Thanks, Hanton

Run!

Yang Ming's ears rang nonstop, and dizziness came with an overpowering urge to vomit.

The instant the red ring of light erupted, Yang Ming had already bolted, but he still hadn't escaped its effects.

"The Valkyrie's escaped!"

He shouted at the top of his lungs.

Nearby, quite a few men and women doubled over and vomited. Faint electrical arcs sputtered from some precision instruments, while screams and shouts rang out all around them.

Seven or eight people in white lab coats rushed toward the chamber where the Valkyrie was held. Their eyes reflected a pale red glow, and their faces were filled with reverence.

The Valkyrie had secretly taken control of the researchers who'd had the most contact with her!

Yang Ming ran straight for the nearest emergency fire exit, not forgetting to slap the alarm bell on the wall and send its piercing wail echoing through the entire Research Ship.

That's all your big brother can do for you.

He raced up the spiral staircase, climbing more than a hundred steps without stopping. Only then did he hear screams coming from below.

They'd engaged the enemy!

Three horizontal Safety Gates were closing rapidly, cutting off the spiral staircase. The uppermost Safety Gate was right beneath Yang Ming's feet.

Can this alloy gate, tough enough to withstand high-energy laser beams, stop the Valkyrie?

Yang Ming didn't feel safe in the slightest.

The announcer's calm voice came through the walls, reading out evacuation instructions and telling each department to prepare for evacuation. The announcement also indicated the location of the Escape Pods.

Soon, the ship began to tremble slightly. The fighting on the Lower Deck was reaching a fever pitch.

Maybe the strenuous climb had aggravated an old injury. As Yang Ming sprinted, his eyes grew bloodshot, his ears filled with ringing, and waves of dizziness washed over him.

He didn't want to stop at all.

A worsening concussion was nothing with the medical technology of a spacefaring civilization.

But if he ran too slowly and the Valkyrie caught him, she'd slice his head clean off!

The strong physique of this body proved crucial. Yang Ming charged all the way to the top of the emergency stairwell without stopping.

He managed to make out the nearby exit.

The dizziness grew more intense until he could barely stand.

But when Yang Ming spotted the Safety Gate ahead slowly descending, he sprang forward, pitched his body ahead, and barely managed to roll through to the other side.

Ding, ding-ding—

The sound circled incessantly in Yang Ming's ears, like a dozen coins spinning inside a metal bowl.

Yang Ming remembered something and pulled out the small pouch. He poured out the capsules Dr. Lina had given him, crushed two between his fingers, then tilted his head back and swallowed them.

Afterward, he lay on the floor, eyes closed, panting heavily.

The ringing in his ears continued for quite a while.

Yang Ming's breathing gradually steadied. The veins bulging on his forehead slowly receded, and sweat drenched his whole body.

He raised a hand to his forehead. The dizziness had ebbed like flowing water, the tightness in his chest had eased, and his thoughts had become unusually sharp.

Were there hormones mixed into this medicine? It's incredibly effective.

When Yang Ming got up, he could only make his way along the wall for support. But after a dozen steps, his body had already returned to normal.

Judging by the information in Hanton's memories, he was now very close to the bridge. There shouldn't be any more Safety Gates ahead.

Yang Ming gradually quickened his pace.

Disaster warnings kept sounding from within the walls, and the displays embedded throughout the ship flashed conspicuous red text.

Of the three Escape Pods, one was installed in an outer bay near the bridge and could hold a hundred people.

There were usually only forty or fifty people on the bridge, including the guards. That meant this was the best place to get aboard an Escape Pod safely.

Of course, the ideal outcome was to persuade Professor Gigrov to give up on the Valkyrie and jettison the Lower Deck Lab immediately. Boarding an Escape Pod was only the worst-case plan.

—Escape Pods couldn't jump, and this was at the edge of Empire territory. There was also the danger of being stranded in space.

After walking for a long time along the silver-gray corridor, Yang Ming came upon a pair of hatches bearing the Empire's insignia.

Entry required a biometric scan. He pressed his palm against the control panel on the left, and the two doors slowly slid apart.

A flat electronic voice sounded nearby, as if it hadn't eaten:

"Third Mate arriving at the bridge."

Quite the fanfare.

If the Engine Room, where the jump drive was located, was the ship's heart, then the bridge was its brain.

Yang Ming strode inside and quickly surveyed the area.

This Research Ship had clearly spent all its funding on the lab in the Lower Deck. The bridge's facilities could only be described as shabby.

Straight ahead were connected arched windows, offering the best view of the stars on the entire ship. On either side were dense banks of controls, a "blessing" for anyone with trypophobia. The rows of buttons were enough to make anyone's scalp crawl.

A dozen or so men and women in Imperial uniforms sat upright at their stations, calmly and concisely relaying information, receiving orders, and pressing buttons.

—They were responsible for controlling the ship's navigation and monitoring its overall condition in real time.

Behind the operators was a sealed, transparent fire-control room. Several middle-aged officers sat inside, operating the ship's various weapons.

Above the fire-control room was the central command station, where the people Yang Ming was looking for stood: Professor Gigrov, the Captain, the First Mate, and several other senior crew members.

A one-sided projection screen hung in front of Professor Gigrov, displaying an unobstructed view of the chaos on the Lower Deck.

Yang Ming lowered his head and went forward. Not caring whether he was authorized to approach the command station, he hurried up the steps and stopped behind several of his "superiors."

Professor Gigrov's face was ashen. He leaned on his cane with both hands, the red light of his Mechanical Eye flickering. His sparse hair was a little disheveled.

Yang Ming's attention was drawn to the surveillance footage on the screen.

There was a standoff on the Lower Deck. A fierce battle had clearly just taken place.

More than a dozen Nutrient Tanks had been opened.

Several Modified humans lay covered in blood near the Nutrient Tanks, their bodies marked with the penetrating wounds left by high-energy beams.

More than a dozen Imperial soldiers lay farther away, dead in even more gruesome ways. Most had had their necks twisted.

At the entrance to the Valkyrie's chamber, two rows of men and women in white lab coats held their hands high, forming a ragged human wall as several grim-faced Modified humans held them hostage.

Where was the Valkyrie?

Yang Ming looked up and found the surveillance feed from inside her chamber.

The Nutrient Tank had been smashed open. The Valkyrie stood before it with her arms spread, like a saint who had just bathed before a prayer.

Two women under her control busied themselves nearby. Holding transparent control panels, they were trying to unlock the silver collar around the Valkyrie's neck.

What was this?

"Professor," Yang Ming said, "shouldn't we do something?"

Several senior officers turned to look at him.

The First Mate cursed. "Captain! This isn't a place where you can just speak out of turn!"

Yang Ming immediately lowered his head and shut his mouth, grumbling inwardly.

These old bastards really were the worst. Why not just detonate the bomb in the Valkyrie's collar and get it over with?

He'd finally gotten to live again, just to witness history?

"Captain, what are you still doing here?"

"Is the anesthetic gas ready?" Professor Gigrov suddenly asked, interrupting the First Mate's rebuke.

The First Mate hurriedly replied, "It's ready and can be used at any time. The assault team is in position as well."

Professor Gigrov said, "Captain, release twice the standard concentration... No, three times the concentration."

"Understood, Professor." The Captain pressed the button on his collar and issued an order in a low voice. "Carry out the Professor's instructions immediately."

Yang Ming frowned deeply.

Professor Gigrov was still unwilling to destroy the Valkyrie.

As a Third Mate and repairman, Yang Ming had no way to change the course of events.

Yang Ming took two steps back and stood at the edge of the platform, watching the screen.

Pale red gas mixed with a marker spread throughout the Lower Deck. The figures standing in its path quickly began to stagger and collapse.

Click. A faint sound came from the screen.

The collar around the Valkyrie's neck slowly opened. The two women beside her had already collapsed to the floor.

The Valkyrie looked up toward the corner where the hidden camera was located. Her face, as innocent as a young girl's, appeared in the center of the Projection screen.

She seemed to be quietly watching Professor Gigrov.

Yang Ming stood farther back and couldn't see Professor Gigrov's expression, but he heard the bastard mutter to himself.

"Child, don't be nervous. I won't hurt you."

Yang Ming looked toward the escape route and began searching Hanton's memories for Escape Pod Operating Procedures.

He'd seen it.

He'd seen the Valkyrie rise to her feet amid the hypnotic gas.

He'd seen the Valkyrie swiftly snap the necks of the assault team soldiers, one after another.

He'd seen this ship descend into a hell of despair in the vastness of space!

On the screen, the Valkyrie slowly lay down.

The Captain spoke into his button. "Assault team..."

"Wouldn't it be better if—"

Yang Ming suddenly spoke up, ignoring the confusion and irritation in the senior officers' eyes. He spoke with complete sincerity:

"Professor, Captain, to be absolutely sure, could we use high-energy laser beams to pierce the Valkyrie's limbs? It wouldn't cause her any lasting harm, but she'd be unable to move while her wounds healed. Right, Professor?"

"Hanton!"

The First Mate, who'd been trying to drive Yang Ming away, immediately bellowed, "How long are you going to keep causing trouble here?"

But Professor Gigrov turned to look at Yang Ming. Frowning, he asked, "How do you know that?"

The old man was certainly wary.

Yang Ming ignored the useless First Mate and calmly began to make things up. "There are plenty of rumors aboard the ship... Professor, you created the Valkyrie. You know what powerful genes she was fused with. Everyone aboard is under threat from her now."

"Enough, Hanton!"

The burly First Mate strode over and grabbed Yang Ming by the collar. "You have no say here! Do you want to be thrown in the brig? Hm?"

"Let him go," Professor Gigrov said with a frown.

The First Mate looked somewhat taken aback, but aboard this ship, Professor Gigrov stood at the very top of the chain of command.

The First Mate shoved Yang Ming against the bulkhead and gave a heavy snort, apparently warning him.

Professor Gigrov studied Yang Ming for a few seconds. Yang Ming met his gaze without flinching.

Is this old man waiting for me to persuade him?

Yang Ming's thoughts raced.

Professor Gigrov had a special attachment to the Valkyrie.

The background description for Lost Voice.

The lines spoken by Brother Ji, the hidden boss Yang Ming had beaten up...

That was it. Apart from the Valkyrie, what Professor Gigrov cared about most was the mighty Sherman Empire!

Yang Ming suddenly spoke. His voice remained calm throughout.

"Professor Gigrov, this may sound exaggerated, but I heard a researcher mention in passing that the Valkyrie's most terrifying trait is her limitless potential to evolve. We're at the Empire's border. She might hate the Empire."

The hand Professor Gigrov had wrapped around his cane tightened around its round knob.

"Take Third Mate Hanton's advice," Professor Gigrov said, looking at the Captain. "Have the most skilled technician operate the laser. Pierce her palms and the soles of her feet. Do not hit her heart, neck, or brain... Make it as precise as a scalpel."

The Captain glanced at Yang Ming. A faint smile appeared on his usually solemn face. "Don't worry, Professor. I'll handle it myself."

Yang Ming visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

Professor Gigrov continued, "First Mate, the rest of you, go down to the Lower Deck and supervise the operation. Hanton stays."

The three senior officers threw their left hands behind them and their right hands forward, snapped off an Imperial Salute, and hurriedly left with their heads bowed.

Yang Ming could sense the First Mate's hostility, but he didn't even look at him. He kept his eyes on the Valkyrie, unconscious on the screen.

Had he changed "history"?

No. The crisis had only been temporarily averted. He still needed to get off this ship as soon as possible.

"Hanton."

Professor Gigrov spoke in a deep voice.

"I can grant you the request you made earlier.

"You showed remarkable calm in the face of danger. That's a rare and valuable quality.

"Congratulations. You've earned the opportunity, Third Mate."

Request? Opportunity?

What was he talking about?

What had Hanton asked Professor Gigrov for?

Yang Ming was confused and hurriedly searched through Hanton's memories.

When he found the memory of Hanton's last conversation with Professor Gigrov, he could barely keep his expression from cracking.

Professor, I want to become a powerful Modified Person! I've trained my body for several years to achieve this goal! It's all for the glory of the Empire! Even if I have to sacrifice my life, I'm willing to try!

The young Third Mate had pleaded with utmost sincerity.

And from Hanton's subsequent conversations with Professor Gigrov, Yang Ming learned that the failure rate of the Gene Modification experiments aboard this Research Ship was 92 percent, and the death rate was...

35 percent.

Thanks a lot, Hanton!

Yang Ming nearly ground his back teeth to dust.