Chapter 588: Sending Off Hancock

Outside the spaceship, Lu Ke hid behind the hill, silently praying over and over.

“Don’t find me, don’t find me.”

At this moment, Lu Ke’s devotion surpassed any previous moment—he truly surrendered his fate to God’s hands.

Obi-Wan Kenobi had told them that Clark had super vision, but Ye Nan told him such super vision might have limitations.

Like a scan, it couldn’t operate continuously because scanning consumed energy; Ye Nan guessed Clark’s super vision required energy too—he couldn’t keep it active all the time.

So Lu Ke placed all his hope in God, praying that God would protect him and keep him unseen.

Because Ye Nan had used himself to lure Clark and Hancock, creating an opportunity for Lu Ke to seize the spaceship and escape the planet.

“I’m sorry, Ye Nan, I can only do as you said.” Lu Ke remembered Ye Nan telling him: your father’s vengeance, your uncle and aunt’s vengeance, Princess Leia, and saving countless subjects—Ye Nan told him his life was precious, that everyone must sacrifice themselves for his destiny, just to give him a chance to defeat the Sith Lord.

“But I won’t let you down. You want me to defeat the Sith Lord and save the Empire’s people from suffering—I will defeat the Sith Lord.”

He had always sympathized with the Rebels, and because his master Obi-Wan Kenobi supported them, and because Princess Leia was one of them, he already held affection for the Rebels—so when Ye Nan asked him to help, he agreed without hesitation.

Far away, outside the spaceship, Hancock and Clark wore space suits, holding welding tools as they continuously welded a small robot.

“How much longer will this take—taking it apart and putting it back together?” Hancock muttered under his breath.

Since he didn’t understand how to repair robots, he simply kept dismantling and reassembling the robot’s surface, repeating the process endlessly.

“It depends on His Majesty’s wishes, but His Majesty will have to wait a while—we still need to maintain the disguise.”

Compared to Hancock’s impatience, Clark remained far calmer, steadily welding the robot, painstakingly reassembling it piece by piece—his focused demeanor could fool anyone.

Shh!

A hovercar approached from afar, stirring up gusts of wind.

“It’s Ye Nan—Leia’s servant. The Death Star schematics are on him!” Hancock leapt up, tossed his tools aside, and sprinted after it at full speed.

“That Hancock.” Clark’s expression changed—according to the original plan, it should have been him, with his super hearing and super vision, who spotted Ye Nan; he never expected Hancock to lose his composure so easily, ruining the plan.

But Clark reconsidered and said nothing—he himself possessed super hearing anyway; even if he was exposed, what did it matter?

Though his mind raced with countless thoughts, Superman Clark merely lagged a heartbeat before swiftly chasing after them.

“They’re finally gone.” Lu Ke stepped out cautiously from behind, and once certain they were completely gone, he moved without restraint.

“Even with the hovercraft, they’ll catch up to Ye Nan quickly—I have to hurry.”

Lu Ke ran like his life depended on it, dashed into the spaceship, and hurled his wristwatch onto the ship.

“AI is decrypting… AI decryption successful. Level One access granted. Commander, please issue orders.” The AI’s cold voice echoed inside the spaceship.

“Lift off. Leave this planet,” Lu Ke ordered immediately. “Get off the planet first—we’ll set coordinates later.”

“Yes, Commander.” The AI responded. The hatch slowly closed; ion sparks ignited at the ship’s rear, and with a thunderous roar, the spaceship rose into the air.

“Farewell, Ye Nan. I hope you survive. I’ll come back for you.” Lu Ke stared at the computer’s scanned image—below, Clark and Hancock were returning, screaming in furious regret—and a look of sorrow crossed his face.

He didn’t know what fate awaited Ye Nan, but he knew Ye Nan’s life on this planet would be unbearable—danger would far outweigh safety.

But he had no choice. Too many responsibilities weighed on him—he had to live, for their sake.

“I’m sorry.”

…

Hancock and Clark roared below, glaring at the spaceship soaring into the sky, their faces twisted in rage—but their words contradicted their expressions.

“Is this enough? I really don’t want to keep acting,” Hancock complained, yet his face still wore an expression of furious anger.

Superman Clark, meanwhile, exaggerated his rage with wild gestures: “We’ll need to wait a while longer—the ship’s scanners can detect us. If we leave now, they’ll grow suspicious.”

The scanners could capture ground images, but not finely enough to read lip movements—though not impossible, detecting facial expressions required proximity; too far away, the image became too blurry.

Especially when scanning from outside the planet into its interior—the images were even more indistinct.

“That should be enough.” Ye Nan walked over from afar.

He called it walking, but his pace far exceeded a normal human’s run—giving the illusion that each step spanned space, though it was merely an illusion.

Because he appeared slow to the eye, yet moved at great speed—the contrast created this illusion.

“Your Majesty.”

“Your Majesty.”

The instant Ye Nan appeared, Hancock and Clark instantly became respectful, shedding all their arrogance toward Lu Ke.

From the beginning, Ye Nan had been their Emperor—they had merely performed a play under his orders.

“Obi-Wan Kenobi’s blood has been delivered back through the Subspace Network. Next, we must find Master Yoda and uncover the advanced techniques of the Force.” Ye Nan said.

“Is Yoda strong?” Hancock asked eagerly. From Ye Nan’s tone, Yoda must be stronger than Obi-Wan Kenobi—or at least nearly equal, since both were called “Master,” their power should be comparable.

For Hancock, his battle with Obi-Wan Kenobi had yielded nothing due to Superman Clark’s interference—he’d argued with Clark many times over it.

“Master Yoda is slightly stronger than Obi-Wan Kenobi,” Ye Nan hesitated, uncertain himself.

In the Star Wars storyline, Master Yoda was an ancient being who had lived for centuries; even Obi-Wan Kenobi, himself called “Master,” showed deference to Yoda—evident in how he addressed him as “Master.”

But Yoda was very old. Unlike Ye Nan, he was not immortal; due to age, his combat power had surely weakened—but by how much, Ye Nan didn’t know.

“Slightly stronger than Obi-Wan Kenobi?” Hearing this, Hancock perked up. “Perfect fighting opponent.”

Since leaving the Space-Time Empire, Hancock had never fought at full strength—he’d encountered only weaklings along the way. He’d finally found one worthy opponent in Obi-Wan Kenobi, but the man wielded strange powers that prevented Hancock from unleashing his full power.

“Hancock, you should return,” Ye Nan paused, then made his decision.

Whether it was the Superman Clark before him or the Flash hidden inside the ship, both were calm individuals—they wouldn’t act like Hancock, a battle-obsessed man who sought worthy opponents to vent his bloodlust, disregarding Ye Nan’s orders.

In fact, every plan Ye Nan had devised had encountered flaws because of Hancock. To prevent further mishaps, sending him back was the wisest choice.

“What?” Hancock’s face paled. “Don’t send me away!”

In his memory, serving His Majesty was the greatest honor, the core of their belief—if he was banished, he could never forgive himself.

“You love fighting. Your desire to battle will ruin my plans, causing them to fail again and again. That’s why I’m sending you back,” Ye Nan said, then added: “And if you love fighting, don’t suppress it—the Space-Time Empire has many opponents for you to choose from.”

“But I…” Hancock fell into turmoil.

In his memory, he should take pride in fulfilling Ye Nan’s orders, treat his mission as a glory greater than life itself, and die without hesitation to complete it.

But his instincts yearned—for battle, for the ecstasy of combat, for matching strength, for fists clashing against fists.

Whenever he encountered a powerful foe, he cast all plans aside—he couldn’t control himself, desperate to test himself against his enemy, even if it meant death.

“Fine. I’ll go back,” Hancock said, defeated. He knew he’d only hinder things here—better to return, find worthy opponents, and lose himself in the joy of battle.

“Good.”

Ye Nan extended his hand; his inner energy resonated with the Subspace Network’s power, opening a portal that sucked Hancock inside.

“Now we can act without restraint.” (To be continued.)