"Improvise" was Lin Ming's polite term for "cause as much mayhem as humanly possible on our way out." Their stealthy jog into the fortress had become a full-blown, chaotic sprint out of it.
"Minerva, where is Warden Krogar?" Lin Ming asked as they bolted down a corridor, plasma bolts from pursuing guards sizzling past them.
Minerva: His life-signature is moving rapidly from the command tower towards your position. He is angry. On a scale of 1 to 10, his rage-metrics are currently at 'about to burst a blood vessel'.
"Good. Keep him busy," Lin Ming said. He looked at Pham Tuan. "Tuan, remember the training? Less rock, more diamond!"
They rounded a corner and were met with a solid wall of Madakaros soldiers, at least thirty of them, blocking the corridor.
Pham Tuan didn't even slow down. He let out a bellowing war cry and plowed straight into them. This time, he didn't just tank the hits. A layer of crystalline armor flared across his body, and he became a human wrecking ball, scattering soldiers like they were made of paper. The corridor became a bottleneck of flailing aliens and one very angry juggernaut.
While Pham Tuan was enthusiastically redecorating the hallway, Lin Ming and Quynh Nhu saw their opening.
Minerva: To your right, Zenith. An auxiliary hangar bay. The schematics show several 'Dust Devil' class patrol craft.
"'Patrol craft'?" Quynh Nhu's eyes lit up with larcenous glee. "Are you suggesting we steal a second vehicle in less than an hour?"
"I'm suggesting we upgrade," Lin Ming clarified. "The White Rabbit was our taxi. This will be our getaway car."
They blasted the hangar door's lock and slipped inside. The bay was huge, containing a dozen sleek, shark-like atmospheric fighters. They were single-pilot craft, armed with plasma cannons. This was their ticket out of the fortress and off the planet.
Minerva: I can't pilot these remotely. One of you will have to fly manually.
"I've got it," Quynh Nhu said, already clambering into the cockpit of the nearest fighter. "The controls are similar to the White Rabbit's simulator, just with more things that go 'pew pew pew'."
Lin Ming stood guard at the door. He could hear the sounds of Pham Tuan's one-man riot getting closer, along with the enraged screams of Warden Krogar.
"Hurry up, Nhu!"
"I'm trying!" she yelled back, her voice muffled from the cockpit. "This thing's start-up menu is in 'Evil Alien Overlord' dialect! Where's the 'on' button?!"
Just then, Pham Tuan came skidding into the hangar, a new, glittering layer of diamond-like sheen on his arms. "Leader! There are... many... angry people coming this way!"
Hot on his heels was Warden Krogar. The grizzled old commander was a terrifying sight. He was easily a Peak Foundation Establishment cultivator, his Qi a thick, oppressive wave. He wielded a massive, serrated power axe.
"INSECTS!" Krogar roared, his eyes locking on them. "You have defiled my fortress and poisoned my men! You will die for your insolence!"
He charged, ignoring everyone else, his gaze fixed on Lin Ming, whom he correctly identified as the ringleader.
The power axe swung. Lin Ming brought Thuan Thien up to block.
CLANG!
The impact was immense. Lin Ming was thrown back several feet, his arms numb. This was a true, seasoned powerhouse, leagues beyond the commander he'd fought in the park. His hatred was a palpable force, fueling his strength.
[SYSTEM WARNING: Elite-level boss encounter!]
[This enemy has a 'Rage Meter'. It is currently full. Suggest avoiding his giant, glowing axe.]
Krogar pressed his attack, his axe a whirlwind of pure destructive force. Lin Ming was forced onto the defensive, parrying and dodging, the legendary [Dragon's Blood Armor] flaring to life across his body to absorb the concussive shockwaves of the blocked strikes. He couldn't find an opening.
"Any day now, Quynh Nhu!" he grunted, barely sidestepping a swing that carved a trench in the hangar floor.
"I GOT IT!" Quynh Nhu's triumphant voice yelled from the fighter. "The power button was hidden under the cup holder! What kind of monster designs that?!"
The patrol craft's engines roared to life with a high-pitched whine. Its plasma cannons began to hum.
Quynh Nhu's grinning face appeared on the fighter's external comms screen. "Hey, ugly! You know what I hate more than arrogant alien jerks with bad facial hair? People who interrupt my friends while they're trying to save the world."
The plasma cannons swiveled and fired a volley, not at Krogar, but at the massive hangar bay doors behind him. The doors exploded outwards in a shower of molten metal, creating a clear path to the Martian sky.
Then, she fired again, this time aiming at the ceiling directly above Krogar. Massive support beams and chunks of the ceiling came crashing down.
Krogar, forced to abandon his attack on Lin Ming, roared in frustration and leaped back to avoid being crushed.
That was the moment they needed.
"Tuan, grab on!" Lin Ming yelled.
He sprinted for the fighter, grabbing Pham Tuan on the way. The fighter's cockpit canopy was only big enough for one, but this was a Dust Devil patrol craft. It had landing skids.
They both leaped onto the wing of the taxiing fighter. Lin Ming drove Thuan Thien's blade deep into the hull to use as a handhold. Pham Tuan just clung on with his ridiculously strong grip.
"Punch it, Nhu!" Lin Ming screamed.
With Quynh Nhu laughing maniacally in the cockpit, the stolen fighter blasted out of the ruined hangar bay and into the thin, pink sky of Mars. Warden Krogar could only stand amidst the wreckage of his hangar and roar in impotent fury as his targets became a disappearing speck.
They were out. They had the data. They had poisoned the garrison. And they had just stolen one of the enemy's own high-performance fighters.
Riding on the wing of a stolen alien fighter jet as it streaked across the Martian landscape, with the wind whipping past him and his knuckles white on the hilt of his legendary sword, Lin Ming allowed himself a moment of grim satisfaction.
The hatred in his heart felt a little lighter. This was a good day.
Minerva (comms, now broadcast from the fighter's radio): That was, without a doubt, the most chaotic and least professional exfiltration in the history of espionage. My analysis gives it a 10/10 for sheer style.
She paused.
Minerva: Also, several squads of enemy fighters have just launched from the fortress. They appear to be upset. And they are gaining on us.