Riot Flying Car Tracking Device

Lina was growing anxious.

It was four in the morning by Galactic Standard Time, and the constant stream of incoming reports made sleep utterly impossible.

A riot had broken out at Kor Port Prison in the middle of the night.

The uprising had started two hours ago. The main control room on the Lower Three Levels had inexplicably lost power, cell doors had been thrown open, and the gang of thugs imprisoned on the lowest level had broken free, easily seizing the guards' weapons.

Now, those thugs were engaged in a direct firefight with the Peacekeeping Force that had rushed in, explosions echoing across half of Kor Port.

New images kept popping up on Lina's network terminal—photos of the thugs snapped by her subordinates, each with detailed annotations.

What relieved Lina was that none of these photos showed Yang Ming.

The instigator of the riot was Kolev, a pirate leader with some notoriety who had been active for many years.

Damn these pirates. Why now, of all times?

Is Hanton caught up in this too?

Lina rubbed her brow.

This late night would set her skin aging back three months!

Lina was certain that of the three factions now eyeing Hanton—the Sherman Empire Military Intelligence, the New Federation Third Investigation Bureau, and the unit she truly served—only she knew Hanton's real worth.

[Hanton is the sole successful result of the Imperial Valkyrie Program.]

What was even rarer was that Hanton was incredibly stable. If he wasn't fighting, he was like an ordinary person. All kinds of detection instruments would only find his body temperature slightly elevated, with no other abnormalities.

This kind of biological modification technology was almost a groundbreaking achievement!

Lina had already made thorough arrangements. She only needed to wait for her escort fleet to reach the airspace near Kor Port, and then she could activate the undercover agents in Kor Port to forcibly take Hanton back.

As long as they returned to Guer Alliance territory, all problems would cease to be problems.

To keep Hanton steady, she was fully prepared to sacrifice her beautiful body, which she had cherished for over thirty years—and it wasn't exactly a losing deal.

But now, the situation had suddenly changed.

Damn these pirates!

Knock, knock, knock!

The hotel room door was rapped, 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, then quickly closed it and activated the shielding device.

"How is it?" Lina asked calmly.

"Commander, we can't determine exactly what's happening inside Kor Port Prison. They've cut off all networked devices. These rioters are acting very professionally, more efficient than our Special Operations Force."

"We scanned with detection equipment. There haven't been large-scale casualties inside the prison. The guards seemed to lose combat capability quickly. Based on our speculation, they were knocked out by hypnotic gas."

Lina's gaze sharpened. "Are you sure?"

"Sure. The guards are now locked up in the cells on Level 6. Casualties are minimal, and almost all have vital signs."

Damn it!

A wave of weakness washed over Lina. She could only force herself to stay as calm as possible.

If everything was as she suspected—that Hanton had faced a Valkyrie head-on and survived—then dealing with this loosely disciplined medium-security prison would be no challenge for him at all.

The only uncertainty now was whether Hanton's identity as a modified human had been exposed.

She didn't dare gamble.

"Commander, what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

Lina didn't mention Hanton to her intelligence officer. That was the only way to keep him from being exposed.

Now, she had to make a decision.

"Start the plan ahead of schedule."

Lina's pretty face was set with determination:

"At all costs, get our fleet to the airspace near Kor Port as soon as possible. Remember, at all costs! Even if it means casualties later! Activate all the feelers we have hidden here!"

"Yes, Commander!"

The six of them hurried away.

Lina rushed back to the suite's bedroom. Her slender but substantial body leaned over the bedside as she picked up a palm-sized screen and a button-sized main unit. She lit up the screen and quickly typed code.

Soon, the 3D topographic map of Kor Port, as complex as an ant's nest, filled the entire screen.

Lina quickly entered a few commands, and a pale green cursor appeared at the location of Kor Port Prison.

As the map zoomed in, Lina soon noticed that the cursor had already reached the prison's edge and was rapidly crossing its boundary.

He was out!

Hanton had left the prison almost without obstruction!

How did he do it?

Lina immediately grabbed the communication device.

She couldn't let Hanton slip out of her control.

"Whoohoo!"

The hover pickup, its undercarriage glowing blue, raced forward along the empty metal street.

In the passenger seat, Kolev wore black leather pants and a leather jacket, a black headscarf wrapped around his head. His wrinkled face was full of excitement, and strange yells kept spilling from his mouth.

In the driver's seat, Yang Ming, who was still figuring out how to handle a hovercar, frowned at the old man.

He was a bit worried about this old pirate's mental state—and his cardiovascular endurance.

They had already earned each other's respect.

During the prison takeover, Yang Ming had shown a fraction of his personal strength, while Kolev had demonstrated his excellent pirate business skills, along with his knack for inciting and organizing inmates.

Now, the battlefield had been handed over to those overexcited prisoners.

The two of them had quietly changed into slightly more normal clothes, used the pickup from the prison kitchen, and successfully slipped out.

—This was also part of Kolev's plan.

The hover pickup had a biometric lock, but Kolev easily hacked into its system.

"We need some music!"

Kolev fiddled with the center console, cackling:

"This is just too great! The two of us actually took down that prison, First Mate Hanton! Your strength plus my brains—we could become the most powerful pirates in the Milky Way! Oh, why did I have to get old already! It's not fair!"

The old man suddenly started getting emotional.

Yang Ming smiled. "I didn't come into this world to be a pirate, First Mate Kolev."

"Oh? Got some ideals, do you?"

"Ideals, huh..."

Two paths surfaced in Yang Ming's mind—one leading to Minx Port, wherever that was, and one leading to the city known as 'Mech Twilight,' whose location he knew for certain.

"I want a ship that can jump. Something I can take out on my own, set sail, and explore the mysteries of the universe and the edge of the galaxy."

"Cool!" Kolev shrugged. "But isn't that just being a pirate?"

"I don't want to rob the weak."

"What we've always done is rob the rich and not help the poor," Kolev explained vaguely. "Of course, we step out of line sometimes, can't be helped... you know... there are plenty of real scumbags in my line of work. They've got no reverence for anything..."

Yang Ming smiled and said nothing.

Just as the pickup merged into traffic, a swarm of police cars descended from the sky, sealing off every route around the prison.

Watching the flashing orange lights of those police cars in the rearview mirror, Yang Ming controlled the speed and followed the flow of traffic toward safer areas.

"How long until your people get here?" Yang Ming asked.

"They've already made the jump, but the nearest jump point is still a ways from Kor Port. About another hour. We can go meet them head-on."

Kolev looked at the holographic screen projected from his watch and said smugly:

"Looks like these guys actually care about this old wreck.

"Maybe they'll beat us to the rendezvous zone. In the meantime, the prison will keep causing a ruckus. Don't worry—the Peacekeeping Force doesn't have much combat power, and the Humanity Association won't let them use heavy firepower casually.

"Right now, all we have to do is grab a small sightseeing ship."

Do all old people get this chatty?

Yang Ming asked, "Do they have docking permits?"

"We're Star Pirates! Pirates, my dear First Mate!" Kolev laughed a bit theatrically. "Of course we're leaving the pirate way!"

Yang Ming was about to ask more when his eyelids twitched. He whipped his head to the side.

A hovercar seemed to lose control and slammed straight toward them!

His enhanced neural reflexes saved him again. In an instant, Yang Ming completed a series of maneuvers, sending the slightly sluggish pickup darting through a gap in the traffic.

Chaos erupted behind them. Alarms blared everywhere, and nearby patrol drones rushed over.

Several hovercars sped in from both sides, subtly boxing Yang Ming in and trying to force him to stop.

"Whoa!" Kolev grinned, showing a few yellow teeth. "Looking for you?"

"Buckle up."

Yang Ming calmly pushed the gear stick to the top and gripped the steering wheel with both hands.

A hovercar—wasn't that still a car?

And he—he was a certified 'C1 manual transmission' driver!

Yang Ming gripped the rectangular steering wheel, stomped on the accelerator, and the hover pickup even pulled off two aerial flips before shooting straight onto the express lane.

Because of the reckless driving, a swarm of police drones came roaring in, blaring their piercing sirens.

A dozen hovercars of various brands surrounded the pickup truck, trying to force it out of the Express Lane.

For a moment, danger loomed on all sides.

Yang Ming was afraid that using too much force might tear the steering wheel off, and his breathing grew a little ragged.

Kolev laughed out loud, clearly hitting the old man's peak of excitement; but he didn't forget to operate the two Network Terminals at hand, constantly searching for the drone's signal frequency.

Half an hour later.

The battered pickup hovered to a stop on the dimly lit Metal Bridge.

Just now, Yang Ming had carried Kolev on his shoulder, sprinting through the dark alleys near Kor Port's Red Light District, quickly shaking off the group of men and women who were likely from some country's intelligence agency.

And now, the two of them were crouched behind a trash bin, warily scanning their surroundings.

"They're like sticky candy!" Kolev complained.

"I might have a Tracking Device on me," Yang Ming said in a low voice. "Something I swallowed."

He thought of the potion Dr. Lina had given him.

Kolev frowned. "Oh, First Mate, you should've said so earlier. I need to get you a set of aluminum isolation gear, or a signal jammer."

Yang Ming surveyed the narrow, cramped alley and the men and women leaning against the street walls.

In Kor Port, which respected human rights, prostitution was legal and unrestricted by gender.

The two fell silent for a moment, then spoke almost at the same time.

Yang Ming: "From now on, follow my orders."

Kolev: "From now on, you listen to me, young First Mate."

"It seems," Yang Ming said with some helplessness, "we still can't convince each other."

"Your combat power lets you dominate in a prison, but next we rely on the ship, on this."

The old man pointed at his head, grinning as he spoke:

"When it comes to the stars, you're still a rookie. You need to keep learning, Hanton."

Yang Ming was silent for a while.

Kolev squinted with a smile; he wasn't worried Yang Ming would refuse. Now the initiative was in his hands, the great pirate's, and he had also figured out this powerful Modified human's demands...

"Hanton?"

A gentle call suddenly came from the side.

Yang Ming immediately gripped the Laser Pistol in his arms, while Kolev quickly ducked behind him. Both of them warily looked toward the source of the voice.

At the alley entrance ahead, a beautiful woman with her hair simply tied back peeked over, her delicate, palm-sized face full of surprise.

It was Dr. Lina.

"Hanton, you're here! I heard there was a prison riot and was just about to head over to check on things! Thank goodness, come with me quickly!"

Kolev immediately tugged Yang Ming's arm, warning him to be careful.

But Yang Ming grabbed Kolev's wrist in return and jumped up eagerly.

"First Mate Hanton, who is she?" Kolev asked, full of vigilance.

Yang Ming laughed. "The spy who planted the Tracking Device on me. She'll get us out of here! Don't worry, First Mate Kolev."

Hearing their undisguised muttering, Lina was visibly stunned.

She... was exposed?