Interstellar Survival: Invasion

"Canyue, Canyue, do you hear me?" Zhang Bao'er's voice came from my communicator. His voice was weak, as though he had been seriously injured.

"Yes. What's the situation?" I hurriedly replied when I heard his voice.

"Canyue, return as quickly as possible. We were ambushed," said Zhang Bao'er, sounding like he was using the final bit of his strength to say these words.

"What happened? Who attacked you?" I cried out.

A static sound came from my communicator as the connection was cut.

"Senior, my friends have encountered some trouble. I need to go back and help them," I said hastily.

"Where are you lodging?" asked Master Crystal.

"House of Brave," I said as I stood up anxiously.

"Sigh. Bluelings truly get nervous easily," said Master Crystal.

I asked, "Master, why do you understand Bluelings so well? I really want to take a look at the book you mentioned."

"Young man, I remember a Blue saying that I had read from the book: 'There is a cause for everything.' The cause comes for you. The cause scatters for the heart. The cause gathers into ice. The cause ends the Purple Star," chanted Master Crystal when he saw that I was in a rush to leave.

But at that point, I was no longer in the mood to listen attentively. I bid him goodbye in a rush and left the house.

"How is it? How much did the old fellow charge you? It must be crazy expensive, right?" Domo asked when he saw me leave the building.

"Xingxing and the others are in trouble. We need to return immediately," I said anxiously.

"Hey, useless bodyguard, get up. Time to earn your pay," Domo said to Sarje.

The three of us ran and soon reached the House of Brave.

"Wait, don't go over first," said Sarje when we arrived opposite the tavern.

I could see many green-haired Liyates stopping the people that wanted to enter the tavern. They were clearly carrying weapons underneath their loose robes.

"Who are these people?" I asked.

"They are probably gangsters. The local gangsters in this area are known as the Brotherhood," said Sarje.

"Are they all Liyates?" Domo asked.

"Most of them, but there are also other races mixed among them. Look, each of them has a six-pointed star hanging on their neck," said Sarje.

'I wonder how the others are. Why are these people suddenly attacking the tavern?' I wondered to myself.

The communicator was still dominated by static. I could see that two of the gangsters were each aiming an odd device toward the sky.

"Those are electromagnetic interceptors. They will create a sealed area where no radio waves can enter or leave," Domo explained when he saw me looking at the devices.

"It's already very late at night, so the pedestrians are dropping in number. The gangsters have fully taken control of the area," Sarje said.

"We need to think of a way to enter quickly," I said.

At this time, three individuals appeared behind us. They were rushing toward the tavern. The leader shouted while running, "You two fools. Run faster! We're late!"

I did not know what compelled me to do it, but when they neared me, I tripped the leader with my leg. When Sarje saw, he knocked down the two other individuals.

I pounced on the leader and covered his mouth. "Not a peep, or you die."

"Boss, I think I hit too hard. The other two fainted," said Sarje helplessly.

"Good. Drag them to the alley. Domo, come help me cover his mouth," I said.

Domo came over and covered my captive's mouth. We then worked together to carry all three of them to the dark alleyway beside us.

"Answer only the questions we ask. Do not shout if you don't want to go under the ground forever," threatened Domo to the one person who was still awake.

The captive nodded fearfully.

"Who are you? Why did you take over the tavern?" I asked fiercely after tearing the strip covering the person's mouth.

My facial expression had obviously scared him; he answered shakily, "W-we received an order from Giorno. We rushed here immediately after that."

"What order? Say it!" I demanded.

He hesitated slightly before answering shakily, "The tavern boss, Masse, claimed that a few rich individuals had come to the tavern. The boss decided to rob them, but he discovered something important upon his arrival, so he called us over to back him up. Please don't tell them I told you all this. And please don't bury me under the ground. Please."

"Damn that Masse! I'm going to kill him!" said Sarje furiously upon hearing that Masse was the one who had betrayed his customers.

"Calm down. If you go over there like this, they'll take you down easily," said Domo.

"Take their weapons and tie them up. Domo, can we disguise ourselves as them and enter the tavern?" I asked.

"I have the same idea. And remember to take their six-pointed star necklaces," said Domo.

We worked together and tied the three up, covered their mouths, and took their weapons and necklaces. Then, Domo took out the blue pills he seemed to carry with him all the time.

"We're in a rush. Can we skip the pill?" I asked anxiously.

"No. My disguise will only work alongside the pill. Don't worry, I'll finish as soon as possible," said Domo.

Left with no choice, Sarje and I swallowed our pills quickly. Shortly after, I fell asleep.

"Canyue, wake up. It's done," I heard a voice calling for me in my daze.

I opened my eyes immediately and saw that all three of us had each gained the appearance of one of the three captives on the ground. Apart from a slight difference in our heights, we almost look the same as them.

Domo walked toward the three captives who were dumbstruck while looking at us. He kicked the leader, tore the strip off the leader's mouth, and asked, "What's your name?"

"Kefe," replied the leader.

"Good. Thank you very much," said Domo before putting the strip back on. "Canyue, remember your name. You're Kefe."

I nodded. We then walked toward the tavern. As soon as we left the alley, we encountered three Liyates in charge of keeping outsiders out. The leader was tall and sturdy, and he was wielding two rayguns with his four hands.

"Dumb Torrians, always the last to come whenever there is an operation. Get your asses over to Giorno immediately," scolded the leader.

We were more than happy to approach Giorno. With the six-pointed star necklaces hanging on our necks, we walked toward the tavern. Its entrance was crowded with ferocious-looking gangsters, and it took us quite a lot of effort to squeeze inside.

With one look, I saw Prince Toruse sitting on a chair in the lounge. Zhang Xingxing and the others were nowhere to be seen. An individual with long green hair was seated across from the prince. He had a conspicuous scar on his face. The tavern boss, Masse, was standing beside him, and a large number of armed thugs were standing around them.

"Prince, what do you think of my proposal? It's not like you have any other choice. Rather than working with fugitives, why don't you make a transaction with me? That way, you might still have a chance to reclaim your throne," said the guy with the scarred face.

The prince had his head lowered, showing no reaction to the scar-faced guy's words. I was more worried about Zhang Xingxing and the others. After giving Sarje a signal with my eyes, we slowly moved toward the staircase leading to the second floor. Domo followed closely behind us.

The stairs were also filled with burly chaps with vicious appearances. They were all focused on the room we had rented on the second floor. While nobody was paying any attention to us, we slowly climbed the stairs.

Suddenly, a loud sound came from the first floor; the scar-faced guy had kicked his chair away. He ferociously said, "Prince, I'll give you 10 more minutes to think this through. Don't make a stupid choice, or I'll hand you over to Prince Arude."

The mention of Arude seemed to trigger the prince. He bolted up with a vengeful look in his eyes.

"Yes, that's more like it. Think carefully. At present, only our gang can help you. Those fugitives are nothing," said the scar-faced guy smugly.

Taking advantage of the fact that everyone was focused on the first floor, Sarje rushed up the stairs, bringing us to our room. I saw Zhang Xingxing and the others lying motionless on the floor. The room was protected by the morph-capable shield, making it impossible for the gang members to enter. However, the crew was lying on the ground, and it wasn't clear how they were doing.

At that point, I was losing my patience. I could see a large amount of food and many glasses strewn across the room, both on the table and the floor.

'Looks like they had fainted from poison. If they were dead, there wouldn't be so many people standing watch here,' I deduced.

Down on the first floor, the scar-faced guy was pacing around while waiting for Prince Toruse's answer. A group of thugs constantly surrounded him, providing him with protection. I suddenly had an idea. I turned and looked at Domo who was following closely behind me.

'Since this is Planet Eternal, their electromagnetic system must be similar to Lidu's. If so, can we use my suit's energy to produce a time door here?' I thought to myself.

Having come up with an idea, I dragged Domo and Sarje toward the third floor.

The third floor consisted of smaller guest rooms. Only three Liyates were standing guard at the staircase connecting to the third floor. When they saw us, they assumed that we were going to keep watch over the third floor, so they easily allowed us passage. I tried opening the door of one of the third-floor rooms. The room was empty, so I quickly dragged in Domo and Sarje.

"Domo, can you create a time door between the scar-faced guy and the prince?" I asked.

"What's your plan?" asked Domo.

"Open a time door. We jump over and attack Mr. Scarface. I'll work with Sarje to capture their leader. Domo, you'll drag the prince back to this room and keep hiding," I said.

"I have the tools to open the door, but I don't have any energy sources to do it," said Domo.

"My suit will provide the energy. As for the rest, it'll rely on how good you are. One diamond for this task," I said.

"Just you watch!" said Domo in excitement as his eyes brightened at the mention of payment.