The Star broke through the cosmos, joining up with the arriving Mars, shattering the blockade of the enemy [T] Nation's stationed warships, and leaving Keton Star behind.

After reaching the safety zone, Zhong Yun sat in the cockpit of the Mercury, somewhat lost in thought. He was utterly alone aboard both vessels, with no one to talk to except the exceedingly dull Xiao Ling.

Once the ships settled into a stable orbit, he no longer had to remain tethered to the control console all day, granting him some free time. With only Xiao Ling, he could only effectively command one ship, the Mars.

The Mercury certainly lived up to its reputation as being more advanced than the Mars; its main AI was highly sophisticated. While still leagues behind Xiao Ling, it was impressive nonetheless. As a half-baked operator like Zhong Yun, even starting up a standard vessel would have been a significant problem.

With the orbit stabilized, he only needed to check in occasionally, rather than guarding the console all day. His surplus time was dedicated to rest and entering simulated combat training to practice both martial arts and mech operation.

Today, as was routine, he approached the console to monitor the ship’s operations, but after a short while, his mind began to wander into the distance.

For the past few days, even during training, the image of Wei Wei would flash before his eyes. Once again, he sank into the depths of remembrance.

I clearly haven't let her go, Zhong Yun sighed, running a hand over the ornament on his left wrist. It was a bracelet made of some kind of wood, which Wei Wei had insisted on buying for him during a shopping trip she’d dragged him on. She’d forced him to wear it, and for some reason he couldn’t fathom, he had never taken it off.

However, the decision was his own, and there was no point regretting it now.

"Three years. I will return in three years. If she hasn't changed by then, I will take her with me," Zhong Yun made a resolute decision.

Over these three years, he wouldn't have any spare time whatsoever.

Xiao Ling had just formulated a schedule for him, and the next three years were packed solid. With so many raw stones acquired, the possibilities for what he could accomplish had multiplied significantly.

Having made that decision, Zhong Yun temporarily set Wei Wei aside and entered his dedicated state. Before returning to Qi Yun Star, he needed to break through to the twentieth level—a mission assigned to him by Xiao Ling.

But the World Tree sap had been depleted two months ago; he could now only rely on his own efforts. When he originally set out, the estimate was that he’d be back in at most a year. Who knew such a sudden complication would arise, delaying him this long?

He dared not delay any further, because Yun Qi had told him before he left that if he didn't return within two years, she would come looking for him on Keton Star.

It had been almost a year and a half since he left. His return to Qi Yun Star should be just in time, so he couldn't afford to waste a moment. If Yun Qi went to Keton Star alone, she’d worry herself sick.

Both the Mercury and the Mars were considered 'black ships' in the Omi Star System—unregistered vessels, meaning they could not utilize the official jump points of any nation.

With a proper transit permit, their speed could increase by more than double. The distribution of secret jump points in space was highly random; some areas were impossibly dense, while in others, one could travel several light-years without finding a second one.

Fortunately, Xiao Ling possessed an extremely detailed star chart, marking countless hidden jump points. From these, they found the nearest route. Although it required circling the entire Omi Star System, it would only take three to four months to arrive.

Flying through space is a monotonous endeavor, especially when one is the sole occupant of an entire vessel. Zhong Yun, however, immersed himself in relentless, day-and-night training, thereby entirely escaping the tedium.

After passing through the tenth secret jump point, Zhong Yun unexpectedly encountered another ship. Space had fixed trade routes, and Zhong Yun's path home deliberately skirted those routes. He hadn't seen a single other vessel on his outbound journey. He never expected to see one on the return trip.

Xiao Ling reported the encounter to Zhong Yun while he was eating. Hearing they had met another ship, he found it rather amusing—what fate to cross paths in the vast emptiness of space.

After finishing his meal, he hurried to the main control room and pulled up the image of the other vessel. What he saw gave him a genuine shock: it was an extremely dilapidated ship. The fact that it was still flying in space without disintegrating was a miracle in itself.

Zhong Yun doubted whether it could still be called a starship. Its surface bore three terrifying, gaping fissures, along with countless other pits and dents, making it resemble the surface of the Moon.

Judging by the damage, it must have been through a battle. Since it wasn't a military vessel, the odds favored a pirate encounter.

It was drifting purely on inertia; its fate was likely either to be drawn in by a planet’s gravity and crash, or to collide with an asteroid and break apart.

Just as Zhong Yun was contemplating whether to investigate, he suddenly received several distress signals. His eyes widened when he saw them: there were still living beings aboard!

Distress signals were universal across the cosmos, and Zhong Yun certainly recognized them. According to the Mercury's sensors, the signal originated from the wreck that could barely be called a starship before him.

Since he had encountered them, he couldn't just ignore it. Zhong Yun had once experienced disaster himself, drifting in a solitary escape pod, and he knew the taste of that desperation. In his most hopeless moment, he had wished for a ship to pass by and rescue them.

Although rescue hadn't come then, after he was saved, he had sworn an oath that if he ever encountered anyone in distress during his interstellar voyages, he would extend aid.

Even though he was resolved to save them, caution was necessary. One could encounter anyone in the void. He instructed the Mars to maintain a distance while powering up all weapon systems.

Having completed these preparations, he dispatched the Mercury's lifeboats.

The passengers aboard the crippled vessel had already descended into despair, only to find salvation at the last moment, with two massive ships appearing overhead. They offered silent prayers of gratitude to their gods, as well as to the kind captain.

Soon, hundreds of lifeboats flew over from the two friendly ships. After successfully docking, they began boarding the rescue craft in batches, under the guidance of the rescue captain.

Naturally, before boarding the lifeboats, they were required to place all their weapons into a separate lifeboat.

This was only human nature, and no one felt resentful. At that moment, as long as they could survive, they would agree to do anything.

The lifeboats returned to the Mercury in an orderly fashion. The final count revealed over eight thousand survivors.

Fortunately, Zhong Yun had transferred one-third of his ship's supplies to the Mars earlier, freeing up considerable space; otherwise, accommodating so many people would have been impossible.

Zhong Yun ordered the robots to prepare food. There were no actual cabins, only vast, empty storage bays. To prevent any untoward incidents, he housed everyone separately, with only one hundred people per bay.

Zhong Yun had no intention of showing himself. His mission would be complete once he delivered them to the nearest Free Star. He considered this act entirely sufficient and expected no gratitude in return.

Browsing through their files at the control panel, he discovered they were aboard a luxury cruise liner bound for the Yanbin Empire, nearly five hundred light-years away.

He had heard of the Yanbin Empire; it was the most powerful mid-tier civilization in the Omi Star System, bar none. It had achieved the fifth stage of mid-tier civilization for nearly five millennia, and its overall strength was second only to the three high-tier civilization nations—the mid-tier state closest to achieving high-tier status.

This tourist vessel belonged to a tourism corporation under the Yanbin Empire. Unfortunately, they had encountered pirates during their voyage, barely managing to escape, but only after being severely knocked off course. With the ship critically damaged and facing certain doom, they unexpectedly encountered Zhong Yun and were saved.

This information came from the former captain of the wrecked ship, who repeatedly demanded an audience with the captain of the rescue vessel—Zhong Yun—though Zhong Yun found the request tiresome.

After reading the data, Zhong Yun checked the time; it was nearly time for shooting practice. He stood up, about to leave, when Xiao Ling's voice suddenly spoke up.

"There are Davo people among these survivors. There are several you know."

This statement startled Zhong Yun. Running into acquaintances in this desolate corner of space? Impossible.

"List the names," he commanded, sitting back down, unable to imagine which acquaintances he might have. This location was at least a thousand light-years from Davo; running into a Davo familiar here would truly be a stroke of impossible luck.

Soon, several familiar faces appeared on the screen.

"This really is uncanny..." Zhong Yun stared fixedly at the faces, murmuring to himself.

In one of the storage bays, a hundred tents were pitched on the floor, resembling clusters of umbrellas. These tents were temporary structures made by the robots under Zhong Yun's orders. Since there were no rooms, they would have to make do with tents for now.

In a corner, temporary washing facilities, restrooms, and even some recreation rooms had been erected. Zhong Yun’s arrangements were thoughtful, though his primary goal was simply to keep the eight thousand people compliant and prevent them from causing trouble.

In front of one tent, the cruise ship captain was gathered with several others, engaged in conversation. Those housed in the same bay as the captain were people who had occupied luxury suites on the tourist vessel, all holding significant status in their respective nations.

The bay door suddenly opened, and a robot walked in.

Everyone ceased talking and turned their gaze toward the machine. Since boarding this ship, they hadn't seen a single human; all communication had been through robots. This disparity had begun to breed resentment among some: to be dismissed by a mere robot—what did these people take them for?

The cruise captain stood up, straightened his uniform, and walked toward the robot with a stern expression. He offered a formal, precise bow and spoke in fluent Common Tongue, "Greetings. As Captain of the Pearl of the Yanbin Empire, I request an audience with your esteemed Captain."

This was his fifth such request; the previous four had been completely ignored by the robot. But he had not given up.

"I apologize, Captain. He is very busy," the robot replied, its pleasant synthetic voice rivaling that of the finest opera singer, though the message was grating.

Before the Pearl's captain could speak further, the robot continued, "I am here to escort several honored guests."

"Honored guests?"

P: One more chapter remaining.