Chapter 11: Dark Blade Edge
On the open tarmac, the cargo had been fully loaded, and the crew was conducting a final overall inspection of the transport ship to ensure no issues arose during transit.
Su Xiao was currently in a disguised state, standing guard with a rifle alongside the other company security guards, maintaining vigilance.
Using the Primordial Mask for this disguise, Su Xiao noticed something. Previously, when he had disguised himself as a palace knight at the Dragon Academy, entering the disguise state made him feel as if his entire body was wrapped in a layer of illusory mist. To outsiders, this mist layer appeared as the full-body armor of a palace knight, among other things.
This time, the disguise had undergone a qualitative change. It was no longer the sensation of being wrapped in a mist layer; instead, it had actually formed the security guard's individual combat armor. This armor was a dark, mottled camouflage color, with a sealed helmet and visor structure, equipped with an air filtration system.
No matter how he looked at it, this seemed to go beyond the scope of disguise, leaning more toward a simulated armor. If the Primordial Mask had truly become a "Daddy Rank" artifact, could its disguise state replicate all of a person's abilities?
Su Xiao had a feeling that he wouldn't keep this mask for long. As a Law Destroyer and Hunter, he was inherently at odds with Daddy Rank items, belonging to the type of person such items disliked the most.
Originally, Su Xiao thought he could use the Primordial Mask for a long time. Now, it seemed he had underestimated the growth rate of items with Daddy Rank potential.
Su Xiao didn't feel it was a loss. For now, he would use it as long as he could. He hadn't invested any cost into the Primordial Mask. First, the mask was found by Beini during a treasure hunt. The Faceless used to fuse with it also had no cost—when blowing up the Dawn Paradise, he had accidentally killed the Faceless Man, Pete Pepper, and obtained this item.
The side hatch of the transport ship opened, forming a staircase. The first to board the ship were several men and women in suits, along with a stern man in an imperial military uniform and cap. His expression was tense, clearly someone not fond of conversation.
According to the plan, the ones arriving should have been Executioners. Although Executioners were powerful, they were more like weapons of the Empire; once defeated, the energy cores within their bodies would explode.
The ones who had arrived now were clearly not Executioners. Their auras were different. Executioners leaned more toward suicide soldiers. The one who had arrived now was indeed powerful, but the aura of aloofness and coldness was not something an Executioner could possess.
Beside this officer was a middle-aged, slightly plump man with a smiling face. The young officer ignored everyone else, including the two company executives, paying them little heed. However, his attitude toward the middle-aged man, a company manager, was quite good, occasionally even forcing a smile. This made the two company executives, who were bowing and scraping nearby, quite envious.
The reason was mainly because this company manager's daughter had a special relationship with the young officer. It was only because the young officer was too busy that the two hadn't yet married.
This young officer was named Rhine Godd, known as the Hand of the Empire. Although he currently held only the rank of colonel, this was the highest military rank achievable without commanding a fleet. For Rhine Godd, the rank was more symbolic and convenient for accessing certain occasions.
Among the first dozen or so to board the transport ship, besides Rhine Godd and his future father-in-law, there was also the latter's fiancée, who served as a technician. The remaining few were the company's three ace employees and two middle-level managers.
This transport was very important. The company's independently developed C5N2 superconductor had only just completed its first batch of mass production today, at a cost outsiders couldn't imagine.
For this transport and handover, under normal circumstances, the company's three ace employees would be more than sufficient for escort. The only hostile force on Pandora Star was the insect race. The probability of the insect race coming to seize this cargo was very low. With the insect race's network level, they couldn't possibly intercept the transport team's intelligence.
Rhine Godd's involvement was like using a cannon to kill a mosquito—unnecessary. For an escort of this level, deploying such a figure was truly excessive.
Considering that the head of this transport team was Colonel Rhine Godd's future father-in-law, everything made sense.
Rhine Godd's arrival also changed the transport plan. For example, the "Fission-Type Gravity Bomb" that should have been placed in the cargo hold was removed. No matter how one looked at it, this cargo transport involved other matters behind the scenes, such as political stances and high-end technology negotiations.
After the group of heavyweights boarded the ship, it was the turn of the security guards to board. In most stories, if an accident occurred, these guards were either cannon fodder to highlight the villain's cruelty or useless soldiers who didn't fire their guns and just threw away their lives.
After Su Xiao boarded the transport ship, he sat down on a seat against the wall on both sides of the tail cabin and fastened his seatbelt, imitating the other guards.
The roar of the ship's engines came through. The experience of riding in the tail cabin wasn't great; it only stabilized after fully ascending.
A few nearby guards were chatting and laughing quietly, discussing where to go whoring after this job ended. Some retracted their visors, lit cigarettes, and blew smoke rings.
Su Xiao leaned back to rest. Since he was disguised as a small fry, he had to behave until it was time to act. A small fry couldn't have that much drama.
The transport team's journey totaled 3 hours and 10 minutes. Su Xiao planned to make his move after 1 hour. According to Kaiser's intelligence, the entire ship could be divided into four parts: the cockpit, the forward cabin, the middle cabin, and the tail cabin.
The forward cabin was the area where Rhine Godd, Company Manager Womis, and the company's three aces were located.
The middle cabin was the largest, where the cargo was stored. A total of 52 imperial soldiers were stationed here. As for the tail cabin at the back, there were 129 company security guards.
To put it bluntly, these guards were just there to make up the numbers, showing the company's attitude. The true core defensive force was Colonel Rhine Godd, the company's three aces, and the 52 imperial soldiers.
Su Xiao was responsible for the forward cabin, Baha was the main force for the middle cabin, with Bubu Wang assisting. As for the guards in the tail cabin, Bubu Wang would take care of them as a side task.
At that time, Bubu Wang would hack the ship's central control system and the guards' individual armor, then open the tail cabin door and control the guards' armor to make them jump out of the ship like dumplings being dropped.
Time passed minute by minute. Suddenly, noise came from the forward cabin, followed by a jolt throughout the ship and a piercing alarm.
Su Xiao looked toward the corridor leading to the forward cabin. A dozen or so guards, having received orders, had already rushed over.
Seeing this, Su Xiao guessed a possibility: he had encountered a fellow professional. Someone else had also set their sights on this transport ship.
Just as Su Xiao was about to act, the flashing red alarm light above went out, the urgent alarm sound subsided, and the white lights came back on. Everything returned to normal.
After a while, a company middle manager with a gloomy expression walked into the tail cabin. He said impatiently, "You, you, and you few, come with me."
After saying this, the well-dressed company middle manager turned and walked toward the side corridor. Seeing this, the guard captain tentatively asked, "Boss, where are we going this time?"
"Less bullshit. If I tell you to follow, then hurry up."
The company middle manager, clearly having been rubbed the wrong way, glanced at the guard captain, muttered something about bad luck, and walked ahead.
"You few, hurry up! Don't just stand there!"
The guard captain's tone was rough, clearly looking to vent his anger on someone.
Su Xiao unfastened his X-shaped seatbelt, stood up, and followed the few guards ahead toward the forward cabin. He wanted to see what had happened. If the opportunity was right, he would act. After all, it had been nearly 50 minutes since takeoff.
Passing through the slightly cramped side corridor, Su Xiao arrived in the spacious and brightly lit forward cabin. There were not only long sofas and massage chairs but also an open small bar.
The smell of blood spread here. Su Xiao looked toward the source. Several bodies lay on the ground, all wearing imperial soldier combat uniforms. Their necks were limp, as if all the bones inside had been shattered. Someone had disguised themselves as soldiers, trying to take control of the ship.
Su Xiao scanned his surroundings. The company's three ace employees were drinking at the bar. Nearby, two company middle managers were talking on communicators.
At a square table for four on the other side sat a young officer, Rhine Godd. Across from him was a middle-aged, plump man and a woman dressed as a ship technician, with a slightly panicked expression. She wasn't exceptionally beautiful, but she looked comfortable, natural, and clean—the ideal choice for a wife.
Besides these people, there were three unexpected individuals. All three were contractors: Cain and his two team members.
Among these two team members was a burly man with a ponytail named Aaron, Cain's deputy leader. One was a magic tank, the other a strength tank. They always charged at the front, the two soul figures of the Hall of Heroes.
The last person was a long-legged, black-stockinged mature woman. She was clearly a Charm type. The moment she stood there, the company's three ace employees' eyes nearly blazed with fire.
Cain's involvement in this incident showed that he had already made a name for himself in both the Empire and company factions. As the leader of a large adventure group, he was certainly no simple character.
"Overestimating yourself."
Aaron spat on the bodies on the ground. This seemed like an insult, but it wasn't. Aaron was testing whether there were any accomplices of these robbers still present. If anyone's aura fluctuated even slightly, his domain could sense it.
"You few, clean up the bodies."
After saying this, the company middle manager who had led the way earlier carefully approached the young officer, lowering his head and explaining.
The young officer, the Hand of the Empire, Rhine Godd, didn't pay much attention. He had just come off the battlefield a few days ago. He was used to such sudden incidents. The battlefield was far more brutal than this. This escort mission felt like a vacation.
Rhine Godd looked at his fiancée, whose face was slightly pale. This iron-blooded officer poured a glass of hot water for his girlfriend.
"Hiss~, everyone, listen up. You're all idiots."
Suddenly, this sentence came over the ship's intercom. Everyone in the forward cabin was stunned.
No one noticed that Su Xiao, who was pretending to clean up the bodies, had quietly moved near the company's three ace employees.
The three, who were drinking at the bar, heard Baha's broadcast and knew something was wrong. They quickly walked toward the middle cabin.
When the three were within two meters of Su Xiao, he removed the Primordial Mask. His appearance suddenly reverted, and the individual armor on his body vanished without a trace.
A black short blade appeared in Su Xiao's hand. This short blade was called [Dark Walker], a weapon with Abyss characteristics.
This short blade had two core traits: 1. If a single attack dealt damage exceeding 20% of the enemy's maximum health, it would cause instant death and immediately restore 100% of the user's health.