by <unknown>
Li Yao, however, was deeply suspicious.
Nobody knew the strongest killing intent of 'Sword Maniac' Yan Liren with his sword of ten thousand kilometers better than Li Yao.
But even such a terrifying 'Sword Maniac' had taken interest in Bai Xingjian. Was the highest commander of the Big Bai Fleet really a pure admin-type Cultivator?
"Bai Xingjian, who are you exactly?" Li Yao mumbled and narrowed his eyes, looking out into the sea of stars.
In a place where his eyes could not reach, a glittering star was accelerating to escape.
…
At the periphery of the Heaven's Origin Sector, almost two billion kilometers away from the capital planet, in the dark, cold outer space, a seemingly ragged and lackluster comprehensive supply starship was moving at a high speed that was utterly disproportionate to its garbage-like appearance with its back to the capital.
Because of the mess in the central battlefield, thousands of starships were escaping crazily, and ten times more hunters were closely after them. It was easy for them to lose contact with each other or lose their direction during the escape and end up moving on their own like the supply starship.
Therefore, the supply starship from the Big Bai Fleet was like a block of ice thrown into the ocean, unattractive and unsuspicious.
At such a distance, there was not a second starship for millions of kilometers. Even if somebody grew suspicious of the starship, nothing could ever catch up to it.
At the rear of the supply starship, on the deck where the escape capsules were to be projected, dozens of members of the Big Bai Fleet were stuffed into three capsules. Their bloodshot eyes were wide open while they roared in confusion and anger, "Commander, what is the meaning of this? What do you want exactly? Our loyalty to the fleet and the federation is unquestionable, and we didn't flinch once in the battle. Why are you doing this to us?"
"I know." Looking at his subordinates who felt wronged and who were struggling hard, Bai Xingjian replied with mixed feelings. "In both this battle and all the years before it, your performances have always been immaculate. You are top-tier soldiers of the federation. To have subordinates like you is the greatest pride of my life.
"Therefore, I have written recommendations of the highest regard for each of you, clearly listing your specialties and military credits. I believe that you will certainly distinguish yourselves in new posts after you return to the federation. One day, you may even command your own starships and even fleets as pillars of the federal army.
"However, you and I are not the same kind of people after all. Every party has an end. Since our paths are different, we have to go our separate ways now."
Bai Xingjian slowly raised his hand and saluted the lost, blushing subordinates in the most standard way. Then…
He took off the Rising Dragon of the Nine Stars emblem on his military hat, the epaulette of three flowers and two stars on his shoulder, and the special mark of the highest commander of a fleet on his chest, before he inserted them into one of the escape capsules casually.
"Launch now!"
As if he had taken off a heavy suit of armor, he smiled with great relief. Despite the lingering affection in his eyes, he waved his arms heavily without any hesitation.
Chapter 1832: I'll Be Waiting for You at the Center of the Universe! |
The three escape capsules were launched by brute force like three cannonballs.
The airtight gates slowly closed. They were like the sharpest guillotines that cut off the last connection with the Star Glory Federation in Bai Xingjian's eyes.
Putting on a long-expected smile, he strode to the bridge without looking back.
Xiao Lishui, the Chief of Staff of the Big Bai Fleet, as well as an experienced bandit who was best at taking advantage of his fellows, showed up next to him. He looked entirely different from one day ago, and he looked at Bai Xingjian with both reverence and warmth. He said respectfully, "Commander, everything has been settled. It went very well. We can perform the space jump at any time.
"Also, according to the coordinates you offered, we have indeed located a twisted world fragment and found an armory of the Star Ocean Imperium inside. Although most of the magical equipment and assets inside are ruined, the remaining resources are more than enough to arm a starship.
"Furthermore, we have discovered a lot of traces of secret development in the world fragment, which must've been left by the exploration squad of the Blood Demon Sector more than a hundred years ago. The passcode to unlock the barriers is identical to what you told us, which made it much easier for us to collect the resources.
"We will begin the analysis and decryption work on the crystal processors, jade chips, and magical equipment units that we removed from 'Black Swirl' very soon. It's expected that a lot of coordinates about the core worlds in the Imperium of True Human Beings will be parsed quickly. Although it is impossible for an enormous fleet to perform a space jump, the chances of a tiny starship such as ours jumping over are still quite high.
"Right. The remote communication device from the Imperium of True Human Beings has been repaired. We are not out of the Heaven's Origin Sector yet. If it is set at the highest power, we should be able to reach out to the home planet of the Heaven's Origin Sector. I have connected the operation menu of the communication device to your portable crystal processor. You can contact the capital planet now."
"Alright. Give me five minutes." Bai Xingjian, who had walked to the door of the captain's room, casually said, "In five minutes, ask… all the brothers to turn on their communication channel. There's something that I would like to say to everyone."
"Understood!" Xiao Lishui, the old and weary space pirate, seemed to have been revived. His back had never been straighter than when he saluted Bai Xingjian in a rather weird way.
It was not the standard military salute of the federal army but the highest courtesy, which was more unrestrained and charming, of the space pirates from Spider Den.
In the captain's room, Bai Xingjian looked at himself in the mirror and sent out the first request of communication. There was no picture, only a voice.
"Old fart…"
The moment he heard the other speaker's metallic voice, Bai Xingjian narrowed his eyes hard and almost gnashed his teeth. "How dare you trick me? I examined the whole battle, only to discover that you told a big lie from the beginning!
"All your talk that the final victory would be ours as long as I launched a critical strike was bullsh*t!
"Had it not been for Li Yao bringing twelve Colossi back to the Heaven's Origin Sector, it would've been impossible for us to crush the Black Wind Fleet, and the old brothers that I gathered through all that trouble would've been dead for sure.
"But Li Yao's appearance was most certainly an accident. There's no way that you could've foreseen it.
"Therefore, you were just gambling. Wagering all the strength of the Big Bai Fleet as well as my own ass, you bet that a 'miracle' would happen, didn't you? The craziest thing is that you even bet right!"
There was no telling what the metallic voice on the other side of the communication channel said, but the fury on Bai Xingjian's face was so much more intense that it almost looked fake. He sniffed and went on. "Forget it. For us pirates, conspiracies are an everyday deal. I can only blame myself for being a fool after being tricked and manipulated by you.
"I'm not exactly angry but rather curious about one thing. How did you learn everything? If you knew it in advance, why did you tell me, a second-tier person that wandered out of the decision-making circle, instead of your daughter? And how did you learn… my identity?
"You are not willing to talk? I won't force you. That's fine. Everybody has their own secrets. A lot of things will be boring if they are spoken. Haha.
"Thank you for the files you gave to me, as well as the tremendous assets in the world fragment. The number of supplies far exceeded my expectation. It is much better than the terms that we agreed upon at the beginning.
"Rest assured. Since the ending is not bad, I will not go back on my word. Even though I have nothing to do with the Star Glory Federation right now, for your sake, if your daughter is ever in trouble, I will try my best to help her once. But only once!
"Lastly…"
Bai Xingjian suddenly sounded particularly down. "Did you know, old fart? The most regretful thing for me is that we never got to meet and have a good competition when our physical strength, soul power, and wisdom were at the peak! Shame. What a shame. There may be a day when I and a monster like Li Yao are at loggerheads, but there won't be a chance for me to challenge you.
"The universe is vast, but few people can become my friends or enemies. This is truly helpless and depressing.
"In any case, see you never… Jin Tuyi!"
Bai Xingjian cut off the communication and sighed in a somewhat lonely manner. Then, he rubbed his face against the mirror hard to put on a scornful smile. After thinking for a long time, he finally sent out the second request of communication, his hands shivering.
This time, a light beam that was seriously twisted and jammed appeared right in front of the mirror, displaying the mess that was the bridge of Burning Prairie.
Bai Kaixin, the Chief of Staff of the Burning Prairie Fleet, stared at him as if he were a ghost.
"You—You—"
Bai Kaixin jumped to his feet. There was no telling whether he was overwhelmed by excitement, joy, or rage when he shouted, "You… you are not dead! Where are you exactly? Your signals are from the edge of the Heaven's Origin Sector. What are you doing? Don't do anything stupid!"
"Hey." Bai Xingjian examined every part of Bai Kaixin's face and body carefully, as if he were counting the guy's every hair. But he simply replied, "We haven't talked to each other for years. Now that I'm leaving, can we talk about something that is less boring?"
"You are leaving? Where?"
Bai Xingjian was somewhat in panic, but then anger got the better of him. He smashed the control panel and shouted, "Bai Xingjian, you are not thinking of defecting, are you?"
"As I said, let us not talk about such boring stuff." Bai Xingjian took a deep breath and swallowed the sourness at the back of his throat. He casually said, "Do you have nothing more important that you want to ask me? I'll give you a last chance. Shoot now."
"You… I…" Bai Kaixin blushed. The high-level commander of the ace troop of the federal army who was more than a hundred years old was somehow lost in front of a 'junior'. He was dazed for a long time before he finally summoned his courage and said, "I want to know the truth about the mental derangement when you tried to break into the Nascent Soul Stage forty years ago!
"You hated me and even wanted to kill me ever since you joined the Burning Prairie Fleet, didn't you?
"But such disgust and hatred were completely unreasonable. We did not know each other back then and had no grudges whatsoever. We might've differed in terms of commanding and training styles, but it was not like I couldn't tolerate what you did. Even if you were dissatisfied with me, it shouldn't have been enough for you to make up your mind to kill me!
"But you wanted me dead. I could tell very clearly that you, or something inside you, wanted to kill me!
"Your killing intent reached the highest point the day you tried to break into the Nascent Soul Stage. When I showed up in front of you, you almost couldn't refrain yourself from attacking me.
"But how did you exterminate all the killing intent at the last moment, even at the risk of detonating your own soul and abandoning your Cultivation and even life?
"Don't lie to me, Bai Xingjian. Don't lie to me!
"I've spent decades reflecting on what happened that day and examined the tiniest details repetitively. That was exactly the truth. There was a force inside your body that tried to kill me, but it was obliterated by another force at the price of mutual destruction!
"What happened exactly? Who are you? Are you the one… I think you are?"
Bai Kaixin's voice was shaking.
Bai Xingjian was silent for a long time. Then he signed and said, "With everything coming to this point, there is no need to keep a lot of things in secret now. Bai Kaixin, do you know why I've been asking for your trouble since the day we met and why I mocked your talent in commanding, calling it a piece of smelly dog cr*p?"
"W—Why?"
Holding the back of his chair, Bai Kaixin breathed so heavily that he could barely keep himself steady.
"Because…" Bai Xingjian's face radiated solemnity that had never been seen before. "Because your talents in commanding were a f*cking piece of dog cr*p. Do you want me to use more flowery words?"
"Huh?"
"Why are you so surprised? You think that it's a big deal to be the Chief of Staff of the Burning Prairie Fleet? What is the Burning Prairie Fleet if not a countryside chicken compared to the real powerful fleets at the center of the cosmos? Go home and train yourself for many more decades before you come back to me and brag about yourself!"
"You—"
"However…" Bai Xingjian's eyes suddenly turned extremely soft, and he almost put on a smile of comfort. "You managed to control Burning Prairie to move forward at full speed in the final battle yesterday despite the sabotage of five Colossi on-board, which suggests that you have a tad of potential. Perhaps a flower can indeed grow out of the dog cr*p one day, right?"
Bai Kaixin was completely dumbfounded, lost for words.
"Anyways, nobody will wipe your ass for you after I'm gone. Brat, your everything will count on yourself. Good luck!" Bai Xingjian said. "I left something at your home. It is some of my experience in commanding fleets after all these years. As for how much you can understand it, it will depend on your own wisdom!
"By the way, your son… looks rather handsome and much smarter than you."
"You've been to my house? How is it possible? Weren't you in a field drill before?" Bai Kaixin almost jumped to his feet. "Hey, don't cut off the communication yet. Let's talk things through, Bai Xingjian. Are you him? Are you my—"
"Do you want to find out the answer?" Bai Xingjian said with a smile. "Then, become the commander of a real super fleet and come to the center of the cosmos. I'll be waiting for you there!"
His trembling finger finally pressed the button and cut off the video conversation!
Chapter 1833: To Where the Stars Are Brightest! |
The faucet was turned on.
Bai Xingjian buried his entire face in the cold water and rubbed his weaselly, ugly face for five minutes as if he were washing away the shell of camouflage and becoming his real self.
"Hu…"
Taking a deep breath, he smiled at the ugly man in the mirror. He touched the wrinkled military uniform of the federation with his long finger. Without any hesitation, he tore off the military uniform and retrieved a vintage suitcase from his Cosmos Ring. Then, he pressed two iron buttons and took out his idiosyncratic battle robe.
"Universe, I'm back!"
Putting on the battle robe, Bai Xingjian could not have been more excited. He glowed like a sword that had been whetted for a hundred years as he strode toward the bridge.
When he showed up in front of all the crew members with his brand-new appearance, even the most disobedient and bold bandits from the old days gasped hard, finding it hard to believe their eyes.
Bai Xingjian at this moment was wearing a red-and-green silk T-shirt. There were even coconut palms that were moving along with the wind and sea waves below them painted on the silk texture, making the clothing full of a tropical ambience.
The lower half of his body was covered in a pair of red, sloppy beach pants, a red so deep that it was almost purple.
Above his head, there was a grass hat with a broad, golden edge. On his nose was a pair of dark red sunglasses. In his hands, he was holding a cup of mixed juice made of coconuts and mangos, and on the top of the cup, there was even a tiny cocktail umbrella!
The commander of the Big Bai Fleet walked into the bridge in hi
s slippers as if nobody else were around.
"…"
All the young crew members who were less than a hundred years old were dumbfounded as if they had been struck by lightning.
The seasoned space pirates who had travelled through mountains of dead bodies on Spider Den, however, were so excited that they almost could not breathe anymore.
Hundreds of complicated eyes were focused on Bai Xingjian. Bai Xingjian also raised his sunglasses to examine the brothers that he had carefully selected after decades, who were most qualified to roam the sea of stars with him.
Some of those people had served decades in prison before they were released. Their brutality and aggression seemed to have worn off.
Some were the descendants of old space pirates. When Spider Den was taken down, they had only been three to five years old, innocent and ignorant. Except for the blood of the space pirates that flowed in their veins, they had grown up in the age of the New Federation, living a life that had absolutely nothing to do with space pirates.
Until a few days ago, they had seemed no different from other soldiers of the federation army. They were all tiny screws that were devoid of personalities in the enormous war machine. At worst, they might have played some tricks within the tolerance of the military rules.
But right now, they were like wolves that had heard the howl of the alpha wolf, although they had hung around with dogs when they grew up.
The call of the wild made them unable to contain the force deep inside their blood or calm down their hearts that were about to explode. Uncontrollably, they sang the most savage battle hymn together with the alpha wolf!
"Brothers…" Bai Xingjian raised his cup high to his wolf pack. "We or our fathers used to be the most nefarious space pirates on Spider Den. We were shameless scumbags who were loathed and dreaded most. We were the slaves of our own desires and destiny. We were the wretched souls who struggled to survive after being pushed into the bloody slaughterhouse by various kinds of forces!
