Counterfeit Hero

The woman who called herself Trisha pointed at the groups of people in the tavern with her finger: ”See? Those are Suss people, those are Jiepeng people, and those in the corner are Desic people. Oh, and there are Chuckna people, Saleria people, Tatania people, and among the waitstaff, there’s a Gazalin person and two Knevel people...”

A mocking smile appeared on her face: ”There are no Leray people... do you know why?”

Without waiting for Meiduo’s answer, Trisha raised her eyebrows: ”In Space Station 106, Leray people can only stay in the slums. You are too impulsive, clashing with Suss people, clashing with Jiepeng people, and when you see Desic people, it’s as if you’ve met the murderer of your father... After three years of war, how many of your commerce groups, adventurers, and smugglers are left on this channel?”

”Here, even Leray men can’t survive, let alone you, a woman? People have to face reality.” Seeing Meiduo’s tears welling up in her eyes, Trisha switched to a heartfelt tone, gently embracing Meiduo: ”Survival is more important than anything. As long as you listen, I promise you’ll live much more comfortably than your companions. With your looks, you won’t have to be like the women outside. As long as you serve one person well, you’ll have everything you want here.”

”You want to see Easton...” Trisha’s gaze moved over Meiduo’s face, smiling slightly: ”I’ll take you, but after facing reality, I hope you’ll give up and cooperate with us. Otherwise... I have a thousand ways to make your life worse than death.”

Trisha stood up and signaled with her eyes. A burly man beside her stepped forward and grabbed Meiduo. A group of people swaggered through the tavern. Along the way, all the noise vanished, and the tavern guests quickly stepped aside, eager to avoid trouble.

When Meiduo left the tavern, the noise behind her rose again, as if nothing had happened.

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Carl squatted by the roadside, dressed in a grease-stained blue jumpsuit, his big head drooping, his eyes quickly scanning both sides of the street from below. Next to him, the old pirate Hake, wearing his ragged pirate uniform found at the bottom of a box, was greedily putting a cigarette into his mouth.

This was their second visit to Space Station 106. After Chekov set the plan to attack the largest space station on the Freedom Channel, Carl, under the guise of a Redbeard Pirate, stayed here for a few days and collected a lot of information. This time, he would stay longer until the Bandit Army Fleet took over.

In the bakery by the street, a man was selecting bread with his wife and child. They were nervously looking at the ridiculously priced bread, their eyes dim. Finally, the man chose a half-piece of the cheapest rye bread, paying a hundred Fei Yuan for it. As he left the door, he laboriously cut two small pieces of the rye bread, handing them to the child and the child’s mother, who were eagerly watching him.

”You should eat some too,” the woman whispered to the man as they passed by Carl.

”I’m not hungry.” The man smiled, endearingly wrapping his arm around the woman’s shoulder: ”When we get to Chuckna, I’ll take you to the best hotel for dinner.”

Carl took out a cigarette, stuffed it into his mouth, and quickly lit it. Through deep breathing, he interrupted the sourness in his nose.

The man’s smile was so familiar to him. In that distant place, countless men younger than the one before him, but with the same nonchalant smile, had fallen one after another on the battlefield.

It was a brutal war for independence.

Though the Leray people repeatedly triumphed over the enemy, they ultimately ended up in this situation.

Countless Leray people were forced to leave their homes, just to survive. But what awaits them? Dirty slums, rampant bullying. Not only in Space Station 106, but also in several space stations like 213, 79, 155, and 602 previously occupied by the Bandit Army, it’s the same!

Leray’s capital had been captured by the Three Great Empires, and the Leray Commerce Group, smuggling ships, and runner ships that once sailed the Freedom Channel were now few and far between. Many of them returned to fight for their country and died on the battlefield, while many were destroyed by the besieging enemy fleets or died at the hands of pirate raids.

When a country is nearly extinct, its people cannot command fear and respect.

Whenever Carl thought of the humiliations suffered by Leray people at these space stations and dockyards, he would grit his teeth in anger. On the Freedom Channel, most space stations are governed by those from the Free World. The conditions there are relatively better. However, in the space stations predominantly controlled by smuggling groups from Suss, Jiepeng, or other Western Alliance Countries, the treatment of the Leray people is worse than that of animals.

When these people realized that most Leray people were refugees without resistance capability, such malicious bullying became a trend. Leray people’s property was plundered at will, men were beaten and killed, women were raped and humiliated. Even children were often beaten to death.

If it weren’t for the Leray people’s unity and desperation, if it weren’t for the fact that the majority of this world were free people who couldn’t stand the bold behavior of people from other places here, if the situation hadn’t escalated to the point of genocide, it’s likely that there wouldn’t be a single Leray person left fleeing through the Free World.

”Are they Leray people too?” Old pirate Hake asked Carl secretly in his ear.