—What's going on...? No matter where I look, this place is completely cleared of those freaks. —
—Has someone already cleaned it? —
The drone proceeded inside the vessel, methodically scanning every corridor, chamber and corner by corner, until no room remained unchecked.
Although the place was empty, some of the doors appeared to be forced open, indicating that someone had been there very recently.
—I should hurry up —
Already suited for action, the man entered the vessel, leaving his hover-car parked on the outer hull.
With the interior fully mapped by the drone, locating the core didn't take that long.
He soon found himself face to face with the giant sphere, connected by two mechanical hands holding it.
A button-filled control console sat nearby. One screen was active, displaying the core's status.
Temperature: 1180°F
Warning: Do not drop below 800°F
Status: Normal
Before approaching the core, he removed a data chip and slotted it into the console, collecting every stored file within the machine.
Once the transfer completed, he pocketed the chip and turned toward the sphere.
—Let's make this quick. —
He retrieved a strange cube-shaped device and paced the room, measuring distances.
Having decided where, he put the cube down, there it sat quietly as he stepped back, opening a holographic panel on his left forearm and controlling the blue interface with swipes and taps of his finger.
A four-dimensional structural model appeared.
With a few precise gestures, the cube unfolded and then blue outlines spread outward, defining a measured space until the projection fully enveloped the sphere.
He pressed and held the option labeled [CUT], dragging it toward the [SHRINK].
As soon as the command was executed, a clean cut was made through the hands and the connected circuits, cutting the core safely from the ship itself.
As it happened, a warning was triggered. Taking the core activated the ship's emergency power, causing the computer to blare an alarm: Warning!
Having lost its voice, the computer could only display warnings and flash a bright red light on the screen, hoping to alert the crew.
Just then, as the screen continued to flash red, the contained sphere began to shrink, along with the cube, slowly reverting to its original size.
—The gods favor me today. —
When the process stopped, he lifted the cube.
It couldn't fully revert to its original size. The once-small cube now barely fit in his palms.
Still, it was a sight to behold. After all, this object contained a staggering value of 10 billion credits.
The mission was classified as S+ class, indicating that its danger level was off the charts, with a survival chance of only 10%.
This being easy as this is basically a blessing from heaven seeing no encounter.
—This works—
He had already devised a plan to eliminate the entire flock of sky piranhas using an echo boom (sonic bomb), followed by launching a Decimator II, a small nuclear bomb capable of leveling an entire town.
He was confident that the car's barrier could withstand the blast, even if he was caught in it.
That was the plan: attract and run, taking them out in one swift blow.
After grabbing the sphere, he retreated outside as the vessel continued its flight, now gradually descending due to weakened backup power.
He jumped into the hover car and activated it.
Just as he was about to take off, he spotted a bloodied figure of a girl levitating above the bow of the ship.
The figure resembled a ghost—a small, petite, and fragile figure, dripping blood from her head to her feet like something out of a horror film.
Her dark blue attire was now tinged with darker purple, while the ragged white undergarments were stained red, barely covering her body in their current state.
—Is that a ghost? —
Or perhaps a hallucination.
He weakly uttered, filled with pressure and fear, "Scan that figure, Cyne."
The A.I in the scanner did its job, and the information appeared in his vision.
Race: Most likely human based on her body shape
Status: Unknown
Gender: Female
"So that's not a hallucination? What's her method of flight?"
If she wasn't a ghost, then perhaps she was a treasure hunter like him.
But given her terrifying appearance, drenched in blood, it was more likely that she was the one who had taken out those creatures... or at least she looked like the one seeing her current state.
He gripped the thrusters tightly, prepared for an immediate retreat if a confrontation arose between them.
After a quick second scan, the AI named Cyne spoke with uncertainty: [Method of flight is unknown. The subject does not appear to possess any technology. She is likely an unregistered mutant, as there is no data on her in the MZ files.]
Hearing this, sweat started to trickle down his face.
Mutants carried their own danger levels, and if she was capable of wiping out an entire flock of those flesh-eating birds, this one would be a formidable opponent.
Through the glass, he raised his hand. "Little sister," he coughed for some reason and looked directly at her. "We don't want trouble, so please state your business before any misunderstandings arise."
When Cyne reported that she had no equipment, he had to open a small pocket hole to make his voice heard since he couldn't transmit a message.
The girl remained still, simply looking at him.
Suddenly, Cyne added, [Target seems to be confused.]
"I don't understand," the girl said in an unknown tongue.
[The language she spoke appeared to be a mix of Nexis, Jiyun, and Xianth tongues—at least, that's how it sounded. The system couldn't be 100% sure, but based on her confused expression and body language, she likely meant to say that she didn't understand what you said.]
—This means she also doesn't have the U-Language chip—
The chip automatically translates the languages of others into one's own.
97% of the Nexis Galaxy population possesses it.
The small portion who didn't have the chip were either those who couldn't afford it or those who refused to have a machine implanted in their bodies.
Just as he was about to lift off after waving goodbye to the girl—hoping she wouldn't attack or do anything—she suddenly spoke in the Kairo tongue.
"WAIT!"
Startled, the man turned back, and before he could respond, the girl screamed in the Nexis tongue, "WAIT!"
She repeated the same word over and over in two different languages until he finally replied, "Enough! I heard you."
With a clear line of communication established, the girl beamed a smile, and suddenly a ball of water began to form in front of her.
Thinking he was about to be attacked, the man set the barrier to 80% and braced for impact.
Instead, the girl swam in the large volume of water, using it to wash away the blood covering her body.
It didn't take long for the spherical shape of the water to collapse onto the ship's surface once she was done.
"She looks so young..."
He estimated she could be around 15 or younger.
She was a little flat in the chest area, but he asked, "Are you a mutant?"
She tilted her head. "Mutant?"
"State your business before any misunderstandings arise. We don't want trouble, if you want medical help i am more than happy to provide a patcher"
"No, I don't mean trouble. But please, take me with you!"
"What?"
What is she saying?? Is she crazy?
Just as he was about to leave, the girl sensed his movement and suddenly flew over, clinging to the invisible barrier.
"Please, take me away from this place," she pleaded, her tearful eyes smearing droplets across the barrier.
He paused for a moment before responding, "Tell me your story."
After a brief exchange, he learned one thing: the girl was either lying about being from another world or she truly was.
There had been recent studies about black holes, wormholes, and dimensions, but the part he found hard to believe was her mention of magic.
He dismissed it as nothing more than fantasy or childhood lies meant to convince her that she was from another world—much like how a certain individual had brainwashed a number of clones into believing that their planet was uninhabitable and that stepping outside was a death sentence.
Both theories were plausible, especially since she didn't have a registered identity according to Cyne. However, his explanation seemed more logical... A story of experimental children hidden from the public eye had been common 400 years ago—at least according to historical accounts.
But that didn't mean such things no longer existed today.
First of all, he was skeptical about letting her join him, fearing that the child in front of him might betray him later. He had nothing to gain from being with her—in fact, it felt dangerous just by being with her.
He paused for a moment, seriously considering his choices.
"Call me Rox," he said, tossing something toward her. "Put this on."
"Nimue. Nice to meet you."
She caught the collar and stared at it, confusion clear on her face.
"I don't trust you," Rox continued flatly. "And I'm not taking you anywhere unless I know you can't do anything stupid. That's a gene-suppressing collar. Put it on."
He tossed another set of restraints after it.
"Hands and feet."
He watched her with curiosity and caution as he tossed another set of cuffs.
They were easy to wear, held in place by strong magnets—no complicated steps to lock or unlock like in the past. However, they certainly wouldn't come off unless the owner wanted them to.
"How old are you again?"
"16."
Once Nimue finished, she stood up. As she was about to levitate toward Rox, he opened the barrier and carried her inside.
"Why did you carry me?" she asked.
"Well, how else are you going to get in? Crawl like a worm?"
There were still some things he wanted to verify in her story.
As the hover-car began to float with Nimue secured in heavy restraints, he looked down, only to find a terrifying scene below.
"She did all this?"
A smile grew on his face.
—I could use her—