Jump! Jump!

Yang Ming kept his eyes fixed on the pirate ship ahead.

He made a slight adjustment to the square control stick, pushing it to a higher setting. He had to shorten the final minute or two of the journey as much as possible.

Yang Ming spoke quickly:

"Have your daughter get ready to jump early. We'll charge in at the very last moment before the jump completes. Otherwise, there's no need to drag them into this.

"Make sure we receive their surrender signal and establish communications with them. I'll do my best to hold them off."

Kolev immediately lowered his head and began working, reconnecting with his pirate ship over an encrypted channel.

The old man's voice had regained its calm.

"Milili, I'm controlling the ship remotely now. There's a warship here, but don't worry. They won't open fire lightly. Remember our specialty?"

Milili? Which Milili? His daughter was named Milili?

Yang Ming was startled, but he couldn't afford to get distracted now.

"Okay, Dad! I'm not worried. I'm excited!" Milili's voice trembled slightly.

"Give me access... Yes, just like that."

A holographic projection appeared on the square glass panel in Kolev's hand, depicting the pirate ship ahead.

Static crackled—the sound of electromagnetic interference.

A familiar woman's voice came from the Maintenance Boat's central console.

It was Lina!

"Hanton, I can forgive your rudeness, but now you have to come back with me. Otherwise, I'd rather destroy you."

"Is that so, Lina?"

Yang Ming glanced to starboard and pushed the square control stick forward again. The powerful force pressing him into his seat made him feel a little excited.

"I apologize for our intense physical encounter, but Lina, we both know how miserable things would be for me if I went back with you. I just learned a saying, Lina."

Yang Ming looked up at the pirate ship ahead.

Blue light shimmered above the ship, along its port and starboard sides, and across its forward deck. A thin film was slowly enveloping the entire vessel.

Usually, a film of that color was a low-grade Energy Shield.

The pirates seemed to have prepared for battle.

But when Yang Ming turned to look at Kolev, he saw excitement gradually entering the old man's eyes.

Yang Ming didn't know the details, but he understood that there was something special about the pirate ship's "shield." He had to do everything he could to save the ship.

"Don't make me hate you, Lina. Don't hurt the new friends I've just made."

"Hanton, a pirate ship like that can't withstand even one hit from our main guns. A shield of that strength is like a sheet of paper," Lina said. "You have nowhere to run, Hanton. Didn't you just learn a saying? We can talk face-to-face. I'll take your hand and forgive you for your earlier recklessness."

Yang Ming murmured thoughtfully.

He saw the excitement in Kolev's eyes.

Following Kolev's signal, Yang Ming kept the Maintenance Boat steady as he slowly turned it to line up with the opening at the pirate ship's tail.

The blue film flowed toward the rear like water.

"Lina, I can go back with you."

Yang Ming continued, "But I need to get my old friend out of here. Catching these Star Pirates won't mean much to you. Can you let them go, Lina?"

"Of course," Lina replied softly. "I'll let them leave. That's an official promise. Now, please stop your Maintenance Boat and have the pirate ship lower its shield."

Yang Ming adjusted the Small Boat's position, his vision filled with blue light.

There were only a little over a hundred meters left to the rear, but the Maintenance Boat had to slow down to avoid crashing into the hull.

Kolev kept rubbing the glass panel in his hands.

He was calculating how to perfectly match the speed of the blue film's expansion with the Maintenance Boat's forward glide.

Thirty meters.

The outer hatch of the pirate ship's Tail Compartment began closing early.

Kolev gestured for Yang Ming to move forward. Yang Ming gently pushed the control stick.

An awful silence settled inside the Small Boat.

Yang Ming thought he could hear someone's heartbeat.

"Hanton," Lina said, "we'll send a Landing Ship to take control of the pirate ship. But don't worry—as long as you cooperate, we won't hurt them. They should save their energy. That shield is completely pointless."

"Is that so, Lina?" Yang Ming murmured. "Your lips are so sweet. I hope that wasn't the last time we were intimate."

Lina was clearly a little embarrassed, but she quickly replied in a gentle voice, "We can have plenty of time alone together. Neither of us will disappoint the other, right, Hanton?"

"That's right, Lina. I like kissing you."

The Maintenance Boat slid into the opening of the Tail Compartment.

Two seconds later, the blue film quietly sealed shut.

Five seconds later, the outer hatch at the rear closed.

The Maintenance Boat was moving a little too fast. Yang Ming pressed it against the reinforced deck of the Tail Compartment with the square control stick, and a series of sparks flew as it scraped against the hull.

Suddenly!

Vmmm—

The light around the pirate ship wavered slightly. A lensing effect made the starlight around it appear in arcs!

"That's Subspace Coating!"

On the bridge of Guard Ship No. 3, several officers stared wide-eyed at the scene before them, then shouted at Lina on the nearby projection screen:

"That's not a shield—it's Jump Coating! They've opened Subspace! Damn it! How did they do that? They actually mimicked the energy fluctuations of a shield!"

"What?" Lina looked stunned. "Stop them!"

"Starboard cannon three is charged!"

"Starboard cannon four is charged!"

"Ma'am, can we shoot them down? Give the order!"

"The target will initiate its jump in twenty-five seconds."

The shock swiftly faded from Lina's eyes.

Her image appeared on the projection screen on the bridge of Guard Ship No. 3;

the screen in front of Lina was split in two, with one side locked onto the pirate ship carrying Yang Ming and the other showing the bridge.

"Twenty seconds!"

The technician turned and shouted.

The bridge erupted into noise, then quickly fell silent. Everyone's eyes converged on Lina's projection.

In the rear seat of the Hovercar, Lina had clenched her hands tightly.

"Fifteen seconds to countdown! The target is about to open a Jump Channel!"

"Ma'am!"

"Lina, do you still want to hear that saying?"

Yang Ming's voice suddenly came through. But the Subspace film interfered with communications, making his deliberately slow voice sound low and hoarse:

"A beast that has tasted freedom won't step into its grave ahead of time."

"Ma'am!"

Lina could barely breathe. Several thoughts flashed through her mind.

Geglov's technology, the sole success of the War God Program, the results of her nine months undercover...

All she could see before her eyes was herself kissing that Modified human...

"The target has opened the channel!"

On the screen, the pirate ship, which looked as if it might fall apart at any moment, flickered faintly.

"Fire!"

Lina shouted at once. A deep purple ray shot from the side cannon of Guard Ship No. 3.

The pirate ship suddenly flickered!

The Purple Ray skimmed past the pirate ship, but struck only a faint ripple of light.

The starfield ahead returned to normal, and the lensing effect at the edge of Subspace disappeared.

Lina slumped into the rear seat, waves of dizziness washing over her again. Her chest rose and fell with her breathing.

At that moment, Lina thought of Geglov, as Hanton had described him.

Yes, she too had hesitated and faltered.

Just as Geglov had when facing the Valkyrie.

"Can you locate where they jumped to?" Lina asked, her voice trembling.

"We can't track them for now. That was a long-distance jump. The pirates always have jump points we don't know about," the captain of Guard Ship No. 3 replied. "The Peacekeeping Force at Kor Port has sent us an inquiry. Our ship has entered restricted airspace... You shouldn't have hesitated, Lina, Level 1 Intelligence Officer. I'll report the entire incident to your superior exactly as it happened."

"Mm, I know. Thank you for cooperating."

Lina nodded calmly and said nothing more.

After a bout of high-frequency vibration, there was often a fit of heavy panting.

Yang Ming was all right. During the dozen or so seconds of the jump, he had felt only a faint tugging sensation.

The pirate ship's jump was nowhere near as comfortable as the Humanity Investigation Ship's.

But when Yang Ming turned to look at Kolev, he was startled.

The old man was panting hard, his eyes bloodshot and his face dark. His body trembled continuously.

Yang Ming immediately realized what was happening. He pressed a hand against the old man's chest and gave him a gentle pat. Kolev turned and threw up noisily.

A short while later, Kolev slumped in his seat. Yang Ming turned on the Maintenance Boat's air purification system.

That was freedom, all right: the air reeked of vomit.

The Tail Compartment began slowly pressurizing. The "Formula Air" outside was still very thin, and Yang Ming didn't dare go out rashly. He began looking around the excessively spacious Tail Compartment.

The old man beside him swore a few times in spacefaring slang, then burst out laughing.

"We're alive! Hahaha! Hanton!"

Yang Ming smiled with narrowed eyes.

The feeling of escaping death was pretty great.

"Relax. We're safe for now." Kolev slumped into the leather pilot's seat. "Why were you so sure your pretty Lina would hesitate? Frontline intelligence officers like her are all rigorously trained. If I can't have it, then no one can—that's always been their principle."

Yang Ming replied casually, "I'm confident in my French-kissing skills."

"Oh, please!" Kolev rolled his eyes.

Yang Ming's brow twitched slightly. "Was what you said earlier true? About your first wife and her female friend?"

"Oh." Kolev looked full of regret. "The older you get, the more you ramble. How did I end up telling you all that? Yes, it's true. But don't worry—I was still a good man back then."

"What happened afterward?"

"I left that city. After taking them to the hospital and contacting the local police, I planned to return to my hometown—a habitable resource planet full of sand dunes. I needed somewhere to lick my wounds."

Kolev sighed. "But on the way back, I ran into pirates and became their captive. Because I had a Senior Technician Certificate, they took me back to work as a technician. Little by little, I became a professional pirate."

Yang Ming nodded.

"What about your story?" Kolev asked. "Hanton, First Mate, we're friends. Your turn to share."

Yang Ming pointed at the hatch opening in the distance.

Kolev laughed. "Come on, tell me. Otherwise, I won't let you off. You're in my territory now!"

"I'm an officer in the Sherman Empire."

Yang Ming watched with interest as several old people ran over from outside. They looked about the same age as Kolev.

That made sense. Kolev was an old pirate, after all. It was only natural for his pirate crew to have a few old folks.

Yang Ming continued, "I used to work on an evil gene-modification experiment ship, handling fire safety. Then there was an accident, and the ship exploded during a Modified Uprising. I was lucky enough to escape. I underwent standard enhancement procedures, and when necessary, I suppress those half-finished Modified humans."

Several middle-aged men and women appeared behind the old people, their expressions full of respect.

"And then?" Kolev asked, undoing his seat belt and beginning to operate the Maintenance Boat's Scissor Door.

Yang Ming's eyes suddenly lit up.

He saw a young woman running toward them. Her lovely face and curvy figure made Yang Ming smile knowingly.

But when her features overlapped with images in his memory, his expression gradually shifted to shock and disbelief.

He recognized that beautiful face!

He had seen her from afar more than once in the Abyss!

Praise the Old Gods... Kolev's daughter really was Milili!

There'll be an extra update at midnight. Happy National Day!