Extortion

Because the communication devices on the spaceships were docked, what Gu Ding said through the communication device could be clearly heard by the other pilot spaceship, as well as by Liliath and the others in the Main Cabin.

Upon hearing this, Fa Te was stunned. He never expected that the seemingly harmless Gu Ding would have such a domineering side. He actually detained the other side's leader and demanded a ransom.

When Tuo Er learned of Gu Ding's identity, he already guessed that the other party was not a good person, but he did not expect the other party to pull such a move, which was simply impossible to guard against.

After hearing no sound from the other ship for a while, Gu Ding urged, "What, you don't want this hostage?"

"Gu Ding, you're asking us for a ransom. Have you thought about the consequences of getting it?" Tuo Er finally spoke up and asked in return. "In my opinion, it's best if both sides compromise. You release the hostage, we leave, and promise never to bother you again. Anyway, you haven't suffered any losses, and we can pretend nothing happened. That's the best outcome."

"You're wrong. This is the best outcome for you. But for us, it might not be so." Gu Ding shook his head and said, "I still stand by what I said: if you want hostages, then pay the ransom."

On the other ship, there was a chorus of curses, Gu Ding ignored them completely, waiting for Tuo Er's reply.

After a long silence, Tuo Er finally spoke, "How many do you want?"

"How much do you think your captain is worth?" Liliath was originally in the living room, appeared in the cockpit at some point and snatched the spaceship's communication microphone from Gu Ding's hand.

Bargaining is something Liliath excels at, and she naturally won't let go of any opportunity to squeeze money out of someone.

Upon hearing Liliath's voice, Fa Te, in the Main Cabin, noticed that Liliath, who had been sitting not far from him, was nowhere to be seen.

"We can exchange it for a three-star Revenge. This spaceship was obtained from the ruins of an ancient civilization, and its value is even higher than that of Four-Star Divine Object. If we auction it off, it can fetch at least 50 billion Universe Crystal." Tuo Er didn't say much after hearing Liliath's voice, but simply quoted a price.

"You have seven of Samsung's spaceships. Trying to trade one for a hostage? That's hardly sincere!" Liliath ignored the price of the spaceships and focused on sincerity. In truth, trading one hostage for one spaceship was already quite a bargain. A Mid-rank God- level Interstellar Pirate typically has a bounty between ten billion and ten billion, with only monstrous Mid-rank God having bounties exceeding ten billion. Those Interstellar Pirate with bounties reaching five hundred billion Universe Crystal possessed at least the Combat Strength of High-rank God. Therefore, Tuo Er's offer was actually quite high.

Tuo Er frowned upon hearing Liliath's words. "Young lady, 50 billion Universe Crystal is no small sum. A Four-Star Divine Object weapon or armor is worth around 40 billion Universe Crystal. In the Universe Sea, Interstellar Pirate with bounties as high as 50 billion Universe Crystal are all around the Combat Strength of Two-Star High-rank God. If you can't even accept such a price, isn't it because you yourself lack sincerity?"

"Price and value are two different things," Liliath retorted. "You're trading a spaceship for a person, which is enough in price, but not enough in value. You have seven Revenge ships in total, so giving up one is no big deal. But you only have one Captain. In your eyes, the Captain's value is far greater than that of a spaceship."

"Two Revenge ships!" Tuo Er quoted the price again, too lazy to waste any more words with Liliath. The other party was clearly trying to rip him off, only offering pleasantries in return.

Gu Ding, standing to the side, felt that the price was already acceptable, and he also looked at Liliath, but Liliath seemed to have no intention of backing down. "We don't accept this price either."

Tuo Er's eyes blazed with fury. He slammed his fist on the table and roared, "What do you want?!"

"The only thing in your team that's worth as much as your leader's is that four-star Night God," Liliath said calmly. "Trade it for the Night God."

"You're pushing your luck!" Tuo Er said through gritted teeth. He had completely memorized Liliath, and the memory was deeply ingrained in him. Behind Tuo Er, the mercenaries also unleashed a torrent of angry curses.

"Whether to replace it or not is a simple matter of a single sentence; there's no need for further nonsense." Liliath's expression turned cold upon hearing the insults.

Liliath's exorbitant demands surprised even Gu Ding, who was standing nearby. The Night God was the most valuable asset in the opposing team's fleet—a four-star ancient civilization spaceship, almost 100% intact. At Auction House, it could fetch at least 80 million source stones, and it wouldn't be surprising if it sold for over 100 million.

Upon hearing Liliath's offer to exchange him for the Night God, Xiao Te had remained silent until now, suddenly shouted into the communicator in Liliath's hand, "No! Even if I die, I will not trade the Night God!"

Seeing his reaction, Liliath frowned. She knew that after Xiao Te's words, the likelihood of Tuo Er agreeing to the exchange would decrease significantly.

As expected, after a moment, Tuo Er spoke again, "We cannot agree to this condition. Three Revenge ships—this is the final offer we can make. If you cannot accept this, then there's no need to continue negotiating."

This time, it was Liliath's turn to fall silent. She had been in control all along, but now the other party seemed to have figured it out. The captain was important, but he could be abandoned when necessary.

Gu Ding nodded to Liliath, signaling her agreement. After a moment, Liliath finally spoke, "Three ships it is. Clear out the ships immediately, and we will collect them."

Tuo Er quickly had the spaceship cleared out.

Meanwhile, Gu Ding sent Robert to store the three spaceships in his Storage Space and release Xiao Te, who was being held hostage.

After Xiao Te returned to the spaceship, a fierce glint flashed in Tuo Er's eyes. "All ships, lock onto Gu Ding's ship, fire!!"

"Yes, fire! Blast them to smithereens!" Xiao Te shouted wildly.

The cannons of the five spaceships were already aimed at Gu Ding and his Titan Warship, and after receiving the order, they opened fire almost at the same time.

This time, Sea Emperor didn't control the enemy's firepower; he wanted to test just how powerful the Titan Warship truly was. Dozens of massive cannons on the five ships fired simultaneously, but the attacks were all blocked by the Titan Warship's energy shield, which only developed a slight crack. Inside the shield, the ships only swayed slightly, the swaying being extremely minor.

Although it was only a very small tremor, Fa Te still a little nervous, as it was the first time he had encountered a spaceship being attacked.

The opponent's decision to fight was actually within Gu Ding's expectations. Liliath's extortion had nearly halved the number of ships in the opposing team, and no one would willingly accept such a significant loss. Moreover, at this point, the mission had already failed, and the opponent wouldn't care about the life or death of their original objective.

The bombardment had been withstood, causing Tuo Er's expression to change drastically. He immediately determined the Gu Ding spaceship's rank; only a five-star ship could easily withstand the Night God's attack. "This is utterly despicable! A five-star ship disguised as One-Star War God!"

Sea Emperor quickly erected Second Level protective shield for its spaceship, and then the muzzles of its five Armor-Piercing Cannons were aimed at the five enemy ships, with five cannon roars exploding almost simultaneously.

The remaining four Revenge ships of the Copper Fist Mercenary Group had their protective shields torn to shreds instantly, easily pierced by Armor-Piercing Bullet. The Night God, too, had a large hole pierced through its shield by the same attack; the shell embedded itself in the hull but did not penetrate.

"As expected of a four-star spaceship, the Titan Warship's attack failed to penetrate it." Gu Ding also somewhat surprised.

Sea Emperor, of course, wouldn't give the enemy a second chance. Soon, the second cannon roar rang out again, and a white light flashed in the void. This time, he wasn't using Armor-Piercing Cannon, but Photon Cannon. And this time, the target was only the Night God; the other four Vengeances had their control systems damaged by Armor-Piercing Bullet and were essentially paralyzed.

The second bombardment targeted the control system again, and this time the bombardment burned out all the control system circuitry of Sea Emperor Night God, paralyzing the ship.

"Let's go!" Gu Ding felt there was no need to linger any longer. He said this to Sea Emperor, stood up, and walked out of the cockpit.

Liliath followed them out. She felt that Xiao Te and his team had only themselves to blame for what happened. If they had chosen to leave, none of this would have occurred.

Sea Emperor directly controlled the spaceship to leave. The enemy's remaining five spaceships were completely paralyzed, and man-made attacks were completely ineffective against Gu Ding and his crew's spaceship. They could only watch helplessly as Gu Ding and his crew's spaceship left.

In the Main Cabin of the Titan Warship, in the living room, Fa Te finally released the safety rope securing him. He hadn't expected things to end so easily. The entire process took less than twenty minutes, and it was a complete and utter victory over the opponent. Whether it was taking hostages for spoils or using the spaceship to bombard the enemy, Fa Te was filled with immense admiration for Gu Ding.

He used to live a completely different life, dealing with numbers every day. Now, aboard Interstellar Pirate ship, he finds this way of life quite enjoyable, which has led him to re-examine his life. Looking back on his past experiences, none of them seem as interesting as this.

At this moment, Gu Ding and Liliath had also returned to the living room.

"The matter is resolved, and they are unlikely to catch up again..." Gu Ding said to Fa Te with a smile.

Before he could finish speaking, the Sea Emperor's voice rang in his ears, "Gu Ding, another fleet is approaching!"