Chapter 109: The Orbital Ring

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Several light armors from the Adept Association finally came to a halt, but that was three days later. Ye Zhong could only silently thank himself for bringing enough spare energy cells! Otherwise, like those light armors of the Adept Association, he would have run out of power! Mu’s energy seemed still abundant; surprisingly, Mu also had such a huge advantage in terms of energy. Mu’s creator was truly an extraordinary person!

Unexpectedly, Old Pang and Kasang also brought spare energy cells, which slightly surprised Ye Zhong.

In space, once energy is depleted, there is only one fate—death.

However, this arduous pursuit left Old Pang, who already had very vague memories of this place, even more dizzy and disoriented, unsure of where he was!

Fortunately, having finally shaken off their pursuers, everyone could now calmly search. As for those ten light armors that had run out of energy, their fate was predictable!

The group proceeded forward in an energy-saving manner.

“Over thirty years ago, I came to the Orbital Ring, but I was following my elder brother then. I was only seventeen at the time. Now, I don’t even know what it’s like here—whether the old inhabitants remain,” Old Pang said with a tone full of nostalgia.

Suddenly, Mu said, “Detailed star charts of the Orbital Ring are basically unobtainable! Not even in the Far Star Domain’s interstellar archives!”

Old Pang chuckled coldly, “Those government fools... I’m not too sure either. But the terrain inside the Orbital Ring is complex, ideal for hiding. Many serious criminals often escape here. You must be cautious; here, strength speaks, and killing goes unpunished. But be careful not to provoke the Art Bearers—those guys are troublesome!”

“Art Bearers?” Kasang asked curiously, “Big brother, what exactly are Art Bearers? I’ve never heard you mention them before.”

Art Bearers? Ye Zhong had never heard of them either and felt very curious.

Old Pang’s tone turned serious: “Kasang, you better not cause trouble! Art Bearers hold an exceptional status within the Orbital Ring. They never involve themselves in disputes but possess arbitration rights. It’s said that the Orbital Ring owes its peace to their protection, which keeps those government bastards from interfering! This is just what people say, though. When I was seventeen, following my brother here, I once personally saw an Art Bearer kill a fighter. The Art Bearer was over forty, looked frail, and didn’t move at all. Yet the fighter collapsed and died—very eerie!”

Kasang exclaimed, “That powerful?”

Ye Zhong was also stunned; he couldn’t understand how one could kill without moving.

“Yes, you better behave. But they’re easy to identify—they mostly wear pale cyan cloth shirts and rarely leave their homes. So, don’t worry too much! However, we must be wary of ordinary people here. The inhabitants are complicated and aggressive; fights often break out, sometimes even fatal ones. If your fists aren’t strong enough, you’ll only be bullied!”

“Fighting? I love that!” Kasang grinned, his expression joyful like a big kid.

A cold glint flashed in Ye Zhong’s eyes.

Suddenly, Old Pang shouted, “That red planet ahead—that’s it! Red Radiance Star!” Then his tone relaxed and brightened with excitement, “I was worried I wouldn’t find it. This planet is the easiest to recognize—all its vegetation is red, very peculiar. Its inhabitants are also the friendliest among all in the Orbital Ring. I stayed here longest back then and know it best!”

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Ye Zhong had a question lingering in his mind and couldn’t help but ask, “The Orbital Ring is only a few days’ flight from the route, so why haven’t we seen any space fleets along the way?”

Old Pang paused, then laughed, “The route? You mean the one the Saberi ship flies? That route has been abandoned for years. I don’t know why Master Fred suddenly thought of diverting to Morenster this time. Captain Hardick is indeed experienced—he even remembered this route! It’s the nearest and safest route, but no one uses it anymore. Who would have expected to run into those guys!”

Ye Zhong was speechless. Of course, Old Pang knew why Master Fred changed course, but he wouldn’t say. Luckily, Ye Zhong had no intention of explaining it to Old Pang either!

When Old Pang mentioned the latter half, the smile vanished from his face: “Once you enter the Orbital Ring, you can’t leave at will. The Orbital Ring is almost completely isolated from the world—entry is allowed, exit is forbidden. Very few people ever get out. My brother was only allowed out because he was handling some elder’s business, and I was sent out by him then! Since then, I haven’t seen my brother again!” Old Pang clearly touched on a painful memory.

This was far beyond Ye Zhong’s expectations, and he couldn’t help but exchange thoughts silently with Mu: “Mu, what do you think?”

Mu replied calmly, “According to the data, we have no choice.”

Ye Zhong glanced around the vast space and smiled bitterly: “That’s true. At least it’s a way out. We can only take it one step at a time.”

“Agreed,” Mu answered concisely.

Ye Zhong sat inside the Fish ship, his thoughts wandering freely.

Mu had changed more and more compared to before. Since the appearance of Shang, Mu and Shang seemed to be moving toward opposite extremes. Mu grew colder, while Shang seemed increasingly humanized. Ye Zhong still preferred the old Mu; as for Shang, he was quite a headache!

What exactly did the Adept Association want? They even had warships? Why was Gu Shaoze captured? Was it because of the thing pulled from his left arm? Ye Zhong’s mind raced, yet he couldn’t resist pulling out that little item from his waist pouch. It was a heart-shaped ring, looking quite ordinary with no special features. He recalled Gu Shaoze telling him a password before dying. Could it be a spatial key? Ye Zhong’s heart stirred. He was about to try it but remembered he was still inside the light armor. After some thought, he put the ring back in his pouch to try later—it wasn’t urgent.

Thinking of Gu Shaoze’s death stirred some melancholy in Ye Zhong—not sadness, but regret that such a genius died like that. Life and death were things Ye Zhong took lightly. Though he always struggled to survive, having witnessed so much death, he felt no special sorrow for death itself.

Master Fred was also a target of the Adept Association, and it seemed they didn’t know the attackers were from the Adept Association. Could this be the secret force of the Adept Association?

What was the Adept Association’s ultimate goal?

This thought flickered briefly in Ye Zhong’s mind and vanished immediately. What did the Adept Association’s intentions have to do with him? Their previous encounters seemed more accidental than targeted, and they hadn’t really threatened him, so Ye Zhong didn’t care.

But as for Black Horn, a shadow flickered in Ye Zhong’s eyes. He didn’t know when his strange illness would strike next. It had been over a month. When would the next episode come? And according to Instructor Hak, it seemed to get worse each time. Thinking of the last unbearable pain made Ye Zhong shudder.

Sigh, it seemed he could only take things as they came.

Ye Zhong took a deep breath, setting aside these worries, and listened to Old Pang and Kasang chatting on the comm channel.

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“See the silver fragmented asteroid belt ahead? That’s the ‘ring’ of the Orbital Ring, the largest one. Inside this belt is a stone called Silver Iron Ore, which can be refined into Silver Iron. Silver Iron is very valuable in the Orbital Ring but difficult to extract—apparently only Art Bearers have the ability. There are countless such ‘rings’ in the Orbital Ring, each with different shapes and resources.”

“What is Silver Iron?”

“Well, I’m not too sure either, just that it’s very expensive!”

“Ah, big brother, so you’re a treasure hunter too!”

...

They set foot on the vivid red soil of Red Radiance Star.

Ye Zhong looked at the uniformed men before him. According to Old Pang, they were Inspectors, the grassroots administrators of Red Radiance Star. The three stood before the Inspectors. Mu had already been stored away by Ye Zhong. When Old Pang and Kasang learned that the light armor was empty, their expressions were so vivid that Ye Zhong found it quite amusing.

“You are assigned to Harrison Star. The 12th space fleet will arrive in two hours. Good luck!” The Inspector before them said expressionlessly.

His cold gaze and broad, calloused hands marked him as a tough man. Behind him were several light armors of models Ye Zhong had never seen, watching intently. The enormous gun barrels occasionally swept over the three, intentionally or not.

“Harrison Star?” Old Pang’s face suddenly turned pale.

Seeing Old Pang’s expression, Ye Zhong guessed nothing good awaited them. Sure enough, Old Pang whispered an explanation.

Harrison Star was one of the most chaotic planets in the Orbital Ring, with a very high mortality rate—something Old Pang’s brother had mentioned before. The Orbital Ring’s rule was that one must stay on a planet for at least three months before being allowed to move to another.

Seeing Old Pang’s pale face, the Inspector’s eyes flickered with disdain. He coldly handed each of them a red card, “This is your identity card in the Orbital Ring! After three months, you can apply for interstellar migration permits at the local designated Inspector’s office.”

Without another word, he turned and walked away.

Two hours passed quickly. A pale cyan spacecraft resembling a large bird arrived punctually, bearing the large number “13” on its hull.

The Inspector approached the three and said coldly, “Gentlemen, please board!”