Chapter 7 Chapter 7 Hiding.
"Yes, about three years ago, the entire planet of Eldrea, the closest planet to here, was contracted by Bai's Industries."
“…I see.”
Tao Ying relaxed slightly and leaned against the window, never taking her eyes off the mecha covered by the waterproof cloth until it completely entered the cargo hold.
Her gaze was different from before, and she seemed to be very interested in the mecha.
Hu Li tightened the red scarf around her neck and unconsciously moved closer.
"Do you like mecha?"
"Hmm?" Tao Ying was rarely stunned. She lowered her head and thought for a while, then looked up and regained her friendly smile.
She spread her hands and said in a playful tone:
"Of course, to the extent of being willing to devote one's life to it."
·
The cargo hold was about fifty meters high, its metal rails rusted with dust. A large yellow sign hung on the wall, warning non-staff members not to enter.
A woman in work clothes squatted in front of the security door with a nervous look on her face, holding a screwdriver and trying to figure out how to unlock it.
...That's exactly what Che Li did.
To be honest, the purpose of Che Xiaoli's trip should be to reach Laimen safely and, after a series of investigations, find out who stole Tao Ying's ashes. As for why she is sneaking around here to open the lock... there is certainly a reason why she has to do it.
"I was definitely not mistaken. When the wind blew up the waterproof cloth covering the mecha we just brought into the cargo hold, my heart and soul felt like they were on fire."
Researcher Che's eyes were burning.
That’s right, that’s Hengwo, the result of their team’s five years of hard work.
Once, every inch of it was so perfect and beautiful, but now it was covered in dust, sitting in the cargo hold of this shabby transport ship, covered with a cheap tarp, even gnawed by rats and riddled with holes. It was about to be transported to the city of Leimen for destruction.
No one can stand by and watch this happen.
This starship was old, having been in service since the beginning of the Reval Empire, and was equipped with mostly outdated equipment, including the cargo hold locks.
The sound of the rotating ratchet was crisp and pleasant, and the precise unlocking process was also a physical job. A few drops of sweat dripped from Che Xiaoli's temples, and then the corners of her mouth curled up confidently.
The lock with brown and red rust gradually opened, and Che Xiaoli raised an eyebrow at Dalong who was following him.
"Let's go see our old friend."
·
Dear passengers, our ship is about to reach jump point 423, the border between the fourth and third galaxies. The jump may cause dizziness, vomiting, and nervousness. If you feel unwell, please press the button on the side of your seat and seek assistance from the ship's doctor.
After the announcement was made, the ship's broadcasting system played gentle and soothing music.
The journey to Chester Star takes about a day. Most people are resting, but the three middle school students next to Tao Ying seem to have no idea how to write the word "tired".
Probably because it was their first time traveling far away, they heard the safety announcement and began to excitedly look for the call button on their seats.
"Is this the one? It connects to the ship's medical office. Why isn't it on my seat?"
Hurley was sitting in seat 12K by the window and groped under her seat for a long time but couldn't find it.
The brother and sister poked their heads out from the front and began to help her look for it, one by one.
Tao Ying pressed his aching head, closed the screen of his portable computer, reached over Hu Li and reached behind her head. He unsnapped a small piece like a battery cover from the lower side of the metal chair back, then pulled out a small communication line from the hole and placed it in Hu Li's hand.
At the end of the communication line is a small black metal box with two buttons, one red and one green.
Sonya leaned her head over the back of the chair in surprise.
"Wow, why are Hurley's buttons like that? Ours are just normal buttons."
Tao Ying pinched the wire and explained, "This starship was originally a cargo ship, and the current passenger cabin was converted from the cargo hold. This location was originally the control console for communicating with the control room, so the wiring is different from other places. The cabin's communication center is probably under this seat."
"Oh..." Hurley was confused. "Then what's the difference between these two buttons, red and green?"
Her eyes were bright with curiosity, and Tao Ying smiled slightly.
"The green button will connect to control room. The red one... probably puts the ship into self-destruct sequence."
"Wait, wait, you mean the self-destruct button?! That's not right. Why would something like that be placed in such a dangerous place in the cabin..."
"After all, transport ships are always encountering various abnormal situations in space, and there will always be a need for a button to end all disputes."
"You, you are kidding me."
"Who knows. You can try."
"Well, let's not try it then."
Hu Li was sweating profusely. She quickly put the cable back to where it originally belonged, closed the cover, and sat upright.
But on the way of putting it back into the box, I accidentally bumped into the back of a chair, and with a click, the red button sank in.
“…”
Several people were at a loss and subconsciously held their breath, feeling that they had caused a big disaster.
The next second, a voice came from the communication device.
"This is the starship's medical area. Are you feeling unwell?"
Tao Ying looked at them with a smile on her face, which said "You've been fooled."
Hu Li: "..."
Why are you still bullying children?
It was very boring, and just when he was about to tease them again, Tao Ying glanced at the computer screen, his expression suddenly turned cold, he unbuckled his seat belt and stood up.
"Where are you going? We're almost at the jump point, so it's best not to move around."
"Relax."
"Relax?" Where on the starship could one relax? It would be better to look at the scenery outside the porthole.
And if you are going to relax, why bring a computer?
Although He Li was puzzled, she still stuck her head out into the corridor and asked with concern:
"Then don't go too far."
"Well, I'll be back soon... hopefully."
·
Tao Ying left the cabin, avoided the crowd, hid in a cleaning room at the corner, and turned on the portable computer again. What was displayed on the screen was... the starship surveillance.
Just now she hacked into the surveillance through the wireless network and confirmed that the mecha in the cargo hold was Hengwo.
But it shouldn't be here.
With the capabilities of Baishi Industry, it is not difficult to repair Hengwo. Shouldn't it be serving in the army now? How could it be facing destruction?
The screen was shaking, and after a while, Tao Ying realized that it was his own hands that were trembling slightly.
…
Her hands were numb, so she changed her position and squatted.
The most important thing now is to stop Hengwo from being destroyed, but even if she goes to the cargo hold now, how can she transport such a huge behemoth in front of everyone?
After a moment of silence, Tao Ying suddenly saw two familiar faces appear in the surveillance of the cargo hold.
The woman had her hair tied up high and wore a blue work suit around her waist. The man was huge, but his movements were a little slow.
Che Xiaoli and Dalong?
How come the two of them are here?
In the surveillance footage, Che Xiaoli sneaked up to Hengwo, who was covered by a waterproof cloth, and crawled in.
“…”
Tao Ying often felt that it was difficult to find a third person in the entire galaxy who could match the talent of his two subordinates in mechas.
But his talent in other areas is appallingly lacking.
For example, doing bad things.
Don’t you know that there is such a thing as surveillance in this world?
If you don't know, at least cover your face?
What if someone caught us?
Tao Ying tapped on the keyboard expressionlessly, helping the two of them cover up the sneaky surveillance footage they had just taken.
[Hello, the optical brain health module has detected a rapid increase in your heart rate. Do you need health assistance?]
Tao Ying: ...What a loud noise, don’t let anyone find out later.
"Light Brain Assistant, turn on silent mode."
[Understood, obtaining special permissions. ]
[20%, 30%...100%, permission acquisition completed.]
[Forced mute at the bottom layer—completed.]
If you need any help, please feel free to triple-click the power button and I will help you.
As soon as the computer was muted, the sound of two men talking could be heard outside the door, and their footsteps stopped at the door of the cleaning room.
"Hey, did you lock the cleaning room before?"
"No, you locked it, didn't you? Never mind. Here, the key is in my pocket. Open the door quickly. My hands are sore from lifting it."
There was the sound of a key being inserted into the lock outside the door, three seconds, two seconds.
Tao Ying looked around and found a place to hide when the door opened.
Tao Ying could vaguely see that two men came in, one tall and one short.
"Did you hear any sound just now?"
"Don't scare me. I just watched the newly released movie 'Space Ghost VI' a few days ago, and I'm still scared."
"Haha, if I were a female ghost, I would definitely hide here—"
The tall man suddenly opened the metal cabinet and let out a scream after seeing what was inside. The short man behind him didn't know what was going on and thought there was something strange in the cabinet, so he also let out a monkey-like scream.
"What's wrong? What's wrong?!"
"Hey."
The tall man turned around, a smile on his face, a look of triumphant prank. He stepped aside, and the shorter man saw the mop and various cleaning supplies inside the cabinet.
"There's no such thing as a space ghost girl. The only things in the cleaning cabinet are space cleaners, space mops, and your space brain."
"Who are you calling stupid? You're a jerk who's been on a ship for ten years and still can't tell the difference between toilet cleaning and window cleaning."
"Huh? You wanna fight?"
"Fight if you want, who's afraid of who?"
Tao Ying, who was hiding behind the water tank at this moment: "..."
Tao Ying squatted in a narrow corner with an oilcloth covering her head. In order not to be discovered, she curled up like a baby. She maintained this position for almost five minutes and felt extremely uncomfortable all over.
The health module of the optical brain assistant has flashed a silent alarm several times on the physical small screen.
Fortunately, it was just muted.
Tao Ying looked at the surveillance camera.
Che Xiaoli had already climbed into Hengwo's cockpit and tried to operate it.
However, for safety reasons, the mecha cannot be loaded with fuel during transportation and the backup power needs to be activated.
Che Xiaoli in the surveillance video seemed to be aware of this problem at this time. He turned over, found the spare fuel-free starting switch for dangerous situations, and then opened the cockpit at the head.
But after a while, Che Xiaoli jumped off the machine with an anxious look on his face and said something to Dalong using his hands and feet.
The surveillance distance was too far, so I couldn't hear the specific content of the conversation. I could only make out the words "Hengwo", "Fuel", and "Take Away" from the movement of the mouth.
It looked like he was planning to steal some fuel and forcefully drive me away.
After all these years, Researcher Che's impulsive nature hasn't changed. Tao Ying shook her head helplessly.
After all, I still have to go to the cargo hold.
Finally, there was a sound from the cleaning cabinet beside him, and two men took out cleaning tools and left.
The footsteps faded away and Tao Ying stood up from the corner.
Because I squatted for too long, everything in front of my eyes was dark, and small sparks exploded like electric currents, and then my vision gradually returned.
Tao Ying stepped over the white translucent plastic water tank and walked towards the cargo hold.
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