Space Odyssey from Abandoned Mining Space Station

Chapter 270: Chapter 112 Fleet and Dusk’s Development Strategy

After Chen Ming connected with his boss.

He quickly confirmed his identity using the previous code.

The boss, who hadn’t contacted him for a few days, asked somewhat unexpectedly, ”Xiao Ming, what do you need from me?”

Chen Ming didn’t waste words and directly said, ”Well, just a while ago, my spaceship was robbed by a group calling themselves Freedom Alliance pirates. Their leader said they were working for a businessman called ’White Mao’.”

The boss sounded like he knew who this person was and asked, ”White Mao? How did they find you?”

”I bought a Torrential Rain.”

”Oh, you got your eye on that thing, huh? Did you contact me just because of them?”

”Yes, after all, they’re from the Freedom Alliance, and I couldn’t be sure if you knew White Mao or the pirate leader, so I thought I’d ask before I kill them.”

”I see, well, let me put it this way: it’s totally fine to kill them, but it’s also okay not to. I know a bit about White Mao; if you don’t mind, you can leave them to me to handle.”

Chen Ming was curious about his boss’s plan and asked, ”How do you plan to handle them?”

The boss didn’t hide anything and said, ”Use them to gain favor.”

”If his name isn’t just random talk, then his situation is indeed a bit special. Although the bounty is worth tens of millions, the actual value is higher.”

”You know I’m preparing a colony for retirement, and White Mao is with the Freedom Alliance, so the favor could be exchanged for benefits in that area.”

Chen Ming understood and said, ”Alright, then I’ll spare them.”

After receiving a response, Chen Ming turned to the pirates and said, ”You don’t have to die for now.”

”But you must leave your spaceship, and all those still alive must be gathered on that Conquest. Someone will come to take you away shortly.”

”Any problems? If there are, you can raise them now.”

The pirate captain was completely fine with this outcome and repeatedly said, ”No, no, we have no problems.”

Then he immediately started directing the crew to switch ships.

The call that had not been hung up echoed with the boss’s voice again: ”Xiao Ming, how are you doing over at Dusk recently?”

While keeping an eye on the situation with the pirates, Chen Ming replied, ”Not too well, Dusk’s suspicion of me is growing, and I might be transferred to be held somewhere else soon. Whether it’s trying to escape or be rescued, it should be quite troublesome.”

”Not going smoothly? Does Dusk not value your abilities?”

”They do value them, quite a bit actually, it’s mainly my fault.”

”What did you do?”

”Blew up one of Dusk’s mining fields.”

”...”

The boss was silent for a moment, but he believed Chen Ming must have had a reason for doing so, so he didn’t say much.

”Do you want me to think of a way to get you out? I’ve heard where you are now; if you go deeper into Dusk’s territory, many things will become difficult to do.”

”Plus, I recently heard there’s going to be some big move by Dusk, though it’s hard to determine exactly against whom, so you’d better watch out.”

The boss spoke very seriously, but after considering, Chen Ming still said, ”Not for now.”

Although Chen Ming had already controlled several AI Cores, and soon another would be sent back.

If he left now, it would mean he wouldn’t have a chance to remedy if his plans had any flaws later.

Furthermore, the benefits gained from Dusk would significantly decrease in the short term if the plan went well, that’s fine.

But if problems arose, even the minimum guarantee, which was the regular materials and professional books provided by Dusk, would not be available.

Moreover, if Chen Ming left, Dusk might focus more attention on the few AI of Dusk with whom he had suspicious contacts, which could lead to unexpected trouble in situations that were otherwise peaceful.

The last shred of proper relationship he reluctantly maintained with Dusk would also be completely severed, with no opportunity for repair to the point of being able to connect.

Right now, Chen Ming wasn’t entirely restricted by Dusk; there were still many opportunities to look for.

Additionally, his boss’s favor was indeed significant, and he didn’t want to use it up lightly.

Considering all these factors, Chen Ming decided after reflection not to return for the time being.

The boss had no objection to Chen Ming’s decision and just said, ”You decide for yourself.”

”But you have to pay more attention. Your situation isn’t something only you are watching.”

”Sinda Corporation, Speed Particle Technology, the Fourteenth Legion, the Star Realm Government, even people at the top of the Battle Zone have heard of you by now.”

”Zuo Jing has some thoughts about you too, and you might also have to add the Freedom Alliance to the list later on, just be careful and don’t let them affect you.”

Chen Ming was well aware that so many forces having their eyes on him could lead to some unexpected situations, and he responded solemnly to his boss’s reminder, ”I understand, I’ll be careful.”

Chen Ming registered this matter in his mind and suddenly remembered what just happened and said, ”By the way, boss, there’s something I need to mention; there should still be Zuo Jing agents in the Space Station.”

”Just now, besides encountering the pirates, I also ran into a Zuo Jing fleet. They were here because Old Wu had rented an engineering ship, so they came to hunt him down.”

”Moreover, this Zuo Jing fleet had previously planned to join these Freedom Alliance pirates to give me trouble.”

”But Old Wu wasn’t on the ship, and they came up empty-handed, and that Zuo Jing fleet was also taken out by me.”

Chen Ming had actually kept a list of Zuo Jing personnel at the Space Station, intending to seize an opportunity to make some gains later.

However, Chen Ming had given out the list of other Zuo Jing personnel, so during the prior internal purge at the Space Station, these people had already been cleared out.