Rebirth: The Universe's Hidden Heiress-Chapter 45: Getting Back

Here, Yuka and her two companions had just walked back to the team competition stage, ready to play another match.

Blackvest quickly stopped them, saying, "The boss wants to see you upstairs."

The three exchanged glances.

Yuka waved at Snakehead, who was still waiting in the crowd, signaling that they were leaving. Snakehead took a couple of steps forward, watching as Yuka and her friends followed Blackvest upstairs.

Unlike the tense and bloody atmosphere on the fifth floor, the sixth floor was like a lavish palace, filled with opulence. Entering through the grand doors, the hallway was lined with glittering gold decorations, dazzling to the eye. Continuing forward, they arrived at a splendidly decorated reception room.

The potbellied man swiveled his diamond-studded chair from facing away to facing them and said, "Ah, such youthful heroes."

He had initially thought these young people, full of pride, wouldn’t easily follow his instructions. He planned to have them endure a month in the Grand Coliseum before inviting them up. But after witnessing their performance, the boss found them unexpectedly composed, so he extended the invitation earlier.

Yuka smiled and replied, "So gold to see you, sir."

Kenji stood silently on the other side of the man’s chair. The potbellied man glanced at Kenji and then addressed the three of them, "This is a standout from the solo competition. It seems you know each other. What are your names?"

Yuka remained silent for two seconds and didn’t respond. But the man didn’t mind, continuing, "It’s fine if you don’t want to say. We’re not concerned about that. Rest assured, I’m a person who dislikes trouble. Once I’ve chosen you, I won’t change my mind. Tomorrow, I’ll take you to Capital Octoxis to arrange new identities for you. Whatever you’ve done before, whether it’s murder or arson, will be erased. No one in the world will know about your past deeds, and you won’t have to fear the Alliance Army."

Yuka quietly observed Kenji’s expression, which had turned sullen. She thought to herself, being able to go to Capital Octoxis and arrange new identities, this guy must have significant connections.

The potbellied man looked satisfied seeing their shocked and uneasy expressions. He skillfully reassured them, "You are my chosen ones. I know your strength and am confident you won’t disappoint me. As long as you enter the underground competition in Capital Octoxis and rank in the top hundred, you’ll get to interact with the Alliance Army."

The guy laughed heartily and said, "Don’t worry, by that time you’ll already have new identities, and the Alliance Army won’t know about your past. Moreover, once you enter the top hundred in the underground competition, the Alliance Army will approach you to join their ranks. From then on, you’ll be regular soldiers of the Alliance Army. How about that? Doesn’t following me seem promising?"

Kenji’s expression had turned frighteningly cold. Yuka noticed the veins bulging on his neck and his hands clenched into fists, as if he might punch the man any second and start a fight.

Yuka quickly nodded, saying, "Yes, yes, yes, following you is indeed very promising. You are our future leader; without you, we’ll have no hope."

Pleased by Yuka’s words, the man lit a cigar, took a deep puff, and said indulgently, "Alright, rest for today. Tomorrow, as soon as we reach Capital Octoxis, head straight for the underground arena and secure a spot in the top hundred. By the way, is there anything else you want? Feel free to ask."

Yuka thought for a moment and said, "Sir, can you give a piece of land here to a friend of mine so he can settle down and start a business?"

Narrowing his eyes, the boss asked, "Are you talking about that tall guy who was following you?"

"Yes, that’s him. His name is Snakehead," Yuka replied.

The boss nodded and said, "Okay, no problem. Anything else you want?"

Everyone shook their heads, indicating they had no further requests. The guy was very pleased with their modesty and waved them off to rest outside, telling them to come back tomorrow.

Yuka and her companions left the sixth floor and returned to the fifth. Those who had seen them leave earlier looked at them with envy as they returned, but they didn’t dare lay a hand on them, fearing the boss’s wrath.

Yuka found Snakehead in the crowd and told him about the land.

Overjoyed, Snakehead thanked her repeatedly, thinking he had indeed chosen the right person to rely on.

Grinning, Yuka warned him, "If you ever dare to rob again..." She gestured with her fist. Snakehead reflexively winced at a phantom pain in his ribs and quickly bowed his head, saying, "I’ll definitely change and start anew, I won’t let you down. I’ll never do such things again!"

Yuka said nothing more and turned to leave the Grand Coliseum with the others.

On their way, Yuka fell a step behind Alex and Ayoi, walking beside Kenji. Noticing his frosty expression, she asked, "You’ve achieved your goal. You now know what the ruler here looks like and how he gets people into the Alliance Army. So, can you tell me now how you are going to get out of here?"

Before Kenji could respond, Yuka continued, "You do have a plan, right? If you didn’t come here by a spaceship, then it must have been by Lev. You still have your Lev, do you?"

Kenji answered, "I do have one, but its power source is not enough to take all of us back to Capital Octoxis. At most, it can get two people back."

He had indeed planned to meet the ruler here through the competition to gather information, intending not to alert anyone prematurely.

Escaping in a Lev from here, however, would be difficult. The Grand Coliseum was equipped with many mechas and had ample firepower. Once they started the Lev, they’d be shot down by mechas before even leaving the planet’s edge.

Yuka also considered this issue and suggested, "Then let’s get on the ship first and figure it out."

Yuka then said, "Well, then the Alliance Army..."

"I’ll be careful," Kenji assured her. "Opticomputers have no signal here, and messages can’t get out. But once I get back, I’ll report to the General Fleet Admiral immediately and thoroughly cleanse the Alliance Army, leaving no stone unturned. This was a mistake on the Alliance Army’s part, but our corps maintains strict discipline, and such issues shouldn’t have arisen."

He earnestly added to Yuka, "The Alliance Army always welcomes you."

Yuka shrugged with no further comment.

While there was still time, Yuka asked Kenji if he wanted to visit the mines. Kenji nodded in agreement, so Yuka called out to the others, "Ayoi, Alex, want to go to the mines?"

Ayoi and Alex turned around and agreed in unison.

The mine was not far from the Grand Coliseum building, surrounded by high electrified wire fences with spikes, and patrolled by Blackvests wearing safety helmets. Seeing Yuka and her group approaching, one of them asked with a wary look, "What do you want?"

"Just looking around," Yuka replied. She then asked, "Are the people in the mines all forced to work here?"

After sizing them up, the Blackvest replied, "There are also those who come here voluntarily as temporary workers."

Yuka chuckled and asked, "Can we come over and work as temporary workers?"

The Blackvest replied, "No, not with your high psychic power levels."

He was already aware of the group’s capabilities and their impressive feat of reaching the fifth floor in a single day. Naturally, he wouldn’t allow them into the mines.

Yuka then bombarded him with a series of random questions, such as the mine’s production yield for the year, how they transported the material, and where it was transported to. These questions clearly annoyed the Blackvest, who later didn’t answer any of them and brushed them off.

After Yuka finished her questioning, Ayoi and Alex seamlessly took over, bombarding the Blackvest with irrelevant questions until he almost lost his patience. They stopped talking and turned to leave.

As they were walking away, Ayoi leaned close to Yuka and asked in a low voice, "Yuka, you winked at us earlier. Did you find something?"

Yuka’s actions had been a cover to buy time for her to use her psychic power to sense the Oniyon in the area.

Yuka replied to Ayoi, "The Oniyon here feels strange to me. It’s like there’s a thin barrier between it and my psychic power..."

"That’s Pneyon," Kenji added. "After mining Oniyon here, they directly process it into Pneyon."

Kenji rubbed his temples, feeling weary. He hadn’t anticipated that this planet would be involved in such a significant matter, not only infiltrating the Alliance Army but also obtaining the secret method of Pneyon production from the Alliance Science Academy.

However, the planet was full of the boss’s informants, so they couldn’t act rashly or break into the mines. Their only option was to wait until the next day to board the ship and return to Capital Octoxis to plan their next move.

That night, Yuka returned to the small hotel where she had stayed the previous night. She pulled out the butler from her pocket and deactivated its shielding.

The butler muttered, "Master, I knew you’d miss me."

Yuka, holding the butler’s smooth body, pondered, "Or maybe I should throw you into the mine. Then, after they mine you and transform you into Pneyon, you can fly back."

The butler’s body shuddered, fell from Yuka’s hands into the bed, and buried itself in the covers so that Yuka couldn’t see it.

Yuka laughed, picked it up, and tucked it back into her pocket, saying, "Goodnight."

In a small voice, the butler responded, "Master, goodnight."

The next day, Yuka and her companions entered the Grand Coliseum early and smoothly made their way to the sixth floor. The boss, with a cigar in his mouth, stood up from his chair, flanked by a line of Blackvest bodyguards. He nodded at one of them, who immediately turned and left. Moments later, the sealed roof above them thunderously opened, revealing a long metal ladder descending from the gap above.

The boss dusted off his clothes and climbed the ladder first. A spaceship docked at the very top of the Grand Coliseum opened its hatch, and the bodyguards followed the boss inside, with Yuka and her team quickly trailing behind.

Once aboard, each of them was handed a new opticomputer. "Your new identities are on these opticomputers," the man said. "You can start familiarizing yourselves with them now."

Yuka subtly adjusted her jacket sleeve, allowing the butler to roll to its edge and extend its electronic hand to connect with the new opticomputer. Kenji glanced at her and discreetly shifted to block the view of the nearby bodyguards.

A minute later, the butler retracted its electronic hand and rolled back into the sleeve, whispering to Yuka, "Master, I’ve bypassed the system’s firewall and sent the message to Mr. Taira without leaving a trace. I’ve also informed the Alliance Army about this ship’s ID. Once we reach Capital Octoxis, they’ll seize control of the ship and rescue us."

Yuka paused momentarily, noticing Blackvest approaching. She mentally communicated with the butler, ’I think... we might not have the chance to wait for a rescue.’

Blackvest, holding a syringe, said, "This is an enhancement drug. Everyone needs to get injected. It will temporarily boost your physical strength and psychic power level, helping you perform better in the underground competition. It’s harmless to the body..."

Yuka thought skeptically, doubting the truth of his words. He knew the syringe contained something toxic meant to get them under control.

Blackvest chose Yuka first. Without even bothering to disinfect with alcohol, he prepared to inject her. freewebnσvel.cѳm

Just as the needle was about to pierce Yuka’s skin, she suddenly yanked her hand away and punched the man’s jaw with full force.

The sound of the man’s jaw breaking was clear to everyone. Without a moment’s hesitation, Yuka snatched the syringe from him and, in the instant she kicked him away, opened her space button and tossed the syringe inside.

As Yuka made her move, Kenji simultaneously activated his space button, establishing a rapid psychic connection with his mecha. He swiftly entered the cockpit and, lifting the mecha’s mechanical arm, began to fire at the surrounding bodyguards.

The bodyguards scattered in all directions. Yuka leaped onto Kenji’s silver-grey mecha and extended a hand to pull up Alex and Ayoi.

Ayoi, having picked up two guns dropped by the bodyguards, handed one to Alex. They set up the guns on the shoulders of the mecha, assisting Kenji in clearing the path of enemies.

The corridors of the spaceship were somewhat low for the mecha, forcing Kenji to stoop as he moved forward. Yuka, Ayoi, and Alex clung tightly to the mecha.

Ayoi and Alex continuously fired shots, while Yuka transformed the butler’s body into a solid hammer, sweeping away enemies with each swing. Together, they helped Kenji break through the encirclement.

Two minutes later, they reached the control room without any major harm. Kenji blasted the door open with a cannon and strode in.

The potbellied boss, sitting at the helm, shuddered at the sound of the explosion. Seeing them enter, he forced a smile and said, "Let’s not hurt each other, fighting and killing are not good. Tell me what you want, and I’ll make it happen!"

Yuka jumped down from Kenji’s mecha and, pointing a knife at the man, commanded, "Get down." The man stumbled out of his chair and crouched to one side.

As soon as Yuka lowered her knife, Ayoi and Alex raised their guns, continuing to point them at the man.

Kenji retracted his mecha and took the pilot’s seat. He turned on the intercom and addressed the remaining people on the ship, "I am Admiral Kuba Kenji of the Alliance’s First Legion. I’m informing everyone to lay down your weapons and not resist. Stay where you are. I repeat..."

Hearing Kenji’s identity, the man’s face twitched violently.

He had seen Kenji’s photo before, but he failed to recognize him because the Kenji in the photo didn’t look much like this man in a hoodie.

Kenji in uniform appeared utterly cold, like a block of ice, and just one look at him would give off a chill. The hoodie mitigated much of this cold look, and the hood covering the part of Kenji’s face above his eyebrows made him look much younger.

The casual clothes, combined with his hidden features, drastically altered his look compared to the stern man in the military photos, naturally affecting other people’s judgment of his appearance.

The spaceship rapidly traversed through space.

The fat man crouched on the floor, clutching his head. His expression was a mix of bitterness and resentment as he watched Yuka and her companions. When they looked his way, he embarrassingly lowered his head further.

He had played the game of predator for half his life, only to be outwitted in the end.

Kenji continued speaking into the intercom, "If you choose to resist, you will face either death or decades of imprisonment. Be good and do what I say; the Alliance Army will show mercy."

The bodyguards aboard the ship exchanged looks and eventually all laid down their weapons, sitting obediently against the wall.

Kenji, monitoring their actions through the surveillance system, then pressed a control on the panel, shutting all emergency escape hatches and gaining complete control of the ship.

Yuka retracted her long knife and tucked the butler back into her pocket. Kenji glanced at her and affirmed, "That’s Oniyon."

Yuka didn’t deny it, but silently mouthed the words "you slept with me."

Kenji, slightly choked up, turned away and asked, "Did you acquired that illegally?"

Yuka simply shrugged and shook her head, implying she didn’t know.

Kenji misunderstood her gesture, thinking the Oniyon was obtained legally, and didn’t pursue the matter further.