Amir moved quickly on his tiptoes toward the Dead Hand member ahead. The scattered machinery on the roof was his greatest cover.
But rapid movement inevitably made noise. The shirtless youth with the Mohawk sensed something and looked back.
Amir didn't have time to dodge, so he stepped forward, ignited his lightsaber, and thrust it into the man's chest.
The blade pierced through his body. Before he could make a sound, he lost all strength and collapsed to the ground.
Although there was no scream, the flash of the lightsaber attracted the attention of a lookout on another roof.
At this moment, 32 and Valera, who were a step behind, jumped up. If they didn't come up now, they would be discovered by the people below!
But their sudden appearance was spotted immediately. A Trandoshan on a nearby roof widened his reptilian eyes and roared in their direction: "Who's there?!"
This shout drew all eyes in the vicinity to the small rooftop. Naturally, they saw the corpse of their associate and the intruders who hadn't had time to hide.
Joan and Milisen huddled tightly behind a large piece of machinery, but 32 and Valera weren't so lucky.
Behind them, a patrolling human heard the noise and immediately raised his blaster, looking up.
"Draw them away!" Amir mouthed to 32 and Valera. He had already been discovered and couldn't stay put; he could only hope that Milisen and Joan could remain hidden.
Hearing Amir's instruction, 32 turned decisively. His legs exploded with power as he leaped toward another rooftop. Valera dropped down toward the Dead Hand member below her, her legs describing an elegant arc in the air as she kicked the man's head, crushing it instantly.
Amir glanced at Joan and Milisen, then flipped over the edge into the adjacent alleyway.
At this point, the attention concentrated on the roof had been diverted. Joan held Milisen down, motionless, waiting quietly.
Infiltrating the camp was almost impossible now. The personnel density was much higher than imagined, patrolling with almost no blind spots.
"Follow me closely in a moment." Joan patted Milisen on the shoulder; she had decided to leave.
The two crouched in the shadows and retreated gradually until they reached the edge of the roof.
The people nearby had been drawn away by Amir and the others. In the distance, several strings of blaster bolts could be seen chasing a figure in a black robe—32 running across the rooftops.
As the commotion moved away, Joan took Milisen and flipped down from the roof.
When they had jumped up earlier, there was a Ratway entrance nearby. It should connect to various parts of this district.
Joan took Milisen and dove directly into it.
. . .
Amir hadn't expected to be discovered so easily. Ultimately, it was because there were too many of them; moving as a group inevitably left a long tail.
Now that they had split up, Amir quickly shook off the gazes chasing him and ducked into the corner of a house.
As for the door lock, he had easily opened it with the Force.
BD-4, who had clung tightly to Amir's back when he jumped, was now at the window, observing the situation outside.
"Looks like we have to act separately." Amir wasn't too worried about the safety of the others.
32 went without saying; if he wanted to run, no one could stop him. Ordinary blasters would struggle to cause serious damage to his modified plating.
Milisen had a lightsaber and the Smart Tactical Backpack, giving her some ability to protect herself, and Joan would protect her too.
Now, he just had to consider his own next move.
. . .
Inside the Ratway
Just after entering, Joan heard footsteps not far away.
Tiptoeing forward, swaying figures appeared in the lights ahead.
Milisen and Joan quickly turned into a fork in the tunnel, running away from the direction of the approaching people.
But they hadn't moved far when other people came toward them from the front.
Meeting on a narrow path, Joan didn't hide. She drew her blaster pistol directly and fired first, taking out the two men who poked their heads out.
Hearing the gunshots, a dense sound of footsteps and shouting soon came from around the corner.
Joan looked back at the passage in the opposite direction and urged Milisen, "Run!"
Knowing the situation was urgent, Milisen activated the Smart Tactical Backpack and ran forward. Joan followed closely behind her, her attention focused on the corner behind them.
Suddenly, someone else rushed over. Joan immediately fired, forcing them back behind the wall.
She could feel that with the constant gunfire, more and more people were converging on this location.
Joan grew increasingly anxious.
"We have to leave the Ratway quickly; it's too easy to get blocked in here!"
"We need to find an exit!" Milisen scouted ahead of Joan. She reached another fork and looked left and right, unsure which way to go.
"Keep moving in one direction; there will definitely be an exit!" Joan fired backward again, killing a Dead Hand member who tried to advance.
Milisen ran constantly in front. Suddenly, three enemies holding blasters rushed out from the front. As Milisen raised her hand, the backpack fired directly forward, knocking down the person in the lead and maintaining a continuous output of fire.
The other two were startled and hurriedly rolled back around the corner, their hearts filled with shock and suspicion. They would have died if they had been a second slower.
What the hell is that little girl carrying?
But they couldn't hide forever.
One of them nudged his companion, signaling him to go up and check.
But the companion wasn't stupid. You want me to go up? If I get my head blown off, who pays for it?!
No way. I'd rather die than go.
So the two were stalemated, neither advancing nor retreating.
Seconds ticked by. They couldn't hear any sound near them anymore, only a few gunshots from the distance.
So they got bolder.
One of them quietly peeked his head out, only to find that the little girl was gone from the corridor.
"She's gone!" he shouted to his cowardly partner behind him.
"Gone?"
Gone was good. So the two walked out.
At this moment, a woman holding a blaster pistol suddenly rushed out from the corner ahead. The first thing she did was look around frantically.
"Where is Milisen?!"
Joan had been held up by the pursuers behind her and hadn't been watching Milisen, who was scouting ahead. Now that she had finally caught up, Milisen was missing!
Facing the murderous Joan, the two men fired in a panic. But Joan was already charging forward. She activated the shield on her arm, blocking all the attacks.
Closing the distance, she shot one man directly in the head, then used her slender arm to lift the other man into the air, swinging him over her head and slamming him onto the ground.
"Where is that little girl?" Joan interrogated him.
"I... I don't know! She suddenly disappeared!"
Raising her hand to knock the man unconscious, Joan turned her head. She suddenly saw a small opening appear in the wall nearby. Milisen's small head popped out from inside.
"Joan, I'm here!" Milisen shouted.
Joan breathed a sigh of relief seeing Milisen unharmed, then looked at the hole in confusion.
"What is this?"
"It's him." Milisen looked inside the opening. A dirty-faced child peeked out from within.
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