"They gathered together, reproduced, and even now they're still trying to restore their country," Dongfang Qiqing continued, reading from the notes Zhuixing left behind.
"They're the weakest of the three factions."
"And this ship we're on is headed straight for them."
She paused.
"But strangely enough, in the current slave-proxy war, they hold an overwhelming advantage."
Lin Yi raised an eyebrow.
"A Stellaron?"
"Explain."
Qiqing nodded.
"A Stellaron appeared from within their star and contaminated it."
"The polluted light and radiation kill every animal exposed to it."
"Their civilization wasn't advanced enough to survive without their star."
"And since their system was remote and had little value, no one intervened."
"So their civilization collapsed."
"The Stellaron is still there even today."
"The Company only marked the area as a high-risk zone on their star charts to warn travelers away."
Lin Yi frowned slightly.
"It only kills animals?"
"What about plants?"
Qiqing checked the file again.
"The report says plant life remains unaffected."
Lin Yi's eyes lit up.
"That's interesting."
"Record it in the travel log."
"We'll go take a look sometime."
He leaned back slightly.
"For now, let's watch how the Autran survivors intend to restore their nation."
"I have a feeling we're about to witness something very interesting."
"My instincts about these things have never been wrong."
Especially now that a Memory Keeper has appeared…
Lin Yi's equipment was almost entirely specialized for countering the Garden of Recollection and the Antimatter Legion.
Naturally he had already noticed the hidden Memory Keeper observing them.
And the Memory Keeper had certainly noticed Lin Yi and Dongfang Qiqing as well.
After all, the Mirage Ring didn't just imitate Vidyadhara illusions.
It also incorporated Garden of Recollection technology.
The Garden's Memory Keepers were truly insane.
For the sake of valuable memories, they would provoke anyone.
Even worse than honey badgers.
During Lin Yi's last visit to Jianjian Heaven, the reason he managed to rob the Garden of Recollection so thoroughly was simple—
They had made too many enemies.
When Lin Yi took the blame, everyone else happily jumped in to beat the drowning dog.
These Memory Keepers seemed to have lost ordinary emotions after becoming memetic beings.
No hormones.
No fear.
No restraint.
Just ambition.
They had once tried to steal:
The memories of an Xianzhou General
The memories of an IPC Director
Lin Yi's own memories
The memories of the Primordial Doctor
The memories of an Emanator of Nihility
Even Nous's memories, by using Herta as a bridge
They constantly escalated.
Always targeting the biggest risks.
Always entering the most dangerous places.
The pirate slave ship began descending.
Its destination soon became clear.
A massive military base.
High walls surrounded the entire area.
Heavy weapons lined the perimeter.
The defenses were dense and disciplined.
The scale alone qualified it as a megastructure.
No ordinary planetary civilization could build something like this.
And any civilization advanced enough to reach the stars wouldn't bother with such an inefficient design.
Inside the fortress lay enormous residential districts.
At the very center—
stood a colossal tower.
Five million meters tall.
Its tip pierced straight through the planet's atmosphere into space.
Lin Yi nodded approvingly.
"Impressive."
"But a structure that big in a chaotic region like this…"
"…is basically a giant target."
Qiqing replied,
"Judging from the pirates' behavior, they trust this faction a lot."
"Otherwise they wouldn't bring their ship directly here."
Lin Yi nodded.
"There's something else strange."
"This Autran faction should have the highest demand for slaves."
"But the current war intensity couldn't possibly consume this many people."
"So where are the rest?"
"So far we haven't seen a single one."
Qiqing frowned.
"You're right."
"If they're buying this many slaves…"
"Where are they sending them?"
Lin Yi shrugged.
"Good question."
The pirate ship finally landed.
The pirate leader jumped out first.
"Ha! Prince Ers!"
"This is the final batch we agreed on."
"I delivered the full quantity."
"You ready to pay the remaining balance?"
Prince Ers nodded calmly.
"Excellent."
"I trust your reputation."
"No need to inspect the goods."
"As agreed—"
"One third in credits."
"One third in precious metals."
"One third in military weapons of equal value."
"The credits will be transferred to our private account shortly."
"The metals will be loaded immediately."
"You may send someone to verify them."
He paused.
"As for the weapons…"
The pirate leader narrowed his eyes.
"What?"
"You backing out?"
Prince Ers shook his head.
"Not at all."
"Our King says you've always delivered your slaves on time and without substitutions."
"So he has decided to grant you a special privilege."
"You may choose the weapons yourself."
His chin lifted proudly as he spoke.
As if this were a grand blessing.
The pirate leader's eyes lit up.
"Really?"
"Thank King Dekara for me!"
Prince Ers nodded.
"Of course."
"But our weapons depot is highly classified."
"We cannot reveal its location."
"I'm sure you understand."
The pirate leader hesitated.
"…That makes sense."
"But if we can't see the real stock, how do we choose?"
Prince Ers smiled calmly.
"Our wise and great King anticipated that concern."
"So he ordered samples of every weapon moved to the training grounds."
He paused again.
"Captain Blackbeard may bring his men there and select whatever they want."
"We guarantee the real weapons will match the samples."
The pirate leader thought for a moment.
Something felt slightly off.
But the temptation of choosing weapons himself was too strong.
"Alright."
"You've thought of everything."
"Thank King Dekara for me."
"I hope we can continue doing business."
Prince Ers smiled warmly.
"I hope so too."
"And the King has also prepared a grand banquet for you."
"Enjoy yourselves first."
"Then you may collect the rewards you deserve."
His hospitality was flawless.
Every word polite.
Every gesture perfect.
Watching everything unfold, Dongfang Qiqing frowned.
"…Sir."
"Why do I feel like something here is very wrong?"
Want More? CheckOut 65+ Advanced Chapters on Patreon
https://patreon.com/UchihaAce
200PowerStones=+1Extra Chapter