Chapter 161
Translator’s Notes: Who sponsored this chapter?" you might ask. Well, it’s ‘chapters’, and you! Yes, as I’ve mentioned in the Patreon page your donation will be put into the sponsor queue to pump out more chapters! As of today, we have 2 extra sponsored chapters!
But, I won’t release more than 7 days a week even if we have more contributions for the sake of my sanity. Instead, the donations will be spread over to the next week instead. The maximum outflow of chapters per month will be 8, that is to say there will be 8 extra chapters every month supposing that Patreon contributions reaches $320 ($40 x 8 chapters). I will only do more chapters than that if our goals are met, that is 100 patrons.
Well, I’ll stop here, less I write another essay on stuff. Once again, thank you all for your support!
Chapter 161: Sector S, Joint Mission With Lung [Part 1]
"Yeah, hey Eudy, roll that fur ball over quickly!" Cary turned his head and roared to the side.
Not long after, they could see that Cary holding a white fur ball the full size of a soccer ball and giving it a squeeze. The fellow appeared to be still sleeping, and it had curled itself up into a ball like a porcupine. After it was hara.s.sed into wakefulness by Cary, it slowly recovered from its ball shape.
Its entire body was snow white, but its eyes were silver color. Its mouth and nose were fleshy faint pink, perhaps because it was still at infancy. It opened its hazy and unfocused eyes and let out a big yawn. It looked towards the communicator’s projection panel and lifted its drooping, round ear, letting out a whine.
The gray cat’s whiskers shook once: This guy; it didn’t need a second glance to tell that it could sleep even harder than it. Also, it’s so fat&h.e.l.lip;
Tang Qiuqiu stared excitedly at the white ball thingy. Right now she really wanted to return to the squad.
"Qiuqiu, this little guy is a glutton, so you need submit an expense account for food expenses when you come back. Buy some food along the way, this fellow can eat anything."
At the side, Udoze and Rikulab sweatdropped. Can a glutton with a wide scope of diet not be fat?!
"Alright, I will buy a lot of things!" Tang Qiuqiu immediately answered.
"Oh right, this little fellow doesn’t have a name yet. It’s just waiting for you, its true master to give it one. But before it has an official name everyone calls it ‘Qiu Er*’.
*Er is an affectionate word that you put behind a person’s name to address someone. It’s kind of like a nickname. Strictly speaking the character means ‘son’, but it is perfectly fine behind a girl’s name too.
Tang Qiuqiu frowned. Why did it sound a little strange?
"Okay. I’ll use this two days to think up of a name."
Once they were done speaking, Cillin then broke off the connection. Otherwise, Cary being Cary might hold up the communicator on the other side and talk for the whole day.
"Faster faster, let’s set off right now. Hehe, my egg has hatched, it’s finally hatched!"
Earlier, when Tang Qiuqiu had followed Cillin and parted ways with the squad, Eudy had said that it might take up to more than half a year or over a year’s time to hatch it. Therefore, Tang Qiuqiu had not carried the egg with her and put it inside the incubation room. But she did not think that the egg would be hatched even before half a year was fully up. This really gave her a pleasant surprise.
However, following Tang Qiuqiu’s loud cries, some of the surrounding people were looking at their direction with odd eyes. They even scrutinised Tang Qiuqiu carefully, seemingly checking if she was the average human being. It could not be helped, since Tang Qiuqiu’s words were way too ambiguous. What do you mean ‘my egg has hatched’, they couldn’t help but think of non-mammals because of that.
Due to Tang Qiuqiu’s impatience and Shawton’s words for him to return ASAP, the group of people adjusted their schedule at the last moment. Their schedule was now tighter, and they no longer had the free time to travel about.
Tang Qiuqiu did not hold back on spending. Even a hundredth of the money she earned from the mission and race bet was enough for her to buy a large quant.i.ty of food.
The communication department had a stars.h.i.+p that specifically flies to their base of operations, so after registration was complete, Cillin’s group then got up the s.p.a.ceplane headed towards the s.p.a.ce station where the stars.h.i.+p was at.
Cillin, who had been listening to the gray cat criticising that fat fur ball noticed that Udoze and Rikulab hadn’t spoken up all this time. Udoze was fine, Cillin could see that he was just anxious. But although Rikulab did not clearly express his thoughts, Cillin could more or less guess what was going in his mind right now.
"You are thinking that this is all there is to Vanguard, one of the great four of legends, aren’t you?" Cillin looked at Rikulab smilingly.
When Udoze heard Cillin, he too looked at Rikulab. Personally he had no such opinion, but what exactly did Rikulab mean by this? Was he regretting getting on board?
Rikulab simply shook his head and said nothing to answer Cillin’s question.
"In truth, this is nothing but a small scuffle for a member of Vanguard. They may have expressed their disdain or despise with their eyes, but if they were facing other Hunter regiments, then it would have been true hostility and malice. Also, these people are just the gra.s.sroot units of Vanguard, and the members of B Squadrons no less. The A Squad wouldn’t have the time to hang around at their leisure at all. There were also a few veterans in the hall just now, but they haven’t joined in and simply watched by the sidelines. Otherwise, those people would not have ended things with a small scuffle just like that. They would’ve definitely pulled you into a fight on the spot."
In reality, Rikulab did think that this was all there was to the great four of legends after experiencing that scuffle at the hall. But after he listened to Cillin’s explanation, he found himself understanding Vanguard a little more. He remembered Barthus, a guy who gave him a powerful and strong impression even while he was laughing and teasing the gray cat and Tang Qiuqiu. Although the woman at the first floor hall of the communication department also left him a strong impression, she was still miles away from Barthus. Perhaps this was the difference between the A Squadron and B Squadron.
"Cillin, when it’s time let’s head to the A Squadron as well." the gray cat said while wiping its whiskers.
Cillin patted the gray cat’s head and said, "It’s not as simple as that, and we have to acc.u.mulate military accomplishments as well. Also, it was thanks to Dias relinquis.h.i.+ng his seat that I became LC, you know."
Upon speaking of Dias, Tang Qiuqiu’s constant excitement dimmed a little, "I wonder how big brother Dias is doing."
"He’s fine. Cary and the others look pretty spirited, so his treatment over there should be going well." Cillin said.
Only then Tang Qiuqiu smiled and said, "Mm, he said that he’ll definitely be fine with sister Asiya around!"
"I can’t believe you believe such nonsense&h.e.l.lip;"
Cillin smacked the gray cat before it could finish, enraging it so much that it jumped on top of Cillin’s head and smacked him randomly.
Since they hadn’t reached their destination, Cillin took the opportunity to explain to Udoze and Rikulab some simple things about the Sixth Squad so they would have a more concrete understanding of it. However, he did not go into the details. Some things could not be said temporarily because they hadn’t yet been officially acknowledged. It was only after they had acquired official acknowledgement and received a badge that they could be told more in-depth information. This was the rule, just like how Cillin still wasn’t qualified to know certain things about the A Squad.
The A Squad&h.e.l.lip; Cillin recalled Barthus and Shawton’s words. Could it be that this matter involved the A Squad as well? If even Cillin’s immediate superior Shawton wasn’t qualified to ask, didn’t this mean that the decision-making power lay in the hands of someone even further up?
Translator’s Notes: The previous chapter is shorter because I find that breaking it off there is better for coherence. Overall, the chapter length is more or less the same as the current double length chapters, so this Part 2 will be long. Also, since it’s 4th of July meme gets hijacked for a day.
P.S. support Patreon -> support high tier -> read early chapters! (mandatory sellout since we literally just talked about it yesterday:P)
Chapter 161: Sector S, Joint Mission With Lung [Part 2]
Vanguard’s base was on a planet called Planet K-J100. One only needed to look at its code
In reality, the entire J-District of Sector K was the Vanguard’s domain, and Planet Vanguard K-J100 was set as the heart of the district.
After the stars.h.i.+p arrived at the s.p.a.ce station outside Planet K-J100, the people would take different s.p.a.ceplanes to head to different locations on the planet.
The majority of the area on Planet K-J100 belonged to the A Squad. The people of B Squadron were not allowed to enter this area unless they had been given permission or notified. The areas beyond this area belonged to the B Squadron, and every B Squadron was allowed to operate freely within their own areas.
Cillin was going to to take the s.p.a.ceplane to the Sixth B Squadron together with Tang Qiuqiu and the others. However, they were stopped the second they stepped off the stars.h.i.+p. There were people sent by the A Squad to receive Cillin and the gray cat. Perhaps the higher-ups had briefed them beforehand, but their att.i.tude towards Cillin could be considered okay. At the very least, they did not look at him with contempt or attempt to provoke him. Instead, they were looking at him curiously.
Left without a choice, Cillin could only request Tang Qiuqiu to lead Udoze and Rikulab to the Sixth B Squadron. After all, Tang Qiuqiu was the only out of the trio who had a badge. Sometimes a badge was also a very effective pa.s.sage permit or the two ‘permitless’ people, Rikulab and Udoze, would have been thrown into prison before they could explain anything and would be served with cruel punishments at this Vanguard base.
Cillin followed the people, rode a s.p.a.ceplane and descended at the mouth of a roadway belonging to the A Squad. The second he got off the s.p.a.ceplane, he immediately saw Shawton waiting for him. There wasn’t much joy on his face, and his eyes were even filled with worry when he looked at Cillin.
"Commander." Cillin raised a hand and greeted.
Shawton smiled and said, "I heard you found two very good recruits for the squad. Good work. You work pretty efficiently.
The people who escorted Cillin here bid him goodbye before another group of people replaced them. They led Cillin and Shawton up towards a modified flying car, and then headed towards a particular building. Shawton said that it was a slightly special building used for discussing matters. Even those in the A Squad could not enter without a certain level of qualification.
Cillin’s mouth twitched on the inside. I guess I have to thank them for treating me this highly.
When they were walking into the building, Shawton sighed and said in a soft tone, "Don’t accept this mission if you do not want to."
"I know." Cillin motioned for Shawton not to worry.
When they arrived in front of a meeting room, Shawton was blocked from entry. Cillin and the gray cat were the only ones who could enter. Shawton told him that he would be waiting at the lounge around the corner.
Cillin nodded. The door automatically opened when he walked up to it. Cillin lifted his foot and walked in.
Shawton experienced mixed feelings when he saw the shut meeting room door. It took much hards.h.i.+ps before the Sixth B Squadron had finally found such a great talent and an opportunity to develop itself. He really did not wish to see any mishaps befell upon their talents, and Cillin especially so. Dias once said that Cillin would lead the Sixth B Squadron to a new, glorious height. That was why Shawton had figured that it might be a mission related to that place even if he did not have full understanding of the matter.
The problem was, that was no place for a LC of a small B Squad to be at at all!
Their eyelids twitched the second Cillin and the gray cat walked into the meeting room.
Why is this fool here?!
Standing on top of Cillin’s shoulder, the gray cat stared at the tidily dressed fellow drinking tea with a serious face while putting on the airs of a gentleman that was not without unyielding sharpness with an open mouth. It severely doubted that the gangster-like dude it met earlier was this person’s twin brother.
Upon seeing Cillin’s entry, young master Lung nodded with a smile that was just perfect with a straight face. Both Cillin and the gray cat could feel their hair standing on its end.
He’s gone crazy, he’s totally gone crazy&h.e.l.lip;
There were a few other people they did not recognise sitting beside the table of the meeting room. However, judging from their badges he knew that these people had a lot of say within the A Squad.
"Cillin and Wheeze, right? Take a seat. No need to be nervous." one of them let out a friendly smile and pointed at an empty chair.
Mm, this time the chair wasn’t tampered with like the time he met Barthus and Songba Leruo. Well, he should’ve known that not everyone in the A Squad was so idle that they would use a junior’s performance to make a bet at any time like Barthus.
Neither Cillin nor the gray cat were people who would get nervous. After giving his Hunter seniors a salute, he calmly walked over, pulled a chair and sat down. Meanwhile, the gray cat jumped up the table, sniffed at the tea in front of Cillin before licking it with its tongue. After pondering over it for a bit and finding its taste to be pretty good, it ignored the surrounding people directly and licked the cup of tea to the bottom. Once it was done, it raised its head and looked at its surroundings, "Is there more? I didn’t get a chance to drink any water while we were on the way."
The Vanguard’s people smiled and requested someone to refill its cup. Then, they took out another cup and put the entire tea pot right beside it. Judging from their expressions, they fancied the gray cat far more than they fancied Cillin. Cillin didn’t mind this, however. The more they fancied the gray cat, the more its safety could be guaranteed. At the very least, Vanguard would put on a hard-line att.i.tude when faced up against the military or some crazy research organisation. After all, Cillin’s current abilities could only bring him so far, and he could not influence the entire Vanguard Hunter regiment at all. He could not even acquire certain information he needed.
Sigh, he had a heavy burden and a long road ahead of him.
Young master Lung had not spoken up all this time. He kept twirling the cup in his hands and playing at being deep and mysterious.
After the leading person in charge on Vanguard’s side briefly spoke, he then pa.s.sed an electronic notebook to Cillin. The rough introduction and description of the relevant mission were all listed on top of it.
Cillin accepted the electronic minute book and began swiftly swiping through the pages with his finger with great speed. The speed at which he was swiping through the pages surprised the people present. They did not think that this kid actually did have some abilities of his own.
What they did not know was that Cillin had purposely lowered his reading speed. Otherwise, if he were to give it his all, the shock might jolt off their front teeth.
When he saw the phrase ‘Sector S’ on the electronic minute book, Cillin immediately recalled the things Enji mentioned in his diary.
Yes, it had been fifty years.
Sector S was the prison sector that made everyone’s faces pale upon talking about it. All infamous criminals of the galaxy were imprisoned there, and many of these criminals were figures who had a good time for a while at a certain sector. Since Sector S was the byword for prison and criminal, it was also regarded as the darkest place in GAL.
Sector S wasn’t big, and it had very few habitable planets. However, every planet in Sector S was like a h.e.l.l of its own. Some people said that the place was constantly engulfed in ghoulish screams and filled with countless vengeful ghosts and evil spirits.
Among the prisoners who were locked up in Sector S, there were Hunters, traders, and key partic.i.p.ants of governments and the military. The army stationed at Sector S was in fact a different kind of army, and thus the GAL military’s influence over them was much smaller than other places.
Cillin remembered that Knight once told him that these people could not even be considered servicemen. The reason why so many innocents died in the prison was because the people stationed at the prison planet or the prison guards who had attacked them directly.
Unfeeling, numb, and slaughterers. These were words used all too often to describe the people who guarded this prison.
The reason why some people of great forces, great business groups, great families, influential politicians and big shots in the army could survive despite being sentenced to imprisonment in Sector S was because they all had some measure of influence in Sector S. One of the major reasons why Sector S was called special was due to its level of complexity.
Once, there was someone who said that they saw a person who was sentenced to jail several dozens of years ago actually become a prison guard after their sentence had ended. There were also such people among the army that was garrisoned there.
Every force kept an eye over their own people in the prison. It was common to suppress another force, or even scheme against and a.s.sa.s.sinate another person.
Everyone in that place was strong, veterans on the battlefield, and wielded his own respective abilities. Only death awaited the weak who entered that place. It was no wonder Shawton would worry, since Shawton himself had no guarantee that he could preserve his own safety in that kind of a place.
However, when Cillin had finished reading through the data, he was surprised to find that the mission had been suggested by the Andrea Family. Moreover, they had specifically picked out Cillin and the gray cat to accept this mission. If Cillin agreed, then the transaction was complete. If he turned it down, then Andrea would not seek out others among Vanguard either.
The fifty years of prison term was about to come to an end. It was about time the members of Vanguard imprisoned inside Sector S were freed, weren’t they? The A Squad had probably made up their minds already, but the ones to head there would most definitely be elites and not Cillin.
It was not unexpected. Of course the Vanguard members who were imprisoned at Sector S would order the A Squad to send out the elites they had great confidence in to receive them, and not someone like Cillin whom in their eyes was still a soft shoot. Their confidence in Cillin’s ability was still at the doubtful level, and this matter was of the utmost importance. It was highly unlikely they would allow a new command to follow them.
The A Squad had a different opinion about the matter with the Andrea Family. While they would not pa.s.s their own squad’s mission to Cillin, Cillin could accept a mission issued on someone else’s behalf. There were both advantages and disadvantages. However, since Cillin didn’t rank high in Vanguard yet there weren’t many people who objected to this appointment. They could also use this opportunity to see just how capable the person both Barthus and Songba Leruo had recommended together was.
When Cillin returned the electronic minute book back to the other party, he did not agree to the mission immediately. Instead he said, "About this mission, I would like to talk with the Andrea Family in private before deciding whether I will accept this mission or not."
The person in charge on the Vanguard’s side did not object to this request. There was a small meeting room connected to this big meeting room that was specifically prepared for those people who needed to have a separate discussion.
Seeing Lung’s nod, Vanguard’s person in charge pressed a b.u.t.ton, and a small door appeared on a wall that looked almost identical to its surroundings. Both Cillin and Lung entered inside the room. There were a few other people on the Andrea’s side who wanted to follow Lung into the room, but were stopped by him. Among them was Berzett. But although he did not go in, Berzett shot Lung a glance before the door was closed: Don’t act too undisciplined, and watch out your own image.
Lung pretended not to see it at all.
The second the door was closed Lung immediately revealed his true form, kicking his shoes aside and tossing his jacket away while half laying on top of his chair panting like he ran a marathon, "I’m so tired I could die! Look, my toes are about to blister. Slippers are still the best&h.e.l.lip;"
Lung did not talk business from the start. Rather, he complained and vented his full stomach of grievance for a dozen or so minutes while showing no signs of ending. Cillin threw him a kick, "Get to the point already!"
Lung scratched his head, "Didn’t we talk about the point outside already?"
Like h.e.l.l you did!
"Alright alright, ask me whatever you want." Lung crossed his legs and sat very vulgarly on the chair.
"Is someone in your family imprisoned there as well?" Cillin asked.
"Yeah. He’s a senior who was put into the slammer fifty years ago. Your high and mighty young master volunteered himself to rescue him so that he wouldn’t get killed right after he got out of prison before he left the Sector."
"It’s fifty years ago, huh." Cillin frowned. Just how big was that incident from fifty years ago that it involved so many people!
While rubbing the sole of his foot, Lung cast a glance at Cillin before saying, "The mess from fifty years ago was too big and involved too many people. The four great Hunter regiments, some giant business families, the military and some politicians etc. were dragged into it." after a pause, Lung continued, "Didn’t you realise that your life as a Hunter up till now had been relatively peaceful? Even that suddenly emerging ‘Poison Fang’ or something that you guys destroyed, and some other fellows who unqualified to show their faces on stage but was arrogant as h.e.l.l did not cause much of a splash. None of the big forces or even the military took very strong measures against them, because they are just too weak in comparison. That was why they were left around to season things up a bit, not to mention that the strong ones hadn’t made a move yet. Let me give you an example. Did you not realise that you’ve only see three out of the four Hunter regiments until now, and that one remaining Hunter regiment had been keeping a low profile all this time?"