Turns Out I Flipped the Table

"So I flipped the table again, huh..." Shelter 404, Floor B4 browsing room. Having wrapped up his day's work, Chu Guang leaned back on the sofa and scrolled through the forum posts, torn between tears and laughter as he read on. "Whoa! Spread the word! Fang Chang was farming money too fast and got struck down by the Great Planner!" "Hahahahaha! Divine justice from above!" "Wait, aren't you a shareholder too, Tail?" "!! Giao!" "I'd like to call this... efficient resource allocation! (smug)" "Brothers of the Death Corps! Spam 666 for Brother Edge!" "??? What the hell does this have to do with me?!" "Doesn't matter! Watching you lose money feels even better than making money myself!" "Holy crap! That real?" "..." Carrying two identities certainly brought him many benefits. In particular, the persona of the game planner granted him infinite power outside the rules of the game. Yet it was not entirely advantageous. Few realized that an equal share of boundless responsibility accompanied that boundless power. As a result, alongside rational analysis, the forum never lacked a humorous alternative voice. For instance, Boulder City's high-rise had actually been bombed by him, the human catastrophe in Bolo Province was orchestrated by him from behind the scenes, and even the Federation's civil war had been instigated by him. If one carried this logic far enough, not only would the Three-Year War have been started by him, but he might as well have been the one who crashed into Mount Buzhou. Xiao Qi, perched on the pen holder, clutched its belly and giggled uncontrollably. Chu Guang could not resist reaching out to flick its forehead with an index finger. The little creature let out an exaggerated yelp and tumbled backward into the pen holder. A moment later, its tiny hands gripped the rim, gazing up at him with a pitiful look. "Wuu wuu..." "Alright, stop playing the victim and do something for me." Knowing full well it could not feel pain, Chu Guang ignored its act, pondered for a moment, and continued. "...Send a message via the official website's quest system to the players who received temporary clearance for Shelter 70, telling them they can set off for Shelter 70 now." Though a bit disappointed at failing to elicit sympathy, Xiao Qi obediently carried out the task Chu Guang assigned. Previously, the entrance to Shelter 70 had remained blockaded by the Federation fleet. Even a nuclear-powered submarine would find it difficult to sneak in under the watchful eyes of so many. Those thirteen vessels were bona fide warships, likely outfitted with retrofitted starship weaponry. They were vastly different from the kinds of 'warships' in the Xilan Empire, which traded pecks with civilian freighters for hundreds of rounds. If deflector shields were a starship's 'shield,' then those vessels were exceedingly likely to wield a starship's 'spear.' Shelter 70 had opened in the year 100 of the Wasteland Era, when the Post-War Reconstruction Committee had already fractured for nearly half a century. Considering that Shelter 70 and Shelter 117 had maintained an ongoing exchange of information, they would certainly be aware of the Legion's situation. In other words, the original purpose behind founding the Federation fleet was very likely not to deal with marauders on the wasteland, but designed with the Legion—which controlled an abundance of starship cores—as an imaginary enemy. Both sides possessed powers the other had never directly encountered. It was precisely for this reason that both Chu Guang himself and the players active in the region maintained a necessary degree of caution when interacting with the islands of the Southern Sea. A stream of data flashed across Xiao Qi's pupils. After a moment, it looked up and said, "They're already on the way!" "Already on the way?" Chu Guang cast a mildly surprised glance at several user IDs still spamming the forum on the holographic screen. Not bad. More and more little players were taking the initiative. It certainly spared him the trouble of micromanaging such minor details. ... The sun sank into the western sea. Shimmering reflections drifted away alongside the fading sunset, and darkness enveloped the turbulent waters. On the edge of Haiya Province, across the sands of the Death Coast, an old man draped in a gray robe stood in silence, letting the sea wind whip his robes violently. Gazing at the waves bidding farewell to the dusk, a trace of excitement and delight crept across Arzu's deeply furrowed face. Even though he knew he should suppress human emotions, he could not hold back a laugh. "Hahaha..." A success! All their groundwork in the Southern Sea had not gone to waste. Backed into a corner, that half-hearted ally had finally realized what his true trump card was. Once the Southern Sea was brought entirely under Torch's sphere of influence, they could open up a vastly broader strategic space to the south! They could even bring Torch's heaven down upon the entire ocean! He did not have to wait long. Soon, a faint signal arrived from afar. This time, Arzu did not ignore it. Instead, he gladly allowed the signal to connect to his sea of consciousness. Looking at Zhalas, whose figure materialized before him, he nodded with a smile. "Congratulations, Mr. Zhalas." Zhalas looked at him expressionlessly. "It seems you already know." Arzu said in a cheerful tone, "Naturally. Since North Island has your supporters and supporters of that manifesto of yours, it naturally has our believers as well. In fact, your smooth ascent to the presidency was not without our backing and maneuvers behind the scenes." Letting out a noncommittal snort, Zhalas offered no comment on this ambiguous claim, continuing with terse brevity. "We've run into a bit of trouble." Arzu said softly, "Anle Island, correct?" Zhalas nodded, his expression grave as he went on. "Indeed. Not long after our uprising, the Vice President also delivered an inaugural address and established a new administration. We acted fast enough, but they were not slow either. Aside from the governors of Ring Island and Sandbar Island, who remain neutral, that Li Minghui has still rallied four governors to his side." "Yet the battleship *Haiya* is in your hands," Arzu said softly. "I hear its main gun was stripped from a starship." Zhalas explained patiently, "Yes, but that does not make it invulnerable, especially if the threat comes from beneath the sea. The trouble now is that Coral City and Shelter 70 are located closer to Anle Island than to North Island. If they manage to secure control there—" "No need to worry about that. Our people can breathe underwater; they won't get the chance. You need only focus on dealing with Anle Island's fleet; leave the battlefield beneath the sea to us." Before he could finish, Arzu cut him off. Zhalas froze, quickly realizing what this man had done while the Southern Archipelago Federation plunged into chaos. His brows furrowed. "You bastard..." Arzu continued casually, "You promised to lend us the research facilities in Coral City. Now we are merely cashing the check early. Or could it be... you were playing us?" "I did agree to that, but I never agreed to let mutants show up there." Zhalas narrowed his eyes, glaring at him with a warning tone. "Listen, your people had better not pull any foolish stunts around there. I'm not joking—forcing entry without power restored will only ruin the place!" Arzu chuckled and murmured, "Don't get agitated. I didn't let those scaly beasts inside. I have no wish to see that place turned to rubble either. They're merely watching the door in your stead—" However, right at that moment, he cut off mid-sentence. The effortless composure on his face suddenly froze. Noticing the shift in his expression, Zhalas sensed something was amiss and pressed anxiously. "What happened?" "Nothing..." Arzu mumbled with shifting eyes. Before Zhalas could question him further, he swept his index finger and hurriedly severed the transmission. Almost the very moment the communication ended, his wrinkled face twisted in fury. He clutched his forehead with a withered hand, cursing at the reef on the beach. "...Useless trash, good for nothing but ruining everything!" ... In the deep, murky ocean depths, a towering nuclear-fusion submarine glided silently over jagged reefs, hugging the edge of a kelp forest. Two full hours had passed since the crew of the *Dolphin* rescued Dongwen and the rest of the *Glory*'s crew. Their position had shifted from the southwestern sector of the Southern Sea to an area just south of the central waters. Inside the submarine's bridge, Chen Jianhong set down his coffee cup and squinted with a smile at the pitch-black waters outside the viewport. "Right ahead." These waters lay between Anle Island and Coral City, making it one of his most frequently traveled routes. It was no exaggeration to say he could steer the submarine straight to Shelter 70's doorstep with his eyes closed. Having recently logged back on, Tail leaned forward excitedly, shading her eyes as if peering far into the distance. "Whoa, such a huge—damn it, why can't Tail see anything!" Squatting nearby, Rou Rou covered her mouth and giggled, not forgetting to tease her. "Probably because that settlement is only visible to smart people. Dummies can't see it." Hearing that, Tail rolled her eyes, quickly spun toward Rou Rou, and grinned mischievously. "Hehe, then tell us, Rou Rou, what does the settlement look like?" "Uh—" Caught off guard by her own trap, Rou Rou froze for a second before cleverly retorting, "How should I know? I'm just a bear." Tail stared at Rou Rou in shock. "...Damn, Rou Rou got smart." Rou Rou rolled her eyes. "I wasn't dumb before, okay!" Watching the girl and bear bicker, Sesame Paste beside them could not help but smile, and a faint grin tugged at the corner of Sisi's mouth. Though unable to understand their chatter, Chen Jianhong noticed the short-haired girl peering outside and immediately guessed what she was looking for. He waved to a crewman seated nearby, gesturing for him to switch on the submarine's bow searchlight. A blinding beam shot forth, illuminating the nearby pitch-black waters and startling away fish and crabs scuttling beneath the reefs. As the beam swept across, a massive undersea settlement soon came into view, causing Tail, Rou Rou, and the dozen-odd Strength-build brutes from the Jungle Corps to widen their eyes in awe. It was a small city standing directly upon the seabed. Bulbous, transparent domes encased internal metallic structures, linked to one another by enclosed pipelines that spread outward from a colossal central dome like a spiderweb. The entire settlement resembled a giant set of building blocks, assembled from airtight modules stacked in three dimensions into a sprawling habitat. Gorgeously colored, elegantly shaped corals adorned its perimeter, making the undersea settlement dazzling to behold from the outside. It was hard to imagine that such a settlement had been constructed in the years following the end of the Era of Prosperity... Not only were the players mesmerized, but the crew members on the bridge also wore nostalgic expressions, gazing upon the home they had not returned to in four months. Chen Jianhong narrowed his eyes, a trace of wistful longing in his voice. "...You came at the wrong time. Four months ago, it was far more beautiful. See that central dome? That's the plaza of Coral City. When the four giant screens in the middle lit up together, the light against the dome could even project all the way to the surface." Trying to picture the scene, Rou Rou swallowed hard, a soft "giao" slipping from her furry lips. Beside her, Tail was equally stunned, her face filled with awe and anticipation. "Even more amazing..." Sisi pondered for a moment, then an abrupt thought crossed her mind. "If we connected the nuclear submarine's reactor to that settlement's power grid... could it bring the settlement back online?" Chen Jianhong was taken aback, then gave a rueful laugh. "If only it were that simple..." The submarine's reactor was custom-built for nuclear subs. Leaving aside whether it was operationally feasible, even if it could be done, countless compatibility issues would inevitably arise. Seeing Captain Chen's answer, Sisi abandoned the idea of sneaking in early to explore the new map, sighing resignedly. "Alright, just asking." Maybe the trash dev hadn't finished making the map yet. While the two were talking, the sonar system in the control room suddenly detected anomalous noise coming from the direction of Coral City. And it was not coming from a single source; multiple contacts were rapidly congregating toward the submarine. Chen Jianhong stepped quickly to the console. Looking at the signatures on the sonar screen, his expression changed sharply. "Movement from the direction of Coral City!" Hearing this, Crawling Model Worker, who had been bored out of his mind, instantly perked up. "Federation submarine?" Beside him, the other Jungle Corps players also wore eager, itching-for-a-fight expressions. "No... The outlines are roughly humanoid, with scaly surfaces..." Locking onto one of the noise sources, Chen Jianhong tapped the screen with an index finger, zooming in the camera on the target. When the blue-skinned monster appeared on the screen, nearly every crewman gasped. "Mutants!" Chen Jianhong's expression grew increasingly grim. He mused, "...These bastards most likely slipped in while the Federation fleet was in disarray." The crewman at the console swallowed nervously. "Should we kill the searchlight?" Just as Chen Jianhong was about to give the order, Crawling Model Worker cut in. "No need. Keep the light pointed right at them! Those freaks hate bright light, especially underwater! Keep moving forward, leave the rest to us!" With that, he slapped Captain Chen on the shoulder, strode toward the door, and hollered to his brothers in the bridge, "Boys! It's mutants! Time to stock up on loot!" "Awoo!" The Jungle Corps brothers roared with excitement, surging toward the exit under the dumbfounded gazes of the NPCs. Caught up in the commotion, Tail tried to join the rush, but Rou Rou, prepared in advance, grabbed her firmly. "Calm down, Tail! We didn't bring diving gear. The moment we step outside, we're done for!" After calming the restless Tail, Sisi turned back to Captain Chen Jianhong. "Our friends from the Jungle Corps will buy us time. Let's seize this chance to push through." Chen Jianhong nodded, though worry still lingered on his face. After all, the sonar estimated at least four to five hundred targets. "Will they be alright?" A smile played at the corner of Sisi's mouth. "Don't worry. They just fought those things earlier today. A number like this won't be a problem." Reassured by her words, Chen Jianhong cast aside his hesitation and ordered the crewman at the console, "Target Shelter 70! Full speed ahead!" ... Just as the nuclear submarine *Dolphin* throttled its engines to the maximum and sped on a straight course toward Shelter 70, the aquatic mutants stationed around Coral City also spotted the massive intruder barging into their territory. "Khhh—!" A mutant priest let out an intimidating roar, rallying the scaly underlings behind it to grab their weapons and charge toward the submarine. Though their flesh and blood were frail against Federation destroyers designed for search-and-destroy missions, against an unarmed cargo sub like the *Dolphin*, their thermite charges and homemade explosives posed a genuine threat. As the swarm of "fishmen" lunged into the brilliant beam of light, thin jets of water suddenly burst forth like a swarm of locusts, riddling the foremost dozen or so into sieves in an instant. The fishmen panicked and braked hard. Squinting against the blinding searchlight, they looked toward the reef right in front of them. There, nineteen massive iron crabs stood tall, training thick, elongated gun barrels right at them. Watching the terror-stricken faces through the cockpit viewport, Crawling Model Worker gripped the control levers and grinned viciously. "Your opponent is your granddaddy here, you little bastards!" He had not had his fill in the previous battle; he had barely chopped a dozen fish before the Goblin Corps' little planes stole his kills. Here in the middle of the Southern Sea, far beyond the operational radius of friendly units, he didn't have to worry about anyone stealing his kills. Yet no sooner had his boast left his lips than a teammate's chuckle came through his comms. "Old Worker, if you don't make it plural, it sounds like *you're* the bastard." "Hahahahaha!" Hearing the laughter on the channel, Model Worker's face flushed. He cursed and muted the guy. "Fuck off! You talk too much!" In the span of that exchange, the "King Crabs" that had leaped from the submarine's forward hatch had already clashed with the scaly mutants. A few cunning beasts attempted to disengage and intercept the submarine, only to have 19mm harpoons slam into their rears, blasting them into mangled halves. Such horrifying firepower struck terror even into mutant hearts. Yet these creatures differed from those the players had encountered before; they did not scatter in disarray after taking initial casualties. Seeming to realize they could never reach the submarine without taking down these iron crabs, they howled, wheeled about, and flanked behind the players to evade the glaring light blinding their eyes. The battle exploded in an instant. Whirring chainswords and flying harpoons whipped up a tempest of blood and gore in the deep sea. Mutants dropped one after another, startling sprays of blood staining the surrounding waters red. Even so, the nineteen surrounded Jungle Corps players began to feel an unusual strain. These things— Were completely different from the ones before! Instead of rushing blindly forward with harpoons, they employed tactics, attempting to divide and encircle them! "Watch out, everyone! These guys aren't like the ones that attacked the undersea pipeline!" "What's the differ—" Before the player could finish, sparks from a secondary explosion erupted across his armored hull, blowing the suit into a pile of scrap amidst a massive cloud of bubbles. A mutant hoisted a thick launcher tube, letting out a gravelly, muffled chuckle as it watched the bubbling iron crab. It was a miniature torpedo fired from that very tube that had punched through the crab's carapace. Judging by the blast, it had detonated the ammo rack. "Goudan!!" A player roared in grief and fury, revving his chainsword and charging forward. Amidst the mutant's panicked, unintelligible screeches, he cleaved the creature in two from head to groin. Seeing the casualty marker on the squad list, Crawling Model Worker's heart sank slightly. Less than five minutes into the engagement, they had already taken a loss! There were hundreds, perhaps a thousand mutants before them, and they had no available reinforcements... This battle was going to be harder than they had anticipated! Even so, there was not a shred of fear on his face. Instead, a blazing battle lust ignited in his eyes. Compared to mindless minions standing still to be chopped down, an evenly matched opponent was infinitely more thrilling. "Bring it on!" Stamping on the rudder to dodge a torpedo streaking in from the flank, Crawling Model Worker spun around and slammed his chainsword down, hacking in half a mutant trying to slap thermite onto his back. Driven by survival instincts, his handling of this rig grew sharper by the second. In this moment, it felt as though he had truly become a crab. Even though he wasn't piloting it through a neural link. His vision swimming with red, Crawling Model Worker let out an ecstatic roar. "Show me what you've got! Let's see what else you bastards can do!" Through thick armor and the vast ocean, that fiery shout was destined to be heard only by himself. Yet even without hearing the battle cries, the crew members standing on the bridge could sense the brutality of the fight through the camera feed. Watching the armored frames detonating one after another under the searchlight, the crew fell into silence. Chen Jianhong's Adam's apple bobbed. He could not resist turning to Sisi. "Will they... really be fine?" At the *Dolphin*'s current speed, they had likely shaken off the pursuit. Yet that also meant the brave warriors who had leaped out in those iron crabs were on their own... Sisi remained silent for a moment, framing an appropriate answer that didn't violate the player handbook. "From the moment we stepped out of the shelter, we were prepared for our mission. To us, death is merely a return." Chen Jianhong's throat moved, but he said nothing, only continuing to stare out the viewport. In the crew lounge, the sailors of the *Glory* watched the clash on the corner television screen, heavy-hearted. Those people... They had just seen them earlier that day, in the waters northwest of Ring Island. Some offered a quiet military salute, while others clenched their fists against their knees. Protecting these waters had been their duty. Now, others were fulfilling the obligations that should have been theirs. The guilt caused many to lower their heads... ... The bloody battlefield receded into the distance; the searchlight could no longer reach the churning kelp forest. The *Dolphin* sailed slowly over an undersea canyon, descending into the bottomless abyss. After rounding a T-shaped rock pillar and navigating into a massive cavern system, concrete walls soon lined both sides of the submarine's hull. Looking at the structures on either side, Chen Jianhong wore a faint expression of pride, speaking in a nostalgic tone. "...This is the shelter's secondary entrance, the engineering access used back when the shelter was built. I heard that back then, they sealed off this entire cavern hundreds of meters wide and kilometers long, pumped out all the seawater, set up an airlock, and laid the rebar and poured concrete... Normally, only shelter residents know about it." He had not witnessed how that monumental project began, but he had heard stories from his father. Sisi nodded, an idle thought suddenly striking her. "How do you define shelter residents? I'm curious." Chen Jianhong replied, "Generally... if one parent is a shelter resident, anyone born inside the shelter is a resident. Or if both parents are residents, you count regardless of where you're born. Isn't that how it works for you?" "Oh, we haven't given birth yet, so we wouldn't know!" Tail chimed in out of nowhere. Sisi's face flushed involuntarily. But after spending so much time together, she was used to Tail's unfiltered mouth and simply cleared her throat softly. "We don't have that situation back home." "Makes sense. I think I heard someone mention your shelter was... cryogenic hibernation, right? That makes you 'First Generation,'" Chen Jianhong rubbed the bridge of his nose, remarking with sudden emotion, "Must be nice. You got to rest peacefully for a hundred years, and we've already cleared the landmines ahead for you... Though whether you choose to defuse them is up to you." Sisi looked at him. "Landmines?" Chen Jianhong nodded. "Infinite power and infinite responsibility... yet until an irreversible disaster actually happens, no one is truly held accountable. Before stepping out of the shelter, we never realized the position of Administrator had a massive bug built into it. When shelters were designed, the Administrator was merely an administrator—nothing so complicated. I doubt the people of the Era of Prosperity thought that far ahead either." Sisi pondered for a moment. "I don't think the role itself is inherently bad. If the Administrator manages things well, what does it matter?" "Then who defines what's 'well'?" Chen Jianhong gave her a meaningful look and chuckled softly. "If Zhalas wins, the pipeline you built becomes a noose around the necks of Federation citizens. If the folks on Anle Island win, it becomes an olive branch of friendship. "A pipeline is a pipeline; a transaction is a transaction. Objective facts are hard to doctor, and once altered, they're full of holes. But interpretations are endless... Would you believe that if Zhalas wins, even mutants could become friends of the Federation? Those creatures eat people and conduct living sacrifices—pretty evil, right?" Tail clenched her fists, staring intently into his eyes. "Hmph! Be that as it may, we're not going to let them win!" Chen Jianhong smiled. "I'm just giving an example. Our trajectories are similar, but fundamentally different. When I reported to Dawn City, I met your Administrator once. That gentleman is a clever man; he absorbed the lessons of every shelter's successes and failures you encountered, keeping every Administrator log meticulously preserved. Perhaps your future will turn out differently." Pausing, he added, "Also, never underestimate your adversaries. They aren't entirely out of chances—especially that battleship, which poses a huge problem for you. We calculated that its main gun needs only two to three shots to overload an aerospace frigate's shield core. We built it to guard against the Legion; we just never expected that after a whole century without the Legion showing up, it would be turned on our own people first." The players on the bridge exchanged glances. That was a significant piece of intelligence. The *Heart of Steel* seemed to use a "frigate core." Did that mean the battleship's main gun had been salvaged from an aerospace frigate? How had they resolved the friction drag issues of kinetic weapons inside an atmosphere? As they spoke, a sheer concrete wall loomed directly in front of the bridge, blocking their forward path. Rou Rou blinked, whispering, "Dead end?" Glancing at the talking white bear, Chen Jianhong pointed upward with a chuckle. "It's up above." Just as his words fell, the halted submarine began to float slowly upward. After a brief wait, the bridge broke the surface, and the view ahead opened up dramatically. It was a cavern deep within the sea. Directly atop the concrete wall lay a wide-open clearing. At the far end of that clearing stood a colossal, gear-shaped metal blast door. Like a massive button, it was locked securely into the solid rock. Staring at the sight through the viewport, Tail and her companions widened their eyes, their pupils reflecting disbelief and wonder. The crew members on the bridge were equally moved, excitement written across their faces. Most were residents of the shelter or of Coral City; that giant metal door was as familiar as a highway sign outside their front door. "Finally back..." A relieved smile broke across Chen Jianhong's face. He shouted to the crew, "What are you waiting for! Turn ninety degrees to port! Bring the hatch alongside! We're home!" With everyone working together, the submarine was quickly moored against the concrete "dock." At the same time, the people inside the shelter noticed them. Soon, an elated voice came through the broadcast speaker above the plaza. "The *Dolphin*? Wonderful, you're alive!" Stepping onto the dock, Chen Jianhong dug his index finger into his ear to adjust to the outside air pressure, then shouted back with a laugh. "Hahaha! We couldn't be better!" Pausing, he looked back at Tail and her companions, who had just stepped ashore, and made the introductions. "You won't believe this, but barely two months after that incident, friends from Shelter 404 found us. Remember Baiyue Province? They flew an airship over and built a settlement there!" A gasp came through the speaker. "Baiyue Province?! How did they pull that off!" Landing there wasn't hard, but staying meant enduring continuous attrition and casualties. Years ago, Shelter 70 had made several attempts, but after several grave casualty incidents, colonization efforts had been forced to stop. Though mainland resources were essential, the cost was simply too steep. "They... honestly, I don't quite get how they managed to stick it out either. In any case, they're our neighbors now. Oh, and their home base is in River Valley Province, where they established an alliance of survivors! I visited the place—the locals were very warm, especially toward shelter residents like us. I even met... Never mind, it's a long story. Hurry up and open the door; I brought you some local specialties from there." Chen Jianhong had almost mentioned Sun Yuechi, but that story would take forever. Besides, he had brought that issue of the *Goblin Observer*; once inside the shelter, they would have plenty of time to chat about it. A hearty voice came through the speaker. "No problem! We're powering up the shelter gate right now! This door hasn't been used in ages, and the airlock pressure needs to equalize, which might take a bit. By the way—ahem! Ladies from Shelter 404... can I get your contact info? Wait, does your VM have a chat function?" "We modded ours long ago, but our operating systems are probably different, so exchanging contacts won't work." Disliking the flippant tone, Sisi politely turned him down, but quickly remembered this was a game and felt a pang of regret over a potentially missed side quest. "Well... that's a shame. I'm Lin Nuo. At least allow me to give you a tour of the place." The voice didn't push aggressively, though he hadn't completely given up. Chen Jianhong cleared his throat and yelled, "Alright, Ah Lin, stop tying up the radio with personal matters. How much longer?" "Ten minutes... This door hasn't been cycled in too long. By the way, who are those people behind you? I don't recall the *Dolphin* having so many crew. Are they from Shelter 404 too?" The voice carried a distinct note of suspicion. Knowing this couldn't be hidden—the fellow was likely running facial recognition data already—Chen Jianhong cleared his throat lightly and confessed openly. "They're the crew of the *Glory*—" Before he could finish, static hissed through the speaker, as if a hand had snatched the microphone away. Immediately after, an icy voice rang out. "Tell them to get lost."