Jing Mo sipped a mouthful of sweet grass juice and asked Fid, “What do you make of these people?”
Fid was the squad leader of Jing Mo’s hired mech squad. He was exceptionally tall, with an expression as solemn as a marble effigy, and coarse short hair that jut up straight like steel wires. A two to three centimeters long scar ran at an angle across his brow, giving not an impression of savagery, but of great valor. In addition, his strong build gave a sense of safety, and in the Tian Luo galaxy, many local maidens were attracted to him.
But these traits were not why Jing Mo valued him. Fid had good insights on matters with a steady and cautious personality. He was a good leader, and an honorable man. For these reasons, Jing Mo trusted him. If not for Fid’s reluctance, Jing Mo would not have wanted the man to work as his employee. Fid was a competent person who could stand on his own! It was thanks to his cautious nature and leadership that their current trip went on without a hitch so far!
Fid sat like a soldier, with his back straight and eyes focused. Once he settled, he could sit without moving for hours, and that impressed Jing Mo.
Fid paused to think for a moment, and replied in a clear manner. “The young man is probably the young master of some influential family. The three seemed to be genuine. Hmm, and his guard seemed to be quite capable, though I am not entirely certain. According to them, their starship was heavily damaged due to impact with a meteorite, but based on my inspection of the impact point on their starship the hull was obviously reinforced for strength. If a meteorite crashed into it, I did not find any trace of rock debris around, and that is impossible!”
Jing Mo was alarmed. “Could it be that they’re acting? Are they spies sent by space pirates?”
Fid continued, “Spies of the pirates? I think it’s not very probable! There were many bodies on the starship, and those victims mostly have mechs!” Fid’s expression turned unreadable, “And their mechs are quite peculiar!”
“Peculiar?” Jing Mo asked curiously. Mechs that could even strike the mech squad leader as peculiar – how could one not be curious about them?
Fid paused, and replied, “Yes, very peculiar! Their mechs were undoubtedly expert level mechs. You can imagine, if more than fifty people were armed with expert level mechs, they must be quite formidable! Besides, from the condition of the corpses, their muscle structure showed that they were highly trained. They should all be expert level mech pilots.”
“More than fifty expert level mechs? And more than fifty expert level pilots?” Jing Mo gasped. Expert level pilots meant great capabilities. No matter where they were, expert level mechs were highly sought after by those who seek power. Even Fid’s squad of fine reputation, the Oak Leaves, consisted of only ten expert level mech pilots, including Fid himself. Hence, one can imagine Jing Mo’s profound shock when he found out that the starship had more than fifty expert level pilots, each equipped with an expert level mech.
Fid nodded somberly. “Yes, that’s right, I checked them myself! As we all know, when a mech’s owner dies, the mech would reset itself to become a white mech. What made these mechs peculiar was that even though their owners had all perished, not only do they not reset, but they automatically engaged into a self-protection mode. No one could use or extract information from the mechs!”
“Mechs that could protect themselves?” Mo Jing was bewildered.
“As far as I know, this technology is only used by a few aristocrats and the military!” Fid explained all that he knew of the matter.
Aristocrats are fine, since he might be able to benefit from them, but if it’s the military… Jing Mo scratched his head unconsciously, deep in thought. This could get out of hand. Jing Mo would rather die than to have any dealings with the cold-blooded military!
“Additionally…” Fid looked at Jing Mo’s ghastly expression, and felt unable to continue.
Jing Mo believed that he was going crazy! Good heavens! He had thought that a golden opportunity had fell into his lap, but now it seemed to be a huge problem! Jing Mo panted heavily – he was not sure if his heart could endure the rest of Fid’s report!
After taking a few deep breathes, Jing Mo calmed down, and a moment later, his complexion recovered a little. He signaled for Fid to go on.
Fid gave him a quick look and continued, “Additionally, this starship has no labels, no manufacturing date, and no place of manufacture. However, it is indeed remarkably advanced. More accurately speaking, it is more advanced than all the starships available in the market for civil use!”
“More advanced than all the available civilian starships? What do you mean?!” Jing Mo was baffled, and moments later, his face paled again. “Could it be a military warship? It can’t be! Aren’t military starships banned for production quite some time ago? Even the military cannot produce them! Haven’t the five main galaxies banned all manufacture and research of starships for military use? Are these people insane? Do they not fear death?!” Three centuries ago, the government for all five main galaxies made a joint declaration, forbidding all individuals and organizations including the military from owning and developing battleships of any kind. Transgressors would be severely punished. From then on, mech pilots became the main source of manpower for combat.
Fid went silent for a moment before continuing slowly, “You are right, to a certain extent. However...” Pain and struggle showed briefly in his eyes, but the agitated Jing Mo did not notice.
Seeing that Jing Mo was on the verge of a breakdown, Fid felt it necessary to offer some solace. “Don’t worry, while it is very advanced, it was not armed with any firepower, and so it is not really a warship.”
Jing Mo exhaled in relief. “Oh, you gave me a fright on purpose, didn’t you? Don’t make a joke out of something like that again. I wasn’t sure if my weak heart was about to explode or not!”
Fid smiled wryly. While the starship was not armed with weapons, it still defied the rules set by the government.
Fid became serious, and spoke lowly, “There’s also the most important point.”
Jing Mo nearly slumped in defeat, and cried, “Oh heavens, do you want me to die?”
Fid ignored him, and spoke his mind without hesitation. “From the hull’s damage, they had indeed suffered an impact. It killed fifty expert level pilots all at once, so one can only imagine the power of the impact. As for how the three had survived, I have no intention of investigating further. However, I had found no debris whatsoever besides the hull’s fragments near the crash site. I would like to know, what really happened to them? Was it man-made, or due to a mysterious natural phenomenon? If it was man-made, would the culprits make their move on the three survivors once they found out about them? If yes, I would definitely not believe that they would have a charitable heart and leave our crew out of the mess. Besides, I do not believe that our starship’s hull could withstand even half of that force that hit their starship. If it was a natural phenomenon, would it happen again? This is what I’m most interested in!”
Jing Mo was completely speechless, and his face ashen!
If only he had not rescued those three… Jing Mo felt a wave of regret washed over him!
The fleet flew silently and steadily onwards, but after leaving this unending darkness, what could possibly await them? Jing Mo and Fid dared not consider the horrors!