Chapter 822: Chapter 692: Who Has It Worse

There are a considerable number of Energy Blocks in the cargo hold of 8384, but replenishing them takes time.

The key is that he does not intend to completely eliminate the other side; the Customs Enforcement Team members, after all, are different from Star Thieves, even if they are dispatched workers.

Whether they are permanent staff or not, they are considered government employees, representing the Imperial law enforcement, and that’s the face of the Government.

If it were far away, and something happened on the Transfer Star, it might be different, but not now.

Unless he could instantly destroy the entire Blue Elf Star, ensuring the news doesn’t get out.

Qu Jianlei neither has that kind of power nor the madness to do such a thing, so he cannot just kill these people indiscriminately.

The casualties caused by the explosions of the three warships can’t be said to be intentional on his part; guns and cannons are indiscriminate.

He avoided harming the Space Mechas and Lifeboats and naturally, the other side didn’t dare to provoke the Armed Merchant Ship.

After all, those people escaped from the cabin, scared by the explosions of the three warships, fearing they might face the same fate.

Little Lake was a bit regretful when he heard Qu Jianlei wasn’t pursuing the Attack Ship, "That’s all money, you know."

"Launch a round of attacks with the ship-mounted weapons," Qu Jianlei casually instructed, "as a send-off for them."

After a wave of attacks, as luck would have it, another Attack Ship was hit.

Due to the considerable distance, the Attack Ship was only damaged, its speed noticeably reduced.

Little Lake immediately brightened up, "Haha, another twenty million in the bag."

Qu Jianlei shook his head and sighed, "We can’t take this Attack Ship with us."

He connected to their channel and said in a deep voice, "Shut down the engines, cease resistance... or face the consequences!"

The other side couldn’t escape anymore, so how could they dare not to comply? They immediately shut off the engines.

The merchant ship swooped down, grabbed the Attack Ship with a mechanical arm, and then wheeled around, heading towards the Customs Enforcement Ship.

The people inside the Attack Ship kept explaining, "We really weren’t trying to cause trouble intentionally; there was truly an emergency!"

By rights, knowing the other side wouldn’t kill those who don’t resist, they should have put on a tough front and said something threatening.

But that’s not the case; after all, the other side had annihilated three warships knowing exactly what was going on at the Transfer Star.

Currently, their lives were in the other side’s hands; since they didn’t want to kill anybody, why provoke them to the point of death?

If not, the other side doesn’t even need to kill them; taking them hostage for ransom is an option, isn’t it?

During the wait for ransom, they might be sent to work in a sweatshop... uh, sorry, I mean sent to mine!

When 8384 flew toward the Customs Enforcement Ship, several Space Mechas attempted to approach the main ship, seemingly looking to return to it.

Seeing the dilapidated merchant ship flying toward them, they scattered like frightened sparrows.

The Customs Enforcement Ship may have lost power, but it still maintained a certain speed, coasting on inertia.

Once the merchant ship made contact, it extended another mechanical arm to grab the Customs Enforcement Ship.

The two crew members inside were still there, and upon witnessing this scene, they were extremely terrified, "What are they doing?"

The next moment, the Customs Enforcement Ship shuddered slightly, the mechanical arm having already grasped the ship.

Immediately afterward, the dilapidated merchant ship’s hatch opened, and a silhouette emerged from inside.

Present were not just the two crew members but also Space Mechas in the distance and several Lifeboats further away.

Upon witnessing this scene, everyone was greatly alarmed, "Is this... the Supreme?"

Though the figure wore a Space Helmet, he was not wearing a spacesuit and even had bare arms exposed.

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, the figure walked into the large breach in the Customs Enforcement Ship.

Immediately, voices emanated from the various cabins of the Customs Enforcement Ship, "Our ship declares that this ship has been captured!"

"In light of your unprovoked hostile actions, we hereby confiscate this ship, never to be returned."

The two crew members couldn’t help but protest, "We received orders from above; it was due to an emergency, not unprovoked hostility!"

The voice simply ignored any explanations, "We are leaving with this ship now. If you don’t want to leave, then don’t."

The two crew members couldn’t help but wail, "We’re just in spacesuits; we’ll die if we leave."

The voice continued without any emotion, "Those in spacesuits, get on that Attack Ship; we’re not taking that one."

In fact, this is a relatively common practice in space battles, leaving the other party a starship to survive on after the battle.

Whether they survive, though, will depend on Heaven’s Will.

However, that Attack Ship is only damaged; with careful navigation, it could return to base, maybe even call for aid once out of the Asteroid Belt.

Learning they could keep a ship, the two crew members walked out trembling, looking at the silhouette in front of them.

His face was unclear, but it was certain that the exposed arms were real flesh and blood, not bionic material.

This, damn... really is the Supreme! The two exchanged glances, feeling as if they’d seen a ghost.

The next moment, a pressure descended upon them, which even their Space Helmets couldn’t withstand.

Immediately, a thought placed itself within their minds, "Tell the Norton Clan and your superiors, this isn’t over!"

Upon hearing this, their faces turned ashen, realizing that the other party knew everything?

Of course, they were aware of the underlying reason, and this matter wasn’t too secretive in the Customs Enforcement Division.

Therefore, they didn’t suspect that artificial intelligence had infiltrated the network.

In fact, the Customs Enforcement Division was more confident about network security than other departments because they had their own artificial intelligence.

Qu Jianlei led the two out of the big cave, back into the merchant ship via the gangway.

The next moment, the merchant ship released the attack ship it was clinging onto, grabbed the customs enforcement ship from below, and flew straight into the depths of the asteroid belt.

In the cabin, Little Lake complained to Qu Jianlei, "You think leaving them with a starship is the same as pretending nothing happened?"

If they don’t leave a starship, some people might die. But it didn’t believe in actively killing, it simply couldn’t part with that attack ship.

"I can’t be sure," Qu Jianlei answered casually, "but if we don’t try, how will we know?"

Realizing Little Lake was just an artificial intelligence, he paused and explained again.

"If I had no thoughts, would I bother going out of the cabin for a walk?"

"And you even said a couple of threatening words," Big Head Butterfly remarked, indicating it wasn’t entirely clueless.

However, it still couldn’t understand, "You attacked the customs ship; many people saw it. It openly violates the rules."

Qu Jianlei sighed softly at the words, "Previously, I overlooked a factor, but now I’ve grown a bit stronger..."

He analyzed the situation and finally expressed.

"...So my initial plan going to Transfer Star was to demonstrate strength, not expecting someone to come running into me."

Big Head Butterfly turned for a while before asking in confusion, "Then why not continue to Blue Elf Star?"

Qu Jianlei spread his hands, "We always need to give relevant forces some time to respond; analysis and coordination also take time."

Big Head Butterfly pondered and questioned, "It’s still the same, you’re not sure what will happen in the future?"

If I could comprehend that kind of "foreknowledge" superpower, maybe so, Qu Jianlei nodded.

"The key is hiding day and night is truly tiring; sometimes it’s necessary to act tough and see what happens."

Big Head Butterfly mumbled for a long time before muttering, "Waking suddenly from a dream, am I the great power myself?"

Qu Jianlei sighed at this, "Great powers, we’re still far away... How far is it to 3344?"

"It’s a little over four hundred thousand kilometers behind," Little Lake answered casually, "I’ve already let it follow."

A little over four hundred thousand kilometers away, a warship was silently sailing without the slightest hint of light, like a ghost.

This time, Qu Jianlei came to Blue Elf Star to stir trouble, prepared for the worst scenario, always having a Gao Fang warship at hand.

It’s just that 3344 was ambushed in the asteroid belt, merely intending to assist at any time or ambush potential pursuers.

As for whether Qu Jianlei would reach here or not? That would be his own problem.

Fortunately, the opponents were two ordinary warships, and the combat personnel were only contract workers from the Customs Enforcement Division.

Anyway, Gao Fang warship going back and forth costs only a few Energy Blocks and slightly loses some durability.

For the safety of himself and Little Lake, this cost is just a drop in the ocean.

Meanwhile, that damaged attack ship was rescuing scattered customs enforcement crew members in space everywhere.

Although the warship was damaged, there were still several complete compartments showing, and half the power remained, allowing it to move with difficulty. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

The attack ship’s space is much smaller, but no matter what, it’s better than the cramped lifeboat and safer.

Those crew members wearing spacesuits or hiding in lifeboats were arranged inside the attack ship, barely squeezing in.

As for comfort, there’s no need to count on it; as long as they can slowly return home.

The crew members crowded inside the attack ship were still fortunate; those Space Mechas could only be attached to the attack ship, carried by the ship.

Space Mechas themselves carried Energy Blocks, but the amount they carried was far less than the attack ship, not daring to waste any at this moment.

Long-term staying inside the Mecha, that sourness... there’s no need to elaborate.

The key is if there’s no rescue, relying solely on the attack ship’s limited Energy Blocks and inertia to fly, it would take several days.

However, they weren’t the worst off; in the Mecha’s hands, there were several corpses of customs enforcement crew members.

——No choice, the ship’s space was too small; corpses were better placed outside, or else they’d rot.

Of course, the most tragic were those whose bodies and bones were obliterated by the fiery explosions.

In a dead silence, someone spoke up, "Can they determine that we’re instructed by the Norton Clan?"

The two crew members who were forced out of the warship replied bitterly, "They’re not crazy; how dare they act if they’re not certain?"

"How did they determine it?"

"Who knows? It’s all the damn Nortons, bragging everywhere, wishing everyone knew they wanted to deal with 8384."

"The worst thing about the Norton Clan isn’t this, it’s that they didn’t even tell us the other side had a Supreme!"

"I deeply felt that great presence; if it isn’t Supreme... I’ll gouge out my own eyes!"

"With a Supreme, naturally they aren’t afraid of a fight, causing us to lose so many brothers, suffering massive losses. The Norton Clan is really vile!"

(Backend jammed, sent late, apologies, asking for monthly votes, subscriptions, and recommendation tickets.)