Super Mothership
Of course, in the pirates’ eyes, it was a message requesting permission to return and raise ransom money. But by the time it reached Catherine, its contents had already been completely rewritten…
…
“Lord Arthas really asked to stay behind of his own accord?” Captain Emilia asked, her expression rather odd.
“Yes. We’ve already verified the code phrase—it was indeed a message from Lord Arthas himself. He should… not have been coerced…” Catherine nodded helplessly.
Just moments ago, they had received a message from Nie Yun, ordering them to immediately withdraw from Goldtooth’s territory and hide temporarily while awaiting further instructions.
Naturally, the reason was not that he had been “kidnapped.”
According to Nie Yun’s account, he and the pirate leader had hit it off at first sight and chatted merrily. By the end, they were practically ready to cut a chicken’s head and swear brotherhood.
After some friendly negotiations, Nie Yun had voluntarily proposed staying behind to undergo advanced studies in a “Pirate Graduation Program,” learning pirate pop culture with distinct Wolf Empire characteristics.
This would allow him to infiltrate the pirates from within, lay the groundwork for future sabotage operations behind enemy lines, and incidentally gather intelligence on nearby star systems for the sake of civilization—a heavy responsibility with a long road ahead.
As for the fleet, it was temporarily handed over entirely to Catherine and Emilia.
Simply put… he wanted to ditch us and go solo?
Emilia and the officers of the Gemini Fleet were all internally on the verge of collapse.
Is this something a commander is supposed to do?
“Ahem! Since the commander is confident in infiltrating the enemy’s ranks, this is indeed a rare opportunity for us, given our lack of intelligence.
One in the open and one in the shadows—this might actually be more conducive to completing the mission. Let’s follow the commander’s decision, withdraw for now, and observe the situation,” Catherine said after clearing her throat.
A mere group of pirates shouldn’t be able to pose a threat to him… right?
“Right now… this is all we can do,” Emilia said weakly.
…
On the other side, Goldtooth gazed passionately as he stroked the steel exterior of the Ghost mech.
After some preliminary testing, this mech’s performance completely outclassed his old clunker by several leagues. It could elevate his combat power by multiple tiers.
Such high-end equipment— even among the Seven Pirate Overlords, there probably weren’t many like it. This was truly a windfall from the heavens!
In the pirate circles of the Shattered Star Sector, might still reigned supreme. At times, an individual’s combat strength was even more important than the power of an entire fleet.
As the leader, Goldtooth needed personal strength to keep a group of unruly, lawless men in line.
Simply put, the value of this mech in Goldtooth’s eyes was far higher than Nie Yun had imagined.
“Boss, their fleet really has withdrawn!” At that moment, a trusted subordinate ran over to report.
“They actually pulled back just like that?” Goldtooth was stunned for a moment, clearly puzzled.
Not even a protest? Their commander had been captured and ransom demanded, yet they were this calm?
Things were progressing a little too smoothly—especially Nie Yun’s unnervingly composed demeanor, which made him feel that something wasn’t quite right.
“Where’s that kid?” Goldtooth asked.
“Don’t worry, boss. He’s behaving himself. We’ve already locked him up on the ‘Fireworks’ ship. Even if they had thousands of troops, they wouldn’t be able to rescue him in one piece!”
The Fireworks was the pirates’ nickname for a modified small vessel used specifically to imprison valuable captives.
The ship not only contained reinforced steel cells that completely cut off all signals, but also cruelly installed various condition-triggered explosive devices.
For example: if the ship came under attack, if it strayed beyond a certain distance from the flagship, or if the detonator in Goldtooth’s hand was activated…
Any unusual movement would cause this isolated space island to explode into a brilliant firework, blowing everyone inside to pieces.
With such airtight confinement measures, the record of prisoners escaping so far… was zero.
Hearing that the captive had obediently entered their cage, Goldtooth finally nodded in satisfaction.
The man shouldn’t be able to pull any tricks now…
He turned his gaze back to the mech before him.
“This mech… you’re sure there’s nothing wrong with it?”
Stories similar to Trojan horses were not unheard of in the Wolf Empire either.
“Don’t worry, boss. I’ve thoroughly scanned this mech. There are no dangerous items, trackers, or anything of the sort. In addition, the onboard AI core has been completely removed and replaced with our own system.
Even the Mechanical Race wouldn’t be able to tamper with it under these conditions!” a technician covered in grease said confidently.
“Haha! Boss, this mech is completely yours now. With it, even the cadres under the Shattered Star Seven Overlords wouldn’t dare look down on us!” a lackey immediately chimed in with flattery.
“Mm! Very good!” Goldtooth finally revealed a faint smile.
No matter what, the opposing fleet hadn’t chosen to turn hostile and start a battle right away, avoiding mutual destruction—this was the best possible outcome.
Even if they didn’t pay a ransom, obtaining this mech alone meant he had made a huge profit this time.
“Leave a team behind. Keep a close watch on their fleet. Make sure they leave our territory—don’t let them play any tricks! Let’s go, back to base!”
“Yes, boss!”
…
After sailing for a full two hours, the Goldtooth Pirate Group’s fleet twisted and turned through space. After passing a shattered asteroid belt, they unexpectedly headed straight toward a massive broken celestial body.
Ripples of light like water waves appeared on the surface of the body. Before long, all the pirate ships vanished from that stretch of space.
It had to be said—the Goldtooth Pirates’ base was extremely well hidden. It was located inside what appeared to be an ordinary shattered celestial body, with camouflage devices at the entrance that concealed it from view.
With their lair so well concealed, it was no wonder Goldtooth wasn’t worried about retaliation from Nie Yun’s side. Outsiders unfamiliar with the terrain would have to go through tremendous effort just to find them.
The pirate ships began to slow down, docking in an orderly fashion at a makeshift space harbor…
Inside the Fireworks.
Nie Yun, locked inside a sealed prison cell, lay back with one leg crossed over the other, resting with his eyes closed.
Bang!
Though he couldn’t see the outside world from the sealed chamber, the faint vibrations caused by the ship docking were still unmistakably clear.
His closed eyes opened, and the corners of his mouth curled into a smile.
“Heh… so we’ve finally arrived? Then it’s decided. The name of this instance…”
As Nie Yun finished speaking, inside the storage compartment of the Ghost mech aboard another ship, various tools began to melt like candles!
A silver tide surged forth, quickly forming three sharply contoured humanoid figures, which then began receiving signals from the distant Solar System…
Beep! Instance mission issued.
Instance Name: Pirate Base Grand Adventure!
Mission Description:
Pirates run rampant within a distant alien civilization. Having abandoned the true spirit of piracy, the Goldtooth Pirate Group commits every imaginable evil. They have forsaken sunshine, beaches, and fine wine, instead obeying their inner greed and malice, and shamelessly abducted a kind-hearted captain who couldn’t even truss a chicken.
As the three most capable brothers under the captain’s command—now that your master has been captured—what are you waiting for?
“Uh…” ×3
TL Note- Pirate Time....
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