One minute later, the expert panel discussion was abruptly cut short, and the video feed plunged into darkness. In mere seconds, the screen flickered back to life, revealing a female host with a look of sheer terror, stammering an apology. “Just ten minutes ago, the broadcast room was hacked. That expert you just saw was not invited by our station; he was controlled by the hacker. We sincerely apologize for this incident…”

The galaxy erupted in shock.

The revelation that the Wolf’s Den Legion was composed of prisoners was astonishing enough, but before any explanation could be given, the broadcast was blamed on a station hack. Such a swift pivot suggested both sides were master hackers!

As viewers, whom should they believe?

Of course, the audience didn't truly care about right or wrong; they only cared if there was “drama.” In this era, nothing seemed entirely credible, or perhaps, credibility no longer mattered. They might as well watch it like a movie for entertainment.

Watching others squabble was the best way to pass the time.

However, before the host could finish her statement, the screen plunged into darkness once more.

This time, the darkness lingered.

The viewers, who had been engrossed, felt a distinct disappointment at the sudden loss of content. Many quickly flipped their channels, searching for something with more plot development…

Zi Ye watched the channel change, and only when the screen went completely dark did she let out a sudden breath. She leaned back, sinking heavily into the captain’s chair. On the surface, at least, this incident was over.

What needed to happen next was to keep an eye on the broadcasts, identify the supposed expert and the powers behind him, and resolve the entire issue permanently.

But this was not something she could handle alone.

She needed to return to the Wolf’s Den.

Zi Ye’s hands moved swiftly across the controls as she piloted the Marauder through another warp jump, simultaneously sending a message to Ah Piao via silver link.

She hadn’t forgotten that Ah Piao was once one of the most renowned hackers in the galaxy.

Even though the current Ah Piao was a clone, he hadn’t forgotten his skills.

Ah Piao was currently an embedded operative for the Wolf’s Den within the Interstellar Federation. Regardless of whether he knew about this incident, he absolutely had to show his position. Otherwise, this pervert—she had to eliminate Ah Piao again and create yet another clone!

—She had to admit, when dealing with clones, she was far less lenient than she was with actual humans. Clones, no matter how perfectly they mimicked humanity, were ultimately not human.

Ah Piao received the hypersignal and simply asked, “Little Stink, do you know they plan to blow up the Wolf’s Den?”

Zi Ye was angered by his apparent inaction and sneered, “Do I know? Does it matter if I know or not?”

Ah Piao replied, “Don’t be angry with me. I am currently at the Wolf’s Den, working on defenses with Iron Hand.”

Zi Ye pressed, “Which aspects are you primarily responsible for?”

Ah Piao stated, “System protection.”

Zi Ye commanded, “You don't need to do that anymore. Did you see the expert panel broadcast just now? Go find that expert and whoever is behind him. Do it as fast as possible! Otherwise, who knows which TV channel they’ll hijack next.”

Ah Piao asked, “What about the protection work?”

Zi Ye replied, “I’m almost back. Ah Can will assist you. Ah Can’s network skills aren't as good as yours, but his communication and system skills are quite decent.”

Ah Piao considered it. “Alright, I’ll go immediately.”

Zi Ye cut the hypersignal and asked Little Sprout, “Dou Dou, do you think he’s trustworthy?”

Little Sprout didn't answer directly: “Whether he’s trustworthy isn’t important. What’s important is…”

Zi Ye inquired, “What is it?”

Little Sprout flapped its wings. “Someone is approaching!”

Zi Ye remained calm and collected. “Which vector?”

Little Sprout didn’t answer, instead instantly deploying a light screen that overlaid the Marauder’s own display. Its search capabilities extended far beyond the ship's built-in main computer, and its positioning was far more precise.

On its light screen, five or six fleets were clearly visible waiting near the star gate in the four cardinal directions ahead of her!

They had somehow predicted her travel route?

Zi Ye had no time for deep thought. “Change course. We’ll take a detour.”

Little Sprout immediately mapped out the three alternative routes. Two of them, alarmingly, passed directly through the Tem System, the most notorious pirate nest in the galaxy.

The Tem System was extremely poor in resources, but its geographical location was prime, situated at the center of heavily developed sectors. Many destinations required passing through it. This singular geographical advantage had fostered the galaxy's most savage pirate syndicates.

Over a hundred pirate groups were stationed in the Tem System, thirty of which were famous across the entire interstellar community…

The last remaining route avoided the pirate dens, but it led through a place even more dangerous than the pirates: the Interstellar Federation.

For this recent incident, Zi Ye estimated the probability of the Interstellar Federation being responsible was over sixty percent. Getting in would be easy; getting out might be harder than ascending to heaven.

Zi Ye chose the safer of the two pirate routes, initiated navigation, and sped towards the pirate territory. She would rather deal with pirates than face the Interstellar Federation. That woman, Bai Lan Xue—she absolutely did not want to provoke her before Zi Ye herself was fully established.

Zi Ye clenched her fists tightly and plunged headlong into the legendary system rated at a danger level of 100.

As soon as they entered, the Marauder blared urgent alarms: “Hazardous sector! Exit immediately! Hazardous sector! Exit immediately!” The navigation path map in the upper left of the console turned blood red, like a grim reaper's threat.

Zi Ye maintained peak alertness, engaging the fastest possible warp jumps while simultaneously checking all system data for anomalies. She repeatedly instructed Little Sprout to keep a sharp watch on their surroundings, stressing the need to remain unseen. In a hazardous sector, encountering no other vessels was the safest scenario. The more ships encountered, the greater the danger.

Little Sprout shook its head. “That’s a pipe dream.”

Indeed, in a system like this, avoiding pirate ships was impossible.

What worried Zi Ye most were the star gates. Star gates signified sovereignty; the two sides of a gate often belonged to different factions. In this pirate system, the gates clearly separated territories controlled by different pirate clans. Signals on either side of the gates were inconsistent. Even Little Sprout couldn’t detect what lay on the far side of a gate until they passed through it. Therefore, traversing a star gate was a gamble for Zi Ye, leaving her heart pounding with every jump.

However, her intense anxiety didn’t last long. At the moment they passed through the fourth star gate, her ship was snared by a Stasis Entanglement Beam fired by pirate vessels that had laid a massive net.

The Shadow Demon-class Marauder instantly became like a whale caught in a colossal fishing net on the open ocean—powerless to move, no matter how much strength it possessed.

Zi Ye didn’t need to deliberate. She ordered the robots to man the cannons while simultaneously opening the drone hangar, releasing all ten drones.

The priority was to attack the escort ships deploying the Stasis Entanglement Beams. Once those escorts were reduced to wreckage, no amount of entanglement beams could hold her. The only drawback was that being ensnared by the beam meant she could only cruise, not warp. Out of necessity, she pushed the cruising speed to maximum, weaving between the escort ships while firing.

With several recent combat experiences under her belt, Zi Ye remained remarkably composed. The Marauder was already sturdy, and Tang had equipped it with the maximum possible firepower. She tore through the cluster of pirate ships like a battlefield grinder, fighting desperately toward one direction, trying to punch a hole in their encirclement.

At this moment, Zi Ye felt she had only a single, last-ditch resolve. She could not, and would not, count on rescue.

There was an old adage in interstellar warfare: Quantity will always prove more useful than superior strength or armor plating. This was an absolute truth. Because no matter how powerful or tough a ship was, under a concentrated assault, it was destined to become debris—even an aircraft carrier, let alone a Marauder.

The Marauder initially held a slight advantage, using its devastatingly powerful heavy missiles to destroy a few enemy vessels, but the pirate ships kept pouring in, and she quickly began to buckle under the pressure. She wanted to jump, but she couldn’t move.

Sweat beaded on Zi Ye’s forehead and trickled down. She knew this time, she might not escape unscathed. She intensely despised this feeling of having the will but lacking the means.

Zi Ye took a deep breath and asked Little Sprout, “How much ammunition do we have left?”

If it truly came to that, her only option would be to launch all her remaining ordnance at once and then escape via the life pod. The life pod was cloaked and extremely small, virtually invisible in space. With luck, she might escape the kill zone.

Just as Zi Ye made up her mind to execute the desperate plan, a long, sharp anti-air alarm suddenly pierced the air behind her: Wooo—!

Little Sprout leaped up abruptly. “Others are arriving.”

Zi Ye was jolted by surprise. She watched as the pirate ships, ignoring her entirely, began scattering frantically in every direction, their escape speed astonishingly fast. Ahead, smoke and fire blossomed, and smoke billowed from the rear thrusters of several ships. A few weaker ones instantly disintegrated into wreckage.

Through the smoke and flames, countless seven-colored beams streaked across the void, forming the most beautiful, yet most terrifying, net of rainbows. White multi-frequency lasers, blue gamma lasers, green X-rays, purple ultraviolet beams, yellow standard rays, pale red microwave beams, dark red radio frequency lasers—they formed an encirclement from all sides. No matter which way the pirate ships fled, there was no escape.

This incomparably dazzling and magnificent light was more terrifying than the Grim Reaper’s scythe!

She didn't know what was happening, but she knew it was far more than one or two individuals arriving. This scale of firepower suggested at least two fleets. If she couldn't handle a disorganized rabble of pirates, she stood no chance against such a well-trained fleet.

Whether the newcomers were friend or foe was unknown. The only thing she knew for certain was that the Wolf’s Den did not possess such formidable fleets. And even if the Angel Domain had them, with An Jun Lie currently holding a legion assembly, no one would know of her predicament and dispatch a relief fleet of this magnitude.

In other words, they were almost certainly not allies.

She refused to sit still and await her fate; escape was the only option.

The very second the attack began, Zi Ye activated the Marauder’s shield auto-repair system while simultaneously initiating a warp jump, fleeing rapidly. Any force capable of instantly annihilating those galaxy-famed pirates was best avoided.

However, just as her warp engines began to spool up, a familiar, icy voice resonated through the acoustic balancing system: “Student Zi Ye, please remain.”