"Heh heh heh, back then, I really should have killed you along with your accomplices when I had the chance!" Scarface said viciously.
Red Eyes drew the weapon from his waist.
This was the first time Zhao Chen had seen Red Eyes' sword... no, it looked more like a blade.
It somewhat resembled the Tang Dao from Zhao Chen's memories of his previous life.
Generally, such weapons were mostly used as collectibles by nobles. Very few people in this era still used such solid, single-soldier cold weapons.
"I also regret letting you escape by chance back then. But that's fine, today you brothers can die together." Red Eyes raised his blade and brought it down.
Scarface's left arm was severed.
"Ahhhh..." Scarface let out a blood-curdling scream. Blood splattered onto the face of Skinny Monkey beside him, and the severed arm happened to land right before his eyes.
This completely terrified Skinny Monkey.
He wasn't afraid of dying in starship battles, because that was mostly over in the blink of an eye, with no time to react.
But this kind of death before his eyes was clearly agonizing, instantly shattering his mental defenses!
"Don't... don't kill me... don't kill me!" Skinny Monkey's shrill cries even momentarily drowned out Scarface's screams.
"Red Eyes, not so fast. Let me ask a question first," Zhao Chen said.
Red Eyes silently stood there, flicking his blade. All the blood fell cleanly onto the ground without a single drop clinging to it, leaving the blade spotless as before.
Zhao Chen squatted in front of Skinny Monkey, looking at his terrified face. "I know the Prince Party is behind you—the Second Prince and Third Prince you mentioned earlier.
But I'm curious about one thing. I've heard you've greatly increased the intensity of your slave trade recently, as if you're in a great hurry.
Why is that?"
"If I tell you, will you spare my life? I'll disappear far away, never to appear in the Stellar Glory Empire again in this lifetime!" Skinny Monkey vowed earnestly.
These words immediately enraged Big Eye King beside him, who roared furiously, "Skinny Monkey, you bastard! If you dare betray any information about the princes, I won't let you off even as a ghost! Don't forget that everything we have now was given to us by the princes!"
"Red Eyes, deal with this one first. His big eyes staring at me make me very uncomfortable!" Zhao Chen pointed at Big Eye King beside him.
It was clear that this Big Eye King was utterly loyal to his two masters. No information could be extracted from him, so it was better to use him as an example to intimidate the others.
Red Eyes silently walked up to Big Eye King, gripped the hilt with both hands, and thrust forward.
The blade pierced directly through Big Eye King's large eye and emerged from the back of his head.
Just like that, Big Eye King—the helmsman who controlled the vast majority of the slave trade in the Stellar Glory Empire's black market—died easily.
[Successfully eliminated target: Big Eye King]
The System Task notification sounded in Zhao Chen's ear.
"You must die today. But if you cooperate obediently, I can make your death more comfortable.
If you don't cooperate, I'll make you die miserably.
At least dozens of times worse than him." Zhao Chen looked at Skinny Monkey, pointing at Scarface, who was still screaming from his severed arm.
"I'll talk! I'll talk!" Knowing he had no other choice, Skinny Monkey immediately confessed everything he knew.
They didn't know why the two princes were so eager to expand slave sales, but he guessed that the two princes must urgently need a large amount of funds.
Because in the past, the funds on the books of their slave merchant group could often stay for two or three months before needing to be handed over once.
But this time, after every large slave trade, they had to hand over ninety percent of the profits.
This greatly reduced their illicit gains.
Lacking funds?
As the two great princes of the Stellar Glory Empire, they would actually lack funds.
With their status, what would they need such vast funds for?
A plot often seen in palace intrigue dramas immediately surfaced in Zhao Chen's mind.
This was the only plausible explanation.
Actually, Zhao Chen didn't care who became emperor of the Stellar Glory Empire, as long as it didn't disturb his life.
But clearly, in the current situation, his Eldest Sister stood on the Little Princess's side, and the Little Princess would definitely support her brother, the current Crown Prince.
As for the two younger brothers of His Highness the Crown Prince mobilizing large sums of funds at this time, it was unlikely to be for preparing a "birthday gift" for their elder brother.
The answer seemed already revealed.
A major upheaval was highly likely to occur in the Stellar Glory Empire.
Zhao Chen rubbed his chin. It seemed that after returning, he would need to find a way to pass this information to his Eldest Sister.
"Red Eyes, I leave these two to you." Zhao Chen had lost interest in these two now worthless individuals and turned to walk out of the hangar.
He didn't want their blood staining his clothes, even though the clothes had self-cleaning functions.
[Successfully eliminated mission target Skinny Monkey]
[Successfully eliminated mission target Scarface]
After Zhao Chen walked out of the hangar, he heard the system's notification.
It seemed Red Eyes couldn't be bothered to torture these two and directly chose to eliminate them.
[Side Mission: Red Eye's Revenge
Mission Targets: Eldest Brother Big Eye King, Second-in-command Skinny Monkey, Third-in-command Scarface
Challenge Mission: Capture one of the target individuals alive before eliminating them. Reward: 2000 System Points.
Side Mission completed. Mission reward available for collection.
Challenge Mission completed. Mission reward available for collection.]
The pleasant notification sounded in his mind. Zhao Chen knew his Tier-4 Interstellar Warship darling was already beckoning to him.
He couldn't wait to admire the charm of his new love.
But there were still some matters to handle for now.
Zhao Chen could only temporarily suppress the restlessness in his heart and return to the bridge with Red Eyes, whose expression had relaxed somewhat after settling old scores.
"Commander, we have finished counting all the slaves. There are a total of 120,000 slaves. Among them, 50% are of the Human Race, 39% are beastmen, and the rest are various interstellar races, mostly humanoid races," Secretary Officer Lilith reported to Zhao Chen.
"How many Interstellar Transport Ships have we collected? Can we transport all these slaves away?" Zhao Chen inquired.
"Using the starships we have captured, transporting all these slaves away poses basically no problem," Secretary Officer Lilith stated.
Zhao Chen instructed, "Then transfer these slaves to the starships as quickly as possible.
I suspect the reinforcements from those two princes are already on their way. We must hurry and evacuate."
"Understood. In about another hour, we can completely conclude the battle here."
"Within the next three hours, take all the slaves and any resources that can be carried away! Destroy anything that cannot be taken on the spot," Secretary Officer Lilith said.
"Don't forget to prepare a gift for the two princes as well," Zhao Chen added with a slight smile.