The Plan's Final Step

Kolev would never know what Yang Ming had been thinking as he faced the Dreadnought high above.

But Yang Ming could easily tell how panicked the old man beside him was.

The old man's mouth kept flapping nonstop, spewing out the chaotic thoughts bubbling up inside him.

"Oh, poor Hanton, none of us are getting out of this! That's a Dreadnought, an Imperial Dreadnought—the second most powerful class of ship. It could blow this planet apart in an instant. They really might do it."

"No, no, that's not right. An elephant doesn't notice the ants at its feet. They won't find us, right?"

"Think of my life. If I die under the guns of an Imperial Dreadnought, that's an honor in itself."

"...I still never got to see my daughter marry, settle down, and have a bunch of little pirates."

"Hanton, I can't die just like this. I still have so much money left to spend. I..."

Yang Ming silently shut off the life-support system, pulled a canister of premixed oxygen from the emergency kit under his seat, then pressed the canister's breathing mask hard against Kolev's mouth—accurately, mercilessly.

How could this old man be so noisy?

"Quiet!" Yang Ming hissed. "If that Dreadnought is going to fire on us, I'll come forward and tell them I'm the experimental subject they're looking for! Being stuffed in a tank and fed excrement has to be better than getting blown to pieces!"

Kolev blinked. "Does your Empire accept donations for military spending?"

Yang Ming: ...

He kept crouched over the front seat, shut his eyes, and took several deep breaths.

A powerful individual was nothing in the face of a powerful organization.

He was still an immature Lesser Ancient God Lifeform. Even if he fully matured someday, he would still be just as helpless against the Empire's powerful warships.

A powerful organization and formidable individual strength—those were both things he needed to strive for.

He had to pursue both!

Of course, all of that depended on getting out of this alive.

"H-Hanton!"

Kolev pulled off the oxygen mask and shouted, "They're gone!"

Yang Ming jerked his head up.

The Imperial Dreadnought slowly sailed into deep space.

Six or seven Imperial warships of various types appeared in the distant starfield, formed up alongside the Dreadnought, and headed together toward an area where they could make a stable jump.

For a Dreadnought to be truly combat-ready, it needed frigates, destroyers, Supply Ships, and other vessels around it.

The Dreadnought had clearly made a forced jump to the planet Orhaifu ahead of the others.

The most likely explanation was that the Empire had obtained the precise coordinates of that Dawn-class Battleship and shoved its guns right into the face of the Dawn-class light battleship.

The intelligence services of different nations infiltrated one another. Lina had lost to the intelligence organization behind her!

Yang Ming finally smiled.

That was so like the Empire.

The Imperial fleet disappeared beyond the Stealth Boat's radar range.

Molly Two's voice rang out. "Captain, a jump has been detected. The Imperial fleet has left."

"Start it! Start it now!"

Yang Ming growled. The Stealth Boat's engines flared with a ring of blue light, and it shot upward at a nearly ninety-degree angle to the surface, bursting through the clouds!

"Two is coming to pick us up!"

"Understood, Captain."

Yang Ming's voice gradually steadied. "Get the jump energy ready in advance. Activate the coating machine and the polarimeter. Open the tail compartment."

Kolev, finally composed, swore viciously. "Faster, faster! Let's get out of here! I don't want to spend another second on this planet!"

The Feinan made two jumps in quick succession, then hid behind a small asteroid.

Yang Ming slumped in his seat, drenched in cold sweat and staring blankly. He silently pulled out a syringe from beside his chair and injected a dose of Gene Stabilizer into a vein in his arm.

Kolev suddenly burst out laughing, so hard he could barely catch his breath.

He hurried over to Yang Ming and repeatedly pounded his shoulder with his thin, feeble fists.

"Ha ha ha! The arrogant Empire didn't even search the planet! Ha ha ha! That Lina! Damn it, she got what she deserved right away! That'll teach her to mess with my ship!"

"We got away! Hanton! That was exhilarating! The Imperial Dreadnought was right above our heads!"

"Woo-hoo! We're pirates! Pirates, pirates, pirates!"

Yang Ming frowned at the little old man, who was laughing, singing, and dancing around. He almost made an interstellar call to Milili to remind her to look after the mental health of the elderly.

Kolev popped open three bottles of champagne and left the bridge in a shambles.

Once his excitement wore off, the old pirate grew melancholy.

"Oh, but my losses were pretty heavy."

Kolev sighed. "The Alliance really used a battleship to bully my poor pirate ships! Our plan brought all the pirate ships together. Good heavens, they were practically five spaceship-shaped targets!"

Yang Ming felt a little guilty. After all, he was the one who had come up with the plan.

He really hadn't considered that little detail. He'd focused solely on the situation the two of them were in.

Yang Ming tried to change the subject. "If Lina figures it out, she might still suspect I'm alive and review everything to work out what happened... We really should thank the Empire."

"Thank the Empire," Kolev said, hands on his hips. "I feel much better now."

The old man wasn't blaming him.

Kolev brought over some champagne and clinked glasses with Yang Ming. They each took a sip, then fell silent again.

Yang Ming gazed at the stars.

Kolev was recovering from the spiritual shock of the Dreadnought.

"There's one final step in the plan," Yang Ming reminded him. "Don't lose heart. It's time for our cosmetic surgery machine to make an appearance."

"Typical of a former Imperial Soldier," Kolev said. "Always disciplined and efficient."

"It's the desire for freedom," Yang Ming replied, his smile carefree.

From Geglov's Research Ship to Kor Port, and then here.

From the moment he'd opened his eyes in Lina's infirmary a few months ago to now.

At last, he could say it!

Well, the Valkyrie was still alive... All right, he couldn't exactly rest easy.

But the danger had definitely gone down by a lot.

And for the time being, there wouldn't be anyone tailing him!

He'd also managed to get himself a ship, along with Molly Two. Now he could steadily move forward with his plans!

Leaving the bridge, Yang Ming and Kolev walked one after the other to the sealed medical compartment nearby. The cosmetic surgery machine inside was the gateway to their rebirth.

"Hey, Hanton," Kolev said. "Don't you want to talk a little longer?"

Yang Ming turned to look at him.

Kolev leaned against the doorframe and folded his arms.

"You're strong, Hanton, and we make the best team. You've got the combat skills, and I've got the connections and the technical know-how." Kolev's eyes gleamed. "We could keep working together. Besides, you need a steady supply of Gene Stabilizer. The only place to get it is the Black Market. You're destined to become a pirate."

"Pirates aren't the only ones who can go to the Black Market," Yang Ming said. "Some of the established large markets have anonymous sections. The goods are a little more expensive, but they guarantee discretion."

Kolev could only manage a wry smile. "You even know about that?"

"You taught me." A few thoughts crossed Yang Ming's mind. He asked softly, "What are you planning to do? Once we walk through that door, we'll take on new identities. We'll have to pretend we don't know each other and go our separate ways."

A bewildered look appeared in Kolev's old eyes.

"I've always wanted to get the Black Dragon back," he said. "After deciding on the fake-death plan, I wanted to leave the Black Dragon to Milili and hide behind her, helping her out. But now the Black Dragon is gone. All I can leave Milili is useless, dirty money that's just numbers on a screen."

"Piracy isn't exactly an honorable line of work," Yang Ming said. "Why not find a scenic place, buy some land, build a manor, and live like a rich man?"

"Oh, Hanton, that sort of life would be absolutely dreadful." Kolev looked disgusted.

"You're over seventy, Kolev. You said it yourself: your body is older than your actual age. You should retire and enjoy your remaining years."

Yang Ming raised a hand and patted Kolev on the shoulder.

"Of course, that's just a friend's advice. We each have our own path, and we'll stick to it. It's been a pleasure working with you. I admire what you can do. You're a legendary pirate."

"I've enjoyed it too, very much," Kolev said with a smile. "You really don't want to keep working together? We could take new identities, bring Milili along, and build the most powerful pirate fleet in history."

Yang Ming thought for a few seconds.

He pictured the Imperial Dreadnought blowing the Dawn-class Battleship apart.

"Kolev, I have my own ideals and goals I've already set for myself," Yang Ming said earnestly.

"That's good. Oh, I know I've been rambling. Anyway... right, Hanton."

Kolev looked a little disappointed.

Yang Ming said, "Get your surgery done first. I'll take the Feinan near Wena Port. Afterward, you can leave in a ship from the tail compartment."

"All right. I've already given your new identity to Molly Two," Kolev said. "You're a citizen of the Kashi Federation. You just need to submit your new facial information to Molly Two, and she can generate a passport recognized by the Kashi Federation."

"Thanks," Yang Ming said with a smile.

"I should be thanking you, Hanton. I'm an old man, and you've looked after me so much lately. I should've been the one looking after you."

Yang Ming didn't say much. He simply smiled and opened his arms.

Kolev frowned. "Hey, don't get sentimental... You're not planning to strangle me to keep me quiet, are you?"

Despite his words, the old man stepped forward and gave Yang Ming a firm hug.

Yang Ming laughed. "Don't worry. I wouldn't hurt you, not with a beautiful daughter like yours. She's much more charming than you. Maybe someday I'll get to call you Father-in-law, my dear First Mate."

Kolev silently picked up the wrench he carried with him.

The old man was gone.

Just as they had planned.

The third part of Yang Ming's plan was to say goodbye. They would each have cosmetic surgery and never see each other again.

Yang Ming took the Feinan to a spot near the designated free port, then slept for a long time. When he woke up, Molly Two had a message for him.

His old partner had taken the most expensive Stealth Boat from the tail compartment.

That annoyed Yang Ming so much that he added two extra spoonfuls of sugar to his coffee.

Although Kolev had been the one to buy it in the first place.

Yang Ming didn't hurry to set out. He spent several days recuperating near the free port, reset the cosmetic surgery machine's parameters, and began his transformation.

He adjusted his face to look about seventy or eighty percent like his face in his previous life. After several tweaks, he ended up looking a little like his father when he was young.

Next came general anesthesia, bone shaving, skin removal, and skin restoration... Even though he didn't have the Valkyrie's resilient skin, he still had to try over and over before he gradually finished repairing his face. His appearance ended up slightly different from what he'd expected...

A few hours later, Yang Ming left the surgery room and studied his reflection in the mirror. He nodded with satisfaction. He was still handsome, at least, though he looked a little too refined.

This handsome East Asian face from Earth was much easier on the eyes.

What Yang Ming didn't know was that a hidden camera in the corner had just captured his face.

Meanwhile.

In the Kashi Federation, at the space station above the planet next to the one where Kolev's secret base was located.

A refined old gentleman with a center part, a well-tailored suit, and a Walking Stick in hand hummed a tune from his hometown as he walked through the glittering interstellar duty-free zone, eyeing the luxury goods that weren't all that expensive.

His watch suddenly vibrated several times in a row.

The old man glanced around, lowered his head, and covered the watch face with his hand as he opened the email that had appeared.

It was a little trick of his.

Before leaving, the old man had installed a hidden camera outside Molly Two's control. Now it had come in handy, sending him the picture of a face completely unlike Hanton's.

"Oh."

The gentleman let out a note of admiration.

Could someone really lower their own attractiveness on purpose?

From a ten to an eight, from rugged and resolute to handsome and refined, while also hiding some of their sharpness.

What a young man with a future!

The gentleman studied the picture for a long while, a warm smile in his eyes. Then he deleted it and permanently shut down the camera.

May you sail freely across the ocean of gravity, my Captain.

The gentleman lowered his sleeve and calmly walked through a nearby doorway.

He planned to buy a top hat, then a plot of land by the sea to build a manor—or perhaps a hotel. Or maybe, as Milili had considered during their call last night, he could open a beauty salon. That would surely make plenty of money.

At about the same time.

"Captain on the bridge."

"Two, change the settings so your virtual avatar stays visible."

"Understood, Captain."

Molly Two's image appeared in the center of the control panel. She was thirty centimeters tall, wearing a plaid skirt and a white blouse, looking just like a figurine.

"All right, this works too."

Yang Ming settled comfortably into his seat, gazed into the depths of space, and brought up the star chart, idly fiddling with it.

He planned to head to the next port and verify his newly acquired identity: Yang Ming, an ordinary citizen of the Kashi Federation.

While there, Yang Ming also needed to buy food that could be stored for several years, in case he got lost in space.

Minx Port wasn't on the current map of the Milky Way Galaxy.

Yang Ming didn't know what that meant. Over the past few days, he'd had Molly Two search every star system resembling the Solar System and every planet resembling Earth, but she couldn't find any trace of his home.

It was strange.

So Yang Ming decided to head straight for Mech Twilight and see if he could find the key more than thirty galactic years early, at the same spot where the Chosen One had found it. Then he could claim the treasure there.

"Two," Yang Ming asked, "show me what Kolev looks like after his surgery."

"Understood, Captain."

Molly Two projected two pictures in front of Yang Ming. He immediately looked disgusted.

That shameless old bastard had given himself a dashing new look.

He'd even made himself look more than ten years younger!

"Delete them," Yang Ming said, waving a hand. "Revoke Kolev's access. From this moment on, go into stealth mode and don't keep any records."

"Settings updated."

Yang Ming pressed a series of buttons in front of him. The Feinan trembled softly as the paint on its outer armor gradually changed, giving the ship a silver-gray finish.

"Coordinates confirmed."

"Coordinates confirmed."

"Self-check complete."

"Self-check complete."

"See you next time, Captain Kolev."

Yang Ming murmured, gripping the square steering wheel with his right hand and smoothly pushing it forward.

Feinan.

Forward three.