An unsuccessful attempt at communication.
This left Reno feeling frustrated.
At one point, he felt utterly foolish.
After holding onto his feelings for so long, he thought he could finally have a good talk with Nora amidst the pressure of the impending battle. However, it ended up turning into an argument.
Most importantly, they knew everything.
No misunderstandings, hence no explanations.
Damn it, why do those romantic stories in books always resolve misunderstandings and mend broken relationships just before the decisive battle, while here things only seem to get worse?
Maybe because this isn't the decisive battle, Reno thought deeply.
Everything has just begun!
Time passed quickly.
In the blink of an eye, a day had passed.
The sky darkened.
After waiting for a day, Clarice finally received news.
"It's settled," Clarice said. "At three in the morning, a ship will depart for the Alphareto planet."
"Alphareto? That's a wilderness area."
"Exactly, it's beyond the reach of federal forces, a haven for criminals and exiles, perfect for you. If you have nowhere else to go, I suggest going there. Perhaps you will find a new life there."
After thinking for a moment, Reno finally replied, "Okay, Austin, thank you for your help."
"You're welcome. I'll wait here for you."
"No problem," Reno replied.
After ending the call, he looked at Nora. "Destination confirmed, Alphareto planet."
"Got it," Nora replied expressionlessly.
"Well then... it's time to talk to them," Reno muttered softly to himself.
He slowly got up and walked to the hovercar nearby, started the vehicle, and headed towards Edward Gene Hospital.
Watching him walk away, Nora sighed deeply, raised the sniper rifle in her hand, and aimed into the distance.
...
Flying all the way, the hovercar quickly arrived at the hospital gate, where it landed under the direction of the guarding soldiers.
Reno poked his head out of the car. "I'm Joni Reno. I need to speak to your commander."
The guard soldier obviously knew the name Joni Reno. He was startled by Reno's sudden appearance, looked at him in surprise for a moment, and then stepped back abruptly, raising his terminal. "Joni Reno is here... He's at the gate... Yes, he's alone."
A sharp alarm sounded.
Accompanied by the alarm, a large number of soldiers rushed out of the hospital, fully armed, and pointed their guns at Reno as if he dared to move a finger, they would shoot him to pieces.
Dozens of airborne soldiers with jetpacks appeared in the sky, aiming their guns at Reno from above, even the distant artillery began to rumble, aiming their barrels at the main gate.
Facing a formidable enemy!
Reno stood there unmoving.
Some men in black also appeared, one of whom was the man with a goatee.
"Joni Reno!" Seeing that it was indeed Reno, the goatee man's mouth twitched.
At the sight of Reno, recalling his calm and resolute face, the goatee man couldn't help but remember that terrifying sleepless night.
He couldn't forget Reno's appearance, like a killing god, making him cry and wail in agony. Every night after that, he would be awakened by the hellish massacre in his dreams.
Reno was like his nightmare, haunting him relentlessly.
And now, that nightmare had reappeared.
He appeared so blatantly in front of him that, for a moment, the goatee man felt bewildered.
It took him a moment to realize and point at Reno, shouting, "Arrest him!"
Several fierce soldiers rushed up, subdued Reno, and one of them began searching his body.
Seeing Reno being restrained, the goatee man finally felt some comfort in his fearful heart.
He knew that on that night, Reno had left a deep impression on him, becoming the shadow in his heart, like a mountain pressing down on him.
But precisely because of this, he wanted to shatter that mountain!
He walked over and punched Reno fiercely. "You bastard, why did you come back? Are you provoking me? Or do you still think you can escape this time?"
"You better stop, Mr. Blade. Attacking a voluntarily surrendering person won't show your courage, only your weakness," a voice came from behind.
Turning around, as the crowd parted, a military officer walked out.
He was dressed in a crisp blue standard army uniform, polished military boots, and white gloves on his hands, walking step by step.
Arriving next to Reno, the officer smiled and said, "Lieutenant Joni Reno? I've heard of your name. I'm Major Eden McLaren, the commanding officer of the Oakvi Infantry Battalion. It's a pleasure to meet you. You're a true hero."
He extended his right hand to Reno.
Reno glanced at the hand on his shoulder.
McLaren understood and withdrew his hand. "Release him."
The soldiers holding Reno let go, stepping back, and Reno shook hands with McLaren.
The handshake was firm.
The goatee man had already started shouting, "McLaren, you shouldn't have done this. He's a dangerous guy!"
Turning to look at the goatee man, McLaren raised an eyebrow, "Mr. Blade, I think you've got something wrong. This is my jurisdiction, and I'm in charge of all affairs here. Your job is to bring people in, and my job is to keep them from getting out. So here, I call the shots. I don't need you to tell me what to do."
With that, he turned back to Reno, "I greatly admire your courage, Captain Reno. Whether it's commanding a starship to complete a mission or facing the dragon's den alone, it proves that you are a true man, a true soldier, much more respectable than some who only know how to cry and whimper."
The goatee man's face turned ashen.
"Unfortunately, even though this is the case, I cannot offer you any special treatment just because you surrendered willingly," McLaren continued. He waved his hand, and two soldiers stepped forward to restrain Reno again. "Although I'm very curious... why did you suddenly decide to surrender?"
"You're mistaken, Major McLaren. I didn't come to surrender. A true soldier doesn't surrender, only fights to the death."
"Then why are you here?"
"To meet my comrades," Reno replied.
"Wow," McLaren whistled. "Truly great comradeship! But if that's the case, you shouldn't have fled in the first place."
"At that time, I just wanted to find answers," Reno replied.
"And now you have them?" McLaren asked casually, while a soldier had finished searching Reno's entire body and handed everything over to McLaren. There weren't many things—just a gun, a terminal, a tracking device from the secret police, and some odds and ends.
"Yes... I want to know how they are now," Reno replied.
"Of course, you will see your friends. But before that, can you tell me where your other two companions are?" McLaren asked.
"You can find them yourself," Reno replied.
"I will find them. You guys, take twenty men to search the surroundings." After sending out a team to search the surroundings, McLaren let the remaining people escort Reno into the hospital.
But those soldiers were destined to
find nothing.
Perhaps still not awake from this sudden change, the goatee man muttered to himself, "I don't understand why he willingly fell into our trap. Something's wrong here! McLaren, you have to be careful. This guy is not simple."
"Blade, Blade, Blade..." Major McLaren drawled out the name with impatience. "I'm not a fool, and I know that Reno's voluntary surrender is indeed strange, but do you want to say, 'Oh my god, you're here so illogically, so please go back and hide somewhere until we find you'? Is that what you want? If you don't want that, then you can only accept it. I mean, regardless of Reno's plan, since he's here, we have to accept him. The only thing we can do is watch him closely and not give him a chance to play tricks."
"The problem is I'm afraid you can't watch him closely enough." Walking behind Reno, walking on the long tree-lined path of the hospital, the goatee man said anxiously.
"On this point, I think you should trust me a little more," McLaren replied. "As a professional soldier, I believe I am capable of keeping an eye on him. I don't care what tricks Joni Reno has up his sleeve, as long as he's still a normal person, he can't escape my control." While speaking, McLaren fiddled with the small gadgets in his hand, picking out a dark little thing, then muttered to himself, "What is this?"
But these words did not reassure the goatee man; instead, they made him even more worried. He said, "The problem is, Reno is not an ordinary person."
"What?" Major McLaren was taken aback.
The goatee man replied, "None of the patients in this hospital are ordinary people, Eden. Have you forgotten this? I remember telling you that he possesses the power of mind control substances, although still weak, controlling three to five guns in a short time probably won't be a problem."
Major McLaren's face also changed, and he casually raised the terminal, "Get Dr. Fischer over here and have him bring his treasure. Quickly!"
The team continued to move forward and soon arrived in front of a building.
A doctor in a white coat hurried out of the building, and when his gaze fell on Reno, it was like a wolf seeing a beauty, his eyes gleaming.
Major McLaren walked up to him, "Did you bring it?"
"Of course." The doctor raised the medical case in his hand and carefully took out a syringe, "Don't worry, no matter what abilities he has, after a shot of this, he will behave."
Saying that, the doctor walked towards Reno.
As the doctor approached, Reno suddenly said, "Have you ever regretted what you've done? Have you shed tears for the people you've hurt? Have you questioned your conscience when no one was around? Do you believe that there really are eyes watching you?"
"What are you talking about?" The doctor growled impatiently.
He reached for Reno's arm.
Reno didn't move, he said, "I said... there really are eyes watching you."
Bang!
With those words, the doctor's head exploded like a watermelon!