Chapter 135: Mysterious Reinforcements Descending From the Sky!

Chapter 135: Chapter 135: Mysterious Reinforcements Descending From the Sky!

The warship’s self-destruct mechanism required decryption to activate. Fortunately, Soros proved somewhat useful; it took him less than twenty minutes to successfully crack the code.

However, the self-destruct sequence itself needed time to initiate. While they waited, Ace unexpectedly began to show signs of waking up.

He immediately realized he was tied up and immobilized. Cautiously, he opened his eyes just a crack, peering through his lashes to observe Liang He and Soros’s movements. Their attention was entirely focused on waiting for the self-destruct sequence to start. During the earlier scuffle, Liang He had conveniently thrown Ace toward the control room door, putting him as far away from them as possible.

"Emergency notification. Enemy attack. Proceed to the control room immediately!"

"Emergency notification. Enemy attack. Proceed to the control room immediately!"

"Emergency notification..."

The endless loop of the enemy attack warning made Liang He frown deeply. They had probably delayed too long; the people she had knocked out earlier were likely almost all awake by now.

"Liang He, one minute left!" Soros looked back at her, nervous yet excited, clearly fishing for a compliment.

Even in such a life-threatening situation where everything could easily go south, he trusted Liang He implicitly and was willing to risk his life alongside her—something he had never expected of himself. But when he got a clear look at the scene behind her, his smile rapidly froze, and he subconsciously gulped.

"Liang He, Soros, you two sure are something else!"

Ace had been untied the moment his subordinates arrived. Unaware that Valken and the others had already been dealt with, he glared at Liang He with a dark expression. "Since you refuse to appreciate my kindness, don’t blame me for getting rough!"

At his command, Ace’s men swarmed forward. Compared to Valken’s measly dozen or two, there were many times more people here.

However, Liang He did not panic in the slightest. A smile played at the corners of her mouth, and she offered a rare, pleasant expression to Ace and the rest of the Rebel Army.

"Ace, I have a grand gift prepared just for you."

Before Ace could react, the one minute she had been silently counting down in her head ended. At the exact moment the self-destruct sequence successfully engaged, Liang He grabbed the emergency hammer she had prepared in advance and swung it casually. The cockpit glass shattered instantly.

"Liang He?!"

Under Ace’s horrified gaze, Liang He grabbed Soros by the collar, sprinted out of the warship, and plummeted rapidly.

Liang He’s face was turned toward the sky. With her messy, fluttering hair framing her delicate features... if the timing hadn’t been so inappropriate, and if the eyesore that was Soros wasn’t present, the scene would undeniably have been quite beautiful.

"Human fireworks. I hope you enjoy them."

Her devilish whisper was carried away by the howling wind. It blew her gorgeous hair into a mess but could not shake her firm, piercing gaze, nor could it disperse her profound disgust for the Rebel Army’s atrocious deeds.

Reading Liang He’s lips, Ace turned to look back at the activated self-destruct sequence. He cursed through gritted teeth and then leaped out after them.

BOOM!

The moment Ace jumped out of the warship, the self-destruct device successfully detonated. With a deafening boom, the warship lit up the entire sky in the most dazzling display imaginable.

"AHHHH!"

Soros had been so terrified by Liang He that he could do nothing but cling tightly to her arm. Aside from screaming wildly, he was completely incapable of figuring out how to land safely. He felt that he was going to be smashed into a bloody pulp very soon.

So, was Liang He’s supposed plan actually just to use him as a meat shield? Boo-hoo...

SCREECH!

Just as Soros fell into despair, a deep blue silhouette suddenly flew toward them at absolute top speed, catching Liang He in an instant. It was only when Liang He was seated securely on the back of the Canglan Hunting Eagle that she realized Soros, who was still tightly gripping her arm, was dangling in mid-air.

"Huh? Why didn’t you get on?"

"..."

Was it that he didn’t *want* to get on? It was obviously because the Canglan Hunting Eagle completely ignored him! Or, more accurately, he had been treated as empty air, plain and simple.

"Alright, stop looking so pathetic. I’ll pull you up."

After Liang He finally hoisted Soros onto the Canglan Hunting Eagle’s back, he was at last able to breathe a sigh of relief. He looked as if he had just been fished out of the water, completely drenched in cold sweat.

"Isn’t he the Com—Canglan Hunting Eagle? How did he end up here?"

Having almost slipped up and blurted out the word "Commander," Soros glanced guiltily at the back of the Canglan Hunting Eagle’s head, then pretended nothing was wrong as he checked out the surrounding scenery.

"Well, that story starts from when you helped the Rebel Army and tried to kidnap me."

Liang He’s inscrutable gaze made Soros, who was already shivering in the chilly wind, shudder to the bone. He flashed her a fawning, ingratiating smile.

"I genuinely didn’t know they were the Rebel Army at the time. If I had known, I never would have agreed to it."

But honestly, once he realized how important Liang He was, he had already started regretting taking the job. After all, besides a group like the Rebel Army, no normal person would ever think of orchestrating a kidnapping.

"Besides, I listened to you and played along to trick the Rebel Army..."

That was true. From the very moment of Soros’s so-called kidnapping of Liang He, they had been putting on an act.

Rewinding the clock to when Hoder was completely unable to stop Liang He’s plan, Soros had delivered himself right to their door. Realizing his identity and his motive for approaching Liang He, Hoder immediately discussed it with her, and they changed their strategy. After all, compared to her serving herself up on a silver platter, having Soros take Liang He hostage and board the warship was far more logical and much less likely to arouse suspicion.

"That’s only because Hoder has dirt on you."

Liang He ruthlessly and coldly exposed Soros. She had no idea what secret Hoder knew about him, but as long as it worked, that was all that mattered.

At Liang He’s reminder, Soros’s pale face—which had yet to recover from the shock—instantly turned a sickly, miserable green. What was he going to do? He didn’t even dare go home now. Getting beaten up would be a minor issue; what if...

"Um... Liang He, can we discuss something?"

"What is it?"

Now that everything was out in the open, Soros no longer needed to approach Liang He with ulterior motives, and Liang He no longer had to give him the cold shoulder. Moreover, judging by Hoder’s attitude, letting Soros assist her with such a crucial task indicated that he was very likely on their side, or at least trustworthy.

"When you head back to Sky Shining Star, could you bring me along?"

Burying his head in the sand and hiding out for as long as he could—that was Soros’s survival strategy.

"You aren’t plotting something against my fluffies, are you?"

The moment her furry companions were brought up, Liang He immediately went on high alert. She stared at Soros with a hostile expression. If he showed even the slightest hint of malicious intent, she wouldn’t hesitate to kick him right off the bird.

"No, no!" Sensing the danger, Soros hurriedly waved his hands in denial. "I... I just want to use your territory to lay low for a bit."

Hearing this, Liang He recalled what Hoder had said when making Soros help them; he had seemed to mention Soros’s family. Could it be that Soros’s family was terrifying and beat him at the drop of a hat? Then again, giving a brat like Soros a good beating wasn’t such a bad idea; otherwise, he’d never learn his lesson.

SCREECH!

Liang He’s thoughts drifted further and further away, completely ignoring Soros’s pleading gaze. It wasn’t until the Canglan Hunting Eagle suddenly let out a piercing cry that she snapped back to reality.

Meanwhile, upon hearing the warship’s violent explosion, Hoder had just released the Mengji Snow Leopard and the others. Before he knew it, they had vanished from sight, leaving only the sound of continuous, echoing roars.

Beside him, the soldiers of the Federation Army suddenly let out gasps of shock.

"Oh my god! That pack is..."