MPWATMBC Chapter 98

The Cranberry Planet deployed its entire armed forces, relentlessly pursuing the fleeing culprit. However, the fierce blizzard on the surface obscured visibility and hindered the pursuit, as if the heavens themselves were aiding the assassin who targeted the city lord.

“Damn it! Can’t you go any faster?” In the aircraft, the captain of the guard—who had been enjoying ribs in the comfort of the underground city while indulging in fine services—was abruptly called out to chase the culprit. Still dazed, she only fully grasped the situation upon hearing that the great city lord had been assassinated. Shocked beyond belief, rage surged within her. While ordering an all-out hunt, she noticed the snowstorm outside, heavier than goose feathers, and suddenly realized that it was the season of the most intense blizzards of the year on Cranberry Planet!

The captain stared out of the aircraft’s window at the near-zero visibility. The howling wind tossed the craft about, making it difficult to stabilize. The relentless pounding of snow against the aircraft created a chaotic, nerve-racking noise that grated on his mind.

In the past, during surface missions, the sound of snow battering the aircraft would prompt everyone to snicker and exchange dirty jokes. The captain, too, had a flood of bawdy quips flash through her mind, but she had no mood for laughter now. Her face was grave, as if… well, as if the city lord had truly died. Alright, their pillar was gone, their sun had dimmed—yes, their city lord was dead!

Forcing herself, the captain squeezed out two tears, her voice choked as she lamented, “Waaah, city lord, it’s my fault for failing to protect you. I’m to blame. We will definitely catch the culprit and avenge you!”

The pilot waited until the captain’s emotions settled before cautiously speaking, “Captain, the blizzard is too strong. What should we do?”

“Chase!” The captain, wiping her tears, gritted her teeth and growled, “Chase them! Make sure you keep the aircraft steady. This damned weather mustn’t cause us to crash, or how can we avenge the city lord!”

The others aboard exchanged silent glances, then quickly averted their eyes. Some cursed loudly, others wept in silence, and a few did both—crying and swearing in turn.

Meanwhile, the aircraft’s speed steadily slowed, becoming slower and slower until it was like a small, steady ball nestled within the raging snowstorm.

The captain, tears streaming uncontrollably, watched the scene before her in silence.

In the midst of the raging blizzard, aimlessly pursuing without a functional tracking device was utterly futile. Ryan had deliberately sabotaged the tracking system on their aircraft, leaving their pursuers unable to locate them. Everything now depended entirely on Jack’s manual piloting skills. Why Jack? Well, he could pilot mechas—so handling various flying machines shouldn’t be a problem… right?

“Didn’t you claim to be quite capable?” Harriet raised her voice, yelling as she was flung against the glass once again.

Jack, struggling to control the aircraft, didn’t even have the time to look back. “What kind of flying machine even is this thing?!”

“But you said anything that can fly is no problem for you!” Harriet called him out on his excuse.

Jack roared back, “This thing barely skims the ground—it doesn’t count as a flying machine!”

Harriet: “…”

From the seat next to Jack, Derrick gave him a thumbs-up. “Impressive.”

Bandner, along with his companions Rennie and Carrie, had not stopped tumbling inside the aircraft. They were rolling around uncontrollably, like hamsters trapped in an ancient Earth-era tumble dryer, their bodies utterly beyond their own control!

Inside his mind, Bandner was screaming furiously: Are these people reliable? Reliable at all?! Aaaaahhhh…

Meanwhile, Ryan, leaning calmly against the cabin wall with his body stabilized by straps, directed the aircraft with precision. As a meticulous planner, how could he not have everything arranged in advance? Using an array of probes to map the terrain and disruptors to hinder their pursuers, Ryan had thoroughly prepared for this situation.

The swaying and floundering Fan Lanting noticed Ryan’s “as steady as Mount Tai” demeanor and suddenly realized what he needed to do. As a scout, he quickly located the stabilizing equipment and secured himself. Letting out a deep sigh of relief, Fan Lanting felt as if he’d been saved from certain doom.

Ryan’s voice, as steady and composed as ever, cut through the chaos: “Turn left for 300 meters, then go straight for 1 kilometer. After that, head to the 10 o’clock direction for 50 kilometers. Then…”

“Wait, wait!” Jack at the pilot’s seat was anything but relaxed. Identifying directions, increasing speed, and maintaining control required his full concentration. Even though he was strapped into the pilot’s seat, keeping his body balanced still demanded considerable effort. Gritting his teeth, Jack snapped, “Say less! I… can’t… remember… all that!”

Ryan gave an innocent smile. “What I was going to say was… then we are there.”

Jack: “…”

Everyone: “!!!” Finally, they were almost there! Relief flooded the cabin. They were overjoyed to escape the relentless turbulence and return to some semblance of normalcy. Tears of joy were shed; cheers and applause erupted. This rollercoaster of emotions was… just too “wonderful.”

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Muffled explosions echoed through the dense blizzard, breaking the moment of celebration. Instinctively, Bandner turned to look back and spotted faint glimmers of firelight flickering through the white haze.

“W-what’s happening?”

Ryan glanced back, his gentle smile unfaltering as he said, “Just a few charges I set up earlier going off.” The timed explosives had detonated right on schedule.

Bandner, now unbothered, merely replied, “…Oh.”

Ryan swore it really was just a few—three or four C4 charges at most. There was no way that amount could cause such an uproar. Clearly, someone else was lending a hand…

Ten minutes earlier, in the underground city, the deputy city lord—whose looks, he would begrudgingly admit, fell far short of her sister’s—sat grim-faced. Once again, she barked orders to her subordinates, “Find them at all costs and kill them!”

“Yes!” the subordinates replied loudly and with conviction.

At that moment, a series of explosions erupted in the distance, one after another, shaking the underground city violently. The tremors were severe, as the city’s foundations had been hastily constructed in its early days. Over the years, reinforcements and improvements had been made, but the poor initial construction couldn’t withstand such powerful blasts. The damage set off a chain reaction.

“Deputy city lord, it’s the hotel! Explosions have occurred at the hotel!”

“Deputy city lord, the elevator shaft in the Red House has exploded.”

“Deputy city lord, the explosion triggered a chain reaction— the armory is now on the brink of destruction!”

“…”

“…”

The continuous stream of reports came in rapid succession, leaving everyone present beyond terrified; they were utterly bewildered.

The underground city they had once taken such pride in crumbled so easily after being attacked from within.

The deputy city lord was filled with complexity and exhaustion. What could she say? Nothing came to her lips, only a bitter taste. The prosperity of Cranberry had been built on a “castle in the air,” with a foundation too weak. During the expansion, she had suggested tearing everything down and rebuilding with proper foundations. But her sister, the stunningly beautiful city lord, was desperate to make Cranberry profitable. She couldn’t wait to establish her kingdom, so she kept the old structures intact and continued building on top of them… Day after day, year after year, this was the result.

Through the glass, the deputy city lord saw the flames erupting in the distance, and her heart sank with despair.

Finally, the starship arrived, and everyone quickly boarded and sprang into action. Now, they were facing not only their pursuers but also the imminent collapse of Cranberry.

“The pirates’ traditions are really ridiculous—burying their own explosives right above their heads!” Harriet, dizzy from the chaos, ruthlessly activated her sarcasm mode.

Collapsed on the floor, Bandner weakly muttered, “Do you still want to understand pirate logic?”

“That actually makes a lot of sense,” Harriet said as she pushed herself up, taking a deep breath to calm herself. She glanced around disdainfully at the interior of the starship, shaking her head. “Couldn’t we have gone back to our own ship? The pursuers seem pretty incompetent, we could easily evade them. Thank goodness for Cranberry’s harsh weather, it gave us a chance.”

Ryan, his head down as he reviewed the data from the scanners, replied, “It’s too late. We need to be 15 light-years away from Cranberry in the next 15 minutes. Jack, once we leave Cranberry’s atmosphere, initiate the jump immediately. The aftereffects can be dealt with later, but if we get caught in the blast wave from Cranberry’s explosion, there’s no way out.”

The planet’s explosion warped both space and time, potentially forming a supermassive black hole. Ryan didn’t want to experience that sensation of his consciousness drifting aimlessly through the boundless void again. He had Auston, he had Tuantuan—he wasn’t the same as before, detached from everything. He didn’t want to experience the ever-shifting nature of time and existence. Of course, there was also the greater possibility of being caught in it all, in which everything would be lost. The heavens’ mercy couldn’t possibly keep falling on the same person over and over again.

Upon hearing Ryan’s words, everyone except Bandner and her companions, who were still in a dazed state, sprang into action. Within less than a minute, the starship was up and running at full speed. The immense friction with the air caused the ship to emit a series of sounds that felt like it was on the verge of falling apart. Amidst the clanking, the starship barely managed to break free from Cranberry’s atmosphere. Yet, before it could escape its gravitational pull, Jack shouted, “We’re starting! Get ready!”

“Ah, wait! We’re not even seated properly yet!” Bandner screamed, her voice distorted by the force.

“We can’t wait!” Ryan looked out the window. Cranberry had exploded. The entire space suddenly compressed, and once the energy was released, everything around would turn to dust. Those who were lucky enough to survive might be dragged into even greater danger. The usual relaxed smile on Ryan’s face had completely disappeared, replaced by a heavy expression. “Jack, it’s time. Go ahead!”

“Everyone, get ready!” Jack slammed his hand down on the jump button. Only after pressing it did he add, “It’s starting…”

Space travel requires preparation. After all, the human body hasn’t evolved into something like Kryptonians¹For those who don’t know, Superman’s home planet is Krypton with their invulnerable, steel-like bodies. If unprepared and subjected to consecutive jumps, the aftereffects can be severe. For now, the damage seemed relatively light—only two fractures, one person with a lack of coordination, and one person with sensory dysfunction. That was already a significant improvement.

The one experiencing sensory confusion was Harriet. She had been injured earlier and wasn’t in the best physical condition. Now, she temporarily went blind, her ears ringing, and her speech was slurred. “No one said we were going to make two jumps!”

After escaping the disaster, Ryan’s smile returned. “I did say, but I knew you all would have concerns.”

“So Ryan quietly told me alone,” Jack said, relieved now that the biggest task was complete.

Rennie and Carrie had fractures and were being treated with the help of Fan Lanting and Derrick. As for the lack of coordination, that would take time to fix, so Bandner twisted awkwardly on the couch and asked the question that had been on her mind, “How did you have my starship coordinates?”

Ryan, as the second pilot, sat in the co-pilot seat, his eyes scanning the star map in front of him, searching for the best route back. At that moment, he couldn’t help but long for Yuan Chu or Code Zero. If they were around, he wouldn’t have to be the one to figure out the route.

“Your star map version is too old.” 

“Too poor, just make do with it. It has what we need,” Bandner, “But you still haven’t answered my question!”

Ryan answered calmly, “The Storm Starfield, fuel.”

Bandner, “…”