Ever since the destruction of the planet Sgarlan, the reputation of the Star Pirates has spread far and wide, and no one shows any fear when they are mentioned.
The pitch-black battleship was called the "Black Phantom", and was as mysterious as a ghost. The stories of "Death" and "Fire Fox" were also spread, and they were ranked first and second on the Empire's wanted list. The bounty was so high that it made people jealous, but no one dared to take the lead.
Ruan Yuebai did not leave immediately, but stayed on the Black Phantom temporarily, leading Rong Heng and his party to the planet Barham to use the Barham Arsenal to replenish the fleet and weapons that Lansing had promised.
But apart from necessary meetings, he was like a shadow on the Black Phantom, with almost no sense of presence.
Ever since the explosion of the Scarland Planet and the death of Lansing, his emotions have become very dull. He used to be taciturn and gloomy, but now he doesn't even have a trace of emotion.
In Nota's words, he was like a migrating fish that had separated from its companions halfway and lost its direction, drifting aimlessly in the water, following the current.
Rong Heng did not comment on this. He had too many things to do and could not spare the energy to care about other people.
But Nota's words moved him: "Haven't you always wanted to build an invincible fleet? He is capable enough to be the captain."
There are powerful people in the interstellar pirate groups nowadays, but these people were originally wanted criminals or space pirates recruited from all over the place, and they are all extremely vicious. The premise of their loyalty to Rong Heng is that he can bring them huge benefits. Not to mention loyalty and trustworthiness, they can't even do it.
Once Rong Heng gets into trouble, these people will probably be the first to turn against him.
Therefore, Rong Heng has been selecting reliable candidates over the years, preparing to build a fleet loyal to himself when he has accumulated enough experience.
It’s just that soldiers are easy to find, but good generals are hard to find.
So far, only Nota has passed his test.
Now that Nota mentioned Ruan Yuebai, he thought about it seriously and actually felt that this was indeed a good candidate.
Ruan Yuebai has merman blood. He is not only good at water attacks, but also has a very smart brain. Compared with Nota's rough and simple fighting style, he is more like a strategist who can make plans on the battlefield.
"You can try it," Rong Heng finally said.
Nota held a glass of wine and went to the rest cabin to look for Ruan Yuebai.
They were on their way to the planet Balem. Ruan Yuebai liked quietness and spent most of her time alone in the corner of the rest cabin, quietly looking out the window.
"What's there to see outside? It's pitch black." Nota came closer and looked outside with his head next to his.
Ruan Yuebai moved closer to him uncomfortably, distanced herself from him, and said in a hoarse voice, "What's the matter?"
He doesn't like chatting with people, and now he stays here just to keep his promise.
"Is there nothing I can do to find you?" Nota shrugged and shook the wine glass at him. She was originally very charming and beautiful, but the scar running through her cheek made her look more daring, and her rough words and deeds diluted the natural charm of the nine-tailed fox clan, making her look more bold.
"I think we are destined to be together." She approached Ruan Yuebai again and pointed at the wound on his face.
It means that they have injuries on their faces and are disfigured.
"I cut myself with a knife to avoid being hunted down and getting into trouble." She rolled her eyes slyly, staring at Ruan Yuebai and asked, "What about you?"
Ruan Yuebai frowned subconsciously and turned his face to the shadow to hide the scar on his face.
The appearance of the mermaids was engraved in their genes, and even after so much time, he still had to face himself. When he and Lansing stayed on the planet Sijialan, there was not even a mirror in the place where they lived.
He was also reluctant to talk about that difficult time.
But Nota's eyes were clear, and when he mentioned it, there was a kind of intimacy of "we are the same", which did not make him feel too offended.
Perhaps it was because Lansing left that he felt too lonely, and at this moment he actually wanted to talk.
He brushed away his long blue hair that was covering his face and said in a hoarse voice, "It happened in the lab. Apparently the injury wasn't properly treated and got worse."
Originally, the scars should not be so serious, but he escaped from the transport ship of the transport experiment and was stranded on the garbage planet, where he was injured again. He survived with his tenacious will to survive. The environment was harsh at that time, and the scars on his face and tail could not be properly treated. The injuries were even infected and worsened. He was left with a large scar, and one of his eyes also lost its ability to see.
Although he was found in Lansing later and several doctors were hired to treat him, the fluid that corroded the wound was too special and the damage could no longer be reversed.
"I told you we were destined to be together." Nota propped up his chin, the only remaining fiery red fox tail swaying gently around him.
Ruan Yuebai then noticed that she only had one tail.
Similar experiences have made the unfamiliarity between the two people lessened. Ruan Yuebai is still withdrawn and gloomy, but he will occasionally chat with Nota for a while.
Ruan Shiqing watched helplessly as Nota coaxed Ruan Yuebai into joining his camp before arriving at the planet Balem.
The three formed an alliance.
Rong Heng wanted to find out the truth about his mother's death and avenge her; Nota wanted to be the governor of Tutar and make those noble pure-bloods kneel at her feet; as for Ruan Yuebai, ever since Lanxing and Sijialan Star perished together, he had lost his goal and was at a loss, so he followed Nota's advice, stayed, and tried to treat Rong Heng and Nota as new companions.
Ruan Shiqing shuttled around in the huge "Black Phantom", watching the three people constantly perfecting their plan to attack the planet Balem.
The three of them occasionally had disagreements and arguments. Nota and Rong Heng had bad tempers, and in the end it was Ruan Yuebai who mediated and tried to find a compromise.
Everything seems completely different from the previous life, but in the subtle details, similar shadows are revealed.
Even though their experiences were different and their personalities had changed, they still seemed like the kids Ruan Shiqing was familiar with.
He wandered around the battleship and would sit with Ruan Yuebai for a while when she sat in a daze; when Nota was drunk, he would nag her and remind her that alcoholism was harmful to the body; when Rong Heng was alone in the war room browsing news related to Si Yan, he would hug him from the back and tell him over and over again that your father is not what you see, he loves you very much.
Even though they didn't feel his presence, Ruan Shiqing still replied tirelessly.
The war began when the Black Ghost arrived at the planet Balem first.
After several battles, Rong Heng stormed Balem Star. Just as they were preparing to lead their troops to station there, something strange happened.
A huge ark rose from the underground of the Balham Arsenal, full of robot soldiers, in a guarding posture. The commander of the ark made Ruan Shiqing feel very familiar.
The other party did not start a war right away, but instead initiated a communication request.
Rong Heng answered the call and negotiated with the other party.
It was a tall robot, all golden, wearing a well-fitting black suit and a black hat, like an old-fashioned gentleman. Even when the guns of both sides were aimed at each other, it was still polite.
He introduced himself as "Apocalypse" and explained his purpose.
—He wants to cooperate with Rong Heng.
It was not only Rong Heng who was eyeing the Balham Arsenal. Apocalypse had also been planning to seize control of Balham.
The mechanization level of Balham was quite high, and many tasks were completed by robots. So when Rong Heng attacked Balham, Tianqi also took the opportunity to implant the virus program into the control system and turned these robots against the government.
And now he was looking for Rong Heng to discuss a business matter.
"I have heard about the greatness of the Black Phantom, and I admire it very much." If you ignore his appearance, Tianqi's words and deeds are very different from those of humans: "Now that the building is about to collapse, since we have met by chance and have the same goal, why should we kill each other? Why not work together and share a piece of the pie."
"I know about the secret arsenals under the four major chaebols. They not only produce a large number of warships and weapons, but also countless robots." He performed an elegant etiquette: "It's just that I can't eat such a big cake by myself, and I need a strong ally."
His attitude was friendly, but unfortunately Rong Heng did not trust him.
In particular, the actions of this robot have clearly exceeded the scope of a robot. It does not seem like a robot with a set level, but more like a cunning human in a robot shell.
He, Nota and Ruan Yuebai looked at each other and they all shook their heads.
Tianqi obviously saw through their doubts and explained his purpose in detail: "My name comes from the Book of Revelation. The Book of Revelation also says that on the day of judgment, the Lamb will open the seal and summon the riders riding on four horses: white, red, black and green. These four riders will bring plague, war, famine and death to mankind, and then the world will be destroyed. [Note 1]"
He stretched out his arms and grinned: "The empire has become so corrupt that only destruction can bring about a new life."
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse represent the coming of the end of the world.
He named himself "Apocalypse", obviously believing that he would bring destruction and rebirth to the empire.
But Rong Heng didn't believe his words.
A robot who has awakened self-awareness and controls an army of robots does not think that the other party invites him to cooperate just to destroy the world. Even if the other party behaves like a human, it cannot change the fact that the other party is a robot.
There is only two words difference between robots and humans, but their essence is worlds apart.
There is an old saying that "Those who are not of my race must be different", and Rong Heng deeply agrees with it.
Their positions are different. If they cooperate rashly, it would be like raising a tiger to harm themselves.
The negotiations broke down, and the two sides, who had been talking politely a minute ago, opened fire on each other without hesitation.
The artillery fire spread across the entire planet of Balem. The fierce fighting lasted for three days and nights, and finally ended with Apocalypse escaping in the Ark with his robot soldiers.
But Rong Heng did not get any good results either, as the casualties were much greater than expected.
After cleaning up the battlefield, Rong Heng called up the holographic image of Tianqi and asked people to check Tianqi's origins.
Ruan Shiqing stared at the holographic image, looking at this strange yet somewhat familiar robot, and finally confirmed that Tianqi was actually 09.