Infinite Metaverse

Chapter 9: Novice Electrician

Fu Qinghai took a deep breath, steadying himself. The shard of glass—the person had used it to spot him through the reflection. That meant their position was easy to determine: diagonally behind him, in the direction from which Pabo had crawled.

Turning to face that direction, Fu Qinghai slowly backed away, gripping the shock lance he had slung over his shoulder. He carefully chose his words and called out, "Excuse me, who are you?"

The eye he had seen in the reflection was unmistakably human. A human meant communication was possible, which was far better than encountering some twisted warp entity.

The gruff voice let out a mocking laugh. "Hmph. Want to know? Come over here and find out."

Fu Qinghai thought to himself, 'Why doesn't he come over here and talk to me instead?' He continued to back away slowly.

...Unless he 'can't' come over here?

Confirming his suspicion, Fu Qinghai retreated further, stepping behind the half-open cabin door where no shard of glass could reflect his position. Raising his voice, he said, "Esteemed... uh, sir, I mean no harm. I am a law-abiding citizen of the Imperium, a resident of Colony Planet 17-974, Cheslatan. My name is Hiddrick."

"I happened to pass by this place and inadvertently disturbed you... Please forgive my intrusion."

The voice let out a raspy, unpleasant chuckle. "Happened to pass by, eh? And maybe help yourself to some of my belongings while you're at it?"

"I just want to understand the situation, sir. That's all," Fu Qinghai replied loudly, while inching further into the cabin.

"There's an automated defense turret in the corridor, still operational. If you're not afraid, feel free to keep going," the voice drawled lazily.

Huh? Fu Qinghai peered into the dark corridor beyond the cabin door but saw nothing. He cautiously twisted the flashlight at the end of his shock lance, illuminating the area.

A thin red beam of light suddenly lit up from the depths of the corridor, instantly locking onto Fu Qinghai's flashlight.

'Damn it!' Fu Qinghai scrambled out of the cabin, rolling clumsily to safety. The red beam vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

The raspy laughter echoed again. "Poor little mouse, scurrying around in fear."

Despite his clumsy movements, Fu Qinghai remained calm. In the brief moment the flashlight had illuminated the corridor, he had seen more than just the red beam. There were fresh, mangled body parts in the corner—likely the remains of someone torn apart by heavy-caliber gunfire.

The person had been talking but hadn't moved. The distance of the voice hadn't changed either.

'He saw me first but couldn't come over. He's trapped!'

Having reached this conclusion, Fu Qinghai felt a bit more at ease. He sat down slowly, catching his breath. The voice fell silent.

Fu Qinghai picked up a piece of scrap metal and tossed it toward the pile of glass shards. The 'clang' ensured the mysterious figure could no longer use the reflection to observe him.

By analyzing the angle of the reflection, Fu Qinghai deduced the man's approximate location. The ship was tilted, turning what was once the floor into a wall and the wall into the floor. To Fu Qinghai's left was a collapsed bulkhead and a steel walkway, now a pile of debris blocking a half-open cabin door.

To his right was a tall, wide door. Judging by the charred fabrics and shattered stained glass, it seemed to lead to a small chapel or similar space, much more spacious than the left side. However, since Pabo's body had been facing away from it, Fu Qinghai had avoided going that way.

As Fu Qinghai sat pondering, a spark erupted from the end of a thick cable in the corner, casting a brief, pale light across the dim space.

Fu Qinghai looked down at the shock lance in his hand.

'Pop!' A bubble burst in the sea of thoughts from Tony Stark electronic soul backup in his mind.

'If there are sparks, that means some of the ship's power systems are still operational...' Fu Qinghai unscrewed the flashlight from the end of the shock lance and began disassembling the weapon, exposing its battery and transformer components. His mind grew clearer as he worked.

After removing the battery, Fu Qinghai rewired the shock lance's components by hand. He then approached the thick, sparking cable, grabbed its insulated outer layer, and pulled with all his might. With a loud 'clatter', the cable came free from the debris.

Fu Qinghai stared at the two ends: one was a thick cable as wide as a man's arm, and the other was the slender metal shock lance.

'I don't even have a basic electrician's license,' Fu Qinghai thought, 'but I feel like I can make this work.'

As Fu Qinghai tinkered with the cable, the gruff voice remained silent, either tired or bored. Fu Qinghai ignored it and focused on his task.

Fifteen minutes later, Fu Qinghai dragged the heavy cable behind him, holding the modified shock lance in his other hand. He marched resolutely toward the door from which Pabo's body had emerged.

Fragments of information swirled in his mind: 'Modified shock lance, external power source. Based on the transformer and circuit board load, this weapon's durability: one use.'

In other words, it would burn out after a single shot.

Fu Qinghai extended the baton around the corner.

The ship remained silent. No barrage of bullets came flying at him.

He peeked his head out and quickly pulled it back.

Still nothing. No blades whistling through the air.

Finally, Fu Qinghai mustered his courage and lunged forward.

What he saw made him freeze.

Not far ahead, a massive, burly man with a rugged Eastern face sat slumped against a walkway, glaring at Fu Qinghai with a look that said, 'What the hell are you doing, idiot?'

***

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