TCPUAAV Chapter 75

 

With Ruan Jiao around, attracting the Zerg became the easiest task imaginable.

 

Sitting in a small chair in the combat command room, he hugged a bottle of cub formula milk given to him by Merrell, his forehead antennae swaying lightly.

 

Whenever he sensed that the Zerg were losing direction or attempting to return to the main swarm, he would strengthen his signal. These simple-minded creatures, upon receiving the signal, would immediately follow along once more.

 

In the vast darkness of space, a sleek cyan battleship led the way, with a small group of Zerg trailing behind, heading towards Balham.

 

Meanwhile, the three little cubs had already grown familiar with shifting into their human forms and had each secured a spot in the command room.

 

“The space station outside Balham has a detection system that can monitor and report space activity to the planet at any time. To successfully infiltrate Balham, we need to take control of the station first and cut off communication with the surface,” Rong Heng said, tapping on the star map of Balham.

 

“We could use the Zerg to divert the space station’s attention.”

 

“But you two are being way too bold.” Merrell pointed at Rong Heng and Hector. “If either of you gets recognized, it will cause an uproar throughout the Empire. Since we’re putting on a show, we need to do it properly.”

 

With a snap of her fingers, she declared, “Before the mission, I think we should all be properly disguised.”

 

“Disguise how? Using disguise capsules?” Hector frowned. “We didn’t bring that many with us. Besides, as long as we move fast and clean up properly, we won’t leave any records behind.”

 

Like last time, when they raided the transport ship bound for Balham Star.

 

Merrell rolled her eyes. “There are plenty of ways to disguise oneself beyond disguise capsules.”

 

With that, she lifted a large sack from beside her and plopped it onto the meeting table. “I came prepared. Pick whatever you like and change into it.”

 

She pulled out a ridiculous-looking mask with an exaggerated grinning face and put it on, her tone brimming with excitement. “With a mask on, who would know who’s underneath?”

 

Hector picked up a mask with disdain. “This is just plain stupid.”

 

Merrell shot him a glare. “And letting the whole Empire know that the supposedly dead Brigadier General Hector ditched his military career to become a space pirate isn’t stupid?”

 

Hector was instantly rendered speechless. Reluctantly, he turned his gaze toward the silent crown prince.

 

Surely, Rong Heng wouldn’t approve of this.

 

To his shock, the prince studied the garish outfits and masks for a moment, then turned to the three cubs and gestured with his chin. “You three, pick one and put it on.”

 

Hector: “???????”

 

Are you serious?!

 

The cubs, however, were fascinated by the masks Merrell had prepared. With permission granted, they eagerly rummaged through the bag, muttering among themselves as they picked out their favorites.

 

“I want this Dragon King mask!” The little dragon cub grabbed a black dragon-themed mask and put it on, letting out a deep, growling roar.

 

The little fox chose a fox mask with flame patterns. The mask covered the upper half of her face, and she deliberately made a fierce expression, baring her tiny sharp fangs. Her exposed silver eyes gleamed with an added touch of cold sharpness.

 

Seeing that the others had made their picks, the little mermaid finally stepped forward and selected a blue sea monster mask. The grotesque mask gave his usually gentle demeanor a hint of ominous menace.

 

After choosing their masks, the cubs went to change into their outfits. Rong Heng casually grabbed a plain white smiling mask and said, “We’re nearing Balham. Do a firepower check and prepare for battle.”

 

Hector’s protest was ignored. Left with no choice, he grabbed a mask matching the little dragon cub’s and, together with Merrell, headed to the hangar to assemble their forces.

 

In the end, only Rong Heng and Ruan Jiao remained in the command room.

 

The little cub blinked in confusion, his round eyes widening as he realized that no one had told him to pick a mask. Finally, he couldn’t hold back anymore—he got up, walked to the meeting table, and stood on tiptoe, trying to reach into the sack for a mask.

 

Unfortunately, the table was both high and wide. Even on his tiptoes, he couldn’t reach the sack in the center.

 

His antennae twitched anxiously before drooping in defeat. Giving up, he turned and walked toward Rong Heng, tugging at his sleeve and asking clumsily, “Mine… where’s mine?”

 

Rong Heng raised an eyebrow. “You’re staying on the battleship. What do you need a mask for?”

 

“I’m going… too!”

 

The little cub clenched his fists, his antennae standing up in defiance.

 

Just then, the three cubs emerged in their new outfits. Ruan Jiao immediately abandoned Rong Heng and ran over to hug the little mermaid’s leg. “I—I want to go too!”

 

The tiny cub barely reached the little mermaid’s thigh in full human form.

 

The little mermaid crouched down, ruffling his hair while glancing at the dragon cub and fox cub for help in persuading him.

 

“Which one do you want?” The dragon cub picked him up and placed him on the meeting table.

 

But Ruan Jiao had already realized the truth—everyone else was going on the mission, but he was being left behind.

 

His round eyes widened, and he shook his head, no longer caring about the mask. Instead, he stubbornly repeated, “I want to go too!”

 

The little dragon scratched his head. “But you’re too small. You can’t go to the battlefield yet.”

 

“When you grow up, we’ll take you with us.” The little fox grinned as she put a snail mask—complete with long antennae—on his head.

 

“……”

 

His protest unsuccessful, the little cub puffed up his cheeks, his antennae drooping listlessly.

 

He took off the snail mask, hugged it to his chest, and ran off, pouting.

 

*

 

Once everything was ready, the cyan battleship quietly approached Balham’s space station.

 

Dressed in a white pirate outfit, Rong Heng stood in front of the massive observation window in the command room, monitoring the situation at the space station.

 

Hector’s voice came through the communication channel. “Everything’s set. I’m driving the Zergs towards the space station, and Merrell is coordinating with me.”

 

“Roger that.”

 

Inside her fighter jet, Merrell secured her mask, ran her fingers along the tail of her eyebrow in a swift motion, then activated the thrusters. With her squad in tow, she left the hangar.

 

Two fighter squadrons, one in front and one behind, herded a small Zerg swarm toward the space station.

 

Their fighters, equipped with stealth systems, remained undetectable. The station’s detection system, however, immediately picked up on the incoming Zergs and issued a warning alert.

 

“Zergs?”

 

Balham was clearly still unaware of the Zerg’s invasion into the central region. After repeatedly verifying the scan data, the station commander hesitated but eventually dispatched a small team to investigate.

 

Six fighter jets, bearing Balham’s insignia, cautiously departed from the space station and slowly approached the Zerg’s coordinates.

 

When the pilots finally saw the swarm of Zergs drifting through space, their voices changed with alarm. Hastily, they transmitted a warning message back to the space station and prepared to retreat.

 

But before they could react, Merrell and Hector—who had long been lying in wait—silently flanked them from the rear, intercepting their transmissions.

 

From there, the rest was easy.

 

Battle-hardened frontline soldiers made short work of capturing all six fighters.

 

The captured pilots were temporarily locked up in the cargo hold.

 

Merrell, still wearing her exaggerated grinning mask, waved her blade menacingly. “Stay put and behave, or I’ll chop you up and feed you to the Zergs.”

 

Her ruthless words, paired with the absurd expression on her mask, only made the threat more unnerving.

 

The captured pilots stared at her in terror.

 

They had encountered space pirates before, but this group was nothing like the usual ones. There was something off about them—an eerie, almost chaotic energy that set them apart.

 

After scaring the prisoners, Merrell regrouped with Hector. “Did the distress signal go out?”

 

At the moment, they were sitting inside one of Balham’s captured fighters.

 

The original pilots had only managed to send out a brief warning before their signal was cut off. Now, with communications restored, Merrell and Hector had sent out a fake distress call to lure out the remaining forces from the space station.

 

“It’s sent.” Hector glanced at the incoming orders and cracked his knuckles. “And here they come.”

 

With a sharp call, he and Merrell split up, each leading their own squads as they left the main battleship and once again concealed themselves behind the Zerg swarm, lying in ambush.

 

 

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Jiao Jiao!!! poor cutie lol he’s really the only baby left!!!

 

Thanks for reading!

For every three ko-fis, I will upload a bonus chapter~