The Gamma Galaxy Corridor was a wondrous place, its environment distinct from any other system. Natural barriers formed spontaneously throughout the void, filling the corridor with variables and creating a labyrinth of complex, overlapping flight paths.
Currently, the disguised merchant ship serving as the First Army’s decoy was cruising along one of the primary routes. It had reached the edge of a high-risk zone; any further, and they would enter territory where pirate sightings were frequent according to official records.
Upon reaching this point, the Executive Officer immediately established contact with the First Army fleet trailing behind.
Receiving the request for instructions, Commander Xu Yi’s order was blunt: "Proceed. We haven't hooked the big fish yet."
The Executive Officer obeyed without hesitation. With a sharp command, the disguised convoy crossed into the danger zone.
As the merchant ship, flanked by its seven or eight escort craft, entered the treacherous sector, its previously high speed dropped significantly—a standard sign of cautious navigation.
The pirate leader, watching from the shadows, took note of every detail. Seeing his prey draw closer, destined to fall into his hands, he licked his teeth in excitement and barked an order: "Cast the net!"
The pirate trap was sprung. In the eerie silence of the cosmic vacuum, something shifted subtly. The change was so faint that even the merchant ship’s hyper-vigilant detection systems failed to register it.
Without warning, the ship plunged headlong into the snare.
In the dead silence of space, the convoy, which had been cruising normally, suddenly seemed to trip. It came to a bizarre, grinding halt.
No, it hadn't stopped entirely; rather, its forward momentum had slowed so drastically that, in the vast expanse of the universe without nearby reference points, the ship appeared frozen to the naked eye. It felt as though the vessel had blundered into an invisible marsh within the vacuum, unable to break free.
In an instant, the convoy became a fly in a spider's web—struggling violently but unable to move forward, only sinking deeper.
The entire convoy—the main ship and its escorts—fell into this inexplicable predicament without any omen, like a sudden nightmare. The escort craft, being smaller, were pinned completely motionless by the invisible force.
Only the main merchant ship, its hull traced with silver filigree, flared its blue engine thrusters to maximum output. It attempted to use its superior performance to tear through the invisible barrier.
Yet, it was nothing more than a futile struggle.
The pirate leader, having cast the "Spider Web," watched the prey’s thrashing with a grin. The more useless their efforts, the happier he became. This "Spider Web" was the key to his dominance over this sector. He had spent a fortune to acquire it, and combined with his intimate knowledge of these stars, it had proven its worth time and again.
"Excellent. We’ve got them. Prepare to board!"
At the leader’s command, the pirates’ eyes turned bloodshot with greed. Their boss was a generous man; those who led the boarding party and claimed the first spoils were always handsomely rewarded. At the thought of the riches awaiting them, the pirates bared their teeth in predatory anticipation, already viewing everyone on that ship as meat for their table.
After all, their "Spider Web" was an invincible weapon. Once deployed, any prey caught in its silk was doomed; even a military warship would be reduced to a lamb for the slaughter. The more the lambs struggled, the more energy they expended, and the deeper they sank until the "silk" wrapped them layer by layer, leaving them paralyzed and at the pirates' mercy.
Laughing, the pirates donned their boarding suits and checked their weapons, their faces twisted in savage glee as they prepared to move.
However, inside the ship they viewed as a helpless victim—the vessel supposedly drowning in a mire and hemorrhaging energy—there was no sign of the panic they expected.
***
Long before the pirates had even laid the web, before the decoy ship had even fallen into it, Feng Zhixi had already noticed the fluctuations in the sector’s energy strings.
Because he had quietly linked into the ship’s operating system the moment he stepped aboard, Feng Zhixi had received feedback from the unknown energy strings even before the Executive Officer noticed anything was wrong.
It was a set of data from an unidentified source—strange yet naturally integrated, hiding silently within the cosmic energy fluctuations. It was nearly indistinguishable from the background noise of the universe.
However, this perfectly disguised set of energy strings could not escape Feng Zhixi’s eyes. The moment he saw the data, his gaze lit up.
Having found a new toy, Feng Zhixi’s eyes sparkled. He began to study the peculiar energy strings with great interest, not forgetting to take two steps back to hide behind Ji Yeran, using the Alpha’s broad frame to block everyone else's view.
Accustomed to being used as a shield in every sense of the word, Ji Yeran noticed the change in Feng Zhixi immediately. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that the Omega was radiating joy from his brow to the tips of his hair. He had clearly found something fun to play with.
Ji Yeran curled his lips in a helpless smile and automatically adjusted his stance, shielding the other man completely.
*The pirates are almost here, and this little pampered thing still has the heart to play. I wonder who spoiled him into being this lawless?* Ji Yeran grumbled inwardly, even as he played the role of a human shield with practiced ease.
Meanwhile, the "lawless" Feng Zhixi was busy investigating his new toy. He had just used a specialized method to intercept a small segment of the energy strings.
He found the data fascinating. The wave patterns were ingenious, seemingly mimicking a natural black hole model. In space, these specific strings borrowed the energy fluctuations of the surrounding cosmic barriers to weave a massive net—much like a spider's web.
As a future pirate leader with the soul of a researcher, Feng Zhixi always carried a "small toolbox" for dismantling tech. Now, as his tools began to decrypt and forcibly deconstruct the energy strings, a brand-new segment of core code appeared on his personal terminal.
Looking at the unique, beautiful model simulated by the energy strings, Feng Zhixi couldn't help but smile. He had found something truly delightful; the designer’s logic was very intriguing. With a few updates, he could even install this directly into his own small planet’s defense system.
From the moment he saw the "Spider Web," Feng Zhixi—essentially a scholar-type space pirate—had been smitten and immediately decided to make it his own.
When he looked up, his eyes were full of starlight, colliding directly with Ji Yeran’s gaze.
Eyes brimming with light met a tender, steady gaze. Their eyes locked in a silent conversation, a level of understanding shared only by the two of them.
*Ji Yeran: Found something fun?*
*Feng Zhixi: Mm-hmm! ~o(*￣▽￣*)o*
*Ji Yeran: You want it?*
*Feng Zhixi: Yes, yes, yes! ~o(*￣▽￣*)o*
*Ji Yeran: Fine.*
In that briefest of exchanges, they reached an accord. At that moment, the decoy convoy had just fully settled into the "Spider Web."
As the decoy ship "struggled" within the net, the big fish the Executive Officer had been waiting for finally broke the surface.
In the galaxy corridor, a strangely shaped vessel shed its camouflage, revealing a predatory interior. It was a bizarre ship, its hull mottled with a dizzying mix of silver and black. It was unmistakably a pirate ship.
The eccentric vessel drew closer to the paralyzed merchant ship. The pressure of a ship of that class approaching became a physical weight when the pirate ship extended dozens of long, mechanical arms.
It was a large-scale pirate vessel. They had finally hooked a real prize.
The Executive Officer watched the pirates extending their mechanical claws for a forced boarding. He let out a soft sigh of relief and gave the order to engage.
Though his tone remained professional, there was a clear undercurrent of excitement. After all, in the joint military exercise, a dead pirate and a live pirate were worth different points—live ones were worth far more. A large pirate ship meant countless live targets delivered right to their door. These were massive points!
The Executive Officer issued his orders, and then he heard the responses from those around him. Amidst the familiar voices of his crew, three unfamiliar voices joined in.
*Wait, what?!* Sensing something was wrong, the Executive Officer frowned and turned around. Only then did he realize the problem: why were these three military academy students mixed in with the combat team?
No, the real question was—why were these the only people left on his bridge? Where was everyone else?!
In his shock, the Executive Officer suddenly remembered: he had assigned everyone else to the seven or eight small escort craft outside.
The reduction in personnel had happened so quietly and gradually that he hadn't even noticed his main ship was now understaffed.
Looking at the three students standing with the combat team—two of whom were Omegas—the Executive Officer rubbed his forehead in silence, reflecting on his own carelessness.
He had thought these three kids were quiet and cooperative, unlike the arrogant students of previous years who walked around with their noses in the air.
As it turned out, it wasn't that this year's students were better behaved; it was that they were much more cunning.
The Executive Officer’s gaze landed on the ponytail-wearing Omega with the sparkling eyes. This culprit was already itching for a fight.
Executive Officer: "..." *Kid, does your family know you're such a troublemaker?*
Emil had no idea she was being blamed. She was looking at the Executive Officer with excitement, obediently waiting for the command. While personal combat wasn't her forte, commanding small robots to fight certainly was!
Looking at the eager "troublemaker," the Executive Officer felt a headache coming on. Meanwhile, the true mastermind—whom he had completely overlooked—Feng Zhixi, was looking down, adjusting something on his personal terminal.
Feng Zhixi was currently immersed in the novelty of his new toy. The intercepted energy string data had been cleanly dismantled and reassembled by him in a dozen different ways; it was likely that even the original designer wouldn't recognize it now.
Just as Feng Zhixi was about to take it a step further, he felt a warmth on his hand. A familiar touch made him look up, and he found Ji Yeran watching him.
Ji Yeran squeezed Feng Zhixi’s hand, wordlessly reminding him not to be too flashy with his "playing."
*I know.*
Understanding Ji Yeran’s concern—and since he had already finished the dismantling anyway—Feng Zhixi nodded. He began to direct his "small toolbox" with casual movements. He hadn't planned on going too far; he was just having a bit of fun.
Having found a fresh toy, Feng Zhixi let out a small smile. His "small toolbox" was about to gain a new member.
***
