Chapter 7: The Black Contract, Section 6

“Captain, there’s an energy fluctuation ahead,” came a hoarse voice.
It was the fifth day since Hei Fa had taken command. The massive Li Feng had completed its space jump and arrived at the outskirts of the Silver Star Region. However, due to the extremely complex environment within the region—filled with asteroid belts and the lack of precise spatial coordinates—they were forced to use the oldest method of flight. During this time, the notorious pirate Baroka and his men were ordered by Hei Fa to master the ship’s operations. The large group of robots that had been harassing Blood Pupil were also returned to their original positions under Hei Fa’s orders, and they began to carry out routine maintenance tasks on the warship.
Such a journey was undoubtedly extremely boring. Just staring at the monotonous starry sky every day was enough to wear one out. Even a girl like Sulei, who loved learning, could tolerate it, but Blood Pupil found it hard to bear. Yet, after entering the Silver Star Region, news that piqued his interest finally arrived.
“Oh?” Hei Fa walked over to the control panel and looked up. As one of the pirate men frantically operated the controls, a stunning scene appeared on the screen.
A giant ship, twice the size of Li Feng, was surrounded by hundreds of light points. Countless flashes, large and small, erupted from those points, creating dazzling sparks on the ship’s surface. The screen zoomed in quickly, revealing the true nature of those light points to everyone present.
“They’re the Scavengers!” Blood Pupil exclaimed in surprise.
“What Scavengers?” Hei Fa turned to ask.
“They’re a group of pirates from the Silver Star Region. Their forces aren’t huge, but they’re extremely cruel. Their combat strategy relies on mech assaults. Besides plundering, they also enjoy killing for fun. They’ve never taken any captives,” Blood Pupil replied briefly. Then he turned back. “Should we rescue them?”
At these words, the pirates on the other side immediately lit up with excitement.
Who were these people? To them, the word “rescue” was synonymous with plunder. Although the opponents seemed formidable from the screen, after all, they were under the command of the great Baroka, right? If Hei Fa agreed, who knew what they couldn’t do? After all, they had practiced using those over 500 electromagnetic cannons for a long time.
Of course, as their leader, the chubby Baroka was equally eager to engage in rescue missions. But since he had only been under Hei Fa’s command for a short time, he didn’t fully understand this leader’s personality. So he simply rubbed his fat chin and narrowed his eyes at Hei Fa.

The more he interacted with Black Hair, the more this once-great pirate leader realized the terrifying nature of that young man. Such an ancient warship could still function properly, and Black Hair was the only one who could read the writings here. Baroka didn’t believe he had nothing to do with these fallen ruins.

Unfortunately, no matter how desperate they were for rescue, Black Hair remained utterly calm, unshaken by this sudden incident.

Pointing at the giant spaceship in the center of the screen, Black Hair asked, “What about this?”

“That should be a civilian passenger ship heading to Silver Star. We just don’t know which guild it belongs to…” Blood-Eyed frowned.

“It’s the Creek Guild from Ganluo Star,” Sulei suddenly interjected, her rosy cheeks flushed with excitement. “They’re the most famous smuggling guild—able to get anything. If we can establish contact with them, it will be very helpful for our development on Silver Star.”

In other words, they were asking Black Hair for help.

At the same time, the distress signal from that giant spaceship along with the pirates’ threat messages arrived. Suddenly, a small warship shaped like a pike appeared on the screen, carrying seven or eight mechs as it rushed toward Li Feng.

“Hmph!” Black Hair sneered. He hadn’t expected these pirates to be so anxious. Were they rushing over thinking Li Feng was just another easy target like that spaceship? They probably couldn’t imagine that not only pirates could engage in plundering in this world.

“Get ready. Blood-Eyed, switch to a mech. Sulei, monitor the information. Baroka, you and your men handle firepower. Disengage weapon safeties, charge electromagnetic cannons, connect to the ammo depot. Unlock the main engine power source, unlock the auxiliary engine power source. Charge the wave-layer armor, activate the outer protective layer. Don’t respond to any of their messages—just prepare for an attack.” The signals and threats came through from the screen across from them. Without wasting any time on pointless responses, Black Hair sat down at the control console and issued a series of commands one after another. Immediately afterward, a hundred-meter-long giant ram at the front of Li Feng revealed its true form before the eyes of all the pirates.

To be honest, as a standard heavy assault ship of Huaguo, the appearance of Li Feng was truly unimpressive. Though it had shark-like curves, there were no traces of gun turrets or weapon systems on its surface. Coupled with its massive size, from a distance it didn’t differ much from the transport ships of that era. It lacked the compactness and agility typical of magic warships. No wonder those pirates added it to their prey list at first sight.

Yet, the more harmless an appearance seems, the more deadly threats it often hides. Likely, those pirates rushing toward it never imagined what awaited them.

Silently, the pitch-black camouflage on Li Feng’s surface suddenly faded like a tide, instantly replaced by a vivid blood red. After slightly adjusting its direction, the combined engines at its rear suddenly ejected long streams of particles. In just an instant, this massive warship reached a terrifying speed of 0.15 light speeds. Everyone aboard, including Hei Fa, was pressed hard into their seats by the intense inertia, with clear grinding sounds coming from their bones.

At such a speed, the distance between the pirates’ Sardine-class warships and Li Feng was almost negligible. They didn’t even have time to react before being violently struck by Li Feng.

“Boom!”

A deafening explosion echoed throughout the ship. Countless fragments, large and small, bloomed like flowers in the starry sky. Under the pirates’ horrified gaze, their once-mighty Sardine-class warships were pierced deep by Li Feng’s ram like tofu being smashed. The ship’s hull was severely distorted, with numerous light paths exposed around the wounds, emitting sparks continuously. Moreover, the shockwave from the collision acted like a raging wave, pushing the pirates around the Sardine-class ship violently, causing them to tumble chaotically in disarray.

Unfortunately for Hei Fa, although these pirate ships weren’t as sturdy as expected, a single collision didn’t seem enough to render them combat-incapable. Like a real sardine, the ship struggled desperately against the ram, with massive energy streams continuously ejected from its engines. It even showed signs of breaking free from the ram’s control. At the same time, countless bright red beams erupted from all over its body, striking Li Feng’s hull fiercely.

“Under attack by an unknown energy weapon. Surface armor is melting. Current damage level: 0.12%,” Su Lei’s urgent voice reached Hei Fa’s ears.

This must be the weapons the pirates use in space. Black Hair smiled lightly and glanced at the row of data in the lower right corner of the screen. It was clear that these energy weapons had very little impact on Li Feng. Coupled with the Wave Layer Armor’s ability to recharge itself, even if the pirates attacked for another hour or two, it would hardly shake Li Feng at all. What a boring opponent. Black Hair stood up. “Baroka, I leave this to you.” “Where are you going?” Sulei asked. “I’m afraid Blood Pupil is getting impatient, so I’m going out to keep him busy,” Black Hair said with a shrug before turning to leave. The intense gunfire was still dazzling, but in the vastness of space, no sound could travel at all. The pirates could only stay inside their warship, watching Li Feng unleash his devastating firepower. Grim smiles appeared on their faces as if they could already see the fate of this fearless freighter. After all, up to this point, Li Feng hadn’t shown any signs of violence, which explained why the pirates thought so. But in the next moment, a terrifying reality froze those grim smiles on their ugly faces. With a rustling sound, countless hidden compartments beneath the armor flipped open, revealing Li Feng’s numerous firing points to all the pirates. His massive cannons and gun barrels, glowing with a faint blue light, seemed to prove their immense power. Before the pirates could recover from their shock, the deadly gunfire pierced through their warship like sharp swords. No one could have imagined that this antique-grade ship possessed such powerful firepower. The terrifying efficiency of the electromagnetic cannons left everyone stunned. The armor of the Pike Warship was no different from thin paper in the face of super-speed armor-piercing shells accelerated by an ultra-high magnetic field. In just an instant, a thick layer of its armor was torn away. Amidst Baroka and his men’s excited shouts, even more intense and frequent gunfire rained down like a storm, instantly tearing through the nearby Pike Warship!! “Boom!!” Blinding flashes filled the air as powerful shockwaves pushed Li Feng far away. Caught off guard, Sulei, Baroka, and the others tumbled around helplessly, unable to recover for a long time. Under such close-range, overwhelming firepower, the Pike Warship couldn’t withstand it for even a moment—it was split in two right down the middle. Its engines and power sources exploded instantly.

On the other hand, the two mechs with black hair and blood-red eyes had quietly appeared on Li Feng’s other side, disappearing into the vast starry sky. Behind them, the broken remnants of the pike warship were rapidly separating, exploding and emitting blindingly intense light.