Chapter 263: Allen's Enemy Luring Plan
After a bit of exploration, they successfully located the central control room.
Unfortunately, the control console and cockpit had both been damaged beyond use.
The technology of the engineer civilization was simply too ancient—it would be extremely difficult to repair.
With their hopes dashed, they had no choice but to retreat to the ship and wait for Yondu to finish repairs.
The four of them rode back in a manifested jeep.
"You guys are seriously shameless—fusing without me."
As soon as he jumped off the jeep, Allen saw that Yondu had been parasitized by Illusion, now looking somewhat like Venom.
Yondu, who had been repairing the ship, stopped what he was doing and explained, "Boss, while you were away, I found an alien egg inside the abandoned ship."
"Any surprises?" Allen asked curiously.
Illusion wriggled and morphed to reveal a mouth, and replied seriously, "Not tasty. Burned my mouth."
"You've got quite the appetite."
Allen looked at Illlusion with admiration for its adventurous spirit, then came back to his senses and asked, "The biker's not here?"
"You mean Frank?"
Yondu suddenly remembered. "He's patrolling the area on his motorcycle. Should be back any moment."
"Then we're good."
Allen walked back into the ship, completely unconcerned for Frank's safety.
Truthfully, in his Ghost Rider state, Frank wasn't exactly vulnerable to alien parasites.
Besides, Ghost Rider's combat strength in the team wasn't low at all—definitely stronger than the current Thanos and Uxas.
"You've got unread messages."
Thanos was operating the central console and pulled up the latest updates.
They had previously completed the investigation mission and uploaded the footage to the task platform.
As for why the earlier bounty hunters failed to complete the mission—it turned out they hadn't activated the AI system.
The key to activating it was a stamp-shaped key marked with an "S."
Allen knew about this because he had seen it in a movie—he saw a familiar-looking key and couldn't resist pressing it.
He clicked to view the message.
Immediately, a video popped up.
In the footage, a dignified man stood before the camera, speaking calmly: "Thank you very much for your help. The bounty has been transferred to the appropriate account…"
After the formal pleasantries, he revealed his true intention: "I have a request—please do not disclose this incident to anyone. An additional 10,000 energy credits have been added as a confidentiality fee."
A quick look at the account confirmed it—there was indeed 30,000 energy credits now.
20,000 as commission, and 10,000 as hush money.
Things started to feel fishy.
Why the secrecy?
"My guess? The Kryptonians want to study the Black Water."
Thanos hit the nail on the head.
Uxas had the same suspicion, but played dumb. After all, their public cover was that of bounty hunters from a barren planet—he had to act like he was clueless about advanced civilizations.
"Kryptonian brains must be broken. No wonder they get wiped out in the future," Allen quipped.
Charging headfirst into disaster despite knowing better—Kryptonians sure had a knack for courting death.
Still, whether they lived or died had nothing to do with them. Meddling would only get them blamed.
Right now, all they cared about was fixing the ship and getting as far away from this mess as possible.
At that moment, a roaring engine noise echoed across the plain.
Allen immediately poked his head out and saw a rider engulfed in flames speeding in from afar.
"Damn, that's badass."
Frank the Ghost Rider wore a leather jacket deliberately left unzipped, exposing the skull emblem on his chest—his entire body was a burning skeleton.
Straddling his Hellfire Harley, which looked like it was made of bone and wreathed in flame, the wheels themselves burned like two blazing rings of fire.
He pulled a perfect drift.
The Hellfire Bike screeched to a halt, dragging behind it a creature that tumbled several times across the ground, letting out sharp screeches—
An alien!
A living, regular alien.
Its arms and one leg were already severed—it had basically lost all ability to fight.
"This thing tried to ambush me, so I figured I'd bring it along," Frank said coolly.
"Looks like we're already surrounded by aliens."
Allen said seriously, "Aliens are pack hunters. If there's one, it means more are hiding nearby."
He had encountered aliens on the previous timeline—always moving in small hunting groups.
Especially dangerous in complex environments, where they relied on ambushes.
However, the ship was parked in a wide-open area, which neutralized most of the aliens' sneak-attack advantages.
Allen picked up a piece of alloy tubing and eagerly walked over to the alien.
He started poking at it with the tube, like a mischievous kid prodding cow dung with a stick.
The others looked at Allen with puzzled expressions, wondering what the hell he was up to.
Hiss...
Suddenly, the alien seemed to get angry. A half-meter-long inner tongue shot out from its jaws—its tip lined with sharp teeth.
Clack!
"Gotcha!"
Allen reacted instantly, stomping down on the tongue before it could retract.
He wedged the alloy pipe into the alien's jaws, preventing the tongue from pulling back.
"Hey, Seaweed Mom, come over here."
Allen grinned wide, excited like he had just discovered a new toy.
"Don't call me that—just call me Hela," she said with an eye roll.
"Alright, Sea Cucumber."
Allen pointed at the pipe. "Zap it."
"Zap it?"
Hela frowned in confusion, wondering just how bored he had to be to torture an alien for fun.
Allen grinned wickedly and asked, "You know the tactic Besiege Wei to Rescue Zhao?"
"Nope," Hela replied flatly.
She was the goddess of death from Asgard—why on Earth would she waste time studying ancient Chinese idioms?
"Uncultured," Allen said with mock pity, then excitedly explained, "We're gonna use the alien's howls to draw out its buddies, and then wipe them all out in one go."
"Boss, I didn't know you were such a genius tactician," Yondu added, not missing a chance to flatter him.
"You're wrong."
Allen flipped his hair confidently. "I've never liked being passive. A man should always take the initiative."
"…"
Following his instructions, Hela channeled lightning from Mjolnir into the alloy tube, sending current through the alien's body.
ROAR!
The alien's pained screeches echoed across the plains, sending chills down everyone's spines.
In the shadows, the hidden aliens simultaneously turned toward the source of the sound.
At that moment, the whole team prepared themselves for battle, ready for the swarm to arrive.
Only Yondu kept working hard on repairing the thrusters.
"Purple Yam and Uncle, you guys aren't using any weapons?"
Allen glanced at the empty-handed Thanos and Uxas. Facing aliens without weapons was a serious disadvantage.
"Can't afford it."
"I've got no money."
The two future overlords of the universe were apparently dirt poor in their youth—which explained how Allen had roped them into his shady ventures.
"You should've said so earlier."
Allen looked smug. "With me—the Ass Alchemist—you think weapons are a problem?"
He scavenged parts from the derelict ship and used his alchemy skills to forge a double-edged sword and a spear.
"Boss, why didn't you say earlier that you could craft stuff? I could've shaved two days off repair time!" Yondu grumbled.
"You didn't ask."
Allen replied coolly, "Am I supposed to go around bragging that I have four fully maxed-out professions?"
"…"