Chapter 16 - Unwilling (1/2)

Those that wandered the universe consisted not only of the giant space rabbits, but also space pirates.

The space piracy problem had been plaguing the Federation for hundreds of years. Ever since AI had been popularized throughout the universe, the problem had been solved to some degree. But, in the more remote areas, “Butterfly’s” hold on some star systems were not strong enough, thus the problem persisted till today. After all, the vast universe was unlike land, neither humans nor AI could control everything.

Two years ago, the Navi System had gradually closed its borders, but it also made the public security around the area much better. For some time, the space pirates seemed to have gone extinct.

Nobody would have expected to bump into space pirates here. What’s more…Zhong Yan looked out at the spaceships floating outside from the porthole. The group of space pirates they had encountered this time did not seem to be small.

“Sir Zhong!” When the chief of security saw Zhong Yan, it was as if he had found his savior. He quickly said to him, “There are too many people on the opponent’s side, and their ships are heavily equipped. Our firepower is not comparable to them at all, but Bayer insists that we resist them. We…”

Zhong Yan answered decisively, “Give up the resistance, do not allow any casualties on our end.”

Bayer was quick to cut in. “Sir Zhong! How could we give up?! It’s their job to keep us safe!”

Everyone ignored him. The chief of security had received his order and immediately turned to convey the message. Zhong Yan fixed his clothes and turned towards his accompanying staff who were all pale from fear. “Bring me the stock list for the ship. You, destroy all the data related to the Supreme Council in the systems. Go.”

This time, they were pretending to be mere caravan travelers. The signal in such a remote part of the universe was not very good, and the Navi System had already blocked out the outside world for a very long time. Since this troop of space pirates were outside of the Navi System, then they must not have landed anywhere for the past year and a half or so. They might not be able to recognize them, so they could try to go with the flow.

He pointed to a few more of his men and ordered them off. Everyone had been huddling together in fear, and compared to Bayer who could only bark at the security team for them to face the enemy, Zhong Yan’s calm demeanor almost gave them a temporary glimmer of peace. Everyone responded in acknowledgment of his orders and went to do their work.

Bayer tried several times to put in a suggestion, but he never would have expected that Zhong Yan who would usually treat him with respect would actually turn a deaf ear to him today. He was so furious that his face was turning red. He howled, “How could you allow them to send a distress signal to the Navi System?! We should be asking the Capital for help! If word gets out, we might as well just be dead!”

Zhong Yan turned coldly to him. “It would be too late to wait for help to come from the capital. The closest large-scale military force available to us is the Navi Military Command. You may fight honorably with the space pirates, but do not drag those who wish to live down with you.”

This was the first time Zhong Yan had ever shot back at him in such a way to his face, and it was both shocking and anger-inducing for Bayer. Different shades of red passed through his face; in his eyes, this youngster was nothing more than a mere puppet, and he was only there in Stalvern’s place after his retirement. To think that this puppet would actually dare to crawl over him like this!

Since they had completely abandoned any idea of resistance, there was practically no conflict on both sides, and a small team soon boarded the ship.

The one in the lead was a dirty and rugged man wearing a bandana. As soon as he entered through the security doors, he immediately pointed his gun towards a few of the security guards. “Take out all your weapons and throw them aside!”

The security team looked at Zhong Yan, and they received his calm response. “Toss them away.”

“Oh, are you their leader? You’ve got tact, not bad.” The one leading the group turned his eyes to Zhong Yan and felt a sense of doubt rise up. “Hey, you look familiar now that I look at you…”

One of his underlings standing behind him observed Zhong Yan. “He looks pretty, must be some celebrity!”

Zhong Yan responded, “I know that you are only seeking wealth, you can take this batch of goods we have on board, but please let us leave safely.”

Their leader retorted, “Then we’ll have to see if your goods are worthy enough to pay for that. Search it!”

In just a short while, the dozen or so boxes full of goods they brought as props were taken over. Even the staff throughout the entire ship was pushed over and gathered. The leader looked on in dissatisfaction. “Just this? What sort of company is this? Why are you so poor?”

Zhong Yan remained unperturbed. “Most of it was sold off in Labor Star. This is all we have left.”

The leader’s gaze shifted through the group of staff, and suddenly sneered. “Oh, that’s fine, you have two ladies here who look pretty good. Hand over these two ladies and the goods, and you can go.”

The two female staff were so scared that they were trembling, blood draining from their faces. Zhong Yan frowned. “Not possible.”

At the same time, Bayer had quickly cut in. “Yes!”

The space pirate looked between the two of them, and asked, “So is this a yes or a no? Which one of you is in charge?”

“I am.” Zhong Yan presented himself. “You can take the ship and the goods, but it’s not possible for me to hand you any of my men.”

“You can save everyone by sacrificing two women!” Bayer was furious. “Are you trying to get us all killed?!”

Zhong Yan mocked him, “So you suddenly feel like living now?”

The leader looked at them with impatience and raised the gun in his hand. “So you’re not agreeing, huh?!”

Zhong Yan quickly weighed the pros and cons of revealing his identity at this moment, but in the end still decided to ensure the safety of his people and to discuss with them after he managed to get everyone out.

“I’ll replace them,” he said.

The pirate leader had been prepared to tell him that they wanted women; what was a man like him trying to cut in for! But as he observed Zhong Yan’s face, he started to swallow down his words. His underlings at the back whispered to him, “Boss, this guy looks much better than those women! It’s not a bad deal!”