On the high-end hovercar slowly heading towards Space Port No. 2.
Lina, a top Intelligence Officer from the Guel Alliance, was pondering a question that she could somewhat not comprehend.
'Does genetic modification also modify the brain?'
When had Hanton become so intelligent?
Lina had been undercover on Kigrov's ship for nine months, observing various senior crewmembers. Third Officer Hanton was a genuine Empire serviceman, indoctrinated since childhood by the Sherman Empire's brainwashing education.
Simply put, he was a dull yet upright Empire serviceman.
But now,
Hanton had actually seen through her real identity during the two monitoring visits!
He even detected that she had mixed a nano-tracking device in the gene stabilization solution!
In the past few minutes, while Hanton and this notorious old pirate were continuously "squabbling," Lina felt that Hanton's personality, insight, and manner of speaking were completely different from the Empire serviceman she knew.
Kigrov's genetic modifications were too unbelievable.
Regrettably, that research ship had already been annihilated by antimatter.
Because of this, Lina felt she must get Hanton, by any means necessary!
Lina looked down at the small vest binding her hands and turned to look at "Hanton," who was nimbly changing clothes, revealing a charming smile, as if she were not in captivity.
"Hanton…"
"Don't worry, Doctor, you saved me once, I won't really hurt you."
Yang Ming was arranging his deep blue maintenance uniform, donning a matching cap.
"Is Doctor Lina from the Guel Alliance or the Free Federation?"
"Why can't it be the New Federation?" Lina asked with a smile.
"Because the people from the New Federation want to get rid of me," Yang Ming laughed, "They don't want me to speak again at court; they want to confirm Professor Kigrov's guilt and then condemn the Sherman Empire. For this, they plan to lure me into escaping prison to eliminate me."
Lina suddenly realized, "So you started a revolt?"
"It was my first officer!"
Yang Ming patted the shoulder of the small old man in the front seat:
"This loyal old buddy of mine started the revolt, easily persuading a group of prisoners to overlook the fact that the prison had no heavy firepower."
"Oh, Hanton," Kolev patiently persuaded, "I will give you this respect in front of your woman, but we must still clear up our relationship; a ship can only have one captain!"
Yang Ming laughed, "Are you challenging me to a duel?"
"Damn, who wants to duel with a monstrous warrior like you! Oh right, we could compare intellects."
Yang Ming no longer entertained the old man but instead focused on Lina's heaving, snowy chest.
"I have no secrets from you, yet I do not know you," Yang Ming spoke very gently, "This seems somewhat unfair."
"Come back with me, Hanton, I can ensure your safety and a stable and cozy environment. I will fulfill any of your requests."
Lina made herself appear as sincere as possible:
"Voluntarily revealing one's identity is the most unprofessional conduct in our line of work.
"Yes, my name is fake, my identity is fake, but my desire to help you is real. Hanton, our connection is not just about life and death; we can understand each other.
"Only I can understand you."
The driver, Kolev, could not help but interject, "Obviously, Hanton, I can too."
"Help me?" Yang Ming relaxed back into the seat, "Are you after my handsome charm, or my lasting impressiveness?"
Lina's smile stiffened slightly, "Hanton, your words are somewhat crude... you were not like this before…"
"Yes," Yang Ming cocked his mouth slightly, "Ever since the Empire decided to abandon me, letting me spend twenty years in prison, I realized my past life was simply awful. We should live for ourselves, we only can live for ourselves, right?"
Lina gently bit her lip.
She had to admit, the current Hanton was more charismatic.
"We'll reach the port in five minutes," Kolev laughed, "you two still have time for one or two deep exchanges."
"Enough, Kolev," Yang Ming cursed, "hurry up and find a small spacecraft!"
Kolev laughed heartily, switched the hovercar to autopilot, and then grabbed a block of glass obtained from Chief Gulipa, hunching over it to get busy.
"Hanton," Lina's voice became exceedingly gentle, "I will never forget that you saved me. We encouraged and supported each other on that small ship, we had a brief yet warm time together, Hanton…"
"Doctor," Yang Ming frowned at her.
Lina knew where her advantage lay, and at this moment unabashedly fixated her eyes on Yang Ming, her gaze brimming with undisguised longing, gradually moving closer to him.
Yang Ming did not refuse, bowing his head to savor this moment's kiss.
The old man in the driver's seat slid down his body to avoid disturbing the young couple.
'Who hasn't been young?'
Just as Kolev was considering whether to slow down the speed or find a place to stop, he heard murmurs coming from the back seat.
"Hanton, can you stay? Just for me…"
"Do you know self-treatment for concussions, Lina?"
"Huh? What?"
Bang!
Kolev couldn't help but widen his eyes.
Amid the crisp sound of impact, the beauty with bound hands rolled her eyes and fell backwards, her forehead immediately showing a bloody mark; while the perpetrator, at this moment, was placing his finger on the beauty's neck, seemingly confirming whether she was still alive.
"Oh! Hanton!" Kolev whispered lowly, "You're too rough!"
Yang Ming smiled calmly.
Lina and her high-end hovercar were parked in a multi-story parking garage.
When Yang Ming left, he considerately left two slits open in the car window for ventilation, even though he knew her accomplices would probably come looking for her soon.
Kolev swiped his finger on the glass panel he held, and an onsite 'sightseeing car' drove up to them. It took them straight to the hangar.
Kolev acted every bit the part of a small-time maintenance team leader.
On the old man's face, Yang Ming saw no signs of nervousness, only confidence and composure.
"Don't avoid anyone's gaze, Hanton," Kolev whispered. "The fake identities we've assumed are already in their system, and there's a high turnover of people at this type of port. We're just two dockworkers attached to the ship, and with the ongoing riot out there, they won't be capable of checking, so no one will question our identities."
Yang Ming nodded subtly.
Most of the port workers they encountered gave them friendly smiles, and the hangar, filled with numerous tugboats and maintenance ships, was lax in its security.
Indeed, the civilian port was nothing like the fortified military ports from Hanton's memory, which were guarded at every turn.
Taking advantage of a few port guards chatting at the gate, Kolev and Yang Ming had already picked out an expensive maintenance craft, hacked into its system, started the hover mode, and nonchalantly passed by these few guards.
A guard looked up, and Kolev flashed a friendly smile, flicking his index and middle fingers beside the corner of his brow, giving the guard a suggestive wink.
"Take care!" shouted the guard.
Yang Ming sported a weird expression.
How many spaceships had this old man stolen in his lifetime?
He was just too skilled!
If Kolev hadn't become a pirate, he could have easily been a high-level programmer with a handsome salary.
Kolev hummed an indistinct tune, and under Yang Ming's gaze, expertly activated panel after panel, illuminating symbols that Yang Ming could not understand.
The spaceship surged steadily towards the exit tunnel of the Space Port.
Cole Port could be simply divided into two parts—main and peripheral.
The periphery of Cole Port was essentially a series of deep-space stations responsible for maintaining and supplying ships that didn't dock.
The main part was enveloped in a protective shield, creating a stable ecological environment simulated after a planet. The energy shield surrounding the main body of Cole Port couldn't be opened or closed at will. To facilitate civilian travel, the civilian spaceport was also located within the protective shield. Ships had to pass through a series of segmented tunnels, like ship locks, to leave the simulated atmosphere.
The maintenance craft left the simulated gravity zone, and Yang Ming enjoyed the bizarre sensation of his buttocks barely lifting from the seat.
It was an experience impossible to replicate with the usual holographic gaming devices.
"We're lucky not to have to queue this time," chuckled Kolev. "However, our ship has no leave permit; the moment we exit this tunnel, it will trigger an alarm, so please fasten your seatbelt."
Kolev's smile gradually faded, and his eyes narrowed into a straight line.
The maintenance craft started accelerating.
Layer upon layer of light film in the tunnel opened and closed continuously; the command tower had noticed this unscheduled vessel.
Sizzle.
The noise of electromagnetic interference accompanied the voice of command:
"Maintenance Craft B435AZ...you don't have a flight plan scheduled... are you mistaken?"
Kolev replied calmly, "We just got a last-minute notification that we need to perform a checkup on a merchant ship. Is there a problem with the coordination?"
"Oh, let me check...no background message...strange, what's happening here? Anyway, you need to come back, this isn't following regulations."
"Regulations?"
Kolev's facial wrinkles trembled slightly, and his hands shoved the control levers fiercely. The maintenance ship's rear thrusters blasted out long flames, making the craft surge forward at full speed.
Kolev shouted, "I am the regulation!"
"B435AZ, what are you doing! My God! You don't have leave permission!"
"Remote control! Remote control it!"
"The backdoor for remote control has been closed! We're in trouble now!"
Whoosh!
Accompanied by the chaotic noise from the intercom, the small maintenance craft burst out of the tunnel and shot into the deep starry sky.
Alarms blasted painfully in the port.
Outside patrol drones simultaneously turned direction, locking onto the maintenance craft and speeding to pursue.
Kolev quickly set a coordinate and let the spaceship continue at full speed, pushing the long floating rudder towards Yang Ming.
"Drive it like you used to race cars. I'll handle the interference with these drones!"
Yang Ming nodded, somewhat apprehensively.
After all, the driving interface in games never had so many buttons.
"Pushing forward is acceleration, right?" Yang Ming asked.
"Oh, are you serious?" Kolev looked at him incredulously.
Yang Ming grimaced and pushed the control stick to its maximum range, suddenly unleashing a strong sensation of being pushed back.
His intuition was indeed impressive.
Outside the metallic kingdom of Cole Port, a small six-meter-long craft sped furiously, followed by a swarm of drones flashing their police lights.
This outer space chase scene was imprinted onto a telescope lens.
Behind the miniature projection screen connected to the telescope, Lina, covering the swollen area on her forehead and fighting the urge to vomit, clenched her teeth in frustration.
She definitely had a concussion!
She was now barely maintaining consciousness with medications and would need to take a leave for months for recovery!
"Boss!" came a report from outside the car. "Our two escort ships will soon reach the designated airspace!"
"Have them lock onto that craft and capture them by all means possible!"
Lina's voice grew louder, dizzy and nauseous for a moment, she couldn't help but mutter bitterly and furiously:
"Damn Hanton! Once I catch him, I'm going to smash his head against the wall a hundred times!"