Star Odyssey

Little Eight was startled by Lu Yin’s inquiry, and he unconsciously grimaced. “Boss, please don’t scare me like that. You can learn all of this just by asking around. At least half of the people on this ship know more than me.”

“Is that so?” Lu Yin replied noncommittally. When he had initially chosen him to control these pirates on his behalf, he had already noticed that Little Eight’s personality was different from that of the typical fugitive. His rough, ruffian demeanor also seemed deliberately crafter, but this had nothing to do with Lu Yin. They would all go their own ways when they reached the pirate port. And anyways, he was currently more concerned about that woman, Zhuo Daynight, and was hoping that she would not die.

He left the control room and went to check in on Zhuo Daynight in the sick bay. She was currently soaking in a nutrient bath that enveloped her entire body. Her vitals, such as her heartbeat, were all normal. “She won’t just die on us, right?”

The ship’s doctor replied, “No. While her injuries are serious, they have stabilized and won’t deteriorate as long as her body receives no further damage. However, within a month, she will definitely die without receiving proper treatment.”

Lu Yin relaxed and looked at Zhuo Daynight.

He thought back to the first time that he had met her and seen her murderous expression. He still remembered all those complicated emotions that had accompanied it; desperation, remorse, and helplessness, all intermingling with rage in her eyes. How had she fascinated him so much so that he couldn’t bring himself to just abandon her? Was it because of their agreement? Lu Yin didn’t even know himself. He could have left her to die and burn to ash along with the Knight Pirates, but he had instead saved her without hesitation even though he himself did not know why.

Within the nutrient bath, Zhuo Daynight frowned. The distorted expression on her slender and pale face was enough to cause others to feel distressed for her. Her looks were naturally innocent, and her current state lent an additional trace of helplessness and fragility to it; the her that was a Daynight powerhouse who had massacred countless pirates seemed to be a complete other person.

“Please, please, release them. Release my parents. The Sealed Cage Technique, please release it, please…” Zhuo Daynight was unconsciously muttering something under her breath and seemed to be incessantly pleading.

Lu Yin approached her and indistinctly heard phrases like “parents” and “Sealed Cage Technique,” but the fragments that he caught weren’t enough to make anything out. He shook his head and walked to the door, but turned around to look at her when he reached the entranceway. His heart trembled. In the few moments that had passed, a trail of freshly shed tears traced their way down Zhuo Daynight’s tightly face. Such grief, such desperation.

Lu Yin’s eyes burned with emotion, and his gaze kept flickering. This trail of tears moved his heart, and he stared at her figure for a while before he took a deep breath and finally left the sick bay.

The pirate port was flourishing, and in Lu Yin’s eyes, it was at the very least no worse than Zenyu Star. The space station was especially impressive, and there weren't just one or two landing stations, but rather a whole procession of them with lines of docking berths.

The pirate spacecraft landed at one of the more covert space stations with Lu Yin’s Aurora spacecraft still stored aboard.

Lu Yin formally bid farewell to Little Eight and the rest, not the least bit reluctant to part ways with them. For Lu Yin, the only important thing he had done during this time period was earn money.

Little Eight and the rest rejoiced when Lu Yin left, and they also needed to discuss what to do with their newfound freedom. They had to retire as pirates since they had been exposed and there were rumors that the pirates who they had robbed along the way were planning on joining forces to hunt down the rogue crew. Thus, their first priority was to escape.

Lu Yin carried Zhuo Daynight as he walked out of the space station. He stopped by a random aircraft and ordered, “Head to the nearest hospital.”

The pilot, who had slightly elongated ears and arms, immediately started the vehicle upon hearing Lu Yin’s words.

Lu Yin gazed at the stream of people that they passed by. The scenery here was poor, especially since there was no sun, causing the entire planet to be covered in a gloomy atmosphere. The occasional thick patches of fog that blew past them made the scenery even eerier. Explosions could be heard from time to time, but the pilot remained calm as if he was accustomed to it.

Zhuo Daynight’s attention-grabbing hair had been covered by Lu Yin, and her entire body was protected while in Lu Yin’s embrace. Her forehead was burning like fire, and her heartbeat was sluggish.

Lu Yin felt helpless and leaned back against the seat, waiting to arrive at a hospital.

After just a few minutes, the aircraft stopped. “We’re here, sir.”

Lu Yin looked at the short bungalow in front of them in astonishment. “This is a hospital?”

“Yes, sir. This must be your first time here. All of the hospitals are kept underground on this planet. Not only hospitals, but the shopping centers, businesses, public facilities, etcetera, are also built underground. You must have heard why.”

Lu Yin finally understood. That’s right, this is the pirate port. There are vicious criminals to be found everywhere, and fights commonly break out at a moment’s notice.

He paid the pilot one star crystal and carried Zhuo Daynight out of the aircraft. As he was about to leave, however, the pilot blocked him with a stern gaze. “Sir, this doesn’t cover the fare.”

Lu Yin’s brows rose as he asked, “How much?”

“Ten energy crystals.”

Lu Yin could not stop himself from laughing, and he gently pressed his hand down on the man’s shoulder. In that instant, the pilot's face changed as he felt an intense pain in his shoulder, as if a mountain were pressing down on it.

“Bro, I’m not in a great mood right now. I don’t have the energy to take a joke.”

The pilot’s forehead broke out in a layer of cold sweat and he forced a smile onto his face. “I’m sorry to have disturbed you. Have a pleasant trip.”

Lu Yin released his hand, stepped past the man, and entered the bungalow.

The man panted heavily as he cursed, “Damn it, what shit luck! I actually provoked such a troublesome person. He was just a Melder, but he was definitely more terrifying than a Limiteer. That brat must be a disciple of some great power that was sent out here for training.” He shook his head and quickly left with his vehicle.

Although the pilot had tried to blatantly extort money out of Lu Yin, he had actually taken Lu Yin to a decent place. When Lu Yin stepped into the building, he followed the flow of people and quickly reached the underground hospital. Its construction was simple, but the facilities were quite good and even seemed to be superior to the facilities that had been used to treat Undying Yushan.

After all, this was a rest stop along the passageway that connected the Outerverse and Innerverse. No one could guarantee that they would not be injured, and that even included Innerverse powerhouses. Thus, the pirate port’s medical facilities had to be top-notch to treat such guests. The Leo clan had paid a high price to build these facilities, and in the process, they had attracted countless patrons with their high quality medical conditions. At least, that was what Little Eight had said.

Many people were queued up for treatment, and each had a gloomy face. Some did not even expose their faces and had wrapped their figures in thick cloaks. Lu Yin did the same and covered his body, not wanting to reveal his identity.

An entire hour went by before it was his turn.

Suddenly, it became noisy outside as dozens of fierce looking people rushed in. One viciously roared, “Where’s the doctor? Hurry! Our boss is almost dead!”

They then began to disperse the surrounding crowd as they carried a big man covered in blood forwards.

Lu Yin frowned, as these people all strongly reeked of blood.

Cough cough. 

Zhuo Daynight suddenly coughed, and Lu Yin comfortingly patted her back. At the same time, the gangsters arrived before Lu Yin and tried to push him aside. But Lu Yin’s eyes turned cold, and he raised a single hand. Crack! One of the gangsters’ arm was twisted, and he was tossed a dozen meters away as the rest simultaneously looked at Lu Yin.

“Get lost,” Lu Yin warned.

They grew furious and attacked together, completely tossing aside any notion of negotiating.

The hospital staff quickly took shelter, as did the patients.

Lu Yin was enraged, and his palm turned into a claw. It was accompanied by a beast’s howl that resonated through the void. His Skybeast Claw killed a dozen of the attackers while the rest were knocked onto their backs, where they stared at Lu Yin in shock.

At this point, the troops had arrived. It was the private army of the Leo clan. They surrounded everyone and said, “The use of force is forbidden in the hospital. Everyone raise your hands.”

Amidst the surrounding chaos, Lu Yin frowned and looked around. He wanted to find a doctor since Zhuo Daynight had experienced some jostling just now, and her injuries seemed to be worsening slightly.

Suddenly, the large man drenched in blood stood up, retrieved a fist-sized metal ball from beneath his clothes, and smashed it against the ground. Lu Yin’s hair instantly stood up and he instinctively evaded with Flash. There was an intense explosion, and air currents ripped the atmosphere apart and directly shattered the lights in the area. The violent blast sent all of the troops flying away, killing quite a number of them in the process.

Lu Yin used Flash consecutively and rushed away with extreme speed before finally breaking through the roof with a palm strike and escaping. He had just reached the surface when the earth shook, and then caved in, burying everyone in the hospital alive.

Lu Yin stared at this scene in horror. What just happened?!

Smoke filled the air as alarms rang out in all directions.

Lu Yin used Flash again and fled with Zhuo Daynight.

Cough cough. 

Zhuo Daynight opened her eyes, and feebly spoke out, “Do not… get shot.”

“You’re awake,” Lu Yin replied in a muffled voice. He didn’t know what was going on in all the chaos.

Zhuo Daynight feebly said, “That… was… the great powers’… contest.”

“Contest?” He was puzzled.

“Some… great powers… take… extreme measures… to gain… great profits.” Zhuo Daynight had to push out each word with great effort. When she was done, she fell unconscious again.

Lu Yin breathed in deeply and stood in a dark corner as he stared in the hospital’s direction. The great powers’ contest? What about all those soldiers? So those doctors and patients were all pawns in their game!

Truthfully, Lu Yin had long since admitted to himself that he was no saint. The deaths of others did not concern him too much, and he was not afraid to adopt some extreme measures for his own personal gain. But this was his first time viewing such a bloody scene from such a direct and inferior perspective. It was even more drastic than what had happened on Earth.

If he had been any weaker, then he would have been sacrificed just like the rest of them. Strength was a good thing, and it influenced everything else in one’s life.

He glanced at Zhuo Daynight, whose condition was even more feeble than before, and felt a pressing need to find a new hospital.

The heavens seemed to be playing a joke on Lu Yin as dozens of explosions rang out that day on the pirate port planet. They all targeted hospitals, which threw the port into an unprecedented panic. The Leo clan even dispatched Explorers to quell the attackers, but that wasn’t enough to calm the terror.

How could the pirate port attract anyone without any hospitals? This was the pirate port, the dark underbelly where people were injured and where blood was shed everyday.

The first step was the hospitals, and the second would naturally be the businesses focused on food, clothing, or accommodations.

Lu Yin reconsidered his options as he did not want to continue running into areas targeted by the terrorists, but Zhuo Daynight’s condition required immediate attention.

Suddenly, Lu Yin thought of Coco. It was rumored that the members of Windrift Hall frequently wandered the universe. If there were any Windrift Hall members in the nearby weaves, he could take Zhuo Daynight to them for treatment. From what he had heard, they did not even require advanced medical facilities to treat someone, so after a moment’s thought, Lu Yin contacted Coco.

Outsiders could not use their gadgets to contact students who were within the Astral Combat Academy, but other students were allowed to do so.

Coco didn’t pick up. It was possible that she was in the trial zones. Lu Yin tried Zora next, but it was the same result. The duo were in the same team, and they were always together. Lu Yin had no choice but to wait.

He found a random building that seemed remote and somewhat abandoned and entered it with Zhuo Daynight.