Chapter 32: Contacting the Star Pirates

On their way, Xi Ming explained to Shi Chan that his mental power had made another breakthrough.

Originally, Xi Ming was already among the most powerful in the Empire regarding mental strength. Now that his mental power had broken through again, it could be categorized as advancing from S-level to SS-level if expressed in grades.

Xi Ming hadn’t had time to fully study the practical applications of his new level of mental power. However, simply in terms of energy capacity, Xi Ming’s current mental power was comparable to the Empire’s legendary figures.

Hearing this, Shi Chan widened his eyes in surprise and instinctively lowered his voice. “So in this field, apart from those legendary figures, there’s no one in the Empire who can match you now?”

Xi Ming’s lips curved into a subtle smile, his eyes relaxed, tacitly confirming Shi Chan’s assessment.

Shi Chan had always admired and respected these prodigies. Seeing Xi Ming on the verge of reclaiming his position at the top, he felt nothing but excitement. His usually gentle voice carried a trace of fervor. “Ming-ge, congratulations!”

The thought of Xi Ming rising to the peak again made Shi Chan’s eyes brighten with joy. He smiled so widely it seemed he was even happier than when he achieved a breakthrough himself.

Xi Ming reached out, placing his hand on the back of Shi Chan’s head, and pulled him into a tight, silent embrace.

Xi Ming knew clearly that without Shi Chan, none of this would have been possible. Even if he had been reborn, he would have remained trapped on the capital planet, stuck in the Xi family, and ultimately betrayed by the Empire to its enemies—just as in his previous life.

All the hope he had now was brought to him by Shi Chan.

“Let’s sit down and rest for a while.” Shi Chan helped Xi Ming sit back down carefully.

The day Xi Ming’s mental power broke through, he had excitedly stood up. However, Xi Ming’s legs hadn’t yet recovered; they lost strength as soon as he left Hua Lin District.

Shi Chan had anticipated this. Xi Ming’s legs had just regained sensation—it was impossible for them to heal completely and support his full weight so quickly.

“It’s too early to start training now,” Shi Chan said as he squatted in front of Xi Ming’s legs. Using his spiritual energy to ease the pain, he continued to persuade, “Give it some more time. Once your legs recover a bit more, then you can begin exercising.”

Xi Ming seemed to have realized that Shi Chan had a unique healing ability. Despite enduring excruciating pain every moment of the day, Xi Ming insisted on standing to exercise his legs as soon as they regained sensation.

While Shi Chan could heal the damage caused by this strenuous training, in truth, such exercises did more harm than good. The only results were amplified pain and minimal progress.

“Alright.” Unexpectedly, Xi Ming agreed to Shi Chan’s advice this time. Shi Chan looked up in surprise, just in time to hear Xi Ming add, “I’ve been too impatient these past few days.”

Xi Ming wasn’t afraid of pain—he could endure it, no matter how intense. What he feared was being trapped in the mire, unable to ever rise again.

As long as there was a glimmer of hope, even the faintest chance, Xi Ming would fight with everything he had to climb out of the abyss.

But these past two days, he had indeed been overly anxious.

Looking at Shi Chan, who was crouched before him, Xi Ming placed a hand on his head and said calmly, “I’ve realized something—since you’re here…” With Shi Chan by his side, he could afford to relax and take a short break.

“That’s right,” Shi Chan replied, his warm and clear eyes reflecting a gentle smile. “I will heal you. Trust me.”

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After about six or seven days, Shi Chan and Xi Ming finally arrived on a planet designated R76.

Compared to K453, R76 was even more chaotic, with various gray-market forces mingling together. The Empire had minimal control here, as the nearby Lan Gorge Star Zone was a long-standing stronghold of star pirates.

The Lan Gorge Star Zone was named after a vast, uninterrupted blue stellar debris belt. When the debris belt had formed was unknown, but after the war between the Empire and the Federation ended, Lan Gorge became a gathering place for countless star pirates of varying sizes.

Because of the dangers in Lan Gorge and the pirates’ determination to protect their last “home base,” the Empire’s attempts to eliminate them had largely failed. Adding to this, the Federation remained a looming threat. Over time, not only did Lan Gorge persist, but pirate influence began to seep into surrounding planets, gradually eroding the Empire’s control.

When Xi Ming’s mental breakthrough caused a significant disturbance, he had to prepare for the possibility of being detected by the capital planet. R76’s location was ideal, allowing Xi Ming to retreat into Lan Gorge and use the pirate factions to evade the Empire if necessary. Moreover, R76 was an excellent base for Xi Ming to further connect with the Swift Eagle Pirate Group and expand his influence there.

Lan Gorge was the starting point Xi Ming had chosen to build his power.

For now, however, Xi Ming’s priority remained healing his body. The Empire still appeared strong and prosperous on the surface; the event that would weaken it profoundly wouldn’t occur for another three years.

Shi Chan, in contrast, had no such concerns. Since arriving on R76 and settling into their new residence, he had devoted himself entirely to treating Xi Ming’s injuries. He diligently absorbed and refined the chaotic energy within Xi Ming’s body into something usable for healing.

While Xi Ming handled other matters, Shi Chan focused on studying the radiation-related materials Xi Ming had procured from the lab.

The lab’s documents were far more detailed and in-depth than anything available on the public star network. Shi Chan gleaned many insights from them, enhancing his understanding of cosmic radiation and improving his treatment methods for Xi Ming.

Although Xi Ming’s legs were still unable to support him, the pain had significantly lessened compared to the beginning.

It seemed Xi Ming intended to stay on R76 for a while. This time, instead of renting like before, they purchased a two-story detached house with a small courtyard. The residence was equipped with various robots, all installed and ready before they moved in.

Shi Chan shared the master bedroom with Xi Ming. His daily routine consisted of healing Xi Ming, cultivating his spiritual power, studying radiation materials, and playing with Feifei.

After half a month in their new home, they hadn’t stepped outside even once, and Shi Chan almost felt as if life had returned to a peaceful routine.

“Shi Chan, get ready. Someone will pick us up soon for a medical check-up,” Xi Ming called out after finishing his tasks.

“Where’s the check-up?” Shi Chan asked, looking up.

“At the private hospital owned by President Chun Rui,” Xi Ming replied, briefing Shi Chan on the progress of his plans. “I’ve instructed Swift Eagle to intercept Chun Rui’s dealings with the Federation and gather evidence against him.”

“He has been selling large quantities of strategic materials to the Federation, many of which were high-grade resources embezzled from the central star systems—items strictly prohibited from being transferred out of the Empire. If Chun Rui wants to maintain his current wealth and influence, he’ll have no choice but to bow to Swift Eagle. If this matter is exposed, not only will Chun Rui and his trade association suffer, but all his relatives and allies will also be dragged down.”

Xi Ming didn’t go into the specific arrangements; after all, ever since arriving at R76, he had been working with Swift Eagle to plan this operation.

The Chun Rui Trade Association wasn’t well-known in the central star system, appearing to be just a small business rooted in the outer planets. However, during the Empire’s war, it was discovered that the association had been selling large quantities of strategic materials to the Federation. Further investigation revealed that ChunRui’s dealings with the Federation had begun seven years before the outbreak of the war.

While the Empire’s upper echelons were still debating how to punish Chun Rui and its allies, the trade association packed up its movable assets, breached the Empire’s defenses, and escaped to the Federation with the protection of their military. This left the Empire fuming but helpless.

After arriving at R76, Xi Ming scoured the star network for information about the planet, ran calculations and analyses, and identified a few potential sites. He then had Swift Eagle scout these locations one by one, ultimately uncovering evidence against Chun Rui.

Currently, the Empire and the Federation hadn’t yet gone to war. The Federation likely had several such “moles” like Chun Rui and wouldn’t pay much attention to them.

President Chun Rui, reluctant to abandon the empire he had built over the years in the Empire, begrudgingly agreed to Swift Eagle’s threats, reasoning that since it wasn’t the Empire but pirates who had uncovered his dealings, he could delay things for now.

As the mastermind behind this operation, Xi Ming didn’t demand any valuable resources as the pirates had speculated. Instead, he asked President Chun Rui to shut down his private hospital for one day, temporarily close all external communications, and hand over control of the facility.

“I made him shut down all the hospital’s communication channels. We’re going there for a check-up. The testing equipment in his hospital is smuggled from the central star system, making it one of the best in the outer planets, almost on par with the central star system’s standards,” Xi Ming said, placing a hand on the back of Shi Chan’s neck. “The main focus will be here—your pheromones are too unusual.”

“Swift Eagle’s people will come to pick us up, so you don’t have to hide your Omega identity,” Xi Ming added. Then, after glancing at Shi Chan’s striking appearance, he said, “Put something on your face. Going out like this will cause trouble.”

“Don’t worry,” Shi Chan replied. Back on the capital star, he didn’t mind using his Omega identity and good looks to gain some small privileges. However, he was well aware that when traveling, keeping a low profile was essential.

Soon, the person picking them up arrived. By this time, Shi Chan had already disguised his face, making him look like a plain-looking young man, drawing no attention. Xi Ming’s disguise was even more thorough. After all, Xi Ming’s face had been a prominent presence on the star network for years and was still highly recognizable.

“Jin? Are you Mr. Jin?” The man who arrived looked at Xi Ming, seated in his wheelchair, with curiosity and admiration, tentatively asking.

When communicating with Swift Eagle, Xi Ming had used the code name “Jin.” It seemed the man had mistaken it for his surname. Xi Ming had no intention of explaining.

“Lead the way,” Xi Ming said indifferently, showing no reaction to the man’s curious gaze lingering on his legs.

Shi Chan pushed Xi Ming’s wheelchair without paying any attention to the man’s scrutiny, standing quietly by Xi Ming’s side with a calm demeanor.

Indeed, Shi Chan had every reason to remain calm. It had been nearly two months since they left the capital star, and during this time, Shi Chan’s cultivation had been steadily progressing. He was now at the eighth level of the Qi Refining stage.

Compared to the five or six years it had taken him to reach the fourth level of Qi Refining in the past, advancing from the fourth to the eighth level in just a few months was nothing short of miraculous.

This rapid progress was thanks to the radiation energy in Xi Ming’s body, which acted as a constant source of nourishment—a “super elixir” that allowed Shi Chan’s spiritual power to grow exponentially, leading to breakthrough after breakthrough in his cultivation.

At the fourth level of Qi Refining, Shi Chan could already defeat most untrained Alphas. Now, at the eighth level, his physical abilities alone rivaled those of an S-level Alpha. Combined with his mastery of spells and techniques, he could even hold his own against SS-level Alphas in combat.

And how many SS-level Alphas were there? Xi Ming, once hailed as the “Star of the Empire,” was SS-level in physical ability, yet the Empire had no second “Star of the Empire.”

In other words, even if Shi Chan’s Omega identity and appearance were exposed, as long as high-tech weapons weren’t involved, he could escape unscathed.