Reboot the Galaxy

Chapter 24 Escaping from the Tiger's Mouth

"What did Chalong do to you? Why did you poison him!" Ruan Zhicheng demanded angrily.

Di Yan remained unmoved and said, "You all know."

"We just want a reason."

Ruan Huzhong's voice was low, as if he was suppressing a bellyful of anger.

Now that things had come to this, Di Yan no longer concealed anything and laughed, "It was Xavier who ordered me to execute him because he violated military discipline."

"fart!"

Ruan Zhicheng pointed at Di Yan's nose and cursed, "Even if he's wrong, he should be tried by a military court, not you!"

"That's the truth, believe it or not."

Di Yan shrugged; he really didn't need to lie anymore.

Because just half a minute before he stepped into the cave, he received Xavier's order:

"There are Nguyen Chi Thanh and Nguyen Hu Trung in the cave ahead. Kill them."

In his view, the last person to leave this place could not possibly be three people; it could be either the two brothers or him.

He did not choose to confront them immediately, firstly because he remembered the friendship they had built over the past two months, and secondly because he admired their brotherhood.

This emotion was something Di Yan had long lacked—that unwavering understanding that would never betray him—he no longer dared to hope to bear it.

Therefore, he chose to confront the two men directly, not wanting to suddenly fire a shot and leave the two brothers dead without knowing why.

Their starting point was not wrong; they just chose the wrong side.

"After you left, the two of us waited for a long time, and then Xavier suddenly told us to set off along another route," Nguyen Hu-Chung said.

"We found Charon's body. He was burned to death by a plasma gun, and his gun is missing."

Di Yan's fingers twitched slightly, but he remained silent.

"When we questioned Xavier Charon about the cause of his death, they told us we had 'insufficient authority,' and that's when we understood everything."

Ruan Huzhong's voice sounded very calm, which is the behavior of someone in a state of extreme anger.

"During the operation in Africa, there were only two teams that infiltrated that school: one was our team, and the other was a regiment from the American region. That night, a man named 'Quelt' from their team died, and they've been suspecting who killed him. If Quilt's death and Charon's death were committed by the same person..."

Ruan Huzhong stared intently at Di Yan and whispered,

"This person can only be you."

He drew the knife from his waist, and so did Ruan Zhicheng beside him.

Ruan Huzhong continued, "Hehe, I didn't expect Xavier to have this move, he actually arranged a 'meet-and-greet' for the three of us."

"Don't think we don't know what you're here for."

Ruan Zhicheng's voice was much calmer.

"You're here to kill us, aren't you? We're right here, why don't you give us a try?"

"Then why don't you draw your guns?"

Di Yan smiled in surprise, pointing to his chest.

"Please, you have guns, shoot me here to avenge Charon, then you can leave."

The two Kachin brothers opposite exchanged a glance. Nguyen Hu Chung said, "Xavier has taken away our control of firearms. We all understand what that means. If you want to execute us, now is your chance. We have no objections."

However, Di Yan silently drew two machetes from his waist, the blades still bearing the black substance that had stuck to them when he slashed the alien creatures.

"I admire the bond between you two."

Di Yan said with regret, "So, I'll give you a chance."

As soon as he finished speaking, Di Yan gripped his twin swords and charged towards the two people opposite him.

The two Vietnamese men were taken aback, then drew their swords to meet the attack, and suddenly the three men and five swords clashed together.

Di Yan was faster and more coordinated than the other two, and the mecha amplified his advantages once again.

Ruan Huzhong had already lost an arm, and maintaining his balance while swinging the machete at high speed became a major challenge. This quickly put him at a disadvantage when facing Di Yan's moves, putting him in grave danger.

Thanks to Nguyen Chi Thanh's protection, Nguyen Hu Trung was repeatedly rescued from danger.

However, Ruan Zhicheng was no match for Di Yan. Although Di Yan only had two swords, he wielded them as if they were four, leaving no room for maneuver. None of Ruan Zhicheng's attacks could get close to Di Yan.

In fact, this was already a situation where Di Yan was holding back.

Experts are quick to judge the situation. After only two or three rounds of fighting, Di Yan can tell that his opponent is far inferior to him.

Out of respect for the two, he didn't want them to lose too badly, so he played defensively more than offensively, and instead probed them in his spare time, without intending to kill them.

As Ruan Zhicheng grew increasingly anxious, his fierce attacks left him less vigilant. Di Yan launched a few easy attacks, forcing him to retreat several steps until he reached the wall. The more he thought about those attacks, the more frightened he became.

Seeing this, Ruan Huzhong knew he was no match for Di Yan, so he brandished his sword and charged forward, ready to fight to the death.

Di Yan parried Ruan Huzhong's sword and then swung his own blade horizontally at Ruan Huzhong's waist. At this point, if the opponent wanted to survive, he had to abandon his attack and dodge.

However, Ruan Huzhong did not retreat at all, but instead thrust his long sword straight at Di Yan's lower back.

The sharp weapon sliced ​​through the steel plate, and Di Yan's machete slashed straight into Ruan Huzhong's abdomen. The airtight layer of the cockpit was cleaved open with a single stroke, exposing the entire cockpit directly to the gas filling the alien nest.

Di Yan had already sensed that his opponent was going to trade his life for injury when he attacked, so he used the force of the cleaver to rotate his waist in advance. Ruan Huzhong's cleaver grazed the belly of his mecha, leaving a series of deep scratches on the abdominal armor.

"Cough cough cough..."

Oxygen leaked out, and Ruan Huzhong suddenly felt short of breath. A large number of pungent particles rushed into his throat, causing a sharp pain in his respiratory tract.

His legs were cleanly severed by Di Yan's cleaver, blood gushing from the cuts, and excruciating pain and suffocation constantly eroded his will.

"Kill me..."

Ruan Huzhong's speech was slurred, blood dripped from the corner of his mouth, and his hoarse and weak voice entered the earpiece.

The mech in front of him staggered backward until it slammed against the wall, its abdomen ripped open, sparks flying everywhere. Blood dripped between the steel beams, a testament to the agony Ruan Huzhong was in the cockpit.

Upon hearing the other party's final request, Di Yan gave an affirmative answer and thrust his cleaver straight into the mech's chest cavity.

The material of this machete was clearly different from that of the armor; it was much denser and tougher. With the added power of the mecha, the machete easily pierced through the armor and also through Nguyen Hu Chung inside.

Upon seeing Di Yan kill Nguyen Hu Trung, Nguyen Chi Thanh instantly lost his mind. The Vietnamese man roared several times and attacked Di Yan haphazardly.

The machete pierced through the mech and embedded itself in the wall. Di Yan pulled the knife out, turned around and stared at the person who had come in. He knew that the other party had no will to live and it was time to send him on his way.

He quickly raised his arms, deflecting the two incoming knives one by one. Then he spun around quickly, and the sharp blade pierced from his waist, diagonally stabbing into Ruan Zhicheng's cockpit from below at an angle that was difficult to defend against.

The mecha's arms suddenly went limp, and Ruan Zhicheng inside the cockpit was almost cut in half, losing his life in just a few seconds.

Di Yan drew his sword, and the mecha in front of him crashed to the ground. He looked at the two corpses wrapped in scrap metal and felt a sense of desolation.

They had no prior grudges, but inexplicably, he wanted to kill the other.

Di Yan felt a strange sense of guilt towards these two people; this was the first time he had such thoughts in the two years since he became a professional assassin.

He threw the blood-stained swords to the ground, took one sword from Ruan Zhicheng's mecha, and the other from Ruan Huzhong's, and tucked them into the scabbard at his waist.

He strolled away from the cave, leaving behind two brothers and some lingering thoughts.

He remained silent the whole way, like a puppet on strings, being "manipulated" by Xavier.

According to the plan, he needed to rush to the assembly point to meet up with the others, and then the group would evacuate together.

As for where to retreat or how to retreat, he didn't ask any questions.

He has now calmed down and is prepared to cooperate with all of Xavier's instructions.

After traveling for more than ten minutes, Di Yan arrived at a tunnel where eight mechs had already gathered.

Why are you so slow?

He Xu stepped forward and hugged Di Yan and his brother, patting them on the back.

"My place is quite far away."

Di Yan made up an excuse.

"Alright, now that everyone's here, let's set off."

Naohiko Enomura stood up from the ground and subconsciously patted off clothes that weren't actually there.

"We'll be traveling over 90 kilometers to retreat from the inside of the volcano," Ahn Jae-in said to Di Yan in a low voice as he walked over.

"The inner side of the volcano? Why there?"

"There's an exit," He Xu said, turning around.

"Xavier told us that it was where the aliens discharged waste and gas, and they dumped all sorts of rubbish directly into the volcano, which we could 'borrow' for a while."

The group quickened their pace to evacuate. It was already past 1 a.m., and everyone was slightly exhausted. But with evacuation imminent, they had to muster their strength.

Just as they had retreated more than 30 kilometers, Xavier suddenly said, "Numerous alien species have been detected surrounding us. We have begun dynamically allocating routes. Please accelerate your evacuation."

No one dared to slack off, and they immediately switched from brisk walking to running. Their usual extensive physical training was now proving to be very effective.

Just seconds later, a shriek from a different species rang out in the distance, a sound unlike any other cry Di Yan had ever heard from a different species.

It sounded a bit like a dog barking, starting with a low, husky voice, followed by a high-pitched, loud bark with an extremely hoarse noise, sounding like a lightning storm, with a crackling sound that seemed to shake the entire ground.

"Hey! They're here!" Ahn Jae-in pointed to the still indistinct dark figures in the distance.

Under the searchlight, a dark shadow in the distance was baring its fangs and claws, speeding around the bend and clearly blocking everyone's way.

Xavier immediately gave the order, and the nine men split into two groups, each entering one of the side passages.

Obviously, escaping separately is more efficient in this situation. With Xavier's command, they can even act as "bait" for each other, taking turns to attract the attention of the alien species, thus maximizing their chances of survival.

Di Yan also caught a glimpse of the appearance of the alien species that had chased after them amidst the chaos.

They resemble giant mantises, with sharp, sickle-like forelegs, an upright upper body, and a huge abdominal sac.

However, the difference lies in the fact that their limbs have a very high degree of freedom, and can even insert themselves into the rock wall at a negative angle, bringing them maximum kinetic energy when jumping forward.

They didn't run over, they "jumped" over, which increased their speed even further.

These new mutant species still have no head. Their entire upright upper body has a long, vertical slit in the middle, which is their mouth. They will "embrace" their prey and devour it.

"Disgusting!" He Xu complained loudly.

"This is the most disgusting thing I've ever seen in my life, bar none!"

Those leaping and roaring alien creatures certainly had a significant psychological impact on everyone; once you glanced back at them, you would never dare to look a second time.

Di Yan focused on his breathing, knowing that they would likely have to run for dozens of kilometers at high speed in this pursuit.

He drew his plasma gun and occasionally repelled aliens that got too close.

Whenever these alien creatures got close to him, their thunderous roars made his eardrums ache, forcing him to reduce the volume of external sound input so that he could hear Xavier's commands more clearly.

The emergency was stimulating his nerves; Di Yan's heart was pounding so fast that he felt he was on the verge of being overwhelmed by adrenaline.

The long chase continued, and this time they traversed many different places.

Whether it's a surface covered in black slime, a dry and empty tunnel, or a nest where they've climbed up and down several levels and overcome numerous obstacles, these new alien species relentlessly pursue them.

Even Di Yan couldn't help but secretly lament that this was truly going to be the death of him.

The plasma gun's charge was quickly depleted; twenty rounds wouldn't last long at all. He even started cursing the engineer who designed the gun. Couldn't they have increased the number of charges? Or just put a nuclear battery inside the gun?

He slung the gun back behind his back and ejected the electromagnetic gun from his arm.

It's not convenient to use it in this kind of pursuit, but for his own safety, he has to expend a lot more energy because of it.

The ammunition in his magazine is rapidly dwindling. Since the start of the mission, he has fired over four thousand rounds, and the remaining three-digit number is still decreasing. Once it reaches zero, it will mean that his situation will become extremely dangerous.

However, He Xu and his men had not experienced many battles. They had plenty of ammunition, but they were unsure if they could spare the time to cover him.

After running for dozens of kilometers with bated breath, Di Yan had emptied his magazine. His muscles ached all over, and his throat burned as if he had a knife stuck in it. Every breath was torture.

The mutated creature behind him seemed tireless, drawing ever closer. Just as a scythe was about to cleave him in the back, someone fired a shot, saving his life.

Looking up, I saw Mpuente.

"Keep going! Just a few kilometers left, I'll cover you!"

Mpuente was exhausted and out of breath, but he was still thinking about Di Yan.

"Do you still have bullets?"

"There are still some, but not many left."

After gritting their teeth and persevering for a few kilometers, everyone came together from different side paths and ran together in the same wide tunnel covered with sticky filth. Thick red "vines" covered the tunnel, ferocious and wild, proclaiming a kind of tenacious and unshakable vitality.

"It's just ahead... just ahead!"

Ahn Jae-in pointed ahead, where the tunnel was probably at its end. The light gave off a faint red glow, indicating that it wasn't a stone wall.

"Honey, give it your all, we're almost there!"

Naohiko Tomura helped Wasabi Isayama, who was almost completely exhausted, run forward.

Xavier's instructions came through the headset, and everyone understood immediately, pulling out their plasma guns and aiming them at the fleshy wall at the end of the tunnel.

Once they break through this fleshy wall, they can escape from the jaws of death.