Chapter 20: The Terrifying 31st Star Region, Section 4

Hei Fa’s idea was good, but in reality, establishing planets in the 31st Star Region was an extremely difficult task. Unlike other star regions, the 31st Star Region was simply too vast in scale. Moreover, its interstellar environment was incredibly complex—there were six areas ravaged by cosmic storms alone. Although there were quite a number of planets, they were also extremely far apart. To establish new planets, one had to first overcome these vast distances.
It should be noted that even interdimensional jumps required considerable time. If the planets were too far apart, the energy consumed just for the jumps would be astronomical. How could establishing new planets be easy then?
Of course, with the support of so many alien races, Hei Fa indeed had ample resources and wouldn’t lack energy minerals. The only difficulty was that he couldn’t find suitable planets. When he first arrived in the 31st Star Region, he had surveyed the area around the Death Star thoroughly. All he found were unusable, damaged planets or extremely hot stars that were completely unsuitable for development. Even if forced to develop them, the living conditions would be extremely harsh.
This definitely couldn’t be rushed. After all, it was the pleasant environment and convenient trading conditions of the Death Star that had attracted the attention of countless alien races. If the next planet developed was as poor in conditions, not only would Hei Fa face difficulties, but even those spoiled alien races wouldn’t be satisfied. Hei Fa would never do anything that could shake the foundations.
“Captain, I’m here!” A call interrupted Hei Fa’s thoughts. Turning around, he saw Baroka and Lily entering the room. After several days apart, Baroka was still the same as before. But Lily seemed visibly exhausted. Her bright eyes showed signs of redness, and she had lost a significant amount of weight.
“Hmm, sit down,” Hei Fa said with a smile, nodding and pointing to the chair beside him. “There’s the best red wine on the wine rack, and snacks in the cabinet next to it. You and Lily can take what you want.”
“Hehe, Captain, no need to go to such trouble. I’m not Bloodpupil—such refined things as red wine don’t appeal to me. If possible, I’d really prefer some rum. That’s way more exciting!”
“Hehe.” Hei Fa was amused by Baroka’s attitude. “Rum is exciting? What a shame. This isn’t my old territory; otherwise, I could easily get you some liquor and you’d be thrilled. Anyway, the rum is in the row below the wine rack—go ahead and pick something. As for you…”

Kurokami glanced at Lily, a hint of apology in his eyes as his expression darkened. “Those snacks were prepared for you and Sulei. Don’t you want to go take a look?”
“No. It’s fine. Just… come back.” Lily stared quietly at Kurokami, her bright eyes suddenly filling with tears. Gritting her teeth, she suddenly wore a cheerful smile. In a few steps, she went over to Kurokami and sat down next to him. Her delicate arms tightly wrapped around his arm, refusing to let go no matter what.
Only Kurokami noticed that there seemed to be something hidden behind that cheerful smile…
“Hehe… Um… do I need to go out for a bit?” Seeing this, Baroka scratched his head awkwardly and suddenly spoke up. But in an instant, he subdued himself under Kurokami’s gaze.
“Tell me, while I wasn’t here, how’s things with Death Star?” Kurokami tapped the table beside him, breaking the awkward silence and finally bringing up the important matter.
Speaking of important matters, Baroka suddenly remembered something and let out an “Ah!”
Because during the time Kurokami was away, an accident had indeed occurred.
The first was that the Mason Planet had completely disappeared. Ever since it headed to the Interstellar Fleet headquarters on its own, Kurokami had ordered continuous tracking to determine its location. Since a tracking device had been installed as soon as the Mason Planet was launched, the operation had proceeded smoothly. But for some reason, starting from the third day after Kurokami left for Hell Prison Planet, the signal representing the Mason Planet suddenly vanished from Baroka’s scouts. This caused a huge commotion among Baroka’s pirates, who immediately panicked.
After all, the Mason Planet was one of the most crucial components of Kurokami’s forces. Its disappearance could have far-reaching consequences. Although new forces like the Five Great Families had joined, it was still an irreparable loss for the 31st Star Region. No wonder Baroka’s men were in panic.
The second incident was that, thanks to Baroka’s efforts, they discovered several new planets near Death Star. These planets were all about seventy million kilometers away from Death Star, not far apart from each other, appearing as one entity. From space, they appeared black, but unfortunately, like Death Star, they also had the ability to absorb radiation and frequencies, making them undetectable by ordinary scans. If it weren’t for conducting training for new recruits, Baroka would never have discovered this place. Preliminary tests showed that these planets contained abundant mineral resources, likely making them standard mining planets.

As for the third point, it’s good news. Following Kuroha’s orders, the little girl Sulei has finally sent back a message. She has already consolidated the forces left by Kuroha on Silver Star and made contact with the person who developed that subspace device. Although both sides are cautious about trusting each other, it’s still a good start. From her observations, the force behind that person is very powerful and mysterious. However, they are obsessively greedy for money and resources—unreasonably so. The authority Kuroha gave her is far from enough to satisfy their desires. Apart from establishing initial contact and getting back that subspace device, she hasn’t gained anything else.

These are all very important matters… Kuroha frowned, once again frustrated by his lack of talent in internal affairs.

“Let’s put Mason aside for now,” Kuroha sighed. “After all, it has its own life. It’s not our weapon; its actions have their own reasons. I believe it will return someday.”

“As for Sulei, well, give her an additional five million crystals of authority. Hopefully, she can have deeper discussions with them. Although we already have the subspace system, I still feel that mysterious force is much larger than what we’ve seen. Their greed for money and resources must mean something. Well, resources… Maybe they’ll be willing to talk to a lord who possesses a large amount of rare resources?”

“They definitely will, Captain. I’m just afraid they’ll get overwhelmed by the abundant resources here,” Baroka said with a mischievous grin.

“But before that, we need to strengthen our defenses. Have all the new recruits been integrated?”

“All of them, Captain. They’ve been divided into seven squads based on their original units. The squad leaders handle their own assignments; we just need to oversee the overall situation. I must say, those guys are quite good—no weaker than my own children in combat. They’re just too independent. And there’s still a problem with supply for mechs,” Baroka said with a laugh.

“Supply isn’t important. This trip to the Black Prison has yielded great results. Hmph, there won’t be any more issues with inconsistent mechs. Let them see what elite mechs are really like,” Kuroha replied coldly, disdainfully.

“Elite mechs!? Boss, you got elite mechs!?” Baroka was shocked, his expression changing instantly.

Not only him, but even Lily, who had remained silent until then, also showed a dramatic change in expression.

Elite mechs? Those are things only big shots can afford. Unlike mass-produced models, they are customized according to each person’s preferences. Both in terms of combat power and compatibility, they far surpass ordinary mechs. If Black Hair really manages to acquire elite mechs and deploy them in large numbers, then…
Baroka drooled as he stared blankly with a silly smile… Hehe… Hehehe…
I like those with missiles all over them…
But Black Hair didn’t care about his appearance and simply raised his hand. “Finally, let’s talk about those new planets. Baroka, when you first discovered them, did you notice if there were any living beings there?”
“I don’t know. Boss, the environment there can only be observed visually; instruments can’t scan it at all. It’s extremely similar to the situation on Death Star. I have reason to suspect it might also be Death Star. So, to prevent the tragedy that happened on Death Star, I didn’t land there.”
“Really? Can’t you even do the most basic exploration when I’m not here?” Black Hair shook his head, dissatisfied with Baroka’s actions. But it was only for a moment before he dismissed Baroka’s guess.
“That can’t be Death Star. I heard from Nuo that the existence of Death Star is a very special natural phenomenon. The probability is generally no more than one in a hundred billion. So let’s not pin our hopes on that. This time, we have to rely on ourselves. Baroka, go organize everyone and get them ready. The day after tomorrow, we’ll go take a look.”
“What about the Interstellar Fleet? Captain, moving away so many defensive forces at once, I’m afraid the Interstellar Fleet will come back…” Baroka said worriedly.
“That’s your opinion. Fortunately, it’s not you leading the Interstellar Fleet,” Black Hair cut Baroka off rudely. “Mason’s actions weren’t in vain. I can guess some kind of agreement was reached between them. So we don’t need to focus too much on them now. You need to understand that a major battle is about to break out in this galaxy, and by then, the Interstellar Fleet won’t be our enemy anymore.”
“You mean?” Baroka looked hesitant.
“I haven’t said anything. Go get ready. Oh, and bring all those newcomers along. If there really are any enemies on those planets, I really hope to see their combat strength with my own eyes.”
“Okay! Captain!!”