Bai Lanxue narrowed her eyes, watching the ship glide over the space station, then asked, "What is their purpose in kidnapping her?"

Her investigation into Zi Ye was routine, though she couldn't deny having personal motives. Why would someone be so afraid of her getting close to Zi Ye that they would abduct her?

Could it be that Zi Ye held some unspeakable secret?

During this time, Zi Ye had already experienced three warp jumps.

In the lounge, she could see nothing of the outside. Even if she could, in the perpetually monotonous expanse of space, there was no way to discern her location.

Perhaps the distance was too great; no matter how she projected her consciousness, she couldn't hear Xiao Douya's response.

About five minutes passed when an application for docking sounded in her ear.

"Docking request accepted. Please dock within three minutes."

Those two rows of grim-faced men, staring straight ahead, filed out. Not a single one spared a glance for her, still helpless on the sofa.

No matter how she signaled with her eyes, they didn't see her.

Even if they had seen, they acted as if they hadn't.

The kidnapper leader sitting beside her finally moved.

He actually picked Zi Ye up in a horizontal carry!

Zi Ye was so horrified her jaw nearly dropped. If she hadn't been unable to speak, she would have screamed, letting her demonic sound pierce all their skulls!

The kidnapper leader carried her into the vessel's hangar bay. There were three airships inside. He chose one with a verdigris-bronze exterior, tossed her inside, settled in himself, raised the shielding, and detached from the main ship.

The moment Zi Ye scrambled up from her seat, her gaze swept over the airship, and she suddenly realized: this was no ordinary vessel—it was a military airship!

The military?

Zi Ye racked her brain but couldn't figure out which military officer she had offended.

Surely, they hadn't actually abducted the wrong person!

She inched over to the kidnapper leader like a cabbage worm and nudged him. He didn't even deign to spare her a glance. After the airship separated from the vessel, it flew like an arrow loosed from a bow, skimming the stern of the main ship.

Dozens of ships were docked in the shipyard, all suspended in mid-air, lined up perfectly. The airship zipped past the sterns of four or five ships at once. It slowed precisely, stopping before the hatch of a shuttlecraft.

The moment the airship settled, the shuttlecraft hatch opened simultaneously. The kidnapper leader picked her up and threw her toward the hatch, making Zi Ye's face turn pale with fright.

It was going to hurt so much when she hit the floor!

Before she landed, hands reached out from within and caught her. There was none of the expected pain of impact. Zi Ye tightly shut her eyes before cautiously releasing her grip a little.

Upon looking, her mouth dropped open and refused to close!

The lounge of the shuttlecraft also contained two rows of men, uniform in height and build, all with bronze skin, dressed in olive-green military uniforms!

What the hell, gangsters turning into soldiers. What kind of game was this?

She didn't have prosopagnosia before, but now she couldn't recognize a single one—it was infuriating!

The one who caught her was also a soldier.

He placed Zi Ye on the sofa in the center of the lounge in a standard lateral position, returned to his place in the formation, stood straight, and continued staring ahead. Zi Ye glared at them fiercely; if eyes could kill, these two rows of men would have died ten thousand eight thousand times over.

One minute later, the kidnapper leader entered the lounge and ordered, "Exit station." The high-performance military shuttlecraft managed to leave the station in just one minute. The shuttlecraft lounge had a viewport that allowed sight of the outside.

Zi Ye saw the exit resembling the workshop of a massive capital conglomerate. Then, looking at the dense swarm of ships and mechs outside, she suddenly realized: this was Kolai; they were here to switch ships!

Kolai was the best place to "launder" a ship.

Many magnates, merchants, or pirate legion leaders, when being tracked, would enter the Kolai Space Station, dock their ships in the shipyard, switch vessels for departure, or hide among thousands of ships leaving together to confuse pursuit. If time permitted and funds were available, they could leave the ship in the dock for ten days or half a month. If funds were scarce, they could sell the ship and buy a new one to continue their activities.

Zi Ye was inwardly astonished.

The kidnappers clearly knew this procedure and executed it with practiced ease, suggesting they did it often.

She almost suspected they were using military status as a cover.

What now?

The military shuttlecraft's speed was formidable, exceeding 600m per second, and after initiating warp jumps, no other vessel could match it. By the time Zi Ye recovered from her fear, they had already crossed the star gate belonging to Kolai.

The area outside was no longer Kolai's territory.

During the ship change, she seized a moment when the kidnapper leader wasn't looking to send a distress signal to Old Dog using her Silver Link. Even if Old Dog received it and rushed over immediately, he likely wouldn't catch up.

After leaving Kolai, the shuttlecraft continued high-speed warp jumps. This sector of space was clean, with few nebulae, high visibility, and well-behaved planets, with almost no asteroids.

What was peculiar was that they had to pass through a star gate after every warp jump.

Each star gate was different: some were exquisitely shaped like an Omega ($\Omega$), some looked like simple greenhouse structures, some were hexagonal enveloped in beams of light, and one resembled an ancient water wheel...

After passing through another star gate that was strikingly yellow and intense, the shuttlecraft slowed down.

Subsequently, Zi Ye saw an entrance gate that was aggressively opulent and very yellow, possessing a distinct Protoss flavor.

In short, the presentation was incredibly rich.

Zi Ye became even more convinced that she hadn't been kidnapped by the military, but by some tycoon who saw himself as a god.

But did she know any such tycoons?

Upon entering the station, the kidnapper leader beside her turned his head, reached out, and roughly tore off the tape adhering to her mouth. Zi Ye glared at him, and he looked back.

Zi Ye tilted her head and bit down hard on his arm!

She put all her strength into that bite.

The kidnapper leader was a man of considerable physique, with tough skin and thick flesh. Zi Ye strained with almost all her might just to manage to pierce his skin and muscle.

She seethed internally, wishing she were Dou Zi so she could pierce his skin and muscle with sharp teeth and corrode his bones with her caustic saliva!

The kidnapper leader was unexpectedly unfazed, a hint of sly amusement on his flat face: "Just a casual bite, don't exert yourself too much. Otherwise, if my hand gets injured, I won't be able to unlock your handcuffs."

Zi Ye released her mouth and looked up at him.

Blood trickled from the corner of her lip, making her pale face resemble that of a vampire.

The kidnapper leader glanced at the teeth marks on his forearm and suddenly felt a twinge of regret—why did he always like to roll up his sleeves? Now he had a fresh mark.

"You're going to let me go?" Zi Ye asked, her tone laced with disbelief.

Would manna fall from heaven?

Would a hard-won hostage be released so easily?

Absolutely not!

The kidnapper leader efficiently unlocked her handcuffs and then her ankle restraints, snapped to attention, and performed a military salute: "Welcome to Galen Station!"

What in the galaxy was this?

Zi Ye stared at him, baffled. A salute? A military salute? And using honorifics? And Galen Station? Damn it!

Galen was a legendary region.

It occupied little space on the star charts, but rumors claimed it was the safest and most dangerous region, bar none.

She vaguely recalled it being in the heart of the star map, a long, narrow shape stretching toward the upper right. As for its exact location or which legion controlled it, she knew nothing.

Among the people she knew, no one was from Galen.

Now, sitting in the shuttlecraft, facing a man dressed like a gangster saluting her with military precision, she felt like hundreds of wild horses were stampeding through her mind.

While still bewildered, the kidnapper leader continued, "My name is Colin Gail, aide-de-camp to General Stass. I request your guidance."

If ever there was a moment of utter shock, Zi Ye had just experienced it, instantly becoming scorched on the outside and tender within. So, this man was Stass's aide, and he had kidnapped her for a reunion?

The thought alone made the arm that had been dislocated and then reset ache violently.

Could she curse?

Damn it!

Dragging her here by kidnapping just to catch up—she seriously wanted to blow up his space station!

She endured, and endured again, finally suppressing her rage for the moment, and asked, "Stass, that... that..." She managed not to utter the word "bastard," "What is he doing by bringing me here?"

Colin Gail's face was as impassive as a coffin lid. "You will know when you see him."

Zi Ye sat up on the sofa and lightly kicked her legs. "Please help me unlock my ankle restraints."

Colin Gail complied, bending down to unfasten her shackles.

Zi Ye desperately wanted to kick him over, but then she remembered her true enemy was Stass, not him. She loosened her ankle and held back.

Just then, her Silver Link emitted a faint electrical current, gently tracing across her skin.

She opened it to see a message from Red Hair: "Little Stink, are you still alive?"

Zi Ye glanced at Colin Gail and boldly replied: "No need for you to come. Acquaintance."

Barely two seconds after sending, her Silver Link chimed—Red Hair was calling.

Given Colin Gail's presence, she didn't open the visual screen, only accepting the voice call.

"Little Stink, are you joking with me across star systems? I finally got the cannons set up, ready to have a major showdown with the Unified Command, and you’re off playing a family reunion game?"

Her voice was so loud Zi Ye could barely stand it. She quickly lowered the volume and apologized quietly, "Or do you want to come over? There’s a man here who can blow smoke rings just like you."

Red Hair cursed, "Blow smoke my ass! You—" Before she could finish, Old Dog snatched her Silver Link. "Zi Ye, this is Old Dog. As long as you're okay. We are two star gates away from you. Should we continue to retrieve you, or should they send you back?"

Zi Ye was quite moved.

Old Dog hadn't just come to rescue her; he had brought Red Hair along, pursuing her right to the doorstep.

"I'm not sure of the situation right now."

Old Dog said, "Very well. We'll head to Galen. Notify us immediately if anything changes."

Zi Ye was so touched she nearly cried—her own people were truly the best.

She blinked, suppressed her tears, smoothed her disheveled hair, tugged at her wrinkled uniform, lifted her chin, and said, "Take me to see Stass."