Rebirth: The Universe's Hidden Heiress-Chapter 22: Risky Emergency

Yuka lay sprawled on the tiny bed, her surroundings a cacophony of neighbors cursing over card games and moans that were definitely not kid-friendly.

Rolling her eyes, she glanced at the orb butler on the nightstand.

"Master, this was the only hotel... no, more like a shabby inn left," the butler shrank back a little in embarrassment.

The hotels around the square were all booked solid. Rumor had it that the big shots from the military were having a meeting in Capital Octoxis, and as a result, the surrounding buildings were on lockdown. People like Yuka, labeled as "non-essentials," couldn’t even dream of getting in. The inn she was staying at didn’t even require an ID card for check-in; just cash, which pretty much said it all about the quality of the place.

Yuka turned over, staring blankly at the ceiling with blank eyes. It was already 1 AM, but the noise next door showed no signs of letting up.

The butler fluttered down from the nightstand, perching on Yuka’s shoulder, whispering, "How about I sing you a lullaby?"

Just as Yuka was about to respond, a sharp scream echoed through the hallway. It was abrupt, somber, and quickly replaced by muffled sobs, then silence.

Yuka’s eyes flickered; she swiftly got up from the bed and moved silently to the door like a cat. She crouched down, peering through the slim gap under the door.

The dim light in the hallway revealed three pairs of feet. One wore slippers, while the other two were clad in identical pointed leather shoes. The man in slippers twitched his feet once, then went still.

Yuka detected a faint smell of blood and heard a low voice from outside, "Done, let’s move."

"Hold on," another male voice chimed in, "Check this side to make sure no one’s noticed. Can’t afford any slip-ups tonight."

Rustling sounds followed, and a pair of eyes suddenly appeared in the gap under the door, scanning the room. Convinced it was empty, the eyes retreated.

Yuka, with one foot against the door and the other against the wall forming a right angle, , evaded the scrutiny of the men outside.

She heard them say, "Let’s go," followed by the sound of dragging – they were moving the body.

She remained propped against the wall, waiting quietly. Sure enough, less than a minute later, the footsteps returned, and the pair of eyes reappeared under the door, double-checking for any hidden occupants. Once convinced, the two men finally left for good.

Yuka gracefully landed from her half-suspended position and shook her hands out. She sighed, turning to the butler, "Look at the fine place you’ve picked."

It wasn’t just a sleepless night; she had stumbled onto a murder scene.

The butler, looking rather guilty, watched as Yuka pulled out a helmet and a pair of gloves from her space button. Suiting up, she quietly opened the door and stepped out into the hallway.

The metallic scent of blood still lingered in the air. Yuka deftly sidestepped a small puddle of blood and slipped into the half-open door opposite hers.

This was the victim’s room.

Picking up the victim’s opticomputer from the nightstand, Yuka said to the butler, "Hack into his opticomputer, pull up his personal info, and don’t forget to wipe the browsing history."

The butler, sounding uneasy, replied, "Master, snooping around in someone’s private stuff is illegal..."

"Cut the chit-chat," Yuka urged, "Hurry up."

The butler quickly extended its hand, connecting to the victim’s opticomputer and bringing up the personal details. Yuka skimmed through the information, learning that the victim was a regular Joe from the Alliance, in Capital Octoxis job hunting, with no apparent connections to space pirates.

Yuka was pretty sure the two men were space pirates. ’Who else but those notorious rascals would dare commit murder in Capital Octoxis? But why risk coming here? And why kill this man?’

"Use this opticomputer to dial the Alliance Army’s emergency line," Yuka instructed the butler. She hadn’t taken her ’Emergency Self-Rescue’ classes for nothing.

The butler promptly made the call and relayed the situation. Then, turning to Yuka, it said, "Master, they’ll be here in ten minutes. They told me not to panic, to stay safe, and not to leave the room."

Yuka nodded and stepped out into the hallway, following the faint blood trail. The murdered man must have said or seen something he shouldn’t have – something about the pirates’ identity or... something he wasn’t supposed to see.

Reaching a door at the end of the hallway, Yuka stopped and knocked.

"Who’s there?" came a response from inside.

Lowering her voice to a sultry purr, Yuka teased, "Need any room service?"

Her voice was completely different, each syllable ending in a seductive lilt, full of insinuation. The butler hugged itself in shock.

The men inside, momentarily amused, were quickly hushed by another. The door cracked open, and a gruff voice responded, "No, we don’t need anything. Get lost."

"Oh, come on, don’t be like that," Yuka cooed playfully. "How about some late-night snacks? I can bring a bunch."

Her approach was like a siren’s call, luring in the unsuspecting, her voice a blend of mischief and allure.

Inside the room, there was a brief commotion before the man at the door replied, "One pizza, three tacos, a steak, and four bottles of red wine."

"Got it," Yuka responded and took a step forward. The man, hearing her footsteps and thinking she was leaving, pulled the door open wider to peek outside. He wasn’t expecting her to be so close, and before he could get a good look at her, Yuka’s foot connected with his chest, sending him flying back into the room and crashing into several others, knocking them down in a heap.

Before they could scramble to their feet, Yuka had already locked the door behind her and was upon them. "The one in the middle! The one in the middle is an A-tier fugitive from the Alliance!" shouted the butler.

Yuka landed a solid punch on the chin of the man in front of her. He staggered back, tasting blood, just as Yuka snapped his wrist and snatched his gun.

She fired off a round at the remaining men, not bothering to aim, using their retreat to position herself in front of the man at the center - the leader. She then slipped behind him, covering the butler with her psychic power and transforming it into a short knife, which she pressed against the man’s throat.

Other people froze, their guns half-drawn.

"Nobody move," Yuka purred, maintaining her seductive tone. "My knife isn’t choosy about where it cuts."

She pressed the knife a bit further, drawing a thin line of blood on the leader’s neck. He swallowed nervously, instructing his henchmen, "Don’t move. Do what she says."

They were quickly realizing that Yuka was not someone to be trifled with. ’Is she from the military? Has their operation been compromised?’

Yuka chuckled, "What are you doing in Capital Octoxis?"

No one answered, but she noticed several of them glancing toward the right. Following their gaze, she saw the body of the man in slippers next to a bulky black bag.

Cursing inwardly, the leader tried to think of a way to divert Yuka’s attention but found himself being pulled to his feet and steered toward the mysterious bag. As they got closer, the tension among his men was palpable; their faces practically screamed, "This bag is trouble."

"Open it," Yuka nudged the leader, her short knife now a long blade resting against his neck.

Trembling, the leader crouched down beside the bag, hesitating to touch the zipper. The men around them backed away, their faces filled with dread.

Yuka’s brow furrowed, a bad feeling forming in her gut. freēwēbηovel.c૦m

With a deft twist of her long blade, she sliced open the bag before anyone could react. The leader yelped and collapsed to the ground in fear.

Yuka watched in disgust as something wriggled out of the bag.

A black and green forelimb emerged, followed by a sharp mandible.

A juvenile soldier insect, not yet fully grown but ghastly enough, crawled out, its mandibles lunging forward to pierce the leader’s skull and feast on his brain.

Yuka, however, was quicker. She yanked the leader up with one hand and stepped back just in time, slashing the insect’s three side legs with her sword. The creature let out a piercing scream and scurried away.

The pirates at the door, seeing the insect charging at them, frantically jiggled the lock, trying to escape, while others drew their guns and fired at the creature—to no avail.

Yuka, astonished, dropped the leader. As the insect screamed, all weapons in the room, except for the sword she wielded, melted into unrecognizable liquid, dripping from the pirates’ hands to the floor.

Before the situation could worsen, Yuka dashed behind the insect, slicing off its mandibles and then pinning it to the ground. She drove her sword into its brain, splattering green fluid.

Wiping her helmet, she withdrew her blade and watched the creature twitch its last.

Silence enveloped the room. Yuka, the only one still armed, spoke calmly, "Now, right now, tell me what you’re doing in Capital Octoxis and what this is."

She glanced at the leader. "Ten seconds."

The leader shivered.

"Five seconds," Yuka pressed.

His eyes widened in terror. "I’ll talk! I’ll talk!" he blurted. "Our job was to dump this package in Central Square before dawn, when there are no patrols. Someone was supposed to open it, and... and that thing inside would start killing! We were just supposed to drop it off and leave. Our contact is waiting on a private ship at the Alliance transfer station!"

"Who gave you this?" Yuka demanded.

The leader shook his head. "It was my boss, one level up. He said whatever was inside was dangerous and that we couldn’t open it early or we’d all die... We really didn’t know it was this! I thought it was a bomb!"

Yuka’s mind raced, piecing together the sinister plot. This was no ordinary smuggling operation; it was an act of terror with potentially catastrophic consequences. She needed to act fast.

Yuka nodded. "Anything else to add?"

The leader, still trembling, thought hard and then muttered, "No, that’s it."

"Good," Yuka said as she began to walk out. "You know what to tell the Alliance Army when they arrive, right?"

The pirates at the door scattered in fear, making way for her to leave. Opening the door, Yuka gave one last instruction, "I was never here, and you never saw me. Got it?"

The pirates inside nodded frantically. "Got it, got it!"

Yuka stepped out and closed the door behind her. The card game never stopped, oblivious to the chaos that had just happened. No one seemed interested in checking out the noise, likely not wanting to invite trouble.

Returning to her room, Yuka removed another ruined helmet, tossing it into the corner of her space button, and changed out of her clothes.

She found a fresh bathrobe in the wardrobe and headed for a much-needed shower.

Just as she started the water and dampened her hair, there was a knock at the door.

With a click of her tongue, Yuka loosely wrapped herself in the bathrobe and went to answer.

The door opened, and both Yuka and the person outside paused in surprise.

Kenji quickly averted his eyes from Yuka’s collarbone, wet with droplets, and asked, "What are you doing here?"

Yuka pushed her wet hair back and leaned lazily against the doorframe. "I came to Central Square for fun. Couldn’t get into any of the better hotels, so ended up here."

She edged closer. "And you, instructor? What brings you here? Anything happen?"

Kenji forced his gaze back to her face. "Did you hear any noises?"

Yuka blinked. "People were shouting."

Kenji’s expression changed. "And then?"

Yuka thought for a moment and innocently replied, "Then two people started shouting together. One was crying, saying ’don’t,’ and the other was saying ’you’ll like it.’ The bed was creaking, but it stopped after a few minutes."

Kenji’s eyebrow twitched, and he awkwardly said, "Not that kind of noise... I meant gunshots, or other... other shouts?"

Yuka noticed with amusement that Kenji’s ears had turned red. She stifled a laugh and said, "Oh, that. I didn’t hear anything like that. But something bad happened in the room across from mine." She looked up at Kenji with a feigned innocent expression.

"Sir, two men killed someone there. I was too scared to go out."

As she spoke, her loosely draped her bathrobe slipped slightly, revealing her delicate shoulder.

Kenji closed his eyes briefly and said, "Put your clothes on properly."

Yuka wrapped herself more securely in the robe, "Do you need anything else, sir? If not, I’ll head back in. I haven’t finished my shower yet."

Just then, a man walked up behind Kenji, glanced at Yuka with a hint of admiration, then turned to Kenji and joked, nudging his shoulder, "Sir, you’re quite the lucky man!"

Kenji frowned and, without turning, elbowed him. The man doubled over, holding his ribs in pain, as Kenji said coolly, "Don’t talk nonsense. She’s one of my students."

The man waved a hand and retreated, still rubbing his sore ribs.

Kenji, looking at Yuka’s innocent, slightly flustered face, remembered her previous lies. He found it hard to believe her current display of vulnerability.

However, caught in her damp-eyed gaze, which was confusingly compelling, and without any solid evidence against her, he said with a hint of frustration, "Fine, it’s okay now. Next time something like this happens, remember to call the Alliance Army immediately. Don’t just stand around, especially when you know something’s wrong. And don’t go showering when there’s danger nearby; it’s not safe. You got that?"

Yuka blinked obediently. "Got it."

As she closed the door, Kenji thought he heard her murmur, "I already did."

Kenji looked suspiciously at the closed door for a moment, then turned and walked away.

The Alliance Army took away the crestfallen space pirates, bagged the insect’s corpse in a black, sealed bag, and quickly left the scene.

The man Kenji had elbowed earlier reported back, "Admiral, I’ve asked them. They say it was an internal conflict, just a fight among themselves. That creature was released accidentally during the scuffle, but they couldn’t say what weapon killed it."

He continued, "According to the investigation, there was another person present, someone very skilled. They took down these space pirates, opened the package, and killed the creature. Also, the emergency call to the Alliance Army was made from the dead man’s opticomputer. But by that time, he was already dead, so..."

The man looked troubled. "This inn is so rundown it doesn’t even have surveillance cameras, so it’s hard to investigate. We questioned all the guests here, and they all claimed ignorance."

His opticomputer buzzed, and after checking it, he informed Kenji, "Admiral, there’s an update. Under interrogation, one of the pirates cracked. He mentioned a woman wearing a helmet did all this and threatened them not to speak out."

Kenji’s expression shifted at the news. "Are you sure?"

The man nodded affirmatively.

After a brief silence, Kenji dialed a number on his opticomputer. "Fleet Admiral," he began, "the woman with the helmet from the pirate hijacking case you told me not to investigate seems to have surfaced again."

The person on the other end paused before responding, "Kenji, I’ve told you before, don’t worry about her or what she does. Just focus on the case at hand."

Kenji, clearly frustrated, pressed on, "But, Fleet Admiral, can you tell me why? Who is she that she warrants such protection from you?"

There was no reply.

Changing tact, Kenji asked in a softer tone, "Can you at least tell me if she’s with our Alliance Army?"

The aged Fleet Admiral of the Alliance Army, his hair touched with grey, raised an eyebrow and replied with a knowing smile, "She will be in the future."

Kenji gripped his opticomputer tighter and said solemnly, "I understand."

The call ended, and he turned to the man, "No need to investigate further. Let’s go."

The man, catching the grim look on Kenji’s face, wisely chose not to speak and quickly left.

As Kenji walked past Yuka’s room, he slowed down instinctively, almost knocking on her door before snapping back to reality and abandoning the idea. Yuka was just a freshman, and despite her boldness and talent for lying, she couldn’t possibly have single-handedly taken down space pirates.

Kenji walked away from the inn.

Inside, Yuka emerged from the bathroom, dressed and drying her hair, before collapsing back onto the bed. She asked the butler, "Do you know who all from the military is here today?"

After searching on the interstellarnet, the butler replied, "Public reports state that commanders of thirteen legions are here, including the highest-ranking Fleet Admiral. It’s the biggest full-scale military meeting since the siege on the Queen insectoid a century ago. Something significant must be underway."

Yuka thought about the timing of the pirates’ actions. A crisis under the Alliance Army’s watch could erode public trust and embolden the pirates, possibly destabilizing the already fragile Alliance. But how did the pirates get a soldier insect? Its presence indicated the Queen had matured, gaining reproductive capabilities. And the insect’s scream, capable of liquifying metals other than Oniyon, suggested a mutation.

The inn, still shaken by the night’s events, was quiet, but Yuka found herself wide awake. She sighed deeply, her resolve to win the underground arena’s solo championship and obtain the ’answer’ she sought only strengthening.