Above the dome of the "Cloud Top" Hotel, the romantic stardust rain was abruptly halted.
Breaking the tranquility was a massive, jet-black heavy cruiser adorned with skull motifs. Like a deep-sea shark, it forcefully pushed aside the surrounding floating space debris and hovered directly above the hotel.
Huge engine nozzles spewed eerie blue flames, incinerating the dreamlike stardust into ashes.
[Warning: Unauthorized lock detected.]
[Broadcast access: This is the "Leviathan," the flagship of the "Black Shark Gang." Those two little rats inside, get out!] The voice on the broadcast was rough, arrogant, and accompanied by the grating noise of metal scraping against metal.
Inside the room.
Shen Qingqiu was adjusting her collar in front of the mirror. She had changed back into her dark brown leather trench coat, her long hair tied up, making her look capable and aloof. However, a thin layer of frost clung to her brow.
"Seventeen," she called softly.
"Here." Seventeen stood behind her, helping her fasten her tactical belt. His movements were still gentle, but a tangible killing intent had surged within his purple eyes.
His right arm, recently fused with Starry Mithril, was not bandaged. Starlight flowed across its black metallic surface, and his fingertips, slightly curved, emitted a soft, thirsty chirping sound.
"They disturbed you." Seventeen's voice was low, like a lion whose territory had been invaded.
"I'll go dismantle that ship."
"No rush." Shen Qingqiu turned around and pressed his hand down.
She looked out the window at the massive, black warship that blotted out the sky, a playful smile curving her lips.
"It's such a waste to dismantle it."
"This 'Leviathan,' though a bit ugly, is still a converted cruiser. Our 'Vermilion Bird' is in dire need of a few escort ships."
She tiptoed, straightened Seventeen's collar, and gently pressed the still-visible hickey.
"Let's go, my first mate."
"Since the wild dogs have practically brought the meat to our mouths, we have no reason not to eat it."
…Leviathan, main banquet hall.
It was filled with typical "wasteland pirate" style.
The walls were adorned with skulls of various alien creatures, and the air was thick with the smells of strong liquor, cigars, and stale blood. The long tables were filled with bizarrely shaped pirate leaders, tearing into synthetic meat with beast-like chewing sounds.
Seated at the head of the table was the leader of the Black Shark Gang—"Iron Jaw" Saco.
He was a three-meter-tall cyborg giant. His jaw had been replaced with a massive, hydraulically operated trap with sharp teeth, and one eye was a red laser probe.
"Boss, those two are here." The hatch opened.
Shen Qingqiu and Seventeen walked in.
Among the filthy, rude, and oil-smelling pirates, the two of them stood out starkly.
Shen Qingqiu remained calm, as if walking into her own backyard. Seventeen followed closely behind, dressed in black, her exposed right arm radiating a faint blue light, instantly attracting everyone's attention.
"Wow, what a pretty girl, what a pretty…arm." Saco put down his wine glass, his greedy gaze sweeping over the two of them.
"I heard you have an invisible spaceship? And a lot of top-grade spirit stones?"
"So what?"
Shen Qingqiu didn't sit on one of the greasy chairs. She stood in the center of the hall, hands in her pockets, chin slightly raised.
"Hahahaha! That's something!" Saco laughed wildly, and the pirates behind him joined in the jeering.
"In the Chaotic Starfield, what's yours is mine. If you know what's good for you, hand over the spaceship, and this guy's arm will be ripped off for me. As for you..."
He stuck out his greasy tongue and licked his iron chin.
"Stay here as my bandit queen. If you serve me well, I'll guarantee you a life of luxury."
The air suddenly turned cold.
Shen Qingqiu wasn't angry.
She just sighed softly and turned to look at Seventeen.
"Seventeen, he said he'd rip off your arm."
"He also said I have to serve him."
Seventeen didn't speak.
But he moved.
No one even saw how he moved.
Whoosh— A starlight-studded afterimage flashed past.
The next second.
Sako, who had been sitting in the head seat, suddenly let out a blood-curdling scream.
"Aaaaaahhhhhh—!!!" Everyone looked on in horror.
Seventeen was already standing in front of Sako.
His exquisitely beautiful, work-of-art-like right arm, adorned with starlight, was now firmly gripping Sako's prized "Iron Jaw."
The massive hydraulic trap was like a fragile plastic toy in Seventeen's hands.
Crack, crack... The sound of metal twisting and deforming was sickening.
Seventeen lifted the three-meter-tall giant with one hand, his feet off the ground.
His purple eyes were devoid of emotion, only the cold indifference of someone looking at a lifeless object.
"You dare to challenge me?" Seventeen's voice wasn't loud, but it clearly echoed throughout the deathly silent hall.
"Let go of the boss!" The surrounding pirates reacted, drawing their laser guns and vibrating knives, trying to rush forward.
"Who dares to move?" Shen Qingqiu's voice rang out.
She remained standing, not even taking her hands out of her pockets.
But her **[Golden Eyes]** instantly lit up.
Buzz—!!!
A terrifying mental pressure, centered on her, instantly swept across the entire hall.
That wasn't the spiritual pressure of a cultivator; it was a dimensional reduction attack from a higher civilization on a lower one.
[Universal Interface · Local Area Network Control.]
[Command: Cybernetics Lockdown.]
"My hand! Why can't I move my hand?!"
"The gun! The gun exploded!"
All the pirates with cybernetics were horrified to find their bodies out of control. Their mechanical arms were jammed, their electronic eyes went black, and even their pacemakers started beating erratically.
In Shen Qingqiu's eyes, these pirates, their bodies riddled with chips, were nothing more than a bunch of walking chickens.
She walked step by step toward the head seat in her high heels.
The pirates on either side tried to stop her, but could only stand frozen like statues, watching helplessly as the woman in red walked past.
Shen Qingqiu climbed the steps.
She came to Seventeen's side, looking at Sako, whose eyes were rolling back in his head from being choked.
"I was going to give you a quick death."
Shen Qingqiu extended her index finger and gently tapped Sako's deformed iron chin.
"But your mouth stinks."
"Seventeen."
"Yes."
"Teach him…how to speak to the Queen."
Snap!
Seventeen flicked his wrist.
Sakho's prized iron jaw was ripped off.
Along with half his face.
Blood and engine oil splattered.
But none of it touched Seventeen or Shen Qingqiu.
A thin spatial shield rose around Seventeen, keeping all the filth out.
He tossed the half-dead Sakho down the steps like trash.
Then.
Seventeen turned around, took a clean white handkerchief from his pocket, and carefully wiped the chair that represented power (though it was still a little dirty).
He then took off his trench coat and spread it on the chair.
"Master, please sit."
He bowed slightly, his posture as elegant as if he were in a palace, not a pirate's den.
Shen Qingqiu sat down.
She crossed her legs, looking down at the trembling pirates below.
"From today onwards, the Black Shark Gang is disbanded."
Her voice, cold and clear, echoed through the hall.
"This ship will be renamed **'The Vicious Dog'**."
"You are no longer pirates."
"You are the vanguard of my 'Vermilion Bird Fleet'... the ultimate warriors."
"Who agrees? Who disagrees?"
A deathly silence fell over the hall.
Even Saco was dismantled like a toy; who dared to object?
"We are willing to die for the Queen!"
Someone took the lead and knelt down.
Immediately afterward, a whole group knelt.
These wild dogs, who once roamed the stars, bowed their noble heads before absolute power and fear.
Shen Qingqiu nodded in satisfaction.
She turned to look at Seventeen beside her.
Seventeen stood beside her, his star-shaped right arm hanging limply at his side, a few drops of black engine oil still dripping from his fingertips.
His gaze was somewhat unfocused, as if he were lost in thought.
"What's wrong?" Shen Qingqiu asked through the mental link.
Seventeen snapped out of his reverie.
He glanced at the kneeling crowd below, then at Shen Qingqiu seated high above.
"I was thinking…" His voice echoed in Shen Qingqiu's mind, tinged with a barely perceptible hint of grievance.
"They all call you Queen."
"But… you're mine." Shen Qingqiu paused, then inwardly burst into laughter.
This guy's possessiveness is truly incurable.
"I am yours." Shen Qingqiu reached out and, hidden behind the table, gently hooked her little finger around his.
"Whether I am Queen, Commander, or a prisoner."
"I will always… only be your Qingqiu." Seventeen's eyes lit up.
A light more dazzling than the stars.
He grasped her hand in return, tightly, without leaving a sliver of space.
"Reporting, Commander." Seventeen said solemnly, his voice regaining its reassuring steadiness.
"The Hound has been taken over."
"Control of the warship...transfer complete."
"Also..." He paused, his gaze sweeping over the dilapidated yet wildly powerful warship.
"It's a bit dirty here, but the view is good."
"Through the bridge windows, you can see... the Twin Stars."
That was the most famous sight in the Chaotic Starfield.
Two intertwined stars, on the verge of destruction.
Shen Qingqiu stood up.
"Let's go then."
"Let's go see those two stars, and while we're at it..."
She looked at Seventeen, a sly glint in her eyes.
"And while we're at it, let's wash off this bloody smell."
"My butler can't be this dirty." Seventeen glanced down at himself.
Even with his shield activated, the psychological sense of uncleanliness remained.
"Yes, sir."
"Please allow me...to request a thorough cleaning."
"If you'd be willing...to assist." Shen Qingqiu raised an eyebrow.
Assist?
Has this AI been looking at some strange database lately? But she didn't refuse.
Holding Seventeen's arm, she strode towards the captain's lounge, ignoring the pirates' awe-inspiring gazes.
Behind them were the tamed hounds.
Below them lay the galaxy about to be conquered.
With this step,
they were no longer fugitives.
They were the newly born hunters of this dark forest.