When the two armed merchant ships were initially in silent mode, Xiao Hu couldn't proactively observe them to avoid alerting the counterpart.

He could only perceive the counterpart's general status through dim light and passive energy sensing.

Now that the two merchant ships have begun accelerating, although the distance is greater, he can actually observe more clearly.

Qu Jianlei glanced at the imaging map and frowned, "These are reinforcements brought in from outside."

This larger enemy ship, he hadn't seen at Lanyun Market before; it was obviously summoned by the other side.

This made him extremely indignant: Going out of their way to summon warships to block me, what kind of grudge do they hold?

Deploying a warship consumes Energy Blocks, and of course, even more during a battle, the enemy is obviously determined.

Fine then, given you've gone to such lengths, I'll have no qualms about killing.

After the Starship traveled over a million kilometers, the others gradually caught up, closing the distance to around 150,000 kilometers.

Seeing that the two suspect enemy merchant ships were still accelerating, Qu Jianlei could not continue to ignore them, which would seem unreasonable.

"Turn, evade at a forty-five-degree angle, do not accelerate."

The evasion was to shake off pursuit, not accelerating was to convey an attitude: We have no intention of entangling with you two, let's not interfere with each other.

Xiao Hu faithfully executed Qu Jianlei's command.

In the slightly smaller of the two pursuing merchant ships, a burly middle-aged woman stood in the central control room.

She was the Kitchen Maid, an Ice Attribute A-level Awakened, legitimately conducting business while occasionally moonlighting as a robber.

Seeing the other side turn, she coldly scoffed, "Stopped pretending? Thought you could really hold your nerves, call the Third Butcher."

Soon, a rough voice answered, "Kitchen Maid, what's up?"

What are you pretending with me for? The Kitchen Maid coldly snorted, "Deploy your attack ship."

"From this far?" The Third Butcher shouted, "How many Energy Blocks will that waste, let's call them first."

Robbers have to consider costs as well; if the deal is clearly not profitable, only a fool would go for it.

In space battles, 150,000 kilometers isn't actually far, but wouldn't saving a bit be better?

The Kitchen Maid spoke without expression, "I didn't call you here just to sit and share money."

Turns out this oddly-shaped merchant ship was specifically summoned by her for assistance.

The Kitchen Maid had been in the robbery business for over twenty years.

It was tasting the benefits, finding robbery brings faster money than legitimate business, that led her deeper down this path.

The Kitchen Maid wasn't always winning, but big profits were frequent enough.

So she was experienced in observing and differentiating prey.

The 8384 ship seemed a bit suspicious, and she learned that the mechanical arms exhibited by them were in a very good state.

However, she wasn't willing to let it go; it had been a long time with no action, she couldn't miss a potential money-making chance.

Qu Jianlei's series of purchases had been thoroughly investigated by her intelligence network.

What does buying second-hand weapons and ammunition imply? It implies a shortage of weapons.

What does exchanging Energy Blocks imply? It suggests issues with energy supply and no stable exchange channels.

Raw materials? Of course, they are for construction and modification!

As for computing units... that was a bit tricky, typically used by professional institutions.

But the counterpart's large-scale purchase of computing units made her resolute to rob them.

She considered that the counterpart might back a certain organization, otherwise, it couldn't have purchased such professional equipment.

Yet, if the organization lacked weapons and had unstable Energy Block supplies, why not rob them?

Could the other side be laying a trap? She dismissed this notion almost immediately.

Who uses computing units as bait? Even using Energy Blocks for allure would make more sense, right?

Furthermore, none of the crew from the 8383 merchant ship ever appeared at the market.

At most, only one person would come down for communication, and as soon as it was done, they'd head straight back to the Starship.

Therefore she concluded that the counterpart's crew size must be very small, or even severely undermanned.

The Kitchen Maid, having her own crew, understood ship crew behavior all too well.

During space voyages, crew members had no choice but to stay in the cabin; once docked, it was an entirely different story.

After monotonous and dreary travel, who would want to stay confined in the cramped Starship?

The environment at Lanyun Market was poor, but even so, one could go out and stretch a bit, couldn't they? 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

In fact, during the big market gatherings, apart from temporary shops, there were some entertainment projects available.

The Kitchen Maid was absolutely sure that even with her crew, if she didn't allow them some fresh air, there would be strong opposition.

So if the counterpart's crew wasn't too small, this kind of sentiment would be impossible to suppress.

It's simply against human nature!

Unless the merchant ship was in a hurry, only landing to replenish supplies; only in such scenarios might the crew not leave the Starship.

However, how long did the merchant ship 8384 stay at Lanyun Market? A full ten days!

The Kitchen Maid valued risk control greatly; she believed she wasn't just someone who only saw money.

High returns came with high risk, and she had to be responsible for herself and her team.

She considered every situation meticulously before finally deciding to carry out the robbery.

But this merchant ship gave her an indescribable feeling, a sense that something was off.

So she thought it over and invited partners to help reduce the risk.

The Third Butcher had a 30-year history with her; they'd collaborated on similar matters many times, sometimes initiated by her, sometimes by him.

Generally speaking, the fact that they could collaborate so many times indicated a pleasant partnership; their ideas were somewhat aligned.

Now the Kitchen Maid's mindset was: Since I discovered this mission, if you want a share of the loot, you need to put in extra effort.

The Third Butcher knew her logic and could understand it.

However, there was an issue that had to be faced: while the two teams were collaborating, the related business costs were calculated independently.

So he laughed dryly, "Kitchen Maid, I suggest observing a little longer. Haven't you noticed... they haven't accelerated?"

"What's strange about that?" The Kitchen Maid thought this guy's mind had something wrong. "As soon as we change direction, he'll definitely speed up."

"Maybe it's a kind of warning," the Third Butcher replied earnestly. "What they might be saying is, 'I am not afraid of you chasing me!'"

Actually, he was just making excuses to save on Energy Blocks; whatever is saved is earned, isn't it?

If Qu Jianlei knew his intentions were misinterpreted this way, he'd likely be exasperated.

However, the Kitchen Maid got angry upon hearing this, "If you don't deploy the Attack Ships soon, I'll adjust the distribution ratio!"

"Alright," The Third Butcher sighed; he had no choice, "First Attack Ship Squad, move! Second Squad, ready!"

Three Attack Ships emerged from the top of the merchant ship, swiftly shooting out towards the shabby merchant ship ahead.

This was precisely why the Kitchen Maid sought help from the Third Butcher; his merchant ship was a Space-Air Carrier!

The Mother Ship's firepower was decent, but to facilitate the entry and exit of Attack Ships, its firepower system was somewhat weakened.

Three Attack Ships formed one combat squad, with a total of two squads and a reserve squad, totaling nine ships.

Nine Attack Ships weren't many, but it's important to understand that the Mother Ship was a merchant ship, not a warship, intended for commercial purposes!

Upon seeing the Attack Ships moving out, the Kitchen Maid hummed with satisfaction, "Their initial speed is high; how many Energy Blocks can that use?"

The Third Butcher heavily sighed, gritting his teeth to speak, "Kitchen Maid, please understand, they still need to fight!"

Qu Jianlei and Xiaohu immediately noticed something unusual, "No way... consecutive launches, it's actually a Space-Air Carrier?"

Qu Jianlei felt his worldview shattered, "Is this really an Armed Merchant Ship?"

Yet Xiaohu calmly stated, "This is a strike-type Attack Ship, different from the Assault Ship encountered with Titan."

Simply put, the Assault Ship they encountered last time was small, fragile, and highly agile.

In formal combat, it could engage warships and also engage in "dogfights" with opposing Attack Ships.

The strike-type was large, relatively sturdy, less agile, but with powerful Attack Power.

The latter targeted large objectives for attacks, with relatively poor dogfighting capabilities.

If the Third Butcher could convert all strike-types into Assault Ships, the merchant ship could at least have one more Attack Ship squad.

Qu Jianlei's mouth twitched, "Is this a case of bullying because I don't have an escort Assault Ship?"

That was absolutely the case, the Kitchen Maid had already analyzed; based on the opposing side's size and loading capacity, it was highly likely they didn't have escort ships.

Even if they had one or two, she wasn't afraid—do you even have personnel to operate the Attack Ships?

Even if the opposing side had Attack Ships and personnel, she still wouldn't be concerned—did I call the Third Butcher just because he's handsome?

Ultimately, her cooperation with the Third Butcher was particularly effective against such lone warships.

Qu Jianlei increased speed, but the next moment, six swift Attack Ships caught up.

Three in front, three behind, forming two standard combat formations.

Then, a call came through the public channel, "8384, 8384, we mean no harm, we mean no harm."

"I am the captain of the Space-Air Carrier; we have two computing units worth eighty million, available at a discounted price."

"Eighty million worth in computing units, two?" The central control system of merchant ship 8384 started heating up again, "Are they trying to scam?"

Qu Jianlei snorted coldly, "Be more confident, remove the 'trying.'... But no matter, you're not human."

Seeing no response from the merchant ship 8384, the other party spoke again, "We hope you won't reject our goodwill, or face the consequences."

Qu Jianlei snorted again, without connecting to the transmitter, "Xiaohu, is this a bit too confident?"

Xiaohu, however, had another thought, "I'm not human... you actually said I'm not human?"

Qu Jianlei helplessly rolled his eyes, "Yes, I spoke too fast, but keep going; I think you're close to developing an independent personality."

Immediately, the other side spoke sharply again, "8384, I order you to stop!"

"Alright, now it's a robbery. If you choose not to resist, we will ensure the safety of all your crew members."