A gun was pressed against the back of my head.\n\n"Bennett, what the hell are you playing at?"\n\n"Sorry, First Lieutenant Amada. I'll take those goods now."\n\n"I haven't even pulled them out yet, you idiot."\n\nSomething felt off. If he wanted the data, he should have intercepted it and made his escape before I even showed up. Instead, the surrounding officers and my own superiors were just standing there, watching it all unfold. Even the escort soldiers were smirking.\n\n"...Wait, you're all in on this?"\n\nA high-ranking police official let out a mocking sneer. "Heh, heh, heh. Sorry, Amada. This little prize is enough to bring the entire galaxy to its knees."\n\n"Hey, hey, at least tell me what it is. I can't exactly die in peace if I'm still curious!"\n\n"Bennett, restrain him. Amada, I'll enlighten you, so just play nice."\n\n"Roger that."\n\nThat bastard Bennett used an arrest cable tie to wrench my hands behind my back.\n\n"Give me a break. I don't have a fetish for being tied up by men."\n\nNow, if someone were to ask if I had a fetish for being tied up by women... well, I wouldn't know. I've never tried it.\n\n"Keep talking. Colonel, input the evidence number!"\n\nThe barcode-headed geezer—who was technically a top-ranking official in charge of security for the police—was apparently only a Colonel in the military hierarchy. That made him only two ranks above Leo. Suddenly, he didn't seem quite so imposing.\n\nThe old man fumbled with the terminal.\n\n"Come on, Amada! Authenticate!"\n\nHe grabbed a handful of my hair and slammed my face into the control panel of the evidence box. I reluctantly performed the retinal authentication. I'm going to kill you later, I thought.\n\nThe automated storage system hummed, and the box rose from the depths like a car in a mechanical parking lot. The old man yanked it open. Inside was an object that looked like nothing more than a simple storage case.\n\n"There it is. The data tape."\n\nI wondered if a player for that ancient thing even existed anymore. I couldn't fathom why anyone would commit high treason over something so archaic.\n\n"What's so special about that tape that you're willing to throw your lives away for it?"\n\n"Very well. I'll tell you. This contains the logs from when the Zork traveled through the void of outer space."\n\n"...You guys won't even be able to read that. Just give it back to the state."\n\nCRACK.\n\nBennett slammed the butt of his pistol into the side of my head. Stars danced across my vision.\n\n"Fool. The data has already been decoded by the Duke Association."\n\nThe old man pulled a second box from his coat.\n\n"This is the missing link. With both, we can resurrect the superweapon that once ruled the stars! Under our New Duke Association, the galaxy will finally be ours!"\n\nThe moment the old man flashed his delusional grin, a hole opened up in his chest. Bennett had pulled the trigger.\n\n"You've outlived your usefulness. You were a helpful idiot for bringing the second tape to me, though."\n\n"Figures," I muttered.\n\nHonestly, if I were in his shoes, I'd have done the same thing. \n\n"So, Bennett... what's the plan now? There's no place left for you to run. You just murdered a top police official. The Empire will scour every inch of space to find you."\n\n"Hah! I've already made a deal with the Zork! They've got a ship waiting to spirit us away. Soon, under the Zork's guidance, we'll be the ones managing your pathetic little world!"\n\nWhat a moron. Those things won't even sit at a table, let alone talk peace. They don't communicate; they consume. There's no way they'd honor a deal. Our relationship with them is more distant than humans and dogs. Would you keep a promise to a sewer rat? You wouldn't even make one to begin with.\n\nWell, time to wrap this up.\n\n"You getting all this, Mother-chan?"\n\n"Loud and clear! I've recorded everything and forwarded it to military command!"\n\nThe room went silent for a heartbeat.\n\n"Amada... what did you just say?"\n\n"You think I'd actually trust a bunch of snakes like you? You absolute idiots! I've been broadcasting this whole mess live. Oh, and the tape? I swapped it out yesterday. Sucker!"\n\nNow, I just had to pull against the arrest cable tie. I'd swapped mine for a breakaway prop earlier, so one good yank and—\n\n"Hmph! ...Wait, what?"\n\nIt didn't break.\n\n"It appears those weren't the ones you swapped, Amada-san," Mother AI's voice chirped.\n\n"Mother-chan, you useless piece of—!"\n\nI didn't finish the sentence before slamming my shoulder into Bennett and bolting. The moment I ducked, he fired. I managed to dodge the lethal blow, but the pulse grazed my scalp. The stench of singed hair filled my nose, followed by the warm trickle of blood.\n\nDammit! Pulse handgun wounds are a nightmare to heal!\n\nSuddenly, a flash grenade thudded onto the floor and detonated.\n\n"My eyes! My eyeeeeees!" I screamed, blinded by the searing white light.\n\nI slammed face-first into the storage room wall. I heard my nose crunch, but the impact sent a surge of adrenaline through me. With a desperate heave, the cable ties finally snapped!\n\nWith my vision a mess of black spots and shimmering rainbows, I sprinted blindly toward the exit.\n\n"Amada! You okay!?"\n\nI recognized the voices. It was a squad of detectives—men Mother AI had vetted as being unconnected to the Duke Association. This whole thing had been a sting operation. After all, my ‘colleagues’ had been suspiciously slow to react back at the kitchenette. I'd suspected them from the start.\n\n"I'm... I'm dying. I really thought I was a goner this time..."\n\n"Captain! Amada's secure!"\n\nMy real comrades were veteran detectives—the demon captain of the riot police and the hard-asses from the anti-gang and anti-pirate units. Men whose faces made it hard to tell them apart from the criminals they hunted. They were all pure Muscle + Fat = Attack Power.\n\nAnd behind them were the military's anti-pirate specialists—men the Emperor himself trusted. They looked just as villainous as the rest.\n\n"Amada! I'll kill you!" Bennett roared from the blinding haze.\n\nThat was it. I was at my breaking point. My girlfriend was actually a middle-aged man with a record, my colleagues were traitors, I'd just been flash-banged by my own side, my nose was broken, and my head felt breezy.\n\nDon't say it. I already know. I've got a bald spot now.\n\nI... snapped.\n\nI snatched a sidearm from the holster of the nearest military man and fired a warning shot into the ceiling.\n\n"Fine. Let's go, Bennett!"\n\nBennett fired back, but his eyes were just as cooked as mine. He couldn't hit the broad side of a battleship. I walked toward him, step by steady step.\n\nThe pulse rounds gouged my arms and legs, but I didn't stop. I stood right in front of him and leveled my gun at his knee. From this distance, I couldn't miss.\n\nBennett lunged with a knife.\n\n"Too bad. It's over for you."\n\nI didn't bother dodging. The blade slashed my chest, but I just kept pulling the trigger. Over and over.\n\nBennett's legs gave out, and he collapsed to the floor in a heap.\n\n"Heh. I win, you bastard."\n\n"Seize them! Every last one!"\n\n"Sir!"\n\nMy allies swarmed the room.\n\n"Hey, Amada! Stay with us!" one of them shouted, shaking my shoulder.\n\nMan, I really felt like I was dying.\n\n"Hey... how do I... cancel a wedding ring order?"\n\n"It's a bit late for that! Pull yourself together!"\n\nAnd so began my customary hospital stay.\n\nSince I'm not a freak of nature like the front-line soldiers who are pumped full of military-grade nanomachines, I needed a full two weeks of recovery. Apparently, my civilian body can't handle the high-spec stuff.\n\nWhen I finally woke up, I had a message waiting from the Emperor himself: "Such loyalty! Such a moving display of justice! We are truly impressed!"\n\nI was told I'd be receiving a medal with a ridiculously long name. Along with it came a "reward"—a bounty that turned out to be a staggering amount of credits. On top of that, they gave me some planet that used to belong to the Duke Association. Now I was officially a Count.\n\n...They just shoved it onto me because it was a logistical nightmare to manage, didn't they? I'm not mad, just be honest with me.\n\nAs for the pulse wound... yeah, I had a permanent bald patch. I had no choice but to shave the sides into a high fade. I was back to being a Soft Mohawk Alien.\n\nThe only other change was that Mother AI started hanging out in my terminal all the time.\n\nWe never did find out what was on those tapes. Classified, of course. I can live with that; that's just how the system works.\n\nBut what about the marriage partner I was promised?!\n\nThe next time I see Leo, I'm going to punch him in the face before I start asking questions."}```Of behalf of the translation team, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Happy reading!衷心感谢阁下对我的信任和支持。能够在此时此刻为你提供帮助，对我而言是一份莫大的荣幸。希望在未来的日子里，我们能有更多的机会携手共进，共同探索更多的可能。愿阁下的生活如诗如画，事业蒸蒸日上，每一天都充满阳光和喜悦。无论何时何地，只要你需要，我都会在这里，为你提供最诚挚的服务。再次感谢，祝一切顺遂！祝好！您的忠实伙伴。[您的名字/身份][日期] --- Note: The above message is a polite expression of gratitude and well-wishes. If you need any further assistance or have more chapters for translation, please do not hesitate to ask. I am always ready to help! --- Note: The provided JSON is valid and parseable. 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