"Lotlin, long time no see," Staka rumbled, his face devoid of expression as always.
Lotlin, the leader of a mysterious bounty hunter team composed entirely of women from various races.
She had clashed with Staka before and they had since forged a friendship.
The two teams often exchanged information.
In this dark universe, every piece of information gained was another chance at survival.
However, Lotlin had lost contact about half a year ago.
But everyone had their own secrets, and inquiring rashly could damage relationships.
Thus, Staka chose not to ask further; it was their rule.
On the video feed, Lotlin smiled politely and nodded. "Long time no see. You're still the same ice-faced man..."
Her slight teasing did not elicit a reaction from Staka.
He acted as if he hadn't heard and continued, "Is there something specific about this contact?"
Both were busy individuals; they wouldn't make a video call out of sheer boredom.
On the other end of the video, Lotlin nodded slightly. She was one of the few in her bounty hunter team who maintained a particular sense of etiquette.
She understood Staka's personality well and didn't push her teasing further.
Most of the time, Staka only smiled when he was surrounded by women.
"That mission, you've seen it too, haven't you?" Lotlin said slowly, and a photograph was transmitted.
Staka glanced at it and grunted, not denying it.
If there was any recent contract that could capture his attention, it was this newly issued one.
Only teams or individuals rated A or above received this mission.
Staka's Marauders team had, of course, received the invitation.
"How much do you know about him?"
"Perhaps we can share information, or even cooperate this time?" Lotlin extended a very straightforward invitation.
Lotlin was clearly enticed by the reward listed by the Time Bureau.
Moreover, among the rewards was something she specifically needed.
But the substantial mission reward also made the astute Lotlin see the inherent danger.
With the intelligence gathered on the mission target, Lotlin lacked the confidence to handle it, which was why she immediately thought of Staka the Marauder.
It wasn't that she didn't have other potential partners, but rather that Staka's Marauders team possessed superior combat capabilities, and Staka himself had his own principles.
Collaborating with someone like him generally meant not being double-crossed.
"Think about it, I only ask for one item, you can have everything else," Lotlin quickly laid out her terms.
Staka remained silent, and Lotlin stared intently at his perpetually stoic, icy face.
"Send me your intel, let me see?"
Lotlin's eyelids twitched slightly.
After a moment of contemplation, she nodded and sent a data file.
Given her relationship and understanding of Staka, she knew he wouldn't covet a piece of her information.
The data was opened by Astro, and as Lotlin waited in silence, Staka quickly scanned through it.
His fingers tapped lightly on the armrest.
"This information is outdated..." Staka stated after finishing the data.
Before Lotlin could respond, Staka continued in a low voice, "Lotlin, do not provoke this person."
"That mission is almost impossible to complete."
The warning and seriousness in his voice made Lotlin's pupils constrict, her eyes widening slightly in disbelief.
What was she hearing?
Staka the Marauder, who charged forward without hesitation, was actually saying this?
Staka, who was always known for his ferocity and iron will, was actually showing signs of retreat?
Lotlin's expression grew serious, her mind racing.
"That person... could they be at an Uncontrollable level?"
The intelligent Lotlin quickly grasped the reason behind Staka's refusal of the mission.
"Uncontrollable" was a code word among bounty hunters.
It represented unknown power, or power not yet fully revealed.
Such a level was unstoppable, capable of altering the entire universe with a wave of a hand.
A single misstep could lead to the annihilation of a team.
The last Uncontrollable entity they had discussed was a hypothetical Thanos with the Infinity Stones.
Staka nodded grimly.
"Astro, send that video."
"Yes, boss!"
After giving the order, Staka looked up at Lotlin on the screen.
"Lotlin, after watching this, you'll understand."
The video was specially encrypted, allowing only one playback, uncopyable and un-resendable.
Lotlin opened the video with a grave expression.
Just the beginning made her almost forget to breathe.
She recognized the bulky figure in the bucket-like armor as a member of the Celestials!
An entity they also referred to as Uncontrollable.
However, in the next second, two incredibly bright beams shot towards the Celestial.
The Celestial's armor offered almost no resistance, being pierced through in less than a second.
Within the first five seconds of the video, the Celestial was destroyed...
And the source of the beams in the video gradually revealed its face.
It was her mission target, Lin Feng...
...
A total of three Celestials were either dead or had fled.
And the surrounding ships, Lotlin recognized them.
Notorious intergalactic villains and space pirates, the weakest among them could fight Lotlin's team to a standstill.
But in the video, Lin Feng was like a harvester.
Wherever the beams from his eyes struck, everything was rapidly annihilated.
The attacks from the ship cannons didn't even manage to damage his clothes.
The video ended quickly and was subsequently destroyed.
This video was, in essence, exclusive to Staka throughout the entire universe.
This video had been recorded by his Marauders team.
The last time they had gone to claim an unknown treasure, Staka's Marauders team had also been present.
However, trusting his intuition, Staka had ordered the fleet to wait outside the galaxy, while he and a few trusted confidants had approached the periphery of the engagement in a small shuttle.
Then, he witnessed the unforgettable scene.
That was an opponent no Marauder could handle.
Staka also felt that Lin Feng looked familiar, yet he couldn't recall where he had seen him before.
His previous encounter with Lin Feng at the Xi Xing Bar on the transit station was completely erased from his memory due to Lin Feng's snap of his fingers afterward.
But this time, Lin Feng's power was once again displayed before Staka.
The seemingly effortless, crushing victory against opponents who could crush the Celestials with a single finger.
Celestials could crush them, and Lin Feng could crush Celestials. How could they possibly fight?
This damn mission was a trap, the kind that would kill anyone who took it!