After passing through the First Sea of Death, the Bayes fleet slowed down in the Windless Zone while arranging their formation. The Major General’s flagship, the Sword of the Queen, was centrally located, with Colonel Gilbert Gauss’s ship at the forefront. Major General Darius Bayes temporarily handed over command to Colonel Gauss, much to the latter’s satisfaction. Eager to make a name for himself, Gauss placed his ship in the vanguard position. In war, the vanguard always faced great risks but also had the best chance to achieve glory. Besides, this time, the enemy wasn’t a well-equipped Federation army but a group of unruly pirates.
Upon reaching the edge of the Second Sea of Death, Colonel Gauss found that the pirates weren’t within visual range. They were hiding among the asteroids and sparse interstellar material, planning to resist desperately like cornered thieves.
“Colonel, how about sending out small patrol boats and fighters into the Second Sea of Death to lure them out and wipe them out?” a staff officer suggested.
“No,” Colonel Gauss rejected the proposal. “That crazy bitch is very cunning and may not fall for it. Besides, we outnumber them significantly, so there’s no need to be so cautious. Change formation. I will lead the charge into the Second Sea of Death and give them a head-on blow!”
“But Colonel, we don’t have a map of the Second Sea of Death. Charging in recklessly might lead us into a trap.”
“What are you afraid of? How capable can a bunch of bandits be! Even if there are traps, we can still force our way through with brute force!”
Alois was piloting Doro, hiding behind a small asteroid. Several fighters were concealed in this asteroid field. The radar indicated that Fran and Rachel were above and to his left and right, respectively, while Liz and the sister ships from the Romantic Exile were hidden in another asteroid cluster. Between the two sparse asteroid fields was a wide open space, resembling a corridor. When the Empire fleet passed through, the six fighters would attack simultaneously.
Of course, confronting cruisers with fighters was challenging, but Joanna had devised a thorough plan. Their main objective wasn’t to defeat the enemy head-on but to lure them into the depths of the Second Sea of Death. This spacious corridor didn’t lead to Milantu but to a dangerous area filled with old mines. Alois and his team’s task were to lure the Empire vanguard into the minefield, letting Old Earth technology wreak havoc, then charge into the enemy’s main formation in the ensuing chaos.
“If we can force Bayes to retreat, that would be best,” Joanna had said. “But if he insists on continuing the attack, I don’t mind at all if you bury him in space.”
Alois steadied himself. The Empire vanguard was passing through the corridor. The radar showed a cruiser and three frigates had already passed his “checkpoint”. Now wasn’t the time to attack. He reminded himself to wait for Errol’s command. He couldn’t act rashly.
His hand rested on the control panel, palms sweating and quickly absorbed by the spacesuit. This wasn’t a simulation or a relaxed merchant ship robbery; it was a real war. It was laughable that he felt nervous—something Leo would mock him for a month.
How ironic that the enemy he faced now was Darius Bayes. The last time he saw him was two years ago, when he was still in the Royal Guard. Bayes liked to loiter around the palace as if it were his home (which it almost was), with no sense of “avoiding suspicion”. He also enjoyed mocking Alois in front of Prince Annot, from his hairstyle to his socks, until the prince had to intervene. “Hahaha, Darius, you and Lagrange seem very familiar. Everyone should get along well.”
As if! Alois wished he had never known this brat! If he had known they would be at each other’s throats today, he should have finished Bayes cleanly in school and reported to the teacher with feigned righteousness. “Cadet Bayes had an accident during survival training.” That would have saved a lot of trouble!
But the god of fate loved to play cruel jokes on Alois. Not only was Darius Bayes alive and well, but he also led a fleet to attack Milantu. Now, the vanguard of his fleet—three cruisers and seven frigates—had passed the checkpoint. Errol’s clear command came over the speaker. “Attack!”
Doro shot out from behind the asteroid like an arrow, leaving a trail of bright green particles. The other five fighters followed, forming a silvery-green stream in the dark space.
Following the training plan, Alois made a feint attack. The last frigate in the vanguard quickly fired lasers at him. Alois deftly dodged, while Titia emerged like a ghost from behind him, delivering a deadly missile into the frigate’s heart.
The explosion’s flash lit up the dark sea of stars, announcing another frigate’s demise. Ahead, several large asteroids moved aside, revealing the Princess Sophie and the Romantic Exile. Their main cannons, fully charged, fired dazzling white beams at the Empire fleet!
A cruiser’s side was grazed by the white beam, causing it to shudder, while an unfortunate frigate behind it was pierced through.
The Empire forces finally realized they were ambushed. Pirates lay in wait ahead, and the rear was cut off by elusive fighters. The fleet could no longer slow down, so the vanguard continued forward, engaging the pirates as they advanced. Dozens of fighters launched into space, swarming towards the pirate fighters like locusts.
Alois dodged enemy fire while heading towards the minefield. After downing two persistent enemies, he approached the main cruiser and fired a volley of missiles. Most were blocked by the ship’s force field, and the few that slipped through were shot down by secondary guns. But this tickling attack enraged the big mother ship, which accelerated forward, eager to reach Milantu and destroy the pirate base.
The bait worked! The ship entered the minefield!
Old Earth’s old mines were undetectable by modern sensors. The ship was like a child in a minefield, where each step could trigger an explosion. And it did. A mine, disturbed by the ship’s field, floated like a dandelion seed in the breeze before erupting in flames, engulfing the entire ship!
“Ha, got them!”
In the Lady of the Night’s command room, Joanna cheered. These mines were as sensitive as cats, reacting to the slightest disturbance. The successive flashes of explosions were a spectacle, but the pirate regretted that in the vacuum of space, there was no sound. In movies, even lasers made “pew pew” sounds!
All she could hear were reports from six control stations, exchanging damage assessments of the enemy and broadcasting confirmed results. The captain now knew that a main ship and two frigates were sunk, with another frigate lightly damaged, fleeing towards the Empire’s main fleet.
This was a major victory, inflicting heavy damage on the enemy and boosting their morale. But Joanna’s joy was short-lived, and her smile faded quickly.
The Empire forces were tricked? They were lured into the minefield? What did this mean? It meant the Empire forces didn’t know what awaited them; they didn’t have a map of the Second Sea of Death! But they safely passed through the First Sea of Death; why? Did they have incomplete intelligence? Was Darius Bayes reckless enough to invade Milantu with incomplete intel?
No, impossible. Bayes wouldn’t take such a risk. He never fought unprepared. So how did the Empire forces get a map of the First Sea of Death? Was there a traitor in the base? No, even if there were, Leo would intercept any sent information. Joanna was 100% confident in that. What gave Darius the confidence to invade Milantu with an incomplete map?
…invade Milantu?
“Damn it!” Joanna slapped the armrest and stood up abruptly. “We are the ones who were tricked!”
“What’s wrong, Captain?” Leo’s holographic image appeared beside her.
“Darius doesn’t need to enter Milantu because he’s already there!”
Six control officers stared at Joanna, eyes wide with shock and confusion.
“Damn! Damn! Damn!” The pirate wanted to pull her hair out. “I was too careless! Falling for a centuries-old trick! The Silver String! It wasn’t a merchant ship. It’s full of Imperial soldiers! That explains why the Empire forces crossed the First Sea of Death but lacked the Second’s map! The Silver String recorded its path and sent it to the Empire forces, but the quantum interference around the Second Sea of Death blocked their terrain data! This is a gigantic Trojan Horse, and I happily dragged it home! I’m an idiot!”
She shouted and furiously ordered, “All units, retreat! Don’t engage the Empire forces. Return to Milantu immediately!”
“Yes, ma’am!” The control officers resumed their tasks.
The captain told Leo, “Contact Milantu. Tell them to secure the command tower and eliminate any suspicious personnel!”
Leo bowed. “Yes, ma’am!” But soon he frowned. “… Captain, bad news…”
“What?”
“We can’t contact Milantu. Communication is cut off. Hackers have infiltrated Milantu’s central computer and taken control!”
The Lady of the Night, the Aphrodite, the Princess Sophie, and the Romantic Exile were speeding through the Second Sea of Death, heading towards the Windless Zone. Since Joanna’s escape, this was the first time the fleet’s four main ships had set out simultaneously, marking an unprecedented event in five years.
Of course, the enemy they faced this time was stronger than ever. They weren’t the usual pirates, but the fleet led by Major General Darius Bayes, nicknamed the “Whip of Judgment”. When Leo detected the flagship “Sword of the Queen” on the sensors and identified the fleet, Joanna sighed in relief but also felt a surge of intense unease.
In the past, when she served the Empire, she had met Bayes several times. Back then, Bayes was not a Major General—not even officially ranked—but a cadet in the military academy. In her impression, he was a stern, uninteresting person, whose mind probably contained nothing more meaningful than “loyalty to the Empire”, “defeating enemies”, and “climbing the ranks”. As colleagues, their battlefield cooperation was excellent, but privately, their personalities clashed. As an enemy, Darius Bayes was terrifying. Sometimes his actions were predictable due to his narrow focus, but other times he was unpredictable, like a chessboard full of variables or a sealed candy box where you never knew the next flavor.
No matter what, Joanna acknowledged Major General Bayes as a troublesome enemy. “I never expected him to be the one attacking,” she said, sitting in the command chair, resting her chin on one hand and tapping the armrest with the other, speaking with a tone of helplessness. “No matter how you look at it, the admiral has more important things to do, like taking down Prince Sori, arresting Duke Winnet, or conquering the Federation to unify the galaxy. These tasks are clearly more critical than chasing space pirates. What game is he playing?” She fell into confusion.
“Our fleet will leave the First Sea of Death and enter the Windless Zone in an hour,” Leo reported. “The enemy will leave the Second Sea of Death in three hours.”
“So we still have time to arrange our formation?” Joanna’s eyes scanned the three-dimensional simulation of the fleet, showing a total of thirteen ships, including the main and escort ships, forming a snake formation carefully navigating the star sea filled with old mines and gravitational vortices. The simulation marked dangerous areas in red, which the fleet cautiously avoided. Joanna clicked on the map, zooming out to show the entire Flaming Binary Star System. Milantu was far from the fleet, appearing like a small marble on the map. Two Sea of Deaths surrounded the two stars, with the safe area between them known as the “Windless Zone”. The Second Sea of Death was surrounded by many quantum interference devices, blocking communication between Milantu and the outside world to prevent information leaks. The limited communication channels were strictly controlled by Leo.
This simulation map was part of the data Leo had when acquired. According to the AI, these were advanced technologies discovered by ancient colonists, transmitted back to Old Earth before the first Galactic War, and later brought back to the colonies by Earth survivors. Five years ago, Joanna relied on this map to safely land on Milantu and establish a pirate base. It wasn’t surprising that Leo could get this map, but how did Darius Bayes get the related data? Did he make a deal with the Neo Athens Academy?
The more she thought, the less she understood!
“Leo, order the entire fleet to slow down. We can’t confront the enemy in the Windless Zone. The disparity in strength is too great. We must use the Second Sea of Death as a barrier,” Joanna commanded.
No response.
“Leo? Are you malfunctioning?” The pirate frowned. The AI didn’t respond to her command!
“Sorry, Captain. There was a small issue.” After a while, Leo replied, “Some viruses were detected and being cleared.”
Releasing viruses to paralyze the enemy’s computer system during a battle was a common information warfare tactic, although not honorable, but surprisingly effective. Joanna never worried about her ship’s computer getting infected because they had the most advanced AI in the universe!
“Was it Darius who released the virus?”
“Not yet identified. But it doesn’t affect operations.”
“That’s good. Was the previous order conveyed?”
Leo hesitated. “What order?”
Joanna was momentarily speechless.
“Uh, really sorry! There was a little glitch. I didn’t hear it…” The AI was extremely nervous about its dereliction. “Please, please repeat the order, Captain.”
Joanna mechanically repeated the previous order, but she didn’t hear herself speaking. Her unease reached its peak. In her years of dancing with death in the military, this was unprecedented.
“Darius Bayes?”
In the rest area of the Lady of the Night preparation bay, the waiting pirates were chatting casually while flexing their muscles. They had just learned the enemy’s identity, and Major General Bayes’s name caused a ripple in the room. Some girls were excited. “He’s the Empire’s most handsome soldier! And he’s nobility, young and high-ranking, like a fairy tale prince!”
The men collectively expressed disdain. “Tch, this prince rides not a white horse but a ship with laser cannons.” Errol said, earning an elbow strike from his sister.
“You’re just jealous,” the female mechanic taunted the brother, rolling on the ground and clutching his stomach. “Just admit it.”
“If you like him so much, why not marry him?” Udino retorted.
“Oh, I wish, but he wouldn’t fancy me.” The female mechanic stuck out her tongue. “Haven’t you dreamed of marrying a beautiful princess?”
“Of course not…” Udino glanced at Titia’s face and immediately said seriously, “Never thought of it!” He was then knocked down by his sister. “No ambition!” Titia scolded.
“Enough.” Alois sipped his coffee and interjected. “Darius Bayes isn’t as cute as you think.”
“You know him?” The women’s eyes lit up, expecting some juicy gossip from Alois.
But the anticipated young man only said lightly, “He was a year behind me in military school. He was talented, but also the most obnoxious, unfeeling, and unlikable brat I’ve ever seen.”
Titia’s mouth formed an O shape. “Alois, I didn’t know you had such a past!”
I’d rather not have it. Alois rubbed his forehead.
“Attention all units! Attention all units!” Leo’s voice interrupted their pleasant conversation. “The entire ship is slowing down. We will confront the enemy at the edge of the Second Sea of Death. Prepare for battle!”
Alois threw his cup into the storage box, quickly stood up, and walked towards the preparation bay exit, with Titia following him. Errol and Udino got up from the ground as if nothing had happened. The others left through another exit, heading to their posts.
The time was 15:00 on July 14, 1416, Galactic Standard Calendar. The Battle of Milantu was about to begin.
“Level two alert! Level two alert! High-energy reaction detected a quarter of a light-year from Milantu in the direction of Lyra!”
“What kind of high-energy reaction?”
“Adjusting satellite radar! Beginning scan!”
“It’s a fleet! A military-grade fleet is exiting warp and heading towards Milantu!”
The command tower of Milantu lit up with red lights, flashing incessantly. The sharp alarm sounds and the exclamations of the navigators rising and falling made Joanna Begrel irritable. She tossed her empty can to the floor, crushing it with a tooth-grinding “crunch”. The control room fell silent immediately, with all eyes on the captain, except for the still-blaring alarms.
“Leo, are you sure it’s not a false alarm?” Joanna glared at the ceiling, “Not a sudden meteor shower or something?”
“Have you ever seen meteors like these?”
The screen flashed, revealing footage captured by the probes. Against the deep red cosmic backdrop of the Flaming Binary, ships bearing the Empire “White Wolf Sword” emblem were emerging from warp, swiftly reorganizing into formation, and heading towards Milantu in an orderly fashion. The high-energy flashes caused by their warp exit seemed even brighter than the Flaming Binary themselves.
“Which fleet is it?”
“We can’t identify it. They’ve shut down the entire ultra-light network, using a closed internal network. We also can’t detect any electromagnetic or gravitational waves,” Leo replied. “Moreover, they’re passing through an area known as the ‘First Sea of Death’. If they aren’t taken out by old mines and turbulence, they’ll cross the ‘First Sea of Death’ in seventeen hours, and the ‘Second Sea of Death’ in twenty-eight hours. At that point, we’ll have no choice but to face them at our doorstep.”
Joanna continued to stomp on the can with her high boots, making the navigators flinch as if she were stepping on them. “This is the first time in many years that an army has dared to cross the ‘Sea of Death’. Their commander is either recklessly indifferent to life and death or has inside information about a safe route.”
“Do you mean one of our partners leaked the information, or there’s a traitor among us?”
Joanna shook her head amid the high-energy flashes on the screen and the flickering red lights in the command room. “I’d rather believe the Empire soldiers are idiots.” She stood up and kicked the flattened can into the corner, where a cylindrical cleaning robot buzzed over to sweep it up.
The captain’s tall figure stood before the screen, her voice clear as a spring amid the noise. “Sound the Level One alarm! All personnel to battle stations! Lady of the Night, Aphrodite, Princess Sophie, and Romantic Exile prepare to intercept the enemy in the ‘Calm Belt’ between the First and Second Seas of Death. Ground personnel, follow Emergency Plan No. 3, and be ready to evacuate Milantu at any moment!”
Her words were met with a chorus of exclamations in the command room.
“Is this really necessary, Captain?”
“Please reconsider!”
“Milantu is our last stronghold. We can’t give it up!”
“Do as I say!” Joanna commanded sharply. “The enemy has the strength of a whole army group. What about us?” She scanned the room, and no one dared to answer. “Abandoning Milantu is the worst-case scenario. Pray we can defeat them with fewer numbers.” She turned and walked out of the command room, with the cleaning robot hastily making way for her.
“What? Milantu is under attack by Empire forces?”
Alois put on his headset and opened the door to his house. To save energy, Milantu base had disabled the transparent sky projection, turning the sky a dull gray, while the flashing alarm lights dyed the low buildings red. Ground personnel capable of fighting had all been armed, calmly forming into units according to drill protocols, executing their tasks. Women and children who couldn’t fight were being escorted to underground shelters. If necessary, everyone could quickly reach the spaceport via underground tunnels and escape Milantu.
Leo’s voice came through the headset, fulfilling his role as an advanced AI, issuing commands from the command tower to the ground. “Lagrange, report to the Lady of the Night. Joshua, head to the east square, where the second vanguard team is gathering.”
Alois pressed the headset. “Is the vanguard team not boarding the Lady of the Night?”
“We’re going to fight a battle, not a raid. The vanguard team will stay at the base. If the warships can’t stop the enemy, they’ll land on Milantu, and we’ll have to prepare for ground combat.”
“Understood.”
Alois and Joshua exchanged glances. “Be careful.”
“You too.” Joshua lightly kissed his lips, then ran towards the vanguard team’s gathering point.
“Hey, don’t jinx it with that death flag stuff…” Alois took a deep breath and headed in the opposite direction.
Townsend almost spat out his coffee. “What’s this? An air raid alarm?” He looked helplessly at the gray sky, the flashing red lights, and the piercing alarm sound.
“Two long, three short, it’s a Level One battle alarm.” His colleague Yakin swallowed his last bite of bread and tossed his coffee cup into a nearby bin. If the base had to disable the gravity grid, flying cups could become deadly projectiles.
Yakin walked to the surveillance room computer, expertly pressed a few keys, and a prompt appeared on the screen. “Activate Level One Battle Emergency System?”
He pressed “Yes”, and a low rumbling sound indicated that the prison perimeter was now sealed, preventing any prisoners from escaping during the chaos. Milantu prison was designed to be easy to defend and hard to attack, capable of withstanding low-altitude bombardment. Underground escape routes were also opened; if the enemy resorted to using nuclear or antimatter missiles, these tunnels would allow the prisoners to be quickly evacuated to safety. The pirates were indeed humane.
“Is that all we need?” Townsend asked nervously.
“Let’s hope we don’t need the last resort,” Yakin whispered. “With these prisoners, if the enemy attacks, we can use their lives as leverage.”
“Will that work?”
“It never has before.” Townsend dragged a storage box from the corner and opened it, revealing an arsenal of guns. “Let’s give it a try.”
“Did you hear that?”
In Milantu prison, the young man with hawk-like, tawny eyes asked his cellmate, who listened for a moment and smiled. “It’s an alarm.”
“They’ve gone into battle mode.” The young man remained indifferent. “This means Colonel Gauss has begun his attack.”
“Is it time to start our plan?”
“Wait a bit longer.” The young man closed his eyes. “Joanna isn’t foolish enough to confront the enemy at her doorstep. I guess they’ll fight in the area between the ‘First Sea of Death’ and the ‘Second Sea of Death’. Crossing the ‘Second Sea of Death’ takes about nine hours. The battle will start no sooner than nine hours from now. We wait. When Joanna’s main fleet leaves and Milantu’s defenses are thin, it’ll be our turn.”
His cellmate clenched his fists in excitement. “I can’t wait for that moment, Your Excellency!”
The good news: the Jade Buddha Gang didn’t keep them chained up. The bad news: they were locked in a cage.
The Jade Buddha Gang had turned an abandoned courtyard into a perfect prison. The six of them were trapped in the same cage, with the madman locked in the next one.
The madman’s body was covered in sores, and his hands were tightly bound behind his back. He was thrashing around wildly, making inhuman, low-pitched howls.
The good news: their ghosts were no longer affected by the spirit-binding chains. The bad news: the cage was covered with talismans to ward off evil spirits, meaning their ghosts were imprisoned with them.
Only Bai Shuangying wasn’t trapped. The ghost had followed them all the way and was now strolling around the bonfire in the center of the courtyard. Aside from Fang Xiu, no one noticed him.
If Fang Xiu didn’t believe he couldn’t have imagined such a beautiful face, he might have thought he was hallucinating.
“Damn these bastards. It’s bad enough they locked us up, but they had to stick talismans on too.” Blondie kicked the cage while glancing at Fang Xiu. “Brother, you’re pretty loyal, getting screwed over with us.”
Fang Xiu responded absentmindedly and continued observing the enemy’s base.
There were four members in the Jade Buddha Gang.
The strongman who led them and the scarred man who attacked them weren’t in the courtyard at the moment.
Watching over them were two others—a middle-aged man in a white coat and a scrawny thug. They called each other “Doctor” and “Skinny Monkey”, and neither of them wore a jade Buddha. They seemed like low-level henchmen.
Skinny Monkey swaggered over. “What kind of abilities do your ghosts have? Tell me.”
Blondie spat at him. “Dumbass, why would I tell you?”
“I wasn’t talking to you. I was talking to the pretty lady.” Skinny Monkey tossed a bone at Mei Lan. “Hey, gorgeous, tell me, and I’ll let you out to live the good life.”
Mei Lan huddled in the corner of the cage, remaining silent.
“Ungrateful.” Skinny Monkey spat and tossed a knife in front of Blondie.
“Stab her. Don’t kill her right away, just enough to make her talk.”
Blondie said, “You think I’m sick or something? Why would I stab my own teammate?”
Skinny Monkey laughed. “Then I’ll start with you. The boss hates troublemakers, and you look big enough to feed us for days.”
He pointed at the bonfire, where there were signs of a makeshift barbecue. A few white bones were scattered on the ground, and Fang Xiu immediately recognized them as human leg bones.
Cheng Songyun couldn’t hold back any longer. “There’s food in the shrine. You don’t have to do this…”
“The shrine? We burned that down ages ago.”
Skinny Monkey pulled out the spirit-binding chain, playing with it while staring at Blondie. “So, are you gonna stab her or not?”
Blondie visibly tensed. He looked at the knife on the ground, then at the trembling Mei Lan. After a moment of hesitation, he bent down and picked up the knife.
Mei Lan shook her head violently in fear.
Jia Xu grabbed Blondie’s arm. “We can’t turn on each other—”
“Shut up! If you don’t want to die, you can take my place!” Blondie angrily shook him off.
“Enough! I’ll talk! I’ll tell you!” Fang Xiu shouted, covering his ears as if he was breaking down.
“We drew ghost lots, which allow us to use one type of ghost magic! The cost—the cost is that each time we use it, we lose a year of our lifespan.”
Blondie was still stunned, but Cheng Songyun immediately caught on. “Yeah, that’s right! That’s how it works! Don’t push us anymore!”
Skinny Monkey snickered and walked up to Fang Xiu. “Then why do you only have one shadow?”
“I didn’t dare draw a lot.” Fang Xiu backed away slowly. “The scene was too scary…”
Skinny Monkey glanced at the spirit-binding chain in his hand. He’d heard that this guy was the last one they captured, and he’d given himself up out of fear. Now, seeing him up close, Fang Xiu did seem like a coward.
The spirit-binding chain was the bane of ghostly powers. These guys’ “self-defense” techniques were ghost-based, which explained why they were so easy to catch.
“Fine. You’d better not be tricking me, or I’ll kill you first.”
Skinny Monkey snapped his fingers, and the knife flew out of Blondie’s hand. He sheathed it and walked off, humming a little tune.
Jia Xu moved closer to Fang Xiu. “That was reckless. They captured the auntie earlier. Who knows what they got out of her? What if he’s cross-checking information…”
“The auntie didn’t have a ghost, so she wouldn’t have given them too many details.” Fang Xiu whispered, “I mainly wanted to know how much they know about us.”
Jia Xu finally realized—
Making up lies was risky and could easily be exposed, but Fang Xiu’s half-truths were just right. He had blurred the fact that ghosts could act independently, making it sound like their abilities were just skills, and he’d added a fake price.
If the enemy didn’t know better, this misdirection could be huge.
“The auntie knew we all had ghosts. But that guy casually asked me, ‘Why only one shadow?’ instead of asking where my ghost was.” Fang Xiu stared at Skinny Monkey’s retreating figure. “Overall, this group doesn’t know much about us. When they found the auntie, she might’ve already been dead.”
“Brother, you’re brilliant. We should wait for a chance to ambush them,” Blondie said excitedly, acting as if nothing had happened.
Jia Xu looked grim. “That’s enough. You need to be more careful. Lao Mian said they’re down to just two people. When their teammates die, they can’t recruit more.”
“This is only the first round, and we’ve already lost two. Every person who dies means one less strength. Stop thinking only about the short term…”
Blondie snapped. “Did I ask for your opinion?”
Seeing the two about to argue, Fang Xiu turned away in boredom, his gaze drifting toward Bai Shuangying.
By the bonfire, Bai Shuangying was walking even faster now, appearing in front of him every two minutes. When Fang Xiu had first been locked up, Bai Shuangying’s face had been full of “Beg me to help you” and “Come on, beg,” but now his expression had returned to its usual blankness.
How interesting.
Amid this hellish scene, that white figure was truly beautiful.
“Hey, the one in red. Come out and be my dog.”
Skinny Monkey came back outside, dragging his chain, possibly bored after spending some time indoors.
“Doctor” frowned. “Don’t…”
“There’s nothing here, and I’m bored. What’s the harm in having some fun with that weakling? I’m not going to kill him.”
Doctor sighed and stopped talking.
Fang Xiu didn’t mind. This was exactly what he wanted. Now that he’d established himself as a “weak coward”, the enemy’s guard would be lower.
The closer he got to them, the more opportunities he’d have. Fang Xiu put on a timid expression, waiting for Skinny Monkey to unlock the cage and let him out.
Just then, Bai Shuangying stopped in his tracks.
He turned around slowly and stared deeply at Fang Xiu.
The next second, he unfolded in front of Fang Xiu.
Fang Xiu couldn’t think of any other way to describe it than “unfold”. Bai Shuangying’s body melted like cream, expanding into large, twisted patches of color. Dark hues mixed and swirled, like something out of an AI-generated dream.
Skinny Monkey jolted, as if suddenly realizing something was in front of him. Before he could react, a voice echoed softly—
[You are a tree,] The voice said.
Skinny Monkey’s eyes glazed over.
He staggered over to the cage, kicked off his shoes, and pressed his feet deep into the soil. The ground was soft, but he pushed so hard that his skin, flesh, and bones peeled away, bloody and raw.
[Trees don’t talk,] the voice said.
Skinny Monkey’s grunts of pain stopped instantly, along with his breathing. He stood there, bloodied, in a grotesque position, mimicking the branches of a tree.
[Trees don’t have heartbeats,] the voice added.
In the dim firelight, Skinny Monkey’s complexion turned ashen.
He was dead.
His corpse remained standing in that bizarre posture, right next to the cage.
From beginning to end, no one besides Fang Xiu noticed any of this. Everyone else was busy with their own affairs, as if what had just happened was the most natural thing in the world.
Bai Shuangying didn’t return to his human form; he drifted closer to Fang Xiu.
This human had treated him like a weakling but was ready to bow down to a thug, even though Bai Shuangying knew Fang Xiu was pretending, he couldn’t swallow his pride.
So he revealed part of his true form, killing someone in front of this human. To ensure the message was clear, he let Fang Xiu understand his words and witness the bloody reality.
Now that this guy had seen the truth, it was time to stop the silly charade.
…Bai Shuangying “looked” at Fang Xiu.
In the rain, the enormous, distorted shape pulsed rhythmically, as if breathing.
They were just half a step apart. Bai Shuangying wanted to see the panic or fear on Fang Xiu’s face, maybe even some kind of defensive posture or submission.
…But instead, he saw Fang Xiu gazing back softly, with a faint blush on his face.
Bai Shuangying: “?”
He stopped moving.
“That mole is still there.”
Fang Xiu extended his hand through the cage, lightly touching the bizarre form in front of him. Amid the chaos, the tiny blood-red mole on Bai Shuangying’s form gently floated, standing out vividly.
Something was wrong. This reaction wasn’t right.
Bai Shuangying was literally frozen in place. Fang Xiu’s eyes held nothing but pure admiration and appreciation, exactly the same as when he had seen Bai Shuangying in his human form.
“Did you act out suddenly because you were in a bad mood? Was it because of me?” Fang Xiu quietly asked, noticing Bai Shuangying’s inaction.
Bai Shuangying, reacting instinctively, replied, [Yes.]
“I’m sorry if I treated you poorly. I don’t have much experience interacting with people my own age.” Fang Xiu’s tone was genuinely apologetic.
Bai Shuangying: [……]
How strange. This human was actually reflecting on his actions instead of assuming Bai Shuangying couldn’t stand to see a human mistreated. Fang Xiu seemed to understand the way evil spirits thought.
The problem was… Do I look like I’m your age?
Realizing that his phrasing was off, Fang Xiu quickly corrected himself. “I mean, I’m not very good at being kind to others…”
Bai Shuangying: [……?]
No, do I even look human to you?
By the end of this thought, Fang Xiu had begun to laugh at himself.
“To be honest, my companions might benefit from harming me, but you wouldn’t gain anything from it. We’re helping each other out, moving forward together… Isn’t that what friends do?”
“I just want to get along with you, Bai Shuangying.”
Bai Shuangying remained frozen for a long moment, then, losing interest, he reverted back into his human form.
Fine. Fang Xiu’s just bad at expressing kindness. This human had many issues with his head, so one more wouldn’t make a difference.
Bai Shuangying was used to looking down on humans, but he wasn’t entirely sure what made someone a “friend”. And he had no intention of admitting that fact. After all, Fang Xiu had, for once, lowered his guard.
Things had turned out very differently from what he had anticipated. Fang Xiu didn’t seem to care at all about Skinny Monkey’s death. But since the result was satisfactory, Bai Shuangying wasn’t inclined to delve into it further.
“We can be friends,” Bai Shuangying declared, in his usual mysterious tone.
Bai Shuangying glanced at Skinny Monkey’s corpse and added pointedly, “As my friend, you can’t go bowing to trash like him so easily.”
Fang Xiu nodded. “Alright. If anything bothers you in the future, just let me know anytime.”
Bai Shuangying was pleased. “I’ll remove the spell now. Be careful.”
With that, he resumed his walk around the bonfire, this time at a more relaxed pace.
As the spell dissipated, no one reacted, as if Skinny Monkey had never existed. Everyone’s eyes casually swept over his corpse, treating it like part of the scenery; like a tree that had always been there.
It was as if the Jade Buddha Gang had never questioned where their “eighth man in white” had gone.
But those were minor details, Fang Xiu thought.
The important thing was, starting today, he had a beautiful and straightforward friend.
In the dead of night.
“Doctor” in the white coat approached the cage, nervously biting his fingers, his eyes red-rimmed.
“I-I have to tell you something. About the sacrificial ritual, you’d better—you’d better be mentally prepared.”
“I’m sorry.” His voice broke, and he looked on the verge of tears. “I’m so sorry…”
The author has something to say:
Frie~nds~ is just a lie~~~ (in that kind of tone)
Comrade Fang Xiu, buddy, a person’s sexual preference is free, but… (omitted
It’s perfectly reasonable that the one guarding you is a doctor.
In this time and space, the time had reached 1:10 in the morning.
Zhou Qian and Bai Zhou stopped 300 meters away from the Red God Inn because the Red Gods, Amei and Alayne, stopped and turned their heads to look at them.
Perhaps the inn and a certain power of the Red Gods were closely related, so that when they were near the inn, the Red Gods could sense their presence.
When their gazes met Zhou and Bai, both Amei and Alayne showed murderous intent.
Before they could act, Zhou Qian spoke while stepping down from Bai Zhou’s back. Looking at the two ladies, he said, “You should be chasing after Difu. You should be able to feel her power, right?”
Alayne extended her hand, and the lotus in her palm gathered and dispersed, but soon it gathered again, about to strike Zhou Qian and Bai Zhou.
Bai Zhou quickly drew his Tang sword, but Zhou Qian pressed down on his wrist and looked at Alayne again.
As the red lotus was about to burst into bloom in mid-air, Zhou Qian timely asked, “Has Difu’s power increased?”
Indeed, Alayne countered, “How do you know?”
“You really don’t remember me. I snatched your handkerchief when you were eight,” Zhou Qian said.
“Handkerchief? Are you talking about the one used for Samhain…” Alayne’s gaze was quite cold. “No, I have never seen you before.”
“That’s because, under the curse of Difu’s power, you remember nothing. Or should I put it another way—” Zhou Qian looked at Amei. “Actually, it’s your curse. You once cursed that everyone in the village would die. Now, Alayne has killed everyone, and it seems that everything has come true. But in fact, one person is still alive.”
His gaze then shifted back to Alayne. Zhou Qian said with a smile, “You haven’t died yet.”
Hearing this, Alayne’s expression became more serious, and her complexion was slightly pale. Zhou Qian smiled and said, “Time has actually gone much farther than you think. The fate of Nameless Village and yours has been predetermined, and everything that should happen has already happened. The ‘you’ now is actually still living in the ‘past’ you. You can’t know your ‘future’ fate.”
“Although you are the killing intent sent by the gods to the human world, essentially, you are the same as us, all human. Even if we have great power, we cannot transcend time.”
Changing the topic, Zhou Qian continued, “But Amei and Difu are different. Heaven, the human world, and hell make up the three dimensions of this world. We are in the human world, so we can’t escape the time of the human world.”
“But Amei and Difu aren’t mortals; they can stand outside of time to watch us and move freely within our time.”
“That’s why you want to use Amei and her inn to find Difu’s whereabouts. Without the Red God Inn, a medium that transcends worlds and time, you would have no idea where Difu is.”
Many gamblers in the hall seemed not to understand Zhou Qian’s words at this point.
[Wait, after checking my notes… After the handkerchief tossing game, 137 went to keep watch, while Zhou Qian and the others returned to the second floor of the inn to stay. Then Red God Amei went to find Difu, saying she wanted to curse everyone in the village to die. She specifically mentioned that she was different from the Red Gods. She couldn’t stand outside of time!]
[Right, then Amei can’t traverse time! Since she went to the inn to find Difu to curse everyone in the village to death, how could she be from the future and know they all died?]
[But what Qian Ge said also makes sense. Have you guys noticed that there haven’t been many ghosts along the way? Could they have gone to a different time and space?]
[I’ve been wanting to say, this village isn’t very big, but theoretically, there should be many people from other worlds. It turns out they went to Nameless Village in different times and spaces, so they’re dispersed and can’t meet…]
[Hey, actually, there’s no need to analyze this. Amei herself has already admitted to Alayne that her inn can indeed track Difu. So, just like Qian Ge analyzed before, the Red God Inn also exists in multiple time-space dimensions, and Amei, like Difu, can freely traverse time and space!]
[So what exactly happened that night at the inn? Amei’s words and her abilities contradict each other! She clearly said she couldn’t stand outside of time. This means she stayed in the time space where Ab and others were still alive, so she cursed them all to die…]
[I got it! There are two possibilities—]
[First, the conversation between Amei and Difu that night didn’t happen in real-time in the inn’s hall!]
[Amei must have gone to the inn to find Difu before, to talk about cursing the whole village.]
[The conversation we and Qian Ge heard might just be because Difu “played” back a conversation she had with Amei at some point in the past through the statue’s eyes, specifically for the players to “hear”!]
[As for Difu’s purpose, of course, it was to make the players doubt Nameless Village, then hate the villagers, and even lie to find out everything. These are the negative factors Difu needed.]
[Do you remember, Hidden Blade Boss said Difu’s attitude towards players was “chaotic”. She had no murderous intent towards them. Now I understand. She indeed had no direct murderous intent at that time. After all, living people can provide negative emotions for her to feed on!]
[Wait, let me interrupt. Your answer has a bug. At that time, Amei was already speaking in an incomprehensible language, indicating she had become a Red God. If she is a Red God, not belonging to the human world, and can transcend time, why would she say she can’t stand outside of time?]
[That leaves only the second possibility—Amei was lying.]
[Damn, I also realized, there’s only one answer that explains everything that night—Amei said that deliberately. She was misleading the players!]
[Isn’t it? How could two such powerful gods, able to exist beyond human dimensions, not know the players were ‘eavesdropping’? Amei did it on purpose!]
[Shit, holy shit, so Amei has always been Difu’s person?!]
In the game.
Looking at Zhou Qian, Alayne said, “I of course know they can traverse time and space. But what about you? If you are also a mortal and cannot ‘transcend time’, how did you travel from what you call ‘my future’ to ‘my present’?”
Zhou Qian said, “You already understand Difu well. You know she has a magical tool, right? It’s the statue at the village entrance. We were brought here from your ‘future’ to this moment by her using that magical tool. I know her power has increased because the ‘betrayal’ she anticipated happened.”
“Difu brought us back to the past of Nameless Village using the magical tool, to let us feel the betrayal of the villagers and then generate hatred and slaughter, so that she can absorb power from it.”
“Now she has sent our companions to different times and spaces, aiming to further provoke our mutual betrayal. As far as I know, my companions died because of her design. So, we should cooperate.”
At this point, Zhou Qian’s eyes glinted in the night, as if he was making an irresistible proposition.
His expression wasn’t that of someone seeking to survive from a powerful person, nor was it negotiating; rather, he was making a demand.
“Alayne, if my companions continue to betray each other, Difu will become stronger. Consequently, your chances of winning will decrease. Therefore, the first thing you need to do is help me find out where my companions are in the vastness of time and space.”
“In return, we will help you. We can not only help you deal with Difu but also help you steal the ‘Key to Freedom’. After all, we are deserters from the Land of Silence. We know it very well. As for Amei…”
“Amei can’t be trusted…” Zhou Qian hadn’t finished speaking when a sudden change occurred—
Countless red and white ghostly auras rapidly gathered together, aiming not at Zhou Qian and Bai Zhou, but striking at Alayne’s back!
By the time Alayne reacted and turned her head, it was already too late. But fortunately, a flash of sword light zipped past her spine even faster, acting like an indestructible wall, pushing all the ghostly auras away.
Alayne was half a step slow, not because she lacked power, but because she truly did not want to believe that Amei would make such a move!
Amei stood on Difu’s side. For this, even though Zhou Qian had hinted at it, knowing rationally was one thing, but actually seeing it was another.
Alayne incredulously looked at Amei. “You…”
Responding to her was Zhou Qian’s ruthless words. “She has been cooperating with Difu for many years—even her inn enshrines Difu’s idol.”
“Do you really think she would believe you with just a few words?”
“She probably wants to find an opportunity to deal with you later, or simply throw you into the vortex of time, trapping you forever. Unfortunately, I’ve told you the truth ahead of time, so she had to take action. Anyway, she won’t help you steal the key. You can only rely on us now.”
Alayne didn’t pay attention to Zhou Qian, just continued to look at Amei. “You…”
“I have enough reason to hate the villagers. But you don’t. At least you shouldn’t hate to the extent of slaughtering the village. You say you are the killing intent sent by the gods—I believe this. Now you can kill the villagers in the name of the gods, and in the future, you can also kill me and the spirits living in my inn in the name of the gods.”
Amei said. “So I have a need to cooperate with Difu.”
Seeing a subtle expression emerge on Alayne’s face, Amei continued, “Additionally, regarding everything you said, I don’t agree. Regarding what I’ve experienced, maybe Difu is a disaster, or perhaps she played a role in exacerbating the situation, but in fact, the real betrayal and hatred come from my home and country.”
“Difu came to the human world with evil intentions, perhaps similar in nature to earthquakes, tsunamis, and diseases. But as a god, she’s too powerful. She doesn’t need to betray me. If she can’t absorb power through me, she would simply find the next person. She doesn’t need to betray me.”
“Those who would betray me are always humans.”
Alayne was almost startled by these words. “What about you? Aren’t your current actions a betrayal of me?”
Amei was silent for a while before saying, “No. You and I were never on the same side. Maybe I was human once. But now, I am a Red God from another realm. I will forever hate humans, including you. Even if you were born with inhuman power.”
After saying this, Amei turned around and walked towards the inn. Her speed was very fast, but the red lotus was faster.
Red, silk-like petals quickly wrapped around her wrists, ankles, and neck.
But that was all.
The petals didn’t twist her head off like they did with the villagers. The flower just took root, trapping Amei in place.
Afterward, Alayne finally looked at Zhou Qian, yet didn’t speak, as if still weighing something.
Zhou Qian said, “Lies and betrayal will increase Difu’s power. If Amei betrayed you, you could feel Difu’s power increasing, right? But at this moment, my words haven’t increased her power. So, you know I’m not lying.”
Alayne didn’t respond, but her complexion turned even paler.
Good. It seemed that in these few seconds, no one else nearby had lied, so Difu’s power had indeed not increased, allowing him to fully convince Alayne.
With this thought, Zhou Qian fixed his eyes on Alayne’s and continued, “Whether it’s the Tartar Inn opened by Difu at the village entrance or the Red God Inn that connects two worlds, they both hide the secrets of time and space. They are the link points of the three dimensions in this world.”
“You should now fully believe me. Once we enter the Red God Inn, perhaps with the effect of all dimensions being interconnected and various times and spaces linked, you will remember everything—
“You will remember that I once stole your handkerchief, that my companions had kept watch for you.”
“You might also remember your future.”
At this point, Zhou Qian paused, and his eyes gave a meaningful look before he continued, “For example, in your future, like the other villagers, you also died.”
Just at this moment, from the direction of the inn with the bright red sign, suddenly came a familiar voice.
This even surprised Zhou Qian—
Looking towards the voice, he immediately saw He Xiaowei running towards him.
“Qian’er! Is it really you?! This isn’t an illusion, right?!”
“I have a big discovery to tell you!”
“Remember Beilan? There’s a problem with his identity! A big problem! Totally unexpected!”
The author has something to say:
To prevent everyone from forgetting, Beilan is Amei’s childhood sweetheart. They were forcibly separated.
Logically, the stats he gained through [Fallen Death] shouldn’t be affected by [Physical Destruction]. Previously, the best Nol expected was just “to recover the suppressed stats, with values twice as strong as before”.
However, due to the insufficient details in the descriptions of [Supreme Blessing] and [Physical Destruction], Nol wasn’t sure if the curse could be removed smoothly. Using it rashly might just waste a rare item, and his curse would remain unshaken.
Thus, Nol first gave the [Supreme Blessing] to Teest, along with Teest’s own pendant that “exempts all abnormal states”, ensuring the successful removal of the curse.
Nol carefully explained the above plan to his companions.
Nol was cautious. This time, there was no existing bug for him to exploit. He had to anticipate the worst-case scenario and steadily win the battle.
Who would have thought the system itself had stumbled into a colossal bug!
Nol had never felt like this before. System errors popped up non-stop, wildly pouring power into his body. In a trance, through the system, he could feel the entire world.
Around his neck, the two-colored bead on the pendant floated up, emitting a faint glow.
With a snap, the bead from the destroyed worlds shattered into powder, turning into countless warm light spots. They circled Nol for a moment before gently dissipating into the night.
That feeling of “being connected to the world” became increasingly clear, as if the planet was embedded in his flesh.
[Recommendation: Eliminate illegal invaders. Retrieve your authority.]
“That’s what I’m planning to do,” Nol said silently.
As flesh tendrils exploded near him within two seconds, more crowded in. Nol casually glanced at them and swiftly adjusted his plan—
Beat them down.
Beat them decisively, professionally, with the ferocity of a storm, giving no chance for escape. Nol, usually a mage, wasn’t skilled in close combat, but he possessed the most destructive knight in the world.
Nol raised his hand, and blue fire instantly climbed the flesh tendrils, burning the “shell” disguised as the night sky. The night shattered, and the fake night sky turned into a sea of fire.
Nol, with back against the burning sky, smiled down at someone below—
“Teest!”
……
Flames rose all around, and Teest’s mind went blank for a moment.
Without needing to check the panel, he could feel Nol’s terrifying power surge. The God of Creation, previously within reach, suddenly returned to divine heights. Once again, that person shone a light bright enough to ignite him.
Still so brilliant, he thought.
The path of the Mad Monk had reached its end, and a new signpost emerged. How could he lag far behind his God? Teest stretched out his hand joyously—
“Teest!”
Listen, Nol was calling him.
The next second, Teest soared into the sky, happily grabbing Nol’s wrist. His toes touched Nol’s, and his sword still blazed with striking golden flames.
“I think it’s time we committed a crime together,” Nol whispered. “Teach me, love.”
“Of course, honey.”
Within five meters, Teest’s burning golden threads wrapped around Star Stealer Sol, the flames searing the flesh. Those golden threads traced beautiful, precise “auxiliary lines”, and Nol’s magic followed suit.
25%, 22%, 19%…
On the other side, soft golden threads wound around Nol’s wrists, ankles, and waist. They moved lightly like the wind, helping Nol adjust to the most comfortable attack position. Occasionally, their palms brushed, fingertips touched, as if they were dancing in the air.
17%, 12%, 7%…
The health of Star Stealer Sol plummeted. The Players didn’t care about those two unusual figures. All eyes were glued to the Boss’ health bar. The blue fire cracked the heavens, exposing more of the monster’s body, and the Players’ assaults grew more frantic, nearly tearing it apart with their teeth.
Tendril-like flesh limbs thrashed around, and black-red magic poured from the sky. However, the rate of Player deaths had dropped significantly—
In the most intense battle zone, a young man with pale golden hair appeared silently. Numerous space fire circles opened and closed, shifting lethal attacks for the Players or moving the injured to floating islands.
Beside him, Anakin continually cast recovery spells, and Solo, with eyes closed, threw support spells nonstop.
Real or fake Drake? NPC or Player? At this moment, no Player cared.
Those who came to help, whether human or dog, were friends now. They only knew that someone had launched a terrifying burst of power, making the Boss’ health bar plummet dramatically!
In this situation, there was no need for command. Everyone knew what to do—squeeze out the last bit of strength and maximize output!
Under the shattered sky, amid the dragon’s roars, Players surged like moths to a flame, rushing towards the unreachable high heavens. No one noticed the many strangely shaped bosses that had appeared on the edge of the battlefield, adding bricks and mortar to the New Year’s fireworks-like magical assault.
5%.
Star Stealer Sol tried to restrain Nol with its massive body.
“Expel!” Teest laughed.
The pressing flesh was immediately repelled by an invisible force, flung far away. Nol took the opportunity to twist his body and punched it into a pulp.
“This is my territory, recognized by the system,” he said.
4%.
Nol grabbed Teest’s white armor, shielding him from a wave of deadly magical strikes. Ominous magic exploded on him, only succeeding in blasting open the back of his clothes.
[HP – 0]
The sky was filled with blue flames, shaking more and more intensely. Star Stealer Sol’s body writhed rapidly, unsure whether it wanted to move away from the rift or abandon Tahe.
But that didn’t matter.
Teest hooked Nol’s waist, and the two elegantly switched positions. A wave of golden flames blasted back the way it came, piercing through the massive body opposite of them.
3%.
[I surrender!] A sharp, booming voice exploded directly in their minds. [I am willing to return the permissions immediately. We can talk—]
2%.
[You taught me a lot, Enbillick,] Nol said amid the fireworks-like spread of magical attacks, pausing briefly. [The most important of which is: whatever you say, not a word can be trusted.]
1%.
At the very end, Nol touched the spot over his heart, stopping the storm-like magic. He moved close to Teest, his left hand touching the other’s hand holding his sword.
The sword, previously burning with golden flames, now blazed with blue fire, merging into pure white.
Teest looked at Nol. His God nodded and slightly opened his mouth—the gold wheel engraved with five names lay on Nol’s tongue.
The Mad Monk’s gaze shifted from curiosity to realization, and finally to unprecedented sweet delight.
Nol flew behind him, his hands on his shoulders. Burgeoning power swirled around them, silver-white hair fluttering in the wind.
Nol’s power encircled the “Betrayer” while Teest provided both golden fire and the black power of corruption, brutally squeezed together.
Perhaps because the ancient Demon King’s permissions had completely disappeared, perhaps due to the influence of the Creator’s authority, or perhaps because the owner of the power was too excited—the black corruption and golden flames merged into one, hissing like iron being quenched.
The dark colors burned out and the golden flames became more intense, turning into pure gold in the shape of flames. The flames changed from scorching hot to ice cold, writhing like living things, emitting an incredibly dangerous aura.
[Everything is the arrangement of fate.] The Mad Monk shrugged.
[Wait—] Star Stealer Sol’s body convulsed violently. It seemed to want to escape this world but was stuck to the fake sky, unable to break free immediately.
[Get out of my world,] Nol said.
The night sky split into two as if the light of day lit up.
Star Stealer Sol’s health bar instantly bottomed out, its body frozen mid-air like a specimen. The tendrils that had whipped at Players now hung limply, broken and pudding-like. The sharp screeches in Nol’s mind stopped. The magic fluctuations belonging to Star Stealer Sol rapidly faded.
The False God was dead. Its massive remains lost support and pressed into the still-burning night sky, creating more rifts. Black-red flesh fell along the edges of the rifts as the false sky cracked open. The whole world seemed to be trembling.
Nol gripped Teest’s shoulders. Teest didn’t turn back. The “Betrayer” in his hand was still emitting white light.
What a long journey.
Nol closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
Like a chick breaking out of its shell, the sky completely shattered. The writhing chunks of flesh and hard shell fragments fell toward the ground. But the moment they crossed the cloud layer, whether the ugly chunks of corpse or the burning shell, all turned into colorful, beautiful confetti.
This was the privilege of the Creator.
[Illegal intruders eliminated.]
[Integrating game “Tahe World” permissions.]
[Integrating developer permissions.]
[Permission integration 100%.]
[Successfully created “world” authority.]
[Successfully returned “world” authority.]
……
[Execution complete.]
System prompts sounded one after another. Countless warm streams flowed in his veins. The world authority called the “System” integrated into his body. Nol knew he could use it at will—the feeling was a bit strange, like leading an overly obedient puppy.
Nol raised his hand, issuing the first command exclusive to the “God of Creation”.
[The new Demon King has been killed.]
[Main Quest completed.]
Above the celebratory rain of confetti, a huge system popup appeared.
[Congratulations to all for reaching the end of the journey. Rewards will be settled within 3 days. Please look forward to it.]
Nol embraced the gasping Teest, maintaining a stealthy state, overlooking the Players frozen in place. Hesitating a few seconds, he finally added the long-overdue words—
[Welcome to Tahe.]
Behind the popup, the real sky emerged. At this moment, the stars faded. The dawn stained the sky a dream-like light purple.
Players looked up together as colorful confetti drifted down, like an overly beautiful dream.
At the same time, Teest, exhausted, hung on Nol, savoring the thrill of killing Star Stealer Sol. He felt like he was back twelve years ago, when he killed his first high-ranking member of the Eternal Church.
Too bad the cathedral in the Holy Land burned down, and the square was destroyed in an instant. Otherwise, displaying the remains of Star Stealer Sol would have been quite a spectacle. Just the thought gave him goosebumps.
Teest glanced at Nol unconsciously.
Nol was watching the Players on the ground. The mess caused by the war and the beautiful confetti that didn’t match the battlefield was continually falling.
He knew he couldn’t understand Nol’s feelings at that moment. But he was determined not to ruin this significant moment—Teest decided not to disturb Nol and instead admire his spoils and to calm his mood.
A piece of flesh that hadn’t turned into confetti.
It came from Star Stealer Sol’s tendrils, which Teest had prepared earlier. When they returned to the Lost Tower, he could make it into Nol’s breakfast.
The gold wheel was stained with blood and grime.
That was the gift Nol gave him, which he had finally taken back. Star Stealer Sol obviously didn’t cherish it. Teest wiped off the dust, finding many fine scratches on the gold wheel.
As he looked, Teest’s smile vanished.
The gold wheel was stained with a drop of blood. Perhaps because it had once belonged to a False God, Teest couldn’t wipe it off. The bloodstain was precisely on the eye area of the king side face, forming extremely fine traces, like a line of blood tears.
Teest hurriedly flipped the coin over. The tiny scratches between the leaves and the sun were also… very familiar, shockingly so.
The day he was taken away by the Eternal Church, the shop sold its most expensive jewelry. His mother gave him a gold wheel as a gift when she sent him to buy bread.
During the endless darkness that followed, that was the only thing he kept. He had observed it countless times. He could never mistake it.
Just like now.
The author has something to say:
Husband duo fighting!
Let’s send off Star Stealer Sol with drums and gongs.
Kinky Thoughts:
As Nian Zhong continues each novel, I find her writing of action scenes much better and more exhilarating. This whole scenario really drew me in, as if I were actually playing the game myself. It definitely made me reminiscent of my gaming days.
When Enbillick came to his senses, it was already too late to save himself. The long sword not only contained the power of the system but also an inexplicable force. His health was plummeting like a burst dam, and he had little time left, let alone the ability to reverse time in a headless form.
His carefully crafted avatar was destroyed just like that.
[Enbillick Alva [Avatar] – Temporary System Administrator]
[HP: 2,540/35,634,800 | MP: 99,453/1,218,500]
[Star Stealer Sol – Temporary System Administrator]
With only a third of his original body’s health remaining, dwelling on the avatar was pointless. The moment the avatar perished, the curse would find the nearest person to him. Unfortunately, he was immobilized now, and Teest didn’t seem inclined to come any closer.
Killing Eugene Malloy wouldn’t be too bad either. There was something seriously wrong with that damn guy’s head. After this battle, Eugene would certainly no longer be of use to him. On the bright side, he had considered various contingencies, including “loss of the avatar without killing the target”.
His main body was still intact.
His recent battle with Teest reaffirmed that the opponent was as skilled as he had anticipated. The situation was still somewhat under his control.
After returning to his main body, he planned to quickly eliminate Teest or Nol—preferably Nol—then use the system to distract the stirring Players, avoiding direct confrontation. His priority was survival.
Survival aside, Star Stealer Sol had no intention of fleeing Tahe.
Leaving would mean abandoning all system-related privileges. After three worlds worth of effort, he had finally secured a stable position in Tahe. He was on the brink of success. There was no reason to give up now.
Thinking this, Star Stealer Sol felt irritated.
He flipped through his shattered eyeball and decisively withdrew from the avatar. Let the curse play with those who desecrate God!
Enbillick’s flesh had just collapsed, and the ground corruption surged to wrap around the corpse. Teest, remembering Nol’s speculation—that Star Stealer Sol surely had a backup plan—decided to destroy his body first and absolutely remotely.
Dark corruption rushed forward, and Eugene instinctively stepped back two paces. Accompanied by a chilling hissing sound, Enbillick’s remains quickly dissolved. Several clumps of black corruption formed hand shapes, meticulously searching through Enbillick’s blood-stained money pouch.
Should he leave some blood for Nol to drink?
Teest thought as he swiftly dealt with the body and searched for “God’s Gold Wheel” stolen by Enbillick.
Found it. He successfully sensed Nol’s presence on one of the gold wheels. Teest joyfully recalled the corruption and was just about to leave—
“Be careful!”
Painter was the first to shout out.
From where Enbillick’s flesh had vanished, a half-human-high eerie red shadow slowly rose, resembling a cloud of blood mist. At the same time, Eugene coughed twice. A circular wound appeared on his forehead. Blood flowed from the fine wound, running down his eyebrows and nose.
The half-human-high red shadow, like a shark smelling blood, rapidly charged towards Eugene. Eugene reflexively raised his shield, and Painter’s high-level dispel skill descended from above. The red shadow ghostly passed through the light and shield, its movement unimpeded.
Eugene had to quickly retreat, managing to create some distance. The red shadow spread its arms wide, still closely following.
“It’s a curse!” Healer Anakin shouted as she displayed the pop-up she saw. “’The Flawless can actively identify abnormal statuses on the target!”
The blood-red popup wobbled, its text varying in size—
[※Blasphemy: You have committed an unforgivable great sin. Your crime will forever follow you, embrace you, and you are destined to stop breathing under the curse of God.]
Oh, what a troublesome thing.
Regarding the current situation, Teest could guess a thing or two. Star Stealer Sol, possessing half the system’s authority, couldn’t operate outside the system’s rules. He hadn’t used this curse against them earlier, probably because the trigger cost was too steep.
This curse was far stronger than they had anticipated, but fortunately, Nol had prepared a solution in advance. Teest touched his pendant, where Nol had given him the “solution” just in case.
It was a quill they had taken from Ship Island.
[Supreme Blessing: Removes all known curses. ※Single-use only]
If Teest hadn’t used it yet, it still had a more important purpose. Teest looked at Eugene, dodging the red shadow in the flames… Hmm, would Nol be upset if Eugene died? How upset would he be?
Damn, and there were four witnesses…
“You go ahead. I have a way.”
Seeing through Teest’s hesitation, Painter suddenly spoke up, his tone as calm as ever. “That guy is returning to his main body, and it must be tough for Lord Nol. ‘Supreme Blessing’ should be used where it’s needed—please make sure to eliminate Star Stealer Sol.”
“Excellent.”
Teest clapped his hands decisively and turned around.
He knew, even if Painter was a rare “Saint” class, he couldn’t remove or transfer such a curse. Otherwise Nol’s [Physical Disruption] would have been saved long ago. But since Painter said he had a way, Teest didn’t plan to be curious.
He walked away without looking back.
“What are you doing?!”
He heard Eugene’s voice, mixed with anxiety and questioning.
“Wait, there must be other ways—”
He heard Anakin’s voice tremble.
“Calm down. If it’s just about creating distance, I can use spatial teleportation to buy time.”
This was Kando. Teest was used to hearing the candle’s noisy voice. Suddenly hearing a different voice took him a half-second to respond.
The cathedral was filled with fire and smoke, with soil and water raining down like stones. The air was hot and murky, mixed with a rich scent of blood. The expensive carvings were scorched black and tilted in all directions, and the exquisite murals were melting and peeling.
The armor decorated at the door was red-hot, and the long sword in its hand fell to the ground with a clang.
An unpleasant sense of familiarity slowed Teest’s steps.
“There are places that need you more.” Painter’s mood seemed quite good. “And the skill has already started. If we interrupt now, we will both die here.”
“I really like this ending—I consciously chose it in a clear state. Personally, saving Mr. Eugene is much more pleasant than being a stepping stone for God.”
Eugene sounded like he had a fishbone stuck in his throat. “Godfrey Painter!”
“Oh, it’s almost over.” Painter’s voice weakened significantly. “…I have to say, I’m sorry, Eugene.”
Teest could guess what Painter was doing. As a “Saint”, he surely had high-level sacrificial skills.
…Such as taking on someone else’s fate of “death”.
Whether it was Painter or Eugene, Teest had no particular feelings about their life or death. Since he was unharmed, whether for the greater good or personal reasons, the [Supreme Blessing] should rather be used on Nol.
With a bang, the chandelier in front of the archway couldn’t withstand the flames and shattered at Teest’s feet.
The burning church, the falling chandelier, the naïve to the point of ridiculous sacrifices.
And Teest, who decisively left.
Perhaps due to the time reversion, the memory from twelve years ago was incredibly vivid. The smell of Evergreen Cathedral burning was strikingly similar to that of the Immortal Church from those years.
For a moment, Teest suddenly felt a strange déjà vu—a thumb-sized Nol anxiously staying by Painter’s side, trying hard to think of ways to save people, unable to be pulled away.
…Haa.
This time, Teest turned back after all.
The red shadow firmly embraced Painter, like a giant human-shaped spider. Painter’s eyes were half-closed, his face pale and white. He tightly grasped Eugene’s wrist while countless new green runes wandered on their skins.
It was unclear whether it was due to the curse or “enforced calm”. Eugene was unconscious by then, but his face was rosy and his breathing even, presumably safe.
Anakin was tearful, frantically casting high-level healing spells on Painter, trying to keep him alive. Drake was silent, channeling mana to Anakin, encouraging her futile actions.
“Move aside.”
Teest pushed Drake aside unceremoniously and stepped in front of Painter.
He kicked Painter’s side lightly with his toe. The body below didn’t react. And Teest was sure, this guy had no heartbeat—his magical connection with Eugene was barely there, just not completely dead yet.
He placed a hand on Painter’s face, pressing his palm against the Former Pope’s nose. Countless golden threads pierced into Painter’s skin, traveling through his flesh, focusing where the red shadow touched Painter.
They rooted like tendrils into Painter’s skin within the red shadow, seeming to add a set of pure golden neural networks to that shadow. The red shadow twitched unnaturally, looking more like a spider.
“Can you save him?” Anakin almost bit her tongue.
“Of course not. This is a system curse.” Teest scoffed. “I can only use the power of ‘destruction’ to hold it back a bit longer. There’s no guarantees.”
Ensuring the red shadow no longer moved, Teest decisively broke Painter’s hand. “Ben, take him. Kando, open the portal!”
The shadow wolf leaped out from Drake’s shadow, grabbing Painter in its mouth. Drake looked at Teest somewhat unexpectedly, not reacting for a moment. “Painter is already…”
“His magic hasn’t failed yet. The system hasn’t completely classified him as dead.”
Teest impatiently pointed to the green runes on Painter’s right hand, which were gradually fading. “If you ask a few more questions, he’ll definitely die—let me go to Nol’s side!”
As Drake shut his mouth, a ring of fire lit up. The Mad Monk exhaled, grabbed the wolf, and crossed through space.
……
Nol was in a good mood.
The Saints, Amazon, and Dragon Clan—three of the strongest groups in the world were relentlessly bombarding him. Star Stealer Sol’s health bar visibly shortened. The more Nol roared in fury, the more the Players ignored him. The more he tried to stop the Players, the harder they hit Star Stealer Sol’s main body.
It was fantastic, and if it weren’t for the serious situation, Nol felt like he was part of a rock band’s cheer squad.
The wonderful experience continued until Star Stealer Sol’s health dropped to 33%.
Suddenly, the four wandering eyeballs froze and turned towards Nol. Star Stealer Sol’s counterattack became fierce in an instant, with countless black and red beams bombarding the ground, and in a moment, two dragons were pierced through their magical armor and fell from the sky.
Here it comes.
Teest must have successfully disabled Star Stealer Sol’s avatar, forcing Star Stealer Sol into a corner with no way out, starting a frantic attack. Fortunately, they had already taken two-thirds of his health, so Star Stealer Sol had to be cautious about his remaining health and couldn’t fully unleash his power.
Next, he would definitely focus on himself and Teest.
He was just about to… Hmm?
In front of Nol, blue fire suddenly spread. Teest, along with the shadow wolf, leaped out of the ring of fire. The “Betrayer” swept through the air, blocking several incoming black and red beams.
Teest pointed towards the wolf’s mouth, his tone urgent. “Take custody!”
Nol hadn’t even had a chance to see what was in the wolf’s mouth when his hands finished the operation. The item Ben was carrying disappeared instantly, leaving the wolf’s mouth empty, almost unbalancing it.
Watching that figure disappear, Teest clicked his tongue. He looked at Nol with a melancholic expression, as if he had lost something very important in life.
“It went well over there,” Teest said unhappily, his sword drawing golden fire in the air. “Everyone’s alive, probably.”
“What did you just send over…?” In the midst of the battle, Nol didn’t have time to confirm the unidentified living thing.
Teest pointed his sword at the sky. “It’s not important. We’ll talk after the fight.”
Both looked up, noticing Star Stealer Sol’s health bar had stopped around 29%. The conscious Star Stealer Sol had become much stronger, as if the operator had switched from the default AI to a professional player.
For some reason, Nol could read sheer anger in those looming four eyeballs.
“Together?” Nol extended his hand towards Teest.
“Together.” Teest took his hand, kissing the back of Nol’s hand.
With the two of them closer than five meters, [Betrayal Overture] activated.
Nol and Teest stats increased by 30%.
The next second, blue fire and golden fire collided, with thick fog spreading across the battlefield. Nol, who had been biding his time, made his move. [Creator] created tens of thousands of ice spears, which became pitch black as they mixed with Teest’s destruction power.
Nol made a gesture, and the thick ice spears targeted those four eyeballs. Golden fire burned along the fake firmament, creating bigger and bigger cracks.
Hidden in the fog, Players got a brief respite. The sounds of swallowing recovery and mana potions rose and fell. The Players’ assault eased, but that didn’t matter—
The ice spears traced strange paths, focusing their attack on those four eyeballs. The sky-bound monster let out an ugly roar, and its health, which had just barely reached 29%, instantly dropped to 28%.
Before all the ice spears were shot, Teest let go of his hand. The “Betrayer”, connected by thousands of golden threads, flew towards the monster in the sky. Nol manipulated the surrounding air, sending the sword soaring with the wind.
Teest grasped Nol’s hand, guiding the direction hand-to-hand. The long sword, like a living sewing needle, threaded its following golden threads into the monster’s flesh.
And atop those golden threads lay the God of Creation’s blue fire.
The blue fire burned, creating clusters of compressed air out of thin air. In a few heartbeats, Star Stealer Sol’s body exploded along the golden threads, raining down a foul-smelling blood rain.
The blood rain dispersed the fog, and under the watchful eyes of all, Star Stealer Sol’s proud “reversion” was thoroughly disabled.
Its health was now at 26%, nearly a quarter left.
Teest and Nol immediately used the power of “concealment”, disappearing from the multitude of Players’ views. The next second, Nol heard a nearby scream. “The Demon King’s avatar is gone! It’s the second phase!”
As expected of experts, they reacted quickly.
The sky rumbled ominously. The night sky cracked all around, like parched earth.
Star Stealer Sol’s body continued to fall. Countless rope-like flesh limbs squeezed in. They brutally swung away Players, pressing towards the area where Nol and Teest were, groping around.
Perradat’s “concealment” was only on a mental level. If Star Stealer Sol groped indiscriminately like this, it could still touch them.
[Star Stealer Sol has system permissions. It fought a round with you, and with our combined attack just now, it can definitely sense our combat capabilities.]
Nol ignored the gradually approaching flesh limbs, his thoughts steady.
[…It will then attack us within what it considers a “reasonable” defense. This is our best chance.]
[You should be careful. It might not be an opportunity.]
Teest took out the quill [Supreme Blessing] from his pendant. [In theory, it could remove your curse, or it might not work on your curse at all.]
[Yes, it’s more thrilling than a predestined ‘fate’.] Nol flashed a smile.
He looked up again at the Star Stealer Sol’s main body in the sky—paired with the shattered firmament and sweeping flesh limbs, the thing looked like a mutant embryo breaking out of its shell.
[I don’t know this guy’s moves. Teest, make full use of your combat instincts.]
Nol stated calmly as a flesh limb wrapped around his arm.
[This time, you decide, I execute.]
[If I make a wrong judgment, or if you’re too slow…] Teest murmured, manipulating the golden threads to pull back the “Betrayer”. [Forget it. Let’s go.]
If Nol successfully removed the curse, he would become about twice as strong. Combined with himself and the Players, they could take away about 5% of Star Stealer Sol’s health. The subsequent battle would also go smoothly.
But if [Supreme Blessing] was ineffective, it would mean Nol took a needless risk, and he’d have to quickly pull Nol back to his side.
…However, the future changes in an instant, and that’s how things should be, right?
The tip of the quill flickered with white light, Teest held the light quill firmly, reaching towards Nol’s status bar.
The moment the flesh limb pulled Nol up high, he erased the [Physical Destruction [Undispellable]] from Nol’s status bar.
In the wind being pulled up high, Nol’s eyes widened. He could see the rapidly approaching eyeballs, the imminent burst of dangerous magic, and—
[Warning, status change detected]
…Here it comes.
[Effect logic comparison completed. Judgment: the item “Supreme Blessing” is effective. Starting—starting—starting—]
[—Beginning stats calculation]
The status bar flickered like a bad signal, turning from blood red to pale blue, and the content changed again.
…It was one thing for health and mana values to max out, but attribute values typically have a seven-digit limit.
Nol almost forgot to struggle, suddenly realizing something—
The stats he gained through skills had always been added directly, unaffected by the curse. When leveling up, these values weren’t reduced but were considered his inherent attributes.
[Physical Destruction] had reduced his stats by 99%, and now that the curse was gone, the system had enhanced his inherent stats by 100 times.
But his inherent stats had been off for a long time, meaning…
Nol poked Star Stealer Sol’s flesh limb.
The flesh limb exploded into fragments with a “pop”.
The author has something to say:
The weakening was for this moment!!!
Nol’s curse is the ultimate golden finger…
Kinky Thoughts:
For those who forgot, a golden finger is basically a “cheat”.
Townsend opened the cell door of the prison, twirled the electric baton in his hand, and swung it a few times, pretending to be an action movie star. His partner, Yakin, impatiently pushed him into the long hallway beyond the cell door. “Hurry up! After the patrol, let’s find something to eat. I’m starving!”
“You had a sandwich just an hour ago,” Townsend complained back to his companion.
On either side of the hallway were doors made of special tempered glass, through which the outside could see the inside of the cells, but those inside could not see out. This setup facilitated the guards’ patrols while preventing the prisoners from conspiring and plotting.
The prison was currently less than a third full, all occupied by the crew of the Silver String. Each cell held two people. During the prison’s renovation, the AI Leonard had suggested keeping all prisoners together, but Joanna had vetoed this. “If they are all caged together, it will only unite them and bolster their arrogance,” she had said. Hence, the prison ended up in its current state. “It looks more like a student dormitory than a prison,” Leonard had mocked.
Yakin scanned the cells with a detached eye. Most of the prisoners were behaving as all captives did. After initial resistance and dissatisfaction, they calmed down and started to consider their situation, realizing that obedience and waiting for rescue were the safest bets. However, some of the more unique-minded individuals weren’t as compliant. A tall man paced back and forth in his cell, as precise as a pendulum. Yakin was reminded of a novel by a writer named Zweig from ancient Earth, where the protagonist developed extraordinary chess skills in prison.
In another cell, two roommates were arguing. The soundproofing was excellent (to prevent prisoners from communicating), so Yakin could only see their mouths opening and closing, their faces livid, occasionally using their hands and feet. If it turned into a violent fight, it would be troublesome.
In yet another cell, two people were engaged in an intimate activity. Yakin rolled his eyes and hurried past as if he hadn’t seen anything.
Townsend, however, was enthusiastically gesticulating in front of the cell door. “Oh, nice. I haven’t done it with my wife for a long time. She’s been giving me a hard time lately.”
“It’s work time. Stop babbling about your personal life,” Yakin sternly warned his partner.
The Silver Strings captain’s cell was at the end of the hallway. It was a large, comfortable single room that the guards jokingly called the “presidential suite”, as it was always used to host captured captains, demonstrating the pirates’ hospitality. Captain Leibniz was currently sitting on the bed, looking despondent and distracted, rubbing his hands anxiously, his lips moving as if talking to himself.
Yakin was used to this sight. Almost all captured captains were like this, worrying about “Will the pirates kill me?” “When will the ransom be paid?” “Will the company punish me?” and similar concerns. After lingering in front of the “presidential suite” for a while, Yakin nodded and signaled to Townsend that they could move on to check other areas.
As they left, Yakin suddenly felt a cold gaze on him. First, he felt a chill all over, then his back, where the gaze focused, seemed to burn. He turned abruptly and saw the source of the gaze.
It was a young man in his twenties, with meticulously groomed dark auburn hair and tawny eyes, glaring at Yakin like a bird of prey. The guard was stunned, wondering if the young man had a grudge against him, then realized that it was impossible to see outside from the cell! How had the young man seen him?
The confusion lasted only a few seconds before the young man shifted his gaze to his cellmate with the same cold, fierce look. Yakin sighed in relief, thinking maybe the young man had coincidentally looked in his direction.
The young man’s cellmate seemed equally uneasy under his gaze, his face turning very pale. Then he suddenly collapsed onto the bed, clutching his stomach and writhing in pain.
Yakin stepped forward and knocked on the cell door, turning the special glass fully transparent and activating the door’s communicator.
“What happened?”
Painful groans came through the communicator.
“Nothing,” the cold-eyed young man said. “He’s having a stomachache.”
“Do you need a doctor?”
“No.” The young man didn’t even look at Yakin or his suffering cellmate, staring instead at a nonexistent point in the air. “It’ll be over in a while. Right?”
“Y-Yes,” the patient on the bed said. “It’s an old problem. It’ll pass soon.”
“Alright,” Yakin shrugged. “If it gets really serious, press the red button on the door, and we’ll provide proper treatment.”
“Thank you very much,” the young man said.
The guard knocked twice on the door again, deactivating the transparency and communicator. Townsend was already at the end of the hallway, waving for him to hurry up. “Hey, come on! Didn’t you say you wanted to find something to eat?”
Colonel Gilbert Gauss paced anxiously on the bridge, like a caged beast. He was always impatient, and the thing he hated most in the world was waiting. However, he had to wait now because his superior had ordered it.
“When can we attack!” Colonel Gauss stomped on the floor. “Bayes, that coward! He dares not fight but won’t let others fight either! Damn it!”
“Please calm down, Colonel,” his adjutant advised. “The Major General must have his reasons for his orders. We should wait patiently for the right moment…”
“The right moment?!” Gauss roared, his anger exploding. “The right moment will slip away while we wait! By the time it arrives, that crazy bitch will have fled!”
“Please, you must calm down!” The adjutant wiped the sweat from his forehead and whispered, “The current order is ‘standby’. If you violate the order and attack on your own, regardless of success or failure, Major General Bayes will have a reason to blame you. But if you follow his order and still fail, you can put all the responsibility on the Major General. This is greatly advantageous to you!”
Gauss thought it over and found his adjutant’s reasoning sound. Indeed, his father had sent a competent person to assist him. The Colonel was pleased, patting the adjutant on the shoulder. His mood improved greatly. “You’re right! I can’t let Bayes have an easy time, but I also can’t let him get a hold on me!”
“Report!” A messenger hurriedly ran onto the bridge, saluting the Colonel.
“What is it?”
“We just received word that Dowlan Company has received the ransom demand from the Begrel Pirates.”
Colonel Gauss’s eyes lit up. “Does that mean we can attack now?” He sought confirmation from his adjutant.
“Yes, Colonel.” The adjutant saluted. “The time has come for you to show your skills.”
“Good!” Gauss waved grandly. “Order the entire fleet to set sail, enter warp, and raid that crazy bitch’s lair!”
Joanna disembarked from the Lady of the Night carrying a black briefcase filled with raw stone samples. She saw a line of crew members from the neighboring Silver String, trudging dejectedly toward the prison under pirate supervision, resembling chicks led by a mother hen. The female pirate whistled, ran along the line of captives to the front, greeted the first mate in charge of escorting, and received many resentful glances along the way, which pleased her greatly.
“A good start to the year with such a harvest—a good omen indeed,” said the first mate.
“Let’s hope so.”
A passing prisoner snorted contemptuously, receiving a fierce glare from the first mate. Joanna sized up the prisoner, noting his attire was vastly different from the other crew members. His clothes were made of fine silk, with a ruby pin at the collar. Despite his disheveled appearance, his eyes remained sharp.
“Let me guess, this must be the captain of the Silver String?” Joanna teased. “May I have the honor of knowing your name?”
“Leibniz, thank you!” the captain replied curtly.
Joanna turned to the first mate and feigned anger. “How could you neglect Captain Leibniz so? He deserves the same treatment as I!”
“Oh, I was so careless!” the first mate exclaimed exaggeratedly. “I’ll make sure he gets a well-lit single cell in the prison!”
The surrounding pirates burst into laughter.
“And,” Joanna continued, “I will host a banquet tonight to welcome Captain Leibniz.”
“Will you cut Pavlov’s dog food again?”
“Hey, wait!” Captain Leibniz interrupted. “Aren’t prisoners supposed to be treated better than dogs?!”
“Of course, we always treat prisoners well!” Joanna bit her finger, looking sincerely at the pitiful captain. “Pavlov can’t even get dog food!”
The pirates were laughing hysterically.
“Keep up the good work.” Joanna patted the first mate on the shoulder and bounced away. She felt Captain Leibniz’s angry gaze, which had no effect on her at all. However, another gaze pierced her like a sharp thorn into the back of her head. The female pirate turned back cautiously, searching for the source of the gaze, but only saw the captives walking with their heads down.
The sudden, prickling gaze disappeared as quickly as it had come.
‘Strange,’ she thought. ‘Probably just my imagination.’
The female pirate scratched her head and turned away from the line of captives, heading towards the command tower.
In her exclusive office within the command tower, four pilots and the holographic image of Leonard stood side by side, like soldiers ready for inspection.
The door slammed open, and Joanna flew in like a bird.
“Well done, my dear darlings!” She hugged each pilot, giving kisses on the cheeks of Titia and Alois to express her joy. She then bypassed Leo and went straight to her desk, placing the black briefcase on it.
“Captain, you’re discriminating against me!” Leo shouted.
“Complain when you get a physical body,” Joanna said without looking at him, opening the briefcase. It was filled with unpolished raw stones resembling gemstones, irregular in shape and rough in texture, mixed with a lot of gravel, looking no different from ordinary stones scattered on the ground. Titia let out a deflated sigh, while Alois almost blurted out, “Captain, did you bring a box of coal?”
“Leo, come take a look.” Joanna beckoned.
The AI raised its head. “Even if you apologize now, it’s too late. I won’t be swayed by these trifling benefits!”
“…Who wants to sway you. These are raw stone samples. I want you to check their quality.”
“Hmph!” Leo pouted, walking to the desk and examining the raw stones. Unseen to the others, the AI was scanning each stone in the box.
After a minute, he concluded, “Not bad. Upper-middle grade. Not the best, but decent. They should fetch a high price after polishing.” He pointed with an invisible finger. “That one, yes, the one with silver spots, is very hard and can be used for making drills. Spiders might like it.”
“Really…” The captain pondered for a moment. “I was planning to return the captives, the ship, and the cargo once Dowlan Company paid the ransom. But since these raw stones are useful… let’s keep half of them!” She turned the briefcase towards the four pilots. “Take your pick.”
Alois, puzzled, asked, “Pick what?”
“In this line of work, the harvest and risk always go hand in hand,” Joanna explained righteously to the young man participating in the robbery for the first time. “You all did a great job in this operation, and you deserve to pick the spoils first.”
“Captain, we appreciate the thought, but carrying a bunch of stones back is useless to us,” said Udino.
His brother, Errol, added, “Yeah, last time it was original computer parts, and before that, a bunch of paper books. You might as well give us money directly.”
“Oh, I will give you money, but just take something. It’s symbolic. These are precious raw stones! Maybe keep one or two as a souvenir?” Joanna drawled. “I don’t want to carry this thing back.” This was probably the real reason. She turned to Titia. “Girls must be interested in gems, right? Come on, pick a few.”
Titia reluctantly approached the box but was pushed by Errol, causing her to fall onto it. “Go on, little sis. Pick for us.” The elder brother naturally shifted the burden of picking the spoils onto his sister.
Titia grumbled, “I’ll remember this,” as she picked through the box, finally settling on two of the largest stones. “They might look nice in the fish tank,” she said, weighing the stones in her hands.
“Only two?” Joanna was disappointed, then turned her expectant gaze to Alois. “You pick too! If you want, you can have them all!”
The captain’s enthusiastic promotion was hard to refuse. Alois hesitated, rummaging through the box before casually selecting a black stone. Seeing that the samples she brought couldn’t be disposed of, the captain frowned. Leo kindly suggested, “The vanguard team also deserves some credit. They should pick spoils too.”
“Good idea!” Joanna snapped her fingers. “Get them here!”
“Can we go now?” Udino asked.
“Of course.” Joanna rubbed her hands like a merchant. The four, plus the AI, seized the opportunity to leave the captain’s office eagerly.
“Too scary!” Titia said, still shaken in the command tower hallway. “The captain gives away whatever she robs! If we hijack a ship carrying oil next time, do we each have to take a barrel of oil back?”
“I understand her intention to reward merit, but her reward direction is completely wrong!” Errol followed his sister, “The merchant ship for trade will arrive next month. Hopefully, they’ll buy all the stones. Not a single one left!”
Alois and Leo nodded in agreement.
“Two stones.” Titia looked despondently at her “spoils”. “They’re too big for the fish tank.”
“You should’ve picked smaller ones,” Udino said.
His sister glared at him. “Why didn’t you pick then? Now you’re criticizing me!”
“Alright, Titia,” Leo intervened. “The two stones you got are high-strength hard drill stones from Neo Amazon. After processing, they can be made into daggers. They can cut through iron like mud, much better than ordinary weapons.”
“But where am I supposed to process these damn things?”
“Find Spider?”
Alois raised his stone. “Can this also be made into a dagger?”
Leo quickly scanned the black stone. “Definitely not. This kind of stone is usually used for jewelry. Its feature is that it shows different colors under different light intensities, so it’s commonly called ‘rainbow obsidian’. It’s quite rare. If polished well, it can be very valuable. You have a good eye.”
The young man didn’t feel happy at all about Leo’s praise. “Titia,” he asked, “can I trade with you?” He felt a dagger was more practical.
“Don’t even think about it.” The female pilot had also realized this.
Leo lamented loudly, “You bunch of vulgar people! All you know is fighting and killing—no sense of romance at all!”
“Then you take it?”
“…My database can’t hold this thing.”
The AI left the command tower under the disdainful gazes of the four, floating off to find the vanguard team leader. Subsequently, all vanguard team members were forced to take a “spoil”.
“…Then the captain gave me a stone, heavy as hell.” That night at dinner, Joshua recounted his misfortune. “Later, I asked Spider if he wanted it, and he did, so I gave it to him.”
“I should’ve done that too.” Alois toyed with his useless gem. “But Spider might not have accepted it.”
Joshua gestured. “Let me see.”
The young man tossed him the gem. The assassin held it between his fingers, examining it under the light. In the bright white light, the gem appeared deep purple, like uneven grape jam.
Joshua walked to the window and held the gem against the night sky. Under the starlight, it glowed bright blue, like a pure sapphire. “Rainbow obsidian?”
“You know it?” Alois leaned back in his chair, watching the color change in surprise.
“This thing can’t be bought just with money,” Joshua said, letting the gem shift between blue and purple. “If you don’t want it, give it to me?”
Alois lifted his chin slightly. The gem, unpolished, already showed its splendid colors. Once crafted by an artisan, it would be even more beautiful. He had never given Joshua a gift before. As long as Joshua didn’t mind the stone, giving it to him was perfectly fine. “If you like it, take it,” the young man said. “But what will you do with it?”
Joshua held the stone in his palm and smiled slightly. “Secret.”
After multiple training sessions, Alois had already regained his feel for piloting a fighter jet. Upon entering space, he quickly adjusted his balance and located his three companions on the radar: Liz, Rachel, and Fran.
“Liz calling Doro. Do you copy?” Through the speaker came the voice of Errol, Titia’s older brother.
“Doro, copy that.” Alois forced himself to utter the name despite the chill running down his spine.
“Form Formation 1.”
“Understood.”
The four fighter jets formed a diamond formation, with Fran at the front, Rachel and Liz on the flanks, and Doro bringing up the rear. This formation was the result of Leo’s comprehensive analysis of their training: Titia liked to act unpredictably, so she led to confuse the enemy as much as possible; Errol and Udino, as brothers, had a near-telepathic connection, allowing them to support each other, while the “more stable” Alois could both attack and clean up the mess left by the other three.
“Meeting Lagrange was a stroke of luck! With him, the Begrel pirate fleet is bound to have a bright future!” Leo wrote in his log. Alois, having accidentally seen the log, deeply doubted what kind of dark past the pirate fleet had.
“The enemy’s main cannon is charging! Be careful! Execute Plan B!” Errol commanded. Fran and Doro dispersed up and down, while the distance between Liz and Rachel widened, forming the vertices of a tetrahedron as they approached the merchant ship.
Alois immediately noticed that the merchant ship was a modified warship, equipped with heavy beam cannons and missile launchers. The Dowlan Company, the Empire’s largest supplier of raw gemstones, spared no expense to protect their cargo.
Unfortunately, they were up against the craziest pirates in the universe.
The merchant ship’s main cannon began charging, while the secondary cannons fired deadly beams continuously. Missile launchers on the ship’s flanks opened, releasing hundreds of missiles that swarmed towards the four like a plague of locusts.
Alois activated his defense field, navigating agilely through the jungle of missiles and beams. Ahead, Titia flitted like a ghost, appearing on the left one moment, then on the right the next. He couldn’t fathom what she was doing, and the enemy was likely even more confused. Errol and Udi, protecting each other, spiraled in perfect defense, breaking through the missile swarm.
Thanks to the three of them, the path ahead was cleared. Alois advanced steadily. Fortunately, the merchant ship had no fighter jets of its own, which would have been more troublesome. He pressed the fire button, launching two armor-piercing missiles at the merchant ship’s left flank. One was shot down by a beam before reaching the target, but the other hit its mark, exploding beneath the left flank. The bright flash quickly faded, revealing that the ship’s hull had an additional layer of armor. Regular armor-piercing missiles were ineffective. Alois pulled the control stick, passing the left side of the ship, dropping a few torpedoes. They exploded against the hull like hitting a bronze wall, having minimal effect.
This armor couldn’t be penetrated unless it was the Lady of the Night’s main cannon. Alois lightly tapped the edge of his helmet, activating the communication device to report the situation to his companions.
On the bridge, Joanna impatiently tapped the armrest of the command chair, eager to end the battle quickly and drag the loot (gems!) back to enjoy her matcha almond cake. Of course, to the uninformed, her constant tapping seemed to signify that the captain was racking her brains on how to break through the merchant ship’s defenses. In reality, Joanna’s thoughts were barely on that.
“Fire at the main cannon,” the pirate ordered.
Alois spiraled toward the merchant ship’s main cannon, his screen indicating high energy gathering at the barrel. “Fire? How?!” he shouted into the microphone.
“You’re a man, figure it out!” Joanna shouted back.
The dark past of the pirate fleet was fully revealed at this moment! Alois, on the verge of tears, pulled up the aircraft to join the other three pilots.
“Doro, we’ll draw the main cannon’s fire. Once it fires a shot, you attack during the recharge time!” Errol remained calm. After issuing the order, he and Udino’s Rachel circled the main cannon. Doro and Fran evaded the incoming laser beams and missiles from the periphery, waiting for a chance to strike. Alois understood Errol’s plan: the merchant ship’s main cannon was an Empire MF711 model, powerful enough to burn half the Lady of the Night into dust with one shot but had only a 12-second firing duration. Liz and Rachel would serve as bait, drawing fire, while Fran and Doro attacked from two different directions. The main cannon’s firing arc was only 80 degrees, insufficient to cover both fighter jets.
“Its energy is fully charged!”
The cockpit flashed red, warning Alois of the imminent high energy. He deftly avoided the barrel, circling the merchant ship’s right side. Liz and Rachel danced like ballet partners before the main cannon. As the cannon fired, they separated rapidly, like repelling magnets.
The intense light temporarily blinded Alois. He cursed himself for forgetting to activate the shading system. But it was too late now. He closed his eyes, relying on memory, and approached the main cannon from above. After counting to 12 seconds, he reopened his eyes, still seeing afterimages but managing to locate the main cannon. He locked onto it and pressed the fire button, sending several missiles toward the still-open barrel. Simultaneously, Titia appeared below him, launching three missiles.
The missiles entered the barrel just as it was closing, exploding along the high-energy pathways into the ship’s interior.
Alois activated the shading system, watching the screen dim to reveal a spark and thick smoke emerging from the main cannon. Unfortunately, he couldn’t hear the sound, but it must have been spectacular.
Without its main cannon, the merchant ship was like a soldier without a weapon, trembling under the pirates’ might. Joanna had Leo open the communication channel and began her robbery declaration. “Attention crew of the Dowlan Company’s Silver String, we are the Begrel Pirates, and I am Begrel herself.” She paused for two seconds, as if savoring their shock, though she couldn’t see what was happening on the merchant ship, so she was just assuming it. “Our demands are simple: cease resistance, hand over control of the ship, and we will negotiate with your superiors. We promise not to harm the crew and guarantee your safety. If you agree, stop attacking immediately and surrender control. Any resistance will be met with force.”
The Silver String clearly didn’t want to compromise with pirates. The secondary cannons continued firing, and the engines powered up to full, attempting to flee. However, before they could accelerate, the shuttle carrying the vanguard team had already burned a path through the main cannon’s wreckage. The vanguard team, composed of the most ruthless pirates, emerged with weapons drawn, heading for the bridge. Joshua was among them, wasting no energy cartridges, sending laser shots precisely into the crew’s hearts and heads.
Someone shouted, “Look, it’s the assassin, The Mourner!” The crew, initially determined to resist the pirates, panicked, abandoning their posts. Joshua realized he’d forgotten to set his helmet’s visor to opaque, so some sharp-eyed person must have recognized his eyes. But this was good too. If a name alone could demoralize the enemy, why not?
Soon, Joanna received the Silver String’s surrender signal. The enemy ceased firing and opened computer access to the Lady of the Night. Leo quickly took control, decelerating the merchant ship. The vanguard team escorted the disarmed and surrendered crew to the bridge, binding them. Some severely injured crew members had to be taken to the medical bay.
“You despicable pirates!” The captain of the Silver String, with Joshua’s gun to his head, tearfully accused. “The Lord will punish you! Hypocrites!”
“That’s not right,” Joshua replied. “We always treat prisoners well, even better than the dogs on our ship.”
The captain seemed even more disheartened. This reaction baffled the assassin, who had spoken the truth.
Kinky Translations 