Chapter 4: Barely Dodging a Bullet
Xia Na's gaze swept over the injured and perished humans, but no change manifested in her cold expression. She was like an ice immortal observing a group of worthless mortals from above.
Could we be late?
A flicker finally appeared in Xia Na's cold expression when her eyes took in the fallen spaceship's open hatch and the corpse belonging to a Vegroid beside it.
Right then, the doors of the other five military aeromobils opened, and five more individuals, also dressed in the all-black Earth Federation standard military uniform, stepped out one after the other. Three were men with authoritative auras. As for the remaining two, they were young women of impressive bearing and remarkable beauty.
After exiting the aeromobils, all six, including Xia Na, floated in the air and observed the fallen Vegroid ship with frowns. It was clear that they were all psionics of the rank-3 or higher since they could hover in the air. But for some reason, their expressions were not quite right, and they seemed unhappy about the situation they had found themselves in.
One burly man with a shiny bald head, an angular jaw, broad lips, and a physique similar to a tiger's finally turned his attention to Xia Na after a few seconds. His straight and uniform teeth shone under the glow of the setting sun as a smile outlined his face.
"Younger sister, Xia Na," he called out. "Have you discovered anything yet?"
Xia Na regarded him with a cold expression. "Zhong Jin! Your big bald head must be full of crap instead of brains. We arrived at the same time! Why are you asking if I discovered anything yet? And I already warned you not to call me younger sister this and younger sister that. Do you want to die?"
"Not this again, you two," a mature lady with black hair and a voluptuous figure said softly. She was Yu Ling, and she smiled before continuing. "Searching the ship and finding the ancient relic is our top priority. Let's not fight among ourselves…"
"Says the person who let the Vegroid ship escape!" One of the men, who went by the name Hector Malillos, scoffed. "We wouldn't be in all this mess if your subordinates had done their job properly and stopped the ship from entering the warp dimension. I have now experienced the horror of working with a pig-like teammate."
"Now, now..." Jean-Pierre LaHaye, a young man with a scholarly air, interrupted to calm the situation. "What older sister, Yu Ling, said is true. We're all leaders of units under the emblem of the mighty Flaming Phoenix. Let's not fight among ourselves and focus on searching the ship first."
"I concur with what Jean-Pierre and Yu Ling proposed," Michael Atieno, the third male member of the group, gave his verdict. "Crying over spilled milk at this moment is a pointless endeavor. Let's search the ship and get this over with. I have to return home soon to see my family."
"I also concur," Lisa Farnes, the other female and final member, said. "Let's not mess this up because of infighting. I don't wish to face the wrath of our bosses, especially today, on my birthday."
The others nodded and immediately got to work. They descended to the ground and started off by inspecting the Vegroid, who had fallen by the ship.
"This one must have survived the crash," Zhong Jin said. "But he perished before escaping far enough from the ship."
"True," Jean-Pierre agreed, his eyes shining with a silver star-like luster. "However, I don't sense the relic on him. Maybe he was a coward, intent on only saving himself."
The others nodded and circumvented the corpse belonging to the fallen Vegroid. Soon enough, they floated forward and entered the ship through the open hatch.
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They then separated and searched every inch of the alien ship, hoping to find the trace of what they were looking for. But even after searching for close to five minutes with their strong senses enhanced by their psionic energy, they still didn't discover anything that interested them. They couldn't find the relic they were talking about, even on the corpses of the three remaining Vegroids who had died while still on the ship.
"It's not here!" Xia Na stated with a frown after the six psionics regrouped outside the ship. "Could it have been on another ship?"
"That's impossible," Jean-Pierre LaHaye, the scholarly man with shining eyes, mumbled. "I sensed the aura of the relic on this particular ship. I'm sure about this."
Lisa Farnes, one of the female psionics in the group, creased her brows. "I have worked with little Jean-Pierre several times and grown to trust his sensory ability. If he really sensed the relic on this particular ship, then there can only be two reasons why it isn't here. One: The Vegroids could have fooled Jean-Pierre's perception with a disposable relic or artifact exuding a similar aura. Or two: Someone else could have arrived on the scene before us and taken the relic..."
"The second possibility is impossible!" Jean-Pierre shook his head. "We arrived within five minutes after the crash. Even if rank-4 psionic saints took action, they would still be nearby, and I would be able to sense the relic's aura on them. But even after spreading my perception for twenty miles around us, I still get nothing. Obviously, the relic isn't in the vicinity."
Xia Na frowned. "Then, why did you summon us to chase down this ship?"
"I sensed the relic on the ship..." Jean-Pierre said in a tone not so confident as before. "But as Lisa said, the Vegroids could have fooled my senses with another disposable artifact they later destroyed. We also can't rule out the possibility that someone with a unique stealth ability arrived before us and took the relic. I'm just not sure as there are quite a few possibilities..."
"Fuck this..." Hector Malillos, the other burly man on the team, cursed and glared at Jean-Pierre. "We spent all this time on a wild goose chase simply because of your incompetence. Have fun sorting all this out with the bosses yourself. I'm out of here..."
After saying that, the hot-tempered Hector didn't even bother to wait for a response from the others. His powerful legs pushed off the ground with immense power, and he shot off towards his aeromobil, still floating in the air. He boarded the vehicle, and soon enough, it shot off toward the skies with unparalleled momentum.
Xia Na watched the disappearing aeromobil for a stunned instant until something finally registered in her mind. "Shit!" She cursed. "That blockhead must be heading back to the ruins to search for the relic there."
"That may be true!" Zhong Jin said. "The blockhead often appears coarse and reckless. But in essence, he is as cunning as an old fox."
Yu Ling creased her brows. "We should go after him."
"I concur," Xia Na said as she heard the sirens growing louder and louder by the second. "Finding the relic is of utmost importance. We should delegate the duty of further investigating the ship to our people in Asia. Moreover, the police are about to arrive. Unless we wish to deal with their annoying bureaucratic procedures, we should leave before they arrive."
On hearing that the police were about to arrive, the others shuddered. They quickly 'made themselves scarce' from the scene by boarding their aeromobils that shot off into the skies. As for where they were heading, only they, themselves, knew.
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"Phew… They finally departed!"
Tang Mu watched the psionics of the special ops division depart and finally breathed out another sigh of relief. It was as if he had barely dodged a lethal bullet. His taut nerves relaxed since he didn't seem to have drawn the suspicion of the men in special uniform towards himself.
A few more minutes passed, and the emergency response units started arriving. They soon took over the crash site and started dealing with the aftermath created by the fallen Vegroid ship.
The police cordoned off the area while the emergency medics treated the wounded. There were also technical experts from the Special Counter-Alien Police Department who headed toward the fallen Vegroid ship to examine it. Everything moved smoothly, and the men in uniform quickly brought order back to the place while calming down the previously panicked survivors with expert professionalism.
Tang Mu watched it all as he received treatment from a male medic who seemed to be in his late twenties. The reality of the devastation left by the Vegroid ship renewed his determination to pass the Psionic Society's Assessment and become a psionic. He yearned to have the power to battle all those alien enemies, and only then would he be able to do justice to the memory of his late parents.
"Young fella!" The medic who was treating him called out to him. "You suffered only a minor cut on your hand. I have cleaned it and stopped the bleeding for you. Do you feel pain anywhere else?"
"Nope," Tang Mu answered.
"Good," the medic said and stood up. "You're free to go. Let me attend to the others."
"Thanks, Doctor," Tang Mu replied sincerely. He had already let go of his tension after realizing the police were not questioning the survivors. He said his goodbyes to the medic and resumed his journey toward his hostel.