Meteor Fall Master in the 'Starry Abyss'
Chapter 170 - 139. Negotiations Break Down

Chapter 170: 139. Negotiations Break Down

As Mr. Li Aozi finished speaking, all that was left was the howling of frost snow and sand dust.

"...Are you fucking kidding us!?"

The enraged mechanic, Yin Xifeng, shouted, and following that, the displeased driver, Zhang Shengnan, immediately swiveled the cannon to aim at Li Aozi on the ground.

"Such a pity—looks like, men of the nation are just that, give them an inch, and they’ll take a mile."

Uzida, the tank commander, shrugged:

"Mr. Li Aozi, it seems you have no clue what ’not knowing whether you’re dead or alive’ means—it means no one will bother even if you’re tortured half to death."

"Truly?"

Li Aozi chuckled, shifting the conversation:

"Then it seems you no longer want the hostages alive."

His voice was magnetic, and his handsome face made it impossible for people to look away, each word clearly etched into the brains of the crew members.

An extraordinary charm of 88.4, for ordinary people, it was almost equivalent to some form of arcane energy or a bewitching magic.

"—Hostages?"

The members of the Wolf Badger crew looked at each other.

"Du Zexin, a Beta rank Mechanic, an elite operative of Third Rule."

Li Aozi said indifferently:

"Your intelligence should know that I am an arcane user, I have already created a blood clot in his brain using my arcane energy. As soon as I die, my arcane energy will fail, and the clot in his cerebral vessels will immediately burst and kill him."

His words were a mix of truth and lies, Li Aozi had noted down Du Zexin’s symptoms and had a ready-made template to lie with.

Although these soldiers weren’t as quick-witted as Du Zexin or the Professor, when it came to serious matters, they were much more cautious than the agents of the Fourth Rule.

"Of course, I am willing to surrender and hand over the hostages. I don’t aspire to escape, just to be taken away from the Outer World is enough for me."

Li Aozi said:

"You destroyed the railway; I have no way out. Please take me away now. I don’t want to die in this desolate wilderness of the Outer World."

He didn’t hope to trick them into getting out of their mobile armor; just to buy a little more time would suffice.

Especially, it would be best to delay until Meibei was sent away.

Meibei was seriously injured, and this was also an opportunity to send him back—Li Aozi believed that relying on Du Zexin’s intellect, bluffing his way through would definitely be easier than for him.

Moreover, he had already informed Du Zexin about some information on Elf Island, but Li Aozi was cautious and intentionally did not tell him the exact location. This way, Du Zexin would have to act on his own, rally the organization, gather intelligence, and in the end, when he discovered the truth about Elf Island, he would still have to seek help from him.

This advantage would not only pave a path for himself but also provide David Lyn with a fledgling framework the moment he was released from prison.

Li Aozi remembered clearly the first Frost War, all thanks to David Lyn’s calm deployment and command, Frost Plated was able to withstand the trampling by the Sky Ring Warriors. However, because of the backlash from extreme female forces within the country, leading to David Lyn’s assassination, it had completely triggered a civil war within Frost Plated.

Wanting to complete the task of "Frost Plated Bone White" at this stage was very difficult; there were even some matters that only by uniting the people of the Four Nations and Azure Star could be achieved. Li Aozi must lay down a profound network of connections.

Du Zexin had to return to Frost Plated.

The members of the Wolf Badger style mobile armor deeply believed what Li Aozi said.

"Damn it... Fourth Rule, this bunch of bastards, always holding back mission intelligence!"

Uzida clicked her tongue, although it was commonly known that the Fourth Rule Agency hesitated over scandals and often withheld information, concealing something as critical as holding hostages was somewhat sinister.

After all, the Fourth Rule Agency was an internal intelligence collection and anti-terrorism law enforcement, and their way of doing things was different from the military’s. Maybe some issues involved scandals or vulnerabilities of some bureaucratic groups and bigwigs—but the soldiers didn’t care about that much.

"That’s why I hate politics."

Uzida raised her hand to press the microphone and connected to Captain Nimotin:

"Hey, are you done yet?"

As her voice fell, dozens of parachutes blossomed in the sky. The Fourth Rule Agents parachuted cautiously at an appropriate altitude and airspace, immediately forming a combat formation upon landing. The highly cybernetically enhanced female agents swiftly surrounded the locomotive, while Captain Nimotin dispatched a team to inspect the rear combat carriages before turning to face Li Aozi.

"Fourth Rule Agent squadron, Nimotin’s group, supposed to be forty people, actual count forty people."

She casually remarked over the communicator, then turned to look at the man in front of her.

Though Li Aozi was unarmed and looked somewhat aged, with a harmless smile on his face, Nimotin still did not dare to be careless—she remembered how Li Aozi had tricked her before, then turned and boarded a vehicle to escape, effortlessly killing the pursuing troops en route.

And then there was the Infant Eater... a true Beta Rank Biochemist. Even if not specialized in combat, his power was still quite formidable.

At that thought, Nimotin stopped in her tracks; due to a growing wariness, she even subtly increased her distance from Li Aozi by several meters.

"Are you serious about taking a half step back?"

A mocking voice came through the communication channel, but Nimotin was indifferent—her life was her own, and no ten thousand Derby paycheck was worth risking it for.

"The target’s danger level is high, do not be careless." Nimotin replied nonchalantly. "I need to interrogate him here. Only with the Mobile Armor present are we assured he won’t cause trouble."

"Ha ha, with Mobile Armor present, and he isn’t even a Gamma Phase powerhouse, he still thinks he can escape?" The mechanic burst out laughing.

Mobile Armor was designed for war after all. What would a Beta Rank powerhouse amount to? On the battlefield under the barrage of tens of thousands of bullets, at best they could survive a few more minutes than other armored units—could there be a greater deterrence than this?

"Well, I can’t vouch for that," Nimotin snapped coldly at the other.

"Rather than that, go take over the hostages."

"No need for your reminder."

Nimotin waved her hand, signaling Agent Yawen who was behind her to step forward and take a team into the youth train’s cockpit to retrieve the hostages.

The military and the Law System’s Constitutional Enforcers have had their differences for more than a day or two. Both belonging to different systems, they were competing for funding.

According to the Frost Plated Constitution, Fourth Rule serves as the eyes and ears of the President and is accountable only to the President, while the Third Rule Agency is loyal to the Frost Plated Congress. The military, nominally under the President’s command, is in fact managed by the Frost Plated Ministry of Defense for its activities.

Nimotin might not have been highly intelligent, but she was clear on these matters: the Governor provided her with cybernetic enhancements in exchange for her service, and expected to pay up.

Losing face was better than losing life—Nimotin thought, her gaze on Li Aozi growing more complex.

"Been staying out of trouble lately, Captain Nimotin?"

Li Aozi appeared nonchalant, as though discussing what to have for breakfast with an old friend. Yet, given the man’s conduct and track record, his charm and gentle smile seemed all the more devilishly terrifying to Nimotin.

She shook her head, feigned composure, and asked firmly:

"You’ve finally fallen into our hands. It’s time to come clean—who exactly are you? What is your relationship with the Red Arrow Empire? And the secret documents, where have you hidden them..."

Listening to her series of questions, Li Aozi calmly offered some partially true, partially false answers. His peripheral vision stayed fixed on the dynamics inside the vehicles as Du Zexin was placed on an improvised stretcher by the Fourth Rule Agents and carried away. As he left, Li Aozi saw him tightly closing his eyes, pretending to be weak and powerless.

Nice acting, Meibei, not worse than mine at all.

The Metro Brotherhood’s driver, Zhou Liefeng, also raised his hands, giving up resistance, but he refused to leave the vehicle, leading to a dispute with the head Agent Yawen.

"I’ve already reported to the central station; you will pay a price for this."

Zhou Liefeng, stripped of his Exoskeleton Armor, knelt on the ground, hands cuffed, his face red and glaring at the Fourth Rule Agents with hatred:

"Attacking the train left from the old era, destroying the railways of the old era, do you realize how grave a sin this is? Your Frost Plated ancestors built this undersea tunnel. Even after the ocean solidified, it still brought hope to countless people. The metro line is a lifeline; this is digging your own grave, this is anti-humanity!"

Bang!

A female agent ruthlessly smashed the butt of her gun on Zhou Liefeng’s back, spat out:

"Shut up, you white-skinned boar! A mere man dares to speak out, starting wars is all you males are good for."

"Stop, he’s a neutral party." Yawen frowned, immediately intervening: "What you’re doing is against the convention."

"Convention? The convention is to protect people, the weak. What’s a man worth? It doesn’t matter how many die."

The female agent disdainfully glanced at Yawen and sneered:

"Ha—You, a woman wearing an Elite Agent uniform, actually defending a male, aren’t you just a browbeaten wife?