One Hundred and First Section: A Visit

What is it? Ye Zhong’s spirits lifted at once.

Someone sent an encrypted, disguised signal to the outside. I intercepted it.

From that leisurely tone, Ye Zhong knew at once it was not Mu, but Shang. Mu never spoke like that; his manner was always calm and steady, without the slightest ripple. In that respect, Ye Zhong had been deeply influenced by him.

“Shang, is it your turn to come out today?” Ye Zhong greeted him.

Shang smiled smugly. “Who would have thought I’d come out and run into something this interesting right away? Ye Zi, tsk tsk, don’t keep copying Mu’s style all the time. Life needs a little fun! Heh heh, that girl in the training suit really is the real thing. Her legs are strong too! It’s enough to make a man imagine things. Tsk tsk! Ye Zi, how are you holding up down there? I remember she seemed to have caught you with one kick. Come on, talk properly about how it felt then. What a pity we missed that chance!”

At once, the figure of Rui Bing in her white training suit surfaced in Ye Zhong’s mind, along with that strange, faint fragrance and the silky touch that seemed to spring unbidden from the very depths of his heart.

What a strange sensation.

Ye Zhong knew that if he did not cut this fellow off now, he would go on forever about it. So he quickly changed the subject.

“Shang, you said someone sent out a signal just now?”

“Yes. More precisely, someone seems to have preset an intelligent program that sends a specific signal to a certain place at fixed intervals.”

“Oh? What did the signal say?”

“The current location of this ship.”

“Will that affect us?”

“Insufficient data, so I can’t judge. Sigh, Mu’s way of putting things is truly awful.” Shang muttered, then added in an exaggerated tone, “Ye Zi, this is unquestionably someone trying to do harm to this ship! Good heavens, don’t you have even a little righteous spirit, the kind that draws a blade when the road is rough? According to this year’s online survey, that’s one of the must-have qualities most favored by women! Ye Zi...”

Under Shang’s relentless chatter, Ye Zhong’s gaze went blank and his expression turned wooden. He almost felt as though he were about to faint.

It took a full twenty minutes before Shang finally finished his free-form improvisation on the topic.

By then, Ye Zhong already looked wilted and half-dead.

In an expectant voice, Shang asked him, “Ye Zi, how about it? We track down this insider and fight a righteous battle! Haha!”

“No.” Ye Zhong flatly ignored the fellow, who had clearly already gone mad, and walked off with great strides.

Soaking quietly in the micro-whirl massage tub, he felt countless tiny eddies in the water drift over every part of his body. The faint tingling was so comfortable it was almost intoxicating. Yet there was no look of enjoyment on Ye Zhong’s face; instead, he sat there in a daze.

With Mu absent, Shang truly did make people feel unsafe.

With Mu around, Mu seemed like an all-powerful leader, able to direct everything. But when he was with Shang, Ye Zhong found that he himself became the one in charge. Still, whenever he thought of Shang, a faint smile appeared at the corner of Ye Zhong’s mouth.

Shang was also secretly controlling the starship’s main computer and watching everyone aboard. As for Brandt and his uncle, Fred, Ye Zhong did not dare take them lightly. Having everything in his own hands was far safer than placing his bets on someone else. It was also far more reassuring.

Even though his relations with the two of them seemed rather good at the moment, who could say what might happen? Better to be cautious.

Ye Zhong also carried a trace of worry in his heart—the signal Shang had just mentioned. He did not know what was going on, but he still hoped nothing would come of it. The thing he feared most now was drawing attention to himself, and with Blue Sea Star so near, if any disturbance arose, that would be troublesome indeed.

With his eyes half-closed, Ye Zhong lay lazily in the tub, only now feeling truly comfortable. His skin was extremely sensitive; those tiny whirlpools felt almost like living things in the water. A thought stirred in him, and playfulness rose in full force. He closed his eyes, submerged both hands, and tried his best to sense the subtle changes in the currents around them. His hands darted like nimble fish, evading whirlpool after whirlpool that spun with no discernible pattern. If he could not avoid one, he simply jabbed it apart with a fingertip. But that only made the currents within the massage tub even more chaotic and harder to predict.

Before long, Ye Zhong was having the time of his life in the tub.

The water in the massage bath had been mixed with many kinds of active substances, which could effectively dispel fatigue. Ye Zhong’s spirits were now much better; he felt as though his entire body had grown lighter by a full measure.

Of course, if he knew that one bath here cost nearly as much as a light mecha, who knew what he would think.

Only a luxury starship of the top class would make such a thing standard equipment. And for those who could afford such a vessel, what was a little money in their eyes?

Fresh and invigorated, Ye Zhong had only just stepped out of the bathroom when he ran into Brandt.

Brandt reached out and grabbed at him with a laugh. “Quentin, I’ve been looking everywhere for you. So you were hiding here!”

Ye Zhong instinctively shifted slightly to the side, and Brandt’s hand closed on empty air. Brandt was briefly taken aback, then gave an awkward smile and looked a little embarrassed.

Ye Zhong asked indifferently, “What is it?”

Seeing Ye Zhong’s detached composure, Brandt somehow could not help sighing inwardly. Still, he smiled and said, “We’ve been cooped up in our rooms these past few days, and it’s really been rather boring. My uncle is utterly fascinated by your mecha; I’ve never seen him praise any mecha like that before. He probably won’t pay any attention to us for the moment. So I thought I’d take you around and show you this ship. Truth be told, there are still many places here I haven’t visited myself. Why don’t we take this chance to have a good look around?”

Ye Zhong thought for a moment. This would be a fine opportunity to become familiar with the ship. Shang already knew the starship very well, but it would be even better if he could learn it too. With that in mind, he agreed.

Most of the people aboard were temporary hires, and the ship itself had been given to them by someone else, so Brandt was not familiar with much of anything on it either. He attached great importance to Ye Zhong, who might become his junior apprentice. In Brandt’s mind, this would-be junior brother was probably so cold toward others because he had simply had too little contact with people.

So he came up with this idea.

The one accompanying them was Captain Hadick. Since it was the employer’s request, of course he had to do his best to satisfy it. On this point, Hadick was very professional indeed.

The Saberly had a length of ten kilometers from bow to stern, and the whole ship looked like an island. As a luxury starship, it possessed every convenience one could imagine, and then some. Captain Hadick spoke with deep emotion as he introduced it. He had been a captain for many years and had commanded countless starships, but a vessel like the Saberly was something he had never seen before.

The three of them came to a spacious hall, inside which stood dozens of gaming pods. Along one wall was a bar, and around the edges of the hall were many tables and chairs, most of them surprisingly made of wood. The patterns carved by hand into their surfaces were elegant and ornate, making them look more like works of art than mere furnishings for rest.

Every corner was also equipped with holographic screens at various angles.

The hall was packed with people, noisy beyond measure. Everywhere one looked, people were seated; some were standing, some drinking while chatting, some singing at the top of their lungs, and some pacing back and forth. But the majority were fixed on the holographic screens, not blinking once.

Ye Zhong frowned slightly. He disliked overly noisy places very much. Brandt caught every trace of his expression and smiled faintly, clearly quite pleased with this place.

Captain Hadick said, “This is a game room. Without question, it’s the most luxurious game room I’ve ever seen. When they have nothing to do, the young men all like coming here to pass the time, and all the drinks here are free. For those who are hopelessly addicted to alcohol but have no money, this is practically paradise.”

“These luxury gaming pods are rarely seen in ordinary times. Being able to try them out in person is far too deadly a temptation for bored people. Every day this place is packed, and many of them come just for these few dozen pods. Fortunately, there has hardly ever been any serious trouble on this route. Otherwise, I’d have to use my authority as captain and shut this place down, lest these youngsters overdo it.”

Ye Zhong looked up at the holographic screen overhead. On it, two mecha were locked in fierce combat, one red and one blue-green. He exhaled softly; the game content was clearly beyond his expectations.

The two mecha on the screen were both quite skillful. The red one fought in a cunning and unpredictable style, while the blue-green one was solid and steady. Ye Zhong was no longer the rookie he had once been. After a quick glance, he could already tell who would win. Though the two appeared evenly matched on the surface, he could see at once that the blue-green mecha still had some reserve power left. If the red mecha had no hidden finishing move, then the blue-green one would win nine times out of ten.

Noticing Ye Zhong’s interest in the battle on the screen, Captain Hadick introduced them. “Master Fred has a very prominent status, so safety naturally cannot be ignored. The guards hired this time are almost all well-known in the industry; every one of them has real skill. You could say there are many experts among them. The blue-green mecha belongs to Yu Jie, and the red one to Douglas. Both are quite renowned in this field and have a great deal of ability, whether in pilot technique or close protection. Among these people, there are still many experts at their level. But, heh, the truly formidable ones generally do not show their hands easily.” There was something faintly meaningful in the captain’s tone when he said this.

No sooner had Captain Hadick spoken than the battle ended, and as Ye Zhong had expected, Yu Jie’s blue-green mecha was the victor. At once, curses rose from below, though naturally there were also some triumphant bursts of laughter mixed in. The intensity with which these people had invested themselves in the match startled Ye Zhong a little.

Brandt was also somewhat surprised. Clearly this was his first time seeing such a scene, and he could not help looking toward Captain Hadick.

The captain’s expression was a little awkward, but he still explained, “By custom, both sides in a match have to place bets on themselves, and most of the people around them will also bet on the side they favor. The winner not only takes the loser’s stake, but also collects one tenth of the winnings from every spectator who bet on him. It’s the rule.”

Seeing the look of indifference on Brandt’s face, Captain Hadick shrugged. “Though this is a form of gambling, for those of us who spend most of our time drifting through space, it’s undoubtedly a very good way to pass the time. It’s also a way to relieve stress.”

Brandt gave an understanding “oh.”

Ye Zhong’s expression did not change at all. His attention had long since moved elsewhere; he was carefully scanning every corner around him. Becoming familiar with his surroundings at the first possible moment had already become one of Ye Zhong’s instincts.

By now the three of them had reached the bar. Along the way, everyone cheerfully greeted Captain Hadick, who returned the greetings just as warmly. It was easy to see that these people respected him sincerely, which caused both Ye Zhong and Brandt to look at him with a bit more attention.

“Hey, Chief! What brought you here today?” the fat man in charge of mixing drinks called out to Captain Hadick.

Captain Hadick laughed. “I’m just showing these two gentlemen around. You, boy, are definitely always closest to the liquor!”

Then he turned to the others and introduced him. “This fat fellow is Gino. He drinks like a fish, but he’s first-rate when it comes to mixing cocktails. What would you like to drink? Order whatever you want. This fellow always boasts that there’s no drink he can’t make. Heh heh. Gino, give me a glass of Golden Beach.”

“Right away!” the fat man shouted, his hands moving so quickly they were almost a blur. In no time at all, a yellow-white drink with fine streams drifting through it was placed before Captain Hadick. A rich, slightly sharp fragrance immediately spread through the air.

Brandt had followed Fred for many years and had spent his life moving through high society, so he was quite knowledgeable in such matters. He ordered a glass of Ignaz. The fat man could not help glancing at him a few extra times.

When the somewhat murky blue-violet Ignaz was set before Brandt, he took a small sip and immediately praised it. “Excellent! You really are a master. The flavor is right on point!” He even held out a thumb in approval. The expression on the fat man’s face blossomed with delight at once, visibly pleased with himself.

Ye Zhong, who had never drunk alcohol before, followed Brandt and also ordered a glass of Ignaz. Mimicking Brandt, he took a light sip. Instantly, a strange taste exploded across his entire mouth, and he set the glass down at once, frowning.

The fat man’s eyes upon Ye Zhong now held a shade more contempt.

Brandt drained his entire glass of Ignaz in one go, his expression one of pure enjoyment and contentment.

Just then, two people came out of one of the gaming pods. Brandt smiled faintly, gestured toward the pods, and raised an eyebrow. “How about it, Quentin? Let’s have a match.”