142: Threats from creditors

The sounds of gunfire, explosions, and Reno's resolute roar struck Chen Feng's nerves like a red-hot iron hammer.

He was forcibly dragged back to reality from that brief mental blankness caused by extreme shock.

The resolute silhouettes of Reno and those two soldiers had already vanished into the crisscrossing flames below.

"No..." Chen Feng's Adam's apple bobbed as he let out a dry syllable.

But he had no time for grief, nor even time to feel the heart-wrenching pain.

Reno had traded his life for this opportunity; he couldn't waste even a tenth of a second.

Bloodshot veins instantly filled Chen Feng's eyes. He snapped his head down and opened the data pad Reno had shoved into his hands. Su Li's 3D structural diagram of the D-7 Port Area's External Energy Regulator immediately popped up before his eyes, with every fragile node highlighted in blood-red.

"Buzz— Buzz—"

The communicator on his wrist vibrated violently again. "quick hand" Fili's panicked voice pierced his ears like a sharp needle.

"I see the fighting starting down there! Do you hear me, you lunatic?! The deal is off! I've already started the engines; I'm leaving right now!"

The roar of the starship's engines starting up was still clearly audible despite the distance.

"If you dare leave," Chen Feng's gaze turned cold, all his emotions compressed into a block of ice. He growled into the communicator in a tone devoid of any emotion, yet enough to make any outlaw's skin crawl, "I'll detonate the 'insurance' installed in your engine."

On the other end of the line, Fili's voice stopped abruptly.

"You... what did you say?"

"Did you think I spent two million just to buy your ship and your life?" There was a hint of cruel mockery in Chen Feng's voice. "Guess which is faster: your ship's flight speed or my detonation signal?"

He hadn't installed any bomb at all.

This was simply a cold-blooded psychological gambit based on "quick hand" Fili's greedy and cowardly nature.

Fili didn't dare to gamble. He fell silent.

Chen Feng ignored him. He scooped up Eve, who was still shivering in the corner, and used a spare zip-tie to secure her firmly to his back.

"Hold on tight!"

He let out a low growl, holding a Pulse Pistol in one hand while grabbing a thick maintenance cable on the exterior wall with the other, sliding down the cold metal surface like a gecko.

Eve's weight, combined with his own equipment, dragged him down like a massive boulder. The muscles in his arm were instantly stretched to their limit, pulsing with a tearing pain.

"Fili! Listen!" Chen Feng roared into the communicator while sliding down at high speed. "I'm going to blow up Energy Regulator No. 3! Once successful, all the port's defense systems will be paralyzed for at least three minutes! I want you at the port gates within those three minutes!"

"But that's where the fighting is most intense!" Fili's voice sounded like he was on the verge of tears.

"Then turn on your shields and charge in!" Chen Feng interrupted him ruthlessly. "Don't forget, your 'insurance' is still in my hands!"

Thud!

His feet landed on a small, completely exposed external platform. This was exactly the location of Energy Regulator No. 3 marked on the diagram.

A massive, humming metal box was encased in a simple defensive power grid.

He quickly placed Eve in the innermost corner of the platform and took a rapid glance at the structural diagram.

The only weak point was the cooling fan at the top. There was no power grid protection there.

"Hey! You two over there!"

Below, two Port Guards attracted by the sound of explosions spotted him and raised their guns to fire without hesitation.

"Damn it!"

Chen Feng cursed, immediately using the regulator as cover and leaning out to return fire with precision.

Pulse beams crisscrossed. One guard fell to the ground. However, a stray bullet from the other guard grazed Chen Feng's gun-wielding arm, leaving a searing trail of blood.

"Thirty seconds left!" Fili screamed over the comms. "My scans show that Hecate's patrol is flanking your position!"

Gritting his teeth against the suppressing fire of the last guard, Chen Feng pulled out his final pack of High-Energy Explosives from his waist.

Timing it perfectly, he lunged forward, pressing the explosives firmly onto the base of the cooling fan and quickly setting a 30-second countdown on the detonator.

"Fili!" Chen Feng issued a final ultimatum into the communicator. "See you at the port gates in 30 seconds, or we die together!"

Having said that, he ignored any further response from Fili, hoisted Eve onto his back, and leaped off the other side of the platform amidst the rapid ticking of the countdown.

He grabbed onto a cargo transport rail below, his body swinging like a pendulum at high speed toward the port gates.

BOOM—!!!

A massive explosion soared into the sky behind him.

Dazzling blue electric arcs, like wild dragons, instantly swept through the entire D-7 Port Area. All automatic turrets went silent, and the energy barriers flickered twice before completely dissipating.

Below, the pressure from the gunfire of Reno's charge suddenly diminished.

But that brilliant explosion also acted like a beacon in the night, completely exposing Chen Feng and Eve's position to the most terrifying hunter who had been hiding in the shadows.

Worse still, Fili's voice came through the communicator, sounding more desperate than ever before.

"It's too late! Chen Feng! Hecate's fleet has blockaded the exit! We're surrounded! We're completely surrounded!"