Chapter 178
Translator’s Notes: In a scene where amateur translators are fearful of their livelihood and businessmen b.u.t.t heads with each other, I hope that the SRH s.h.i.+p will continue to sail on no matter how hard the storm gets out there. To infinity, and beyond!&h.e.l.lip;
&h.e.l.lip; starting with this meme which is probably inappropriate, but is too perfect to miss.
Chapter 178: Leaving Sector S [Part 1]
Although there were a lot of gaps between this large electrical network that enveloped the entire planet, not a single s.p.a.ceplane could be seen pa.s.sing through between them. A lot of s.p.a.ceplanes slowly lost control and either crashed or exploded when they approached this network.
The energy drive equipment of these s.p.a.ceplanes had become destabilised due to the effects of this network. The serious cases had exploded right away.
There were also some s.p.a.ceplanes who noticed their predecessors’ downfall and did not go close to the web. Instead, they activated the weapons systems and opened fired at those webs. However, the network persisted despite the missiles coming into contact with the light webs and exploding.
They could see from the footage captured by the monitoring devices Lung left on the planet that an obvious change had taken over the planet’s surface. The battle between the convicts and the prison guards had already stopped, but what came next was an even bigger problem.
There was an obvious layer of electrical light flas.h.i.+ng across the surfaces of objects such as metallic fences and metallic walls. A convict who was kicked against a metallic wall was electrocuted into a charred remain because he failed to stand up and get away in time.
Even without touching these metallic substances, the convicts still felt like they were trapped in a s.p.a.ce full of electric charges. Every hair on their bodies was standing on its end, and the guns, knives and other weapons etc they were wielding had already been tossed aside. Right now, they were all looking towards the sky above them in fear.
Through the monitoring devices continued to transmit sets of gauge data to the stars.h.i.+p, both Cillin and Lung could imagine what was happening on the planet right now. As the density of electric charges continue to increase, the situation on the planet would only grow more and more severe.
As for the rest, Cillin and Lung could only speculate based on the images they saw on the screen and the a.n.a.lysed data. The coverage and density of the network was gradually increasing. At first, Cillin and Lung could see see some of the changes happening on the planet from the stars.h.i.+p. However, the dense web formed by the electrical lights gradually covered the entire surface of the planet, and the gaps were also slowly covered up by a layer of light film after the gaps had become smaller. They had lost connection with the monitoring devices Lung left on the planet, and they could guess that the signal must have been affected to the point it was severed completely.
Before long, many electrical lights shot out from the network and hit straight towards the ground. The entire planet became enveloped by lightning and was filled with electrical light.
Cillin could not see exactly what was happening on the planet’s surface, but he could imagine the outcome of an outpour of lightning strikes at this level of strength and density. No wonder Jiada said that they were incapable of surviving under ‘Star Net’ with their current abilities.
The people who were trapped on the planet might not be able to see it clearly, but Cillin saw it very clearly from outer s.p.a.ce. This electrical network had originated from the mother satellites outside the planet. The satellites that were scattered at different orbits and some objects that were probably launched by ‘Grim Reaper’ had joined together to form the initial networks. Then, these isolated networks began to branch out and reconnect with each other. Just like a spider web, the bases were fixed in place before a dense web was swiftly developed from these few bases.
The planet beneath this web looked like it had been ravaged by an intense electromagnetic storm. What followed after was an omnipresent thunderstorm.
Cillin did not need to watch further to know that after today’s incident, when the ‘Star Net’ was withdrawn, this planet would be utterly riddled with holes. The prison, buildings and so on would no longer exist as well.
Perhaps there might be a small number of survivors after the ‘Star Net’ had pa.s.sed, but that number would have to be extremely small. The rest of the people, buildings etc would all be annihilated under the electrical light.
Cillin and Lung had witnessed the destruction and the ending of a planet. Right now, they were feeling rather complicated on the inside.
Jiada had said that this was but an experiment for ‘Grim Reaper’, but why had they chosen this planet as the site to conduct their experiment in the first place?
Was it because GAL’s governmental jurisdiction in Sector S was weak? Was it because of the same reason Cillin and Lung had chosen this planet? Or was there another reason?
Cillin didn’t know.
What he knew was that there were still a lot of powerful people and forces in GAL. The destruction of a planet might just be something that happened in the blink of an eye to them.
It was very difficult for humans to see themselves clearly without a frame of reference.
Perhaps it was because too many people had forgotten those people and forces who had risen to fame in the past after fifty years of time; those once familiar names that lived in a previous era. Fifty years had pa.s.sed, and the new generation had not grown up in an environment like theirs. Now that these veteran forces had surfaced once more, would the new generation be able to withstand the pressure and continue fighting?
‘Mist’, ‘Merciless’, and ‘Grim Reaper’. Every one of these forces were no weaker than the four great Hunter regiments be it in terms of technology or individual combat strength. After this Sector S incident, GAL would be welcoming a wholly new era; an era where both challenges and opportunities exist as one.
"Let’s go." Lung exhaled and began operating on the control panel.
Cillin nodded.
There was nothing else to be gained by staying here any further. No one knew how long ‘Star Net’ was going to last, and no one knew what kind of result ‘Grim Reaper’ was expecting from their experiment. Right now, the most important thing to Cillin and Lung was to protect their little lives. Right now they did not have the ability to resist ‘Grim Reaper’, and the gap of between them was simply too huge. Sure, that invisible person from earlier had no intentions to fight them, but what if they felt like fighting now?
Even Ghost b.u.t.terfly Seventeen was beaten to the sorry state they were in, and neither Cillin nor Lung had any intentions of following in his footsteps. Leaving now would be the wise decision to make. Surely I could hide if I could not fight you, couldn’t I?
The energy blocks they carried with them were sufficient for them to leave Sector S, not to mention that they had acquired two big boxes of energy blocks from inside the prison’s storage room earlier. Their food was sufficient as well. As long as they did not run into anything unusual later, then all was fine.
However, with Sector S’ current situation, nowhere was safe.
They hadn’t left that grade three prison planet for long before Lung received some messages from the Andrea Family members at other places. Right now, both grade four and grade five prisons were in a complete mess, although no one over there was an easy picking. Any random person over there was at the level of a commander of a four great Hunter regiment B Squadron, not to mention that there were a large number of hidden elites, coupled with new technology and weapons.
The four great Hunter regiments and a few other Hunter regiments who were slightly weaker than the great four, but were overall pretty strong in the entire GAL had all appeared. The GAL military themselves had dispatched a group of men in secret. Hitmen organisations, adventurers and a few other big families had also showed their shadows as well.
In comparison, all local forces in Sector S had announced a cease fire to their civil war and became united as one to resist against the foreign forces.
What greatly excited the big forces was that
What did surprise Cillin however, was that ‘Mist’ and ‘Merciless’ had become quiet ever since they had made their appearance at that grade one prison planet. In fact, they had not even partic.i.p.ated in the compet.i.tion for the star map pieces later. If Cillin hadn’t experienced the a.s.sault himself, he would not have known at all that the two veteran hitman organisations who had kept a low profile for dozens of years had actually shown up in Sector S.
Leaving aside ‘Mist’ and ‘Merciless’, ‘Grim Reaper’ also hadn’t partic.i.p.ated in the battle for the star map pieces despite having made a high-profile appearance.
"I’m guessing that they’re just not interested in the appearance of the star map pieces. Not all of them are interested in the five Aurelios."
In ‘Genesis Mythos’, the five fingers of G.o.d that locked down the five Aurelios each represented courage, nascence, paradise, redemption and evolution. In reality, the five corresponding star maps also represented five different objects.
The Aurelio that represented courage in ‘Genesis Mythos’ was ‘White Night’ in reality. It was an omnipotent energy and the desire of many Hunter regiments, adventurers and military armies who often travelled around the universe. Meanwhile, the Aurelio that represented redemption was the ‘G.o.d’s Tear’ Lung and his family needed.
Now then: which star map piece exactly had appeared in Sector S? No matter which it might be among the remaining three Aurelios, neither ‘Mist’, ‘Merciless’ nor ‘Grim Reaper’ had joined the battle for it. This meant that they were uninterested in this new Aurelio, and it also meant that they had the star map pieces they needed.
Cillin did not know which category the star map piece in his possession belonged to either, but right now he did not have the ability to partic.i.p.ate in this compet.i.tion. Lung adjusted their course and made up his mind to leave Sector S.
"Sigh. At first I thought that at worst the great four and some families would show up and make a riot, but who knew that the veteran forces that had stayed low key for dozens of years would all show up." Lung mumbled to himself while lying on his chair.
"Other than the great four, some adventurers and the military, there weren’t that many people who partic.i.p.ated in that struggle fifty years ago. So why was it considered the dividing line of an era?" Cillin asked.
Lung swirled the wine inside his gla.s.s and said slowly, "I once asked my beloved grandfather fox the same question. He said that it was a coincidence."
"A coincidence?"
"Yes, a coincidence. Although this is just my grandfather personal opinion, I actually agree with him now looking at the current situation. Every force is as sly as a fox, and they had all made latter plans after the coincidence. They are all forces who are well versed in hibernating, and once these veteran forces had hibernated the once smaller forces all grew up to become stronger. Naturally, the new forces couldn’t help but be brash and even arrogant with their power, when in reality they might not be able to withstand a single blow once the powerful veterans that had come out of their seclusion. Just watch, the forces in certain areas are going to be purged clean once we got out."
Cillin did not care to ponder about whether other forces would be facing a purge now. When he head back, he would still have to continue bearing the responsibility of a lieutenant commander.
At the very least, he must ensure his growth as quickly as possible. His strength was still insufficient.
Cillin rubbed the curled leaf pattern on his finger. Back in those days, he was just a lone, powerless stranger who knew little about GAL. But even after he joined Vanguard, took up the burden of a lieutenant commander and met many powerful people, he still had nothing on the Elder Tree Fuji Gen Family.
Now that he looked at this from a different point of view, Cillin decided that he still needed to continue developing himself, see more place and meet more people. So Jiada didn’t know about the Gen Family. What about the others? One of those veteran forces who had existed for hundreds and thousands of years in the galaxy had to know something, right?
The lieutenant commander rank was far from sufficient. He needed to enter the heart of the Vanguard’s A Squadron before he could come in contact with wider information.
Translator’s Notes: Jiada: You must be withstand-the-electrocution-of-a-planet strong to come back to Sector S.
Chapter 178: Leaving Sector S [Part 2]
On the way away from Sector S, both Cillin and Lung were making their own plans. After Lung was done making his own plans, he loosened up by a lot once more. He was just about to order his robots to prepare some fine meals to reward his own brain when he raised his head and saw those two idiots not far away from him.
Since Scarlet Wind was self-learning, some relaxing music was being released from the educational video. The sound wasn’t loud. Scarlet Wind cheerfully wagged his tail while listening to the music, whereas the gray cat was swaying its fat b.u.t.t following the rhythm.
"Yo, Wheeze. You dancing or what?" Lung smiled.
The gray cat continued to dance without even turning its head around, "Yeah. You all look as depressed as a rock. If this continues then you’d really become a rock."
It was referring to Cillin and Lung not exactly holding their heads high and talking much due to harboring certain thoughts after the events they went through. The gray cat was feeling pretty resentful when it got back.
"Alright. We should be leaving soon going by the plan. I’ll take you guys someplace and fully entertain ourselves once we got out of this Sector." Lung said generously.
"There’s no need. You simply need to pay off our compensation. We’ve accompanied you and journeyed through Sector S for this mission, and this mission should be considered complete once we got out of the Sector, right?We should be paid in full soon after the mission is finished, right?"
Lung’s eyebrows rose, "You guys joining me on a visit to Sector S may as well be a holiday trip. You guys also picked up a companion, used and ate my stuff on the stars.h.i.+p for free, and speaking of consumption you’re the one who ate the most out of our fresh stock. You sure have the nerve to say that when what you ate a full sum of several tens of thousands credits!"
The gray cat didn’t care about these, "I’ve seen the contract before. You said that you’d be covering all of our basic needs, and you did not put a limit on consumption level either. Don’t forget, you should bank in our money as soon as possible. Interest will be added if you delay payment!"
Lung paused for a moment before saying, "Wheeze, why don’t you come to the Andrea Family and help me? We can go earn money, a lot of money, and when it is time I’ll install a large aquarium for you. The aquarium will be holding the fishes you love to eat, which you can eat whenever you’re feeling hungry. Mm, a big villa is also necessary. It will be filled with beautiful queens*, and&h.e.l.lip;"
*female cats
The gray cat’s whiskers were straight at this point. It turned around to glare at Lung and interrupt him, "How dare you think so vulgarly of my taste!"
The corner of Lung’s mouth twitched non-stop as he listened to its reply. I’m sorry, just how n.o.ble did you think your tastes truly are, sir cat?
It so happened that Cillin had just finished his activities inside the training room and walked into the control room, and so Lung told him, "Cillin, your cat is just too outrageous."
Cillin’s eyes stated ‘and you only realize that now?’ then he said, "You haven’t seen its more outrageous moments yet."
The moment Cillin recall the cat battling Rikulab to a dance-off at ‘Dance Night’, he would experience a ‘ah, this monster’s Dao is so deep’ moment.
"Cillin, that kid’s trying to renege on his debt!" the gray cat raised its chin slightly, lifted a forelimb and pointed its paws at Lung.
Cillin poured a bottle of water down his throat and answered, "Let him. According to the agreement, we can roll up more interest if he reneges."
Without another word, Lung took out a bill and scribbled a series of numbers on it. Once he was done, he slapped the bill onto the gray cat’s head and said, "This young master has nothing except one thing: he’s so poor all he has left is money!"
The gray cat pulled the bill off its head with its paws and gave it a close look. Scarlet Wind also came closer for a look, and the gray cat took the opportunity to teach it how to read a bill.
Reading bills was the first skill the gray cat learned when it first encountered Cillin. It was a thing that affected the cat’s entire lifetime.
The gray cat nodded in satisfaction after it saw the numbers on the bills. In fact, it even checked the bill’s digital barcode and secret orders, p.i.s.sing off Lung so much that he nearly spat out a mouthful of blood. This motherf*cker actually suspected the authenticity of his bills!!
After the inspection, the gray cat help the bill in his mouth and jumped onto Cillin’s shoulder. It raised a paw and patted Cillin’s head, "I want to buy fish biscuits once we get the money!"
"Sure, do it!" Cillin nodded.
"Hehe." the gray cat was so happy that it leaped onto the table and continued twisting its fat b.u.t.t while humming a small tune rhythmically.
Lung walked over to Cillin and tapped him once with his elbow, "Your cat has turned into a demon."
"It’s also a glutton too." Cillin answered with a smile as he cast a glance at the cat.
"Are you going to push for the Sixth B Squadron’s strong development once you get back?" Lung asked.
"I am a lieutenant commander right now, the majority of the work is still done by the commander. I still have to increase my own strength as much as possible."
"You’ve risen quickly enough already. Sigh, to think that I am the lousiest out of the four of us now. Ci Jincheng is actually one h.e.l.l of a dark horse, you know. There was one time we competed shooting skills and I lost a million credits to him. Since then I’ve decided that I would not compete shooting with him ever again. It’s no different from gifting him the money outright." Lung complained.
Cillin gave Lung a kick, "Keep talking. You’re not much better than him when it comes to being a dark horse."
Unexpectedly, Lung did not object to Cillin’s statement, "Sigh. What can I do? I’m the Andrea Family’s first young master."
"Keep up your low profile."
"Of course."
Lung had never revealed his true strength. Outsiders knew that young master Lung’s family produced a lot of high-tech product, and this was obvious from the items he used in his daily activities. However, it was also these high-tech products that had obscured everyone’s vision and acted as a shroud that hid Lung’s true strength from prying eyes.
Cillin knew that Lung was in fact very strong, but this guy would not easily expose his strength unless absolutely necessary. His ident.i.ty as the future successor of the great business family, Andrea, was obvious for anyone to see, so the more strength he managed to conceal from prying eyes, the greater his chance of survival.
Just like how it was back at Seven Lights, there were many things that did not need to be said out loud. It was fine as long as they knew it inside their hearts.
Since the route they chose to leave through went around the hot zones, they safely exited Sector S despite spending a little bit more time. The conflicts in Sector S would probably continue for a while, but they were no longer within Cillin and Lung’s considerations. Right now, they all had their own respective plans to fulfill.
A s.p.a.ceplane left the stars.h.i.+p. This s.p.a.ceplane was robbed and not a property of the Andrea Family, so after they bid Lung goodbye Cillin took the gray cat and Scarlet Wind on the s.p.a.ceplane with him and flew out of the stars.h.i.+p.
"Cillin, are we returning the Sector K directly?" the gray cat looked to be in a good mood.
"Yeah. We’ve hung around Sector S for quite some time already. Once we got back, the B Squadron would probably undergo a consolidation before continuing onto the next phase of the plan. This could also be considered as a new a start for the Sixth B Squadron. We also have new squad members such as Udoze, Rikulab and Scarlet Wind. The rest of the B Squadron commanders will also be introducing some new squad members too since supplies need to be replenished every time a consolidation is done."
"Our B Squadron is the strongest!" the gray cat said with a lot of pride.
Cillin smiled, "Yes, we are the strongest."
Along the way, the gray cat talked about some of the B Squadron’s members under Cillin to Scarlet Wind. The people he talked about were strictly limited to Tang Qiuqiu and a few other familiar faces. As for the rest? It never noticed any of them at all.
Scarlet Wind was feeling a little apprehensive and nervous, but the bigger part of his emotion was still eagerness.
Cillin turned his head back and continued to pilot the s.p.a.ceplane after casting a glance at the duo.
Manpower and talent; combat strength and technology were absolutely necessary for the development of the squadron.
As for Sector S, he would come back and revisit it if he had the chance in the future.