Chapter 481 – An Unexpected Surprise

Sea Wolf gently raised his hand, and blood-red alloy modules flew out from beneath the armor-like combat suit he wore.

The blood-red alloy quickly formed a step in the air, and Sea Wolf stepped onto it.

With each step he took, the blood-red alloy staircase ascended, ultimately forming a massive blood-red throne at a height of eight meters.

Sea Wolf slowly sat on the throne, a blood-red wolf head appearing behind him, and his level 8 massive mental power silently expanded, quickly enveloping the entire area.

“I believe everyone is clear on the purpose of gathering here today…”

Sea Wolf casually placed his hands on the sides of the blood-red throne, looking down at everyone with a calm expression, “What I want you to do is simple.

Just do what you’re best at.

Killing and stealing…”

“I only have one requirement, and that is that Milorad must remain alive.

Yes, that fat pig Gem Lord, he should be quite recognizable…”

“Kidnapping is too troublesome and risky. If you ask me, it’s easier to just kill him with one stroke!”

Lu Yuan, who was originally eager to listen to Sea Wolf, the leader of these space pirates, and his “pre-battle motivational speech,” unexpectedly found that Sea Wolf’s speech was interrupted just after a few sentences.

Looking towards the source of the voice, a red-haired strong man with a mane-like beard came into view.

A noticeable scar marked the left side of the strong man’s brow, and he exuded a powerful consciousness, clearly a powerhouse with level 7 mental power.

Interrupting Sea Wolf’s speech in public drew the attention of many space pirates, but the red-haired strong man seemed unfazed.

Rather than showing any sign of nervousness, he spoke with a vicious grin: “That fat pig often sends people to attack us. I’ve been sick of him for a long time.

Given this chance, wouldn’t it be better to just slaughter him and then rob him thoroughly?”

“I think Red Beard is right!”

As soon as the red-haired strong man finished speaking, someone immediately voiced agreement loudly.

“Kidnapping is too much trouble; you never know what might happen.”

Some also voiced opposition.

“Just killing him is too easy; we should capture him and make him suffer for a few days…”

With the red-haired strong man leading the conversation, more and more space pirates began to speak up, turning the large cavern into a noisy marketplace.

Looking at the scene before him, only four words appeared in Lu Yuan’s mind-rabble of misfits.

Soon, a cold snort accompanied by a powerful mental pressure swept over the crowd. The blood-red wolf head distorted the void, causing circles of invisible, transparent ripples in the air.

“Enough! Silence!”

Sea Wolf quietly rose from the blood-red throne. With the power of his level 8 mental force, his tall and majestic figure cast a vast shadow over the numerous space pirates below.

“Anyone not interested can leave when the time comes, but if anyone dares to sabotage my plan, don’t blame me, Sea Wolf, for being ruthless…”

The chilling words echoed, and the crowd of space pirates instantly fell silent.

The previously outspoken red-haired strong man also slightly lowered his head, his expression unreadable.

“Is there anything else besides this?”

Sea Wolf asked, scanning the room before sitting back down.

A few seconds later, a hesitant space pirate spoke up, “I heard that the Gem Lord has hired a Spirit Court Guard as his bodyguard. This deal might be hard to pull off…”

“Don’t worry.”

Sea Wolf replied calmly, “If the Spirit Court Guard does step in, I’ll handle it. You just need to take care of the others.”

“So, when the job is done, how do we split the loot?”

The red-haired strong man spoke up again.

Sea Wolf looked down at him; this guy didn’t seem too intimidated by Sea Wolf’s level 8 presence and dared to meet his gaze directly.

“We’ll pool everything together, and once converted to money…”

Sea Wolf fixed his eyes on him, speaking coldly: “I’ll take just thirty percent. The rest… you can split however you like.”

Hearing this, the red-haired strong man’s expression clearly showed his surprise.

The other space pirates also erupted in a light murmur, immediately beginning to discuss among themselves.

“Any other questions?”

Sea Wolf asked coldly, keeping his gaze on the red-haired strong man, who lowered his head with a changing expression.

“If not, let’s proceed.”

Sea Wolf issued his orders with an indifferent expression while slowly rising from the blood-red throne. Steps formed under his feet, and he began to walk out of the cavern, one step at a time.

Lu Yuan followed, his expression tinged with curiosity.

The spoils of war distribution plan that Sea Wolf proposed last was quite uncharacteristic of him.

Based on what “Alfonso,” his younger brother, knew about Sea Wolf, he would expect Sea Wolf to take at least seventy percent in such a situation.

Judging by the reaction of the other space pirates, they clearly didn’t see this coming either.

Sea Wolf’s domineering and greedy nature was well-known, and for him, as the instigator, to ask for only thirty percent of such a significant haul was truly unexpected.

“Either Sea Wolf doesn’t think this operation will succeed at all…

Or, there’s an even bigger reward waiting for him after this, so he doesn’t care about this gain,” Lu Yuan pondered to himself, nodding distantly to Sonis before following in Sea Wolf’s footsteps as he left.

“If the operation couldn’t succeed, Sea Wolf wouldn’t bother organizing so many people at such a cost to himself and risk personally intervening.

So, it must be the latter…

What could be more valuable than an ancient ruin brimming with Life Source Ore?”

“And why is Sea Wolf so fixated on kidnapping the Gem Lord?

Is the key really something about the Gem Lord himself?”

A multitude of questions arose in Lu Yuan’s mind, but even after rummaging through Alfonso’s memories, he couldn’t find any answers.

Just as they were about to exit the mountain belly and turn into a shadowy passageway, Lu Yuan suddenly sensed something and swiftly turned to look in a specific direction.

“Who’s there?”

“Heh…”

A figure slowly emerged from the shadows in the corner, looking at Lu Yuan with a faint, knowing smile.

Upon seeing who it was, Lu Yuan’s eyes flickered, but he quickly composed himself and spoke calmly, “So it’s you.”

The newcomer was strong-built, with thick facial hair, fiery red hair, and a noticeable scar at the corner of his left eye.

He was the red-haired strong man who had frequently voiced objections and doubts to Sea Wolf earlier in the hall within the mountain belly.

This guy’s real name has long been forgotten, but his nickname rings loudly among the space pirates-everyone calls him “Red-bearded Man.”

As for why he’s here…

Lu Yuan has a pretty good idea.

“Alfonso, I really underestimated you…”

The red-haired strong man chuckled as he approached, putting an arm around Lu Yuan’s shoulder and giving him a thumbs-up.

“Impressive, didn’t think you could win over Sonis… be honest, did you sleep with her, and how was it?”

“None of your business.”

Lu Yuan shrugged off the arm of the red-haired strong man, narrowing his eyes to look at him coldly, “Are we that close?”

“You…”

The red-haired man’s expression soured for a moment but quickly regained composure, giving a cold snort, “Then let’s get down to business.”

He scanned their surroundings quickly, spreading a wave of mental power to cover the area. Then, he took out a small, semi-transparent glass vial containing a light red pill, and said in a low voice, “Before we set off, find a chance to make Sea Wolf take this. I’ve already contacted everyone, just waiting on you to act…”

Lu Yuan looked at the vial in the red-haired strong man’s hand, his face expressionless.

The red-haired man’s brow furrowed, and he spoke coldly, “Don’t tell me you’re getting cold feet now. You were the one who contacted us in the first place.

Think about it, without Sea Wolf, the entire Sea Wolf pirate group would be yours to command. No one else could stand above you… Are you in? Taking out Sea Wolf benefits everyone!”

Lu Yuan glanced at the red-haired man, calmly reached out to take the vial from his hand, and then walked straight past him.

The red-haired man’s expression turned icy as he silently watched Lu Yuan walk away.

Once Lu Yuan was almost out of sight, he spat on the ground and muttered under his breath, “Tch, what a useless fool, acting all tough with me.

Once Sea Wolf is dealt with, you’ll be next on the chopping block… hmpf…”

Lu Yuan walked along, casually playing with the small vial in his hand.

After some thought, he opened the vial and tossed the little red pill into his mouth, crunching it like candy.

Once he finished, he savored the taste for a moment.

“A certain type of genetic poison, with some hallucinogenic effects…”

The toxin in the red pill was potent, and for the red-haired strong man to ask Lu Yuan to give it to Sea Wolf proved it was sophisticated enough to evade detection by even a level 8 pilot. Such poison likely did not come cheap.

“Quite the investment…” Lu Yuan mused.

Alfonso had long harbored ambitions to replace his elder brother Sea Wolf. Before the major plundering operation, he had reached out to the group led by the “red-bearded man,” planning to eliminate Sea Wolf opportunistically.

Unfortunately, before the plan could officially begin, Alfonso was dealt with by Lu Yuan.

Now, then…

“The red-bearded man planned to have you take me out during my encounter with the Spirit Court Guard?”

“Yes,” Lu Yuan shrugged as he stood before Sea Wolf, “They also planned for me to poison you in advance.”

Sea Wolf remained expressionless, looking at Lu Yuan with a calm demeanor, “So you refused?”

“No.”

Lu Yuan shook his head, his expression natural, and said, “I agreed.”

Sea Wolf’s eyes flickered intensely for a moment, and after a few seconds, he stood up.

“Good, very good. You did well this time, Alfonso…”

Standing in front of Lu Yuan, Sea Wolf gently patted his shoulder, then his tone became chilling as he spoke in a low voice, “It seems these red-bearded folks have lived a bit too long…

I’m curious to see exactly who is so eager for Sea Wolf’s demise…”

Lu Yuan stood silently by, saying nothing.

He was purely there to enjoy the spectacle.

Red-bearded Man and Sea Wolf going at it-whoever won or lost was of no consequence to him.

He was participating under Alfonso’s identity, seemingly betraying the red-bearded side to join Sea Wolf, but in truth, he held no firm stance.

When the time comes, he would decide who to help based on his mood.

The thought of the “thrilling” expressions they would all have at that moment amused him.

“Alfonso…”

Sea Wolf turned to Lu Yuan, his tone becoming noticeably softer.

“You are my brother. Rest assured, once this is all over, I’ll do everything I can to help you reach level 8… I’ll also help you prepare the appropriate Mecha.”

“Okay.”

Lu Yuan understood that Sea Wolf’s promise to Alfonso wasn’t just empty words. However, considering that he wouldn’t be using the identity of Alfonso the space pirate for long, he suspected he wouldn’t be around to enjoy the “big promise” from Sea Wolf. So, his response was rather dismissive.

“If there’s nothing else, I’ll be heading off.”

To Lu Yuan’s surprise, perhaps due to his indifferent reaction, Sea Wolf, thinking Lu Yuan was dissatisfied, called him back halfway through his departure and tossed something to him.

“Take this.”

Lu Yuan instinctively caught the item thrown by Sea Wolf. Looking at it in his hand, it was a palm-sized prism crystal, shining with a bright red hue.

It looked quite beautiful, like a piece of art, yet as he held it, he could clearly sense a powerful wave of mental power emanating from it.

“Inside is a stored level 9 mental power shock. If you encounter danger, crush it.

I’m worried that once the red-bearded group realizes their plan has failed, they might turn on you out of spite…”

Sea Wolf looked at Lu Yuan and spoke gently, “Take care of yourself, Alfonso, my younger brother.”

Looking into Sea Wolf’s eyes, filled with tumultuous emotions, Lu Yuan was momentarily taken aback, then he lowered his head and gave a firm nod.

“Go on, get some rest.”

Sea Wolf waved him off, and Lu Yuan backed away as directed.

Once he’d turned his back to Sea Wolf, his expression turned somewhat bemused.

An energy crystal containing a level 9 mental power shock…

Could Sea Wolf have handed over his last-ditch life-saving method to him?

Being on the receiving end of such generosity…

It felt slightly embarrassing.

Lu Yuan carefully tucked away the vibrant red prism crystal, feeling quite satisfied as he walked away with a spring in his step.

…..

In a lavishly lit room, soft, flowing music lingered in the air like a gentle stream.

Dong Lingxue stood before an enormous bookshelf, her fingers gliding over the spines of beautifully bound, expensive books.

She casually pulled one out, pretending to read it.

In reality, it was a book about antique gemstone appraisal, filled with obscure and complex technical terms in a very niche language-a language so niche, in fact, that Dong Lingxue couldn’t understand a single word.

Yet she felt compelled to maintain this charade. Otherwise, her “lack of learning” and pretense might be discovered.

Even though being found out wouldn’t have been catastrophic, Dong Lingxue thought it would be terribly embarrassing-both for her and for her father, Dongmu.

As she feigned interest in the book, Dong Lingxue idly observed the other occupants in the room.

This enormous, opulent space spanned three levels, with over thirty noble girls like her scattered in groups throughout, engrossed in their own activities.

In the center of the room, beneath an exceedingly luxurious, giant crystal chandelier, two men were seated, engaged in casual conversation.