Assassination

"Reinforcements are here!" Xiao Xue's delighted voice rang out among them.

A jumble of footsteps came from the other end of the corridor. A medical team with treatment pods and a full squad were heading toward them.

At the very front, Liu Sui strode forward in a black uniform, his long silver-white hair swaying behind him. His face showed undisguised anxiety.

That anxiety became tangible when he saw the guide in the corner.

Ignoring the other three, Liu Sui went straight to Luo Ruzhuo. He gazed at the guide's peaceful sleeping face, his dark, mist-like brows knitting tightly together.

After his optical computer confirmed that Luo Ruzhuo's vital signs were normal, his expression eased slightly. Only then did he turn his attention to the others.

One look was all it took.

He was in for a huge surprise.

"...Brother?"

Liu Sui stood face-to-face with the sentinel. The two looked as though they were gazing into a mirror.

"When did you get back?" Liu Sui was both delighted and astonished. "Is your mission over?"

His identical twin brother had been transferred to Sentinel Association headquarters on a special mission when the Firmament Squad was first established. He had never returned, and many years had passed in the blink of an eye.

If the special connection between twins hadn't assured Liu Sui that his brother was safe, he would have begun to suspect that the Sentinel Association was some kind of criminal human-trafficking organization.

"No." Liu Qing revealed nothing more. "I'm still on the mission."

Though they hadn't seen each other in years, the understanding between the twins was beyond what ordinary people could match. It took only one sentence from Liu Qing for Liu Sui to understand his current situation.

Liu Sui nodded. "Stay safe."

The two spoke in riddles, leaving Xiao Xue and Cang Yun utterly bewildered.

Xiao Xue tried to join the conversation.

"Hello, vice-captain's brother—no, that sounds weird." Unsure how to address the man in front of him, he made faces at Liu Sui. "Come on, vice-captain, how come you never told us you had a double-S-rank brother? Where do you work, vice-captain's brother? Is it dangerous? Want to join our Firmament Squad..."

The words came so thick and fast that he hardly left anyone a chance to answer.

Liu Sui gave him a look.

That single look was enough to make Xiao Xue fall silent.

"You ask too many questions," Liu Sui said evenly. "His name is Liu Qing."

Xiao Xue grinned. "Hello, Brother Qing! You were so cool just now!"

There wasn't much time for catching up. Liu Sui raised his left hand and glanced at his optical computer bracelet. Data flickered across the screen, showing that the contamination concentration here had returned completely to normal.

But the crisis aboard the starship was not over.

You Ling and Wu Lu had sent a message from the communications room: repairs to the protective equipment would take about another half hour.

Cang Yun and Xiao Xue grew serious and told Liu Sui what they had discovered in the communications room.

"There's a mole in the squad," Cang Yun said bluntly. "They knew our coordinates and the distribution of the contaminated zones."

Beside her, Xiao Xue took out the black box numbered TK30085 that they had just found inside the contaminant and handed it to Liu Sui.

"We found this inside the contaminant. This thing can replace a person as a host for contaminants. It's terrifying! The mole must have deliberately planted it on our starship!"

Liu Sui took it. It was an ordinary-looking square box, about five star-feet thick, with a smooth exterior and no catch to open it. An optical computer scan revealed obvious energy fluctuations, but there was no telling what was inside.

He had just turned it over when he heard his brother say with certainty, "It's from Ankang Pharmaceuticals."

His tone was confident, as if he was familiar with the object and had seen it in many places before.

Xiao Xue was surprised. "How do you know, Brother Qing?"

Liu Qing said casually, "I've seen it at work."

Then he added, "Ankang Pharmaceuticals originally developed it to improve guides' and sentinels' mental domains, but the Alliance destroyed it because it didn't comply with regulations."

"So the mole really did plant this on our starship to strengthen the contaminants?" Liu Sui's brows furrowed almost imperceptibly. This was not good news.

It meant the enemy was in the shadows while they were in the open.

The other side had clearly planned and prepared for this well in advance: they had deliberately released a virus while the Firmament Squad was passing through a contaminated area, disabling the protective equipment. Then they had planted the host to raise the contaminated zone's level and used the contaminants to abduct the guide, slowing the captain's purification.

Every step of the process led to the next, and their intentions were sinister.

"Damn it! If I find out who the mole is, I'll pluck all the hair off his spirit body!" Xiao Xue clenched his fists, unable to contain the fury on his face. Then he looked at Liu Sui. "Vice-captain, is there any way to find this scoundrel?"

Xiao Xue was not the only one who felt that way. Everyone present did.

Liu Sui had more to consider. He thought for a long time before saying only, "Let's not alert them yet."

His gaze turned to the people on the medical team's stretchers. The young woman was in the middle, completely surrounded and protected.

Luo Ruzhuo didn't dare extend her mental power again until she reached the medical room.

Xiao Xue accompanied Cang Yun to a regular treatment pod, while Luo Ruzhuo was sent to a high-security ward. The treatment pod's instruments here were the most precise available. Luo Ruzhuo felt as though every part of her body had been examined inside and out, but the readings on the instruments were still all green, with nothing abnormal.

She heard a note of puzzlement in Liu Sui's voice. "She's perfectly healthy, and her contamination level is low. Why hasn't Guide Luo woken up yet?"

Why else?

Of course it was because she was already awake and only pretending to be unconscious!

Liu Qing wore a subtle expression, but he reassured his younger brother. "She might have been frightened. It's normal for her not to wake up right away."

At this point, that was all they could do. Liu Sui nodded, gave the medical staff assigned to her care some instructions, then sat down in the caregiver's seat and stayed.

He looked set on not leaving until Luo Ruzhuo woke up.

The medical staff looked somewhat troubled, and two of them exchanged glances.

A long time passed. Liu Qing left first, while Liu Sui handled official business nearby and kept an eye on Luo Ruzhuo.

Not until his optical computer rang did a trace of happiness finally appear on Liu Sui's tense face.

"Good, the protective equipment has been repaired?" He immediately set about handling the follow-up work. "Check the contamination protection inside the cabin again and make sure nothing else was missed. Also, we need to check on the captain's situation again... Hmm, Guide Luo? I'm here with her. Don't worry."

After he ended the call, his work grew even busier, and all kinds of notifications kept sounding in the small care room.

Liu Sui had just finished asking about Lin Sheng's logistics team when a medical worker in white motioned for him to come over.

"Vice-captain, the person in charge needs to collect this medication personally."

The medical workers all wore masks, making it hard to see what they looked like. Fearing this was the mole's ploy to lure him away, Liu Sui deliberately stopped someone he didn't recognize. "You, come with me."

With a click, the heavy door to the room closed.

The overhead light in the medical room was white as snow, giving off an inexplicable chill.