Author: 唇亡齿寒 / Lips Gone, Teeth Cold
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 20
At the entrance of the casino, Joshua was leaning against Joanna’s black gondola, smoking a cigarette borrowed from the female pirate. It was a soft South Star brand with a mild taste, which suited the assassin’s light smoking habit. Seeing Alois hurriedly rush through the coral decorations at the entrance, only to stop before him, panting, Joshua smiled slightly. “Lost it all?”
“Yeah, lost it all!” Alois replied confidently. “Luckily, I didn’t get into debt. Otherwise, you’d be chased by loan sharks.”
“Losing everything is good.” Joanna’s voice came from the small boat. “A man should know how to take it and leave it. Lose a little today to win big tomorrow.”
“Captain, you are so right!” Alois took the opportunity to flatter her. This clearly worked well. Joanna nodded proudly and generously opened the gondola’s side door. “Come on, I’ll give you a ride.”
“You are truly the kindest captain in the universe!” This line was learned from Leo. “The captain loves being flattered like that.” The AI tirelessly taught newcomers how to handle relationships with their superiors during its spare time. “Women love compliments, especially those in leadership positions.”
Joshua and Alois climbed into the small boat, sitting in the back. The front seat was occupied only by Joanna, with a silver box strapped in the passenger seat with a seatbelt, seemingly an important item. Alois instinctively felt that the result of Joanna’s negotiation with that strange middle-aged man was this silver box.
“Where are you going?” Joanna started the boat, which slowly floated up, like a black flying fish skimming the water, leaving shimmering ripples illuminated by flashing neon lights and moonlight.
“Takut Hotel.”
“Oh. You two are quick, already booked a room!” Joanna exaggeratedly exclaimed.
“Yes, already booked!” Alois replied quickly, deliberately hiding the fact that they booked two separate rooms. Joshua opened his mouth, then shook his head, too lazy to explain again.
Neo Venice was already shrouded in night, but it wasn’t dark. The city’s colorful night lights illuminated the canals brightly. The city regulations allowed neon lights only below an altitude of one hundred meters, with higher areas having only direction indicators and silver decorative lights on the arches. The gondola ascended out of the colorful light world, greeted by the arching silver chains between buildings, shimmering under the twin moons’ light like a pearl necklace bathed in moonlight.
“I heard that tomorrow, a group of floating islands will drift to the nearby sea with the current,” Joanna said, gazing at the illuminated ocean below. “If you have time, you must go see it.” She seemed worried they wouldn’t believe her and gave a thumbs up. “Captain Joanna highly recommends it.”
“You could be a tour guide if you stop being a pirate.”
“I’d like that.”
“Captain, is it just my imagination?” Joshua leaned close to the window. “It seems like two flying cars are following us.”
Joanna glanced at the optical rearview mirror. “Oh dear, Old Hikari has really given me big trouble.”
“Can we shake them off?”
“Are you kidding?” Joanna smirked. “I always prefer to eliminate the problem.”
Alois shivered. “Captain, calm down. This isn’t the Lady of the Night. It’s Neo Venice…”
“I’m a universe-wanted criminal protected by the ‘Non-Interference Pact’!” Joanna happily steered, and the gondola dived into the city’s lights below.
Alois turned to Joshua. “What’s the ‘Non-Interference Pact’?”
“In simple terms.” The assassin lifted his pant leg and pulled out a gun from his calf. “It means we can do anything as long as it doesn’t harm the Free City-State and its citizens’ interests.” He tossed the gun to Alois, then pulled out a second gun from his other leg and asked Joanna, “Captain, if I accidentally damage a streetlight or something…”
“I’ll bail you out.”
The two outlaws shared a knowing laugh.
Alois felt a strange atmosphere spreading in the cabin. What were these two planning to do?
“Hey, Lagrange, can you use a sky board?” Joanna asked as the gondola passed a giant billboard with singer Camilla’s dynamic voice in the background. She tapped the steering wheel to the rhythm.
In the rearview mirror, two flying cars were still tightly tailing them.
“I can, but…” It’s been a long time since I’ve used one! The sky board was a hoverboard using artificial magnetic fields. Alois used to ride it around campus, saving a lot of time. It was also a great tool for showing off and picking up girls.
“Then it’s settled.” The female pirate pressed a button, and Alois heard the trunk click open.
“I’ll stop at the next intersection. Then you take the stuff and get off.” Joanna tossed the silver box from the passenger seat to Joshua, who then handed it to Alois.
“You handle the escape.” The assassin’s eyes sparkled with excitement, and even through his contact lenses, the golden rings in his pupils shimmered.
“What about you?” the frightened young man asked.
“Kill.”
Joanna clicked her tongue. “I don’t like that term. It sounds too violent.”
“Alright.” Joshua shrugged. “I’ll take care of the disruptive elements.”
“Much better.”
At the next intersection, the light turned red. Joanna turned right, approaching a platform extending from a building. The boat hadn’t fully stopped when she opened the door, almost causing Alois to tumble out.
Joshua pushed him out and quickly opened the trunk, taking out two sky boards. Before Alois could get up from the ground, the gondola shot off like an arrow.
“You go first. I’ll distract them.” The assassin placed the sky board on the ground and stepped on it. The board’s edge lights lit up, indicating the artificial magnetic field was activated, and the hoverboard floated a few centimeters, hovering steadily.
The two following flying cars zoomed past them. Joshua waved goodbye, then leaned his body and gracefully flew off the platform, maneuvering in an 8-shaped pattern to avoid several gondolas, heading in the direction Joanna left.
The pursuers seemed to realize they had missed two people, and one flying car turned towards Joshua. The assassin, as agile as a swift tern, brushed past the car and shot at it. The laser beam hit the car window precisely, leaving a few scorch marks.
The car window rolled down, and a pursuer leaned out, firing back at Joshua. The assassin, nimble on the sky board, easily dodged the incoming beams.
“The package isn’t with him!” the pursuer shouted to the driver, then aimed at Alois on the platform.
The young man quickly stepped on the sky board, bent over, and jumped off the platform, narrowly avoiding a laser beam that hit the wall behind him.
An explosion sounded overhead. Alois struggled to adjust his balance but couldn’t control the sky board. He was falling towards the water at a speed of 0.9 G. Thank god, Neo Venice’s gravity wasn’t that strong. He would live a bit longer before crashing to his death…
“…Too violent!” Alois shouted. The wind roared into his mouth, forcing him to close it. He protected the silver box while fighting with the long-unused sky board.
Several beams whizzed past him, missing their mark. Joshua was engaging the airborne pursuers, exchanging fire. For a moment, Alois was distracted, thinking how beautiful Joshua looked with his silver hair flying, before the feeling of freefall brought him back to reality.
The water shimmered not far below. Alois recalled the feeling of flying around campus, not in zero gravity but triumphantly conquering gravity…
“I didn’t escape from prison to die here!”
Just two meters from the water, he regained his balance.
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