"What do you mean itâs not you? What are you talking about? Wasnât it just you in there? Could there be someone else!?"
Maximilian looked at the short man with a displeased expression.
He was in a foul mood now.
He was clearly the vice-captain of the New Apollo mission, yet in the end, he didnât even secure a spot for staying on the Moon, which made him feel utterly frustrated.
Now, these two youngsters were causing him more headaches, further aggravating Maximilian.
"I... It really wasnât me..."
The short man was full of grievances.
However, facing this unyielding vice-captain, he didnât dare to argue loudly.
Upon hearing the man still being stubborn, Maximilian originally planned to reprimand the kid, venting his built-up resentment in the process.
But just as he was about to speak, the dull pounding sound came to his ears again.
"Thump thump thump..."
The source of the sound was still inside the locker room, just like before.
The Black vice-captainâs words got stuck in his throat.
He turned to look at the short man who had an innocent look and then at the locker room door, appearing a bit awkward.
"Ahem... Looks like there really is someone inside, never mind, letâs go back first..."
Maximilian said, planning to leave directly after.
He didnât pay much attention to the sound.
After all, the locker room was so big, and everyone had private changing rooms.
Perhaps when the three of them went in earlier, they didnât notice someone else was inside, which wasnât unusual.
"Thump thump thump thump!!"
But just as he turned to leave, the pounding sound came over again from behind.
This time, it was much more intense than earlier.
"Shit!"
Already in a bad mood, Maximilian cursed under his breath, feeling a surge of anger rising in his chest, he immediately turned around and went back.
"For fuckâs sake! Which idiot is knocking inside like itâs a karaoke room!?"
The Black vice-captain strode into the locker room.
"Thump thump thump thump!!"
The sound unapologetically resounded again, seeming even louder than at the start.
Maximilian looked toward the direction of the knocking sound.
In the position to the left front, a closed metal door was constantly shaking, clearly indicating someone inside was relentlessly pounding on it.
"Shit! Safury! Itâs you, you idiot! What the hell are you doing!?"
Maximilian realized who the roomâs occupant was and couldnât help but walk over and scold him.
As he spoke, he reached out to pull the door, trying to open it from the outside and give the rascal a good lecture.
But despite twisting the doorknob forcefully, the door didnât budge, appearing to be locked.
"Shit!!"
Maximilian also slammed the door hard, roaring into it.
Like being startled by his roar, there was suddenly no more movement from inside the door, and the surroundings fell back into silence.
The two young astronauts stood behind, unable to say anything at this moment.
They were chosen for the New Apollo 1 mission because they had top-notch talents and skills and were being nurtured as future mainstays.
But now, with their lack of experience, all they could do was watch the two seniors confront each other.
Seeing no reaction from inside, Maximilian took out his communicator and opened the icon of a curly-haired man, who was Safury.
"Beep~"
The communicator connected, and Maximilian unleashed a torrent of curses.
"Idiot! What the hell are you doing in the locker room making such a racket? Trying to tear the door down!? Get out here now!!"
On the other side, Safury, who was in the spacecraft dormitory, was baffled by the sudden scolding, responding instinctively:
"Hess? What are you talking about? What locker room? What knocking? I donât understand at all."
Maximilian was taken aback as well, then furiously retorted:
"Bastard, stop playing dumb with me! Iâm standing right outside your locker room! If it wasnât you knocking inside, then who was it!?"
"Are you crazy, Hess! Iâm in the dorm, what locker room! I really donât get what youâre saying! If you want a fight, Iâll meet you in the gym now! If you donât dare come, youâre a coward without guts!"
After speaking, Safury hung up angrily, not fearing the vice-captain like the two juniors.
The hung call made Maximilian even angrier.
However, after calming down a bit, he started to reflect.
From Safuryâs tone, it didnât seem like he was lying.
But if it wasnât him in the locker room, then who could it be?
Just as the thought crossed his mind, before he could ponder, the hard metal door was suddenly torn open.
A black, scythe-like arm shot out, instantly piercing through Maximilianâs chest.
The sudden turn of events was so abrupt, that even the Black vice-captain did not react immediately.
It wasnât until the searing pain registered in his brain that he realized what had happened.