After a cautious and somewhat reserved exchange of information, Feng Zhixi discovered that while Ji Yeran was indeed after Blood Eye, it wasn't for the star map.
Since their goals aligned—both targeting Blood Eye—their cooperation could be moved forward.
Stowing his weapon, Feng Zhixi looked at the man before him. The face was gaunt and cold, yet the eyes held a warmth that was gentle and affectionate, bearing no resemblance to the person in his memories.
Where had the green-haired delinquent gone? Did a bionic mask really have such a transformative effect?
Curiosity got the better of him. "Let me see your mask."
"?" Ji Yeran found the sudden request odd, but he didn't refuse. It just wasn't the right time. "I only brought this one. I'll give it to you once we leave this place."
"Fine." At his core, Feng Zhixi was still a scholar. He was consumed by curiosity; he had never seen a bionic mask capable of simulating and altering one's very temperament. It was of immense research value.
Having reached an agreement, Ji Yeran prepared to leave. As he brushed past Feng Zhixi to exit the bathroom, his footsteps faltered.
Ji Yeran glanced back. The features hidden beneath the bionic mask were unrecognizable. The young man standing before him now was cold and arrogant, looking every bit the insufferable aristocrat—not a trace of the pampered brat from years ago remained.
The reason he had stopped wasn't because of Feng Zhixi’s disguise, but because he thought he had caught a whiff of an incredibly faint scent.
Yet, the moment he paused, that faint trace vanished without a sound, as if it had been nothing more than an illusion.
*Pheromones?* The thought flashed through Ji Yeran’s mind before he dismissed it himself.
"?" Feng Zhixi gave him a questioning look.
Ultimately, Ji Yeran asked nothing. He simply offered a final warning to be careful and departed.
As he left Feng Zhixi’s room, Ji Yeran still felt that something was off.
It wasn't until he stepped into the dining hall, which was packed with pirates and reeked of the pungent, stinging odor of low-grade alcohol, that it clicked. Was the scent he had detected on Feng Zhixi the smell of wine?
*Wine? Did he drink?*
Ji Yeran, who never touched a drop of alcohol himself, thought that for the sake of their future cooperation, he should probably have a talk with the man. For instance, alcohol numbs the nerves—it was best to drink sparingly.
While Ji Yeran was lost in thought, an Alpha nearby, who had just downed a full glass of the rotgut, noticed him. He let out a boisterous laugh and called out, "Jack! Where’d you go to get your fill, you rascal? Haven't seen you for ages!"
Hearing the greeting, Ji Yeran—now acting as "Jack"—flashed a knowing grin. "Where else could I have been?"
Blood Eye was a man as generous as he was cruel. There was a "paradise" on the starship for the crew's enjoyment with plenty of variety, though the "toys" there were often too fragile to withstand much rough handling.
With that single sentence, everyone understood. The room erupted into laughter, and the air became thick with crude jokes and a foul atmosphere.
These vulgarities fell one by one into the ears of Meng Jia, who was silently helping move crates of alcohol. He lowered his head even further. The half-grown boy shrunk into a small ball, appearing terrified by their words.
Among the laughing pirates, someone noticed the unfamiliar face of Meng Jia. He let out a surprised "Eh?" and asked, "Where’d this little thing come from?"
Someone in the know glanced over and replied, "The boss recruited a new batch of kids, three or four of them, to fill the gaps."
At that, everyone understood. During their last raid on a minor noble family, they had all feasted well. Unexpectedly, the next day, several men responsible for guarding the family head had mysteriously vanished.
Pirates naturally distrusted artificial intelligence. Those men had been responsible for the various odd jobs around the ship, and now that they were gone, they had to be replaced.
Choosing local "black residents" from the Triangle Star—those with no background and of a young age—was the best option.
The pirate who had first noticed Meng Jia looked the boy up and down before concluding he was "plain as water."
Losing interest, the pirate looked away. This little thing wasn't nearly as interesting as the new weapons manufacturer, though it was clear that the manufacturer was off-limits for now.
Having finished moving the alcohol in silence, Meng Jia lowered his head and returned to the kitchen. He had exerted every ounce of effort to get onto this starship, but it wasn't until today that he had finally secured his first chance to leave the kitchen.
*Where on earth is Xiaoxing?*
At the thought of the harm Meng Xiaoxing might be suffering, Meng Jia clenched his fists. His eyes, hidden behind long bangs, were filled with a dark, hateful light.
On the other side of the starship, the sister Meng Jia was so worried about had cried herself to sleep from exhaustion.
In the same room, Feng Zhixi was hunched over his personal terminal. Encountering Ji Yeran on a pirate ship was unexpected, but it was an accident that could save him a great deal of time.
Secretly calculating a certain someone's combat prowess, Feng Zhixi gave a dissatisfied huff. Although he hated to admit it, factoring in the other man's abilities would significantly accelerate his progress.
The air on this pirate ship was simply too foul!
Seeing a specific notification pop up on his terminal, Feng Zhixi’s lips curled slightly. He was finally connected.
***
The pirate starship sailed silently through the cosmos. Without the light of a star, there was no way to distinguish day from night, but these vicious pirates had long since grown accustomed to such a life.
Currently, it was "night" on the ship. Various nocturnal activities were playing out in the shadows—some voluntary, some forced.
However, for Meng Xiaoxing, this was the first night since arriving in this den of monsters that she could sleep peacefully. Her drug-induced heat had just passed, and the resistance had drained every bit of her energy.
The girl, wrapped tightly in a thin quilt, slept deeply, with half-dried tear tracks still staining the corners of her eyes.
Feng Zhixi glanced at the girl, who still frowned uneasily in her sleep, just as a message popped up on his portable terminal.
*“I’m at the door.”*
Seeing the message, Feng Zhixi opened the door to find Ji Yeran standing outside.
In the deserted corridor of the starship, Ji Yeran and Feng Zhixi moved quickly. They passed through the living quarters without incident until a tightly sealed hatch blocked their path.
Beyond that lay Blood Eye’s private residence and the ship’s central control room. This door could only be opened by Blood Eye himself.
As a man with blood-stained hands who had climbed to power over the bones of his predecessor, Blood Eye was fickle and neurotic; he trusted no one around him.
Ji Yeran couldn't open this door through non-violent means without alerting others. He looked at Feng Zhixi, only to see the younger man press his palm against the door. The white metal hatch slid open soundlessly.
"I installed a backdoor and copied Blood Eye’s genetic code," Feng Zhixi explained in a low voice.
The core program of the base energy shield he had given Blood Eye contained a small, invasive system virus. Although pirates generally rejected all smart terminal equipment, this little virus was a universal version.
As he spoke, Feng Zhixi withdrew his hand and prepared to enter, only to be grabbed by Ji Yeran and pulled behind him.
Habitually shielding the "pampered brat," Ji Yeran’s gaze swept across the corridor behind the hatch. All he saw was a silent expanse of white.
Looking at the man standing in front of him, Feng Zhixi’s lips twitched upward involuntarily, though he quickly flattened them again. He urged in a low voice, "Let's go to the control room."
"Right." Ji Yeran scanned the surroundings and, taking Feng Zhixi with him, headed purposefully toward the ship's command center.
As they walked, he could feel a thin layer of calluses on the hand he held, specifically at the webbing of the thumb and the index finger. The fingertips were slightly cool. This hand wasn't soft; it possessed a sharp, decisive detachment.
It wasn't until they reached the exterior of the control room, sensing that Blood Eye was inside, that Ji Yeran finally released Feng Zhixi’s hand.
Feng Zhixi flexed his hand, which had been warmed by the other's touch. His fingers brushed against the ring on his fourth finger—a compact weapon with devastating lethality.
Watching Feng Zhixi’s practiced, subconscious movements, Ji Yeran realized this level of vigilance hadn't been formed overnight. He frowned imperceptibly. What exactly had the man gone through to develop such instinctive reactions?
With these questions in mind, Ji Yeran stepped into the control room, only to find it wasn't occupied by Blood Eye alone. Instead, it was filled with grim-faced pirates.
The reason their journey had been so quiet and devoid of encounters wasn't because everyone was off seeking pleasure; it was because they were waiting like hunters for the rabbits to run into their trap.
Blood Eye looked at the two men who had walked in one after the other. A crazed, neurotic smile spread across his pale, gaunt face. This was his domain; did they really think he wouldn't know if a few rats had snuck in?
His gaze, like that of a venomous cold-blooded animal, slid over the face of Ji Yeran—who looked identical to one of his subordinates—and landed on Feng Zhixi, who was being shielded behind him.
"Welcome, welcome. I didn't expect the two of you to be in league together." Blood Eye clapped his hands as if watching an entertaining game.
He actually admired the young man; being able to open his hatch was quite a feat. It was a pity, though—everything on this starship was under his absolute control.
The main computer on his ship was nothing like the makeshift systems used by other amateur pirates.
"Treat our two distinguished guests well," Blood Eye instructed, his gaze returning to Ji Yeran. It was clear he knew exactly who Ji Yeran was, and Ji Yeran was the primary target of his "hospitality."
His subordinates, those snickering pirates, didn't look particularly friendly upon hearing their leader's words. Each of them wore a lewd, greasy smile filled with greed.
In the eyes of these pirates, the exposed Ji Yeran and Feng Zhixi were merely putting up a front of composure. Their joined hands looked like the helpless struggle of two people trying to comfort each other.
Using their joined fingers, Feng Zhixi quietly traced a coded message into Ji Yeran’s palm. He hadn't expected to see Meng Jia here; he was warning Ji Yeran to be careful not to harm the boy curled up on the floor.
Enclosing the finger writing on his palm, Ji Yeran gave the cool fingertips a gentle squeeze.
While wondering why the man's hands were so cold, Ji Yeran confirmed his suspicions: his cousin, Ji Wei, had harbored murderous intent toward him from the very beginning, and there was a "rat" hidden by his side.
That "rat," who in the future would hide deep within his inner circle and only strike at the final moment, had finally shown its tail.
The corners of Ji Yeran’s mouth curled slightly. Because he had left the Capital Star earlier than in the original timeline to take over the management of the Interstellar Prison, certain people on the Capital Star were already starting to lose their patience.
Having seen enough of the weak's death throes, Blood Eye gave the order: "Do it!"
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
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杰克 | Jack | Ji Yeran's alias while disguised as a pirate.
季崴 | Ji Wei | Ji Yeran's cousin, mentioned as a potential antagonist.
首都星 | Capital Star | The political and administrative center of the galaxy.
仿生面具 | Bionic mask | A high-tech mask used for disguises that can alter one's perceived temperament.
主控室 | Control Room | The central command center of the starship.
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Starry Rebirth: The Warden and the Outlaw’s Interstellar Revenge | Chapter 10 | The Ambush Revealed | Novela.app | Novela.app
