Chapter 130: The Hometown I Can’t Return To

The hall led to five passageways. The pirates walked into one, while a group of people in battle armor emerged from another. Yang Bo noticed some familiar faces among them.

"Huh? It’s the people from the biological mecha manufacturing plant?" Yang Bo was surprised to find that they were indeed from the mecha factory.

Following the pirates into the passageway, he walked another twenty meters. The corridor took a turn, and at the exit stood a towering turret. It was fully enclosed, appearing to be accessed only from the inside, and its muzzle was aimed directly at the entrance.

Behind the turret, Yang Bo spotted quite a few mechas, along with the bald pirate leader. The two pirate factions combined totaled over two hundred people, with more than thirty mechas. Although they were all seventh or eighth-generation models, they were still a formidable fighting force.

Yang Bo felt a headache coming on. If these turrets were manually operated, it would be a huge problem. It would be better if they were controlled by an automated system.

Furthermore, the doors and other fixtures here were mostly mechanical. Yang Bo strolled around to take a look. The living conditions were quite good, even better than his quarters on the warship.

"Three months. We still have to wait three months before we can leave. There isn’t even a single woman in this godforsaken place," the bald pirate leader complained.

This area looked like a large hall. The pirates sat around holding drinks, making it feel somewhat like a lounge.

"We have a meeting with those mutant leaders tomorrow. What’s our plan?" the One-Eyed Pirate asked after sitting down.

"The Ash Organization just wants us to bicker with the mutant leaders. Watch me tomorrow; we’ll settle the score with them together," the bald leader said, shaking his head.

Hearing this, the One-Eyed Pirate nodded. "We took a huge loss this time. Half a lifetime’s worth of savings, completely wiped out."

"The Ash Organization can provide warships. They can even get their hands on the modified Sea Wolf Class, though the price definitely won’t be cheap," the bald man continued.

Yang Bo grew even more surprised upon hearing this. What kind of organization was this to actually have warships? Although he hadn’t seen what a Sea Wolf Class warship looked like, it felt akin to a street thug back on Earth asking you, "Hey buddy, want to buy a guided-missile destroyer? Brand spanking new..."

What would you think he was? A scammer, right?

But this pirate was clearly telling the truth. Yang Bo felt there had to be a powerful backer behind them, likely a nation.

"Rumor has it that the Ash Organization has deep ties with the Crimson Federation, so it’s not surprising they can procure warships. It just depends on what they plan to do." One-Eyed also picked up a glass of water, taking a large gulp before speaking. "Sigh. I’m just confused. How did a fleet of King Kong Class main battle ships suddenly appear out of nowhere?"

"Yeah, I think it might be a conspiracy orchestrated by the Ash Organization," the bald leader replied.

"Oh?"

"Think about it. The two of us have always robbed anyone we cross paths with, but the Ash Organization has always wanted us to exclusively target the Alliance’s merchant fleets.

"We suffered such massive losses this time. Even if the Ash Organization compensates us with new warships, we’ll still have to pay the difference, right? Then wouldn’t we have to follow their orders?"

"Makes sense. Those son of a bitch intel brokers," One-Eyed agreed.

"There’s nothing we can do about it. The Ash Organization has formidable intelligence capabilities. Plus, this incident also deals a heavy blow to the mutants. I’m guessing the tribes that are on good terms with the Ash Organization didn’t suffer much.

"They’re even using this three-month period to suppress other institutions, companies, and whatnot, all while stifling the mutants’ production output..."

Yang Bo listened to a lot of this and already formulated a plan to deal with the Tiger-faced King.

He followed some people out. The area where the pirates stayed was strictly occupied by pirates, with no one else around. Yang Bo decided to explore the other passageways later. For now, he needed to contact the Tiger-faced King. Trying to stir up trouble all by himself was unrealistic.

"Little brother, what did your side decide?" the Tiger-faced King asked eagerly when he saw Yang Bo appear.

Yang Bo let out a sigh. "I have a piece of intel on my end, but I don’t know if it’s accurate."

"What intel?"

"The Ash Organization did this on purpose. The two pirate leaders have never really followed their orders, and some of your people aren’t exactly on good terms with them either.

"Weren’t there certain tribes among you that suffered minimal losses this time? That’s because they received advance notice. It was only you clueless fools left in the dark. Honestly, if it weren’t for your sheer luck, how many people do you think would be left in your tribe right now?" Yang Bo looked at the Tiger-faced King and shook his head.

The Tiger-faced King felt somewhat suspicious, but he really had been lucky this time. His neighbor had suffered catastrophic losses and was ultimately killed by an unknown mecha.

He realized something was wrong. An unknown mecha... those bastards! The Ash Organization had more than enough mechas...

"You’re going to negotiate with the pirates soon. You’ll know if it’s true or false then. I’ll be taking my leave now." After dropping those words, Yang Bo walked away.

As the Tiger-faced King walked back, he felt a chill run down his spine. Something had happened to the Black Blade General, which meant that his own every move might be under surveillance. Who on this entire planet possessed such power? The Ash Organization.

"Third Huang, the Ash Organization told us to get ready to talk to the pirates tomorrow," a mutant leader suddenly said as he walked in.

"Ah!" The Tiger-faced King jumped in fright. The guy had just mentioned it, and now it was actually happening!

"What’s wrong with you?" the newly arrived mutant asked. He had a head full of white hair and ears resembling a fox’s.

"Do you think our tribe is being watched by the Ash Organization?"

"Definitely. The last time I got a large Attribute Energy Stone, the Ash Organization found out not long after. Someone in the tribe must be tipping them off." The other man plopped down into a seat.

The Tiger-faced King asked, "Cripple Liu, were your losses heavy this time?"

"Of course they were. We lost over forty biological mechas. Those were all elites.

"And stop calling me Cripple Liu! So what if my leg was crippled during my first battle with the mutants? That was over a hundred years ago," he grumbled irritably.

Third Huang nodded, feeling somewhat melancholic. "Back then, we had over five hundred people. Now there are less than thirty of us left. Sigh."

"Do you still have family back home?" Cripple Liu suddenly fell silent before asking after a long pause.

"The last update I got was sixty years ago. The news said I had two grandsons."

"Tsk, tsk. According to Empire law, with us being in this state, I’m afraid our families..."

"Cripple Liu, have you ever thought about going back?"

"You’ve got to be kidding. We were death row inmates back then. We’ve supposedly been dead for over a hundred years. Would anyone even recognize us looking like this? I’d probably just scare my descendants," Cripple Liu said, shaking his head.

"I have an opportunity here," the Tiger-faced King said after a moment of hesitation.

PFFT! Cripple Liu spat a mouthful of water right into the Tiger-faced King’s face.

"Are you sick?"

"Heh. Would an A-class mutant get sick?" The Tiger-faced King actually had his own selfish motives. Yang Bo’s proposition carried immense risks, but what if it succeeded?

If they truly achieved autonomy, he could open up a dialogue with the Empire through the Alliance. At the very least, he could get news about his family, couldn’t he? More often than not, the Tiger-faced King dreamed of his family and his hometown. The more time passed, the deeper this yearning grew.