The meeting place was set in Bos. Furthermore, if the Commander wished to attend, he would likely need to depart soon, as Miss S had already extended an invitation, hoping to meet with you before the conference began.

"Very well. Prepare my yacht. We leave for Bos today. Bos isn't exactly next door; the journey takes two days. If we leave now, we should arrive just as the meeting is about to start."

Yang Ying clicked off the communicator.

The yacht he referred to was a space yacht constructed by their own people, measuring twenty-five meters long, fifteen meters wide, and seven meters high, spread over two decks. Its exterior followed the most fashionable design trend in the solar system at the time. It was fully equipped with living facilities, including a lounge, bedrooms, kitchen, sanitation, and entertainment areas. The top of the yacht even featured a hemispherical transparent dome, which housed an observation deck fitted with a high-precision astronomical telescope.

The entire vessel utilized rather common technology, intentionally excluding any technology that surpassed the current standards of the solar system, all to avoid attracting undue attention.

Yang Ying believed there was no need to incorporate superior technology into a mere yacht; comfort was the only requirement. Moreover, with such an ordinary yacht, even if outsiders were invited aboard for recreation, there would be no risk of any security leaks.

While the transport ship could handle long-distance flight, it lacked beds or even standardized interfaces for installing life support systems; using it for an extended journey would be sheer torture.

Upon departure, Yang Ying boarded the yacht with Katerina and Brian. Randall had matters to attend to and would not be joining them this time.

"Commander, wait a moment! Let me come along too!" A figure ran up to the side of the yacht, panting heavily as he spoke.

Brian frowned slightly and inquired, "Bres, shouldn't you be at the base commanding the Breymer motorcycles? Why are you coming with us?"

Bres instantly adopted a look of distress. "Command? Is there anything left for me to command at the base? The Progenitor Observers are conducting non-stop patrols within a three-million-kilometer radius, twenty-four hours a day. If anything arises, we have ten squadrons of Ghost fighters on standby. Our ground armor units are completely idle—they spend all day drilling, taking leave, and drilling again. They're practically going stir-crazy! Commander, my presence or absence makes no difference at the base, and I’ve already arranged the troop’s next phase of work. I am now formally requesting a week of leave from the Commander; I plan to vacation on Bos. Therefore, please let me accompany you!"

With that, Bres snapped to attention and saluted, awaiting Yang Ying's reply.

"Good. Since that is the case, I grant you leave. Then come aboard," Yang Ying nodded slightly. After all, the yacht had several bedrooms, large and small; having an extra person was no issue at all.

"Yes! Thank you, Commander!" Bres immediately became spirited, dropping his salute and following Yang Ying and the others onto the yacht.

After the yacht set off, a squadron of Ghost fighters arrived alongside it. This was a dedicated escort detail Yang Ying had summoned. In the asteroid belt, traveling with nothing but a lone yacht offered no defense and would be like a fatty cut of meat to pirates. Though Yang Ying himself wasn't afraid, there was no need to invite trouble unnecessarily.

In addition, a Progenitor Observer cleared the path ahead. With its superior reconnaissance capabilities, Yang Ying could react in advance to any danger ahead—be it pirates or a meteor field.

However, no matter how thorough the preparations, they could not always fend off trouble when it came calling.

Just half a day after the yacht departed, the Progenitor Observer transmitted intelligence: a pirate contingent had appeared on the projected course and was closing in at high speed.

At the moment this occurred, Yang Ying was lost in thought on the Floating Continent, sparring with Tarot in swordplay. As his psychic strength increased, his swordsmanship had also improved significantly, granting him far greater agility in his dodges and weaves than before.

Tarot, relying on the sword techniques deeply ingrained in his memory, coupled with his innate fervor for combat and the amplification his Progenitor-crafted armor provided to his psychic abilities, still maintained a slight upper hand.

"Pause! There's something outside; I need to attend to it first." Yang Ying felt someone physically shaking his arm in the real world and immediately terminated the duel.

Tarot, hearing this, retracted his dual blades and stepped back a few paces to create distance.

In the real world, Yang Ying opened his eyes while reclining on the lounge chair and saw Katerina immediately.

"Commander, the Observer reports a situation. Please follow me quickly," Katerina said rapidly.

"Alright." Yang Ying rose instantly and followed Katerina into the lounge.

The yacht was only equipped with civilian-grade pathfinding radar, intended to prevent collisions with space debris; its power output was low and useless in combat.

However, Yang Ying was prepared. He carried a portable control system with him. When not in use, it resembled a briefcase; when opened, it revealed holographic projection screens and a control keyboard. This system could communicate with the Progenitor Observer and function as a radar.

Upon entering the lounge, Brian was seated on a sofa. He had already finished calibrating the control system and placed it on a coffee table before him.

The holographic screen displayed a small fleet composed of five light warships, all moving directly toward the yacht.

"What is the current status?" Yang Ying asked, taking a seat next to Brian.

"The Observer intercepted their ship identification signals; they are confirmed to belong to the pirate faction, though we can't yet determine which specific pirate group. Since we are currently on a relatively common trade route, we can't immediately tell if they are targeting us. But one thing is certain: they haven't detected us yet."

Brian tapped a few keys on the console. The holographic image suddenly zoomed out tens of thousands of times, shrinking the pirate fleet to a single red dot. A dotted line traced their vector, which intersected with another blue dot.

"That's us," Brian indicated the blue dot.

"It's been less than half a day from the decision to our departure. Only those at the base know. Even if the news leaked to the Kussen Corps, they wouldn't know our exact departure time and route. In my opinion, it’s unlikely these pirates are after us," Yang Ying mused, making a gesture to Brian.

Brian shifted slightly to the side, clearing the spot in front of the control station.

Yang Ying sat down at the console. He had learned how to operate this type of control system while at the base, and now he was growing somewhat proficient. He skillfully input several commands on the keyboard, and a series of analytical data appeared on the screen.

"Let’s assume they are just passing by. We’ll steer clear and ignore them. Based on the current situation, we have two hours until rendezvous—plenty of time to find a spot off the main route to hide until they pass. Then we can emerge."

Yang Ying did not want to expend the Ghost fighters' missiles; missiles were valuable resources. Since neither party knew the other, expending his own resources to eliminate strangers was a net loss.

Summon the monthly passes! Both reader and recommendation tickets are needed!