Yang Ming's Plan

Yang Ming went to deploy the spores the second time.

Of course, Kolev had not looked down on Guka, the "second-in-command," in the slightest. It was simply that... Yang Ming had not taken the other party seriously and had volunteered to work alone.

Yang Ming did not want to become dependent on Kolev. After all, he could only carry out his plans for the future by himself.

The deployment went smoothly. Guka's two ships had been successfully infected by the Electronic Spores.

At the same time, the secondhand Stealth Boat worth more than a million Federal Credits had completed its main mission during the first half of the plan. Yang Ming had secured it in the Tail Compartment hangar of the Feinan.

Tsk, tsk. This thing would be his from now on!

Captain Yang Ming, who had "captured" a secondhand Stealth Boat before the war had even begun, was in an excellent mood and full of confidence in the plan ahead.

"Captain has arrived on the bridge!"

Molly Two's voice was as energetic as ever today.

"How's it going, Kolev?"

"Very smoothly!" "Very smoothly."

Two voices sounded at once. Two Kolevs turned their heads at the same time and raised their left hands in perfect synchronization.

At a glance, it was difficult to tell which one was the real Kolev.

The only difference was that the Kolev on the left wore a silver-white helmet and held a champagne glass, while the Kolev on the right still had dull, lifeless eyes and empty hands.

Yang Ming exclaimed in admiration, "It's almost indistinguishable from the real thing! Aside from being a little expensive, this thing is flawless."

It really was expensive.

This Bionic Robot cost as much as two million Federal Currency because it possessed the Master-Substitute Synchronization function. In some politically unstable small countries, politicians regarded it as a second life.

The equipment supporting the robot was the metal cabinet displayed in the corner of the bridge.

It was an auxiliary device that could quickly give the Bionic Robot a new appearance. It contained expensive bionic materials and could give the robot a new outer layer within half an hour.

Kolev removed his helmet.

The substitute robot slowly lowered its head. A faint flash appeared in its chest, and it entered standby mode.

"Hanton! Ha-ha! We can open the champagne!"

Kolev spoke excitedly. "The two million was money well spent! I want to get one for my daughter too!"

"You haven't even finished half the preparations and you've already started celebrating? My dear First Mate Kolev, don't act more rashly than I do. I'm only a young man, while you're already seventy or eighty!"

Yang Ming teased him with a laugh.

He removed the jacket of his combat suit, hurried to the control console, skillfully opened the star map, and found the next marked point.

Orhaifu.

The former location of the Black Market.

Because of the Guer Alliance battleship's intimidation, the Black Market merchants of Orhaifu had long since fled.

Orhaifu itself was a marginal Administrative Planet of a poor small country. It had a terrible political environment, a weak industrial system, and a space defense system that existed in name only.

The Feinan headed toward a nearby "gravitationally blurred equilibrium zone," and Yang Ming set the pre-jump mode.

Kolev wandered over with a plate of steak. "Hanton, don't you need to rest? Our preparations are more than sufficient. There's no need to be so tense."

"Isn't this already resting?"

Yang Ming leaned back, and the seat automatically adjusted into a half-reclined position.

Kolev handed over the plate of steak. Yang Ming pinched off two strips, stuffed them into his mouth, and chewed heartily.

His mouth filled with the taste of rich sauce.

Yang Ming said, "Two, give me Orhaifu's detailed information."

"Of course, Captain."

Kolev sighed. "You really are a workaholic."

Several pages of images and text appeared on the Projection screen before Yang Ming.

The planet had a permanent population of roughly eight hundred thousand, all living in two cities.

With the Black Market merchants gone, Gimo, Guka, and Lina had all completely relaxed their surveillance of the place.

The reason Yang Ming and Kolev had chosen this location was that behind the two cities lay a stretch of urban ruins abandoned because of war.

It was an excellent ambush site.

Kolev smiled. "The robots we placed there have been working on the far side of the planet for half a month, and those people haven't noticed anything unusual."

Yang Ming recalled Orhaifu's two sharply divided cities.

One looked like part of a wealthy province of the Sherman Empire;

the other looked like a garbage dump on the outskirts of a city.

"Is there anything fun in Orhaifu's residential district?" Yang Ming asked.

"Quite a lot. Pirates often go there to spend money. There are high markups and a wide range of services," Kolev said slowly. "After we've dealt with this, we can go there to relax too."

"Foot massages and shaves?"

"No, no. As long as we don't bring Milili, we can enjoy any entertainment you can think of."

Kolev winked, and Yang Ming narrowed his eyes with a smile.

He liked that.

"All right. Next, we should discuss the third step of the plan," Kolev said. "I really don't know how you came up with it. You even know tricks like this."

Yang Ming said calmly, "It's just Two Peaches Kill Three Warriors."

"What?"

"Nothing. I made up the phrase myself." Yang Ming narrowed his eyes slightly. "You should prepare to fake your death."

Kolev reminded him, "You'll still need to use this Bionic Robot later. Be careful when you shoot. Don't hit its Positronic Brain. Once that thing is damaged, it can't be repaired. Shoot the heart instead. It's hollow, and we've also put a blood pack there."

"Don't worry. I care about this thing more than you do. This is my hope of shaking off the Guer Alliance." Yang Ming yawned. "I'll catch up on some sleep. Wake me before we reach Orhaifu."

"Remember to inject the Gene Stabilizer on time," Kolev reminded him. "If you suddenly go berserk, these old bones of mine won't be able to withstand you."

Yang Ming smiled, adjusted the seat to sleep mode, and soon began to snore.

"All right. I'll prepare the video needed for step four of the plan."

Kolev licked his fingers, hummed a little tune, and opened the recording device and speech draft before him.

Yang Ming's plan was divided into three parts overall.

The first part was rather complicated. It included the preliminary preparations, the two spore deployments, setting up the ambush on Orhaifu, and obtaining the Bionic Robot to fake Kolev's death.

--They had already completed most of it, and everything was progressing steadily.

The second part was Kolev's treasure.

This was Kolev's favorite part, and the main reason he had been willing to spend so extravagantly this time.

"Ahem. Ahem, ahem."

Kolev cleared his throat and adjusted the video parameters, making himself look as though he had returned to his forties or fifties, with a vigorous and radiant appearance.

"You little brats! Hello!

"Are you surprised to see me? This is a small program I hid in the systems of various ships. It activates after my heart stops beating.

"Yes, people always need to make preparations for a rainy day, especially in our line of work..."

Outside the Feinan's portholes, the silent river of stars carried flashes from hundreds of millions of years ago.

Accompanied by the old man's warm, cheerful recitation, the hands of the clock accelerated as they moved forward, turning and turning until they pointed to the moment when "Yang Ming's Plan" officially began.

"Still no news of Kolev?"

Haggard Lina stared at the screen before her. Continuous sleep deprivation had robbed her skin of its former luster.

The several intelligence officers working beside her shook their heads in unison. Their identical uniforms made them look strikingly uniform.

"Ma'am, waiting like this is a little too passive. Kolev is already over seventy. He may have retired with his daughter."

"Keep waiting. Finding Kolev is our only way to locate Target Number One."

Lina leaned back against the sofa. Her forehead, which had suffered a heavy blow several months ago, was still throbbing faintly.

"Don't worry. I'll give you excellent evaluations on your performance reports."

The young people immediately became full of energy.

Suddenly.

"Ma'am!"

A young man stared fixedly at the screen and spoke rapidly. "Intelligence Point 362 has sent a message! Kolev has been spotted!"

"Where?"

Lina shot to her feet. Her slender body wavered unsteadily, but she immediately rushed behind the young man and stared closely at the Projection screen.

The screen displayed an image.

Kolev, dressed in a crisp suit with his beard shaved off, wore sunglasses and a hat as he walked with his head lowered through a brightly lit corridor. A large hand rested lightly on his shoulder.

It was Hanton's hand!

Hanton was dressed similarly to Kolev, wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses while constantly looking warily from side to side.

Lina almost cheered aloud.

The location shown in the footage seemed to be a bank's safe-deposit-box area.

Two deferential service staff could not help glancing at the young man following the wealthy patron. Their expressions were slightly uneasy.

"What are they trying to do?" Lina asked. "Where is the location? Where is it?"

"Orhaifu. A private bank! My God, they were hiding on Orhaifu!"

"Prepare for a jump immediately!"

Lina shouted, and replies rapidly came from all over the bridge.

When Lina turned around, the surveillance footage released by the bank had just reached the "climax."

With the service staff's help, Kolev found the safe-deposit box he had rented for many years.

The two staff members turned away. Kolev turned back and spoke to Hanton, but Hanton merely watched him in silence.

The two stood at an impasse for more than ten seconds.

One of the service employees secretly pressed the alarm button on his watch.

At that moment, Kolev opened the safe and took out a briefcase. When he lifted the briefcase and set it on the floor, his hand suddenly reached into the inner side of the safe.

He pulled out a Laser Pistol, turned, and fired at Hanton!

Hanton's reaction speed was almost inhuman!

He twisted aside quickly and dodged the fatal shot before Kolev could fire. Taking advantage of Kolev's failure to react, he slammed Kolev against the safe, effortlessly seized the Laser Pistol, and snatched the safe-deposit box from Kolev's hands.

The bank's alarm began to ring.

Hanton cursed in the Imperial language under his breath. Carrying the diminutive Kolev and the briefcase, he quickly rushed out of the safe-deposit-box area.

Lina's breathing grew hurried as she watched.

They had turned on each other!

Because of Kolev's wealth?

"Ma'am, please sit down! Fasten your seat belt!"

"Quickly! Move!"

Lina quickly settled into her seat, her eyes never leaving the video.

"How long ago was this message?"

"An hour ago. It took us some time to obtain the bank's internal footage. Everything was encrypted... Oh, there's more!"

The young intelligence officer shouted in an excited voice:

"Fifty minutes ago, Target Number One took Kolev hostage and confronted the local police. The two sides exchanged fire. Kolev was wounded, but Target Number One escaped with him."

"Half an hour ago, they fled the central district, piloted an airship, and headed toward the desert."

"Fifteen minutes ago... They took off! Ma'am! A hundred-meter-class pirate ship is leaving Orhaifu at full speed! They're escaping again! Orhaifu's patrol ships don't even dare to intercept them!"

Hum--

The battleship began to jump.

A faint afterimage appeared before Lina's eyes.

Those dozen-odd seconds of waiting seemed incredibly long!

Space returned to normal, and the huge warship appeared in a brand-new starfield. The projection of Orhaifu hung at the center of the bridge's Projection screen.

"Search for the target ship!" the Captain shouted, desperately trying to make his presence felt.

"Target locked! It's a pirate ship converted from a light gunboat, identified as a merchant-group escort vessel! It's trying to leave the planet's gravity and enter the jump zone!"

"Intercept it before it jumps!"

This time, Lina's voice held no hesitation. "Charge the main guns! Capture its jump data!"

"The main guns are charging!"

"It's too late, ma'am! It's forcing a jump!"

Whoosh!

Lina almost seemed to hear the sound coming from the screen as the pincer-shaped ship vanished before her eyes once again.

But soon, the stiffness left her expression and it came alive again.

"We've captured the jump coordinates! It's a short-distance jump! The technology is crude. We can catch up!"

"Pursue them!"

Lina clenched her fingers until her knuckles turned slightly white.

Inside the Feinan, which had just completed its jump.

Yang Ming and Kolev exchanged glances and smiled faintly at the same time.

Kolev said, "I'll lead them on. The route has already been set. Hurry and put the substitute in the cabinet to give it a new outer layer. We have to get back before Gimo and the others reach Orhaifu!"

"A First Mate can't order his Captain around."

Yang Ming pushed back his chair and ran toward the robot whose heart had been shot through.

Without the slightest effort, he peeled off its outer layer, exposing its silver-white skeleton, then placed it on a rack inside the metal cabinet.

Yang Ming skillfully adjusted the mechanical cosmetic device, selected a preset sample, and chose the adjustment sample for the limb skeleton.

As he pressed the activation button, Yang Ming still felt a little anticipation in his heart.

After all, this thing also carried the path it had taken to get here.

"Did those five pirate ships receive the video?" Yang Ming asked.

"Don't worry," Kolev said with a laugh. "They should be standing in front of their ship systems' reboot screens right now, waiting for those ancient systems to finish rebooting. It's been four years, and they still couldn't bear to spend the money to update their ships' operating systems."

Yang Ming smiled.

He remembered the computer room at his hometown school when he was still a student.

Meanwhile, inside a pirate ship docked at the pirate base in the Asteroid Belt.

Seven or eight pirates standing watch in shifts on the bridge were staring tensely at the projection screen in front of them, their minds blank.

Their ship... seemed to have blue-screened.