I Bet There Are No Bullets in Your Gun

"Begin scanning, Woz."

Leaning against a doorframe already coated in a layer of ice crystals, Beckett gave the order. This wartime command base was far too vast; Beckett had no patience to measure it with his own footsteps just to find Astra's location.

"Understood, His Highness Beckett." The azure robotic cat twisted its round body and looked into the building. Beams of light shot from its eyes, continuously scanning every corner of the frost-covered structure in an attempt to match Astra's face with the database.

"Found him."

A blue holographic display appeared before Beckett. The numerous red dots moving rapidly across it made him frown.

"What's going on?"

"His Highness Beckett, some Kree appear to be equipped with devices capable of neutralizing frost magic. Aside from Astra, another twenty-nine Kree have not been affected. Database matching has confirmed that they are all high-ranking officials of Tofa Star."

As soon as Woz finished speaking, the holographic screen before Beckett abruptly expanded. The faces of all thirty unaffected Kree were reflected one by one in his pupils.

Among the sea of blue-skinned Kree were a few Kree of other colors. To make identification easier for Beckett, Woz thoughtfully placed Astra's image at the very first spot on the first row, with the label beneath it bolded in red.

"What's up there?"

Seeing that these red dots all seemed to be heading toward the same location, Beckett followed their route and had Woz continue its report.

"An information relay point. They intend to break through Woz's communications blockade and contact the outside world," Woz replied respectfully after completing its scan.

"A futile struggle." After retracting Woz's projection back into his wristband, Beckett looked up at the ice crystals gleaming with captivating colors beneath the sunlight.

His fists clenched as power surged through his body. An invisible blast of air erupted around Beckett's feet!

Boom!

His knees bent slightly before he launched himself into the air. Beckett shot straight toward the place where several red dots had gathered on the display. Solid ice crystals and thick walls shattered under the force of his charge, becoming broken bricks and rubble that rained down to the ground.

Bang bang bang bang!!!!

The overwhelming impact wiped out every structure blocking Beckett's path. When he smashed through the final obstacle and appeared inside the communications room Woz had mentioned, he was greeted by a dense forest of black gun barrels.

"Oh? You were waiting for me here?"

Beckett closed the map projection before him and looked at the group of Kree raising weapons at him with interest.

"Fire!"

The Kree soldiers were clearly far from friendly toward Beckett's arrival. Dense streams of fire spat from their weapons, instantly swallowing his figure.

Clang clang clang clang clang...

The barrage was dense, yet it failed to inflict even the slightest negligible injury on Beckett.

"Increase firepower!" The leading Kree clearly refused to believe it, but what awaited them in the end was despair that pierced their hearts.

"How naive."

After snapping the last firearm in half, Beckett stepped over the corpses strewn across the floor and pulled up the holographic screen from his wristband. More than half the red dots on the map vanished at once. Of those remaining, some were still on their way to this information relay point, while others seemed to have chosen to give up.

"His Highness Beckett, a message from the Kree military has been detected. After losing contact with Tofa's central command, they have noticed that something is wrong."

Woz's voice promptly reminded Beckett that his situation could worsen at any moment.

"I know." Beckett coldly raised his right hand toward the massive machinery before him. The energy pouring from his palm utterly destroyed this command base's means of communicating with the outside world.

A succession of explosions instantly assaulted the eardrums of every Kree still capable of moving, turning their faces exceptionally grim.

With the communications center destroyed, their city had become a completely isolated city in a short time.

"The enemy's objective is clear. They want to completely cut us off from the outside world." Christine, captain of the research institute's security team, wore an ugly expression as he curled up inside the institute on the 404th floor of the building.

The Skrulls' series of blows had truly left him dazed. First, he had been humiliatingly taken down by the Skrull Magma, who had even copied his face. Now, this city had been turned into an isolated island.

"They can't hold out for long. The troops departing from Planet Hala will arrive at Tofa soon, and the garrisons in the other cities should have noticed something wrong as well. We only need to hold on until they arrive. Just hold on until they arrive."

"Stop deceiving yourself, Christine. You should know that none of us can be trusted now."

Astra slumped on the floor with a cigarette between his lips and tossed the cannon resting on his shoulder to the ground with a clatter. Smoke curled through the air, obscuring Astra's face. "Who knows whether the ones who come will be Kree troops or Skrull troops? You know about the tragedy of Planet L77."

At the mention of Planet L77 again, a place he did not wish to remember, a trace of gloom surfaced on Astra's fierce face. He unconsciously tightened his grip on the handle of the Heavy Impact Cannon.

"Let's go. Since the communications center has been destroyed, we should withdraw outside. Freezing an entire city over—those Skrulls must have relied on some special device. Otherwise, they could never have done it."

After a long silence, Christine rose to his feet and extended a hand toward Astra.

"Go by yourself. Don't forget, before I return to Planet Hala, I can't stay away from the command center or the research institute for too long. Without the protection of the special magnetic field, the Skrulls can easily copy the memories in my mind."

The cigarette in Astra's mouth made Christine frown. He did not like this smoke-filled feeling.

"Want one? A specialty of Planet H91. It packs a punch."

Seeing Christine looking at him, Astra pulled one from his waist pouch and tossed it over. A bottle of liquor rolled out along with it.

Christine frowned and opened his mouth, but ultimately swallowed the words on the tip of his tongue. After putting the items away, he gave Astra one last look before leaping from the window.

"I hope that when I see you again, you'll still be in one piece." Astra patted the dust from his backside, rose to his feet, and slung the Heavy Impact Cannon over his shoulder as he continued toward the communications center.

He was a genuine scientist who had received a trace of the universe's favor, though that trace of favor seemed to have brought him rather serious side effects. As long as the communications center had not been destroyed too thoroughly, he had a way to repair it.

"Let's go, old friend."

Carrying the Heavy Impact Cannon, Astra turned the next corner and immediately saw an unfamiliar figure from behind.

Silver armor cast captivating halos under the blazing sun. Black hair stirred without wind, while a bright red tail swayed from side to side.

"Though I don't know who you are, I can be certain that you aren't Kree."

Astra carried his cannon, spat out the cigarette in his mouth, and aimed at the unfamiliar figure before him. "Have you ever tasted a Plasma Cannon? If not, then you're in for a treat."

"You can try."

Beckett, who had come straight here by following the map scanned by Woz, turned around. The arrogant smile at the corner of his mouth irritated Astra.

"Interesting. Want to bet on something? I bet you'll die." Astra whistled and pulled the trigger, having spent years frequenting all manner of entertainment venues.

"I bet there are no bullets in your gun."

Thanks to Guang Zai Na Ni Zai Na and Dada Sange for the tips~