Chapter 37
The detector that Sissen brought was portable and less accurate than the large testing machine in the Control Yuan. Even with only a small amount of blood drawn, the pheromone deviation value still reached an astonishing 95.
Sissen: "You should know what this number means."
Feng Ran pursed his lips, then gave a wry, listless smile: "Just because I know, does that mean I have to accept it?"
She kept her head down, looking utterly dejected. It seemed the immense shock of this revelation had shattered her cautious demeanor. She looked blankly at Xisen: "Doctor, what will happen to me?"
Sissen expressionlessly deleted the detector's usage record, and threw the blood, along with the collection tube, directly into the waste transport channel under the foot of the bed: "I secretly hope that you can freely choose what kind of person you want to be, and not be bound by this kind of thing. Maybe you won't believe it when I say this, but you are free."
It's become somewhat unclear who the idealists of this era are: those with unwavering beliefs, those with pure and innocent hearts full of hope, or those who watch the firelight but remain silent.
Xisen had a shift at the department that night, and soon left with the detector. Fengran sat on the bed and carefully looked at his hands, the blue veins, blood vessels, faint black needle marks, and the split fingernails he had torn apart when he was picking at his hands.
A weak, pale hand, its five fingers seemingly without strength, gathered together at the palm, as if it were grasping something invisibly.
That was a real surprise.
/
Hilder had been living a very frustrating time. One day, while he was imprisoned in the central prison, a guard swaggered in front of him and said that he had been sentenced to life imprisonment in the exile prison. As everyone knows, the exile prison is where the most vicious criminals in the interstellar world are imprisoned. Indefinite imprisonment is only because the death penalty is too lenient for them. It is said that the prisoners are bound with ten shackles and imprisoned in a frozen water dungeon. They are unconscious and unable to resist, but they are still alive. It is the place that the Imperial criminals fear the most.
Hilde felt a surge of warmth, thinking that his life had been quite eventful. Unexpectedly, just two days later, the Central Prison was invaded and attacked. Raul led the remaining scattered members of White Sand to rescue them. On the way, their starship was surrounded by military warships. Just when they thought they were going to die, the other side seemed not to recognize them and took off one after another on their own. Jiang Lan made a decisive move and slipped out among them.
Their destination this time was not to return to their base in the Kercy Sector, but to a more distant place, Laplace in the Shax Sector.
It seems that Bai Sha has changed since they were rescued. Fran, who was originally not very noticeable, started to give orders and act as an equal to Jiang Lan. Cheng Fei and Fran bickered fiercely, but they were quite accomplices in some matters, such as obeying the orders of Feng Ran, the so-called new master of Bai Sha.
It's utterly absurd! How come his position as leader of Baisha was snatched away the moment he came out? Of course, because of his swift, decisive, and ruthless prison break, most people had a good attitude towards this behind-the-scenes boss. But Raul told him that it was that guy named Feng Ran who reported their information to the cops, causing him to be arrested. This is even more ridiculous.
Hilde's shackles hadn't been removed yet, so she could only glare at Fran and curse, "Fran, you big idiot!"
Fran retorted defiantly, "Huh? If I hadn't suggested getting you out of jail, you'd be spending the rest of your lives there!"
There have always been many who respect Hilde as their leader, but the space pirates are all shrewd and cunning. On their way to Laplace, White Sand split into two factions: the complete defection faction led by Fran and the die-hard rebellion led by Hilde. However, the two sides were vastly different in strength, and because the shackles had not been completely removed, White Sand was in a situation of being unilaterally suppressed. Jiang Lan stood in the middle and did not help either side.
Laplace is a very ordinary asteroid with average technological development and a low standard of living. It is completely unremarkable in the vast sea of stars, and Hilde had never even heard of this place before coming here.
Fran, being petty, didn't remove Hilde's shackles, but he didn't restrict her freedom of movement. When they landed in Grira City, they didn't even take the usual ship port; they just found an open space in the suburbs and stopped.
The consequence of not using the main entrance was that upon disembarking from the starship, they were immediately surrounded by what appeared to be local indigenous space pirates. Dozens of new-style guns were pointed at them, and the leader, who was well-informed, saw Hilde's shackles and mocked her without any politeness: "Oh, aren't these the hottest wanted criminals right now? Here to deliver our bounty?"
Fran raised his hands in response: "Sorry, sorry, we'll pay the venue fee later. We just took a shortcut because it's closer to the black market."
"Is the venue fee you prepared worth more than the space pirates behind you?"
"Ah... well, maybe not. But I've prepared another gift for Chairman Kobana. Since we'll all be hanging out together from now on, is it alright if I accept a token gift?"
Few people know that Kobana Lech is the leader of the White Star Assembly. Although he is involved in the human trafficking business on the black market, he is usually just a workshop director at a screw factory in Grira. People who know about the black market may not know about the White Star Assembly, but someone who knows about the White Star Assembly and also knows that Kobana is the leader must be someone important.
Fran finally met the old man with the white beard. He was wearing a light blue factory uniform and looked kind and gentle. He seemed to be smiling with his teeth showing when he squinted. He was simple and honest.
He handed over the disk he had prepared beforehand, feeling a subtle aversion and resistance towards the seemingly amiable chairman, who reminded him of the madam in the garden he used to frequent. "Please accept this small gift; I hope it will help us avoid trouble in Grira."
Kobana took the disk, put his hands behind his back in a very professional manner, and said, "Oh dear, I really don't deserve this. But I'm so old, I don't even remember who called you here."
Fran listened to the lines Xing Tong had taught him through his earpiece and replied smoothly, "President, you're too kind. We came here because of your reputation, and it's not too late to get to know each other now."
Kobana embedded the disk into the office's computer. The folder was filled with information about a certain person—a girl named Susie Leitch. He stared at it for a long time, his eyes reddening. After a while, he sniffed and said, "Thank you for your kindness. I accept this favor and hope to have the opportunity to meet your employer to express my gratitude."
Fran, of course, also saw the information on the screen. He offered no comment, but simply nodded politely: "Definitely, definitely."
The story of a trafficker's daughter being abducted by another trafficker sounds unbelievable, making one wonder if karma or retribution is involved. But compared to those her father sold, Susie is exceptionally lucky, finding a good family—the White family, the third surname in the Kenpaen clan.
The four main families of the Kempe family—Shen, Bruce, Bai, and Olivia—are centuries-old clans whose legacy from the founding of the nation continues to this day. They hold hereditary dukedoms and are true aristocratic families. Other families include the old five great families and the new five great families: Ceylonka, Lumbini Carlisle, Calysh, Slyca, and Fanster. After the decline of Lumbini Carlisle and Fanster, they were replaced by the Li and Feng families as the new five great families. However, a considerable period passed between these two families, and their foundations were unstable, placing them at the very bottom. The Li family, however, now boasts Lear, currently serving as the commander of the First Legion, giving them a more solid foundation than the Feng family, which focuses solely on commerce.
Whether or not to acknowledge his daughter is a question worth pondering. After all, Kobana has been searching for Susie for many years, and his establishment of the gathering to access the dark web was partly motivated by this desire. But now that he has finally found her, whether he can acknowledge her back is one thing, and whether Susie is willing to acknowledge him is another. It is obvious that the wealthy and stable life of the Bai family is something that he, as the head of the black market gathering, cannot provide. And whether love is about possession or letting go is the question that Kobana himself needs to grapple with.
After that, Hilde and Fran continued to be stubborn with each other. The former comrades-in-arms had fallen apart several times. Fran, the toxic fan, would always start arguing with Hilde after just a few words about surrendering. Even though Hilde had already subconsciously accepted the situation, she was determined to stick to her guns against Fran's bad temper. So when the end came, all the shackles of the companions who had been imprisoned were removed, but Hilde was still being held captive. And because she was tall, she stood out conspicuously.
President Kobana even sent someone to ask if the tall guy in shackles in their team was for sale; he could offer a good price. Hilde kept a sour face and didn't say a word the whole time. He couldn't kick Fran, so he kicked Jiang Lan next to him instead. Jiang Lan actually glared at him and then said with a wicked grin:
"Selling, thirty silver coins a pound."
"You bastard! My bounty is worth more than that!"
Fran looked down and fiddled with his terminal, adding casually, "That's true, getting him out will be a lot of work, we'll have to pay extra."
Hilde: "Does your master know that you're outwardly complying but inwardly disobeying her?"
Fran gave a sly laugh, deliberately teasing him: "She doesn't know."
Hilde: "Damn it!"
In the end, the matter ended with Hilde acknowledging the enemy as her father, and Kobana wasn't angry, welcoming them to change their minds at any time. After things had completely settled down, at Feng Ran's instruction, they had their own sales vehicle when the black market opened. The goods were weapons and ammunition smuggled from the Kerxi Star Sector outpost, and to be honest, they sold much better than in other parts of the interstellar space.
Jiang Lan seemed to have been assigned something else, while Fran was grumbling as he conducted his experiments and waited to return to Kiria. After all the twists and turns, the leader of White Sand had become Hilde again, albeit only as an agent. He sat in the vending cart, watching a wave of customers come in from time to time, and for the first time ever, he thought.
This life is a piece of shit.
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