3 Spaceship Tickets

Yuka took a deep breath.

The butler, sounding guilty, suggested, "How about we go back and fly our own spaceship now?"

Just as Yuka was about to reply, she noticed a smoking man approaching. He glanced casually at Yuka's high-end opticomputer and, licking his lips, smiled at her, "Hi, sunshine, are you here for a trip?"

"I also do some tour guiding on the side. If you're looking for a hotel, a meal, or a match to watch, I'm your guy," he said with a friendly smile, rubbing his hands together. "I can get you the best service in town. You just need to pay me a little."

Yuka sized him up: a worn-out leather jacket, unkempt hair, an honest smile - fitting the image of a man trying to make a living. But the calluses on his hands, the sharp look in his eyes, and the unmistakable air of a bandit revealed his true nature.

Seeing Yuka not responding and unable to read her expression through the helmet, the man grew impatient and bit his cigarette holder, "Sunshine, I'm the boss around here. No one dares to challenge that. I can get you anything you want..."

"Anything?" Yuka suddenly interrupted.

The man paused, then flashed a smile again, "Of course."

"Good," Yuka nodded and pointed to an alley nearby, "Let's talk over there."

The man glanced at the alley and genuinely smiled, thinking her to be a naive, wealthy young lady. He had planned to rob her right there, but she made it easier, leading him to a secluded spot, perfect for his plans.

"Sure thing," he said, putting out his nearly finished cigarette on the wall, tossing it on the ground, and leading Yuka into the alley.

Onlookers, aware of what was unfolding, pitied the 'lamb walking into the lion's den', destined to be robbed blind. They envied the man's luck, then left to find other 'clients'.

As Yuka followed the man into the dark alley and saw him stop and turn around, his previously friendly smile was replaced by greed. The prey was now trapped; no need for pretense.

He pulled out a dose of a knockout drug and swiftly lunged at Yuka's neck.

"Crack."

The anticipated scene of the girl collapsing didn't happen.

The man's body shuddered, his wrist unnaturally drooping, obviously broken.

Yuka let go, took the knockout drug from his limp hand, snapped the needle off with her bare hands, and tossed the rest into her pocket.

The man's face contorted with pain as he swiftly retracted his hand. Using his good left hand, he grimly snapped his dislocated right wrist back into place. Then, warily, he drew a short knife from his back, holding it defensively in front of his chest.

'Is she an A+ in physical strength like me, or... she's an S?' he wondered. In the brief standoff, the man assessed the situation: Yuka bore no visible weapons, and even if she had something in her space button, it would take time to deploy. His knife, made of high-grade metal, would be a challenge for her to counter, even if she was a physical S.

His only aim now was to sidestep her, clearing a path to escape the alley.

The roles of hunter and prey had reversed. The man had entirely forgotten his initial intent to rob her. He even regretted agreeing to come to this narrow alley, flanked by buildings with no escape route through the walls. In the open city, familiar to him, he could have easily fled.

Spotting the man's knife, Yuka reached into her pocket and grasped her orb butler, pulling it out.

Activating her psychic power, she enveloped the orb with it and softly commanded, "Baseball bat."

The man instinctively stepped back, sensing danger even though he didn't understand her intent.

The orb rapidly morphed into a baseball bat in Yuka's hands, with the butler discreetly turning itself pink – a final act of defiance.

Yuka, feeling the good grip of the bat, didn't mind its color and turned her attention back to the man.

'I must escape!' Gritting his teeth, the man gripped his knife and lunged at Yuka's unprotected neck. His A+ speed was like that of a cheetah, his blade nearing her neck in the blink of an eye. But Yuka was quicker. She leaned back sharply, her flexible waist dodging the glinting blade.

Simultaneously, she swung her bat upwards, striking the man's jaw with a bone-crushing impact.

Staggering against the wall, disoriented, the man barely had time to steady himself before Yuka's next strike sent his knife flying.

Without giving him a chance to react, a pink blur whirled past him, and another bat strike cracked against his ribs.

His internal organs might be ruptured.

Slumping to the ground, the man lay there, eyes vacant, staring at the sky, a single thought crossing his mind: 'She's definitely S-tier.'

With A+ level physical abilities, the man's injuries would heal quickly, so Yuka wasn't concerned about him dying there. She walked over to the fallen knife and tapped it with her baseball bat, asking the butler, "Can this be absorbed?"

The butler replied softly, "It's of high purity. It can be absorbed."

The knife was made from the same high-grade metal as the butler, known for its exceptional properties in terms of ductility, hardness, rigidity, and toughness. This metal, named Oniyon, originally appeared as a black stone, extremely hard and only malleable under the psychic power of A-tier or higher. It could be elongated, softened, or even turned to liquid under such power.

This rare metal, a primary material for mechas, was strictly regulated by the Alliance government, with its trade strictly forbidden. Even in the black market, only occasionally would a small piece be auctioned at a high price.

Yuka was unaware of how her outlaw teacher, Nori, had acquired such a metal and used it in an AI— and she preferred not to know.

She extended her hand, enveloping the knife with her psychic power, turning it into a soft black clay. She then evenly spread this clay over the orb's surface, gradually hardening it to integrate it into the butler's form.

The man watched his beloved knife dissolve into nothingness, his heart sinking into despair. As Yuka approached him, he thought he might die right there.

The man closed his eyes in resignation, only to hear Yuka ask, "Didn't you say earlier that you could get me anything I wanted?"

His eyes snapped open.

"You," Yuka said, leaning over him with her hands on the baseball bat, "get me a spacecraft ticket to Capital Octoxis."

…

On planet K32, in a shabby store…

"I need a ticket," the man said.

The red-haired woman behind the counter, absorbed in her opticomputer, responded without looking up, "None available."

After a moment, her fingers paused because the voice sounded familiar. She looked up and recognized the local boss, known as "Snakehead."

"Oh, Snakehead sir!" she said, quickly standing and flashing a flattering smile. "What ticket would you like?"

The man, glancing back at the girl and touching his still-aching chest, said firmly, "First class."

"That's unfortunate," the red-haired woman said regretfully. "You know how it is at this hour. First and second-class seats are gone, and we only have two coach-class tickets left. Do you want them?"

Without a word from the girl behind him, the man decisively answered, "Yes."

The red-haired woman skimmed through a metal box at the cash register and eventually pulled out a blue ticket. She slid it across the counter towards the man, suggesting with a smile, "For others, I'd charge 50,000 astracredits, but for you, boss... how about 5,000 astracredits?"

Five thousand astracredits was double the original price.

The man remained silent.

Cursing inwardly, the woman maintained her smile, "Then, the original price? 2,500 astracredits, can't go lower than that."

The man took out his astracredit card, swiped it on the machine, and picked up the ticket from under the woman's fingers.

Her smile widened as she glanced over the man's shoulder and feigned surprise, "Who's this? Is this young lady the one going to Capital Octoxis?"

The man hesitated for a moment. 'Should I reveal how rich she is? The other tough-looking men in the store could be a help for me if they knew... and we can just…'

"Ma'am, ma'am," Yuka whimpered softly, "I'm so scared. I'm not worth five million astracredits..."

With her helmet on, her expression hidden, Yuka emotionlessly played her part. Adding a crying tone, she said, "Daddy said, sob, if this guy delivers me safely to Capital Octoxis, he'll transfer five million astracredits to him."

The red-haired woman's eyes shifted. Five million astracredits could secure a comfortable life on a pleasant planet.

The other desperados in the store turned their attention to Yuka and Snakehead.

Internally cursing, the man thought, 'Don't they know she just beat me up? How can she act so convincingly, an S-tier in physical strength, lying and crying like this?!'

Quickly, he ushered Yuka out of the store, handing her the ticket and begging in a low voice, "Please, ma'am, just go."

He didn't want to cause more trouble. He hadn't earned a single credit, had lost 2,500 astracredits and a knife, and now faced the risk of others scheming for the fictional five million astracredit bounty.

Yuka patted his shoulder as she walked away, "Snaky, be a better person from now on. I'm leaving."

He nodded and bowed, "Yes, yes, ma'am, as you command."

'Just go!' he thought desperately.

Yuka didn't bother to tease him and left with the ticket in hand.