As Reinal resolved his personal needs, his pants were only half-down, impeding his movement; he was promptly kicked over by the Acting Captain, left writhing on the ground in pain for a long time.

Having been recognized, he decided he didn't care anymore.

The Acting Captain stripped off his outer coat and draped it over Bai Lanxue, hoisting her up. He roared, "Beast, don't let me ever see you again!"

Reinal slowly got up from the ground, pulling up his trousers, and said, "Are you content to be perpetually under Bai Lanxue’s thumb? Don't you ever wish to pin her down just once?"

Even if only physically.

The Acting Captain sneered, "Don't equate me with a savage like you."

Reinal let out a dry chuckle, "Fine, fine, you are so noble, so upright. Only I am the beast." He spat with hatred, "Look at what I used to be, and what I’ve been reduced to. I wasn't exactly a magnate, but I was second-in-command to a designer for the Interstellar Federation. Bai Lanxue failed because of her own affairs and threw me to this godforsaken rock to live a life worse than a dog's. If she did that to you, how would you feel?"

The Acting Captain turned toward the lift, "That is between you and her. It has nothing to do with me."

Reinal refused to give up. "Even if it’s not your business, don't you wish to supplant her and become a superior being? Are you truly willing to remain a mere Captain on this warship forever, never to leave?"

The Acting Captain paused mid-stride.

Reinal sensed he had struck a chord and pressed his advantage, "If you agree to help me, once we leave this planet, half of what I acquire will be yours."

The Acting Captain gave a cold laugh. "Do you expect me to trust the empty promises of a down-and-out fugitive to trust the words of a capable individual who is currently my superior?"

Reinal issued a threat, "You can trust her, but if you do, you’re finished. Silver Rune Star is a death world. Haven’t you seen the pile of bodies next to us? I can tell you, I am the only one here who can evade the punishment of this death world. If you help me, I can save your life."

The Acting Captain was, of course, aware that there was something fundamentally wrong with this planet.

It was precisely this knowledge that made him unwilling to linger, hurrying toward the warship.

Reinal watched the Acting Captain with venomous eyes.

The Purple Star was already halfway up the sky, and the $\gamma$-baseline intensity was increasing; at this level, a person couldn't last ten minutes, let alone half an hour.

Reinal was merely stalling for time.

Seeing the Acting Captain about to board, a thought struck him. He moved silently forward two steps, then leaped up, delivering a flurry of kicks straight into the Acting Captain's back.

The Acting Captain, encumbered by the person he held, couldn't dodge and pitched forward, sending Bai Lanxue tumbling to the ground as well.

Reinal charged, unleashing punches indiscriminately toward the Acting Captain’s head.

The Acting Captain dodged and fought back; the two men wrestled bare-chested.

Bai Lanxue rolled twice on the ground. Waking from the shock of the fall, she glanced down to find herself indecently exposed—her face immediately contorted. Then she saw an Interstellar Federation Captain’s uniform lying nearby.

Reinal, closer to Bai Lanxue, caught a glimpse of her sitting up in his periphery. He instantly abandoned the Acting Captain, threw himself at Bai Lanxue’s feet, and shouted, "Secretary-General, he is trying to assault you!"

Reinal’s clothes were intact, but the Acting Captain’s coat lay near Bai Lanxue, and the shirt he wore had several buttons ripped off during the fight, giving him the distinct look of a thug.

Shock and rage overwhelming her, Bai Lanxue had no time to process the scene fully. She snatched a handgun from inside her wide-open tunic and pointed it at the Acting Captain: Bang—

The Acting Captain had no chance to explain; he watched the bullet strike his forehead.

Reinal deliberately avoided looking at Bai Lanxue, adopting a swaggering air as he rushed to the corpse, kicking it viciously, "Beast! How dare you lay hands on Secretary-General Bai!"

Bai Lanxue was quite pleased by his knowing submission, which bought her time to cover herself.

She felt a deep, faint ache below—traces of violation. Trembling with fury, after hastily dressing, she turned and fired two more rounds into the Acting Captain’s corpse before boarding the ship.

Reinal scrambled forward, grasping her thigh, weeping, "Secretary-General Bai, I was wrong! Please take me with you; I can’t survive here anymore."

Bai Lanxue tried to kick him away, but her legs were too sore, and his grip was tight; she couldn't shake him loose. She could only snap in anger, "Let go!"

Reinal sobbed with tears and snot running down his face, "I won't! I’ve suffered enough here. Secretary-General, please take me away, I beg you, I beg you, considering I just fought for you!" He bowed his head repeatedly, appearing utterly wretched.

In truth, he knew Bai Lanxue loathed being strong-armed with appeals to obligation.

However, his current facade required him to play the role of a shameless, desperate man with no bottom line; he had to see the performance through.

Bai Lanxue’s neck veins bulged with rage, as his words reminded her of the inexplicable violation she’d suffered at the Acting Captain’s hands; killing him hadn't eased the resentment.

Her head throbbed painfully, and she used every ounce of strength to keep from collapsing. Clutching the gun tightly, she aimed it at Reinal's forehead: "Let go!"

Reinal cried pitifully, "Secretary-General Bai, spare me! I know many prisoners on this planet; I can guide you to meet them!"

This sentence finally struck a chord with Bai Lanxue.

Bai Lanxue kicked him over onto the ground: "Lead the way."

Reinal bowed and scraped subserviently, "Yes, immediately!" He scrambled up, half-rolling, and followed Bai Lanxue up the lift, stepping into the command vessel through the hatch.

This was Bai Lanxue’s battlefield command ship.

Reinal was obsequious, "Secretary-General Bai, please take the co-pilot’s seat. I will handle the navigation."

Bai Lanxue huffed and, steadying herself against the bulkhead of the command cabin, slowly made her way toward the rear lounge.

She was enduring two unbearable agonies simultaneously.

She didn't know precisely how far the would-be rapist had gotten, but her body felt violated, aching so severely that walking was difficult.

The second pain was in her mind, as if countless needles were constantly pricking her brain, making her want to writhe.

She knew she needed rest.

Reinal watched her receding figure, a vicious smile flashing across his face. He activated the command ship and steered it toward the opposite end of the planet.

Silver Rune Star was primarily divided into two sectors.

One area, where Ziye, the deformed pervert, and Redhair lived, comprised two-thirds of the planet. The remaining third was more chaotic and savage than where Ziye and his group resided.

He, Reinal, lived in that sector.

When he first arrived on Silver Rune, he was in the vast scrubland, managing to survive by chance after finding a hole blown open by an explosive, where he hid for several days chewing on grass.

The hardship and torment of that period had completely remade him.

Now, he was the dominant power who had subdued all the most vicious criminals in that one-third territory.

He was, at this moment, the overlord of this planet!

-RS