Chapter 115: Resident Evil!

"Look... why is that guy Commander Kalash told us to keep an eye on just lying on the ground, not moving at all?" Inside the monitoring room of the Dark Star Main Ship, several staff members stared at the screen in confusion.

"How long has he been like that?" someone asked, turning around with a frown.

"About five minutes, I think..."

"Let's wait a bit longer... If he stays down, we will report it to Commander Kalash..."

"Wouldn't that be a bit hasty? What could he possibly do in a Prison Cell anyway?"

"Commander Kalash ordered us to report any abnormal situations to him," the group discussed among themselves.

"Wait... he is getting up!" someone pointed at the screen, immediately drawing everyone's attention.

On the display, Li Yu slowly stood up. Wearing the Gene Suppressor, he began pacing back and forth across the cell.

"Who knows what's wrong with him..." a few of them muttered, then returned to their respective duties.

On the surface, the Gene Suppressor on his wrists looked perfectly normal, but in reality, it had already been destroyed by Purple Sniper.

According to the information from Liu Xing, there was only this single Prison Cell on the entire Dark Star Main Ship, serving as a holding area for important figures.

After all, if an ordinary person offended them, Dark Star would have executed them on the spot. They simply wouldn't qualify to be imprisoned here.

Gore should also be locked up here. He was Liu Xing's father, a secret that apparently only Dark Star knew.

Otherwise, Pachis would have definitely deduced that Liu Xing was not dead. If she had truly perished, what use would there be in keeping her father alive?

Stretching his body, Li Yu pressed himself against the alloy door frame again. However, each instance was brief, ensuring he did not attract too much attention.

About two hours later, Li Yu stared at a few tiny holes on the alloy cell door. He had burned them through using the intense heat from his fingers.

His goal was to create a few weak points.

"Phew... it is about to begin..." Li Yu flicked his wrist toward the surveillance camera in the corner. The Gene Suppressor shot out from his hand like a throwing knife. Bang!

It smashed into the camera lens, erupting in a shower of sparks and Electric Arcs.

In the monitoring room, someone immediately noticed the signal loss on the screen and roared, "Not good, something happened!"

He slammed the alarm button without hesitation, sending a piercing siren echoing throughout every Ship Cabin.

At the entrance to the prison block, four Dark Star soldiers instantly grew vigilant upon hearing the alarm. As rapid orders streamed into their earpieces, they immediately spun around, aiming their Guns at the cell behind them.

Their expressions were tense, not daring to relax for even a second. One of them slowly approached the alloy cell door. Peering through the small window, he saw Li Yu leaning casually against the wall, flashing him a brilliant smile.

'Careful...' he read from Li Yu's lips, and his pupils suddenly contracted.

Boom!

With a deafening crash, the alloy door violently tore away from the wall. The terrifying Impact blasted the soldier directly into the opposite wall. His chest caved in, and it was clear he wouldn't survive.

The remaining three soldiers opened fire without hesitation, aiming at Li Yu as he burst out alongside the heavy door. Crimson Lasers filled the air.

Purple Electric Arcs flashed, and the three figures were sent flying. Electricity wreathed their bodies, causing their entire suits of Armor to convulse.

Snatching a Gun from the ground, he shot out the remaining surveillance cameras, then aimed directly at the Control Device of the Mechanical Door.

With a burst of electrical sparks, the Mechanical Door instantly triggered its lockdown mechanism. For the foreseeable future, no one would be able to open it unless they used brute force to blow it apart.

Meanwhile, just as the alarms began blaring and all the soldiers at the Main Ship's Command Console were on high alert without fully understanding why, one individual was silently operating a terminal.

This was his given order: to execute specific commands the moment the alarm sounded.

'Air detection system disabled...' A line of small text briefly appeared and then vanished from the screen he was responsible for.

"Gore... Gore..." Li Yu muttered to himself. He leaned against the small windows of the cells, searching them one by one. He continuously slammed his fists against the doors, startling the hiding prisoners out from their blind spots.

"Found you..." Before long, in a cell near the middle of the block, Li Yu spotted a furious Gore.

He had just been sitting in a daze in the corner. Which cursed bastard kept banging on the doors?!

Li Yu's palms turned crimson red as he placed them on the alloy door. Waiting for the metal to soften slightly, he followed up with a brutal shoulder charge, tearing the heavy door completely open.

A completely dumbfounded Gore watched as a massive hole was ripped through his cell door. Li Yu shook his hands off and stepped inside with a relaxed expression.

"Mr. Gore, long time no see," Li Yu greeted casually.

On the other side of the ship, a deeply grim Kalash donned his helmet and rushed out of his quarters.

"Lock down the entire Ship immediately... Don't even let a single fly escape!" he commanded instantly.

Staring at the combat feed playing on his helmet's split-screen visor, which showed Li Yu breaking out and taking down the Dark Star soldiers, his mind was filled with horror and confusion.

"How on earth did he shake off the suppression of the Gene Suppressor?" he wondered as he mobilized the vessel's troops and hurriedly made his way toward the prison block.

"Commander Kalash, he destroyed the Mechanical Door leading into the holding area." Intelligence reports continuously flooded in.

"Huh? He trapped himself inside? What is he doing in there?" Kalash paused in surprise.

Dark Star personnel were already fetching a Cutter. Since they didn't want to use weapons of mass destruction that might damage the hull, the Cutter was their only option.

"All the surveillance cameras have been destroyed. No one knows what he is doing..."

Right now, they were completely in the dark. Nobody had a clue what Li Yu was plotting.

Kalash gritted his teeth. When Li Yu was brought in, he had been thoroughly inspected from every angle. It was confirmed he carried absolutely nothing on his person.

What exactly was going on? An Internal Traitor?

A sudden chill ran down his spine. It seemed this was the only logical possibility. Otherwise, there was no way to explain how Li Yu could have unlocked the Gene Suppressor all by himself.

And surprisingly, the very first suspect that popped into Kalash's mind was Pachis...

...

"You..." Gore's expression was indescribable. He stared at the young man standing before him. He never expected they would cross paths again one day, let alone under such circumstances.

"Stop acting so surprised... Put this on first..." Li Yu dragged over a dead Dark Star soldier and tossed the Armor to Gore.

Gore had far too many questions weighing on his mind. His very first sentence was, "Did you come here specifically to save me?"

"Nonsense... If I wasn't here to save you, do you think I came for a vacation?" Li Yu replied, staring at the ceiling as if searching for something.

Gore let out a bitter laugh and shook his head. "We won't be able to make it off this Spaceship."

"There are just too many Dark Star soldiers. On top of that, they have an endless supply of weapons and gear, not to mention two C-Tier Lifeform commanders."

"I am also a C-Tier Lifeform..." Li Yu's remark gave Gore a start. He widened his eyes in disbelief—how long had it really been? Yet...

"That still isn't enough... Unless you are a B-Tier Lifeform... only then could you sweep through this place..."

"Why haven't you put the suit on yet? I really don't want to drag a Zombie back to Liu Xing to complete my mission," Li Yu complained.

"Liu Xing..." Gore's expression grew complicated. "She asked you to come save me?"

Under Li Yu's murderous glare, he finally put on the Armor.

Li Yu leaped up and punched a massive hole in the ceiling, revealing a narrow ventilation shaft above them.

"What are you trying to do? Is there anything you need my help with?" Gore inquired.

"Keeping your mouth shut... is how you can help me..." A Green Test Tube suddenly appeared in Li Yu's hand. It wasn't particularly large, only about the thickness of a thumb.

Staring at that test tube, the eerie green liquid inside looked as though it could devour a person whole. Despite its unremarkable appearance, Gore felt an inexplicable chill run through his bones.

At the same time, a question popped into his mind: How did he bring that in? He himself had experienced Dark Star's comprehensive inspections. It was so thorough you couldn't even smuggle anything in if you shoved it up your backside.

Don't misunderstand... he was referring to the metal detectors and human body imaging scans.

"Let's see... just how brilliant of a firework you can ignite..." Li Yu murmured as he slowly uncorked the test tube. At the very last moment, as if suddenly remembering something, he turned his head and instructed, "Turn on your Armor's internal circulation system."

"Right, okay..." Gore hastily followed the command. Watching the faint smile tugging at the corners of Li Yu's mouth, he couldn't help but take a few steps back.

The green fluid slowly poured out of the test tube, dripping into the ventilation duct. In the blink of an eye, the thick liquid evaporated entirely, leaving not a single trace behind.

"Success... now we just wait..." Li Yu jumped back down. His attitude was completely casual, as if he had just taken a leak.

"You..." Gore's throat bobbed involuntarily. "Aren't you going to put on a suit of Armor?"

"I'm fine..." Li Yu shook his head. He had already been infected long ago; he had no fear of this T-Virus Original Solution.

"Was that Nerve Gas?" Gore asked again.

"Close enough... you can understand it that way..." Li Yu nodded.

"It's useless..." Gore let out a sigh. "A Main Ship of Dark Star's caliber definitely has an air detection system designed to identify unknown substances in the atmosphere."

"The moment it detects an anomaly, it will trigger an emergency lockdown and exhaust the air..."

Li Yu was unconcerned. "Relax... someone will take care of all that. Your daughter didn't serve as a Scarlet Commander for all this time for nothing..."

"But... if they switch on their Armor's internal circulation, won't it still be useless?" Gore asked once more.

"But why would they switch it on?" Li Yu countered, looking genuinely puzzled.

"In their minds, I was stripped bare, carrying absolutely nothing, and the air detection system hasn't sounded any alarms. Why would they randomly activate their internal circulation systems to generate oxygen... Doesn't that drain their Armor's Energy?"

"It's not like some guy is going to suddenly have a wild hunch that there's Nerve Gas in the ventilation ducts, right?" Li Yu pondered for a second, then chuckled. "If that actually happens, then we might as well just surrender directly."

Gore thought about it carefully, and it did seem to make perfect sense. He then sighed, "Liu Xing, is she doing well?"

"Her?" Li Yu paused in thought for a moment. "She is doing alright..."

Just as Gore breathed a sigh of relief, he heard Li Yu continue, "Dark Star broke all her arms and legs. She begs for a living every day. It took a lot of effort for her to sell off some organs just to hire me to come save you."

Gore froze stiff... 'This is what the fuck you call doing alright?!'

Li Yu glanced at him and immediately shook his head. "I'm joking, don't take it seriously..."

Gore: "..."

'It's only because I can't beat you.'

In front of the Mechanical Door, Pachis had already arrived on the scene. Ear-piercing grinding noises echoed endlessly as a Thermal Cutting Blade slowly sliced into the heavy metal.

"What is the situation now?" Kalash asked urgently.

"All the surveillance cameras inside have been destroyed, so who knows what is happening..." Pachis answered casually, without an ounce of tension in his voice.

Kalash ignored him and continued issuing orders. "Keep a close watch out for any suspicious individuals in the vicinity of the Ship..."

"You suspect he might have backup waiting outside?" Pachis asked.

"I also suspect we have an Internal Traitor..." Kalash replied pointedly.

Pachis scoffed coldly. "Then you had better investigate thoroughly..."

"Li Yu, you have absolutely no way out of here! Tell me your objective, and perhaps I will spare your life."

Kalash amplified his voice, broadcasting it through the narrow slit being cut into the Mechanical Door.

Watching the sparks constantly flying off the Mechanical Door, Li Yu shook his head. "Too slow. By the time you guys finally break in, I'll have already escaped."

"Don't you have any heavy Weapons? Just blast it open with a cannon, wouldn't that work..."

He leaned against a cell's small window. An Ape-Man inside felt a tingling numbness under Li Yu's intense stare.

The creature roared furiously, only to discover in panic that the thick black fur it took such pride in was falling out in clumps.

"Almost time..." Li Yu estimated the Infection Progress. The speed was actually quite impressive.

Li Yu had no doubts about the potency of the T-Virus Original Solution. However, if this had been released on some Life Planet within the Star Radiance Empire Territory...

...then it would have undoubtedly been contained within a short period, unable to spread at all.

But... this was merely a Dark Star Main Ship.

Twenty minutes passed...

Sizzle, crackle! The grating noises persisted, and the Mechanical Door was now halfway cut through.

Clang! The Thermal Cutting Blade suddenly slipped and fell to the floor, instantly slicing clean through the thigh of the Dark Star soldier holding it. Blood geysered out, pooling all over the deck.

Yet bizarrely, the soldier didn't let out a single wail of agony. Instead, he simply reached out a hand, attempting to pick the blade back up.

"What the hell is going on?!" Pachis jumped in fright. Getting your leg chopped off without a scream, and still trying to work? Since when were Dark Star soldiers this hardcore? Why didn't I know about this?

Kalash frowned and waved a hand. "Take him away!"

The surroundings were completely dead silent. Not a single person responded. Startled, he looked around, only to see all the nearby Dark Star soldiers swaying back and forth unsteadily, as if they were heavily intoxicated.

"What is going on?" A surge of icy terror shot up from the soles of Kalash's feet straight to his brain, making his scalp go numb.

"Main Ship personnel, please respond if you can hear me!" he shouted over the comms channel. Yet, he was met with nothing but Dead Silence. There was no response at all.

Absolute Dead Silence!

"All Dark Star members, activate your internal circulation systems immediately!" he issued an emergency order through the channel, suddenly realizing the horrific truth. There was something in the air. Even if no one was left to hear him...

"External ship troops, surround the Main Ship. With the exception of myself, anyone attempting to leave is to be Killed Without Mercy!"

Following that, he opened his Smart Terminal and initiated the Ship's ventilation exhaust system. Only after executing this series of commands did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.

For some reason, his scalp suddenly felt a bit itchy. He shook his head, and several strands of hair drifted down to the floor.

"Nerve Gas... Even I have been affected..." Kalash was deeply shocked, and that same nagging question surfaced once more.

Just how in the world did he bring it inside? Or was there an accomplice releasing the poison from the outside?

An entire Ship full of people had perished. Now, only Li Yu... Pachis, and himself were left.

Kalash was entirely unaware that Gore was still alive.

"Pachis... why did you betray His Excellency Dark Star?!" Kalash forced the words out through gritted teeth.

Pachis: "??"

"What the fuck are you talking about?!" Pachis yelled in shock and fury. Damn it, Dark Star was right on the verge of evolving into an A-Tier Lifeform. Betraying him now would be a literal death wish!

"If it wasn't you... then was it me?" Kalash seemed dead set on blaming Pachis.

"Kalash, making such a massive blunder and desperately searching for a scapegoat is one thing, but you don't have to be this blunt about it," Pachis sneered coldly. "Would I throw away everything to betray the organization over that Pawn locked inside?"

Kalash fell silent. Calming down slightly, a hint of doubt crept into his mind. Taking a deep breath, he said,

"Let's capture the enemy first and let His Excellency Dark Star be the judge when he returns!"

"Fine!" Pachis agreed, standing firm as someone with a clear conscience.

Gore stared in sheer terror at the hideous Lifeforms trapped within the cells, thick drool dripping from the corners of their mouths.

"You called this Nerve Gas?! This is blatantly a Biological Virus!"

Li Yu paid him no mind. With glowing crimson hands, he tore open another cell. Inside was a massive Ape-Man Zombie. Its skin bulged with prominent blue veins, all of its fur had fallen out, and its eyes were clouded over as sticky saliva trailed from its mouth.

Li Yu walked right up to the Ape-Man. The creature moved sluggishly and showed absolutely no reaction to Li Yu. Instead, it shifted its gaze toward Gore standing outside.

"Roar!"

It let out a vicious roar. The stiff muscles in its legs erupted with unimaginable explosive force, launching it directly at Gore like a missile.

"Fuck!" Gore's pupils shrank. Throwing a heavy punch, he completely obliterated the Ape-Man's skull, splattering red and white matter all over the floor.

'Sure enough... Do they treat me as one of their own kind because I was injected with the Viral Enhancement Agent?'

"What the hell are these things?" Gore's scalp tingled with dread.

"Zombies..."

Crash!

A heavy dent appeared on the Mechanical Door. Boom! Boom! Boom!

The relentless bombardment didn't stop. The Mechanical Door, having already been cut halfway through, could no longer withstand the savage blows and violently blasted open.

Two figures stepped inside. It was none other than Kalash and Pachis... Their scarlet Armor glowed with a sinister faint light. The shoulder panels cracked open, and a barrage of miniature assault missiles instantly fired straight at him.

Boom, boom, boom!

Violent explosions engulfed the area. The smoke and dust were quickly sucked away by the ventilation exhaust system, revealing a crimson-skinned Li Yu enveloped in purple Electric Arcs. The brownish-red Scale Armor receded from his body; he was completely unharmed.

"You are a C-Tier Lifeform?!" Kalash cried out in shock. But even that wasn't enough to explain... just how did he manage to escape?!

"You guys actually weren't infected? So, the higher the Life Tier, the greater the resistance?" Li Yu remarked thoughtfully.

"Even if you poisoned everyone on this Ship, so what? You still won't get past us!" Kalash and Pachis blocked the only exit.

"Poisoned?" Li Yu shook his head. "Are you misunderstanding something?"

Rumble—

A deep tremor ran through the Metal Corridor, rapidly approaching from the distance. Right at the shattered Mechanical Door, several stumbling figures began shuffling toward them.

Kalash and Pachis's pupils contracted sharply as one Dark Star soldier after another lunged at them, their movements incredibly primal and savage.

They let out low, guttural roars. It was as if they had completely forgotten about the Guns slung across their backs and the blades strapped to their bodies.

Thud!

Kalash viciously kicked away a Dark Star soldier. The immense force caved the soldier's chest in, yet the man still struggled back to his feet.

"It's a Biological Virus... damn it, where the hell did this guy get his hands on something like this?!" Pachis cursed furiously.

The fundamental difference between Nerve Gas and a Biological Virus was that the former would not cause biological mutations.

Not too far away, the few Dark Star soldiers Li Yu had killed earlier also stumbled back to their feet, only to be smashed away one by one by Gore's heavy punches.

Dealing with these armored Zombies was... extremely troublesome. Because they were covered in sturdy helmets, it was incredibly difficult to smash their heads in.

"Who is that?!" Kalash spotted Gore. This guy wearing a set of Dark Star Armor was definitely not one of their own.

After all, there was a guy stripped down to his underwear lying not far away, who was clearly the original owner of the suit.

'Someone from the Prison Cells? Was this person Li Yu's objective all along?'

Kalash had no idea exactly how many people were locked in the prison block, nor what each of their identities were.

"I'll hold off the outside, you take him down!" Pachis hoisted up a massive slab of the shattered Mechanical Door from the floor, knocked away several armored Zombies, and used it to barricade the entrance.

If they couldn't rectify the current disaster before Dark Star returned, both of them would be dead meat!