Super Mothership
After all, he was now being watched by the Seven Great Pirate Groups. If the Mechanical Race “cover” he was using were exposed someday, he would definitely have to run for it. These Star Fragments were essentially a kind of regional currency—keeping too many of them on hand would be a waste. Naturally, it was better to convert as much of them as possible into benefits.
As for buying only the most expensive items, that was because among similar goods, the most expensive ones usually contained the highest level of technology, which would help him analyze the cutting-edge tech of the Wolf Empire.
“Unfortunately, products from the Mechanical Race are far too rare,” Nie Yun thought with a hint of dissatisfaction, even after making a satisfying haul.
After leaving Gold Tooth to handle the subsequent slave handover and item purchases, Nie Yun had his clone log off and return to the pirate base first, while Arthas’s clone headed straight back to the Fallen Angel.
After all, “Arthas” was a Gemini, making him far too conspicuous. Moreover, Nie Yun had no intention of letting Gemini know about his “unofficial forces.”
With the “Werewolf clone,” plus the assistance of the base’s control AI—the Three Brothers—the pirate base side shouldn’t have any major problems.
What Nie Yun hadn’t expected was that just as “Arthas” returned to the Fallen Angel, he received an urgent communication from Gemini…
Beep! Girard’s face appeared on the screen.
“General Girard!” Nie Yun performed a proper military salute.
“Arthas, I’m glad you’re safe and that you’ve brought valuable intelligence back to Gemini,” Girard said with a relieved expression.
“You flatter us, General. We were simply fortunate,” Nie Yun replied modestly, then quickly changed the topic. “However, since you initiated an emergency communication this time, I assume it’s not merely to check on us, correct?”
The communication interference caused by the wormhole still existed. To conduct such a real-time communication, Gemini must have gone through considerable trouble—perhaps even risking the destruction of a communication ship. The cost was certainly not small.
“Yes. Our communication time is limited, so I’ll keep it brief,” Girard said, his expression turning serious.
“Something has happened to Beckman.”
Girard’s next sentence made Nie Yun pause in surprise, before he suddenly understood.
Beckman getting into trouble wasn’t particularly surprising. Their mission itself involved near-certain death—raiding deep behind enemy lines. Since Nie Yun’s side had been quietly lying low, Jinlok’s Fifth Fleet would naturally focus their attention on the more high-profile Beckman group.
Under circumstances where they were essentially operating blind, the fact that Beckman had lasted this many days already made Nie Yun view him with new respect.
What surprised Nie Yun, however, was why Girard had contacted him because of Beckman’s predicament. Could it be…
“Not long ago, the fleet under Beckman sent out a distress signal. They accidentally entered the enemy’s radar surveillance zone and exposed their coordinates. They are currently being pursued by an enemy fleet, and the situation is extremely critical.
“Since the enemy has heightened their alert level on the other side of the wormhole, it will likely be difficult for us to dispatch a rescue fleet. Therefore, the only ones capable of rescuing them right now are you, who are also operating behind enemy lines.”
Sure enough—it was a request for help!
But asking me for help? Are you sure this isn’t just a desperate gamble?
“With all due respect, General, I only have a few dozen warships at my disposal. Trying to rescue them from an encirclement by the enemy fleet would probably be…” Nie Yun’s refusal was quite obvious.
What a joke. Why should he care whether Beckman lived or died? If Beckman died, he might even open a bottle of champagne to celebrate.
“Of course, it’s not that I value my own life over others. It’s just that if Beckman were to die heroically, then our Gemini intelligence sources inside the Wolf Empire would be reduced to just our single team… That would truly be a loss outweighing the gain but still better than a wipeout.”
Nie Yun added another righteous remark, putting on the appearance of someone who simply didn’t want to make a pointless sacrifice.
Girard was not surprised by Nie Yun’s answer at all. Whoever it was, no one would risk enormous danger to rescue a competitor.
What’s more, Nie Yun’s fleet had already established a foothold within the Wolf Empire. In terms of value, they were even more important than Beckman. As long as the higher-ups were rational, they wouldn’t throw away a watermelon to pick up a sesame seed.
“Sigh… If we weren’t truly out of options, I wouldn’t have come to you,” Girard said with a helpless sigh. “But this isn’t a mandatory order. You may decide whether to carry out the rescue based on your own circumstances. Of course, if the rescue succeeds, the military will certainly reward the contributors.”
Nie Yun raised an eyebrow. So they were about to dangle some bait.
Sure enough, Girard glanced at Nie Yun and continued, “Councilor Victor just contacted me. He promised that if the rescue succeeds, he will use his influence—combined with the merits you have already earned—to promote you by another rank.”
Nie Yun’s eyes lit up. He was currently a fleet detachment commander. If he were promoted another rank, that would put him at the level of a legion commander—on equal footing with Isabel. That was a genuine high-ranking commander within Gemini!
The jump from a low-ranking officer to a high-ranking one was enormous—roughly equivalent to reaching the level of a division commander. In the entire Gemini civilization, there were only about a hundred of them.
He really is taking care of his own grandson. Victor had clearly put in a huge investment this time.
Unlike Arthas, the seventh-in-line heir of the Cruze family, Beckman was the first-in-line heir of the Victor family, a key candidate being groomed for the future. Otherwise, the Sea Clan wouldn’t have swallowed their pride and asked a rival faction for help.
“Should I save him… or not?” Nie Yun lowered his head and began weighing the options.
As for Victor’s promise, Nie Yun didn’t really doubt it. The Victor family and the Cruze family were essentially the leading powers of their respective clans.
With both families pushing together, even if Arthas lacked seniority, they could still forcibly promote him into the “youngest legion commander in history.”
And once his rank rose again, his influence within Gemini—especially within the Cruze family—would increase greatly. That would be extremely beneficial for the espionage activities tied to Arthas’s identity.
The longer time passed, the more Nie Yun realized how many conveniences Arthas’s identity brought him. Not to mention the enormous potential this special identity still had waiting to be exploited.
Continuing to invest in “Arthas” was definitely a business guaranteed to yield profit.
On the other hand, if he saved Beckman, he would undoubtedly make the Victor family owe him a huge favor while also showing goodwill toward the Sea Clan, easing tensions between the two families.
Previously, Nie Yun had wanted to sow discord between the two factions and even hoped they might fall into a civil war. But now, with the powerful Wolf Empire looming like a fierce tiger nearby, the more stable and solid Gemini remained as a shield, the better it would serve the interests of Earth’s civilization.
As for whether Beckman would continue to hate him after being rescued…
If the guy actually survived, he’d probably have to start calling him Commander.
After weighing the pros and cons, Nie Yun had already made his decision.
“This mission… will be very difficult,” Nie Yun said, deliberately putting on a conflicted expression, as though he wanted the reward but didn’t want to take the risk.
Girard sighed inwardly when he heard this. He knew that anyone with a bit of sense probably wouldn’t accept such a mission. After all, it was very possible they wouldn’t save Beckman—and might end up getting themselves killed as well.
Old friend, I’ve already done my best…
Just as Girard was feeling disappointed, Nie Yun suddenly spoke again.
“However… it’s not entirely impossible.”
“Oh?” Girard’s eyes lit up. “You have a plan?”
“With just our small fleet, of course not. But I’ve recently made some new friends here in the Wolf Empire…”
“Friends?” Girard was momentarily stunned, then quickly realized these must be the source of the intelligence from last time.
But only a few days had passed. This guy had already developed “friends” behind enemy lines?
Rumor had it that Arthas possessed a silver tongue and max-level diplomatic skills… perhaps those rumors weren’t groundless after all.
“Your ‘friends’ are willing to help rescue them?” Girard asked uncertainly.
They had only just met, and yet these people would send out a fleet to rescue someone for you—potentially offending a great lord who commanded thousands of warships? That sounded almost unbelievable.
“Ahem! Of course words alone won’t work. But there are certain things… that are universally accepted across the galaxy…” Nie Yun rubbed his fingers together with a meaningful smile.
Girard immediately understood.
“You mean money?”
“Of course. The friends I know don’t care about JinLok or SilverLok—they only recognize money!” Nie Yun said with a nod.
Some things couldn’t be hidden from Gemini forever. There were too many eyes within his fleet. Even if he didn’t say anything, the existence of the Broken Star Region would eventually be exposed.
However, Catherine and the others currently only knew that he had established contact with a group of pirates—they had no idea that he had already absorbed them into his own pirate fleet.
So as long as he packaged his diplomatic achievement as a private deal with the “Ghost Pirate Group,” all problems would be solved.
Pirates, after all, cared about money—not people. Perfectly reasonable.
Think about it: taking money from Gemini to hire the pirate fleet under his own command, while also earning military merit, promotions, and wealth at the same time—plus securing Gemini as a high-quality long-term client for the Ghost Pirate Group, revitalizing idle assets…
Nie Yun suddenly realized that his business talent had clearly improved recently. He was practically becoming a qualified pirate fleet CEO.
Sure enough, proximity breeds similarity.
His mind wandered for a moment. On the Moon, his main body suddenly leaned over and kissed Chu Xiaoxiao—who was working seriously beside him—causing the completely baffled Chu Xiaoxiao to roll her eyes wildly.
“But we don’t have the Wolf Empire’s universal currency,” Girard said in confusion after understanding Nie Yun’s general idea.
“We don’t need that. We have something even more valuable—hard currency,” Nie Yun said with a mysterious smile.
“What is it?”
“Energy Crystals!”
TL Note- Diplomat....
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