Chapter 189: Graduation And Expulsion (1/2)

The Astral Combat Tournament took place once every twenty years, which meant that a member of the younger generation could generally only participate once. But with Lu Yin’s young age, he could participate in the next one as well, though he did not wish to wait for twenty years.

While considering his options, he raised his hand and caused his die to appear. “Hopefully, you’ll be able to bring me a miracle.”

But right at that point, the thuggish Little Eight rushed in and excitedly shouted, “Boss, we’ve found some other pirates!”

Lu Yin casually dismissed the die and stared coldly at Little Eight. “In the future, knock before you enter. Next time, I’ll chop your hand off.”

The thug jumped in fright and immediately acknowledged the order.

“Pirates? How large is their group?”

Little Eight nervously replied, “There’s a pirate group about half a region ahead of us called the ‘Flying Fish.’ This group is several years older than ours, and they can be considered professional pirates.”

Lu Yin was amused. “Professional pirates? So are there amateur ones?”

“Boss, most pirates are actually not real pirates. Being a pirate is somewhat like putting on a mask. Someone might be broke, have poor cash flow, or have some other special goal, but there are always new pirates rising to the occasion. Once they’ve completed their goals, these pirates usually disappear back to their old life. This is a very normal occurrence.”

Lu Yin’s gaze twinkled as he remarked, “The dark side of the universe.”

Little Eight nodded in agreement. “Boss, so what do you think of this Flying Fish group?”

“Approach them and then rob them,” Lu Yin said simply before walking out towards the control room with Little Eight hurriedly following behind. This amateur pirate had decided that, since he could not resist, he might as well put on a good performance. If he was lucky enough, he might even find some opportunities in future to make some profit for himself.

“What methods do they employ?” Lu Yin asked as he looked at the medium-sized pirate spacecraft in the distance.

“They’re not much different from us. They only plunder and never kill.”

“I wouldn’t have been able to tell, but it seems that you people still have some principles,” Lu Yin remarked, somewhat astonished.

Little Eight grimaced. “Boss, being a pirate is already hard enough. Plundering has its risks, but killing is even riskier. Due to the weave’s clean-up troops, many pirates have an iron rule to plunder and never to kill. If we ever violate that, the weave’s troops would place us on their must-kill list. Thus, any killing on our part would attract the attention of powers we can’t contest. The risks are just too large for a little group like ours to even think about taking them on.”

Lu Yin nodded, as Little Eight’s words were logical. Though the universe was cruel, that was only true for cultivators and those who walked in the dark, like pirates. For the average person, aside from natural disasters, they could expect to live a long and uneventful life. In short, the great weaves were closely linked and had developed robust systems to protect themselves and their denizens.

Not long after, Lu Yin leisurely stretched out as he looked at the two fallen Limiteers in front of him. He was now on the Flying Fish pirate spacecraft, and in the middle of plundering it.

These small-scale pirate groups did not have many powerhouses, the couple of Limiteers that they did have were only as strong as the average Melder from the Astral Combat Academy, roughly around Gerbach’s level. They were just too weak compared to Lu Yin.

“Boss, here’s our harvest,” Little Eight said as he obsequiously handed Lu Yin a Mavis Bank black card as if he were presenting treasure, earning him a furious look from the Flying Fish’s captain.

“How much?” Lu Yin’s lips twitched upwards.

“Hehe, 60,000 star crystals.”

“So little? Hasn’t this group been running around and looting for a couple of years?”

“Boss, a pirate group’s expenses are quite high. Besides the costs that go along with a crew member’s death, there’s also the constant cost of maintaining their weapons and spacecraft, medicines and information, paying off the stronger pirate groups, and even paying the cultivators within their own group. 60,000 is a pretty decent haul, all things considered.”

Lu Yin’s gaze swept across the pirate captain and grunted when he saw his ashen face. He kept the card. “Not bad. Go ahead and split everything else among your men.”

Little Eight was delighted. “Thank you, Boss!”