Global Crossing: Empire of Stars — Section 12

"Now I was sure—I was invincible in the Solar System!"

A confident gleam appeared on Lin Zhichen's face. The Qinyuan started up and darted through the asteroids like a swordfish, rapidly closing in on the Pirate Base.

"Big Brother, the pirate fleet is up ahead—two Pirate Gunboats and twelve Raider Boats. If we take them down, we'll make a killing!" Inside a Frigate, a man with a rooster comb hairstyle sat in the captain's chair, practically beaming.

"Two gunboats? I'm afraid we can't swallow that!" The Big Brother in the Holographic Projection frowned deeply. "There are only fifteen of us, one ship each. That makes fifteen Frigates total, and our firepower isn't even in the same league as theirs. If this goes wrong, we'll lose everything! We can't take them down by ourselves!"

The excited crowd calmed down and began weighing the risks and rewards.

"Big Brother, an ambush might still work," someone else said tentatively, trying to break the awkward silence.

"No! There are too many pirate ships. If we don't cripple those two gunboats immediately, they'll counterattack. We might still win, but thinking nobody will die is a pipe dream. The Morgan Financial Group isn't a charity. Do you want to sign lifetime contracts like Brute and the others and become slaves of the financial group?" Big Brother refused decisively.

At the mention of Brute's name, everyone fell silent.

Brute had graduated in the same class as them. He had taken a loan from the Morgan Financial Group to buy a Frigate, and his original contract had only required five years of work. But his ship had been blown up while fighting monsters, and he had ended up as a lifelong employee.

Sure, he would never lack food or clothes for the rest of his life, but dreams and ambitions had truly become nothing more than dreams upon waking.

"Call Bags and the others. At our current distance, both groups can join up in three days. We'll earn a little less, but it'll be safer." Big Brother made the final call.

"What is that?" A startled cry made everyone jump.

"Luper, if you don't give me an explanation—" a two-meter-tall burly man roared.

"Check the radar!" Luper completely ignored the man's threat and shouted.

At this moment, everyone who realized something really was happening hurriedly checked the radar. To their shock, an unknown vessel had crossed the radar's detection range at an unbelievable speed in just a few breaths and was charging straight toward the pirate fleet they had been observing from afar.

"This is bad, Boss! It's after our prey! Damn it, it's stealing our monsters!" the burly man said angrily.

"No, it's racing!!" Luper yelled. "Holy shit, the radar says that ship is racing at 1.2 km/s!"

Everyone present went pale. Don't think that speed amounted to nothing in space. In fact, unless one entered a Sublight state for long-distance travel, moving several hundred meters per second in combat was already considered blindingly fast!

Without a shipboard fire-control computer guiding them, gunners would not even be able to pinpoint the enemy's location.

"Quick, catch up!"

Big Brother snapped out of it and shouted. The group rushed after it in a panic, completely disregarding the possibility of running into the pirate fleet.

Lin Zhichen had long since detected these compatriots with the Qinyuan's more advanced radar, but he had no interest in them at all.

With Master-level Warship Piloting, his speed bonus had reached 105%. Combined with the ship's own speed bonus, the Frigate became a roller coaster, drifting directly through the Asteroid Belt!

He had no intention of sniping them to death with Long-Range Artillery. Instead, he charged head-on toward the pirate fleet!

From the maximum distance of two Light-seconds, the three Electromagnetic Coil Cannons began firing at extreme range. He fired as he charged, with no intention of slowing down!

"Whoosh, whoosh~"

Sublight Tungsten Alloy Projectiles streaked through space and smashed down upon the pirate ships.

With Master-level Artillery Fire, the firing-speed bonus had reached 50%. Almost every two seconds, the three Electromagnetic Cannons completed another salvo. The relentless shells pelted the enemy like hail. Dozens of seconds later, bursts of sparks erupted, while shattered metal armor spun wildly through space.

Before the panicked pirates could lock onto the Qinyuan's position with their radar, a barrage of projectiles tore through the void and raked one Pirate Gunboat from end to end, blowing it into a firework on the spot.

At this moment, the Qinyuan's signal had only just appeared on the pirate ships' outdated radar, while the second gunboat was already being battered by a storm of fire!

The red-hot projectiles launched by electromagnetic acceleration drew fleeting streaks of light through the darkness. Carrying the terrifying kinetic energy of Sublight speed, they pierced through the electromagnetic shields and slammed into the hull.

Seven consecutive volleys struck dead on target. Empowered by the skill bonus, the shells erupted with force no weaker than missile explosions, tearing the gunboat's hull apart and detonating it.

The firelight illuminated the pirates' eyes. Even the emotionally indifferent NPCs finally developed the fear that Intelligent Life should possess. After losing two gunboats in succession, the remaining Pirate Raiders immediately descended into chaos, scattering around like headless flies and turning the battlefield into a complete mess.

A thunderous Decapitation Assault directly shattered the enemy's courage!

The lightning-fast Qinyuan spat out shells. The fragile hulls of the Raider Boats were easily torn apart; a single volley of three shells was enough to cripple one.

Some of the unluckier ones were hit directly in vital areas and exploded into blazing fireballs on the spot.

At full speed, the Qinyuan was like a Fierce General charging into battle on horseback. Its opening mounted archery killed the enemy commander first, and that single exchange shattered their morale. With no organization left, the pirates simply awaited slaughter. Not a single ship even remembered to fight back!

After one charge, two Pirate Gunboats and five Raider Boats had been Destroyed. The remaining seven Raider Boats scattered in all directions, only to be quickly targeted by the Qinyuan as it turned back.

The Electromagnetic Cannons fired rapidly. One salvo crippled a pirate ship, and by the time that round was over, only wreckage remained on the battlefield.

Lin Zhichen checked the time. It had taken exactly fifteen minutes—what the ancients called the time it took to drink a cup of tea.

"Collect the loot. Let's find the next batch!"

Half an hour later, Luper and his group finally reached the battlefield. Looking at the shattered armor floating through space, they fell into a strange silence.

The battlefield was obvious. These were the wrecks left behind by the pirate ships. There was no sign of any Frigates.

"What did we just see?" someone asked. No one answered.

That ghostlike shadow had already been branded into their hearts, and it would surely be branded into the hearts of every Earth captain.

Name: Lin Zhichen Red

Gender: Male

Age: 21

Talent: Heaven Rewards Diligence Purple: Effect 1: Effort brings rewards; skill practice leads to improvement.

Effect 2: Members within the faction benefit from this talent.

Psionicist Red: Effect 1: Awaken Psionics.

Effect 2: Skill Learning Speed +10%;

Gate of Time and Space Blue: Opens once per month, searches for spacetime imprints, and unlocks temporary instances.

Ship Command Red: Effect 1: Ship Evasion +24%*5;

Effect 2: Sublight Speed +23%*5

Profession: Captain Red, Master

Skills: 1—Psionic Cultivation Red, Psionic Apprentice 92.11%;

—Ship Command Red, Master 33.47%: Effect 1: Ship Evasion +22%;

Effect 2: Sublight Speed +23%;

—Sublight Assault Red, Advanced 33.47%: Effect 1: Sublight Cannon Barrage Precision +21%;

Effect 2: Sublight Cannon Barrage Damage +24%;

Psionics: 126

Evaluation: Watch me, Flying Immortal from Beyond the Heavens!

"Looks like my Decapitation Assault has become an independent skill!" Lin Zhichen looked at Sublight Assault in the skill list and felt quite satisfied.

If this skill continued developing, it would evolve into a talent, and then it might have a chance to evolve into a Psionic Combat Skill!

Then he looked at Ship Command. As a captain, this was his primary skill.

For Psionicists, once a talent had been cultivated to Red, they could spend time refining it with Psionics and convert it into a Psionic Combat Skill.

What was so awesome about Psionic Combat Skills?

Ordinary people cultivated skills and talents only up to the Grandmaster level. A talent could gain a tenfold bonus, and that was the peak of what mortals could achieve.

Yet even the weakest Psionic Combat Skill could receive a tenfold bonus!

Furthermore, Psionic Combat Skills only required a Psionicist to cultivate the relevant talent to Red before conversion was possible. Some gifted Psionicists reached the required talent level while their skills had only just reached Expert-level, allowing them to convert directly.

As powerful as Psionic Combat Skills were, they were not without limitations. Among the known three ranks—Psionic Apprentice, Psionic Warrior, and Psionic Master—a Psionic Apprentice had one skill slot. Advancing to Psionic Warrior added two more, while advancing to Psionic Master granted three skill slots. They were extremely precious.

Moreover, the higher the skill, the more powerful the converted Psionic Combat Skill would be. It was said that when one of a Psionicist's skills reached Grandmaster-level, it would naturally transform into a Psionic Combat Skill. At that point, the skill would not occupy a Psionic Combat Skill slot and would count as an additional skill.

Of course, that was only a rumor. Among a million people, one might not be found who could cultivate a skill all the way to Grandmaster-level.

Even fewer Psionicists could reach that point.

"My first Psionic Combat Skill is about to appear!" Lin Zhichen sighed inwardly, though he knew this step would not be easy.

Unless he was willing to live with regrets, Ship Command had to be raised to the Grandmaster level. But advancing from Master-level to Grandmaster-level was not merely a matter of quantity—it was a qualitative transformation, and there would inevitably be a bottleneck.

But once he broke through, he would lay a solid foundation for becoming one of humanity's foremost commanders in the future.

"Qinyuan, move out!" After steadying his emotions, Lin Zhichen pointed toward the Pirate Base. "Let's go straight for the dragon's lair!"

More than a hundred thousand light-years away from the Pirate Base, an inconspicuous asteroid drifted silently through the starry sky.

If one moved closer to inspect it, they would discover several obvious cameras protruding from the object, which otherwise looked no different from an asteroid, all aimed at the Pirate Base in the distance.

A Space Spy Eye, an intelligence-gathering device produced by the Federation's Beggs Precision Engineering Company. It was specifically designed to lurk around important enemy locations and collect intelligence.

The pirates' crude technological capabilities could not detect the faint electromagnetic waves in space at all, allowing crucial intelligence to be continuously transmitted to the rear.

"Dr. Bros, how are things? Have you gathered the intelligence on this Pirate Base?" A gentle voice rang out, waking the balding middle-aged man who had been absorbed in the data.

"Lord Kadir, we've figured out the general situation." Dr. Bros pushed up the glasses on his nose.

"This is a Mini Pirate Base. According to the intelligence, it has been here for more than two months and has undergone at least eight refreshes.

"This base possesses no fewer than thirty-five Pirate Gunboats and two hundred Pirate Raiders, divided into roughly twelve patrol teams. About half its forces patrol within four Light-seconds of the base, rotating every seven to ten days."

"A tough bone to chew." Hearing this, Lin Zhichen's acquaintance and unlucky mark, Kadir Rockefeller, fell silent for a moment before giving his assessment.

"Yes. According to our observations, this Pirate Base is equipped with sixteen small turrets, eight medium turrets, and four large turrets. Half are Railguns, and half are Red Laser Cannons," Dr. Bros agreed.

"There are also eight point-defense cannons. Their close-range firepower is dense and poses a major threat to landing craft. We cannot let our guard down."

Kadir Rockefeller frowned deeply and considered the matter. "Doctor, when do you think this base will complete its advancement?"

"According to my calculations, if no one clears it out, this base will advance into a Small Pirate Base in as little as two weeks, or at most four weeks."