Encounter

As the door swung open, Tychus was the first to lunge forward, not even getting a chance to see who the intruders were. Two powerful arms were already reaching out for a bear hug.

But he found himself lunging at thin air.

A shadow, swift as the wind, darted past him towards Nava behind the desk. Following the shadow was another figure clad in fiery red, effortlessly evading the embrace. The third figure, however, couldn't escape Tychus's strong arms and collided with him head-on. Tychus, like being struck by a boulder, stumbled backward, and with his retreat came the entrance of a massive figure.

Simultaneously, the first shadow to enter had already reached Nava, claws extended to strike her throat. The claws shimmered with sharp light, seemingly about to pierce Nava's windpipe, when she suddenly cried out, "Francis!"

The shadow froze, and Nava reverted to her original appearance from the commander's face.

Seizing the opportunity, Reno rushed forward, using his telekinetic powers to push the shadow away, revealing a familiar, sinister visage.

He stood still in disbelief. "How could it be you?"

The shadow before him was none other than Francis, the werewolf Reno had encountered at the Edward Hospital.

Not far off, the fiery figure was none other than the batwoman, Stephanie, while the one entangled with Tychus was the bear-man, Belboga. Behind them, the pretty female secretary lay unconscious on the ground, with two guards and mechanical sentries fallen nearby.

"Damn!" The werewolf snarled, baring his teeth. "What are you doing here? Belboga, stop, that's Tychus!"

"I know." Belboga growled lowly. "I wanted to test him ever since the hospital."

With a powerful effort, he lifted Tychus and, as if tossing a stone, flung him outside. Tychus crashed against the wall and tumbled down. Satisfaction gleamed on Belboga's face. "When it comes to strength, you're no match for me."

Tychus got up nonchalantly, muscles hardening like rocks. "Let's give it another try then!"

"Enough! This is not a battleground. Creating too much commotion here won't let anyone leave. I mean... it seems like you weren't invited either." Reno gestured outside.

"Nice to see you again, handsome. I knew we would meet again. Look, you're barely here and already making an appearance." Stephanie twirled in the air, giggling. "Don't worry about the noise. Besides this office, there's no one else around here who's still conscious."

"That's nothing to be proud of. This is a military base, not a place for you to show off." Reno said coldly. "What are you doing here? Assassinating the commander of the Tianhe Fleet? If so, let me help you with that."

"Don't try to fool me. I haven't seen any bodies, just a fake commander." Francis snorted. "Besides, we're not here to kill."

"Francis!" The batwoman scolded, and the werewolf immediately fell silent.

It was evident that among the trio, the batwoman held the most authority.

Nevertheless, Reno's eyes lit up. "Not here to kill? Then why?"

"That's none of your concern." Belboga stepped forward. "What brings you here?"

"To echo your words, it's none of your concern." Tychus stepped up.

"What? Want a fight?" Belboga glared.

"We outnumber you." Tychus replied arrogantly.

"Forget it. Except for you and Reno, the others are no match for any of us here." Belboga sneered.

"Hey, big dumb bear, don't underestimate us." Nora's voice came from behind Belboga, a dagger already pressed against his back.

But Belboga remained unfazed. "Want to try? We didn't come with just three."

"Enough!" Reno intervened. "We're not enemies. We weren't at the Edward Hospital, and we shouldn't be here either. You have your goals, we have ours. Let's mind our own business, shall we?"

Stephanie's eyes flickered, and she didn't want to make strong enemies in this situation either. She smiled, "Sure, same as always, each to their own, no one disturbs anyone else."

"Of course, I have no objections." Reno took a few steps back, and others followed suit, leaving the office together.

Francis approached. "Why didn't we just capture them? They can't be here for no reason. If their purpose is the same as ours, it'll cause trouble."

"Don't worry, my little puppy." Stephanie giggled. "Dealing with them doesn't necessarily require our personal involvement. We need to learn to use our brains."

"...I said, don't call me 'little puppy'." Francis growled angrily.

"But I like it."

Stephanie chuckled as she approached the terminal.

The terminal was shut down, inaccessible without the access code. Even top-tier hackers would struggle to crack such a system with top-notch defense.

But Stephanie just smiled. With a flick of her hand, she pulled out a person from the nearby wardrobe, the commander himself.

Looking at the commander, Stephanie's eyes gleamed blood-red.

Then, she sank her teeth into him. The commander convulsed desperately, and after a moment, he stopped moving.

Stephanie tilted her snow-white neck upward, emitting a deeply contented moan, as if savoring something, yet her face displayed a mixture of pain and pleasure.

After a while, she stopped and looked at the terminal again, her expression returning to coldness.

Enter the access code.

The previous scenes flashed vividly before her eyes.

Watching the busy dock, Stephanie's face lit up with a smug smile.

With a light tap of her fingers, she said, "We've got them."

Meanwhile, Reno and the others had boarded a transport vehicle and were swiftly heading towards the dock.

" They wouldn't just appear here for no reason. Maybe they're also headed for Tianhe IV," Tychus remarked as they walked.

"It's not maybe, it's definite," Reno replied. "The universe is vast, and meeting again in such a short time is not a coincidence that can be explained. The only reason is that we all have the same goal."

"But how did they know about Tianhe IV?" Claire puzzled.

"I guess they're also wondering how we knew. Everyone has their sources of information, and not everything is exclusive knowledge. The Biohumans also wield the power of the relics; they have enough reason to care about them. Maybe they knew about this place back at the Edward Hospital... After all, they spent more time there than you did, right?" Reno answered.

"Marsha, did you hear anything?" Nava asked.

Marsha rolled her eyes impatiently. "Do you think those three guys, upon suddenly encountering us, are thinking about how to deal with opponents, or are they reminiscing about how they found out about Tianhe IV's base relic? And they even know about my abilities."

Nava shrugged. "Okay, I admit I asked a dumb question."

Reno urged, "Time is running out. Stephanie and her crew are making too much noise; we need to leave quickly."

"Leave it to me." Wang Yile grinned. A radiant energy emanated from his hand as the transport vehicle hummed to life, speeding through the wide base hall like a race car, heading straight for Dock Seven.

Three minutes later, the transport vehicle came to a halt at Dock Seven like a speeding yacht, drawing the attention of countless soldiers.

A captain quickly approached Nava and saluted. "Report, Commander, all cargo loaded!"

Nava jumped off the vehicle. "Everyone disembark the transport ship, all auxiliary positions to be automated. Notify the port to clear for immediate departure!"

"What?" The captain was taken aback.

"Execute the order!"

"Yes!" The captain dared not disobey and could only answer loudly, while simultaneously speaking into the intercom.

Soon, soldiers began to disembark from the ship.

Though filled with doubt, the soldiers' discipline required them not to easily disobey their superiors' orders.

Nava and Reno headed towards the transport ship.

To be honest, this order was too outrageous and posed great risks. As long as one soldier questioned it, it could lead to big trouble. Nava could only hope that the commander's authority would temporarily keep them in check. As long as they could leave the dock, there would be nothing to worry about.

Just then, alarms blared in the distance.

A voice echoed throughout the base: "Alert, alert, intruders detected, intruders detected! Impersonators of the commander have entered Dock Seven. All soldiers intercept immediately, intercept immediately!"

"Stephanie!" Nava murmured, her lips barely forming the word, and it was Stephanie's voice.

"Run!" Reno shouted.

Everyone raced towards the transport ship, gunfire erupting behind them.