Chapter 138: Operation Slime Rescue
Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: Karai
“Stay close,” Lin Xu said, quickly surveying the hallway outside the elevator before hurrying forward. “Use the emergency stairwell.” Arnold followed without hesitation, racing up the stairs with Lin Xu toward the 53rd floor.
Lin Xu had been to visit Lua and Lula once before. Relying on memory, he quickly found the room where the two slimes were staying. A faint vibration in the air traveled through the door panel.
Arnold noticed Lin Xu pause for just a second in front of the door, then pull a small device from his pocket and hand it over, pointing toward a wall nearby. “The data relay hub for this floor is behind that painting. This is Ika’s scrambler—use it to swap out the live surveillance feed.”
Without asking questions, Arnold moved swiftly. Once Lin Xu confirmed that the camera loop had been activated, he stepped back a few paces and delivered a powerful kick to the heavy alloy hotel door.
BANG—the door slammed open with a metallic crash. By the time Arnold glanced back, Lin Xu was already inside, and dust from the ceiling shook loose in a fine curtain. Cracks spiderwebbed between the doorframe and the wall. A startled guest peeked out from the neighboring room, clearly awakened by the noise.
Arnold quickly stepped into the doorway to block their view and forced a calm, apologetic smile. “Sorry to disturb you—renovation work in progress.”
The guest eyed Arnold’s military uniform with a puzzled frown, clearly unsure what kind of renovation called for a soldier. But he didn’t want trouble. Just as he was about to pull back, the sound of glass shattering violently came from the room behind Arnold.
The guest, perhaps trying to reassure himself—or maybe sincerely believing it—muttered, “I get it. Home renovation bots glitch all the time.”
Arnold’s smile was beginning to lock into place painfully, but he nodded all the same and watched the guest retreat, door clicking shut behind him.
The moment it closed, Arnold spun on his heel and stepped into the room, pulling the broken door closed behind him.
Inside, three slimes—two large, one tiny—were huddled in the corner, trembling in fear. Lin Xu stood at the center of the chaos. One of the three suited men had already been knocked unconscious, a shattered vase near his head and a thick pool of blood oozing from the back of his skull. The other two were still standing and armed with photon daggers.
Lin Xu moved with precision, dodging the blade arcs with practiced ease as he engaged both men at once. Arnold raised his photon gun, but the fight was too close-quarters. He couldn’t risk hitting Lin Xu by mistake. Just then, Lin Xu spotted the weapon aimed in his direction and shouted, “Don’t shoot!”
Arnold froze, and so did the two men. That instant of hesitation was all Lin Xu needed. He struck one man’s wrist with a sharp chop, disarming him. Instead of using the weapon, he powered it down and tossed it aside.
Then he yanked the man by the arm and used his body as a shield—just as the second attacker lunged. The blade stabbed deep into the first man’s abdomen, sizzling as it seared through flesh and gastric acid.
Without missing a beat, Lin Xu spun around and drove a brutal punch into the last attacker’s temple. The man dropped immediately. As both bodies hit the floor, Arnold watched Lin Xu calmly turn and walk toward the three frightened slimes, his expression unreadable.
Arnold moved in to check the men for signs of life, but Lin Xu spoke without even glancing back. “They’re dead.”
The man who had taken the blade to the stomach was still twitching, blood bubbling from his mouth. But after Arnold looked once at Lin Xu and then back to the man, he watched him shudder—then go still, eyes glassy.
Lin Xu crouched in front of the three slimes and stared at them for a beat of silence.
The first time he’d met Lu’a and Lu’la, they’d been about the size of rabbit-cats—small and cute. The next time he saw them, they’d clearly been well-fed and had grown to nearly a meter tall.
But now… They were nearly shoulder height to Lin Xu, and just as wide. Standing side by side, the two pale-yellow slimes looked more like a wall. Their child, Lu’li, on the other hand, was still tiny—only about the size of a hat. Soft, round, and tearful, they clung to their parents pitifully.
Lin Xu took a slow breath, then another, before turning to Arnold.
“Check those three. See if they’re carrying any ID.”
Before Arnold could move, Lu’a asked in a trembling voice, “Mr. Lin… who were they?”
Lin Xu, wearing a translator earpiece, replied evenly, “Your former coworkers may not have died accidentally. The person behind that incident is likely the same one responsible for this attack.”
“Then what do we do?” Lu’la asked nervously. “Should we go back to Slime Planet?”
The slime homeworld had frequent trade with the human Empire. The exchange of people and goods was rapid and constant. Even if the three of them returned, they could be targeted again.
“Lu’a, Lu’la—can you two shrink?”
“How small?”
“As small as Luli?”
“QAQ…”
– –
Police aircrafts flew over the central district, sirens wailing, their red and blue lights blurring into streaks in the curtain of rain.
The 53rd floor of the Perser Hotel had been cordoned off with yellow electronic police tape. No unauthorized personnel were allowed inside. Reporters were stopped right at the hotel entrance—no amount of pleading or pressure could get them past security.
Detective Chief Rorson stood at the crime scene, frowning. From the looks of it, the three humans had broken into the hotel room of two slime guests with the intention to kill. Those guests—named Lu’a and Lu’la—had indeed ended up as cold, hardened slime corpses.
But the three humans were also dead. One had been accidentally injured by an ally during the fight. The other two had died in a desperate struggle with the slimes, their heads engulfed by the slimes’ bodies. The exact cause of death was unclear—possibly suffocation, possibly blunt force trauma.
Given how massive slimes could get, their strength shouldn’t be underestimated. It was entirely possible for them to crush a human skull. After death, slime corpses hardened rapidly, requiring laser cutters to break apart. At that moment, the human corpses were still fused with the slime remains, impossible to separate.
Rorson could only have his officers begin documenting the crime scene and collecting samples. He let out a long sigh in the doorway. “Detective Chief Rorson.”
He turned his head and was surprised to see a familiar face. “Major Yan.”
Major Yan, dressed in a pristine white uniform of the Imperial Guard, gave him a polite smile. “I heard there was a complication and came to check. Do you need my assistance?”
“Absolutely,” Rorson said. “Desperately, in fact. Major Yan, this situation isn’t quite what you described earlier. There are three human corpses in there. Are they yours?”
Major Yan gave the room a glance. Their smile faded a little. “Yes, they were mine.”
“You said we were only dealing with a few ‘naturally deceased’ slimes. Now that humans are involved, this gets messy.”
A year ago, Rorson had been in charge of the assassination case at the Ancient Earth Natural Science Museum on Endymion, though the liaison from above had since changed.
“I’ll handle their background records,” Major Yan said calmly. “Just remember—they came here for personal revenge. Nothing more.” They handed Rorson a contact sheet and left. Guided by a hotel staff member, Major Yan exited through the hotel’s side door and boarded a waiting aircraft, avoiding the swarming reporters and flashing cameras. Once inside, they made a call.
“Admiral Neumann, the mission is complete. The two slimes have been dealt with. Their bodies will be transported to the Capital Star’s central police department.”
Neumann’s voice came through clearly. “Understood. Handle the aftermath properly. Don’t stir up a storm.”
—
After cleaning up the so-called “crime scene,” Arnold dropped Lin Xu off at the Imperial Research Institute. Zhou Pingbo had just completed Yuanxiao’s genetic testing and, upon learning that Lin Xu was coming, decided to take them both out to dinner at a restaurant near the institute.
Heinrich had instructed Arnold to stay with Lin Xu. Arnold assumed his job was to act as a bodyguard, but in the end, his biggest contribution turned out to be that of a chauffeur. Zhou Pingbo had reserved a private room. When Lin Xu and Arnold arrived, he was still studying the menu.
Usually, he got by on nutrient packs while working. Even though the institute offered full meals, he rarely took the time for them, let alone went to restaurants outside. Marshal Chu had been the same—sustenance through convenience. But Heinrich had mentioned that Lin Xu liked to cook and eat real food.
What could Zhou Pingbo do? He had to accommodate the newlyweds—no, the newly married fathers.
At that moment, Yuanxiao was floating up out of their eggshell, seated on the table, wide-eyed and reading the menu alongside Zhou Pingbo. Their tiny wings drooped behind them but flapped whenever they saw a particularly pretty dish. Lin Xu took a seat. Heinrich had also asked Arnold to stay and eat.
Heinrich noticed the pensive look in Lin Xu’s eyes, and Arnold didn’t look much better. He frowned. “Did something unexpected happen when you went to find Lu’a and Lu’la?”
“Ran straight into the assassins. Handled it,” Lin Xu replied simply, absentmindedly petting Yuanxiao from head to tail. Yuanxiao turned their head to look at their parent.
“Were you able to identify them?”
“They didn’t seem like ordinary killers. Might’ve had military backgrounds. Extremely careful—no ID, no documents. I already sent their photos to Ika. He’ll run facial recognition.”
Heinrich nodded slowly, lips pressed together. Zhou Pingbo, meanwhile, sensed there was still an unanswered question. “And the two slimes? What happened to them?”
“They’re right here.” Lin Xu took a sip of water, then reached into both of his pant pockets, pulling out two small slimes. Arnold followed suit and pulled a third out from his jacket.
All three were about the size of a hat. Their fluid forms had flattened themselves while hidden in fabric, making them nearly impossible to detect.
Placing them on the table, Zhou Pingbo blinked in surprise. “Why is there a third?”
Lin Xu replied, “This one’s Lu’a. That one’s Lu’la. And this is their child—Luli.”
The three slimes babbled happily, greeting everyone. Yuanxiao’s eyes lit up at the sight of them. They leaned closer, sniffed, and reached out a paw to poke one. Squishy. Like jelly.
“They shrank?”
Lin Xu nodded. “Their full forms are dozens of times larger. I had them shed part of their mass to fake their deaths. Left those remains behind in the hotel room. Once the people behind this are convinced they’re dead, they’ll stop pursuing them.”
Lu’a and Lu’la slumped sadly on the table, mourning their lost youth. Only Luli and Yuanxiao were happily playing with each other’s tails, completely unaware of the somber mood.
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