The redhead burst out laughing, hugging Ziye and rubbing her ample chest against her. "Your sister's off to work now.

Don't miss me too much." Ziye glared at her, exasperated. The redhead threw a flirtatious glance over her shoulder, then sashayed away with a sway of her hips.

Ziye let out a sharp breath, poked at the tiny sprouts on her head, and muttered, "Time to work." First, she had to scan the stealth bomber inside and out, ensuring there were no critical structural flaws or defects. Then, she uninstalled all the original systems, replacing them with her own tailored Target Marking System, Target Locking System, Scanning System, Detection System, and so on.

Ziye’s set of systems wasn't just impressive in the interstellar community; they were exceptionally powerful! —All thanks to the little sprouts.

Systems processed by the little sprouts were three times more potent than standard ones. For example, where other scanning systems could only detect ships within a 10km radius, hers could scan ships 30km away without being detected.

The key to piloting a stealth bomber was remaining undetected. Ziye instructed the little sprouts to optimize and upgrade several critical systems, boosting the bomber's performance by a full quarter.

After installing the systems, she checked the stealth mechanism and began the assembly of the stealth bomber. Assembling a stealth bomber was fundamentally the same as assembling a mecha, but there were vastly more components, and the process was far more intricate.

While Ziye had the little sprouts run simulation systems for the bomber, she quizzed the redhead about the piloting requirements. Black Beard wasn't familiar with piloting, but he knew exactly which manufacturer offered the best cost-performance ratio for equipment at the same price point, and which configurations represented the absolute pinnacle of extravagance regardless of cost.

With the three perspectives combined, the assembly proceeded exceptionally smoothly. After Black Beard started judging equipment quality purely by its monetary value, Ziye realized how flawed her previous assembly work at the Virtual Pilot Training Base had been.

At the training base, all equipment was essentially free—as long as one knew how to install it. Therefore, she had completely disregarded financial concerns during her past installations.

This time, for absolute security, Black Beard spared no expense, opting for a legendary "Luxury Loadout," demanding only the very best in every component. When the assembly was complete, Ziye calculated the expenditure: four hundred million credits—more expensive than purchasing an entirely new stealth bomber!

So, assembly was that costly... She quietly thought to herself, Maybe I should just stick to piloting shuttles.

Seeing her knitted brow, Black Beard patted her shoulder reassuringly. "You have to spend to make a return." Ziye looked up and smiled.

"With you here, I feel completely at ease." Once the stealth bomber was fully assembled, the redhead took it out for a test flight. Back in the villa, Ziye pulled out the route map she used with Ping’an to navigate through wormholes, finalized her route planning and predictions, and prepared for departure.

The biggest drawback of the stealth bomber was its capacity: only fifteen people, including the captain. This meant she couldn't extract everyone in a single trip; it would have to be done iteratively.

Black Beard wanted to come along, but Ziye and the redhead decisively refused him in unison: "You will not take up one of their spots." Black Beard sulked away to a corner to draw circles. The little sprouts wanted to come, but Ziye considered it for a moment before shaking her head.

"You'd better stay here and look after your son." The little sprouts tearfully returned to the embryonic cultivation tank, hugging it mournfully. In recent days, out of sheer boredom, it had discovered that the little embryo would move when it drank metallic liquid.

To encourage more movement, the little sprouts had dosed it with an excessive amount of the liquid. The embryo now seemed considerably bloated...

The little sprouts felt a pang of guilt about this. It covertly glanced at Ziye; seeing that Ziye appeared oblivious, it felt slightly reassured, wrapped its tendrils around the dropper, and added another drop.

The embryo’s plump little feet twitched slightly. The little sprouts cheerfully sealed the tank.

"Rest well, son." Ziye, seeing the gentle, watery expression on its face from a distance, smiled faintly and left. Having predicted the timing and confirmed there were no Void Storms along the projected route, Ziye packed up and set off with the redhead.

The view of space was eternally monotonous and serene, yet Ziye’s mood was one of indescribable surging emotion. Having reached open space, she already considered the Silver Rune Star her true home.

Now, she and the redhead were returning to that home. The redhead took the role of Captain.

Ziye served as the First Officer, primarily responsible for monitoring systems and predicting/detecting route safety ahead. The route from Kolai to Si’atu was safe, requiring little input from her, so she leaned back in her seat to rest.

Gazing at the airflow streaks passing the viewport, a sense of vague uncertainty settled in her heart. Often, she forbade herself from dwelling on her past activities.

But as she approached the place she once belonged, her thoughts inevitably rushed forward. Being abandoned in space, studying mecha repair under Tang Shan, meeting An Junlie, leaving the Silver Rune Star...

While on the Silver Rune Star, she had been content to drift, as her fate seemed beyond her control. Back then, she had thought that once she stepped beyond the Silver Rune Star, she would finally command her own life.

Later, having truly left the Silver Rune Star, she regretfully realized that she still hadn't managed to take control of her life. The most uncontrollable factor among them had been being taken as a student by Tang Wen.

She had learned much from him, but the last mecha dismantling incident had dredged up the deepest nightmares buried in her heart. Her revenge hadn't even begun, her spirit hadn't been liberated; she was still living within the shadow.

Perhaps extracting them from Silver Rune would give her the backbone to finally face Ilya. Hatred held too long in the heart would utterly corrode one's inner self.

The redhead suddenly spoke, "Little Stench, what are you thinking about?" Ziye snapped back to attention. She was about to say nothing, but then realized that the redhead’s life had been a hundred times more turbulent, and she might have experience in this area.

So, Ziye asked, "Have you ever hated anyone?" The redhead paused for a long moment, her pupils darkening momentarily before returning to normal. She laughed dismissively.

"Who hasn't hated a few people? But hate it or not, life has to go on." Ziye knew she had touched upon painful memories and felt a touch of apology, but she pressed on.

"Will you take revenge?" The redhead turned her head, her narrow, sharp gaze fixed on Ziye. "Do you think I would take revenge?" Ziye considered this and nodded affirmatively.

The redhead freed one hand to pat Ziye’s head, chuckling. "Not bad, you know me well enough.

A while ago, when I was squatting outside Kolai as a pirate, I ran into an old nemesis." "When I was abducted by the Fia World and transferred to the Interstellar Federation, that old bastard took advantage of my absence to seize my territory, cheat away my brothers, take everything that belonged to me, and even became a lapdog for the Federation. The day I saw him, I knew—the chance for revenge had arrived!" "I slaughtered all his crew, blew up every one of his ships, looted all his gear, and turned him into space debris..." Ziye knew exactly which incident she was referring to.

Such a breathtaking event, spoken from her alluring red lips, was not loud, but every word was crisp and clear, as cold and absolute as a queen of the dark night. Ziye looked up at her.

At this moment, the lines of the redhead’s face were exceptionally resolute, and her eyes shone with unwavering determination. "If time could be reversed, I would do it again.

Little Stench, remember this: take revenge at the appropriate time, and in all other moments, do not let those two words defile your life." She picked up her water cup, took a sip, and sat up straight again. "Once we reach Si’atu, we'll rest for half an hour to let the energy cells recharge." Ziye nodded.

"Okay." After the half-hour break, Ziye reset her focus and they departed again. As the jump drive activated, Ziye suddenly saw an interstellar track projected onto the virtual screen, instantly putting her on high alert.

"Redhead, get out of the interstellar track immediately! When we passed through last year, this track didn't exist." The redhead narrowed her eyes slightly, instantly altering the bomber's course, moving 6,000 meters away from the track and jumping parallel to it.

Ziye activated the detection system to investigate this inexplicable new interstellar route. Soon, the entire track network appeared on the optical brain interface.

She opened the star chart leading to Silver Rune, and comparing the two routes sent a chill down her spine. "This interstellar track leads directly to the Silver Rune Star," Ziye murmured, finding it hard to believe herself.

After confirming it multiple times, she stated, "99 percent certainty!" Even with the redhead’s usual composure, her expression betrayed confusion. The Interstellar Federation?

Or someone else? Ziye’s hands moved rapidly across the virtual screen without looking up.

"I'm currently scanning the Interstellar Federation's track leading to Silver Rune. I'll know the result soon enough." She paused, adding, "And I will drag out whoever constructed this track." She sighed inwardly.

She really should have brought the little sprouts along. She opened her mail client and sent a message to the little sprouts, asking them to investigate the track situation, while she concentrated her main energy on the path ahead.

The track itself posed no threat, regardless of who built it. The danger lay in the approaching wormhole.

"Unmanned drones, 120km ahead," Ziye said, noticing the email notification flash—it must be the little sprouts replying—but she didn't have time to open it. She warned, "There are life fluctuations nearby; they are highly likely to be pirates." "Damn it!" The redhead cursed.

Unmanned drones were the most effective weapon against stealth bombers because they flew erratically. If the bomber failed to evade them within 5,000 meters, their position would be compromised.

At that point, five drones could easily annihilate a single stealth bomber. The redhead slowed the speed, awaiting Ziye’s further confirmation.

Ziye locked onto the drones and magnified the view, then let out a sigh of relief. "The silver lining: they are sentry units." The redhead shot her a look.

"Naughty girl, you scared me half to death." Sentry drones were the most peculiar among the unmanned units; they possessed the greatest firepower but were incapable of movement. Therefore, as long as the stealth bomber didn't approach them, there was no fear of detection.

Ziye projected the deployment map of the sentry drones and plotted a safe passage route, sending it to the redhead’s control interface. The redhead frowned.

"There are too many of them, and I recognize this formation—it’s the pirate gang from outside Kolai. We can't afford a direct confrontation right now; let's find another route." The previous pirates had all been wiped out by the Angel Legion.

Following internal strife among the Kolai pirate gangs, the Interstellar Federation, in collaboration with various powers, had cracked down hard on organized pirate activity. These pirates must have relocated near the wormhole during that time.

Ziye expanded the detection range to a 200km radius to scout alternative routes. Upon scouting, she too felt frustrated.

To avoid the pirates, they would have to take a massive detour. Stealth bombers burned a lot of energy to maintain stealth, and a longer route was inherently less safe.

She relayed the two outcomes to the redhead, who gritted her teeth. "No choice then.

We cut right through the middle of them." Ziye felt a little uncertain, but seeing the redhead's face set like stone, showing no sign of worry or fear, she felt slightly steadier. As they spoke, four or five pirate faction ships suddenly shot out from the asteroid field!