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Lina was a bit agitated now.
It was four in the morning Milky Way Universal Time, and she was unable to sleep due to the stream of incoming information.
A riot broke out at Cole Port Prison in the middle of the night.
The riot erupted two hours ago. The main control room on the lower three floors inexplicably lost power, the cell doors in various areas were opened directly, and the group of villains imprisoned at the lowest level broke free and easily seized the guards' weapons.
Now, these villains were in a face-off with the Peace Guard rushing over, with explosions echoing throughout half of Cole Port.
Lina's terminal kept popping up new images taken by her subordinates of the villains, complete with detailed annotations.
What relieved Lina was that Yang Ming was not currently seen in these photos.
The mastermind of the riot was Kolev, a somewhat notorious pirate leader who had been active for many years.
"These damned pirates, why are they causing trouble at this time?"
"Is Hanton also involved?"
Lina rubbed her temples.
Staying up tonight would age her skin by three months!
Lina confirmed that three forces had now set their eyes on Hanton—Sherman Empire's Military Intelligence Bureau, New Federation Third Investigation Bureau, and her true employer. Only she knew Hanton's true worth.
[Hanton is the sole success of the Imperial Martial God Plan.]
What's more rare was that Hanton was incredibly stable, and if he didn't fight, he was just like a normal person. Various detection devices would only find his body temperature slightly elevated, with no other abnormalities.
This biotechnological modification was almost an epoch-making achievement!
Lina had already made comprehensive arrangements. Once the escort fleet of her side arrived in the space near Cole Port, she could use the covert network there to forcibly bring Hanton back.
As long as they returned to the territory of the Guel Alliance, all problems would cease to be problems.
To stabilize Hanton, she was entirely willing to offer her beautiful body, which she had cherished for over thirty years, and it wouldn't be a losing trade.
But now, things suddenly changed.
"These damned pirates!"
Thud, thud, thud!
The hotel room door was knocked, and a projection popped up in front of Lina, showing three men and three women outside.
Lina rushed to the door barefoot, let her subordinates in, quickly closed the door, and activated the jamming devices.
"How's it going?" Lina asked calmly.
"Boss, we can't determine what's happening specifically inside Cole Port Prison. They've cut off all networked equipment. These rebels behaved very professionally, with efficiency higher than our special forces."
"We scanned with detection equipment; there's no large-scale casualties inside the prison. The guards seem to have quickly lost their fighting capacity. Based on our speculation, they were knocked out with hypnotic gas."
Lina's gaze became sharp: "Are you sure?"
"Yes, the guards are now all being held in the cells on the sixth floor, with very few casualties. Almost all have life signs."
Damn it!
A wave of helplessness swept over Lina. She could only keep herself as calm as possible.
If everything was as she speculated—Hanton had faced off against the Valkyrie and survived—Hanton handling this loosely disciplined medium-sized prison would be no difficulty at all.
The only uncertain thing now was whether Hanton's transformed identity had been exposed.
She didn't dare to gamble.
"Boss, is something wrong?"
"Nothing."
Lina didn't mention Hanton to her intelligence officers; this was the only way to prevent Hanton from being exposed.
Now, she had to make a decision.
"Start the plan ahead of schedule."
Lina's pretty face was filled with determination:
"At all costs, get our fleet to the space near Cole Port as soon as possible. Remember, at all costs! Even if there are personnel sacrifices to follow! Mobilize all our hidden contacts here!"
"Yes, boss!"
The six swiftly left.
Lina rushed back to her suite's bedroom, her slim yet substantial body leaning over the bedside. She took a palm-sized screen and a button-sized host, turned on the screen, and quickly tapped the code.
Soon, the ant-nest like complex three-dimensional map of Cole Port filled the entire screen.
Lina quickly input a few commands, and a pale green cursor appeared at the location of Cole Port Prison.
As the map zoomed in, Lina soon noticed that the cursor had already reached the edge of the prison, quickly crossing the prison's boundary line.
He was out!
Hanton had almost effortlessly left the prison!
"How did he do that?"
Lina immediately grabbed a communication device.
She couldn't let Hanton escape her control.
...
"Woohoo!"
A hovering pickup truck emitting blue light sped forward along the empty metallic street.
In the passenger seat, Kolev, wearing black leather pants and a jacket with a black bandana wrapped around his head, had a wrinkled face full of excitement, letting out strange cries continuously.
At the driver's seat was Yang Ming, figuring out how to drive a hover vehicle, frowning at the old man.
He was a bit worried about the old pirate's mental state, as well as his cardiovascular capacity.
The two had come to respect each other.
During the takeover of the prison, Yang Ming had displayed a small part of his individual strength, while Kolev had shown his excellent pirate business skills and his ability to incite and organize prisoners.
Now the battlefield was left to the overly excited prisoners.
They had discreetly changed into relatively normal attire, and using the pickup truck equipped in the prison kitchen, they successfully slipped out.
—This was also part of Kolev's plan.
The hover pickup had a biometric device, but Kolev easily hacked into its system.
"We should have some music!"
Kolev fiddled with the central control panel, laughing:
"This is just great! We actually managed to take over that prison, Vice-Captain Hanton! With your strength and my brains, we could become the most powerful pirates in the Milky Way! Oh, why am I already old! It's not fair!"
The old man suddenly became sad.
Yang Ming chuckled: "I didn't come to this world to be a pirate, Deputy Kolev."
"Oh? Do you have a dream?"
"A dream ...?"
Two paths emerged in Yang Ming's heart, one leading to the unknown Mink Port, the other to the known city of "Intelligent Mechanic Dusk."
"I want a ship that can jump, to set sail alone and explore the mysteries of the universe and the boundaries of the galaxy."
"Cool!" Kolev shrugged. "But isn't that just being a pirate?"
"I don't want to plunder the weak."
"We're all about robbing the rich and not the poor," Kolev vaguely explained, "Of course, there are some exceptions now and then, it's unavoidable...you know...this line of work has many real scoundrels without a sense of awe."
Yang Ming smiled without speaking.
Just after merging into the traffic, a large number of police cars "descended from the sky," blocking all routes from the prison direction.
Watching the police cars with flashing orange lights in the rearview mirror, Yang Ming controlled the speed and followed the traffic into a safer area.
"How long until your people arrive?" Yang Ming asked.
"They've completed their jump, but the nearest jump point is still some distance from Cole Port, probably about an hour left. We can meet them halfway."
Kolev looked at his watch projecting a 3D screen, saying with pride:
"Looks like these guys do care about this old buzzard.
"Perhaps they'll arrive at the predetermined airspace before us, and until then, things will keep boiling over at the prison. Don't worry, the Peace Guard doesn't have much combat strength, and the Human Council won't allow indiscriminate use of heavy firepower.
"What we need to do now is get a sightseeing spaceship."
Do all old people ramble like this?
Yang Ming asked, "Do they have a port entry permit?"
"We're star pirates! Pirates, my dear Deputy!" Kolev laughed exaggeratedly, "Of course we'll leave like pirates!"
Yang Ming was about to ask more when his eyelids twitched slightly, and he abruptly turned to look to the side.
A hover car slammed directly into them as if out of control!
His enhanced nerve reaction speed came in handy again. Almost instantly, Yang Ming completed a series of operations, navigating the slightly unresponsive pickup through gaps in the traffic.
Chaos ensued behind them, and alarms sounded immediately throughout the area, with drones patrolling nearby quickly arriving.
Several hover cars rushed in from both sides, seeming to want to surround and force Yang Ming to stop.
"Oh, oh!" Kolev grinned, revealing several yellow teeth. "Looking for you?"
"Fasten your seatbelt."
Yang Ming calmly pushed the gear to the top, both hands on the steering wheel.
A hover car, after all, was still a car.
And he was a holder of a "C1 manual" license!
Yang Ming gripped the rectangular steering wheel firmly, floored the pedal, and the hover vehicle even performed two aerial flips, shooting straight into the high-speed lane.
Due to dangerous driving, fleets of police drones came speeding, blaring ear-piercing sirens.
In front and back, a dozen different-brand hover cars targeted the "pickup," trying to force it out of the fast lane.
It was a perilous situation.
Yang Ming was wary of using too much force and ripping off the steering wheel. His breathing grew somewhat hurried.
Kolev was laughing heartily, clearly at his excitement peak, but didn't forget to manipulate the two networked terminals on hand, constantly searching for the drones' signal frequency.
Half an hour later.
The battered pickup hovered on a shadowy metallic bridge.
Moments before, Yang Ming had carried Kolev on his shoulders, sped through the dark alleys near Cole Port's red-light district, and soon lost the following group of men and women, likely from some nation's intelligence organization.
And now, the two of them were crouched behind a trash bin, warily observing their surroundings.
"They stick like glue!" Kolev complained.
"I might have a tracker on me," Yang Ming said softly, "something I swallowed."
He recalled the medicine Lina had given him.
Kolev frowned, "Oh, Deputy, you should have said earlier; I need to get you an aluminum isolation suit or a signal jammer."
Yang Ming looked around the narrow, cramped alley and the men and women leaning against the street.
In the human rights-respecting Cole Port, prostitution was legal and unrestricted by gender.
They were silent for a while, almost speaking at once.
Yang Ming: "Follow my lead next."
Kolev: "Next, you'll have to follow mine, young Deputy."
"It seems," Yang Ming was a bit exasperated, "we still can't persuade each other."
"Your combat ability lets you be unrivaled in the prison, but what's next relies on the ship, relies here."
The old man tapped his head, smiling smugly:
"For the starry sky, you're still a rookie; you need to keep learning, Hanton."
Yang Ming was silent for a moment.
Kolev was squinting with a smile, unconcerned about Yang Ming refusing, as the initiative was now with this great pirate who also understood this powerful transformed person's desires...
"Hanton?"
A soft voice suddenly called.
Yang Ming immediately reached for the laser pistol in his coat, while Kolev quickly hid behind Yang Ming, alertly looking in the direction of the voice.
At the front alley's entrance, a beautiful woman with her hair simply tied back peeked over, surprise all over her palm-sized delicate face.
It was Doctor Lina.
"Hanton, you're here! I heard there was a riot at the prison and was going to check it out! Thank God, quickly, come with me!"
Kolev immediately tugged at Yang Ming's arm, cautioning him to be careful.
Yang Ming, however, turned around and grasped Kolev's wrist, leaping up eagerly.
"Vice-Captain Hanton, who is she?" Kolev asked warily.
Yang Ming chuckled, "The spy who put a tracking device in me; she'll get us out! Don't worry, Deputy Kolev."
At the sound of these two conversing openly, Lina was clearly taken aback.
She...was exposed?
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