Just as the supervisor was sinking into a state of bewildered conflict, a pirate ship—drawn by the scent of "prey"—entered the outer edges of the Cobweb’s range.
Facing the "fat sheep" within arm's reach, this newly arrived group of pirates seemed exceptionally wary. Sensing that something was amiss before the net could even be drawn, the shuttle-shaped vessel decisively aborted its approach, igniting its engines to retreat.
"That’s the Red Scorpion! It’s high on the kill list! Don’t let it escape!"
Recognizing the shuttle-ship’s origin at a glance, the Executive Officer immediately barked an order. However, the Red Scorpion had earned its name by surviving the cutthroat chaos of the Gamma System; it was incredibly cautious, lingering at the very edge of the warship’s firing range.
As the shuttle-ship accelerated away with startling speed, it looked as though these blood-stained pirates were about to slip through the military's fingers. At that exact moment, a beam of energy shot out with blinding speed, precisely striking the pirate ship’s lateral propulsion bay.
As the Red Scorpion slowed from the impact, a second energy beam followed instantly, scoring a direct hit on the core power cell and neatly disabling the vessel.
By then, the threads of the Cobweb had already expanded toward the target, blanketing the sector where the shuttle-ship drifted. Layer upon layer of energy filaments reached out, binding the prey in a firm grip.
Aboard the requisitioned pirate ship, Ji Yeran and Feng Zhixi shared a knowing smile. Working in perfect harmony, one had operated the Cobweb while the other manned the ship’s weapon systems to reel in the fleeing vessel.
And so, the ship that had once terrorized the Gamma System was left hanging upside down in the void like a stiffened caterpillar. The notorious Red Scorpion had been caught—and its captors were two mere academy students.
Because it had all happened so fast, the supervisor, who was always one step too slow to intervene, could only stare in silence. "..."
While the supervisor stood there agape, the Executive Officer’s voice came through the comms, brimming with praise.
The Executive Officer in the holographic projection was unaware of the truth. He beamed with approval, commending the supervisor for a job well done. Naturally, he assumed the precision strikes had been the supervisor’s handiwork; it never crossed his mind that the actual operators were the very students he had strictly ordered the supervisor to watch over.
"..." The supervisor felt a wave of guilt, unsure of how to respond.
Out in space, the pirate ship piloted by Feng Zhixi and his crew had suddenly bared its fangs, taking down the powerful Red Scorpion with lightning speed. In the eyes of the other pirate ships lurking nearby, this was a clear signal: someone wanted the prize all to themselves.
Both the Red Scorpion and the ship Feng Zhixi was piloting were well-known among the outlaws for their unique silhouettes. The pirates who had rushed to the scene knew exactly who they were looking at.
For a greedy, cunning pirate captain to act so recklessly—even taking out the Red Scorpion just to hog the merchant ship—the "fat sheep" had to be carrying treasures of unimaginable value!
In that case, why wait? Whoever grabbed it first kept it!
Of course, where there is plunder, there is infighting. Soon, several pirate ships that had been closing in began to clash with one another.
The orderly waves of pirates suddenly turned into a chaotic swarm, and the Executive Officer instinctively went on high alert. Just as he was about to call the main fleet for reinforcements, he realized with a shock that the pirates were actually fighting among themselves.
The Executive Officer was floored. "???!" *Wait, so we don't even need to do anything?*
He silently withdrew his hand from the console, canceling the message to the rear fleet. He had never expected the prey to start eating each other.
Among the pirates engaged in this inexplicable brawl, one ship caught his eye for its unconventional tactics.
It was a ship equipped with mechanical arms that made it look like a giant octopus. It wove through the melee with incredible agility, dodging attacks while returning fire with pinpoint accuracy. With every cold, calculated shot, it sent another pirate ship drifting. It was arrogant, domineering, and utterly unstoppable.
This "rebel" among pirates moved with an air of absolute supremacy, cutting through the fray seven times over. Its blatant insolence drew the concentrated hatred of every other pirate in the sector, making it the most dazzling star in the sky.
"..." For some reason, as the Executive Officer watched his own requisitioned pirate ship pull off this fluid, natural performance of drawing aggro, a sense of impending doom washed over him despite his shock.
He felt as though he had overlooked something important. But what?
Watching the pirates throw themselves into the net while slaughtering each other, the dazed Executive Officer missed a crucial fact: the requisitioned ship only had four people on board, and its original mission was merely to set traps.
Now, that ship was not only dancing through a pirate fleet but was also miraculously using the energy threads to bundle up every disabled pirate vessel, categorizing them neatly and hanging them in rows across the vacuum of space.
There was no way the supervisor could have accomplished this alone.
Aboard the rampaging pirate ship, the young supervisor had completely defected. He was working in tandem with Amir to organize the ships that Ji Yeran and Feng Zhixi had disabled, ensuring the "hanging" vessels were positioned so they wouldn't block the flight paths.
Thanks to their efforts, more pirates arriving on the scene could smoothly pass through a specially maintained "green lane" to enter the main battlefield.
One corner of the star corridor was now incredibly lively. The latecomers arrived to see a merchant convoy pinned into a corner, seemingly helpless, while a group of pirate ships fought tooth and nail in front of them.
*This is a big one!* That was the first thought of every pirate who saw the scene.
Seeing their predecessors battered and low on energy from the infighting, the newcomers assumed they could swoop in, finish off their wounded kin, and take the whole pot.
They charged! To snatch the prize was to win it all!
Bloated with greed, these pirates threw caution to the wind. They rushed in with full confidence, only to be caught dead-center by the Cobweb.
At this moment, this sector of space had become a graveyard for pirates. Having absorbed a massive amount of energy from its captures, the Cobweb expanded to its limit. Its energy filaments bound every pirate ship into a firm red cocoon, hanging them in neat, dizzying rows against the black void.
"..." Everything had changed too quickly. By the time the Executive Officer realized something was wrong, it was already a fait accompli.
The requisitioned pirate ship, its work finished, slowly cruised out from the heart of the Cobweb under Feng Zhixi’s control. It left behind a "fruit-bearing" display rack of captured ships for the Executive Officer to clean up.
The Executive Officer was speechless. "???!" *Supervisor, what exactly were you supervising?!*
Facing his superior’s silent interrogation, the supervisor, unable to defend himself, felt utterly drained. "..." He had failed the commander's trust.
The Executive Officer felt equally exhausted. "..." *How am I supposed to report this to the Fleet Commander?*
***
Soon, Xu Yi, the commander of the First Army Fleet who had been trailing the decoy ship at a safe distance, received a message from the Executive Officer.
Seeing the Executive Officer’s expression in the hologram, Xu Yi’s sense of foreboding deepened. He knew his subordinate well; for the man to look this hesitant, conflicted, and guilty, something unpredictable and complicated must have happened.
Recalling how quiet the journey had been—with the decoy ship only catching small fry they could handle themselves—Xu Yi wondered if the pirates had seen through their plan and were luring them into a trap.
The decoy ship had entered a high-activity pirate zone a while ago and hadn't reported since. Initially, Xu Yi thought the Executive Officer was just being cautious, but now it seemed likely they had been ambushed upon entering those complex flight paths.
Alarmed by the possibility, Xu Yi blurted out, "Activate your beacon! Hold on, the fleet is on its way!"
The Executive Officer, having finally found his words, choked for a moment. He took a deep breath and forced himself to report: "Reporting, sir. We are not under attack. However, we request immediate fleet assistance."
The hollow tone in his voice gave Xu Yi pause. He looked at his subordinate with confusion and frowned. "What happened?"
*Not under attack, yet requesting assistance? What could have gone wrong?*
"The situation is... a bit unique right now..." The Executive Officer knew the Commander was confused, but the current state of affairs couldn't be explained in a few words. Or rather, if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn't have believed it himself, so how could he expect the Commander to?
As he struggled to organize his thoughts, the Executive Officer looked at the data on his terminal with a complicated expression. Just moments ago, thanks to Feng Zhixi’s "god-tier" maneuvers, the main control computer had issued a report.
The decoy ship’s computer stated they could no longer accept any more pirates because the brig on the lower deck was over capacity.
In short, the prison cells were full.
If they shoved any more people in, some pirates might be crushed or suffocate. The computer had flagged this as a potential "abuse of prisoners," which was strictly forbidden by military regulations.
Never in his wildest dreams did the Executive Officer think he’d face such a problem. He had no choice but to ask the Fleet Commander for help.
He had no idea how he was going to explain the sight of those neatly arranged pirate ships when the Commander arrived at the scene.
While the Executive Officer nursed a growing headache, Feng Zhixi—the source of his troubles—had already quietly navigated through the captured pirate ships' systems. By cross-referencing and analyzing their flight paths, he had found it.
Their nest.
Feng Zhixi tapped his finger lightly on the intersection point of the pirate flight paths. There were four or five closed-loop routes, all of which centered on locations that appeared as nothing but space debris and ruins on the military’s charts of the Gamma System.
These pirates were nomadic raiders, but those who lived in the stars always needed a place to land, trade, and indulge. Those intersection points were the lairs where the pirates enjoyed their spoils.
He looked up at Ji Yeran. His eyes were slightly rounded, the corners tilting upward in a way that gave the Omega a faint, unintentional air of allure.
Almost instinctively, Ji Yeran reached out, intending to cover Feng Zhixi’s eyes. However, just as his palm brushed against the other's eyelashes, he froze.
*What am I doing?* Ji Yeran’s movements stiffened. He couldn't quite fathom his own motivation.
Feng Zhixi pulled Ji Yeran’s hand away from his face, looking utterly perplexed.
"What was that for?" Feng Zhixi asked, confused.
Ji Yeran: "..." *Don't ask me. My hand moved on its own...*
***
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 红蝎子 | Red Scorpion | A notorious and cautious pirate group/ship in the Gamma System. |
| 许毅 | Xu Yi | Commander of the First Army Fleet. |
| 第一军 | First Army | The military fleet following the decoy ship. |
| 核心能源舱 | Core power cell / Core energy bay | The primary power source of a starship. |
| 囚禁室 | Brig / Prison cells | The holding area for captives on a military vessel. |
| 虐待俘虏 | Abuse of prisoners | A military violation triggered by the ship's overcrowding. |
| 闭环航道 | Closed-loop flight paths | Intersecting routes used to identify the location of the pirate base. |
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