For pirates, an advanced mecha was a life-saving trump card, worth even more than a warship.
Golden Fang reluctantly tore his gaze from the "greeting gift." Rather than letting the profit before him go to his head, he grew even more wary.
There was no such thing as a free lunch, and certainly no one saintly enough to hand lunches out to pirates.
There was a saying among pirates: wealth carried an equivalent measure of risk!
"I wonder if this greeting gift is enough to clear up the misunderstanding caused by our accidental intrusion into your territory?" Nie Yun asked with a smile.
"Enough! Of course it is! Haha, generous fellows like you are exactly the sort of friends I love making! But you look a little unfamiliar. You're not from the nearby Star Sector, are you?" Golden Fang probed.
"Heh! Captain Golden Fang, don't you know the rules of this business?" Nie Yun gave him a knowing smile.
He was new here and short on intelligence. The more he said, the more mistakes he could make. Saying nothing certainly couldn't hurt; Golden Fang could fill in the blanks himself.
"Oh! I understand, I understand! Forgive my impertinence!" Golden Fang caught on immediately and nodded in understanding.
A moment's thought made it obvious. How many people who came looking to do business with pirates could afford to advertise it openly?
These major powers covered every angle. When secretly hiring pirates for dirty work, they would be doubly cautious, never leaving a single loose end.
Looking again at the unfamiliar warships and the unfamiliar race, he now figured they must be a means for the backer to conceal their identity.
If the other party had actually revealed his employer right off the bat, Golden Fang would have worried about being silenced