Fated to Die to the Player, I'll Live Freely with My SSS-Class Ship!-Chapter 42: Filthy Escape
"...I think they’re gone."
I hadn’t closely monitored the passage of time, but approximately thirty minutes must have elapsed since the explosion and collapse. The sensors I had placed outside were not picking up any nearby heat signatures, indicating that they had most likely taken the bait and departed.
Really, It was lucky for us to find raw gunpowder lying around. If not for that, then no matter how much dust we scatter, it wouldn’t cause the entire warehouse to collapse. It just doesn’t have enough firepower to do so.
"Finally!" Eva groaned. "My leg’s starting to go numb. Any longer, and it would’ve been unbearable!"
"Alright, I’ll shift a bit, so excuse me—!"
"UFF! GECH YUR FEET OFF HY FESH!!! (GET YOUR FEET OFF MY FACE!!!)"
"H-Hey! Don’t push—! URK!"
"Fucking clumsy bastard! Stay put! I’ll open up the path myself!"
Right now, we were crammed inside a small hole we’d hastily dug—burning through the floor using our blasters. Since we didn’t have much time, we could only expand it just enough to squeeze the three of us inside. As a result, our limbs were tangled awkwardly, making even the slightest movement a struggle.
Eva shifted, and in the process, her leg bent my knee at an uncomfortable angle. It hurt, sure, but more than that, the position was just plain embarrassing—like a dog marking its territory!
"Don’t block my path...!" Eva growled before throwing a powerful punch upwards.
Despite the limited space, she swung her fist and managed to generate enough force to blast through the obstruction above us with a loud boom.
The pile of debris that had been pressing down on our makeshift metal plate roof was sent flying in a grand explosion, clearing our exit in one strike.
"As expected of our gorilla! Very impressive!" I muttered under my breath, ensuring she couldn’t hear.
Unfortunately, Eva glared at me the very next second. "What did you just say?"
"N-Nothing!" Her hearing’s crazy sharp! "I said we should hurry up and get out of here. Our little patient isn’t exactly comfortable down here."
Princess Cassandra was still unconscious, likely due to some kind of potent sedative. If it were just plain chloroform, she would’ve woken up by now. But since we had no idea what drug they’d used, we couldn’t even begin to figure out how to counteract it.
Eva was the first to climb out of the hole, scanning the surroundings before reporting back. "No signs of life. From the looks of it, they must’ve left in a hurry—all the corpses are still scattered around."
"Good," I nodded. "Then let’s proceed as planned."
With Eva’s help, I carefully lifted Cassandra out of the hole before climbing out myself. The air hit me immediately—a sickening mix of dust, smoke, and the unmistakable stench of burnt flesh. It was nothing like the smell of roasted meat—it had a repulsive, oily quality that clung to my senses, making me gag.
Without hesitation, I activated the air filters in my suit. A few deep breaths later, I finally cleared my system and regained my composure.
"Let’s move," I said, making a conscious effort not to look at the charred bodies half-buried in the rubble.
Eva seemed to be of the same mindset. Neither of us spoke as we stepped past the remains of our trap and exited the now-destroyed warehouse.
"It should be here somewhere..." I muttered while scanning the area. After a moment, my eyes landed on our next objective. "Ah, there it is!"
To the right, a circular manhole cover was in plain sight.
Moving aboveground was too risky. The city streets were littered with surveillance cameras, making it nearly impossible to avoid detection. But underground? That was a different story.
"Eva," I called out as she lifted the heavy cover and moved it aside. "We’re heading toward the space elevator through the underground sewers as planned. I’m counting on you for—you know what."
"I know," she said impatiently. "Now hurry up and get in before someone spots us."
With her help, I descended first, carefully positioning myself before she lowered Cassandra down. Once I had her securely in my arms, Eva stayed aboveground and closed the manhole cover back into place, sealing the path behind us.
If all went according to plan, she’d be erasing our tracks before she moved. But still... I’m worried.
"Well, I guess I’ll just trust that she won’t mess up."
If she failed, our pursuers would easily track us down prematurely. There were only so many exits down here, and if we were cornered, we wouldn’t have many options left. Stealth was our only chance.
I adjusted Cassandra on my back, taking a deep breath.
"For now, we need to be careful, wait, and stay patient..."
---
Manholes usually had access paths along the sides, built so maintenance workers wouldn’t have to wade through "dirty water" just to do their jobs.
"From this point... To the left?"
The problem, however, was that the access path was only ever on the right side of the concrete tunnels. Meaning, that if I had to go left, I had no choice but to wade through the sewer itself.
Jumping to the other side was out of the question. This planet, Baltheves-402, had twelve times Earth’s gravity, and I was carrying another person on my back. No way in hell was I making that leap without shattering my knees even with the spacesuit on.
So, I braced myself... and waded through.
From the abandoned warehouse to the space elevator, the underground route spanned over twenty kilometers. After three grueling hours of nonstop marching, we were finally on the last leg of our journey—just one kilometer away from the destination in a straight line.
We were still on schedule, but the problem was, I couldn’t just climb out of the sewers. Not only was I carrying someone, but we also had no way of knowing if anyone was waiting aboveground.
For now, we just had to wait for Eva to make contact—but there was no way she could have finished her task so quickly.
"Still, looking at the air composition down here, I’m lucky my suit has an extra oxygen mask."
My visor displayed dangerously high methane concentrations, meaning the air had been stagnant for far too long. If it weren’t for our masks supplying fresh oxygen, Cassandra and I would have been in grave danger by now.
But unfortunately, the mask I gave her had a limited air supply. At best, it could provide two hours’ worth of oxygen. Thanks to her being unconscious, her consumption rate was lower than normal, but still—her time was running out.
’If Eva doesn’t show up soon, I’ll be forced to resurface for air.’
Just as my worries were mounting, a metallic clang echoed through the tunnels. It was the unmistakable sound of thick, heavy boots striking the metal access paths—someone jumping down from quite a height. My head snapped toward the source, about five hundred meters behind us.
Then, I saw it. A faint beam of light cutting through the darkness.
’No, that’s...!’
Realization struck me like a hammer. I turned tail and bolted forward, moving as fast as I could without caring about the noise I made. The sound of my spacesuit’s boots slamming against the metal pathways echoed loudly—so loud that it had to be audible even from aboveground.
"Suspicious figures located!"
"Team S-44! Take aim!"
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fгeewebnovёl.co𝙢.
"Neutralize the target! Fire—!"
Voices barked orders behind me after multiple thuds echoed. Their gruff tones were unfamiliar, but their intent was painfully clear. I didn’t even need to see them to know who they were.
’Shit! Pursuers are already on us?!’
But that wasn’t the only problem.
I had no doubt they were armed and ready to gun me down. But the real danger? The methane-saturated air that surrounds us. One stray spark, and—
"Make it in time...!"
I launched myself toward the nearest manhole cover like a basketball player going for a freestyle layup. Holding Cassandra tightly against my chest, I braced for impact.
I had no time to carefully pry it open. I did the only thing I could—I clenched my fist and swung an uppercut, mimicking our friendly neighborhood gorilla from earlier.
*BANG!*
But I was too late.
The idiots chasing me pulled the trigger without a second thought.
And in that instant, they successfully weaponized the entire sewer system.
A chain reaction ignited from where they stood, a wall of fire roaring to life, rapidly consuming everything in its path—including me.
There was no time to think. No time to react. All I could do was shield Cassandra with my body. If nothing else, I could at least make sure she didn’t get caught in the blast.
The explosion sucked the air from my lungs before a violent shockwave followed, sending me hurtling upward. Like a bullet fired from a gun, I was launched out of the manhole—soaring nearly thirty meters into the air.
"UGH...!"
Pain. My entire body felt numb and hot, my nerves screaming in agony. Even through my space suit, I had no doubt I’d suffered some serious burns and bone fractures.
But that wasn’t the worst of it.
Falling thirty meters on Earth would already be fatal. Now, imagine that, but with twelve times the gravity pulling me down.
’If I land like this, I’m dead for sure...!’
My momentum peaked. Then, I felt the shift—the gut-wrenching moment where gravity took over and the fall began. Time slowed to a crawl. My limbs felt weightless for a split second, and then...
’Wait.’ I paused, confused. ’Why are we still floating?’
I turned to look up in fright.
"Huh?!"
It was only then that I noticed the reason.
Hovering above me was a familiar ship, its tractor beams locked onto us, keeping us suspended mid-air.
"The Range Falcon...!" I gasped, a slow grin creeping onto my face. ’You made it in the nick of time, Eva!’
