42: It's not that I don't want to go, but...

"Wait, wait, wait, wait,"

"You need to calm down first!"

Facing Xi Hai's "persuasion," White Shark looked resolute.

"Sorry, Chairman,"

"I have something very important to do, and I need to return to Ursa Major V12.22."

Looking at the guy in front of him who was in such a rush, Xi Hai put a hand to his forehead and said:

"Look at you,"

"What's the rush?"

"I didn't say you couldn't go, did I?"

"It's just that going,"

"Shouldn't be done blindly,"

"You should go slowly, go carefully, go efficiently,"

"You should go in an orderly fashion,"

"Let those with more energy currency go first,"

"Let those with better Warships go first,"

"And then have those who go first lead those who go later..."

Listening to Xi Hai's words, White Shark's brain felt like it was going through a tangled mess, becoming blurry.

He felt like he was starting to not recognize the character for "go" anymore...

"Ahem, snap out of it."

Seeing that White Shark's eyes were already spinning in circles, Xi Hai quickly interrupted.

If he let him think any longer, Xi Hai was afraid this guy would be drooling even after he recovered.

"Are you calm now?"

"You're just one person,"

"No ship, no men,"

"What can you do if you go?"

"I'm afraid you'll be dead before you even arrive."

White Shark's body stiffened; it seemed that was true!

He came over on Xi Hai's Warship!

Everything else was still left at Ursa Major V12.22!

Even if he had tens of millions of energy currency sitting in his account and could afford a ship, he couldn't find any crew members willing to fly into the Swarm!

It was ruined. His adjutant, Gunt, along with those comrades who had been smuggling with him for ten years, struggling together from nothing to where they were now, and that junior with the pink hair.

They were staying in such a small space station; even if that Z25 Sentry Post miraculously hadn't been destroyed, they would soon perish from a lack of supplies.

For some reason, a legend from his home planet that had been passed down for ten thousand years suddenly surfaced in White Shark's mind:

A hero named "Overlord," because of a defeat, caused countless close friends and comrades to lose their lives.

Therefore, he could not bear to live on in this world. Facing the vast river and a million enemy troops, he drew his sword and took his own life.

He didn't know if this legend was true, and he had never seen a vast river or a million enemy troops, but he only knew that he, too, had lost those comrades!

Those with whom he had argued, those with whom he had shared a heart, those comrades who were like family and had walked the path with him—he, White Shark, had lost them!

He had lost everything in an instant.

Now, White Shark seemed to have turned back into the person he was when he first escaped from that space station—no family, no friends...

No, it was even worse than that, because no one would come to save him again—his mentor was no longer in this world.

Among the multitude stars, there was no longer any anchor point that belonged to him.

White Shark's eyes turned dim, and his lips began to tremble slightly.

Suddenly, he remembered—he had made a bet with that person with the pink hair, hadn't he?

The bet seemed to be about... who could survive longer?

According to the bet, he still had to go to Ursa Major V12.22 to help that guy collect their remains?

Rush in there; even if he didn't succeed, he had to go down and explain it himself!

He decided to go to his death... no, it should be called returning to his roots!

—For a smuggler or a drifter like him, the place where his friends were was his home!

Then—let's go!

"Hoo—"

Consequently, Xi Hai saw that a firm light was once again flickering in White Shark's eyes.

It seemed White Shark had conquered the emotions in his heart, Xi Hai thought, so he stared into those eyes and said, word for word:

"Since you've figured it out,"

"Then I will go back to Ursa Major with you."

"!!!"

At this moment, the only reaction White Shark could make was to stare blankly at Xi Hai; anything he wanted to say was stuck in his throat.

"Departure application approved."

"Identification: fleet belonging to the Sacred Stars Group."

"Coordinating the route for you."

"G-Zone Control Tower is at your service."

In less than half an hour, the group had boarded the ship and set sail.

Only then did White Shark gradually recover.

He had originally prepared himself to rush into the Swarm alone.

Now Xi Hai was telling him that he would also take the fleet with him!

Regardless of the motive, Xi Hai's participation had brought him immense help!

This was a massive favor!

From now on, his life no longer belonged to himself!

He could never repay the Chairman's favor!

Praise the sun-like Chairman!

Loyalty!!!

While White Shark was busy being moved by his own emotions on the side, night lamp sent Xi Hai something quite interesting—a video of the Z25 Sentry Post.

Opening it to take a look... Oh, it turned out to be Shield technology.

Wait, Shield technology!!!

Looking again, okay, it was real!!

In other words, that small Sentry Post he had picked up by the side of the road had a mainframe and a Shield?

Damn! What a magical thing!

He thought about it, but still couldn't think of any suitable words to complain about the current situation, so he decided to let it go.

Xi Hai turned his head to White Shark, who was standing to the side, intending to let that guy see the current state of the Z25 Sentry Post so he wouldn't worry too much.

—After all, White Shark was so anxious, and that guy's old subordinates were all at the Z25 Sentry Post, so he must want to go back for the people there.

"White Shark, come ov—"

Hey, wait!

Why did this guy's eyes look so wrong?

I have a feeling he's going to raise his hands and start crying while jumping around in the next second.

Suddenly, the Warship under his feet let out a hum, and following that, the starry sky outside the window turned into several shining straight lines—

"Activating Warp Drive Module."

At the entrance to Route 21.

The Giant Stone Group's patrol fleet was ready for battle.

This fleet's firepower configuration could be described as luxurious: 5 cruisers, 12 destroyers, and 22 frigates.

Among them, just the two XZ16 armored cruisers and 3 XZ47 fast cruisers could easily destroy a fleet composed of 20 small ships with their combined firepower.

Deng Zhuo stood on the flagship "the rock," looked at the report that had just been sent over, then immediately opened the command channel, adjusted the microphone, and ordered:

"The target has departed!"

"According to incomplete intelligence,"

"The target might appear suddenly without any warning!"

"Raise the alert level to level two for everyone..."

As he spoke, he looked out the window. Strangely, the stars in the sky seemed to have frozen, no longer moving or flickering, just as if someone had manually pressed the pause button...

"Hum—"

Suddenly, a violent ringing sound came to his ears, and a blinding white light erupted in the night sky without any warning.

Before Deng Zhuo could cover his eyes, the Radar Operator beside him began shouting on the all-hands channel:

"High-energy target appearing ahead!"

"Size! Destroyer!"

"Quantity! 20!"

"The target has entered the danger zone!"

20 destroyers appearing out of thin air! Target!

Enduring the temporary blindness caused by the flash, Deng Zhuo switched the microphone and roared with all his might:

"Target appeared!"

"All personnel, enter combat status!"