by <unknown>
Scavengers traveled around the gray areas. Their reason for making money was to enjoy themselves, so partying was their most common activity.
“Ding ding! New message!”
The interface on the main ship’s control panel flashed, and a line of words appeared. Its sender was Cesoly.
“Guys, the job is here.”
Serpent Braid threw away the barrel, and it shattered in the corner. He stood up, wiped away the alcohol on his beard, and said with a ferocious face, “The target this time is worth a lot of money!”
Hundreds of scavengers below growled in excitement.
…
“Pair of threes.”
“Four Kings.”
“Five twos.”
“Pass… Wait a minute, where did the other two come from?”
On Short Horn Star, a group of players squeezed into the room and played poker out of boredom.
After staying on the spaceship for so many days, there were no more missions for them to accept. Furthermore, combat was not allowed in the ship, and many areas were not open, so these players could only find enjoyment themselves. The journey could not be skipped, which had always received complaints. Some players went offline to rest, so only one third of the players were left online.
The online spot and reviving spot could be locked onto the transportation tool, so there were no worries of being lost in space.
Han Xiao sat to the side and looked at the time—there should be only a few more days till they arrived.
Short Horn Star had arrived at the Garton Galaxy Star Zone 2 at this time. The area started becoming more urban—quite a number of the planets here had civilizations, and it was an area where Godora paid a lot of attention to managing as it was closer, which meant it was easier to manage. The spaceship stopped the greatest number of times to fetch passenger here. As long as they arrived at Star Zone 1 and entered the stable wormhole gate, they would be able to reach the destination.
At this moment, the ground started to tremble unusually.
A piercing alarm sounded from the broadcast instantly after.
Han Xiao’s expression changed a little, and he instantly stood up. Kerlodd woke up from his sleep as well, and the two walked out of the room hastily. The players behind them were lost but knew that there must have been some accident, so they followed the two of them.
The hall was chaotic at this moment. All of the passengers walked out and looked outside the window, terrified.
Colorful explosions flashed outside, but there was no sound due to the lack of air.
The scavenger spaceships fired at the Short Horn Star. The Short Horn Star had already activated its high energy shield, and a light-yellow energy shield protected the spaceship like an eggshell. The scavenger spaceships were much smaller than Short Horn Star, but they were also much more agile because of that. They dodged the attacks and dashed around, but Short Horn Star could not dodge anything due to its large size—it could only endure the attacks with its shield.
Chapter 322. Attack! |
“This is the captain of Short Horn Star speaking. Passengers, we have encountered an attack from scavengers. We will start to turn our engine to its full capacity. As long as we enter the jump gate, we will be able to get rid of the enemies. Please do not worry, the enemy will definitely not be able to break the defense—we are very experienced in facing attacks.”
This time, the voice from the broadcast was no longer an electrically mixed voice—it was the firm and manly sound of the captain, comforting the passengers.
As a low-class travel agency, the Short Horn Star could not always avoid facing robberies from scavengers and space pirates, so Short Horn Star had gone through special modifications. Thus, its shield was very tough, easier to escape.
This isn’t good… Han Xiao had a heartache. He just wanted to arrive at the destination safely—why did it have to be so difficult? A space attacks was something that he could not deal with at his current strength. To a certain extent, he could only hope for the best.
More than a dozen scavenger spaceships surrounded and attacked—there was a total of three logos. Suddenly, Han Xiao recognizes one of the logos.
Boneless Bird‽
Han Xiao immediately thought of Cesoly from a few days ago, and he went to look for him in the crowd right after but could not find him. Cesoly had disappeared without a trace. Han Xiao frowned and pulled an attendant aside, described Cesoly looks, and asked, “Where did this person go?”
This attendant was the woman attendant who had tried to seduce Kerlodd back then when they just boarded the ship. She was horrified and said while stuttering, “Tha—that passenger changed to the first class yesterday…”
Kerlodd nervously walked over and said, “These are Boneless Bird scavengers—they were definitely called here by that middle man. I can’t believe they are attacking so publicly. If this spaceship can’t withstand it, we’re all done for. I haven’t lived long enough.”
“You don’t say… No one’s lived long enough.”
The attack was too sudden and could not be prevented in advance. Cesoly had a group behind him and could call for people, but Han Xiao did not have any galactic organization behind him, so there was nothing he could do, and he was at a very passive state. Furthermore, Han Xiao did not actually know how to read minds, so Cesoly’s moves and thoughts were unknown to him. If he started a fight in the spaceship first, he would be chased out instantly.
There was no use of thinking of these things now. Han Xiao calmed himself down and said, “Cesoly is their man, and he is on board this ship, which means that these scavengers will not destroy this ship—they will definitely try to board it. There are two possibilities—one is that they will attack the Short Horn Star till it can’t function, threaten to destroy the ship, and make us give in. The other is that if they can’t break through Short Horn Star’s defenses, they will then attack us from inside and board the ship. We can’t do anything about the former, but we can try to resist against the latter.”
“Then what can we do?”
“We only can counter attack if we have weapons.” Han Xiao thought quickly. The spaceship did not allow possession of destructive weapons except in special cases, such as implants that could not be removed.
“All of the luggage and equipment is stored in the warehouse of the spaceship.”
“Okay, don’t leave me here, I can fight too,” Kerlodd said.
Han Xiao grabbed the female attendant and yelled, “Where’s the warehouse‽”
The female attendant heard their conversation. She opened her eyes wide in surprise upon realizing that the Godoran was the follower and that this low-profile human was the leader instead. It seemed that she had been wrong all along. She regained her focus upon hearing Han Xiao’s yell and pointed the way, shivering.
Without saying a word, Han Xiao was going to dash out of the hall immediately, but the female attendant hurriedly said, “Wait, don’t leave. The spaceship had entered safe mode, so the exit to the hall is locked, and no one can get out…”
Bang!
The players used their strongest attacks one after another. With a loud bang and streams of light, the broken mechanical lock shattered, and the metal gate was blasted away. Han Xiao did not slow down—he led the group and charged out of the gate. The remaining passengers in the hall were left panicking and lost.
The scavengers and the Short Horn Star were still in a stalemate. Most of the passengers were watching in horror. Han Xiao was not acting on impulses—he just never liked to let others decide the outcome, always wanting to have the upper hand.
If the Short Horn Star could escape successfully, of course, that would be the best outcome, but if its defenses were broke through, these actions that he took now in advance would be crucial. If they only started to prepare themselves after they break in, it would be too late.
The group ran for about ten minutes. The tremors from the attacks never stopped. They could feel the Short Hor
n Star trying to speed up, but it just could not enter the wormhole tunnel. Han Xiao knew that something was wrong.
There was a lot of equipment that could stop spaceships from entering the wormhole tunnel, and since scavengers did robberies, they definitely possessed such equipment to prevent their prey from escaping.
Suddenly, the spaceship trembled tens of times harder than it did before with deafening sounds of explosions. The group staggered and almost fell.
Han Xiao’s expression turned very serious. The universe was a vacuum, so the sound of the explosion meant that the enemies had destroyed the shield and broken in.
This captain had jinxed it!
The moment that he heard the sound, a notification showed on his interface.
_____________
You have triggered an emergency mission, [Protect Short Horn Star].
Mission Introduction: Due to certain reasons, some groups of scavengers have their eyes on Short Horn Star. They are preparing to board and attack all the passengers. Your fate is intertwined tightly with this spaceship.
Mission Requirements: Repel all the scavengers and protect Short Horn Star.
Reward: 350,000 Experience, 1,500 Enas, unlock area prestige.
_____________
Looks like the scavengers chose the second method. There are two other scavenger groups other than Boneless Bird. The reason for them to work together and attack us is definitely more than just to capture a group of slaves…
Han Xiao turned around and saw the twenty or so players behind him standing in a daze, which meant that they were looking at their interface and had triggered the same mission. Fortunately for him, he would not have to spend his own quota.
Han Xiao opened the communicator and realized that there was no signal. There could only be one explanation for such a phenomenon—the scavengers had advanced equipment that could block the signal, which was definitely to prevent their prey from requesting help from nearby civilizations. It was clear that they were very well prepared and determined to catch their prey.
“The enemies have broken in,” Han Xiao said with a low voice. “We can’t rely on the guards of this spaceship, and I don’t want to give up fighting. We have to protect this spaceship. I have a plan. First, we’ll retrieve our weapons from the warehouse. Then, we’ll split up into three groups. One group will head toward the main control room, and another group will look for the captain and the cadres—they have authority to operate the spaceship, so the enemies will definitely head toward these two targets as well. There’s a very high possibility that we will get into combat, and we know nothing about how strong the enemies are, so act with caution.
“The last group will find the emergency escape ship. Such a large spaceship definitely has this kind of measure, so this will be the last resort.”
Players splitting up was very advantageous. They communicated with their interface, which would not be blocked, and Han Xiao could control the situation by talking to the players.
No one had any objections.
Without further ado, Han Xiao led the others onward and immediately headed toward the warehouse.
…
On the side of Short Horn Star, a hole had been created on the shield by the scavengers’ focus fire. Before the shield could recover, mechanical horns extended from seven scavenger spaceships and rammed into Short Horn Star. Thick smoke came out of the hole, and a large group of scavengers boarded the ship successfully, entering the interior.
Hundreds of scavengers equipped with various firearms battled the guards of Short Horn Star, shooting out beans and bullets, and people were screaming in agony as they fell.
Most of the soldiers were normal people of various races, and there were also a few supers.
One of the spaceship guards was an Insectman Pugilist with six arms who used the six swords style. Scavengers fell one after another under the cold blades.
Huuu!
Suddenly, a large shadow fell rapidly and shrouded this Insectman Pugilist.
The strong wind pressure was like a black hole, sucking away the air nearby, and the surrounding people felt suffocated.
“Buzz…” the Insectman Pugilist let out an angry buzz as he raised the six swords to block the attack.
Boom!
The Insectman disappeared in an instant. The floor suffered from the attack and sunk, but at the border of the impact, it protruded with edges like a ring of mountains!
An enormous war hammer rose up slowly, covered in the acidic, green blood of the Insectman, dripping down to the floor and making a sizzling sound.
One hit, and the Insectman had been flattened!
Serpent Braid placed the silver war hammer on his shoulder with one hand. It rubbed against his stone skin and clanked. He yelled, “Kill the guards quickly! Gazers, go to clean up the main control room; Beast Hoofs, get some hostages…”
Serpent Braid had invited two other scavenger groups for this job called ‘Gazers’ and ‘Beast Hoofs’.
“And the rest…” Serpent Braid swung his braid and smiled hideously. “Follow me to find that Godoran!”
Chapter 323. Danger and Splitting Up |
“Has the distress signal been sent out yet‽”
In the main control room, the captain was covered in sweat while the operator at the side was panicking.
“Our communications have been jammed; all signals are blocked.”
“Impossible, the communication device on Short Horn Star is a high-grade device brought from a galactic civilization. How do these scavengers have such high-grade equipment‽”
The captain was shocked and furious. Galactic long-range communicators had universality and diversity, causing signal blocking devices to be very expensive. Furthermore, the enemy had an ‘anti-jump’ device that could disrupt the space and prevent jumping.
The captain was devastated. These scavengers are way too well equipped!
The Short Horn Star was unable to escape or request help—it could only last for a short time with its shield and armor. There was still a chance to survive. If the high energy in the area was captured by the detectors Godora set up around the galaxy, security would rush to help.
In the populated Star Zones, the ruling civilization was the main security. The detectors were very sensitive, and some of them had fixed locations, monitoring a large area with artificial intelligence, like a secured perimeter.
At the time, Short Horn Star was flying toward the nearest detector. Since they could not space jump, it would take them about twenty to twenty-five minutes to reach the secured perimeter at full speed. The scavenger spaceships were small and agile but not very powerful in their attacks. The shield could barely last for this amount of time.
However, the enemies boarding the ship were the imminent threat. The guards in the ship were gradually losing, and their target was definitely the main control room.
If the main control room was taken, it would mean that Short Horn Star had lost. At that point, escaping would become a dream.
“Only one-third of the guards are left; they’re retreating and can’t stop the enemies… The scavengers are coming toward the main control room. Captain, what do we do now?” An assistant looked at the surveillance image and shivered nervously.
“Try to negotiate!” The captain clenched his teeth, turned on the broadcast, and with not much hope, expressed that they were willing to pay them ‘passage money’. However, the scavengers did not reply; it was clear that they wanted to take the entire ship.
The scavengers had only blocked the signals outside, so the internal broadcast in the ship could still function.
Guards fell one after another in the surveillance image, and the captain was getting desperate. Suddenly, his expression changed, and he asked, “Quickly, get the passenger list, see if there’s someone strong!”
Someone frantically filtered the passenger list, and a few people’s identities were displayed. All of them was slightly renowned combat personnel, and among them, the
most famous one was the high-level mercenary ‘The Green Knight’.
“The Green Knight! It’s him! Great!”
The captain was overjoyed. He hastily announced through the broadcast, “Passengers, the situation right now is very urgent. The scavengers are heading toward the main control room. I hope the passengers with combat abilities can help us. This is saving yourselves, too, and I will pay a large monetary reward…”
The current situation was almost desperate. They would only have a chance to escape if the enemies on the ship could be defeated, so the passengers were his last hope.
The captain could only rely on the passengers, especially the renowned Green Knight.
…
Huuu!
The war hammer swung sideways and blew away a large group of the spaceship guards.
Serpent Braid swung the war hammer with one hand, covered in gray Pugilist flames. The bullets and low-level energy beams could only leave white marks on his stone skin—this was his race talent, making him very tough.
He was laughing insolently, charging forward with ease, and forced the guards away. The battle in the ship was heated—the shield outside was covered in explosions too. It was like a song of war.
“Where are we now?”
“Boss, first class is right ahead. Cesoly is waiting for you there.”
Not long after, the metal gate of the first class appeared in front—it was locked. Serpent Braid held onto the handle of the hammer with both hands this time, spun around twice, and bashed the gate. With a loud bang, the gate was blasted away.
Cesoly walked out with a smile and said, “You’re finally here.”
“Good job, where’s that Godoran?”
“In economy class.”
“Good!” Serpent Braid grinned, turned around, and saw a group of passengers freaking out. He then ordered, “Capture all of them as hostages. Some of you stay here to guard.”
