Chapter 598: Man vs. Fleet
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
It had all happened so quickly and so suddenly that the galactic pirates inside the pillaging ships around were stunned for a moment. When their boss Sykes were rolling in the vacuum space, only then did they realize that this was an attack.
“Quick! Help boss!”
“The enemy should be in the main ship. Surround it and don’t let him get away!”
As the galactic pirates yelled at each other, two pillaging ships closed in on Sykes, and the rest of the pillaging ships quickly formed a surrounding formation.
Through the porthole, Han Xiao saw the pillaging ships turn around and aim their cannons at him. Unworried, he smiled and contacted Phillip in his helmet.
“Phillip, assist me in virtual hacking.”
“Order confirmed. Switching to virtual sights, hum...”
The tactical screen inside the helmet showed the hacking interface with a complex data stream. Green beams of light shot out from the chest of the mechanical suit and formed a virtual control panel. Han Xiao quickly typed the code.
The first one that he was going to hack was the Purple Snake Space Pirates’ main ship that he was on.
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You have used [Virtual Intrusion] on Purple Snake Battleship.
Beginning to crack firewall (Level 2).
Undergoing level 1 authentication... Authentication passed!
Undergoing level 2 authentication... Authentication passed!
Intrusion successful! You have obtained the operational authority of Purple Snake!
Authority Level: Highest
Data has been sampled!
Backup generation complete!
+10% Success Rate, +25% Speed when hacking machinery controlled by the same artificial intelligence.
Your authority has been blocked by the other party’s artificial intelligence, undergoing authentication... Authentication successful!
You have successfully retained your privileges!
Time till next authentication: 140 seconds
_____________________
The artificial intelligence used by the galactic pirate spaceship was clearly way worse than DarkStar’s—their firewall was only level two. Han Xiao was already Calamity Grade, and his virtual hacking ability was also largely enhanced. Hacking a galactic pirate spaceship was a piece of cake, and he immediately obtained the highest authority level.
The higher the authority level obtained on the first intrusion, the lower the difficulty of hacking, and vice versa. This meant that the artificial intelligence of Purple Snake Space Pirates was no match at all.
The model of Purple Snake appeared on the control panel; all the modules were usable. Han Xiao clicked on the shield module.
“Activate shield with full power output.”
The next moment, an oval-shaped light blue electromagnetic shield shrouded the entire spaceship.
Dong! Dong!
Outside the porthole, the tens of pillaging ships started firing immediately after seeing the shield activated. Cannons exploded on the shield nonstop, and the inside of the spaceship was trembling.
“The shield can last a few minutes, so there’s more than enough time.”
Without any worry or panic, Han Xiao started to hack the other targets.
He did not throw Sykes out just because he wanted to but to obtain control of this main ship and defend against the focus fire from the galactic pirates.
Sykes was one of the weaker ones in the Calamity Grade, so Han Xiao had a very high chance of winning if it was a duel. However, this was not a duel.
He was facing an entire galactic pirate fleet!
Han Xiao’s initial plan was to snatch an advantageous location and make use of his ability as a Virtual Mechanic!
Not far away, Sykes was still floating in space. Although he could move by using energy, he was not a Pugilist, and his Esper ability did not enhance his movement speed.
As soon as he turned, he saw two pillaging ships piloted by his subordinates approaching that were clearly there to fetch him. Sykes’ eyes gleamed, he used his energy and approached them.
Only at this moment did Sykes have the time to think of what to do next.
He initially did not want to become Han Xiao’s foe, but now that Han Xiao had approached him, this could no longer be resolved peacefully. They were enemies!
Sykes was boiling, clenching his teeth. The fact that Han Xiao had come alone made him feel like Han Xiao did not take Purple Snake Space Pirates seriously at all.
Since that was the case, he would get rid of Black Star immediately without caring about anything else!
Murderous intent appeared in Sykes’s mind.
The two pillaging ships finally drew close, so Sykes stopped his train of thought and prepared to wait for his subordinates to open the hatch for him.
Suddenly, something unexpected happened!
The two pillaging ships fired light cannons one after another, toward Sykes. His vision instantly became filled with white as a sense of burning quickly approached.
Sykes’s expression changed drastically!
Inside the under fire Purple Snake, two more virtual models of pillaging ships appeared on Han Xiao’s control panel. He had noticed the spaceships heading toward Sykes long ago, so he had first obtained authority over them. He did not want Sykes to end up in another ship.
His fingers danced on the control panel so quickly they left blurry silhouettes behind—his typing speed was astounding, and the artificial intelligence of the pillaging ship was no match. The pillaging ships became Han Xiao’s one after another. Fewer and fewer attacks were aimed at the main ship. Instead, the pillaging ships controlled by Han Xiao started firing at the other galactic pirates. The galactic pirates were in a panic.
A Calamity Grade Virtual Mechanic could easily deal with an entire galactic pirate fleet alone!
This was especially so in the late stages of the Mechanic class, when at this level, their combat capability was extraordinary, able to adapt to both duels and team fights.
The situation changed completely. A few people realized that things were going south and immediately escaped with their ships. There was no such word as ‘loyalty’ in the galactic pirates’ dictionary.
The battle lasted more than ten minutes. The cannon fire gradually lessened. Other than the spaceships that escaped or were destroyed, all the other spaceships were now controlled by Han Xiao.
Han Xiao walked through the captured ships one by one and carried out the remaining work—dealing with the galactic pirates inside. Some stronger ones were not killed, including the Grade B officers of the galactic pirate group. They were all tied and thrown into the Purple Snake. As for the hole in the ship, it had already been repaired by maintenance robots.
Capturing Sykes was not much trouble—Han Xiao used many ships and focused their fired on him. Although the power of the cannons of those spaceships was thousands of miles away from the DarkStar main cannon, they had the quantity to make up for it. Sykes had a huge mobility problem in space, so it was very difficult for him to dodge. He was basically a live target. It was brutal, and even Han Xiao did not have the heart to watch it.
After making sure that Sykes was almost done for, only then did Han Xiao control the spaceship to drag Sykes back to Purple Snake. He then threw him aside with the other galactic pirates.
“Bo—Boss...”
All the captured galactic pirates looked at the burnt, almost dead Sykes. They could not help but feel terrified.
Grade As rarely became galactic pirates. The unity of the Purple Snake Space Pirates came from how strong Sykes was—he made his subordinates feel very confident.
However, Sykes had easily been defeated, so his strong image in their mind had shattered.
The more they admired Sykes before, the more they were afraid of Han Xiao now.
“Some escaped, but they were all unimportant minions.”
Han Xiao stood in front of them as he took off his Berserk Ape. All living galactic pirates were before him, so there was no need to hack anything anymore. The spaceship was in his hands.
Taking account of the spaceships that had escaped, he had seized twenty-four spaceships. Although most of them were cheap pillaging ships, there was the main ship that was a Grade Crow battleship, so it was not a bad return.
Sykes was heavily injured; his limbs were all locked by electromagnetic cuffs. He lay sideways on the floor and glared at Han Xiao with hatred and rage.
“Don’t look at me like that. You messed with someone, so you should have been prepared for this.” Han Xiao shrugged.
Sykes chortled with despair, speechless.
“Calamity Grade Supers should be able to last longer,” Han Xiao murmured.
He was not going to go easy on a captive. With bright eyes, he took out the Super-Gene Extractor and approached Sykes step by step.
Seeing Han Xiao’s passionate eyes, Sykes suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. He then recalled Befuli’s terrifying state, and his expression instantly changed. Trying to be tough, he yelled, “Don’t come closer! I will kill you! I will kill you for sure! Don’t! Don—”
Han Xiao ignored it all and plunged the Super-Gene Extractor right into Sykes’ veins, extracting his Super-Gene. The product was three tubes of dark red Ability Potions, thick as blood.
Sykes felt a sense of weakness coming directly from his bones. The little energy he had left was gone. The Esper power that he was so used to using could not be sensed anymore. It was like he had suddenly lost his body’s senses, and he panicked.
This time, Han Xiao took out a fresh new Ability Potion and gulped it down.
Sykes’ entire body trembled. Looking at Han Xiao gobbling his blood, he was submerged in horror. His eyes widened, and his lips shivered.
Not just him, all the other captive galactic pirates saw this and felt terrified and uneasy.
_____________________
You have received [Character Summon Card – Sykes (Temporary)]
[Character Summon Card – Sykes (Temporary)]: Purple Poison – Tide
Release a large amount of liquid poison, spreading out in all directions from the user. This acidic poison causes continuous damage every five seconds. The poison will not disappear after being released. It can be used to form acidic terrain or reused.
Damage: 580 – 920
This Character Summon Card will expire in 15 days.
_____________________
Skills had many abilities. The abilities extracted by the Ability Potion were random, but they were all different ways to use the Esper power.
This was the type of Esper ability that could produce physical materials. Although it was comparatively weak in battle, the produced materials would not disappear, so there were many more ways to use it.
The destructive power of this Esper ability is actually really high. As long as he has enough time, he can make enough poisonous liquid to cover an entire land or even an entire planet, making it lifeless...
The way Han Xiao looked at Sykes changed. It was like he was looking at a biochemical weapon, with slight disappointment.
You have such a strong Esper ability, but you chose to be a galactic pirate‽
Not long after, Ability Potions were made from all the captive galactic pirates. Han Xiao checked all the abilities then imprisoned everyone. Sykes received special treatment from him.
The Purple Snake Space Pirates have finally been dealt with. That cost me more than half a month...
Han Xiao looked on the forums. Other than Planet Sunil, the other players’ first mission had mostly been completed. Most of them were successful, with a few of them triggered new events, but most of them had returned to Base No.1 to receive new missions. While doing so, they also updated their equipment and brought Han Xiao another wave of profit. Everything was on the right path.
I got more than twenty ships this time. Maybe fighting galactic pirates is also a way to make a fortune, Han Xiao pondered. He had not been strong enough back then, but now that he was Calamity Grade, regular galactic pirates would be a piece of cake. Not only could he take their spaceships, he could also capture the galactic pirates and turn them into sources for Ability Potions or even exchange them for bounties.
Sykes had a bounty of 2.8 million Enas in Black Raven Civilization, but Han Xiao did not plan to exchange him for the bounty now. He wanted to drain Sykes dry first before giving him in for the bounty.
After arranging the loot, Han Xiao brought along the twenty or so spaceships and headed back to Garton Star System.
...
A few days after Han Xiao left, when the escaped Purple Snake galactic pirates shared their experience, only then did the Fawn Star System hear about this. Black Star had beaten up the entire Purple Snake Space Pirates alone!
This was not big news but not insignificant either. The Purple Snake Space Pirates had constantly been committing crimes in the Fawn Star System, so they were quite well known. When such a large galactic pirate group was defeated by a single person, there was quite a number of people who paid attention to it and were curious about the reasons.
Some people said that Sykes kidnapped Black Star Army’s people, some said that this was a hire accepted by Black Star, and some even said that Black Star was picking on galactic pirates to rob resources and the Purple Snake Space Pirates were the victims instead. All sorts of rumors were going around.
No matter what, a large group of galactic pirates being defeated was a good thing for the citizens of Fawn Star System.
Black Raven Civilization received this news and waited for Black Star to approach them and exchange the prisoner for a bounty, while they could take this opportunity to form a relationship with the rising Black Star.
However, after waiting for many days, they received the message that Han Xiao had returned to the Garton Star System.
The employees of the Bounty Department of Black Raven Civilization were confused. Black Star isn’t coming to change for bounty. Does he not want it?
Since he does not want the bounty and the Purple Snake Space Pirates are gone, does that mean we can just cancel the bounty?
This was common. When some wanted criminal was killed and no one came to claim the bounty, the bounty would be considered complete.
However, this was denied by the superiors of the related departments in Black Raven Civilization. They decided to keep the bounty and wait for Black Star to claim it.
There were many reasons. One was to use this opportunity to bond with Black Star. This amount of money was going to be there waiting for Black Star to claim it, so he would most likely come in the future.
Another reason was that they were interested in the relationship between Black Star and Godora. When Black Star was attacked by DarkStar back in the day, the Dragon Emperor had acted and shocked the world.
In that incident, Black Raven Civilization’s competition, the Holy Stone Civilization, seemed to have some sort of dispute with Black Star. This was an opportunity, and if they could get a connection with Godora from Black Star, they could be above the Holy Stone Civilization.
With Han Xiao’s current position and fame, every move he made was connected to the nerves of many forces. What he represented was no longer just himself.