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"It's not important why I'm here; what's important is…"
Peter Quill immediately put on a harmless expression, slowly raised his hand into the air, signaling that he had no ill intentions, and then directly stated his purpose for coming, "I want to go to the Eye of Fear with you all!"
"Huh?!"
Jack and the others exchanged glances, wondering what Peter Quill was up to.
You see, his direct superior, Yondu, had just given orders not to let anyone else go to that star system, and this guy immediately jumped out, wanting to join them and go there?
Could he be… setting a trap for them?!
Hmm, yes, that's very likely!
Yondu is truly too devious, playing such a underhanded trick?
"Um… please don't misunderstand, even though I'm with Yondu, it doesn't mean I have to obey his orders."
Peter Quill seemed to guess their thoughts, so he quickly explained, "And I can tell you another big secret: on that missing Nova Empire freighter, there's a box of priceless annullas batteries!!"
"What?!"
At these words, Jack and the others' eyes widened with greed, and they exclaimed in surprise, "You… you mean the kind used exclusively by the Sovereign (also known as the High Stars), the annullas battery where just one can power an entire city for a year?"
"That's right, only something as valuable as this is worth Star-Lord's personal involvement."
Peter Quill looked at them with a smile, "So, are you in or not? If not, then I'll find someone else to go with me, alright?"
"Yes, yes, yes!"
Faced with Peter Quill's urging, the few of them first exchanged glances, but in the end, they couldn't resist the temptation of money and all nodded in agreement.
After all… no risk, no reward!
They were already in a line of work where they constantly flirted with danger.
Not only did they have to fight desperately with the crews of the ships they robbed, but they also had to evade the pursuit and capture by law enforcement like Nova Corps and Captain Marvel, so they had long since become indifferent to their own lives and deaths.
Compared to death, they feared the monotony of life and the poverty revealed when they couldn't afford to spend!
Better to die than be poor!
At this moment, Jack asked with a wary expression, "But we really want to know, for such a big deal, why didn't you go to Yondu?"
"He has people and ships… and your relationship, obviously, is much more reliable than ours."
"It's simple."
Peter Quill said with a serious expression, "Firstly, the more people who know about this, the less money I'll get, and I've actually wanted to break away from Yondu and work independently for a long time… If I get this money, it'll be enough for me to live a worry-free life for a long time to come!"
"Secondly, and most crucially, I'm not familiar with the routes in that star system, and if I go rashly, I might encounter danger… After all, losing my life due to recklessness is not Star-Lord's style of doing things."
This explanation successfully dispelled the wariness in Jack and the others' hearts; after all, what ambitious space pirate would be willing to stay under someone else's command for long?
Especially a famous guy like Star-Lord?
If he said he had no ambition to work independently, Jack and the others would never believe it.
"Hehe, guys, hurry up and prepare your gear. We'll set off quietly after everyone else is asleep…"
At this moment, these young and confident Raiders had no idea of the great terror that awaited them.
…
Meanwhile, on the other side of the outpost.
In the camp where Yondu's Raiders were located.
Yondu stood by the French window, gazing at the dark and deep Universe, his fingers unconsciously tapping on the window frame, making a faint 'click' sound.
Soon, he saw a small spaceship quietly leaving the outpost, then quickly adjusting its course and flying towards a nearby Jump Point.
And in the following period, several more spaceships left the outpost one after another, and their courses were almost identical…
"Alas, I hope those fools aren't really rushing to the Eye of Fear to die!"
Yondu shook his head helplessly at the sight; what he had feared had finally happened.
However, he also understood that any more persuasion would be futile for those who had more guts than brains.
There are always people who are tempted by unknown wealth, like moths to a flame, rushing headlong into destruction.
"Hehe, Boss, should we also follow those guys to the Eye of Fear and join the fun?"
His subordinate Kraglin, with a Mohawk haircut, said eagerly, "I bet we can salvage a lot of valuable treasures from those wrecks, right?"
"What, are you also in a hurry to go there and die?" Yondu said without turning his head.
"Huh?" Kraglin asked, looking confused, "Didn't they say all those Hyperspace legends were just fake news to scare people?"
"No, that's true!!"
Yondu said with a solemn tone, "According to the latest news I've received, in the past few days, a large number of spaceships indeed accidentally entered a special dimension when performing Warp near the Solar System's Jump Points. Some people luckily escaped alive from it, but many more are still completely unaccounted for…"
"Furthermore, some people have discovered deserted 'ghost wrecks' in the star system near the Eye of Fear, and on these 'ghost wrecks,' there are clear signs of corruption by chaotic energy."
"But what's truly eerie is that although these 'ghost wrecks' are unmanned, their power systems can still operate normally, and they are flying towards various empires in the Universe, as well as important Planets…"
As the leader of one of the Marauders branches, Yondu's channels for acquiring information were clearly far more well-informed than others.
So, in the past period, he had heard stories about Hyperspace and the Eye of Fear more than once.
And those stories often had a very similar commonality: almost no one could truly return from Hyperspace unscathed!!
It was only before this that Yondu didn't believe these legendary stories.
It wasn't until he personally witnessed Beckman and the others return that he gradually believed that Hyperspace was real.
"Has that scoundrel Quill not returned yet?"
"Immediately contact Quill and tell him not to go to the Solar System for a while… No, just tell him to stay by my side obediently. In a few days, I have a big deal to discuss, and I might need his miraculous lock-picking skills then!"
… … … …
…
Near the Eye of Fear star system.
A small spaceship burst out of a nearby Jump Point with a "poof."
Inside the cockpit, Jack excitedly said to his companions, "See what I told you? All that nonsense Beckman said was just to scare people. Didn't we successfully complete the Warp?"
"Hehe, when we return fully loaded this time, I'm definitely going to humiliate those cowardly guys to their faces… especially that always self-righteous Yondu who acts like an old-timer!"
At this point, Jack nervously glanced at Peter Quill, who was sitting nearby, and seeing that he didn't seem to care about his slander of Yondu, he secretly felt relieved.
Just then, one of the crew members pointed to a corner of the radar and reported, "Big Brother Jack, a cargo ship's signal reflection has been detected about ten kilometers away from us, but the life detector shows no life signs on board… it might be a 'ghost ship'."
"Hehe, heaven is truly helping me, isn't this an opportunity?" Jack's eyes lit up at the news, and he immediately ordered, "Bring the ship closer!"
Soon, as the distance gradually closed, a gigantic vessel appeared through the viewport, before Peter Quill and Jack, and the other Raiders.
Compared to this vessel, the small spaceship they were currently piloting was as tiny as an unhatched bird.
And from the appearance and design of this vessel alone, it was not difficult to tell that it should be a cargo ship… because there were no obvious signs of any weapons equipped at important positions on the hull.
However, this ship also had considerable differences from the other large cargo vessels Peter Quill and Jack had seen before.
The thick armor on the ship's surface was covered with a layer of dark red corrosion marks, and large and small craters, as if it had been struck head-on by meteors.
It seemed to have previously experienced an indescribable catastrophe!
"Everyone, look, that symbol…"
Peter Quill raised his hand and pointed to a few patches of ship paint on the side of the cargo ship that had fortunately not been corroded away. Some recognizable special symbols were still faintly visible on them, and he exclaimed:
"There's no mistake, this is the merchant ship that the Nova Empire just lost recently… I can't believe we're so lucky to have found its trace as soon as we arrived?!"
Another Raider wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said in surprise, "My goodness, no wonder such a large cargo ship dares not to install any weapon systems. This scale is simply too massive, isn't it?"
"Space Raiders who dare to rob Nova Empire merchant ships these days have practically not been born yet… But Star-Lord, didn't you say this ship only went missing a few days ago? How did it get corroded into this ghostly state?"
"I heard that these merchant ships belonging to the Nova Empire are often escorted by several Nova Corps members, so normally no one dares to target these merchant ships."
"Yeah, if we get targeted by the Nova Corps because of this, then we'll really have to pray for good fortune!"
The Nova Corps is the interstellar law enforcement unit belonging to the Nova Empire, headquartered on Xandar. Its main duty is to maintain peace in the Andromeda Galaxy.
Because the Nova Corps is equipped with the most advanced spaceships and weapons in the Universe, and each member of the Corps can 'download' a cosmic secret energy called Nova Force from the Super Life Computer Worldmind through the Nova Battle Armor (mainly the helmet) they wear, according to their 'level'.
Their levels are roughly divided into four tiers, from lowest to highest: Medic, Millenian, Denarian, and Centurion!!
Among them, Medics are generally newly graduated Space Academy cadets, and their helmets have no markings, while the chest plate of their combat suit has a 'V'-shaped energy symbol in the center.
Millenians are one rank higher than Medics. They possess half the power of a Centurion. Their helmets have a 'T'-shaped red triangular star symbol, and the right side of their combat suit's chest plate has an 'o'-shaped energy symbol.
Denarians are the third tier of Corps warriors. They possess 75% of a Centurion's power. Their helmets have a 'cross'-shaped red four-pointed star symbol, and the left and right sides of their combat suit's chest plate each have a symmetrical 'o'-shaped energy symbol. They also command more abilities and authority than the previous ranks.
Centurions are the most elite warriors in the Nova Corps. Their helmets have a red six-pointed star symbol (similar to a 'star' without the lower strokes), and the center of their combat suit's chest plate has three 'o'-shaped energy symbols arranged in an inverted triangle. They have the authority to call upon the Nova Force and are responsible for commanding all other Corps ranks.
Therefore, in past space battles, the Nova Corps was almost invincible, striking fear into the Marauders Organization.
"What Nova Corps nonsense, I only know that we're going to strike it rich this time…" Jack pushed the two aside impatiently, then ordered the pilot:
"Reduce engine power to 20%, find a suitable landing spot, and prepare for an emergency landing!!"
"Big Brother Jack, are we really going to board the ship?"
A timid space Raider looked at the distant gigantic ghost ship, his voice trembling slightly as he said, "But why do I feel like that ship… looks a bit off?"
"Coward, I don't know what you're so afraid of?"
Jack, checking the charge of his Energy Shooter, scolded without looking back, "We're space Raiders, what big scene haven't we seen? Moreover, this time the famous Star-Lord is with us."
"If you really don't want to go, I won't force you, but when we find the annullas battery later, you won't get a single share…"