Author: 唇亡齿寒 / Lips Gone, Teeth Cold
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 140
The sky, once a clear blue, quickly turned dark as clouds gathered ominously. Thunder rumbled in the distance, and flashes of lightning illuminated the oppressive sky.
Emma sniffed the damp air. “I don’t know why, but I have a bad feeling, like something has happened to the Duke…”
Garn immediately scolded her, “Don’t talk nonsense! What could possibly happen to the Duke? Stop scaring yourself!”
A bolt of indigo lightning streaked across the sky, and raindrops began to fall.
“Yeah, you’re right.” Emma stopped looking at the sky and instead gazed at the distant white building, partially hidden by trees. “Is that the research facility?”
Garn checked the holographic map, carefully confirming the location. “It has to be. We need to hurry. The Duke is waiting for our victory report.”
Emma nodded in agreement and followed Garn toward the white building.
The entrance to the research facility was in ruins, as if it had been blown open a long time ago and then abandoned, allowing weeds and vines to grow over it. Garn crouched down, parting the grass to inspect the tracks in the dirt. “Someone got here before us.” He looked into the darkness beyond the broken door. “There were two people, a man and a woman, along with a tall robot.”
The ominous feeling in Emma’s heart, like the stormy clouds above, refused to dissipate. “Are they from the Federation?” she asked. “Or the Empire’s forces?”
“I don’t know.” Garn dusted off his hands. The rain was getting heavier, accompanied by the sound of thunder, signaling an impending downpour. “But one thing’s for sure—they’re our enemies. We need to move quickly.”
The two of them crossed the broken threshold and entered the facility.
The interior of the research facility was dark and gloomy, with windows obscured by overgrown plants, allowing no light to enter. Emma didn’t expect the ceiling lights to work, and in any case, she couldn’t find a switch. Behind the door was a large hall with words in Old Earth language written on the ceiling. Emma couldn’t read them but guessed they were some kind of tribute to science. At the end of the hall, there were two elevators. To her surprise, the elevators still worked, with a dusty display showing a faint red number indicating the current floor.
Garn shook his head. “We’ll take the stairs. Even if the elevators work, there’s no guarantee they won’t fail. They’re ancient relics from thousands of years ago.”
He followed the dirt tracks on the ground. “Looks like our opponents thought the same.”
He signaled to Emma, who immediately raised her laser rifle, finger on the trigger, ready to fire at any moment. Garn adjusted the position of his shoulder strap so he could quickly draw his pistol. Under the Duke’s orders, he had studied Old Earth language and programming techniques. The plan was clear: if they encountered any trouble, Emma would cover the rear while he quickly located the field generator, destroyed it, and released the Yasha. That would complete his mission. What happened afterward wasn’t his concern and wasn’t something he needed to know. But Garn had overheard some things from the Duke—the AI allied with the Duke would immediately take control of the Yasha after its release, using the Yasha as a weapon to conquer the universe. The AI’s condition was that the universe would be given to the Duke, while it and the Yasha would go to another dimension to become rulers there. The Duke, though ambitious, was only interested in this world, so he readily agreed to the AI’s proposal.
However, Garn had a nagging feeling that something was off. In this place, where even the faster-than-light network couldn’t reach, could that mysterious AI really control the Yasha? Did it have some special trick, or was it hiding something? Garn didn’t dare delve too deeply into these thoughts and hoped everything would go smoothly.
He and Emma descended the stairs. The emergency exit signs cast an eerie green glow, making the staircase feel like a sinister, haunted place. As they continued downward, the dirt tracks became fainter until they disappeared altogether. Garn estimated their position—they were now on an intermediate level, about two floors below ground.
“I wonder where the others are now…” Garn muttered to himself.
Suddenly, the wall behind him shattered under tremendous force, sending steel and debris raining down!
In a split second, Garn leaped forward, avoiding a fatal blow. At the same time, Emma raised her laser rifle and began firing at the attacker.
“Watch out, Garn! It’s a cyborg!” she shouted.
Garn rolled to the side, jumped up from the ground, and saw that the wall had been completely demolished. A towering cyborg, twice his height, stepped through the breach. Its body was a mass of steel and sinew, with claws glinting ominously in the dim light. But when Garn saw its face, he froze. Half of the “cyborg’s” head was metal, with electronic eyes embedded in it; the other half was a human face, twisted into a snarl, its eyes filled with a mix of malicious glee and insanity, perhaps driven by torment or excessive excitement.
“My God, it’s a bio-cyborg!” Garn pulled out a grenade, bit off the pin, and threw it at the bio-cyborg’s feet. Then he grabbed Emma and ran out of the stairwell.
Boom!
The massive explosion nearly burst Garn’s eardrums. He pushed Emma to the ground and quickly dropped down beside her. As the explosion subsided, he coughed, put on his spacesuit helmet, and searched the smoke for signs of the enemy.
“How… how can it be a bio-cyborg!” Emma followed suit. “I can’t believe someone is conducting such evil research!”
The bio-cyborg emerged from the smoke, its grotesque face visible in the infrared vision.
“Garn, you go find the field generator. I’ll handle this!”
It was the best plan. “Once you take it down, come find me immediately!”
“Understood!”
Emma fired a barrage of laser shots to keep the bio-cyborg at bay, giving Garn the chance to sprint back into the stairwell and race down to the lower levels.
Meanwhile, Musaya sat staring at the surface of the tea in her cup, her lips tightly pressed together. The dark liquid reflected her face—pale, haggard, with dark circles under her eyes, and her hair disheveled like a corpse that had crawled out of a grave. She hadn’t slept since receiving the news of her father’s death. She had been waiting for this day.
Across from her sat Darius Bayes, her cousin, but the admiral’s visit wasn’t a family reunion—it was to deliver some serious news.
“Your father’s remaining forces have surrendered. The Royal Fleet has entered the Damori system, and after reintegrating the surrendered troops, I will escort you back to the capital.” Darius dropped a sugar cube into his coffee. Musaya watched the sugar dissolve, much like life disappearing into the relentless current of fate.
“As for your father’s followers, they will receive a fair trial, and the military court will decide their punishment. There may be executions, but I can’t say for sure.” He paused. “But don’t worry—you didn’t participate in the war. You’re only the relative of a criminal. You will be stripped of your title and lands and lose your claim to the throne. However, some of your father’s assets haven’t been confiscated, and they will be transferred to you. The estate at Maple Pavilion still belongs to you, and as long as your servants weren’t involved in the Duke’s conspiracy, they can stay on to serve you.” He forced a smile. “Except for no longer being the Duke’s daughter, you can live as you did before.”
How can it be the same? Musaya thought. I’m not the Duke’s daughter, and I don’t have a father anymore.
“My father…” Musaya’s throat ached. Her strict etiquette teachers had taught her that she should sip tea to soothe her throat before speaking, to avoid displeasing her guests with a hoarse voice. But she didn’t care. She didn’t care whether Darius was pleased or not. “Is he really dead?”
“Yes, he is. I will escort his body back to the capital and bury him beside Lady Stella. Or do you want to see his body now? I advise against it. He…” Darius stopped, unable to continue, because Musaya had started crying. Before coming to the Duke’s estate, he had steeled himself, prepared to coldly deliver the news, no matter how much she cried or protested. But now, faced with his cousin’s tears, he couldn’t help but feel a pang of sorrow. Oh, Duke Winnet, look at what you’ve done. You’ve made your daughter cry—this is your legacy as a father?
Darius reached into the pocket of his uniform and pulled out a silk handkerchief (luckily, Leibniz hadn’t put anything strange in his pocket this time) and offered it to his cousin.
Musaya didn’t take it. She spoke between sobs. “My father… was he really such a great criminal? He just… He just had ambitions greater than most… In other ways, he was just like any other person… He gave me birthday presents… He remembered what my favorite cartoons were… Why… Was he truly beyond redemption?”
Darius lowered his hand. “To you, he was a good father, but you didn’t see his other side. He caused the deaths of many fathers and destroyed countless families. Did you know your cousin Annot had a lover? The Duke wanted to arrange a marriage between you and Arnot, so he had that girl assassinated. He treated you well, but he was ruthless to others. So, Musaya, don’t bring this up again. I can understand, but others might not. To many, you’re the daughter of a traitor, as unforgivable as your father. If you want to live in peace, try to forget about the Duke.”
“How can you say such foolish things!” Musaya suddenly stood up, knocking over her teacup. Tea spilled across the table, soaking Darius’s sleeve, but he remained still, like a statue, staring at Musaya in shock.
“How could I possibly forget! No matter what he did wrong, he was still my father!”
Musaya turned and ran upstairs. Moments later, there was a loud slam as she shut her door. The maid standing nearby immediately stepped forward to clean up the mess, wiping Darius’s sleeve with a cloth. The admiral pushed her away and asked, “Where is the butler, Garn?”
The maid hesitated. “Mr. Garn… resigned. The head maid is temporarily filling in as the butler.”
“Make sure you watch over your lady and don’t let her do anything foolish. I’ll visit again in a few days.”
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