In the middle of the night, the new recruits and the star pirate group took turns guarding the Ghost Corps.

Chi Yao was jolted awake by a familiar, stabbing chest pain. He looked at the time—it wasn’t even 3:30 yet.

He stepped out of the tent, quietly dragging away one of the gold-masked men from among the group.

The gold mask man was choked by the throat as he was hauled all the way to the entrance of the mine.

The suffocating grip rendered him unable to make a sound.

When they had reached far enough, Chi Yao grabbed his collar, lifted him up, and reached for the mask with his other hand.

“L-let me go! Cough cough—”

The gold mask man struggled violently, but his hands and feet were shackled. He couldn’t resist at all.

Chi Yao found a hidden latch, pressed it, and ripped off his mask.

“Hss—!”

The masked man lowered his head in pain.

In the dim light, the alpha slowly raised his face.

He looked under thirty, but his cheeks were hollow, his skin pale as if freshly coated in paint, and his bulging black eyes stared hauntingly at Chi Yao. In those eyes, there was no trace of humanity—only madness and killing intent.

“Chi Yao! You’ll pay for this!”

Without his mask, his voice was raspy to the point of distortion.

Chi Yao pinched his chin and looked him over. “Oh, it’s you? It’s only been a few years—what, have you changed species too?”

The gold mask man was instantly enraged, his bulging eyes looking as though they might pop out.

“And you think you’re any better than me?!”

Chi Yao sneered. “Compared to me? You? Don’t make me laugh.”

Just as the gold mask man was about to retort, the terminal on his wrist suddenly lit up. His expression changed as he struggled to break free.

The next second, he was slammed against the rocks, groaning in pain.

Chi Yao pressed the mask edge against his throat and ripped off his terminal.

The display showed a string of garbled code, requiring a scan to connect.

Chi Yao: “Open it.”

The gold mask man smirked coldly. “You’ll never get information from me. Unless you get on your knees and beg.”

Chi Yao frowned, bringing the terminal closer to his face.

The masked man’s lips curled up—
If the scan failed, the terminal’s safety system would destroy everything inside.

But before scanning, Chi Yao suddenly smirked. “With that ugly face? Of course it won’t scan your face.”

He flicked his wrist and scanned the mask instead.

The masked man’s pupils shrank. “How did you kno—”

The terminal beeped, connection successful. Chi Yao pressed the mask edge harder against his neck.

“Why the hell did this take you so long to answer?!”

From the black screen came a middle-aged man’s voice.

Chi Yao didn’t recognize it, probably voice-modulated.

“How many times do I have to tell you? The client’s waiting for the shipment! If they hadn’t been pushing so hard, we wouldn’t risk making a move while Extreme Shadow was around!”

“I’ll send you the address. You have half a month to make the delivery. If you fail, you’re finished!”

The man rattled off angrily. After realizing no reply was coming, he shouted: “Say something, damn it!”

Chi Yao answered with a hard, steady tone while smiling. “Received. We’ll complete the mission on time.”

The gold mask man gaped in disbelief, his bloodshot eyes widening.

Impossible! Chi Yao had mimicked his voice perfectly?!

After the call ended, an address appeared on screen.

“Baleen Constellation N9.”

Seeing things spiraling out of control, the gold mask man grew more feral, breathing heavily with a low, animalistic growl.

Chi Yao’s senses flared—the sound of metal snapping.

He pulled back just in time to dodge the man’s swing.

The gold mask man had broken free of his restraints, eyes blood-red, skin erupting in clusters of fleshy nodules.

“Chi Yao, you were just lucky, nothing more!” He crouched slightly, ready to pounce. “If I had half your luck, I’d be better off than you!”

As he spoke, his nails grew longer and sharper at a speed visible to the naked eye, then lunged at Chi Yao with inhuman speed.

Chi Yao dodged swiftly, and within two moves found an opening and countered.

The gold mask man staggered after successive hits, dizzy and swaying.

When he tried to lunge again, his knees buckled as Chi Yao kicked him down.

“Don’t move.”

The gold mask man knelt, disheveled, looking up—only to see the silver barrel of a gun aimed at his forehead.

Chi Yao’s eyes narrowed, studying him.

He had started out sickly yet still human; now, there was only one word fit to describe him—monster.

Chi Yao lifted his chin with the gun barrel, looking down coldly. “Even with my luck, you’ll never be me.”

“You really think you can escape?” the man rasped, a chilling grin twisting his face. “Don’t fool yourself. I am your fate.”

Chi Yao’s gaze darkened. He pulled the trigger at his carotid.

BANG!

The smile froze on the man’s lips before collapsing lifelessly.

Chi Yao tilted his head slightly, alert.

He stood silently for a while, then turned back the way he had come.

Not long after, Jing Xi emerged from behind a pile of rocks.

The man’s body was dead, a small, finger-sized hole pierced into his neck—yet not a drop of blood spilled.

A coagulation round.

Jing Xi frowned.

Such bullets force blood to clot almost instantly, stopping circulation within a minute. Unless vital spots were hit, an antidote could save the victim within that window.

But the bullets were expensive and impractical for combat, discarded long ago by the military.

Scanning the face with his terminal, the results came back—

[Chen Ming, alpha. Resident of Pouch Constellation S111. Missing 18 years. Family closed the case 5 years ago.]

A missing person?

Jing Xi frowned, eyeing the growths across his skin.

Rolling up his sleeves, he found the same nodules covering his arms and torso.

Not a skin disease. Something worse.

Judging from the transformation, his combat ability had risen alarmingly. If his opponent hadn’t been Chi Yao, the outcome might’ve been different.

Suddenly, indentations caught Jing Xi’s eye.

He slit open the sleeve with his combat knife, baring the upper arm.

Near the shoulder, three distorted numbers bulged beneath the tumors: 31.

Memories flashed—Chi Yao’s “X” mark on his arm, Tie Xiong’s “5”.

These numbers… what did they mean?

Returning to camp, Jing Xi found the guard dog Yinwei sleeping soundly, a baby hugged against him.

Ever since Tie Xiong joined, Yinwei finally had an outlet for his fatherly instincts.

Chi Yao ruffled the pup’s fur, the irritation in his chest easing a little.

“Woof?”

Yinwei blinked drowsily, then, seeing his master home, nuzzled affectionately.

Chi Yao chuckled. “Like taking care of kids that much? Maybe I should find you a wife.”

Yinwei’s eyes lit up, nodding eagerly. “Woof!”

Chi Yao: “…”

A sharp pang stabbed his chest again, leaving him breathless.

Collapsing back, Chi Yao bitterly thought— You’ve got to be kidding me.

---

The next morning, daylight spilled through the camp.

Chi Yao lay staring at the tent ceiling, unmoving, feeling nothing but emptiness.

“Sir,” came the familiar voice of the round-faced officer. “You awake? The Extreme Shadow captain is arguing with the mercenaries. Should you take a look?”

Chi Yao sat up, pushing back his long, silky hair irritably. “Scram.”

The round-faced officer: “…”

So the commander’s morning temper was this bad?

Meanwhile, in character once again as the star pirate captain, Jing Xi wasn’t surprised. He had somewhat anticipated it last night.

Facing the wary Mercenary Corps leader, Jing Xi said blandly: “You dug this mine. By the rules of the open zone, it’s yours.”

The mercenary leader blinked, stunned. Did he mishear? The infamous Extreme Shadow… was not taking the mine?

“Then… why are you here—” he stammered. Surely they weren’t here just to help.

“Passing by. Lended a hand,” Jing Xi replied.

The mercenary head: “…”

…Was it really?

Even the Extreme Shadow members were dumbfounded.

Didn’t their leader say yesterday they’d take people and the mine? And now he didn’t want it?

This was fourth-grade ore—hundreds of carts’ worth!

Li Yuan nudged him uneasily. “Boss… are you sleep-deprived?”

Chen Sheng muttered, “Maybe you should eat breakfast first?”

But Jing Xi remained still, tone solemn. “As one of the strongest pirate corps, Extreme Shadow has the duty to uphold order in this circle and ensure fair development.”

Li Yuan sputtered, “But the ore—!”

“This is only something we can do,” Jing Xi cut him off.

“But the ore—”

“Which do you think is more important: ore, or reputation?”

Ore! every Extreme Shadow pirate screamed internally.

But under his gaze, they ground their teeth and chorused: “Reputation is more important!”

“Good.” Jing Xi looked back at the mercenary captain. “Don’t forget to pay the mining taxes.”

“Y-Yes, sir,” the mercenary stammered.

Afterwards, when Jing Xi left, the mercenaries exploded in whispers:

“They really don’t want it?!”
“Extreme Shadow, acting so… honorable? Could this be a fake copy of them?”
“You try faking a five-star mutant hound then!”
“This smells like a trap…”

The captain broke into a cold sweat. Yes, it must be a test! If they made the wrong move, Extreme Shadow would wipe them out.

He nearly swallowed the lie whole.

Soon, he ran after Jing Xi, shouting: “Sir, you’ve seen it—we got lucky but we can’t guard this mine. Please take it!”

“This is yours,” Jing Xi replied.

“We’re willing to offer it!”

“We don’t need it.”

Extreme Shadow crew: “…” But we DO!

The mercenaries trembled, drenched in sweat. Was this some psychological torture?

In desperation, the captain even cried and knelt: “Please accept it, I beg you!”

Seeing their terrified display, Jing Xi was lost for words.

Then, from a tent behind, came loud laughter. Chi Yao leaned lazily against the post, hair disheveled, amused beyond measure.

“Since they’re so sincere,” Chi Yao drawled, “why not accept it? Otherwise they might faint from fear.”

Jing Xi: “…”

Half an hour later, Fang Liang drove his ship to load carts of ore aboard.

Chen Sheng stroked his chin thoughtfully, then suddenly clapped with shining eyes. “I get it!”

Li Yuan: “What now?”

Chen Sheng: “The boss’s move—brilliant! We don’t rob; we wait, and they give it to us. We gain reputation and ore.”

Li Yuan gawked, then nodded vigorously. “Shit, you’re right!”

Chen Sheng gave a thumbs up. “Boss is a genius!”

Li Yuan smirked slyly. “Maintaining order—feels damn good.”

Jing Xi listening: “…”
These bandits’ mindset would take a long time to fix.

---

Author’s Note:

Yinwei: Find me a wife, yay!

Chi Yao: Settle my own wife problem first, then I’ll find you one.

Yinwei: Then nope. [droopy ears]

Chi Yao: …