Chapter 114: Surrounded Front and Back
As Yan Gui Xing’s words fell, a deathly silence descended upon the entire captain’s quarters.
After a moment, aside from Mu Mu, who had been forewarned by Yan Gui Xing, the chief purser and the captain—who should have been the calmest—exchanged glances and erupted into varying degrees of screams.
The captain asked, breaking down, “What… what do you mean, worst-case scenario? Admiral, what are you saying? Isn’t it bad enough already?”
The purser’s face was drained of blood, as white as gold leaf. Her lips turned down, on the verge of tears, and her well-proportioned body trembled like chaff in the wind. “Admiral Yan, we’ve already encountered space pirates? Is there anything more terrifying than pirates?”
Yan Gui Xing’s expression wasn’t much better. If he hadn’t been afraid of scaring Mu Mu, he would have slammed the control panel twice to vent his anger.
Oh, right, Mu Mu. He quickly composed his expression, turned to the worried Mu Mu with a reassuring smile, and said gently, “Don’t be afraid, I’m here.”
Because of the accident in his childhood, Mu Mu feared space pirates more than anyone else; they were the biggest shadow over his life.
And now, add the Zerg to that. Whenever he heard “Zerg,” he thought of Yan Gui Xing lying half-dead in the muddy water, and fear would grip him.
If he had found Gui Gui just a little later, would he have lost him forever?
Mu Mu had asked himself this question countless times during his days on the Frontier Star, but he never dared to imagine the answer.
Because of this, his simple fear of the Zerg had gradually turned into resentment and then hatred.
Just now, after Yan Gui Xing explained the danger they were facing, the kind-hearted Mu Mu for the first time wished for all the Zerg in the world to die, for their nests to explode.
He didn’t understand; he just wanted to take his Gui Gui home. Why couldn’t it go smoothly? Why did pirates and Zerg have to cause trouble?
These questions had no answers. The conflict between the two races had always been endless.
But fortunately, Yan Gui Xing was there. He calmed Mu Mu down just as he was about to break down and cry.
Just like now, a smile and a “Don’t be afraid, I’m here” easily smoothed over Mu Mu’s unease and anxiety.
Mu Mu gripped his seatbelt with both hands and gave Yan Gui Xing a big smile. “Mu Mu isn’t afraid. Gui Gui, just do what you need to do, don’t worry about Mu Mu.”
Yan Gui Xing said “Good boy” and turned back to focus intently on the screen. As for the purser and the captain’s feelings, they were not within Yan Gui Xing’s scope of consideration.
The captain couldn’t believe his luck was this bad, encountering Zerg instead of pirates. Braving Yan Gui Xing’s low pressure, he pressed, “Admiral Yan, how did you determine it’s Zerg and not pirates? What if… what if we did encounter pirates?”
The connection request sent to the Fourth Legion’s main ship had been denied. Yan Gui Xing had expected this result. After all, a civilian spaceship trying to contact a military starship would be intercepted.
Yan Gui Xing rubbed his forehead, thinking his head must have been injured too, or he wouldn’t have forgotten such common knowledge.
He asked the captain for control of the spaceship. How could the captain dare say no? He obediently transferred all permissions to Yan Gui Xing.
Yan Gui Xing logged into the spaceship’s system with his own identity and sent another connection request to his main ship.
While waiting for the connection, Yan Gui Xing increased the spaceship’s speed and began checking its weapon configuration and distribution.
Of course, he also took the time to answer the captain’s question. His tone wasn’t great—cool and impatient, as if forced to deal with an idiot.
“Only Zerg starships are marked with the dark red portrait of the Zerg Queen. Pirates wouldn’t put something so ominous on their ships. They use their own pirate group’s logo.”
The captain and purser hurried to the screen, staring at the image magnified until it was almost pixelated. They only found a blurry patch of red, straining their eyes until they nearly went blind, but still couldn’t recognize what it was.
But not asking clearly was terrifying.
Summoning their courage, they were about to ask again when the screen filled with images suddenly turned into a black line. The captain thought the screen was broken and was about to fix it when the image returned—but it wasn’t the original one.
A burly, muscular man in a black combat uniform with a buzz cut appeared on the screen. His rugged features were etched with exhaustion, and he almost blocked the entire view, revealing only a sliver of the starship’s bridge.
The man was none other than Yan Gui Xing’s adjutant, Achi. Achi stared excitedly at Yan Gui Xing, his eyes red with emotion. His thick lips trembled as he shouted in a voice raspy as if rubbed with coarse sandpaper, “Boss! Is it really you? Are you really still alive?”
Behind Achi were Sha Xia, Luo Tang, Gongsun, and other trusted subordinates of Yan Gui Xing who weren’t in the frame. Seeing Yan Gui Xing alive and right in front of them, it would be a lie to say they weren’t emotional.
After searching fruitlessly for so long, no matter how much they believed Yan Gui Xing was alive, in the dead of night, smelling the air of the Frontier Star mixed with the scent of decaying corpses, it was inevitable to think the worst.
In fact, reality had been spiraling towards the worst-case scenario. First, they couldn’t find Yan Gui Xing, then they lost contact with Mu Mu. Only after asking Zheng An did they learn Mu Mu had also come to the Frontier Star.
But before they could send someone to find Mu Mu, they received urgent orders from military headquarters to join other legions in pursuing the fleeing Zerg.
They didn’t believe the Zerg had really found Yan Gui Xing, but they needed to see him alive or dead. They had to catch those Zerg themselves and see with their own eyes if Yan Gui Xing was in their hands.
Unexpectedly, their wait paid off with a live boss. He looked terrible, sickly even, but at least he was alive!
Obviously, now wasn’t the time for catching up. Seeing Achi about to burst into tears like a tough guy, Yan Gui Xing’s temple twitched. Raising his left eyebrow, combined with his sunken cheeks and sharp cheekbones, he looked mean and sinister.
“Save the mourning for two hours from now when I’m completely dead.”
Achi: “…”
Fine, same old formula, definitely their boss.
Achi sniffled and said in a muffled voice, “Boss, why say such unlucky things? You survived, what’s this about dying? If you die, what will happen to the Little Madam?”
Yan Gui Xing was not comforted; instead, his temple throbbed even harder. If Achi were in front of him, he would have slapped him.
“Achi, shut up.” Yan Gui Xing curled his thin lips into a terrifying smile. Achi shuddered and obediently shut his mouth.
Yan Gui Xing pressed a few keys, sharing the spaceship’s full view and coordinates with Achi’s main ship.
“The spaceship I’m on has encountered a Zerg starship. We’ve been hit twice, and the shields are down by 10%.” Yan Gui Xing looked at the weapon models on the screen and laughed in anger.
“This ship is equipped with only four laser cannons—front, back, left, and right. They’re five-year-old models with charge levels of 50%, 65%, 70%, and 85%.”
“Achi, I can’t determine how many enemy starships are hidden in the asteroid field from here. I need you to analyze the enemy’s numbers, the fastest route for the spaceship, and how long it will take for you to support me within three minutes.”
Hearing this, Achi’s expression turned serious. “Wait a moment, Boss. Accurate data coming right up.”
Three minutes, 180 seconds. Usually, it would pass in the blink of an eye. But right now, every second felt like a year.
Three minutes. Once three minutes passed, they would be saved!
Hope shone terrifyingly bright in the eyes of the purser and the captain. They counted the seconds in their hearts, but when they reached 128, the spaceship shook violently. A glaring red light flashed on the screen, and the mechanical female voice sounded again in the captain’s quarters.
[Warning! The spaceship is under attack. Shields at 16%. Please repair immediately!]
Yan Gui Xing steadied himself against the control panel, preventing a fall. Without waiting for the ship to stabilize, he immediately turned to look at Mu Mu. Seeing Mu Mu sitting securely in the chair, he breathed a sigh of relief.
“Mu Mu, don’t unbuckle your seatbelt. Sit obediently in the chair, do you hear me?!”
Mu Mu was also startled by the shaking. Gripping the seatbelt tightly, he nodded vigorously at Yan Gui Xing’s words. “I understand!”
Mu Mu knew very well he couldn’t help in this situation. The only thing he could do was listen to Yan Gui Xing and not cause trouble.
Sure enough, hearing Mu Mu’s answer, Yan Gui Xing relaxed halfway and turned his attention back to the screen.
This time, he could clearly see the massive black object in the nearby asteroid belt. The Zerg starship seemed tired of hiding.
Yan Gui Xing looked at the laser cannons on the screen, his heart sinking. Fighting a starship with old laser cannons? It was madness!
“What do we do? What do we do? Are we going to die?!” The purser collapsed on the floor, tears streaming down her face unknowingly, looking at Yan Gui Xing in panic.
The captain wasn’t much better, slumped in his chair, his face pale as a sheet, his eyes unfocused and staring at nothing.
Yan Gui Xing’s headache worsened with the purser’s crying. “Achi, I was attacked again. Give me the data now!”
Achi’s deep voice was suppressed. “Boss, there are two starships on your side. One on your left is a Zerg starship. The other is to your rear right, smaller, not a standard starship—it’s likely space pirates.”
Two starships?! Zerg and pirates together?! Yan Gui Xing gritted his teeth so hard his jaw muscles popped. His already sharp face now looked as cold and hard as a blade, capable of cutting from a distance.
It wasn’t just Yan Gui Xing whose expression changed; the other three in the room did too.
Mu Mu was okay; he trusted Yan Gui Xing blindly. Aside from a little fear, he believed that with Yan Gui Xing there, everything would be fine.
The purser and captain were in bad shape, sobbing in fear. Their loud crying finally caused Yan Gui Xing’s temper to explode.
“Shut up.” Yan Gui Xing glared sideways at them. Most of his face was in shadow, his green eyes eerie like a ghost, actually scaring the two into silence.
“Achi, the route map.”
Achi said, “Sending now, ten seconds to arrival.”
Yan Gui Xing increased the spaceship’s speed again and simultaneously told the purser, “Go broadcast now. Inform all passengers truthfully about the situation. Tell them to prepare themselves and be ready to give up their possessions to save their lives if necessary.”
The purser choked out, “But if we say that, won’t it cause panic and lead to passengers causing trouble?”
Yan Gui Xing sneered. “Hide it? Until when? Until the pirates and Zerg board the ship? Won’t it be more chaotic then?”
The purser imagined the scene Yan Gui Xing described and shut her mouth in fear.
Yan Gui Xing continued, “Also tell them that the ship’s speed will be increased to maximum. If anyone wants to crack their head open early, they can unbuckle their seatbelts and run around.”
Leaving aside the massive difference between a spaceship and a starship, there were huge differences even between civilian and military spaceships. Civilian ships had speed limits, and at maximum speed, stability was a major issue—the whole ship would shake violently.
To hide this from the passengers, they would have to maintain stability while going as fast as possible.
But that wouldn’t be enough to shake off the starships hiding in the nearby sea of stars.
The purser knew this. She also understood that Yan Gui Xing was right: telling the passengers in advance would let them experience the breakdown first, so they could remain calm when the worst actually happened.
Besides, the door to the captain’s quarters was specially made. As long as they didn’t open it from the inside, even a hundred people outside couldn’t break in.
Let them riot if they want; she wanted to live!
The purser wiped her tears, steadied herself on the chair to stand up, and went to the broadcast system to make the announcement as Yan Gui Xing instructed.
After the broadcast, the purser gave the service robots a new order: forcibly strap any unruly passengers into their seats with seatbelts.
The optimal route map from Achi appeared on the spaceship’s large screen. He continued his report: “Boss, we’ve reported the situation to military headquarters. They’ve ordered all nearby legions to rush to your location at full speed.”
“The closest are us and the Second Legion, but it will take seven to eight hours to reach your current sector.”
Yan Gui Xing had fought on the battlefield for years but had never encountered such a thorny problem. For a moment, he felt the anxious rage of a tiger trapped in a cage.
He took a deep breath. “Understood. Hurry. I’m heading to the next jump point at full speed.”
Achi said, “Boss, you’re 100 million light-years from the next jump point. Following the route I gave you uses celestial bodies for cover, but it will take an extra twenty minutes.”
Twenty minutes. Yan Gui Xing gritted his teeth. Twenty minutes was incredibly precious to them right now.
But letting an under-equipped spaceship collide head-on with two starships would be like an egg hitting a rock.
Taking a detour for temporary safety, or exposing themselves completely to danger for a slim chance of escape—it was a deadly choice.
Achi, having been Yan Gui Xing’s confidant for so long, guessed his thoughts from his grim expression.
He warned, “Boss, whichever route you choose, make sure you can safely enter the jump point to complete the spatial jump. If a chaotic battle breaks out at the jump point, the spatial distortion could easily cause you to fall into a spatial rift.”
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