Chapter 15: Alien! Monster? Section 3

“As you expected, they are indeed those I kept in captivity,” Kakaripot said with his usual calm smile, unfazed.
“Are you sure?” The dark-haired man’s gaze was sharp as a blade.
“I’m sure,” the old man replied, meeting his gaze without flinching. “They were once my companions—those who came to this planet with me! Though I didn’t wish for them to turn into this. Still, I can’t deny them. If I’m to pretend I don’t know them just because they’ve become beasts, I can’t do that. And if possible, I’d like to become like them too, to no longer feel anything about this world.”
“Oh?” The dark-haired man raised his eyebrows. “Why is that?”
“Need I explain?” The old man wore a pained smile. “Trapped on such a planet—no enough food, no clean water, even the air is polluted. Everything around me is unfamiliar. My former companions have turned into beasts. What do you expect this old man, the only one still sane, to think? Every day, my life is just waiting. If it weren’t for my hope of returning to my homeland one day, if it weren’t for my hope that airships will appear in the sky again, suicide would surely be the best choice.”
Nodding, the dark-haired man seemed to understand the old man’s feelings.
Indeed, this was a hopeless planet. Being trapped here meant far more than just suffering. Coming from a prosperous civilized world to such a desolate place, losing companions one after another—such loneliness and fear far exceeded what an ordinary person could bear. It was a miracle that Kakaripot hadn’t gone mad yet.
“Very well, I understand,” the dark-haired man nodded. He gestured for the old man to follow him. “Please come with me to the ship to discuss this further. Honorable scholar, though I wish to avenge my subordinates, this has nothing to do with you directly. You are a great biologist and explorer. I believe your return will cause a sensation. Let me handle the rest in my own way.”
Seeing the dark-haired man’s gesture, the old man finally showed a hint of excitement. As he watched the shuttle descending nearby, he took a step forward but seemed to remember something and stopped abruptly.
“You mentioned your own method. May I ask what it is?”

“Of course, erase their traces,” Black Hair replied as if it were obvious. He signaled Blood Pupil to follow the old man. “This planet no longer needs them to exist.”

The old man was stunned… No matter how many years had passed, he was still just a biologist, not a warrior. Of course, he couldn’t understand Black Hair’s bloodthirsty behavior.

“I advise you not to do this,” he said, stopping abruptly and standing beside Black Hair. “My companions have merely lost their minds. You can’t blame them for your losses. As a civilized person, shouldn’t you have compassion? Sir, as a gentleman, you ought to have a heart full of mercy. I hope you’ll take them aboard the ship immediately or bring in a medical team from a nearby planet to restore them to their original state. I’m sure they’ll be grateful to you.”

Faced with the old man’s demands, Black Hair didn’t respond at all. He simply waved his hand, and two burly men rushed down from the shuttle to lift the old man onto it. Without even entering the cave, Black Hair returned to the shuttle with Blood Pupil.

Gunfire erupted like a rainstorm. At the same time Black Hair returned to the cabin, all the shuttles opened fire simultaneously. A torrent of bullets instantly flooded the cave entrance, with stray shots piercing inside and triggering a series of screams! Blood gushed out of the cave like a fountain, mixing with shredded flesh and filling the air in a bloody mist.

It was a massacre, an absolute slaughter. The pirates, who had witnessed their companions’ tragic fate, coldly pulled the triggers, unleashing every bullet they had. The fierce barrage not only penetrated the cave entrance but also shattered the surrounding rocks. Within five minutes, the damaged rocks could no longer bear the weight of the entire cave and collapsed suddenly. Amid the smoke, the cave no longer existed.

The old man, who had boarded another shuttle, witnessed this scene and immediately closed his eyes in pain.

In truth, he knew well that his companions had long since turned into beasts and could never return to their original state. Yet he still couldn’t bear to see them perish. Black Hair’s suggestion was his last glimmer of hope—hoping to give them a chance at rebirth.

Unfortunately, that young man with black hair was nothing like the gentlemen he had seen before. He showed not the slightest trace of mercy. From the moment the gunfire started, the old man understood one thing: he still seemed to be at the mercy of fate.

Dark clouds gathered once again in the sky. Amidst deafening roars, massive fleets of shuttles took off in formation, circling above the volcano’s crater once more. After confirming there were no survivors, they suddenly accelerated together and disappeared into the vast horizon.

For all the pirates, this was merely a minor incident, though they lost over twenty of their comrades. But they had long been accustomed to such life. So instead of feeling depressed because of this incident, each of them was filled with a sense of liberation and madness.

They arrived at the nearest planet and celebrated for three full days. During that time, they indulged in pleasure—beautiful women, fine wines, and unrestrained sex. The crime rate on that planet even rose by a full percentage point due to their presence, with frequent fights breaking out. Fortunately, with Black Hair’s support, they weren’t affected at all.

By the time they left, Black Hair had spent over two hundred thousand crystals, more than the amount invested in recruiting them. This moved all the pirates deeply, and they were extremely grateful to Black Hair as their leader.

In their previous pirate life, they had always been oppressed—which captain would truly respect them? Moreover, to invest so much money just for their enjoyment was unheard of and unprecedented.

Of course, Black Hair’s actions also drew some criticism. At least Sulei disagreed. As the finance officer, she protested to Black Hair countless times during those three days, but most of her objections were dismissed.

“Let them relax properly. There probably won’t be many such times in the days to come,” Black Hair said, smiling as he sat in the huge armchair specially prepared for him by the pirates, sipping fine red wine.

“Yes, little girl, stop disturbing everyone’s fun. In a few days, it’ll be hard even for you to relax like this,” Blood Eyes added, dressed in colorful clothes like a dissolute young lord.

“But it can’t be wasted like this. Mr. Blackhair, take a look at these bills—what have they done? I don’t mind them finding women, but there are way too many fines for fights and drunken trouble. Did they offend all the men on the planet? And even if they’re having fun, what’s the point of buying all those random things? What’s a sub-speed hovercraft, a magic kinetic cannon? Oh my God, look at this—300 high-frequency magic spears. Are they just having fun, or do they plan to attack a city?” The little girl Suley pouted and kept complaining.

Hearing her complaints, Blackhair wasn’t angry at all; instead, he laughed. He exchanged a glance with Blood Pupil and the others around him. “It seems my subordinates are quite vigilant. They don’t forget to buy weapons while having fun. I guess they’ve already prepared everything without even realizing it.”

“Yes, Captain. They’ve prepared everything and are ready to carry out your orders at any time,” Baroka replied loudly, his fat face filled with pride.

It was his idea to let his subordinates buy weapons while having fun. By now, he was fully determined to follow Blackhair, so naturally, everything was done with Blackhair’s goals in mind. Knowing that his leader was about to take action, he asked his subordinates to pick out some weapons they were good at using as supplements while they enjoyed themselves.

Undoubtedly, this move satisfied Blackhair greatly. So on the way back, Blackhair gave him a new position. After Hong and Lan, Baroka finally became the third captain of the Blood Wolf Fleet, commanding his original crew and three newly purchased Sardine-class ships.

These three Sardine-class warships were purchased by Blackhair during the pirates’ time off. Ordered through the Gao Fei Blacksmith Shop via the mental network, they were already on their way. By the time they returned to Mason Planet, they would likely arrive as well.

Thus, aside from Mason Planet and Li Feng, the Blood Wolf Fleet now had a total of eleven regular warships. Although still not comparable to larger pirate groups, it was enough to serve as a powerful deterrent. At least within the Pirate Alliance, his rank had risen by two places again, drawing much attention.

The shuttle fleet rushed through space, and five days later, the shadow of Mason Planet appeared on the scanning screen. All the pirates were surprised to find that a fleet had already arrived there before them.

It was Koko’s support transport fleet—the supplies they needed had finally arrived…