Chapter 78 Just Partners 23
With negotiations with the alliance completely hopeless, Rogge quickly came up with a new solution.
—Bring Lando over here.
With Lando's arrival, the Alliance will undoubtedly prioritize dealing with the Xenomorphs, but they also have to worry about the impact on their starships. They cannot use weapons of mass destruction and can only try to contain the Xenomorphs first.
They controlled the starship, using the hostages on board to force the Alliance to prepare evacuation supplies. Then, during the evacuation, they set the starship to automatically steer, causing it to crash into the aliens.
At that time, the Alliance's focus will definitely be on rescuing the starship passengers, and not many people will be spared to surround them.
As long as I escape and adopt a new identity, I can start all over again.
However, this near-perfect plan unexpectedly met with opposition.
Those who had come with Rogge were filled with terror: "Lando! That's Lando!"
The alien species are terrifying, but what's even more terrifying is the alien species disguised in human skin.
Purfer has had a research department for many years, and the laboratory has produced more than one product, but Lando is the only experimental subject that can transform into a completely alien form.
Can such a being still be called a "human"?
They don't know.
But the answer from those who escaped with Rogue was clearly no. Even more terrifying than the monstrous appearance was the fear that seeped into their very bones when Lando nonchalantly displayed those incongruous traits in human form—this was a monster in human skin.
After the initial fear subsided, someone finally calmed down a bit and asked, "How could he possibly transform into a mutant form in the central district of the Alliance?"
Lando may be crazy, but he's not stupid. It's obvious he wouldn't do something so suicidal.
Former experimenter Roger was quite confident about this: "As long as I lure him here, I have a way to turn him into a mutant."
As a laboratory creation and a man-made weapon, Lando was naturally controlled from the outset using pre-set methods. However, no one anticipated its sudden and unexpected attack. The event was so sudden; Lando's complete transformation from human to mutant form happened in an instant. At that moment, not only was injecting the drug to control it impossible, but even making contact with it became unthinkable.
It wasn't until then that they realized what kind of monster they had created.
However, while controlling a mutant is extremely difficult, luring it into a berserk state is not so challenging.
Moreover, even if the other side only reveals a little bit of the alien characteristics, it is enough to attract the league's attention.
Roger clutched the two vials of medicine he had hastily grabbed before leaving, gritting his teeth: "If we don't do this, are we going to let him keep chasing us?"
It wasn't even a chase; it was more like a cat playing with a mouse.
Every time he offered a glimmer of hope when they were in dire straits, watching them flee in panic, Roger could picture the malicious smile on Lando's face.
The fear of not knowing when the executioner's blade would fall hung over everyone's heads. Finally, someone tremblingly replied, "Okay."
As for how to lure Lando over, that's not a problem, since they were already being chased by Lando.
But will they really take the bait? This is Lando, after all.
Everyone buried this uneasy question deep in their hearts, but this suspicion was soon confirmed.
The communication request from the starship put everyone on edge. At this moment, there were only two possibilities for who could receive the signal: the Alliance, who had tracked down the starship, or Lando, whom they had managed to shake off earlier.
Communication is established.
The image on the other side was displayed on the screen; it was Lando.
This was to be expected. After all, compared to the Alliance, which was searching aimlessly like looking for a needle in a haystack, the latter had a more accurate grasp of their direction of action. Coupled with the bait they had deliberately released earlier, it was indeed more likely that Lando would find them first.
The enormous screen clearly projected the face of the silver-gray-haired youth. He had just done something, and there were still traces of blood on his face, but his expression was extremely relaxed and carefree—a kind of "carefree" that sent chills down the spines of onlookers. He had destroyed the laboratory as if he had destroyed the last shackle, and even in his completely human form at this moment, he could not hide the terrifying danger.
Lando seemed to only then notice the call had been connected. He tilted his head slightly, gave the camera a casual smile, and said, "Do I look like an idiot to you?"
He asked the question, but a look of boredom crossed his face.
We're getting tired of chasing after this all the time. It wouldn't be bad for the Alliance to recycle this trash.
As Lando thought about it, he snapped his fingers with one hand, and a list of portraits like a photo wall was immediately projected onto the other side of the screen. Some of the portraits had completely turned gray, just like the unlucky guy he was standing on in a pool of blood.
"One, two...five..."
He moved his lips and counted softly. With each number he said, a photo was marked. If Roger, who was on the other end of the communication, could see it, he would be horrified to discover that it was a member of their gang.
Lando chuckled: Gathering them all together like this saves him the trouble of searching for them one by one.
He was thinking about this with a bit of boredom when he suddenly paused in his counting. He raised his hand and tapped lightly, enlarging one of the images on the split screen.
Lando found this group so easily thanks to the old man's paranoia; the old man had left a backdoor on the personal computers of everyone under his command. Now that the old man is dead, the control system naturally fell into Lando's hands, and he can easily control everyone's personal computers.
Location tracking, video recording, eavesdropping...
If Lando wanted, he could "end the game" at any time, but that would take away all the fun. Unfortunately, he had given them so many chances, and they still hadn't provided the entertainment he wanted.
However, looking at it now, we still need to have this much patience.
Lando zoomed in on the image of a hostage-taker's personal computer, and he seemed to spot a familiar figure in the crowd.
He slowly sat up straight as he zoomed in on the image. When it was finally zoomed in enough to make people recognizable, he couldn't help but exclaim "Wow!" His face showed obvious excitement.
—He and that little guy really do have a special connection.
The person on the other end of the communication line didn't know why Lando was reacting this way, but this change in expression was enough to make many people's legs go weak and they almost collapsed to the ground. This group of thugs who had hijacked the starship were now like trapped beasts with nowhere to run. Even though the hunters hadn't actually appeared yet, fear had already driven them to the brink of collapse.
Roger couldn't help but shout, "Lando, don't go too far! We didn't do anything to you! If it weren't for us, you wouldn't even exist!!"
As Rogge spoke, the boy, who was being observed by Lando using their personal computer, seemed to sense something, shifted his position slightly, and then completely disappeared from the blind spot of the personal computer's camera.
This extraordinary sensitivity made Lando laugh again: No wonder he had chosen this little guy.
However, losing track of the other party was not so pleasant. Lando naturally transferred that unpleasantness to Rogge, who had spoken earlier. Even so, he still had that interesting smile on his face and replied, "So what? You don't expect me to call you 'father'?"
He slowly uttered the title, his expression one of human kindness and gentleness, but his eyes held a beastly chill.
Roger's face turned pale instantly, and he trembled as he took a step back.
Driven by sheer terror, all his original plans were thrown to the wind. He practically begged, "What do you want?! How can you let us go? Please..."
Lando seemed extremely surprised. "Didn't you want me to come over?"
As he asked this, his still-smiling eyes fell directly on Roger.
—They were seen through; their plans were completely exposed.
Roger's already pale face turned even paler, his clothes were soaked with sweat, and he could barely stand.
Before this pressure could drive Roger to the brink of madness, Lando suddenly changed the subject, "How about this, Theta EV542, come here?"
He then gave a coordinate. Although the place was under the Alliance's jurisdiction, it was surrounded by a well-known turbulent area, which heavy weapons could not enter. The Alliance could only use small aircraft and mechs.
If things went according to Rogge's plan, this terrain would be extremely advantageous to Lando, and would also make their escape very convenient. Rogge's mind raced through this information, but under Lando's watchful gaze, he dared not move an inch.
Lando looked at him with a smile and asked softly, "You'll go, won't you?"
Roger nodded stiffly.
Before the communication was cut off, Lando seemed to suddenly remember something and added, "You can contact the Alliance first."
This single sentence completely shattered their original plans, leaving no room for any hope. As a result, even after the virtual image completely disappeared, the atmosphere in the cockpit remained tense, and no one dared to even breathe loudly.
After a long pause, someone cautiously asked, "Boss, shall we go?"
Roger was barely able to stand by leaning against the cockpit. Hearing the question, he didn't answer immediately, and everyone present probably felt the same hesitation.
Finally, Roger gritted his teeth and said, "Go!"
No matter what crazy thing Lando does next, it is indeed the best option for them.
Rogge: "Turn off the early warning system, change course, and then... contact the Alliance."
*
With the results from the driver's cab, the next step, of course, is to select hostages.
Although all the passengers on the starship are their hostages, some must be selected and placed at the "negotiation table" to have sufficient deterrent effect.
Their target is also clear: the most vulnerable individuals who are easiest to control.
The standard, in its usual sense, is summarized as "women" and "children." Fortunately, because this starship was passing through a radiation zone, there were age restrictions for entry, and there were no children on board who were actually young children.
Although Ren Yi didn't fully meet the two conditions mentioned above, he was young and, having just been discharged from the hospital, his pale complexion made it easy to tell he was unwell, making him an easy candidate. However, just as he was about to make a move to attract attention, his wrist was firmly grabbed.
Ren Yi turned around in confusion and met Duan Rui's pale face. The latter clenched his teeth tightly, and the taut masseter muscles on his face were visible. He gripped Ren Yi's hand so tightly that it trembled. The pain in his wrist made Ren Yi wonder if he would be crushed by Duan Rui at any moment.
When Duan Rui's gaze met Ren Yi's as he turned back, he opened his mouth, silently pleading: ...Don't go.
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