Chapter 84: I’m So Unlucky
Chapter 84: Chapter 84: I’m So Unlucky
Yang Bo moved swiftly through the maintenance channel.
The primary purpose of many Baisha Transport Ships was freight. Passenger transport was relatively rare, though it commanded a premium price due to the extensive services required. The cargo holds were climate-controlled but lacked Gravity, as many goods needed to be stored at specific temperatures.
Yang Bo inspected the area carefully. Dozens of cargo holds had already lost pressure, indicating they had been breached in the attack. However, the damaged holds were all in the bottom row, closest to the Warship. The central holds were heavily insulated by the sealed compartments surrounding them, making them much harder to depressurize.
"We’re giving you ten minutes to come out! If you don’t, we’re destroying this cargo hold!" A shout echoed from a distance just as Yang Bo emerged from the maintenance hatch.
Just as Yang Bo was about to disembark from his Mecha and use Invisibility to scout ahead, he suddenly spotted two figures emerging from the adjacent cabin. The two Pirates, clad in Battle Armor, were chatting as they walked. They were the very same ones who had just followed the Pirate Leader to investigate the missing Mechas.
Yang Bo spotted them first, but it was too late to hide. He simply stood perfectly still off to the side.
"I wonder where the guy piloting the Rift is hiding. We need to stay sharp," one said.
"Exactly! But the guy probably isn’t that strong. If he were, he’d be fighting us head-on." The two Pirates, clad in Energy Armor, chatted away as they walked, completely oblivious to the Mecha standing right beside them.
Subconsciously, they assumed it was impossible for an enemy Mecha to be here. The guards on the Baisha Transport Ship had already been wiped out by their crew, meaning no one else should have been able to pilot a Mecha.
The two walked past Yang Bo’s position. Suddenly, they realized something was off. Had there been something unusual in the spot they had just passed?
The two Pirates felt a sudden lightness in their bodies before plunging into unconscious darkness. Yang Bo had fired his Laser Cannon point-blank, reducing them both to sparks. He then immediately darted toward the cabin they had just come from.
Two Mecha Maintenance +8!
Yang Bo had to run because the Laser Cannon strike had caused the two men to combust explosively. Given that he could hear the Pirate squad shouting earlier, they had undoubtedly heard the blast too. He rushed into the adjacent cabin because he hadn’t noticed anyone coming from there earlier; otherwise, they wouldn’t have bumped into each other so unexpectedly.
Sure enough, the Pirate squad heard the explosion. Abandoning their attempt to breach the cargo hold, they rushed to the scene. Nothing was left except two relatively intact Energy Weapons. However, the Pirate squad was full of seasoned veterans; one glance was all it took to realize their comrades had been blown to pieces.
"After them!"
The squad consisted of four Mechas and four individuals. They completely underestimated their teammates’ killer, subconsciously assuming it was a cowardly ambush by someone who had immediately fled.
The Pirate squad charged swiftly into the adjacent cabin. The moment they crossed the threshold, a barrage of Lasers struck the four Pirates wearing Energy Armor, causing them to explode into flames.
Piloting his Mecha, Yang Bo had positioned himself directly above the cabin entrance. Seeing the four Mechas and four Pirates in Energy Armor charge in beneath him, he launched his attack instantly.
Four Warship Maintenance +8!
Firing the Laser Cannon was just the opening move. Yang Bo’s Mecha dropped from above, its Rocket Backpack igniting instantly. Covering the short distance in a flash, he smashed two enemy Mechas to the ground. Using the Cold Weapon in his Mecha’s hand, he brutally cleaved one of them clean in half.
Mecha Pilot +8!
At the exact moment Yang Bo fired his Laser Cannon, the other two Mechas activated their Mechanical Laser Cannons’ automatic targeting systems. Just as Yang Bo finished off the first Mecha, the remaining two unleashed their attack. Beam after beam struck Yang Bo’s Mecha at point-blank range.
Ignoring his Mecha’s blaring alarms, Yang Bo twisted his unit sideways, dropping flat against the floor. He triggered the Rocket Backpack, launching himself horizontally toward the two firing Mechas at the entrance.
The two Mechas instinctively tried to dodge, but the low ceiling of the cabin corridor severely restricted their movements. Unable to evade properly, both Mechas were knocked flat. Yang Bo drove his Cold Weapon upward into one of them, slicing open its cockpit and ripping the pilot inside into two pieces.
Mecha Pilot +8!
The surviving Mecha from his initial plunging attack scrambled back to its feet, only to witness Yang Bo’s Cold Weapon disemboweling its comrade from below. The pilot felt a phantom chill shoot up his own backside.
Meanwhile, the last knocked-down Mecha rolled on the ground and leaped to its feet. But in the next second, Yang Bo hurled his Cold Weapon. The massive blade plunged straight into the cockpit of the newly standing Mecha.
Mecha Pilot +8!
"An Ace Mecha Master!" screamed the Pirate Mecha Master who had witnessed the sheer carnage. He turned his Mecha around and bolted, though his Mechanical Laser Cannon continued to fire wildly at Yang Bo on automatic.
Yang Bo almost coughed up blood in frustration, wondering what the hell the guy was running for. He had fully intended to trade Mecha damage for Mecha damage—a tactic he had learned in training. The enemy’s Laser Cannon was locked onto his Mecha’s weak points, but as long as he managed to shift those vulnerable areas out of the line of fire, his Mecha wouldn’t be crippled in a single hit.
In both recent clashes, Yang Bo had sacrificed non-essential parts of his Mecha to buy time. He hadn’t expected this guy to just turn tail and flee!
Yang Bo immediately charged into the maintenance channel, pushing his Rocket Backpack to maximum output. He swam rapidly through the cramped confines of the passage, a movement made possible by the Mecha’s weightless state.
Fleeing into another cabin in a panic, the Pirate pilot finally breathed a sigh of relief when he saw no Mecha pursuing him. Then, he realized he had wet his pants!
"Terrifying..." the Pirate Mecha Master shuddered violently.
In just a single encounter, their side had lost four men and three Mechas, yet the enemy was still fully operational. Such was the overwhelming might of an Ace Mecha Master. How could he describe it? It was like a squad of soldiers on a battlefield hearing they were up against a legendary sharpshooter. Absolutely no one would poke their head out to test if the enemy’s bullets were faster than their own skulls. They would hunker down in a corner, pulling their necks in, terrified of being spotted.
An Ace Mecha Master commanded that exact level of dread. A single Ace Mecha Master could even turn the tide of a small-scale skirmish.
However, in the very next second, a dark shadow flashed past, accompanied by the ear-piercing wail of his Mecha’s alarms. The Pirate Mecha was sent flying by the dark blur’s impact.
This time, Yang Bo’s Mecha stood tall. During the sudden charge, he had driven his Mecha’s fist straight into the enemy’s cockpit, having launched himself like a cannonball with his Rocket Backpack at full power.
Mecha Pilot +8!
"Disposing of the bodies is always the most annoying part!" Yang Bo muttered as he shoved the ruined Mecha into an airlock channel. He pulled the hydraulic lever, and the Mecha was instantly sucked out into the vacuum of space outside the Baisha Transport Ship.
Yang Bo quickly disposed of the other three Mechas in the same manner.
Just as he shoved the final three Mechas into the channel and pulled the hydraulic lever, his own Mecha’s alarms blared to life. He whipped his head around.
"How am I this unlucky!"
The Pirate Leader had just emerged from another cabin. Yang Bo in his Mecha and the Pirate Leader clad in Energy Armor locked eyes!