This Damn Sense of Ritual

When Gimo learned that all three of his ships were in trouble, he almost flipped his delicious braised pork over rice.

This was his guarantee to reach the pinnacle of his life!

A large group of Pirates left the cozy spaceport, donned their respective protective suits, and rushed back to the three Pirate ships, only to stare blankly at the screens filled with gibberish.

Gimo's imposing physique, nearly two meters tall, put immense pressure on the surrounding Pirates.

"Where are my technicians?" Gimo asked as gently as he could.

"Boss, do you mean... the two guys you threw into space last time, turning them into ice cubes? You thought they were taking too much and not doing any real work, just drinking tea and hitting on women on the ship all day..."

Gimo's nostrils twitched: "What about the newly captured, oh, no, newly hired technicians?"

"They're over there. They said it's an automatic system update, and we shouldn't panic."

"I'll be damned!"

Gimo glared and roared, "Can't I tell the difference between a frozen screen and an automatic update?! This damn thing! Another freeloader! Get him for me!"

Two timid-looking young Pirates were so scared their legs went weak.

The screens everywhere suddenly began to shake, and an old face appeared on all of them.

Gimo froze for a moment, then clenched his fists.

"You brats! Hello there!"

Kolev!

This was Kolev's doing!

"It's Captain Kolev!" one Pirate exclaimed in surprise.

"What captain," someone immediately corrected, "he's the greedy vampire, the Pirate capitalist who exploits us, Kolev!"

Kolev's voice, however, was filled with peace, emotion, and gentleness.

He gazed lovingly at everyone and spoke softly:

"Are you surprised to see me now? This is a small program I hid in the systems of each ship, triggered after my heart stopped beating.

"Yes, when you get old, you have to do some things for the future, especially in our line of work.

"It's my sixty-fifth birthday today, and I can already feel that my body might not be up to much. Several intense healing sessions have accelerated my aging, alas... I truly wish I could continue to wreak havoc in the galaxy with you all."

Gimo frowned. "Can we turn this off? This old man disgusts me."

"Group Leader, we're already pressing the buttons, but... well, they're not responding, physically speaking."

Just then, Kolev spoke:

"Don't you dare turn off the video directly. This is a last will and testament. I'm releasing half of my wealth as a reward for your loyalty. The other half is for Milili.

"When my heart stops beating, this message will appear before you. At this time, I hope you won't panic, nor will you lose your composure due to any potential shock. If you feel you can't continue Navigation without my leadership, then take the wealth I've left for you—I mean, everyone who can see this video, find a remote place and live a good life.

"Of course, if you wish to continue Navigation, I recommend Guka. This little fellow who's been my first mate for many years, he can continue to lead you. My daughter is still too young. But I hope Guka will train her as the next Group Leader. Guka, you'll do that, won't you?

"Oh, delivering a last will and testament is truly a sad thing.

"I wish this thing would never have to be used.

"Go find my wealth. Have the several captains split it up. You'll supervise each other; no one should think of taking it all for themselves. This is for you—I've converted them into electronic keys for Federal currency."

Several photos flashed across the video.

"The location is here, a place you should be very familiar with, but probably never expected."

The video froze on the ruins of a city on the backside of Orhaifu, in a no-man's-land.

"Go find the wealth I've hidden.

"Don't fight amongst yourselves. Remember, only through unity can you remain invincible."

Whoosh!

The videos on all screens disappeared, displaying normal system interfaces.

The entire Pirate ship fell into a deathly silence.

Everyone looked at Gimo, and then their gazes slowly began to shift.

"This is a trap," Gimo said gravely. "While I don't like to think, this is clearly Kolev trying to lure us into a trap."

A confidant whispered, "But, Group Leader, we haven't received any external signals, and according to the brothers on Guka's side, the same thing appeared on their ships. This is a last will and testament, and Kolev looks just like he did ten years ago."

Gimo muttered, "How did that old geezer manage this?"

Suddenly, a phone call came from a corner.

"What? Are you serious? The bank?"

Gimo frowned and looked over.

"Boss, Boss, Kolev is dead... Half an hour ago, he was taken hostage by that young man who called you an idiot, and he was confronting the Orhaifu police. The police shot and killed Kolev, who was being held hostage..."

"Boss! I received news here too, it's from an information broker!"

"Oh, here are the video and pictures!"

"That young man also wants the Group Leader's wealth. The Group Leader accumulated it over decades, most of the Black Dragon's assets..."

"The old Group Leader was right, that belongs to us! To every member of the Black Dragon."

"This damned Kolev, he actually took it upon himself to leave half for that idiot Milili alone!"

Noise.

Uproar.

The pirates were restless.

Gimo narrowed his eyes slightly. He suddenly burst into laughter, his ferocious expression causing the pirates everywhere to immediately stop their discussions.

"What are you all standing around for! We're going to get new ships and weapons! Hahaha!"

"Guka has already set sail! Group Leader!"

"This damned Guka, let him dare to touch my money and see what happens!"

Gimo's eyes were full of rage.

"Get there before them! Hurry up, you idiots who eat too much pig slop!"

"Kolev's wealth?"

Lina rubbed her temples, staring at the spaceship displayed on the radar.

The power system of this light frigate was beyond her imagination; the battleship had almost been outrun by the other party several times.

Lina also understood that their operators had done their best.

This light battleship, due to its large size, had more stringent requirements for the surrounding gravitational environment if it were to perform a warp jump. Moreover, no one could bear the accountability if the risky warp jump went wrong.

But the ship ahead didn't care about that, constantly performing all sorts of dangerous maneuvers.

Lina just wanted to end all this as quickly as possible.

She had asked several times if they could open fire, but the results were either insufficient lock-on time or obstructions between them.

And now, the Black Dragon Pirate Group member Lina had bribed brought new information.

Kolev's dying message, left on those pirate ships for over ten years, had been triggered by Kolev's death; a treasure left by the great pirate Kolev was hidden in a ruined city on Orhaifu. Five pirate ships were swarming towards the Orhaifu planet.

Lina quickly connected these pieces of information.

She had been wondering why Hanton had taken Kolev to Orhaifu.

Now the answer was obvious—Hanton had somehow gotten wind of Kolev hiding his wealth on Orhaifu and wanted to obtain it. Kolev, however, had played a trick, intending to kill Hanton with the gun hidden in the safe.

But why was Hanton in such a hurry for money?

Lina pondered carefully, watching the gently pulsing icons on the radar. The other party had made another hasty warp jump.

Such a risky maneuver was very much in line with Hanton's style of operation.

He probably wants to take the money and flee, and Kolev was just a fat sheep.

Yes, Hanton just wants to hide now, but he needs to live, needs money to buy Gene Stabilizers.

But why would Hanton...

Lina's thoughts were a bit scattered.

"Officer!"

The young intelligence officer hurried over and whispered, "The Black Dragon Pirate Group has already gathered around Orhaifu. They've sent out over a dozen landing craft, rushing madly towards that ruined city. The five ships are very close to the surface, and they're divided into two groups, in a standoff."

Lina said coldly, "Even if these pirates kill each other, it has nothing to do with us!"

"Officer!"

A reminder came from the left console: "We've tracked their jump point... The ship belonging to Target Number One has appeared near Orhaifu!"

Lina froze for a moment.

A hint of thought flashed through her eyes: "Hanton wants Kolev's wealth? That doesn't quite make sense."

"Officer," the young intelligence officer asked softly, "you must have grown up on the Capital Star, right?"

"Yes, what about it?"

"For many people, money is everything," the intelligence officer reminded her. "Target Number One is cornered, and the pirates' wealth is hidden. It could be the guarantee for Target Number One's future life."

"No matter what, pursue them," Lina immediately said. "Warp jump now!"

"But, Officer..."

The Captain's voice rang out: "We've been led to the edge of a complex binary star gravitational field. We need to leave the influence zone before we can initiate a warp jump."

Lina's expression stiffened slightly.

"The other party calculated this, Officer Lina," the Captain said quietly. "Perhaps we should re-examine our opponent. He doesn't seem like an ordinary Empire officer. He's toyed with us. Also, my ship isn't suitable for this kind of pursuit. We might need to dispatch two smaller, more agile light frigates."

"I will report to my superiors as soon as possible," Lina said. "But for now, leave the gravitational interference zone as quickly as possible and return to Orhaifu. If Target Number One chooses to land on Orhaifu, that will be our only chance to catch him!"

The Captain shrugged, turned, and began issuing orders.

Lina was somewhat anxious. She crossed her arms, forcing herself to remain calm as she pondered the series of anomalies in these events.

She always felt something was not quite right.

Unbeknownst to Lina, in the corner of the control console on the left side of the bridge, a young man placed a two-millimeter-diameter metal spider into the gap of a button.

If one were to magnify this spider, they would see... the insignia of the Imperial Star shining upon it.

The Feinan, using the planet Orhaifu itself as cover, entered low orbit and hid below the horizon, out of sight of the five Pirate ships.

In the tail compartment, a stealth craft in launch position slowly opened its two scissor doors.

Yang Ming, clad in a light gray combat suit, was placing a robotic decoy that looked exactly like him into the stealth craft's 'trunk'.

After securing the decoy with its seatbelt, Yang Ming quickly slipped into the pilot's seat. Just as he was about to press the button to close the hatch, an old hand appeared on the opposite armrest.

Kolev scrambled up, panting, and plopped down into the co-pilot's seat.

Yang Ming's forehead creased with a few question marks.

"First Mate, what are you doing here?"

"Coming to help you fly this little ship," Kolev chuckled. "Molly Two can handle the Feinan. You'll need me to pilot this ship for you when you're using the decoy later."

Yang Ming frowned slightly. "No, Kolev, according to our plan, you should be on the ship right now, ensuring we can shake them if Lina catches up early."

"Don't worry, Molly Two can manage. She's already learned and recorded our previous operating patterns, and we have plenty of time," Kolev fastened his seatbelt. "Let me come with you. I promise I won't get off this stealth craft."

"Why?" Yang Ming's gaze sharpened slightly.

Kolev fell silent for a moment, then said in a low voice:

"Terrible thoughts are breeding in my mind. If I stayed on the Feinan, I could technically modify Molly Two's primary loyalty target. Or... after you eliminate Gimo, I could fake the act and shatter your real body. I could do it, Hanton, and then I'd be the ultimate winner.

"But I don't want to do that.

"If I were ten years younger, I definitely would have done it. Then I could have taken back the Feinan directly.

"Let me act with you, Hanton. Let me be responsible for your rendezvous. We're partners... the best partners I've had these past few decades... But I'm just a despicable Pirate, and I'm afraid I won't be able to control my greed and desires..."

Yang Ming gazed at Kolev's wrinkled old face.

His old face was etched with a sense of grievance.

Yang Ming extended his fist and raised an eyebrow at Kolev.

"Hey! This childish stuff!" Kolev said with a hint of disdain.

"Come on, First Mate."

"Oh, this damn ritual!"

Kolev clenched his fist and weakly bumped it against Yang Ming's.

Yang Ming grinned triumphantly and quickly pressed a series of buttons. The stealth craft's hatch closed rapidly.

The tail compartment depressurized.

The simulated Gravity Field deactivated.

The Feinan's hatch slowly opened, and the stealth craft's main and auxiliary engines glowed with a light blue aura.

Yang Ming pushed the control yoke, and the small craft quickly slid into the sky above Orhaifu. It activated its weak protective shield and sped through the thin atmosphere at full throttle.

They were heading for the city of no return.