At that moment, Paiji thought the DarkStar mothership was specially sent to pick him up. DarkStar had made such a grand display just for him! He was so touched that tears welled up in his eyes, and he couldn't wait to shed blood for them.

Two small capture ships detached from the DarkStar mothership and surrounded Paiji's spaceship. Facing each other from a distance, they fired cone-shaped gravitational capture rays, forming a net that seized Paiji's spaceship and dragged it towards the mothership. Paiji turned off the system warnings and cooperated obediently.

The spaceship entered the connecting tunnel. The mothership's captain and his troops were waiting at the tunnel entrance, preparing to use their abilities to tear open the spaceship door. However, Paiji opened the door and walked out himself, looking excitedly at the all DarkStar mixed-blood Godoran crew.

Finally found the organization!

Paiji said excitedly, "I've been waiting for you for so long."

The DarkStar warriors, who had originally been stern, couldn't help but look at each other in confusion.

It was the first time they had encountered a target who not only didn't resist but also actively cooperated, acting as familiarly as if he were coming home. Wasn't this guy afraid of death?

"He has guts!"

The captain nodded approvingly, then waved his hand and shouted, "Arrest him!"

The DarkStar warriors swarmed forward and pinned Paiji to the ground, disarming him. Paiji, thinking this was DarkStar's welcoming ceremony, said righteously, "Don't worry, don't doubt my loyalty. I will never resist!"

His subordinate said with a mournful face, "Boss, I think they're serious."

Paiji glared at him. "Shut up! What do you know? This is a way to test loyalty!"

Hearing this, the DarkStar warriors holding Paiji down couldn't help but sigh, "If everyone could cooperate like you guys, it would save us so much trouble."

The scavenger crew was taken to the prison and tied to black metal execution pillars. The captain paced back and forth, saying coldly, "I need you to answer my questions honestly. Among the Silver Spirits you captured, one of them carried something we need, a black bead. Where did that bead go?"

Although Ember had obtained an "answer," DarkStar's style was to never easily believe one-sided statements. Letting things go wasn't a terrorist organization's principle of action.

After Ember reported to headquarters, this DarkStar mothership, which was on standby in the Faywen Star System, immediately jumped over to intercept Paiji. Their first goal was Paiji's spaceship route recorder, to start searching from the route where the Silver Spirits had been dropped off, in order to save time. The second was to interrogate Paiji. DarkStar believed that torture could extract more information than normal questioning, and that pain could make people more honest.

Paiji looked stunned.

"Didn't you guys already ask me?"

"That's right, I want you to say it again, you..."

The captain subconsciously replied, then stopped abruptly, his expression changing drastically.

Wait!

He thought Paiji was referring to Ember, but then he realized, no, Ember was using a mercenary identity. How could Paiji recognize Ember as a DarkStar member!

Ember, who was listening in, widened his eyes in disbelief. "How could I be exposed? I didn't reveal any flaws!"

"How do you know the person who questioned you was DarkStar!" The captain grabbed Paiji's neck and slowly increased the pressure. Paiji's face turned purple, and he could barely breathe. He said with difficulty, "The…the person who questioned me…called himself…DarkStar Envoy, cough cough cough—"

Ember frowned. "Captain Sarota, let go. You're strangling him to death. Let him tell the whole story."

Captain Sarota stepped back. Paiji coughed loudly, as if trying to cough up his lungs. Finally realizing that something was wrong, he repeated everything in a hoarse, trembling voice.

"A hooded mysterious man calling himself a DarkStar Envoy was the first to approach me. His target was also that black bead. I told him where it was. I've always admired you guys. He promised to let me join DarkStar. Then he said that another force would come to ask about the bead later. He asked me to deceive the next group of people. Not long after, a person calling himself a mercenary came. I followed the instructions of the DarkStar Envoy and sent him away..."

A person calling himself a mercenary? That's me!

Ember realized what was going on, and his expression turned as ugly as excrement. His tone turned cold. "So you lied to me!"

Paiji's face changed drastically. "What! You're the guy who called himself a mercenary? You guys are the real DarkStar, and that DarkStar Envoy was a fake?!"

Sarota and Ember's expressions became serious.

The situation suddenly became complicated. So there was another mysterious force also interested in the M语 bead, and they were even brazenly impersonating DarkStar. They must be tired of living! This was a provocation to DarkStar! Once they were caught, this force would suffer a fate worse than death!

So the question was... what was the background of this mysterious force? Why did they also know the truth about the M语 bead? Was their real target the product inside the bead, or to disrupt DarkStar's plan? Were they after money, or were they enemies of DarkStar?

Ember was confident that he hadn't revealed any flaws, so he couldn't figure out what had gone wrong.

He thought he was the hunter, but the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. There was another pair of eyes watching them in the shadows, hidden even deeper than DarkStar, making one's hair stand on end.

More mysteries appeared, and things became troublesome.

The first thing that came to mind was a traitor in the organization. If it wasn't someone from inside the organization, why would they know so many secret details?

"What's the real location of the bead?"

"I…I don't know either, but I didn't throw it into outer space. I carried it with me and lost it during the battle on Longtan..."

Ember's expression was icy. That mysterious force impersonating them wanted to mislead DarkStar. If they hadn't intended to kill everyone to silence them, they really would have been deceived!

Thinking about the methods of that mysterious force, they were meticulous and bold. Knowing that they were competing with DarkStar, they still dared to impersonate them. They guessed DarkStar's desire for secrecy, grasped the psychology of all parties, and ultimately misled Paiji and DarkStar, playing them in the palm of their hand. They almost succeeded. Ember couldn't help but feel a sense of apprehension towards this meticulous thinking.

It was just a little bit away from success!

"Since it wasn't thrown into outer space, then it's easy to handle. Investigate all the forces involved in the melee. No matter what method you use, pry open their mouths. One of them must have picked up the M语 bead. There can't be no eyewitness reports."

Sarota ordered.

"Some wanted criminals have already left Longtan, requiring the mothership's interception. Those who are still on Longtan are left to me."

Ember's heart was filled with the anger of being played, and his tone was grim.

Sarota added, "While searching for the whereabouts of the M语 bead, also inquire about the news of that mysterious force."

"I know." Ember frowned. Although he agreed, he really didn't have any clues about the mysterious force.

"W-what about me?"

Paiji was no longer as confident as before, and he was a little flustered. But he also felt that by telling the information, he had helped DarkStar find the hidden enemy and should be credited.

Sarota glanced at him, waved his hand, and the surrounding DarkStar warriors raised their light energy rifles, aiming at the execution pillars. All the scavengers were shocked and struggled, begging for mercy.

"Don't kill me, this is just a misunderstanding, I didn't mean to deceive you! DarkStar is my idol, my lifelong wish has been to fight for the cause of the mixed-bloods, please let me join you." Paiji trembled and pleaded loudly.

"You really want to contribute to DarkStar?" Sarota's eyes flashed.

"Yes, DarkStar is my faith! I'm willing to do anything for you." Paiji hurriedly revealed his heart and expressed his loyalty.

"Very good. For us, your death is more useful than your life. DarkStar thanks you for your contribution." Sarota said with a sneer.

Killing everyone to silence them was the biggest goal of DarkStar's trip. The fewer outsiders who knew the whereabouts of the M语 bead, the better.

Buzz—

The light energy rifles fired lasers, leaving molten wounds on the scavengers' bodies. The screams first reached their peak, then quickly weakened, and they lost their breath.

The laser magnified in front of his eyes, and his vision became a white blur. Paiji's eyes widened, and he roared in despair.

"No!!"

Dense wounds covered his entire body. Paiji's head tilted, his eyes wide open, unable to rest in peace.

He wholeheartedly thought that he was about to join his dream DarkStar, but he never expected that he would ultimately die in DarkStar's hands.