Chapter 437: Reunion I
Translator:EndlessFantasy Translation
Editor:EndlessFantasy Translation
The atmosphere onboard the starship, Victoria, was filled with fear, but aside from the initial announcement, no one else had appeared to explain the situation. The passengers and crew members were completely separated, and all external communications were blocked.
Zhang Yu smiled bitterly at himself. To think that he was unlucky enough to be involved in an incident like this in one of his very rare outings! As a Maverick, he rarely stepped outdoors. When was the last time he ventured outside? A year ago? Or was it a year and a half? He could not tell.
Looking at the panicking crowd around him, Zhang Yu twitched his mouth. He did not look as ordinary in the virtual world as he did now. While he was not exactly as powerful as that friend of his, he still had a reputation of his own. He had his own share of experience in danger, so it was not too hard to remain calm at this point.
He thought of his mysterious friend, his only hope in this situation. The truth was, he knew that it was futile. Who knew when his friend would be in the virtual world? That person had always appeared and vanished without warning, never giving any indication of the time and place to meet. Perhaps his wait would continue on forever. Moreover, even if his friend saw his message, what could his friend do? No matter how strong he was, he was only a Maverick!
Mavericks were often described as almost invincible beings, but as a professional himself, Zhang Yu understood the limits of a Maverick's powers.
Mavericks are not Gods!
Little Rock bit on his lip as he stared at Victoria on the holographic screen. Zhang Yu was right. Mavericks are not Gods. At the moment, Little Rock had no idea of what to do. Should he ask Mu or Shang for help? Mu or Shang would be able to deal with the ship, but given where it was right now, even the mech would be powerless to do a thing.
Just when Little Rock was feeling hopeless, the photon processor began to beep.
A message? Little Rock felt encouraged. If there was a message, then it would be possible to hack into the starship's photon processor. Once he hacked into Victoria's systems, he would know what was happening there.
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Finally, they were far away from Sol Longitude. According to the information from E Pang, the dominant force in this area was not the Three Aristocratic Families. The journey was smoother than expected, but Ye Chong was not happy because of it. On the contrary, he looked perturbed.
Ye Chong stared at the star chart on the holographic screen, lost in thought. He had been at it for some time now.
Rui Bing quietly stayed by his side, looking at him with concern. Finally, she asked, "What's the matter? You've been staring at it for so long."
Rui Bing interrupted Ye Chong. He broke off his thoughts and turned to Rui Bing, saw the concern in her eyes, and found himself moved by it. He quickly replied, "It's nothing. Don't worry about me."
"Who's worrying about you?" Rui Bing looked abashed, but she quickly reverted back to her cold self, asking plainly, "I'm just curious, about why you're staring at the star chart these few days."
Captain Airi immediately became alert.
These four people were unlike other normal pirates. They did not give off the aura that pirates normally would.
While their leader, the cold young man, had always showed calmness, Captain Airi could tell that he was worried about something.
The young man and the woman in the white training garb had stayed in the bridge most of the time. The young man was acting weirdly, always staring off into the star chart on the holographic screen.
Rui Bing was overjoyed to see Ye Chong back to his old self, but she kept her expression guarded as she asked intentionally, "You still haven't tell me where planet Yi Ju is."
The change in topic by the young lady disappointed the Captain.
"Planet Yi Ju … It's here!" Ye Chong pointed on a spot on the star chart.
"So it's here," Rui Bing followed Ye Chong's finger and looked. Abruptly, she gasped in surprise, and turned to look at Ye Chong with disbelief in her eyes.
Ye Chong unusually shrugged and said, "You know now."
Captain Airi looked at planet Yi Ju, wondering what was special about it. Yi Ju was far from its neighbours, and economically stagnant. The Captain had never been there before.
"That's the place they talked about …" Rui Bing's voice was trembling.
"Yes." Ye Chong nodded.
"Then let's not go there!" Rui Bing suddenly raised her voice, sounding anxious.
Captain Airi watched in surprise at the young lady in training garb. The young lady had showed tremendous self control these few days. When she first demonstrated her abilities, Captain Airi felt certain that a powerful combat expert like her must be equipped with an equally strong mind as well. What could possibly startle such a powerful combat expert?
However, after staring at planet Yi Ju for a long time, he could not figure it out.
"I'll explain to you when we get there." Ye Chong felt that it was difficult to explain to Rui Bing for now, and could only tell her so plainly. Rui Bing bit her lips and did not say anything further.
She finally understood what Ye Chong was thinking about these few days.
When Ye Chong pointed out Yi Ju's general whereabouts, she realized that he was actually referring to one of the places with spatial instability that Ye Luo and Ye Pang had warned them against.
However, she said nothing of it. She knew Ye Chong. He would never go there without good reason.
Ye Chong suddenly turned to Captain Airi and asked, "Where are we now?"
Captain Airi pointed on the star chart, "Here."
They had successfully left Xue Lai Clan's territory. Ye Chong heaved a sigh of relief. He then turned to the photon processor, accessing the ship's comms system and tuned to a communications channel.
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Sang Pu stood by the docking zone, watching the starships go by, his heart filled with pride. The base was no longer what it used to be, having been expanded both in size and scale. The starships that were docked here were either flying goods in to the base or preparing their journeys to Archipelago. The latter were all the Tribe's transport ships.
The Sang Tribe had began its slow move outwards, but this was a very long process. The Sang Tribe had lived in the Archipelago for far too long that it was difficult to fit in to modern society. This transition period was unavoidable, but Sang Pu believed that the Sang Tribe would most definitely be returning to He Yue Galaxy in the near future.
As it was, there was internal debate on whether the Tribe should join the outside world. With the Collision mechs, the Sang Tribe would be undefeatable in Archipelago. In fact, Archipelago would be completely under their power. If they stayed in Archipelago, the Sang Tribe members would be able to live a decent life.
However, the debate did not last long. Their saviour's plans were quickly executed stage by stage until the end. On this matter, the Sang Tribe was undivided.
Just then, Sang Pu's comms device rang.
He lifted his wrist to have a look, and found that it was a number he had not seen before. Sang Pu thought it odd. He may be the person in charge at the base, but he seldom showed himself in the outside world. Few knew of his existence. His comms device only had a few of the Tribe members' numbers.
The connection was made.
"Pu, it's me!"
Sang Pu stared at the familiar figure on the holographic screen displayed from his comms device, very much astounded!
"Sir …" Sang Pu no longer looked so steady. He was so excited that words would not form.
Suddenly, Sang Pu broke off his trance. He leapt high up like an arrow unleashed, reaching the highest point in the base.
"Sir is back!!"
His loud, excited voice reverberated in the entire base!
People rushed out of their houses, running towards him. From high above, Sang Pu was like the center of a whirlpool, where all the water flowed to and converged.
Ye Chong did not offer pleasantries, but instead said, "Prepare for battle!"
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Little Rock went through the motions calmly, his expression rigid.
He had learned how to stay calm from Mu/Shang. His manipulations were flawless. As expected, he used only three minutes to hack into Victoria's control systems.
"Ah!" An exclamation of surprise alerted everyone onboard Coxcomb.
They all stopped what they were doing and headed looked towards Little Rock. Little Rock always give people an eponymous first impression of being as silent as a rock. He rarely spoke a word unless it was necessary. No one had ever seen Little Rock lost his composure.
Zhu Ling panicked as she quickly went to Little Rock and asked, "What is it … What is it?" She looked anxious, unlike her usual cold and arrogant self.
Little Rock pointed at the holographic screen, unable to say a word.
Everyone's eyes followed to where he was pointing.
Bzzt bzzt!
The holographic screen before Ye Chong suddenly rippled violently. Sang Pu's image became blurry and unrecognizable.
"Who is it?" Ye Chong asked in a low and cold voice. He knew what was happening. Someone had hacked into the ship's control system! When Mu/Shang were with him, they had always used this trick to get them out of danger.
"Ye, it's me!"