Seeing the photo of this "sea urchin," Yang Ming’s first reaction was to run.
How could this thing suddenly appear in a backwater place like Saka Star?
The Poisoned Stinger Ship, a special operations ship rarely seen in the Empire, was solely equipped with the high-powered, multi-purpose antennas resembling sea urchin spines as its only weapon.
In "Abyss," it rarely appeared on the front lines and never participated in any of the Empire’s external wars. It roamed the corners of the Empire, controlling networks, purifying information, and manipulating public opinion. There were even rumors among players that it could collectively brainwash the population of large cities—similar to mind control.
More outrageous rumors had no reference value, like it could cause players to disconnect en masse and block IPs.
That was sheer nonsense.
Simply put, the ship’s field of application was information warfare.
In Yang Ming’s memory, the Poisoned Stinger Ship first appeared in players’ sights during the late phase of the Level 95 epic legion chain mission in the Imperial camp of "Abyss."
The Poisoned Stinger Ship’s formidable information warfare capabilities caused catastrophic losses to the ill-developed heavy firepower player fleets and made it a renowned symbol among the Empire’s special ships.
Its performance and functions were very similar to the new prototype ships of the New Federation that once appeared outside Ilando Star.
What concerned Yang Ming more at this moment was the symbolic meaning of this ship.
It was simply that the Poisoned Stinger Ship served as the standard entry vehicle for various humanoid bosses of the Empire!
In "Abyss," the appearance of the Poisoned Stinger Ship indicated the imminent appearance of an imperial legion-level boss!
Had the Poisoned Stinger Ship tracked the main brain’s location?
The East Wind wasn’t near Saka Star. Even if Lyu were tracked, it shouldn’t be on Saka Star.
Could it be that they somehow confirmed White Ghost’s presence on Saka Star?
That also didn’t make sense. If they were after White Ghost, they should dispatch firepower warships and special units instead of a solitary information warfare ship...
Was it going to use its "sea urchin" antennas to stab White Ghost?
Thoughts flashed through Yang Ming’s mind rapidly, and he immediately got up and rushed to the bathroom, sending a communication invite to Lyu.
"My stomach hurts! You guys eat first!"
Godoy and Lady Daly exchanged a glance; the latter frowned, tasted her own cooking, and quietly asked, "Did the ingredients go bad?"
"No, they’re very fresh," Godoy said while taking a big bite of the food, "Maybe he ate something bad outside; the air pollution is getting worse every year."
"Imperial Poisoned Stinger Ship... an information warfare ship..."
Lyu’s gentle voice emerged from the edge of Yang Ming’s glasses, laced with a touch of doubt,
"Boss, its emergence signifies the appearance of a big shot from the Empire; however, this doesn’t seem logical. The imperial family and the Great Nobles place a high premium on comfort, and this ship’s internal space shouldn’t be very spacious."
"Lyu, the big shots I mentioned aren’t powerful figures in the hierarchy but rather some particularly troublesome entities."
"The Empire has several very strong forces; they’re different from the cannon fodder special forces that are on the surface, like the Emperor Star Guard, Emperor Star Guard Army... anything with Emperor Star in its name is cream of the crop.
"Among them is a unit numbered 402, also known as the Empire’s Boss Concentration Camp, with many powerful transformed people.
"Their mode of travel is the Poisoned Stinger Ship.
"Because every time they take action, they need to conduct large-scale memory eradication; the Poisoned Stinger Ship has that capability."
Lyu was silent for a few seconds, likely searching for information.
Yet the Empire’s network had not a shred of information about the Poisoned Stinger Ship and the Emperor Star 402 unit.
Shortly, she wondered aloud, "Isn’t the most powerful transformed person the Valkyrie?"
"In the future, maybe it will be the Valkyrie, but not necessarily now."
Yang Ming reminisced about those grueling boss battles from back then.
A game is, after all, a game, and everything follows the mechanics of the game itself. Squad-level bosses and legion-level bosses have more of a statistical difference, and the prowess constrained by in-game level values cannot serve as a reference for the real Milky Way.
But one thing left an especially strong impression on Yang Ming.
The Emperor Star Guard 402 "talent" legion churned out individuals one crazier than the next, which was a major reason players branded the Empire as "evil."
Its members were more twisted than the next...
Lyu said, "Boss, the target ship is confirmed to be heading toward Saka Star and will enter Saka Star’s atmosphere in two hours. Perhaps you should retreat."
Yang Ming said, "Are you sure we aren’t exposed now?"
"Yes, Boss, our chances of being exposed are exceedingly low unless the other side possesses a form of networking technology I can’t comprehend, but that seems unlikely.
"I have utmost confidence in the various techniques my three teachers imparted to me."
"But for safety’s sake, you might as well hide on the planet’s surface and have the East Wind stand by in the vicinity.
"At this moment, the East Wind is parked outside the false base; two warp jumps and linear travel would place it at the periphery of Saka Star in about three hours."
"Don’t let the East Wind come over," Yang Ming considered briefly, "If we collide with them, it would be even easier to expose ourselves."
Lyu worriedly inquired, "The emergency ship we have prepared on Saka Star is a regular cargo vessel; if they’re here to capture you, how will you escape without the East Wind?"
"Have 026 head for the emergency ship first," Yang Ming instructed, "Don’t let yourself become chaotic; since we’re confident they haven’t discovered us, remain confident to the end—even if it means revealing everything ahead of schedule."
"Alright," Lyu was still somewhat uneasy, "Do you know the universal interstellar gesture for surrender?"