Shi Lang finished talking to Jayl and came to the office allotted to his team. The building was bustling with activity and following Shi Lang’s suggestions in the later part of the meeting. The teams leaked rumors.
The intention was to mislead the enemy, the Ikeras. In the office space, Shi Lang said, “You all get ready; we have to hunt.”
Sonic asked, “Who is the prey?”
Shi Lang smiled and said, “An ostentatious rabbit. I want to find out where the burrow is located.”
Jill said, “Boss, a rabbit has three burrows. Do you think it catching such a slippery animal will be easy?”
The general walked over to the window in the office and said, “Nothing is easy, but we still do it. This time it will be no different from the past. Leak out the news that I have been suspended from the strike force for uninformed absence from duty.”
Ajax nodded and said, “I will see to it.”
Shi Lang nodded, and Jill asked, “Boss, does it not put you at risk?”
Sparrow said, “It does not, Sister Jill. Boss will be on duty when attacked and have complete authority to attack the enemy and save himself. What is the risk? I do not think many people are as strong as the boss in this galaxy now.”
Shi Lang snorted and said, “Brown-nosing will not save you from training, Sparrow. Also, never grow complacent in your cultivation. There is always a taller tree out in the world. Understood?”
The team nodded, and Shi Lang began to tell them about the plan regarding this so-called hunt.
…
The meeting lasted for half an hour before the door was knocked, and a figure with a silver head peeped inside. Jill said, “Come in and sit in the corner. You are late.”
The latecomer was none other than Crystal. She did not put up any struggle and sat in the corner. Finally, Shi Lang said, “Sparrow, you will relay everything to Crystal. Now, put on the gear and dispatch accordingly.”
The people nodded and said, “Hurrah. Godspeed, boss.”
Shi Lang nodded to them and walked out of the office. Crystal was surprised and asked, “Sister Sparrow, did something happen?”
Sparrow nodded to her and then told her the entire plan. First, Crystal was surprised and then shocked to see that Shi Lang intended to play such a big hand.
…
Shi Lang roamed around the blue star on a rental lev-bike. He could sense at least two sets of eyes locked onto his back where ever he went. Shashi wanted to accompany him, but the young man told him to arrange a spaceship as he tried to go on a trip.
Shi Lang was not moving around aimlessly. Instead, he thought about what to do once the battle started. The people were confused when they saw him roaming all over the city.
He contacted Amelia and asked about the things back in Federation, and he found that there were no intruders for the time and the civilization was growing stably.
Shi Lang nodded and told her about the situation briefly. Then they hung up, and the young general came to the spaceport after Shashi notified him. The ambassador had arranged a single-man vessel.
He greeted Shi Lang and said, “Boss, this vessel can be operated by a single person. It is equipped with artificial intelligence and twin phaser cannons. The shield system of this vessel is decent but not enough to face a military fighter class attack.”
Shashi replied, “It is capable of small distance wraps.”
Shi Lang nodded and said, “I will use it. Where did it come from, though?”
Shashi told him the origin of this vessel, and Shi Lang nodded contently. This ship belonged to an Ikeras supplier. The young general did not tell anyone about it, but he was sure something was wrong with this ship. So, without telling Shashi about this, the guy changed into a primary space suit and boarded the spaceship.
He was sure that even the artificial assistant must have been screwed with. After the spaceship took off, the young man started looking at the source code of the operating system of the vessel, and then without changing anything, he hacked into the system.
He was a tech genius, too, remember? After the hack, Shi Lang found a few things that made him mumble, “You people cannot even make an effort to sabotage? Useless.”
Considering this, Shi Lang restored the artificial intelligence system and said, “Yola, what is the vessel’s status?”
Yola was the artificial intelligence program’s name. The program replied, “Sire, the wrap core is prone to explosion. Therefore, staying away from meteor fields is advised to avoid any sudden movements. Please take the vessel to the closest Halming Ship’s service station.”
Shi Lang nodded and asked, “What happens if a vessel crashes?”
Yola replied, “The explosion will take out everything within seven miles.”
Shi Lang nodded and said, “Very well, then plan a course to the nearest tourism-friendly planet owned by the Ikeras.”
The artificial assistant said, “Course is being planned. Please wait patiently.”
Shi Lang did not say anything and just waited as he should. Soon, the ship began to fly as commanded, and Shi Lang passed the information back to his squad. The people took action instantaneously. They did not wish to expose Shi Lang to the risks of a space fight on his own.
…
Jill was the acting captain and was directing the squad to act. However, they had been told to wait until the galactic council meeting ended. Still, Shi Lang proposed a plan in their discussion that if the Ikeras took the initiative to attack an operative of the Galactic Strike Force, they would have the right to fight back.
Harley was surprised by this, but then she nodded, and with a deep breath, she agreed to it. Of course, she did not wish to put Shi Lang’s life in danger, but since the person in question was so eager, she gave him a go.
Jill was anxious and asked, “Ajax, where is the boss? Why have I not seen his ship come over to the radar?”
Ajax was surprised and while sweating his said, “I have no idea, his location stopped here, he should be in this vicinity.”
Crystal was about to say something when Jill asked, “Search the star map, I want to find if there is a planet linked to the Ikeras in this region, or not.”
Ajax nodded and said, “Sister Jill, there is a tourism-orientated planet in this sector.”
Jill nodded and said, “Set course. Boss will be there.”
Crystal asked, “Sister Jill, how are you so sure?”
Jill said, “Intuition.”
As they were speaking, the communicator on the ship rang and Sparrow accepted it, she gasped a few seconds later, attracting the attention of the entire squad.
Jill asked, “What is it?”
Sparrow said, “It was Commander Harley, she said that boss was taking a damaged ship to lure out the enemy. The last location of the ship was tracked outside the atmosphere of Zelio, the place mentioned by ajax just now.”
Jill nodded and said, “Calm down.”
Then she said, “Go set course and proceed at full speed.”
…
A few minutes before the Ace Division arrived, Shi Lang was entangled with a small fleet of fighter-class spaceships. The young general decided to take the fleet inside the atmosphere of Zelio. He allowed the enemy to hit the spaceship after controlling his spirit energy to create a barrier around himself.
Shi Lang played it smartly and then he moved the spaceship inside the cluster of enemy vessels. The explosion took out almost the entire enemy fleet. A few leftovers were shaken away from the shockwave of the attacks.
The nirvana realm Shi Lang had attained tempered his body to an almost invincible level. The explosion could have injured him but the man used his extraordinary strength and flew ahead of the impact zone. Still, the shockwave rattled his internal organs a bit.
At this moment, the man was lying on the ground watching the sky filled with flames and debris. His body was uninjured but exhausted. The speed he needed to get away from the explosion was too taxing for him.
Shi Lang raised his left wrist and then he contacted Jill, but he discovered that the signal in this place was being blocked. The defense system of this planet did not attack him because he was being followed by the Ikeras forces, but if his team tried to enter the atmosphere, they will be suffering the onslaught of those high-tech weapons.
So, regaining his energy a bit, Shi Lang stood up and flew into the void to locate the nearest ground station from where the situation outside the atmosphere was monitored. Only when he has that station under his command will his team be able to come to his side.
The battle has begun now he can go after the Ikeras without any pretense.