Chapter 32: The Sewer

Chapter 32: Chapter 32: The Sewer

Liuyun Star System.

Asteroid Prison Conference Room.

The wall of the Conference Room displayed a live feed from the sensors of several counterfeit patrol ships within the Flowing Dust Star System.

In this era, faster-than-light communication technology was widespread, making real-time communication between star systems several light-years apart no longer an issue.

On the screen.

Four counterfeit patrol ships were engaged in a dogfight with five genuine patrol ships.

However, calling it a dogfight was a stretch. It was more of a one-sided beating, as the counterfeit patrol ships didn’t dare to truly attack the real patrol.

The genuine patrol also seemed to be holding back significantly, using only electromagnetic weapons to interfere with the ships’ normal operations instead of any truly lethal weaponry.

This was because the ships were, in fact, their own patrol vessels. They had already looked up the ships’ departure times and the crew members listed on board.

Internal problems had to be handled internally. They couldn’t just let their own people die in space. They needed to find out the truth behind why their crew members had suddenly made an unauthorized departure and attacked a passing freight ship.

This hesitation was precisely what allowed the counterfeit patrol ships to successfully stall the genuine ones.

It allowed their one remaining ship to get extremely close to the planet’s atmosphere and attack the freight ship that had already passed through it.

However, this last ship soon discovered that a defensive satellite in orbit was slowly turning to face it.

The pilot decisively shut down the ship’s engines, activated the transponder, and established contact with the patrol.

The other ships followed suit, shutting down their engines, activating their transponders, and surrendering.

But the footage from the planet’s surface had already been transmitted back to the prison.

The moment the freight ship crashed into a skyscraper in the city center, everything seemed to fall silent.

"At least this should be the end of it. I don’t believe Xiang Yi could have survived that."

He Dong, who had already arranged to forge evidence of Xiang Yi’s death, reappeared in the Conference Room. "He’s a Spiritual Ability User," he said. "We can’t just assume he’s dead because of this."

"Even if he is a Spiritual Ability User, he’s a Level 1 or 2 at most. How could he possibly survive? If he were any stronger, he could have just killed everyone in the prison. Why would he have needed to escape?"

The warden suddenly slapped the table. "To be safe, we’ll prepare three backup plans."

"First, post a bounty in the Dark Zone on Anka Star, that colony in the Flowing Dust Star System. There are plenty of Bounty Hunters active in our Border Star Realm."

"Second, send our own people there to negotiate with the Anka Government and try to get a copy of the accident investigation report."

"It would be best if the report lists three bodies. If there are only two, then start searching for any trace of Xiang Yi, beginning near the crash site and working back along the ship’s trajectory."

"This will be difficult. After all, we just clashed with them, so they’ll definitely cause problems with our people’s visas. When you’re assigning personnel, try to pick people with clean backgrounds."

"And for the third plan: if the investigation report doesn’t mention Xiang Yi’s body and we can’t find any trace of him, then we’ll arrange for hackers to infiltrate their systems."

"Have the hackers pull the data from their local orbital satellites. We’ll review the entire process of the ship’s crash. I refuse to believe Xiang Yi could have escaped."

Someone in the Conference Room immediately tried to object. "The orbital satellite data involves the local military. That might not be a good idea."

"Good idea or not, it has to be done," the warden insisted. "Besides, as I said, this is the third backup plan. It’s a last resort for when we have no other options. If it comes to that, we won’t have a choice."

"What if the government questions our company then? Our people have already been captured; it’s only a matter of time before we’re exposed."

"Our people only attacked that freighter. They didn’t directly clash with the patrol. At worst, corporate will just ask us what happened."

"And after such a major incident, isn’t it perfectly normal for a few prisoners to take the opportunity to escape?"

The warden’s responses were seamless. It was clear he had already considered every aspect of the entire affair.

Just as he finished assigning these tasks and was about to conclude the meeting,

his secretary suddenly burst into the Conference Room.

The secretary’s face was a mask of utter panic. Trembling, they handed a document to the frowning warden.

"Sir... I’m afraid we’ve caused a catastrophe."

Flowing Dust Star System.

Anka Star.

Xiang Yi was still sitting in the tall grass by the lake shore, drenched by the rain.

He had taken off his protective suit and was treating the wound on his leg in the downpour.

Although the suit could have kept his clothes dry, getting soaked was better than letting his wound continue to bleed.

After treating the wound, Xiang Yi stuffed the small, now-empty medkit into his backpack, quickly put his protective suit back on, and sealed his helmet to prevent the rain from sapping any more of his body heat.

His blood-stained helmet had been washed clean by the rain, but the crack in it couldn’t be fixed. The suit wasn’t really a mechanical or electronic device, so Xiang Yi couldn’t use his Spiritual Energy to open its control panel. He would just have to make do for now.

Xiang Yi stood up and looked around, but the pitch-black night and torrential rain made it impossible for him to make out the surrounding terrain.

Only the glow from the recent ship crash in the direction of the city could guide him.

He desperately needed a place to shelter from the rain, but he couldn’t risk getting close to the urban area right now.

His only option was to try his luck at that structure near the lake—the one surrounded by a barbed-wire fence with what looked like a small hill inside.

Xiang Yi trudged through the grass one step at a time, mentally estimating the distance to the building.

He hadn’t gotten far, however, when his foot suddenly found empty air, and he tumbled into a hole about as deep as a person is tall.

’Damn it,’ Xiang Yi cursed inwardly.

Luckily, the fall wasn’t far, and the bottom of the pit was full of soft weeds, so he wasn’t injured. He quickly used the wall of the pit to pull himself to his feet.

For some reason, no water had collected at the bottom of the pit. Nearby, a gentle, grassy slope led back up.

But he didn’t rush to climb out. He had noticed a sealed manhole cover next to the slope. The rainwater was seeping through the cracks around its edge instead of pooling in the pit.

The manhole cover was about two meters in diameter. It should have been conspicuous, but only if the surrounding grass hadn’t grown so thick.

Xiang Yi moved forward, pushed aside the grass, and tapped lightly on the iron plate sealing the opening.

A clear echo indicated that the plate wasn’t very thick and that there was no standing water behind it—there might even be an open space.

Needless to say, an underground space would be invaluable to him right now.

He decisively took the Mining Gun from his backpack, adjusted the laser frequency, and cut an opening in the iron plate.

He pried the plate open a little.

The sewer below was pitch-black, but there was no foul odor or any strange sounds coming from within.

Xiang Yi put his strength into it, pulling the iron plate open wide enough to create a passage he could fit through.

Then, he switched the Mining Gun’s laser emitter to illumination mode and aimed it inside.