Chapter 1 Han Xiao's Status

As a cadre of Longtan, the only armed force operating externally, Han Xiao was no longer an unknown figure. Information about him was readily available, and the model of his vehicle was no secret, known to many.

The spaceships docked at the Jubely Hub were all placed in the hangar area, which was connected to the airport terminal. From the outside of the hub, the airport looked like windows on a skyscraper, densely packed. Spaceships landed at the airport, their bottoms embedded in the rails, and slid into the hangar corresponding to the airport number.

The Blacklight Lurker of the Glorious Federation was a champion in the spaceship world, like a Bugatti, Koenigsegg, or Lamborghini speeding down the street, attracting a high rate of attention. High-end and grand, its sleek, mirror-like black hull was understated yet luxurious. Beverly easily learned the hangar number of the Blacklight Lurker by inquiring slightly at the Jubely Hub terminal.

"Hangar Ad-0074sd, as expected, Jubely arranged a high-level hangar for him."

Beverly clicked his tongue, becoming even more excited. This hangar number was located in a high-end area, like a good spot in a parking lot, with more stringent defenses and better hardware facilities. Beverly's disguised raider ship could only park in an ordinary "e"-numbered hangar, receiving completely different treatment.

After all, Han Xiao's unit was a well-known mercenary group in the Garton Star System, stationed at the Jubely Hub for several years. His vehicle was also a high-end spaceship, so the hub would naturally give him excellent treatment. This made Beverly feel somewhat troubled, as it would be more difficult to steal the spaceship.

Beverly knew his limits. He reckoned he wasn't confident in dealing with Han Xiao. Black Star had been in the interstellar world for so many years and had already proven his combat power. A year ago, he even cooperated with Godora on Norios to kill a Calamity Grade powerhouse. As the saying goes, the reputation of a person is like the shadow of a tree. Beverly didn't dare to underestimate him in the slightest. In the star pirate business, good judgment is very important.

However, Beverly didn't intend to give up the plan. The Blacklight Lurker was too tempting. Black Star wasn't near the spaceship, so there was no need for a direct conflict. The entry record only showed Han Xiao's identity verification, meaning there was no one else on board. This was an excellent opportunity.

He didn't dare to fight Black Star, but he had the guts to steal things.

Beverly led a dozen star pirate subordinates, turned through the intricate hangar passages, and arrived outside the Blacklight Lurker's hangar. Before them was a heavy alloy door, which required permission to enter. However, that was just the normal way. Star pirates' methods were naturally more crude.

Beverly widened his eyes, and the scarlet background in his eyes burned, turning from solidified flames into flowing fire.

Whoosh—

The next moment, his eyes suddenly spewed out a turbulent, thick pillar of fire, its color orange-red mixed with cyan-blue, bright and blazing, as dazzling as a laser. The temperature was extremely terrifying, and the heatwave rolled, licking the hangar door. The burned part quickly turned red, and the metal began to soften.

Releasing flames from his eyes was Beverly's Esper ability, and also the origin of his nickname. The temperature of the flames increased with the development of his ability. Initially, it was only a few hundred degrees, but now, at the Grade B level, he could release temperatures of several thousand degrees, almost equivalent to the surface temperature of a star. Burning a hole in the hangar door was not difficult for him.

Crack, crack, crack—

An alarm suddenly sounded, and the surrounding walls suddenly slid open, extending defensive turrets, all aimed at Beverly and firing.

Light cannons fired in a volley, and the star pirates took out their energy shields, their surfaces glowing yellow, forming a layer of energy shield, blocking the turret's attacks, emitting bangs and explosions.

Beverly's combat suit quickly deformed, turning into a set of special heavy armor that completely enveloped his body, focusing entirely on defense. The light cannons couldn't penetrate the armor. Only the eyes were channels for releasing energy, and the combat suit also had a device to amplify his eye Esper ability.

Whoosh—

The pillar of fire suddenly expanded, gradually turning deep blue, and the temperature rose again.

Beverly glanced around, and the pillar of fire followed his gaze, sweeping across the surrounding defensive turrets, destroying these defense devices in two seconds.

The alarm was still ringing, and the hub's defense fighters were on their way, but Beverly, urging his Esper ability, had already burned a hole in the hangar door large enough to pass through, with extremely high efficiency.

Stepping into the hangar, the Blacklight Lurker stood quietly before the star pirates' eyes. Everyone looked excited, eager to act.

"Hahaha... this ship is ours now!" Beverly retracted his Esper ability, his eyes greedy. He took out his communicator and shouted, "Are the fasteners ready?"

"No problem, boss. Our ship has already left the port. As long as you drive the Blacklight Lurker out of the port, we can tow it away!" The image of his deputy captain appeared on the communicator, his tone smug.

The operation to seize the spaceship was divided into two steps. The first was to enter the hangar and approach the Blacklight Lurker, placing portable thrusters and electromagnetic suction devices on the hull to get it moving and leave the airport. The second step was for their raider ship to capture the Blacklight Lurker in space using electromagnetic fastening devices, and then make a quick getaway.

In a short period, the star pirates couldn't crack the spaceship's intelligent system. They used a signal receiver jammer that cut off remote connections, preventing the ship's owner from remotely controlling it. Thus, the spaceship became a metal object to be disposed of at will. As long as they captured it, they would have plenty of time to modify it.

Even if they didn't crack the spaceship's intelligence, they could still sell it at a high price to black market ship merchants. The Black Lion ship merchants would naturally hire mechanics to replace the spaceship's intelligence—basically, every black market ship merchant had virtual mechanics working for them.

The star pirates were extremely familiar with this process. Basically, every star pirate stole spaceships this way. Beverly's men didn't delay, quickly taking out various devices and preparing to stick the thrusters and suction devices on the ship's belly.

On the other side, Beverly threw out the signal jammer, covering the Blacklight Lurker, which could temporarily cut off remote control functions, so even if Black Star knew his spaceship was being stolen, he couldn't stop it.

"By the time he gets back, we'll have already stolen the spaceship."

Beverly smiled secretly, stepped onto the gangway, and flames flowed in his eyes, preparing to burn open the hatch.

He was confident that with the temperature of his eyes, he could basically burn through the armor of all spaceships except for defensive ones, and the defense devices in the cabin would hardly be able to stop a Grade B Super.

So, the spaceship was already his!

Boom—

Just as Beverly was about to use his Esper ability and the star pirates were about to stick the machinery in their hands on the ship's hull, the Blacklight Lurker suddenly moved. The engine suddenly started, and the high-performance maneuvering engine completed preheating and acceleration in microseconds.

Bang!

The Blacklight Lurker directly tore off the fitting device at the bottom of the rail, floated in mid-air, and performed a flexible three-hundred-sixty-degree horizontal rotation, directly throwing everyone who was close to it away.

Beverly fell heavily against the hangar wall, looked up at the floating Blacklight Lurker, and saw a beam of laser rapidly enlarging in his eyes.

"What?!"

The dazzling light swallowed the astonished Beverly.

Boom boom boom!!

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(There will be another chapter later)