The patrol boat is much smaller than the cargo ship and has limited range. But when a patrol boat appears, it means the destroyer it belongs to isn’t far behind.
Jiang Miao, who worked on ship weapons, knew warships quite well.
“Don’t be nervous, put on your mask. I’ll handle them first, you stay out of sight for now. Don’t use the genetic disguise agent yet,” He Yan instructed, “The agent takes two minutes to kick in and only lasts for ten minutes. Inject it when necessary.”
Jiang Miao nodded.
When the patrol boat’s crew boarded, Jiang Miao wore her mask and held the disguise agent in her hand. A gentle press was all it took to inject it into her body discreetly.
But things went smoother than she expected.
From the monitoring, Jiang Miao saw He Yan wearing a mask meeting the others on the deck.
Normal patrol inspections usually didn’t involve genetic testing. Personal smart brains were bound with identity information. A quick scan confirmed if the face matched the identity.
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Only then did He Yan communicate over the intercom, “Jenny, come over for a check.”
“Forget it,” the officer put away the box and waved his hand, “Don’t bother. You two don’t seem like the people we’re looking for anyway.”
He Yan smiled, “Who are you looking for?”
“Who knows who they are, just following orders from above, even have to test genes, such a hassle,” the officer shrugged, then warned He Yan, “Be careful, don’t get caught by other teams. If they catch you…”
“I know, I understand the rules,” He Yan’s tone and attitude were playful, completely different from his polite demeanor in front of Jiang Miao, clearly someone educated.
“Good enough,” the officer said, “Lately, there’s been a crackdown from above, strict inspections, try not to come and go too frequently.”
Clearly, they openly and blatantly condoned smuggling ships like this.
The soldiers took the bribe, never even seeing the second person on the ship, and left.
Law-abiding citizen Jiang Miao watched the monitors from the cockpit, even though He Yan had warned her beforehand, she still couldn’t adapt. So when He Yan returned to the cockpit and found Jiang Miao sulking, he asked, “What’s wrong?”
Jiang Miao shook her head, initially unwilling to speak, but then sighed and said, “It’s just… this place is so different from the capital planet.”
On the capital planet, even spitting on the ground would be recorded by surveillance, and within a minute, the AI would issue an electronic fine. No one dared to disobey the law openly, at least not on the surface.
He Yan said nothing, just smiled lightly.
Jiang Miao remembered how he had spent his childhood in constant upheaval. What would those lawless zones, completely free from any political authority, be like?
“Is this… still not the worst of it?” she speculated, unable to hold back her question. Her curiosity stemmed from observing the atmosphere between He Yan and the soldiers on the monitors, which had never been tense throughout the entire process.
“It’s manageable,” He Yan replied. “Usually, once they get their money, they let us through. If not, a beating can squeeze money out of them too, but rarely does anyone stubbornly refuse to pay. Those who engage in this kind of trade aren’t that blind. As for the soldiers, their hands are relatively clean; there’s not much murder or piracy. Over in Gita, the law is stricter—if there’s evidence, convictions follow.”
He paused, then gave a fair assessment, “It’s not entirely without its merits.”
He removed his mask, saying, “You can take yours off too, and keep it handy. We might need it again.”
Jiang Miao removed hers as well.
He Yan asked, “The disguise agent?”
“Used it up,” Jiang Miao replied calmly. “As soon as you called for Jenny, I used it.”
He Yan didn’t mind. He sat in the pilot seat and deactivated the autopilot. “Switching to manual control.”
Jiang Miao approached him, a bit worried, and asked, “Is it very dangerous?”
“For others, yes,” He Yan smirked, his eyes glancing at her.
His eyes, black agate-like, tore through all pretense. Now, back to himself without reservation, he shone brightly, playful and frivolous!
Jiang Miao stared straight ahead and asked, “How much farther?”
“Full speed ahead, about a day and a half journey,” He Yan replied.
To reach Nash, they couldn’t go openly through military fortresses and fleet defenses. He Yan informed Jiang Miao that there were three smuggling routes through the void zones between borders and between the two countries.
To avoid the military, two of these routes were circuitous, passing several supply points where all sorts of people gathered, and space pirates often seized opportunities for robbery.
However, these two routes were safer if one had strong armed forces.
He Yan’s foster brother used one of these routes for rendezvous when he picked up Rui Rui. He piloted a warship disguised as a space pirate, intimidating potential threats with the readiness of his cannons as they approached.
To reassure Jiang Miao, He Yan detailed the situation with the warships Rui Rui brought along.
As someone in the business, Jiang Miao understood the technical specifications upon hearing them, which eased her mind considerably.
But He Yan didn’t intend to take these “safer” routes because they were too far and required resupply stops, which would delay them further.
“I’m eager to see Rui Rui as much as you are,” he told Jiang Miao, only to receive a cold “hmph” from her.
Jiang Miao asked him, “Are you confident about taking this route?”
He Yan opted for the third route, the shortest and closest among all, devoid of any supply or stop points, and free from the influence of any space pirate factions. This route, known as the “Eye of the Storm,” was a narrow stretch nestled between two nebulae, fraught with ion storms, electromagnetic turbulence, and asteroid belts.
If they could successfully navigate it, it was indeed the quickest route of all, but… many ships that dared to challenge or inadvertently entered this region had never emerged again.
When Jiang Miao questioned him in this manner, He Yan merely raised an eyebrow slightly.
Confidence and pride, belonging to He Yan rather than Yan He, were evident in his every expression.
He Yan was not the type to promise her a clear tomorrow or future, even when executing spy missions or impersonating others. Jiang Miao decided to trust him.
But later, Jiang Miao regretted her decision.
She swore that if given a chance to do it over, she would choose the other two routes, which, though two months longer, were reputedly much safer and stable. He Yan assured her that Rui Rui was safe with his foster brother, who had raised his four children well— He even raised He Yan!
In truth, it wasn’t worth risking this treacherous route for the sake of saving two months!
This cursed route, under the influence of inertial dampeners, made Jiang Miao feel nauseous!
Many times, she sat in the pilot’s chair, strapped in tightly, her face as pale as a ghost, afraid even to blink.
He Yan had told her numerous times to go lie down in the bedroom if she needed to, or even to use the hibernation pod if she was too frightened.
“Shut up!” Jiang Miao couldn’t bear it anymore. “If I’m going to die, I want to die knowing why! Ahhh!”
After the ship entered the Eye of the Storm, it shed its external disguises and jettisoned its cumbersome false hull. The true ship was agile and compact in appearance, resembling a private vessel but equipped with military-grade engines and weaponry—a spy ship.
Amid Jiang Miao’s uncontrollable screams, the ship deftly spiraled and maneuvered, smoothly avoiding massive asteroids hurtling toward them.
Of course, the “smoothness” came at the cost of speeds and angles beyond the range of inertial dampeners.
As a result, Jiang Miao vomited again.
But after vomiting over and over, she grew accustomed to it. For seven or eight days, she threw up, and gradually, her body adapted.
Sitting in the co-pilot’s seat, staring at the looming asteroids, she could even daydream while propping up her chin. The electromagnetic disturbances disrupted the ship’s systems, causing the lights to flicker annoyingly, but she managed to doze off.
There were repair drones on board, and when there were too many damages to the ship, Jiang Miao also rolled up her sleeves and got to work.
When making herself coffee, she would bring a cup to He Yan—now was not the time for leisurely tea drinking, as He Yan often sat in the pilot’s seat for more than ten hours at a stretch.
When he needed rest, he would find a relatively safe spot, such as a stable asteroid belt, and park the ship against a large enough asteroid.
He wouldn’t go back to the bedroom to rest; instead, he used the deep sleep pod throughout the journey, rejuvenating after just two to three hours of sleep.
This was a considerable strain on physical endurance, something most people couldn’t sustain with such prolonged use of deep sleep pods. But He Yan had no issues whatsoever, always alert and energetic.
However, he didn’t have time to attend to his appearance, and stubble had grown on his chin. Despite his somewhat unkempt appearance, it added to his rugged charm.
Initially, Jiang Miao had found his sinister appearance lacking the ruggedness of Yan He, but now she couldn’t find any petty criticisms to make. She had to restrain herself from looking at him as much as possible.
But it wasn’t easy to control oneself.
Occasionally, involuntarily glancing over, she saw He Yan’s eyes like cold stars, focused intently on the radar screen. No matter the situation, she had never seen him panic. Many times when Jiang Miao found the situation perilous, he even smiled faintly.
Regardless of whether it was a man or a woman, when someone was fully engrossed in their work, that level of concentration was charming.
And confidence in one’s own strength, regardless of gender, was even more so.
Jiang Miao had never actively inquired about He Yan’s personal information throughout their journey, but now, almost involuntarily, she asked, “I remember you hold the rank of Major? Are you a fighter pilot?”
“No, I’m the commanding officer of the Hope-class cruiser in the Peacekeeping Forces,” He Yan replied. “As I’ve told you before, my primary duties involve combating bandits and pirates.”
He Yan was specially recruited to The Troy Project just because he really met the requirements.
“The commanders often start out as pilots,” He Yan continued. “Those of us from the Command Academy must spend time in the cockpit. It’s not about being an outstanding pilot, but understanding the ship’s capabilities thoroughly, especially its limits.”
“Only then, when seated in the command chair, facing various situations, can one determine the appropriate commands.”
In the interstellar era, people had long lifespans, and appearances could often be deceiving. He Yan looked like a handsome young man, but in terms of the lifespan of the era, he was indeed still young.
However, being in his thirties and having experienced such childhood hardships, he was inherently much more mature than his appearance suggested.
Jiang Miao was still adjusting to this new realization about him, so she often forgot this fact. It was also because He Yan always presented himself as a genuine youth before her—nervous, unsure, eager to please. Therefore, whenever his mature side surfaced, it always had a profound impact on her.
Jiang Miao was somewhat annoyed.
Turning her chin away, she said, “Yan He is with the ground forces, on the front lines. I think he’s pretty impressive.”
He Yan’s entire aura shifted.
“Oh, he’s not bad,” he said “indifferently,” as if he didn’t care at all. “I’ve engaged with space pirates over a thousand times, destroyed a total of two hundred and eighty-five warships, raided over ninety pirate bases, and dismantled thirteen pirate strongholds.”
“You still remember Little Fish, right?” he said casually, “It was because I was chasing him relentlessly that he had no choice but to flee to Gita.”
Hmph, childish.
Jiang Miao found her balance within, propping her chin and continuing to gaze out the window at the beautiful yet perilous nebula, ignoring He Yan.
Throughout this journey, Jiang Miao had regretted many things, such as choosing this roller coaster-like route. Although He Yan said they should arrive at Nash before Rui Rui, then why did she provoke He Yan with “Little Fish” on the way? Didn’t she know the ancient Earth saying, “Speak of the devil”?
When He Yan and Jiang Miao finally spent a month and a half navigating through the “Eye of the Storm,” more than twenty warships were silently waiting in the pitch-black cosmos.
Looking at the fish-like markings with sharp teeth painted on those warships, and the dark gun barrels aimed at them, Jiang Miao was stunned.
She remembered vividly that He Yan had told her about this pirate faction called the “Man-Eater Fish.”
She couldn’t help but turn to look at He Yan.
He Yan’s eyes were cold and deep.
“Little Fish,” he softly confirmed Jiang Miao’s speculation.
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