The NSI value repeatedly jumped back and forth between green and yellow, the changing light illuminating several people with varying expressions.
Kane removed the terminal from his wrist and threw it to the dazed Gu Shen, “Check.”
The latter accepted it clumsily, the device carrying body temperature telling him that all this was not an illusion. Gu Shen finally recovered from his shocked and speechless state, and couldn’t help shouting: “How is this possible?!”
The Boss’s mental sea disorder was an old injury of many years. Even in a controllable state, the NSI value was far below the normal level, fluctuating near the warning line.
Could it be… Did he read it wrong? The Boss’s NSI value actually reached a safe value?!
Kane ignored Gu Shen’s fuss, his gray-blue eyes staring intently at Xavier, with a cold, probing look in his eyes.
Limited by the angle, Xavier had to look up at the tall man in the seat, which made His Highness the Prince, who was accustomed to being high above, feel displeased.
He frowned slightly and raised his hand to signal.
Where his gaze fell was precisely that taciturn tall warrior named “Grisha.”
Beneath Grisha’s expressionless face was likewise shock at the drastic change in the Boss’s NSI value. Suddenly meeting those pretty eyes, she was stunned for a moment, then looked hesitatingly at the Boss.
Kane stared at Xavier, nodding with an unfathomable expression.
Grisha then stepped forward, supported Xavier in the palm of her hand, and lifted him up.
Her thick, powerful palms, still bearing heavy calluses, made the little doll-like intelligent body on the palm appear all the more exquisite and petite.
That soft, slightly curly silver hair and the translucent, flawless thin-golden pupils made one couldn’t help but guess that when the Creator made this intelligent body, perhaps what they imagined was precisely candy, spices, and various wonderful existences, resulting in such a rather sweet outcome.
Except that as soon as Xavier opened his mouth, it was arrogance completely inconsistent with his appearance.
Thanks to the female warrior’s height, Xavier’s line of sight was finally higher than the “Boss” who was sitting.
His Highness the Prince was then satisfied, and opened his mouth with condescension.
“You destroyed the territory of this Prince.”
His voice clearly reached the ears of several people.
Clear and captivating, every word seemed to have been held on the tip of the tongue before being uttered, carrying a lazy tone peculiar to nobility.
As if at this moment he was not standing on someone’s palm, but on the terrace of his own castle, or under the spotlight of an evening banquet.
“As compensation, this place has been requisitioned by me.”
…
The control room fell into a kind of silence.
“Hah.”
Kane spoke first.
“Interesting.”
He curved the corner of his mouth.
“Do you know what this sentence represents?”
Kane stood up and approached Xavier.
The tall and strong physique, honed by years of slaughter, exuded an aggressive chill.
Xavier was completely enveloped in his shadow.
The gaze of the man in the counter-light beneath towering brow ridges grew even deeper, restoring that condescending posture from before.
However, Xavier knew that the man in this mental state was merely at the end of his tether.
Thinking of this, he tilted his head and narrowed his eyes slightly: “You clearly enjoyed the peace just now.”
“As long as you agree to my conditions, you can get it. You—don’t you want it?”
His face bloomed with a pleasant color, his delicate facial features looking very well-behaved, but actually carrying sharp thorns.
The gray-blue pupils swept inch by inch across this calm and composed face, and Kane suddenly said: “Scan him.”
Gu Shen was shocked once more by the bold speech of this intelligent body, until a cold gaze swept over, and he snapped to attention with a start.
He pulled out the newly developed multi-spectral life detector, which theoretically could scan the biological characteristics of any known life form.
Gu Shen held it close to Xavier, still wearing a flattering smile on his face, half-cajoling and half-persuading: “Don’t move, absolutely don’t move, it’ll be done in a second…”
He was really a bit intimidated by this “wild-speaking” little fellow, fearing that it would really anger the Boss and implicate him.
Xavier glanced at him, his gaze lingering on the strange instrument for a while longer.
Five seconds later, the instrument emitted a prompt sound.
Gu Shen looked down, and a line of red characters jumped out on the screen:
[Error Code E-318: Life characteristics unidentifiable.]
He subconsciously turned back to look at the man waiting for the result. Kane lifted his eyelids to look at the calm and collected little thing, and said at his leisure, “Test again.”
Gu Shen didn’t dare to say more, deleted the error prompt, and restarted it once.
[Error Code E-318: Life characteristics unidentifiable. Repeat, life characteristics unidentifiable.]
The identical prompt scared Gu Shen so much that he almost couldn’t hold the instrument steady. Amidst the two gazes of doubt on the left and exploration on the right, he laughed dryly, “Ha, ha, it really is an intelligent body, quite realistic. Maybe the programmer set some special personality instructions.”
Kane walked over slowly, looking at the prompt on the detector for a long time before sneering and fixing his gaze on the “little thing” in Grisha’s palm.
Xavier was currently raising his head, curiously looking at the instrument in Gu Shen’s hand. His pretty side profile and jawline were distinct, carrying the arrogance of a sure-win, without a shred of nervousness even when looked down upon by others.
He knew that the man in front of him regarded him as an unidentified thing and was assessing the risks and value therein.
In all probability, he wouldn’t be trusted, and might even be regarded as a threat.
The only thing that could be ascertained at present was that the soothing effect brought by his spiritual resonance power was precisely the “medicine” the other party desperately needed.
As for the rest, His Highness the Prince didn’t care.
Merely a mere human after all.
A human with a lifespan of less than a hundred years and spiritual power close to nothing.
The spiritual tentacles invisible to others floated like seaweed in the air, overflowing with one of the blood tribe’s hunting talents—pheromones that unconsciously make people let down their guard.
Grisha, who was in direct contact with Xavier, reacted the fastest. She blinked rapidly, her gaze meeting Kane’s, which swept over immediately.
The two noncommittally exchanged a glance.
On the other side, Gu Shen, whose brain was always thinking at a high frequency, found that he was actually getting a little dizzy. He suspected he was scared out of his wits by the Boss’s aura and hadn’t recovered yet, so he stammered, “Boss, why don’t we…”
“You can stay.”
Kane interrupted Gu Shen’s stuttering.
“You are responsible for research and keeping a close eye on him. If there are any more problems, go to the Tenth District yourself.”
The Blood Blade had ten functional areas, and the Tenth District was also known as the “Beast Arena,” prepared for the warriors in the star pirate group who had excess energy year-round. Research personnel like Gu Shen naturally declined to be involved.
Recalling the tragic situation of being thrown into the Tenth District after making a mistake last time, Gu Shen felt his brain sober up instantly, and immediately replied.
“Guaranteed to complete the mission!”
Kane relented, “Let’s go.”
The hovering Shadow Shuttle finally moved.
Through the panoramic screen on the wall, the desolate and scarred charred yellow surface in view grew farther and farther away. A trace of scarlet condensed in the center of Xavier’s iris, quietly watching his former territory.
Until in his excellent vision, that area also became a tiny dot, and the Prince quietly looked away.
However, unexpectedly, this spaceship, which Xavier thought was barely satisfactory, was not their flagship for crossing the stars.
After sailing for a period of time, the Shadow Shuttle approached its true main ship.
That steel behemoth was so huge that the panoramic screen inside the Shadow Shuttle couldn’t even encompass a tenth of it.
The Shadow Shuttle passed backward from its bow section, the panoramic screen unfolding like a scroll.
The bow was the emblem of the downward-hanging thorn sword, the flames painted dark red like coagulated blood. The center of the hull was the widest, resembling the shoulder blades of an expansive beast. After that, the hull began to narrow, but the lines were not sharp, instead possessing a blunt sense of overwhelming power.
The whole thing resembled a thick, heavy giant sword, symbolizing absolute power and conquest.
The Shadow Shuttle came to the stern end, preparing to dock.
Xavier recalled the scenes he had witnessed just now, his pupils slightly contracting, and his hunter’s heart grew eager.
He poked the magic gemstone, dived deep into his consciousness, and communicated with Celine using spiritual tentacles.
“What does this ‘Boss’ do?”
The alchemy of the interstellar era was indeed advanced; only a starship like this as his temporary flagship could be considered qualified!
If there was a chance, His Highness the Prince also wanted to get one to collect.
Through Xavier’s perspective, Celine also saw that behemoth clearly. She searched the memories shared in recent years and slowly said:
“This is the Blood Blade.
“—The flagship of the Interstellar First Blood Blade Star Pirate Group.
“Like a great white shark in the ocean, the arrival of the Blood Blade, as its name implies, signifies bloodshed and plunder, carrying countless fears and being crowned with legendary status by the living beings of this era.”
And what they boarded at first was merely one of the escort ships of the Blood Blade.
Xavier only seized what he wanted from the massive amount of information, and was slightly surprised, “So that arrogant fellow just now is just a robber?”
Celine: “…”
Celine unilaterally cut off the Prince’s mental communication. At this time, the Shadow Shuttle’s hull vibrated slightly and successfully docked at the stern bay of the Blood Blade.
Kane walked out first. Gu Shen kept his mission in mind, took Xavier from Grisha’s hand, carefully cradled him in his palm, and hurried to follow.
Xavier was impatient to be held by Gu Shen. His lithe body bounced a few times, leveraged Gu Shen’s shoulder for momentum, and—ignoring the other’s surprised “Hey hey hey”—jumped straight onto his head.
His Highness the Prince stared at the back of Kane’s head, secretly comparing the height difference between the two, still unsatisfied, shifted his gaze to the tall Grisha’s head.
However, it was too late; Kane had already walked out of the Shadow Shuttle.
The stern bay of the Blood Blade was a deck area with many berths and a vast area. At this moment, many tall and strong men and women had arrived. Seeing Kane appear, greetings sounded one after another.
“Boss!”
“Boss Kane!”
“Lord Captain, ahhh!”
Who knew whose wild-bear-like voice howled out, full of savage and fierce bandit vibes.
Truly a bunch of robbers…
The Prince, who believed in aristocraticism, proudly and sidelong glanced at that group of “madly dancing demons,” his gaze falling back onto Kane.
This man didn’t stop for this, obviously accustomed to such a fervent scene, leaving only a broad, tall back receding further and further away in his line of sight.
He was giving him a psychological knockdown, Xavier thought. Ever since his own spiritual power effect was revealed, this man hadn’t spoken another word to him.
Wasn’t this fellow tempted? Of course impossible.
Deliberate neglect was instead a kind of psychological game.
The two of them grasped opposite ends of the same rope.
Whoever moved first lost.
Xavier grabbed Gu Shen’s hair and tugged, “Where are we going?”
Gu Shen answered with a grimace: “Straight to my studio.”
“…I mean him, your boss.”
“Oh, the boss, he should go to the Tenth District.”
Xavier raised his eyebrows slightly.
And Gu Shen also reacted at this moment, his head full of question marks.
Strange, why was he answering every question of this intelligent body!
It must be because he was scared by the Boss just now and hadn’t recovered yet. Gu Shen shook his head and hurried toward his studio.
As the chief engineer, Gu Shen had a separate studio located in the “prime location” of the Third District, which was very spacious. However, the only small area he was used to haunting was just a corner.
Back in the studio, he was at his most cozy and comfortable. He decided to check his terminal first according to the Boss’s request, which happened to be a good time to upgrade the NSI monitoring system inside it.
Gu Shen placed Xavier on the idle table, first opened the real-time route monitoring system on the Blood Blade, and a neutral electronic voice echoed in the studio.
[…Accelerating.
[Entered stable flight channel.
[Expected to arrive at Milky Way Warp Point One in five hours.]
Confirming that the itinerary was correct, Gu Shen reminded Xavier, “I have things to do, you stay by yourself for a while.”
With that, he threw himself into work.
Xavier had nothing to do and could only reluctantly observe him for a little while, finding that this fellow, who didn’t look very reliable, was quite devoted when working.
The studio was very quiet, with only the sound of Gu Shen occasionally fiddling with instruments.
Xavier sat on the edge of the table, his two small legs swinging idly a few times, occasionally exposing smooth and moist white skin between the burgundy sleeping robes reaching his ankles.
From time to time he would poke the magic gemstone on his chest, but Celine almost never responded.
Acquainted for a millennium, he certainly knew Celine wasn’t giving him the cold shoulder, but rather suffered from the weakness period brought by long-term magic exhaustion.
Sigh, the rarely frustrated Prince couldn’t help but sigh softly.
Right at this moment, the spiritual tentacles floating slightly beside him trembled. Xavier caught this fluctuation, and the little legs that had been swinging boredly stopped moving.
—The spiritual mark secretly left on Kane had been triggered.
Xavier looked at Gu Shen, who was still deeply immersed in his work and hadn’t noticed any abnormalities, so he leaped lightly off the table.
Kane walked out of the Tenth District.
Violent venting did not alleviate his destructive desire, but instead made him increasingly impatient, with an extreme sense of emptiness tormenting him.
He closed his eyes.
Underneath the obscure and lightless mental sea, undercurrents surged, and some secret call in his mind made a deafening noise, clamoring for, craving some kind of existence.
——For example, that trace of peace just now.
The undercurrents at the bottom of the mental sea surged layer by layer, forming waves that violently battered the reefs, the collision bringing the familiar pain.
Suddenly, however, the hard and angular reefs disappeared, and the destination of the waves became another sea.
A gentle sea area.
Quietly undertaking the turbulent chaos brought by the waves, all eventually turning into calm sea water.
Everything was so fitting, just right.
Kane opened his eyes and gazed downward.
The exquisitely crafted small intelligent body raised its chin to look at him, clearly situated below, yet possessing a poised and elegant posture.
“Like it?”
“Report your name, human.”
His Highness the Prince bared his fangs, his spiritual tentacles floating like seaweed, with a soft and deceitful disguise, quietly waiting for the fatal blow upon capture.
“I shall bestow upon you the sweetest peace.”