Time waits for no one. To ensure the operation was unexpected, the collaboration between the military and Bandner officially launched half a month later.
A shabby little starship quietly departed from the military base on the Omega planet. To avoid drawing attention, there was no send-off. Onboard were three passengers: Bandner, Ryan disguised as Rennie, and Fan Lanting disguised as Carrie.
Fan Lanting, pinching his fake chest, said helplessly, “I’ve gotten used to it. Being short means bearing the unbearable weight of life. Turns out, I really am an important person.”
Ryan, with his buzz cut, adjusted the tone of his scalp to better resemble Rennie’s image. “You’ve always been important—to a lot of people.”
Ryan’s words carried a double meaning. He was referring not only to Fan Lanting’s importance to the team but also hinting at his cousin Connor. Poor Connor had been treading hesitantly on the path of bachelorhood. Yet his ideals, convictions, and the harsh reality of being in the “Bird of Paradise” organization left him with no way to turn back. Until the mission of “Bird of Paradise” was complete, Cousin Connor could only endure the taste of loneliness.
Fan Lanting pretended not to catch Ryan’s implied meaning and laughed carefreely. “Haha, this time our Golden Crusade Legion is taking the lead, snatching the vanguard role. Did you see General Ivan’s expression? He could barely hold his smile.”
Ryan shook his head imperceptibly, thinking to himself, Connor, brother, this is as far as I can help you. “There were only two slots. No matter how you split it among three legions, it wouldn’t work out well. Might as well give it all to one. Do you really think General Ivan was angry?”
“Otherwise?” Fan Lanting asked back.
Ryan chuckled softly. “It’s just a gesture, nothing more.”
Generals Ivan and Tolkien were veteran generals who had been openly and covertly competing for years. How could either willingly hand over credit to the other? Since the competition reached a stalemate, the decision was simply to give it to Auston. For the mission to the Savage Star, Auston didn’t even need to fight for it—credit would naturally go to the Golden Crusade Legion.
After careful consideration, it was finally decided that Ryan and Fan Lanting would head to the Savage Star. Behind them, the main forces trailed at a distance. Their task was to confirm that the pirates scattered by Red Spider had returned to their home planet and then attack without letting a single one escape.
At the same time, a joint military exercise involving the three legions was being conducted to draw attention from all sectors of society. The news had already been released, and on the same day Ryan and the others departed, Auston and the other two Generals were holding a press conference to announce the joint exercise. This would be the largest military action in the empire during peacetime, attracting countless nationwide attention.
This also sent a signal to the pirates: retreat back home and lie low. Don’t make any waves—if you do, the military will crush you.
Scratching his head, Fan Lanting said helplessly, “Forget it. I’m really not good at all these twists and turns. Just tell me what to do, and I’ll follow orders. I don’t want to worry about the headaches those higher-ups deal with.”
“We’re just foot soldiers, following orders and acting accordingly,” Ryan nodded in agreement.
Fan Lanting poked Ryan’s arm with his finger. “You’re no foot soldier, Leader.”
“The official approval hasn’t been issued yet.”
“That’s only because you haven’t returned to the Gamma Base. The approval’s there—General’s exclusive engineer.”
Ryan couldn’t help but laugh. “I did put in a lot of effort to get that approval.”
Fan Lanting asked curiously, “Ryan, I don’t get it. Why are you participating in this mission? As the General’s exclusive mecha engineer, you don’t need to risk your life in any mission. Derrick and the other two are practically green with envy when they look at you, wishing they could jump and beat you up.”
Ryan replied, “To complete a mission.” Over 700 years ago, he had given the order, and now, 700 years later, he was here to bring that mission to an end and grant freedom to an entire family of subordinates.
Fan Lanting didn’t fully understand, but Ryan’s serious expression made it clear he wasn’t joking; he was truly carrying a sense of duty. So, Fan Lanting didn’t press further and simply nodded, saying, “Let’s hope we complete this mission successfully.”
“We will,” Ryan replied firmly.
In the cockpit, Bandner had been holding back for a long time. After a while, he finally couldn’t take it anymore and said, “I’m the captain of this little starship. Don’t you think you’re overstepping?”
“Yuan Chu and Code Zero have better piloting skills. Don’t worry,” Ryan said, turning to look at Bandner, who was pacing nervously back and forth in the cockpit, and offered a few words of reassurance.
Bandner pointed at Yuan Chu, who had taken over the pilot’s seat, then at Code Zero, who was marking positions on the latest star chart. His hands were trembling, though it was unclear if it was from anger or sheer shock. “They… they… My goodness! Has the Empire already developed robots that can pilot starships in place of humans?”
“As far as I know, there’s nothing as advanced as Yuan Chu and Code Zero yet.” Growth-type AIs are restricted by Imperial law because humans fear losing control over ultra-intelligent “life forms.” As their master, Ryan had placed numerous restrictions in their programming to ensure Yuan Chu and Code Zero couldn’t escape control. However, he gave them a significant amount of trust, and their relationship was not only one of master and subordinate but also of friendship.
Bandner nervously bit his finger, completely devoid of the boldness he’d shown when demanding to buy fuel from Ryan earlier. “So they’re special? Have they been practically tested? I don’t want to die in the vastness of space before the mission is even complete.” His anxiety stemmed not only from losing control of the piloting but also from the mission ahead. A mix of nervousness, confusion, worry, and excitement churned within him, making every breath feel uneasy and agitated.
“Relax, I can vouch for them with my personal honor. Their piloting skills surpass those of humans.” Ryan pointed to an empty seat nearby, his gentle tone soothing and reassuring. “Come and sit for a while. Enjoy some rich milk tea; the snacks are quite tasty too. Don’t you want to try?”
“They’re just a few snacks, what’s so special about that?” Bandner had now become a bundle of contradictions, like a hedgehog bristling with spines, always sounding as if he was ready for a fight. He turned his head toward Ryan, but under Ryan’s calm and kind gaze, his inflated unease deflated. Awkwardly, he walked over to the table, sat down, and accepted the milk tea Ryan handed him. Muttering under his breath, he said a quiet “thank you.”
Fan Lanting found Bandner’s awkwardness amusing, as if he were looking at a younger version of himself during his first major mission—uneasy, irritable, and quick to anger. “You’ve never done a similar mission before?”
“How could that be!” Bandner immediately retorted. “I’m a logistics officer for Red Spider, after all. I’ve gone on missions plenty of times.”
He lifted his chin and gestured toward Ryan. “He knows. On Shakespeare, I was on a mission. Red Spider was interviewing pirates, planning to steal children, and I was at the elevator entrance luring Evan into talking about human trafficking. But at the time, Ryan didn’t react at all.”
Ryan gave a helpless smile. “I recognized Evan’s identity, but I didn’t expect him to assist Red Spider in interviewing pirates.” Taking down a group of pirates, controlling the interstellar trafficker Evan, and still not getting the 5,000-star-coin bounty in the end…
Taking a sip of milk tea to calm his nerves, Bandner looked surprised. The smooth, coffee-colored milk tea tasted excellent. He remembered Ryan had casually tossed some black tea into milk to make it—the process had seemed quite random—yet the flavor turned out to be so good. “You’re really good at making food… Back then, I was thinking, these two idiots had zero sympathy. They heard I was being bullied and just walked away… walked away!”
Fan Lanting chimed in, “Ryan’s cooking is amazing. But weren’t you guys super broke? How did you end up buying a barrel of fuel from Ryan and the others at ten times the price?”
“To make the trip as quickly as possible, we were willing to pay any price,” Bandner said. He’d been agonizing over it for ages afterward, filled with regret and heartache. He should’ve said two or three times the price, but the character he was playing had completely taken over. Caught up in the role, he’d arrogantly blurted out ten times… Even now, just thinking about it made his heart bleed.
He glanced up at Ryan, wondering if the intense emotion in his gaze was being picked up.
Now that they all knew each other, they were considered friends, about to complete a mission together. The question was… pay back the money… pay… back… money…
Ryan hesitated and asked, “Did something get into your eye?”
Bandner, “……”
“I was thinking,” Fan Lanting said while stroking his chin, “You claim to be a fan of General Dalton, but when the General is right in front of you, you don’t even recognize him.” He then defined Bandner’s behavior with a single phrase, “You’re a fake fan.”
Bandner, “……”
Ryan, “Haha.”
- ··
At the intersection of the Storm Starfield, the Red Coral Starfield, and the Baikal Starfiled, there was a blank region in space. The beautiful and mysterious universe showed no favoritism; the blank region was just as beautiful. Amidst the stunning and wondrous celestial bodies, there was a habitable planet that Red Spider had claimed as its own, calling it the Savage Star. As the name suggested, the Savage Star was a barren, wild planet.
Pirates, whose lives were constantly in danger and whose survival was uncertain, had no interest in properly developing their strongholds. Simply creating a place fit for human habitation was already quite a feat. Everything on the Savage Star was in a state of barbaric development. Red Spider had occupied it for centuries, but the scale of its development remained limited.
Pirates generally believed that they shouldn’t install space stations outside their strongholds to avoid exposing their presence. Only by flying a small starship into the planet could they be inspected and questioned.
Though it was called an inspection, it was really just a way to extort money. Bandner watched as the pirates sifted through the supplies, and his inner displeasure grew. However, this kind of frustration was something he’d experienced countless times since he was young, so he had long learned to accept it calmly, even smiling and making small talk. “Brothers, take a look and see if there’s anything you like. Don’t be polite with me, feel free to take whatever you want.”
“You guys are so useless, bringing back so little stuff. Tsk tsk.” The pirate who came to inspect them was armed with a loaded gun, chewing on a cigarette as he rummaged through the cargo hold, disgustedly commenting, “Why is it all food? Where are the cigars? The alcohol? Oh, and still thinking about reading and writing, huh? Come over here, Old Ryan, take a look. They actually bought books.”
Ryan: “……” Haha, meeting someone with the same name.
Old Ryan had dark skin, his face weathered, and the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes could squish a fly. He leaned in and peered at the books with his single eye. When he opened his mouth, yellow teeth showed. “Books, huh? What’s it say on them?”
“Uh…” The younger pirate, unable to read, didn’t want to admit it, so he stubbornly made up a ridiculous lie. “It says something about a big beautiful lady’s butt, and she has three sesame seed-sized black moles, and some hair on them.”
“Hahaha, then this lady better keep her butt covered tightly,” Old Ryan laughed heartily. “Got a picture? Let me see it.”
The younger pirate angrily threw the book aside. “Who cares? These indecent things are only liked by people from the east. What’s the point of knowing how to read? Being able to use a gun is what really matters.”
Bandner nodded in agreement, “Yes, yes, yes. I bought it for wiping, ten star coins for five or six pounds, cheaper than toilet paper.” Saying this would please the pirates and hopefully speed up the inspection.
“Haha, I knew it,” Old Ryan said with his usual cheerful demeanor, laughing so loudly his throat seemed to be visible.
Sam Williams On TYMIMA Chapter 152