Chapter 116: I Have Special Taming Skills

Chapter 116: I Have Special Taming Techniques

"The warships of Huaxia? To put it in one word: tanky!" — A famous Huaxia military commentator.

For Monkey, today was an unusual day. For the captured pirates, it was even more extraordinary.

In the Huaxia fleet and the pirate fleet, one distinct difference was immediately apparent: the pirate fleet had far fewer personnel. There were many reasons for this, but one of the most prominent factors was that Huaxia simply never ran out of manpower.

Clones were continuously replenished during wartime, a massive advantage that Huaxia had incorporated into its warship design from the very beginning. Other races did not possess such numbers; everyone knew that humans were the most fertile race in the universe. High population numbers were, therefore, a natural human advantage.

However, for Liu Shaoyu, manpower was currently the most critical shortage. The strict management of clones was well-known; in reality, most people only knew the term and had no way to learn more about them. Thus, Liu Shaoyu intended to make the best use of these pirates, even if the process might not be smooth.

"Are you confident?" Liu Shaoyu asked Monkey, who stood beside him. Liu Shaoyu knew that while he didn't fear fighting these desperadoes, he was truly inept at dealing with them socially.

"I'll give it a shot." Monkey shrugged, a playful smile on his face as he boarded the shuttle. Outside the Dragon Star, thirty-five pirate starships were awaiting his arrival.

This pirate fleet had originally possessed about seventy ships. During the battle, over thirty were either destroyed or lost power. Liu Shaoyu didn't even bother looking at those; a destroyed ship meant the crew was dead. He didn't have the time to worry about wrecked vessels.

The remaining thirty-plus ships were mostly small battlecruisers, which had become the standard configuration for pirates after various modifications, making them look almost identical. Unable to bear the sight, Liu Shaoyu had transferred one of the fastest ships from Xu Meng’s fleet to serve as Monkey's flagship. What was an inconspicuous small boat in Xu Meng's fleet had suddenly become the largest ship under Monkey's command. To Monkey, however, it wasn't about size, but suitability; this small ship was exactly what he wanted.

Among the thirty-plus ships, there were fewer than a thousand pirates in total. In Monkey's new flagship, they didn't even appear crowded.

The spacious deck held nearly a thousand pirates. This was the drone hangar; once all the drones were cleared out, it provided a massive open space. Here, Monkey intended to demonstrate a special taming technique.

Compared to Liu Shaoyu's unease, the captured pirates were much more at ease. To them, raiding and plundering were daily routines. Changing leaders was no different than changing the ship's cook; the only thing they cared about was whether the next meal would include meat.

Pirates had lived with their heads on the line since time immemorial. The brother fighting beside you today might be nothing more than a cold corpse in space by tomorrow. Therefore, they felt little pressure about being captured. In fact, almost everyone was quite relaxed because their previous boss had been a coward. Since the last cleanup operation, they had been hiding like turtles in this godforsaken place for a long time.

The original pirate factions in this area weren't particularly friendly to these newcomers who just showed up to eat and drink for free. They had fought many small skirmishes, but for the sake of survival, the newcomers had to increase their workload, trying their best not to overstep the allocated boundaries.

Coincidentally, they happened to run into Liu Shaoyu returning from his campaign, who dealt with them in passing.

Seeing the Huaxia warships, the pirates felt a mix of nostalgia and deep fear. If it weren't for their own circumstances, they wouldn't have ended up in this situation.

Xu Meng was an old hand in the universe; having graduated from the same school meant they shared a tacit understanding. Seeing the glint in Liu Shaoyu’s eyes, he knew exactly what was on his mind. He immediately engaged all interference systems and began towing the ships while firing.

The pirates felt like screaming for their mothers. Under the desperate resistance of some, many pirates, including the third-in-command, were wiped out. The remaining ones were a mixed bag—mostly small-time thugs, excluding the captains of the various ships.

Liu Shaoyu had made his stance clear: no big ships, only the small ones.

Fortunately, all the core members of the pirate group were on the big ships and had been wiped out in one go. The remaining captains, while closer to the core, were limited in influence.

Thus, two groups, both harboring their own hidden agendas, were about to begin a bloodless war. Of course, this was only because enough blood had already been shed.

Monkey scanned the small-time thugs in front of him and couldn't help but shake his head. Even though he knew what to expect, they were still too unorganized.

"Open that drone passage," Monkey gestured. The computer received the order and automatically opened the drone channel. The passage led to the vacuum of space. The light-shielding barrier ensured that even with the hatch open, the ship remained protected. It was as safe as opening a window on Earth.

The pirates present were confused. They knew the person in the control room was the one in charge, but what was this about opening a window for fresh air?

The drone passage had one specific property: things could go out through the light shield, but nothing could come in.

"Ahem, gentlemen, I assume you've all had your fill. Now, I’m going to help you with some simple exercise." Monkey cleared his throat and switched on the ship's broadcast. His voice didn't sound particularly serious, which made the still-anxious pirates feel a bit more relaxed, though they didn't know why.

A bolder pirate even started shouting, "What kind of exercise? Are you looking for some chicks for us brothers after our meal? Hahahaha!"

With that, the nearly one thousand pirates erupted into noise, and the chaotic shouting echoed across the deck.

Monkey curled his lip, thinking that these scumbags were truly cut out to be pirates. If anyone called them law-abiding citizens, he’d be the first to object. However, these unorganized, undisciplined brutes were not the kind of crewmen he wanted.

"Computer, the one who spoke first just now—kill him." Unlike Liu Shaoyu's "Thomas," Monkey’s personal computer wasn't as intelligent, so Monkey never bothered naming it. "Computer" was what he called it.

Just like everyone else, once they entered a warship, the ship’s command system was taken over by the captain’s personal computer.

A laser beam fired from the drone hangar. The pirate, who hadn't even finished his laughter, suddenly had a hole through his forehead. Even in death, his face remained fixed in that reckless, wild grin.

A warning to the rest: the scene went silent immediately after the death of the first person to speak. The sense of ease that hadn't even warmed up yet vanished into thin air.

"I don't know if I mentioned it earlier, but I really don't like it when people talk over me."