Qu Jianlei had been on the starship for four or five hours, gradually feeling that something was amiss: Is someone targeting me?

But the possibility was really very small; he didn’t know anyone in Blue Elf, right?

Even with Simoni Mining, he just didn’t escort the transport. Even if they recognized him, would they really hold such a big grudge?

Moreover, the star port of the Blue Elf is the transfer station for Celestial Blade Star, and it can even radiate to other habitable stars in the Celestial Hook Star Realm.

This star port has a very large throughput, and congestion at certain times is quite normal.

But anyway, it’s good that no unusual celestial phenomena caused congestion, at least he didn’t have to wait ten days or half a month.

He also perceived the hostility of the people around him; honestly, no one really harbored much hostility toward him.

It made sense, others were just doing their jobs for money, delaying a bit was enough, why harbor hostility toward him?

Seven hours later, the 8384 starship finally successfully ascended and headed into the vast space.

Twenty minutes later, the young master hurriedly arrived with all the crew, "Has the person left?"

"Just left," someone replied in a deep voice, displaying no expression but grumbling internally.

Originally, they could rest for three days, now there’s only two and a half days, losing half a day in the calculation.

Adding in loading, unloading, maintenance, and a series of things, everyone’s real rest time isn’t even a day and a half.

"Chase!" The young master’s face was unnaturally flushed, "If you catch him, preferably capture him alive..."

"I won’t let him leave alive, as that might cause trouble... but if you can bring him back alive, I will heavily reward you!"

This couldn’t be considered a twisted mindset, but there was a touch of psychological abnormality.

Qu Jianlei piloted the 8384 away, usually taking a detour.

Not that he distrusted the star port, he was just naturally cautious.

But during this process, he couldn’t help but ponder if today’s congestion was normal or not?

Thinking this way, unknowingly, he had traveled over two million kilometers.

Little Lake suddenly reminded him, "There’s a merchant ship behind us with a somewhat suspicious trajectory."

Of course, having a merchant ship nearby right after leaving the star port is very normal.

In space navigation, there are indeed fixed routes, but there are also many starships that take unusual paths.

As long as the captain is experienced enough, and not afraid of navigating complex phenomena, it works out.

However, after traveling another million kilometers, even Qu Jianlei sensed something was off, "Why is this guy still trailing us?"

The merchant ship with the problematic trajectory kept following at a distance of about 400,000 kilometers.

After some thought, he commanded, "Increase the speed slightly."

Currently, the 8384 is operating at economic speed, and accelerating was naturally an attempt to shake off the tail.

However, once they accelerated, the merchant ship behind them also started to speed up.

Qu Jianlei curled his lip, "Why do I keep encountering such annoying things?"

"Shall we take it down?" Little Lake was eager to try, "We specifically upgraded the power system just for a day like this?

"Hold on," Qu Jianlei spoke in a deep voice, "We’re still within Blue Elf’s monitoring zone, let’s go further first."

Little Lake asked, "Should we change the course a bit to further test them?"

"No need," Qu Jianlei answered without hesitation, "Let’s wait until we’re out of the surveillance range."

Regardless of how the other party reacts, we must wait until we’re in an unobserved area.

So for the next half day, the merchant ship maintained a speed slightly above economic operation.

And the merchant ship behind followed at the same speed.

Little Lake couldn’t help but grumble, "Is this guy also wary of the Blue Elf’s monitoring?"

"Of course," Qu Jianlei answered casually, "They may not fear trouble, but why cause more hassle if you can minimize it?"

Big Head Butterfly turned, "Shall we go a bit further, to make sure they don’t escape?"

It turns out, they weren’t the only ones thinking this way; the merchant ship behind was the same.

Until they fully entered the asteroid belt, the opponent didn’t speed up any further, just maintained an equal distance.

Qu Jianlei finally gave the order to accelerate, this was the final test, giving the opponent a chance to back off.

However, as soon as they accelerated, the other party did too, and even faster.

"They’re closing in," Little Lake timely reported, "Are they preparing for a fight and not just trying to annoy us?"

"Whatever," Qu Jianlei issued the command, "Fire a warning shot at 350,000 kilometers."

The heavily armed merchant ship followed at about 350,000 kilometers; the captain nodded affirmatively, "It’s almost certainly them!"

"The enemy has fired," a crew member reported, "no communication request was sent."

The young master snorted coldly, "Still no intention to talk? Ironically, neither do I."

"Rael, close in to 200,000 kilometers to launch an attack... what do you think?"

"Hmm," the captain’s face was full of solemnity. He was different from the young master; he exercised extreme caution in every space battle.

As for the strength of the equipment on both sides, he had already set it aside. He only knew one thing: space battles are absolutely perilous.

A single mistake could lead to total destruction and loss of life, with no room for luck.

In the last battle, if not for his timely order to retreat, the people on this ship might have been lost long ago.

He had quite a few complaints about the young master’s recklessness; however, he understood that opposing him was futile.

Thus, it was better to focus on doing his own job.

But the next moment, he gasped, "They actually turned back... and accelerated. Should we try to fight and flee simultaneously?"

His intuition told him something was not right. The last time they encountered this ship, the opponent’s response was not this intense.

"Where can we escape to?" the young master spoke coldly, "We can’t return to the scanning range of the Transfer Star, so the opponent is going for a desperate fight."

Admittedly, he was impulsive, but his mind was clear with no issue in perception.

Rael sighed; he instinctively felt this battle would be hard, but... well, it’s time to fight seriously.

"Start full-spectrum interference, maximize the energy of the protective shield, charge all cannons, prepare the attack ship."

"Full-spectrum interference opened, ten-second warm-up countdown begins, complete!"

"Protective shield energy begins B-level enhancement, can be maximized within seven seconds, complete!"

"Main Cannon charging begins, complete! Numbers one and two sub-cannons charging begins, complete! Numbers three and four matrix system ammo supply complete!"

"Attack ship personnel have arrived, ready for launch at any time, complete!"

Both merchant ships simultaneously began accelerating, swiftly closing the thirty-thousand-kilometer distance.

"Are they really going all out?" Qu Jianlei muttered quietly, "Little Lake, are you sure this is not the ship from last time?" 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

"I’m certain," Little Lake replied confidently, "The operating style doesn’t seem the same."

"Why do I feel very similar then?" Qu Jianlei raised a brow, "Besides... the matter in the Star Port, it doesn’t feel right either."

"This may objectively exist," Little Lake analyzed calmly, "With the reaction of this ship, there is a clear human factor."

Following that, it issued a warning, "The opponent’s hatch is opening, likely for attack ship deployment. Should we deploy our attack ship?"

"No need," Qu Jianlei spoke expressionlessly, "Isn’t it better to save some energy blocks? Prepare to launch electromagnetic interference bombs."

"So soon?" Little Lake was a bit surprised, "Are you aiming for a quick fight?"

How could a man say such things... Qu Jianlei shook his head, speaking calmly, "Then, take over the opponent’s control system."

The two ships quickly approached, firing all sorts of weapons without considering accuracy or power.

The space battle now showed both sides understood: the opponent wasn’t short on money, it could even be said they were extremely aggressive.

On the heavily armed merchant ship, Rael’s face was as dark as water, "It’s a fierce opponent... launch the attack ship."

By this time, thoughts of regret or remorse were long thrown aside; it was time to battle earnestly.

Just as the attack ship was being launched, the central control room of the merchant ship issued an exclamation, "Damn, central control system failure!"

The attack ship, being of a strike type, also issued an alarm, "My ship lost control, power system forced shutdown!"

"Damn!" Rael’s face turned pale, "The shell fired by the opponent earlier had electromagnetic interference bombs!"

Next, his brow furrowed, "Initiate communication request, prepare escape pods and space mecha ejection."

The young master’s face also went pale, murmuring softly, "How could there be such interference bombs?"

"It’s not the time to be thinking about that," the captain spoke coldly, "Young master, go put on your mecha."

Just then, a voice sounded in the central control room, unusually cold, "I declare this merchant ship has been taken over!"

The people on board were stunned at the words; such a thing... happened?

This time, the young master was the first to react, speaking coldly, "Did you tamper with my merchant ship?"

"You’re in no position to be asking," Qu Jianlei replied bluntly, "Check your protective shield strength first."

"The strength is rapidly declining," a crew member snapped out of the shock, issuing a warning.

"Damn!" A middle-aged A-level’s face turned extremely pale, "The opponent has artificial intelligence!"

The control system being overtaken had hardly caused much reaction from him, but discovering the opponent had artificial intelligence really panicked him.

He was from the military elite, well aware of the fearsome nature of artificial intelligence, especially when it successfully invaded.

Moreover, the worse part is he understood how sensitive this thing could be.

"Surrender!" Rael decisively ordered, the term "artificial intelligence" prompting him to decide instantly.

Only super big powers might have such things, like the Customs Enforcement Division.

Their own power wasn’t insignificant, but compared to such big forces, it was utterly insignificant.

"I am the ship’s captain, Rael, declaring the ship’s surrender, hoping to receive the proper treatment for prisoners."

(Updated to, summon monthly tickets, subscriptions, and recommendations.)