Chapter 3: The Mysterious Expert (Part 1)

The small starship quietly detached itself from the chaotic fleet and flew away into the distance.
With all the reconnaissance ships destroyed and most of the heavy and large ships damaged, what remained of the fleet were small starships. Most of the armed warriors fled to Liwen Star, while the rest, under the command of some officers, were busy rescuing survivors. No one noticed a small starship breaking away from the group and silently drifting away.
…
Ding Ningzi knelt in a void, trembling violently. A phantom hovered before him. The phantom asked indifferently, “Where is it?”
Ding Ningzi had been dragged into the void without understanding how. He was well aware of how stable this space was—capable of dragging someone in silently—so he could imagine just how powerful the phantom before him was. To this point, he still didn’t know who the other party was, but their overwhelming presence pressed down on him so heavily that he could barely move. Fear surged through him like a tide, causing him to tremble uncontrollably.
“What… what is it?”
The figure smiled faintly and said, “You really have a short memory!” Then, they gently extended a finger and tapped lightly.
Ding Ningzi realized something was wrong. He tried to dodge, but his entire body was controlled by a strange force, leaving no room for evasion. A silver needle as thin as a hair suddenly pierced his forehead, and instantly, he couldn’t help but scream in agony. The pain was unbearable. Despite his great strength, he couldn’t withstand such agony—it was a pain that affected his entire being. In just a few moments, he completely surrendered.
“I… I… I’ll tell you… stop! Stop…”
The figure twisted their finger slightly, and Ding Ningzi was temporarily freed from the unbearable pain. He gasped for breath rapidly. Fortunately, he was also someone who could move in the void and possessed defenses against it. But in the eyes of the other party, these defenses were insignificant; they could be easily broken through.
Ding Ningzi said, “My lord, could you… give me some hint? I… I really don’t know what it is. I don’t know what you want…”
As soon as he finished speaking, the pain surged back like a tide. The figure sneered and said, “Don’t know?”
Ding Ningzi felt as if he was dying. He screamed, “I… ah… stop… ah… stop, stop… I’ll tell you, I’ll tell you… ahhhh…”
The figure said calmly, “You killed the Qi Dong family… everyone, wiped them out. Don’t you know what I’m looking for?”

Ding Ningzi trembled violently all over. He was completely terrified. He struggled to lift his head, trying to see clearly who was in front of him. The sheer fear made him forget the intense pain. He asked, “You… are you from the Qi Dong family?”
The man replied, “The Qi Dong family is just one of my vassals. They’re responsible for helping me find useful things. Hehe, I never expected that as soon as I got a treasure, someone would come and kill them. Not only was the treasure stolen, but their entire family was wiped out… Do you think I’d just ignore it?”
Sweat kept dripping from Ding Ningzi’s face. He knew he was in big trouble this time.
“I’ll… I’ll give you the things. Will you… let me go?”
The man said indifferently, “If you give me the things, I’ll let you die quickly. If not… I’ll make you regret being born at all.”
Despair filled Ding Ningzi’s face. Death awaited him whether he gave them the things or not. But he knew that with the other man’s methods, he would surely be made to suffer more than death. He said, “If you spare my life, I’ll… give you everything I have.”
The man laughed, “Hehe, dreaming!”
A fierce look appeared on Ding Ningzi’s face. He screamed wildly, “Then let’s die together!” As he spoke, his body began to glow rapidly.
The man laughed again, “Self-destruct? Dreaming!”
In an instant, Ding Ningzi trembled violently all over. Pain surged like a flood. He couldn’t gather his strength at all. Just as the man had said, even attempting self-destruction was now impossible. The man gently slapped him, and then an invisible chain locked him. In a flash, he was no longer in that space. He was no longer on Liewen Star, but in a strange place.
A person in white gradually appeared. Strangely, the person’s body seemed somewhat illusory, not like a real person, as if it were a reflection in water.
Ding Ningzi asked in terror, “Who… who exactly are you?”
The man smiled faintly and said, “Who I am isn’t important. What matters is that you’ve angered me… and you must pay the price.” He reached out and made a vague gesture, and many things flew out of Ding Ningzi’s body. After taking a quick look, the man said, “Not bad. There are quite a few things. But that item isn’t here. Where did you put it?” From start to finish, the man’s expression remained calm, as if nothing could upset him.

Ding Ningzi felt a chill surge through him. Everything he had was protected by restrictions, making it impossible for others to obtain it. Yet the other person had easily broken those restrictions and taken what belonged to him. What kind of technique was this? A sense of utter powerlessness overwhelmed him—this person was simply too strong, beyond imagination. After all, Ding Ningzi was already one of the top experts in the Secret Clan, and he had never encountered such a terrifying opponent in his life.

Seeing that Ding Ningzi didn’t respond, the other person didn’t say much. He simply snapped his fingers, and with a sound, Ding Ningzi began rolling violently on the ground, emitting agonized screams. Eventually, he could even no longer scream, like a fish on the verge of death, only opening and closing his mouth as his body convulsed.

Snap! Another sound of fingers snapping.

Ding Ningzi lay on the ground, the pain coming in waves before receding just as quickly. Tears and snot streamed down his face. At that moment, life seemed worse than death. After a long while, he finally managed to speak, “I… I’ll tell you everything…” He had completely surrendered.

The other person said calmly, “I’m listening…”

Ding Ningzi replied, “I kept that thing in a secret warehouse on Liewen Star. But… but it was stolen a few days ago. I… I haven’t found those people yet, but… I already have some clues.”

The other person nodded and asked, “Who are they?”

Ding Ningzi said, “They’re fugitives from the United Spirit Kingdom. I did some research— they’re very strong. They destroyed two fleets of the United Spirit Kingdom. There are seven of them… I just found out about them. Before I could chase after them, I was captured by you…”

The other person said, “The United Spirit Kingdom? Oh, I see. Interesting. Seven people…” Suddenly, he remembered that when he captured Ding Ningzi earlier, he had felt a sense of familiarity. He hadn’t thought much of it because he was in a hurry to catch Ding Ningzi. Now that he thought about it, those seven people were suspicious.

In the blink of an eye, Ding Ningzi found himself back on Liewen Star. The man in white standing beside him remained as mysterious and terrifying as ever.

The other person looked up at the sky, remained silent for a moment, then said, “Their strength is quite impressive. Another fleet has been destroyed… Hmm, they’ve already left. Well… where could they have gone?”

Ding Ningzi didn’t dare make a sound and stood obediently to the side.

In the command cabin of the small starship, Li Ran and the others sat on the floor in an unseemly manner, while only Guo Shier sat in the commander’s spacious seat, his feet propped on the control panel, looking utterly content. After more than ten days of travel, the starship was nearing the star gate. With just one space jump, they could enter the core region of the United Spirit Kingdom, where its capital planet lay.

The officers and crew aboard the starship were extremely obedient. They dared not be negligent or try to send any messages outside, as they all knew that as long as they didn’t anger these people, they would have a chance to survive. Any action that threatened them would not only result in immediate death but might also drag in their companions. Therefore, they operated the starship diligently, heading toward their predetermined destination.

The captain of this starship was a middle-aged man with average combat skills. Thanks to his cautious nature and diligent work, he had gradually earned the position of captain of a small starship. He didn’t possess great talent; his only advantage was his obedience. Previously, he followed the orders of the fleet, and now he followed Guo Shier’s orders. Of course, he also didn’t dare to ignore the orders of others, but no one else bothered to pay attention to him.

Sitting in the command cabin, Guo Shier grew extremely bored, so he kept the captain company with casual conversation. He asked, “Hey, captain, where do you live?”

The captain replied, “I live on Gangze Star, next to the capital planet. It’s a family planet for the fleet’s personnel. Most of the fleet officers’ families live there, especially the captains’ families, who must reside on Gangze Star.”

Guo Shier asked, “Is that to prevent the starships from rebelling?”

The captain sighed bitterly. “No, it’s a benefit… The planets around the capital planet are home to many high-ranking officials and nobles. It’s impossible for us officers to live there, so… being able to live on Gangze Star is a dream for every officer.”

Guo Shier nodded. He knew that after a long period of peace, such a measure intended to control officers had evolved into a benefit. It seemed the United Spirit Kingdom hadn’t expected its fleet to be so weak, nor had they anticipated the soldiers on the starships would surrender. Clearly, they hadn’t fought in too long.