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Chapter 182: Scarlet Volcano Military Base

When the Alliance’s influence in the Death Trio Star Region weakened, Black Abyss, Terminus, and Evil Gulfstream descended into warlord separatism, and though Qin Mang’s apprentice Yawei was nominally still under the jurisdiction of the Alliance Navy, they were already recognized as one of the largest warlord forces in the three regions.

After reporting the Tomahawk’s identity, Xia Fei began the gradual descent on a landing apron not too far from the Scarlet Volcano Military Base.

Because they lacked spare parts, over one-third of the warships in Scarlet Volcano Military Base were no longer combat capable, so warships of varying sizes could be seen parked here. These former overlords of the universe were now no more than heaps of scrap metal that had been discarded and left to rust, creating quite the desolate backdrop.

The other warlords in the Death Trio Star Region were not faring any better, either; the scarcity of supplies was presently a severe problem in the three star regions, with some smaller warlords unable to even secure the most basic ammunition, let alone engage in large-scale wars.

The reason the Pan-Human Alliance had been letting these warlords do as they pleased was precisely because they lacked the supplies to put up any effective rebellion. At most, they could cause trouble in their own regions, but were ultimately unable to muster up any strength for any major push.

But there were pros and cons to this. While these forces would no doubt be weakened as a result of not getting any supplies from the Pan-Human Alliance, their feeble might also meant the three star regions would be vulnerable to external threats; their ability to defend for themselves was no doubt worrying.

A lieutenant led Xia Fei inside the headquarters of Scarlet Volcano Military Base, he saw that the soldiers of this base were busy training, everywhere looking as if preparations were in full swing.

The soldiers were still wearing the old uniforms that had been issued to them several years ago, which now had patches in several spots. It was evident that the people of Scarlet Volcano Military Base had seen better days and the supply shortage was impacting them quite heavily just like everyone else in this part of the universe.

On the third floor of an oval-shaped, alloy building, Xia Fei met Qin Mang’s disciple, the commander of Scarlet Volcano Military Base, Yawei.

Yawei looked to be in his forties with Asian features. His thick eyebrows were akin to two brushes, black and shiny, as if they had been drawn with ink, giving off a sense of artificiality.

“Sit,” Yawei said. “Is the master doing well?”

Xia Fei sat down opposite Yawei and smiled. “The old man’s great, except that that black cat of his has been sleeping for long periods recently, looking as if it’s sick.”

“Oh.” Yawei nodded.

“This is the letter the old man wrote for you, and here’s a bit of a gift from me,” said Xia Fei as he handed the handwritten letter to Yawei. He then placed some of the tea leaves and snacks he would always have on him everywhere he went on Yawei’s desk.

Yawei knitted his eyebrows and kept the letter after opening it and reading its content. He was straight-faced. “Since you’re here under the recommendation of my master, feel free to raise anything. I’ll definitely do everything I can to help you.”

Xia Fei chuckled. “Then, I shan’t be courteous. I need to do some modifications to my ship right now, but I lack the equipment and tools.”

“Is that the case?” Yawei thought about this and said, “That vexor-class you pilot seems like a very decent warship; is there something wrong with it?”

“No, it is fine, but I’m going somewhere with a special environment, so I will be needing to install a second engine and readjust the gravity control and energy systems,” Xia Fei explained.

“Two engines? Just where are you planning to go?” Yawei was puzzled.

“The outskirts of Black Abyss, the supergravity zone,” Xia Fei frankly admitted.

“What?” Yawei was very astonished, the wrinkles on his forehead deepening. “That isn’t a good place to be at. If possible, I strongly advise you against going.”

Xia Fei smiled. “I haven a friend who’s gone missing there; I wish to go look for him.”

Yawei paused for a moment. “Presently, our fleet lacks supplies the most. Due to the Alliance’s strict control of rations and supplies bound for the Death Trio Star Region, there’re plenty of components that are not being shipped in. In fact, most of our operational warships haven’t fallen into disrepair over the years, and we now need to dismantle the old ones to get the parts we need to stay afloat. I don’t mind giving you parts, though it may not be quite what you imagined.”

Xia Fei was slightly surprised. It was no wonder he spotted so many abandoned warships on his way here. It turned out that the Scarlet Volcano Military Base had already gotten to the point where they were stripping apart their ships to keep the rest active. Those old warships were being used for parts, and there would surely come a day when they ran out of things to scavenge. At that point, it was possible for this military base to disband.

Xia Fei agreed with Yawei’s suggestion. Being able to get the supplies he needed in this barren star region was already good enough, and seeing as how Yawei was even racking his brains over this problem, Xia Fei had no reason to be picky.

When night came, Yawei invited Xia Fei to dine with him alone as a form of welcome. Xia Fei had no reason to reject the offer. He did not know anyone else here in Black Abyss and understood that Qin Mang’s apprentice was the only person who could help him.

The dinner was very simple: two pairs of meat and vegetables, a bowl of custard for dessert, and the very popular local absinthe.

Xia Fei was not particular when it came to his food or drink as long as there was enough, but he did not expect a distinguished commander like Yawei would have such a simple meal despite hosting, most likely leading by example on this front.

Because Xia Fei usually kept his mind alert, he was not one to drink alcohol. Yawei, who was a military person, of course enjoyed plenty of meat with alcohol. Xia Fei could not exempt himself from it, so he drank a few glasses to give the man face.

It must be mentioned that the flavor of the local absinthe could be likened to the barren Death Trio Star Region; it had this inexplicable spiciness that made Xia Fei feel as if his internal organs were all being lit on fire, burning with such pain.

Yawei of course asked about Qin Mang, so Xia Fei shared what he had been learning over the last two years. The moment he spoke about how Qin Mang would often be alone sitting in the library, caressing his black cat, Yawei’s eyes would seem to redden.

Yawei became interested in Xia Fei’s plan to head to the supergravity zone after he was done asking about Qin Mang. Xia Fei was evasive, and Yawei was one to know his limits. Upon realizing that Xia Fei did not wish to share too much about it, he did not pursue the matter further but merely warned him once more to be careful.

According to his description of the place, the supergravity zone was not only a naturally complex environment but there also plenty of bewildering stories about ship remains that were frequently spotted floating out from that area.

They were like ghost ships, completely damaged externally and internally, covered in countless holes as if they had come under fire from a million laser cannons, and a truly tragic sight to behold.

The strangest thing was that many of the ships were of unknown models, not at all looking like anything made by humans.

Everyone knew that mankind was not the only sentient beings in the universe, and there were plenty of other sentient lifeforms out there that possessed technologically advanced spacecraft.

No one had any idea just how many different races were living in the universe, and with Black Abyss located at the very edge of the known Alliance territory, it was very normal for those living here to come across the occasional spacecraft from other sentient races, and hearing Yawei’s description of the state of the ship found caused Xia Fei substantial worry. It was unknown just what sort of weapon could puncture honeycombs into large ships.

If there were truly other sentient beings in that supergravity zone, there was no doubt that Xia Fei’s journey would become all the more tougher.

Xia Fei attempted to probe Yawei by asking him questions regarding Qin Mang. The connections that old man had was heaven and earth from his identity as a curator. There was no need to mention Thuram—someone with a post at the heart of the Adjudicator Union, wielding unimaginable power; even Qin Mang’s disciple, Yawei, was a commander of more than a hundred fleets with over a hundred thousand soldiers. There was no way Qin Mang could just be a simple man if he had a friend and a disciple occupying important seats in the Alliance.

Recently, Xia Fei would have had this impression that Qin Mang was leading him down some unknown path. This was how Qin Mang had taught Xia Fei while he was in the training camp; every day, Xia Fei would be tossed a different book, even getting tested with homework from time to time.

These seemingly meaningless actions had in fact been of great help to Xia Fei. The books all varied in difficulty, gradually helping Xia Fei connect everything he learned. Had Xia Fei not studiously read any of those books lent by Qin Mang previously, there was no way he could have understood such an esoteric and complicated tome like the Introduction to Robot Coding.

It was only after carefully recounting his memory that he realized that the very first book Qin Mang had made him read was ultimately in preparation for him to understand this one book about robot coding. After the many days and nights of learning, Xia Fei had finally managed to build a strong foundation, and that was when Qin Mang unexpectedly passed the ancient tome hidden in the basement to him, which was how he was able to understand its content.

‘Could old man Qin Mang have long planned to impart the priceless tome’s knowledge to me from the very beginning?’ Xia Fei would often ask himself this question, but there was simply no way for him to come up with the answer.

Qin Mang had given Xia Fei his first book when the two of them had just met and were still far from familiar with each other. Could that old curator have already intended to let him read the Introduction to Robot Coding from the start? He could not find a plausible answer to this as there was no reason for it at all.

Now, Xia Fei was once again sensing that Qin Mang had been secretly guiding him. Upon learning that he was going to look for Porter in Black Abyss, Qin Mang affirmed Xia Fei’s thoughts and encouraged him to implement it, even introducing his powerful disciple, Yawei, in the said region to him.

When he found out Xia Fei was going to the capital ring to find Avril, Qin Mang immediately helped him accomplish the necessary paperwork and, once again, pointed Xia Fei to his friend, Thuram, in the Adjudicator Union.

Had it not been for Thuram’s help, Xia Fei would surely have been unable to remove the moles around Avril, and were it not for Yawei, there was no way Xia Fei could so easily find a place to make modifications in his warship.

Connecting all the dots would always lead him back to the same point: Qin Mang.

Xia Fei was no fool. He might not find it strange if this only happened once or twice, but after experiencing so many such coincidences, Xia Fei already understood with certain clarity that Qin Mang had been guiding him down a path, of which the final destination was wholly unknown to him.

Yawei did not give any straight answers to the questions Xia Fei posed regarding old man Qin Mang, and that only deepened his suspicions. He decided that, no matter what happened, he would most definitely go find the old man when he returned and get him to lay his cards down on the table.

It was not that Xia Fei opposed all this; he understood the concept of gratitude very well. Besides, Xia Fei was the one who made the conscious choice to walk down the road and discovered the library back then, which ultimately led him into becoming a librarian. He picked this path that no one went down or even chose to take, and any man with a measure of responsibility would not regret the decisions they made.

Xia Fei and Yawei chatted until midnight. As a military man, Yawei’s character had his decisive and resolute side, while Xia Fei was not some pretentious villain, so the two of them had no problems getting along.

When he headed back to his ship, Xia Fei’s spatial ring had an extra silver bracelet inside. This was something prepared for Harris, which Yawei had trouble obtaining now that he was a warlord outside the purview of the Alliance law and order.

He needed an even crazier method to deal with a mad scientist like Harris. In the end, Phantom only had two words for him: “You’re ruthless.”