Chapter 53: Stirring Up Trouble (Part 2) [Requesting monthly tickets, recommendation votes, and follows]

52. Stirring Up Trouble (Part 2)

Vunt took a stroll through the cruiser. Most of the pirates inside were living in a state of debauchery, their guard extremely relaxed.

He easily slipped over to the area with the point-defense turrets. A few of the turrets were clearly later additions, their workmanship very crude; the entrance to one turret was even right next to the restroom, so basically no one bothered him.

Vunt was also very cautious. He craftily chose to cut the wires of the turret base rotation rings. This way, although the point-defense turrets could still aim and fire, they would be jammed when attempting to rotate, rendering them nothing more than scrap metal.

Most importantly, while this was a small detail, it was a fatal one that would not trigger the spaceship's security systems.

Though he couldn't remember everything perfectly, Vunt was certain that before boarding the mothership, he had spent a lifetime dealing with all sorts of spacecraft. Even if the types differed, the principles were interconnected; most ships followed similar logic.

Having dealt with the turrets, he ran into the hangar. After handing out a few packs of cigarettes, he mingled and laughed with the unvigilant logistics personnel. Then, taking advantage of the distraction, he dumped a large handful of Tatooine's specialty—yellow sand—into the oil tanks.

With these tasks completed, a slight smile played on Vunt's lips as he prepared to leave.

However, just as he had slipped toward the bar to greet the Suya sisters and find an excuse to depart, he didn't expect several people to suddenly approach from behind and shove him aside! Vunt's heart tightened instantly. Had he been exposed!?

"Get the hell out of the way, cleaner!" a raspy voice barked from behind. Almost simultaneously, the bar fell into dead silence. The music and the clamor ceased abruptly.

He wasn't exposed yet! Vunt quickly feigned panic, scrambling to the side and pulling his cleaner's cap low to hide his face. He turned his body slightly, using his peripheral vision to secretly observe the newcomer.

He saw only a filthy-looking human old man. His appearance was beyond the description of "ugly"; it looked as if someone had splashed acid on his face, beaten him senseless, and then performed a completely failed skin graft. A foul stench emanated from his mouth, which was filled with several missing, protruding teeth, the gaps filled with metal dentures.

Could this guy be "Iron Tooth" Kooken!?

Vunt's heart sank.

Sure enough, the old man stood at the entrance and shouted in an incredibly grating voice, "Looks like you're all too idle, eh? I told you, big business is coming in a few days! And instead, you're all fucking drinking and chasing women! Listen up, I'm giving you ten minutes to get the ship ready! We set out this afternoon to pull off a big one!!"

Wait! Didn't he say it would be in a few days? Vunt stole a glance and discovered that Quinto and Felacy were being dragged behind Kooken, bound tightly! He cursed inwardly...

Those two useless bastards!!

At that moment, the bruised and battered Quinto mumbled, "Boss Kooken... no, if we go like this, we'll definitely take a loss. That's a giant spaceship over there... give me a few days to contact my brothers. They're working inside that giant ship; we can coordinate from the inside..."

"Coordinate my ass! Close the cooling vents! I'm doing business, and no one is stopping me! I've got a cruiser in my hands! Do you know what a cruiser is? What's it to any matter to take down a civilian vessel?" Kooken sneered.

His eagle-like gaze swept through the bar, finally landing on the Navigator and the Suya sisters. He walked forward step by step until he stood before the Navigator.

The Navigator was already drenched in cold sweat from fear. He could no longer care about the unwanted advances; he just stood there trembling obediently.

"Sari... my navigator..." Kooken grinned sinisterly. Suddenly, with lightning speed, he grabbed one of the antennae on Suya's head!

"Waaaah..." Suya screamed instantly.

It turned out Kooken's hand was a mechanical prosthetic!

"I remember you were penniless a while ago. I told you long ago not to associate with this Tillek wench, but you wouldn't listen. But now I'm quite curious—this money-grubbing wench clearly knows you're broke, so why is she clinging to you today? Huh? Jie jie jie jie..." Kooken let out a harsh, unpleasant laugh.

He yanked Suya by her antenna, pulling her in front of him. "I'm asking you! Why is it such a coincidence? One moment someone tells me there's big business in the Endo Galaxy, and the next, you're running to throw yourself at my navigator... Can you tell me why?"

"I... I don't know..." Suya answered through her screams. She was nearly paralyzed with terror, and in her desperation to escape, she said anything. "A patron! A patron from the Interstellar Banking Association wants to do business... Waaaah!"

She had intended to turn Vunt in, but realized she had no idea who he actually was. Thus, she could only mention the "patron" Vunt had spoken of to see if it would intimidate Kooken.

Sure enough, Kooken's expression changed. "Interstellar Banking Association? A patron?"

"Yes, yes, yes! He told us to come get the ship's parameters... he wants to do business..." Seeing that it seemed to be working, Suya blurted out everything she knew.

"Jie jie jie jie..." Kooken laughed weirdly. "In that case... Hahahaha..."

His mechanical arm began to increase its strength, and Suya's screams grew increasingly shrill.

With a sickening *squelch*, the antenna on Suya's head was actually torn off! Blue blood splattered everywhere.

"Then I certainly can't let you live..." Kooken sneered. He pulled out a pistol and shot the rolling Suya dead on the spot!

Then, he turned his gaze toward Taia. "So... what about you?"

Taia was so terrified she couldn't even speak. She slumped to the ground, staring blankly at Suya's corpse.

"She... she's someone I brought from the bar to sing..." The Navigator still held a shred of conscience—or perhaps it was because Suya was already dead and he still had designs on Taia—so he did not implicate her.

"A singer?" Kooken looked Taia up and down and let out another raspy, unpleasant laugh. "Then sing! Get on stage and sing! Sing happily! Hahahaha!!"

The Navigator quickly gave Taia a shove. She walked onto the stage unsteadily, beginning to sing with a voice that was almost a sob. To be honest, in that state, her singing was terrible.

But Kooken grew even more excited. Standing at the entrance, he shouted loudly, "Brothers!! There is a massive deal in the Endo Galaxy right now! A super-giant ship over 40,000 meters long is colonizing over there! Most importantly, it's an unarmed civilian vessel!!"

"Wooooooh!!!!"

"Hahahaha!!!" The ferocious-looking pirates broke into wild laughter, as if demons were dancing in a frenzy.

***

[Easter Egg Chapter Image 1: Bridge of a Hammerhead-class Cruiser]

PS: I don't know why the SCV images submitted by readers keep getting delayed and hanging at the end... forget it, I won't be responding to comments for a while. There's something wrong with this system.

(End of Chapter)