Hostage

At the bow, along the ship's central axis, a long, thick-barreled main gun protruded. The hull was covered in blue-black armor, with a high-speed rail running beneath the armor plating around its midsection.

Four secondary-gun turrets were distributed along the high-speed rail, ready to bring their fire to bear on every inch of space around the ship.

As soon as the battleship appeared, four yellow tractor beams extended from its underside and firmly restrained Wang Dong's Mine Overlord Type 2.

That wasn't all. At the same time, every detector and communicator aboard Wang Dong's Mine Overlord Type 2 stopped functioning properly, reduced to static and a lingering hiss.

Wang Dong understood. The battleship had scattered "Mie Particles" over a small area, directly cutting off detection and communication signals within it.

Mie Particles were a technology unique to this human civilization.

They had a rest mass close to zero.

When scattered across a battlefield, they rendered most modern, known wireless communication and target-detection technologies within the covered area ineffective, with the exception of visible light (optical communication).

Although this area lay within the mining zone itself, making it difficult to detect from a distance and hard to establish communication with the outside world anyway—

"Here they come!"

Wang Dong's heart leaped.

Just like in his previous life, this battleship had fled and hidden in this Asteroid Belt Mining Zone while being pursued.

In response to the sudden turn of events, Wang Dong reacted exactly as he should.

He feigned shock.

Then he quickly calmed down.

He adjusted the detector and communicator, all while putting on his spacesuit.

He did all three in one fluid motion.

When the first two measures failed, he didn't panic or make a pointless counterattack with the miniature laser gun mounted on the Mine Overlord Type 2.

That laser gun couldn't even pierce the hull of a mining ship, let alone the armor of the battleship before him.

After his attempts to save himself failed, Wang Dong left the control console decisively and shut off the Mine Overlord Type 2's propulsion engines to show he meant no harm.

It was his way of saying, "I surrender. Do as you please."

The situation looked desperate, but it wasn't necessarily a death sentence.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have restrained him with tractor beams. They would have simply fired a few shots.

Given the Mine Overlord Type 2's thin-skinned, hollow nature, the battleship wouldn't even need its main gun. A few shots from any of its four secondary guns would turn Wang Dong and the Mine Overlord Type 2 into cosmic dust, forever buried in the Asteroid Belt Mining Zone.

So the calm expression on Wang Dong's face gave way to a mix of three parts confusion, three parts worry, and four parts excitement.

But he wasn't despairing.

He was confused about the battleship's motives.

He was worried about the unpredictable fortune or disaster that awaited him.

As for his excitement, it came from the chance to get close to such a ship—one clearly different from the patrol ships he saw every day, and capable of extraordinary things.

Of course, the Auxiliary System, which had always been there but had remained unnoticed, had already provided information on this mysterious battleship.

E-Class Seed Destroyer

Status: 88%

Growth Potential: Low

This situation lasted for a while.

Then the armor beneath the battleship shifted to either side, and the hatch swung wide open.

Last time, in his nervousness, Wang Dong had felt as if a long time had passed.

But this time, his heart barely stirred, and he carefully timed it.

"Eighty-nine seconds, less than a minute and a half. Looks like he's in far more of a hurry than I thought. Then again, his physical condition doesn't allow for delays."

Under the tractor beams' pull, the entire Mine Overlord Type 2 carrying Wang Dong was drawn into the battleship's belly.

Wang Dong felt a little relieved.

So far, everything was going smoothly.

Once the hatch closed again, two armed robots appeared outside the Mine Overlord Type 2's hull.

They stood slightly taller than the average person. Their gleaming silver skeletons were fitted with various weapons for use inside a ship, and they were commonly used for internal security.

Wang Dong could even name their model.

Imperial Guard Type 3 Armed Robots, released forty years ago, priced at 6.5 million each.

Their strengths were a well-developed combat AI and the ability to adapt to a variety of uses. Their weakness was their exposed skeletons and lack of outer armor, which left them vulnerable to powerful personal weapons.

But this was clearly no time to show off his vast knowledge.

Wang Dong obediently opened the hatch of the Mine Overlord Type 2, climbed out, and submitted to the two armed robots watching him from either side.

The weapons in their hands were Blast Cannons designed for use inside a ship, mainly for suppressing unarmored and lightly armored targets.

He had no time to take a close look at the large cargo bay.

As green arrows lit up on the floor, the two armed robots took Wang Dong by the arms and led him onto a circular platform about one and a half meters in diameter.

A pale red magnetic field formed around the platform's edge, firmly securing Wang Dong and the two armed robots in place.

The platform rose into the air and sped along the corridors inside the ship.

After passing through three corridors and four compartments, Wang Dong arrived at a circular armored bulkhead.

"The command center, also known as the bridge."

Wang Dong murmured to himself.

Five seconds later, the door opened.

Wang Dong strode in without hesitation, and the door closed behind him.

He'd expected as much, but the scene inside the command center still left Wang Dong momentarily stunned.