Chapter 913: Entrapment

Chapter 913: Fishing Enforcement

Along the frontier of the Starling Sea, a fleet of distant voyage ships sailed steadily, numbering over forty in total, their armored exteriors bearing the emblem of the Rock Spirit civilization. These vessels were specially crafted for long-range travel by the Rock Spirits, their designs reminiscent of mining ships—somewhat bulky, equipped with light plasma cannons and slicing particle light guns as their primary armaments.

Star system-level civilizations relied solely on their own spacecraft technology, capable of traversing between star systems. Even with the aid of higher-level civilizations’ gateways, they still required specific spacecraft models to navigate between star domains. Fuel and energy technology formed a critical threshold, dividing their fleets into near-voyage and distant-voyage ships. For such civilizations, distant-voyage ships were highly prized, their production far more challenging than their near-voyage counterparts.

To transport a batch of evolved-carved totems from the Black Star Legion across star systems, the Rock Spirits dispatched a distant-voyage fleet. The previous fleet had been ambushed in the Starling Sea’s frontier region and annihilated; this was the second wave, having leaped through star gates across the starry expanse before reaching the Black Star Legion’s base to receive the new shipment of totems. After a grueling journey, the fleet finally returned to the Starling Sea.

In the command chamber of the lead ship, the Rock Spirit commander stood stern, barking orders to the crew: “All hands, steel yourselves. The last distant-voyage fleet was attacked in this very frontier region. We’ve entered enemy territory now—any anomaly in the radar scans must be reported to me immediately.”

“Understood,” the crew replied, their faces taut with tension.

For civilizations of cluster or higher scale, long voyages were routine. Yet for star system-level crews, each departure beyond their civilization’s jurisdiction meant venturing into the unknown, into perilous depths. Like sailors leaving familiar shores for the open ocean, they navigated the vast, dark void, where unseen dangers lurked in every shadow. Enforcement forces did not descend from the heavens in an instant; various interstellar factions moved unseen, their quantum channels silent, yet watched by countless eyes.

“The next gateway lies eighteen days’ travel from us. After leaping three star systems, we’ll reach the outer ring of the domain’s second perimeter. It’s the most treacherous zone, but if we avoid conflict during this stretch, we’ll be relatively safe.” The commander declared.

No sooner had he spoken than a shrill alarm pierced the air. Simultaneously, ship signals erupted in all directions—enemy vessels had infiltrated their prearranged ambush.

“Again?! Who betrayed our position?!”

The commander’s face darkened. This was no mere opportunistic raid; they were being deliberately set up. Only the Black Star Lord’s intervention had saved them from total ruin.

The attackers numbered over three hundred ships, encircling the fleet swiftly and releasing space bubbles to suppress their escape. At the helm of the assault fleet, a towering crystalline entity hovered before the massive observation window of the command chamber. Its form was a multifaceted crystal, limbless and faceless, manifesting two pale blue tendrils of psychic force that swayed gently.

This crystalline life was the assault’s leader, known as Langshita—a cataclysm-level psychic, a senior mercenary of the Blood Gold Organization. Once a defector from a crystalline civilization, he had absorbed vast psychic energies from his kin, ascending to cataclysmic power before becoming a hunted fugitive. Years ago, he had joined the Blood Gold ranks, rising to a senior position.

The encirclement solidified as Langshita used psychic resonance to vibrate the air, shaping soundwaves to address the enemy: “Deploy magnetization pulse radiation to disable their shields. Advance forces, close to boarding range. Do not bombard from afar—we aim to seize intact evolved-carved totems.”

The Blood Gold Organization had long coveted intelligence on the evolved-carved totems circulating in the black market. Recently, a high-trust anonymous account had posted a contract to seize such artifacts, revealing the Rock Spirit fleet’s location. The Blood Gold accepted the job immediately.

They did not seek the bounty itself but sought to hoard the totems, trading them to civilizations in need for greater rewards and favor. The Star Lord’s influence, gained through evolved-carved totems, had granted immense political clout. The Blood Gold and other shadowy factions aimed to share in this power.

Accumulating totems mattered more than fulfilling the contract, though they would not outright violate the agreement. They would justify partial losses as combat damage, keeping the remainder for themselves—a standard practice.

In recent months, the secrecy surrounding totem transport had tightened, making reliable intelligence scarce. The true value of this contract lay in exposing the Rock Spirits’ movements.

The Blood Gold trusted the intelligence after verifying it through a rival black market syndicate. With confirmation, they laid ambushes along the transport route.

The Blood Gold fleet dwarfed the Rock Spirit force, surrounding them like wolves around sheep.

Instantly, invisible pulse radiations erupted from the Blood Gold ships, enveloping the Rock Spirit fleet. Their shields flickered, weakened as electromagnetic and ion-based defenses faltered under the magnetic pulses—though energy shields remained unaffected.

The two forces closed rapidly. The Blood Gold deployed magnetic-chain ramming pods, locking onto Rock Spirit vessels and dragging them into boarding range.

Within Langshita’s command chamber, images of boarding teams materialized on the viewport.

“Reporting aboard, all clear. Proceeding to the target ship’s control room, clearing resistance en route.”

“Excellent. Accelerate.”

Before he could finish, the viewport’s image cut to black, followed by a surge of combat sounds and desperate cries.

“Enemy attack! Other units aboard!”

“My armor’s failing!”

The battle lasted only moments before communication went silent. All boarding teams were annihilated.

The chamber fell into stunned silence as the crew stared at Langshita.

He, too, hesitated, then the chamber’s screen crackled with static.

A figure of white noise materialized—a featureless, shifting form that spoke in a cold, mechanical tone.

“Obey the Overlord’s command. I take control here.”

“Who… are you?”

“The Overlord’s Shade. An agent of the void.”

As the words faded, the crew noticed something amiss. Metallic walls rippled with serpentine grooves, undulating like living things.

Crewmates scrambled away from the walls, clustering together in terror.

“What’s… happening? Agh!!”

The floor beneath them warped silently. From the crowd, an iron tree sprouted, its spines piercing bodies, blood and flesh spraying into the air.

A deafening crash erupted as Langshita unleashed his psychic force, shattering the iron tree.

The metallic fragments melted into the floor, and the chamber convulsed, its walls morphing into flesh, squeezing inward. The room seemed to breathe.

Langshita hurled himself through the viewport, fleeing into space to witness the horror.

The entire ship writhed like liquid metal, its form unrecognizable. Nearby vessels underwent the same fate.

Langshita gaped in horror.

A nanite swarm—a void ghost, one of the Overlord’s heralds, an infectious nanomechanical pathogen that spread like spores, infesting metal and machinery, reshaping them into extensions of itself, growing ever larger.

Meanwhile, in the Rock Spirit fleet, a black tide surged forth. Mechanical troops, amplified by quantum transmission channels, battered Blood Gold ships to splinters.

Seeing the Black Star Legion insignia on the mechanical soldiers, Langshita’s mind reeled.

“Black Star…?”

Realizing the enemy’s identity, he felt despair consume him. Resistance was futile.

The void ghost led a mechanized vanguard, escorting the Rock Spirit fleet. With the Star Lord’s current strength, even without the Overlord’s presence, ten thousand mechanized troops could crush hundreds of Blood Gold warships.

The battle ended swiftly—all enemies became prisoners.

Langshita, a cataclysm-level psychic, had no means of escape. Even he was subdued, his mind pacified with restraint devices.

Without psychic power, his frail body could not even rise unaided.

After the battle, the Star Lord’s consciousness descended through the quantum network onto an intact Blood Gold vessel, shaking his head with a sardonic laugh.

“They bit off more than they could chew.”

“My lord, the mission is complete.”

The chamber’s floor warped, metal coalescing into a humanoid form, kneeling on one knee—the void ghost, its true form a shifting mass of nanites.

"Well done. Han Xiao encouraged, 'Now let me take over.'"

His eyes flickered, and his consciousness surged along the spaceship’s quantum network link, invading the Blood Gold Organization’s internal databases, racing through quantum networks, leaping from one server to another in an instant, the physical distance losing all meaning before him.

A top-tier virtual mechanic, the intelligent firewall of the Blood Gold Organization was as good as nonexistent, every hole a vulnerability in Han Xiao’s eyes.

…

Not long after, Han Xiao, far away at the Black Star Legion’s headquarters, opened his eyes. The dazzling force fields in his gaze slowly settled, a faint smile playing on his lips.

"I found it."

"The Sovereign, what of the remaining captives?" the formless ghost inquired.

"All trash. Put them all to the blade… Oh, wait—except for that crystal organism. Bring it to me. I want to see if I can squeeze some juice out of it… uh, powder."

Han Xiao replied offhandedly, then exited the quantum network’s scope, selecting the whereabouts of three Blood Gold leaders and sending them to the Crimson Empire official handling totem affairs.

The leaders of the Blood Gold Organization moved like shadows, their locations shrouded in mystery, yet once pinned down, escape from their pursuit was nearly impossible.

Had this task been assigned to a player, the steps would’ve been labyrinthine, requiring clues gathered from every corner. But for him, it was child’s play—grasp one thread, and the entire tapestry of intelligence unraveled.

Delivering the intel, the panel erupted into motion, a prompt announcing the mission’s completion.

[ [Task Completed] ]

[ You gain 15 million experience, 1,000 Crimson Empire contribution points, random reward x1 ]

Before long, the Empire’s liaison responded.

"Your intel is appreciated, Lord of Black Star."

"A mere trifle, my lord. How do you intend to deal with these three leaders?"

"Ha! Lord Black Star, you’re asking with full knowledge."

"Indeed. Acquiring their whereabouts this way hardly screams of earnest diplomacy." Han Xiao’s eyes narrowed. "Let me handle one of them myself."

"We’re aligned, Lord. If you’re keen, the Empire has no objections."

"Very well."

He cut the transmission, forwarding the targets’ details to Roland.

Roland had joined the Legion a year and a half ago, spending most of his time idle, for the Legion rarely assigned assassinations to him. This time, however, presented an opportunity.

Han Xiao intended to let Roland test his skills, ensuring his assassination techniques hadn’t grown rusty.

Moreover, after a year and a half of observation and guidance, he believed Roland was ready to establish an assassin’s mutual aid network on his own—trustworthy, this plan could move to the forefront.

"I’ll head out immediately."

The communicator buzzed with Roland’s terse reply.

He cared not for the reason behind the kill. After a year and a half of camaraderie, Roland had grown deeply trusting of Han Xiao, his perception of the Legion steadily improving.