Xing Rui took the vehicle, his expression mysterious as he said, "I'll take you to see the space station entrance. It’s quite the sight."

Settling into the maglev car, Xing Rui steered them toward the station mouth, explaining on the way, "The Kira Space Station is bustling at night. Hundreds of ships dock every evening. Last time, I even saw the Night God aircraft carrier—incredibly imposing. Thousands of mechs, too."

The space station was covered by a transparent protective dome overhead, peaking at only two thousand meters high. As they neared the entrance to the station’s docking bay, Xing Rui activated the maglev car to ascend to an altitude of one thousand meters and hovered in the air.

Ziye watched the scenery below shrink, while the view of outer space grew increasingly sharp. The signal beacons outside the station twinkled like stars in the night sky. Spaceships and mechs in space lit up their running lights, all converging toward the station. Looking into the station, the commercial districts, residential areas, and maintenance zones were a tapestry of lights, warming the heart.

The Kira Space Station itself exuded futurism; every structure featured sharp, distinct angles, all outlined by glowing lights at night. Moreover, a ground light illuminated the area every hundred paces, creating a scene of breathtaking prosperity.

Xing Rui retrieved two binoculars from the compartment and handed one to Ziye. "You need this to see clearly at night."

Ziye took the brand-new binoculars, then glanced at the battered pair in Xing Rui’s hand, asking, "Why did you bring two?"

Xing Rui feigned nonchalance. "I only had one before, but it got so worn out, so I bought a new one."

Ziye looked at the tag; it was a recently released model. He must have bought it just now under the pretext of using the restroom. She felt a flicker of warmth but didn't expose him. Silently, she reached out her other hand to take the old binoculars from him. Xing Rui thought she wanted a look and handed them over. She returned the new pair to him, then gripped the binoculars with both hands, gazing toward the docking bay entrance.

Chen Xing Rui watched her, then looked at the new binoculars in his own hand, unable to suppress a pleased smile. His neighbor girl was so thoughtful!

The view sharpened. Just as Xing Rui had said, all manner of ships swarmed in: Explorer-class frigates, Swift Swallow-class assault ships, Scythe-class cruisers, and even various smuggling vessels…

She turned her attention to the mech entrance. The mechs were countless, a dazzling spectacle that made her eyes swim.

Xing Rui boasted proudly, "Impressive, right? If we were walking the streets now, we’d see lots of famous captains and mech pilots out eating. They're all very approachable."

Ziye commented, "You’ve studied this quite thoroughly."

Xing Rui replied with a grin, "Of course. Otherwise, how could I call myself an enthusiast?"

Just then, a faint boom of artillery echoed faintly.

The soundproofing of the protective shield was excellent, and sound doesn't propagate well in a vacuum, so the noise was only a muffled thud. Little Sprout immediately sensed it and transmitted via brainwave to Ziye, "The station's ship entrance is firing."

Ziye looked toward the ship entrance. Sometime earlier, about fifteen kilometers out, a dozen pirate-faction vessels had clustered, surrounding an industrial ship. The industrial ship was clearly prepared and immediately entered the dock, while the surrounding escort frigates began to retaliate. A fierce battle had erupted right at the station's doorstep.

Closer to the entrance, over a dozen mechs were already locked in combat.

Ziye instantly spotted the 'Battlefield Mincer' Scythe-model. It fought brutally; its two massive, serrated blades acted like a grinding mechanism, slaughtering everything in their path.

Heavy missiles, cruise missiles, railguns, laser cannons… explosions rocked the vacuum, sending tremors through the onlookers.

This was the first time Ziye had witnessed true combat—mechs and ships alike fighting with everything they had, utterly determined to kill or be killed.

Soon, several pieces of wreckage floated in the void.

Ignoring the debris, the attackers relentlessly pursued the ship entering the dock.

Ziye couldn't help but ask, "Is no one managing this? They dare to fight in a place like this? Are they tired of living?" As she spoke, about ten interceptors and frigates sallied forth from the space city to provide aid. Seeing the tide turn, the pirate vessels promptly fled.

Xing Rui explained, "The station has administrators, but they only maintain the safety inside the station; they don't interfere with what happens on the periphery. Space is the responsibility of the Space Police, but how can their speed match that of pirates? Also, there are the Gate Cannons—did you see them? That row right there."

Ziye followed his pointing finger. Along the sharp angles of the space station stood a row of Gate Cannons, all aimed at the first faction vessel that initiated the attack.

Ziye's eyes widened. "Why did it only hit one ship?"

Xing Rui opened his mouth to explain, but the words caught in his throat, and he suddenly looked rather lost; he genuinely didn't know the answer either. He mumbled vaguely, "Perhaps they wanted to capture the leader first, ha ha."

Little Sprout cast him a sidelong glance and transmitted to Ziye via sonic wave, "Don't listen to his nonsense. I just checked: the Gate Cannons are an automated system. They fire at whoever strikes first."

Ziye suddenly understood. Just as she was wondering whether to tell Xing Rui, he sighed, "The world is getting messier and messier. They're openly robbing right at the station entrance!"

Little Sprout sneered, "Why wouldn't they rob? No place is absolutely safe. The Space Police are tasked with punishing criminals, not being bodyguards."

Ziye started, looking nervously at Xing Rui. He showed no reaction and continued watching the station entrance. Ziye then realized Little Sprout had only spoken to her.

What Little Sprout said made sense, but witnessing such violence firsthand made her inexplicably uneasy.

Mankind had evolved to this point, not toward greater civilization, but toward more direct, cold-blooded action—doing what they wanted, fighting whom they wanted, robbing whom they wanted, more directly, more cruelly.

Survival of the fittest.

The universe would always be a playground for the strong.

Ziye sighed, "I wonder what they fight so hard for?"

Xing Rui frowned. "They are pirates. Pirates target specific cargo, follow it all the way to the station entrance, and wait until the target vessel is being guided into the dock to strike. If the target is lucky enough to enter the station, they'll ambush them again at the exit the next day—it’s outrageous! If you ever encounter pirates, run immediately. Sometimes they attack passersby indiscriminately. So hateful!!"

Ziye recalled the pirates she encountered near the wormhole when fleeing Silver Seal Star and had to agree with Xing Rui; they truly did attack indiscriminately.

To escape pirate attacks, she had to become stronger herself!

Little Sprout nudged her and projected into her mind, "In this world, having more ships is always more likely to win a battle than being a better pilot. So, if you ever realize you're being tracked, warp away at maximum speed—that's the trick."

Ziye, whose body had been somewhat stiff, felt her negative emotions dissipate somewhat after hearing Little Sprout's calm analysis. She lowered the binoculars, patted her face, and cuddled Little Sprout, playing with it.

Whenever she felt down, she would stroke Little Sprout's soft fur like this, helping her mood settle.

On the way back, Ziye was somewhat subdued.

Xing Rui tried to comfort her. "I’m really sorry that your first time here involved such a violent scene. Don't worry; unless you accidentally stumble into a pirate nest or transport high-value cargo, they usually won't block you at the space city entrance."

Ziye paused the hand stroking Little Sprout and asked, "Why not?"

Xing Rui set the maglev car to auto-pilot and leaned back in his seat. "It takes a lot of time and energy to corner a single vessel. They can't be bothered with things that aren't worth much. That’s what makes them so detestable! Once they target you, it becomes endless."

Ziye considered it. Regardless of the situation, pirates had only one creed: profit.

Back at her residence, Ziye thanked Xing Rui and went home.

Little Sprout projected the footage of the skirmish, asking Ziye to watch it again. All the videos Little Sprout recorded were three-dimensional, showing every minute detail as if presenting the scene anew.

Watching it a second time, the shock didn't hit Ziye as hard. She sighed, "Pirates are truly a detestable presence."

Little Sprout fluttered its transparent wings. "In a way, they aren't wrong. This is a world of survival of the fittest. This trip out was good for you; you need to understand the world first before you know how to deal with it."

Ziye felt gloomy, reached out to pinch its cheek, wanting to say something but finding no words, so she simply decided to wash up and sleep.

Sleep was the quickest way to forget unhappiness. By the next day, Ziye woke up feeling completely refreshed. She pulled up the video of the platinum-level rich man, watched it again to bolster her spirit, and then checked her online shop.

The shop was utterly deserted.

The traffic was less than 100 views, and more than a dozen of those were spam advertisements trying to promote other shops.

Ziye knew she couldn't rush things. Anyway, with 120 looking after it, there was no immediate problem.

The main issue was that she didn't have much in her own shop worth showing off.

People who buy component blueprints are usually those capable of manufacturing them, or at least skilled in assembly and fitting. However, these individuals would typically source the parts they need directly from the market rather than buying blueprints. Therefore, component blueprints were almost completely ignored.

Buyers of mech blueprints were usually mech manufacturers. These companies undoubtedly had designers they collaborated with and certainly wouldn't come to an unknown little shop to buy blueprints whose authenticity they couldn't even verify—and even if they wanted to buy, they probably wouldn't be impressed.

Except for the Divine Crow-model, which was primarily designed by Tang Shan, her designs generally didn't catch the eye of major manufacturers. Thus, for now, she needed to design several more blueprints to establish a reputation; otherwise, even if a major manufacturer showed interest, she wouldn't be able to hold their attention.

Ziye firmly resolved to focus on researching products before worrying about sales.

When she was on Silver Seal Star, she had studied various mechs, but apart from Tang Shan's work, many were older models. She lacked sufficient knowledge of the new designs. Her only recourse, besides Little Sprout researching and acquiring different mech models daily for her study, was to find targets at the pilot training bases.

Following behind others, no matter how skilled she became, she would only ever be a capable mech technician, not a master. Her goal was to integrate all this knowledge, establish her own school of thought, and become unique.

Little Sprout glanced at her troubled gaze fixed on the online shop and sneered, "Alright, no matter how you fuss, it'll look the same. If you really want to get this shop going, these few blueprints won't cut it."

Ziye was hit right where it hurt and shot it a sharp glare. "What do you suggest, then?"

Little Sprout flicked the antenna on its head, acting proud. "Beg Master, and I'll tell you."