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Chapter 148 Since it's an interstellar mafia, then it has to be two-on-one.
"Tick, tock, tick, tock."
The black square box floating in the center of the force field was like a grim reaper, the red light flashing with increasing frequency.
Four minutes left.
If this thing exploded, not only would this dilapidated flagship be finished, but the dragon sparrow currently cleaning up the battlefield would likely be flipped over by the antimatter turbulence.
"Playing the self-destruct card? Did you guys buy a wholesale copy of 'The Self-Cultivation of a Villain'?"
Lin Yuan stood in the secret chamber, not even bothering to look at the complex combination lock. He reached into the void and grabbed, as if pulling something out of an invisible pocket.
γ Ding! γ
γ High-risk explosive detected. γ
γ Classified as: Ownerless high-energy waste. γ
γ Initiate forced recovery for "Deep Space Salvage Operation"? γ
"Collect it."
Lin Yuan snapped his fingers.
There was no heart-pounding bomb defusing or cutting wires, nor the clichΓ© plot of stopping at the last second. Just as the red light was about to become a solid line, the box, capable of blowing half a satellite to dust, vanished into thin air like a pencil sketch erased by a rubber eraser.
The next second, it lay quietly in Lin Yuan's system inventory slot. The status bar displayed: γ Mechanical Papacy Relic Β· Heart of Lies (Stationary / Fuse Removed) γ.
In the system's logic, once it's in my pocket, it has to listen to me whether it's round or flat.
"Whewβ"
Lin Yuan whistled, turned, and walked out of the secret chamber, casually connecting to the full-band broadcast.
"Boys, don't just stand there. This place belongs to the Lin family now."
"Dinner time!"
Following this command, the originally dead-silent space of Proxima Centauri instantly became as lively as a market opening for business.
The massive cargo doors on the belly of the dragon sparrow slowly opened, and thousands of engineering drones swarmed out. They needed no rest or air, pouncing on the floating wreckage of the Three-Eyed Race warships, their laser cutters swinging so fast they were just blurs.
This wasn't cleaning up a battlefield; it was like a swarm of locusts passing through.
γ Ding! Recovered 124 "Tick"-class frigate wrecks, gained 3.72 million points. γ
γ Ding! Recovered 5 "Divine Punishment"-class battleship core power furnaces (damaged), gained 15 million points. γ
γ Ding! Obtained rare technology blueprint: Planetary Environmental Modification Technology (Basic). γ
γ Ding! Obtained biotechnology sample: Biochemical Beast Breeding Sequence (Incomplete). γ
Lin Yuan watched the data scrolling wildly on his retina; that satisfaction was even more tangible than swallowing a stellar flare just now. This wasn't trash; these were the building blocks for the rise of the Great Xia.
Especially that γ Planetary Environmental Modification Technology γ, it was practically tailor-made for Earth right now. With this thing, restoring the scarred Earth to lush green mountains and clear waters would just be a matter of using a bit more electricity.
"Commander, you need to see this."
In the communication channel, Academician Wang's voice sounded shaky, not from excitement, but from some suppressed chill.
"I'm in the medical room of the Three-Eyed Race flagship."
Ten minutes later, Lin Yuan stood before a cold metal autopsy table.
Lying on it was the previously arrogant Commander Zaka. This guy was thoroughly dead, his head detached, now being held in place by several robotic arms for a deep scan.
"Look here." Academician Wang held a laser pointer, pointing at the structure of Zaka's brain displayed on the holographic projection. Deep within that gray-white cerebral cortex, roughly where the hippocampus should be, was embedded a black crystal the size of a grain of rice. It had grown countless tentacles thinner than a hair, deeply rooted into every key node of the cranial nerves.
"What is this? A tumor?" Lin Yuan frowned.
"It's a lock." Academician Wang took a deep breath and took off his glasses to wipe them. "We've dissected three hundred corpses, from the low-level boiler workers to this Commander, all of them have this thing in their brains."
"It's a type of bio-chip. Normally, it constantly releases a special neurotransmitter, causing people to feel extreme 'devotion' and 'fanaticism.' This explains why these guys don't fear death when fighting."
Academician Wang paused, his voice sinking: "But what's even more terrifying is that this thing is also a remote-controlled bomb. Once the host has thoughts of 'betrayal,' 'fleeing,' or 'leaking secrets,' and the brainwaves show specific fluctuations, the chip will instantly release high-voltage electricity, turning the brain into mush."
Lin Yuan stared at the tiny black crystal, his eyes as cold as ice.
No wonder Zaka wanted to blow up the star before he died.
That wasn't courage. That was a pathetic wretch driven to a dead end, stripped even of the right to surrender.
"Mechanical Papacy..." Lin Yuan chewed on the name. "Using intelligent beings as batteries isn't enough; they even have to lock their thoughts. These tin cans sure know how to play dirty."
"Can this thing be removed?" Lin Yuan asked.
"It's difficult." Academician Wang shook his head. "It has already grown together with the nerves. Forcible removal means certain death. And I suspect this chip also has a tracking function."
Lin Yuan was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly sneered.
"Keep a few samples, burn the rest. Don't let such filth dirty our hands."
He turned and walked toward the porthole, watching the busy mining scene outside.
The Great Xia engineering team had already established a temporary base on the largest satellite of Proxima Centauri b. Massive smelters spat out tongues of fire, and countless high-purity alloys extracted from the wreckage were being forged into new armor plates.
And in the deeper, more distant starry sky.
gaia's alarm sounded softly: "Commander, several weak Subspace signal fluctuations have been detected. According to waveform analysis, they are observers from low-level civilizations in nearby star systems. They... are fleeing."
"Let them run." Lin Yuan didn't even turn his head, his tone indifferent. "Take the footage of us tearing apart the battleship and swallowing the star just now, don't encrypt it, just pack it up and send it out."
"This..." Li Na, standing nearby, was stunned. "Won't this expose our strength?"
"That's exactly the point." Lin Yuan reached out and drew an X on the foggy glass. "In this dark forest, acting like a coward will only make you die faster. Only by carving the words 'Mad Dog' on your forehead will those jackals looking for scraps think twice about whether their teeth are strong enough."
Since they've already been marked by the Mechanical Papacy, they might as well muddy the waters. Let everyone know that the Solar System isn't just a hard bone to chew, but a lethal one.
"Old Wang, have you cracked that box yet?" Lin Yuan changed the subject.
"Cracked it." Academician Wang looked up from the console, his eyes bloodshot. "It's not a blueprint for any weapon of mass destruction, but a... pass."
A massive holographic star map unfolded in mid-air. It was an extremely complex coordinate system, with dense shipping lanes interwoven like a spiderweb. And at the convergence point of these lanes, there was a huge vortex-shaped celestial body marked in gray. Next to it was a line of text in the common language: γ No. 4 Sin Starport γ
"Sin Starport?" Lin Yuan raised an eyebrow. "That name doesn't sound like a place with good benefits and social security."
"This is a lawless zone located on the edge of the Orion Arm." Academician Wang pulled up the data. "According to the information in the box, it's a blind spot in the Mechanical Papacy's jurisdiction, gathering exiles, pirates, black market merchants, and... intelligence brokers from all over the galaxy."
"The reason this Three-Eyed Race could act as ranchers here is actually because they are suppliers providing 'meat' and 'minerals' to this starport. That box is a token they use for trading there."
Lin Yuan rubbed his chin, the light in his eyes growing brighter.
Isn't this just sending a pillow when one is sleepy?
What does the Great Xia lack most right now? Resources? No, you can just rob them.
What's missing is intelligence, perspective, and an entry point to integrate into this cosmic society. Just burying their heads in the Solar System building shipsβno one has any idea if what they build can defeat the main force of the Mechanical Papacy. They need to go out and see.
"I'm going to this place." Lin Yuan made the decision.
"No!" Li Na and Chen Weiguo said almost simultaneously.
Chen Weiguo strode into the medical room, his face livid: "You are the Supreme Commander, and you're going to dive into a pirate den right after a war? If your identity is exposed, that's like a lamb entering a tiger's den! If anyone goes, it should be an agent!"
"Agents can't hold their own there." Lin Yuan waved his hand. "Besides, I have a reason I must go."
Just a moment ago, the system, which had been silent for a while, suddenly flashed a new mission box for him. The reward made Lin Yuan's heart skip a beat.
γ Side Mission Triggered: titan's Legacy. γ
γ Mission Objective: Go to "Sin Starport" and attend the 99th Black Market Auction. γ
γ Mission Item: Find and recover the "titan-class Spatial Stabilizer (Camouflage Name: Dual-Vector Foil Encapsulation Box)". γ
γ Mission Reward: Unlock "titan Arsenal" authority (Level 1), 5 million points. γ
γ Failure Penalty: Let's just play in the mud on Earth for the rest of our lives. γ
Dual-Vector Foil.
These three words are the nightmare of all three-dimensional beings.
The defective product Lin Yuan exchanged using the system last time painted the "Planet Devourer" into a mural. But that was a one-time use, and the side effects were extreme, almost draining him dry.
And this so-called "encapsulation box" is actually a container used by the Titan Civilization to hold a Dual-Vector Foil?
How hard must a box be to hold a "dimensional reduction strike"? If he gets his hands on this, whenever he meets someone who isn't convinced, he can just open the box and let them take a look, turning them into a paper person on a physical level.
"Old Chen, you have to look after the foundation at home." Lin Yuan looked at Chen Weiguo, his tone unprecedentedly serious. "This territory of Proxima Centauri was just taken, the remaining forces of the Three-Eyed Race still need to be purged, and someone needs to guard the portal on Earth. You can't leave."
"Besides, I'm not going there to fight this time." Lin Yuan grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth. "I'm going to fence stolen goods."
"Fence stolen goods?"
"Didn't we just rob so much junk?" Lin Yuan pointed to the mountains of low-level spaceship wreckage outside the window. "We don't care for these things, but in that kind of black market, they should be able to trade for quite a few good things. More importantly, I need to get us humans a ticket to the galactic poker table."
Chen Weiguo stared at Lin Yuan for a long time, finally letting out a helpless sigh.
"How many people are you taking?"
"The fewer, the better. If a large force moves, even a fool would know something is wrong." Lin Yuan held up one finger. "Just one ship."
"Which one? The dragon sparrow is too conspicuous; that design is clearly our style at a glance."
"Not the dragon sparrow." Lin Yuan turned his head to look at the holographic screen, at the wreckage of the Three-Eyed Race flagship that was half-destroyed but still had a relatively intact main structure.
"Fix up that old wreck, scrape off those disgusting Three-Eyed Race insignias, and spray a skull on it. Then mount those few plasma cannons that still work."
Lin Yuan adjusted his collar, and his demeanor instantly changed.
The sense of majesty as a human leader vanished, replaced by a rogue-like air and ruthlessness seeping from his bones. He even produced a pair of sunglasses from who knows where and put them on, covering those soul-captivating purple eyes.
"From today on, don't call me Commander."
"Call me... Void Walker."
"A wandering arms dealer from the boonies of the galaxy who only has eyes for money."
Three days later.
A black warship with an extremely ferocious design, looking like parts from several different styles of ships had been forcibly welded together, spewed unstable tail flames and wobbled as it departed Proxima Centauri orbit.
On its hull, a huge name was crookedly painted in red paint: γ The Reaper γ.
And in the warship's cargo hold, it was stuffed with "specialties" looted from the Three-Eyed Race: hundreds of tons of high-purity source minerals, thousands of biochemical beast embryos still wriggling in incubation tanks, and that "Mechanical Heart" that would make any faction green with envy.
Lin Yuan sat on the greasy captain's chair, toying with the slave chip he'd dug out of Zaka's head, watching the star gate vortex slowly opening ahead.
"gaia, turn on my pirate broadcast."
"Got it, Boss." gaia's voice also changed style, becoming a rough, masculine voice full of metallic texture.
"This is The Reaper. I'm not very cultured, so I'll just say one thing."
Lin Yuan spoke into the microphone, his voice lazy but laced with killing intent.
"I want to trade this ship full of junk for some good liquor. Anyone who dares to block my path..."
"I'll stuff them into the engine and burn them as fuel."
Boom!
The "pirate ship," which looked like it would fall apart at any moment, plunged headlong into the jump channel leading to Sin Starport.
Humanity's first interstellar "smuggling" operation had officially begun.