Chapter Sixty-Eight: Encountering a Scoundrel Once More

Chapter Sixty-Eight: The Return of the Scoundrel

The vastness of the starry sky was illuminated by the faint blue shimmer of distant stars. Liu Shaoyu sat in the cockpit, silent, the blue glow casting a cold, handsome hue over his features. Behind him, every inch of space outside the cockpit was crammed with ice ore.

Suddenly, as if recalling something, Liu Shaoyu’s lips curled in a faint smirk.

He remembered his conversation with Carter before they parted ways, and his heart grew heavy.

“Have you really never thought about taking revenge?”

“Revenge? That’s an emotion you humans have, isn’t it?”

“Do you want to know why I insist on becoming human?”

“I’ll tell you next time.”

Those were Carter’s parting words, and only then did Liu Shaoyu once again realize that Carter was truly not human… or at least, not fully human yet.

When it came to her, Liu Shaoyu always felt she was dangerous—shrouded in mystery, and, most importantly, exceedingly violent. He’d always classified her as someone non-combatants should flee from as quickly as possible.

Next time? Who knew when that would be.

But their division of spoils had gone surprisingly smoothly. Liu Shaoyu, frustrated by his inability to transport the ice ore out, only hinted at his predicament, and the Empress Carter simply punched a hole straight through the cave’s ceiling.

The spaceship came over, engaged the tractor beam, and, unbelievably, it took even longer to load a full ship of ore than it had to arrive here. At their parting, Carter mentioned she would use the remaining ice ore here to complete her evolution.

Liu Shaoyu was very curious about what method Carter would use to evolve… After all, she was only human—at least in appearance—though far more powerful than any human could imagine.

Thinking of where this ice ore came from, and recalling the previous methods of Zerg evolution, Liu Shaoyu had no desire to linger for even a moment.

Before leaving the planet, he hadn’t seen Huang Xuan or that fleet member who had appeared so suddenly. But the handful of abandoned starships and corpses made it clear a fierce battle had taken place.

Yet, among all the wreckage, neither flagship was to be seen.

This left Liu Shaoyu with some regret. Why hadn’t the desolate creatures finished them off?

But the regret was fleeting. He soon realized that if they had died, who would bear the blame for Xin Qingyi’s account?

At last, the spaceship appeared outside Zambia Three. The return journey was smooth and uneventful. Perhaps the desolate star region was enjoying a brief period of calm, and Liu Shaoyu counted himself lucky.

But, ultimately, he’d made it back safely, and for now, he had no intention of setting foot in that region again anytime soon.

After docking the ship at the space station, Liu Shaoyu could finally get a good night’s sleep and relieve his thoroughly exhausted body.

As soon as he left the planet, Liu Shaoyu contacted Xu Meng, instructing him to bring the whole fleet over immediately. With a ship full of ice ore, Liu Shaoyu wasn’t reckless enough to think he could cross the star region alone in this battered vessel.

Though fleet operations were expensive, Liu Shaoyu could now afford the loss. He wasn’t about to lose a watermelon while picking up sesame seeds.

Then there was Xin Qingyi, Long Ruyuan, and Monkey, who were still on the road. Liu Shaoyu had already learned from Wang Weifu that the Xin family had prepared and dispatched a fleet to meet them.

As long as it wasn’t a cargo ship, choosing routes through high-security star regions was quite safe. If it were up to Liu Shaoyu, he would have done the same.

Now, there was the matter of this shipload of ice ore. Liu Shaoyu never had a strong concept of money—he always thought having enough to spend was sufficient. Of course, he’d never experienced sudden, immense wealth either.

Only through his brief stint with the bounty group had he managed to accumulate a decent sum. But maintaining a fleet was a massive expense, and since the fleet’s finances weren’t under his direct control, Liu Shaoyu’s own pay was only slightly more than an ordinary crew member’s after accounting for regular losses and salaries. This trip to the desolate star region had nearly depleted his personal savings.

But it was all worth it. Liu Shaoyu thought so as he gazed at the cargo hold packed with ice ore.

Over the next few days, Liu Shaoyu could only wait for Xu Meng’s arrival on Zambia Three, enjoying a rare peace—until the sudden appearance of a certain figure shattered it.

Huang Xuan! At the sight of that man, Liu Shaoyu nearly ground his teeth to dust as he muttered the name. It was clear from Huang Xuan’s face that he was in no better mood, though not because he’d seen Liu Shaoyu.

Liu Shaoyu was dining on the second floor of a restaurant, habitually seated by the window. Looking out onto the street, he saw the man whose presence alone could spoil his appetite.

What’s more, Huang Xuan and the few people with him appeared to be heading straight for this very restaurant. Quickly turning his gaze away, Liu Shaoyu shifted to a seat with his back to the stairs, nestled in a corner. That way, even if Huang Xuan and his group came upstairs, all they’d see would be his back.

Liu Shaoyu guessed that the people with Huang Xuan might be the mysterious individuals who had appeared on the desolate planet. He resolved to listen in on their conversation.

When Liu Shaoyu arrived earlier, he’d learned a certain fleet was celebrating a successful return, and all the private rooms were fully booked. The second floor was nearly packed as well.

It wasn’t long before footsteps sounded on the stairs.

“Damn, why’s it so packed today? Good thing the boss has a private room reserved, otherwise we’d be crammed out here too!”

The coarse voice belonged to the man Liu Shaoyu had overheard speaking with the deep-voiced individual before. His guess was right. The man next to him must be the captain of another fleet.

This unexpected group made Liu Shaoyu feel a flicker of unease deep down.

As the saying goes, know yourself and know your enemy, and you’ll never lose a hundred battles. He needed to figure out just how many people were involved in Xin Qingyi’s affair, so he couldn’t act rashly.

But from what he’d just heard, Liu Shaoyu frowned. He hadn’t accounted for reserved rooms—clearly, this group held significant sway here.

Eyeing the box at his side, Liu Shaoyu forced himself to calm down and stay put.

Only when they had all entered a private room did Liu Shaoyu quietly open the box, revealing a slim gap.

“Thomas, it’s up to you. Get the device in there,” Liu Shaoyu whispered.

A tiny electronic mechanism emerged from the box and silently followed Huang Xuan and the others into the room before the door closed.

This device was what Liu Shaoyu always used to set up temporary holographic command centers. Inside the box was his folded armor.

Another of Wang Weifu’s ingenious inventions, the armor’s portability always amazed Liu Shaoyu. He’d brought it along today simply because he was uneasy about leaving such a valuable item at the station. With the armor on hand, he’d be able to return at a moment’s notice.

He wasn’t wearing the helmet, so Liu Shaoyu could only hear what was being said inside the room—but that was enough.

The voices inside began to settle down. Liu Shaoyu knew the conversation was about to begin.

Author’s Note:
Extra chapter for every recommendation vote!