As Reiner had predicted, someone soon came looking for them. There were those Reiner had subdued, people unseen before who usually lurked in some corner of the planet, and even some from disguised training bases, including those from the Wolf's Den and the Angel Legion.

Bai Lanxue stood at the entryway and, with the air of a queen, announced she could take them away, but only if they served her for three years.

This term sounded utterly tyrannical at first hearing.

But for those trapped on Silver Talisman Star, unable to leave, three years was merely the blink of an eye.

Moreover, leaving before was one thing; who would enforce the term once they were actually outside?

Among the arrivals were some very shrewd individuals who began haggling with Bai Lanxue over the three-year service requirement.

Bai Lanxue paid them no mind, pulling up a chair before the hatch, setting her face in a hard line, and spitting out four words: "Negotiate? No way!"

The crowd, left with no recourse, finally signed their agreement.

After recruiting, she nodded. There were just over sixty people, with more than thirty of them being essential talents she had specifically listed.

She was quite satisfied with this number.

However, she sensed that Silver Talisman Star had lost its arms and legs, and she dared not linger, especially since the nights on Silver Talisman Star harbored too many volatile elements—the longer they stayed, the more perilous things became.

Therefore, she bypassed her original plan to train them into obedience first and immediately announced their departure into space.

She had immense confidence in herself.

Even if they hadn't signed that draconian clause, once in space, she still held the leverage of their criminal status; subduing them wouldn't be difficult.

Reiner was appointed the official captain.

Bai Lanxue's actions suited his own intentions perfectly.

The less control she exerted over this group of prisoners, the more advantageous it would be for his own plans once they reached open space.

He snorted coldly in his mind; this time, he was certain he would turn Bai Lanxue into the most beautiful wreck in the cosmos!

Meanwhile, the base soldiers disguised as prisoners covertly reported the situation to their respective legions.

The two, each harboring secret intentions, sat within the same command ship as it pierced through Silver Talisman Star's atmosphere.

The next stop was the wormhole.

Reiner, completely consumed by plotting Bai Lanxue's demise, neglected the navigation and plunged straight toward the wormhole. Fortunately, the first officer was a seasoned pilot and slammed the emergency stop button.

The command ship was structured like a forward-leaning sailboat. When the stop was hit, the leading section had already entered the wormhole. In that instant, those aboard felt as if something had violently pulled at them. Before they could recover, the leading edge, crafted from the finest alloy, was stretched thin like noodles and then vanished into the wormhole.

Everyone broke out in a cold sweat.

Reiner dared not act recklessly again and instead navigated the wormhole cautiously, weaving snake-like beside it.

With that forward section gone, the command ship was akin to having lost one wing; it was impossible to initiate a warp jump, as the immense tension from the jump would tear the vessel apart.

There was only one solution: cruise.

The distance covered by a wormhole was vast, making cruising incredibly time-consuming.

The command ship traveled continuously for a full day. The captain and first officer alternated shifts, and after several meals that nearly depleted their provisions, they finally saw a glimmer of hope.

This was because Bai Lanxue received a distress signal from deep space.

Bai Lanxue nearly spat a mouthful of blood onto the screen. She could barely save herself, yet someone was calling her for aid—it was truly... she couldn't find the words to describe it.

The sender of the distress signal astonished her even more: it was Tang Nada, the piece she had placed within the Tang Clan.

A while ago, after Tang Wen removed the Tang Clan's long-established second-ranked designer, Tang En, Tang Nada had soared in prominence. She had expected Tang Nada to achieve something, only to find that useless fool apprehended by Tang Wen, who immediately whipped him into submission within days of his promotion.

If she possessed an intact fleet now, armed with superior weaponry, she might have intervened to save him, seeing as Tang Nada hadn't yet become completely useless.

But now, they were barely capable of saving themselves!

However, the distress signal provided a realization: she didn't have to endure this agonizing crawl with only one command ship. She could request aid from the Interstellar Federation and wait for their rescue vessels.

She made a swift decision, sending out a distress signal to the Federation while continuing to cruise.

Yet, just a few minutes later, their path was blocked by a menacing battleship bearing down on them.

Having wasted a day on the road, Bai Lanxue's patience had evaporated. She roared, "Who dares block our way? Kill without quarter!"

The crew, hardened by violence, certainly wouldn't yield the path to anyone. In a way, they were just like Bai Lanxue. Hearing there was a fight to be had, they instantly energized: those testing the gun turrets tested them, those checking ammunition checked it, and those assembling rounds prepared for a major engagement.

Just then, the opposing vessel requested access to the local voice channel.

Bai Lanxue’s brow furrowed. "Connect it!"

As soon as the connection established, Lan Li's faintly smiling face appeared on the screen. "Good dogs don't block the road."

Bai Lanxue hated this type of person the most.

The sight of someone who looked like a pretty boy, smiled like a gigolo, and acted like a lunatic made her wish she could wipe him from the cosmos on behalf of the stars themselves!

She offered a cold sneer and waved her hand. "Fire!"

However, the moment the command left her lips, a Starburst Missile struck precisely at the command ship's front, right where the damage was located.

Boom—

The damaged section lacked armor, and the missile struck with brutal force, piercing straight through the secondary plating and structure. Those inside the captain's cabin felt the surrounding metal groan violently, instantly cracking like a spiderweb!

The person occupying the captain's seat was instantly vaporized into dust.

Seeing this, everyone else immediately activated their self-preservation protocols—escape!

How many ways were there to flee when a warship was damaged?

The answer was two.

One: escape via an escape pod.

Two: flee by piloting a mecha.

Other methods, such as jumping directly into space, meant certain death; as for finding an automated drone, that was out of the question—drones were unmanned.

There were over sixty people aboard the command ship, but only twenty mechas and three escape pods.

Bai Lanxue was most familiar with the command ship. The moment the missile hit, she entered an escape pod and forcibly detached from the command ship—she was gone!

Most others were unwilling to flee in escape pods and rushed toward the mecha bays instead.

Escape pods could jump and cruise at high speed, but they possessed no offensive capability; a direct hit meant zero chance of survival.

Mechas were better off; small as they were, they were fully equipped with shields, armor, and secondary plating, and they could fight back, greatly increasing their survivability.

It was easy to imagine the consequence of sixty-plus people fighting over twenty mechas.

The second missile hadn't even reached the command ship before a dozen people among the sixty were already dead.

One exceptionally brutal murderer, wielding a knife in one hand and a gun in the other, ensured that anyone fleeing ahead of him was either shot dead or had their throat slit by the blade—none survived.

He finally fought his way to the front, boarded a mecha, and smoothly slid out of the mecha bay, preparing to jump into the endless starry void when—Boom—

The battleship’s second missile was launched.

The murderer’s eyes widened as he watched himself jump directly into the explosion's epicenter...

Ultimately, only about a dozen of the sixty people successfully piloted mechas away from the command ship, including Reiner. The rest, those who hadn't died, huddled in the remains of the command ship, awaiting their final moments.

Then, the forward section of the command ship was torn away by the missiles, becoming debris.

They survived within the wreckage, but there was no rescue.

Those who escaped in mechas didn't fare much better—because the detestable Lan Li specifically targeted the mechas.

One missile was enough to destroy one mecha, like swatting flies out of the air with a swatter; once the attack began, none could escape.

Reiner, being utterly cunning, saw the situation turn dire, stuck close behind another mecha, and at the instant a missile struck, he reversed direction and quickly executed a warp jump.

The Interstellar Federation sent the Fifth Rescue Team. They followed the coordinates from Bai Lanxue's distress signal and unexpectedly encountered Tang Nada, who was being pursued by a Tang Clan fleet.

Tang Nada, having waited in vain for Bai Lanxue's aid, immediately signaled the Fifth Rescue Team upon spotting them.

The commander of the Fifth Rescue Team knew Tang Nada belonged to the Interstellar Federation, so he detached one-third of his warships to assist Tang Nada while the rest continued toward the location of the crippled command ship.

Tang Nada thought he was saved, but he didn't expect that even as the rescue fleet broadcasted warning signals, the Tang Clan plunderer that had been chasing him managed to intercept them.

Tang Nada couldn't help but curse loudly, "Tang Wen, what exactly do you want?"

Tang Wen's expression remained unmoved, neither happy nor angry. His thin lips parted slightly as he spoke, "No one who betrays me can live to leave space."

Even when coming to kill, he was dressed like the most fashionable model, without a single discernible flaw on his person.

In the past, Tang Nada had viewed Tang Wen as just an immature child, reckless and bound to fail in leading the Tang Clan. Only now did he realize he had completely misjudged the young master.

Tang Wen was practically an omen of disaster!

He had been chased by Tang Wen the entire way, yet no killing blow had been struck—it was like a cat playing with a mouse, watching precisely where the prey tried to run.

It was truly infuriating.

However, seeing the rescue fleet now, with four or five battleships at his side against the Tang Clan’s single plunderer, victory had to be his.

Tang Nada’s courage instantly stiffened. He sneered, "If you insist on pushing this to the end, don't blame me for abandoning sentiment!"

Tang Wen stood up. "I was waiting for you to say that."

With that, he personally took control of a turret and aimed it at Tang Nada's battleship.

No one knew how he made his move.

He seemed to have done nothing more than shift slightly.

The next second, an intense, fiery radio-frequency laser, potent enough to penetrate a planet, sliced across Tang Nada's battleship at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Hssss—

A sound piercing enough to hurt the eardrums rang out, causing everyone to instinctively cover their eyes.

That crimson beam of light, carrying the destructive power to cleave through anything, sliced Tang Nada’s battleship into two pieces in less than half a minute after it shot out!

There was no terrifying explosion, no shockwave from scattering fireworks; there was only a blindingly brilliant light.

In that single instant, it shredded everything obstructing its path.

Tang Wen was unstoppable!

-RS