Chapter 56: Meeting

Joe sprung up from the treatment bed, not only dodging Yan He’s shot but also directly lunging towards Jiang Miao.

If we disregard other factors and judge solely based on appearances, in this medical room, Jiang Miao’s security level is S-class, even higher than Tanaka’s, yet she is the shortest and appears to be the most fragile. So, in an instant, Joe’s decision to take Jiang Miao hostage cannot be said to be wrong.

However, it also indicates that when he checked Dr. Jiang Miao’s personal information, he didn’t bother to click on the name of her birthplace, Dufa Star, to find out what type of planet it was.

As Jiang Miao heard the “bang” of the gunshot, she sensed the imminent danger. She instinctively tightened her abdomen and prepared to counter with her innate skill—super strength.

But… neither of them was quicker than Yan He’s gun.

Yan He’s reaction was astonishing. The moment he pulled the trigger for the first shot, he realized that it would miss and judged the direction Joe was about to attack from.

The second shot pierced through Joe’s shoulder.

At the same time, the woman with extraordinary strength instinctively swung her fist, landing a direct hit on Joe’s jaw.

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Ksl qzlo swv okvb y twdpbsv oswde, prlokdt y pvakdt sq czsse!

Maytkn!

Mbl vos pszeklap twyaekdt Pa. Kkydt yde Pa. Mydyjy, pvydekdt yv vbl essa sq vbl xleknyz assx, olal y clyv zyvl kd aykpkdt vblka twdp. Pwl vs vbl wdnzlya pkvwyvksd, vblu blpkvyvle, okvb sdl ykxkdt yv Ksl yde vbl svbla yv Zyd Tl. “Yyfsa? Vzlypl lmrzykd!”

Zyd Tl pbswvle, “Fvyde ypkel! Tl’p y oydvle nakxkdyz!”

Mydyjy yde Kkydt Ykys olal csvb pbsnjle, lprlnkyzzu Mydyjy.

“Ksl, kp vbkp vawl?” Tl zssjle yv Ksl zukdt sd vbl taswde czllekdt kd ypvsdkpbxldv, vbld vwadle vs Zyd Tl, “Yyfsa, bso eke usw jdso?”

“Zlyb…” Ksl, byzq-zukdt sd vbl taswde yde nzwvnbkdt bkp pbswzela, ypjle, “Tso eke usw jdso?”

Qkhld bkp nwaaldv pkvwyvksd, bl pbswze vblsalvknyzzu cl kd y xkplayczl pvyvl, ulv vblal oyp pvkzz y oknjle pxkzl sd bkp zkrp.

Jiang Miao couldn’t help but feel like this guy had a bit too much wildness in him, deep down.

He even said he almost got eaten by a Coly Beast? Jiang Miao felt like he was more likely to eat the Coly Beast instead.

But as soon as Joe said that, the barrels of the two soldiers’ guns immediately aligned towards him.

Joe, however, didn’t seem to care. He stared at Yan He, raising an eyebrow. “Major Yan, have we met before?”

Joe was referring to a time even earlier, before Helena Allison’s birthday banquet.

“So you are indeed ‘Little Fish’,” Yan He frowned.

“…” Joe cursed under his breath, “Damn!”

Turns out Yan He was bluffing him.

“Tsk!” Joe—Little Fish—revealed his identity, not caring anymore. He tapped his left ear, and a thin layer of skin was peeled off, revealing the true skin underneath.

In that spot, there was originally a vivid little fish tattoo. It seemed that it had been following him for many years, developing the habit of touching it even when there was nothing going on.

It was actually quite cute, Jiang Miao got distracted for a moment.

But Little Fish laughed, and a white light emanated from his body.

Yan He raised his gun and fired, but all the bullets hit the metal floor.

Little Fish had already disappeared.

“Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah!”

While the two soldiers were still in doubt, not knowing what was happening before their eyes, Jiang Miao let out a piercing scream and lunged forward!

She fell to her knees at the spot where Little Fish had disappeared, as if she had lost a precious diamond ring she had saved for years to buy. She went crazy trying to dig him out of the floor!

Of course, apart from emitting a piercing sound and a few scratches she left on the floor, there was nothing there.

“Tanaka! Tanaka!” Jiang Miao shouted sternly, “Have you monitored any energy data?”

“No! Ah ah ah!” Tanaka pulled his hair in frustration, shouting wildly, “They took away my sensor-equipped AI brain! Those bastards! Bastards!”

“Mine too!”

Tanaka and Jiang Miao exchanged glances.

“Ah ah ah ah ah, Joe Arthur, you bastard!”

“Bastard! Bastard! Bastard!”

The disappearance of Little Fish, alias Joe Arthur, didn’t surprise or disappoint anyone at the scene, except perhaps Yan He.

He had anticipated this situation long ago, just sighed slightly, holstered his gun, and walked over to help Jiang Miao up.

As Jiang Miao was pulled up, her mind suddenly snapped back into focus! She jumped up and said to Tanaka, “There’s a life sign detection system on the ship!”

Tanaka also snapped out of it, hesitating, “Will the military provide it to us?”

“Of course not!” Jiang Miao said decisively, “Contact Helena!”

The distribution of interests and negotiations with the military were not their concern; that was for Helena and Galen to handle.

She held onto Yan He’s arm and asked, “Who exactly is Joe Arthur?”

Yan He said, “He’s known as Little Fish, a notorious star pirate wanted by various political forces abroad.”

He then turned to the two soldiers and said, “I’ll report this matter to higher-ups immediately.”

“Yes, sir!”

He then turned to Jiang Miao and said, “I’ll tell you the details later; you go and rest for now.”

“Alright.” Jiang Miao said, “Go quickly!”

Living together with Yan He, she knew she could ask about anything later, no need to rush it now.

Yan He hurriedly left, and just as Jiang Miao was about to exchange a few words with Tanaka, the internal communicator announced, “Dr. Jiang Miao, Dr. Tanaka, please report to the bridge immediately.”

It seems like they’ve arrived.

Hurrying to the bridge, Jiang Miao asked, “What do you think it is?”

Tanaka loosened his collar. “How would I know!”

Jiang Miao took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “Whether it’s atomic recombination transmission or phase shift transmission, these are technologies we can’t achieve right now. If…”

But Tanaka poured cold water on her enthusiasm. “The life sign monitoring system on the ship has limited range in detecting energy values. The data we get may not be of much use.”

Jiang Miao deflated instantly. “Don’t be such a killjoy!”

In reality, after the initial shock wore off, both of them had calmed down considerably and were no longer as excited.

“Anyway, we still need to persuade Helena to negotiate with the military. The military personnel may not be better than us; if they can’t figure it out, they’ll still have to rely on us.”

The best scientists weren’t in the government but in large corporations.

“Just don’t get your hopes up too high, so you won’t be disappointed later,” Tanaka shrugged.

Jiang Miao just made a noncommittal noise in response, indicating that she understood. But in her heart, she resolved to ask Yan He thoroughly about what kind of person this “Little Fish” was and why he possessed such technology.

Had someone outside the Gita Republic already surpassed them by far?

Jiang Miao’s gaze drifted through the porthole to the outside.

The patrol cruiser of the garrison wasn’t taking them back to the capital star but instead brought them to Satellite No. 1, the garrison’s base. Looking out through the porthole, she could see the huge capital star, dotted with artificial structures, and its other two satellites.

Once, she thought Gita was so vast.

But now… outside of Gita, how much more was there that she didn’t know, didn’t understand? She had been proud of herself as an outstanding scientist in Gita, but was she just like a frog at the bottom of a well?

The two soldiers responsible for their safety followed behind, murmuring to each other.

“Piranha? Little Fish? Ever heard of them?” one asked.

The other shook his head. “We in the capital have no idea about pirate affairs.”

The most understanding of pirates wasn’t from news broadcasts but rather from romantic plots in love dramas, where interstellar bandits were portrayed as handsome and adventurous.

Never did they expect to encounter a live one in the Capital Star Cluster.

They deeply felt that the experiences and knowledge of those in the border troops were completely different from those living in the capital. What kind of experience was it to live in such a place?

In a meeting room at the garrison base, there were military personnel, garrison troops, Helena and Galen from the company’s security department, and some people in black suits from the National Security Department.

Yan He was also present.

“This is the information I just received from the border.” Yan He opened the screen. “This gang of space pirates is notorious overseas, known as the ‘Piranha’ gang, and each member has a fish-shaped tattoo. This tradition is said to come from their leader, ‘Little Fish.’ He altered his appearance, so I’ve seen him more than once but didn’t recognize him.”

An interstellar bandit known for his misdeeds had such a cute nickname. Both Tanaka and Jiang Miao wanted to laugh.

But no one at the table laughed; everyone’s faces were tense. Tanaka and Jiang Miao had to pinch each other’s backs to help endure it.

As Yan He spoke, he clicked open a photo.

This time, neither Jiang Miao nor Tanaka could hold back, and they both exclaimed, “Wow!”

Upon closer examination, one could still recognize the person in the photo as Joe Arthur. But compared to the image, he had definitely undergone partial cosmetic surgery or modification, and there were some differences between Joe Arthur’s face and Little Fish’s.

But the biggest difference lay in the aura that emanated from within.

“I just knew he must be this kind of person!” Jiang Miao whispered to Tanaka.

Tanaka vigorously nodded.

Joe Arthur could still put on a suit and barely pretend to be a decent person. Little Fish, on the other hand, seemed to exude wildness and devilry from every pore.

Truly deserving of the title “Space Pirate”!

“The Piranha gang does it all. They deal in arms, information, human trafficking, drugs, and they also rob, whether it’s ships, banks, or the vaults of large corporations. Their reputation at the border is very loud. However, the border troops have always maintained strict control, and he has not yet crossed the border or touched our country’s territories.”

If it weren’t for his personal relationship with Jiang Miao, Yan He would have had nothing to do with this matter at all. He just happened to discover Little Fish’s identity and came here to report what he knew to his superiors.

When Yan He finished speaking, the whole meeting or rather encounter began to become dull and lengthy.

Tanaka honestly explained how he met Joe Arthur and what interactions he had with him. Afterwards, Jiang Miao also gave an account. Then it was nothing much for the two of them; it was all about the negotiations and bargaining between Allison’s people and the government and the military.

Jiang Miao was least patient with these matters; it was simply wasting life.

She couldn’t help but yawn, but suddenly her other hand under the table was held by someone. The palm was warm and dry, the hand was broad, and the fingers were long enough to wrap around her small hand.

Jiang Miao suddenly smiled.

Meanwhile, Little Fish, who had escaped to his hidden ship, was receiving treatment from his subordinates for his wounds.

“Weird,” he muttered to himself.

“What’s wrong, boss?” his subordinate asked.

“That Major, I’m sure I’ve never met him before, but…” Little Fish puzzled, “why does he give me a sense of déjà vu?”

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