Following Zhong Yun's instructions, Yu Daoqing opened a hatch beside the main control room, a passage specifically designated for the crew's escape.

Yu Daoqing helped support Zhong Yun into the passage. After about twenty meters, they reached a small compartment. Just as they stepped onto the platform, the hatch behind them hissed shut.

She retrieved a spacesuit from a recess in the wall, first securing it onto Zhong Yun, then donning her own.

"Open the outer seal," Zhong Yun's voice was faint through the suit's comms.

Yu Daoqing obeyed, initiating the sequence. A violent suction immediately followed, draining all air from the docking bay. Once the vacuum stabilized, Yu Daoqing unclipped the tether securing them at the waist.

Looking out, a small shuttle craft was visible not far away. Gritting her teeth, Yu Daoqing held Zhong Yun tightly and leaped out of the hatch. Carried by inertia, they flew forward, maintaining the same velocity as the ship.

Her foot pushed off the exterior hull of the vessel, and by reaction, they arced toward the waiting shuttle.

Though it looked small from a distance, the shuttle was nearly ten stories high. As they approached, two mechanical arms extended from the craft, pulling them safely aboard.

Once the inner door sealed, air rushed back into the docking bay. Yu Daoqing hurriedly stripped off her helmet and then opened Zhong Yun's visor, only to see a shocking, unnatural flush staining his cheeks.

"What's wrong? Don't scare me. Wake up..." When shaking him yielded no response, boundless grief instantly overwhelmed her. It felt as if an enormous hand had clamped around her heart, squeezing rhythmically, each sharp pang stealing her breath.

Yu Daoqing could no longer contain herself, clutching Zhong Yun's limp body and weeping hysterically.

"Don't cry..." Zhong Yun’s weak murmur sounded like a thunderclap to Yu Daoqing. She lifted her head in disbelief. There, Zhong Yun was blinking slowly at her.

"Zhong Yun..." Yu Daoqing covered her mouth, massive tears splashing onto his uniform. It was an instantaneous journey from hell back to heaven. She couldn't govern her volatile emotions.

"How old are you? Still crying so much?" Zhong Yun managed a slight movement, seeming to try and lift his hand to wipe her tears, but lacked the strength to raise his arm.

Yu Daoqing understood his intent. She gently took his hand, holding it, and pressed it against her own cheek. His fingers were still rough, still... so warm. Just like her heart.

"Carry me to the control room," Zhong Yun whispered, his voice threadbare. Though conscious, the unknown drug was burning the Yuan within him, inflicting pain beyond normal comprehension.

Carefully lifting Zhong Yun, as if cradling the most precious object in existence, Yu Daoqing's expression was utterly focused.

Once in the main control room, Zhong Yun immediately commanded, "Connect to Xiao Ling, now."

"Your condition is critical," Xiao Ling’s voice responded. Perhaps sensing an unauthorized presence, it kept the video feed offline. "It's a long story; my Yuan is counteracting. Hurry and come save me," Zhong Yun felt his strength draining away rapidly.

"Yes." Xiao Ling disconnected the communication crisply.

With Xiao Ling's confirmation, Zhong Yun finally let out a breath. Despite his worsening state, he felt no worry; as long as Xiao Ling arrived, his life would be safe. He believed there was nothing Xiao Ling could not accomplish in this world.

"It's a pity I didn't kill Wang Jingze," Yu Daoqing sighed suddenly. Her hatred for him was now bone-deep; if he were before her now, she would grind him to ash.

Zhong Yun suddenly smiled. "The workings of fate are marvelous. When you think you have everything under control, you discover things rarely proceed as imagined. When you believe you've won the final laugh... cough..." He broke off into a cough here.

"Have you established contact with our people?"

In the escape pod, the First Officer asked.

"Not yet. This pod's communicator seems faulty; it won't activate," replied one crewman tinkering with the console.

"The guidance system is dead, too. Won't start," the crewman added.

The First Officer felt a sudden, deep sense of foreboding. He hurried over. "Let me see." Pushing the man aside, he manipulated the controls. Cold sweat beaded instantly on his forehead. He stumbled backward, collapsing onto the floor, his face bloodless.

The occupants of the other three escape pods soon realized their vessels were equally uncontrollable. Every flight control officer mirrored the First Officer’s growing look of despair.

Wang Jingze, feeling immensely satisfied after eliminating a major adversary, sat in his escape pod's cockpit, manipulating the controls. Though the initial plan had failed, he wasn't discouraged. Having waited fifteen years, he possessed a patience unmatched by others.

Today’s events only confirmed for him that those who think they are triumphant may not remain so until the end. He, who held absolute advantage, had been dismantled step-by-step, finally left almost defenseless, like fish on a cutting board.

Then there was Zhong Yun, who thought he commanded the entire situation, deciding the enemy's fate with a single word—yet he was successfully ambushed, even risking his own life.

Wang Jingze did not believe Zhong Yun could reach Davo in time for treatment under those circumstances.

"Huh?" Wang Jingze noticed something peculiar about the console; no matter what command he input, there was no response.

"What's going on?" He was puzzled. For the convenience of ordinary passengers, the escape pod system was designed to be idiot-proof; anyone should be able to operate it.

A shadow of unease crept into Wang Jingze's mind, and he recalled an unresolved question: why had Zhong Yun released all the crew? Didn't he know that was tantamount to releasing tigers back into the mountains?

He didn't believe Zhong Yun was a man capable of mercy. Though he hadn't known Zhong Yun long, the day's life-or-death struggle had revealed his nature.

While not exactly ruthless, Wang Jingze was certain Zhong Yun would never spare anyone who posed a threat to him.

Thinking this, Wang Jingze was seized by a shuddering fear. He frantically hammered commands into the console, but still, there was no response whatsoever.

After a long silence, he slumped onto the floor, his face a mask of ashen despair. Suddenly, his throat convulsed twice, and a high, thin laugh escaped his throat. The laughter grew louder, soon filling the entire escape pod.

"Warning, meteor field ahead. Evade, evade..." An alarm suddenly blared.

Evade?

Wang Jingze felt as if he had heard the funniest joke in the universe. He laughed until tears and snot streamed down his face.

The escape pod operating system was locked down.

This reality plunged the surviving crew in all four pods into an abyss, a chilling cold spreading from their heads to their feet, freezing their very souls.

"Where is the destination?" the First Officer asked apathetically.

The crewman closest to the console trembled as he input a few commands. Although the controls were locked, accessing some data was still possible.

One glance was enough to shatter the crewman’s face into utter despair.

"Distance: 12 billion kilometers from here..." the crewman's voice drifted as if from the netherworld, "...a single star."

"Zhong Yun, you win."

Amidst the increasingly urgent alarms, Wang Jingze shot upright, roaring a cry born from his very soul, "I'll be waiting for you on the other side—"

In the vastness of space, a small meteor erupted in an insignificant spark, carrying the fifteen years of one man's yearning, ambition, possessiveness, and desire. Everything vanished into nothingness within that single flash of fire.

"Zhong Yun, you are truly ruthless—" the First Officer roared in desolate fury.

The four escape pods, like Kuafu chasing the sun, flew recklessly toward a giant star, bearing sixty-odd souls trapped in final hopelessness.

"Until the very last moment, you never know who will have the final laugh," Zhong Yun's weak voice echoed in the control room of the 'Wasp Three.'

P: (The following text does not count toward the word count) I was stunned when I saw the review section. I hadn't expected the usually calm forum, mostly occupied by advertisements and floating debris, to become a raging sea.

My second feeling was speechlessness: When has Zhong Yun ever let an enemy survive who shouldn't have? Everyone rest assured, the protagonist will not suffer a loss; even if he does, it counts for little. As the saying goes, taking a loss is taking an advantage. Well, this isn't a spoiler, is it?

Everyone, keep reading; the best parts are yet to come.

Finally, I'm rolling on the floor begging for monthly votes! Only five days left; everyone needs to rally! Rally!