Chapter 287

Within the solar system and its internal star domains, there is absolutely no need to worry about robbery; public security is absolutely guaranteed.

However, the frontier star domains are plagued by pirates.

Desire arises from human nature; the demand to achieve a certain goal is inherently neither good nor evil—the key lies in how it is controlled.

Among the tens of billions of humans, there will always emerge those dissatisfied with the status quo, or those who simply enjoy robbery, arson, and killing.

Even if they face ruthless suppression and pursuit by the authorities, fearless individuals still keep appearing.

If humanity, and indeed all individual beings of all races, were inwardly good and mutually understanding, then the sea of souls would not become turbid and foul.

As an External Operations Supervisor of the Regulation Department,

Leon's understanding of the otherworldly space far exceeds that of the uninformed public, and also far exceeds that of the vast majority of company employees.

All he can do is investigate, search, and slay demons; as for how to prevent the otherworldly space from intruding into the real universe, that is beyond his consideration.

Moreover, he believes that the company, with the chairman at its helm, and humanity as a whole, have sufficient confidence to deal with the otherworldly space.

You should know that Leon is one of the veterans of Umbrella today, and he holds Sui Bian in extremely high esteem and admiration.

Without Sui Bian's personal recruitment, he, who was once a petty officer, would never have become a covert agent protecting humanity.

At this moment..

"Eh~…!"

No longer dwelling on the past, Leon suddenly stretched, sat up on the edge of the bed, stared at the opposite bulkhead for a moment, then put on his shoes.

He rose and left the fixed bunk.

He picked up his belt and waterproof shirt, fastened and put them on, concealed his gun and equipment, tidied his somewhat messy hair with a hand, then opened the cabin door and left the sleeping quarters.

He passed through the dim corridor.

Leon reached the edge of the end and heard;

"Three twos! See who can still beat me? Hmm? Everyone, get ready to treat!"

"Wait, double jokers, bomb, last pair of fives."

"Damn, you kid, you can really hold out!"

"Hahaha~!"

From that end came the noisy clamor of card-playing and arguing.

After Leon had completely left the corridor, he arrived at the main activity hall of the living area.

The hall is not far from the ridge bridge, spacious, with large portholes on both sides, reducing the chance of crew members developing mental illness from prolonged confinement.

It has a bar and a galley, as well as a pool table and an old-fashioned jukebox for entertainment.

And at this moment.

At the window-side sofa on the right, three burly sailors in casual attire, cigarettes in mouth, were playing a certain rule of poker to pass the tedious hauling days.

Seeing Leon arrive at the activity hall,

A burly sailor flicked his ash into an empty soda can, then, with a thick Russian accent, shouted loudly at Leon: 'Hey! Officer, how did you sleep?!'

'Pretty good.' Leon replied with a smile.

'How is that good enough?' The burly sailor turned his head toward the bar and instructed the female sailor with wavy hair:

'Vitariyeva! Make me a glass of your specialty, the Life Source; we can't slight the officer just because we hitched a ride—I'll pay for the drink!'

'All right, Chief Mate.'

The female sailor named Vitariyeva readily agreed, then took out a series of strong liquors from the rear liquor cabinet—vodka, whiskey, and so on.

She then poured them into a mixing glass in varying proportions, added a few ice cubes and drops of lemon juice, sealed the lid, and performed some fancy bartending moves.

Soon, a clear glass was filled to the brim with a green-colored 'Life Source'.

The female sailor placed the glass on the bar, pushed it forward toward Leon, who was already seated beside the bar, and smiled with narrowed eyes: 'Please.'

At that moment, the chief mate also laughed loudly at Leon: 'Officer! Cool off now, hahaha, otherwise when you get to Pulton you'll be so hot you'll doubt life!'

'Thank you for the hospitality; I'll accept your kindness.'

Leon said this, picked up the glass, tilted his head back, and downed the Life Source in one gulp; then he wiped his mouth with the back of his left hand and, with a normal expression, set the glass back on the bar.

Seeing Leon's impressive drinking capacity, the sailors immediately burst into cheers and shouted:

'As expected of a senior company employee—quite the kick!'

'Vitariyeva! Give the officer another glass of the Goddess's Favor—I'll cover it!'

!!

Yet faced with such 'warm hospitality,' the sailors, all speaking with a Russian accent, left Leon unable to stay composed; he quickly waved his hands to refuse:

'No! No need, thank you all for the kindness!'

Seeing Leon's firm attitude, the chief mate and the sailors then relented, no longer teasing him casually.

Although they had no authority to inquire, these sailors, who were also Umbrella employees, knew that the easygoing Leon was from the Armed Department; they figured a little joke was harmless, but they dared not really go overboard.

Next.

Leon chatted with the chief mate and the sailors in the activity hall, meanwhile gathering some gossip about the Frontier Fortress Star Zone, after all, certain information cannot be obtained via monitors, cameras, or network screening.

However, this time it was not as smooth as usual.

The Silent Mary is a cargo ship dedicated to shuttling between the solar system and the Frontier Fortress Star Zone; the chief mate and others' recent accounts match closely with the intelligence Leon holds.

They hadn't chatted long.

Outside the large porthole, the view shifted from rift space to a pitch-black starry sky, indicating that the Silent Mary had brought them back into the real universe.

The ship's hull was slightly adjusted in angle, allowing Leon and the others to observe, from tens of thousands of kilometers away in space, their destination for this voyage——

Pu'erdun.

This colony, located in the second orbit, with a radius of as much as seven thousand kilometers and a volume larger than Earth, after being remodeled twice by Umbrella's planetary transformation device, has become a planet suitable for human habitation.

The atmosphere is dense, with about 55% of its area covered by oceans, which can be considered a complete 'Earthification'.

But unlike the "Azure Stars" such as Harvest Star, Arcadia, and Zhi Yuan Star, Porton is more like a "Forest‑Green Star".

Aside from its oceans and vast freshwater lakes, the entire planet is almost entirely covered by endless green rainforest, within which lie intricate freshwater rivers.

Leon, seated in the activity hall, had learned of Porton through data and intelligence, but seeing it with his own eyes still gave him the impression of a combination of Earth's Amazon, Southeast Asian, and African rainforests.

"Hui~!"

Looking at Porton, the first officer beside Leon couldn't help whistling, raised his right hand onto Leon's shoulder, and said with a low laugh:

"Sir, may your mission go smoothly; it's a mix of fish and dragons and stifling heat, and Porton has no Vitariev's Life Source to chill and quench you, haha."

"Seems so," Leon nodded in response.

"This is the bridge," the ship's intercom promptly broadcast the captain's voice: "Everyone, prepare for unloading, and Agent Kennedy, please also prepare to disembark."

"Yoho! Work has started!"

Hearing the broadcast, the crew rose to leave the activity hall; Leon also joined the departing group and returned to his cabin to tidy up.

Outside the ship.

Silence Mary adjusted its angle and engine power again to avoid blackout formation, guiding everyone smoothly into the atmosphere.

Descending to a height of a thousand meters.

Gliding over the azure calm sea, after sailing for a few minutes, Silence Mary began to slow, eventually arriving at a starport by the sea that provides convenience for cargo ships.

Silence Mary reduced speed and entered one of the dock‑like berthing zones.

Immediately, pale violet lights emitted from both sides of the berthing area, forming a vague field that replaced the former massive mechanical arms to secure the hull.

Coming to a complete stop.

The engine glow at Silence Mary's stern dimmed, the side hatches of the cargo hold opened, and a nearly twenty‑meter‑wide "platform" extended, allowing the crew to unload cargo onto the berthing zone.

Inside the cargo hold.

The crew operated engineering exosuits resembling SCVs but a few sizes larger, moving metal cargo crates out of the hold one by one.

Leon, carrying a black travel bag, also walked out of the hold via the platform, arriving at the berthing zone piled with numerous crates and busy workers.

At the same time, he sensed Porton's unique way of welcoming…

Oppressively hot.

The moment he stepped out of the shaded hold, he was exposed to a blinding, scorching sun, with a felt temperature of at least 40 °C, and even the air began to "warp".

"Hoo…!"

Leon, whose forehead was already sweating, lifted his left hand to shield the sun, took a heavy breath, hoisted his travel bag, and walked toward the berthing zone's lift.

Once he entered the air‑conditioned lift, he finally felt much more comfortable.

But looking out at the street below, surrounded by trees, Leon felt a slight regret for not contacting the local intelligence directly, dispatching a company vehicle or aerial craft to take him straight out of the starport.

It was only a fleeting regret.

Given the insufficient intelligence and the seemingly ordinary surface, Leon chose to board a company civilian cargo ship, covertly reaching Porton for a solo investigation.

After unloading part of the cargo, Silence Mary would promptly depart the starport, heading away from Porton toward another colony planet, which conveniently allowed Leon to catch a "downwind ship".

While pondering.

When the lift reached the ground, Leon had to leave the cool, comfortable air‑conditioned area and return to the sweltering environment.

The starport and the streets below are in the suburbs; the sidewalks, roads, and aerial lanes appear very spacious.

Ground vehicles and airships are mostly cargo‑type; private cars and boats are rare, and there are no taxis that Leon usually takes.

Fortunately, he had already booked an air‑taxi on his phone.

He waited by the street for a moment.

A black‑and‑yellow‑checkered airship with a "For Hire" sign on top veered off the lane and smoothly landed in front of Leon.

"Door" automatically opened; Leon sat in the co‑pilot seat, placed his travel bag at his feet, buckled the seatbelt, and the driver—wearing sunglasses and a goatee—took him away from the ground and starport into the aerial lanes, crossing the rainforest toward the northern city.

He glanced at the "green sea" below, then looked up at the cloudless clear sky.

Leon sighed, "I've heard of Porton's temperature for a long time, but I didn't expect it to be so stifling that it's hard to breathe, truly unbearable."

"At least it's livable; a rain would help. Buddy, is this your first time?" the driver retorted.

"Yes, on a business trip," Leon didn't deny, adding in a slightly sarcastic tone:

"The company required expanding business to Porton; if it weren't for the travel allowance and expense subsidy, I wouldn't have taken this assignment."

Hearing Leon say that, the driver smiled and picked up the conversation:

"I understand, and buddy, you didn't pick a great time; Porton has been a bit chaotic lately. If you had arrived half a month earlier, perhaps you could have found a guide for a rainforest trek."

"Oh? Chaotic? Pirates?" Leon asked feigning confusion.

"More or less, they're all the same in virtue." Finding a passenger willing to talk, the driver had nothing to hide and explained:

"Half a month ago, a bunch of deranged Kira Hani tribes, with their ragged warships, boasted about turning Porton into glass."

"I know about that; the news reported it. Not only Porton, other colonies faced the same harassment, but our fleet should have wiped them out long ago," Leon agreed.

"That's right, but those bastards fled to the ground. Look, our Porton rainforest is dense, giving them a natural shield."

"So, before the army completely annihilates them, it's best not to venture deep into the rainforest," the driver reminded Leon with a sidelong glance.

"Hmm, don't worry; I really hate bugs and such. Even without the Kira Hani causing trouble, I wouldn't go on a rainforest expedition."

"By the way…"

Next.

Leon, with a youthful, eager‑to‑learn attitude, asked the driver for more information about Porton and various rumors.

For example, which districts are most chaotic, which districts host gangs; the driver kindly gave specific locations of several "red lights".

During Leon's small talk.

They also followed the aerial lane to a city covering about 200,000 km², also surrounded by rainforest.

Only a dozen or so massive apartment towers stood in the city center; the rest of the area consisted of normal‑height buildings, especially at the rainforest interface, where most structures were two or three stories tall.

Sailed for a while.

The driver piloted the airship into a low-altitude corridor, finally landing at the public docking area on the city's east side, closer to the rainforest zone.

Payment completed.

Grabbing his travel bag, Leon got out, walked out of the parking lot, and strolled down a street lined with many shops, restaurants, and inns on both sides.

Most people here wore short-sleeved shirts and shorts; some, wary of getting sunburned or mosquito bites, dressed similarly to Leon.

Moreover, besides humans, there were many elites wearing Hawaiian-style clothing, sporting sun hats or sunglasses.

After fourteen years of alliance, trade, communication, cooperation, and other aspects between humans and elites have grown increasingly close.

Especially on this side of the border fortress star region, the younger generation of elites has already integrated into human society, gradually becoming 'humanized' without realizing it.

(End of chapter)