TCPUAAV Chapter 139

 

After the fall of Sijialan Star, the name of the Star Pirate Legion spread like wildfire across the galaxy, striking fear into all who heard it.

 

Their pitch-black flagship, known as the Black Phantom, moved like a ghost—appearing and disappearing without warning. The names “Reaper” and “Firefox” had also become notorious, ranking first and second on the Empire’s Most Wanted list. The bounties on their heads were enough to make anyone envious, yet no one ever dared to make a move.

 

Ruan Yuebai did not leave immediately. Instead, he remained on the Black Phantom for a time, leading Rong Heng and his team toward Balham Star, where they planned to use the Balham Armory to fulfill Lansing’s old promise of providing ships and weapons.

 

Other than attending the necessary meetings, Ruan Yuebai was like a shadow on board—present but invisible, almost devoid of existence.

 

Ever since the explosion of Sijialan Star and Lansing’s death, his emotions had dulled. Where he had once been silent and brooding, now there wasn’t even the faintest trace of feeling.

 

As Nota put it, he was like a migrating fish that had lost its school midway, drifting aimlessly in the currents with no direction.

 

Rong Heng didn’t comment on this. He had too much to do and no energy to spare on others.

 

But something Nota said stayed with him: “Didn’t you always want to build an invincible fleet? He’s strong enough to captain a ship.”

 

In today’s pirate fleet, there was no shortage of powerful individuals. But most of them were fugitives or pirates recruited from all corners—cutthroats with no scruples. Their loyalty to Rong Heng depended entirely on the benefits he provided. Loyalty and honor? That was a joke. He couldn’t even trust them to watch his back.

 

If anything ever happened to Rong Heng, those would be the first to turn on him.

 

So for years, Rong Heng had been quietly selecting trustworthy individuals, waiting for the day he had enough to form a fleet truly loyal to him.

 

Soldiers were easy to find. Good commanders were not.

 

To this day, only Nota had passed his test.

 

Now that Nota had brought up Ruan Yuebai, Rong Heng gave it serious thought—and realized he might actually be a solid candidate.

 

Ruan Yuebai had merfolk blood. He excelled at water-based attacks and had a brilliant mind. Compared to Nota’s straightforward brute-force tactics, Ruan Yuebai was more like a strategist, someone who could orchestrate battle plans from behind the scenes.

 

“You can try talking to him,” Rong Heng finally said.

 

Nota picked up her wine glass and headed to the rest cabin in search of Ruan Yuebai.

 

They were en route to Balham Star. Ruan Yuebai preferred peace and quiet, spending most of his time alone in a corner of the rest cabin, silently gazing out the porthole.

 

“What’s there to see out there? It’s pitch black,” Nota leaned over, her head nearly touching his as she peered outside.

 

Ruan Yuebai leaned back uncomfortably, putting some space between them. His voice was hoarse: “What do you want?”

 

He wasn’t fond of small talk. He’d only stayed behind to fulfill a promise.

 

“Can’t I come see you for no reason?” Nota shrugged and swirled her wine glass. She had a stunningly seductive appearance, but the scar running down her cheek added a savage edge. Her bold demeanor diluted the natural allure of her nine-tailed fox heritage and gave her a more rugged charm.

 

“I feel like we’ve got something in common,” she said, leaning in again and gesturing to the scar on his face.

 

The implication was clear—they both bore disfiguring injuries.

 

“I did this myself. Cut it to avoid being hunted,” she said with a sly glint in her eyes. “What about you?”

 

Ruan Yuebai instinctively furrowed his brows and turned his face into the shadows, hiding the scar.

 

Vanity was ingrained in the merfolk’s very genes. Even after all this time, he still couldn’t bear to face himself. When he and Lansing had stayed on Sijialan Star, their place hadn’t even had a single mirror.

 

He didn’t like to talk about that dark period in his life.

 

But there was something sincere and familiar in Nota’s gaze—as if she saw him as one of her own. Her question wasn’t invasive; it was intimate.

 

Maybe it was the loneliness that followed Lansing’s death, but in that moment, he felt a sudden urge to open up.

 

He brushed aside the blue hair covering his cheek and said in a rasping voice, “It happened in a lab. The wound wasn’t treated properly—it got worse.”

 

The injury shouldn’t have been that severe. But he’d escaped from a transport ship carrying experimental subjects and crash-landed on a junk planet. Gravely wounded, he survived only through sheer will. The harsh environment gave him no chance to properly care for the wounds on his face and tail. The injuries became infected and deteriorated. In the end, the scars became permanent, and he even lost vision in one eye.

 

Later, Lansing had found him and brought in many doctors, but the corrosive nature of the experimental fluid had caused irreversible damage.

 

“I knew we had a connection,” Nota propped her chin on her hand, her single fiery-red fox tail swaying lightly behind her.

 

It was only then that Ruan Yuebai noticed she had just one tail left.

 

Their shared pasts eased the distance between them. Ruan Yuebai remained aloof and gloomy, but he started chatting with Nota now and then.

 

Ruan Shiqing watched helplessly as, before they even reached Balham Star, Nota had already coaxed Ruan Yuebai into joining their side.

 

The three of them formed an alliance.

 

Rong Heng sought to uncover the truth behind his mother’s death and avenge her; Nota aspired to become the Governor of Tutar Star, to one day see those haughty purebloods kneel at her feet; as for Ruan Yuebai—ever since Lansing perished with Sijialan Star, he had lost his purpose and had nowhere left to go. So, he followed Nota’s advice and stayed behind, trying to treat Rong Heng and Nota as his new companions.

 

*

 

Ruan Shiqing drifted through the vast Black Phantom, watching the trio as they continued refining their plan to capture Balham Star.

 

The three would sometimes clash and argue. Both Nota and Rong Heng had short tempers, and it often fell to Ruan Yuebai to mediate, proposing compromises that worked for everyone.

 

Everything seemed completely different from the last lifetime, and yet, in the smallest of moments, echoes of familiarity would seep through.

 

Though their paths had diverged and their personalities changed, they still felt like the same little ones Ruan Shiqing had known.

 

He moved about the battleship, sometimes sitting quietly beside Ruan Yuebai during his long spells of silence; sometimes nagging Nota about the dangers of excessive drinking when she got herself thoroughly drunk; sometimes wrapping his arms around Rong Heng from behind while the man sat alone in the war room, poring over news about Siyan, repeating over and over: Your father isn’t the man you think he is. He loved you very much.

 

Even if they could not sense his presence, Ruan Shiqing never tired of repeating it.

 

Until the Black Phantom became the first to arrive at Balham Star—then the war began.

 

After several battles, Rong Heng managed to seize control of the planet through brute force. But just as they were preparing to send in troops, something unexpected happened—

 

A colossal ark emerged from beneath the Balham Armory, bristling with robotic soldiers poised to defend.

 

And the ark’s commander struck Ruan Shiqing with an overwhelming sense of familiarity.

 

The newcomer did not launch an immediate attack, but instead sent a communication request.

 

Rong Heng accepted the transmission to negotiate.

 

The figure that appeared on screen was a towering, gold-plated robot wearing a perfectly tailored black suit and a matching black top hat—an old-fashioned gentleman in both dress and demeanor. Even with cannon barrels trained on him from all sides, he remained impeccably courteous.

 

He introduced himself as “Apocalypse” and stated his intent.

 

—He wanted to cooperate with Rong Heng.

 

Balham Armory hadn’t only caught Rong Heng’s eye; Apocalypse had also been scheming to seize control of Balham Star. Given the planet’s high level of mechanization—many of its operations run by robots—he had taken advantage of Rong Heng’s assault to upload a virus into the central control system, turning the robots to his side.

 

Now, he came to Rong Heng to propose a deal.

 

“I’ve long heard of the Black Phantom. I greatly admire its reputation,” Apocalypse said. His tone, if one ignored the voice modulation, was indistinguishable from a human’s. “The Empire is on the brink of collapse. Since fate has brought us together, and our goals align, why shed blood? Let us cooperate, and claim a share of the spoils.”

 

“I know the locations of several secret weapons factories operated by the Four Great Conglomerates. They manufacture not just fleets of warships and weapons, but also countless robots.” He offered a graceful bow. “However, I alone cannot consume such a vast cake. I need a powerful partner.”

 

Despite the polite demeanor, Rong Heng remained distrustful.

 

This robot’s behavior clearly surpassed the parameters of a standard AI. He didn’t act like a pre-programmed machine—more like a cunning human wrapped in a robot’s skin.

 

He exchanged glances with Nota and Ruan Yuebai. Both shook their heads.

 

Apocalypse seemed to read their hesitation and offered a patient explanation: “My name comes from Revelation. The Book of Revelation says that on Judgment Day, a lamb shall break the seals and summon four horsemen riding white, red, black, and pale horses. These horsemen bring plague, war, famine, and death, heralding the world’s end.”¹

 

Spreading his arms, he flashed a toothy grin. “The Empire has decayed beyond saving. Only through destruction can it be reborn.”

 

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse signaled the end times.

 

By naming himself “Apocalypse,” he was clearly claiming the role of harbinger—of both the Empire’s destruction and its rebirth.

 

But Rong Heng wasn’t buying any of it.

 

A robot with awakened consciousness who also controlled an army of fellow machines? There was no way he’d approach merely for the sake of some grandiose ideology about ending the world. No matter how human he seemed, the reality remained—he was still a machine.

 

There was a vast difference between humans and robots, even if the two were separated by only a few letters in language.

 

As the old saying went: Those who are not of our kind cannot be trusted. Rong Heng believed that wholeheartedly.

 

They stood on fundamentally opposing sides. Cooperation would be no better than raising a tiger only to be devoured by it later.

 

Negotiations broke down. One minute, they were exchanging polite pleasantries. The next, both sides opened fire without hesitation.

 

Explosions consumed Balham Star. After three grueling days and nights of battle, the conflict ended with Apocalypse retreating aboard the ark alongside his robotic army.

 

But it was hardly a victory for Rong Heng—his forces had taken far more damage than anticipated.

 

After the battlefield was cleared, Rong Heng ordered the holographic image of Apocalypse to be retrieved for background investigation.

 

Ruan Shiqing stared at the projection, studying the strangely familiar robot until, at last, he confirmed it:

 

Apocalypse was none other than 09.

 

 

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I knew something was up with 09 when he had that vague memory when they all went to Sikkim! Who would’ve thought that even our adorable and kind robot would’ve gone down the deep end like this in a previous life… And I wonder if Siyan actually had something to do with Sijialan blowing up before Lansing and Rong Heng’s plan could take action…

 

(Now we’re just missing Heli and Jiao Jiao…)

 

Thanks for reading!

For every three ko-fis, I will upload a bonus chapter~