Chapter 12: The Thirty-first Pirate Gang, Section 3

Walking down the bustling streets of Hell Star, Hei Ba still pondered over the Speaker’s last words.
“Bamboo Pole”? What a fitting nickname…
He remembered the first time he saw that guy—he sensed something familiar about him. Now that he thought about it, if he wasn’t mistaken, it was the scent of death. That guy must be a veteran who had been through battles. Hei Ba was sure his thin, scarred body beneath the clothes was covered in countless wounds.
Was he the person the Vice Speaker wanted to form a new team with, sharing the same goal as him?
Shaking his head with a bitter smile, Hei Ba suddenly felt that this world was indeed full of coincidences. If there was anyone among the people he had met on Hell Star who deserved special attention, it was definitely this Bamboo Pole, aside from Gao Fei, the owner of the blacksmith shop. If possible, he really didn’t want to encounter such an opponent in a duel.
Returning to the contestant’s lounge, Hei Ba found Xue Tong already waiting in his room for a long time. Besides Xue Tong, Bai Li also seemed particularly energetic today, her tight black combat suit highlighting her attractive figure. Yet both of them seemed in low spirits, with a hint of gloom on their faces, making the atmosphere in the room somewhat oppressive.
“What’s wrong? What’s with those expressions?” Hei Ba asked upon entering.
Xue Tong looked up at him, then suddenly gave a bitter smile. “Boss, don’t ask. We’ve failed.”
“Oh?” Hei Ba became interested. “Failed how? What did you do just now? And Bai Li, it’s already late—why are you wearing a combat suit? Stop looking so gloomy and tell me what’s going on.”
Saying this, Hei Ba casually sat down on the sofa in the room. He poured three cups of coffee, took two for himself, and handed the rest to Xue Tong and Bai Li.
As Xue Tong felt the warmth of the coffee in his cup, his expression finally eased a bit. After glancing at Hei Ba again, he finally spoke up.
“Boss, didn’t we see a skinny, emaciated guy in the spectator stands during the day? Bai Li and I went to investigate him.”
“Mm, I know. You said you wanted to figure out more about him,” Hei Ba nodded. “But what does that have to do with your current mood?”
“What does it have to do?” Xue Tong gave a smile even uglier than crying. “We failed because of him.”

“Link, male, 36 years old. Former commander of the Fifth Squadron of the Interstellar Fleet. Holds the rank of major general. During his service, he personally led 117 battles, large and small, securing vast territories for the Human Alliance. He has made outstanding contributions. However, due to his brutal personality, he repeatedly ordered his soldiers to carry out genocides against the indigenous populations of colonized planets during missions, which is why he was never promoted. The year before last, the youngest major general in the Interstellar Fleet was charged by the fleet’s military court for assaulting his superiors and attempting to murder them. But he managed to escape before he could be arrested. It is said that that night, he personally piloted one of the Interstellar Fleet’s most common Judom-class mechs and killed all 48 fleet marshals pursuing him, shocking the entire alliance’s leadership. They even issued a strict order to silence the matter.”
“That’s all the information on him? What a remarkable guy.” Black Hair smiled. “But since you already have his information, why do you say he’s failed?”
“It’s because of me.” Lily, who had remained silent until then, suddenly spoke. Her beautiful cheeks were filled with remorse. When she saw Black Hair’s gaze turn to her, she stood up, walked straight up to him, and knelt down.
“I was the one who asked Blood-Pupil to go with me to test him. Master, please punish me.”
“Wait. I still haven’t figured out what happened. There’s no need to rush.” Black Hair shook his head. He pulled Lily up and made her sit beside him.
“Tell me what happened.”
“Yes, master.” Lily nodded gently.
“When I was still a hunter, I heard rumors about this guy. Many bounty hunters at the time suspected that his charges were false and that there might be another reason behind them. The Interstellar Fleet reacted very strongly to his defection. Along with issuing a silence order, they sent hundreds of warships to search for him. This was undoubtedly an overreaction for a major general who had merely committed crimes. Moreover, as far as I know, the Interstellar Fleet was developing a new type of mech at that time, and after his defection, there was no more news about it. So I suspect his defection was directly related to the development of that new mech.”
“Oh?” Black Hair became interested. “Do you have any evidence?”
“There’s no concrete evidence. But from an accidental conversation with a friend, I learned that the only prototype of that new mech was stationed in the Fifth Squadron where Link used to be.” Lily replied straightforwardly.

Hearing Lily’s explanation, Black Hair fell silent. He closed his eyes and leaned casually against the sofa, lost in thought. Blood Pupil and Lily exchanged a glance at his state and said nothing further. The entire room was instantly filled with silence.

After a while, Black Hair suddenly opened his eyes. “You think Link currently has this new type of mecha and are afraid he might pose a threat to me?”

“It’s not carrying it; he’s using it,” Blood Pupil corrected Black Hair’s wording. “When I investigated his background, I found that he’s been part of the Pirate Alliance for a long time, serving as a deputy leader in the vice-chairman’s team. During that time, he rarely took action, but whenever he did, it was always against well-known bounty hunters. There are no records of those battles.”

“Yes, among the hunters he’s killed is a guy named Storm, who was always an elite in the hunter organization. He piloted a customized combat mecha and was extremely strong—even in a one-on-one fight, I might not be his match,” Lily added softly.

“And so you plan to investigate him personally?” Black Hair opened his eyes, a playful smile on his face. He took out a cigarette, lit it, and took a few satisfying puffs.

“What was the result?”

“Nothing,” Blood Pupil replied with a bitter smile. “He’s currently living in the vice-chairman’s residence. Lily and I planned to sneak in and take a look. But as soon as we entered the courtyard and took a few steps, someone knocked us out from behind. When we woke up, we were in a trash pile not far from the residence.”

I see. Black Hair finally understood why Blood Pupil and Lily looked so frustrated. After all, both of them used to be top experts in their fields. They tried to sneak in together but were knocked out before even seeing the owner. Anyone would be upset by such an embarrassing experience, especially since it happened unintentionally. This shows that that guy named Link is truly an extraordinary person.

A major general in the interstellar fleet—his past identity is really surprising.

Kurokami knew that the Interstellar Fleet was no ordinary organization. It was the core force truly controlling the fate of the universe—the foundation for the Human Alliance’s colonization of planets and dominance across the cosmos. Its power was by no means comparable to that of some minor pirate alliance. It was said that when they went to settle new lands, they would dispatch thousands of warships at once, creating an overwhelming force, not to mention the ships for supplies and logistics. To put it bluntly, if they wanted to destroy a planet, it would happen in mere moments.

Daring to steal from such an organization, Kurokami couldn’t help but admire the courage of this man named Link.

However, what he should focus on now wasn’t this Link. After all, encountering Link would still be tomorrow’s matter. But the contents of his conversation with the Speaker tonight were right before his eyes.

With that in mind, Kurokami briefly recounted what he had discussed with the Speaker. As expected, upon hearing his account, Chokutou and Yuriko immediately shed their gloom and became excited.

“Hey, Boss, are you finally ready to make a big move? That Speaker really has good eyes. After all, compared to that Link, you have more potential.” Chokutou was excited, seemingly already eager to start his pirate career.

“Master, are you sure that Speaker really intends to help?” In contrast, Yuriko thought more practically and voiced her concerns.

“Yes, I’m also considering that.” Kurokami frowned, unconsciously placing a hand on Yuriko’s head and gently stroking her smooth hair.

“Given the current situation, he has no reason to lie to me. Due to the Vice Speaker, his position is also under threat. My joining would undoubtedly be the most beneficial thing for him and for the entire pirate alliance.” Kurokami murmured. But then he quickly changed the subject.

“However, he’s definitely not an ordinary person. I think he must already know my intentions. He’s only agreeing to my request under pressure from the Vice Speaker. Once this situation settles, who knows—his attention might turn to me.”

“How is that possible? Aren’t you his ally?” Chokutou asked in surprise.

“The problem lies in this ally status,” Black Hair replied coldly. “He is the chairman of the Pirate Alliance. Once the conflict between him and the vice-chairman is resolved successfully, there will be only his voice in the Pirate Alliance from then on. All other factions will merely be his subordinates. By then, my status as an ally will no longer be a shield but rather a deadly poison.”
“But that’s all in the future,” Black Hair said, shaking his head slightly with a hint of disdainful smile. “It’s still uncertain who will win. All I’m thinking about is how to keep track of his movements. After all, in this alliance, we have no sources of intelligence. That’s the real problem.”
Before Black Hair could finish speaking, suddenly, a hoarse voice appeared abruptly in the room. “There’s no need to consider that problem anymore.”
“Kern!?” Bloodshot Eyes exclaimed in surprise.
“It’s me,” said a voice. Under Lily’s astonished gaze, a grotesque face gradually appeared in the palm of Black Hair’s right hand. It even made a face at Lily’s look.
“I’ve already planted a seed in that chairman. From now on, I’ll know everything he does. Black Hair, you don’t have to worry about intelligence issues.”
“Heh, your appearance always surprises me. Kern, now I’m relieved,” Black Hair said with satisfaction.
“That’s what I should do. After all, Black Hair, you’re my host. Your progress is the best motivation for my clan,” Kern said politely.
“Don’t worry, I’ll repay your help,” Black Hair replied indifferently with a nod, then turned around. “Bloodshot Eyes, you and Lily go rest first. I still need to think about some things.”
“Okay,” Bloodshot Eyes agreed, and the two left.
Meanwhile, billions of kilometers away from the Alibaba Star Cluster, two fleets were engaged in fierce combat. One of them was the fleet sent by the alliance chairman to rescue the last group of pirate allies. Their opponent was nothing less than a single warship—a giant warship several times larger than their Sardine-class warships, covered in gun turrets, spewing deadly flames.
Violent winds!!!

“Squad leader, our men can’t hold on anymore. The enemy’s armor is too thick; our artillery simply can’t penetrate its outer defenses. Moreover, their fire is extremely intense—when they concentrate their attacks, our warships can’t even withstand a single wave of fire. We just received reports that two more Squalid-class ships have been destroyed.” On a narrow Squalid-class warship at the rear of the battlefield, a pirate lieutenant shouted these reports to his leader.

“What!? Two more!! Damn it!! Are you all idiots?! Didn’t I tell you to form a guerrilla formation!? How could two more ships be destroyed?!”

“Squad leader, it’s not that our men refuse to follow orders—it’s just that the enemy’s warships are far too strong. Their firepower, range, and accuracy all far exceed those of our Squalid-class ships. Unless we attack first, as long as we enter their range, their artillery will strike us first. There’s really nothing we can do!!” The lieutenant was on the verge of crying, his voice filled with despair.

“Never mind. We can’t continue fighting like this. Lieutenant, have those guys from the Blazing Fury fled yet?”

“Yes, Squad Leader. They’ve escaped far enough. I guess they’re already in transition mode. The task given to us by the Council Speaker is complete.”

“Good. Then we should retreat immediately. I sacrificed eight warships to save these guys. The Council Speaker can go to hell for that.” The leader gritted his teeth fiercely and spoke loudly.

Upon receiving his orders, the entire pirate fleet immediately left two Squalid-class ships behind as rear guards, while the rest turned and fled into the depths of space. Behind them, that massive warship once again activated all its cannons, spewing brilliant flames…