As the saying goes, long illness makes a skilled physician. Those who have scraped by in the spatial zones for a long time invariably develop considerable surgical prowess. Fang Senyan deftly bandaged Roney’s wounds, staunched the bleeding, and applied a bandage that would continuously regenerate health, all with practiced ease.
Roney, who had been prepared to fight Fang Senyan to the death, was utterly perplexed by his actions until Fang Senyan unceremoniously unlatched the rear storage bay of the Wasp flyer, causing Roney’s jaw to drop.
“You—you’re not seriously thinking of shoving me into that damned, cramped cargo hold?? God, it’s as narrow as a latrine in there!”
Fang Senyan shook a finger.
“My friend, I must correct a misconception of yours. You see, it is not just you entering the cargo hold; it is you and Unit One. Otherwise, why would I have needed to sever nearly half of the android, Unit One?”
Roney roared in indignation.
“But I have my own starship! And I can be there in just ten minutes.”
Fang Senyan shot him a look of utter disdain.
“In certain moments, a single second can determine life or death, let alone ten minutes? Can you guarantee that Ironblood Mothership won’t return within ten minutes? Can you be sure they haven't left any ambush weaponry floating in the atmosphere of planet Eplos? Judging the actions of alien species with Terran technology and thinking—that’s pure suicide!”
Roney’s lips trembled violently. He never imagined the reason for his severed limbs was this! Yet, what Fang Senyan said was certainly not without merit. Just as he was about to speak, Fang Senyan continued:
“Do you know why the Lye element is so valuable?”
Roney had no patience for such trivialities at that moment and replied irritably, “Rarity, scarcity? Perhaps it’s become a fiscal reserve, like gold?”
Fang Senyan shook his head, speaking earnestly. “It’s not just due to its scarcity, but its extensive application across many of the Empire’s most advanced technologies. The most direct and concrete example I know is applying a specialized coating made primarily of Lye element onto a spacecraft. Once treated, that craft can immediately be carried into one’s private space by us Contractors.”
“Furthermore, its anti-stealth and anti-detection capabilities are several hundred times better than conventional coatings! If the stealth effect of Lye coating scores a ninety, then the best secondary coating within the Empire would only manage a mere zero point nine.”
Roney was stunned. “Your—your ship appears to have been retrieved from private space… Could it be???”
Fang Senyan arched an eyebrow and smiled faintly. “So, allow me to introduce this little darling before you. It happens to be a high-grade model utilizing the rare Lye coating. Don’t let its exterior fool you; it looks identical to your Wasp flyer, but the chance of it being detected is at least 50% lower—now, considering your severed hands and feet, doesn't that seem like a worthwhile exchange?”
Roney was speechless, but shame quickly turned to anger, and he shouted, “But you could have told me all of this beforehand!!”
“Being mentally prepared makes the pain worse afterward, because you focus on the wound. If I strike without explanation, the immediate resentment and fury will mask most of the pain,” Fang Senyan said rather shamelessly. “Alright, fuel is topped up. Let’s say goodbye to this lovely, fertile planet. We need to hurry.”
As he spoke, Fang Senyan added: “Hmm, one last question, Roney. In middle school, high school, or university, did you sleep on the top bunk or the bottom bunk?”
Roney felt utterly lost but answered honestly, “Bottom bunk…”
Fang Senyan seized Roney’s only remaining arm and forcibly shoved him into the storage bay of his Wasp flyer—the one described as ‘little like a latrine’—then tossed in the deactivated Unit One. Finally, he threw in a supply crate.
Immediately, a string of furious curses erupted from the hold.
“His nutrient fluid dripped right into my nostril, Sailor!!”
“My eggs are about to be flattened, you bastard!”
“I’m turning into a compressed biscuit, God save me…” Roney let out a series of inarticulate shrieks from the very bottom. Fang Senyan merely shrugged, then closed the rear hatch. Regrettably, the hatch always left a small gap. After trying to close it two or three times, Fang Senyan lost patience and kicked it upward.
With a loud thud and a piercing yell, the damned door finally shut and latched closed.
Fang Senyan whistled, listening to Roney’s muffled cries from the cargo bay, and a strange smile spread across his face.
“This is your punishment for hiding your true strength from me. Heh heh, enjoy your pleasant journey.”
Then Fang Senyan looked toward the direction where the Mountain Cyclops had disappeared.
“Your senses are truly sharp. I made a slight alteration, and you still felt it. That creature was a reward for the Golden Subplot!”
Thinking of this, Fang Senyan couldn't help but draw out the Ukiyo-e from his spatial storage. This miraculous and rare item was faintly shimmering with golden light. The artifact’s true name was Nihonga Ukiyo-e; it possessed high realistic technique, subtly merging the texture of the painting with the grain of the wood, achieving a truly stunning, natural effect.
The surface of the Ukiyo-e, which had originally been deep and blank, now displayed the image of a Mountain Cyclops, rendered so vividly that even the injury near its single eye was lifelike, as if it could step right out of the frame at any moment!
Next, Fang Senyan glanced at the sky before boarding his Wasp flyer. He activated it decisively, initiating the ignition sequence. The powerful thrust from the engine rapidly overcame gravity, allowing him to accelerate swiftly, shooting toward the vast, star-studded expanse of the universe.
Although Fang Senyan had not yet witnessed the tragic sight of Dardaniyang and the other five ships being destroyed simultaneously, it was impossible that he wasn't sweating bullets; his heart remained deeply uneasy.
As Fang Senyan had stated earlier, once in space, no amount of defense mattered. Even with forty thousand or four hundred thousand health points, if his transport ship was destroyed, he wouldn't survive in the void. This complete helplessness felt profoundly unsettling!
Just as Fang Senyan flew beyond the Eplos planetary atmosphere, the 'Warning' alarm on his beeper blared startlingly loud. Fang Senyan’s heart immediately tensed. Only then did he realize that on the 3D holographic control screen before him, a nearly invisible, dense network completely enveloped the entire outer perimeter of Eplos’s atmosphere!!
This network was clearly invisible to the naked eye, resembling electromagnetic interference, but it was certainly bad news for Fang Senyan. Seeing this, any attempt to fly into space would inevitably trigger the net!
For Fang Senyan, this situation offered virtually no choice… There could be no better opportunity than the Ironblood Mothership’s mysterious disappearance. He certainly couldn't risk forcing another landing back onto the surface of Eplos, so he could only choose to accelerate and punch straight through!
On the 3D holographic screen, the process of 'touching the net' and 'breaking the net' appeared unremarkable; only the nodes that were touched flashed with light before propagating outward. There was no effect on the craft itself. Fang Senyan, who had been holding his breath, relaxed once he saw nothing untoward happened, competently piloting the flyer into the Eplos asteroid belt.
It is worth noting that the trajectory Fang Senyan chose was not the shortest straight line toward the Eagle Base camp… A moment’s thought revealed that the Ironblood Mothership’s absence must mean it was in pursuit of someone. And whoever dared to break out would undoubtedly be following the shortest route toward the Eagle Base camp. Thus, choosing the same route would likely lead to an encounter with the Ironblood Mothership halfway there.
Fang Senyan was desperately anxious to leave. Moreover, having experienced navigating the Eplos asteroid belt once before, his operational control was significantly smoother, and his speed increased dramatically, weaving through the debris field at an astonishing pace.
Suddenly, the communicator in front of Fang Senyan crackled to life, carrying a voice that sounded surprised yet muffled... “This is Eagle Base Headquarters, do you read…?” Fang Senyan’s heart skipped a beat, followed by immense joy! Right—now that he was flying within the asteroid belt, he had broken free from most of the Ironblood communication constraints, meaning he could finally contact the base. Fang Senyan immediately responded:
“This is FJ01, standing by for orders!”
Instantly, Fang Senyan heard a cheer from the other end, followed by the rough voice of General Mongo: “Is that Sailor? Listen to me, the situation is complicated. Your companion piloting the Ironblood sub-vessel has ten minutes, at most, to escape, and the Mothership is in hot pursuit! However, your situation is equally perilous. When you detached from Eplos, you were also detected by the Ironblood’s arcane net. Therefore, while the Mothership cannot chase you down, it has launched two unmanned combat vessels to hunt you!” (To be continued) RQ