Chapter 80 Just Partners 25
After warning the hostages, Roger turned to his men, pointing to one of them.
“Go to the back and tell a few of them…” He paused abruptly, then asked urgently, “Why is it so quiet?!”
The negotiation expert on the screen sensed something was wrong and spoke up to inform Rogge of the progress of the spaceship's movement, trying to distract him. However, Rogge, who was already on edge, had no time to listen. He coldly shouted, "Shut up!" and reached for the communication device.
It's too late!
The alliance could only activate the backup plan as an emergency measure.
The moment Rogge lowered his head, the driver's cab door was suddenly flung open.
Before entering, the Star Police had learned about the structure of the cockpit and the positions of the personnel through intelligence from the Alliance. The moment they broke in, five of the seven members of the gang, including Rogge, were killed. The one who barely survived was also injured and subdued by the crew members in the cockpit.
Roger, however, the moment he realized something was wrong, he grabbed Ren Yi and used him as cover, causing the Star Police to hesitate to attack him. Then, he threatened Ren Yi with the hostage in his hands, forcing them to clear the way to the emergency exit.
The starship has escape pods, which are standard equipment on passenger starships. However, the purpose of this equipment is to wait for rescue. The movement speed is extremely slow. If you use it to escape, there is a high chance that you will be caught by the Alliance. That's why Rogge insisted on using a spaceship.
But given the current situation, he had no other choice.
Roger consoled himself, thinking: This area is a well-known turbulent zone; if I'm lucky, I might be able to escape.
However, all of Roger's plans fell through, and he froze the moment he entered the escape pod.
There was already one person inside the cabin.
When he saw that silvery-gray color, Roger's mind went blank. He forgot about the Alliance's pursuit and the danger outside. He turned to run out, but watched helplessly as the escape pod door closed in front of him.
The Rogue was practically pressed against the door, his fingers frantically digging into the closed gap, trying to use this primitive method to open the specially designed locking door of the escape pod.
In stark contrast to Rogge, Lando, who had been waiting inside for who knows how long, looked completely relaxed. He ignored the trembling Rogge and winked at Ren Yi, greeting him, "Oh, we meet again."
With a face full of joy at reuniting with friends after a long separation, she looked both cute and harmless, showing no sign of having frightened the people around her like this.
Ren Yi: "..."
He guessed who the robbers were hiding from, but he never expected it to be Lando.
This guy is still alive?!
Roger, unaware of the connection between Ren Yi and Lando, assumed the words were directed at him.
His lost rationality was forcibly pulled back, and he turned around tremblingly, his voice shaking: "...Lando."
Lando seemed to only just notice that there was another person there, and said with a start, "Oh, you're here too."
Rogge had no time to ponder the meaning of his words; the fear of being in a confined space with such a monster was driving him almost insane.
Lando finally got up and walked over.
The space inside the escape pod was extremely cramped. The pressure was immense when an adult stood up. Lando barely took two steps before he was right in front of it.
Roger tried desperately to back away, but the hatch was right behind him, and he could only circle around against the door after trying for a long time. As Lando approached, he didn't even dare to retreat anymore, like prey being watched by its natural enemy, just stiffly trembling on the spot, and Ren Yi could hear the chattering of his teeth.
Lando seemed completely oblivious to the pressure he was putting on him, and even leaned closer to pat Roger on the shoulder with a smile, "Thank you for bringing this little guy all the way here."
Those two light pats on the shoulder felt like they had ripped half of Roger's life out of him. The last bit of color drained from his face, sweat had already pooled into a puddle beneath him, and even his breathing had become weak. If it weren't for the physiological spasms his body was still convulsing, one would almost suspect that he was a corpse.
Lando ignored his reaction, his attention seemingly drawn to something else. He pointed to the sign next to him with a troubled expression: "This escape pod can hold two people."
Seemingly awakened by the will to survive, Roger's blank mind miraculously grasped the meaning of those words, and he shouted with all his might, "I'll go! I'll go!!"
As he spoke, he turned around and tried to open the door again.
However--
A dull thud as a sharp weapon pierced flesh, blood splattered, and a strong stench of blood filled the cabin.
Lando slowly retracted the tail with its barbed tip, a movement that dragged the pierced body backward a short distance. Roger eventually fell backward, blood gushing from his mouth and nose, but his eyes still held a bewildered look of disbelief.
Lando looked down and smiled at him, "No need for that."
No need for that. Once he dies, there will only be two living people left in this escape pod.
Upon understanding the meaning of those words, Roger suddenly opened his eyes wide. He seemed to want to say something, but he could only manage a strange "ah ah" sound with difficulty, mixed with the blood and foam in his mouth. This was the last sound he made in the world.
Lando slowly shifted his gaze to Ren Yi beside him, his eyes still holding a hint of excitement from the recent killing.
Ren Yi decisively withdrew his hand that was opening the hatch.
Lando was right about one thing: getting out is indeed very "troublesome." Following Roger's method of opening the door, it won't be able to open it even in a hundred years. The escape pod door is specially designed so that once closed, reopening it from the inside requires a rather cumbersome confirmation process. This is to prevent accidental activation and to prevent those being rescued from impulsively committing suicide during the long wait (by the time the entire process is completed, those who should be calm will have calmed down). Ren Yi doesn't have the system with him right now and can't quickly and brute-force bypass this procedure. He can only try to open the door while Lando's attention is still on Roger.
But clearly, Rogge didn't buy enough time.
However, there was another reason why Ren Yi stopped so decisively. He had just heard a "click" sound. If he wasn't mistaken, that was the sound of the escape pod leaving the starship. If he opened the door now, he would be throwing himself directly into the sea of stars, and would definitely die faster than if Lando attacked him.
Lando seemed extremely pleased with Ren Yi's tact, and his smile widened. He leaned closer and reached out to pull Ren Yi, but changed direction mid-air and grabbed Ren Yi's wrist.
A dagger was held in the hand that Lando had grabbed, its sharp blade gleaming coldly in the warm light of the escape pod.
Lando smiled broadly and praised, "You're so cute."
But the next instant his expression changed, and he suddenly dodged to the side. The laser grazed his neck, leaving a deep burn mark. If he were a pure human, he would be dead by now.
Ren Yi felt he could return the description "so cute" verbatim.
—Who still uses cold weapons to attack these days?
However, reality did not give Ren Yi a chance to retaliate. He groaned, his face turned pale, and his wrist, which had just escaped from Duan Rui's hands, finally could not be spared this time. With a sound of dislocation, the dagger that Ren Yi was holding fell to the ground with a "thud," and his hand fell limply to the ground.
Lando had already grasped Ren Yi's left hand, which was hiding the energy gun.
This was the gun that Roger had used to threaten him. After the latter entered the escape pod in a state of chaos, he no longer cared about weapons, so Ren Yi just grabbed it.
Ren Yi stared at the wound on Lando's neck that was healing at a visible speed, and felt that Rogge might not be "unable to care," but rather knew that "caring would be useless." Whenever experimental modifications were involved, things would become complicated.
After a brief moment of gloom, Lando's expression suddenly brightened. He touched his wound with his free hand, but the careless movement worsened the healing injury. He laughed out loud as if he found it amusing.
Ren Yi: "..."
--Neuropathy!
However, when a psychopath has the power to suppress them, they become terrifying.
Lando's blood-stained finger landed on the same spot on Ren Yi's neck, slowly tracing a bloody mark on it, as if he really wanted to give him a similar blow in the same spot.
Ren Yi tensed up all over. Unlike his opponent, he wasn't half-monster. If he got a cut in this spot, he would die within minutes.
As Lando drew closer, Ren Yi's breathing quickened. His series of actions just now were purely a surprise attack. In a real contest of strength, this was a half-mutant capable of going head-to-head with a mecha. Even in his human form, he hadn't been weakened in any way.
Fortunately, Lando didn't make a move in the end. Instead, he asked softly, "Do you know about the alien research lab?"
Ren Yi: "..."
Although he didn't know why the other person asked that question, Ren Yi still shook his head, showing a strong will to survive. Whatever the reason, talking was better than resorting to violence.
Seemingly enjoying Ren Yi's forced obedience, Lando's eyes were full of smiles. He admired Ren Yi for a while, then slowly explained, "That's where I was 'born'."
Ren Yi nodded perfunctorily, but still didn't understand why Lando suddenly brought this up.
Could it be that the other party intends to discuss the origin of life with him?
“There are many exotic species that are kept in captivity,” Lando continued. “Although each one has been specially weakened, they still pose a threat to humans, so… those that pounce have their teeth knocked out, those that tear have their nails pulled out, and those with thorns have their thorns ripped off one by one…”
Lando leaned in so close he was practically whispering in Ren Yi's ear.
He chuckled softly, a slightly cool aura sending a shiver down the side of his neck, just like the chilling undercurrent in his words. Unlike his almost gentle tone, the hand gripping Ren Yi's forearm tightened, as if it would snap him in two at any moment.
The implication behind his words was quite clear.
Lando finally asked softly, "But I don't like it this way, don't you think?"
In stark contrast to the gentle question, Ren Yi's arm bones creaked under the strain.
Ren Yi finally let go, and the energy gun crashed to the ground. Lando showed an expression that was both a sigh and a sense of satisfaction.
He leaned in and kissed Ren Yi's lips as a reward, completely ignoring the other hand that he had broken earlier, which was now softly resting on the back of his shoulder and neck. But when he was about to go further, his expression froze.
The next moment, Ren Yi was violently thrown out, crashing into the other end of the cabin.
Ren Yi slid off the bulkhead. Although the escape pod was specially designed to be impact-resistant, the force of the impact still made him feel like his bones were about to be shattered. He couldn't get up for a long time and could only lift his eyes with difficulty to look at the half-injected medicine stuck in the side of Lando's neck.
Fortunately, the syringe for this thing is specially designed to inject automatically; otherwise, even if Ren Yi had inserted it, he wouldn't have been able to push the medicine inside.
His attack just now was also meant to test Lando's defensive capabilities. If the other party really had a layer of armor that even a light energy gun couldn't penetrate, like the alien, Ren Yi might as well forget about getting acupuncture and just get cleaned up and wait to have his throat slit.
Fortunately, things weren't that bad; when Lando was in human form, he was actually wearing a human skin.
This potion was obtained by Ren Yi from Rogge when he was previously held hostage.
After learning that Rogge was hiding from Lando, Ren Yi guessed the purpose of the potion, which was either to "calm down" or to "go berserk." Ren Yi guessed that Rogge originally wanted to use the latter to make Lando attract the Alliance's attention, but Ren Yi needed the former effect, since if Lando turned into a mutant in the escape pod, he would be the first to die.
He could only use one. The two potions that Roger carried had different uses, and he chose the correct one.
The latter wasn't difficult to figure out; one could guess which one Rogge intended to use simply by looking at where the two vials were placed on him. However, Ren Yi wasn't so sure about the former.
After Lando threw Ren Yi away, he tried to pull out the syringe, but the drug took effect very quickly. He lost control halfway up his hand, and his body began to show irregular mutant characteristics.
Ren Yi: "!"
His heart skipped a beat; he almost thought he had failed.
However, those alien features appeared and disappeared quickly, as if they were beyond Lando's control, and the latter showed obvious signs of pain on his face.
Ren Yi held his breath, watching the changes, but unexpectedly his eyes met Lando's. Lando's eyes were rapidly switching between human and alien beast eyes, making one wonder if he still had sight. However, he accurately caught Ren Yi's location, and his lips twitched slowly, revealing a smile that looked particularly distorted due to the lack of coordination in his facial muscles.
Ren Yi felt a chill run down his spine and suddenly rolled to the side.
Almost simultaneously, the tail that had just pierced through Rogge stabbed straight into the spot where Ren Yi had just been lying.
Cold sweat trickled down his forehead.
If it weren't for that last tumble, his heart would have been ripped out by now.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
