Author: 唇亡齿寒 / Lips Gone, Teeth Cold

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 25

Though Alois was extremely reluctant, his self-proclaimed righteous and brave nature eventually led him to climb up to the fighter’s cockpit using the vines. With one hand gripping the seemingly fragile vine, he grabbed the pilot’s wrist with the other.

“You’re so slow!” the pilot complained.

Alois rolled his eyes, suddenly feeling an urge to strangle the guy with the vine. The pilot’s will to survive was strong, as he continued to gripe while using Alois’s strength to climb out of the cockpit.

“Phew! Saved!” The pilot sighed with relief once freed from the narrow cockpit. He brushed his deep blue hair back and looked up at Alois. “Thanks a lot!” he said.

“…You’re welcome,” Alois replied weakly. The pilot looked very young—more like a teenager than a young man. There was something oddly familiar about him… Where had he seen him before?

The teenager didn’t notice Alois’s confusion and continued to chatter. “What’s your name? I’ll write you a check later. Do you want a banner of gratitude for your unit? I can arrange for media interviews too… Whoa!”

Alois kicked him off the fighter.

The teenager screamed as he fell, landing in the soft, decaying vegetation of the rainforest with a squelching sound.

Joshua stood nearby, showing no intention of helping. In fact, he was struggling with his own dark thoughts, trying hard to resist the urge to stomp the freshly risen teenager back into the mud.

“Damn it! How dare you do that to me!” the teenager cursed, getting up and brushing off the decayed leaves. Alois agilely landed, still holding the vine. “I just saved your life!” He smacked the teenager on the head.

“Ow! You… You hit me!” Another smack landed on his head.

“You bet I did!”

The teenager clutched his head, glaring at Alois with puffed-up cheeks. “Hit me again, and I won’t give you a check!”

“Joshua, my hand’s getting tired. Could you find me a stick?”

“Happy to help.”

In the end, the teenager squatted on the ground, tearfully holding his head like a captured suspect, while Alois stood in front of him, tapping a stick on the fighter’s metal hull. The sound echoed ominously in the quiet rainforest.

“Tell me, where did you steal this fighter?”

The teenager sprang up. “Steal? It’s mine!”

“Who are you kidding?” Alois struck the hull hard, and the teenager immediately squatted back down.

“You can’t even open the escape pod, and you’re flying a plane?”

“I thought it was like flying a Gondola…”

Bang!

The teenager covered his ears, his face scrunched up. “I was wrong, I was wrong. I shouldn’t have messed around with a plane. Who knew it would be so hard to fly! There wasn’t even a manual. I had to figure it out myself. It’s not my fault…”

Bang!

“Who are you fooling! You can’t operate it, but you can fire missiles?”

“I thought that button was for the horn…”

Bang!

The teenager hugged his head tighter. “I was wrong, I was really wrong! Please forgive me! I’ll turn over a new leaf and work for the happiness of all humanity! Please save me. I’ll repay your kindness a hundredfold once we get out of here…”

Bang!

“Get up,” Alois said.

The teenager stood up, sniffling, looking at the fierce Alois, then at the calm and silent Joshua. He quickly decided the latter was easier to deal with. He moved closer to Joshua, seeking protection. “You… you won’t hit me, will you?”

Joshua gently patted his head, which Alois had just hit. “You’re smart. I never hit people.”

The teenager sighed in relief.

“I only kill them.”

The teenager darted back behind Alois. Being hit was better than being killed. He tugged on Alois’s sleeve. “Even though you hit me, I feel safer with you.”

Alois mimicked Joshua, ruffling the teenager’s hair. “Did he just pat your head?”

“Yeah… Ow! Why’d you hit me again!”

“Alright, let’s go.” Alois felt refreshed after venting his frustration. “Adding one more person to the car shouldn’t be a problem. We’ll call the police or a towing company to take the plane away. The forest damage will definitely need compensation, and there might be a court case. This guy…” He turned to the silent teenager. “…What’s your name?”

“Call me Srosie.”

“Alright, Srosie.” Alois nodded and continued talking to Joshua. “This guy’s probably some rich kid. Otherwise, how could he afford a ‘Bard’? A bit of compensation money should be no problem for him.”

Srosie immediately protested, “I’m not a rich kid! The ‘Bard’ wasn’t bought. I won it!”

Won it? This triggered a memory for Alois. He stopped and scrutinized Srosie from head to toe. The teenager was slender, with fair skin; if not for the flat chest, he could easily be mistaken for a girl. His deep blue hair was tied back, and his face was sharp, with delicate features, somewhat androgynous—a type Alois used to find attractive (though now his heart was only for Joshua, and even the galactic diva Camilla wouldn’t sway him). The problem was—he looked very familiar.

“Have we met before?” Alois asked.

“Don’t try to get close to me! Your pickup lines are outdated!” Srosie pouted.

“Who the hell wants to pick you up! I’m asking if we met at the casino?” Memories from the previous day flooded back. This was the teenager who had won the ‘Bard’ keys at the casino! At the time, he had been dead drunk, disheveled, and now the teenager was lively and clean, a far cry from before, but his appearance was unmistakable.

Srosie tilted his head, thinking. “Now that you mention it… I guess so…” He snapped his fingers. “Loan shark?”

“Yeah! I can’t believe you remember, considering how drunk you were.”

“Hahaha! A little alcohol is nothing to me! It’s no big deal, no big deal!” Srosie laughed heartily, puffing up at the slight praise. Alois and Joshua exchanged a look, both considering leaving Srosie to fend for himself.

“Forget it. Think of him as a parrot we found.” The assassin patted Alois’s shoulder, offering consolation. “Let’s go.”

Amid Srosie’s boisterous laughter, the three walked along the path created by the ‘Bard’ towards the edge of the island.

After about a hundred meters, the path suddenly disappeared.

“Huh? Did we take the wrong path?” Alois looked back in confusion. Behind them was a straight path, still visible, with the fighter buried in a pile of leaves. He remembered the path from the fighter being a straight line, marked by scorched soil and trenches. They hadn’t encountered anything that could be called a “fork”.

But now, the straight path seemed to extend only a hundred meters from the fighter, abruptly cut off before them.

“Strange, do rainforests grow this quickly?” Alois was puzzled. “Neo Venice must be great for plant growth.” He turned to Joshua, seeking answers from his more knowledgeable companion, but Joshua was already drawing his gun and disengaging the safety.

“Sorry, Alois,” Joshua said out of the blue.

“…Huh?”

“I shouldn’t have mocked you earlier.” He motioned for Alois and Srosie to stay close. “Something is definitely wrong with this island.”

In the dim rainforest, sunlight filtered through like scattered gold threads but couldn’t dispel the heavy darkness. Something was rustling.

Rustle, rustle, rustle.

And it was getting closer.

Rustle, rustle, rustle.

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