**Chapter 20: A Series of Unfortunate Events**
**In orbit aboard the *Sulaco*...**
Screams and gunfire echoed through the halls of the military vessel.
A few hours ago, While Kris slammed against a reinforced door...
---
**Back in the Mess Hall**
"F*ck! Now my appetite is ruined. This old man's bitching about his boyfriend!" said one of the hooligans.
Jie, in the middle of his tirade, heard this and said, "Eat your food and shut your mouth, kid, or you'll have a bad day."
"F*ck! Who do you think you are? How dare you give us orders, old man? I recognize you. I know where you live. I can bring people to kill your whole family."
Xiaoyi, hearing this, thought, *Typical hooligans, always talking about killing your family and acting like they know everyone and their addresses. I should calm Jie down before this escalates.*
Before Xiaoyi could speak, Jie pulled out his Desert Eagle and pointed it at them. "Shut up. This is a bad day for me. Don't make me angrier than I am now, boy."
The teens panicked after seeing the gun. The rest of the newbies immediately moved away from them.
Then the hooligans started laughing. The one covered in piercings opened his jacket to show everyone he also had a gun. "What street are you from? Shit, at least get a Model 54 if you're getting an imitation. Desert Eagle? You think everyone can buy one easily? It's so obvious it's a fake."
When the teen was about to pull out his gun, Jie pulled the trigger without hesitation. A loud bang echoed as he shot the hand holding the gun, the power of the Desert Eagle easily punching a hole through it.
The teen was stunned, waving his hand in disbelief. But when the pain registered, he started screaming. The other two immediately hit the floor, realizing a real gun was pointed in their direction.
Then the other newbies started screaming as Xiaoyi went over to pick up the hooligan's gun. "Jie, this is an imitation, not the real thing."
"Well, shit!" Jie cursed, putting his gun away. "Lan, stop his bleeding with the hemostatic spray and then bandage him up. Oh, and just a reminder to you newbies—don't point a gun at me, or you won't like what happens."
---
**Slimy Old Man 1**: "Thank you for meeting with us, gentlemen. Why don't you sit down so we can discuss our offer?"
**Hooligan 1**: "Cut the crap, old man, just tell us what you want!"
**Slimy Old Man 2**: "Very well then. What my colleague means is that we want to hire you to kidnap that girl, Li Shuaixi."
**Hooligan 2**: "Huh?! What for? Is she your type or something, old man?"
**Slimy Old Man 1**: "No, you fool! Haven't you been listening to people around you? She's rich. She's a young mistress. We want to kidnap her to blackmail her into giving her wealth to us. And we'll pay you handsomely for it."
**Hooligan 3**: "You're the one who's not listening, old man. Haven't you heard that we're in a movie? What use would her wealth be when we leave?"
**Slimy Old Man 2**: "Oh, you poor, naive child. You believe that crap they feed us? What movie? What gods' dimension? This is all a scheme by that girl's company and a foreign government. They've figured out space travel and are profiting without anyone else knowing."
"We were getting close to discovering their secret, so they kidnapped us to make us disappear, you fool. My company was working on some of these super-secret contracts, and suddenly I'm here? Not just that, my co-conspirator is here too?!"
"How about you three? Seen something you shouldn't have? Beat up someone important lately?"
**Hooligan 1**: "Wow, old man, you're kinda delusional, but what you say makes more sense than that bastard Jie and his group, especially that lying bitch, Lan. We're in, old man—just make sure you pay up."
---
**Away Team – Terraforming Facility Outer Area**
As J Squad neared the site, the sun began to set, and the clouds darkened as if a storm was coming. Kris told Ferro to hurry.
They arrived just in time to see the lieutenant on a stretcher, carried by Ripley and the three remaining squad members, with Newt walking beside them.
Kris and the others helped them board the dropship. But as they were settling into the ship and about to leave, a thruster malfunctioned.
They were unaware that acidic blood from an earlier fight had melted one of the thrusters, rendering it incapable of producing enough lift to reach orbit and return to the mothership.
They attempted to contact the *Sulaco* for pickup, but the ionization buildup from the now-forming storm returned only static.
Kris informed them he could replace the thrusters but would need a suitable part from the previous facility.
**Hudson**: "Good. Let's do it. Take us away from here, Ferro, you heard the boss man."
**Ferro**: "Would love to, Hudson, but we can't risk further damage to the thrusters with all this added weight!"
However, with the carrier (APC) damaged, it couldn't get them there. Their only choice was to take the dropship and fly at a low altitude, but they had to lighten the load for that to work.
They quickly discarded all non-essential cargo and some weapons, dropping them on the spot to save time as Newt warned them that Xenomorphs typically emerged at night, so they doubled their efforts.
One non-essential item that never left the ship was Xuan's facehugger pair, safely hidden behind a nook.
As the sun was about to go down, everyone safely boarded the dropship. They were on their way, but halfway through, the storm began to pick up, making their already risky travel even more so.
Due to strong winds, Ferro had to fly lower than expected, dodging obstacles, which delayed their arrival at the south facility complex.
By the time they arrived, the storm was in full force, preventing Ferro from landing in the hangar due to limited visibility.
Kris asked Vasquez and Hudson to grab torches and assist Ferro with the landing.
They used thick ropes to deploy the two to the ground. Luckily, their fast-roping skills were sharp, and they landed safely.
---
**In orbit aboard the *Sulaco*...**
The hooligans, now armed with pulse rifles, cornered Li Shuaixi, who was on her way to meet up with Lan.
Unfortunately, the hooligans' timing was perfect because, at that moment, Zero, Kampa, and Jie were checking out the ship's armory due to a report from one of the newbies that he saw someone taking some of the pulse rifles.
On the way to the location where they planned to keep Li Shuaixi, they met Lan and Xiaoyi in the corridor.
Due to one of the hooligans panicking, they shot and hit Xiaoyi in the thigh and Lan in the shoulder.
Not wanting to be found out, they dragged Lan with them and dumped the heavily bleeding Xiaoyi in an empty room.
---
The same guy who reported to Jie and the others about the pulse rifles was also the one who stumbled upon Xiaoyi. He was on his way to flirt with Li Shuaixi when he saw the blood trails in the corridor leading to the bleeding high school kid.
Xiaoyi relayed the events to the guy, and without thinking twice, Mr. Nice Guy carried the high school kid to where Jie and the others were.
Panting, he met with the group. Xiaoyi had already lost a considerable amount of blood.
Kampa quickly applied the hemostatic spray Jie handed him and bandaged Xiaoyi's wound.
Mr. Nice Guy then told them what happened and what the high school kid had told him.
---
Jie, Kampa, and Zero went to look for the hooligans but only found one of them and cornered him near the ship's cargo hold. After a small firefight, the inexperienced hooligan was no match for the three. He was incapacitated by Zero when he shot him in the foot, causing him to tumble over, and was promptly grappled by Kampa.
After a bit of questioning, he spilled his guts and the three separated.
It turns out they were not as dumb as they looked and had separated the girls, taking them to different places.
Lan was taken as insurance and hidden in the engine bay to be detained.
Meanwhile, Li Shuaixi was taken to the slimy old men.
Zero went to save Lan, and Jie, accompanied by Kampa, went to confront the scheming old men.
---
When Zero located Lan, she had already passed out from blood loss, and the hooligan with piercings was in the process of removing her pants.
Zero broke the hooligan's nose and legs out of rage.
He then applied first aid to Lan.
---
The scene Jie and Kampa witnessed upon arrival was not pleasing at all.
Li Shuaixi was beaten badly, blood was leaking from her mouth, and her face was swollen, no doubt from the slaps she had been given.
Jie wasted no time and shot at the scums, kneecapping each one while Kampa rushed to secure the knocked-out girl.
---
The culprits were given first aid, hog-tied, and detained in the brig.
Meanwhile, Lan, Xiaoyi, and Li Shuaixi were taken to the ship's infirmary to recover from their ordeal. Thankfully, Zero, being a top-grade assassin, knew more than a little when it came to emergency aid. He applied swift and efficient treatment to stabilize them.
The ship's atmosphere was tense as everyone gathered to regroup. Jie, Kampa, and Zero shared a brief look, their minds racing with the consequences of what had just unfolded. The men behind the attack, now secured, were a significant threat, but for now, they were subdued.
Li Shuaixi, though still unconscious, was stable. Lan had regained some color, though her injuries were more severe. Xiaoyi, looking pale but still alive, managed a weak smile when he saw Jie and the others. His wound was healing, thanks to the quick action of his teammates, but the emotional toll of the ordeal was harder to erase.
"Get some rest, you've earned it," Kampa told the kid, his voice cold but steady.
Zero, on the other hand, couldn't shake the feeling that this was far from over. There were still answers to be found. What went into those men's heads? What would they have gained from this? And, more importantly, what did it all have to do with the growing mystery surrounding this new mission scenario?
As the ship's systems hummed quietly, Jie walked over to the brig where the detained men were kept. He checked the restraints, ensuring they were secure before turning to Kampa. "Stay sharp. We'll need to interrogate them once everyone's in better shape."
Kampa nodded, his eyes glinting with a mix of focus and resolve. "Understood. But let's get those answers quickly. This mission does not fit what you've told us before, and I'm sure everyone wants to know the reason behind all of this."