When choosing a target, he specifically confirmed with the intelligence broker he had worked with for a long time. This convoy shouldn’t have any backing.
And that intelligence broker had always been trustworthy to him, never causing any problems.
So after some thought, the pirate leader temporarily dismissed this possibility, not suspecting the intelligence broker.
Unable to figure out the answer, he finally couldn’t help but ask, "Who is that influential figure?"
With full confusion in his tone, Chen Ming said, "Do you think I’ll tell you?"
The pirate leader also realized he had asked a stupid question and fell silent.
However, Chen Ming suddenly felt he might have overacted and slightly relaxed his tone, saying, "Are you worried about your safety afterward? Then you might as well worry about whether not cooperating means you’ll die now."
"That person already made it clear before arranging the mission. It’s best if you can be brought back alive, but if not, they can simply get another one."
The pirate leader keenly caught the keyword in Chen Ming’s words.
He seemed to understand Chen Ming’s meaning.
The influential figure Chen Ming spoke of needed someone like him—someone with a bounty, someone who had been a pawn, experienced, and who had been operating in the Edge Star Realm for years.
People like him in the Edge Star Realm aren’t too many, but not too few either, so getting another one doesn’t seem to be an issue.
Several thoughts quickly flashed through the pirate leader’s mind.
Could it really be that there was some special task for him to do? ᴛhis chapter is ᴜpdated by novel·fıre·net
But there’s no need to attack him directly, right?
And they even used a Dusk Ship.
The pirate leader seemed to realize the key to the problem.
He knew that many factions had been acquiring Dusk AI Cores.
And it wasn’t hard to guess what those acquired cores were used for.
Like what was in front of him, the initial use of an AI Core—installing it on ships for the control of unmanned vessels.
But such Dusk Ships shouldn’t be casually used, even in the Edge Star Realm.
Not to mention using it to target a small pirate like him.
A couple of specialized military Destroyers with two or three Frigates would be enough to wipe out his small fleet,
This unknown force didn’t need to specially deploy a Dusk Ship within the Human Empire’s range to find him.
And there seemed to be a Psychic on that Centurion Level ship that looked like a military vessel.
Using a Dusk Ship and a Psychic to find him—could there be some special purpose, or was it hinting at something?
The pirate leader’s thoughts gradually got derailed due to Chen Ming’s ship configuration and words, along with his own wishful thinking.
He hesitantly asked, "Can you tell me more? At least... let me know a bit of what’s going on."
Chen Ming immediately knew the pirate leader had taken the bait, so naturally, he wouldn’t disclose the truth. Instead, he intended to lead the pirate leader further astray.
"I can only tell you that this influential figure has quite a good temper and is very generous."
Though the pirate leader’s thinking was a bit off, his mind wasn’t broken. He asked, "Then why did you attack us? If you had contacted us, we would surely be willing to help you, so why do this?"
Chen Ming, prepared in advance, countered, "You just finished a deal, right?"
"So now you’re planning to repair your ship and fence your goods?"
"What will you do after fencing the goods?"
"Repair the ship, replenish supplies, indulge in debauchery, spend all the money, and then go back to work."
Chen Ming suddenly let out a cold laugh and said, "So, do you think the influential figure would wait specifically for you to finish indulging before finding you? Would those under you still heed your call after taking the money to spend?"
"But isn’t this sudden attack on us a bit... too much? And why do you think we would still... help you?"
Chen Ming had previously reviewed the pirate leader’s profile.
He always acted based on whether he could afford to provoke someone.
If he could, he would provoke; if not, he would avoid.
However, with his boss, it’s a different story.
He didn’t seem to perceive the boss as someone he couldn’t provoke, or rather, he didn’t realize it.
This was different from his usual behavior.
Chen Ming thought it wasn’t that the pirate leader’s character had changed, but rather that his intelligence was flawed.
So, Chen Ming, who appeared to understand him very well, said, "You are someone who knows how to adapt to circumstances, aren’t you?"
"If you don’t do it, you die. If you do it, you might not die. It’s the simplest logic."
"Of course, I can’t guarantee that you won’t deliberately sabotage the mission later."
"So—did you notice, other than the suicide ship that blew itself up, did anyone die?"
The leader was visibly taken aback.
It was only then that he realized that in his fleet, besides the suicide ship,
The other ships mainly had their engines and weapons damaged, with at most only some people injured, and no one had died.
The suicide ship was even voluntarily initiated by him.
In other words, there wasn’t really any life-and-death conflict between him and Chen Ming.
Or rather, he wasn’t even on the level to have such a conflict with Chen Ming.
Two Destroyers and six Frigates were defeated by one Destroyer and two Frigates, and it was even in a way that only damaged the ships’ operational capabilities, like a humiliation.