The pirate leader silently repeated the name of the Psychic in his heart, a name he once thought was just a legend.

At the same time, it was also using sensors to observe the scene outside, using the remaining power after the spacecraft's engine was destroyed.

All the ships belonging to him were now like the Mule-class ships he was on, with their engines destroyed and paralyzed in space, completely losing the ability to resist.

Moreover, there was even a Yuhui frigate wandering around the edge of the battlefield, but it did not actually attack them.

They were completely defeated before they could even display their full strength.

The pirate leader was filled with despair at this moment.

But he didn't want to die yet.

He tried again to send a communication request using his personal terminal which he was still able to start.

This time, the communication was connected.

The pirate leader asked in a trembling voice, "What do you want? We can give you everything on our ship. I still have three million in my savings card. As long as you leave us alive, all of this will be yours."

Chen Ming relied on a simple text-to-speech device installed on the spacecraft and said in a very mechanical tone: "You don't want to die?"

"Yes, we can do anything for you as long as you are willing to let us go."

"Um……"

Chen Ming responded meaningfully, but didn't rush to give a definite answer.

Instead, he hung up the call directly.

The pirate leader's heart tightened when he heard the busy tone, and the atmosphere in the captain's room suddenly became stagnant.

But what they feared did not happen afterwards, and the ships surrounding them did not open fire to destroy them.

Instead, some time passed quietly like this.

More than ten minutes later, the Iron Ore suddenly approached from the other end of the hyperspace channel.

It flew straight to the rear of the Mule-class ship and aimed the hatch at the Mule's engine nozzle.

This allows Chen Ming to reach out and press on the Mule-class ship to control it.

The whole process went very smoothly and no one noticed.

After all, the pirates are now completely blind.

After the engine was paralyzed and the power stored in the power grid was exhausted, most of the equipment on their spacecraft had completely stopped working.

The sensors are naturally the same as the external cameras.

Before the battle just now broke out, their porthole protection panels must have been opened.

These protective panels will naturally not be closed again after the engine is paralyzed at the end of the battle.

Chen Ming deliberately left them here for a while so that he could come here in person and take control of this destroyer-class mule.

Even as a merchant ship, a destroyer is still very valuable.

After taking control of this Mule-class ship.

Chen Mingcai took the initiative to send a communication request using the previous communication code.

The communication was connected almost instantly, and the pirate leader's anxious voice came out from it: "Hello?"

Chen Ming's goal at this time was to keep the pirate leader alive so that he could bring the man to the boss, so he had already thought of a set of excuses on the way here.

Chen Ming thought about how to act for a while, then said, "I won't kill you."

The pirate leader said with a hint of excitement, "Really?"

"Why would I lie to you? If I really wanted to kill you, why would I waste so much time talking to you? I just need you to do one thing."

"I know you probably won't believe what I say, but it's up to you whether you believe it or not. If you don't, I'll kill you."

The pirate leader had no other choice but to say, "I believe it, of course I do. Just tell me."

"Is there anyone else with you now?"

"No, I have just asked them to go and prepare for the funeral. I am staying in the room now."

"Okay then, calm your men down and don't let them cause any trouble."

"Okay, what about after that?"

"I will take you to a place where you will obey the orders of the great man who arranged for me to come here."

"What?"

Chen Ming deliberately adjusted his mood and said in a serious tone, "There is an important person who needs you alive and wants to meet you in person."

"You should know that the government never cares about the life and death of pirates like you. I can still get your bounty by holding your head."

"So since you are still alive now, it must be that some special people have special requests."

The pirate leader couldn't help swallowing, feeling a little flustered and surprised.

His mind kept flashing back to everything that had happened in the past.

He tried hard to think about where he had made friends or enemies with some important figures.

Obviously Chen Ming had attacked him directly and showed considerable hostility, so it was most likely the latter, but he still had a glimmer of hope in his heart.

The pirate leader knew that he had done a lot of dirty work, helped many people do things that they were unwilling to do themselves, and also did a lot of things that would make people hate him.

A lot of his bounty was gained while he was doing these things.

After gaining a certain fame, or notoriety.

Some people did come to him to get things done.

Some are sincere, and some are malicious.

Whether it is money given in good faith or threats made with bad intentions, he will accept them selectively so as not to offend someone he shouldn't offend.

Under such circumstances, he was still defeated by someone who came to his door and almost crushed him. There must be something wrong with what he did in his daily life.

So, the first thing he thought of was the small caravan he had robbed two days ago.

When he was selecting the target, he specifically confirmed with the intelligence dealer who had been working with him for a long time that this caravan should not have any backers.

And the intelligence dealer had always been a trustworthy person to him and had never had any problems.

So after thinking about it, the pirate leader temporarily ruled out this possibility and did not blame the intelligence dealer for the problem.

Unable to come up with a conclusion, he finally couldn't help but ask, "Who is that big shot?"

Chen Ming said with full of doubt in his tone: "Do you think I will tell you?"

The pirate leader knew that he had asked a stupid question and fell silent.

Chen Ming suddenly felt that he had overacted, and said in a slightly relaxed tone: "Are you worried about your own safety in the future? Then you might as well worry about whether you will die now if you don't cooperate."

"That master had already made it clear before assigning the mission that it would be best if the person could be brought back alive. If not, the worst that could happen is that we can just find another one."

"Change it?"

The pirate leader keenly captured the key words in Chen Ming's words.

He seemed to understand what Chen Ming meant.

The big shot that Chen Ming mentioned needs a pirate like him who has a certain bounty, has been someone else's glove, has experience in doing things, and has been in the fringe star field for many years.

There are not too many people like him in the fringe star field, but not too few either, so it seems that there is really no problem in replacing him.

Several thoughts flashed quickly through the pirate leader's mind.

Could it be that there really is something special that he needs to do?

There's no need to attack him directly, right?

Even Yu Hui's ship was used.

Wait, Yu Hui's ship? The pirate leader seemed to realize the crux of the matter.

He knew that many forces had been trying to acquire Yu Hui's AI core.

As for where these acquired core devices are used, it’s easy to guess.

For example, what he saw in front of him was the initial use of the AI ​​core, which was installed on ships and was responsible for the control of unmanned ships.

But it is impossible to use this kind of afterglow ship casually, even in the marginal star field.

Not to mention using it against a little pirate like him.

One or two professional military destroyers and two or three frigates would be enough to destroy the small fleet he led. There was no need for this unknown force to use Yuhui's ships to find him within the human empire.

There should even be a psychic on that Centurion-class ship that looks like a military ship.

Using the Afterglow Ship and the Psychic to find him, could it be that there is really a special purpose? Or is it foreshadowing something? The pirate leader's thoughts were gradually led to the ditch by Chen Ming's ship configuration and words, as well as his own luck.

He asked hesitantly, "Can you... tell me a little more? At least... let me know a little bit about the situation."

Chen Ming knew at first glance that the pirate leader had fallen into the trap, so he naturally would not tell the truth. Instead, he planned to lead the pirate leader deeper into the ditch.

"The most I can tell you is that the big shot has a good temper and is very generous."

Although the pirate leader had some problems with his thinking, his brain was still intact. He asked, "Why did you attack us? If you could just contact us, we would definitely be willing to help you. Why did you do this?"

Chen Ming asked back in a prepared tone: "You just finished a deal, right?"

"Um……"

"So you're planning to repair the spacecraft and sell the stolen goods?"

"Yes."

"What will you do after selling the stolen goods?"

"Repair the spacecraft, replenish supplies, spend all the money, and then go out to work again."

Chen Ming suddenly sneered and said, "So, do you think that the big shots will wait until you are done with your life of debauchery before looking for you? Can you still call back those people under you after they have taken the money and spent it?"

"But isn't it a bit... too much for you to attack us suddenly? And how do you think we will... that... help you?"

Chen Ming had read the information about the pirate leader before.

His logic in doing things is to make decisions based on whether he can be provoked or not.

It will provoke those it can afford to provoke, and avoid those it cannot provoke.

However, he had some problems only with his boss.

He didn't seem to think that his boss was someone he couldn't afford to offend, or rather, he didn't realize it.

This is different from his previous performance.

Chen Ming felt that it was not his personality that had changed, but that there was something wrong with his intelligence.

So Chen Ming now said as if he knew him very well: "You are a man who knows the times, aren't you?"

“If you don’t do it, you will die. If you do it, you may not die. This is the simplest truth.”

"Of course, I'm not sure if you will deliberately sabotage what you do in the future."

"So - I don't know if you noticed, but apart from the ship that rushed up and blew itself up, did any of you die?"

The leader was visibly stunned.

The other spaceships basically only had their engines and weapons destroyed, and at most only a few people were injured on board, and absolutely no one died.

He even took the initiative to request the activation of the suicide ship.

In other words, there was no life-and-death conflict between him and Chen Ming.

In other words, he was not worthy of having such a conflict with Chen Ming.

Two destroyers and six escorts were defeated by one destroyer and two escorts, and even the defeat only destroyed the ship's operating ability. It was a humiliating defeat.

It's not a life-and-death fight at all.

What's more, even if many people really died, as long as the benefits in the end were sufficient, this conflict could be written off.

"So you understand?"

The pirate leader was now completely afraid to say anything more and said honestly: "I understand, but since you have such ability, why do you want to work for us?"

"Some things have to be done by people with the right identity. You are the closest and most suitable person, that's all."

"Okay, you've asked enough questions. It's time to tell me what you think. If you want to do it, follow me. If you don't, you'll die here."

The pirate leader answered without hesitation: "Do it."

"very good."

As soon as Chen Ming finished his words, the engine of the Mule-class destroyer where the pirate leader was suddenly returned to normal and began to supply power to the entire spacecraft.

Some equipment on the spacecraft also began to restart.

In the shocked eyes of the pirate leader, Chen Ming's voice continued: "I recovered your ship, but the control of the spacecraft is in my hands."

"I will secretly send you to where you should go, and the rest is none of my business."

"Tell your men on the other ships to be quiet. I will also recover the other ships later and send them all away."

The pirate leader calmed his accelerated heartbeat and said, "I see. Can I ask you one last question?"

"explain."

"Is what that big shot wants me to do related to Yu Hui?"

Chen Ming's mouth twitched slightly. He didn't know how the pirate leader came up with this idea just now, so he simply said something repetitive: "You can think so."

The pirate leader's thoughts suddenly became more complicated. He thanked Chen Ming, pressed the terminal, hesitated for a moment, and finally closed the communication.

The pirate leader walked out of his room with the terminal, grabbed the unskilled maintenance technician who only knew some simple maintenance work on the ship and asked, "What's going on?"

The maintenance engineer said with sweat on his forehead: "I don't know, the spacecraft engine suddenly recovered, but our control over the spacecraft also completely failed."

"Is there any equipment on the ship that can still be used?"

"It's gone. Nothing can be moved. We are still trying to figure it out."

The pirate leader's hands shook unconsciously, and he said, "Don't bother, call everyone to the captain's room, I have something to say."

The repairman was very confused, but he did it anyway.

A few minutes later, the pirate leader roughly explained what Chen Ming said to his men in the captain's room, and also notified other ships through the communication channel.

After the explanation, everyone on the Mule could feel the ship suddenly start to move, but there was no one on the bridge.

Since the leader had given advance warning, no one dared to say anything about it.

The pirate leader suddenly sighed, his eyes filled with complicated meanings.

He knew that he would not die for the time being, but that might not be the case after he finished helping that big shot.

He could only hope that the big shot would take a liking to him and assign him other tasks.

At least he could live a little longer.

If his performance is really appreciated, maybe he could live a better life than being a pirate.

The leader sat on the chair in the captain's room in some confusion, imagining the possible future.

He had no idea that he was actually walking into the deep pit dug by Chen Ming.

Chen Ming had a rough guess of what the pirate leader was thinking, but he didn't care at all.

Anyway, everything he said was nonsense. He just wanted to delay the pirate leader until he could hand the person over to the boss intact and alive. The rest had nothing to do with him.

As long as the pirate leader can come back by then, it doesn't matter whether he comes back alive or not.

If Chen Ming hadn't been worried that the others on the pirate ship would choose to drag the pirate leader into the water after knowing that they were doomed to die.

Or perhaps the pirate leader realized that it was not right that he had to do the job alone, and Chen Ming even wanted to leave the pirate leader alone.

Otherwise, Chen Ming would have taken action directly long ago and would not have said so much to him.

Now all we can do is to let the pirates on the Mule-class ship that has already set off survive a little longer.

But the pirates on other pirate ships were not so lucky.

The Mule was sent away, which meant that communications between the pirate leader and the pirates on other ships were severed.

The remaining people can no longer influence the pirate leader at all, but they will affect what Chen Ming will do next, so they all have to die.

Chen Ming controlled the Iron Ore and took control of all the remaining pirate ships one by one.

He could observe the situation of these pirate ships through the three-dimensional imaging of the panel.

Although he cannot see the people on the spacecraft, he can see the items on the spacecraft and even see a complete set of protective clothing moving inside the spacecraft in three-dimensional imaging.

Originally, Chen Ming wanted to replace the Iron Ore with an electromagnetic javelin, relying on the weapon's high penetrating power and using three-dimensional imaging to kill the enemies one by one.

But he thought about it carefully and found a better way.

Disassembly.

This is the new ability that Chen Ming gained on the panel after he controlled the refractive level and his mental strength broke through the limit.

It affects any component on the ship, as well as the ship itself.

Chen Ming set his sights on a most ordinary frigate.

He first removed its weapons, then chose to dismantle the ship itself.

The frigate suddenly began to melt from the connection points of the various structures of the spacecraft.

Countless liquids made of various materials escaped and approached the iron mine where Chen Ming was.

A portion of the liquid material directly penetrated the hull and flowed into the storage compartment of the Iron Ore, condensing into a solid again, forming the most convenient use shape for each material.

There is no shortage of precious metals and high-grade metal materials inside, and these materials, which should have been scattered throughout the spacecraft, are all thoughtfully gathered together by the panels after being disassembled.

It makes Chen Ming, who has a slight obsessive-compulsive disorder, feel very comfortable.

However, the storage compartment of the Iron Ore was soon completely filled up, and the remaining space on the spacecraft, such as the engine compartment and the central aisle, was almost filled with materials.

Only a small path was left for Chen Ming to pass through.

The remaining excess materials were all gathered around the Iron Mine.

When a frigate was completely dismantled, Chen Ming roughly estimated that the cost of dismantling a complete frigate was about twice that of rebuilding a frigate.

It's quite acceptable.

For Chen Ming at the moment, dismantling all the frigates is not a problem.

As for those pirates whose ships were dismantled, they could only wave their limbs helplessly in space with fear and despair in their eyes.

Without the protection of the ship, they will soon die in space.

So Chen Ming very mercifully shot everyone again so that they could end their suffering quickly.

Their bodies would then be affected by the gravity well of the larger star and drift under the pull of gravity into the star in a normal cosmic environment.

There is no need for Chen Ming to bother dealing with it.

Chen Ming was not in a hurry to dismantle the pirates' remaining five frigates, but instead went for the Mule-class ones first.

Chen Ming had no intention of dismantling this Mule-class ship that had been controlled by the Refractive-class from the beginning.

Although it was just a cargo ship that was forcibly converted into an armed ship, the conversion was extremely crude and it also had various damages.

But it is a destroyer after all, so it won't be wrong to go back.

Since the Mule-class ship cannot be dismantled, Chen Ming chose to do it himself.

He compared the protective suits that appeared on the three-dimensional image and killed all the pirates inside the spacecraft.

After confirming that there were no living people on the Mule-class ship, Chen Ming personally went up and threw all the bodies into the hyperspace channel.

There was a large amount of cargo in the Mule-class cargo hold at this time, almost filling the entire hold, but this had little impact.

After all, there is still a lot of space elsewhere on the spacecraft.

Chen Ming once again took control of the remaining five frigates and dismantled them all into the most basic materials.

Basically all the space inside the Mule-class was filled up.

But even so, there is still a lot of material spilled out.

In the end, Chen Ming could only use the refractive level. After putting the Gladiator, Glimmer and Centurion in first, he relied on the electromagnetic device and his own movements to stuff all the materials into the capture cabin.

At this point, the only things left on the battlefield were the dead bodies of the pirates.

Chen Ming reconfirmed that there were no survivors left, and none of the pirates were wearing protective clothing with recording function.

Then it's about time to go back.

Chen Ming slightly controlled the speed of the Mule-class ship that had left earlier so that his own ship could catch up.

He brought five ships this time, the Refractive Glow, the Glimmer, the Gladiator Modified, the Centurion and the Iron Ore.

Also brought back were two destroyer-class Mule-class ships.

The fleet consisting of three destroyers and one escort once again accelerated to its fastest speed.

Under Chen Ming's control, they did not return directly to the Pirate Space Station, but went to the Dark Cemetery first.

After parking several boats and leaving behind a considerable amount of materials.

Chen Ming took the two Mules, the Iron Ore and the Centurion back to the galaxy where the space station was located.

In the process of jumping out of the hyperspace channel and gradually approaching the space station.

Chen Ming took out the terminal and prepared to contact the boss in advance so that the person could be transferred over.

Although he had previously revealed a little too much information to the pirate leader.

However, during their recent interactions, Chen Ming felt that he should be able to show a certain degree of trust in his boss, just like Old Wu and the factory director.

Unlike the factory manager, Lao Wu, the boss does not belong to Xinda or the military.

Although Chen Ming is not sure which force it belongs to, it is definitely not a force that is hostile to Chen Ming.

Therefore, Chen Ming was not too concerned about the exposure of his "psychic power". He opened the terminal without hesitation and began to contact his boss.

(End of this chapter)