Chapter 72#
The List#
The gamble that day caused quite a stir on the ship.
After all, one of the parties was Mr. Silver, and everyone was guessing whether Yin Beichen would face retaliation.
Yet two days passed, and Yin Beichen was neither thrown off the ship nor beheaded. The service staff was even more polite than before. Mr. Silver had indeed kept his word and hadn’t appeared in the casino for the past two days. While surprised, everyone praised Mr. Silver’s integrity, and their impression of him only improved.
As for Ning Feng, one of the parties involved, after a day or two of being watched, he gradually found himself with more free time.
After the gambling incident, Yin Beichen no longer trusted a single word Ning Feng said. He ordered Qiu Zhen to shadow him around the clock, and Qiu Zhen had now essentially become Ning Feng’s personal bodyguard and sidekick.
Ning Feng… well, knowing he was in the wrong, he couldn’t be bothered to argue anymore.
That evening, after his shift ended, he was heading back to the crew quarters to recharge, with Qiu Zhen following idly behind, counting the days on his fingers.
“Today is the fourth day on the ship. Three more days to go. January 19th—it’s almost New Year’s…”
Suddenly, Ning Feng stopped in his tracks. “What did you say today’s date is?”
“January 19th, why?” Qiu Zhen frowned, then his eyes widened. “Oh right, today is Young Master Lu’s birthday!”
He excitedly scratched his pink hair, glanced at the time, and saw there was still some leeway. “Hey, should we get him a gift?”
“What for?” Ning Feng’s brows tightened sharply.
“It’s Young Master Lu! A major benefactor! Even if we can’t afford something expensive, lighting a candle and saying ‘Happy Birthday’ would be nice, right?”
“If you want to go, go yourself. I’m not going.”
“How pitiful—no one celebrating his birthday, all alone!”
“…I’m not going.”
…
In the end, after much coaxing from Qiu Zhen, Ning Feng agreed to prepare a cake and candles, while Qiu Zhen would figure out the gift himself.
But where was he supposed to find a cake in the middle of the night?
Rubbing the back of his neck, Ning Feng decided to sneak into the kitchen to rummage around.
Though it was close to midnight, the ship offered round-the-clock dining services, so there were a few staff on duty in the kitchen. After asking about the food storage freezers, Ning Feng headed into the cold storage to pick out some pastries.
The cold storage was empty at night, with only the hum of the condenser in his ears. The lights illuminated just a small area beneath his feet, leaving everything beyond two or three meters in complete darkness. After searching for a while, he found several fruit cakes. Just as he was torn between durian cheesecake and strawberry-honey pomelo, he suddenly heard movement from the darkness.
Someone!
“Who?!” Ning Feng’s eyes sharpened, and he immediately turned on his searchlight.
The full-spectrum light illuminated the area, and the shadows in the corner twisted before freezing in place. He stepped forward cautiously, a dagger tight in his hand, edging closer to the source of the sound.
Just as he was about to switch to thermal imaging, the shadow lunged out, grabbed his wrist, and twisted it behind his back. Ning Feng narrowed his eyes and was about to struggle when he heard a very familiar, seductive voice.
“Good evening, dear Sixteen.”
Startled, Ning Feng looked up and immediately saw a handsome, enchanting face.
“Mr. Silver? How did you—”
“Shh…”
A finger pressed against his lips. Ning Feng frowned, about to brush it away, when he heard the clamor of voices outside.
“You lot, split up and search!” The voice was gruff, clearly belonging to someone not to be trifled with. “The captain said it doesn’t matter if he’s killed or maimed—just find him.”
“Boss, do we really have to? That’s—”
“Shut the hell up!” the man shouted. “If he gets out alive, none of us on this ship will live!”
“But, but…”
“Scram!”
“Yes, sir!”
Ning Feng shot a doubtful glance behind him.
Mr. Silver was high up in the Star Pirates organization, and this ship was under the Star Pirates’ banner. So why would the captain be hunting him? Wasn’t he afraid of being discovered by the Star Pirates?
Catching his gaze, Mr. Silver gave a faint smile. “Any questions?”
“Why do they want to kill you?”
“Well…” Mr. Silver tilted his head, looking utterly innocent. “Perhaps I accidentally stumbled onto their dirty secrets—like the sale of synthetic insect drugs, for instance.”
According to Mr. Silver, the Star Pirates’ influence was vast, with each region governed by a clan chief who handled affairs. He, on the other hand, had long been hands-off, only showing up occasionally to collect payments, and knew nothing about the synthetic drugs. He just happened to be vacationing on the ship when he ran into them, and then just happened to discover the synthetic drugs at the trade fair.
What a coincidence.
Suppressing a cold laugh, Ning Feng said politely, “Then please stay safe.”
Seeing him about to leave, Mr. Silver paused and grabbed his wrist.
“You’re just leaving?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t you have anything to ask me?”
“What would you like me to ask?”
Hearing this, Mr. Silver froze for a moment, then gave a meaningful smile, laced with a hint of aggression. “Two days apart, and Sixteen has learned to play games.”
He tapped his comm device, and a holographic projection displayed a small digital box the size of a palm, with a glowing green “Confidential” label. The next moment, rows and rows of densely packed list data appeared before their eyes, but before they could examine it closely, it was whisked back into the box with a whoosh.
“This is the transaction list from the past year’s trade fairs. It includes the account info, transaction times, and locations of everyone involved.” Mr. Silver toyed with the box, a hint of allure in his eyes.
“How about we make a deal?”
“What kind of deal?” Ning Feng’s brows twitched.
“You get me out of here, and I give you the list.”
Ning Feng lifted his eyelids and gave him a sidelong glance. “You’re a notorious space pirate. Don’t you have even one capable subordinate?”
Mr. Silver’s tone was unhurried. “I only brought two guards on board this time. They’ve cut off my communications, and the ship is crawling with their people. How high do you think my chances of survival are?”
Ning Feng’s gaze flickered between the list and the man’s face, silently weighing his options.
The channel they had located during the trade fair had been monitored by the security department for two days. They had indeed picked up several signals on different frequencies, confirming that someone had purchased the synthetic drugs. However, the signals weren’t coming from the base but from remote mountain valleys—places unfit for habitation, or perhaps inhabited by no one at all.
Though they hadn’t gathered concrete evidence, these locations all shared one thing in common: they were very close to the base. Either neighboring areas or nearby small satellites, indicating that their target was still Nora Base.
If they got the list, they could save a lot of investigative time.
Ning Feng was about to nod when something occurred to him. In the end, he dialed a familiar contact. The call connected after just one ring, and Yin Beichen’s cool voice came through the comm.
“What is it?”
“Good evening, Mr. Lu,” Ning Feng said unhurriedly. “I’ve run into a bit of a situation.”
He quickly explained the matter, but the other end of the comm fell into a long silence. Just as his patience was wearing thin, Yin Beichen’s voice sounded again.
“If I say no, will you give it up?”
Ning Feng thought for a moment. “I’d keep trying to convince you.”
After a long pause, a faint sigh came through. “I have conditions.”
“What conditions?”
“I need to receive the list file first.”
Ning Feng looked at Mr. Silver.
He had assumed the man would never agree, since the list was his biggest bargaining chip. But to his surprise, Mr. Silver handed over the list quite readily—though, unsurprisingly, it was encrypted. Still, with the original file, the base’s information department would have no trouble decrypting it.
Having received the file, Yin Beichen didn’t waste words. “Where are you?”
“Freezer Room Three.”
“Find a place to hide. Meet at the starboard deck in fifteen minutes.” He paused briefly, his voice slightly hoarse. “Stay safe. Don’t play hero.”
Ning Feng’s eyelids fluttered. He clicked his tongue. “Got it, Mr. Lu.”
He ended the call and turned around to find Mr. Silver propping his head up, staring at him with an inscrutable expression. Ning Feng’s brows furrowed in irritation. “What?”
Mr. Silver watched him for a moment, then slowly broke into a smile. “That Mr. Lu of yours really cares about you.”
“Save the chatter. What’s your plan now?”
“Ah, I’ll follow your lead.”
“…”
**
After hanging up, Yin Beichen was about to send the list to the base when his gaze inadvertently fell on the psychological assessment he had done earlier.
The file’s main page displayed a pink text that read, “Congratulations! The probability of you liking this person is 100%!” surrounded by a flurry of pink hearts. Below it were recommendations for a series of romance guides like Secrets to Wooing Your Lover and Doubling Your Dating Success.
Staring at the garish covers, Yin Beichen’s brows furrowed slightly. He closed the page without a second thought, pulled up the ship’s three-dimensional map, and carefully studied it before dialing Commander Ou Jingshan’s channel.
“Commander Ou, rendezvous at these coordinates in ten minutes. Emergency assembly.”