Chapter 124: Bandel Star

"Starlight General, due to the failure of the Stargate mission and the loss of the Titan Ruins items."

"You have been temporarily relieved of your duties as commander of the Starlight fleet. Please remain in No Man's Land for the time being to collect Biological Virus specimens and await further instructions."

On the massive Holographic Screen, a cold-faced member of the imperial command mechanically read out his punishment.

"I understand..."

Starlight General was not overly surprised. He glanced at the starlight not far away; logically, it should not have ended this way.

It was not until he learned that the order to transfer the Titan Ruins items was entirely fake that he understood the fate awaiting him.

The massive Holographic Screen went dark, and a heavy silence descended upon the Command Center. The soldiers present did not dare make a single sound.

"Everyone, out... Purple Light, stay," Starlight General waved his hand. The soldiers, as if granted a pardon, silently filed out of the Command Center.

Purple Light stood in his Captain Class armor, holding his Helmet against his chest. The Energy Pathways on his suit flickered intermittently, and his face, covered in unkempt stubble, bore a complex expression.

"I am no longer a general..." Starlight General appeared somewhat relieved, a smile gracing his aged face for the first time.

"I am sorry..." Purple Light lowered his head. The apology seemed abrupt and inexplicable, but Starlight General knew exactly why he said it.

"You are not to blame," Starlight General shook his head with a touch of melancholy. "The orders came from the Imperial Research Institute. The people in there would never take the fall, so the scapegoat can only be me."

"I have already ordered the complete deletion of the surveillance footage from that time..."

Purple Light looked at him in disbelief. The surveillance footage on the Main Ship could have proven Hunter's arrival. Since Purple Light had once served as Hunter's Adjutant yet pretended not to recognize him, it was a capital offense!

"Since I am already being punished... why drag a captain down with me? You still have a bright future ahead of you," Starlight General patted Purple Light's shoulder, his tone profound.

Purple Light instantly felt even more guilty, an indescribable emotion echoing in his heart.

He left in a daze. As a soldier, his thoughts were straightforward; after helping Hunter, he had been fully prepared to face punishment.

But Starlight General's actions had left him overwhelmed with inexplicable guilt...

Starlight General watched Purple Light's departing figure, his eyes flashing with a hidden light. 'You better not disappoint me.'

...............

The nearest Life Planet to Taliskar was only a half-day warp away. However, Li Yu exercised caution, opting for a few extra warps to reach a much further Star System.

The Bandel Star System was located in the Southern Territory of the Star Glory Empire. It contained three Life Planets and two mining planets, which were rich in Bandel Steel, an alloy widely used in mechanical constructs below C-class.

The Core Administrative Planet was Bandel Star. The Bandel People who lived there were a Humanoid Race, and like most of their kind, they had only minor physical differences from Interstellar Humans.

The skin of the Bandel People was red-brown, a color remarkably similar to raw Bandel Steel ore.

Meanwhile, the cooldown for Clone One had long since finished, and it was ready for Avatar Deployment once again. Li Yu was quite eager, hoping for another bountiful harvest.

[Searching for deployment worlds... Analyzing data... Locating coordinates for Xenomorph World... Opening World Barrier Smuggling Channel... Successfully opened... Please select Avatar Deployment. You may carry Talents and titles, which will affect the Comprehensive Evaluation.]

Xenomorph World? Li Yu was somewhat surprised.

The Xenomorph race had left a very deep impression on him. They possessed the ability to Absorb the genetic traits of their Host to fuel their Evolution, and they boasted an incredibly high level of intelligence.

Moreover, there were the Predators, an Interstellar Race that wielded Energy Cannons in one hand while engaging in Melee Combat with the other. They had completely shocked him back in the day.

'Should I try Mission Mode?' Li Yu pondered inwardly, eventually deciding to give it a shot.

[Mission Mode] activated. The System brought up a text box for Li Yu to fill in himself.

"Hmm..." Li Yu hummed in thought for a moment before a line of text began to appear in the box: "Obtain a Xenomorph Egg while also acquiring Predator Armor, and ideally, get a hold of a Predator Ship as well... if possible..."

"Warning: Please do not set too many mission objectives," a red-text warning from the System stated.

"What do you mean 'too many mission objectives'? I didn't even use a period, so it counts as one single objective," Li Yu argued stubbornly.

Unfortunately, the System strictly followed its programming and gave no response. Li Yu was forced to delete the other goals, leaving only the task of obtaining a Xenomorph Egg.

Without a way to directly contact the Predator Empire, a Xenomorph Egg was likely the most valuable item available. As for basic Predator Technology... he had no need for it anymore.

Under [Mission Mode], there were no extra options. Selections for titles, Talents, and routes had all completely vanished.

[[Mission Mode] activated. Initiating Avatar Deployment... Deployment successful. Host, please wait for the mission settlement.]

There were no daily System Logs in [Mission Mode]; he could only wait for the final settlement.

As they approached Bandel Star, the Interstellar Network regained coverage. Claptrap immediately began collecting recent information from both the Interstellar Network and the Black Hole Network.

It compiled any data relevant to Li Yu and summarized it into a report for him.

Li Yu scanned through it. The recent events in No Man's Land had attracted a massive amount of attention, sparking endless discussions.

Several prominent Interstellar Commentators from the Star Glory Empire categorically declared that this had to be a conspiracy plotted by the Radiant Council, given their highly advanced Biotechnology.

The Radiant Council's response was much the same. Someone on the Black Hole Network had even compiled the rhetoric used by both sides.

Essentially, if you swapped the names "Radiant Council" and "Star Glory Empire," their statements were completely indistinguishable from one another.

Meanwhile, the terrifying Biological Virus sent shivers down the spines of several smaller civilizations.

Many civilizations were conducting thorough inspections of passing ships' spaceflight logs. Any Spaceship that had traveled from No Man's Land was immediately expelled, out of fear that it might be carrying the virus.

These smaller civilizations could not compare to the Star Glory Empire and lacked robust emergency response capabilities. If such a Biological Virus were to break out on their worlds, the consequences would be unimaginably catastrophic.

As for the Star Glory Empire secretly constructing a Stargate in No Man's Land, that revelation caused an even greater uproar.

In just a few short days, fourteen small civilizations, six large civilizations, and even one galaxy-level civilization had jointly submitted letters of protest to the Interstellar Alliance.

They accused the Star Glory Empire of interfering in wars outside its Territory as well as meddling in the internal politics of other civilizations.

The Star Glory Empire was forced to swallow this bitter pill in silence. Even some anti-war organizations within the empire began protesting, arguing that the empire's actions could very likely destabilize the Interstellar political landscape.

As the primary instigator of all this, Li Yu was naturally granted special treatment by the Star Glory Empire. They simultaneously issued requests for assistance to all civilizations that shared an Extradition Treaty with them.

"B-class Wanted Order: Li Yu. Bounty of ten billion Star Coins. Live capture preferred; reward halved if dead."

Li Yu stared at his suddenly skyrocketed Bounty with an incredibly bizarre expression. Mo Duo had received similar treatment, except her bounty was strictly "dead or alive."

The Star Glory Empire's Wanted Order was jokingly referred to across the galaxy as the "Troublemaker Leaderboard."

It clearly displayed the level of importance the empire placed on certain individuals. Almost all targets were wanted dead or alive; it was exceedingly rare to see a "live capture preferred" condition.

This news had caught the attention of many users on the Black Hole Network. Numerous bounty hunters who made their living through such means stayed up all night analyzing the public data released by the Star Glory Empire.

"Live capture preferred? Isn't that usually reserved for endangered Interstellar Races or individuals of extraordinary value?"

"This kid is just an ordinary Interstellar Human. Why would there be such a bizarre requirement?"

A small-scale discussion swept across the Black Hole Network. Some speculated it was because of the kidnapped Imperial Noble.

Rumors also circulated claiming that the true reason the Star Glory Empire's Stargate plan was exposed was entirely due to this guy's meddling.

All sorts of outrageous rumors flew about, and the ripple effects caused by Li Yu were already beginning to show.

A long queue of spaceships had already formed at the Bandel Star space hub. The local communication channels broadcasted a message on repeat.

"Please submit your spaceflight log. If you have recently docked in No Man's Land, stay away from this sector. Docking with ship camouflage active is strictly prohibited."

Bandel Star was far wealthier than Heavenly Desolation Star. Fleets of Frigates could be seen patrolling the void, and they had established a dedicated space hub. No Spaceship was permitted to enter the planet's Surface.

This was specifically implemented to prevent criminals from trying to fish in troubled waters.

A massive number of spaceships formed a long line in the Starry Sky. Every so often, a ship would break formation and warp away from the area.

"Faking the spaceflight log is easy; we can just have Claptrap modify it. But the ban on approaching with ship camouflage active is a real problem."

Hunter frowned. Near the space hub, silver probe Robots were meticulously inspecting every single Spaceship.

Li Yu's vessel, a custom-built ship, had long since been flagged on the wanted lists. If they disabled the camouflage, they would undoubtedly be recognized immediately.

"It seems the Star Glory Empire knows I'm somewhere in this vicinity. It must be intel from Dark Star," Li Yu guessed. He then voiced a curious thought, "Dark Star completely obliterated Taliskar, yet there's no sign of a wanted order for him. Is it really just because he's an A-Tier Lifeform?"

Hunter shook his head. "Taliskar was just a prison full of criminals. There's no way the Star Glory Empire would completely fall out with Dark Star over a bunch of convicts."

'A-Tier Lifeforms really do have it good...' Li Yu muttered in his heart.

"Warning... Warning, please abort your warp sequence..." Piercing alarm sirens suddenly blared across the communication channels.

Outside the viewport, a purplish-red Shuttle-shaped Spaceship came barrelling recklessly out of the Shipyard. Its Propulsion Engines were running at maximum capacity as it wobbled unsteadily, ramming into and knocking aside several nearby ships in its path.

Several Bandel Star Frigates swiftly approached, their high-powered Ion Cannons already beginning to charge.

When multiple warnings went ignored, several dazzling Light Beams lanced through the void, directly piercing the purplish-red ship. A silent explosion blossomed in the vacuum of space, though everyone instinctively found themselves Overthinking the scene, filling the silence with a phantom "Boom!" in their minds.

"Illegal vessels are advised to leave in advance. Once you have entered the Shipyard, departure will be strictly prohibited," another notice chimed over the communication channels.

When the Star Glory Empire's strict inspection orders were handed down, every galaxy, Star System, and planet had its own interpretation and method of enforcement.

The Bandel Star System did not want to take things to the extreme or engage in meaningless combat. It was enough if illegal ships simply left of their own accord beforehand.

However, once a ship entered the space hub, they could no longer turn a blind eye and had no choice but to follow the Rules.