In the deserted corridor, Yang Ying once again summoned a squad of twelve Ghost Agents. He concisely explained the situation, ordered them to cloak and disperse throughout the ship, hold their positions, avoid initiating combat unless absolutely necessary, and await his command.

{, First Release} After delivering the orders, this squad of Ghost Agents activated their stealth mode and dispersed. The command did not apply to the two Ghost Agents summoned earlier.

Yang Ying turned to them and said, "You two follow me; we are heading to the main bridge control room." "Yes, sir!" The two followed. The structure of typical warships is quite similar, featuring a bridge (main control room), engine room, living quarters, combat zones, hangar bays, and so on.

Although Yang Ying had not formally studied warship architecture, he was aware of such basic necessities. Although this pirate vessel was classified as a warship, it was an obsolete model from decades past.

It was small, measuring eighty meters long, twenty meters wide, and ten meters high, with only two decks—upper and lower. The bridge was located at the very front of the upper deck, while their current position was in the middle of the lower deck.

Yang Ying led them to the upper level. This deck featured passageways on both sides with portholes, connecting the bridge in the front to the engine room in the rear.

The center was occupied by two rows of adjoining rooms, constituting the living quarters. Judging by the size of the living area, the entire ship could likely hold around a hundred personnel at full complement.

Nearly thirty had already fallen to Yang Ying and the Ghost Agents, and with almost thirty more on the passenger liner, it meant that less than half the crew remained on this ship. Currently, along the two side passages, the one closer to the passenger liner had over a dozen individuals standing by the portholes, watching the nearby liner as if observing a spectacle.

One of them clapped another on the shoulder. "The boss said once this score is done, we split the money and scatter, starting fresh somewhere no one knows us.

Tell me honestly, does that passenger ship really have that much wealth?" "Nonsense!" the other retorted. "There are at least a thousand people on that ship, many of them rich.

Those monkeys are almost reaching Saturn; they’re fleeing with everything they own—cash, transfers, jewels. We’re looking at five to six hundred million in assets, easy.

Once divided, our brothers here can live like the elite for the rest of our lives." "Right, right!" The others chimed in, as if the passenger ship were already a trapped turtle, ripe for slaughter. Yang Ying overheard snippets but found nothing constructive in their chatter.

He detoured to the other, deserted passageway and approached the hatch to the bridge. He inspected it and found the door was not locked.

Each end of these two passages held a door leading to the bridge, invisible to those in the opposite passage. Yang Ying gently pushed the door open.

Inside the bridge, there were only five people. The central command seat was vacant; this seat was significantly lower than the others, clearly the throne of the short pirate leader.

These five appeared to be supporting personnel: the pilot, navigator, communications officer, radar operator, and gunner. They all turned as the hatch suddenly opened but saw no sign of anyone, confusion clouding their faces.

The two Ghost Agents entered and casually shut the door. This was to contain the sound; the walls here were thick, and unless a major explosion occurred, little would be audible outside.

Seeing the hatch open and then close seemingly by itself, the gunner whistled dramatically. "Whoa!

This ship is haunted." "Pah!" the radar operator snapped, pointing at the gunner's nose. "Get lost with that jinx talk on a good day...

Haunted by what!" "Maybe the hydraulics are glitching. Call someone to check it after we finish this," the communications officer yawned.

At that moment, Yang Ying made his move. His first target was the comms officer.

He closed his eyes, retrieved a laser pistol from the Floating Continent, opened his eyes, and shot the communications officer dead in one blast. Bang!

Bang! The two Ghost Agents also opened fire with their rifles; the gunner and radar operator immediately fell dead.

The navigator and pilot instantly raised their hands, crying out for mercy, looking around in terror, clearly still unable to locate their attackers. Yang Ying made a gesture, and the two Ghost Agents stepped forward, knocking the two survivors unconscious.

These two might be useful later, so they would be kept alive for a couple more days. The bridge was now secured.

The communication, power, and weapon systems could all be controlled from here; essentially, the entire warship was now under Yang Ying's command. Yang Ying instructed the two agents to replace the original support staff and activate the command to forbid external communication.

This ensured that even if any pirates remaining inside the ship carried communicators to warn their leader, the bridge could intercept the signals. Next, Yang Ying activated the comms unit and ordered the Ghost Agents lying in wait throughout the ship: "I command you to eliminate all personnel within the ship who are not allied forces.

Commence action!" "Yes, Commander!" Although Yang Ying did not go outside to watch, he could sense lives extinguishing throughout the vessel. He had never slackened his mental discipline these past few days; his mental strength was on the verge of breaking six hundred, the sixth lamp about to ignite.

After a short while, replies began trickling in as the Ghost Agents sequentially completed their assigned tasks. Five minutes later, the final voice reported: "Mission complete.

Forty-three hostile individuals eliminated. No friendly casualties." Yang Ying nodded.

"Excellent. You will now proceed to the hangar bay on the lower deck, clear out the bodies in that small shuttle, and wait for me to rendezvous." "Yes, sir!" The entire process of seizing the ship proceeded without incident.

Yang Ying let out a breath, switched off the communicator, and addressed the two Ghost Agents in the bridge: "You may decloak now." The two agents cancelled their stealth: "Sir, what are your instructions?" "You two guard these two captives here until I return. During this time, if the pirate leader tries to contact you, pose as communications personnel and keep him occupied.

You can use your discretion regarding specifics," Yang Ying instructed. "Yes, sir!" The two snapped a salute.

Having made his arrangements, Yang Ying exited the bridge through the other door. The moment he opened it, he saw the dozen or so pirates who had been criticizing the situation by the portholes moments ago now lay in pools of blood, their life signs extinguished.

Yang Ying felt no compunction about killing them; these desperate men, having chosen this line of work, naturally had to be prepared to pay the price. Then, he summoned two more squads, this time of Machine Gunners, and commanded: "You will remain stationed aboard this warship.

If any non-allied personnel attempt to board, kill them without question!" "Yes, Commander!" the Machine Gunners responded. Yang Ying returned the way he came, back to the shuttle in the hangar bay, as he still had pirates to deal with on the passenger liner.

The shuttle had returned to its original state; the bodies of the pirates killed earlier had vanished, disposed of who knows where. All thirteen Ghost Agents were present, waiting for him inside the shuttle.

As soon as Yang Ying arrived, the shuttle immediately launched, flying back toward the passenger liner.