Chapter 4: The Reason (Part 2)

Qi Wu Zhen said, “Why worry so much? Let’s go first. I’ve only started to develop an interest in planets now. I’ve never been to a planet in my life. It would be nice to go and have some fun. This world is very interesting, though it’s quite vast. According to you… are those stars planets?”
Guo Shier smiled and said, “Those are stars. You can’t go up there… Oh, right. Maybe Sister Zhen can. Stars have extremely high temperatures. Sister Zhen is a master at handling fire; perhaps she can gain something from them.”
Li Ran said, “Stars… Shier, they’re not something ordinary people can approach. But…” He glanced at Qi Wu Zhen, his tone somewhat uncertain, and added, “She might be able to get close. Well, if she can really make use of them, I think… her strength could reach even higher levels.”
Qi Wu Zhen’s eyes lit up. She had a great interest in improving her strength. Back then, in pursuit of greater power, she nearly died in underground magma. Nothing could stop her desire to become stronger. She said seriously, “Hmm, if I get the chance, I must go and see a star.”
The officers of those fleets were all stunned. Go to a star? Just to take a look? What did she think stars were? Not to mention humans, even starships wouldn’t dare get too close to stars. Not only could the immense heat be unbearable, but the various particles emitted by stars could also damage starships. And yet this woman wanted to go up to a star to take a look—wasn’t that seeking death?
Li Ran said, “Alright, let’s set off for Liewen Star.”
Liewen Star was an administrative planet in a border region of the United Spirit Kingdom, governing this sector of space. It contained about eleven star systems, seventeen habitable planets, nine mineral-rich planets, four starship bases, one defensive outpost, and four space fleets. The largest of these fleets was the one Li Ran’s group encountered—three-tenths of it, including its flagship, a heavy mothership-class starship, was destroyed by those seven people.
Liewen Star was a pleasant place to live. Oceans covered 60% of its surface, land accounted for 30%, and 10% was made up of islands. The continent was mostly flat with few mountains, only some low hills, making it very suitable for farming. It had originally been an agricultural base before becoming an administrative planet. After extensive renovations, it became one of the most beautiful planets in this sector.

At the speed of a rescue starship, it takes about half a month to reach Leiwén Star. This is the normal travel time; if forced to accelerate and fly at excessive speeds, it can be reached in just seven days. Thus, Li Ran ordered the ship to fly at ultra-high speeds under overload conditions.

The captain’s heart disease nearly gave way from fear as he stammered, “If we fly at ultra-high speeds, there won’t be enough time to avoid danger effectively. Moreover, overloading the ship will drastically reduce its lifespan… I…” Before he could finish, he realized everyone was looking at him as if he were an idiot. Sure enough, he heard a cold sneer.

Guo Shier laughed coldly, “Ha? The ship’s lifespan will be drastically reduced? Do we care? As for being unable to avoid danger, that’s your technical problem. Do you think the danger posed by the ship will affect us? Idiot, follow orders—fly at ultra-high speeds, as fast as possible!”

The captain grimaced. He had no choice but to obey orders. Who knew what terrifying things these powerful people might do? He had to compromise; survival was the priority at the moment.

The starship started moving at high speed toward Leiwén Star. Meanwhile, a communications officer hiding in a secret compartment on the ship secretly sent out messages about Li Ran and the others seizing the ship, as well as news of the ship flying rapidly toward Leiwén Star.

Li Ran and the others paid no attention. After boarding, aside from Guo Shier using the Soul Calming Cauldron to emit a soul shock wave, they ignored everyone else on the ship. The communications officer was lucky—the secret compartment he hid in had excellent insulation, so his soul only suffered minor damage. He lost consciousness for a short time before waking up. He had monitored almost everything that happened in the command cabin.

After sending the reports, the communications officer finally breathed a sigh of relief. He thought he was very lucky this time and might even survive or receive a reward. But he didn’t realize that by transmitting this message, he had also cut off his only path to survival.

The rescue starship flew at high speed for just four days, still less than halfway to Leiwén Star, when it was ambushed by several starships. With attacks from such a long distance, the rescue starship couldn’t evade them at all.

Li Ran and the others had already sensed the danger. They instantly teleported and rushed at the ambushing starships. The attacked rescue starship shattered into countless tiny fragments, turning into space debris—including the communications officer who thought he had done something heroic.

There were four medium-sized attack starships, which destroyed the rescue ship with a single strike. Two waves of attacks swept across the starfield until the rescue ship was reduced to fragments. By then, Li Ran and the others had already approached the four attack starships.

Li Ran said, “Leave one ship; destroy the rest!”

Wang Dayang was the first to charge forward, saying, “The one on the left is mine!”

Qi Wu Zhen said, “That black one seems to be the command ship. Shi Er, take Celine to take control of it. Leave the one on the right to me!”

Ku Mu said, “The ship below is mine!” He and Monier rushed over together.

Li Ran smiled and said, “Alright, since everyone has claimed one… Shi Er and I will take control of that command ship!” He teleported away with Guo Shi Er.

Soon, the four attack starships began to flee. But their movements were too slow. With the speed of seven people, once they got close, the starships became useless. In just a few minutes, three of the starships were completely destroyed. One caught fire and burned from the inside out. Another was split into seven or eight pieces, with countless people in various armors fleeing, along with numerous escape pods launching from the ship.

Li Ran, Guo Shi Er, and Celine took control of one ship. Guo Shi Er used the Soul Suppressing Cauldron again, this time with slightly greater power. Everyone on the ship was affected; without special measures, they would remain unconscious until death.

Soon, they found the captain and the commander of this small fleet, then awakened the crew responsible for operating the ship. They forced the captain to command the ship to continue toward Lie Wen Star, accelerating at full capacity as they rushed toward it.

The attack starships were much faster than the rescue ship. It was estimated that they could enter Lie Wen Star’s defense zone in less than two days.

Qi Wu Zhen said, “It turns out someone on the rescue ship reported our whereabouts. This is Shi Er’s fault.”

Guo Shi Er laughed and said, “Stop nonsense. Who would have thought there would be such a stupid guy? That was seeking death. He alone ruined everyone on the rescue ship. Truly, those who bring disaster upon themselves cannot be saved. Sigh, I even held back. There’s nothing to do—if someone wants to die, no one can save them.”

Li Ran said, “Alright, officers present, I hope you’re smart enough not to make reckless reports. Otherwise… it will be you who die.”

No one dared to report anymore. In fact, there were still some who had escaped on the starship. Such a large starship was like a labyrinth, with many places to hide. Even though Guo Shier used the Soul Trembling Cauldron to emit soul shock waves, there were still some peculiar dead corners. If someone hid there, they would wake up quickly. But this time, the shock waves he sent were quite powerful, leaving 99% of them unconscious, with only a dozen or so escaping.

Guo Shier laughed and said, “Actually, it doesn’t matter even if they report. Hehe, as long as starships come, we can switch to another one. I don’t believe they can attack without using starships—what else could they use?”

Everyone burst into laughter. At this point, they had become more indifferent, seeing nothing serious about it. Back in the World of Talismans, they had also dealt with certain powerful forces, and now, in this greater world, they were even more relaxed.

The officers stared at these few people in fear, extremely uneasy. Their clothing was very strange, each person wearing unique garments they had never seen before, with glowing runes on them, colors that seemed unnatural. Their speech was also peculiar, constantly shifting languages—sometimes understandable in parts, other times completely incomprehensible.

This was Guo Shier and his group’s way of speaking. Since they knew many languages, they kept switching languages while talking, not to show off how many they knew, but to express themselves more accurately. For example, if one language could accurately describe a scene or object while another couldn’t, they would choose the former. As a result, they used so many languages that people outside their circle could never understand them.

Ceciline had also taken a long time to adapt, and with some language guidance from Guo Shier, she could keep up with them. Otherwise, she would have been utterly confused, unable to understand much of what they said.

A day later, the captain reported that they were approaching the outer defenses of the Lineated Star.

Li Ran said nonchalantly, “Just break in!”

The captain groaned inwardly and said, “My lord, if we just break in like this… it will be considered an act of aggression, and we’ll be destroyed!”

Li Ran replied, “Can’t you understand me? I said break in!”

Wang Dayang stood up, sneered, and said, “Do you need me to teach you how to follow orders?”

The captain knew he couldn’t refuse. He had no idea if refusing would mean the starship would be attacked, but he was certain he himself would be attacked. With no choice, he said, “Everyone, keep the course and accelerate!” Sweat dropped rapidly from his forehead as he spoke.
He glanced back at his subordinates, seeing their faces as pale as death. Forcing a smile, he said, “Be careful to avoid all attacks… It depends on everyone’s luck!”
Guo Shier didn’t agree, saying, “Avoid? Why avoid? If someone attacks, just fight back.”