"Damn it, they're pirates!"
Liu Hai received the alert the moment the enemy appeared beyond the Junk Star Gravity Well. A quick scan confirmed they belonged to a pirate fleet.
Igor and the military equipment buyers' ships were slightly slower to notice the pirate attack. When they saw the menacing gun ports on the dozen or so small vessels, they immediately fired up their engines to accelerate away. But the distance was too close—within moments, a barrage of laser beams struck their thrusters, crippling their speed.
"Hey! Liu, save me, quick!" Igor was furious. Just when his luck had finally turned, his first deal was getting hijacked by pirates. His decades-long reputation was about to be ruined!
"Alright, Igor, prep your escape pod. I can't guarantee your safety right now." Liu Hai gave a brief reply before cutting the comms.
"First-layer defense turrets, activate. Let's see what kind of pirates we're dealing with in this era."
At Liu Hai's command, twenty satellites in the Junk Star's far orbit unfolded, revealing hidden gun ports. Inside, Energy blocks surged to life, channeling immense power into the equipment, converting it into high-energy lasers that focused through lenses toward the barrels.
In an instant, twenty crimson laser beams split into three volleys, streaking across hundreds of thousands of kilometers to strike the pirate ships.
Liu Hai, watching the projection intently, slammed his fist on the armrest when he saw blue ripples shimmer across the enemy ships. "Energy Shields? Since when are space pirates this rich?"
"Second-layer Fire Net, engage!"
With the first strike ineffective due to the pirates' shields, Liu Hai swiftly initiated the second wave.
As the Junk Star's second batch of Orbital Turrets began deploying, the pirates retaliated. The first wave of turrets melted into scrap under the pirates' cannons.
Dozens of missiles launched from the pirate ships, hurtling toward the deploying turrets at 15% sub-light speed. Meanwhile, the pirate fleet maneuvered behind the cargo ships, using them as cover.
"All Orbital Turrets, focus fire and sink them! Fighter squadrons, launch immediately—wipe out these pirates!"
Seeing his turrets underperform, Liu Hai ordered the long-idle fighter squadrons to take off. After two months of training, it was time to test their combat readiness.
A massive hatch opened on the Junk Star's surface, and dozens of Space Fighters ascended in waves. After regrouping, they accelerated toward their targets.
The remaining eighty Orbital Turrets in the Junk Star's orbit, controlled by the Intelligent Nexus, split into three firing groups. Under concentrated laser fire, three pirate ships' shields collapsed, their armor pierced, detonating their internal reactors.
With three pirate ships destroyed, Igor and the buyers cheered, shouting for the remaining nine to be taken down.
But then, the pirates' missiles arrived. Thirty-six turrets were obliterated, their shattered metal debris scattering in all directions.
After a brief three-second charge, the laser cannons on both sides fired again. The prepared pirate spaceships focused their attacks on the orbital turrets while simultaneously firing intercepting lasers at the newly launched fighter squadrons.
In this exchange, the pirates lost two more ships, but the remaining seven successfully took cover behind the cargo vessels, rendering the orbital turrets ineffective.
"Move the orbital turrets to find better firing angles. Did they really think hiding behind cargo ships would save them?" Liu Hai smirked as he watched the enemy take cover. The fighters had already launched and were accelerating toward their targets.
At their maximum sublight speed of 10%, the fighters would reach the cargo ships in just over twenty seconds.
"Damn you, Arthur! How the hell did you gather intel? This is what you called 'light defensive firepower'? A down-and-out arms dealer? If I survive this, I swear I'll send you to the mines!"
Inside the pirate ship, the captain was furiously cursing his subordinate in the command room. This operation had turned into a complete disaster.
They had set out with twelve pirate ships, but now only seven remained. Losing ships worth over five million Credit Points made the pirate captain want to weep.
But right now, the priority was staying alive. He never expected the enemy to deploy over a hundred orbital defense turrets. The intel had only mentioned fighters—easy targets for long-range missile strikes without warship support.
But a sudden barrage from a hundred orbital turrets was downright lethal. If they hadn't dodged quickly, just two more volleys would've halved their remaining fleet.
Even retreating was a problem. The cargo ships were too close to Garbage Star—originally meant for a smooth handover. Now, with the enemy locking down the surrounding space, any attempt to flee would draw fire. Escaping before being blown apart was impossible.
"Captain, what do we do?"
"Yeah, Captain, think fast! I still want to see Xiao Cui again—I don't wanna die!"
"Captain, maybe we should scatter and make a run for it. Even if only a few get away..."
"Captain—"
The flood of panicked transmissions from the pirate ship captains gave the leader a splitting headache. Then, his gaze landed on the cargo ships serving as cover, and his eyes lit up.
"All crew except captains and pilots—board the cargo ships using landing crafts! Move now if you want to live!" the captain roared over comms before steering his own pirate ship straight toward a cargo vessel.
Before impact, he blasted a several-meter-wide hole in the cargo ship's hull with his laser cannon.
Following their leader's example, the remaining pirates targeted the cargo holds, ramming their ships in. Dozens of pirates suffered broken bones or worse—even with Exoskeleton Armor, several died instantly from the collisions.
As the pirate ships crashed into the cargo vessels, three squadrons of Space Fighters arrived on the battlefield. Banking sharply past the cargo ships, they unleashed high-energy lasers from both wings. Once radar locks were secured, volleys of Sublight Missiles streaked toward their targets.
The seven pirate ships, already partially damaged from the collision, were now being blown apart one after another under the relentless assault. Their previously dense close-range defensive firepower was instantly halved, leaving them wide open.
Many pirates who hadn't managed to board the cargo ship through the impact passage perished in the explosions, but those who had already made it inside survived.
"Liu, do you have any ground troops? Send some men into the cargo ship now! There are dozens of pirates charging toward the bridge!" Igor urged frantically, desperate for Liu Hai to dispatch reinforcements. He truly didn't want his first major client to end up kidnapped by pirates.