TL: Hua

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Chapter 53

Rewind to a few minutes prior.

Shen Que and the other members of the Case Legion had been assigned to the technical squad. Their communication relay vehicle was positioned in a relatively safe peripheral area of the pier.

Several monitoring screens displayed real-time footage from different angles. Zakun was held in the center of an open space surrounded by shipping containers, with First Guard members disguised as his subordinates standing behind him. Before long, an aircraft sped out of the night. After it came to a halt, a man in a black overcoat opened the hatch and stepped down.

Contrary to the expected grand entourage, this so-called supplier[1] traveled light; besides a driver, there was no one else.

“Mr. Zakun… good evening.” The man’s voice came through the audio collection system. It was unclear if it was due to electronic interference, but it sounded somewhat eerie.

The vehicle’s computer quickly scanned and identified the person: an unemployed drifter from the Fifth Galaxy.

The members present all frowned; this didn’t match any profile the Azure Bird Seventh Guard had constructed of the supplier.

“Have Zakun confirm his identity,” Aslan’s command came through the comms channel.

Zakun stepped forward to make contact with the man in black. At the same time, Shen Que suddenly noticed a figure appearing on another screen.

The person was dressed in blue coveralls, looking at first glance like a dockworker. However, their aura was entirely unlike that of a laborer weathered by years of sun and wind. The skin exposed to the air looked delicate and fair, and their gait was leisurely, as if strolling through an art gallery.

Furthermore, they had cleared the area before the operation. How did this person bypass the outermost perimeter to reach the inner docks?

Shen Que immediately requested permission to lead a team to investigate and received Aslan’s approval.

However, no one noticed that just as he and two other Case Legion members leaped down from the relay vehicle, the “worker” on the monitor suddenly looked up toward the camera’s location.

Moonlight fell on his pale face. Several strands of silver hair slid out from under his cap. As the shadow of the brim moved upward, a pair of dark purple eyes was revealed.

[Ah… I’ve been discovered.]

The monitor couldn’t pick up his high-frequency voice; one could only see his lips moving slightly.

The “worker,” having been spotted, didn’t intend to flee. Instead, he continued along his path until he collided with Shen Que’s team.

At the same moment, Zakun, who was negotiating with the “supplier,” widened his eyes uncontrollably as a bullet grazed his abdomen and slammed into a distant container.

BANG!!!

“What… rude… hospitality.”

The “worker’s” clothes were scorched through by several bullets, revealing skin tissue that was clearly not human beneath the tattered fabric. The baseball cap was swept away by the wind, allowing a mane of silver hair to spread wildly against the pitch-black night.

In the next instant, he blurred across the ground, lunging straight for Shen Que!

“He’s a Zerg!” a teammate shouted.

Shen Que’s pupils shrank. He jerked sideways to evade, simultaneously raising his pistol and pulling the trigger at the figure nearly on top of him!

Bang!

The bullet hit the lower abdomen, and thick, viscous blood dripped down. The silver-haired Zerg paused for a fraction of a second before becoming completely enraged.

“Ugh…” Before Shen Que could retreat, a sharp gust of wind lashed toward his face. The Zerg’s forelimb reflected a silver glint in the moonlight. Dazzled, Shen Que’s superior Alpha combat instincts and reflexes drove him to snap his head back while raising his arm to block!

Creeeeeak! A tooth-aching sound rang out as a jagged crack appeared on his gun. The silver-haired Zerg spun and kicked. Shen Que felt as if he had been hit head-on by a speeding vehicle, his entire body flying backward uncontrollably!

A dull pain bloomed in his chest, and the metallic taste of blood surged in his throat. With a heavy thud, he slammed into a container wall and crumpled to the ground, momentarily unable to rise.

“Missed… by a bit,” the silver-haired Zerg muttered. “Trash… wasting… so much… time.”

Shen Que’s ears were ringing; he wasn’t sure if “trash” referred to them or someone else. Seeing the situation, the sole remaining Case Legion member charged forward with a roar, pressing his rifle close to fire!

The Zerg didn’t even bother to turn around. The coveralls over its shoulder blades tore open—

Riiiiiip!

Two massive, translucent bone wings suddenly unfurled, effortlessly blocking all bullets. Then, with a casual snap and twist, the teammate’s rifle was sliced through like tofu. The broken barrel spewed out scorching flames that instantly burned his arm.

Screams tore through the night, drowning out the “thump-thump” sounds echoing in the air.

The silver-haired Zerg looked up. As if sensing something, its bone wings vibrated for an instant.

“Forget it.” He turned back toward Shen Que. The latter spat out a mouthful of blood and reached with his other hand for a dagger that had fallen nearby as the Zerg approached.

But the Zerg didn’t seem to intend to kill him. Its forelimb mimicked a human hand again, grabbing Shen Que by the collar and hoisting him off the ground.

“We can… try this first.”

Just then, a scorching beam of light suddenly blasted toward the Zerg’s arm.

The silver-haired Zerg’s reactions were staggering. Almost instinctively, he let go and retreated. The beam grazed Shen Que’s chest and melted a charred hole into the adjacent container, a ring of dark red embers spreading around the edges.

Shen Que tumbled back to the ground, coughing violently. Before the retreating Zerg could even find his footing, a fierce wind pressure came from behind him!

CLANG—

The sound of metal clashing crashed into Shen Que’s chaotic consciousness. As he looked up, a cold blade-light filled his vision.

The moonlight seemed to favor the newcomer, illuminating his face as the night wind whipped several strands of ink-black hair around his temples.

Ji Xuan’s bayonet parried and lunged. The Zerg’s forelimb grazed his shoulder and slammed hard into the container beside them.

“T-07 team has arrived on site. Confirmed: this is the Zerg that escaped from the Old North Star Fortress four years ago.”

Pei Yingye jumped down from a nearby container, the moonlight stretching his shadow across the ground. He put away his still-smoking energy gun and drew the combat knife from his waist. “A Zerg being the supplier for Zerg extraction fluid… no matter how you think about it, it’s as creepy as a frog-man selling frog spawn.”

The silver-haired Zerg retracted his limb and slowly tilted his head, his dark purple eyes narrowing. He cocked his head and mumbled two blurred syllables: “…It’s you.”

Pei Yingye raised an eyebrow. “If I recall correctly, I’ve only ever seen a model of you?”

“But let’s skip the low-quality pick-up lines. I’m afraid the Omega across from you will get jealous and stab you right through.”

The silver-haired Zerg pulled his lips back into a smirk. The next second, he lunged at Ji Xuan again.

“…Watch out!”

Accompanied by Shen Que’s warning, the Zerg’s forelimb scraped against the bayonet with an ear-piercing screech.

Using the momentum of the impact, Ji Xuan’s waist arched back in a supple, extreme curve. His entire body was nearly parallel to the ground, narrowly avoiding the sweeping blade. Simultaneously, his other hand braced against the ground like lightning, and his long leg whipped around like a scorpion’s tail, kicking hard into the Zerg’s exposed abdominal opening!

THUMP!

A dull impact sounded, and the Zerg staggered from the sudden blow.

“I’m not at the point of being jealous yet,” Ji Xuan said flatly as his combat boots hit the ground.

“Oh, well, that’s actually rather heartbreaking.”

As soon as the words left Pei Yingye’s mouth, his combat knife hacked down from behind. The Zerg spun instantly, his unfurled bone wings bracing against the strike.

The stalemate broke as his ear twitched slightly.

The sound of dense footsteps drew closer. It was the members of the First Guard, originally lying in ambush at the transaction site, rushing toward them.

A distorted smile spread across the Zerg’s face. His lips moved again, emitting the same high-frequency sound, but this time, it vibrated clearly in the ears of the three people present.

[Beautiful Omega, it is a pleasure to meet you,] he said. [You are indeed just as he described—much more suitable for us.]

Ji Xuan’s brows furrowed deeply.

[But the time for greetings is up. I cannot deal with these many humans.]

Smoke erupted outward from the Zerg’s body, completely obscuring their vision in an instant. Ji Xuan’s offensive halted. A second later, a gust of wind brushed past his ear, carrying the Zerg’s whisper: [I hope we meet again.]

“Cough… what the hell!” Pei Yingye’s angry shout rang out through the thick smoke. He swung his combat knife violently, trying to disperse the haze, but all he could see was rolling, dense white.

Who was “he”? Ji Xuan thought coldly.

Four years ago, during the incident at the North Star Fortress, that Zerg had escaped, leaving Pei Yingye trapped in a simulation pod with damaged mental power and amnesia. For four years, that Zerg had been hiding somewhere within the five galaxy systems, secretly peddling Zerg extract and genetic weapons to humans. Why? To conquer human territory?

But official records stated that a vast natural chasm separated the five major galaxies from the Zerg territory, making it impossible for them to break through and invade on a large scale.

“Lights! Disperse the smoke!”

“Where is the target? Confirm the target!”

Several high-intensity flashlights pierced the fog. Airflow devices were activated, clearing the area in seconds. Only a few of them remained in the narrow clearing surrounded by shipping containers, along with two unconscious members of the Case Legion on the ground. The silver-haired Zerg was gone.

The reinforcing First Guard members quickly secured the scene while medics stepped forward to check the wounded.

Pei Yingye picked up the severed muzzle of a gun from the ground and glanced at it. As he looked up, he locked eyes with Ji Jingche, who was walking toward them through the crowd.

“He got away.”

Ji Jingche nodded. After scanning the wreckage of the scene, his gaze settled on Ji Xuan. The Omega’s training uniform was stained with dust, and the bayonet in his hand glinted with a cold light. Ji Xuan flicked off the green slime clinging to the blade before sheathing it.

“…Are you hurt?” Ji Jingche’s lips moved, and he finally forced the question out.

Only then did Ji Xuan look up at him, spreading his hands to show him. “No.”

“The target is likely the same S-grade Zerg we killed in the full-domain simulation,” Ji Xuan informed him in a businesslike tone. “If you need a detailed report later, we will cooperate.”

Ji Jingche gave a brief “Alright,” then watched as Ji Xuan turned and walked toward Pei Yingye.

Shen Que stood up with the help of a medic. His arm had been roughly splinted and his chest treated for emergencies, but his face remained pale, and the blood at the corner of his mouth was a startling sight.

He looked at Ji Xuan nearby, watching him pat Pei Yingye’s shoulder and say something. It wasn’t the first time he had witnessed such a scene, yet his heart still tightened uncontrollably.

Taking a deep breath, he endured the pain, broke away from the medic’s support, and stumbled a few steps toward the two of them.

Ji Xuan and Pei Yingye turned to look at him simultaneously.

Meeting Ji Xuan’s dark, heavy gaze, Shen Que felt his breath hitch again. He steadied himself, trying to keep his voice level: “…Thank you.”

Pei Yingye crossed his arms and arched an eyebrow.

“No need,” Ji Xuan said expressionlessly. “I was simply following orders.”

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[1] In previous chapters, the author was referring to this person as 卖家 (seller), but in the later chapters, they changed it to 供货人 (supplier). It should be the same person who provides the goods to Zakun. So, I change the translation accordingly.

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