97: I recommend Dass directly.

"Huh?"

"So these two pieces of junk attacked my scout?"

"I actually thought it was the bugs chasing me out."

Standing on the Bridge of the "Storm," Xi Hai looked at the battered Warship on the screen and the pile of space junk beside it, rendered utterly speechless.

"Sigh, alright then. Attacking my scout right off the bat, they don't look like good guys."

"Might as well finish this up and call it a day."

"Fire—"

Just as Xi Hai was about to issue the order to fire, a hurried shout suddenly rang out on the public channel— "We surrender!"

"The act of attacking your Warship just now was a misfire caused by a malfunction in the weapon system!"

"My father is Gould, a Lieutenant General in the Cloud Consortium Cosmic Army!"

"I guarantee with my position and his that I will pay you compensation and remuneration!"

Upon hearing the term "Battleship," Gulac was certain he had run into a tough opponent—this kind of thing was not something an ordinary faction could afford to build.

Leaving aside the years-long construction period and the countless resources, just the engine cooling technology and material technology were things few factions could produce.

Moreover, not to mention building them, even if those small factions were given a pre-era Battleship, they wouldn't be able to form any combat capability—

Do you want to apply energy-absorbing coating to the hull? No? Fine, then just wait to be beaten into an idiot by energy attacks.

Do you want to perform maintenance on the engine and precision instruments? No? Fine, then just wait to aim left and hit right, or wait for the engine to suddenly fail and turn you into a target.

Do you want to equip it with a combat formation? You don't want that either? Then are you planning to send the core of the battlefield directly into combat with only a few crappy little Frigates protecting it?

Are you joking? Such a fleet might not even be able to withstand a few rounds of siege by Boarding Craft.

(Surely no one actually sails a Battleship in a lone formation, right?)

(No way, right? No way?)

In summary, those who can afford to play with Battleships are basically those major factions that are medium-sized and above.

And regardless of what purpose these guys have for coming here, unless they want to fight a war of annihilation against The Consortium, one of the six big bullies, it is impossible for them to directly kill the son of a Cosmic Army Lieutenant General—this kind of small-scale conflict is initiated for the sake of achieving some kind of interest exchange, so who would bear the grudge of a high-ranking officer of The Consortium while reducing the chips in their own hands?

However, Gulac obviously did not expect that the other party did not come here for any political interests at all.

Xi Hai heard the plea for mercy sent over the public channel and only felt it was troublesome.

A Lieutenant General's son? Ninety-nine percent chance, a rare commodity, huh?

Should he kill him or capture him?

Kill? The signal here is completely blocked, so he could just pin the blame on the bugs when the time comes. No profit, but also no loss.

Capture? First, the grudge between the two sides has already been established; one can tell just by looking at the destroyed frigate on the other side.

Secondly, he basically cannot obtain any benefits from it—right now the other side is so humble only because he is in a weak position. If he goes back and bites back, turning around to try to take him down, what would that be?

Moreover, how would he even demand remuneration? Is he supposed to say to that Lieutenant General, "Old man, your son is in my hands, send money"? Wouldn't such an aggressive provocation get him smacked down no matter what?

Why would he use his own life and future to gamble on the credibility of a powerful noble?

Therefore, this guy is just like an old man faking an accident on the street to extort money; he is a massive collection of trouble. Suggestion: just dust him.

Consequently, Xi Hai did not give any response to Gulac's request; the "Storm" directly launched two heavy anti-ship torpedoes, which served as Xi Hai's reply.

"Torpedoes detected!"

Hearing the trembling report from the Radar Operator, Gulac's pupils instantly constricted: Was the other party really going to kill him?

But why?

There was no time to think.

"Quick! Get on the escape Shuttle!"

"Follow the drill protocol!"

Watching the little dots representing the torpedoes rapidly approaching on the radar, Gulac immediately issued the order to escape.

"Pfft—"

Instantly, the hatch of the escape Shuttle equipped on the Bridge was opened. Immediately, a guy with a slightly bald head and a slightly large belly entered Gulac's field of vision—

"Alexei?"

"Why the hell are you here!?"

Gulac was first confused, then furious—the escape Shuttle he used to save his own life actually had someone hiding inside without him knowing?

"Uh, I'm confused too. I was just fumbling around here, and then I got locked in?"

Gulac felt he didn't even know what to say anymore. Right now, there were still two torpedoes flying toward him in the sky. No matter what happened, nothing was more important than saving his own life!

Soon, everyone on the Bridge quickly boarded the Shuttle. Before the pilot even waited for the hatch to close tightly, he pushed the throttle to the bottom. The Shuttle first shuddered violently, and then with a "pfft" sound, it stalled.

"What's going on!"

"There is no fuel in the Shuttle!"

"!!!"

"What's going on!"

Gulac clearly remembered that just during the recent maintenance, he had checked the fuel injection for the escape Shuttle!

Immediately, he cast his gaze toward Alexei on the side. Seeing that guy's evasive gaze, he suddenly understood everything—

"Where is my fuel!"

"Did you do this!"

He rushed over, grabbed Alexei by the collar, lifted him up, and demanded an answer.

Looking at Gulac's murderous gaze, Alexei stammered: "I saw that this kind of thing wouldn't be used once in tens of thousands of years, so I siphoned a little bit."

Gulac was instantly furious. This asshole who wanted energy currency more than his life!

"Which other Shuttles did you siphon from!"

Alexei: "None, none, just this one..."

There was no time to think. Gulac immediately ordered loudly: "Quick!"

"There is another Shuttle in the left corridor!"

"Switch to that one!"

After speaking, he took off running.

If he could escape, he would definitely report Alexei's corruption and depravity directly to the Inspectorate Department! That bunch of secret inspectors would definitely make him wish he were dead!

However, just as he stepped onto the Shuttle, the Warship shuddered violently, and suddenly, everyone was knocked off balance.

"We've been hit!" someone shouted.

"Don't panic! All airtight compartments are locked! The Warship is still operating normally!" Gulac immediately retorted.

"Why didn't the Warship's early warning system sound?"

At this moment, someone noticed that the large screen on the Bridge did not light up with alarms for system failures.

"Look out the window!"

Everyone's eyes immediately looked outward:

Right on their side, another cruiser that looked like it belonged to the Defense Force appeared, blocking their side.

The two heavy torpedoes hit it, instantly causing its whole body to crack and debris to fly everywhere.

However, in just an instant, the cracks on the hull stopped expanding, and instead, clumps of something that felt incredibly suffocating emerged—they were clumps of scarlet tentacles!!!