Chapter 34: Miss Wei Li’s Gift, Section 3

The control room of the Moors was enormous. When Hei Fa entered, the first thing that caught his eye was a group of Moors officers with distinct features. But instead of operating the systems as usual, they stood in line in a corner, each showing expressions of frustration and fear. It was clear they had already been dealt with before Hei Fa arrived.

No wonder. Controlling such a large space station couldn’t be done just by making a few adjustments. Hei Fa guessed that Miss Wei Li must have thought of this as well, so she had invested heavily in the security system. Even with a brief glance, he could tell that this control room was completely under her control.

Decisive actions, ruthless tactics. This girl truly wasn’t easy to deal with… Hei Fa sighed inwardly, recalling his first meeting with Miss Wei Li. It had been the same then—she had trusted him right away after just a few words. To others, it might have been because of those rare gems, but who could be sure it wasn’t because she valued him personally?

Hei Fa didn’t know for sure, but one thing was clear: from this moment on, he could no longer see Wei Li as just a figurehead. In a sense, she was now on equal footing with him. For such a woman, he would never hesitate to offer his praise!

Respecting one’s opponent meant respecting oneself.

As Hei Fa had expected, he witnessed Miss Wei Li’s ruthlessness once again in the subsequent arrangements. At the heart of the control room, there was already a detailed star map of the Moors Empire prepared for him, marking the territories controlled by the Grand Duke of Black Hand and the Grand Duke of Tarot. At the same time, there was an order given to Beck—that is, Hei Fa—to gather all the forces of the 763 Space Station, form his own faction from the moment the order was received, and launch continuous attacks on the Grand Duke of Black Hand’s forces. If enough territory could be seized before the Moors Empire reacted, it would acknowledge Hei Fa’s efforts and grant him a new title. In this way, he could operate alongside the Grand Duke of Tarot, one in the open and the other in secret, complementing each other. By then, Miss Wei Li promised to give him a reward beyond his imagination.

Independence!?

That word flashed through Hei Fa’s mind instantly.

What’s the difference between this and rebellion? How could Miss Veli come up with such a stupid plan? Doesn’t she know what the Moor Empire does to rebels? If Black Hair really obeys this order, regardless of success or failure, he’ll likely be wanted by the Moor Empire right away, won’t he?
Well, Black Hair doesn’t care about being wanted. That’s because he has another identity. Then why would Miss Veli issue such an order? An uncontrollable force. What does she want?
A series of questions flashed through Black Hair’s mind, causing his expression to shift rapidly. Yet he said nothing. He simply waved his hand to dismiss all the Moor officers in the control room, then sat down alone at the console. Habitually, he took out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it. The slowly rising smoke resembled mischievous spirits dancing on his fingers.
It wasn’t that Black Hair was overly cautious; it was just that, for some reason, from this moment on, he suddenly felt as if he were trapped in a web. Veli’s easily laid scheme brought him great advantages, but it also posed challenges.
Black Hair wasn’t afraid of challenges, but he hated the feeling of being manipulated. In his view, only by holding everything in his own hands could things be considered safe. And no matter how powerful or tempting Veli’s plan seemed, it wasn’t enough to attract him.
However… it seemed he had obtained something extraordinary… Black Hair looked at the huge and intricate star map on the screen, a hint of joy flashing in his eyes.
With this map, he essentially had most of the Moor Empire’s strategic deployments at his disposal. He would be much freer to move about. And even if Miss Veli was highly cunning, she probably wouldn’t guess his true identity, let alone realize the immense power he possessed—support from the Han clan, Death Stars, interstellar fleets, and even Grand Duke Poseidon. Black Hair really couldn’t find a reason not to act.
He desperately needed a victory.
“Bloodpupil, from now on, you’ll take charge of this space station. Restore normal operations at full speed and repair the original warships. One week later, lead them to attack Station 351. Remember it? That station that tried to take in Lord Locke. If you’re lucky, you might even see an old acquaintance.” He stubbed out his cigarette fiercely and suddenly spoke to Bloodpupil behind him.
Hearing this, Bloodpupil chuckled. While Black Hair had been lost in thought, he had also briefly scanned the star map on the screen. So when Black Hair spoke, he immediately understood what he meant.

“Head, are you planning to use that space station as a springboard? I noticed it’s the main gateway to the heart of the Empire.”
“Just knowing that’s enough. No need for more details,” the black-haired man interrupted Blood-Pupil impatiently, frowning.
That space station was already under control via the orders left by Veri, but who could be sure there weren’t any of Veri’s spies left behind? The black-haired man didn’t want to reveal his intentions too early. Though the orders left by Veri were full of doubts, they could still be put to good use. Besides, he had powerful backers as well.
The black-haired man had already made up his mind: he would keep pretending to be Lord Beck and divide the power he obtained into two parts—one for superficial conquests, and the other to gradually absorb over time. But before that, he needed to take action.
The 351 Space Station was the perfect target. From the information left by Veri, he knew that station had just suffered losses and was surely weakened for now. Its location was also the only route leading deep into the Moor Empire. If he wanted to act, he had little choice.
After all, though the universe was vast, ship navigation still required established routes, and opening such a route involved numerous obstacles. Since the Moors had already prepared the routes, there was no reason for the black-haired man not to make use of them.
The only trouble was those three chaotic star regions in the way.
Let me handle that myself… Amidst the swirling smoke, the black-haired man stepped out of the control room with a smile.
The 763 Space Station was large, but now it was almost in chaos under the black-haired man’s control. Seeing the messy debris and wreckage of flying vehicles on the streets, he regretted his earlier destruction. The crystals melted by the high heat made a rustling sound under his feet, and he sighed. Had he been too harsh on Blood-Pupil in just one week?
Looking up at the gray artificial sky, he shook his head again, with a bitter smile.
Three days passed quickly. Contrary to the black-haired man’s concerns, the entire 763 Space Station not only wasn’t affected by the losses but also showed great enthusiasm. The chaotic streets had been cleaned up, and the docks were working round the clock—five large-capacity shipyards had already been repaired. Meanwhile, all the Moorian warships attacked by the station’s self-defense weapons had also been repaired. Though still somewhat damaged on the surface, most had regained their combat capabilities. It turned out that Blood-Pupil had done an excellent job.

As a killer, he indeed lacked the talent for internal affairs. And Sulei, the only expert in internal affairs on Death Star, was not here either. That’s why Black Hair found his demands somewhat harsh. But what he didn’t expect was that Blood Pupil had his own methods.

He actually removed all the Moor officers from their positions right in front of Black Hair, assigning them instead meaningless positions of the same rank. Then he promised that as long as they could meet Black Hair’s requirements within the set time, he would restore their positions; if they performed even better, they would be promoted. On the contrary, those who tried to take advantage would have all their powers revoked, with the most serious cases facing execution under wartime laws.

Candy and sticks—Blood Pupil’s strategy was truly brilliant. As a result, Black Hair was now completely confident about the restoration of Station 76-3. By this time, he was already in Li Feng’s cabin.

The familiar air, the familiar reclining chair. Black Hair buried himself deeply in them, so comfortable that he couldn’t help but groan. Through the windows around him, he could clearly see the dense fleet surrounding them. Next to him, Monkey lay lazily, a delicate small knife rolling back and forth in his hand without ever hurting his skin. The octopus crew members watching were stunned.

Undoubtedly, these little guys were truly remarkable creatures. After a series of actual battles, it had been proven that aside from close combat and mecha battles, octopus crew members were the kind of subordinates every captain loved. They were obedient, strictly disciplined, infinitely devoted to their superiors, brave in battle, gentle in peacetime, hardworking, and simple. They never engaged in scheming or caused trouble by drinking. Their only hobby was smoking.

At the thought of this, Black Hair felt a bit amused. By God, he really couldn’t stand the obsession of these octopus crew members. He still remembered when they first arrived on Death Star—they were fascinated by the luxury goods everywhere. Especially the rare tobacco from the Moor Empire became their favorite. Even when Glasses first experimented on them, he used tobacco as a lure.

However, such excellent crew members were rare. Although Black Hair had acquired six Moor giants and five Swans, he still had less than four thousand octopus crew members. And the only human warship capable of carrying them was Li Feng’s.

“Mr. Black Hair, we’re about to enter warp. Is there anything else you need?” As Black Hair pondered, a message from Li Feng appeared on the main screen. He was sweating profusely, seemingly nervous.

With a gentle smile, Hei Fa fully understood the feelings of this Han tribe leader. Yet he offered no comfort instead issuing a cold order.
“After the transition, a large number of enemies will appear. I’ll repeat it one last time: I don’t want any survivors.”
“As you wish, my master.”