Although reluctant, Yun Ge had no other choice but to comply with the current situation. Thus, before being taken away by the crew members, he cast one last angry glance at Captain Tim and Grace. It was this resentful look at Grace that allowed him to catch a subtle, yet familiar gaze she sent his way as she turned to leave with Captain Tim and the others.

The brief second their eyes met was enough to evoke a flood of fond memories for Yun Ge. The look in Grace's eyes was intimately familiar, a tender affection that she reserved solely for him.

Perhaps this was the unique, empathetic connection between lovers. Upon seeing the original luster in Grace's eyes, Yun Ge instantly realized that she seemed to be using this emotionally charged gaze to bid a reluctant farewell to her beloved and to urge him to leave as soon as possible.

Yun Ge didn't know why he felt this way the moment he locked eyes with Grace, but the calmer side of him reminded him to follow the message she had conveyed. Without hesitation, he averted his gaze, turned on his heel, and strode swiftly out of the propulsion compartment.

As soon as Yun Ge and the four crew members escorting him stepped out of the propulsion compartment, they heard Captain Tim's sudden, terrified shout: "Grace! What are you doing?! No! Danger! Find cover!"

Captain Tim's cry was abrupt, but the crew members, already on high alert, recognized the urgency in his voice. Two of the crew members assigned to escort Yun Ge immediately realized something was amiss and sought to return to the propulsion compartment for support. However, as soon as they entered, a violent explosion occurred within the compartment. The resulting shockwave hurled the two crew members out, while Yun Ge and the other two, standing outside, were also knocked to the ground by the powerful blast.

"Cough, cough, cough! Calling for backup! Calling for backup! There's been a massive explosion in propulsion compartment three! Send more people to put out the fire!" The two crew members who had been guarding Yun Ge had remained outside, so the explosion's shockwave had not inflicted severe damage on them. One of them quickly regained consciousness and used his communication device to call for assistance.

"No good! The captain's still in there! Save the captain!" After receiving a response from the command center, the crew member turned to the other, who was also struggling to his feet, and said urgently. Then, they charged into the thick smoke billowing from the propulsion compartment.

The sudden incident caused chaos on the scene. The crew members who had just left and were now rushing back focused on rescuing the captain and the others, temporarily neglecting Yun Ge. Yun Ge, who had been knocked down but not injured by the blast, lay on the ground, feigning unconsciousness. Once the first wave of backup crew members concentrated on the fire in the propulsion room, he quietly got up, using the smoke that had spread through the ship's passageways as cover, and sprinted towards the emergency escape area.

As Yun Ge ran towards the emergency escape area, preparing to seize the chaos to flee on a life pod, he continuously wiped away the tears streaming down his face. He knew his earlier judgment had been correct—Grace had been trying to convey a message through her gaze as she turned to leave. It was Grace who had detonated the equipment in the propulsion compartment, creating an opportunity for him to escape.

Yun Ge's heart was extremely heavy. He wanted to turn back and fight the crew members controlled by the virus X to the death. But he couldn't afford to waste the chance Grace had bought for him with her life! With that thought, Yun Ge wiped away his tears once more, gritted his teeth, and quickened his pace.

"Grace, your sacrifice will not be in vain! I swear, I will find a way to come back and completely eliminate these despicable viruses!" Yun Ge vowed silently to himself, a fierce determination evident on his face. Now, he cared little for any crew member on this ship; henceforth, anyone who dared to stand in his way would be mercilessly dealt with.

Thanks to the chaos within the ship, Yun Ge quickly arrived at the emergency escape area unimpeded. Since he and Grace had prepared their escape here beforehand, Yun Ge headed straight for the life pod parked on the runway. He jumped into the cockpit, preparing to launch the pod and escape from the Express Vanguard through the emergency ejection window. However, to his surprise, he found that the control panel of the life pod had been damaged, and its internal circuitry system had been deliberately sabotaged. The pod was now inoperable!

Yun Ge frantically inspected the damage to the pod and, while attempting to force-start the life pod, felt a sense of dread. He distinctly remembered that when he and Grace had checked this pod earlier, the control panel had been intact. Who could have sabotaged the pod's operating system after he left? This was bad! His escape plan must have been exposed!

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Before Yun Ge could react and leave the pod to check other life pods, two guns suddenly appear on either side of his head, pressing him back into his seat: "Don't move! Hands up!"

With no choice, Yun Ge raised his hands to show he intended no harm and casually said, "Don't! Don't shoot! I'm not armed! The ship's propulsion system just exploded, and I rushed over here to check the life pod, so we can evacuate the ship in case of a serious accident."

One of the crew members pointing a gun at Yun Ge's right temple snorted coldly, "Humph! So you're quite clever, aren't you? Pity your cleverness is misplaced! Otherwise, we wouldn't have been lying in wait here for you to take the bait!"

Hearing this, Yun Ge's heart sank. The crew member's words implied that they had known about his plan to escape in a life pod. Nevertheless, he still feigned ignorance: "Hey, what do you mean? I don't understand. I'm the flight operator of the Express Vanguard! Why would you be waiting here for me to take the bait? I think there must be some misunderstanding!"

"Humph! Misunderstanding? Fine! Even if it's just a misunderstanding, you'll have to sit here for now! Wait for Captain Tim to decide everything when he arrives!" The crew member said, then picked up his communicator.

He quickly reported the situation to the other end of the communicator and exchanged hushed words with them for a while before relaxing his brows and saying, "We'll be right there."

Without waiting for Yun Ge to react, the crew member put down the communicator, aimed his gun at Yun Ge's right thigh, and fired. A searing sensation immediately pierced Yun Ge's thigh muscle, swiftly turning into unbearable pain that caused him to cry out and tremble violently. But that wasn't the end—before Yun Ge could catch his breath to combat the pain from his thigh, his left temple was struck by the butt of the gun. Yun Ge grunted, then collapsed onto the pilot's seat, unconscious.

When Yun Ge awoke again, he found himself lying on a large operating table, with Captain Tim standing beside him, regarding him with a sinister grin. Yun Ge saw that half of Captain Tim's face was covered in lacerations, and his skin clearly bore marks of having been scorched by high temperatures. However, judging from Captain Tim's composed demeanor, these injuries were not as severe as they appeared. Yet, against the backdrop of his blackened face and the extensive wounds, his smile seemed even more terrifying.

Startled by Captain Tim's gruesome appearance, Yun Ge immediately struggled to get up and away from the unsettling visage looming over him. But upon struggling, he realized his limbs were tightly secured to the operating table, rendering him completely immobilized.

"Hehehe! Stop struggling! You're not going anywhere now!" Captain Tim brought his damaged face close to Yun Ge and spoke in a chilling tone. At the same time, he pressed down hard on the gunshot wound in Yun Ge's right thigh, causing Yun Ge to cry out in pain.

"Hehehe! This is just the beginning! You're screaming so loudly already? I suggest you get used to this pain, because much greater agony awaits you! Hahaha!" Yun Ge's agonized wails only excited Captain Tim more. He inserted a finger into Yun Ge's wound and, in a grotesquely delighted voice, laughed maniacally.

After tormenting Yun Ge for a while, Captain Tim withdrew his bloodied finger with a satisfied smirk. He then placed the finger, now coated in Yun Ge's blood, into his mouth and savored it before exclaiming, "Ah! Fresh blood is indeed sweeter! Today, we are fortunate to enjoy the ultimate freshness in our food!"

Captain Tim then signaled to several crew members dressed in chef's attire in the room, and they began preparing various tools for processing ingredients.

"What... what are you going to do?!" Yun Ge immediately asked, a terrible suspicion forming in his mind.

"Relax, we just want to conduct a comprehensive physical examination on you to study why you haven't been controlled by us. However, uh, hehehe, our research methods might be different from what you Vis people imagine!" Captain Tim replied. Without giving Yun Ge a chance to react, he plunged a meat-cutting knife into the wound on Yun Ge's thigh and deftly carved out the entire piece of meat that had been shot, causing Yun Ge to emit a pig-like scream of agony.

Ignoring Yun Ge's screams, Captain Tim placed the small piece of meat on a cutting board brought over by one of the chefs and said, "Hey! Hold on a moment! I'm just helping you remove the tissue charred by the ray gun!"

Then, he addressed the chef, "Remember to cut it into small pieces so everyone can sample the taste of freshly grilled human meat."

The chef nodded and, with exquisite knife skills, transformed the half-burnt, half-bloody thigh meat into dozens of nearly transparent slices, arranging them into a garland on a plate. Captain Tim, pleased with the chef's exquisite presentation, nodded in approval and said, "Yes, not bad! Although we are merely conducting scientific research, the proper ceremonial feeling cannot be lacking."

With those words, Captain Tim picked up a slice and savored it slowly. However, after just a few chews, he frowned and gestured for the other chefs present to taste the meat as well. They each took a slice, and soon, they too frowned in unison.

"Hmm—, thanks to Yun Ge's good health, the meat freshly cut from his body is indeed fragrant and delicious. However, such fresh ingredients are better suited for raw consumption after minimal processing, to better appreciate the rich texture and layered flavors of the meat. Moreover, this piece of meat is not as tender as expected; it has a somewhat rigid texture and a very distinct sour bitterness. This is likely due to Yun Ge's high mental stress and physical discomfort when I cut the meat, causing his body to tense up and secrete a large amount of acidic hormones." One of the chefs analyzed after tasting a slice.