Wandering through the universe are not only the interstellar giant rabbits, but also the space pirates.

The problem of space piracy has been troubling the Federation for over a century. Since the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence, there has been some progress in solving this issue, but in the remote regions, the control of the “Butterfly” organization isn’t as strong in certain star zones, and space piracy still persists. After all, the vastness of the universe is not like the land, and neither humans nor artificial intelligence can fully control it.

Two years ago, the Navi Star Zone gradually closed its borders, which improved security in the nearby areas quite a bit. For a time, it seemed as though space pirates had vanished.

No one expected to encounter pirates here, and… Zhong Yan looked at the several ships floating outside the cabin window, and realized that the pirate organization they had run into was quite large.

“Mr. Zhong!” The captain of the security team, upon seeing Zhong Yan, looked as if he had seen a savior, hurriedly saying, “There are too many of them. Their ships are equipped with heavy weapons, and our firepower is on a completely different level. Mr. Byer insisted we resist, but…”

Zhong Yan decisively said, “Cease resistance. We must avoid casualties.”

Byer urgently protested, “Mr. Zhong, how can we stop resisting? Their job is to ensure our safety!”

No one paid him any attention. The security captain received the orders and immediately turned to pass them along. Zhong Yan adjusted his clothes, then turned to the frightened staff members whose faces had gone pale. “Go get the cargo list for me. You, destroy all the Supreme Council-related data in the system. Go.”

They were disguised as a merchant convoy for this trip, and since the signal was weak deep in space and the borders of the Navi Star Zone had been closed for quite a while, this pirate group hadn’t landed in over a year and a half. They might not recognize his face, so they had to be adaptable.

He gave further orders to several others. While everyone was in a panic, compared to Byer, who was only shouting at the security team to face the enemy, Zhong Yan’s calm and composed demeanor in the face of danger gave them a sense of reassurance. They all nodded and began to carry out their tasks.

Byer raised several objections, but Zhong Yan, who had always shown him great respect, now completely ignored him. Furious, Byer’s face turned dark and he yelled, “How can you let them send a distress signal to the Navi Military District?! We should be calling for help from Capital Star! If this gets out, we might as well be dead!”

Zhong Yan coldly replied, “Rescue from Capital Star will be too late. The closest large armed force is the Navi Military District. You may choose to heroically perish with the pirates, but don’t drag the rest of us who still want to live down with you.”

This was the first time Zhong Yan had confronted him directly, and Byer was both shocked and enraged. His face alternated between shades of green and red. To him, this young man was just a puppet; after Steven Atte’s retirement, he had taken over that position. Yet now this puppet dared to embarrass him like this!

Due to the complete cessation of resistance, there was little conflict. Soon, a small pirate group boarded the ship.

At the forefront was a man with a dirty headscarf. As soon as he entered the security door, he pointed a gun at the security team and ordered, “Take off your weapons!”

The security team looked to Zhong Yan, who calmly said, “Take off the weapons.”

“Oh, are you their leader? Not bad, you’re quite sensible,” the small leader said to Zhong Yan, then asked curiously, “Huh, you look kind of familiar.”

One of his subordinates, eyeing Zhong Yan, commented, “You’re so pretty. You must be some kind of celebrity, right?”

Zhong Yan responded, “I know you’re all just after money. You can take the cargo on this ship, just let us leave safely.”

The small leader said, “That depends on whether the goods on your ship are enough to pay for the way. Search!”

After a while, several boxes of cargo meant for show were moved over, along with all the staff on the ship, who were roughly gathered together. The small leader, dissatisfied, said, “Is that all? Which company are you from? How come you’re so poor?”

Zhong Yan remained composed, “Most of the goods were sold on Leber Star, only this much is left.”

The small leader’s gaze shifted from the staff and suddenly broke into a sinister smile. “Oh, it’s fine. You do have two pretty women here. Two women and these goods, and you can go.”

The two female staff members were horrified, trembling in fear. Zhong Yan frowned. “That’s not possible.”

At the same time, Byer urgently shouted, “It’s possible!”

The pirate leader looked back and forth between them twice, asking, “So, can we or not? Which one of you is in charge?”

“I am,” Zhong Yan said. “You can take the ship and the goods, but you will not take my people.”

“Two women sacrificed to save everyone!” Byer yelled, “Are you trying to get us all killed?”

Zhong Yan sneered, “So now you want to live?”

The pirate leader impatiently raised the gun in his hand. “You won’t agree, huh?”

Zhong Yan quickly weighed the pros and cons of revealing his identity at this moment, and ultimately decided to ensure the safety of the others first. When only he remained, he would negotiate with them.

“I’ll take their place,” he said.

The small leader was initially about to say that they wanted women, not men, but when he looked at Zhong Yan’s face, his words got caught in his throat. One of his subordinates whispered, “Captain, this guy looks way better than those two women! Not a bad deal!”

“Fine!” The small leader waved his hand. “The rest of you, get in the escape pod and leave.”

After watching all the staff and security team enter the escape pod and leave, Zhong Yan silently allowed himself to be escorted onto the pirate ship.

This ship was quite old-fashioned, showing signs of multiple renovations, sturdy and intimidating.

The small leader seemed to be reporting to someone. He shoved Zhong Yan into a simple prison cell and left one person to guard him.

Not long after the small leader left, the pirate guarding Zhong Yan flirted, “Beautiful, are you an actress? I feel like I’ve seen you in a movie.”

Zhong Yan calmly replied, “You’re mistaken. It was in the social news.”

Unfortunately, the pirate didn’t even understand what he meant. Far from land and with no fixed place in the universe, pirates’ lives were filled with money, sex, and violence. Most of the time, they couldn’t receive signals, and they didn’t care what was happening in the Federation. When they occasionally reached a place with a signal, they were more concerned with downloading some entertainment to pass the time, without bothering with anything else.

“Haha, whatever you acted in doesn’t matter. You can entertain me for a while, and I’ll speak well for you later. How about that?”

“Not interested.”

The pirate continued to tease him for a while, but when Zhong Yan showed no reaction, it only made the pirate more restless, jumping around like a monkey, which irritated him. He cursed, “Damn, acting all high and mighty! You’re so young, yet you can lead a convoy. I bet you’ve slept with a bunch of big bosses to get here!”

Zhong Yan’s face looked much younger than his actual age, but since he was so well-known, no one mistook him for a young man just over twenty. He hadn’t expected to be misunderstood like this here.

The pirate cursed and began opening the cell door. Zhong Yan took a step back. “I advise you not to do that. You should consider why someone as young as me can lead a convoy. I’m from Capital Star. The Navi Military District knows I’ve been kidnapped and is on its way here. Your only bargaining chip is to use me as a hostage.”

“What?” The pirate was stunned, his desire evaporating. “The Navi Military District? You’re talking nonsense.”

“It’s true. Go report to your superiors. You should be able to earn some credit.”

The pirate hurriedly locked the door again and rushed off in a panic. Zhong Yan sighed in relief, leaning against the wall with a slight, bitter smile.

He was lying. Almost an hour had passed since the distress signal was sent, and he had no idea whether the Navi Military District would respond to it. Even if they did send someone, considering all factors, he wasn’t exactly a useful bargaining chip to them.

“Did you say… the Navi military is on the way?”

The spacious but chaotic hall was filled with people. Sitting at the top was a middle-aged man with black hair, a scar running horizontally across his face, making him look quite menacing. He was now questioning Zhong Yan, who stood in the middle of the hall below.

“Yes,” Zhong Yan replied, knowing the chances were slim, but still trying to negotiate, “If you let me go now…”

Before he could finish, the pirate leader interrupted, “It’s not impossible.”

Zhong Yan waited silently for the terms, but to his surprise, the leader said, “Let me see… you’re lucky. There’s a signal right now. Let’s do this. Send a message to someone in your contacts, tell them you’ve been kidnapped by space pirates, and ask if they’re willing to rescue you.”

The pirates around them laughed loudly, clearly familiar with this trick.

The pirate leader grinned maliciously. “If your friend says yes, we’ll give you an escape pod to leave. If they say no, we’ll put your terminal in the pod, and when the Navi Military District arrives, we’ll say we already let you go. As for your people… they’ll be left behind. Without the terminal, they won’t be able to find you, right?”

The whole hall erupted in loud, raucous laughter. Long-starved of entertainment, the pirates never tired of this game, and Zhong Yan knew he had no choice but to comply.

He opened his terminal, and sure enough, there was a weak signal.

Among the excited crowd, one pirate also opened his terminal and dragged an account out of his blacklist.

Zhong Yan wasn’t sure what he was thinking. This was definitely not the best choice—or rather, almost a guaranteed failure—but stubbornly, he selected this person.

To his surprise, almost in less than a second, the communication was picked up.

“Uh… Ai… yes, it’s me. I don’t know if you received their distress signal. It was probably sent about two hours ago,” Zhong Yan said.

The pirate leader pointed his gun at him, signaling him to skip the pleasantries and hurry up with the script. The hall fell silent, all the pirates eagerly watching this rare distraction.

“I’ve been kidnapped by them.” There was no response from the other side, and Zhong Yan’s heart sank, but he stubbornly asked, “Are you willing to rescue me?”

After a few seconds of silence, a deep male voice came from Zhong Yan’s terminal and echoed through the hall: “Not willing. Are you out of your mind, calling me at a time like this?”

The crowd erupted in chaos, everyone raising their weapons, quickly clearing a space. In the middle stood a tall man who had somehow blended into the group.