Chapter Twenty-Three: Big Brother! That's Him!

As always, the boundless expanse of the universe seemed endless. A fleet of more than thirty warships appeared, crossed the stargate, and then vanished, only to reemerge in another star system.

Liu Shaoyu had already received the ceasefire order and was hurrying back to the headquarters of the Cyclops Bounty Group.

Since he had decided to venture into the Desolate Star Domain, Liu Shaoyu knew he must first do some research about that place.

“Thomas, give me a route map,” Liu Shaoyu said to Thomas in the lounge.

“Route plotted. The Desolate Star Domain is thirty-seven stargate jumps from the Milky Way,” Thomas replied, displaying his customary efficiency in such matters. In an instant, a star chart floated before Liu Shaoyu’s eyes.

“Search for information on the Desolate Star Domain.” Liu Shaoyu had only heard a few things about the region; he truly knew little about it.

But his nature was to always devise a complete plan before acting on anything. This was precisely why his fleet was always assigned the most critical missions during operations.

A relatively comprehensive plan, he believed, could maximize the chances of things proceeding as anticipated.

The Desolate Star Domain was indeed worthy of its reputation as one of the most dangerous places in the universe; Liu Shaoyu shook his head in silence after reading the reports.

The mortality rate was alarmingly high—this was the conclusion he drew.

“I have a few suggestions. Would you be interested?” Thomas’s voice startled Liu Shaoyu as he was reviewing the data. This artificial intelligence had been quite talkative lately!

“Could you give me a warning before you speak next time?” Liu Shaoyu protested. Such sudden interruptions were genuinely unnerving.

“Should I beep first next time?” Thomas retorted.

“...”

“A chirp would work as well.”

“Get to the point!” Liu Shaoyu was exasperated with Thomas, wondering whether he should downgrade the AI... It was getting far too verbose.

“I’ve analyzed all the data available on the Desolate Star Domain and found that survival rates are not proportional to fleet size,” Thomas began.

“Not proportional?” Liu Shaoyu had always believed that the larger the fleet, the greater the chances of survival. But Thomas’s words suggested otherwise.

“That’s correct. A larger fleet doesn’t necessarily mean a higher survival rate. Here are several reports detailing the losses of carrier fleets in the Desolate Star Domain.” As Thomas finished, a dozen records from the vast database appeared before Liu Shaoyu.

Cross-referencing them, Liu Shaoyu was astonished... The fleets in these reports were by no means small—much larger than his own—yet they had all been wiped out.

“In fact, the greatest threat in the Desolate Star Domain is the cosmic environment itself. The native life forms are only a secondary concern. Even the mightiest fleet is helpless before the harsh forces of nature, whereas smaller vessels have a better chance of escape.”

Liu Shaoyu had already noticed this pattern during his research: the larger the fleet, the more dangers it attracted. Thomas’s analysis only solidified his decision. He would leave the fleet under Xu Meng’s command—partly to give him an opportunity to grow, partly so he could venture alone into the Desolate Star Domain. But before setting out, he would need to make careful preparations.

After a day’s journey, the Young Dragon Fleet finally reached the Cyclops Bounty Group’s space station at the Angeding Star System.

The brilliance of the star was as dazzling as ever, and returning here, Liu Shaoyu felt a long-lost sense of familiarity. His first task was to settle the fleet and hand things over to Xu Meng. Then Liu Shaoyu began to prepare for his journey to the Desolate Star Domain.

Naturally, when the time came, the fleet members wanted to accompany Liu Shaoyu. After weighing the pros and cons, he still couldn’t dissuade Long Ruyuan and Monkey from joining him. In the end, the three would go together. For such a perilous place, the other two needed to prepare as well.

Monkey, like Liu Shaoyu, was an orphan; his parents had died in an accident when he was only three. Long Ruyuan’s family was in the imperial capital, so he needed to return home for a while.

With the fleet’s affairs settled, the three companions made their way back to Earth. Liu Shaoyu also wanted to see his old friend, Wang Weifu.

By the time they returned to Earth, the Huaxia Nine Provinces Continent had already fallen into night. No longer soldiers, they could no longer enjoy the military airports.

The three took a shuttle, docking at the interstellar express passenger station outside Earth, then transferred to a passenger ship bound for the capital.

Under the night sky, the capital was ablaze with lights and neon. Liu Shaoyu remembered that the last time he experienced the city’s nightlife was during a military leave.

So much time had passed in the blink of an eye. Liu Shaoyu was no longer the soldier he once was, and a surge of emotion washed over him.

“I’ll head home first. Let’s catch up tomorrow,” Long Ruyuan said. Since his family lived in the capital, he had to return, though he didn’t seem eager to.

“What about you?” With Long Ruyuan gone, Liu Shaoyu turned to Monkey.

“Me? I wonder if any of the old crowd from Earth are still around. Do you have anywhere to go? If not, why not crash at my place for now?” Monkey offered.

Monkey had once lived in a single dorm assigned by the military in the capital, but after his discharge, it was no longer available. His old home was in the slums of Old Earth, in the Beijing Underground City.

“No need. I’m meeting an old friend. Go ahead, I’ll get in touch later,” Liu Shaoyu replied.

In truth, Liu Shaoyu had nowhere to stay; his former apartment was now registered under Shen Qingyi’s name, and without her, he couldn’t get in. But Wang Weifu was still in the city. Liu Shaoyu had already sent him a message upon arriving in Earth’s orbit. Wang Weifu was busy and asked Liu Shaoyu to wander around after disembarking until he was free.

Soon Monkey left as well. Liu Shaoyu decided to find something to eat while he waited for Wang Weifu.

The Nine Provinces Island was enormous—this was Liu Shaoyu’s first impression. His second was that it was utter chaos.

He was lost. He’d just checked with Thomas and learned it was a little past eight in the evening. Most people had already finished dinner and were at home watching the news, chatting, or engaging in other quiet pastimes. For the young, however, the night was just beginning.

Even with satellite maps, it was easy to get lost amidst the surging crowds, Liu Shaoyu thought.

On the streets, young men and women dressed in cutting-edge fashion walked to and fro, making Liu Shaoyu feel as if he had landed in a foreign star city... Was that guy’s hair dyed green because he couldn’t be bothered with a hat?

And what was this—someone out in nothing but triangle briefs? And that young lady—was she in such a rush she forgot her clothes entirely?

Liu Shaoyu quickly sought out a quieter corner to calm his mind—it was utter mayhem out there.

Finally, he found a small alley and stood at its entrance to catch his breath. Reaching into his pocket for a cigarette to steady his nerves, he suddenly heard Thomas’s voice.

“Beep!”

“Smoking is prohibited on capital streets. Violation: 300-credit fine.”

Rolling his eyes, Liu Shaoyu put the cigarette back in his pocket, only to hear Thomas continue.

“Also, someone behind you is attempting to commit a crime with force.”

Liu Shaoyu was still puzzling over this warning when something hard pressed into his back.

“Don’t move, kid. I just want your money. Transfer your credits to me and don’t call the authorities, or else...” The would-be mugger didn’t finish his threat; in the next instant, he was flat on the ground.

As if! If Liu Shaoyu could be taken by the likes of this, it would be a miracle.

The man on the ground looked at his right hand and found that the laser pistol he’d been wielding was now, somehow, in Liu Shaoyu’s grasp.

“What did you just say? I didn’t catch that,” Liu Shaoyu said, spinning the laser pistol as he addressed the man.

The mugger, who had been sprawled on the ground a moment before, instantly dropped to his knees, pleading, “Please, just let me go as if I were nothing.”

Liu Shaoyu burst out laughing. “Scram!”

He had no interest in wasting more time on such a person. With a squeeze of his right hand, he bent the barrel of the laser pistol, then tossed it back toward the kneeling man with a bit more force.

Seeing he was unharmed, the man considered drawing a backup laser pistol for a sneak attack—but witnessing Liu Shaoyu bend the gun so easily, abandoned the idea and reached out to catch the returned weapon.

However, even Liu Shaoyu’s “gentle” toss was more than an ordinary person could handle.

“Aaargh!” The man howled in pain; his hand was broken.

“Let that be a lesson. I hate being startled by sudden noises. Now get lost!” Liu Shaoyu clapped his hands and turned to find something to eat—his stomach was still empty.

The man on the ground hadn’t expected his first job of the night to end in disaster, let alone with a broken hand. He hurried off to find his boss.

Liu Shaoyu thought nothing of the incident; though the man’s hand was broken, with current medical technology, bone regeneration could be accelerated by robots. It would heal in about a day.

As he wandered the streets, a barbecue restaurant caught his eye. Tempted—since he’d had no such fare during his missions in space—he stepped into the modestly sized establishment.

Though small, it was clean and tidy, especially for such a lively district. There was no greasy smell lingering in the air. Even though dinner hours had passed, the barbecue joint was still bustling with people eating and drinking.

Not wanting to dine amid the noise, Liu Shaoyu had noticed from outside that there was a second floor, so he went straight up. Sure enough, it was quieter above. He found a window seat, sat down, and a luminous menu appeared on the tabletop. After placing his order, Liu Shaoyu sat quietly, waiting for his meal.

As he waited, a voice drifted up the stairs.

“Boss! I’m not refusing to pay today’s protection fee, but look—my hand’s broken! That kid was vicious!” With these words, a group of people appeared in Liu Shaoyu’s line of sight.

“Lai Zi, quit whining! That broken hand will be set in the hospital in no time. Rest a day and get back to work—there are plenty who want your job!” The speaker was clearly the boss, the one Lai Zi had referred to.

Liu Shaoyu couldn’t help but laugh when he saw the man’s face—wasn’t this the mugger from earlier?

As the saying goes, fate brings enemies together on a narrow path.

Lai Zi, nursing his broken hand, realized his beating had been for nothing when he suddenly spotted the young man by the window.

“Boss! That’s him!”