Author: 唇亡齿寒 / Lips Gone, Teeth Cold

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

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Chapter 26

Alois swallowed hard.

The surroundings fell into an extreme silence in an instant, with even the faint sounds of insects and rustling leaves disappearing. Yet, that needle-like sensation of being watched remained. Alois had never felt this uneasy, not even under Leo’s constant surveillance on the Lady of the Night. The gaze from the jungle was like a hungry beast, filled with malice, ready to strike at any moment’s vulnerability.

“Joshua, did you bring another gun?”

“No, it’s in the flying car.”

Alois and Joshua stood back-to-back, their shared warrior instincts naturally leading them to the safest defensive stance. Srosie clung to Alois’s waist, trembling like a leaf.

“Hey, hey, don’t joke around… I just came out to play with the plane, and now, I survived a crash only to get eaten by some monster?” The teenager’s voice quivered.

“Can you stop shaking? When you shake, it makes me want to shake too!” Alois pinched Srosie’s face. “I should be saying, stop joking around. This is Green Star Diamond Island, a tourist spot, right? How could there be any large beasts… Haha, we must be getting too paranoid…” His voice also started to tremble.

Srosie gasped. “Did you say this is where?”

“The Green Star Diamond Island.”

The boy’s grip tightened, and Alois felt his internal organs being squeezed. “I must be having a nightmare!” Srosie’s voice was on the verge of tears. “Didn’t the Green Star Diamond Island become a military restricted area?!”

Alois choked. “Since when?!”

“About half a year ago. You shut-in types who don’t keep up with current events!” Srosie clung even tighter. “I was wrong. Rita told me not to fly here, but I didn’t listen… I was really wrong!”

‘Aha, half a year ago, I was still in prison listening to the warden’s weekly speeches,’ Alois thought helplessly. ‘It’s not my fault I was stuck in there every day.’

Joshua scanned the surroundings. “Stop thinking nonsense. If this is really a military restricted zone, we would have received a warning before entering.”

“Uh, not necessarily.” Alois wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. “Some highly classified military bases don’t give warnings. They just…”

Rustle, rustle.

Something moved in the jungle.

“They just what?” Srosie asked.

Alois stared blankly at the thing slowly emerging from the darkness. “…They just shoot to kill.”

A beam of sunlight penetrated the dense mangrove branches, illuminating the thing. It was a humanoid robot over two meters tall, though calling it a robot wasn’t quite right. Its mechanical torso was intertwined with human flesh and blood. Muscles and blood vessels covered the steel frame, connected to nerves made of wires. In some places, gray metal skin covered white bones. Its chest was exposed, showing rib bones wrapped with red and blue wires; a heart was beating in the left chest cavity, and artificial lungs expanded and contracted. Moving upward, its neck and head were half metal, half flesh. The metal skull reflected the sunlight, while the other half was rotten, with muscles exposed and skin gone, teeth bared, and eyes replaced by camera lenses swiveling at different angles and frequencies.

This was a half-human, half-machine monster. It might have been human once, but now it was a complete monster.

A cyborg. A chill ran through Alois. All colonies had signed agreements prohibiting cyborg research when the Neo Athens Academy was established. By now, cyborgs should only appear as villains in holographic movies. Unexpectedly, the research continued—in the Free Federation! On Neo Venice’s mobile islands!

“We’re doomed, Joshua…” Alois murmured.

Joshua looked no calmer, his shocked expression akin to seeing a dead neighbor come back to life. “My God… This is…” The assassin’s lips trembled, uttering a strange word that sounded like “Yasha”.

Alois didn’t care what “Yasha” meant. With the time to ponder that, he’d rather think of how to escape. He quickly realized they couldn’t flee towards the island’s edge. The path the Bard had cleared was covered by the rainforest, and navigating the forest risked getting lost. Returning to the flying car seemed impossible.

If they fought the cyborg head-on…

The cyborg pushed aside a fern, slowly advancing. Its left hand had five sharp blades instead of fingers, gleaming menacingly. The right arm ended not in a hand but a black, small-caliber beam cannon, likely powerful enough to blast them to pieces in an eighth of a second.

Fighting it head-on was hopeless.

That left only one option.

“Joshua, let’s head back!” Alois whispered. “The Bard might still start. We can escape in it.”

Srosie protested. “Don’t joke! I’ll crash it into the sea!”

“Idiot! Just because you can’t fly it doesn’t mean everyone else can’t!” Alois wanted to knock the troublemaker out with a stick.

The cyborg was now less than five meters away, separated only by a low plant. Joshua pulled the trigger, and a beam of light shot into the cyborg’s chest and exited its back. Another beam deflected off its metal face, causing no harm.

The cyborg scratched its wounded chest with steel claws, one blade cutting its face and drawing blood, which trickled down the silver blade. It remained unfazed.

Its eyes (if those could be called eyes) stopped their erratic movements, both focusing on Joshua, who dared to shoot.

At this moment, even the battle-hardened assassin felt a twinge of fear. “Run!” he shouted.

Alois bolted. Srosie, clinging to his waist, stumbled along. “Damn it, let go!” Alois pried the boy’s hands off, scooped him up, and sprinted towards the Bard.

Joshua retreated, firing at the cyborg. His attacks were mere pinpricks, barely slowing it down. The creature’s damaged leg only slightly impeded its progress.

Alois and Srosie reached the Bard. “Get up there!” Alois ordered.

“Me? But, but, I can’t climb up!”

“Do you want to die?” Alois cursed. He squatted, gesturing for the boy to step on his shoulder. “Climb up using my shoulders!”

“Are you sure?”

“Stop talking! Hurry, or I’ll leave you here!”

Srosie bit his lip, wiped his tears, and stepped onto Alois’s shoulder.

“Up!” Alois stood, supporting the boy. Srosie grabbed a dangling vine, tested its strength, then leaped, clutching the cockpit cover, and struggled inside.

“I’m in!” He threw the vine to Alois. “Climb up!”

The young man caught the vine, swiftly climbing into the cockpit. Srosie pulled him in.

“Move aside!”

“Where can I go?”

Alois plopped into the pilot seat, swiping his fingers across the control panel, bringing the screen to life.

“Please insert the activation key,” the display read.

“The key!” Alois kicked the boy trying to squeeze into the back.

Srosie glared but didn’t argue, searching his pockets. He finally found the key, which Alois snatched and shoved into the slot.

“Activation key inserted. Phantom of the Opera Bard, system initiating.”

Lights illuminated the cockpit, and the engine roared to life. Alois quickly adjusted the parameters, gaining a rough understanding of the Bard’s controls. While doing so, he anxiously thought, ‘What’s taking Joshua so long?’

Gunshots echoed outside. Alois couldn’t wait any longer. He leaned out. “Joshua! I’ve got it! Hurry up!”

Joshua fired another shot before abandoning his attack and sprinting towards the Bard. The cyborg sped up but was hindered by its leg wound. The assassin reached the fighter, grabbed the vine, and climbed into the cockpit.

“Get in!” Alois helped Joshua into the cramped space. The cockpit was already tight for two; now, with a third person, it was suffocating. Srosie groaned, nearly out of breath, while Joshua squeezed above Alois, pressing down on him.

“Joshua, you’re heavy…” Alois’s voice was strained.

“You’re not light either,” Joshua muttered, shifting to make more room.

Breathing easier, Alois pressed buttons to close the cockpit and start the engine.

A faint vibration and metallic clang reverberated through the hull. The cyborg was attacking the Bard’s exterior, but Neo Venice’s pride wasn’t damaged. The cyborg’s efforts were futile.

The magnetic field activated. The anti-gravity system began its calculations. The escape system was shut down.

The Bard lifted vertically. Dirt and leaves fell away, revealing its beautiful silver body, stark against the cyborg below. The engine emitted pale green particles, forming a natural barrier around the aircraft.

Crash. The canopy above broke, creating a huge gap. The silver bird freed itself from gravity, soaring towards the blue sky, trailing green particles like a tail.

The girl wearing the Green Star Diamond. Just like in Storen Wright’s poem.

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