Chapter 287: Tour Group

Words : 1363 Updated : Oct 1st, 2025

Chapter 287: Tour Group Ollie, the spectator, was not sure what he was seeing. The corridor ahead was dim, but it wasn’t the ominous glow or the subtle creaks of the walls that unnerved him. It was them. The people around him—his friends, his guildmates, his terrifyingly overqualified brother—were operating with such horrifying precision that all he could do was stare down at the particle saws in his hands and quietly wonder: When exactly was I supposed to use these? First, there was Xavier, who vanished from beside them without uttering a sound—reappearing behind a patrolling pirate and disarming the man before he could so much as blink. The pirate was on the floor seconds later, stunned and very unconscious. Every now and then, Jax would swipe at someone’s head with his legs, and Ollie would be reminded just how short he was compared to these mobsters. Then, just now, he looked up just in time to watch Kyle casually sweep forward and slam the flat of his blade against the temple of a pirate who had barely rounded the corner. The man went down with a soft thump—no gunfire, no cries, just a flicker of motion and silence. Even Kyle was able to do that?! He glanced down at his weapons and then back to the scene unfolding before him. With how the rest of the group moved, he felt like a child holding dangerous toys. But more than his weapons, maybe he should think about himself.. With how they were moving, they could’ve passed for a tour group, Ollie thought miserably as he remembered how he’s the complimentary luggage. Worse still, he wasn’t even being rolled like a suitcase but was being carried. But mind you, it wasn’t because Ollie asked for it but because it should’ve occurred to him that no boots against the metal floors could be heard because everyone else was padding their feet with spiritual energy. He hadn’t learned that yet! Ollie could only way inwardly. He had yet to learn how to pad his body with spiritual energy to cushion blows or, in this case, sound, something that apparently everyone else had mastered. Including his good brother Luca. Luca stayed behind in all this, but not for the same reasons as Ollie. There really has been no need to do anything just yet. Not when Xavier and Jax made up the vanguard and were cutting a clean path forward with almost surgical efficiency. And not when Killian was in charge of rounding up the pirates with the restraints he had with him. Now, why did he have such a supply of restraints with him? One wouldn’t know, but one younger brother surely didn’t want to ask. Thanks to D-29’s locators, their infiltration through the commuter craft was swift and surgical. The pirates had lost central command, allowing the party to pick off stragglers one by one before any alerts could go out. The same locator also allowed them to split along the two primary access routes toward the passenger lobby. Their group—six strong—had temporarily formed a surgical strike unit, with Kyle’s expensive brother planning to branch off toward the secondary entrance once they got closer to the central chamber. But easy prey wouldn’t be their only obstacle. As they approached a turn, D-29 urgently interrupted, "Host! There’s an anomaly—a high-density explosive has been detected on the next enemy." Luca froze. "Where exactly?" "It appears to be located inside the target’s mouth. Specifically, embedded within a tooth." D-29 prompted. Also unsure as to why such a location would be optimal. But the little system was created for survival, not war, and it was only surprised to learn that it was used for the opposite purpose. It was Sid who could explain as they all needed to stay as quiet as possible. "Master, those are suicide bombers." "They break artificial teeth to activate embedded explosives when captured or dying. Some have neck implants that trigger automatically upon death. Federation technique, widely adopted by others since then." Luca stared in horror at the revelation, only to notice Xavier quietly slipping gloves onto his hands. "???" "???" Luca and Ollie both wondered just what was happening. And the doting Husband noticed his little chipmunk’s gaze. These were enemies they couldn’t risk capturing. But that wasn’t something he could vocalize right now. And frankly, he didn’t want to. Because he didn’t want to broach this conversation if possible. However, the gloves were coming on because if he was going to be forced to deal with this one, he didn’t want the same hands that would hold Luca to be stained with blood. Maybe he’ll just explain later. Reasoned the coward to himself. Xavier gave a slight nod to Luca, who was still blinking at the situation. Then, almost too quickly for anyone to track, Xavier was gone. Luca only saw a blur as Xavier darted forward, his spiritual energy masking his footsteps completely. The Prince, who honestly looked more like a phantom, reached out, fingers wrapped decisively around the pirate’s head—and with a swift, practiced motion, twisted. A quiet, clean crack echoed down the hallway. The man slumped. Not a single sound escaped him. He didn’t get to have that chance. The body was caught mid-fall, then lowered silently to the ground. Ollie visibly paled, eyes widening. His breath caught for a whole three seconds, stunned by the violence. Luca’s eyes, however, were locked on Xavier’s back. Luca, who was no stranger to witnessing death, felt an unexpected jolt. It wasn’t the first time he’d seen someone die. Not even the first time someone had been killed in front of him. But it wasn’t the act itself, but the person performing it that made his heart skip. Xavier, who smiled gently, who kissed his knuckles when he was nervous, who helped him wrap jars in ribbon when they made roll-up boxes for deliveries together. The one who— Xavier turned. Their eyes met. The Prince straightened slowly, nerves tightening. It wasn’t the killing that worried him, nor was it the rising death toll. It was Luca’s reaction that he feared the most. Would his chipmunk finally see him for the monster that he really was? Yet, Luca’s voice interrupted Xavier’s anxiety with an unexpected request. "Xavier, teach me how to do that." Luca knew that they were supposed to keep quiet, but he felt like he needed to say this now. And maybe his hunch was correct. For the group turned sharply, visibly shocked. "You want to learn this?" Xavier stared, baffled. "Yes," Luca said quietly but firmly. "Why?" "Because," Luca’s eyes darkened with thought, "what if something like this happens in public?" "The number of people implicated if a bomb goes off would be catastrophic. I need to be able to stop it." He said with narrowed eyes. The logic was admirable, if grimly practical. But Luca wasn’t finished. "And it’s also easier," he continued bluntly, "to revive a single person with a broken neck who deserved it than to pick up the scattered pieces of multiple innocent victims." "?!" Ollie hugged the revive pills tightly, realizing that his good brother had very different ideas about using these precious commodities. But one Prince interpreted this differently. Xavier stared at Luca, a mixture of disbelief and awe crossing his face. His expression morphed gradually into a suppressed grin—though he quickly fought it down. He’d just killed a man; he probably shouldn’t look so pleased. But someone else couldn’t laugh at all—Killian, who stood in silence watching this exchange with incredulity. Was that a smile? In all the years he’d known Xavier, the Crown Prince rarely smiled enough to count on one hand. Yet here, now, he seemed to be suppressing amusement at Luca’s blunt practicality. Yet fate seemed to have no interest in letting Killian process this unusual display. The next moment, D-29 was sending another urgent alert: "Ten hostiles detected ahead—simultaneous neutralization required to prevent alerting additional enemies." The visitor wasn’t so sure about this strategy. Maybe they should just call on all the pirates to get this over with because his brain might be fried by the time this was all over.

Chapter 287: Tour Group

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