Chapter 37: Because You’re Foolish

Yuxing dashed into Building B, and the surroundings brightened noticeably. After all, with a launch mission underway, the building shone with lights even this late at night. No sooner had he entered than he caught sight of a blue figure leaning against the wall in the empty corridor, holding an electric baton and seemingly lost in thought.

“Senior Ayu…?”

It was none other than Soya Ayu, who should have been guarding the company president.

Seeing Soya Ayu straighten up and look at him in surprise, Yuxing paused, intending to pull out his PAD from his pocket to confirm Senior Ayu’s location, but reconsidered and lowered his hand.

This base blocked wireless signals; his PAD would have automatically switched to flight mode by now.

Soya Ayu approached, hands on hips, face full of confusion. “Yuxing? Why are you here? I thought you’d already left.”

“That’s what I should be asking. Why are you—”

His words cut off abruptly. In Soya Ayu’s eyes, a baton flew toward him with a slicing wind—

Bang!—

Electricity and sparks exploded in the corridor. Both wielders were thrown apart by the collision, each retreating several steps before stopping.

“What are you doing, Yuxing!”

“That’s what I should be saying.” Yuxing took a stance, ready to pursue. “You’re not Senior Ayu, are you?”

“?!”

Across from him, ‘Senior Ayu’ swayed as though struck heavily.

“Wait…wait, why?!”

Why was he exposed?!

“Because you’re stupid!”

Yuxing wasted no time, lunging to attack. This was clearly someone who’d confess at the slightest trick; he couldn’t be bothered to explain.

That block just now—the angle and the stance—were not quite the same as Senior Ayu’s. Yuxing guessed this impostor was probably taller than Senior Ayu in real life. Still, he looked the part. But after three or four exchanges, Yuxing realized his opponent couldn’t keep up with his rhythm; whether from slow reactions or waning attention, it was hard to tell.

Even a human child can focus for fifteen minutes.

He knocked the baton from the impostor’s hand. Once released, it revealed its true nature amidst flickering streams of light. As expected, it was an electric baton, but not the same model as the custom one from Aegis.

It lacked the bright blue finish and the custom logo.

Now disarmed, the alien still wore Soya Ayu’s face, trying to elicit mercy. But all he got was a thorough beating.

Just then, a “One minute to launch” alert sounded from outside. Yuxing glanced out the window; the unlucky Zarabian on the floor had reverted to his true form. His metallic skull seemed built for punishment, but now looked battered like the moon’s surface—repairs would take ages.

At that moment, he felt as if he’d been granted a reprieve. If Yuxing’s goal was to stop the rocket launch, with only a minute left, surely he’d rush off to the control room or launch silo. But Yuxing remained, pressing the baton against his chest and asking,

“Are you a freelance mercenary, or do you belong to an organization?”

The Zarabian was too frightened to answer, only sizing up the human towering over him.

“If you’re a freelancer, I’ll pay you double. Tell me who hired you.”

“If not, I suppose you’d never betray your organization, would you? Brave warrior, I’ll count to three.”

“Two.”

“One.”

Yuxing counted down, raising the baton, seemingly eager for the countdown to end and the blow to land—

The Zarabian rolled aside, dodging the baton, but shards from the shattered floor struck his face, adding yet another dent in need of repair.

“Where are you going? Do you think you can escape? Will you turn into a cloud of black smoke and vanish? I’ve met aliens like that before, disappearing into smoke—can you do it?”

Transform? What nonsense!

The Zarabian clutched his newly dented face, nearly in tears.

Aliens with such abilities were exceedingly rare—and almost always big shots.

Then, a foot pressed firmly against the injury on his abdomen, the human’s weight shifting atop him, making him twitch with pain. Desperate, he shouted,

“How long are you all going to watch the show? Aren’t you going to help me?”

Yuxing raised an eyebrow, straightening and scanning his surroundings, but sensed nothing. The corridor remained silent and empty.

He looked down at the hapless figure beneath his feet.

The Zarabian’s confusion gave way to anger and resentment as he realized what had happened.

Yuxing understood. He lifted his foot and looked down at him, feeling a bit sorry: “...Seems like, seeing me beat you up counts as ‘stalling me’ per the employer’s orders. Not wanting to get hurt themselves, your comrades just left… Such lack of discipline—you’re mercenaries, aren’t you?”

Should he have said it so plainly? Yuxing cast an apologetic glance at the unlucky Zarabian, who seemed on the verge of tears.

Thinking quickly, Yuxing pressed the advantage: “Is double pay not enough to make you betray your employer?”

The Zarabian whimpered; his voice sounded surprisingly young, like a fourteen or fifteen-year-old human teen: “I still want to make a living in the underworld! If I betray my employer…”

Yuxing sighed as though confronted by a stubborn child, kindly pointing out: “If you don’t work with me, you won’t live to keep working. Dead men have nothing.”

He crouched beside him and continued, “Look, your comrades ran off. If you betray your employer, it’s just between us—no one else knows. You get all the money. I really don’t get it: why refuse such a good deal?”

The Zarabian looked up at Yuxing, meeting genuinely puzzled eyes seeking advice. He began to reconsider his rash decision…

Suddenly, the human’s argument seemed… reasonable.

Why die for a stingy employer, when he could…?

Just then, Yuxing handed over a stack of travel checks issued by the Interstellar Alliance. They were as good as cash—redeemable at banks, hotels, or major venues on any affiliated planet.

The Zarabian suffered a fatal blow, utterly defeated.

The checks exuded a tempting aroma of ink; their design revealed each was a high-value, ten-thousand-credit check. That thick stack held at least twenty or thirty.

He reached for them—Yuxing withdrew his hand.

The enticing scent vanished.

Disappointment nearly overflowed from the Zarabian’s face. He withdrew his hand, swallowed, and said, “Alright, I don’t know much. A foreman hires us for jobs, but I heard from a close friend, this time—”

Pfft—

A soft sound. Another round hole appeared in the battered metallic skull, as if cut by a laser. His body stiffened, then toppled sideways.

White smoke drifted from the hole.

“…Who?!”

Yuxing sprang upright. Based on the shape of the wound and an indescribable intuition, he instantly located the source—outside the corridor window, to the right.

But this was the third floor!

Yet, this was the Taiga Universe—a world blending science fiction and fantasy.

Outside, a humanoid figure stood in midair, bold and upright.

5.

4.

“3, 2, 1—”

As the rocket launch countdown resounded across the skies, orange flames illuminated half the sky beyond the window. The figure was already gone.