1. The wanted fugitive, while running away.

The vast universe, and the countless stars embedded in it like rice grains.

A tiny spaceship was racing through the vast private space of those stars. There was, of course, a story behind why this small spaceship was driven out to this remote area where there was no civilization or life.

"Fuck, just how far are they going to chase me...!"

Kal Jale, the owner of the spaceship, slammed his fist into the head of the dashboard. Whether it had been hit too often, that specific spot had subtly caved in, shaped like a fist.

Ellie, the android sitting in the passenger seat, made a ppi-ro-ring electronic sound and gave an unnecessary briefing.

"Master, the distance to the opponent has narrowed to within 100,000 kilometers. If we don't accelerate further, we will be caught within 5 minutes."

"You want me to become a space drifter?"

"Or get caught..."

"Caught?"

"Caught, sir."

Fuck this.

Ppi-ro-ring, ppi-ro-ring. Ellie was making meaningless electronic sounds, pretending to be busy while racking her brain. Of course, Kal didn't have the energy to worry about such things right now. He had to think of a way to shake these guys off.

But that required energy, and what could he do with this piece of junk spaceship? There wasn't even a heat-emitting star nearby, so recharging energy was out of the question.

"There's no other way..."

Kal resigned himself. These money-crazy bastards had chased him even at the risk of becoming drifters themselves. He could actually die at any moment.

Just then, Ellie pulled up a recommended item.

"I just searched, and there is a good action for times like this."

"...A good action?"

"Masturbating makes you feel comfortable."

This damn tin can.

Kal slammed his palm into the back of the tin can's head. Ppi-bik. An electronic sound burst out, and noise briefly covered the screen.

"Ah, so, sorry. I, I will put the screen up."

Aang, aang, joaang, joo-oaang.

A lewd scene played on Ellie's screen. It was a scene he particularly favored.

"No, fuck, we're about to get caught, why are you doing that!"

"I apologize. I did not understand Master's high-level thoughts. Please forgive me. ...Ugh, what do you want?"

Just then, a signal came from the opponent's spaceship. It meant they had gotten that close.

Kal swore, "Fuck," and turned on the screen. A pale-faced woman popped out on the screen. She was quite pretty, surprisingly so for a bounty hunter. Of course, Kal wasn't swayed by her looks. It meant she was strong enough to keep those fierce men under her command.

"Fuck, I'll live longer than you, so don't worry."

"Maybe there's noise in your eyes."

Kal gave her a double middle finger. She made a face as if she had been hurt and started acting up.

The woman's eyes turned vicious.

"Fuck you, let's see if you catch me. Na-na-na-boo-boo, die, you bitch."

Kal turned off the screen before she could reply. Android Ellie made a ppi-ro-ring electronic sound.

"This is not a recommended method. I recommend reconnecting and begging for your life in a cowardly manner. ...Aren't I going to die too if we do this?"

"Fu-uck, if I die, I die. Accelerating. Fuck, I don't know anymore."

"...Really?"

"Accelerate already! If we get caught, we're dead!"

The connection signal was coming back, ttoo-reu-reu, ttoo-reu-reu. He blocked it. So, the interior became quiet.

Ellie displayed a sour expression on the screen and started slowly pushing the lever with her mechanical arm. The spaceship, which was already almost out of energy, displayed warning signs several times to stop his actions, but he didn't even listen.

"Accelerating."

The spaceship roared and accelerated forward. The distance from the opponent grew further and further. Kal laughed like a madman. No matter how crazy that woman was, she wouldn't be able to follow him this far. ...However, he had underestimated the bounty hunter's love for money.

If it had been a decent bounty, they would have considered it bad luck and backed off, but there was an astronomical bounty on Kal's head. Enough to buy not just one or two buildings, but dozens. If they just caught Kal, they could quit being bounty hunters and live a new life.

So this crazy woman started accelerating too. Such a crazy bitch! Kal was genuinely panicked.

Are we really going to get caught...?

He hadn't even expected this when he first started being chased. He had already lived the life of a fugitive on the run for 5 years. He had skillfully shaken off most pursuers to the point where they would click their tongues, but this was the first time he'd met someone this persistent. At this rate, he was really going to become a space drifter.

From here on, it was a true battle of guts. Usually, pursuers would drop out here. Even if they used all their energy to catch Kal, they wouldn't have the energy to return.

If it were the center of the galaxy, they might be lucky enough to be found, but this was the edge of the galaxy. The distance to any communicable civilization was so far that even multiple space jumps wouldn't reach it. There was no longer any possibility of being found, even by luck.

"Wow, fuck, this is driving me crazy."

Kal kept hitting the dashboard head with his fist. He was waiting with bated breath for the opponent to slow down. But in the end, that woman chased him to the very end.

Eventually, the energy storage rate, which had been pointing at 1%, dropped to 0%. The decimal points were decreasing rapidly.

Kal's mouth was parched. Are we really going to die together? Eventually, when the spaceship's energy ran out, the lights inside the spaceship went out with a tak. He replaced the electrical energy needed to keep only the dashboard on with light energy coming from afar.

"Fuck..."

He leaned his body deep into the backrest. Now, there was no choice but to keep flying out of the galaxy like this. He looked at the space outside the window, feeling bleak.

Kal finally unblocked the opponent's communication. A communication signal came immediately. There was no energy to even turn on the screen, so only the sound was transmitted.

"Fuck, you should stop chasing me!"

"Then we all die."

He could feel the woman grinding her teeth. However, Kal had one last move left. It was his trump card.

Of course, this wasn't a way to escape being a space drifter. But at least he could give the opponent a big "fuck you."

It was a bit of an extreme method, though...

Still, he couldn't just get caught easily. He had to struggle until the very end.

The distance to the opponent was steadily narrowing. Of course, their speeds were very fast. Ellie fussed that they would be caught within 3 minutes and 11 seconds at this rate.

"At 1 minute, fire the timer missile."

"Understood."

"Forward."

At the word "forward," not backward, Ellie made a strange ppi-ro-ring electronic sound.

"Forward, you say?"

"Yes, use the explosive force to reduce acceleration as much as possible. Then the opponent will be flustered too. If we're lucky, we might be able to shake them off."

"If done incorrectly, it could cause physical damage to the spaceship."

"That's why you calculate it well and fire it. Calculate even the explosive force. You've done it once before. Calculate it with that data value."

Ppi-ro-ring, ppi-ro-ring. The sound of Ellie's head spinning was loud. The android was in a frenzy calculating the missile's direction and speed.

The distance between the two had now narrowed to 2 minutes. A communication signal came again.

"I don't have the energy to stop, you bitch."

"Yeah, my bounty is super expensive. You won't be able to hit me. I'm so fragile that I'll die if I get hit once."

The steadily decreasing time soon became 1 minute. Kal shouted at Ellie to fire.

Shwi-i-ik.

The missile was fired forward. It flew for about 20 seconds and then exploded.

Boom-boom-boom-boom!!!!

It was an immense explosive force. It soon swallowed the fuselage. The spaceship began to shake violently, deu-deu-deu-deu. Loud warning sounds, waeng-waeng, beat his ears mercilessly.

"You, fuuuuuck...!"

Kal closed his eyes tightly and waited for the vibration to disappear. Soon the vibration stopped. He opened his eyes again. Wii-yong, wii-yong. Warning sounds that damage had occurred here and there were bursting out. There were even places where holes had been punched. The passage to those places was quickly closed.

Ellie said she was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠able to reduce the speed safely. Still, the speed moving forward hadn't been reduced entirely. However, it was a change enough to fluster the opponent. The direction had also shifted sharply.

Please, please.

Kal prayed to a non-existent god. That the opponent would no longer have the energy to chase him...

However, the opponent turned even their direction and chased his spaceship.

It's over.

The attempt was definitely good, but it seemed the opponent had more energy left than expected. In the end, he was caught by the opponent. The bounty hunter's spaceship approached close enough to be seen with the naked eye and then maintained its speed. Soon, a communication signal came again.

"...Understood."

There was nothing more he could do. Kal gave up and decided to get caught obediently. Ellie asked if he was really going to get caught.

"Then do you think I'm getting caught for real or fake?"

"Then what about me?"

"You have to get caught together."

"I don't want to die yet."

"Who ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠kills a home robot. Fuck, they'll use you to their heart's content."

"That's a relief."

Even if it was junk, androids were expensive. If it were those money-loving bastards, they would definitely eat it up happily.

Soon, a teleportation signal came. There were two unidentified objects. Kal accepted.

Two men holding guns came to the teleportation room. They looked very fierce, just like faces that screamed, "I am a bounty hunter." There were even nicely carved scars that could be easily removed with surgery.

"Hey, come with your hands up. Try even a little bit of funny business. Fuuuuck, everyone's dying."

A man with a bald head and a red face spoke so fiercely. Kal approached him with both hands raised. He already had a resigned expression.

"Fuck, we suffered so much because of you, you son of a bitch."

"Hey, fuck, take it easy. Fuck, you know my bounty is super expensive, right? One scratch is one building, you asshole? Huh?!"

While the red-headed guy and Kal were bickering, the big colleague discovered the android Ellie.

"Boss, there's an android here too?"

"But it's super junk?"

"Got it."

After the red-headed bald guy tied Kal up, the big colleague tapped the head of Ellie, who was standing blankly. Ji-ji-jik, noise covered the face screen.

"Hey, you're coming too."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Yes, yes...! I will follow."

The guy's eyes looked down at Ellie's body. The voice was like that, and the body was a female figure. The guy showed a sinister smile toward Kal.

"How's the taste of fucking an android?"

"Fuck, is it good to stick it in metal?"

"There are guys who like fucking machines."

"I, I can do it well!"

Ellie suddenly played a lewd scene on the screen. Aang, aang... It was that one Kal enjoyed watching. The red-headed bald guy giggled.

"Times have changed, fuck, enjoy it on screen. You have to go to virtual reality. You know there are a ton of hot chicks?"

"Yeah, loser who can't do it in reality."

"You, you, son of a bitch...!"

"Hit me. Hit me. Uh, fuck, one hit is one building. If you're going to hit, hit."

"You fucker."

The red-headed bald guy was trembling, but eventually lowered his fist. Kal kept mocking him. The two held back, thinking about the money somehow.

Three men and one android moved to the bounty hunter's spaceship. There, one woman pointing a gun and the female captain from earlier were standing.

"What is this guy... He's super handsome?"

The screen seen earlier had a lot of noise, so it wasn't clear what he looked like. Kal, seen in person, was a great handsome man. Enough to make a pussy twitch.

"Yeah, sorry, but I'm not going to give it to you."

"You'd better shut your mouth before I drill your ass."

At the female captain's warning, Kal quickly shut ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠his mouth. It seemed better to shut up and read the room.

She nodded her head toward her subordinates. Kal was locked in prison while bound.

"What should we do with the android?"

"Turn it off and stick it in the warehouse."

"Ah, I, I can work well!"

"Even if it's a home robot, it's an android. You'll get got if you're not careful. Turn it off quickly."

The red-headed bald guy turned off Ellie's power. Her head slumped down. The female captain smiled meaningfully and looked at Kal. Fuck. Kal pretended not to, but he was bitter inside. The attempt to counter-attack using Ellie seemed to have failed for now.

"Energy?"

"It's a little less than 3%."

"Fuck, I almost died because of that guy."

The spaceship slowly turned its direction. Space travel was energy they couldn't even dream of.

"Any high-temperature stars nearby?"

"It will take at least three days to fly there."

"Fuuuuck."

The female captain kicked the footboard nervously. Her subordinates, who knew her temper, flinched despite their size.

"We're going there for now. Just in case, maintain the energy. There are no asteroid clusters nearby, right?"

"There aren't any."

"Turn on the auto-navigation system."

"Turned it on."

"Fuuuuck..., it's over."

The female captain raised both arms high. The subordinate guys laughed and giggled. She shouted loudly.

"Fuck, now we're rich!!"