Abyss Solo-Chapter 37 - : 027 Strategic Shift

Chapter 37: 027 Strategic Shift

After Kolev confirmed they had escaped the enemy’s pursuit and performed two consecutive warp transitions, the rust-covered ship stopped near a Constant Star, unfolded its charging thin wings, and stayed in place for ten hours before it continued towards the depths of the starry sky.

Yang Ming did not know their current coordinates because, since the start of the warp transition, only Kolev had remained near the control panel.

The place they were headed to next was Kolev’s secret base, the only chance for Kolev to turn the tide with his daughter. It was completely understandable for Kolev to be so cautious.

— Currently, the developed resource planets in the Milky Way account for less than one ten-millionth of the total number of planets, there is plenty of space to hide.

Yang Ming woke up and spent half a day in the gym, finally getting himself to sweat a bit.

He picked up a heavy metal rod and began to recall the Light Sword techniques he had learned.

...

But these were far from enough.

The rate of Valkyrie’s evolution was astonishing; he had to progress even faster.

“Uncle Hanton, may I come in?”

Mimili’s voice came through the ultra-thin speakers embedded in the wall.

Yang Ming casually put on a vest and said with a smile, “Come in.”

Mimili seemed to like wearing tank tops a lot. Even when she changed into hot pants, they were still tank-topped, with her snow-white, slender legs swinging back and forth as she walked; Yang Ming almost couldn’t keep his eyes off them.

She brought in a fruit platter, with the injuries from the previous fights and brawls already vanished.

“Uncle, are you practicing Light Sword techniques?” Mimili asked.

“Do you want to learn?” Yang Ming said with a smile, “I can teach you some tricks.”

“Really!”

Joy was uncontrollable on Mimili’s face.

She looked towards a rack nearby, trying to pick up the same metal rod, but she found she couldn’t lift it with her wrist.

“Use your stun stick,” Yang Ming said with a smile, “Everyone has their own set of techniques that suit them. You don’t have any advantage in physical strength, but you are quite agile, and a weapon that’s too long doesn’t suit you.”

“Okay, Uncle,” Mimili sounded a bit defeated and took out her paralyzing stun stick as he suggested.

The so-called paralyzing stun stick—simply put, was an electrified baton, though a bit more complex in principle—it could paralyze the target upon impact.

“Let’s see your current strength,” Yang Ming said.

Mimili bit her lower lip, pulled her hair into a more convenient pair of ponytails, lightly blew on her bangs, and began moving at a quick pace.

She didn’t press the button on her stun stick.

“Uncle, here I come.”

As soon as Mimili finished speaking, with a smile still lingering on her lips, she pounced like an agile cat, swinging the stun stick straight down towards Yang Ming’s shoulder.

So slow.

Yang Ming couldn’t help but think.

But to be fair, Mimili’s attack would be considered swift among ordinary people.

He raised the metal rod in his hand and at the moment of contact with the stun stick, he diverted the force downward, reducing some of the recoil for Mimili. Then he feigned a forward swing with the rod, causing Mimili to jump awkwardly to the side, nearly bumping into the barbell rack.

She seemed a little angry, eyeing the metal rod in Yang Ming’s hand, and charged at him again.

Another fierce assault that Yang Ming easily repelled.

Mimili really lost her temper, no longer holding back, attacking Yang Ming’s shoulder, outer thigh, and other areas that would not cause serious injury.

Yang Ming simply placed the metal rod behind him and moved with elegant steps, effortlessly dodging Mimili’s stun stick.

After a few minutes, Mimili’s face was filled with frustration.

Panting heavily, she had no idea how charming she looked; she just stared stubbornly at the unharmed Yang Ming.

Her indignation gradually turned into dejection, but then she shrugged her shoulders with a smile and said, “I guess I don’t have the talent for this.”

“Do you remember those thugs? The ones I turned into a human centipede?” Yang Ming asked, “What do you think of their combat prowess?”

“They were fairly good pirates,” Mimili said.

“Hmm,” Yang Ming said with a smile, “I can train you so that you can easily defeat two to three pirates of that level.”

“Really?”

Mimili was overjoyed.

“But before that,” Yang Ming continued, “you’ll have to get your father’s consent. He doesn’t seem to like you charging into the fray.”

“Who cares about him!” Mimili said, “Teach me now, Uncle Hanton!”

“Well, let me start by teaching you a life-saving move…”

“Hey! Can’t you two come over and lend a hand?”

Kolev’s shout came through the loudspeaker:

“I’m nearly going crazy over here! Hanton! Don’t think I can’t see you just because you’ve blocked the camera! Don’t forget what you promised!”

Mimili made a helpless grimace, clearly a bit deflated.

“Let’s go,” Yang Ming said with a smile, “Your old man is ready to hand over the management of his precious secret base to you.”

“Is that so?” Mimili blinked.

“Of course.”

Yang Ming smiled and said, “This old guy always says one thing and means another. When I was with him, the thing he was proudest of was having a daughter who was hundreds of times more beautiful than him… You’ll have to find a way to understand these tough old coots. They care about you more than you think.”

Mimili chuckled, set the stick aside, and stood at the doorway waiting for Yang Ming to put on his coat. Then, imitating Yang Ming’s manner, she stood with hands clasped behind her back, and they walked shoulder-to-shoulder down the long corridor.

“Uncle Hanton, have you ever had a girlfriend?”

“Oh, no,” Yang Ming said, “but I’ve had two temporary mistresses. On the Empire’s ships, you could say, they were a necessary social accessory for adapting to the environment.”

“Were they beautiful?” Mimili asked.

Yang Ming laughed and said, “Beauty is a relative and abstract concept; they were interesting to me. One was a trainee navigator who later betrayed me. The other was an inspector monitoring engine status, who was transferred to another ship half a year ago.”

Mimili asked with eyes sparkling, “Can you tell me their stories?”

“It’s better not to,” Yang Ming said, “Our conversations should be limited to combat skills or how to be an excellent pirate. You understand, Mimili.”

“Why bother with that,” Mimili muttered with puffed cheeks.

Yang Ming sighed inwardly.

What a headache!

He, a captain without a ship, was starting to lose his respect for First Mate Kolev.

…

As Yang Ming and Mimili dawdled along the pirate ship’s corridor, Lina found herself in new trouble.

“Commander, we can’t locate Kolev’s jump coordinates. The pirate leader is incredibly cunning, fully silent in flight, and the spatial fluctuations generated by the jump are so faint they can’t be captured. They might already be at the other end of the Milky Way.”

Lina stood in front of the porthole, deep in thought.

Soon, she spoke up:

“Our current target is the Black Dragon Pirate Group. Use all means to infiltrate them.

“Set Kolev as a hidden wanted target. If Kolev is to take back his pirate group, he will inevitably start to surface.”

“Yes!”

…

Meanwhile, on the pirate ship’s command bridge.

“Hanton, if your dream is to go out on a ship by yourself, then an auxiliary piloting system is essential. This ship doesn’t have one, but later I’ll help you with hands-on training.”

Kolev stood in front of the piloting console, his right hand resting on the back of the leather chair into which he was helping Yang Ming settle.

Mimili sat obediently on the other side, listening attentively to the lesson.

In her memory, her father rarely taught others so earnestly.

Kolev continued, “Even if you have an auxiliary piloting system and a whole set of maintenance robots, you still need to know how to manually operate in emergency situations. You must understand these basics, just in case.”

Yang Ming asked with a smile, “Is there a book or something on this?”

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“Pirate skills are passed down through word of mouth,” Kolev chuckled, “Okay, when we get there I’ll help you look in the storage for some kind of universal spaceship operation manual. But now, listen to me… Do I need to fill in some of your physics knowledge?”

“Of course not, I can understand.”

Yang Ming mentally added ‘probably’.

Kolev gestured with his hands:

“The basic logic of ship operation mainly divides into five parts: normal cruising, overload cruising, jump cruising, energy distribution and management, and how to send interstellar distress signals.

“This row of control panels in front of you is what almost all ships over a hundred meters will have.

“Each shipbuilding facility of every power has a different style, but the logic inside is largely the same, where functionally related buttons are clustered to form six main blocks—self-check block (without which the ship can’t be started), radar block (the eyes of the ship), engine room direct connection block (for acceleration and braking), navigator block (basically just checking the Star Map), cabin control block (whose utmost authority is to decide the temperature of the air conditioning), and energy distribution block (turning the protective shield on and off)…”

Kolev rambled on for quite a while until Yang Ming began to feel dizzy.

Yang Ming muttered, “Why not just promote auxiliary piloting systems?”

“Oh, Hanton, your common sense gives me a bit of a headache,” Kolev seized any opportunity to tease him, “It’s because of the Intelligent Mechanical Crisis. In the last three thousand years, there have been six Intelligent Mechanical Crises, causing the irreversible decline of several major powers. Each time, tens of millions of humans died or were injured, and there was even a whole Constant Star System that got blown up… So, modern ships are prohibited from having any automatic operating systems at the factory. Even auxiliary operations are restricted. It has to be ensured that humans are in control.”

Mimili chimed in, “And I think, the treaty that bans Intelligent Machines is also largely about protecting employment. Otherwise, the big capitalists could easily get laborers who are several times more efficient than human workers, indefatigable, incredibly precise, and most importantly, don’t need wages.”

Yang Ming nodded with a smile.

It seemed they were almost there.

Yang Ming looked at the emerald green planet appearing in the projection screen and couldn’t help but ask, “First Mate Kolev, where are we now?”

“A small country with only three Administrative Stars.”

“And what place is this specifically?” Yang Ming questioned, “Which great power’s periphery?”

Kolev laughed and said, “Every major power has invested heavily in military hardware between their borders and core Administrative Stars, but in their non-central areas, like these feudal colonial lands, the defense is pitifully weak. This is merely a place where they dump inferior goods, with no substantial fleet stationed here, very relaxed. But Hanton, you better steady yourself now.”

Yang Ming was puzzled, but then he saw a string of information appearing in the corner of the projection screen.

Cas Federation.

Guel Alliance colony.

Mad.

They had walked right into the trap.