Chapter 154: The Day the Code Fell in Love (24)

Ruan Jiaojiao looked helplessly at the man on the other side of the glass, her sobs continuous, "Li Shenjue, Li Shenjue..."

However, the Li Shenjue of now had lost his mind. He was no longer the man who, upon seeing this woman as cute as a rabbit crying, would call her his "little Jiaojiao" in a magnetic voice.

Li Shenjue drooled as he stared at the people outside. Once the high-and-mighty commander of the First Fleet, his current state of madness and absurdity only made him appear all the more terrifying.

Bai Yao and Shi Jiu walked over. She stared at the man behind the glass for a long moment, tilting her head in confusion.

Ruan Jiaojiao looked at Bai Yao and Shi Jiu, shouting in anger, "It must be you! What did you do to Li Shenjue?"

Bai Yao looked blank. "The way he looks, he’s clearly just starving. You didn't feed him; what does that have to do with us?"

Shi Jiu echoed her, "He's hungry, so what does that have to do with us?"

The others: "..."

Did Li Shenjue look like he was merely "hungry"?!

Fan Gu was helped up by Hua Xin. He took an extra look at Shi Jiu, then turned his gaze toward the silent Twenty-Three. The panic in his heart deepened inexplicably.

Gu Mohan was the quickest to react. He said to Twenty-Three, "Scan Li Shenjue's body."

Twenty-Three looked at Li Shenjue. After a moment, he said, "There is a life form from this planet inside Mr. Li's body."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present was stunned.

Fan Gu: "You mean... you mean there is one of those black monsters we encountered on this planet inside the Commander?"

Twenty-Three nodded. "Yes."

Ruan Jiaojiao, like everyone else, felt a chill run down her spine. She had no choice but to beg Gu Mohan for help. "Gu Mohan, please help Li Shenjue. I beg you, help him. As long as you save him, I will do anything... no matter what you ask of me, I am willing!"

She was willing to sacrifice everything for Li Shenjue. Her words were so earnest and heartfelt that who could remain unmoved?

Yet, Gu Mohan's expression suddenly shifted.

He looked at Ruan Jiaojiao for a long time, then slowly loosened his grip on her.

Ruan Jiaojiao sensed vaguely that something was wrong.

Gu Mohan, however, laughed with his usual carefree air. "Although Li Shenjue and I have our grievances, it hasn't reached the point where I would watch him die. Don't worry, if there is a way to save him, I will certainly do it."

A wave of apology suddenly washed over Ruan Jiaojiao. Gu Mohan and Li Shenjue had always been at odds, yet for her sake, Gu Mohan was willing to set aside his grudges to save him. The more selfless he appeared, the more guilty Ruan Jiaojiao felt, because she knew she could never give Gu Mohan the love he wanted.

Gu Mohan asked Twenty-Three, "Is there a way to extract the alien creature from his body?"

Twenty-Three replied, "We lack the conditions for surgery here."

Gu Mohan changed his question: "What if we suppress the growth of the alien creature inside him?"

Twenty-Three: "In a low-temperature environment, the growth rate might be delayed."

That was the only method left.

Ruan Jiaojiao’s health was already fragile, and after experiencing so much in such a short time, she collapsed from exhaustion and needed to rest. Gu Mohan had Twenty-Three stay behind to watch Li Shenjue, and the group departed.

Bai Yao and Shi Jiu sat by the window, watching the rain outside. She asked curiously, "How did Li Shenjue suddenly get parasitized by an alien creature?"

Shi Jiu: "Yes, how did he suddenly get parasitized by an alien creature?"

Bai Yao rubbed her arms. "Could it be that he accidentally ate those eggs?"

Shi Jiu rubbed his arms too, acting like a parrot. "Maybe he really did eat those eggs!"

Bai Yao felt a wave of nausea, goosebumps rising all over her body.

Suddenly, Bai Yao said, "Shi Jiu, it’s raining outside, but I think I see a star."

And that star was getting closer and closer.

Shi Jiu quickly pulled Bai Yao to her feet. "It's a pirate ship!"

As Shi Jiu spoke, the ship drew near. The thermal weapons on the vessel aimed directly at their garbage collection ship.

The moment the artillery fire struck, the ship's windows shattered, and a massive hole was blown into the cabin, accompanied by sparks and electrical flashes.

The immense impact threw Bai Yao and Shi Jiu to the floor. Shi Jiu shielded Bai Yao beneath him, his hands protectively covering her head. His back was struck by falling debris, but he paid it no mind.

Everyone scrambled out.

Gu Mohan recognized the ship as a pirate vessel and shouted, "Find cover, quickly!"

Without needing to be told twice, the others moved.

Several warships flew out from the pirate vessel. Under their heavy barrage, the old garbage collection ship had no means of retaliation.

The group was too large a target, so they had no choice but to split up.

Gu Mohan and Hua Xin drew their weapons, meeting the well-equipped outlaws pouring out of the warships to buy time for the others.

Fan Gu hurried back to find Li Shenjue and Ruan Jiaojiao.

Gunfire crossed the cabin, and the beams of various weapons, possessing lethal power, turned the ship into a battlefield.

Shi Jiu paid no attention to the chaos behind him. Relying on his height and inhuman physical strength, he scooped up Bai Yao and sprinted, the extra weight not hindering his speed. Several times, he narrowly missed being hit by bullets.

They were the first to escape the ship.

Outside, a light rain was falling, and a group of black alien creatures had already gathered.

Seeing a creature lunging toward Shi Jiu's back, Bai Yao pulled her stun gun from her pocket, set it to maximum voltage, and slammed it into the monster. The creature fell, its body trembling.

At that moment, Shi Jiu turned and shielded Bai Yao behind a tree. A bullet whizzed past; Shi Jiu pressed Bai Yao's face into his chest and reached out to catch the bullet.

However, he had overestimated his own physical durability.

The bullet pierced his palm and struck his left eye. It didn't penetrate his skull, falling to the ground instead.

But the impact shattered half of his face. Centered on the bullet's path, his synthetic skin was scorched and torn, revealing spiderweb-like cracks in the metal skeleton beneath.

Bai Yao looked up, the mist in her eyes mingling with the rain in the air.

Shi Jiu used his uninjured hand to gently wipe the rain from her face. "Yao Yao, I will protect you."

His left eye was a dark void, half his face was ruined, and his remaining right eye glowed with a deep, flickering red, constantly flashing error messages.

Half machine, half human—it was a grotesque and terrifying sight.

Yet, he held the person in his arms tightly, using only his one remaining eye—which kept issuing warning alerts—to scan for the people approaching.

They were space pirates from the warships, every one of them men with long criminal records.

Working in their line of work, they knew exactly how valuable women were in this era, especially a beautiful one.

Their gazes landed greedily on Bai Yao. On the wireless communication channel they used to converse, the air was thick with filth.

Because by custom, the women they captured could be enjoyed by them before being sold.