Sixth Detachment

Kari wouldn't be as polite as Dias. Dias, on the other hand, stood by with a grin, watching the show.

Xilin extended his hand with a smile, "Hello."

Neither party revealed their identity. Then, a hidden undercurrent surged.

As their hands clasped, Kari began to exert force.

Thirty percent strength, forty percent strength... all the way to eighty percent strength. Kari suspected the hand he was holding was made of special alloy. It was so damn hard. Without causing the other party any pain, his own hand ached fiercely. What struck Kari the most was that the other party wasn't exerting any force at all, completely letting him unleash his strength.

Xilin was also secretly alarmed. Another A-class genotype! When did A-class genotypes become so common?! The Four Great Hunter Groups truly lived up to their name!

Kari was conflicted.

Damn it, I don't believe this! Kari tossed the five boxes in his hands aside and used both hands.

This shameless guy!

In the starship's main control room, a group of people watched the scene on the screen, repeatedly criticizing Kari. Kari's shamelessness was already deeply ingrained in their minds.

From the moment Xilin was teleported into this starship, someone had begun analyzing him. The calculated result was that the young man brought by Dias had a ninety percent probability of being a B-class genotype.

Bullying the weak, using a higher-class gene to bully a lower-class gene, and not only using one hand but two!

For Kari's shameless behavior, Dias coughed awkwardly, but at the same time, he was quite shocked by Xilin's ability. It wasn't something an ordinary person could do to provoke Kari's shamelessness.

When Kari exerted force, Xilin had solidified his entire arm. Even if Kari was an A-class gene, he couldn't do anything. Using both hands wouldn't make much of a difference either. However, Xilin didn't act too arrogantly; he just wanted to let these people know that he wasn't a pushover.

"You're too enthusiastic." Xilin smiled and extended his other hand.

Hands against hands.

Kari's face contorted.

"Ah, it hurts, it hurts... I won't do it anymore! I won't do it!"

Kari withdrew his hand, looking at his reddened palm, on the verge of tears.

"Vice-captain, who is this young brother you brought? This is too monstrous?"

Kari's change in address to "young brother" indicated that he had already acknowledged Xilin's ability.

"Took a loss? Serves you right for being so smug!" Dias kicked Kari aside and pointed at the five boxes on the ground. "Get back to work."

"Yes!" Kari picked up the boxes and trotted a few steps before turning back to ask Xilin, "My name is Kari, an A-class combatant of the Sixth Team. Who are you, young brother?"

"My name is Xilin, a freelancer."

Kari's jaw dropped, and he winked at Dias: Vice-captain, he's a freelancer, quickly recruit him!

"Get lost already!" Dias cursed with a laugh.

"Leaving, leaving, hehe!" Kari vanished instantly.

Dias brought Xilin over for two reasons. First, to figure out the kid's background; he felt familiar, but couldn't place him. Second, and most importantly, if the kid wasn't affiliated with any faction, he'd recruit him. The Sixth Detachment was short on personnel. Dias trusted Xilin's character, and even more, his own judgment.

To help Xilin quickly grasp the current situation, Dias recounted the whole story.

The Sixth Detachment had a trade negotiation in the neutral zone between the X Star Zone and the R Star Zone. Bored, Dias learned of an underground trade for rare energy ore on a planet in the X Star Zone. He went there and snatched the goods while the parties were double-crossing each other. Simultaneously, he spread false information on another planet about acquiring a massive gem worth hundreds of millions, attracting bandits. This led to the series of events, allowing Dias to also get money from the government of planet X-C100 and the passenger company for "assisting" in combating the bandits.

Although Dias explained it simply, Xilin knew that many details would have been difficult to manage. This proved Dias's strength and ability to control the overall plan, truly worthy of being the Vice Captain of the Sixth Detachment.

Dias walked with Xilin down the corridor, introducing him to the ship's layout.

"That's the warehouse, where we store spare parts. Turn right ahead is... Hey, Dough, why are you sleeping here?" Dias called out to a spot on the corridor wall.

At first glance, it was hard to tell there was anything there. But with keen observation or a sensitive perception, one would notice a life form. It seemed to blend seamlessly with its surroundings. Based on its color, it was impossible to discern...

Dias walked over and plucked the thing off the wall. It was about thirty centimeters long. As it detached from the wall, its current color faded, and its body immediately turned transparent. However, its two small eyes were quite noticeable, darting around. Seeing Dias, it smacked its lips, as if greeting him.

A chameleon?

Xilin curiously watched the little creature in Dias's hand.

"Stop acting cute. What did you do wrong? Why did Yudi throw you out again?" Dias flicked the head of the chameleon named Dough.

Dough curled its tail and wagged it, feigning pitifulness.

Dias scoffed. He then kneaded the little chameleon like dough, forming it into a ball, and with a flick, tossed it to the other side of the corridor, sticking it to the wall. The little chameleon quickly adjusted its body color to match its surroundings, blending in.

"That guy's name is Dough. He's a mutated chameleon. Yudi found him on a mission five years ago. This little guy causes trouble quite often." Dias didn't elaborate further on the crew member named Yudi.

Dias brought Xilin to the main control room and introduced him to the other crew members.

After letting Xilin interact with the other crew members, Dias called Bifur aside. "Bifur, come with me for a moment."

"Understood, Vice Captain."

Xilin had seen the crew member named Bifur before; he was the one who appeared on the passenger ship's screen. To Xilin's surprise, everyone on this starship was very young. Many were around Dias's age, and some were even younger, though not as young as Xilin.

With Kari's previous example, the crew treated Xilin well. While not exactly warm, they were neither cold nor distant.

After calling Bifur out, Dias went to Bifur's workstation. He twisted a silver ring on his hand, and an interface popped out, connecting to an instrument.

"Analyze this video segment."

The screen displayed the footage Dias had filmed in the passenger ship's control room while fighting the bandits. It had infrared processing, so the darkness at the time wasn't an issue. However, as Dias moved during the fight, the video was somewhat disorienting.

Bifur said nothing more. His fingers flew across the instrument's controls. The segments on the screen were cut, combined in three dimensions, and the bitrate adjusted. After a series of operations, it soon became a clear, smooth, and steady video.

"Analyze that kid Xilin," Dias said, his usual casual and flippant demeanor gone, replaced by a hint of seriousness.

Bifur manipulated the screen, displaying Xilin's every move in slow motion. The more Bifur watched, the more shocked he became. "Vice-Captain, are you sure that guy is human and not some other race that just looks like one?"

In the footage, Xilin seemed to anticipate the robber's next action every time, effortlessly dodging gunshots. This was especially remarkable considering the control room's lights had been completely cut off.

"I'm sure he wasn't wearing any auxiliary optical lenses, and he is indeed human," Dias stated, staring intently at the screen.

Bifur's brow furrowed deeply. "Vice-Captain, there's something else. When you guys teleported over, I ran a gene level analysis on Xilin. Logically, if it were just a B-grade genotype, the reliability of the multi-factor analysis should be over 95%. But this time, the result is only 90%. What's causing that missing 5% uncertainty?"

He paused, then tentatively suggested, "How about we get a sample of that kid's genes? Bodily fluids, hair, or even fingerprints would do."

"No need. For a future comrade, we should give him the respect he deserves."

"Alright, but that kid is truly amazing."

"Of course. You forget who your Vice-Captain is and my discerning eye. By the way, Bifur, doesn't Xilin look familiar to you?" Dias returned to this nagging question.

Bifur thought for a moment but couldn't recall ever seeing anyone like him. "The galaxy is vast; there are many people who look alike. Do you want me to check the computer database for a comparison?"

"Forget it, not for now." Accessing the database required an unlock code from the fleet captain, which was too much trouble.

Dias sighed, giving up on the thought.

"Oh, Vice-Captain, the Captain has urged us several times to rendezvous with them quickly. The trade doesn't seem to be going smoothly."

"Understood. Prepare to depart," Dias waved his hand and walked out the door.