Chapter 491: At Full Force

i Qing simply did not expect him becoming leader of a squad consisted of over 600 members. He was very thrilled at first, finding everything in his command so interesting but it was not long till he realized that it was more of a responsibility than mere fun of pointing people around. The first few days lapsed like years to Xi Qing, his nerves were tightened by both demand and stress. Nevertheless, he managed to shoulder the consuming responsibility few days after.

Every 5 persons would form a team and every 5 teams would form a group. The conglomeration went on as every 5 groups would form a camp and every 5 camps would form a squad. Both Shu and Xi Qing were the commanders of the squad.

As planned, the head leader of team leaders would receive a detailed guide on combat tutoring. No doubt passion burned high within every young man’s soul, including Xi Qing who went on a reading spree like a famished tiger. The young men were certainly young, were clearly inexperienced but they worked hard, harder than they imagined.

It was not only about pride, or dream.

It was about their survivals!

Xi Qing was new. Not everyone wholeheartedly identified him as the leader, since obviously in the eyes of the people he was none other than an immature brat who had not even undergone his puberty completely. It was a joke, a bad one too. Not once in their career of handling the steer they had heard a mere boy leading a squad of 600.

Well, there should have been dramas, but again, interaction between pilots had always been rather simple and straightforward. People recognized Xi Qing when he destroyed 30 mechs with his team. Shu acted the same too, as if having an invisible bond with Xi Qing, though his style was way harsher – he spoke with his fists, not machines, proven as he was standing by the pile of 10 few people collapsed.

And the discrimination was only the beginning. There were a whole crew of people waiting to see them fall. They had to train this batch of newbies to master strategic formations within the shortest time possible. It was the whole point of their position and it was difficult, realized Xi Qing. Their indifferent instructor had given them a whole set of standard training course yet there were a lot of details to be taken care of.

He was almost dead beat after the training. Yup, almost. Both Shu and Xi Qing were still mentally strong beings. They would not fall, especially with such a golden opportunity in hand. This might be the only chance they could show themselves before hitting adulthood. Frankly they might just be one of the minions if they resigned, given their age. So they had a head start compared to most people of their age.

They put in their everything in training the newbies, that they would even have a professional discussion with each other at night. Assuming they met an issue unable to be sorted out among themselves, they would always look for the instructor.

And the instructor sure was an amazing wise figure, for he was always able to sort out their problems in a few words, that it felt like a knock on their head whenever the answer was revealed to be really simple. It made them fairly curious of the instructor’s background. It was blatant that the instructor had led a massive operation before, while usually only the commanders of the well-established military hierarchy of the Research Consortium or the leader of a gigantic pilot squad would have such a rare experience. Only either-or, there should not be any other possibility, especially when the instructor was pulling off a typical standardized military management on them. They were in Gray Valley, probably the instructor was from Gray Valley, so the instructor should be the one in command of the consortium’s military.

Well, if only the instructor nodded on their speculation right away.

He never admitted to any of the hints they hurled.

The boys were very intrigued yet they could not get a definite answer from the instructor. They were also running out of time so they could only set their gossip aside.

Meanwhile the instructor, Ye Chong was pretty satisfied of both Xi Qing and Shu’s performance. It was far-fetched for two newbies to produce such work. Their comprehension was great that they immediately caught on whatever he said and illustrated other similar ideas. For example, there was once they discussed the details on the training course. Both of them worked with their members and formulated a diverse course. The two of them even suggested a competition system which seemed to have fueled the enthusiasm among the members as the members worked like the last day of their life daily. The squad eventually improved dramatically.

Ye Chong had hardly contributed anything throughout the process. He was not that super great one as imagined by the boys. It was Shang who planned everything, from the hierarchy, the training course to the little handbook of combat tutoring in the hands of Xi Qing and Shu.

Whatever Ye Chong actually did was measly while most of them were demonstration of pure violence, like forcing himself into a spaceship to perform supply “reorganization”. Well, he could have just asked someone else to do it for him most of the time.

Haskel was rumored as a spaceship of the arms dealer, yet ironically, little Ye Chong knew, there was indeed a vessel of the arms dealer inside the fleet.

The owner of this vessel named Flamethrower was a second-class arms dealer, Wu Guang. He was an opportunistic merchant who gathered up every last few pennies around him to bulk purchase close-combat models upon seeing the war scene of the frontline. He believed there would be market and he would get profit. So he frantically loaded the 2000 units to the ship and wanted to zoom towards frontline as soon as possible.

Too bad, he was an opportunistic merchant with bad luck. Before he even started seeing flares of the frontline, he was already informed of the fall. He practically exchanged everything he had for a risk to become a part of the meteorites. He was smacking his head, calling himself foolish and almost wanted to jump into vacuum but well it would be better if he ran.

So on his way running to somewhere, he discovered this vey strange fleet. In the end he got to the back of the queue and sneaked into the fleet.

Throughout the course he had witnessed the legendary Haskel clearing out every red-tailed beast encountered. He was very glad to have joined this fleet uninvitedly, till one day he got a request from Haskel, kindly asking him to “contribute” all his close-combat models.

He wanted a negotiation but clearly he was negotiating with the wrong person. The negotiator was extremely skillful, even annoying, that he had not gotten a way to free himself from this awful deal. Every line from the negotiator was convincing enough to shut him up. Eventually he only could give all his mechs sincerely, with both hands. He believed, the negotiator would be an excellent merchant if he started doing business for real. The sole regret was he never managed to see this negotiator in person.

Soon the 2000 units were distributed. The “Fighter” model was not exactly a high-end tier among the close-combat units but was the only option for the trainees. Once the new pilots got a mech themselves, the training would be more efficient.

Alright, all things seemed settled. And Ye Chong realized, he was rather bored… He had nothing needed to be taken a look at. There were Shang to monitor the fleet for him and Xi Qing watching the training for him with Shu. Speaking of the two boys, they were maniacally training their members. It looked like training but definitely did not sound like one, as people could hear the loud slamming and thrashing echoing in the spaceship everyday.

Xi Qing and Shu had surpassed their teacher, that they did training more dead serious than Ye Chong. Mortality, casualties were none of their concern. They actually had 35 trainees wounded or passed out one day.

The mechanic trainees were arranged to be assistance of actual mechanics in the spaceship. Under the arrangement, every mechanic was naturally assigned with at least two assistances. As Shang had suspected, there were indeed a great deal of talents hidden among the folks in the fleet. He actually found out a masterly mechanic in the crowd, along with 30 advanced mechanics. The technician team alone was far more superior than whatever Haskel had in the beginning.

That was fun but Ye Chong was really bored…

…(Meanwhile at the mechanics’ site)…

“Take a careful look now. This pressure-control valve is the most important part of the entire structure. It is what determines if this would be a machine or a piece of trash,” said Harrell as his hand adjusted the valve constantly. There were 12 young men surrounding him as he explained working of every part in details. They were all ears to his words, and Yang Ming was one of them.

Underneath that snowy white hair of the master, Harrell had rosy cheeks of a child. The years he spent wielding the wrench had given him a strong physique. His voice was forceful to reach almost corners of the room. Being one of the top masters in Gray Valley, he was low-profiled. He declined any form of services associated with a particular force. He preferred getting indulged in his research at home alone.

Nevertheless, he was a rational person. He understood how every ounce of strength mattered at the moment. So he decided to provide assistance the best he could, and he offered himself becoming the head engineer of the entire modification operation. As inspired by Haskel, he had provided a new modification plan.

Most features highlighted in Haskel’s version of modification blueprint were retained, except the few new additions of offenses Harrell added. It had a similar concept, where the battery would still be the bait, inside a pathway which formed like a trap. So that would at least provide basic defense mechanism for the other spaceships.

But it was tricky to execute. The weaponry involved just be strong enough to penetrate the defense of red-tailed beasts.

It took great efforts among Harrell and the other advanced engineers to devise a proper plan. Of course, Ye Chong gave a few touches too, since he was that one genius who happened to know much about the almost-forgotten field of ancient mechanics.

Well, that was probably his greatest contribution during the period.

Ye Chong yawned, looking at the clusters outside the window.

“Ye, I want to play a game,” said Shang, a rather preposterous proposal at a period like this.

Ye Chong was bewildered. It was a foreign term of luxury to him. He grew up without games to be honest. He had been racing with people, with money, with time. Never once he stopped strengthening himself and had something called… “Game…?”

“Jajaja…” Shang knew how to keep the boy interested, “Let’s play a game that could strengthen yourself. Well, you could think it as a kind of training if you want to.”

“Okay.” Shang seemed pleased by the response.

“Take the helmet.”

And Ye Chong, still bewildered, placed this strange, out-of-nowhere virtual world helmet on top of his head.

“Hehehehe, Ye, here we go~” Shang sounded excited…

“So am I, Ye.” A cold voice rang in his head, unexpectedly.

“Mu?” Ye Chong was shocked. He was supposed to in a kind of hibernation…

“Hehehehehehehe, Ye, it took me some efforts to get Mu to join us. Well, the game would be fun with Mu here… Sinc-” Said Shang proudly, since it was indeed almost-impossible to get the artificial intelligence of cold logic to join the a game. “I’ll explain the rules,” Mu interrupted.

Shang’s flashback was interrupted.

“Okay.” Ye Chong went focused. He knew it would be fun.

If it was a game that caught Mu’s interests, very likely it would be…

Wow, this would be exciting.

Chapter 492: The Mu/Shang Treaty

he game was simple. It would take place in a simulated environment of Gray Valley. All three of them would have a fleet each. It would be a kind of Battle Royale. The last one standing would win the game.

That sounded simple…”Sounded” simple.

Day 1: Ye Chong was the first to leave the game. Mu won in the end.

Day 2: Ye Chong again became the spectator in the first 10 minutes. Shang, with a twist, won in the end instead.

Day 3: Ye Chong lost everything in the first round. Mu won.

Day 4… Day 5… Day 6….

The days went on.

Haskel was leading the gigantic fleet as they advanced forward. The fleet was having intense training. The modification project was carried out aggressively. Everything was smooth outside, contrary to what was happening inside Ye Chong.

He was troubled, very troubled. He was tortured, as if a real torment.

They had played the fleet game for 20 days already and he was always the first to leave the war field. If it was not his chilled personality, he would have flipped out. He settled down and figured, formulating a new strategy again and again.

Everyday when he became the spectator, he would observe the exchange between Mu and Shang. Well, it would be easier for Ye Chong to understand the dynamic of a war field from a god’s view being a spectator. Gradually, he started seeing something.

Both Mu and Shang won on a rate of 50:50 while both of their performances were shocking to Ye Chong. Mu had fully expressed his efficiency and horrifying logical processing ability, as every step of his was meaningful and ahead of time, well-connected to each other. This could be seen especially during the few micro-matches where he clearly had an upper hand. Meanwhile, Shang took a different approach. His strategy was rather unpredictable, always able to surprise Ye Chong. A twist would take place the moment he was completely cornered. It was hard to imagine a humanoid to contain such cunning, creative schema in things.

One thing’s for sure, Ye Chong was not able to harm either of them. Neither of the artificial intelligence’s approach could be imitated by him momentarily, yet either of their strategies could set him on fire. As long as one side of Mu/Shang turned against him, he would be joining the spectators’ seat in no time.

He started learning, bit by bit. He wanted to learn how Mu/Shang handled their own fleets. He had the brain for it, he was naturally talented in learning. Even though he was always the first to leave the battleground, the time he remained in it increased considerably over time.

It had been over 20 days. They had at least played 200 games and Ye Chong won none of them, nor he lasted to the later phase of each game. It was a horrible experience to lose so quickly that usually people would have given up and lost faith in life at the 100th game mark, unlike Ye Chong.

He was the one who had undergone far worse, far more boring training before. Moreover, it was not like he had no knowledge in his head. He had experienced a great deal of battles with individuals from all walks of life, even an actual war consisted of hundreds or even millions. The war game he had with Mu/Shang resembled greatly to whatever he had encountered in real life before. A lot of the details he had missed in the fights before somehow came to his attention out of a sudden after each game with Mu/Shang.

Ye Chong had always perceived himself as anybody but a commander. When he was with the Sangs, Sang Pu was the commander in every operation. He had no idea why Shang would suddenly think of training his charisma, his capabilities as an actual leader. Well, if the game had only shang, he could have pretended it as the artificial indulgence being indulgent and capricious again, but there was Mu too.

What made the logical, the probable, the feasible joined such pointless-looking game?

Wait, could it be that even Mu felt the need of training my capabilities as a leader?

When Shang mentioned about “being a hero” that day, he thought the artificial indulgence was making a joke, since it was clear, almost a common sense, a law that he wanted something else in his life, as known among the three of them. Mu was more understandable in his behavior compared to Shang. He hardly interrupted whatever Ye Chong was doing, he only would, when there was a need, a need to improvise for better efficiency.

So judging all the premises…

Ye Chong’s heart skipped a beat.

Does Mu seriously think I need this? These thinking training?

“HAHA! Take that you tin can!”

And the explosion in the field recaptured his attention. “What was I thinking…,” muttered Ye Chong as he put his attention back to the field.

Meanwhile in the field, it was the final stage of the game. Both Mu and Shang would be taking out either of each other soon. Mu had cornered Shang. Obviously, Shang would lose the game. Well, if only Shang did not have anything up his sleeves, he was the professional, awarded actor to play victim and eventually engulf people with his palate. Given Shang managed to perceive one opening in Mu’s formation, he would make a turnabout. Mu could certainly processed Shang’s pattern of behavior, only if there was a pattern to begin with. It would still be a 50:50 even if Mu had produced a trend on Shang’s behavior, let alone Ye Chong who did not have a super computer brain.

To be honest, Ye Chong preferred Mu’s battle style which weighed everything on accurate calculation. The catch was, such style required everything mathematical, logical. Creativity, picking openings, playing off tricks were not allowed at all. If one did any of those, one would plan to fail. Ye Chong had not the necessary mathematical capabilities, he could only succumb to any of the techniques that looked useful to him between Mu and Shang.

Humans learned from their mistakes and only pressure could make them grow. Ye Chong’s style had changed noticeably over the time fighting against the two extremes. His vision had improved greatly. Nevertheless, he was too engaged in handling Mu/Shang that he did not notice a thing on him.

Both Mu and Shang were too strong!

The exclamation kept ringing in his mind.

Few weeks lapsed again and finally he could last to the later portion of the match. Well, that only happened about 3 months since the game had started. Ye Chong used to feel powerless in every match, that it felt like he was lifting the wrong weight – everything felt too much to handle. However, as time passed by, he got stronger and would not give up even if he was losing. He would look for a turnabout to make.

Such tendency had gotten stronger each match.

In one match, he was left with only 100 pilots alive but somehow he managed to break free from the siege. He then allocated these 100 pilots in every gap between Mu and Shang’s proximity, which the technique lasted him to the middle of the game. Even though he was wiped out at last, it gave him the confidence to work harder.

Three months were not too long for an intergalactic trip. However, the fleet had changed.

The fleet constantly received requests from neighboring spaceships. The request was accepted of course, but with one condition – obedience. Most spaceships joined the fleet lastly since Gray Valley was chaotic at the moment. They might have lost the freedom but they got protection in the end.

Both Shu and Xi Qing seemed different than before. Xi Qing had turned calmer, yet bold. He really had the look of a commander now. People respected him.

Shu had gained a different charm. He had glasses on him, looking scholarly with his slender body. Not a single dirt or wrinkle could be found on his uniform. His tone was gentle as his personality yet people were seemingly cautious of him. Even the crew members who were not under his lead did not dare to speak senselessly in front of him.

They were also from the extreme, still they worked with each other well. Their instructor had been looking engaged inside the Virtual World, so they had to shoulder the duty of leading the team instead. They planned things carefully, fearing that something would go wrong. So their rapports grew.

It was not simple to seek a living in a chaotic world. Most spaceships in the fleet had completed the assigned modification. They now had traps to provide better security.

Nonetheless, both Xi Qing and Shu had never put the spaceships against the red-tailed beasts.

These little clusters of red-tailed beasts would be perfect for training their troops. Even though that would inevitably lead to some casualties but it was the only best way they could currently think of.

They looked at the report. Hmm, 1704 red-tailed beasts cleared since the past 3 months, while having 52 deaths and 109 wounded. It might look like a pessimistic figure, yet it was more than enough to shame those actual commanders at the front-line.

Such tedious training was extremely effective in bringing up the troops. Now both of the squads had reached a number of 2000. Xi Qing and Shu should feel proud for they were able to achieve this in as little as three months.

However, none of them were smiling, not even a brief lift of their lips’ corners.

There had been discovery. The detection, the alarm had been wailing more frequently. The likelihood of encountering red-tailed beasts had been escalating, now that they would at least have an alert of red-tailed beast flocks everyday. Well, there were more opportunities to train troops. The rapports turned stronger among the soldiers too. But, the stress of safeguarding the people only increased at a horrendous rate.

And today, they had encountered the 5th flock of red-tailed beasts.

“We can’t be doing this forever!” said one of them as they looked at each other. Worries were locking their brows.

…(Back to Ye)…

“Ye, we are taking a break from the games now,” said Mu.

“Sigh.” Even though Mu’s decision was almost unshakable, Shang ranted, “Looks like we won’t be having more fun anytime soon.”

Taking a break. That indicated there would be more.

Well, it was a relief for Ye Chong. He really could use some breathers at the moment. He seriously could not imagine how he spent the last 3 months. The matches were endless, with the two extremes pressuring him the whole time. He had to fight back yet it was challenging. His nerves were tightened for so long. They did have short breaks in between but those were the time when Ye Chong would collect his thoughts on whatever happened on the field before.

He removed the helmet and remembered his squads and the two great leaders-to-be. He wondered how they were doing since he had been playing games for so long and it was Shang who provided the little bit of guidance to the outside world during the game.

Xi Qing and Shu were troubled indeed. And they were happy to see the instructor marching towards them.

They immediately briefed the instructor on the situation and awaited his wise words. To them, the instructor was the core, the soul of this fleet… uhh… maybe the instructor and his mysterious friend*.

Ye Chong tried calling Shang, the mastermind.

“Yeesss…?” said Shang lazily.

Ye Chong repeated the summary, wished for a discussion.

“Oh, that?” Shang waved Ye Chong away in nonchalance, “Sorry, can’t help you on that buddy. Hah. You do know why Master Mu accepted our treaty of playing games in the first place, right? Oh you did not? Here’s the thing. He agreed on condition that I would no longer be interfering with your works. It’s all up to you now. Can’t help it, mate. I do not want my days ahead without any form of entertainment, like the games we had for example. Sorry, bruh.”

And he faded out.

Chapter 493: Deduction

he starry sky stretched on to the edges of the universe. Nebulae flared in brilliant colors like ephemeral space clouds. This familiar sight brought on a different emotion within Ye Chong. Looking back, he could see that Mu had already been planning for his independence. If there was only one person he could trust in this whole wide world, it would definitely be Mu/Shang. Mu’s support was always there, and even Shang with all his pointless tricks had never disappointed him. That Mu and Shang would come to an agreement on this meant that they both believed that he should be independent.

There was no dread, no fear, no sense of loss – Ye Chong continued as usual. Nothing seemed to have changed, but something still felt off.

Now, he had no one to discuss his next steps. Ye Chong stared at the star chart of Gray Valley on the holographic screen in a daze. In the last few months, he, Mu and Shang had been playing their games with Gray Valley as the scene. Ye Chong could visualize the star chart with his eyes closed. He could even tell the minerals that could be found in each corner of the place.

After Mu and Shang cracked Gray Valley’s virtual world encryption, they scoured through the virtual world for all the information they could get that was related to Gray Valley. Hence, their game, set up in Gray Valley, was at least 70 percent accurate compared to reality.

On this star chart, the red zones continued to expand. The red zones indicated where red-tailed beasts had arrived, and the color intensity told the frequency in which the creatures were sighted. The star chart was updated everyday as Shang continued to gather intel. Mu and Shang had decided to not interfere with Ye Chong’s role in strategizing, but they would still offer technical assistance. Since Shang’s intel came mostly from the virtual world, it was hard to gauge its accuracy. There was a lot of uncertainty involved.

Even so, the information was an important reference for Ye Chong.

Though he was unfamiliar to the silence on Mu and Shang’s part, Ye Chong tried to concentrate. He rested his chin on his hands, staring at the holographic screen while his mind raced through possibilities.

The situation was serious! That was Ye Chong’s first conclusion.

A few months ago, he would not have concluded anything meaningful from the star chart. Now, he could make at least make a few deductions from the uneven red stains on the star chart.

From the star chart, it seemed that the red-tailed beasts were beginning to spread throughout Gray Valley. However, most of the area was still a light red. This meant that the creatures did not appear so often. Ye Chong focused on the places where the red was the most intense, and a terrible image of disaster came to mind. He imagined how the intense red would spread like wildfire across the entire Gray Valley.

More importantly, the Gateway towards He Yue Galaxy was now decided in red-tailed beast territory. Shang had colored the area around the Gateway in dark red as the frontline. Even without the color, Ye Chong would have deduced the situation over there. That the heavily guarded Gateway was yielded to their enemy showed just how strong the red-tailed beasts were.

Their plan to head towards Duodania would have to change. Ye Chong was not confident that they would be able to break through the red-tailed beasts at the Gateway with their current strength.

Where to, then?

Ye Chong frowned. The huge expanse of Gray Valley seemed to offer no refuge for them. Ye Chong was confident of his own ability that, should they not encounter a large group of red-tailed beasts, they should be able to fight back, at least.

The dreadful redness seemed to taint every corner of Gray Valley. It was like a star chart marred with blood, or a map punctured with the jaws of death.

Their prospects were bleak, leaving not enough time for Ye Chong. Their slower flight had also allowed the red-tailed beasts behind them plenty of time to catch up.

However, Ye Chong was not worried about that. He was more focused on the distribution of red-tailed beasts in the star chart. He had seen how the spread of redness on the star chart changed over time. The hidden intention of the red-tailed beasts troubled him.

At first, Ye Chong noticed that the main army of the red-tailed beasts was advancing very slowly, even slower than their own starship. With the frontline army defeated, their final hurdle was removed. The red-tailed beast army should have overwhelmed Gray Valley by now. Ye Chong could not understand why they hesitated.

It was only a month later that Ye Chong began to catch a glimpse of the truth.

On the star chart, the dark red areas spread out like four tentacles. Two of them stretched out along the edge between Gray Valley and the Calamitous Asteroid Belt. These red-tailed beasts pushed forward quickly, and were already ahead of Ye Chong’s ship. The other two formed the main red-tailed beast army. They advanced slowly but steadily, undeterred by any human forces they met along the way.

Ye Chong’s time spent on the games were worth it – he could tell roughly what the red-tailed beasts were trying to do.

The red-tailed beasts knew how to plan their battles! This completely surprised Ye Chong. The red-tailed beasts that he saw near Yi Ju were a disordered bunch that fought only by instinct. It was thanks to this that the Sang Tribe did not lose even more people.

He could not deduce what happened to cause this change in the red-tailed beasts without any further information to work on. However, that was a problem to be filed away for later.

If he guessed right, the two red-tailed beast forces moving quickly along the boundaries of Gray Valley would converge at a single point, creating a circle of creatures around Gray Valley. The two main forces within would simply plough through the inside regions with unstoppable vigor.

What made the red-tailed beasts opt for this strategy? They could have just pushed forward with a single main force.

Surround and destroy! The thought came to Ye Chong almost instantly. A chilling sensation followed swiftly. Could it be … Could it be that chasing away the humans was not enough for them?

Ye Chong considered the possibility and found it to be highly likely! The armies at the flank were advancing quickly, ignoring the planets that they passed by. They may not be as powerful as the main army, but once both armies join forces, they would act as a strong barrier that would prevent anyone from escaping Gray Valley. The main forces could then take their time destroying the inhabitants within.

Was this really the case? Ye Chong’s calmness gave way to nervousness. His back was drenched in cold sweat. The results of his deduction had shocked him.

Ye Chong quickly calmed himself down and repeated his deduction process. He reached the same conclusion for three times.

He no longer paused to wonder at the cruel designs by the red-tailed beasts. What he needed now was an answer to an important question.

Where would the two flanking red-tailed beast armies rendezvous?

It was an important question, and one that might become the key to their survival.

It took a long while, but in the end, Ye Chong’s eyes focused on a particular point on the star chart.

Xi Qing and Shu were beside Ye Chong, quiet as mice so as to not interrupt their instructor.

Just then, the alarm rang, startling all three of them.

“Warning, red-tailed beasts sighted, there are -” The reporting crew’s voice trembled, “- there are 1,632 of them!”

Xi Qing and Shu paled!

1,632 red-tailed beasts! This was almost the sum of all the red-tailed beasts they had ever encountered before this. It was no wonder that they both looked shocked.

On the holographic screen, the red-tailed beasts looked like a swarm of angry hornets, coming towards them.

Ye Chong gave his order calmly, “Round up the starships. All combat personnel to your designated stations. Get ready for battle!”

“Yes sir!” Xi Qing and Shu gathered themselves then, acknowledged their superior, and rushed out of the room. They were now even more impressed with their instructor. To be so calm and collected despite their predicament, he was obviously a man far more capable than themselves.

This time, they would attack with all they have.

“Hurry up – energy cells – over here!”

“Pressure valves checked, passageway hatch checked -”

“In your positions now. Please head to Position 2 -”

“Group 1, secure Passage 1. Group 2, secure Passage 2 -”

The entire fleet waited in suspense. The ships stayed close to each other. Crew members dashed through the corridors, yelling at the top of their lungs. Eyes were opened wide, faces were flushed …

Five Fighter mechs took their positions at their designated passageway. Behind them were four other squads as backup.

“Squad Captain, do you think we’ll win this time?” One of the mech pilots could not help but asked through the comms.

Their captain replied without hesitation, “Nonsense! Of course we will!” Then, he added unsurely, “I say, Major, don’t you start chickening out. Hehe, if you’re not up to it, I’ll have you switched out!”

They all knew that the first wave of red-tailed beasts would be the strongest, and it would most likely be their make or break moment. Hence, the mech pilots for the first round of engagement were the bravest, and had the most casualties. They were also the heroes among them all, a symbol of courage, and respected by everyone in the fleet. People call them the spearheads.

A few of them laughed in the comms. Some began to jeer, “Haha, Major, wanna switch with me? Hehe, I always wanted to be a spearhead -”

Major flushed red, all the way to his neck. He growled like an angered beast, “Get lost! Who’s chickening out? Squad Captain, I’ll show you how to crush those bstards! I’m a fcking spearhead!” His hoarse voice was filled with pride and eagerness for battle!

Chapter 494: Changes I

ang Ming [1] panted heavily, drawing air greedily into his lungs. His arms hung beside him, trembling, and his fingers were white from overexertion. Around him were a few young people lying around.

Yang Ming was not skilled enough to repair mechs, but he could still handle structures that were not overly complicated. He was still young by all standards, but still earned respect from his peers due to being a student of Harrell the Great. Besides, being young was the norm in the fleet. One could see young people in almost every major department.

Yang Ming had also proven himself. As the main person in charge of the ship’s structural maintenance, his track record had been immaculate.

“Passage 9 is shut. Maintenance crew, please enter immediately.” Yang Ming heard the announcement. His hands stopped shaking.

“Folks, time to move out!” Yang Ming sounded hoarse. He went to his comrades and patted them on their shoulders.

The exhausted young people opened their tired eyes, and struggled to stand up.

Yang Ming noticed their fatigue. He was feeling overworked as well. The war was not over, however, and so they could not rest yet. There were eight of them in charge of the starship’s structure. With no one to support them, experienced maintenance crew members became heavily relied upon. They must repair the damaged mechs as soon as possible. The battle at the frontline may not even be as vicious as they had it here.

Yang Ming and the crew entered Passage 9.

It was a mess inside. Bits and pieces of the red-tailed beasts were lying everywhere. The air was heavy with the scent of blood. This was not his first time seeing this, but Yang Ming still felt a wave of discomfort.

At the same time, he felt more encouraged every time he saw this. Even his comrades were proud of their battle results.

“Heh, another three! I counted them. We got 11 dead on our ship, it’s a big win!”

“You’re too easy to satisfy. Just 11? I say, we gotta get at least 20!”

“Dude! 20? What’s so good with 20? Of course we gotta aim for 30!”

“Haha -”

Yang Ming managed a smile on his face as he continued working, going through the structure of the passageway. The red-tailed beasts were strong, and their desperate struggles before they died could easily damage the passageway. They needed to repair all the damaged parts so that the passageway could be reused.

Ye Chong sat in Haskel’s control room. On the holographic screen, the red-tailed beasts came in waves towards their fleet. As the lead ship, Haskel was their main target.

Ye Chong watched with a calm expression. He was not at the frontline of their battle this time, which was unusual. Given the scale of the battle, one man’s strength was insignificant. In this entire fleet, he was the only one capable of commanding! Xi Qing and Shu were good fighters, but still inexperienced in battles of this scale.

The three months of games played against Mu and Shang were immensely helpful. Ye Chong could now maintain a calm composure as he studied the bigger picture and gave orders to his men, almost like a veteran general.

Battles that resulted from encountering enemies had always been Mu’s forte. He could unleash the full potential of their available resources. This was something that not even Shang could do, much less Ye Chong. Even so, Ye Chong learned from both Mu and Shang, and he had been trying to emulate Mu’s methods. If he did not improve himself, how could he expect to hang on until the end of the battle?

Unfortunately, he was short of hands, and limited in options for their means of offense!

This group of red-tailed beasts were cunning, choosing to focus on the starships that were the furthest out. They would wait for the right time and single out a ship to focus their attacks on.

So far, Ye Chong had lost five starships.

This strategy looked familiar! Ye Chong thought back to this one time during his games, where Shang had used this strategy to devour him completely. Ye Chong remembered the battle clearly. He had watched his own soldiers slowly destroyed by his enemies, and the helpless feeling throughout was unbearable. However, what Ye Chong remembered most about that particular game was not his sense of helplessness, but how Mu had managed to defeat this particular strategy of Shang’s!

Ever since then, Ye Chong felt that his perspectives had widened even further.

The explosion from one of his starship’s illuminated his features. Ye Chong decided to make some changes to his plan.

Arwa was donned in neat military attire as he stood up straightly before Xiao Wan. He looked calm, but his eyes betrayed the gratefulness he was feeling. The Young Miss was finally looking invigorated!

Xiao Wan still looked worn and tired, but her eyes now showed steely determination.

“Thank you for all your effort these days!” Xiao Wan expressed sincerely.

Arwa bowed slightly, “It is my duty.”

Xiao Wan watched Arwa in his stiff military uniform and felt a wave of emotions rushed up to her. Arwa had never liked wearing it, and he was the only one in the Xiao Family army who refused to wear the military uniform. It was only a small gesture, but Xiao Wan could see that he was doing all he could for their current predicament. Arwa had always looked like an honest young lad from a rural village, but now he had the charisma of a general.

“What’s the situation right now?” Xiao Wan asked.

“It’s not looking good,” Arwa looked worried as he explained, “We’ve lost our best opportunity!”

Xiao Wan understood him. She knew that Arwa was referring to the war at the frontline. Arwa had been openly against it, but his lowly position meant his opinion went ignored. After the war, there was little left in the Xiao Family Army. Even the 1st Platoon’s Commander, Guang Bei, did not make it. Xiao Wan’s heart ached at the memory.

Arwa knew that he had misspoke, and quickly added, “However, we’re not without hope.”

He had the Young Miss’s attention now. Arwa quickly elaborated, “I’ve gathered many mech pilots along the way. We now have 1,500 mech pilots. It’s not exactly an army, but enough to bring us to Planet Duodania. Once we enter the He Yue Galaxy, we’ll be alright!”

Xiao Wan was confused. “Isn’t He Yue Galaxy also invaded by the red-tailed beasts?”

Arwa explained, “The red-tailed beasts are also in the He Yue Galaxy, but the place is larger, with enough room for us to find a place to settle down. Besides, the He Yue Galaxy may be at war now, but it’s core areas remain unaffected. We can find a place to lay low in the meantime. I think that once the aristocratic families got rid of the red-tailed beasts, they will most likely be weakened as well. It will be our chance to rise again. On the contrary, Gray Valley is small, and lacked the space for us. Additionally, with our defeat, half of Gray Valley’s combatants are gone. It’s only a matter of time before Gray Valley falls under the control of the red-tailed beasts.” It was in moments like these that Arwa looked like the genius tactician that he truly was.

Xiao Wan considered Arwa’s analysis carefully.

Arwa made sense, but this would mean them leaving Gray Valley, the place she grew up in. It was also nearly impossible for them to ever return.

“You think that it’s more to our advantage to move to the He Yue Galaxy?” Xiao Wan asked after a long moment.

“Yes!” Arwa replied firmly without hesitation.

Xiao Wan took a deep breath and made her decision, “Alright! Then let’s try our luck in the He Yue Galaxy!”

Arwa was pleased to hear that. “Thank you, Young Miss!”

“Thank you? You can thank me for sending Guang Bei to his death in a pointless war.” Xiao Wan looked sad as she said this, with a hint of self mockery.

Arwa could only sigh quietly to himself. He remembered something then. “Young Miss, right now we are in urgent need of close range mechs. Without them, we’ll be heavily disadvantaged against the red-tailed beasts.”

“Close range mechs!” Xiao Wan pondered on it, then lifted her gaze to Arwa, “What do you suggest?”

“We steal them!” Arwa forced the words out of his mouth.

“Steal them?” Xiao Wan did not look troubled at all, as though it was a natural decision. She mused, “From who?”

She looked at Arwa meaningfully and said, “You probably thought of everything already, so let’s hear it.”

Arwa chuckled and said, “Sharp as always, Young Miss. There are not many organizations with close range mechs now, and most of them are too strong for us. In the end, the Research Consortium seems to be the best option.”

“The Research Consortium?” Xiao Wan looked hesitant, but did not reject the idea immediately. “The Research Consortium is too powerful for us to meddle with. I believe that it will be difficult.”

Arwa laughed. “Maybe not. The Research Consortium’s intel has always been the most reliable in Gray Valley. Nothing escapes them. News of defeat at the frontline must have reached them. The Research Consortium is powerful, but they don’t have many mech pilots. If that’s the case, their best option is to gather their people and focus on defense. Besides, they’re mostly cowards. I believe that the Consortium’s headquarters must be empty by now. In the haste of their retreat, they might have left something in their warehouses. These things are now free for all. Hehe, why not take them for ourselves? Of course, it will depend on our luck.”

Xiao Wan thought through Arwa’s words. She clenched her teeth and made her decision. “Alright! We’ll do as you say!”

Chapter 495: Changes II

reen Arrow was one of the midsized starships in the fleet. It was also one of their 12 warships, with 125 mech pilots. According to Ye Chong’s designations, each warship would have a Company of pilots.

Today, Green Arrow was led not by its usual leader, the 5th Company’s Sergeant, but by Captain Xi Qing. Not only did Xi Qing himself was sent to Green Arrow, he also brought another four Companies to the ship. This brought the number of mech pilots onboard the Green Arrow to 250.

Xi Qing boarded Green Arrow when the ship retreated deeper into the fleet to reorganize its crew.

“Thank you for your hard work, everyone!” Xi Qing nodded in greeting and respect to the mech pilots and gestured for them to remain seated.

He looked around, and saw that everyone had their attention on him.

“Now, there’s a very difficult task to be assigned to you. Are you scared?” Xi Qing smiled.

“No way!”

“Hell no!”

“Captain, when has any one of us said we’re scared?”

“That’s right, just say the word and we’ll get to it!”

… …

They sounded loud and energetic enough. Some even stood up in protest.

“Alright! We have good people fighting with us!” Xi Qing said with pride. “However, the task we have is hard enough that we’ll need another four Companies to fight alongside us. I hope we can all work together and take down those creatures!” Xi Qing made a downward slashing motion with his tightly clenched right fist.

“Yes Sir!” Everyone roared out.

The red-tailed beasts were numerous like a locust plague, and they had many starships in the fleet. The fragile parts of the starships had all been fortified, so the red-tailed beasts could not do much to them. For the moment, the battle had reached a stalemate. The red-tailed beasts stayed together despite their numbers, maintaining their large formation. Since Ye Chong’s side could not send out any ships to battle it out, he could only be on the defense. In short, the red-tailed beasts held the active position in the battle.

Suddenly, three starships left the fleet and came out.

The three starships immediately drew the attention of the red-tailed beasts. In fact, Ye Chong’s fleet was too strongly defended that the thousand-strong red-tailed beast army was like an ant before an elephant. Even though many red-tailed beasts were drawn away by the energy cells and left the main army, the great majority of red-tailed beasts were still in formation.

The sudden movements from the three starships was a striking turn of events in the battle.

The red-tailed beast army went for the ships without delay. They were much faster and more agile than the starships. The starships made all sorts of evasive maneuvers to no avail.

The crew members in the three starships heard what sounded like raindrops falling onto their ships. In just a moment, the red-tailed beasts were crawling all over the three ships. It was a terrifying sight.

Major’s forehead glistened with sweat that went rolling down his cheeks. He was panting heavily. He was in an agitated state right now. His face was unnaturally red, and his breaths were short and laboured. He knew that the stakes of this battle had never been higher. How much higher, he did not know.

“Open the hatch!”

The heavy metal hatch in front of him opened silently.

Major straightened himself. He held his breath as he locked his gaze at the hatch exit. Right now, he was like a wild beast ready to unleash its full strength.

Five red-tailed beasts came into the passageway like predators that smelled blood.

Behind them were several more red-tailed beasts.

Five Fighter mechs were already positioned into a defensive formation. The red-tailed beasts rushed in like a black tsunami wave, reaching the Fighter mechs in an instant.

Bang bang bang bang bang!

Under the continuous impacts, all five Fighters were forced back a few steps! The red-tailed beasts had strongly collided into them. The creatures did not fare too well themselves, looking slightly taken aback. However, they continued to swiftly move, sticking to the sides to allow more of their kind to enter the passageway.

“Hold your positions!” Major shouted. Veins showed on his temples, but his hands moved quickly. He knew that this was not the time to retreat. If they did not hold their position now, they would be pushed further back and closer to defeat.

Wham! Major’s Fighter stomped into the ground, pushing the mech forward.

The squad members understood each other perfectly. There was no cowardice in these spearheads! They all knew without Major’s reminder that they must not back down now.

The four Fighter mechs adjusted themselves and pushed forward, pushing against the ground or the side walls. They found themselves right behind Major’s mech again in no time.

“Go to hell!” Major yelled as he ran straight into one of the red-tailed beasts that was coming in. His Fighter’s metal fist connected with the red-tailed beast’s arrowhead tail, creating sparks.

The strong impact nearly through Major off balance, but the Fighter suddenly reached out with its left mechanical arm and grabbed onto the red-tailed beast’s right ankle.

With its ankle caught, the creature was surprised, and whipped its red arrowhead tail towards the mech’s throat.

The Fighter anticipated it and narrowly avoided the attack.

This short exchange made a whole world of difference for the red-tailed beast. The four Fighter mechs criss-crossed over, and the trapped red-tailed beast was cut into eight pieces.

Major breathed heavily as he stared at the dead red-tailed beast. The passageway was now full of red-tailed beasts. There were no less than dozens of them inside, and it was a terrifying idea to deal with.

The other red-tailed beasts were unaffected by the death of one its own. They were staring yearningly at the energy cells behind the mechs.

Major and his squad regrouped into formation. The next part of the battle was going to push them to their limits.

Just as the red-tailed beasts were trying to enter the passageway, the three starships with red-tailed beasts crawling all over them were slowly making their way back to the fleet.

The other starships quickly made way for these three starships, now filled with very dangerous cargo.

These starships were very close to the three starships. They all kept their passageway hatches open. An energy wave that was very familiar to the red-tailed beasts faintly but clearly came from within, despite the main attraction in the three starships.

The red-tailed beasts that could not fit themselves into the passageways were drawn by the energy cells of these starships along the way. Soon, the red-tailed beasts began to drift away in twos or threes away from the three starships towards these distractions.

There were too many energy cells around them such that each passageway would only attract a few red-tailed beasts.

The number of red-tailed beasts on the three starships reduced gradually over time. It was like watching a huge block of ice melt from a warm breeze, bit by bit.

Xi Qing saw the empty space before him and felt the worry in him relaxed a bit. It was time!

He knew that the decisive part of the battle had arrived!

Seven starships that had prepared themselves now surrounded the three starships. The few red-tailed beasts that remained there suddenly realized that there was a much stronger energy wave coming from around them!

They got excited immediately and quickly abandoned the three starships for the other seven starships.

With so many red-tailed beasts drawn away, the remaining creatures were few enough to be absorbed by these ten starships.

There were not many red-tailed beasts left in outer space. Most of them had already been lured into the passageways of the ships. Only a few slower ones were still outside.

Suddenly, all ten starships closed their hatches shut.

Now, the red-tailed beasts that were still outside began to sense that something was amiss, and began to panic. They could sense an impending threat and wanted to leave, but found that there was nowhere to escape.

The seven starships had formed a small but tight surround formation. The space between them could only allow one or two red-tailed beasts to pass through at any time. Here was also where squads of mechs were now in position. In outer space, a single mech could never hope to win against a red-tailed beast, but now the mechs could make up for this disadvantage by their strength in numbers.

Lure the enemy, disperse their forces, and surround them. Ye Chong’s plan had been executed perfectly so far.

The red-tailed beasts struggled more fiercely than Ye Chong had anticipated. The battle took place for almost five hours.

The first large scale battle by Ye Chong’s fleet ended with their victory. The battle had been won with fine results. After the battle, the number of red-tailed beasts killed totaled up to 1,431 of them. They even managed to capture 20 of the creatures alive, which would be very important for research purposes.

This victory against the red-tailed beasts was unprecedented, a win on the largest scale ever recorded in Gray Valley.

The entire fleet basked in joy of their triumph. Everyone saw hope in their survival, having witnessed how they could take control of their own fate. The battle was a strong boost of morale for all the crew members.

Nonetheless, Ye Chong could not be happy with the tallied numbers at the end of the battle. They had lost close to 500 mech pilots, and suffered 300 more casualties. The casualty rate was at 50 percent, while death was close to a third. This victory was hard won. If they repeated the same battle a few times, there would be nothing left of the fleet.

The only thing that Ye Chong could appreciate was the fact that while they had lost many mech pilots, their overall battle strength had been elevated. Experienced mech pilots were different from newbies. An army that had fought an actual, hard won war was different from an ordinary army.

In the end, Ye Chong regretted nothing. He had already done his best, leading a batch of freshies and obtaining such a result. Even Shang was a little surprised.

Little did he know that this victory had given him much more than that.

Chapter 496: Changes III

quot;Instructor, we have five starships requesting to join our fleet,” Xi Qing reported to Ye Chong. Standing beside him was Shu, donned in a neat uniform. Ever since their victory last time, many starships approached them to join their fleet. So far, the fleet had expanded to include 800 ships, and total number of crew members added up to 250 thousand. Even the number of warships had gone up to 10.

Before these five starships, the fleet had accepted requests from 33 other starships on that same day.

“Alright,” Ye Chong did no mince his words, “Just proceed according to protocol in future.” Since many starships continued to join their fleet, the whole process of filtering and accepting requests and assigning them to groups had been streamlined. Shang played an important part in this, having set up most of the rules himself.

All accepted ships must obey orders from Haskel. They must also report their inventory, subject their crew members for inspection, and take part in battles of the fleet. This meant that all ships in the fleet would be at Ye Chong’s disposal.

Under usual circumstances, these conditions would be unthinkable. No one would willingly offer their freedom up. However, the desperate need to survive overrode all other priorities right now, so no one gave up a fight.

Ye Chong did not know that the one responsible for spreading the news of their victory over the red-tailed beasts was actually Shang. Ye Chong’s fake name, Jay, was now a symbol, a symbol of fighting against the red-tailed beasts. In areas where the red-tailed beasts were not an immediate threat, people took notice of this mysterious and peculiar fleet. Their leader, Ye Chong was at the heart of their discussions.

The victory had also raised Ye Chong’s reputation in the fleet. His orders were obeyed to a tee by loyal subordinates. The crew members worked diligently, taking pride in their leader. The mysterious partner of his slowly faded into the background. Later members of the fleet did not even know that he existed.

Another result of the victory was Ye Chong becoming almost a worshipped hero to all his crew members.

Hence, despite the strict rules of acceptance, many still wished to join the mysterious fleet. Ye Chong never rejected any of them. Ever since their victory, they had suffered a huge loss in number of combatants that would benefit from replenishment.

Ye Chong looked at the two young men before him and said, “Keep up with the training, we don’t have much time left.”

Xi Qing and Shu felt the gravity of the order, and saluted in reply, “Yes sir!” They did not exactly how much time they needed for what, but they also knew that some questions were better left unasked.

Ye Chong was satisfied with the performances of both Xi Qing and Shu. It was because of them that he had more time to think about other things.

“How many energy cells do we have left?” Ye Chong asked abruptly.

Xi Qing and Shu exchanged a look. Shu stepped forward and said solemnly, “Instructor, we’re here because of this matter. Our last battle used up many of our energy cells. High intensity combat trainings are also exhausting our reserves quickly. Currently, we have only 3,600 energy cells. We are in need of an emergency resupply.”

“That’s right. Our fleet is too massive right now. We’re using up our energy cells at an astonishing rate. If we don’t resupply soon, we’ll probably …” Xi Qing made his point clearly.

Ye Chong paused in thought. He had neglected this important matter. He called up Gray Valley’s star chart as he asked, “Where’s the closest resupply point?”

“The S.S. Iron Scorpion,” Shu replied with barely suppressed excitement beneath his calm exterior, “It’s a space station built by the Research Consortium, and one of their base of operations. There should be a huge stock of energy cells there in storage,” He added mischievously, “And maybe even a good load of mechs and starships.”

Xi Qing said nothing. He was with Shu on this. The Research Consortium was a heavyweight in Gray Valley. Everyone here held the Consortium with regard. Gray Valley’s existence was closely related to the Research Consortium. All these years, the Consortium had used their skills in technological advancements to improve Gray Valley as a whole. However, in this red-tailed beast disaster, the Consortium had done nothing effective apart from bringing together organizations from all parts of Gray Valley to form an alliance.

On the contrary, they had later chosen to do something that could almost be described as stupid – they left everyone behind and escaped. This was a huge disappointment for all the people who put their hopes in them. Xi Qing and Shu had experienced this firsthand. Ever since the frontline collapsed, the Research Consortium had done nothing meaningful to the people. It was as if they had simply vanished.

Ye Chong did not hesitate. “Have all combat personnel be prepared.” Ye Chong did not share the sentiment that normal Gray Valley inhabitants had. From their early escape on Planet Henna, Ye Chong could tell that the Research Consortium was not actually not very powerful. Besides, their situation was urgent, and he could not afford to be picky.

“Yes Sir!” The two young men saluted.

The ten warships guarded ten starships, carrying 2,500 mech pilots in them. The procession was heading towards S.S. Iron Scorpion. Behind them were 50 midsized transport ships, all without cargo.

Ye Chong had deployed almost all his combatants for this operation. Out of the entire fleet, he was probably the only person who knew exactly how dire their situation was. If his estimations were accurate, they would be doomed once the two flanking red-tailed beast armies completed their surrounding formation. It was a race against time. Ye Chong spent most of his time thinking these days, but could not come up with any viable solution.

All those thoughts had strained him. His eyes were bloodshot. It was torture, knowing the intentions of the red-tailed beasts but unable to come up with a solution.

On top of all that, he now had the pressing issue of running out of energy cells! Knowing how desperate their situation was, Ye Chong hardly cared who the S.S. Iron Scorpion belonged to. After all, how could they be more dangerous than the red-tailed beasts?

Besides, he had 10 warships with him. These were useless against red-tailed beasts, but a formidable amount of firepower in usual warfare.

All this while, the power of those warships were suppressed. The 10 warships came from different organizations, and these organizations were all demolished. These days, the warships were pushed around like decorations since they were useless against the red-tailed beasts.

They were once glorious! Warships – their reputation was enough to command respect and privileges wherever they went.

Hence, when Ye Chong gave the order, all 10 warships readied themselves swiftly.

Mercury, the first warship to be incorporated into the fleet, was honored with the designation Warship 1.

“Everybody listen up! I want everyone to give me your 110 percent today. I won’t forgive anyone who’ll screw up! Fck, we’re the gddamn warship Mercury, born for war! Today, we will show Mercury’s true power! Sir Jay is watching us, our future will depends on our performance today! You hear me, mtherfckers?!” Mercury’s Captain barked menacingly.

“Yes Sir, Captain!” All crew members replied back thunderously. They had felt suppressed enough as it was.

The entire warship now operated in the highest state of combat readiness. Crew members dashed across the corridors, going about their duties with vigor. Warships were important resources for every organization. They were staffed by crew members who went through the strictest selection procedure. Right now, Mercury was like a power machine came to life.

“Shooters, to your combat stations.”

“Calibrating shooting RPM. Activating weapons system.”

“Energy cells in place.”

“Logistics crew is go.”

…

Mercury was not the only one. All 10 warships looked eager for combat. All cannons were deployed from their hatches, the menacing cannon barrels giving off a dark, chilling shine. Each cannon was fitted rows of energy cells with their safeties off, ready to refuelled or replaced on the go.

Ye Chong was taken aback by the eagerness of the 10 warships, but it was better this way. He had been worrying about them due to their mercenary backgrounds. Perhaps they would only work for the pay. Seeing them like this lifted his heart a little. With 10 warships on his side, even taking down the S.S. Iron Scorpion by force would not be a problem

Unlike the warships owned by the MPA or Black Cove that Ye Chong had seen in the Five Galaxies, the warships in Gray Valley and He Yue Galaxy were much more potent. With more firepower, higher firing accuracy, better ship maneuverability and armor defense systems, these warships were far more powerful than their counterparts in the Five Galaxies.

Xue Lai Clan had the largest warship fleet. The Ye Family and Xi Feng Tribe also had their own sizable warship fleets. Every noteworthy organization would keep their warships competitive as a sizable force for war in outer space. The Research Consortium owned the largest warship fleet in Gray Valley, but now even their whereabouts were unknown.

Nevertheless, their opponent this time was Gray Valley. While members of the Consortium had always behaved unusually, their higher-ups had done nothing for the war this time. What would they do when faced with a direct challenge of power? Every inhabitant of Gray Valley had known the Consortium for its indomitable power. They could not help but doubt the outcome of this clash of powers.

Chapter 497: Changes IV

hat was the Research Consortium thinking?

This was the question that everyone in Ye Chong’s group was asking. No one was on the S.S. Iron Scorpion. It was like an abandoned city. The base was a mess. Things were scattered everywhere. Even the memory chips, which probably contained classified information, were simply left lying on the floor. The staff must have left in a rush.

What happened here? What happened to the Research Consortium? Ye Chong could not understand.

“What a nice piece of real estate! Too bad we can’t use it. Would’ve been the perfect place for headquarters,” Shang sounded regretful. Ye Chong did not comment further. It was true that the S.S. Iron scorpion was a wonderful choice for their base of operations. However, defending this place right now would be suicidal. The space station itself was of no value to Ye Chong.

Over the years, the S.S. Iron Scorpion was fitted with world class facilities. It was apparent that the Consortium spent a lot of effort in designing the space station.

With 500 mech pilots aboard, the place would practically be a castle, fortified by soldiers. Taking down the place with Ye Chong’s army would not have been possible.

Ye Chong realized then the naivety of his optimism.

Fortunately, the Research Consortium’s unexplained retreat had benefited him.

Ye Chong raised his voice abruptly, “Find the warehouse immediately!” A base like this must surely have a huge warehouse. That was their primary concern right now.

Ye Chong could only hope that the warehouse was not empty.

“Instructor! We found the warehouse!” Xi Qing reported to Ye Chong excitedly. Few people in the fleet were qualified to call Ye Chong “instructor”. Most were his former student like Xi Qing and Shu. Most of the students worked at the grassroots level. They were Ye Chong’s most loyal supporters.

The warehouse was located at the inner parts of the S.S. Iron Scorpion. Its structure was completely made of alloy to fortify it against attacks. Even a direct hit from a warship cannon would not be able to penetrate its tough walls.

The heavy alloy doors silently slipped open to both sides. It was dark inside the warehouse.

As the lights were switched on, the hopeful crew members quieted down, so much that one could hear a pin drop.

Inside the warehouse were stacks and stacks of goods. All the things were arranged methodically by their classifications. Some still had their identification barcode on them.

“This world is too crazy!” Ye Chong muttered to himself. He did not know why he said that, but the words seemed to spill out from his mouth.

After the initial shock, everyone recovered quickly. They looked overjoyed, but their ingrained discipline allowed to remain relatively calm.

Ye Chong waved his hand in a single and decisive stroke, “Take them! Take them all!”

After planning for the retrieval of all those resources, Ye Chong returned to Haskel. He was very happy with the operation. Perhaps the only people in the operation who were disappointed were the battle-hungry warship crew members. They had expected to demonstrate their strength to Ye Chong, but did not even get to fire a single cannon in the end. Once again, their roles became redundant.

The Research Consortium was rich! Even someone as unmoved by money as Ye Chong was amazed by their wealth. The mountain of resources in the warehouse had left him a little shell shocked.

However, what happened to the Research Consortium? He knew from intel that the Research Consortium was a organization that specialized in technology, but lacking in military strength. Nevertheless, their findings in the warehouse seemed to suggest that this was not the case. Ye Chong could tell that the S.S. Iron Scorpion was built as a military base.

All the signs suggested that the Research Consortium had left in a hurry, without time to organize themselves properly.

Well, in the end, what did all these had to do with him? Ye Chong laughed at himself wryly. If the Research Consortium had not left in a hurry, the resources in the warehouse would not have been left behind for him. Right now, he should worry more about his own predicament.

Ye Chong’s expression turned heavy.

“Ye, don’t look so sulky. Beware the wrinkles! Wrinkles are humanity’s worst enemies! But I gotta say, Ye, you’re doing not so bad recently Haha, keep it up!” Shang continued slyly, “Ye, I’ve been setting up a database of beautiful ladies recently. Would you like a copy? Hehe, it’s got a chapter on Bing Bing!”

Ye Chong had nothing to say to Shang’s blabbering.

Just then, the inventory list arrived for Ye Chong.

Ye Chong looked at the lines and lines of huge numbers in the inventory list, and realized once again just how much they had gained this time!

There were enough energy cells to last them quite a while. The fleet will not have to worry about energy cell supplies. One of the things that surprised Ye Chong was the number of mechs they acquired. They now had 5,000 D-6’s! Ye Chong wondered what the true purpose of the S.S. Iron Scorpion really was.

These 5,000 D-6’s would be enough for Ye Chong’s 2,500 mech pilots to use and swap turns. D-6 had much higher specs than Fighter. After the mech pilots got used to these mechs, Ye Chong’s army would be significantly more formidable.

Numerous other things were retrieved from the warehouse. Ye Chong had ordered his subordinate to empty the warehouse, after all. Xi Qing and Shu executed his orders to the letter. Not even a single piece of paper was left in the warehouse. Even all the memory chips that were scattered on the floor in the base were salvaged. However, the information within them would have to be organized.

As the joy from their stroke of luck wore off, Ye Chong’s frown returned.

The problem of energy cell supplies was resolved, but the main and most crucial problem remained. They had to figure out how to escape the surrounding formation of the red-tailed beasts.

He still did not have a viable solution.

The red-tailed beasts were much faster than they were. As the two flanking armies of red-tailed beasts were pushing their way forward as fast as they could, they were now left far behind. In other words, they were already in the trap of the red-tailed beasts, it was only a matter of time before they were completely enveloped by the enemy. Once that happened, there would be no escape.

Haskel was still in a joyful atmosphere. The crew members in the comms rooms were discussing excitedly about all the things that they managed to acquire. Their jobs did not require much from them. Most of the crew were either sitting or lying around, enjoying a cup of hot tea while they chatted with their comrades.

The comms room should have been a very important place in a starship fleet. It was rare for to see its staff unoccupied like this. After all, they needed to relay orders from the fleet commander to the ships in the fleet, and mediate communication between other ships and the main ship. It was a very important job. However, their respected and beloved Sir Jay rarely used the comms room. His orders were usually directly given to Xi Qing or Shu.

“Say, how much do you think we got this time? I heard that we’re filthy rich now! The things pile up like mountains!” One of the staff said.

“Of course, tsk tsk, the Research Consortium is wealthy after all. I’m so jealous!” Another staff replied from his half-lying position on a chair.

The comms room staff leader laughed and teased him, “Then go to the Research Consortium, why don’t you? Hehe, don’t worry, no one’s gonna stop you.”

“No way,” the staff replied shaking of his head, “I wanna still live. Who else but Sir Jay who helped us survive right now? The Research Consortium? If they can help us , the S.S. Iron Scorpion would not have been left empty.”

All around, people who were listening no longer felt so chatty. All this while, they had high hopes on the Research Consortium. However, reality is cruel. The Research Consortium’s powerlessness had chipped away the confidence of Gray Valley’s residents in them.

Suddenly, the main comms activated. The shrill beeping alarm cut through the silent comms room. The staff froze in surprise for a moment, exchanging looks of confusion before someone finally yelled, “It’s Sir Jay!”

Everyone quickly got into position and linked to the main comms.

Ye Chong’s holographic image came up on the comms. His calm voice came through like winter breeze, “Hear me. All ship captains with more than two decades of experience, meet me in the control room, immediately!”

“Yes sir!” All the crew members saluted.

Crack! The holographic image of Ye Chong vanished, and the staff members heaved a sigh of relief. Sir Jay had abruptly passed down an order through them, and it had caught them off guard.

“Back to work,” the staff leader said solemnly, all traces of his earlier congeniality gone. Everyone went to their stations and busied themselves. They must relay Sir Jay’s orders to every starship in the fleet as soon as possible.

The anxious undertone in Sir Jay’s voice was noticed by the staff. They tensed up immediately, and went about their tasks quickly. They were also feeling unsettled. Sir Jay had always been a symbol of invincibility to them. If anything could trouble the man, it must be a very big problem indeed.

They relayed Ye Chong’s orders as quickly as possible, worded most strictly to every ship captain in the fleet.

About 10 minutes later, all captains with more than two decades experience in their position were gathered in the meeting room. They had dropped whatever was occupying them when they received the order and rushed for the meeting. Discipline in the fleet was strict. No one would dare to challenge Sir Jay’s authority. By the time they arrived, Xi Qing and Shu were also present.

Those who were close to the two approached them to ask about the meeting, but it seemed that they too were unaware of the reason behind their gathering.

Just then, Ye Chong entered the meeting room.

Everyone stood up and salute, and Ye Chong saluted them back. Of course, Ye Chong was not the one who came up with these protocols. All the fleet’s rules were Shang’s doing. The effect was apparent, however. Everything was organized, and managing the fleet’s personnel no longer felt like a messy job.

Ye Chong minced no words, and went straight to the point.

“Currently, we face a problem that threatens our very survival!”

Chapter 498: Changes V

ray Valley’s star chart was brought up before the surprised ship captains. Ye Chong stood in front of the star chart, facing his audience. He spoke solemnly, “This is Gray Valley. The red zones mark where red-tailed beasts were sighted. This is our current location.” He pointed to the S.S. Iron Scorpion on the star chart. He then traced his finger towards the region with the most intense red color and said, “This is the front line, where we came from.”

Everyone watched in silent gloom.

“Let me tell you something. The Gateway that leads from Gray Valley to He Yue Galaxy is already invaded by the red-tailed beasts. It’s still unclear where these red-tailed beasts came from.”

“Ah!” The people were shocked. A few even stood up. Xi Qing and Shu exchanged a look of despair. The news was a horrible blow to them all, shattering their hopes of escaping to the He Yue Galaxy.

However, Sir Jay seemed to think his audience was not shocked enough. He continued, “Have a look over here, and here.” He pointed to the two flanking red-tailed beast armies that were racing along the edges of Gray Valley.

“Shang, run the simulation,” Ye Chong spoke quietly to Shang.

“Sigh, so I’m just your grunt, yeah?” Shang sulked with a face.

The red zones on the star chart began to change. The two flanking armies pushed forward at an astounding speed to form to a red enclosure.

The two armies finally converged!

After that, the red-tailed beasts spread out and formed a red barrier, splitting Gray Valley into two. The main army of red-tailed beasts in the center began to push their way forward.

In just a few short moments, the region within the surround formation turned red through and through.

The meeting room was dead silent. Everyone looked pale.

They may not be war tacticians, but this straightforward simulation was easy to understand.

Was this their ultimate fate?

In the end, they would never escape the terror of the red-tailed beasts. Could it be that all their efforts so far were for naught?

The tension in the air was suffocating. The star chart that was dyed red reflected in the eyes of the audience.

For 10 minutes, no one in the meeting room spoke. Everyone felt a chilling sense of despair.

What a bunch of motley crew! Ye Chong shook his head inside. In the end, the fleet was made up of random amateurs who would be devastated when facing truly challenging odds. If it was the Sang Tribe, they would never react so passively.

Ye Chong could not appreciate what the red-tailed beasts meant for these normal people. He had killed countless red-tailed beasts himself, so the creatures did not scare him. Normal people, however, thought of the red-tailed beasts as invincible adversaries. Before Ye Chong carved his first victory, Gray Valley had never won against the red-tailed beasts in any large scale battles.

While their last victory was encouraging, this obstacle once again reawakened their perception of the invincibility of the red-tailed beasts.

Ye Chong thought that he should not let the silence continue. He spoke up then, “However, we are not entirely hopeless.” Everyone looked up at that, turning their intense gaze to Ye Chong. That’s right, didn’t they still have Sir Jay?

“As you can see, the two flanking red-tailed beast armies will converge near Planet Kasent. Our only chance is to go beyond Kasent before they converge,” Ye Chong described the situation calmly.

As Ye Chong finished, a few of the captains expressed their disappointment, “How’s that possible?”

“That’s right, it’s just impossible! We’re too slow compared to the red-tailed beasts.”

“How is that a solution?” Someone mumbled in complaint.

…

Ye Chong looked at the noisy captains. His gaze turned cold. Without further indications of his mood, he tapped his index finger lightly on the desk.

Someone noticed that Sir Jay did not look happy, and quickly reigned in the complaining captains. A few of grumbling captains saw Ye Chong’s expression and realized what they had done. Their faces paled, and they shut their mouths immediately. Gradually, the grumbling sounds quieted down.

This time, only the sound of Sir Jay’s index finger tapping on the desk could be heard. Each tap hammered down on their hearts. No one dared to speak. Sir Jay’s authority in the fleet was absolute. No one dared to defy him. All the captains here had seen plenty of people in their lives. They could tell exactly what kind of man Sir Jay was. This man can kill without blinking!

Xi Qing and Shu were still too young to understand these things.

Ye Chong ignored the captains and turned to the very quiet Xi Qing and Shu, “Next time, if anyone causes a ruckus in the meeting room, escort them out immediately.”

Xi Qing and Shu could read Ye Chong’s dissatisfaction in his voice. They were terrified by this, and quickly stood up and saluted, “Yes sir!”

All the captains were still shocked, but none of them dared to voice their opinion. They knew that they had behaved disgracefully.

Ye Chong looked around him, his gaze turning colder still. All the captains lowered their head, unable to meet his eyes.

“We are not discussing the possibility of achieving this. This is our only chance, for me and for all of you!” Ye Chong emphasized every word, then resumed speaking normally, “Of course, I face a very difficult problem, or I would not have gathered everyone here. It’s impossible to go so far using conventional flight routes. I call all of you here to ask, does anyone know of any warp jump points that can bring us to the vicinity of Kasent?”

The ship captains looked to each other speechlessly. They felt that Sir Jay was being naive in this matter. If there was such a warp jump point, people would have noticed it and used it frequently.

Gray Valley was shaped like a hourglass, and Kasent was at the waist of this hourglass. Besides, there was simply no warp jump point nearby that could bring them past Planet Kasent.

This was common knowledge. Surely Sir Jay would know about it?

Just then, one of the captains raised his hand hesitantly, “Sir Jay, I – I know of a place, maybe – maybe we can …”

The captain was a large man, about 50 years of age. There was a noticeable scar at the corner of his right eye. His eyes twinkled like he was hoping to share something.

“Alright, think about this problem for now, let me know if you have a solution. You may return to your stations. Remember, we’re running out of time. Hmm, I will also not have rumors spreading around.” Ye Chong pointed to the captain who raised his hand and said, “You, stay!”

All the other captains took their leave. There was now only Ye Chong, Xi Qing, Shu and the captain who raised his hand.

“Alright, you can speak now,” Ye Chong said.

The captain looked relieved. “Sir Jay, I know of a place. It’s a warp jump point. From there, we can reach the vicinity of Planet Spectre.”

“Where is it?” The rest of the people in the room were encouraged by the news.

The captain was hesitant, he shared his information, “It’s in the Calamitous Asteroid Belt.”

Xi Qing and Shu both looked taken aback. They looked at the captain with wary eyes. If he tried anything funny, they will react immediately! The Calamitous Asteroid Belt, he said. This place was named so because of the numerous dangerous that laid within. Unpredictable asteroid whirlpools found inside could destroy even the strongest starship ever built. The chances of them surviving the Calamitous Asteroid Belt was no higher than when fighting against the red-tailed beasts head on.

This captain must be planning something behind their backs!

Was he trying to destroy the entire fleet? Xi Qing’s eyes burned with rage, while Shu’s eyes turned cold.

“The Calamitous Asteroid Belt? Where do we enter, what is the general location of the jump point? And how did you know about it?” To the duo’s surprise, Sir Jay did not seemed angered, but was instead asking curiously.

With that, the captain continued without delay, “If we proceed at 33 degrees to the radius vector, it will take about 15 days for us to reach the Calamitous Asteroid Belt. Once we’re in, it will be about another three days before we get to the warp jump point. I remember it’s location clearly, at (79, 23, -661, Y). As for how I found out about it …”

He smiled wryly, “Truth is, I was a space pirate.”

Ye Chong still looked calm when Xi Qing and Shu expressed their surprise.

“Haha, this was more than 20 years ago. Back then, we were pursued by one of the Research Consortium’s tracking squads. We nearly lost everything, with 16 of us still alive. However, the tracking squad did not stop pursuing us. We were desperate enough to enter the Calamitous Asteroid Belt. It was then that we discovered the warp jump point. We didn’t know where it led to back then. However, anywhere was better than the Calamitous Asteroid Belt. Haha, we were also growing desperate. Food and water were running out, and our energy’s almost exhausted. It was a gamble we had to take. In the end, we won.”

The man seemed to age further as he recounted his memories with a bit of nostalgia and self-mockery.

Shang suddenly spoke up, “Isn’t it said that no one could ever leave Spectre? How did you escape?”

The captain shook his head. ‘We didn’t approach the planet, but simply fly along the edges of the asteroid belt. No pirate dared to go near Spectre, it’s an unwritten rule.”

The Calamitous Asteroid Belt …

Ye Chong tapped his finger lightly on the desk, deep in thought.

Chapter 499: Change VI

e Chong was now between a rock and a hard place. The warp jump point offered by the former space pirate was the only escape route he had, but if they really entered the Calamitous Asteroid Belt, just how much of the fleet would survive the journey?

They would probably suffer heavily.

Nevertheless, Ye Chong was not an indecisive person. Entering the Calamitous Asteroid Belt offered a chance to survive, but not entering the Calamitous Asteroid Belt would lead to certain death. The choice was obvious.

To the Calamitous Asteroid Belt!

Once word got around the fleet, it ignited an uproar. Soon, Haskel received requests from a few starships to leave the fleet. Ye Chong let them leave without delay.

Once these ships left, many others followed. What were the implications of entering the Calamitous Asteroid Belt? This was a place of death, a place with dangers that no human could defend against. Entering the Calamitous Asteroid Belt was suicidal. Besides, the strategy of the red-tailed beasts was only a guess. Sir Jay might be powerful, but he could still make mistakes. His prediction was not supported by any strong proof.

Their assessment of the situation was completely opposite to Ye Chong’s. Entering the Calamitous Asteroid Belt would lead to certain death, but the intention of the red-tailed beasts was still suspect. The choice was obvious in this way.

Ye Chong did not stop any of them from leaving. Their departure would reduce the overall strength of the fleet, but to him, that was actually preferable. These doubtful people would otherwise be a ticking time bomb to the fleet. They might behave unpredictably should they encounter any dangers ahead.

He would rather let them leave than have this risk in the fleet.

For the people on those departing ships who wished to stay, Ye Chong accepted them all. Many of them were the mech pilots and technical staff who worked under him. They had trained under Ye Chong’s rule, and thus were more loyal than others. The mech pilots who were trained by Ye Chong himself in particular had all stayed behind.

As soldiers of the frontlines, they realize that without Sir Jay, they would be powerless against the red-tailed beasts. It was because of Sir Jay that they were no longer mediocre mech pilots. Now, they could hold their own against the red-tailed beasts. Leaving Sir Jay would spell their deaths. Besides, with Sir Jay in the fleet, they would face any danger ahead together.

If that was the case, what else was there to be afraid of?

The fleet’s army shrunk dramatically. There were now only 500 ships left, carrying about 150 thousand people. To Ye Chong’s surprise, the remains of the fleet were stronger than before. Not only did they manage to retain all combatants, the ratio of technical staff was also higher. In terms of resources, they lost little else but the energy cells allocated to the departing starships.

All in all, the situation was still under his control.

Ye Chong reorganized the fleet immediately, consolidating the fleet hierarchy. The fleet had seemed too large and unwieldy before this. Back then, with a smaller proportion of combatants, he needed to allocate more of them for defensive measures.

Now, however, things were much better.

Since the decision was made, let’s do this! Ye Chong gave the order for the fleet to advance towards the Calamitous Asteroid Belt.

It would be another 15 days before they reach the Calamitous Asteroid Belt.

In these 15 days, Ye Chong did not plan to be idle. His mech pilots trained as usual, but the maintenance crew were kept busy in their every waking hour.

All the starships received orders to fortify the hulls. This must be achieved in these 15 days. Ye Chong had been in and out of the Calamitous Asteroid Belt a few times. With Mu and Shang’s aid, and a bit of luck, he had managed to do so unscathed so far. Hence, he understood the place much better than others.

The Calamitous Asteroid Belt’s biggest danger was its asteroid whirlpools. The large and small rocks in the whirlpool could reduce anything to dust. However, if that captain was right, it would take them only three days to reach the warp jump point. The chances of them encountering an asteroid whirlpool in that time was low.

From Ye Chong’s experience, the asteroid whirlpools were usually in the deeper parts of the Calamitous Asteroid Belt. They rarely occurred near the boundaries. Therefore, they should prioritize in protecting the hulls of their ships from being damaged by the floating rocks in the Calamitous Asteroid Belt.

Most of the ships were civilian type, much weaker in structure compared to their warships. It was necessary and urgent for them to strengthen these ships at their vulnerable spots to make them tougher.

The 500 starships must be fortified in 15 days. The order sounded like an impossible task. There were quite a number of maintenance crew members in the fleet, but strengthening 500 starships in 15 days was still too much.

Hence, the job demanded practically all hands on board. Only the mech pilots were spared for their training.

Yang Ming’s eyes were bloodshot, but still he gritted his teeth and held on. The others around him all shared his present state of having barely any sleep for days.

His hands were sluggish. Days of work had pushed him to a state of extreme fatigue. His lips were cracked, his eyes sunken. His mind was a blank as he repeated the same old tasks.

He needed to sleep! He felt that if he closed his eyes for one second, he would just fall asleep instantly.

However, he could not sleep, not when time was pressed. Every second he squeezed out to work might just save another man’s life.

Yang Ming and his family had decided to stay behind with Sir Jay while the other starships left. He and his family believed that Sir Jay was the only one who would lead them to triumph.

Yang Ming’s foundation was excellent, and his constant work and practice recently had finally earned him the status of a fully certified maintenance crew member. His rise in status earned more respect from the people around him, and even more responsibilities.

Even now, Yang Ming trusted Sir Jay. The man was not too much older than Yang Ming, but he idolized their leader. Yang Ming was hardly the only young person in the fleet who idolized Ye Chong. Most of the people who chose to leave had been older.

The strong and wise Sir Jay had saved from the brink of death, leading them himself in their large scale victory. If not for Sir Jay, they would have perished in the hands of the red-tailed beasts. What reason was there not to follow him?

When the order came, Yang Ming immediately buried himself in work. Unlike other people who complained about not having enough time, he knew how desperate their situation really was. He also knew that his comrades shared the sentiment, only complaining out of frustration.

“Lil’ Yang, get some rest,” a hoarse voice came from behind him, sounding concerned. It was Father Bach!

Father Bach watched the bookish young man with an aching heart. To him, Yang Ming was a good role model for all the young people in the fleet. He was young, smart and eager to learn. While he looked soft, he was strong in character. Besides, Yang Ming looked good enough to gain admiration from a good many young ladies in the fleet.

Yang Ming was pleasantly surprised. “Father Bach.” Yang Ming felt self conscious, and a little uncertain. Father Bach had a strong reputation amongst the technical staff in the fleet. With him leading the logistics and maintenance departments, there was nothing they needed to worry about. This hearty man, the fair and skillful Father Bach, enjoyed profound respect from Yang Ming.

Father Back patted Yang Ming on the shoulder with his thick and calloused hands, complimenting him, “Good work. Now leave it to me.”

Yang Ming nodded, hoping to reply back with something, but his parched throat refused to comply. He quickly went to a corner to drink some water.

Father Bach began to concentrate on his work.

Yang Ming’s gaze landed on Father Bach’s broad shoulders. He felt relieved, and sat in the corner to rest. Sleep enveloped almost the instant he closed his eyes.

A young woman walking past saw Yang Ming curled up asleep in the corner and felt an ache in her heart. She trotted off to fetch a blanket and covered him with it. Later, she returned to put some food and water beside him.

500 starships was a large figure for a fleet of starships. To fortify them all was likewise a formidable task.

This was a war against time.

If they could not complete the job in time, the civilian ships without fortified hulls would not be able to withstand the impact from the rocks in the Calamitous Asteroid Belt. Once a starship exploded, the rocks in the vicinity would be shot about even more violently. It would be catastrophic for the fleet.

Nonetheless, they could not afford to spend more time before entering the Calamitous Asteroid Belt. The red-tailed beasts were in tight pursuit behind them. If they caught on to the fleet, it would be very messy business. If the red-tailed beasts caught on to the fleet in the Calamitous Asteroid Belt, they would never survive the trip.

The floating rocks were everywhere in the Calamitous Asteroid Belt, advantageous for the red-tailed beasts but dangerous for mechs. This unfair battleground would not yield a desirable outcome.

Chapter 500: Changes VII

ang Ming woke up with a grumbling stomach. He was positively famished. Then he noticed the food and water left beside him. He paused in surprise before devouring them all.

He also noticed the blanket on him after that. His heart warmed at the gesture, and he tried to guess who had done it for him. In the end, he could not reach a satisfying conclusion, so he left it at that.

Father Bach was no longer there. The fortifying work for this starship was done.

Finishing his food gave new energy to Yang Ming. He activated his comms and reported to his superior, “Id W47236 maintenance staff Yang Ming is done resting. Seastar maintenance is done. I’m now on Seastar, awaiting further instructions.”

His superior responded swiftly, “W47236, on top of the points for your working attitude and results, we will be awarding an extra five points as incentive. Now, please assist with starship Virienko. The transport vessel is already in position for you at Passage 5. Godspeed.”

Yang Ming saluted, “Thank you. I’ll head for Virienko immediately.” Points were important in the fleet for various purposes such as promotions and benefits. Each job that Yang Ming took would be rewarded with points. If a job was done with extra diligence, more points would be awarded. Everyone working in the fleet would obtain points. Details of this point system could be found in the Points Manual introduced by Sir Jay.

The Points Manual was painstakingly detailed. Each job would be associated with a certain number of points. If a staff died in battle or due to their work, their points would be converted to monetary or other relevant forms of compensation for their heirs as per their will.

However, most staff members did not treat the point system seriously. Usage of the fleet’s resources were monitored strictly. They were not paid with money for their work, and even if they were, there was nothing to spend it on. Hence, the workers did not mind how many points they earned, Yang Ming included. He now had 820 points, the highest amongst his peers.

Of course, none of them realized how this neglected point system would later benefit them tremendously.

Yang Ming entered Passage 5 and found the vessel waiting for him.

After verifying his ID, the vessel brought Yang Ming to Virienko. The vessel was a very small flying ship with a maximum capacity of 10 crew members. It was about five meters long, like a space car, used mainly for transportation between ships in the fleet.

Soon, they reached Virienko.

It looked like he was the only maintenance staff on Virienko. There was no sign of any fortification work on the ship yet.

He began to inspect the ship’s main structure to determine which places to fortify.

Suddenly, he heard the loud whirring of a laser welder. Was there another maintenance staff around? He quickly traced the source of the sound. Communication between maintenance staff would help speed up progress and reduce the chances of making mistakes.

He made a turn and, as expected, saw a maintenance staff member crouched on the floor, hard at work.

Since the man had his back to him, he could not make out the staff’s face. However, this particular staff was welding with good precision, and Yang Ming admired that.

He approached the man and greeted him, “Hey, bro, where you at now?”

The man turned over, “I’ve only just begun.”

When he took in the man’s face, Yang Ming froze on the spot like he was hit by lightning. It was a good 30 seconds before he responded with disbelief, “Sir – Sir Jay!”

Ye Chong’s expression was inert. He nodded and said plainly, “Right, let’s get to work.”

“Yes sir.” Yang Ming quickly took out his gear.

It had been a while since Ye Chong had to do maintenance work himself. It was necessary now. Time was precious, and every bit of manpower counted. Ye Chong was experienced in maintenance work. After all, he had done all kinds of maintenance work looking back. Fortification work, like this one now, did not require any specialized technical expertise. Compared to the upgrades he did on Coxcomb before, this was a walk in the park.

Yang Ming stole a glance at Sir Jay. He was surprised to see their leader knowing how to weld, and doing it even better than him. The truth was, he was simply shocked. To most people in the fleet, Sir Jay commanded respect as their superior. This same man was now right before him, sitting on an alloy bench casually, focused on his work, just like any other maintenance staff member.

Soon, Yang Ming gathered himself and began to concentrate on his work.

For two hours, the two of them did not exchange a word. They worked fast and made smooth progress.

Yang Ming put down his laser welding gun and massaged his arms. Using the laser welding gun was mentally straining. The human arm was also not as durable as a mechanical arm. A maintenance staff member would usually have to rest awhile after long hours of work. This was to rest both the mind and body.

He looked to Sir Jay and found the man putting down his laser welding gun as well, though he had covered a larger area than Yang Ming by now.

“Sir Jay, do you think that we’ll survive this?” Yang Ming asked abruptly. It was a foolish question, he realized.

Ye Chong lifted his head to look at Yang Ming. His reply was steady, “Of course.”

Silence descended on the two once again.

For 15 days, the entire fleet worked tirelessly on this massive fortification operation.

In these 15 days, a rumor began to spread in Gray Valley, one that was directly related to Ye Chong.

The people who chose to leave the fleet were many. Some formed their own fleets, but most decided to go at it alone.

Rumors of Sir Jay spreaded wherever they went. When they were in the fleet, external communications were controlled by Shang. Now that they had left, their comms returned to normal.

Since too many people were spreading the tale, multiple versions of it were born. There were also pretenders who came up with their own stories, further muddying the waters. This resulted in all kinds of colorful rumors about Sir Jay.

At the same time, another topic was gaining traction in Gray Valley, and that was Sir Jay’s assessment of their situation. Of the captains who left the fleet, some had attended the meeting that Sir Jay called for. It was through them that Ye Chong’s assessment of Gray Valley’s situation was leaked to every corner of Gray Valley.

Ye Chong’s assessment was greeted in all kinds of fashion. Some agreed with him, some did not, and some stayed on the fence. However, in the next dew days, more and more starships were seen flying past the vicinity of planet Kasent.

Arwa heard of it as well, but his sources were more dependable. Of all the new ships that he recruited to his own new fleet was one led by a captain he had known personally. This captain had attended Ye Chong’s extraordinary meeting.

The captain told him everything as Arwa further probed, of Sir Jay’s assessment of the situation and the exact location of the warp jump point in the Calamitous Asteroid Belt.

Arwa asked for every single detail. This Sir Jay had came out of nowhere, and Arwa was interested in that. No one had won so victoriously against the red-tailed beast before Sir Jay’s battle. This was not a feat that can be achieved with just good luck. As the captain divulged more, Arwa felt even more awed. This Sir Jay sounded more powerful than the rumors suggested. He had organized his fleet in an interesting manner, and devised original but effective strategies to fight against the red-tailed beasts. This mysterious Sir Jay was strong. He seemed to be invincible, a man with a cold and calm mind who never made mistakes.

What a terrifying person!

He exchanged a look with Xiao Wan, both of them recognizing the fear in the other person’s eyes. Besides, they noticed something curious about Sir Jay – he did not seem to be afraid of the red-tailed beasts. In fact, history had proven that he could win against those ugly monsters. Newbies who had only been trained for a few months by the man himself could already hold against the red-tailed beasts. This was enough to embarrass people with higher authority, including Arwa himself.

Arwa’s fleet still could not hold itself against red-tailed beast armies that were slightly larger than a small group. Sir Jay had defeated these red-tailed beasts, strong and fast creatures that were also vicious and cunning. Arwa knew that it was not hard to find a mech pilot who could fight against a red-tailed beast one-on-one. There were probably mech pilots who could fight and win against a few red-tailed beasts.

However, in the grand scale of things, strength from a single person was insignificant. No one could single-handedly turn the tables of a full blown war. This was why conventional armies were crushed by the red-tailed beast armies.

Arwa had always believed that only strong mech pilots could form an army that could win against an equal number of red-tailed beasts. This Sir Jay, however, had challenged his very understanding of the war. He did not know when he first heard the rumors that this legendary fleet’s army was made up of young people who had only been training for a few months. The information he got from this old captain made him realize it, and he had thought he had heard wrong the first time.

The fleet’s achievement was all connected to their commander, Jay. The man had built the fleet from scratch, its every inch a shadow of the man himself. His war strategies were also unique, and Arwa was thoroughly impressed by them. Arwa had always been called a genius tactician, but now he realized that someone was way ahead of him.

Arwa felt excitement, admiration, respect, and a little fearful towards this mysterious Sir Jay. It was a little difficult to deal with all these emotions.