The pirate vessel trained its cannons on the passenger liner and closed the distance rapidly. Yang Ying noted that the pirate ship looked ancient, covered in mottled rust, and was perhaps half the size of the passenger vessel.
At the same moment, the Captain’s voice boomed from the bridge of the passenger ship, “Attention all passengers! Attention all passengers! This vessel has encountered an emergency. Please remain calm and stay in your cabins, awaiting instructions from the staff…”
Yang Ying smiled faintly to himself. “It seems Heaven doesn’t want me to have a peaceful journey; it’s sending the seasoning now.”
Yang Ying returned to his cabin and sealed the door. He retrieved an optical camouflage suit from the floating continent—standard gear for a Ghost Agent, one he had kept for himself.
He quickly donned the suit, then summoned four Ghost Agents. “You follow me. We have work to do!”
“Yes, Sir!” The four Ghost Agents snapped to attention, leveling their C-10 shotguns in salute.
The five of them turned invisible and slipped out of the room.
Outside the viewport, the pirate ship was already launching two small tenders toward the passenger liner, clearly intending to board.
Yang Ying glanced over and waved a hand. “Follow me.”
The Ghost Agents’ helmets were equipped with specialized sensors that resembled lenses, allowing them to see their invisible comrades, so Yang Ying wasn’t worried about them being unable to track him.
There were only three points of entry for boarding: the main hatch and two emergency exits. Judging by the approach of the pirate tenders, they would almost certainly use the main hatch, so Yang Ying headed there to intercept them.
They moved through several corridors, which were eerily empty. The passengers had obeyed the broadcast and remained in their respective cabins.
Up ahead was a T-junction. They needed to choose right or left. According to the signage, turning right led to the main entrance.
Just then, footsteps sounded from the front-left. Yang Ying raised his hand, signaling the four Ghost Agents behind him to halt.
Two figures dressed as crew members emerged from the left passage. They were sweating profusely and walking quickly, passing directly in front of Yang Ying as they hurried toward the main entrance.
Yang Ying waved his hand and followed the two crewmen.
The leader’s uniform was noticeably of a higher quality; he appeared to be in his fifties and held a higher rank among the crew.
The other man was younger, dressed in slightly poorer attire. He pulled a handkerchief from his jacket pocket, wiped his brow—his hand was visibly shaking—then stuffed the cloth back in. He asked the other man, “Captain, are those people really pirates?”
The Captain seemed calmer. “Don’t look too nervous in a moment. Those brigands are ruthless killers. If you mess up, they might just put a hole right through your head.”
“Really?” the crewman’s voice trembled further. “What are we supposed to do…”
“Calm down!” the Captain snapped.
“Captain, why are we letting these thugs in? Couldn’t we just escape?” the crewman asked.
“Absolutely not. Those pirates are piloting a gunship. Even though it looks old, it’s still faster than us, and that cannon could blow this passenger liner to pieces in a single shot. If we don’t open the door, they’ll fire, and we have no choice but to obey them.” The Captain spoke with genuine distress.
From their exchange, it was clear the pirate ship had contacted the passenger liner and delivered a threat of attack along with the demand to open the doors.
“And how will these space pirates treat the passengers?” the crewman inquired next.
The Captain shook his head repeatedly. “I don’t know. Now, we can only pray they have some conscience and are only interested in money, not lives.”
As they talked, they arrived at the entrance hatch.
Yang Ying followed closely with his four Ghost Agents, all cloaked.
“Listen! There’s a sound outside,” the crewman pointed toward the door.
A faint whirring noise came from outside the hatch. The Captain listened intently and said, “That’s the sound of the folding gangway extending to connect the two hatches. The pirates’ tender is docking.”
After about ten seconds, the sound ceased. Shortly after, a signal requesting entry illuminated on the display panel next to the door.
The Captain extended a slightly trembling hand and pressed a few buttons on the panel beneath the screen. The door slid open.
Standing outside were a dozen heavily armed pirates. Their leader was a gaunt, middle-aged man barely a meter and a half tall. He grunted, “Are you the Captain?”
The Captain managed a degree of composure. “I am.”
The pirate leader suddenly erupted in fury, kicking the Captain down with a single motion. He then followed up with relentless kicks to the Captain’s body, shouting, “You dare not fear me? You dare speak to me like that!”
The younger crewman was stunned into silence.
After a moment, the pirate leader stopped kicking, apparently tired, and turned to the frozen crewman. “And who are you?”
The crewman swallowed hard. “I… I’m the Navigator.”
“Navigator, very good.” The pirate leader stepped forward and clapped the Navigator on the shoulder. “Are you afraid?”
The Navigator nodded quickly. “Yes.”
“Good, that’s good.” The pirate leader slammed his hand down hard on the Navigator’s shoulder. “Crouch down a bit. Do you expect me to crane my neck to talk to you?”
The Navigator could only adopt a half-crouched posture. “Please, speak, sir…”
“My nickname is Half a Life. I’ve roamed the sea of stars for over twenty years, and in the Asteroid Belt, I’m this!” He held up his thumb. “You will take me to the bridge shortly, then order all passengers to gather in the mess hall to await my address. Rest assured, I only care about wealth. Once I have what I want and no one resists, I’ll leave.”
The Navigator nodded repeatedly.
“Oh, right.” Half a Life fixed his cloudy eyes on the Navigator. “You people are coming from Saturn’s orbit, correct? I heard that area is about to become the front line. Is that true?”
The Navigator continued to nod.
“That’s wonderful!” Half a Life roared with laughter. “That means all the passengers here are refugees, I bet they brought all their worldly possessions with them! Excellent, excellent…” He repeated the word ‘excellent’ three times. “Let’s go, to the bridge!”
Half a Life stepped over the prone body of the Captain and looked back at one of his subordinates. “Bring this old man along.”
A burly pirate immediately hoisted the Captain up. The pirates shoved the Navigator, and the whole group proceeded en masse toward the bridge.
A slender pirate was left behind to guard the door, turning to close the hatch.
Yang Ying knew the pirates had launched two tenders, and the other one was waiting outside for boarding. He instantly used his mental energy to snag the guard’s ankle, sending the pirate tumbling to the floor.
Yang Ying signaled one Ghost Agent to stay behind, then led the remaining three through the folding gangway quickly and silently, boarding the opposing tender.
The fallen pirate scrambled up, scanned the empty area, cursed under his breath, and slammed the hatch shut.
The tender also sealed its hatch, retracted the gangway, detached from the passenger liner, moved aside for the other boat, and flew back toward the pirate vessel.
This played exactly into Yang Ying’s anticipation. The cannon on the pirate ship was their greatest asset, so it had to be silenced first!