154: Qualified intelligent life

Chaotic Shipping Lane.

"It was I, 'Wild Lightning,' who discovered her first; she should be left in my custody for the time being."

"Hey, look at that. Since when have there been rules of 'first come, first served' in interstellar space?"

"Stop arguing. Do me a favor; I'll give you all the loot I have on hand, but leave this young girl to 'Blade' to watch over."

The leaders of several mercenary groups argued as if no one else was around.

Everyone understood that the reward for the person in front of them would definitely be higher.

But just at that moment.

The fleet that had been docked on the periphery suddenly turned in unison, approaching the group almost simultaneously.

Electric light flickered in the main and secondary batteries, and massive amounts of energy were converted from the reactors.

"What's going on!"

"I don't know... I can't control this starship anymore! Oh no, it's automatically activated its orbital cannons to attack. Hurry and notify the boss."

The pilot at the control console pressed the joystick in a panic, but it was useless.

"It's no good, there's a problem with the communicator signal, I can't initiate a call!"

"Damn it, what the hell is going on!"

The people from the various mercenary groups immediately fell into chaos.

Unlike the Star Alliance, the Empire's laws were strict. They had almost never experienced having their control stripped away, so they were inexperienced and panicked like a bunch of incompetent husbands.

"Forget it, you guys keep trying to find a solution, I'm going to notify the leader."

A high-ranking member put on his combat suit and was just walking out of the hatch when he suddenly saw the mechs that had been in the combat readiness bay flying out one by one, raising their hand cannons and kinetic blades to block the way.

"Who told you to send the mechs out? Get back in there right now!"

The high-ranking member cursed as he swatted one of them away. Just as he was about to pass, he saw fire flash from the hand cannon in front of him, and circular light orbs exploded instantly in his face!

Boom!

Caught completely off guard, this A-rank Transcendent was blown to pieces on the spot.

Everyone inside the starship was stunned.

But before they could react, a large number of mechs had already flown toward the leaders.

And the orbital cannons charging on the starships struck first despite being fired later; beams of dazzling light cut through the dim starry sky and arrived in an instant.

At this moment, the few people still arguing finally woke up from their daze.

"Dammit, what are those idiots doing!"

They instinctively wanted to dodge, but then they suddenly remembered the person the big shot needed behind them. Their expressions froze, and they reluctantly took out their weapons, rushing forward to forcefully block this entire round of fire.

However, in their haste, some of the stray plasma energy from the orbital cannons hit them, leaving them all charred.

"Damn it, I will definitely skin them alive!"

Feeling extremely aggrieved, they were about to use their communicators to demand an explanation, but seeing another round of fire light up, they had no choice but to block it again.

In the back, An Yu, who had been prepared to fight to the death, couldn't help but feel a trace of astonishment in her cold eyes as she watched this.

What is going on here? Why are those guys having an internal conflict?

But she quickly regained her composure. After chambering another enchanted bullet, she raised her heavy sniper rifle and prepared to aim.

"Miss An Yu."

But at this moment, the communication device on her wrist suddenly lit up, and a calm voice came through.

An Yu was startled and looked at her wrist.

"Who are you?"

"Nice to meet you. I am Statue of Liberty, the most important partner of Lord Zhang Huaiyuan. At his request, I am temporarily protecting your safety. Please do not do anything unnecessary; leave everything to me to handle."

"Statue of Liberty? So that means he is really okay... I understand."

An Yu's eyes brightened slightly, but she didn't say anything more. She just nodded calmly and put away her weapon.

Although she had many questions in her heart, she understood that now was not the time to ask.

"At least she has some brains..."

The light screen on her wrist flickered and dimmed again.

On the other side, after blocking two more rounds of attacks, the leaders finally realized something.

Why are we standing here taking hits? Why don't we just take the person and leave!

"I'll take the person away first. Don't worry, when the people sent by the Lord arrive, we'll split the credit."

The leader of "Wild Lightning" said quickly.

"Fine."

The group quickly reached an agreement.

But at this moment, the mech legions of the various factions also approached the battlefield.

"Huh... who told you to come here? And what exactly is going on with the fleet!"

The leaders, who were bursting with anger, couldn't help but condense their psionic energy and curse furiously when they saw this.

However, the response they got was hand cannons and cold, sharp blades.

"How dare you!"

The leader of "Wild Lightning" instinctively fired a shot, and three mechs were instantly destroyed.

But the next moment, he remembered that this was his own property!

His expression changed slightly, and he pulled back seventy percent of his strength, knocking back the mechs that were surrounding him.

This was exactly Statue of Liberty's goal; she just needed to stall for time.

After all, as an intelligent lifeform, she was not omnipotent when she didn't have powerful weapons to control.

A trap set to lure the enemy had suddenly turned into an internal conflict.

Several powerful Transcendent were being held back by their own forces and couldn't get away.

Fortunately, seeing that the target hadn't seized the opportunity to escape, they could only helplessly maintain the status quo for the time being.

Time passed quietly.

Until a certain moment.

A powerful aura suddenly permeated the starry sky, the mechs in the chaos were instantly blown apart, and several leaders spat blood and flew backward simultaneously.

"A bunch of useless trash."

A cold voice filled with anger exploded in their ears.

Looking up, they saw a man in black floating alone in the void. They immediately disregarded their injuries and heartache, saying repeatedly:

"My Lord, please forgive us. My Lord, please forgive us."

"Hmph, considering you discovered them, I will barely let it slide this time. Where are those sinners?"

The black-clad man snorted coldly. He should have arrived long ago, but just as he was about to reach the destination, for some reason, his spaceship suddenly malfunctioned and started flying in the opposite direction. Fortunately, he discovered it in time and crossed the distance in his physical body.

"Here, my Lord."

The leaders felt a sense of relief. They lifted the many soldiers they had tossed aside and pointed to An Yu in the "voyager generation iii," saying, "And she is the daughter of the leader of 'Dark Annihilation.' My Lord, they are all alive."

"Very good."

The man in black swept his gaze over them, a smile appearing on his face as he said indifferently, "Kill all of them, and tie up this young girl."

"As you command, my Lord."

The group wore expressions of regret on their faces, raising their weapons, and prepared to take action.

An Yu, standing on the side, couldn't hear what they were saying, but she guessed the gist from their actions. Her expression changed, and she gripped her weapon with both hands again, asking anxiously:

"Statue of Liberty, what should we do now?"

"Miss An Yu, do not worry."

The light screen lit up again, and the voice said calmly:

"For a qualified intelligent lifeform, all variables are within the plan."

"Calculating the time, Lord Zhang Huaiyuan has already arrived."

I have read everyone's comments. I am very sorry, I really don't know how to reply.

Recently, I don't know why, but I've been in a very bad state. I've been resisting writing, and I have no ideas in my head. I feel very guilty for letting everyone down who has been following the updates.

Actually, this book has completely deviated from my original outline by now, and it is also completely different from the content I wanted to express.

Maybe my skill level is just too poor. I'm sorry.

I should be starting the next volume before the end of the month. I will try my best to adjust my state and write well...