Counterfeit Hero

Watching through the communication lens, Audrey’s almond-shaped eyes widened in disbelief at the scene unfolding before her. Fatty threw Ivan into a chair and yelled furiously, "I’m telling you one more time, give me the password for the power system now, stop the ship, or I won’t wait for the pirates, I’ll dismantle this place myself first!"

Audrey finally snapped out of her shock and shouted, "Stopping the ship won’t help! They’ll kill us for sure, we’ve been running for so long, they won’t let us go!" Seeing Old Ivan still trembling and frozen, Fatty turned his rage towards Audrey and screamed, "Stop the ship and give me the password for the power system now. I can make this ship faster! Hurry! We’ll be too late otherwise!" Audrey shook her head frantically, "You can’t fool me! Redbeard’s ship is the latest civilian fast boat, we can’t outrun them!" Fatty’s desperation turned into madness. This idiot woman, what kind of captain is she, looking like someone begging to be raped and killed! No civilian boat can match the speed of a military destroyer! Overcome with fury, Fatty grabbed Old Ghost Ivan by the neck and snarled, "Believe it or not, I’ll break his neck if you don’t stop the ship and give me the password now. We’ll all die here anyway!"

Audrey, having taken over the ship not long ago, usually put on a cool and frosty facade to deal with these scheming crew members, but deep down, she was just a girl who had never faced such turmoil. Unexpectedly, the stowaway she let on board turned out to be a wild wolf, demanding to stop the ship at such a critical moment. Struggling to take care of the ship her father left her, Audrey finally broke down, tears streaming as she cried, "Go ahead! Kill! We’re dead anyway, I... I’ll kill you first!" Fatty was startled by her sudden outburst. On the screen, he saw the chick rushing out of the command room with an energy gun in her hand, seemingly heading for the power cabin.

Fatty was dumbfounded, shouting into the communicator, "Hey, hey, lady, let’s talk this out, hey... damn woman, this ship really can double its speed!" But Audrey, having stormed out of the command room, could not hear him. As Fatty yelled into the communicator, someone grabbed his collar. He turned to see Old Ghost Ivan, eyes glimmering, trembling with excitement, "Can... can you really increase the speed?"

Fatty barked, "If we’re just waiting to die, smashing your control console would be easier. Why would I need the damned password?" Ivan seized this lifeline, his eyes shining, "I know, I know, I’ve always felt something was off with this system, but never had the chance to figure it out before..." Fatty, gritting his teeth, growled, "Password!" Wake-up call, Ivan quickly lunged at the power system control terminal, pulled out a key, inserted it into the keyhole on the console, turned it, and a monitor and keyboard rose from a hidden panel. He repeatedly entered the password, and as the engines stopped, the entire Apollo’s thrusters shut down, drifting quietly through space with only inertia. The lights went out, everything fell silent and dark. After a few seconds, the emergency lights flickered on, shedding a faint light in the power cabin.

Fatty picked up a civilian repair arm nearby and was about to walk into the power equipment room when suddenly, the door to the power cabin burst open. Audrey, tears streaming down her face, charged in, pointing her gun at Fatty and screaming, "You’re with Redbeard! I’ll kill you!" Fatty panicked, only managing to dodge and leap into the equipment room. A series of energy bullets whizzed over his head, hitting the steel plates of the equipment room with a rapid clang.