Chapter 99: Wanted
Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
Neither s.h.i.+p planned on giving up. No matter how hard the insectoid s.h.i.+p tried, it simply could not get Xia Fei off its tail. Wherever it warped, Xia Fei’s Lunar Eclipse was on its tail.
The insectoid s.h.i.+p was a destroyer, whereas Xia Fei had a frigate. The two s.h.i.+ps had at least a five-time difference in size.
In theory, the natural predator of the frigate was the larger destroyer, but in reality, it was Xia Fei who was using his frigate to chase after the destroyer, hara.s.sing the enemies relentlessly.
It was just like a game of cat and mouse, but there was a twist on how it was being played. In this instance, it was the cat that was constantly dodging, resisting, and trying to escape, whereas Xia Fei the mouse, which had bitten the cat’s tail, was refusing to let go. From time to time, he could even reach out and poke the cat’s b.u.t.t.
The commander of the insectoid destroyer started off nervous then angry and eventually slightly crazed.
He couldn’t fathom why Xia Fei’s Lunar Eclipse had so many different weapons installed; sonic, EMP, cannons, missiles, and radar inhibitors were some of which. Each was more abnormal and wretched than the next.
Battling Xia Fei was like a soldier running into a thug on the streets. Even if one could not kill him, the disgust one would feel from the fight was enough to push them over the edge.
Just as the insectoid s.h.i.+p was about to retaliate using its main cannon, Xia Fei used his firing systems and pitched a disruptor bomb to jam the enemy, forcing the troubled gunner to have to lock-on Xia Fei again.
But before the lock-on was completed, Xia Fei pitched another disruptor bomb.
The incredibly experienced gunner was so fl.u.s.tered that he was on the verge of tears. “Can you please go easy on me? Can’t you fight honorably? How long do you plan on using underhanded means like this?”
Xia Fei did not care for the enemy’s feelings as he continued to battle his way. As long as the Lunar Eclipse’s weapon systems were still operational, Xia Fei would keep sending the insectoid s.h.i.+p his regards.
Means? They were already at this stage, so who cared about the means used? It did not matter whether it was black or white; a mouse that caught the cat was a good mouse.
It was never a fair fight. From Lunar Eclipse’s appearance, it would seem just like any normal frigate—something that could be found anywhere all across the universe.
However, this average-looking frigate seemed wild and crazy in battle. Using a frigate to chase an insectoid destroyer, to the point where the crew would rather kill themselves, was not simply an uncommon occurrence but rather completely out of the ordinary.
Xia Fei had been careful this entire time as he whittled down the enemy’s defenses and maneuverability, never once going for the critical systems. He was hoping that he could capture the s.h.i.+p without needing to make it explode.
Xia Fei was doing this as he feared Xiaoyu was on the s.h.i.+p.
Xiaoyu was the most obedient girl Xia Fei had met, and everything that came out of her mouth always sounded incredibly innocent, so losing her would make anyone angry. Xia Fei would never live it down if his mistakes resulted in Xiaoyu losing her life.
The insectoid s.h.i.+p warped again, forcing Xia Fei to stop and wait. It would take from one to ten minutes each warp, and he would immediately warp to the new location and continue his pursuit.
There was an emergency call from HQ on the screen of the communications system. Xia Fei tapped on it to accept the call.
“Xia Fei, what is your situation?” Robert asked in a serious tone.
Xia Fei quickly went over the situation thus far.
Robert nodded. “You’ve done well. We can’t let this insectoid s.h.i.+p go. If you can’t stop it, you have my permission to destroy it no matter the cost.”
Xia Fei did not seem phased. “I will try my best to stop it.”
Xia Fei only agreed to try his best to stop the s.h.i.+p, but he did not promise to destroy it. It was not difficult at all for Xia Fei to sink it as Lunar Eclipse still had a few tricks up its sleeve.
When equipping the s.h.i.+p, Xia Fei included his concept of a victory with a price; thus, the s.h.i.+p was decked with many weapons that would destroy indiscriminately, even crazy weapons that would end up destroying himself and the enemy in the process.
Now, he would rather the s.h.i.+p escape than sink it, not using any of his crazy weapons for they were completely off the tables. If it escaped, at least Xiaoyu had a lifeline; if it sank, he feared that Xiaoyu would only live in his memories.
“Very good. Major General Torres from the border forces wants to speak with you. His troops are patrolling the perimeter of the buffer zone.
The screen flashed, and a few seconds later, a middle-aged man in a military uniform appeared in front of Xia Fei.
Major General Torres had the cla.s.sic look of someone who had spent most of their life in the army. He had wide jaws, tanned skin, and a piercing gaze as sharp as an eagle.
“Young man, it’s me, the chief inspector of the border forces stationed at the Endaro Star Region. Report your name, s.h.i.+p number, and position as an Adjudicator,” Major General Torres said in a serious voice.
“Nice to meet you, Major General; I’m Xia Fei from the Heaven Execution Training Camp in the Adjudicator Union.”
Major General Torres scratched his fully stubbled chin and nodded. The Heaven Execution Training Camp was incredibly well-known in the Alliance, and anyone who could enter the camp would most certainly be decent. Major General Torres had quite a favorable impression of Xia Fei, but the latter’s next statement almost broke this military man.
“I’m a librarian in the camp,” Xia Fei reported casually.
Major General Torres raised an eyebrow as he could barely believe it.
“Robert, why do you have a librarian chasing after spies? Is there no one else at the Adjudicator Union?” Major General Torres curiously asked; the slightest trace of mockery could be detected in the tone he used.
Librarians would always be a.s.sociated with bookishness, cowardice, inaction, people who buried their gla.s.ses into piles and piles of books, and other negative images no matter where it was. Major General Torres was most definitely no exception.
Robert was slightly embarra.s.sed as he had been the one who brought Xia Fei into the training camp in the first place. He thought that Xia Fei had an impulse that n.o.body else had, and that impulse could come in handy to the Union in the future.
He never expected that out of so many branches, Xia Fei would end up becoming a librarian. He was very disappointed by this fact and even slightly regretted his initial decision.
“Hehe! No matter what, it’s still someone from the Adjudicator Union who discovered these insectoid spies. The military hasn’t discovered a single thing,” Robert calmly retorted.
“Hmph.” Ignoring Robert, Major General Torres spoke to Xia Fei again. “Report your and the enemy’s position immediately; I have four s.h.i.+ps patrolling nearby, we’ll be able to go over as fast as possible and make sure that the spies won’t escape.”
Xia Fei was slightly shocked. The military had always been known for their unyielding spirit. If they got involved, would they not use heavy weapons to shoot down the enemy s.h.i.+p? If so, he would lose his only chance to retrieve Xiaoyu, and that was something Xia Fei did not want to see.
After a few moments, Xia Fei said, “I need the military to guarantee that they won’t do any harm to that insectoid s.h.i.+p. They must be captured alive.”
Major General Torres’s eyes widened and said menacingly, “Mr. Librarian, this is an order and not a request for your opinion; you don’t get to have a say in what we do.”
Of course, as someone from the military, Torres spoke clearly and seriously. He was quite frightened at this moment, and someone a bit more of a coward might have wet themselves.
“Are you trying to pressure me by using the military’s name?” asked Xia Fei, smiling. “I’m sorry, but I’m not your subordinate, so your orders don’t apply to me. Unless you can guarantee the safety of the insectoid s.h.i.+p, there’s no point in us continuing this conversation.”
Xia Fei was not loud, but it was certainly clear, conveying his thoughts respectfully yet showing no room for negotiations. Xia Fei could ignore their orders, but there was no reason for him to burn bridges.
“Do you think that I can’t throw you in jail? Do you think I can’t bomb you into smithereens? Do you think I can’t blow your brains out?”
Torres let out one thread after another. Unfortunately, the words meant nothing to Xia Fei as he had already made up his mind.
“Sorry,” said Xia Fei.
“Alright, not disclosing intel, huh? You must be a double agent of the insectoids; I’ll send out the order and get the whole universe after you right now.” Major General Torres exploded in his rage. He was pretty close to pulling a gun on Xia Fei.
Xia Fei looked down to check his tracking system. It had been five or so minutes since the insectoid s.h.i.+p disappeared. It appeared that they had warped quite far away this time, making them harder to track.
“Is this what your subordinates are like? Take a look at this guy; Robert, are you just going to let this happen?” Major General Torres got even angrier as he was ignored by Xia Fei once again, turning around to express his anger at Robert.
Robert might seem like a pleasant old man most of the time, but he did not have the best temper. Thus, he said with a straight face, “Major General Torres, it’s our business what we do with our subordinates; please refrain from commenting.”
This was also directed at Xia Fei.
Xia Fei understood immediately. He should do this as well as he could and not give the military leverage.
“Major General Torres, we at the Adjudicator Union are logical. We also care deeply about the safety of the Alliance. I’ll tell you the position myself.”
Xia Fei understood Robert’s intention and immediately did a one-eighty. Before Torres could take that in, Xia Fei said, “My position is—
“—Oh, no! There are electromagnetic interferences in this area; my radar is malfunctioning! My goodness! The positioning system is malfunctioning, too!”
Xia Fei presented an incredibly realistic act as he fumbled around in the s.h.i.+p with a serious look on his face. With a tap of his finger, Xia Fei promptly cut off communications.
Robert leaned back in his chair after dealing with the major general. After a few moments, he received a call from Ye Jingshan, who was anxiously waiting for news.
“What’s the situation?” Ye Jingshan hastily asked.
Robert shook his head. “Consider it a failure.”
“Consider?”
“Yes, our plan was to put Xia Fei and Xiao Haili into a closed s.p.a.ce and see if the latter would do anything to the former. If he did try and hurt Xia Fei, his ident.i.ty as a spy would be exposed, and the three teams from the cla.s.sified investigations department would apprehend Xia Haili immediately.”
Ye Jingshan nodded. “The both of us came up with the plan together. We’ve thought of everything, so how could it have failed?”
“Everything?” Robert sighed. “Guess what? The people from the cla.s.sified investigations met a group of Blood Raiders with unknown motives. Three silver and six bronze Adjudicators died for nothing. Even Xiao Haili and Queiroz were added to the list of casualties.
“Our plan completely failed. Not only would we never know if Xiao Haili was a spy, it cost the lives of eleven Adjudicators. Eleven!” yelled Robert in frustration. “The glorious Team 13 will never make an appearance in the Endaro Star Region again.”
Robert then loosened the b.u.t.ton to his collar, grabbed a bottle of spirit from his drawer, opened it, and chugged straight from the bottle. No matter what, Xiao Haili was still his disciple, and he would struggle not to blame himself for that. Right now, headquarters was still waiting for him to make a report, but he did not know if he could do it.
Robert did not go through the nitty-gritty. After having some of his thoughts cleared up, Ye Jingshan asked, “What about Xia Fei? Is he alright?”
“Xia Fei.” Robert felt helpless. “They all died, but Xia Fei lives. Who knows what got into the boy, but he refuses to let the military join in with the chase for the Blood Raiders. That even caused a fight between me and Major General Torres.
“From what I gathered, he seems to have something else in mind as he wants to capture the Blood Raiders alive, refusing to sink their s.h.i.+p. I’m so confused; why does Xia Fei bring trouble wherever he goes? I can’t even count how many problems he has created since the a.s.sessment.
“I’ve made my mind up; we can’t let him stay no matter what. Expel him when he comes back. Any of those problems he’s created this time is enough for expulsion. Genius or not, I can only handle so many problems on my plate right now,” complained Robert to Ye Jingshan.
It was not just that Xia Fei refused to take orders. The death of Xiao Haili and the other members of the cla.s.sified investigations team was also tied to Xia Fei’s name.
He was actually partly to blame here, for using Xia Fei as bait to check if Xiao Haili was a spy was his and Ye Jingshan’s idea.
Knowing that Xia Fei attracted problems yet still pus.h.i.+ng him into problems, who else was there to blame?
After a few moments, Ye Jingshan complained, “Robert, I can’t expel him. Not only can I not expel him, I must be careful myself.”
Robert was still guzzling alcohol down his gullet, so it was a good thing he did not do a spit take when he heard that.
“Why? Why can’t you expel students as the commander of the training camp?” asked Robert as he wiped his mouth using his sleeve.
…
Finally, the marking system detected where the insectoid s.h.i.+p landed, and Xia Fei was just preparing to go after them.
Before entering the wormhole, Xia Fei was shocked to receive a star regional wanted notice.
“My goodness; I’m actually wanted.”