Ten minutes later, they heard two knocks on the wall. Cillin removed the sound isolation barrier and the carved metal to reveal Aikenseth on the other side.
“Let’s talk about terms,” the leader of the Free Army said. He looked much calmer compared to before, so the patient was probably in good shape.
Wheeze had concealed itself the moment Czedow had removed the chunk of metal on the wall once more, ready to attack the “enemy” the second they tried anything unusual. More accurately, it was hoping that they would try something so it could reclaim its possession and rob them blind.
Unfortunately, it was destined to be disappointed. It was clear that neither Aikenseth nor Reysen was planning such a thing.
The two parties went into negotiations immediately. Aikenseth made Cillin promise that he would keep their information a secret, and Cillin made Aikenseth promise the same thing.
To sweeten the deal, the Hunter tossed a pill into Aikenseth’s hands and said, “This is a nutrition pill. I promise it’s far more nutritious than the ones you’ve been feeding the patient, stresses the patient less, and lasts much longer.”
Aikenseth accepted it without question. Wheeze started scratching the floor again as it grumbled to itself: That’s the Food God’s nutrition pill! I cannot believe this guy!
“What’s the price?” Aikenseth asked.
“I don’t need credits, and Sector V doesn’t have any ore I currently need.”
“I detest owing favors to others.”
“Owe it anyway.”
Aikenseth stared at Cillin and Czedow with his blood red eyes for a moment before nodding. “Very well.”
It was a fact that the Free Army was poor and lacking in ores. They didn’t even have advanced weaponry. The only advantage they had was a large group of people who didn’t fear death.
After they came to an agreement, Cillin asked Aikenseth a question, “Where did the news of Oskulos’ death come from?”
It was true that the head of a violent group was the one who spread the news of Oskulos’ death a few years ago, but no one knew who had told him about it. Almost immediately after that, riots started breaking out across the entire Sector, and new forces began emerging at breakneck speed. It wasn’t long before the denizens of Sector V began showing off their firepower brazenly and declaring that they were building the Free Alliance. The Free Army was one of the main members of the Free Alliance.
Cillin was hoping that Aikenseth might know about the truth of the matter, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case.
“All I know is that a number of notorious figures had announced the death of the Star Rank Hunter, Oskulos, and that led to the forces serving under him to fight among themselves. A lot of forces including us had used that opportunity to rise to power,” Aikenseth explained, “Incidentally, the people who made the announcement are all dead. Some of them died of accidents, some where killed by their subordinates or their enemies. Long story short, they’ve been dead for a very long time.”
They were silenced. That was the first thought that crossed Cillin’s mind after hearing that. These people had survived the hell that was Sector V to become the leader of a violent group. There was no way they would’ve been taken out by mere accident, betrayal and opposition.
Aikenseth was also aware that something was fishy about the situation, but he didn’t care. All he cared about was that he and his friends were able to exploit their deaths and rise to power. They had to. In Sector V, you were either the oppressor or the oppressed.
“We plan to land on an unassuming planet,” Aikenseth said, implying that that was Cillin’s chance to make a clean escape. “But I cannot promise we won’t run into any escort ships until then.”
To the man’s surprise, Cillin replied without hesitation, “Do it. I promise that the ship won’t encounter anything of the sort unless you start shooting the passengers or something.”
If Aikenseth wasn’t curious about Cillin’s identity before, he was now. He was sure that Cillin was deeply connected with at least one great family in Sector H—the young man wouldn’t be able to make such a declaration otherwise—but he couldn’t understand why someone with such connections would need to keep their identity a secret. Who on earth was this man?
Aikenseth gave his word that he and his subordinates wouldn’t harm the passengers unless they were attacked first. Thankfully, nothing happened until the ship landed on their destination. On a side note, passenger starships normally did not land on a planet, so the atmospheric entry had caused quite a bit of panic. The moment the ship came to a stop, and Aikenseth’s men had motioned for them to leave, they had rushed out of the exits like their lives depended on it. Aikenseth and Cillin had made their own exits during the commotion.
A small and unassuming spaceplane was parked on a different location on the planet. The hatch opened to reveal a metallic head as soon as Cillin, Czedow and Wheeze got close to it.
“You’re finally back. Long time no see!” Moon greeted them with a literal smiley face on his face. However, Wheeze’s response was unusually lethargic. In fact, it was sitting on Cillin’s shoulders with its butt facing toward Cillin and sighing non-stop like it was in a drama. What happened? Is it going through a mood swing again?
Moon wasn’t worried though. He knew Wheeze well enough to know that it would recover in no time. In fact…
“Hey Wheeze! I brought you a gift!” Moon said while taking out a bag of fish biscuits. “It’s a new variety with improved flavors!”
It worked. Tail shooting upward like an antenna, Wheeze immediately accepted the offering and bit a hole on the package. “That’s fast! I thought it took a while before the new product hits the market?”
“That’s because it hasn’t hit the market yet.”
That got Cillin’s attention. “Did Hara visit you while we were gone?”
“Yep. He sought us out while we were traveling to a trade center a short distance away from Sector S. He saw through your body double immediately, but he was kind enough to keep it a secret and even act along with it.”
“Did he leave a message or something?”
“Yes. He wanted you to contact him after you came back. He said it’s not urgent though. Whatever his business is, it’s not related to those people from Sector S.”
They left the planet after that. They weren’t worried about the stranded passengers because someone would take care of them very soon.
On the way back, Moon listened to Wheeze’s stories about Sea Paradise while Cillin wondered what Hara wanted. He didn’t think it was about Genya because the passage wasn’t completely safe yet, and it couldn’t support too many vessels. He also wasn’t planning to return to the Mist Bodhisattva Empire just yet.
The Eleventh Squadron had completed their current missions was currently staying over at the base. They were in the middle of training when the spaceplane had touched down on the planet. At first, the gang was going to carry out the rest of their missions, but Cillin had told them to wait for him at the base.
Mo Heng was overjoyed that Cillin was able to come back safely, and he was almost as happy when he saw the rare ores Cillin had brought back with him. It was because they could be used to make alloys that were normally seen in space fighters, not to mention that they were all of excellent quality. The old man excitedly dragged Xi Kai and his fellow researchers back to the workshop while the robots did the grunt work.
Cillin contacted Hara immediately after he returned to his room.
“Long time no see, kid!”
The Food King hadn’t changed one bit. His cheeks were almost chubby enough to fold in on themselves.
“Is it just me, or have you gotten fatter?” Cillin joked.
The Food King squeezed his face lightly before sighing. “You know how I get when I worry about something.”
Everyone knows that the Food King relieves his stress via eating when he was worried. On a side note, he also expresses his joy via eating.
“What could possibly be troubling you, sir? As far as I’m aware, all of your companies are doing fantastically as of late. The galaxy may be in chaos, but your business hasn’t been impacted in the slightest.”
“That’s because it’s not my business that I’m worried about, Cillin. You’ve heard of the Robert Family, haven’t you?”
“The Robert Family? You mean the one with the Robot Kingdom?”
“That is correct. Not long ago, a bird told me that they are planning an attack against some Hunters. I don’t think they’re targeting the Great Four—or rather, I can’t see why they would offend the Great Four considering the state of the galaxy—but it’s better to be safe than sorry, you get me?”
“I see. I’ll watch my back. Thank you for the warning.”
“It’s nothing. It’s just one of the matters that’s been irritating me as of late, and I’m glad I can lift it off my chest.”
“… Okay, what’s the other matter that’s troubling you?”
Hara sighed. “Sorry, but I would rather not say. It’s my own personal business, and I see no need to burden you with it. Just keep doing what you’re doing, okay? Oh right, I’m planning to expand my business, Cillin. Do you think it would be a good idea to build a trade center at Sector V?”
Cillin would’ve called him crazy if he was anyone else. To give an analogy, building a trade center—one that primarily sells food no less—in Sector V was like cooking food in the middle of a jungle full of starving animals. That said, he could not deny that Sector V was ripe with business opportunities if the opportunist possessed enough power to protect themselves, and the Food King definitely qualified as one of them.
“Before that, do you want to build a trade center at Sector V?”
“I do, and I’ve done some research. I still haven’t narrowed down a collaborator though. Do you have anyone in mind? I could use a Hunter’s opinion.”
Cillin thought for a second before replying, “As a matter of fact, I do.”
“Tell me.”
“Blood Eye Aiken of the Free Army.”
……
Cillin went to look for Xi Kai next after bidding the Food King goodbye.
“Robot Kingdom?” Xi Kai frowned deeply when he heard the term. “Who gave them the gall to call themselves that?”