Before the Integration Corps was stationed at Garon Station, that area was perpetually mired in continuous conflict—a hotbed of pirates, vicious legion rivalries, and frequent multi-faction brawls. Simply mentioning Garon would strike fear into others.

Several notorious pirate crews, such as the 'Compliance Enforcers,' the 'Bandit Legions,' and the 'Skull Syndicate,' all launched their careers from this very location.

Once the Integration Corps established its presence, they successfully suppressed the surrounding factions, finally restoring a measure of peace.

Now, with an industrial vessel hijacked, does this mean the hard-won peace is once again precarious?

Stas rubbed his temples, clearly troubled.

That evening, after he and Ziye finished dinner, Coringale rushed over: “Report, I’ve finished editing the entirety of the footage from the hijacking of the Fia Clan industrial vessel. Do you want to watch it now?”

Ziye’s heart skipped a beat—an industrial vessel?

Could it be the same one Red Hair hijacked?

She quietly made a mental note. Stas turned to her and said, “We have some matters to attend to here. Perhaps I should arrange an escort to take you back to your hotel?”

Ziye desperately wanted to confirm if this involved Red Hair. She smiled faintly: “A classified incident?”

Stas chuckled, “No, just routine border trouble. If you’re interested, you’re welcome to watch along.”

Ziye returned his smile: “I’ve heard the people around here are quite formidable. It would be a good opportunity to see for myself.”

Coringale, sensing nothing amiss, linked the data to the massive three-hundred-inch virtual screen suspended on the wall. He clicked, and soon, a bottle-shaped transport ship, clad in space camouflage and glowing with yellow navigation lights, appeared against the vastness of space, heading toward the Fia Clan’s stargate.

Huh?

A transport ship?

Ziye exhaled silently, feeling a slight easing in her chest. Perhaps it wasn't the one Red Hair had taken.

Transport ships are a subclass of industrial vessels, existing purely for logistics, equipped with enormous cargo bays. However, they are a special type of industrial vessel.

Standard industrial vessels maintain a speed between 150 to 160 units per second, with a volume of approximately 200,000 to 300,000 cubic meters. They possess no defensive capabilities and are normally difficult to intercept; however, interception usually spells certain doom.

Transport ships have volumes comparable to standard industrial vessels, but they are outfitted with turrets, shields, and other defenses, making their durability far superior to standard industrial craft, capable of robustly protecting whatever cargo they carry. Therefore, they are typically used to transport high-value goods.

Admittedly, they have one extremely serious drawback: they are among the slowest vessels to traverse space, clocking in at less than 90 units per second.

Fortunately, most people don't dare hijack a transport ship because even if they succeed, they can’t get far; they’d be overtaken in mere minutes.

Red Hair hadn't sent her any further messages since the one yesterday. She must have successfully hijacked the ship and already fled to some distant star system to fence the goods!

She thought this while watching the screen.

Thanks to the highly mature Neural Display (ND) technology, everything in space felt as if it were unfolding right before her eyes. The transport ship reached the stargate of the Fia world, slowed its approach, awaiting a tractor beam to pull it through the gate. Suddenly, it froze. After a brief pause, it began to spin uncontrollably.

All three watched clearly: a small frigate had appeared by the stargate to the right at some unseen moment.

Stas frowned: “This looks highly premeditated. They used at least three Snare Devices.”

Snare Devices are one of the favorite electronic tools of pirates. Used within a distance of 15 kilometers, they can successfully interfere with an opponent’s operational systems, causing them to lose control and spin in place temporarily.

Coringale pointed above the screen: “Look, there’s another frigate approaching the transport ship up there.” That frigate was positioned above the stargate! The transport ship quickly regained composure, locked onto the frigate above it to the right, and fired.

The battle was thus initiated!

Cannons roared. The transport ship unleashed a heavy opening salvo using cruise missiles. Yet, due to its massive size and unwieldy movement, the agile frigate danced around it, diverting its attention. Meanwhile, the frigate concealed above closed in at incredible speed, hugging its hull. In just a few passes, it blasted open the transport’s main hatch and forced entry.

The transport ship’s emergency alarms blared, a thin thread of sound piercing the air, causing a buzzing resonance in the ears.

Ziye’s heart raced. This style… it was strongly reminiscent of Red Hair!

Stas knitted his brow: “Can we see inside the transport ship?”

Coringale reported: “We can only do that once we locate this specific vessel.”

Stas stroked his chin, remaining silent, likely stunned by the force of the boarding party.

Moments later, various pieces of debris were ejected from the hatch—tables, chairs, and even bodies… The transport ship began to turn, the frigates ceased fire, retracted their Snare Devices, and positioned themselves on either side, escorting it.

The trio moved toward the Interstellar Federation’s stargate.

The Interstellar Federation’s stargate was less than 1,000 kilometers from the Fia Clan’s gate. They couldn't jump; they had to proceed at maximum cruising speed. To reduce its mass, the crew aboard the transport began jettisoning cargo.

Cargo containers were tossed into space like trash, scattering everywhere.

Stas praised: “Clever pirates. You have to lose something to gain something.”

Only by lightening the load could their cruising speed increase, improving their chances of evading pursuit.

However, in Ziye’s estimation, the transport ship was still likely doomed.

She opened her SilverCom, located the message Red Hair had sent her, and then glanced at the desperate flight of the transport ship on the screen. Her anxiety grew. Could Red Hair have run into trouble, which is why she stopped messaging?

But here, in front of Stas, she wouldn't dare make a long-range call to ask, even if she had ten times the nerve.

Ziye felt like hundreds of mosquitoes were gnawing at her insides, nearly making her want to scream her lungs out.

Before long, a large contingent of frigates and battleships roared out of the Fia Clan’s stargate in pursuit of the transport ship.

At this moment, the jettisoned cargo containers in space played an extremely crucial role.

Most of the frigates broke off to chase the containers, leaving only the battleships to continue the pursuit. The battleships were slightly faster than the transport, but not significantly so, buying the fugitives precious time.

Ziye watched, perplexed: “What exactly was in the transport ship’s cargo hold that they prioritized seizing the containers?”

Stas nodded: “Indeed, that is a key point. Corin, have you identified the contents?”

Coringale stood up: “Report, the Fia Clan is maintaining absolute secrecy and refuses to disclose anything. To date, only high-ranking executives within the Fia Clan know what it is.”

Stas looked at the screen, then asked Ziye: “What do you guess it might be?”

Ziye shook her head, indicating she was equally baffled.

The transport ship managed to jettison about a third of its cargo, and under the escort of the remaining frigates, it finally spotted the Interstellar Federation stargate.

Once they crossed that gate, they would be safe.

However, four Fia battleships were closing in to surround it, and over a dozen mechs slid out of the frigates, charging toward the transport.

The three of them watched, collectively holding their breath for the transport ship.

Just then, one frigate suddenly turned, charging straight at the battleships, unleashing four or five torpedoes in rapid succession. After launching them, it slammed into the largest battleship and detonated in a massive BOOM!

Flames erupted everywhere, engulfing the battleship, which was instantly consumed by fire.

KABOOM—

A far louder explosion followed. The battleship blew apart, setting off a chain reaction that engulfed several others. A few mechs that were too slow to escape were reduced to wreckage in the blaze.

Thick smoke billowed across space, obscuring vision.

Amidst the chaos, the transport ship and the one remaining, semi-intact frigate slipped past the Interstellar Federation’s stargate, one ahead and one following.

Although wealth allows for cloning of one's body and consciousness, with a success rate of up to 91% for post-mortem activation, humanity remains deeply fearful of death, worried about becoming one of the 9% who fail activation, or worse, that the clone will no longer be them. They seldom invite death lightly.

They never expected the crew of the frigate to resort to self-detonation just to secure the transport vessel.

This spirit of sacrifice had been extinct for hundreds of years.

The remaining battleship—one fully intact and one heavily damaged—after a brief moment to regroup, also rapidly crossed the stargate into Interstellar Federation territory.

Even if they couldn't fire within Federation space, they needed to know where the target had gone.

The transport ship acted swiftly, immediately jumping to the nearest space station adjacent to the gate, docking in a shipyard, and remaining there.

The Fia battleships were left with no choice: one entered the space station to maintain surveillance, and the other headed home.

The immense scale of the ND effect made it feel intensely personal, watching explosions erupt nearby, witnessing the frigate self-destruct beside them. The distant twinkling stars, the nearby signal beacons, and the dazzling advertisements plastered on the stargate—all flooded Ziye’s consciousness.

Ziye felt as if she were mesmerized, gripping her SilverCom so tightly that when the screen finally went dark, she snapped back to reality, her back soaked with sweat.

She walked up to the screen and asked Coringale, “Could you replay that?”

Coringale looked at Stas, who nodded with noticeable interest.

The footage began again.

Ziye stood before the control console, fast-forwarding to the moment the people on the frigate breached the hull, zooming in. It was Red Hair!

A surge of blood rushed to Ziye’s head, nearly causing her to spit out a mouthful of blood.

Hey, Red Hair, can you try not to be so ruthless?

Now that the Integration Corps has you targeted, what am I supposed to do?

Countless internal complaints flashed through Ziye’s mind, but her face remained impassive. She continued fast-forwarding, pausing only when the bodies were tossed from the hatch, checking if any of the corpses were familiar.

Thankfully, they were not.

Then, she sped up to the moment of the frigate’s self-destruction. She recalled seeing a leg fly out amidst the flames following the blast!

Red Hair worked with Old Dog; her heart pounded wildly, terrified that the one who detonated was Old Dog.

The pervert had made clones of everyone in the villa, but she absolutely could not bear to see Old Dog harmed—absolutely not.

Finally, she fast-forwarded to the instant the leg appeared. She magnified the image again and again. Seeing that leg, she suddenly couldn't help but laugh, finally releasing the suffocating pressure trapped in her chest.

Hahahaha…

-RS

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