Super Mothership
"Although I can't take full control of the entire base just yet, everyone can rest assured. I've already figured out how this crafty central AI works. Just give me a little more time, and I'll make sure you can all enter without any obstacles.
If Captain Flint is worried about casualties during the assault... then why don't you all wait outside for now?" Nie Yun kindly suggested.
The moment they heard those words, everyone—including Red Dragon—couldn't help but twitch at the corners of their mouths.
Wait outside?
If they waited any longer, the only things left in the Gold Coin Pirates' warehouses would be the rats!
The veins on Flint's forehead throbbed. Taking a deep breath, he forced down the anger boiling inside him.
He had no idea what "partitions" or whatever Nie Yun was talking about actually meant, but he didn't believe a single word of the explanation.
However, the pirate world was a lawless place. Even if he somehow obtained proof that the other party was deliberately screwing him over, so what?
The Ghost Captain had already formed an alliance with the Twin Dragons. Although Black Sail still held the advantage in overall strength on paper, they had only just finished bringing down the Gold Coin Pirates. Were they really supposed to start another all-out pirate war over dividing the spoils?
Things were different now. Madman had been seriously wounded, and the Twin Dragons had gained a mysterious Ghost Captain who had quietly carried out a flawless decapitation strike against the Gold Coin Pirates.
Flint had no confidence that he could win if another war broke out.
Nie Yun had accurately sensed Flint's hesitation, which was why he dared to repeatedly dance right on the edge of his bottom line.
"Hmph! I'll remember this. But now that the Gold Coin Pirates are on the verge of destruction, I think it's time we had a proper discussion about how the spoils should be divided."
Flint snorted coldly, decisively skipping over the ridiculous "four partitions" explanation and the equally ridiculous suggestion to "wait outside," choosing instead to get straight to the point.
He had never expected a few words to make the other side surrender, suddenly realize the error of his ways, and apologize.
Pirates spoke with their fists.
If someone could take advantage of you, it simply meant they had the ability to do so.
How much anyone could claim depended entirely on whether they had the strength to back it up.
And the Ghost Captain had just proven that he absolutely possessed the qualifications to claim a share of the loot...
Perhaps even enough to become a new member of the Seven Warlords beneath the King.
"I'll admit that you were the first to break into the base through your own strength. But the rest of us tied down the vast majority of the enemy's forces. You could say we were the main force in this battle.
Do you really think you'll be allowed to eat all the meat while everyone else is left sipping soup?"
This time, even Red Dragon and Messiah remained silent, simply watching Nie Yun.
When profits were involved, neither of the Twin Dragons wanted to come out on the losing end. Besides, after suffering heavy losses, they desperately needed this wealth to rebuild their strength.
There was also an unspoken attempt in Flint's words to drive a wedge into the alliance.
If Nie Yun became too greedy, friction between him and the Twin Dragons would be inevitable.
"Hmm. You're right. We really should have negotiated the distribution of the spoils beforehand. We acted too hastily. Besides, I'm the newcomer here. It wouldn't be appropriate if I didn't show some respect to my seniors.
How about this? Give me one hour. One hour from now, no matter what, I'll withdraw from the base with whatever loot I can carry. I won't touch a single thing after that."
To everyone's surprise, Nie Yun had no intention of arguing the matter.
Instead, he generously requested nothing more than one hour to loot the base.
One hour sounded like plenty of time for such an enormous installation.
In reality, it wasn't nearly enough to empty everything.
Of course, whatever could be taken away would naturally be the most valuable treasures.
Flint was clearly dissatisfied with such a compromise.
"I didn't agree to cooperate just so I could pick through someone else's leftovers," Flint said coldly.
"Haha, how could that be? At most, I'm only taking a single golden egg from a golden nest. What you'll be getting afterward is the golden hen in Shattered Star City that lays those eggs every single day." Nie Yun laughed.
"The golden hen of Shattered Star City?" Messiah froze for a moment before suddenly realizing. "You mean the Gold Coin Pirates' businesses?"
"Exactly. If you still consider that leftovers... then how about we switch? I won't take a single thing from this base, and instead I'll take one-fourth of the Gold Coin Pirates' industries in Shattered Star City."
Once the Gold Coin Pirates collapsed, their enormous industrial empire in Shattered Star City would inevitably follow.
Without their greatest military protection, there was only one possible ending—
Being dismantled and divided among the victors.
One was a one-time windfall.
The other was a money-printing machine that generated endless profits.
Everyone present understood perfectly well which held greater long-term value.
In truth, Nie Yun's willingness to give up the Shattered Star City interests wasn't because he didn't want more.
It was simply because he had already eaten far more than he could digest today.
With the Ghost Pirates' current size, swallowing the Gold Coin Pirates' headquarters alone was already like a snake trying to swallow an elephant.
He had just taken a quick look.
Their ships were nearly full.
The pirates of the "Three-Clean Sweep Squad" were practically covered head to toe in looted weapons and equipment.
Some of them could barely even walk anymore.
Building a real pirate crew wasn't like playing a strategy game.
Resources couldn't simply be dumped into a barracks to instantly produce elite troops.
Turning wealth and supplies into actual military strength required time.
The Ghost Pirates had already stuffed themselves into obesity.
There was simply no way they could digest even more in the short term.
Besides, the Ghost Pirates had virtually no foundation or influence within Shattered Star City.
Whether in manpower or resources, taking over the Gold Coin Pirates' massive commercial empire was completely unrealistic.
Brother Wuji's rise to greatness had already taught everyone a valuable lesson.
Rather than constantly being targeted because you possessed priceless treasures, it was better to stay hidden in your valley, quietly cultivating your inner strength until your divine arts reached perfection.
By then, becoming the cult leader, marrying the princess, and standing at the pinnacle of life would all happen naturally.
So the lesson was simple:
Lie low.
Don't get carried away.
Take steps that are too big, and you'll end up splitting your crotch.
After weighing the situation carefully, Flint finally nodded.
"Fine. We'll do it your way. We'll divide the interests in Shattered Star City among ourselves. In exchange, we'll give you one hour."
To him, the Gold Coin Pirates' businesses were obviously far more attractive.
Without the Ghost Pirates taking a share, everyone else would naturally receive a larger slice.
"We have no objections."
"Neither do I."
Since Flint had agreed, neither the Twin Dragons nor Madman had any objections.
With the distribution settled, Nie Yun excused himself by saying he needed to continue conquering the other three sectors before disconnecting.
In reality...
Time was precious.
He hurried off to organize the Three-Clean Sweep Squad and continue hauling loot.
To Flint's credit, he maintained his dignity until the very end.
He never once said something like "Please don't screw me over again."
After all...
Big shots had their pride.
Words like "Please show mercy" were simply impossible for him to utter.
Fortunately, Black Sail remained the strongest pirate fleet.
Even though Nie Yun had deliberately targeted them, their advance wouldn't fall much behind the other pirate groups.
At worst...
They would suffer heavier losses.
Mentally...
They'd just feel a lot more frustrated.
...
Meanwhile, after ending the call, Nie Yun looked up—
Only to find every face around him frozen in utter shock.
"Uh... sorry. Did I forget to turn off the speakerphone?" the mini clone asked sheepishly while scratching its head.
"..."
Every Gold Coin Pirate inside the command room had absolutely no idea how to answer that question.
Were they supposed to say...
Yes, you forgot.
So we heard everything.
Including your backroom deal with all those pirate bosses?
...Wait.
Something about this suddenly felt very, very bad.
"Sigh..."
Nie Yun let out a long, helpless sigh.
"Originally, after all this was over, I figured everyone would just go their separate ways. We'll all still be making a living in the Shattered Star Region, after all. We'll inevitably run into each other again someday.
But unfortunately...
You all seem to know just a little too much now..."
Everyone instantly froze.
What?
Because you forgot to turn off the speakerphone...
Now we know too much?
This was entrapment!
It had to be!
Seeing Nie Yun's face suddenly darken, along with the rapidly flashing red lights in the mini robot's eyes, everyone felt chills run down their backs.
They were practically ready to cry out—
"My life is over!"
At that moment, someone in the crowd suddenly shouted,
"Wait! Don't kill me! I can help persuade the fleet to surrender!"
Overwhelmed by terror, almost no one noticed who had spoken.
Even fewer realized the speaker's accent sounded strangely unfamiliar...
The frantic red lights in the mini clone's eyes immediately slowed.
It looked over the crowd—
Especially the several leaders standing at the front.
"I... I'll persuade them too! Let's talk this out! Self-destruction isn't the only solution!"
"I'll do it too! Please don't do anything rash!"
"We'll convince them to surrender! Absolutely surrender!"
"..."
Seeing that the little robot seemed interested, one sweating pirate leader immediately contacted the fleet commander on the front lines.
"Hey, XX! It's your uncle! Don't ask questions—this is an emergency! Surrender immediately!"
Seeing this, everyone else quickly came to their senses and grabbed their communicators as well.
"XX! Do you remember who pulled you out of that pile of corpses all those years ago? Who promoted you every step of the way until you became somebody?"
"XX! Your father-in-law's in trouble! Are you going to help or not? It's easy—just surrender!"
"XX! Brother, I've never begged anyone in my life, but today I'm begging you... What? You refuse? Fine! Then I'll write my will right now and send your wife every last secret we've been hiding together!"
"..."
Nie Yun tilted his head.
He seemed to have...
Just overheard something rather incredible...
TL Note- Compromise...
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