Chapter 100: Blood on the Passage

Qiongxiao.

Outside the bridge, A7 Passage.

Right now, the entire corridor had been stained red with blood. The bodies of Human Federation soldiers and Klein warriors were scattered so thick, there was barely anywhere to step.

It was almost impossible to find a clear spot on the floor.

Boom…

A massive crash echoed through the corridor.

The last Klein warrior toppled over, his exoskeleton slamming into the floor with a heavy thud.

Not far away, a Federation soldier clad in heavy armor strode over, lifted her leg, and stomped down hard. The blow shattered what was left of the warrior’s already cracked, pitted chestplate.

Even then, as if unwilling to take chances…

The soldier raised her electromagnetic rifle and fired round after round into the warrior’s chest.

So much blood splattered out that even her sealed armor was drenched in red.

It was a sight that made your skin crawl.

“That’s it. They’re all down!”

She took off her helmet, revealing a breathtakingly beautiful face.

Who else could it be but Mu Qingxue, Commander of the Fifth Fleet?

At that moment, everyone just stared, stunned.

In just over half an hour, Mu Qingxue had single-handedly taken down five Klein warriors. It was unreal.

She could shoot accurately at moving targets, hitting the same spot over and over to break through their exoskeletons in record time.

Her skills were almost supernatural. Shen Yuan was left speechless.

Come to think of it, Shen Yuan had been the top student in the interstellar Infantry Department years ago—the same one defeated by Mu Qingxue.

But as far as he could remember, she’d never been this monstrous. Besides commanding fleets and building the Fifth Fleet, had she also been secretly honing her combat skills all this time?

Most insane of all, Mu Qingxue took down the last Klein in nearly a straight-up duel.

Even though the enemy was much stronger, Mu Qingxue was faster and incredibly agile.

The opponent couldn’t land a single hit on her the entire time.

But she kept chipping away, little by little, and with every small wound it added up—until finally, he lost his life.

Shen Yuan was shocked, but something dawned on him right away.

The last Klein warrior had been taken down!

Which meant—

They might actually survive this.

“We… won!”

The realization hit Shen Yuan and he leapt to his feet, shouting at the top of his lungs.

His shout snapped everyone else out of their daze. They all cheered together.

They’d each been prepared to die, but given a chance to live, who would ever choose death?

Watching the celebration, Mu Qingxue let a rare smile slip.

But then—

“Qingxue! Watch out!”

Amid the cheers, a sudden cry rang out.

A Klein warrior, who everyone thought long dead, suddenly lurched to his feet—right near Mu Qingxue.

Moving fast, he grabbed her right arm and flung her aside.

The force was overwhelming, and Mu Qingxue had no time to react.

She was sent flying, crashing back-first into the wall. She spat out a mouthful of blood.

It was clear the injury was serious.

Shen Yuan, Ye Lingwei, and Serena reacted instantly, raising their guns and firing nonstop, desperate to bring down the enemy so they could rush to Mu Qingxue’s aid.

But the problem was, the Klein grabbed a fallen Federation soldier’s body, using it as a shield.

The three of them hesitated for a split second.

Even though their comrade was already gone, could they really shoot into his corpse? Would they have to shred his body just to take down the Klein?

For a moment, none of them could pull the trigger.

Of course, the Klein didn’t care. Shielding himself with the corpse, he reached out toward Mu Qingxue with his free hand.

His hand was just about to close around her neck, while Shen Yuan and the others could do nothing.

Even if they fired wildly, there was no way to finish him off in time.

What now?

Bang!!

Don’t get it wrong—it wasn’t the sound of a gunshot.

The electromagnetic rifles were nearly silent. Their shots barely made a sound.

That noise came from a bullet smacking into the Klein’s head, cracking against his skull.

The Kleins had incredibly tough bones. Even though the shot was on target, it only left a faint crack—nowhere near fatal.

Still, it was enough to stop his right hand mid-air.

He froze, just a centimeter from Mu Qingxue’s neck.

Bang!

Bang bang bang!!

The second shot hit the same spot, turning the tiny crack into a web of fractures.

Then came the third, fourth, and fifth—all landing, precise as ever, until finally—

The Klein’s skull couldn’t take it anymore. It shattered.

Bang!!

A sixth shot rang out.

With the protection gone, the next bullet from the electromagnetic rifle drilled right into his head, piercing his brain.

He dropped to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.

At that moment, a figure sprinted out from the far end of A7 Passage.

He rushed to Mu Qingxue’s side, dropped to one knee, and quickly unfastened her full-body exoskeleton armor to check her injuries.

Ye Lingwei and the others finally got a good look at the newcomer.

Wasn’t that Lin Yu?

Did that mean he’d already driven the Klein fleet away outside?

But before she could ask, Ye Lingwei saw something that shut her up.

After checking Mu Qingxue’s condition, Lin Yu’s face suddenly changed.

Her heart skipped a beat.

Something was wrong!!

That was Ye Lingwei’s first thought.

She jumped up and ran over.

She barely made it halfway before seeing Lin Yu tear Mu Qingxue’s chest armor open with force.

The sight left Ye Lingwei wide-eyed and frozen.

What the hell was Lin Yu up to…?

But just as she was about to yell at him, his next move made everything clear.

She instantly blocked everyone else from coming any closer.

“Stay back!”

Lin Yu pressed his hands together, planting the heel of one palm in the center of Mu Qingxue’s chest, then pushed down hard, letting the weight of his upper body drive the movement.

Once, twice, three times…

His compressions were fast—almost two every second.

After dozens of compressions, he paused, held down her forehead with one hand, and gently lifted her chin with the other.

Then he leaned in, pressing his lips to hers.

Don’t get the wrong idea—he was performing mouth-to-mouth, breathing air into her lungs.

From a medical point of view, mouth-to-mouth is most effective when done this way—only by sealing the lips can you ensure all the air goes in.

After two breaths, Lin Yu resumed chest compressions.

He repeated the cycle three times, and just as he started mouth-to-mouth again, he noticed—

Mu Qingxue’s eyes had opened. She was staring at him, dazed.

Maybe she hadn’t figured out what was going on yet.

In any case, she stuck out her tongue and gave him a quick lick.

Lin Yu’s eyes went wide.

His whole body stiffened in an instant.