Chapter Thirteen: Wealth and Poverty, Section 6

The shrill alarm sounds terrified everyone’s hearts. Almost as soon as it began, the shadows of the enemy appeared on the main screen of the Li Feng.
It was a dense cloud of pitch-black entities, too numerous to count.
Clouds were impossible to see in space, so people quickly realized what these “clouds” actually were—small crustaceans. Though not particularly large, they were about the size of ordinary mechs, but they paled in comparison to the massive Li Feng. These crustaceans were entirely black with shiny shells, somewhat resembling beetles. Yet their mouthparts were exceptionally developed, accounting for nearly one-third of their body size. They resembled giant pincers stretched across their heads, with their tips reflecting a cold blue light under the starlight.
“This is…” Blood-Pupils and Baroka were stunned. There was no record of such creatures in their knowledge base.
“These are Gold-Eating Insects!!” Hei Fa took over their words, speaking in a rapid-fire pace. “Retreat quickly! Don’t let them get close—these things have an insatiable appetite and can devour any metal! With this number, the warship won’t last a minute!!”
What!? The entire crew was horrified. Before Hei Fa could give orders, the front engines of the Li Feng immediately emitted powerful particle streams. The ship’s forward momentum slowed down sharply and then stopped completely. Immediately afterward, the bow adjusted with incredible agility, turning around in an instant and retreating rapidly.
At the same time, countless massive cannons appeared on the Li Feng’s sleek hull, and their deafening roars filled the ship.
Everyone knew well about the Li Feng’s firepower. Its various cannons, which could easily destroy a small fleet even before, had reached an even higher level after Hei Fa’s meticulous tuning. The 270MM electromagnetic cannons on both sides of the ship could now fire continuously at high intensity, with a staggering rate of 18 shots per minute—truly a storm of steel. As for the secondary main cannons, the 370MM carbonized Gauss cannons were even more formidable. The shockwaves from their explosions alone were enough to tear through thousands of meters of solid rock, with the warheads penetrating over 700 meters deep—similar to Earth’s heavy missiles in the past. If it came to attacking planets, even the Li Feng itself could unleash enough firepower to destroy an entire city in an instant.

So when the deafening roar sounded, almost everyone breathed a sigh of relief, their faces showing expressions of relief. In their eyes, no matter how dense those beetles were, with such firepower, destruction was only a matter of time.
By chance, Li Feng had already completed the turn and was gradually accelerating. No matter how fast the Gold-Eating Beetles were, they could never catch up to Li Feng immediately.
In fact, not only them but even Hei Fa thought the same. Among everyone on the warship, there was only one exception.
Well, it still couldn’t be called a person.
“Hei Fa, quickly calculate the jump coordinates. We must leave here right away. The Gold-Eating Beetles aren’t that easy to eliminate,” Nu said urgently.
At the same time, Baroka’s shocked cry also rang out at just the right time.
“God, how is this possible? Our attacks are ineffective!!!!”
How is this possible!! The crew all turned their heads, their eyes filled with horror as they stared at the main screen.
To them, the intense gunfire resembled a rain of fire pouring down on those dark clouds. Severe explosions occurred one after another, and even inside the warship, they could feel the force of the shockwaves. But for some reason, after each explosion, although a huge gap would appear in the clouds, those gaps would be filled again in less than a second. No matter how dense the gunfire was or how intense the explosions, the clouds remained unchanged—there was no sign of reduction, let alone destruction.
“No need to watch anymore. The Gold-Eating Beetles have abilities similar to mine. They can devour any metal, including your shells. Moreover, their shells possess the strongest pressure resistance in the universe—nothing can harm them from the outside. If I’m right, that neutron star is their territory. Only they can survive under such terrifying gravity and feed on the Phith ore there!” Nu said loudly.
Hearing his words, Hei Fa immediately frowned.
“Is there no way to eliminate them?”
“Yes!!” Nu replied immediately.
“The Gold-Eating Beetles have a matriarchal social structure, with one queen in each colony. No matter how large their colony is, killing that queen will surely cause them to disintegrate. Without their queen, the Gold-Eating Beetles will die one after another within a day. This is the simplest and most effective method.”

Queen? A bitter smile appeared on the black-haired man’s face. If the Gold-Eating Insects were truly as powerful as Hei said, what method could possibly harm their queen? His own strength lay only in controlling machinery, which were mostly made of metal. In the eyes of those insects, he was probably no different from food.
Sending Li Feng to kill their queen was nothing but asking for death.
“Is there any other way? We’re being chased right now. At the very least, give me a suggestion to resolve this crisis,” the black-haired man pressed, standing up and walking to the control panel. His fingers moved swiftly.
One after another, codes were entered into Li Feng’s control core through his fingers. invisibly, two locks on Li Feng’s energy reactor were unlocked. Powerful energy was immediately supplied to its engines, causing the rear mechanisms to change—twelve new engine nozzles extended from inside the ship. Soon, Li Feng’s speed soared, far exceeding its original limit.
This was the result of the black-haired man’s efforts during his rest time. However, this method couldn’t be used frequently. Li Feng’s energy reactor hadn’t fully recovered yet, and forcing energy extraction was akin to killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. It could only be used in emergencies, and the duration must not exceed thirty minutes. Otherwise, the energy reactor would undergo a violent fusion reaction, turning the entire warship into a giant furnace.
But now, it was the most appropriate use. With more engine nozzles, Li Feng’s speed far surpassed those terrifying dark clouds, gradually widening the gap between them.
“Speak up. We have thirty minutes left. If their speed remains the same…” The black-haired man turned around, his expression calm. But everyone knew that the so-called speed difference was actually just an illusion.
That was because of teleportation.
The Gold-Eating Insects could suddenly appear not far in front of Li Feng, meaning they must possess the ability to enter anti-space. If they were smart enough, they would use this ability to intercept Li Feng head-on. So, in reality, there was no real speed difference.
Of course, if that was the case, it was also an opportunity for Li Feng. After all, entering anti-space required some preparation time, and those who had just teleported out would carry a large amount of negative ions. If they could seize that moment and launch a bombardment, even a god would be torn to pieces by the spatial turbulence.

“We don’t need that much time. Calculate the jump coordinates now,” Ke said with a sigh. “There are indeed other ways to eliminate those Gold-Eating Insects, but your warship can’t do it.”
“What ways?” Everyone present immediately became interested after hearing Ke’s words.
“Don’t you understand? Of course, it’s by using energy weapons. The Gold-Eating Insects can devour metal and solid energy sources, but they’re helpless against energy beams. With a powerful enough energy weapon firing in a concentrated beam, we can effectively kill them.”
This? All the pirates looked at each other, speechless for a moment.
Ke was right—the answer was indeed simple, but Li Feng really couldn’t do it. Although its firepower was unmatched in the universe, it mostly consisted of conventional ammunition. Even the heavy ion rapid cannons used for close-range defense were of the mixed type that fired metal beams. Where on this entire warship could they find energy weapons? Should they use the energy machine guns on the mechs?
Xue Tong rolled his eyes. Damn, what’s the difference between that and seeking death?
“Quickly call our sister ships—they’re equipped with energy weapons!” Baroka shouted, prompting everyone to snap out of their daze.
Yes, the eightneedlefish-class warships that followed Li Feng from Hell Star were all equipped with energy cannons. If they could gather them together, they would have a good chance of eliminating those Gold-Eating Insects.
“It’s useless,” Ke sighed deeply, unwilling to dampen their hopes any further. “Their warships have too weak firepower and can’t launch concentrated attacks. Even if they came to help now, it would only feed those insects. Hei Fa, let’s just jump. As long as we leave here, we’ll find a way to return later.”
Hearing Ke’s reply, everyone fell into deep disappointment once again, with countless gazes turning toward Hei Fa.
After all, Hei Fa was the captain of this ship, and it was up to him to make the final decision.
“No!!” Under everyone’s gaze, Hei Fa hesitated for a moment before shaking his head.
“We can’t leave. Time doesn’t allow it. The Blazing Pirates led by Baroka have already returned to Hell Star. News of this neutron star might have leaked. If we leave, when we return next time, this place could be filled with warships from other factions.”
At that moment, a cold glint flashed in Hei Fa’s eyes.
“Since we discovered this place first, all its resources must belong to us. I’ll never miss this opportunity. Baroka!”

“Here I am, Captain! Please give your orders!!” The fat man immediately puffed out his chest and replied loudly.
“Return to your position. I give you five minutes to calculate all the shooters.”
“All of them?” Baroka looked stunned.
“That’s right, all of them, including every Gold-Eater.”
“Yes, Captain!”
“Bloodpupil! Go to the room I took you to last time and open the third and seventh red valves in the lowest row of that room.”
“Understood, boss.” Bloodpupil replied and immediately turned to leave.
“The rest of you, take your positions. As soon as the main cannon finishes firing, move in immediately and use the short-range heavy ion cannons to eliminate any remaining enemies. Don’t let a single Gold-Eater get close to us.”
“Understood!!” All the sand pirates immediately got to work, and the entire warship was filled with bustling activity once again.
Watching them work, Blackhair took a deep drag on his cigarette before crushing it under his foot. “As for me… I’ll use that thing just once… Hopefully, the reactor can handle it.”
With a creak, under everyone’s gaze, Blackhair’s left hand flipped open a transparent cover on the control panel and pressed the blood-red button below. Immediately, a mechanical humming sound arose, and everyone felt their feet lift as the entire bridge began to rise.
From the outside, Li Feng’s bridge seemed to be lifted slowly as if by a giant hand, sliding over fifty meters before gradually stopping. A dark gap appeared where it had been connected to the rest of the ship. Soon after, two long, claw-like objects stretched out from inside, with eerie blue light flashing from their openings.
“The positron cannon is ready and charging,” a clear electronic synthesized voice rang out in the cabin. Blackhair took a helmet covering his face from under the control panel and put it on. His fingers flew across the keyboard. A stream of data appeared on the main screen, accompanied by a series of beeping sounds.
“Main energy pipeline connection completed.”
“Auxiliary energy pipeline connection completed.”
“Engine energy pipeline severed and reconnected, completed.”
“Ship’s power mode switched to siege mode. Completed.”
“Reactor is now under increased pressure, filling with the Seventh Element. Completed.”
“Baroka!” Blackhair suddenly shouted.
“Here I am, Captain! The list of shooters has been calculated and transmitted,” the fat man replied loudly, sweating profusely.
“Good. Where’s Bloodpupil?”

“Head, I’m here. I’ve finished whatever you asked me to do.” Blood-eyed also ran into the cabin just then, his face dark and greasy. A tense atmosphere instantly filled the entire cabin; everyone seemed to be unable to breathe. Anxious gazes all turned toward the black-haired man. At that moment, not a sound was heard on Li Feng. Everyone knew that Li Feng’s power had been completely shifted to control whatever the black-haired man was manipulating, even the engines had stopped running. The ship’s speed was gradually decreasing, and if their attack failed, they might not even have a chance to escape. This was truly a last-ditch effort!! “Hmph, you dead bugs! Let me show you what Li Feng is capable of!!” The black-haired man’s lips suddenly curled into a grotesque smile. His swiftly moving fingers stopped at the last green button. “Positron cannon!! Attack!!!!” His voice rang out like thunder. “Positron cannon!!!! Attack!!!!!” The entire ship responded in unison…