Chapter 26: Meeting
The transaction point given by the organizer was not in the Alexandria galaxy. Just as a cunning rabbit has three burrows, the star pirate gang quickly jumped to another galaxy as soon as the auction ended.
The military had not expected the location to remain unchanged. The Empire’s warship had passed through the Alexandria galaxy to achieve the fastest possible attack speed.
However, the adjutant glanced at the Marshal, who was standing in front of the starship, unusually acting as a commander. He really couldn’t understand why their Marshal was suddenly so full of murderous intent to annihilate this star pirate gang.
Because the skull had not touched the arms dealing sector, the military’s priority level for dealing with the skull star pirate gang had always been low. If it weren’t for the Jiaoren who had suddenly appeared, it wouldn’t have even been reported to the adjutant.
It was clearly a small matter.
The Interstellar Alliance, the Federation, and various countries had a pile of affairs waiting for the Marshal to deal with, not to mention the large and small invasions initiated by the Zerg.
It was just annihilating a star pirate gang. The adjutant looked at the data recording he had saved on his comm, his gaze fixed on the auction item’s almost unrealistically beautiful face.
He then looked at their Marshal, who was exuding a cold aura.
Could it be that their Marshal, who had been single for so many years and had always refused the royal family’s repeated proposals of marriage on the grounds of being a different species, was finally going to have a change of heart?
The comm’s notification sound rang, and the adjutant instantly snapped back to his senses. He reported, “The deposit has been paid, but the other side has sent five transaction points. Although the galaxy coordinates of each transaction point are near the Alexandria galaxy, they are not in the same star field.”
“They want us, the buyer, to go to the designated locations separately and wait. They will hand over the auction item to us at one of the transaction points.”
Even if it was divided into five transaction points, the military had enough manpower to handle them in batches. The warship was operating in an orderly manner according to the Marshal’s orders.
The warships, disguised as ordinary flying ships, successively arrived at the transaction points designated by the skull. At each transaction point, there was a small flying ship with the skull’s logo.
Skull Starship Headquarters.
In front of the host were countless blue screens of various sizes, respectively displaying the surveillance footage of the flying ships at the five transaction points.
And beside him was a water tank as tall as a person. Inside the water tank was the auction item that should have appeared at the transaction point. In his earpiece was the star pirate’s report, “The situation is under control. You can set off with the auction item.”
The host glanced at the water tank again.
To allow the buyer to confirm the auction item’s health status later, the tranquilizer injected into the auction item was much less than usual, but the blue-tail was still closing his eyes, unconsciously floating up and down.
The host said in a low voice, “Wait a little longer. If there’s an emergency, turn back first.”
Just as Deng Xi regained consciousness, he heard this unfamiliar language. He groggily opened his eyes, and his blue eyes looked out through the seawater in a daze. After being open for a short while, he closed them again, tired.
But he could feel that his body had recovered a little. He had the strength to flick his tail fin.
Just a little longer, and he would be able to make a sound.
As Deng Xi’s gills trembled, he let out a string of bubbles. The bubbles popped silently when they hit the top of the water tank. The narrow space even restricted the range of his tail fin’s movement.
Deng Xi thought he was struggling with all his might, but in reality, he had only moved his fingertips slightly, as if trapped in a nightmare, unable to move no matter what.
In a daze, he felt that the water tank he was in seemed to be moving. The blurry light disappeared from his sight, and he seemed to have been put into an even larger black box.
The black box was constantly moving.
Deng Xi didn’t know where he was being taken. He blinked in a haze. With every difficult breath he took, many bubbles rose in the water tank.
The sound of the bubbles popping was very small.
But as Deng Xi listened, it was as if they were popping right next to his eardrums, one after another.
It was stuffy, and he felt bloated. He almost thought that he would also be shattered along with the bubbles, dissipating and silently melting into the seawater. But gradually, the sound of the popping bubbles pulled Deng Xi’s crumbling reason back.
He was not sleepy at all.
Deng Xi blinked with great effort.
He was not sleepy.
The golden-haired, blue-tailed little merman parted his lips slightly and hummed a few breathy notes. Because they were intermittent, shallow, and small, they didn’t sound good at all.
The merman’s humming song was like a bubble. It was too fragile and quickly dissolved into the seawater.
In the past, in the ocean.
Deng Xi’s song could spread for thousands of kilometers through the special sound waves that the merman species could emit, and be heard by the blue whale.
But now, his song was so soft that even Deng Xi himself couldn’t hear it. If even he couldn’t hear it, let alone the species outside the black box.
Deng Xi struggled to extend his five fingers and press them against the wall of the water tank. His tail couldn’t stretch out, so he had to use his hands to prop himself up and push open the lid of the water tank that was blocking the sound.
But a merman’s strength was too small.
Deng Xi stretched his arms as far as he could to just barely touch the top of the water tank. He had naively thought that he could open the lid with a touch, but in reality, he couldn’t push it open no matter how hard he tried.
In the end, he could only sink to the bottom of the water tank, exhausted. His long tail was even curled up pitifully because the space was too small.
But the light and shallow breathy notes he hummed, even if they wouldn’t be heard by anyone, Deng Xi’s call never stopped.
·
He seemed to have heard something.
The man in the black military uniform raised his eyes slightly and looked out the transparent window of the warship. It was the vast, boundless starry sky. And a powerful mental power, even more majestic than the starry sky, was quietly released.
It was like a night walker, silently sweeping through this entire galaxy, one planet after another, searching everywhere for that faint, fleeting mental power that had touched him for a moment.
It wasn’t until the system that monitored his mental sea sounded an alarm that Si Jisheng heard the adjutant’s voice. The adjutant was reporting the situation in real time, “There’s movement in the tenth star field. After the flying ship docked, they pushed out a completely black water tank.”
The adjutant: “Marshal, shall we take action?”
Si Jisheng looked at the surveillance footage that had been transmitted back on the blue screen. The completely black, airtight water tank was quietly surrounded by several star pirates with guns. And opposite them were military soldiers disguised as subordinates of some galaxy’s family.
“Wait a little longer.” Si Jisheng recalled the fluctuation when his mental power had swept over the tenth star field just now. His silver eyes narrowed slightly, and he concluded, “That box is empty.”
The adjutant frowned, annoyed by these endless little tricks. Real and fake, true and false, no one knew where the real auction item was. “Don’t tell me all the boxes are empty. They’re not planning to take the money and run, are they?”
Si Jisheng patted the adjutant’s shoulder. To prevent the Jiaoren’s sharp claws from uncontrollably injuring someone, Si Jisheng had a pair of all-black mechanical gloves on his hands.
The moment he touched him, the adjutant felt the coldness of the mechanical device. His anxious mood was instantly frozen clear by the chill that went straight to his heart.
“Lack of composure.”
His tone was indifferent, but these four words hit the adjutant’s heart heavily. He lowered his head deeply.
Si Jisheng stated, “They’ve only been given the deposit. They won’t leave without the remaining billions. The organizer is just trying to confirm that the buyer’s identity is safe and not some army disguised to arrest the star pirate gang.”
The adjutant nodded, having been taught a lesson.
Si Jisheng’s tone was calm. “Arrange for an A-14 small warship. I will personally go and catch them.”
The adjutant, who had just resolved to correct himself and become as patient and composed as the Marshal, suddenly raised his head. When he met Si Jisheng’s silver eyes, which were extremely fierce due to their pale color, he was at a loss for words again. He said tactfully, “Marshal, isn’t this a bit rash…”
Si Jisheng took off the mechanical gloves on his hands. It was a very ordinary action, but the adjutant felt that for a moment, their Marshal was like a fierce beast that had taken off its muzzle.
He ordered in a cold voice, “Before I come back, use the remaining payment to keep them occupied. Don’t let them run.”
The adjutant immediately complied, secretly thinking in his heart, he hoped that the star pirate gang could at least leave a whole corpse in the Marshal’s hands, so that he could write a report and submit it.
A few minutes later, an inconspicuous small warship quietly left the starship sent by the military and disappeared alone into the vast star field.
But the warship’s route was as if there was a guiding light in front of it, heading straight for an unknown star field.
The skull starship’s headquarters was not in any of the star fields of the transaction points issued by the organizer. On the contrary, they were staying on an uninhabited, fringe planet.
Si Jisheng followed the subtle guidance of his mental sea and finally landed on a planet of gray sand. After sending the coordinates to the adjutant, he issued an order: “Take action.”
He attached a special oxygen patch to the base of his nose. The Jiaoren’s ear fins subconsciously rose. The faint call, which he had almost thought was a hallucination, was suddenly at hand. His silver pupils instantly became vertical.
The breathy notes he hummed became smaller and smaller.
Deng Xi’s stamina could no longer support him. He closed his eyes weakly. In a blur, he sensed that the moving black water tank he was in had suddenly stopped.
Immediately followed by a loud explosion. Even the little merman curled up at the bottom of the water tank was shaken twice. He subconsciously widened his eyes, then closed them again, drowsy.
Because he had been given less tranquilizer today, it had become a just-right dose for Deng Xi. The effects of the tranquilizer were truly kicking in. With every blink, he suspected that he would fall asleep and be plunged into darkness forever.
Deng Xi slowly raised his head and tried his best to widen his eyes, looking at the pitch black before him. It wasn’t until the water tank suddenly shook violently twice that, the next second, the lid of the water tank, which he had been unable to push open, was suddenly opened.
Because he had been in the dark for too long.
Even a faint light stung Deng Xi’s eyes and made him close them. His eyelids felt as if they were glued together, and he couldn’t open them no matter what.
And then, there was silence.
A long, long time passed. In a daze, he felt the lock ring on his neck being crushed into powder. The stuffiness in his chest that had made it difficult to breathe was instantly relieved. Deng Xi’s eyelids curved slightly without him realizing it.
In a daze, he felt that he was being lifted out of the water tank. He heard the sound of “splashing” water hitting the ground. His curled tail could finally stretch out and relax.
A faint dimple also appeared at the corner of Deng Xi’s lips.
He seemed to be very easy to satisfy. Just an embrace, without even a proper sleeping environment, and he had completely fallen asleep with the effects of the drug.
Si Jisheng frowned and looked at the blue-tail, from which water was constantly dripping. At his feet was the host, who had been kicked so hard his ribs were broken and couldn’t even crawl up. And from the blasted-open empty floor of the starship, fully armed Imperial troops were constantly jumping down.
The host wanted to die with an understanding. The intense pain made the nerves in his eye with the mechanical prosthetic eye bleed. His always neat and tidy suit was also covered in blood, smelling even more foul than any of the frenzied aliens he had recorded over the years.
He asked intermittently, “How… did… you… find… this… place?”
His words suddenly came to an abrupt end.
The adjutant, who had just arrived, rushed over to check on the host, who was lying on the ground like a corpse, and checked his breathing.
Si Jisheng: “He’s not dead.”
The adjutant looked up and met their Marshal’s slitted pupils. After his pupils constricted, he confirmed that the Marshal was still rational and not in a state of frenzy. He was completely relieved and said with a laugh, “You don’t have to vent your anger at this very moment—”
At least until they had finished their interrogation, completely rooted out all the skull’s major and minor strongholds, and rescued all the imprisoned aliens before killing him.
The adjutant thought so in his heart, but his words strangely paused. He looked at their Marshal’s cold face in disbelief, then at the long fish tail hanging down from the Marshal’s arms. He swallowed and said very tactfully, “I’ll go see if they need support up ahead.”
Si Jisheng: “Wait, prepare a large water tank after the battle and put it on the starship.”
The adjutant replied dryly, then turned and walked away with his hands and feet moving in unison to provide support. The star pirates who had rushed over upon hearing the sound happened to run into the fully armed Imperial army. With the crushing advantage of technology, this battle ended without any suspense.
Imperial Star Calendar Year 5346.
The warship of the Imperial military descended upon an unknown planet and launched a siege that lasted no more than three hours. The skull star pirate gang was completely annihilated in the long river of history.
The aliens imprisoned in the bottom hold of the starship were also rescued. According to the convention established by the various interstellar alliances over the past three years, the rescued aliens would be taken into custody by the research institute until they had completely regained their reason.
Of course, before the research institute took over, this batch of aliens would be temporarily handed over to the military for processing. Because it was the adjutant who had personally submitted the application, the priority level was higher, and it would be dealt with first.
The research institute accepted the application immediately and submitted it to the director.
Just the hundred-billion auction and the Marshal personally leading the troops was enough to attract attention, not to mention that this was a Jiaoren who was said to be of the same race as the Marshal.
The live stream video of the auction was viewed frame by frame. It finally stopped on the scene where the great white shark had nudged the auction item’s hand with its head. Then it was rewound. The originally ferocious great white shark had slowed down as it approached the auction item, and its aggressiveness had gradually decreased.
The director of the research institute watched it three times and said intuitively, “He’s very special.” He said to his deputy beside him, “Our institute has taken in many aliens who have nowhere to go in these three years, but among these thousands of people, only his racial talent is almost the complete opposite of all other aliens.”
·
The large water tank was privately decided by the adjutant to be placed in the Marshal’s bedroom. By the time Si Jisheng asked about it, it was already too late. The water on the blue fish tail was about to dry up.
Si Jisheng placed Deng Xi in the water tank.
His movements were very gentle.
Draped in a soaked military greatcoat, he quietly watched as the blue-tail sank to the bottom of the water before turning and leaving. He sent a message to the adjutant with his comm, “Send a dose of nutrient solution over.”
A while later.
“A little sweeter.”
A while later.
“Not too sweet.”
In just five minutes, the adjutant had gone back and forth three times before he found a few doses of nutrient solution that met the Marshal’s standards and sent them over. He knocked on the door of the Marshal’s bedroom on the starship with a wooden face and said dutifully, “Marshal, is there anything else you need to prepare?”
Si Jisheng paused for a moment, then closed his eyes. “Prepare a new room. Have someone move this water tank in later.”
Just as the adjutant finished replying, he noticed something was wrong. He asked tentatively, “Marshal, aren’t you going to communicate with your kinsman?”
He had gone through so much trouble to bring him back, but he was pushing his only kinsman away before they had even spent any time together.
Si Jisheng’s silver eyes narrowed slightly.
The adjutant instantly shut his mouth, turned, and was about to leave. After a few steps, he couldn’t help but turn back. “Marshal, it hasn’t been confirmed whether he’s that experiment. If he lives alone… does he need to be taken into custody?”
Si Jisheng was silent for a long time before he said, “No need.”
The bedroom door was closed tightly again. The room was quiet. Si Jisheng took out a dose of nutrient solution, walked to the water tank, and bent down to scoop up the still-sleeping blue-tail.
Deng Xi was dreaming of feasting in the ocean.
Because Big Whale was always by his side, he could eat the small fish and shrimp that the blue whale spouted out. Although it wasn’t a sumptuous meal, neither he nor the little jellyfish had ever gone hungry.
After the effects of the tranquilizer slowly wore off, the burning sensation in his stomach instantly returned. Deng Xi touched his constantly growling stomach. There were fish bones piled up beside him, which was a bit strange.
He had already eaten many, many fish, but he was still so hungry. He could never get full. Deng Xi lowered his eyelids in frustration, thinking that his stomach must be sick.
He licked his lips.
Suddenly, he tasted a hint of sweetness on the tip of his tongue.
The nightmare of never being full seemed to be dispelled by this bit of sweetness. In a daze, Deng Xi felt something being pressed against his lips.
A low, cold voice sounded by his ear, “Open your mouth.”
The half-asleep Deng Xi pouted in grievance at this command. He obediently retracted his tongue and stopped licking the tube’s opening. He parted his lips slightly, and in a daze, a small mouthful of cold liquid was poured into his mouth.
It was a strange taste.
The highest level of sweetness Deng Xi had ever tasted was the light sweetness of seafood. The sweetness of the nutrient solution was off the charts for him.
It was a taste Deng Xi had never had before.
It was delicious.
His growling stomach finally settled down a bit. But the effects of the drug were already pulling Deng Xi’s only remaining reason down. He only had one thought: finish drinking quickly, fill his stomach, and then he could sleep.
In a daze, Deng Xi reached out and fumbled in front of him. He almost knocked over the nutrient solution in Si Jisheng’s hand several times. It wasn’t until he finally grabbed the test tube that he settled down, holding the test tube and feeding himself in a daze.
Si Jisheng held the bottom of the test tube to prevent the now-weak blue-tail from dropping it. He looked down at Deng Xi, who was drinking the nutrient solution in small sips. After a long time, just as the nutrient solution was about to run out, he parted his lips slightly. “Why didn’t the research institute take you back?”
The sudden sound made Deng Xi, who had just finished eating and was about to be dragged back to sleep by the drug, react a beat later. He realized that he was not alone.
He blinked drowsily and tried his best to widen his eyes to look over, but his wet eyelids made his vision blurry.
But Deng Xi still recognized who it was from the rough outline. Even though his eyes were so sleepy he could barely keep them open, he curved his eyelids into a smile. His voice was so soft it seemed as if he could fall asleep in the next second, but the happiness in it could still be heard.
“I found… Little Mute.”
