Like an arrow and a fish, a human figure drew a white line and plunged into the depths of the cold, dark lake. The tremendous force from the crashed spaceship was clearly reflected in this straight line. A few bubbles overflowed from the top of the figure did not have time to float before they were crushed by the fierce invisible waves.
At this time, it was already late at night. The autumn lake water was bone-chillingly cold, hitting one's face painfully. The medical glue was diluted, and there were traces of blood seeping out. However, like those bubbles, they quickly merged into the lake water, and no traces could be found.
The tremendous pressure from all directions invaded him, but Xu Le's miserable face did not show any reaction. He was very used to this environment. After sinking and suffocating in the hundreds of millions of tons of lake water on the Red Rose countless times, he was no longer afraid of water, only a sense of closeness with peace.
He struggled to open his swollen eyes and swam to the bottom of the lake, holding the box he picked up from somewhere. He did not move, but his waist occasionally swayed like a fish, and his speed that was just slowed down by the lake water would increase again.
When he touched a big rock at the bottom of the lake, he closed his lips and slowly adjusted his posture. He put his obviously stiff left leg into the crack of the rock and wedged his body so that he would not float up. Then he quickly opened the toolbox in his hand and took out a small device. He slowly turned his head and looked at the electrically controlled bomb ring in the bloody hole on his left shoulder.
The high-speed rotating probe did not make any buzzing sound at the bottom of the lake, only a few beautiful water swirls.
Ten seconds, twenty seconds.
Xu Le looked up and squinted at the lake. He could vaguely see lights flashing and the huge spiral arms of helicopters dancing.
The people of the Empire came quickly, faster than he thought.
After the four-cylinder floating spaceship crashed, the follow-up military aircraft in charge of escorting it did not land to rescue their colleagues. Instead, they directly began to search the lake, preventing him from escaping at the first moment!
Then, more soldiers of the Empire came.
He watched in silence for a moment, then lowered his head and continued his work.
One minute, two minutes, three minutes, four minutes.
In the depths of the lake, where there was no oxygen, he had forgotten to breathe. Faint wisps of blood seeped out of the wounds on his face and nostrils, rising slowly like red smoke.
The scorching energy inside his body roamed freely like the bloody mist. It entered every cell of his body, nourished his lungs, refreshed his mind, and ensured his survival.
A red light suddenly flashed on the electrical control strap on the wound on his left shoulder. Under normal circumstances, when the light of this color flashed, the plastic explosives locked in the alloy balls would directly blow his upper body into pieces.
His injured and swollen eyelids had turned white from being soaked in the lake water. Xu Le closed his mouth tightly and continued to operate with his head lowered. He did not even blink.
In fact, from the moment the spaceship crashed into the lake, the electronically controlled bombs on his shoulders had flashed red many times.
Miraculously, there was no explosion. His mutilated and ugly corpse did not float up from the tranquil lake surrounded by the towering triangular maple forest, nor did a fish flip up its belly.
The lake water in the depths of the lake slowly brushed against his black hair, like a clump of vigorous aquatic plants. He narrowed his eyes, silently and steadily disarming the bombs.
From the moment he formulated this escape plan, the first thing he had to ensure was that the two bombs on his shoulders would not explode, and he had done it.
Many days ago, lying in the intensive care ward of the Empire's Second Royal Hospital, his right index finger moved slightly under the clean white sheets.
More than ten days ago, the young nurse in charge of taking care of him lost a mobile phone. The corner of the bed was missing an inconspicuous metal screw and two even more inconspicuous steel wires.
During those days and nights, he was like a real paralyzed patient, staring blankly at the snow-white ceiling above his head, the clean white sheets covering his thin body.
None of the citizens of the Imperium could have imagined that, under the white bedsheet, his body could already move, but he did not. Instead, he turned the metal screws, wires, and mobile phones that had been dismantled into countless parts into slow moving tools with his five fingers that were as nimble as a mechanic's genius.
Disarming the sensitive electronically controlled bombs required very professional equipment. Even if the electronically controlled bombs could not receive signals, extremely precise tools were also required. However, for this Federation mechanic named Xu Le, a phone, a metal screw, and a few steel wires were enough.
…
…
There was still no sound from the depths of the lake. Xu Le lowered his head to look at the electronically controlled bombs that were slowly peeling off from his shoulders. However, an extremely clear and pleasant click sounded in his heart. A hint of joy and relaxation flashed through his swollen eyes.
After he was captured on the Red Rose, the electronically controlled bombs were bloodily tied to his shoulders. Even when he fought side by side with Huai Caoshi in the mulberry sea, that Highness had never intended to remove them for him, because the Empire could not underestimate his ability.
Once the burden of a serious threat to his life was removed, the mental pressure also disappeared. Xu Le suddenly felt that his body was a lot lighter. He could not help but grin. However, his cheeks were full of red and swollen scars, and his white teeth had an unhealthy blood red color. This smile could not help but be a bit strange.
Still smiling happily, he reached out his hand and waved in the lake. He summoned a handful of lake water and splashed it on his face symbolically. He lightly stepped on the giant rock at the bottom of the lake, swayed his waist, and quietly swam to the surface of the lake like a big fish.
He did not know how long he had held his breath at the bottom of the lake. Right now, he seemed to be able to survive without breathing for a short period of time. What was the difference between him and a fish?
There was a bright light flashing on the surface of the lake. There was a faint vibration that went deep into the lake. The water waves refracted and reflected the light, turning into a strange mirror.
He swam to this mirror.
…
…
The spaceship crashed. The fugitive was a fugitive. Her Highness was furious. The Empire's troops around the capital of Tianjing Planet moved at the fastest speed possible.
In an extremely short period of time, thousands of soldiers firmly surrounded the lake. The high-powered searchlights were all turned on, illuminating the dark forest and lake as if it was daytime.
Dozens of the Empire's latest model Wolf Fang mecha walked with heavy mechanical steps, closely patrolling the wetland by the lake. From time to time, huge maple trees would be knocked down, causing red leaves to fall all over the sky and startling countless night birds.
On the surface of the lake, there were more than a dozen helicopters circling around. The strong wind of the spiral arms caused the lake water to splatter in all directions, as if a monster was about to drill out.
Huai Caoshi was personally on her way here.
No matter how one looked at it, the Empire would definitely not allow Xu Le to truly escape. Moreover, he now knew even more secrets because of that ruthless and boring gambling game with Huai Caoshi. Moreover, in the eyes of the Empire's Emperor, his past was enough reason for him to die 800 times.
On the western shore of the lake, in the low-lying water plants near the shadow of the forest, Xu Le slowly poked out half of his head. The lake water and sand silently slid down his face. He narrowed his eyes and looked at the bright white lake surface. Looking at the light beams in the forest around the lake, he could not suppress his shock. The Empire's people really thought too highly of him. They actually set up such a large formation.
Mournful dog barks came from several hundred meters away. Even closer to him was a military vehicle with an instrument's wave-receiving screen facing the lake water and slowly scanning.
Xu Le's pupils constricted. Without hesitation, he lowered his head and once again dove into the depths of the lake. The other party had actually mobilized military dogs and life detectors at the same time in such a short amount of time. Other than diving into the depths of the lake, there was nothing else he could do.
Once he entered the depths of the lake, he was a fish, a fish that happily swam around. He was confident that the Empire's people would definitely not be able to find him.
However, just as he began to dive, before he had time to happily swim, the movement on the lake surface and the waves stirred up by the fierce wind attracted his attention.
Looking at that enormous floating transport aircraft and the … submarine hanging below it, Xu Le was tongue-tied. He was stunned speechless.
Even a submarine was transported over. Huai Caoshi, you really are ruthless.
Xu Le silently praised in his heart. His body turned, and his legs quickly bounced as he swam toward the dark and safe depths of the lake.
…
…
In the instant he emerged from the surface of the lake, Xu Le saw many details. He saw the other party's valiant determination, saw the north and south he wanted to see, and saw the things he didn't want to see.
Continuing to hide at the bottom of the lake wasn't a solution. Based on the Empire's people's crazy search, even if their target was a small river crab in a boulder at the bottom of the lake, it would still be easily dug out.
He had to leave this lake as quickly as possible.
The north side of the lake passed through a green park and was connected to Planet Tianjing's capital city. In that heavily guarded capital city, every street, every apartment, and even every toilet had microchip monitoring devices specially designed to deal with Federation spies. The Federation's people entering that area was purely courting death.
The south side of the lake was a lush, no, lush, red maple forest. This maple forest was artificially planted in the beginning. Under the deliberate protection of the Empire's royal family, under the long years of protection, it gradually became the rarest primeval forest on this planet. There were large trees and leaves that were large enough to cover one's body, and the difficult terrain that was most advantageous for escaping. Most importantly, there weren't many microchip monitoring devices in the primeval forest.
The north side was dangerous. It was like a giant beast that had been silent for thousands of years. It was an ancient tomb full of traps, ready to swallow anyone who entered by mistake at any time. It wouldn't even spit out their bones.
The south side was enticement. It was like a piece of white paper that anyone could paint on. A naked virgin attracted people to bravely move forward, using their own adventurous footprints to paint a beautiful picture.
No matter from which perspective one looked at it from, Xu Le should choose to escape to the south. This had nothing to do with the inertia of his thinking. The objective environment of Planet Tianjing determined that this was his only choice.
"The problem is that the Empire's people think this way, and so does Huai Caoshi."
Xu Le narrowed his eyes as he waved the ice-cold lake water. He silently swam towards the shore in the north.
After an unknown amount of time, he unsurprisingly found the exit of the underground waterway at the bottom of the lake. A sincere smile once again appeared on his miserable face.
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