勁，但是被打怕了就會比誰都惜命，僵持沒多久，裏面甚至開始內讧。
本來正愉悅欣賞着戰局，赫裏克發現局面居然僵滞住了，想明白後一腳踹翻了指揮椅。
“一群孬種！！”
他将投影中的畫面拉大，本來是想仔細觀察那個雌蟲現在的狀況，卻突然眼睛一眯，神情詫異一瞬，又漸漸揚起一個猙獰的笑。
“我就說為什麽要一直站在那裏……原、來、如、此啊。”
他走過去，搶過操作臺上的一個呼叫器，連通了地面上帶隊星盜的通訊。
“喂？看到那片倒塌的建築了嗎？雌蟲後面那一片。”
通訊器裏傳來肯定的聲音，赫裏克惡意滿滿地笑道，“很好——現在，去把那裏砸個稀巴爛。”
……
那些星盜不知道收到了什麽指示，突然開始爬上雄蟲藏身的廢墟，開始一下下地砸破牆壁搬開碎石，仿佛螞蟻瘋狂啃噬着一塊坍塌的糖山。
西澤瞳孔驟縮。
身後的入口無法讓開一步，身前仍然有無數星盜沖上來拖住他。
而旁邊和身後那些根本攔不住，正在飛速瓦解着這片廢墟，逐漸鑿開了一個缺口。
這樣下去不是辦法。
西澤眸光狠戾，精神力爆發将周圍的一波星盜全部震開。
而後不顧唇角溢出的血絲，用大衣把雄蟲裹住抱在懷裏，迅速突破這一片包圍圈。
那些被鎮住的星盜也跟着反應過來，看到他懷裏的蟲，還有什麽不明白的。
“快跟上！不用攻擊他送死，瞄準了他抱着的蟲打！！”
眼前是一片昏朦的黑，外界的動靜被隔絕在大衣外，耳邊唯一真切的就只有雌蟲的心髒劇烈撞擊胸膛的聲音，還有急促的喘息。
硝煙的味道盈滿鼻腔，滾燙鮮血甚至還在汩汩湧出。
耶爾還是第一次離真實的戰場這麽近，身體本能讓他止不住顫抖甚至痙攣。
但西澤正用力抱着他，好似要把他嵌入懷裏。
After that roar, no matter how many malicious attacks Diao Zuan launched, none of them actually hit him.
The female insect is fulfilling what he once said -
[As long as I am alive, I will not let you get hurt. ]
Then the out-of-control fear and terror were soothed, and heat surged to the hot head, and it felt like something was drilling out of the skull at the corner of the forehead.
He had a splitting headache and almost fainted.
"……Well!"
But the body holding him suddenly froze for a moment, and staggered a few times without standing steadily, causing the clothes in his arms to fall off, and suddenly waking up the drowsy male insect.
Yael shook his head while enduring the severe pain, but before his black vision could focus, a hand pressed him back into his arms, preventing him from showing his head.
The pirates who were about to catch up with him stopped and suddenly burst into cheers, as if they had already won the war.
"...Boss! The boss is here!"
"If you don't want to die, get out of the way!...Everyone, pay attention! Look at the boss's amazing gun skills!"
Click.
The sound of a trigger being pulled.
Bang--
The muffled sound of the bullets leaving the gun, with an incomparable aura of ferocity, pierced the air with a roar, leaving behind a series of slow-motion afterimages.
A very slight "puff" sound piercing through flesh and blood rang in my ears.
Yael's pupils shrank, and blood splashing was reflected in his dark eyes, like flourishing red plum blossoms blooming in the snow.
The female insect's body trembled violently for a moment, but she didn't lose her strength or relax at all. She held him firmly under her body and whispered hoarsely.
"…Don't be afraid, it's okay."