201: Expensive fireworks

The interior of the ion cloud was not dead silent, but boiling.

Blue electric arcs, like countless glowing whips, lashed at the Vast Sea Fleet's fragile shields. Visibility dropped to less than five kilometers, and the radar screens were filled with cluttered noise, like a broken old-fashioned television.

"Zzz... zzz..."

The communication channels were filled with the crackling of static interference.

"Something's not right."

The helmsman of the vengeance gripped the control stick tightly, his knuckles turning white. It felt like walking into a metal barrel full of gunpowder, and someone had just struck a match.

In the next second, the match fell.

"Warning! High energy reaction ahead! Energy levels... energy levels are off the charts!"

The slaughterer, which had been "fleeing in panic" ahead, suddenly stopped deep within the cloud. Its massive hull completed a stationary turn slowly and elegantly, and the engines that had been emitting black smoke instantly sprayed a piercing, stable blue light.

The ferocious heavy particle cannon at the bow had long been fully charged, like a bloodshot giant eye, coldly watching this group of prey that had walked into the trap.

But that wasn't the most lethal part.

"Behind us! A large number of signal sources appearing behind us!" The radar officer's voice changed pitch, as if he were being strangled by an invisible hand. "They've deactivated their optical camouflage! It's an ambush! An entire Phantom Fleet!"

Reno whipped his head around.

On the holographic projection, over a dozen pitch-black warships suddenly emerged in the previously empty rear flight path. It was Xing Zhan's most elite "Night Owl" stealth destroyer formation. Like a group of silent assassins, they had noiselessly sealed off the Vast Sea Fleet's only path of retreat.

A giant cannon in front, assassins behind, and an ion storm surrounding them that jammed all senses.

This was a perfect coffin.

"A pocket formation..." Reno's single eye trembled.

The intuition he was so proud of had led him into hell this time.

"Commander! They've locked onto us! All fire control radars are alarming!"

"We can't break out... we're surrounded!"

The communication channel, which had been fanatical just a moment ago, was instantly drowned in screams of despair. Those desperadoes who had come for the bounty collapsed faster than anyone in the face of a true death trap.

A modified assault ship tried to break through to the flank, but was instantly torn to pieces by automatic defense turrets hidden in the cloud. The light of the explosion flickered for only a moment before being swallowed by the dense ion cloud.

Reno looked at the dense red dots on the screen, a chilling coldness creeping up his spine to the back of his head.

Those were the supplies he had just ordered to be abandoned.

Just a few minutes ago, for the sake of a little extra speed, he had made the fleet abandon the enemy Guard ship loaded with military supplies, along with all the heavy containers they had scavenged along the way.

Now, the "Phantom Fleet" responsible for the flanking maneuver was swaggering through that floating supply belt, using those massive metal containers as cover to close in on the rear of the Vast Sea Fleet.

"Damn it... damn it all!"

Reno gave himself a hard slap, the crisp sound echoing on the silent bridge.

"If those supplies were still there... even using the containers as shields would have been fine..."

He looked at the approaching reapers on the radar, his voice raspy as if he were chewing gravel. "I'm such a fool! Why did I care about that one minute? Now it's all over..."

Fear spread like a plague.

"I'm done! I want to surrender!"

"This is suicide! That madman Reno is going to get us killed!"

"Turn around! Ram our way out!"

Several ships on the periphery began to scurry about out of control, and some crew members even tried to forcibly cut the fire control system to send a surrender signal to the enemy. Mutiny was only a breath away.

The light of the slaughterer's main cannon grew brighter and brighter; it was the countdown before the execution.

At this moment of utter despair.

"Zzz— zzz—"

The entire fleet's communication channel, which had long been cut off by strong magnetic interference, suddenly emitted an extremely sharp screech. This sound was highly piercing, instantly drowning out all alarms and cries.

Immediately after, a cold, steady voice, even carrying a hint of metallic texture, forcibly took over the audio output of every ship.

"Reno."

These two words were like a bucket of ice water, extinguishing all the noise.

It was Chen Feng's voice.

"Boss?!" Reno lunged toward the console as if grasping at a final straw. "Boss! I've failed you! I fell for it! I shouldn't have..."

"Shut up." Chen Feng's voice had no emotional fluctuations, as calm as if he were discussing today's weather. "Listen, your intuition saved you. Even if your brain didn't keep up."

Reno was stunned.

Saved us?

"Eve." Chen Feng's voice rang out again, this time addressing someone else. "Detonate the 'trash'."

At the distant Ashen Earth Star command center.

Eve sat before the optical computer, her fingers turning into a blur on the virtual keyboard. A frantic flow of data moved through her pupils, and the corners of her mouth curled up slightly into a hacker's mischievous smile.

"Command confirmed. Overload protocol... initiated."

She pressed a red Enter key.

Shattered Star Graveyard, behind the Vast Sea Fleet.

The Commander of the approaching "Phantom Fleet" looked mockingly through his tactical monocle at the lambs waiting to be slaughtered ahead. His fleet was passing through the supply belt abandoned by the Vast Sea Fleet.

"A bunch of fools, even throwing away such good high-energy batteries." He sneered, looking at the massive energy containers floating outside the viewport. "They'll serve perfectly as cover for us. All ships, prepare for a torpedo volley. Send them on their way."

Before he could finish his sentence.

Outside the viewport, those energy containers that had been dead silent and regarded as "burdens" suddenly lit up.

It wasn't the normal indicator lights; the entire containers emitted an extremely unstable, piercing white light from within. This was the sign of thousands of high-purity military energy cores being forced into overload by a remote command within the same microsecond.

The Commander's pupils suddenly shrank to the size of pinpricks.

"No—"

The sound didn't even have time to leave his throat.

"Boom—!!!"

In the dark space, it was as if a supernova had suddenly exploded.

A chain of explosions instantly merged into a sea of light. Those spoils that Reno had considered "a pity" and those containers that the enemy had considered "cover" transformed at this moment into the most expensive space minefield in the universe.

This wasn't a normal explosion at all; it was a pure release of energy.

The violent energy storm instantly swallowed the defenseless "Phantom Fleet." Their proud stealth coating vaporized instantly under the high temperature, and the fragile hulls were torn, twisted, and melted like paper toys.

One destroyer tried to activate its shields, but the nearby sympathetic detonation blew right through its reactor. The entire ship turned into a massive fireball, joining this grand fireworks display.

The intense light even penetrated the dense ion cloud, illuminating the entire battlefield as bright as day.

Everyone in the Vast Sea Fleet stared blankly at the spectacular scene on the rear-view screens.

That entire elite fleet that was supposed to take their lives had now turned into a pile of floating, burning scrap metal.

"This... this is..." Reno's mouth hung open, the brilliant light of the fire reflected in his single eye.

"This is the 'Black Forest' Protocol." Chen Feng's voice rang out again, carrying a detached sense of total control. "I have been watching you. Eve left a backdoor in every energy core within those supplies."

"Now, the threat from behind is resolved."

Chen Feng paused, and then a crisp notification sound rang out on every captain's personal terminal.

"Ding! Account unfrozen. Fund pool injection: 500 million interstellar credit points."

Looking at that astronomical figure, enough to buy half a planet, every crew member's breath hitched. The despair and fear from a moment ago were instantly replaced by another, more primitive and fanatical emotion.

Greed.

"All ships, hear my command." Chen Feng's voice became low and full of temptation, like a devil's whisper. "From now on, for every enemy ship sunk, the bonus doubles. Whoever sinks the flagship 'slaughterer' will receive 100 million alone."

"Crush them for me."

Silence.

After a brief second of silence.

"Roar—!!!"

On the bridge of the vengeance, a beast-like roar erupted. Fear? What was that? As long as there was money, even Death himself could be bargained with!

"Long live the boss!!"

"Kill! Kill them all!"

The crew members who were thinking of surrendering just moments ago now had nothing but red credit point symbols in their eyes. They were no longer lambs to be slaughtered; they were a pack of hungry wolves that had caught the scent of blood.

Reno slammed the control stick forward, and the entire vengeance let out a groan of overstrained metal as the engine nozzles sprayed a purple tail flame a hundred meters long.

"Did you hear that, brothers?!"

Reno laughed wildly into the communicator, tears streaming down his face. It was the euphoria of escaping death and the most vicious mockery of Xing Zhan.

"The boss paid our bill! Those are the most expensive fireworks in the universe!"

He pointed at the slaughterer ahead, which was swaying slightly from the shockwave of the explosions behind it, murderous intent boiling in his single eye.

"Now, it's our turn to treat them!"

"All ships! Brave the ion storm! Ram them for me!"

"Ram that son of a bitch to death!"

Dozens of battered but high-spirited ships, like a swarm of crazed meteors, braved the ion turbulence strong enough to tear steel and launched a suicidal counter-charge toward the startled behemoth.

And on the bridge of the slaughterer.

Xing Zhan looked at the sea of burning wreckage behind him and then at the pack of mad dogs charging recklessly from ahead. A hint of bewilderment appeared on his scarred face for the first time.

That merchant who had been hiding behind the scenes... actually used an entire fleet's worth of supplies as a one-time bomb?

"Madman..."

Xing Zhan gripped the battle-axe in his hand, his knuckles turning white.

"They're all madmen."