Clarice was dumbfounded.
It took her a while to react, rushing over to help Reno up.
Reno said weakly, "I thought you'd run away in fear."
"I was indeed scared, but seeing you collapse on the ground gave me courage. It seems like your abilities aren't limitless either."
"I'm still figuring things out." "So, you only discovered you had this power yesterday?"
"Yes, I only found out yesterday, and then they came," Reno replied.
"Does that mean they knew about it before you did?" Clarice asked.
"Yes," Reno answered. "I think the problem lies with other people."
At that moment, Reno suddenly remembered Stark's surging power, which made a strong man unable to move an inch.
"Capturing everyone from the Abrodyne... dear God, does this mean?" Clarice finally realized the problem, blurting out.
She couldn't believe that every crew member on an entire starship had extraordinary strength. What kind of scene would that be?
"We'll have to ask him," Reno nodded towards Brad.
Brad shrugged. "Not everyone can unleash their power like you, Reno. But it's undeniable that every crew member of the Abrodyne had the potential for mutation. It's because of this that we were ordered to capture everyone. During the process, we did encounter some individuals who had gained superpowers."
"Like mine?" Reno asked.
"No, all sorts. Some strong, some weak. But despite that, they were all captured by us, with only a very few managing to escape," Brad replied.
"Are you saying there are others who escaped your capture like me?" Reno asked urgently.
"But they always get caught eventually. Superpowers aren't your shield," Brad replied.
This response earned Brad a fierce kick from Reno. "I'm not asking about that. I want to know who escaped!"
Brad endured the pain and yelled, "I don't know! We operated in groups, and I was only in charge of one group. I only know that I wasn't the only one who failed. You can go find out yourself."
Clarice interjected, "Wait a minute, there's something I don't understand. If Reno suddenly gained superpowers for some reason, why would the other crew members of the Abrodyne also gain them?"
"There's only one explanation," Reno replied. "The appearance of this power isn't random. It should have a source, and that source is on the Abrodyne. That's why this happened... oh, damn!"
A thought flashed through Reno's mind, and he exclaimed, "Target Zero!"
"Target Zero? What's that?" Clarice asked.
"I don't know," Reno shook his head. "It was the mission of the Abrodyne's voyage. For it, we lost four starships and thousands of brave soldiers. Except for Captain Jeram and a few others, no one knows what it is... it was personally brought aboard by Captain Jeram."
"But Captain Jeram is already dead," Clarice said.
"Yes," Reno's tone was heavy.
The old captain was dead, and he didn't know what Target Zero was.
But without a doubt, it was that intensely radiated object in the box that caused everyone on the Abrodyne to change and brought about this secret capture.
"I don't understand. If the Federal Academy of Sciences already had what they call Target Zero, why did they need to capture you?" Brad answered, "Because that thing has lost its function."
"What did you say?" Reno was surprised.
Brad groaned in pain, "Don't ask me why it lost its function, I don't know. I shouldn't have known this in the first place. A friend of mine from the committee told me secretly. Anyway, that thing suddenly became useless, but some of the wounded soldiers sent to the hospital began to show extraordinary abilities."
Reno understood, "So you started to capture us on a large scale?"
Clarice interjected, "But if the Federal Academy of Sciences wanted to study your superpowers, why couldn't they just invite you instead of capturing you? Not all research is terrifying; some can be harmless and safe."
This time, Reno answered his own question.
He said, "Maybe because this plan has been going on for hundreds of years."
"What are you saying?" Clarice was puzzled.
Reno said, "The Dawn Plan has been around for hundreds of years. I used to think it was just a rumor. If people can't find answers after hundreds of years, those responsible for the research may become impatient with so-called safe methods. Impatient people always tend to be more hasty."
Clarice's face changed dramatically as she listened. "Oh, dear God, you mean..."
Reno's face darkened. "Since it's a secret capture for research, it's definitely not some friendly experiment. These damned bastards! My soldiers and I fought for the country, and they treated us like guinea pigs!"
He kicked Brad angrily, causing him to scream again, "Damn you, Reno! I've told you everything. If you don't put me in the life pod now, I'll really die!"
Reno grabbed Brad's collar and replied, "Maybe I should just let you die here."
Just then, the hull suddenly shook.
Clarice stumbled and fell into Reno's arms.
"What's happening?" she exclaimed.
"Attack!" Reno answered.
He took out the Intruder Brain, pulled up the image, and the screen showed a large number of flying police cars surrounding the starship.
The attack just now came from one of those cars, but it only resulted in a scolding from the commander.
"It's the police," Reno put down the Brain.
With such a big incident, it would be strange if the police didn't show up.
"What do we do?" Clarice was panicked.
Reno thought for a moment and looked at Brad.
He said, "You're lucky."
Throwing Brad's body into the life pod, Reno grabbed Clarice and said, "Follow me."
The outer perimeter of the police continued to increase, with hundreds of flying police cars surrounding the Far Horizon Hotel.
Dan Hazz, the chief of the New Darwin City Police, shouted loudly through a megaphone, "Listen up, you're surrounded. Drop your weapons and surrender immediately..."
Seeing no response, Dan Hazz put down the megaphone and shouted, "Ror, get the SWAT team ready, we're going in!"
"Don't we wait, sir? We can't confirm that the hotel isn't dangerous yet," asked Ror, the young policeman.
"If we wait for everything to be confirmed, we won't catch any criminals," Hazz replied loudly.
With Hazz's command, dozens of fully armed SWAT team members wearing black helmets emerged from the back of the police cars.
They carried flying backpacks and hovered in the air.
The head of the SWAT team waved and said, "You few, go in from above, you few go in from there, and the rest enter from the main entrance. Move quickly, don't act like a bunch of sissies."
"Don't worry, boss," one SWAT team member replied. "I'll turn everyone inside into sissies."
Everyone laughed.
But just then, the starship in the encirclement suddenly moved.
A huge flame erupted from the rear of the starship, its long tail reaching into the sky.
Fortunately, there were no police cars nearby, or they would have turned to ashes.
"What's that?" all the police officers were stunned, even the SWAT team members were dumbfounded.
Then they saw the Far Horizon rising into the sky, getting higher and higher.
"Oh, damn!" Everyone groaned together.
"Are we still going in?" a SWAT team member asked stupidly.
The response was a fierce look from the commander.
In the command hall, Clarice exclaimed excitedly, "Oh my God, you really got it started!"
"Of course," sitting in the captain's seat, Reno replied. "Don't forget what I do."
"Mech Commander?"
"... No, starship captain," Reno replied with a smile.
Pressing the accelerator, the Far Horizon roared into the clouds, disappearing into the horizon.