Chapter 44: Captured
Tang Yu’an watched the dull gray escape pod launch, finally feeling a sense of relief.
Thankfully, the aircraft’s internal shielding protected the escape pod from the jammer. Otherwise, neither of them would have escaped.
With a loud crash, the metal door buckled inwards. Tang Yu’an looked around, instinctively hiding behind a pile of debris in a corner, covering himself with discarded metal sheets and old cardboard.
The air was thick with dust. He covered his mouth to suppress a cough.
The door burst open. The blond man entered first, tapping his mechanical watch with his gun. The watch face glowed red, initiating a thermal scan.
Tang Yu’an’s hiding spot might have been effective against the naked eye, but the thermal scan revealed his presence instantly.
The blond man raised his hand, stopping his subordinates, then walked towards him casually, like a hunter approaching trapped prey.
Perhaps wanting to toy with him, he pretended not to see him, even though Tang Yu’an’s clothes were visible. He said, “Hmm, seems no one’s here.”
He walked past Tang Yu’an’s hiding spot, then suddenly turned back.
He ripped away the covering, grabbing Tang Yu’an’s arm.
He struggled, but the grip was like iron, his bones aching, as if crushed by a machine. This wasn’t normal.
He was dragged into the light, seeing the large metal sheet he had used for cover lying several meters away.
The blond man had thrown it with a single hand! It weighed over a hundred kilograms!
Seeing he was surrounded, with no chance of escape, the blond man released his grip.
Noticing Tang Yu’an staring at his hand, he raised an eyebrow: “Interested?”
He casually removed his black gloves, rolling up his sleeve, revealing a dark, mechanical arm.
Tang Yu’an had heard of cybernetic enhancements, but they were rare on the main star—
Not because the technology wasn’t available, but because it was so advanced that few chose to replace their limbs, especially those involved in combat. After all, who would want to give their opponent the opportunity to disable or even control their weapon through technological interference?
Therefore, mental energy was the preferred method of combat on the main star.
But Planet B172 was different. Lacking essential resources, they couldn’t even produce jammers, and mental energy was significantly weakened by the planet’s magnetic field. This led to a trend of cybernetic enhancements.
In hand-to-hand combat, flesh and blood were no match for metal.
The blond man was clearly proud of his enhanced arm, flexing his fingers, extending several spider-like blades from his wrist.
Tang Yu’an, cornered, wanted to retreat, but it was pointless.
The blond man approached, the sharp blades gently touching his face, causing a sting but not drawing blood.
He didn’t want to damage such a beautiful work of art.
But a threat was necessary. He flicked a blade, severing a strand of Tang Yu’an’s hair.
He pressed a metal finger against his neck, the sensors allowing him to clearly feel his pulse.
He had expected the boy to be terrified, but his pulse remained steady, even slowing down slightly.
Was he not intimidating enough? Impossible!
Was this kid… stupid?
No, he was a Bureau officer.
He tightened his grip on Tang Yu’an’s throat: “I can decapitate you in half a second.”
Tang Yu’an: “Really? Impressive.”
The blond man: “…”
Was he being mocked?
Tang Yu’an struggled to breathe, his eyes watering, managing to choke out: “Can you… let go? It hurts…”
The soft lips parted slightly. The blond man suddenly felt like he was holding a rose with thorns, one wrong move and he would crush it, drawing blood.
Hearing him say “it hurts,” he instinctively loosened his grip, then instantly regretted it, annoyed by his own obedience.
But seeing the marks on Tang Yu’an’s neck, he forgot about his annoyance, wondering if he had used that much force.
He had barely touched him, his usual greetings with his subordinates were firmer, yet this slight pressure had left distinct red marks on his pale skin, darkening into bruises.
Covered in bruises, those watery eyes seemed devoid of emotion, no fear, no resentment, as if accepting whatever he would do to him.
He stared, speechless.
Tang Yu’an wasn’t this calm because he thought the blond man wasn’t a threat. The system hadn’t issued a warning, meaning he wasn’t in mortal danger.
He couldn’t escape anyway, so what could he do?
He had been about to try and convince the blond man that capturing him was useless when the system suddenly spoke—
[Beep—Detected plot deviation. Automatically activating skill “Pitiful Appearance”.]
This time, Tang Yu’an didn’t stop it. If this skill could help him escape, a little strangeness was fine.
But the system, as if encouraged, continued.
[Beep—Detected uncorrected plot deviation. Automatically activating skill “Fragile as Porcelain”.]
[Beep—Detected persistent uncorrected plot deviation. Activating skill “Holy Light Radiance”. Please return to the protagonist’s side, Host.]
Tang Yu’an: “…”
What was all this?
But it seemed to be working. He had said “it hurts,” and the blond man had released him. Were these skills some kind of wish-granting magic?
Then why the weird names?!
Perhaps due to overuse, the system said “Skills cooling down” and disappeared.
But Tang Yu’an registered the “return to the protagonist’s side” part, thinking about his next move.
Called by his subordinate, the blond man snapped back to reality, feeling his earlier behavior had been undignified. He deliberately adopted a stern expression: “Where’s that Wei guy? Where did he go?”
“He left,” Tang Yu’an said truthfully, then lied: “We found an escape pod, but it could only carry one person, so he pushed me away and escaped.”
When captured, it was best to be adaptable, to hide your true intentions. This was a lesson he had learned from countless worlds.
Making them think he and Wei Langxing had separated would prevent them from using him as leverage.
To make his performance more convincing, he tried to imagine the feeling of betrayal, recalling the feeling of being abandoned, the fear and resentment.
His expression remained unchanged, but he stood there, a hollow shell.
The blond man had intended to mock the Bureau, but seeing Tang Yu’an, his words changed: “That bastard, I wouldn’t be so cowardly.”
Couldn’t even protect a single person.
Tang Yu’an hadn’t expected him to agree, let alone say such a thing. They stared at each other.
The silence was awkward. Tang Yu’an, playing along, said tentatively: “Then… thank you?”
It didn’t sound quite right, but it was too late now.
The blond man’s mind raced.
Was this kid trying to switch sides, abandoned by his teammate?
It wasn’t unreasonable. After all, he was young, handsome, and capable, unlike that rigid, cowardly captain.
He had noticed earlier that the two Bureau officers were unusually close, more like lovers than colleagues, even holding hands in the vehicle…
It made sense now. His seemingly caring boyfriend had abandoned him in a moment of crisis. No wonder he wasn’t afraid, even acting coy.
The blond man decided to bolster his image. He cleared his throat: “You don’t know who we are, do you? We’re the infamous Chaos Legion! We have no personal vendetta against you, we simply need something you possess for a greater cause! Although you were initially our enemy, if you abandon that corrupt regime and join us, I might consider accepting you.”
He didn’t know why he was saying this, it was unprecedented, but his words felt strangely sincere.
In his position, no one but the boss could question him anyway.
Tang Yu’an hadn’t heard a word he said. He hadn’t eaten much breakfast due to anxiety and was now hungry, his mind sluggish. He asked, puzzled: “So, do you really make wontons?”
He was craving some.
The blond man stared at him, exasperated: “It’s Chaos! The Chaos Legion! You…”
He stopped mid-sentence, hearing familiar footsteps approaching, and discreetly stepped aside.
The middle-aged man, no longer smiling, walked over, scanning Tang Yu’an, then turned to the blond man: “Where is it?”
The blond man smacked his forehead, almost forgetting the important task.
He strode over to Tang Yu’an, saying menacingly under the middle-aged man’s watchful gaze: “The jammer, hand it over! Try anything funny, and I’ll break every bone in your body!”
Despite his menacing demeanor, Tang Yu’an didn’t receive a system warning, so he wasn’t afraid.
The jammer should have been with Wei Langxing, but he had only remembered after sending him off.
Such an important weapon couldn’t fall into their hands, so he had removed the core component and hidden it in his clothes, replacing it with ordinary parts from the warehouse. From the outside, it looked untouched.
He handed over the lighter-shaped device, hoping they wouldn’t notice the difference.
Since it could only be used once every ten days, they couldn’t test it now.
The middle-aged man took it, seemingly not noticing anything amiss. Tang Yu’an assumed he wasn’t familiar with such devices.
Just as he relaxed, thinking he had fooled them, he heard the man say: “Now that we have it, kill him.”
