Before breaking free of the atmosphere, everything proceeded smoothly.

Once clear, Ziye shifted the mech into humanoid mode, retracted the wings, and plunged into the deep expanse of space.

She glanced back.

Silver Rune Star hung behind her—a crystalline violet planet veiled by a silvery-white aura.

How beautiful! This was the world she had called home for so long! Ziye praised it from the depths of her heart, feeling profound gratitude toward Silver Rune Star; without it, she would surely have become space debris long ago.

She would never forget that debt.

Beyond Silver Rune Star, she could see countless other planets far in the distance, much like gazing at stars on a clear night—some shone brightly, others were dim and silent.

Space held no ambient light and was intensely dark, yet visibility was exceptionally high.

Occasionally, nebulas or meteors streaked past her.

The mech possessed an automatic evasion function, so Ziye felt no immediate worry, yet an unsettling feeling persisted.

If travel could truly be this easy, Silver Rune would never have become a prison planet! Unease gnawing at her, Ziye deployed probes from the mech and initiated a scan to detect any surrounding dangers.

Nothing unusual registered within a 10km radius.

She was about to expand the range to 25km when Xiao Douya suddenly spoke with stern gravity: "Jump drive activating, prepare for transition.

Countdown: 3, 2, 1!" Ziye quickly braced herself, daring not to move.

Xiao Douya remained motionless atop her head, merely extending the small leaf sensor on its crown to link with the mech’s optical brain for comprehensive control.

The speed of the transition was blindingly fast.

Before Ziye could fully react, they had arrived at the wormhole.

For the first time, Ziye witnessed the legendary Death Zone.

There was no horizon.

At the moment of transition, the mech shuddered violently, rocking so intensely Ziye feared she might regurgitate last night’s meal.

Immediately, Xiao Douya cautioned, "Hold tight!" Just as Ziye’s rear settled back into the seat, the mech executed a sudden 170° turn—fast and brutal—nearly ejecting her like a projectile.

This was incredibly turbulent.

Fortunately, the mech's velocity was extreme, and the rough patch lasted only a fleeting moment before normal operations resumed.

Ziye opened her mouth, ready to exhale, when the alarm blared again: "Level Eight Void Storm, pilot with caution!" Xiao Douya executed another sharp maneuver, narrowly skimming the edge of a storm vortex.

Ziye watched the trails of disturbed air flash past both sides of the mech, feeling as if they were about to be sucked into the spiral.

It was more heart-stopping than any roller coaster ride.

Finally, the mech stabilized.

Looking out at the still profound darkness of space, Silver Rune Star was now too distant to see.

A touch of disappointment settled in her, and she asked Xiao Douya, "Is this An Junlie’s route?" Xiao Douya nodded, then shook its head. "We deviated 3% from the projected line just now to evade the Void Storm." "Will that be a problem?" Ziye asked, worried.

Xiao Douya deactivated the jump drive and switched to the warp engine, saying confidently, "No worries.

Whether we travel in a straight line to Old Dog’s place or make a detour to the Silver Rune Hotel first, the result is the same—it just takes a little longer." As events proved, it was much more than "a little longer." Because the moment the warp engine engaged, interference struck.

The mech’s optical brain blared another warning: "Warp interference detected.

Warp capability disabled." What? Ziye’s brow furrowed again.

Piloting a mech was a trial for the heart; every alarm sounded like a jolt to her nerves.

Now, they were being subjected to anti-warp countermeasures? This could only mean one thing: this area wasn't just inhabited; it was crawling with pirates! She recalled Red Hair mentioning that pirates often set up sentry towers near Dead Zones or secure wormholes.

These towers would be equipped with drone bunkers and warp disruptors.

Any passing mech or vessel caught in the interference—unable to jump—would be stranded and devoured by the pirates.

Therefore, a warp disruptor signaled a pirate ambush: interdiction, robbery, and murder.

Indeed, immediately after the warp attempt failed, three or four frigates closed in from the distance.

Ziye watched the approach with icy calm, her fingers flying across the optical panel to search for coordinates.

She located the sentry tower 60km to the front-left and immediately issued a voice command: "Target sentry tower.

Destroy target!" With a series of high-pitched whines, the target locked, and the laser cannon fired.

A brilliant swath of purple light sliced toward the sentry tower like a sewing needle, the sharp sound of it cleaving the airflow intensely unnerving.

But simultaneously, the frigates were closing in.

Ziye urgently executed the next maneuver: orbiting the sentry tower.

While warp was impossible, her cruising speed of 280m/s made it difficult for the tower to land a solid hit, and the frigates were relegated to chasing her tail.

Looking at the coordinates on the display, Ziye couldn't help but think of a game of cat and mouse.

Would she be the mouse? Her heart felt ready to leap from her chest! The sentry tower was constructed of reinforced titanium and steel composite—it wouldn't crumble in just a few shots.

Ziye kept firing while constantly monitoring the frigates' distance.

Frigates were a nuisance, especially those modified by pirates.

They were fast, and having several surrounding her created a deadly crossfire scenario.

As the pirate vessels drew nearer, Ziye’s heart hammered faster; she felt incredibly desperate! At that moment, one small frigate darted behind the mech, its compact hull allowing it to slip through her defenses, and slammed a heavy shot into the mech’s back armor.

With the report of the cannon, Ziye’s expression shifted.

A massive impact threw the mech stumbling forward a few steps, leaving a horrifying dent in the rear plating.

Cracks radiated out from the impact zone like a spiderweb.

Ziye glanced at the sentry tower, then back at the frigate behind her.

Her mood plummeted.

If she aborted the attack on the tower now, all the previous shots would be wasted.

If she refused to disengage from the tower, she risked being riddled with holes by the frigates.

She despised this feeling of utter helplessness; it was as distasteful as swallowing a fly.

She glared at the sentry tower and roared, "Adjust laser cannon beam to radio frequency mode—destroy it!" As expected, on the next shot, the sentry tower exploded in a dazzling fireworks display bathed in the laser cannon’s brilliant light, illuminating the vast, dark cosmos.

The warp disruptor was finally annihilated; warp capability was restored.

Xiao Douya immediately queried, "Shall I engage the warp engine?" Furious at the persistent frigates dogging her, Ziye decisively answered, "NO," wrenched the controls, and spun toward the escort vessels, unleashing a torrent of fire.

Though lightly armored, the frigates could still withstand the mech’s firepower.

As soon as they were targeted, they immediately counter-surrounded her.

Watching them charge heedlessly forward, Ziye’s fists were clenched so tightly her palms sweated.

She instantly regretted her impulsive decision.

If she had warped away immediately, she might have already escaped.

They had superior numbers, tougher hulls, and were on their home turf—more than enough advantage to deal with one small mech.

The urge to flee became overwhelming.

If she ran now, what were the chances of success? While their speed was marginally inferior to the mech's, who knew how many more hostiles were waiting ahead? If they encountered further interception, the outcome would be singular: annihilation! － [bookid=2356280,bookname=《》] A superb piece by a good friend, finishing today, quite substantial.