The Almighty Ring

Jiang Fei was already moving at the fastest speed possible without using Bloodrage. Even so, unlocking the seal on 0541 was tedious work. It had been twenty minutes since he started. Sylphy was almost at her limit and was about to run of negative adjectives to use against Akatziris but Jiang Fei was not done yet.

Jiang Fei had taken a peek and he knew that Sylphy was already worn out. He knew very well that the girl was trying her best to last longer. If asked for more, she would have to start dancing around, not literally. However, the consequence of stopping then would be epicly negative. Akatziris would surely disband the alliance, which would hinder Jiang Fei’s attempt in attacking the Unknown’s base. Naturally, he would not, and could not afford that.

Jiang Fei gave another look at Sylphy, telling her to last for a little while he was about to reach the end of his work.

“Y-You… fuu… You best stay away… away… from my darling… or I… I’ll…”

Sylphy started to slow down as she panted for breath. While she did, Akatziris’ sour expression turned calm. At the beginning, she was clearly trying to resist her wrath but now she was enjoying it all. It was like watching a clown that had run out of tricks. Thankfully, her attention was still glued to Sylphy and away from Jiang Fei.

“0543, inject all the relevant data and affirm my authority as the ship’s captain!” Jiang Fei ordered.

“Yes, captain,” 0543 replied. The procedure to start the unsealing process was completed. The last step was to let 0543 upload Jiang Fei’s data as well as records of the previous ship which included the information about the death of all the ship crew. Only then would Jiang Fei be promoted to the ship captain.

Even though Sylphy was already running on fumes, she was still going strong. Thankfully, 0543 worked fast. In just a few seconds, the first batch of data; Jiang Fei’s information of being the Representative Captain of the ship; was uploaded. The next batch of data dump would be information about the death of all the original ship crew.

“Uploading…” 0543 reported. Unfortunately, during this critical moment, Sylphy was done scolding.

“Are you done?” Akatziris asked. She was completely calm when Sylphy stopped. It was as if she was completely unfazed by the entire scolding session.

“No! I-I just need to catch my breath! I’m not done with you yet!” Sylphy barked. Her voice was extremely coarse, masculine even.

“Hmm. How human you are. You could even hurt yourself while insulting others. How amusing,” Akatziris teased.

“Upload complete. Confirming authority as Braveheart’s Captain…”

Jiang Fei’s heart was beating so fast from all the anxiety, and then 0543 reported good news.

“I’m more than willing to. What about you? Could you do the same?” Sylphy barked once more. At this point, she could only distract Akatziris with facial tics and gestures.

“Could I? Wouldn’t you like to know,” Akatziris snorted.

“Captain’s authority confirmed. Congratulations. You are now the second Captain of Braveheart,” 0543 reported.

“Unseal 0541 right now!” Jiang Fei ordered immediately.

“Commencing…”

Just when the seal of 0541 was beginning to come undone, Jiang Fei noticed Akatziris turning away from Sylphy.

“Dammit!” Jiang Fei thought. He could not afford Akatziris finding out about what he had done. The ship was inoperable at the moment without Jiang Fei investing more Energy Crystals. In the worst case scenario, she would rather just blow up the ship than allow Jiang Fei have it.

“Put the unsealing program in the background, turn off the main console, and revert the entire system back to hibernation mode. Let it run on its own and terminate all connection to the main Data Management Center!” Jiang Fei ordered as he quickly removed the ring from the console board.

The blinking lights all across the consoles turned off immediately. When Akatziris finally turned around to look, all she saw was Jiang Fei plastering his face to the buttons and switches on the console, as if he was admiring a piece of art.

“My sweet loving master, I’d never thought you would have such… peculiar taste in women. It’s no wonder I could not win your affection,” said Akatziris as she giggled mockingly at Sylphy. The thinly veiled insults behind her words did not go unnoticed. Most importantly, Jiang Fei couldn’t tell whether or not she had noticed what he was doing. Was she trying to hide it?

Be it as if may, Sylphy had done a marvellous job and Jiang Fei had officially become the captain of the ship, and the unsealing process of 0541 had begun. Although 0541 was still not free, Jiang Fei’s hands was off the board now. Given time, 0541 could finish the program himself. However, 0541 could not return to the ring as he was still stuck in the Data Management Center. Jiang Fei would only be able “fetch” him the next time he returned to the bridge.

“I’ve brought nothing but trouble this time. I shall call it a day. Oh, do not forget about our deal. Meet me at the corner of the Winter Islands the day after tomorrow. We will then attack the Unknowns’ main base,” said Jiang Fei as he put up an awkward expression, trying to sell it as his embarrassment for what Sylphy had done.

“I shall see you then,” Akatziris answered plainly.

In no time, Ariel returned to the bridge with Straz following behind.

“How did it go?” Jiang Fei asked. To be honest, he was genuinely curious about the well-being of the ship since it belonged to him.

“It’s nothing. Everything was done perfectly. Signals between each heavy instrument and equipment were concealed properly. There would not be any interference in between. The electrical conduit have been mended perfectly as well,” Ariel reported. She had taken her time to examine each of the damaged section of the ship and was even asked by Straz to check them over and over again. Ariel, knowing that the ship was going to Jiang Fei, did not reject Straz’s plea and checked the ship again and again until Straz was satisfied with the result.

“Mhm. Thank you for your work. Shall we head back now?” Jiang Fei said. His mission to the moon was a partial success.

“Be on your way then. Straz, please escort our guests to the teleportation pad,” Akatziris ordered and left the room by herself.

“Please, if you would,” Straz invited and the mass followed him to board the hovercraft. When Jiang Fei and the three girls left the bridge and went off to the Teleportation Pad, Akatziris returned to the bridge frantically.