Chapter 78: Captured (Part Five)
Translator: Kim_Guo Editor: Tehrn
It is said that in the history of spatial and temporal management, numerous people have been defeated by others from a different plane. However, the number of people who have been defeated by others from the local plane could be counted on one hand.
Although a space base had taken part in the action, this was not an energy battle. Neither was this a space battle. Guy was devastated by his defeat.
Furious, he threw punches at the two men who had chased after him. However, he came under a hail of bullets immediately after. Three of them shot through the civilian clothes that he had changed into. He felt his consciousness bleeding out of his body along with his blood. The second hail of bullets landed 2 m in front of him. Only then did he manage to calm himself down.
He could not and would not surrender. He grabbed the passenger who was beside him and used him as a human shield from the next hail of bullets. Raising his gun, he blasted the searchlight into pieces.
At that moment, the entire airport seemed to react. More searchlights were directed at him. They didn’t illuminate him, but they illuminated the area surrounding him.
The policemen rescued more passengers, pulling them into the safety of their team. Guy’s original plan was to hide among the passengers, but that one searchlight dashed his hopes.
Seeing an increasing number of people targeting him, Guy retrieved a standard killer bomb and threw it to his right. He retrieved another smoke grenade. This was his last resort.
The smoke grenade contained irritant gases. It rapidly spread everywhere. Soon, the entire runway was covered with the gas. The commander had no choice but to order his men to hold their fire and expand their circle.
This order would have been harmless if they were trying to capture an ordinary person. However, Guy was an expert traveler who had been through more than ten years of rigorous training. This order gave him a second chance.
Guy quickly changed into another set of clothes. He stopped the bleeding from his wounds with a hemostatic agent. This entire process took him a mere 40 seconds. He had three more minutes to get to the closest wall. The wall stood at 4 m tall – it wasn’t going to be heavily guarded. What was he going to do after he escaped? Guy shook his head and touched the cosmetic gel on his face. The journey home looked arduous.
The scene was in a state of confusion. There was screaming from all directions. The soldiers grabbed every passenger who walked past them, eyeing them suspiciously. They did not have to make a judgment. They only had to ensure everyone was accounted for.
The doctors pushed stretchers into the cordoned area. Each of them was accompanied by a soldier. The crowd remained unwilling to trust them.
Xiao Zhong frowned as he observed the thick cloud of gas. He exclaimed, “How do all of you ensure the security of the airport? How many smoke grenades were used to create this thick cloud? Imbeciles!”
The airport workers could only accept the criticism. The facts were laid out in front of them. There was no excuse.
If the base in Brazil was activated to clear the smoke, it would attract too much attention. It would also consume too much energy. As he witnessed Guy escaping, Huang Xuan retrieved his cell phone and dialed his little uncle’s number.
Zhang Si was also in the control tower. In the United States, the man in charge of the control tower only had to observe. Xiao Zhong was fuming. When he saw Huang Xuan’s name on the caller ID, his heart skipped a beat. Walking out of the room, he quietly asked, “Is this business?”
“The criminal is escaping through the west. He’ll be past the first barrier in two minutes at most.” When he had finished speaking, Huang Xuan hung up. He wasn’t worried about eavesdroppers. Rolin was in absolute control of the computer system.
…
Ten minutes later, the police had gathered all 128 passengers and 12 crew members – dead and alive. However, not one of them carried guns. In addition, none of them recognized the suspect.
When Guy discovered Zhang Si’s barrier, he quickly changed his route. He returned to the crowd and disguised as one of the injured passengers.
…
The police were the ones in trouble now.
Word had spread that while the aircraft was stolen, the cabins were filled with smoke. Everyone heard one voice, but they were unable to recognize it.
Xiao Zhong seemed to have aged overnight.
This had been a firm and smooth operation. Yet, the results were far from ideal.
They were certain that the culprit was in the crowd. However, nobody recognized him. While the media focused on them, they avoided passing judgment lightly.
“Arrest all of them,” Xiao Zhong ordered, waving his hands. He turned to leave the control tower.
Huang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief. He saw Guy leave the airport in an ambulance, which remained surrounded by countless police cars. He asked Rolin, “Can I speak to him?”
“You’re through.”
Huang Xuan breathed in, attempting to calm his emotions. He said, “Hello, Traveler.”
Guy’s face stiffened. His entire body tensed up. In a trained, professional voice, he answered, “You’re the guardian of this plane?”
“I guess you could say that,” Huang Xuan lightly joked.
“What do you want?”
In the big plane age, the defeated traveler could use energy to redeem himself. Guy recalled this golden rule and attempted to apply it.
“Three questions. First, why did you come to P112? Second, how did you know the base is here? Third, what did you intend to use to control the base?” Huang Xuan leisurely sat on the couch.
“If I tell you, will you let me off?” Guy glanced at the police officer beside him, whose eyes seemed to be bulging out of his sockets. Each passenger was sandwiched between two police officers. This was to ensure no one would be able to escape again.
Huang Xuan pouted and replied, “I think it’ll only be sufficient to repay the interest on all my energy you wasted.”
Guy grunted, “I accidentally entered P112. The plane passage here was easily accessible at the time. I lost contact with my base; hence I decided to search for an abandoned base here… I came across information on advancing bases earlier in the standard base… I wanted to check if this base was guarded. I didn’t intend to steal it…”
He didn’t sound truthful; the story didn’t seem to work. Huang Xuan had no interest in arguing. He casually asked, “How should I address you, Mr. Traveler?”
“Guy. You can call me Guy.”
“OK, Guy. How did you intend to control the base?”
Guy remained silent. Huang Xuan laid back on his couch and hugged his bolster. “Look, Guy, you don’t have to tell me. However, you can’t stop me from informing the police who stole the aircraft. Do you know how this might end?”
There was still no reply. Huang Xuan smiled and threatened, “Guy, do you understand this plane? Do you understand this space and time? Do you know how the people here deal with criminals? Sometimes, they use lie detectors. They have done away with physical torture. However, when the situation calls for it, they do resort to physical means…”
Huang Xuan described the fate of Iraqi prisoners of war. Guy visibly paled, but he insisted, “The backgrounds of the people onboard the aircraft are complicated. They wouldn’t do that.”
“Are you sure? Are you sure you understand this space and time? Do you think you understand it better than I do?” Huang Xuan was certain that Guy did not understand. Most of all, he knew nothing about what went on behind the prison bars. Perhaps he didn’t even know where this plane was. He had lost contact with his base the moment he entered P112.
“If I manage to escape, I’ll tell you,” Guy was starting to give in but was still unwilling to tell Huang Xuan what he wanted to know.
“Before I know what I want to know, you will not be able to escape.” Trying to sound more mature, Huang Xuan continued, “I guess you’re trying to influence me to capture you in the base. Such a thing will not happen. I’ll tell the police that you’re the one who stole the aircraft. They have their own methods to deal with you.”
“You wouldn’t do that. I’ll tell them I’m a traveler. If you bring me away, the buffer zone will lose energy.”
“What if I belong to this plane?”
“That’s impossible.”
“Nothing is impossible.”
Huang Xuan smiled. As Rolin said, this was the advantage of being an ordinary person. Anything that Huang Xuan did in this plane wouldn’t affect the buffer zone’s energy. On the contrary, anything that an outsider like Rolin did would.
Guy sat in silence for a long time. Huang Xuan was not anxious. He motioned for Rolin to close the communication window. Then, he closed his eyes. It was already 2 am.
Early the next day, after breakfast, Huang Xuan contacted Guy once more. He asked, “Have you made a decision?”
“They couldn’t possibly recognize me.”
This was indeed the case. Zhang Shujie had been working all night. He hadn’t been able to find even one suspect. They weren’t even sure how many suspects there were.
Ten minutes after the aircraft took off, Guy had retrieved a smoke grenade. He fired two shots to keep the situation under control. Following that, the crowd was blindfolded. From beginning to end, nobody saw his face. They weren’t even able to recognize the people who were seated beside them.
However, perhaps Guy did not choose to change course when he found out that the bombs didn’t explode, precisely because such a short time had passed.
Huang Xuan already found out what happened in the police station. Curling his lips, he said, “I have countless ways to get the policemen to keep you. You don’t have any moves left.”
“How do I know you’re telling the truth?” Guy sat in the solo waiting area. The environment wasn’t too bad, except he was being held against his will.
“You have no choice,” Huang Xuan replied. Grinning, he continued, “Don’t think about buying yourself time. You’re right to assume that the government wouldn’t keep all of you for too long. However, I have less patience than the government. If you’re really convicted, I might choose to save energy over finding the answers to my questions.”
Guy believed Huang Xuan. This was the fate of the majority of captured travelers – they were eliminated by the management in a way that had the least impact. Of course, he still harbored some hope. Perhaps this plane in the space desert would find some use for him. He persisted for a while more, saying, “You can’t just promise me. You have to give me a more practical form of security.”
“I’ll give you nothing.” Huang Xuan shook his head. He had negotiated countless times before. He knew how to play his cards when he had the upper hand.
“Come and see me. I’ll tell you.”
There was a moment of silence.
A long while later, Guy said, “I have a secret key. It belongs to the standard P-type plane. It’s a Level 16 secret permission key. I obtained it from another traveler.”
At that moment, Rolin explained, “The secret key is handed out to non-traveler officials. Its main function is to verify planes. A Level 16 secret permission key can take over bases under Level 16 in standard planes. This authority is hardly exercised though. It’s exercised even less in the big space age.”
“Is it useful?” Huang Xuan asked.
“It’s very useful.”
Huang Xuan was slightly frightened. If Rolin were to be controlled, the tables would be turned. He continued to grill Guy, “Where’s the secret key?”
“Come and see me. I’ll tell you,” Guy insisted.
Huang Xuan laughed humorlessly. He asked Rolin, “What does the secret key look like? Can you find it?”
“Of course. It’s made of pure purple gold and can be kept for a very long time.” When Rolin said “long”, he really meant “long”.
“Check if he has it on him.”
Guy closed his eyes painfully as he felt the energy searching his body. He had hidden the precious secret key in his thighs. If he had energy, nobody would have been able to detect the specially treated secret key. However, he had already lost his energy. For a traveler in a foreign plane, losing energy meant losing everything.
When he felt the last of the energy left, he shouted uncontrollably, “Wait! I can help you. Don’t kill me. You promised to come and see me.”
“If you have something to extend one’s life, I can let you off the hook.”
“I know a formula.” Guy shook his body in the cell. He felt like he was losing control of the situation. From the moment that he lost control of his shuttle, things had spiraled downward.
“Talk.”
“Let me go,” Guy began to bargain. This was probably his last chance.
“You talk first. You have no choice.”
To Guy, the secret key was infinitely more valuable than the recipe. He had trespassed into P112 precisely because he managed to steal it.
However, this was his last available move. Guy lay on his white hospital bed and closed his eyes tightly.
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