CH 43.2

The star pirate shouted fiercely, “What’s all the noise? Quiet down!”

Immediately, the hostages trembled in fear, covering their mouths and refraining from speaking. Bai Yuji’s face turned pale in an instant because he realized that if the hostages caused a commotion, the pirates wouldn’t spare their lives.

Bai Huaiyu’s expression grew even darker. If that gunshot had been slightly off, would he have been the one lying dead on the ground?

Gripping the cold dagger in his arms, his chaotic mind struggled to maintain composure. Bai Huaiyu’s calculating gaze scanned the surrounding crowd, waiting for an opportunity that was yet to come. His pale face, only slightly visible amidst the anxious and fearful crowd, did not betray his inner turmoil.

Star Pirate King, Ke Yan led his subordinates, their spaceship nearly turned upside down in the search, yet they heard no sign of Pei Zhaozhou’s voice. Filled with anger, Ke Yan swept a reproachful glance at his underlings and demanded, “How did you find him? Do you think Pei Zhaozhou can sprout wings and fly away?!”

Trembling, one of Ke Yan’s subordinates replied, “Boss, what if we were deceived? The information provided by those people might be false. Pei Zhaozhou never actually boarded the spaceship.”

Ke Yan instinctively felt it was impossible. Those people wanted Pei Zhaozhou dead even more than he did. If Pei Zhaozhou died, they would seize all his cutting-edge mech technology and assets in secret. Moreover, there was something eerie about the incident when Pei Zhaozhou’s mech malfunctioned on the battlefield.

Although he considered Pei Zhaozhou his enemy, Ke Yan had to reluctantly admit one thing. Pei Zhaozhou had never regarded him, the Star Pirate King, as a threat. As one of the few S-rank Alphas in the Empire, even after Pei Zhaozhou’s fall, he dared not face him head-on.

Pei Zhaozhou, a highly esteemed Major General among the Empire’s civilians, quitting the Imperial Army due to an incident was unquestionably suspicious. These people were eagerly trying to lead Pei Zhaozhou to his death, even at the cost of sacrificing the lives of innocent people aboard the spaceship.

Despite his subordinates having spilled much blood and his leadership of a ruthless pirate gang that struck terror into people’s hearts, even the infamous Star Pirate King, Ke Yan couldn’t help but shudder inwardly.

Ke Yan snapped back to reality, his eyes sharp.

Since he had been dragged onto this pirate ship, if he failed to kill his archenemy Pei Zhaozhou, his own fate would be far from pleasant.

Once aboard the spaceship, he and his star pirate subordinates had recklessly killed numerous civilians. If Pei Zhaozhou hadn’t died and things weren’t resolved, those people would likely not be so kind as to cover up this matter for him.

“Pei Zhaozhou must have boarded the spaceship. The information they provided cannot be wrong. Hurry, check the surveillance cameras. As long as Pei Zhaozhou appears on this ship, the outer space beyond is oxygenless, and there’s no way he can escape!” Ke Yan commanded.

“Understood!”

However, the outcome of the investigation left Ke Yan with a darkened expression.

Ke Yan’s eyes glowered as he looked at his trembling subordinate, his anger flaring as he demanded, “What did you say?!”

The star pirate lowered his head, too afraid to meet the furious gaze of the Star Pirate King, and replied in fear, “The original position intended for Pei Zhaozhou was taken by a bespectacled person. We reviewed the surveillance footage more than ten times and found no trace of Pei Zhaozhou boarding the ship. The information they provided was false!”

Ke Yan’s complexion darkened, and he forcefully kicked the subordinate who kept his head down, venting his frustration through gritted teeth, “Nothing but lies! Take me there now!”

He couldn’t believe he had been played by those people.

Ke Yan must be an extraordinary person to become the Star Pirate King. But when he becomes irritable and easily angered, he shows no mercy even to his subordinates. The star pirate who was kicked flew backward, his mouth spitting out blood, struggling for breath.

The other star pirates felt a mix of despair and anger, but because they deeply feared Ke Yan’s ruthless nature, they humbly led the way for him.

Inside the cockpit, there were more than a dozen star pirates guarding it, and they were surprised to see Ke Yan, the Star Pirate King, leading the other star pirates.

Ke Yan didn’t say much. He immediately ordered the star pirates to bring up the surveillance footage.

He sped up, carefully reviewing it several times. The increasingly furious expression in Ke Yan’s eyes became even more terrifying and fearsome.

“None! How could there be none!”

Ke Yan realized he had been played, and his anger shook his chest. His eyes, filled with raging fire, stared fixedly at the screen, where each figure seemed to be mocking him.

In his rage, he directly pounded the metal control console, creating a deep dent. The rest of his subordinates dared not even lift their heads, fearing his anger might turn towards them.

The Imperial Capital.

In an exquisite and magnificent noble residence, a coming-of-age banquet for a noble young lady was being held. The elegant classical music played by renowned musicians of the empire filled the air.

But in the eyes of these extravagant, arrogant, and hypocritical nobles, no matter how beautiful the music was, it couldn’t compare to a single glance from the distinguished guest before them.

The Omega young ladies and young men among the nobles present discreetly observed this renowned guest, their faces blushing with shyness.

As the protagonist of this banquet, Miss Karma of the Claude family had tried numerous times, using the excuse of the coming-of-age ceremony, to get closer to this distinguished guest.

With emerald green eyes filled with joy and excitement, wearing an exquisite and luxurious veil gown, a graceful swan-like neck adorned with a string of pure white pearls, and a blush that made her look like a maiden in love, there was no doubt she was the most eye-catching character of the day. Watching her, others couldn’t help but feel jealous and have conflicting desires.

They envied Miss Karma, while yearning for that distinguished guest.

However, that distinguished guest soon left and went to a secluded reception room.

As soon as he entered the room, he looked arrogantly and indifferently at the person who followed him anxiously.

“How did things go?”

“Prince Kyle, it seems that Pei Zhaozhou may have sensed something and didn’t board the spaceship at the last moment.”

Prince Kyle narrowed his cold, piercing azure eyes at Charles, giving an baffling chill. He smiled and asked, seemingly without reason, “Then why did you still dare to host a banquet and invite me?”

Charles was immediately frightened, sweating profusely, and quickly tried to regain the prince’s trust, saying, “Pei Zhaozhou’s confidant boarded the ship. He shouldn’t have noticed that we tampered with it.”

Prince Kyle’s face returned to calm, wearing a gentle smile, but his eyes carried a slight chill as he said, “Why is he always so lucky?”

Charles didn’t dare to reply.

As for the group of star pirates, when Charles discovered that Pei Zhaozhou didn’t board the ship at all, he didn’t inform them. He simply considered them as expendable pawns.

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