Kigrov's face was ashen as he leaned on his cane, his mechanical eye flickering a red glow, his sparse hair somewhat disheveled.
Yang Ming was drawn to the surveillance footage on the screen.
There was a standoff in the lower hold, where a fierce battle had clearly just erupted.
A dozen nutrition pods had already been opened.
Several transformed people lay bloodied near the nutrition pods, their bodies bearing high-energy ray induced penetrating wounds.
A little further away, more than ten Imperial soldiers lay dead, most with necks gruesomely twisted.
In front of the Valkyrie's chamber door, rows of men and women in white lab coats had their hands raised high and stood in an awkward human wall, being held hostage by several menacing transformed people.
Where was the Valkyrie?
Yang Ming looked up and searched, finding the Valkyrie's chamber on the monitor.
The nutrition pod had been shattered, and the Valkyrie stood before it with her arms open, like a Saintess who had just bathed prior to a prayer ritual.
Two women under the Valkyrie's control were busy at the side, holding two transparent control panels, attempting to unlock the silver collar around the Valkyrie's neck.
This?
"Professor," Yang Ming spoke directly, "Aren't we going to do something?"
Several senior officers turned their heads to look over.
The first officer cursed, "Captain! This is not your place to speak out of turn!"
Yang Ming immediately bowed his head and closed his mouth, cursing under his breath.
These old fools really are fools, why don't you just detonate the bomb around the Valkyrie's neck to settle this?
To think I barely survived, just to come here and witness history?
"Captain, what are you still standing here for?"
"Is the sedative gas ready?" Kigrov suddenly spoke up, interrupting the first officer's reprimand.
The first officer replied hurriedly, "It's ready to be deployed at any moment, and the assault team is also in position."
Kigrov said, "Captain, release double the standard concentration... no, triple the concentration."
"Understood, Professor," the ship's captain pressed the button on his collar and ordered with a deep voice, "Carry out the professor's instructions immediately."
Yang Ming frowned deeply.
Kigrov still wasn't willing to destroy the Valkyrie.
As a third officer and repair technician, I had no way to change the course of the situation.
Yang Ming stepped back twice, standing on the edge of the platform, his gaze fixated on the changes on the screen.
A light red gas mixed with identifiers appeared throughout the lower hold, and the figures standing around quickly started collapsing haphazardly.
Click, a soft sound came from the screen.
The collar around the Valkyrie's neck slowly opened, the two women beside had already slumped to the ground.
The Valkyrie raised her head to look towards the corner where the camera was hidden, her face innocent like a girl's, appearing right in the center of the projection screen.
She seemed to be watching Kigrov quietly.
Standing further back, Yang Ming couldn't see Kigrov's expression clearly, but he heard the damn professor's muttering to himself.
"Child, don't be nervous, I won't hurt you."
Yang Ming looked toward the location of the escape passageway, starting to search "Lifesaving Boat Operational Standards" in Hanton's memory.
He had already seen it.
Seen the Valkyrie standing up amidst the sedative gas;
Seen the Valkyrie deftly twisting the necks of each and every assault team soldier;
Seen this spaceship descending into purgatory within the starry expanse amidst despair!
In the screen, the Valkyrie slowly laid down.
The captain spoke into the button, "Assault team..."
"Should we!"
Yang Ming suddenly spoke out, ignoring the puzzled and impatient looks from the senior officers, and very seriously said,
"Professor, Captain, to ensure foolproof security, shouldn't we use a high-energy laser beam to pierce the Valkyrie's limbs? This wouldn't cause her any substantial harm, but it would prevent her from moving due to her self-healing injuries, wouldn't it, Professor?"
"Hanton!"
The first mate, who had been harassing Yang Ming, suddenly bellowed, "How much longer are you going to cause trouble here!"
But Kigrov turned his head to look over, eyeing Yang Ming with a frown, "How do you know about these things?"
The old man's vigilance was quite good.
Yang Ming ignored the insignificant first mate, and calmly started to bluff, "There are a lot of rumors aboard the ship... Professor, you are the creator of the Valkyrie, and you know how powerful the genetics she has integrated are, now everyone on the ship is under her threat."
"Enough, Hanton!"
The burly first mate charged over in two steps, grabbing Yang Ming's collar: "This isn't your place to speak! Do you want to be locked in solitary? Huh?"
"Let him go," Kigrov said with a frown.
The first mate was a bit taken aback, but on this ship, Kigrov was the pinnacle of authority.
The first mate pushed Yang Ming against the bulkhead with a heavy huff, seemingly warning him.
Kigrov stared at Yang Ming for a few moments, and Yang Ming met his gaze coolly.
'Is this old man waiting for me to convince him?'
Yang Ming's thoughts turned swiftly.
Kigrov had special feelings for the Valkyrie;
The background introduction of the "Lost Voice" copy;
The lines that beating up the hidden boss Kigrov spoke...
Yes, Kigrov's most cared about thing, besides the Valkyrie, was the powerful Sherman Empire!
Yang Ming suddenly spoke up, his voice always calm,
"Professor Kigrov, it may sound a bit exaggerated, but I overheard the researchers saying that the most terrifying aspect of the Valkyrie might be her potential for unlimited evolution. This is the Empire's border; she might harbor hatred for the Empire."
Kigrov's hand, leaning on his cane, clenched the round orb at the end tightly.
"Take Third Officer Hanton's suggestion," Kigrov looked at the captain, "let the most skilled technicians operate, use a laser to penetrate her palms and soles, and absolutely do not target the heart, neck, or brain... It must be as precise as a scalpel."
The captain glanced at Yang Ming, and the slightest smile appeared on his meticulous face, and he immediately said, "Rest assured, Professor, I will operate myself."
Yang Ming visibly let out a sigh of relief.
Kigrov continued, "First mate, you and the others head down to the lower decks to supervise the battle now, Hanton stays."
The three senior officers briskly gave a Sherman military salute, swinging their left hands behind them, and their right hands in front—swiftly departing with heads bowed.
Yang Ming felt the first mate's animosity but didn't even cast a glance at him, focusing instead on the screen where the Valkyrie lay unconscious.
Had he essentially changed 'history'?
No, the crisis was only temporarily averted; he still needed to leave this spaceship as soon as possible.
"Hanton."
Kigrov said in a grave voice,
"The request you made earlier, I can agree to it now.
"You have shown great rationality in the face of crisis, a truly commendable talent.
"Congratulations, you've been given this opportunity, Third Officer."
A request? An opportunity?
What the devil is that.
What had Hanton previously requested from Kigrov?
Yang Ming was a bit confused and quickly searched through Hanton's memories.
His expression nearly broke when he found the memory of his last conversation with Kigrov.
'Professor, I want to become a powerful Transformed! For this goal, I've already dedicated years to physical training! All for the glory of the Empire! I am willing to attempt it, even at the cost of my life!'
The young third officer had earnestly volunteered.
And according to the subsequent talks between Hanton and Kigrov, Yang Ming learned that the gene transformation experiments aboard this research ship had a failure rate of 92%, and a mortality rate of...
35%.
Thank you, Hanton!
Yang Ming almost gritted his molars to dust.