Decapitation!

The roar and shockwave kicked up thick dust across the empty floor.

The source of it all, a figure that suddenly appeared at the stairwell, now stood in a standard stance, holding a Laser Gun and staring at the swirling dust ahead, continuously pulling the trigger.

A string of purple energy blasts formed a straight line.

The dust weakened the Laser Gun's power.

Yellowish-brown light ripples continuously appeared in the dust.

A shadow like a high wall suddenly appeared ahead, leaping forcefully from the dust!

Yang Ming rolled forward, crossing paths with the shadow, and as he completed the roll, he landed in a kneeling stance, gun in hand, and quickly pulled the trigger!

This shadow was Gimo.

Gimo, completely encased in an Energy Shield, had withstood the Shock Grenades without a scratch!

Gimo clenched his fists tightly, and two Ion Blades extended from the armor on the backs of his hands. He glared furiously at Yang Ming, who had ambushed and shot several of his subordinates.

"You damn pig!"

Gimo roared:

"You can't break my shield at all! I'm going to kill you! I'll twist your head off and hang it as a flag on the bow of my ship!"

Yang Ming stood up unhurriedly, his Laser Gun continuously firing purple energy blasts.

"Lost your tongue? You were quite talkative earlier, weren't you?"

Gimo charged directly at Yang Ming, shouting incessantly.

The boosters on his back armor flashed again, and he moved like he was flying close to the ground, his Ion Blades held high and crossed like an 'X' as he slashed down towards Yang Ming's head!

Yang Ming retreated continuously, his legs gathering strength, his backward speed almost matching Gimo's forward momentum.

Gimo's Ion Blades missed repeatedly.

The retreating Yang Ming left several near-perfect semicircles on the ground, like an elegant matador in a bullring, the continuous energy blasts like reins guiding a bull.

He maintained a two-meter distance from Gimo at all times.

At this moment, Gimo did not realize the seriousness of the situation, nor did he intend to pick up the Laser Gun.

Gimo had already confirmed the power of the Laser Gun in Yang Ming's hand.

Gimo wanted to use his favorite method to carry out a bloody decapitation on this pig who had humiliated him!

Da, dada.

Yang Ming's Laser Gun emptied its energy magazine.

A sneer appeared on Gimo's lips: "Your death is here, scumbag!"

Yang Ming curled his lips slightly.

This pay-to-win freak in high-level warrior gear!

Had Gimo spent the money meant for upgrading their Pirate ship's systems on his personal equipment?

Gimo roared and charged again.

Yang Ming ducked and weaved, easily dodging the opponent's Ion Blades. He reached under his backpack, and four Shock Grenades flew out from the opening, caught steadily by Yang Ming's hands.

Gimo instinctively moved to protect himself.

But Yang Ming swiftly threw the grenades towards the four corners.

Amidst the roars, shockwaves reverberated back and forth, shaking the entire floor.

Gimo sneered: "You want to blow up the floor and take me with you? Wishful thinking! I wouldn't die even if I jumped from hundreds of meters up!"

Yang Ming's right hand reached into his chest, pulling out a somewhat worn black hilt.

"Lightsaber?" Gimo vibrated his large Ion Blades, a touch of crazed fighting spirit entering his eyes.

"Look around and see what's changed," Yang Ming said, reminding him.

Gimo glanced around.

Dust.

Due to the impact of the Shock Grenades just now, the accumulated sand and dust on this abandoned floor had been thoroughly stirred up.

"No one will know how you died, Gimo."

Yang Ming said calmly.

Weng--

A dim red light illuminated Yang Ming's face.

This ridiculous Lightsaber, was it provoking his top-tier armor?

Gimo's nostrils flared, and the four streams of ion flow ejected from his back were like unfurled light wings!

His burly body, encased in exoskeleton armor, charged again!

He was the strongest existence in the Black Dragon group.

And now, he was going to crush and flatten the young man before him, sending him down to accompany that old bastard Kolev!

Gimo's raised Ion Blade shone even brighter, his roar nothing short of a beast's bellow.

Yang Ming, holding his Lightsaber level, took half a step forward. The swirling dust around them seemed to freeze for a moment.

Gimo's ferocious expression suddenly stiffened, his pupils contracting sharply.

He saw it. Where Yang Ming had stepped, deep footprints appeared on the concrete floor.

What kind of explosive power is this!

Gimo's downward slash was too late to change. He could only watch as the young warrior, with speed that defied logic, charged directly in front of him!

A blood-red Lightsaber traced a figure-eight trajectory!

Yang Ming practically crashed into Gimo's embrace!

The blood-red Lightsaber forcefully severed the incompletely formed Energy Shield, slicing through the gap under Gimo's armpit, where there was no exoskeleton coverage.

Shoulder impact!

The Energy Shield flickered violently!

Yang Ming didn't retreat a single step. Large cracks spread across the floor beneath his feet.

Gimo's massive body was sent flying backward, sliding more than ten meters after hitting the ground.

Both his arms trembled uncontrollably, blood seeping from under his armpits, his waist clearly dislocated, and his leg nerves unresponsive.

"Ah! Ah—"

Gimo let out a miserable howl, his voice transmitted through the comms to the ears of three-fifths of the Pirates.

"Monster!" Gimo roared, "You monster! Ah! My arms!"

A figure suddenly appeared before Gimo's eyes.

Yang Ming, holding his Lightsaber, stood above Gimo.

"I have a passively triggered full-body shield! You can't kill me!" Gimo shouted, his voice trembling, "Let me go, I'll give you Kolev's treasures, you want money, right... it's all yours..."

Yang Ming knelt on one knee, slowly bringing his palm close to Gimo's ear and disabling his comms.

"Gimo, do you know what the biggest weakness of a warrior's passively triggered full-body shield is?"

Yang Ming murmured softly, his voice reaching Gimo's ear and also transmitting to Kolev.

"A passively triggered shield can detect metal, detect sharp objects, detect high-energy rays and kinetic weapons. It's actually distributed throughout your body, only completing its energy allocation and deployment the instant someone pulls the trigger.

"But it won't respond to gentle physical contact."

Yang Ming pressed the nail of his thumb against his middle finger and very slowly brought it close to Gimo's forehead.

Gimo trembled all over, but at this moment, all he could do was tremble, twitch, stare, and listen to the other party's voice, which sounded like a devil's whisper:

"It won't refuse a playful flick to the head from a companion."

Yang Ming's finger suddenly snapped down.

Bang!

Gimo's eyes bulged, a semicircular indentation appeared in the center of his head, his skull emitted a faint cracking sound, and black blood flowed from his nostrils and ear canals.

The hum of the exoskeleton armor gradually faded, as its user had lost all signs of life.

A Laser Pistol appeared in Yang Ming's hand, its muzzle aimed at Gimo's forehead.

Pew! Pew pew!

Three thumb-sized bloody holes appeared on Gimo's forehead, wisps of white smoke rising from them.

"Your subordinate is so weak, Kolev."

Yang Ming taunted with a smile, "He couldn't even withstand a flick to the head from me."

Kolev had no desire to engage with the young man at this moment, merely sitting there, his eyes somewhat vacant.

Yang Ming glanced at the expensive exoskeleton armor with a hint of regret.

He didn't waste any time, ducking into the dust of the area, his figure rapidly disappearing as he sped towards the location of the stealth ship.

"Kolev, how do you feel?" Yang Ming asked.

"Relieved," Kolev replied, "and a little regretful."

Yang Ming continuously scanned their surroundings. After jumping out the window, he had already rendezvoused with his hoverboard.

He reminded him, "You should let them know Gimo is dead. Don't let them sink your ship."

"Sigh," Kolev sighed, "I suddenly don't want Milili to be a Pirate anymore."

Yang Ming chuckled, "Yeah, why be a Pirate? You and your daughter could start a cargo company, one that specializes in catching Pirates. You could even spread some positive cosmic energy."

"Oh, that... I could consider that... Hanton!"

Kolev's voice suddenly carried a hint of urgency:

"Get back here quickly, Lina's ship has already completed its Warp Jump and is charging towards Orhaifu! My deployed probes show they're at full speed! Damn it, that's a full ten minutes earlier than we expected! I'm coming to pick you up!"

"Kolev, use remote control mode and let that thing run."

"That will leave us exposed!"

"You have to listen to me now, Kolev. Meet me at the fourth building ahead! Hurry! If Lina scares off your Pirate ships, our plan is ruined!"

Yang Ming's voice grew more urgent.

He needed the firepower of these Pirate ships to truly fake his death and escape.

This was the most crucial part of the entire plan for him!

Yang Ming looked up. In the thin atmosphere, those Pirate ships were still bombarding the enemy's energy shields, with one of them already on the verge of collapse.

Yang Ming, almost crouching on his hoverboard, engaged the highest gear and sped across the edge of the battlefield.

"Hanton! A Landing Craft has spotted you, Hanton! They're locking onto you!"

"Quickly announce that Gimo has been killed, say someone hired mercenaries! Cause a disturbance first!"

As soon as Yang Ming finished speaking.

Vroom!

Two arm-thick energy blasts whizzed past his back, directly shattering a nearby broken wall.

Yang Ming immediately turned, raised his hand, and aimed his Laser Gun, now equipped with a charged energy magazine, at the sky.

He held his breath, his pupils seeming to form crystalline structures, his vision aligning perfectly with the Laser Gun's targeting reticle.

He locked onto the twelve-meter-long Landing Craft.

Yang Ming pulled the trigger!

But the thin protective film on the outside of the Landing Craft didn't even ripple noticeably.

Vroom!

A half-meter-diameter purplish-red beam descended from the sky, hitting the Landing Craft with precision!

The Landing Craft's shields were breached within microseconds. The twelve-meter vessel exploded violently in mid-air, the shockwave kicking up dozens of meters of dust.

"Run!" Kolev said, "I'm controlling their ground attack cannons, damn it! This will definitely leave operational traces!"

"Beautiful!"

Yang Ming roared. With a mouth full of dust, he barely stabilized his hoverboard and sped along the ground towards the building Kolev had marked.

At the same time, the rear hatch of the stealth craft opened, and a figure rolled out, using the dust as cover to charge towards the building ahead.

It was like another Yang Ming, dressed the same, wearing the same individual combat gear.

"Damn it! I only have two hands! Just two!"

Kolev cursed urgently.

Yang Ming held his breath. The decoy robot had appeared within his line of sight. Less than ten seconds after it rushed into the abandoned building, Yang Ming, on his hoverboard, drilled into it along the ground.

The entire ground floor of the building had already been cleared out. Yang Ming and the decoy robot met in the lobby. He immediately shoved his Laser Gun, goggles, headset, tactical backpack, and hoverboard at the decoy. Kolev controlled the decoy, which hugged the pile of gear and ran to a corner, while Yang Ming continued to sprint forward.

After running only a few steps, Yang Ming turned back, opened the medicine bottle wrapped in several layers of aluminum foil, and sprinkled the capsule-shaped gene stabilizer pills into the tactical backpack before turning and rushing towards the direction of the stealth craft.

Those were the pills Lina had given him.

He put his outer jacket on backward, ran his hands through his hair flattened by the helmet, and headed towards the city's edge under the cover of the building's shadows.

Yang Ming glanced back.

The Pirate ships in the air had already spotted the approaching Dawn-class Battleship, and their bombardment frequency was rapidly decreasing. They were sending retreat signals to the ground, and their ship cannons began firing downwards, covering the retreat of their own Pirate forces.

Ahead, the stealth craft floated slowly, its main pilot hatch opening. The color-shifting paint, designed to refract the sandy terrain, made it incredibly difficult to spot.

Yang Ming lunged forward and slid inside, grabbing the helmet Kolev was holding and putting it on.

Disable decoy synchronization.

Enable remote control of decoy's holographic perception.

"Number Two! Return the way we came! Head for the clouds!" Yang Ming urged. "Take off slowly, don't stir up too much dust!"

"Don't rush, Hanton," Kolev said, his breathing slightly heavy as he quickly tapped on the holographic screen in front of him. "There's still time, plenty of time. Let that thing get going."

"You need to equip it first!" Yang Ming growled. "It's a bit difficult for this thing to ride a hoverboard!"

The stealth craft lifted off steadily, quietly retreating into the desert, using the horizon to conceal its tracks.

Inside the stealth craft, Yang Ming's hands and feet were constantly moving, his posture somewhat awkward.

Another 'Yang Ming', fully equipped, and the 'Yang Ming' from moments ago, now indistinguishable from each other, flew out of the hiding building on hoverboards, speeding along the edge of the battlefield.

Kolev's holographic screen displayed seven or eight different views. The scattered spores were completing their final mission.

He had control of five Pirate ships!

The main cannon of Gimo's flagship slowly lowered. On the ship's fire control console screen, the 'Yang Ming' riding the hoverboard was locked on.

The fire control operator in front of the screen wore a look of utter confusion.

In the stealth boat, Kolev patted Yang Ming on the shoulder and held a microphone to his mouth.

Yang Ming, using a deeper, processed voice, shouted into the microphone:

"Avenge Commander Gimo!"

This voice was taken from a captain within the Gimo Group who had already fallen in battle.

Kolev turned off the microphone, pressed a virtual button in front of him, and muttered, "Fire main cannon."

Hummm--

The screen of the stealth boat flickered slightly.

A beam of intense, pale white light shot down from the sky, piercing through the swirling dust and instantly engulfing the 'Yang Ming on the hoverboard,' pressing him into the ground and rapidly melting him!

Inside the stealth boat, Yang Ming pulled off his helmet, gasping for breath as if he had personally experienced the power of a 300-meter-class starship's main cannon.

The 300-meter-class pirate ship's main cannon outputted at maximum power.

Layer upon layer of sand waves surged from the ground. The impacted area continuously sank, and lava-filled cracks resembling blood vessels appeared on the surface.

The firing lasted for a full twelve seconds.

"Vaporized, absolutely vaporized," Kolev murmured. "The Alliance ships should have captured this footage. We succeeded, Hanton... Haha! We succeeded!"

"Don't celebrate just yet," Yang Ming said, looking up at the sky.

From this angle, he could vaguely see five pirate ships attempting to separate to the left and right in the air above and to his right.

Battleships with curved surfaces had already revealed their presence in the sky and were descending towards low-earth orbit.

Guer Alliance, Dawn-class light battleship.

Yang Ming muttered, "We haven't escaped yet."

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