"What the hell were you thinking?!"
Levi snapped as the group sprinted through another corridor.
Apoloziro merely shrugged.
"She won't die."
"What?"
Vinh turned around immediately.
Apoloziro continued as if he were discussing the weather.
"From what I've seen, the warriors here are equipped with advanced armor and protection systems. A wound like that shouldn't be enough to kill her."
"SHOULDN'T?!"
Levi looked ready to punch him.
"Are you joking with me right now?"
Hongco remained silent.
There were more important things to worry about.
Like surviving.
Warning sirens echoed throughout the mothership.
Red emergency lights flashed endlessly.
They had been discovered.
Levi led the group.
HE78 followed close behind.
Vinh, Hongco, and Apoloziro constantly scanned every intersection.
Then suddenly—
Levi raised a hand.
"Stop."
The group froze instantly.
Ahead of them stood an Axian.
Unlike the ordinary soldiers, his armor was far more refined and decorated.
Levi stepped forward.
The Axian examined him.
"Who are you?"
"My name is Levi."
"A being brought here from another planet."
The Axian tilted his head slightly.
"Ah."
"I remember."
His eyes swept over Levi.
"Then what are you doing here?"
"Your assigned area is several levels below."
Levi answered immediately.
"Sir, one of the power transmission lines in the lower sectors has malfunctioned."
"I was sent here to report it."
"Is that so?"
"Yes, sir."
But then—
The Axian's gaze shifted.
He was no longer looking at Levi.
He was staring into the shadows behind him.
Toward the corner where Vinh's group was hiding.
Levi felt his stomach sink.
We've been spotted.
Without moving his lips, he gave a signal.
Prepare.
Behind him, Hongco immediately understood.
She pulled out a small metallic box.
"Vinh."
"How's your right arm?"
"It's fine."
Hongco nodded.
"If something goes wrong, tell Levi."
"I found a maintenance tunnel above us."
"If we run out of options, we'll use it."
As she spoke, she quietly pulled out dozens of thin metal wires.
One by one, she connected them to the corridor's electrical network.
Then—
Footsteps.
A squad of Axians appeared from another passage.
One of them pointed directly at Levi.
"Him!"
"He's the traitor!"
Everything exploded into motion.
The Axian standing before Levi threw a punch.
But at that exact moment—
HE78 yanked Levi backward.
The punch struck nothing but air.
Hongco tossed the box onto the floor.
SSSSSS—
Thick white smoke instantly flooded the corridor.
"Now."
Hongco placed a hand on the connected wires.
A massive surge of electricity shot through the system.
BOOOOM!!!
The entire corridor shook violently.
Power conduits exploded.
The ceiling collapsed.
Molten fragments of metal scattered everywhere.
Protective panels were ripped apart.
But the most dangerous thing wasn't the explosion itself.
It was what remained afterward.
A large section of the corridor had completely collapsed.
The pursuit route was blocked.
"Move!"
Levi shouted.
The group immediately climbed into the maintenance tunnel overhead.
Behind them, amid smoke and fire, Kraith gritted his teeth.
"THAT LEVI!"
"I KNEW THERE WAS SOMETHING WRONG WITH HIM FROM THE START!"
But he couldn't chase them.
Because on the other side of the corridor—
Nyxara had collapsed.
A pale blue liquid mixed with water continued flowing from the wound in her abdomen.
Velkar immediately dropped to his knees.
"Nyxara!"
There was no response.
Kraith turned toward the medical team.
"Take her!"
"Right now!"
Inside the medical chamber, Nyxara was placed inside a recovery pod.
Soft blue light enveloped her body.
Outside the room, Kraith paced back and forth.
Still cursing Levi.
Velkar sat quietly.
His eyes never left the door.
Finally—
The door opened.
An Axian medic stepped out.
"You two are the new recruits, right?"
"Yes."
Velkar answered.
The medic nodded.
"You can visit her now."
"A little closer and the attack would have hit one of her secondary energy cores."
"She was lucky."
Velkar immediately stood up.
The two entered the room.
Nyxara lay inside the recovery pod.
Her eyes slowly opened.
A faint smile appeared on her face.
"Well..."
"Look who finally showed up."
Velkar let out a long breath.
"Are you feeling better?"
"Yeah."
Kraith remained silent.
But his mind was still focused on a single thought.
Levi.
Then suddenly—
Nyxara pulled out a small object.
"Come here."
"I've got something to show you."
Velkar stepped closer.
A strange circuit board rested in her hand.
"What is that?"
Nyxara shook her head.
"I took it from one of the beings who captured me."
At that moment, another Axian entered the room.
"Greetings, sir."
Velkar said politely.
The newcomer didn't answer.
His attention had already locked onto the device.
"Let me see it."
"This?"
"Yes."
Nyxara handed it over.
The Axian inspected it carefully.
Then he took out a metallic sphere from his pocket.
He attached the device to it.
At first—
Nothing happened.
"Hm."
"Probably useless."
He muttered.
But just as he was about to remove it, his finger accidentally pressed a disconnect switch.
Click.
The sphere immediately lit up.
Tiny mechanical legs extended from beneath it.
It jumped off the table.
Then began walking around the room.
Velkar's eyes widened.
Even Kraith stopped moving.
The Axian frowned.
"Interesting."
He picked up the sphere and removed the device.
The little machine instantly shut down.
"I see."
"This device may be capable of taking control of technological equipment once they're disconnected from the central network."
Nyxara memorized every word.
The Axian stared at the device.
"I'll keep this."
Nyxara reacted immediately.
"Can you return it to me?"
The Axian looked at her.
"Why?"
Nyxara didn't hesitate.
"It belonged to my father."
The Axian thought for a few seconds.
Then placed it back on the table.
"Fine."
"But don't lose it."
After he left, Velkar looked at her.
"I thought you stole that thing."
Nyxara answered calmly.
"I did."
Velkar opened his mouth.
Then closed it again.
He had no idea what to say.
Meanwhile...
Elsewhere inside the mothership.
"This place is way too cramped."
Vinh complained while crawling through the maintenance tunnel.
The passage was barely large enough for one person.
Hongco crawled ahead.
"HE78."
"How exactly are we supposed to control that ship?"
HE78 answered immediately.
"I created two control chips."
"They can seize control of a vessel."
"But only if that vessel is disconnected from the mothership."
Silence followed.
Then Vinh sighed.
"That sounds simple."
A familiar mechanical sound came from HE78.
"No."
"The success rate is extremely low while the target remains connected to the mothership."
"It only becomes highly effective once that connection is severed."
The tunnel fell silent.
No one could see it.
But up ahead—
Levi had stopped moving.
His eyes stared into the darkness ahead of them.
Something was waiting.
And their escape...
was far from over.