Chapter 48: The Greatest Thief in History – Section 1

Everything as you wished!
Even after Blackhair left, the image of Blackhair saying those words remained in Cobra’s mind. His calm and straightforward expression seemed to suggest he had known all along that Cobra would make such a request.
What a fearsome man indeed. Cobra let out a soft sigh. He felt genuine awe at Blackhair’s ability to easily read others’ minds.
But in no time, he shook off his thoughts and plunged back into his laboratory.
He had to complete the task Blackhair had given him. He knew well that this was essentially Blackhair’s acceptance of his conditions, and the deadline wouldn’t be long. If he failed, Blackhair would likely become much less lenient.
As the leader of a powerful force, Blackhair never lacked decisive measures—whether used externally or internally.
Time passed slowly. The conversation between Blackhair and Cobra had already become a thing of the past. Death Star remained prosperous, with aliens coming for trade by the waves, sending one group away only to welcome the next. Everything was back on track. The incident on Black Prison Planet seemed to have been deliberately forgotten; no one mentioned it anymore.
Blackhair also didn’t tell anyone about the contents of this conversation. Back in his cloud tower, he continued with his busy daily tasks—working closely with his subordinates, developing the Thirty-One Star Systems, or engaging in battles. Life was quite fulfilling.
Before he knew it, over half a month had passed. Then, one day, Cobra rushed to see him again.
“What’s wrong?” Blackhair was receiving this new leader of Black Prison Planet in his cloud tower. As soon as they met, he frowned.
It wasn’t that he was dissatisfied with Cobra’s visit. It was simply that Cobra had changed drastically.
In just a month, he seemed like a different person. His already thin frame had become even thinner, his cheeks deeply sunken, and his hair messy as if he hadn’t combed it in ages.
“There’s a problem. I need your help,” Cobra said bluntly, ignoring his own appearance.

“No problem. Just tell me directly what kind of support you need, you and Sulei. You can use any resources under the Death Star’s authority at will,” Hei Fa replied cheerfully, though with a hint of dissatisfaction. Logically, Snake shouldn’t have come to him in such a situation—he had already set specific resource allocation standards for the Black Prison faction. They had everything they needed; when had they ever faced difficulties? Moreover, Sulei, who handled internal affairs, was always shrewd. How could there be a problem?

Could it be that someone was sabotaging things, delaying the faction’s supplies?

Hei Fa’s expression darkened instantly, filled with hidden resentment. If that were the case, he would be furious. Having originated from Huaguo, he hated bureaucratic inefficiency to the core. If such corrupt elements existed among the Death Star’s ranks, there was no doubt Hei Fa would deal with them in the cruelest possible way—without listening to any explanations. Even if he were called a heartless butcher, Hei Fa would accept it with a cold smile.

But this time, it seemed Hei Fa had misjudged the situation.

After all, the Death Star wasn’t Huaguo, nor was it an old, bloated state machine. It was a new force. Bureaucratic corruption hadn’t had time to spread there yet. Under Hei Fa’s strict rule and Sulei’s sharpness, the Blood Wolves’ command system was incredibly efficient—far surpassing that of other factions in human society.

So when he heard Snake’s next words, Hei Fa immediately realized he had misunderstood. It wasn’t a matter of resource allocation—it was a far more serious issue.

“Reaching out to Sulei is useless. What I need is a super-scale energy supply system. She can give me unlimited resources, but she can’t provide me with such a complete energy core,” Snake continued, seemingly unaware of Hei Fa’s expression, finishing the tea in Hei Fa’s cup in one gulp.

“It’s bitter.”

“That’s kuding tea. It naturally tastes bitter. You need to savor it slowly to appreciate its flavor. You can’t just drink it like that,” Hei Fa replied helplessly with a bitter smile, glancing at the empty cup. “A super-scale energy supply system… What does that mean? Isn’t it on the current supply list? Or can’t you create it?”

“Of course not. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have come to you,” Snake replied, also with a bitter expression.

“I have some ideas about what you asked me to prepare. But now I’ve run into a problem. The energy supply system on Death Star doesn’t meet the requirements. My experiments need an astronomical amount of energy—stable and pure, at that. Damn it, there’s no such equipment anywhere on Death Star.”
“Oh?” The dark-haired man raised his eyebrows, clearly unexpecting Snake to face such a challenge. “Don’t you guys in Black Prison have plenty of experts in energy technology? Have them design one. We have plenty of resources; you don’t need to scrimp for me.”
“If it were that simple,” Snake said with a bitter smile, shaking his head. “It’s not a matter of resources—it’s technology. Do you understand? Our current technology can’t meet my needs! Either the energy isn’t massive enough, or it’s not pure enough, or it’s not stable enough. None of these meet the standards—not even a little bit off.”
“Is it that serious?” The dark-haired man was stunned. “Not even an energy system like that in Thor’s Fortress will do?”
“No,” Snake replied firmly, shaking his head. “That energy system is massive enough, but its purity and stability fall far short of the standards. If I used it, Death Star would blow up in a flash. But before that happens, don’t forget to give me the crystal card password—I might be able to help cover some of the costs. Also, prepare another armored shuttle like the one you used in your last rescue. Otherwise, I’m afraid I won’t be able to get out.”
“Uh… isn’t that a bit excessive?” The dark-haired man opened his mouth, looking confused.
It wasn’t that he was scared by Snake’s description. It was that he simply couldn’t imagine there being technical problems that even Black Prison couldn’t solve. Good heavens—wasn’t it just an energy system? There were at least a thousand designs and tens of thousands of energy sources to choose from on Death Star. How could those still not meet Snake’s needs? And if even he couldn’t get it, where could he, a military specialist, find it?
Should he go rob Marshal Wick and Grand Duke Poseidon? They were probably worse than him…
Wait, no!!
Robbing might not work, but stealing… it wasn’t entirely impossible…
At that thought, the dark-haired man’s eyes lit up. He quickly asked, “Have you searched thoroughly? Not a single one meets the requirements? Not even anything close?”

“That’s not the case. The energy systems on those Moor giant ships you brought back are quite good. Their purity and stability are top-notch. They’re the only energy sources that meet my standards. But they’re too small. The energy provided by a single giant ship isn’t even one percent enough for my experiments. And if several are used together, the stability drops significantly. There’s really nothing I can do.” After thinking carefully, the Snake still shook his head. But then he added, “If there were a larger version of that system, I might be willing to accept it. Unfortunately, our technicians can’t scale it up. Its operating principle is completely different from anything we know. It will take time to figure it out.” “Nonsense,” Blackhair muttered in dissatisfaction. Those were all Moor energy systems after all. Who were the Moors? The greatest dominators in the universe, the pinnacle in the field of energy. If even their energy wasn’t pure enough, then there probably wasn’t any pure energy in the entire universe. Moreover, seeing the Snake trying to crack their systems made Blackhair laugh a bit. If the Moors’ systems were that easy to crack, they would have been wiped out long ago. How could they still rule now? However, it seemed he might not have no chance at all for a scaled-up Moor energy system. At least, in Blackhair’s memory, there was such a place—a massive energy supply system a thousand times larger than those of the Moor giant ships. If he could steal that, he might be able to solve his current problem. As for how much impact stealing it would have, that wasn’t something Blackhair needed to worry about right now. Damn it, others could cry. He wasn’t going to bother with that. With that thought, Blackhair shook off his earlier worry. Smiling, he patted the Snake’s shoulder. “If there’s a larger version available, no problem. I’ll take care of it. Give me some time.” “Okay. Time isn’t an issue. It’s you who’s in a hurry anyway. But the standards for what I want can’t be lowered in the slightest. It has to be at least as pure as the energy from those Moor giant ships, and its stability must also remain unchanged. If you can get it for me, prepare to receive a surprise,” the Snake said with a smile, relieved by Blackhair’s enthusiastic response. “Alright. Then go back first. I’ll get in touch with you in a while,” Blackhair said, waving his hand to send them away.

But as soon as the snake left the room, the dark-haired man’s expression turned serious. He reached out and pressed a button on the table. A virtual screen immediately appeared in front of him. After flickering a few times, it quickly showed the face of a monkey. The monkey was lying on a huge sofa, holding a gorgeous woman in his arms. The surroundings were messy; it seemed to be a bar on Death Star.
The dark-haired man’s sudden communication clearly disrupted the guy’s mood. He hurriedly pushed the woman away from him. Smiling, he was about to say something when the dark-haired man stopped him.
“Get yourself together and come with me. We have work to do. Haven’t you always wanted some excitement? I guarantee you’ll be satisfied this time.”
“Really?” The monkey’s eyes lit up immediately. He quickly stood up. “Boss, what kind of work?”
“Go steal something,” the dark-haired man said, giving him a glance before suddenly smiling.
The monkey was completely confused…