Chapter 178: Near-Death Rebirth

Under the escort of the Amethyst Royal Fleet, Kansa finally arrived.

His expression was complicated. Looking back, the past was like smoke; he was no longer that innocent and romantic youth.

He had already been thoroughly conditioned to Li Yu's exact specifications.

Buzz—

The ship's doors opened. Eric appeared before Kansa with a group of people. With a warm smile, he took two steps forward, grabbed Kansa's hand tightly, and sighed with relief. "It is good that you have returned safely!"

Kansa sneered inwardly. In the past, he would have scoffed at Eric's act, but now he was a mature young man.

He reversed his grip, tightly clasping Eric's large hand, and actually burst into loud sobs. "Big brother, I suffered so much!"

Under Eric's bewildered gaze, he rubbed his snot and tears all over his brother's clothes.

Kansa firmly remembered Li Yu's earnest teachings—those who achieve great things do not sweat the small details.

But Kansa held his hand tightly, and with so many eyes watching them, Eric could not simply erupt with physical strength.

Only after Eric was covered in snot did Kansa finally relent. With red eyes, he said, "Thanks to my big brother's comfort, I have stepped out of the haze."

Eric managed a strained smile. 'Comfort my ass,' he thought. 'I only said two sentences.'

Immediately after, Kansa declared viciously, "I do not know which son of a bitch actually leaked my information, making it so I almost could not return. If I find out, I will definitely give him a green hat!"

Eric's expression gradually tightened, staring coldly at Kansa. The surrounding soldiers did not know what was happening, but vaguely sensing that something was wrong, they did not even dare to breathe too loudly.

"Hehe..." Eric suddenly laughed, though his eyes remained chillingly cold. "It is time to go back. Father is waiting for you quite anxiously."

"So soon?" Kansa feigned confusion. "Big brother, are you not supposed to conduct a political inspection?"

"I can have General Goff escort you back first."

"No need. I am afraid it will be unsafe on the way back if I return alone," Kansa smiled, bypassing Eric completely and walking directly into the ship.

Eric's gaze was like ice, but by the time he turned around, he had concealed all his emotions.

General Goff of the Royal Fleet was a direct elder relative to both of them. His attitude toward Eric and Kansa was not overly enthusiastic; he simply greeted Kansa briefly before leaving.

After all, the Royal Fleet had come under the guise of protecting the Inuit Hub, and Eric's political inspection had not yet begun, so naturally, they could not leave casually.

In an interstellar shipyard drifting through space, Saster furiously vented his dissatisfaction.

"Trash!"

"Trash!"

"A bunch of useless trash!"

Shards of exquisite decorations littered the floor. Saster's eyes were bloodshot. A short distance away, Rui Jin kept his head down, not daring to make a sound.

If he said the wrong thing, Saster really would kill him.

But at the same time, he was both shocked and angry. What exactly was the Sun-Hunter Squad doing? They had already been given Kansa's location, yet they still could not kill him?

Now, there was not even a single message from them. His Royal Highness the Prince had only learned of Kansa's return from Eric.

When they got back, even if they did not die, they would be stripped of a layer of skin.

Rui Jin had not yet realized the possibility that the Sun-Hunter Squad might have been completely wiped out.

Only when the commotion gradually died down did Rui Jin dare to slowly raise his head. Saster's hair was disheveled, and the light from the crystal on his forehead shone through the strands.

His voice was a bit hoarse. "Contact Dark Star. I want to talk to him."

...

With Kansa's matters settled, Li Yu did not plan to stay in the Inuit Hub for long. Their spaceship had been blown up in the previous battle, so the group did not need to debate whether to change vessels.

Three days later, the identity of an Amethyst Honorary Baron from Kansa was processed. To avoid attracting the attention of those with ulterior motives, only Li Yu temporarily obtained this identity.

The others would be added slowly. Kansa had become much more cautious. Even an identity with little value had to go through several procedures to be finalized.

And he hardly intervened personally. After all, he was a descendant of the Amethyst Emperor; no matter how far he fell out of favor, there would always be people trying to cling to him.

With this identity, he would face almost no obstruction within the borders of the Star Glory Empire, but that was about it.

Although he nominally enjoyed Second-Class Citizen Treatment in the Star Glory Empire, it was purely in name only; none of the accompanying benefits were included.

The Sand Worm was placed into the System Space. Since it was originally a product of the system, there was naturally no problem.

During this time, Clone One did not disappoint Li Yu either.

[Special Ability—Near-Death Rebirth: As an ordinary human, Batman has survived countless life-and-death crises and recovered quickly. Triggers passively in a near-death state, restoring the lifeform to a normal condition. Cooldown time: three days.]

This was the reward Clone One obtained after beating Batman half to death. After several days of continuous tracking, Clone One could no longer endure it and nearly beat Batman to death.

"I respect you as a real man," Li Yu said, giving Clone One a thumbs-up.

He had also figured out some of the system's rules.

The system's rewards were generally divided into two parts. One part consisted of normal rewards, similar to the Batmobile or Batarangs, which were items or abilities belonging to the character.

These could be obtained through normal contact.

The other part consisted of logic-defying items or abilities. These were traits inherent to those individuals or even certain mocked characteristics.

These had a chance of being rewarded only upon the first contact or if the target was beaten to death.

Most of the time, only this kind of reward had any real value.

Near-Death Rebirth was obviously a trait belonging to Batman. When facing Superman, Doomsday, or even Darkseid, his injuries always healed before long. How was that not logic-defying?

This was a bat-shaped ball of light. It was crushed directly and integrated into his body without any special sensation.

As for the Second Clone, he remained unremarkable, honestly carrying out his escort missions, as steady as an old dog.

"Being steady is quite good... at least he won't die easily," Li Yu consoled himself.

Li Yu and the other four prepared to temporarily take a travel ship to leave the Inuit Hub. A travel ship packed with people could actually better hide their tracks.

In front of the Inuit Hub Southern Docking Port, large numbers of interstellar travelers were rushing back and forth. Various spaceships took off and landed constantly. Although it still looked prosperous, one could notice that the faces of many arriving interstellar travelers were not simply filled with excitement. Instead, they were mixed with apprehension and unease, something rarely seen in the Inuit Hub in the past.

"Dear passengers, the Enfield Travel Ship is about to set sail. Please board the ship as soon as possible."

"Dear passengers, the Enfield Travel Ship is about to set sail. Please board the ship as soon as possible."

This was a medium-sized long-distance travel ship. It was a standard model with an alloy hull, a regular warp drive, and a shipboard energy shield.

A bright Enfield logo was emblazoned on the side of the ship.

The Enfield Travel Group was one of the large travel agencies within the Star Glory Empire. Its reach had already extended into several nearby civilizations, including the Amethyst Civilization.

Li Yu and his four companions mingled with the interstellar travelers, looking completely inconspicuous. After their tickets were checked, they smoothly entered the ship cabin.

This spaceship was a low-tier vessel of the Enfield Travel Group. The entire cabin was packed with dense seating and incredibly noisy. Various bizarre-looking races were squeezed together, and the crying of naughty kids rang ceaselessly in their ears.

Even though Li Yu and his group had purchased first-class tickets, it only meant the space was slightly wider; it was not a separate private room.

In fact, the entire spaceship did not have any private rooms. It was precisely because of this that the ship could accommodate two thousand normal-sized lifeforms.

Each ticket cost around fifty thousand Star Coins, meaning a single trip raked in one hundred million Star Coins—a staggering amount. Even ordinary interstellar travel was not something an average person could afford.

Recently in the Inuit Hub, only this spaceship was heading somewhat close to their destination.

"Excuse me..." a muffled, resonant voice came from behind. Li Yu stepped aside to let the Pahl People behind him pass first. They had a very strong body odor, which they could only cover up with even stronger perfume.

"Mom, that smells so pungent."

After the Pahl individual passed, a little girl further back frowned, covering her nose and constantly waving her chubby little hand in front of her face.

"Be polite..." her mother whispered. Her curly hair covered half of her face. Her curvy figure was perfectly outlined by a tight long dress, and her smooth ankles extended into elegant high heels.

'What a coincidence? To actually run into that mother and daughter pair,' Li Yu raised an eyebrow.

That little girl was clearly the one who had been scared into tears by Li Yu in the Tyron Tower. To think they were also taking this spaceship to leave.

Li Yu helped them lift their luggage and placed it in the overhead compartment.

The woman glanced up at Li Yu and hurriedly thanked him, her fair fingers unconsciously brushing her hair behind her ear.

"Thank you, Uncle..." The little girl was also very polite.

"No problem," Li Yu smiled and shook his head, casually asking, "The Inuit Hub hasn't been very peaceful lately. Are the two of you traveling alone?"

"Just me and my daughter. We originally wanted to come out and relax, but who knew we would encounter such an incident." The woman introduced herself as Sinai, and her daughter was named Keller.

Sinai had a look of lingering fear. The events at the Tyron Tower were still vivid in her mind. If they hadn't run into that person, she and her daughter would likely have died long ago.

"Yes, to think there are monsters that eat young children in a place like the Inuit Hub," Li Yu sighed deliberately, staring at Keller's little face.

As expected, Keller's small face instantly stiffened. As if recalling something, her facial features scrunched up, her mouth pouted, and she was about to cry.

"Keller! Have you forgotten what Mommy told you?" Sinai lowered her head to comfort her.

Keller's mouth puckered again and again. She stubbornly held back, and in the end, the tears did not fall.

"Mommy said that wasn't a monster, that was a hero..." Keller said tearfully. She didn't know what a hero was, but she definitely knew what a monster was.

Sinai gave Li Yu an apologetic smile, found her seat, and sat down.

Slightly disappointed that he didn't get to see Keller scared to tears, Li Yu shook his head. Just as he turned his body back, he noticed several strange gazes landing on him.

"It's rare to see you actively strike up a conversation with others," Hunter said with a teasing tone.

"Acquaintances," Li Yu replied with a single word. Mo Duo glanced at him lightly, then turned her head away without saying anything.

Their seats were all in one row. Li Yu sat next to Mo Duo, on the outermost aisle seat.

"The spaceship is about to depart. Passengers, please fasten your seatbelts and put on your zero-g protective suits. Oxygen tanks are located under your seats... Enfield travels with you."

Rumble!

The engines spewed out blazing blue flames. The entire spaceship let out a violent shudder and a roaring sound, something Li Yu had not felt in a long time.

They gradually broke away from the Inuit Hub. Through the portholes, the stellar radiance shone brightly, dotting the pitch-black universe with light. The twinkling stars were incredibly distant.

Life could exist on every shining star. The endless universe was vast and boundless—withered and desolate, yet brimming with vitality.

The outline of the Inuit Hub gradually blurred. Spaceships of various shapes took off and landed, slowly disappearing into the starry sky.

The first-class cabin was not small, holding about a hundred people. Once the spaceship officially entered the jump state, staff members brought out various recreational foods and beverages.

Ordinary travel ships did not travel very quickly through interstellar space. The duration of this journey was destined to be quite long.

Bored out of his mind, Li Yu logged onto the interstellar network. This travel ship was actually equipped with quantum network technology. After all, the voyage was so long that if there were no interstellar network to relieve the boredom, nobody would be able to stand it.

Since they hadn't left the borders of the Amethyst Civilization yet, the first breaking news pushed to him was from the Amethyst Civilization—

"Shocking! During Eldest Prince Eric's inspection of the Inuit Hub, a non-homeworld Amethystian splashed feces on him!"

Accompanied by the news was a video, shaking unsteadily, mixed with screams and loud laughter.

"You high-and-mighty bastards, what gives you the right to discriminate against us!" The man shouted at the top of his lungs, only to be shot dead right on the spot, triggering a chorus of gasps.

Looking closely at the video alone did not reveal any underlying secrets.

It wasn't until someone dug up the man's background that the truth came out. He was just an ordinary Amethystian until one day, he found his wife sleeping with a Mother Planet Purple Crystal.

In the end, not only was his wife stolen, but he was also left homeless. What was even more infuriating was that he was insulted by that Mother Planet Purple Crystal, who claimed he wasn't a real Amethystian at all.

This incident immediately detonated the already deeply accumulated racial divide within the Amethyst Civilization.

A green hat, being disadvantaged, being bullied, having one's Amethystian citizenship revoked—one by one, each of these issues was like a sharp knife carving into the hearts of non-homeworld Amethystians.

As a result, his act of throwing feces was met with understanding. Conversely, Eric's order for his subordinates to shoot the man dead was widely condemned.

"...As a member of the imperial family, I ought to take responsibility for this matter. We have enjoyed privileges for too long without fulfilling our corresponding duties..."

"When facing this kind of incident in the future, shouldn't we pause to reflect a bit more instead of immediately shooting them dead? After all, they are also our tribesmen."

Kansa spoke out through Simpson's media channels, his face filled with profound sorrow.

Kansa's statement pushed the fermentation of public opinion on the matter up another notch.

Even Kansa, the playboy prince, was taking it seriously enough to reflect on it. What about the rest of the imperial family? Were they not Amethystians just because they didn't have crystals growing on their foreheads?

Even if the Amethyst Civilization could control public opinion within its borders, neighboring civilizations were reporting on it like crazy, terrified that the heat of the incident might be suppressed.

Even the Interstellar Racial Rights Organization began paying attention to the situation.

'Not bad...' Li Yu nodded, feeling very gratified. Kansa had done an excellent job.

Kansa had consulted Li Yu about this matter, and the action plan had been revised by Li Yu himself.

The man who threw the feces was indeed a genuine victim. The Amethyst Civilization was so massive that there were bound to be a few oppressed individuals. With some slight alterations to the details and Mangu's cooperation, they managed to put on such a grand play.

Li Yu had once told Kansa that once he tied himself to the anti-discrimination movement, it would be very difficult for others to touch him.

If anything happened to him, everyone would automatically assume he was targeted by the discriminators.

It was just a casual, idle move. He didn't know how far Kansa would be able to take it, but for now, at least it solved the problems regarding his identity and finding a buyer for the Amethyst Core.

'Right, how is Mole doing?' Thinking of the Amethyst Core naturally reminded him of Mole. He turned his head and asked.

Hunter glanced at him, tapped on his smart terminal a few times, and sent over a message.

As far as he knew, Mole had taken his daughter and an elite squad from Molcasar and defected to the Reformers.

As for Molcasar, it had been designated by the Amethyst Civilization as a new experimental immigration zone, which practically meant it was being dismantled and divided up.

Defecting to the Reformers... was indeed a great choice. Li Yu nodded and didn't ask any further questions.

...

In the desolate starry sky, an asteroid belt rotated slowly. A massive amount of gravel and metallic ruins intertwined in all directions.

It seemed a great battle had taken place here. It looked to be quite old, as the metal debris was covered in thick layers of rust.

On the outskirts of the asteroid belt, two giant, arc-shaped pieces of metal were aligned in the cosmos. Electric arcs crackled between them, stretching out into the void.

A medium warship floated nearby. It was easily a thousand meters long. Although it looked rather old, its arrays of energy cannons and its menacing main cannon were certainly nothing to joke about.

Inside the warship's command center, the place looked incredibly dirty and messy. The edges of various buttons were caked with black grime, and an indescribable stench permeated the air.

Several Marauders wearing worn-out armor lounged casually in their chairs, looking extremely laid-back. They chatted among themselves, occasionally erupting into loud laughter.

It wasn't until a tall figure clad in reddish-brown armor walked into the command center that they suddenly tensed up.

A chilling voice echoed from beneath the reddish-brown armor. "According to the snitch's intel, that spaceship will pass through here very soon. Is the warp interceptor ready?"

"Boss, it's already prepped," one of them immediately replied.

Another person asked with some hesitation, "Boss, isn't this too risky? I heard the Royal Fleet is stationed right in the Inuit Hub."

Someone next to him smacked him directly on the back of the head and muttered gruffly, "What are you scared of, you coward? White Spider hijacked a travel ship just a few days ago, demanded two billion in ransom right away, and is now off living the high life."

"Exactly. The big shots who caused trouble in the Inuit Hub haven't even been caught yet. They simply don't have the time to deal with us," the boss assured them, glancing around the room.

In truth, quite a few of them were a bit fearful. After all, this area could be considered the border between the Amethyst Civilization and the Star Glory Empire. They couldn't afford to offend the Amethyst Civilization, let alone the Star Glory Empire.

However, because the Inuit Hub's channels had been heavily disrupted recently, and the culprits still hadn't been caught—or even a formal explanation given—

the Amethyst Civilization's deterrent power had dropped sharply. Most Marauders looked at the situation and thought, 'Damn! Since big shots are already causing chaos in the Inuit Hub, surely it won't be too much for me to follow behind and get a piece of the pie.'

"But we have to do this quickly. While the Amethyst Civilization hasn't gathered its bearings yet, we hit it and run." The boss also had his own viewpoint. White Spider had fired the opening shot and reaped the benefits.

Latecomers might not be so lucky, but as the second batch, they still had a chance to gamble for a win.

There were plenty of Marauders who shared his line of thinking. However, the location he chose was rather risky, already nearing the Star Glory Empire. If anything went wrong, they would face a thunderous wrath!

Right at that moment, the two giant, arc-shaped metal pieces trembled ceaselessly. Thick electric arcs raged, and the space here began to distort as if something was about to drill its way out.

"Warning, warning... The spaceship is being forced out of jump state. Please brace for impact. Do not unfasten your seatbelts. Put on your zero-g protective suits. Oxygen tanks are under your seats..."

Red lights flashed. Accompanied by the urgent blaring of the alarm, Li Yu abruptly opened his eyes, looking somewhat surprised.

The surroundings were already starting to get noisy. A massive number of interstellar travelers, ignorant of what was going on and overcome with panic and unease, stood up to look around.

"What is it shouting about?"

"It means we're about to crash!"

"What?!"

"What the hell is going on?"

Keller huddled in Sinai's embrace, lifting her head with a look of confusion. "Mommy, what's happening?"

"It's nothing... it's okay..." Sinai's entire body trembled slightly as she hugged Keller tightly.

Outside the portholes, the bizarre, multicolored scenery began to warp. The entire spaceship started to shake violently, and screams filled the ship cabin.

Boom!

Accompanied by a loud crash, the spaceship suddenly stabilized. All the interstellar travelers slowly quieted down, looking around in bewilderment.

"Are we safe now?" someone asked in a suppressed voice, blending fear with hope.

"There's... there's a warship?!" someone suddenly screamed, pointing out the porthole. Everyone's gaze was instantly drawn to it.

Outside the window, they saw a somewhat battered warship slowly sailing toward them. Smeared across its mottled outer armor was a bright crimson "XX" symbol.

"It's Marauders!" someone shrieked in terror, their face shifting from hope to sheer panic.

Marauders!

That single word caused a brief moment of dead silence in the cabin, followed by an even more chaotic uproar. Many of these interstellar travelers had never seen Marauders before in their lives.

To them, Marauders were something that only existed on the news.

The Satan Elephant-person yanked on his trunk, weeping bitterly, while the Morton Dwarf-person trembled and hid under the seat...

"Passengers, please remain calm. The Enfield Travel Group has previously issued a joint public statement declaring that we are willing to pay a ransom under any circumstances. Even if hijacked by Marauders, your lives will not be in danger."

A gentle voice echoed over the loudspeakers. This time, it was not a synthesized machine voice but a live broadcast, even though her tone also betrayed suppressed panic and dread.

Still, it provided immense comfort to the interstellar travelers present. They gradually quieted down, though their eyes remained filled with fear, entirely unsure of what would happen next.

Li Yu, however, was rather astounded. He sat in his seat, watching the warship slowly approach. 'We actually ran into Marauders?'

"What do we do?" Hunter asked in a low voice.

"Let's wait and see..." Li Yu indicated there was no rush. If a fight broke out and they accidentally fell out into space, it would be extremely troublesome. He didn't currently possess the ability to traverse the cosmos with his physical body.

In a nearby corner, a shifty-eyed man scanned his surroundings. His gaze lingered on those interstellar travelers who remained relatively calm or even completely unreactive.

There weren't many of them—mostly members of interstellar races who had some personal strength. They were considered uncertain variables, and he needed to memorize their faces to report them up the chain.