Rebirth: The Universe's Hidden Heiress-Chapter 40: Playing Weak To Get Away

However, Yuka, Ayoi and Alex didn’t get the nutrient solution they were waiting for.

Five minutes earlier, the Alliance Army contacted Hideki to inform him about Yuka’s abduction by space pirates. Without a moment’s delay, Hideki flew off the barren planet and released a video on the interstellar net, securing the top spot on all websites to ensure its continuous broadcast.

"I am willing to pay a ransom of one billion astracredits," Hideki said, seated firmly on a dark wooden chair, his gaze fixed on the camera, "One billion for each person. But I have three demands: First, I need to speak to Yuka to confirm her safety; second, all three of them must be unharmed; and third, they should have the freedom to move around."

At the end of the video, he left the contact information and earnestly added, "Please call the number if you have any clue. I just want them to return safely."

While the interstellar community marveled at Hideki’s wealth, the space pirates also took notice of the video.

The pirate leader’s expression was unreadable. After pondering for two minutes, he contacted the leader to seek guidance.

The leader instructed, "Follow his demands. But you can only release two of them; keep the boy."

The pirate leader nodded, "Understood."

He ordered a few of his subordinates into the room where Yuka and her companions were held, and had their bindings loosened.

Yuka, understanding that Hideki must have intervened, rubbed her wrists and heard a man in front of her say, "You, stand up and come with us; your father wants to speak to you."

Yuka got up and followed the space pirates to the cockpit, where she was pushed into a chair. The pirate second-in-command glanced at her and dialed Hideki’s private number.

Thirty seconds later, the call connected.

Hideki, looking weary, smiled the instant he saw Yuka, "Yuko."

Yuka, sniffling, said sadly, "Dad, I feel so bad here; they’re so mean to me. I want to go home..."

"Alright, alright," Hideki responded tenderly. "Dad will bring you home soon."

The pirate shielded Yuka from Hideki’s view and said, "We’ll drop them off on Planet Kata. You can come pick them up then."

"You know our rules, right?" the pirate leader interjected, "Don’t inform the Alliance Army. You must come alone, no tricks, no ambushes. As soon as we drop them on Kata, you must pay us immediately. Not a penny less, or we’ll kill them right away."

Before Hideki could respond, the space pirate stretched out his hand and cut off the communication.

He turned to glance at Yuka, her eyes brimming with tears, and suddenly saw the impending billion astracredits in a new light. The sobbing figure before him no longer seemed so annoying. Feeling quite pleased, he instructed his subordinates, "Go, untie their ropes and let them out."

After all, the three captives were weak and posed no threat. Plus, with surveillance cameras all over the ship, they couldn’t cause any trouble.

A nearby pirate asked, "Hey, if we don’t send the boy back, won’t they think we’re reneging on our deal and refuse to pay us?"

The pirate leader scoffed, "Returning two of them is already generous. They wouldn’t dare push us, or we’d kill all three of them instead."

Yuka overheard their conversation and, through her sobs, asked, "You won’t release Alex?"

"Please, call my dad again," Yuka whispered, "I’ll ask him to increase the price. If the price is higher, would you let Alex go?"

The pirate beside her seemed tempted by the idea, but the leader coolly refused Yuka’s request, "No way. A long call risks revealing our location. Don’t even think about it. That you and another person are being released is already a huge act of mercy. What, you think we’re good people?"

He gave her a sinister smile, taking pleasure in Yuka’s evident fear.

Yuka then timidly asked, "When can we leave? How much longer will it take to reach Kata? I’m so hungry..."

The pirate seemed annoyed as he replied, "Another two or three hours. Take her away, I don’t want her bothering me here."

"Okay," Yuka muttered.

As the pirates untied Yuka and her companions, allowing them free movement within the ship’s cabin, Hideki had already sent the captured coordinates to the Alliance Army.

Kenji, traversing through space, received the location and immediately changed course, planning to intercept the pirate spaceship before it could reach Kata, aiming to resolve the situation and safely retrieve the lost.

Meanwhile, Yuka, rubbing her wrists, smiled at Ayoi and Alex, "My dad has paid the ransom. We’ll be out of here soon."

Relief washed over Ayoi and Alex, who had been tense throughout the ordeal. They slumped to the ground, too exhausted to move.

The space pirates kept a watchful eye on them from a short distance.

Yuka sat between Ayoi and Alex and whispered, "I have Lev."

Ayoi and Alex’s breaths paused for a moment.

"It has a short range, maximum two hours of flight," Yuka said quickly and quietly. "Shall we run?"

As she looked up, meeting their eyes, she found their reactions utterly different from what she had expected. Instead of hesitation or anxiety, Ayoi and Alex’s eyes sparkled with unstoppable excitement and eagerness.

Yuka felt a twinge of bad feeling but suppressed it. She turned to shout at a nearby space pirate, "I need to go to the kitchen to find something to eat!"

The pirate glanced at them, as if just realizing they hadn’t had lunch, and said impatiently, "There’s no food in the kitchen, only nutrient fluids."

Yuka pouted, "I don’t want nutrient fluids."

"Then starve," the pirate retorted.

"How rude," Yuka scolded. "Then take us to where the nutrient solutions are stored. I need to pick my favorite flavor."

The pirates, seemingly resigned to the demands of this spoiled heiress, would have kicked them away if not for the billion astracredit condition.

"Come on," the pirate said, leading the way. "Follow me, and you can pick." He muttered as they walked, "Choosing flavors of nutrient solutions, damn, the pampered daughter of a billionaire for sure."

Alex and Ayoi followed closely behind Yuka, discreetly scanning the ship’s corridors and counting the number of pirates they encountered. They coordinated seamlessly, as if they had worked together before, each preparing for their roles, waiting for Yuka’s signal to break free and escape.

They walked through a long corridor and arrived in front of the storage room, where two pirates, armed and leaning casually against the door, greeted them. "So these are the walking billion astracredits, huh?"

Ayoi and Alex turned in shock towards Yuka. "A billion?!"

Yuka nodded, "Yeah, it’s not that expensive... right?"

Ayoi and Alex turned back, numbed by the revelation of their apparent worth.

"With billions of astracredits on the line, and you’re here for nutrient solutions?" one of the pirates at the storage room joked, clapping the shoulder of the one leading them. "Once we’re on Kata, we’ll definitely go out for a feast, forget the disgusting fluids!"

The leading pirate replied with resignation, "It’s not for me, it’s for these three."

"Oh, I see," the pirate shrugged, opened the storage room door, and told the three young hostages. "Go in. Take one tube each, but be careful not to drink too much, or it may get you vomit."

A single tube of nutrient solution can support a whole days’ energy needs of an adult.

Initially tasteless, its sticky texture made it hard for many to swallow. Thus, food manufacturers developed flavored versions like strawberry, apple, and even braised pork, which were significantly pricier than the plain ones.

However, the space pirates clearly didn’t want to waste their funds on such luxuries, as the storage mostly contained the unflavored variety.

Yuka managed to find a strawberry-flavored tube among the dusty boxes. Standing up, she walked out of the storage with Ayoi and Alex. Just as they were about to step out of the warehouse, Yuka saw Ayoi and Alex exchange a determined, protective look.

Before she could process it, Ayoi suddenly lunged at one of the men beside them. The man, caught off guard and in pain, inadvertently let go of his weapon, which Ayoi swiftly caught, loaded, and fired in one fluid motion.

The sound of the gunshot echoed — "Bang!" — and the man collapsed, a bullet hole in his forehead.

Speechless, he fell backwards.

Simultaneously, Alex took the orb from Yuka’s hand, saying, "Yuka, allow me to use this!"

Transforming rapidly in his hands, the orb expanded into a large shield.

On the other side, Ayoi fired three more shots with perfect accuracy. The pirates barely managed to fire back before falling just like their comrade.

The only bullet they fired harmlessly bounced off Alex’s shield and fell to the ground.

Yuka stood in shock, reminded of the moment she discovered Nori’s identity as an interstellar fugitive.

"Gross," Ayoi muttered, fighting back nausea. "Let’s, ugh, go, ugh, this is disgusting." It was her first time shooting at anything other than a target.

Alex quickly morphed the shield back to its original form, addressing Yuka, "I need to borrow this a bit longer. We’re almost out."

Yuka was in a daze, unsure of her surroundings and what she should be doing.

Alex grabbed her hand and started running, explaining, "On the way here, I counted three junctions. Excluding the one leading to the power source, there are two left — one to the cockpit and another to the hatch."

Ayoi, running alongside them, continued, "Each corridor has about three to five pirates. Conservatively, there are no more than a hundred on the ship. As long as I have enough bullets, I can handle them."

They both smiled at Yuka, reassuring her, "We’ll protect you!"

Yuka was dumbfounded. She had thought she was well-hidden, only to discover her companions were also hiding their true selves.

Her recently troubled conscience suddenly eased.

She watched expressionlessly as Ayoi efficiently loaded and fired her gun, punctuated by bouts of her retching. Alex, meanwhile, skillfully manipulated the butler into various shield shapes, protecting them while not obstructing Ayoi’s line of sight.

In the cockpit, the pirate leader watched the surveillance footage, trembling with rage as he saw the trio move freely through the corridors like a mobile artillery unit.

Furiously, he grabbed the intercom and announced to the entire ship, "They’re at the second row corridor junction. Chase them down! I don’t care if they’re dead or alive, just bring them back!"

He was ready to forsake the billion astracredits!

Yuka and her companions heard the announcement too. The ship stirred into action as more and more pirates appeared before them.

Ayoi was clearly struggling, her hand trembling as she gripped the gun, a blood streak forming from the recoil. Despite this, she remained deadly accurate, not wasting a single bullet.

Alex, suffering from overusing his psychic powers, was dizzy but persisted in pulling Yuka forward.

Suddenly, Yuka said, "Ayoi, shoot the lights."

Without hesitation, Ayoi turned her gun and shattered the corridor’s lights. Darkness engulfed the area, and the pirates, guns in hand, froze, hesitant to fire for fear of hitting their own.

They were waiting for the emergency lights to kick in after thirty seconds.

In the darkness, Alex used Oniyon to envelop themselves, moving them forward quietly and swiftly. Just as they were about to exit the corridor, Ayoi discreetly shot at the ceiling.

This shot set off chaos among the pirates, who began firing wildly in the dark.

"What the hell, exactly where’d they get guns?"

"Where are they? Hurry up and catch them!"

"Don’t shoot this way, damn it! Why are you shooting me?!"

The emergency lights soon lit up, revealing to the pirates that they had only hit each other, and the trio they were chasing had vanished without a trace.

On the other side, Yuka and her companions chose the wrong path at the junction and ended up in the cockpit instead of the escape hatch. Upon entering, Yuka immediately instructed Ayoi, "Shoot the control panel!"

The sudden intrusion alerted the pirate second-in-command, who quickly drew his weapon and aimed at the pink shield. As he took cover behind a seat, firing back, he realized too late that their target was not him, but the control panel.

With a series of loud gunshots, the control system, overwhelmed, blared a warning: [Warning, self-destruct sequence initiated. The spaceship will self-destruct in fifteen seconds.]

The second-in-command, Ayoi, and Alex were stunned. Yuka, with a slight smirk, quickly led them out of the cockpit, locking the door behind them. Ayoi shot the lock, effectively trapping the second-in-command inside.

Racing through the smoky corridors, they reached the escape hatch just in time. Yuka took the butler, now back in its orb form, from Alex and tossed it towards the lock. "Unlock!"

The Butler swiftly extended a small electronic arm, interfacing with the lock mechanism. As the footsteps of the pursuing pirates grew closer, Ayoi turned and fired her last bullets, holding them at bay.

[Hatch opened.]

Without hesitation, Yuka grabbed the butler from the lock and leapt out of the hatch. Then she pulled out her Lev from her space button and dragged Ayoi and Alex onto the vehicle.

The protective shield activated, enveloping them securely.

The Lev soared out of the hatch, and Yuka revved up the energy source, twisting the handle. The vehicle roared to life, speeding away into the vastness of space, leaving behind the exploding pirate ship. freeweɓnøvel.com

Ayoi clung to Yuka’s waist, Alex gripping Ayoi’s shoulder, as they sped through the cosmos on Lev.

Someone let out a laugh, and soon all three were laughing heartily, until Ayoi’s laughter turned to tears.

Gradually, they calmed down, reveling in the brief peace after their narrow escape, until a dusty planet appeared before them.

Yuka explained, "I avoided the direction the pirate ship was heading. We can’t go to Kata Star. The pirates know that place too well, and there might be more of them waiting there."

Yuka remarked as they approached the unknown planet, "I don’t know the name of this planet, but my Lev can only get us this far."

Ayoi, seemingly puzzled, suddenly asked, "Yuka, didn’t you say your physical strength was only C+? How can you pilot Lev?"

Yuka hesitated for a moment before responding, "...Because Instructor Yonda taught me well. I’ve improved to B-tier strength now."

Alex listened to Yuka’s strained explanation but chose not to question further. He understood that when Yuka was ready to tell them the truth, she would do so on her own terms.