Chapter 693
Chapter 693
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 693
Chapter Title: Vanguard? Alien Invasion
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Reisi extended her hand to me.
"Hold my hand, Yu-jin."
I stared blankly at her hand.
I knew there were traitors among the higher-ups. It had been mentioned in the original movie, and it made no sense for the aliens not to plant spies inside or bribe the elite— they weren't idiots.
"What are you hesitating for? Earth is done for already."
If I didn't have knowledge and information about the original story, I might have thought the same as her. Bractasia was an alien civilization with technology that could close impossible distances in an instant. From their perspective, Earth must look like nothing more than a primitive, barbaric world.
But the alien invasion fails.
If it succeeded, that'd be one thing. There was no reason to bet on its failure otherwise.
"Reisi. You come over here."
I reached out to her instead.
"...Betray Bractasia?"
"That's right. In the end, Earth will fend off even the great invasion."
"Have you lost your mind? As an OPF agent, you know full well the level of Bractasia's tech."
"During the invasion, they won't be able to use their technology to its full potential. The weapons they can bring through warp are limited."
Bractasia had all sorts of constraints. From the fact that they were tens of billions of light-years away and couldn't come to Earth without special warp tech, to their goal of occupying rather than destroying the planet, and the political situation within Bractasia itself.
All in all, while it looked grim for Earth, Bractasia wasn't an unbeatable foe. Earth had heroes with special powers, after all.
"Earth will still lose. The gap is too wide. I just can't understand your thinking."
"I'm a bit different from the others."
"Last chance. Hold my hand, Yu-jin."
"I'll say it one last time too. Hold my hand, Reisi. Earth will win, and I don't want to lose you."
"There's no chance Earth wins! Not even heroes can handle Bractasia! Earth's future is as a Bractasian colony!"
Reisi shouted in frustration. She'd said it was her last offer, but she couldn't let me go. As expected from my fuck buddy. I took her hand and pulled her into my arms.
"Be honest. You don't want to betray humanity."
I knew Reisi's personality. She was a bit arrogant and rough around the edges, but not beyond saving.
"...I have no choice. Better to die than live as a slave..."
"I can help you. Bractasia's invasion will fail, and Earth will win."
"...Can you take responsibility?"
"Huh?"
"Can you take responsibility for me?"
"What kind of stupid question is that?"
I kissed Reisi. A deep kiss lingered for a while.
Then, something suddenly clicked. The safe place Reisi mentioned was Bractasia. In other words, she could leave for Bractasia before the great invasion.
"Reisi! I need your help!"
???
I reported to the upper echelons and made a proposal.
Using humanity's traitors to travel to the Bractasia planet and sabotage them from the inside. The upper echelons accepted my idea positively. If it succeeded, it would deal a massive blow to Bractasia.
And in the end, I ended up taking the mission myself.
'...This is unexpected.'
My original plan had one of the heroes going to the Bractasia planet. A hero with strong powers would have a higher success rate.
But the upper echelons saw it differently. They must have thought this infiltration mission needed experience over raw power, so they assigned it to me. Probably because I was the one who proposed the plan.
'Damn it. Shouldn't have stepped up. The heroes would handle it fine without this.'
I accepted the mission. I was the one who made the plan, and success would secure my future. Well, blocking the invasion successfully completes the quest anyway, so no big gains.
'There's a very slim chance, but the butterfly effect from my variable—something not in the original—might prevent us from stopping the invasion.'
So I decided to go myself.
I moved with Reisi and the traitors to the designated location. Most of the traitors were from society's elite.
"This is the first time meeting face-to-face like this. Who would've thought you'd be dating my daughter."
Reisi's father offered a handshake. I smiled and shook his hand.
"It's an honor to meet you."
He had no idea about the mission I was on.
"I... no, we welcome your choice."
The traitors said with friendly smiles. I memorized every one of their names and faces. They'd be arrested after the mission. They'd rot in prison for life.
There were 20 in total, and we all boarded a bus together. The bus arrived at a mountain—a private one. It soon entered a dark tunnel. We got off deep inside and headed underground.
Reisi gripped my hand tightly as we walked, her palms slick with cold sweat. She'd betrayed her own father for me and Earth. It was her first time doing something like this, so she must be nervous about getting caught.
I squeezed her hand and whispered softly.
"Don't tense up too much. It'll all work out. Act normal."
"Y-yeah, I know."
After descending the underground stairs, a wide space opened up. There stood a Bractasian and a warp gate to the Bractasia planet.
The Bractasian resembled a goblin. Except its skin was gray instead of green, and its intelligence was incomparably higher.
"Hahaha. Our comrades have arrived!"
The Bractasian laughed. The traitors couldn't laugh. They could hear the mockery in that tone.
Reisi's father stepped forward.
"We've upheld our end of the deal. Now it's your turn."
"Heh. Don't worry. You'll be safe. Now, activate the warp gate!"
The Bractasians hurriedly activated the warp gate.
"Pass through this gate, and you'll reach the place you'll stay for a while. Wait there until the war ends. The rest of the contract rewards will be paid after."
"We trust you."
We entered the warp gate, tension high.
"Hehehehe."
"Kekeke."
The surrounding Bractasians laughed at us. It was blatant ridicule. The traitors clenched their jaws and ignored it. They knew freaking out here would only bring trouble.
I stepped into the warp gate. Suddenly, my body floated in empty space. Before I could think it was weird, my feet hit solid ground.
I instinctively inhaled. Cold, sharp air stabbed my lungs. Looking around, it was a dark, damp room. Iron bars blocked the front. Despite Bractasia's advanced tech, it was a primitive prison.
That's right. We'd been thrown into a prison.
"Heh. Stupid Earthlings."
A Bractasian laughed beyond the bars. It carried a white toy-like gun on its hip.
"What is this treachery! This breaks the contract!"
"Heh. You idiots. Why would we honor promises with primitives like you?"
"We made a deal with Bractasia's prince!"
"This is the prince's order. You'll be executed at an appropriate time after the war ends. Stay put until then. Hehehe."
"The Bractasia prince! Let us speak to the prince!"
"You have no idea your place. The prince doesn't meet trash just because you want to."
"Take us back! This violates the contract!"
"Heh. Idiots."
The Bractasian left.
Those left in the prison slumped to the floor in a daze. Reisi's father grabbed the bars and yelled, but only empty echoes returned.
"What is the meaning of this! This isn't what was promised!"
"Damn it! If I'd known, I'd have fought for humanity to the end...!"
"We need to find a way back to Earth!"
"It's over now... They'll kill us painfully, so better end it ourselves before..."
The prison was chaos. Reisi's father tried to calm everyone as best he could. It worked somewhat—he had the charisma to lead. But it wouldn't last as time dragged on.
I put my arm around Reisi's waist beside me. Her eyes shook with panic.
"Calm down, Reisi."
"Yu-jin... Things went wrong. This... this isn't right..."
"There'll be an opportunity. Calm down."
In a way, it was predictable. From Bractasia's view, the people on Earth were no different from us. Killing us was far better than keeping us alive. No reason to spare us.
I soothed Reisi while assessing the situation.
'Bars. Clean, so it's a makeshift prison. No special tech means they're thoroughly underestimating us.'
A normal human couldn't break them. But I could. My strength was enough for these bars.
'And I brought some items.'
The Bractasians hadn't checked our belongings at all. Makes sense. To them, we were no better than beasts.
I patted the pouch on my waist. A magic pouch made by Dorothy. Using the items inside wisely could sow chaos in Bractasia.
'The annoying parts...'
CC TV on the ceiling and patrolling tin-can robots nearby.
'Can't escape right now. Have to wait for an opening.'
Things got messy. But an opportunity would come. I decided to wait quietly.
???
As expected, the prisoners' moods grew edgier over time. Petty arguments turned to fistfights. But over half stayed calm, preventing major incidents.
'Revealing my identity could stabilize them... but I can't trust them.'
I didn't reveal myself to them. They were already humanity's betrayers. No guarantee they wouldn't betray again here.
I waited silently for a chance. Fortunately, the Bractasians fed us. Disgusting, suspicious slop, but it kept starvation at bay.
Ten days passed. The chance came. Outside the prison was unusually noisy. Bractasia's great invasion had begun.
I jumped to my feet. Pulled a gun from the magic pouch and shot the surveillance camera.
Bang!
The camera shattered. Normally, a guard would check, but not now—they were too busy.
Everyone stared at me in shock.
"Y-you. Where'd you get the gun?"
"Secret. More importantly, prepare to escape."
"Escape? Ridiculous. You think one gun can get us out? This isn't Earth—it's Bractasia."
A middle-aged man in the corner spoke. The one who'd insisted we should suicide urgently, ten times a day.
I grabbed the bars holding us. Applied strength and pulled. With an ugly screech, they bent. Soon, there was space for a person to slip through.
"If you want to give up and stay, fine by me. But you all know staying means death anyway. If we're dying regardless, shouldn't we at least try to escape?"
I stepped out through the bars. No intention of dragging anyone.
"...If we're dying anyway, might as well screw them over first."
Reisi said viciously. Starting with her, one by one followed me out. But five stayed seated on the floor. They'd given up.
I turned to the 14 following me.
"Follow me closely, and we can get back to Earth. So obey my commands."
"Got it."
They nodded. No complaints. They'd realized I was special the moment I bent the bars barehanded.