Chapter 33: The Best Hitman of This Century, Section 6

The vast starry sky stretched endlessly, dotted with twinkling stars, while the pitch-black cosmic space remained eerily peaceful. A massive artificial star body stood quietly there, illuminated by the surrounding stars. On either side of it, rows of giant ships moved slowly, as if they were vehicles waiting to be inspected.

Moor Clan’s Star Station No. 763.
A long time had passed since the departure of the black-haired man. Yet this enormous star station seemed unchanged. A constant stream of ships from allied clans came and went, exchanging their spoils. Every day, mighty Moor giant ships patrolled the area, vigilant against any potential threats.

As usual, ships arriving at the star station had to pass inspection before being allowed to proceed. But today, there seemed to be an unusually high volume of ships, leaving the inspectors sweating profusely. Formal commands were issued one after another, and their command ship—a huge Moor giant ship—was also constantly in motion, shuttling among the ships waiting for inspection.

There were so many visiting ships that the inspector’s eyes strained. He cursed inwardly. Damn it, he didn’t even know what day it was. Why had so many freighters appeared suddenly? Could it be that Star Station No. 763 was also stockpiling strategic supplies in preparation for an attack?

As a regular Moor commander, he was well aware of what had happened recently. A medium-sized fleet dispatched from a neighboring star station had followed the empire’s orders and finally attacked the newly discovered settlement of that race. It was supposed to be a routine campaign—so trivial, in fact, that it wouldn’t even warrant conversation over tea. Yet its outcome shocked everyone.

That medium-sized fleet, consisting of 300 giant ships, was completely annihilated!!
Oh, Mother Tiya, it was utterly absurd. Even now, recalling it, the inspector still felt it was a nightmare. After all, those were 300 giant ships! In his mind, such a force would be more than enough to launch a small-scale campaign within the empire. And their target was merely a tiny new race with territory spanning just a few dozen star systems.

In the eyes of the Moors, such a race was even less significant than sand grains. Not even their subordinate tribes would be interested in them. Yet it was this very race that, through a bland and unoriginal expedition, destroyed three hundred of the Moors’ giant ships, along with a vast amount of supplies sufficient to build a star station. Such news was nothing short of a devastating shock.

Yet this shock failed to alert the Moors’ leadership. Subsequent intelligence indicated that the failure of this expedition was mainly due to severe distortions in that region of space, which even led to the sudden appearance of a highly attractive black hole. Tests on the black hole showed that such intense gravitational pull could only be produced by a naturally formed black hole.

The executive officer remained skeptical of this explanation. After all, how could things be that coincidental? Could it be that the expedition fleet was just unlucky enough to end up at a point of spatial distortion?

Shaking his head, the executive dismissed these chaotic thoughts and returned to his work. He sighed inwardly—so many ships were coming and going today; it seemed he’d have to work overtime tonight. His wife was still at home, preparing a hearty soup. He truly was unlucky; he’d probably get scolded by her again.

In that brief lapse of attention, the executive failed to notice a small spacecraft, completely different from the other freighters, having just passed his checkpoint below. The ship was tiny, so insignificant in the Moors’ eyes that it quickly disappeared among the massive fleet.

Dock 3125—the dock where Blackhair first arrived at this star station—was occupied by a short figure working busily. He held a thick stack of documents in his hands, his wide eyes fixed on the passersby. Whenever he saw a group with fewer guards, he would rush over with a smile, bowing and trying to sell his services. But perhaps because of his overly lecherous appearance, no customer had agreed to his services despite his efforts. As time passed, the short figure grew increasingly anxious. Sweat beads appeared on his forehead, glistening under the light.

Just then, a small spacecraft suddenly flew in from the entrance of the star station, maneuvering skillfully through the dense fleet. After a few twists, it quickly stopped at the dock of Dock 3124. Soon after, a mechanical grinding sound arose, and a large amount of white mist emerged from its hatch.

The small figure’s face lit up with joy. He knew that, according to the Moors’ customs, such small spacecraft were rarely used. Those who used them were usually itinerant traders who lacked the capacity to ship large quantities of goods. Thus, they could only rely on transporting scarce items to make a living. But precisely because their shipments were small, they generally didn’t bring many guards.

At this thought, the little guy’s eyes widened as he stared intently at the opening hatch. He also noticed that a few other traders doing the same business as him seemed to be approaching as well. His mood grew tense, and more sweat appeared on his thin face.

The hatch of the small ship opened quickly. In the blink of an eye, the white mist dissipated. Before the people inside could emerge, the small figure rushed forward, shouting loudly, “Hello, sir! I’m Noby, the receptionist at this dock. You can just call me Noby. Welcome to Star Station 763. I’m here to serve you wholeheartedly. Look, I have agreements with all the hotels here. I promise to find the best one for you! Please trust me—I’m the best receptionist around!”

Noby moved swiftly, but the other traders who had also noticed him weren’t slow either. Before Noby could finish speaking, a burly man clearly much larger than him reached out, grabbed his shoulder, and pulled him aside.

“Get lost, Noby. This customer is mine. Stay back. If you keep talking, I’ll break some of your bones!”

“Hahaha!” The other traders who had followed laughed heartily, seemingly mocking Noby’s overconfidence. Dock receptionists relied on the number of customers they could attract each day. Competition was fierce, and fights were common. Guys like Noby, who were small and itinerant, were always the laughingstock of all receptionists.

“You!” How could Noby, who was so small, compete with that burly man? He was immediately pulled and tumbled to the ground in humiliation. Though he was small, he wasn’t afraid. Seeing the burly man stepping forward, he quickly got up and rushed at him again, cursing, “Damn you, Bajian! Are you itching for trouble again? Didn’t you get enough scolding from my boss last time? Still acting so arrogant. If my boss finds out what you’re up to now, he’ll definitely break all your new teeth!”

Hearing Xiao Nuobi mention the so-called boss, the laughter around him instantly froze. Many people showed uneasy expressions, even the burly man called Ba Qian was stunned. But soon, even louder laughter erupted.

“Hahaha! Still calling them bosses? Xiao Nuobi, do you really think you’ve clung to some noble’s side? Damn it, they’re just a bunch of obsolete guards—abandoned scum. Their master is long dead! Yet they still cling to him. What kind of thing are they?”

“Nonsense!! Lord Baker isn’t dead!! My bosses said… even if everyone on this space station dies, the great Lord Baker won’t die. You damned swine! I’ll make my bosses teach you a lesson—break your legs and throw you into the cannons!”

“Go call them then! Didn’t your bosses duel someone a few days ago? Haha, I heard they were too beaten to get up. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have ended up here, begging for food. Stupid Xiao Nuobi, wretched Xiao Nuobi. You’ll always be a dog, an unwanted one! Now get lost, or I’ll throw you outside the dock and let you wag your tail in vacuum!” The mocking voices grew louder, and the burly man called Ba Qian reached out, ready to teach Xiao Nuobi a lesson, his fleshy face twisted into a fierce grin, as if he wanted to devour the kid.

But his grin quickly froze on his face…

Because at that moment, a hand suddenly emerged from the hatch, snatching his wrist like lightning. Then, excruciating pain surged through his wrist. Damn it, the burly man swore he had never experienced such intense pain in his life. That hand was harder than steel, with an unimaginable grip. The pain made him cry and snot flow; his vision blurred instantly.

Amid the agony, the burly man heard a voice that seemed to come from an ice cellar.

“Be a dog? I think you’d be more suitable. But your flesh stinks—probably no one wants to eat it. So, you must be the one going outside?”

“Wait… wait!” The burly man was terrified. Just as he tried to speak, a tremendous force hit him, and his massive body flew out like a bundle of straw. In midair, he only managed to hear a surprised voice—he recognized it as Xiao Nuobi’s.

“Bai… Baker… the great Lord Baker!!!”