Section 397: A Difficult Problem
A twenty-day journey wasn't considered long. For Ye Zhong, who was already accustomed to space travel, it was child's play. However, this starship was far too ancient and backward, making him quite uncomfortable in many aspects. During these days, he had stayed in Wei You's room without stepping outside. The other crew members on the ship were still kept in the dark, completely unaware that a terrifying expert was lurking among them. Of course, this was largely due to Lun Zheyi's cooperation.
Lun Zheyi had drastically reduced his work hours these days. The other crew members only saw him frequently heading to Wei You's room.
It seemed the relationship between the captain and Wei You was progressing rapidly! This speculation naturally brought mixed feelings—some were happy, some were worried. However, many were also surprised. How could the always dedicated captain neglect his work because of a romance? This wasn't like him at all!
Nevertheless, no one was dissatisfied because of this. They had traveled this route many times, and it was very safe. Their work was also very relaxed; aside from carefully avoiding potential space rocks, there was nothing else to worry about.
Lun Zheyi was very obedient and didn't dare to play any tricks. Every time he met the other's terrifyingly calm gaze, any clever ideas in his mind instantly vanished. In the face of absolute power, he had little room for maneuver.
Such a super expert was intimidating no matter where they were, let alone when directly confronted. He couldn't figure out how he had no impression of such an expert. None of the experts he knew matched the image of the young man before him. The only one who was both so young and highly skilled was probably the sect's expert, Luo Shi. But he had met Luo Shi before, and this person's appearance and temperament were completely different.
However, none of this mattered. What mattered was his own life.
The spaceship finally landed smoothly on Guanghua Star, and all the crew members cheered in unison. After unloading all the cargo, they were given three days of free time. The crew members happily went off in small groups to indulge themselves.
Lun Zheyi, Wei You, and Ye Zhong were the last to disembark.
"What do you want?" Ye Zhong asked Wei You calmly. "As long as it's within my capabilities, I'll grant it as repayment for saving my life."
Wei You, full of reverence, respectfully said, "I don't have any other requests. I just hope my family can be safe and sound." Over these days, she had come to understand the immense power possessed by this seemingly frail young man before her.
"Oh, that's not an excessive request!" Ye Zhong's gaze shifted back to Lun Zheyi, causing the latter's scalp to tingle.
"Eat this," Ye Zhong said, taking a red pill from his waist pouch. He wasn't sure if his previous measures would be effective, as he had very little experience in this area. He felt it necessary to adopt a more reliable method.
Taking the pill, Lun Zheyi's hand trembled slightly. However, he knew he had no room for resistance and swallowed it without hesitation.
"Come here," Ye Zhong beckoned to Wei You.
Wei You hurried to Ye Zhong's side. He leaned close to her ear and whispered a few words.
Lun Zheyi's heart felt as if it were suspended in mid-air, rising and falling erratically. He certainly didn't believe the pill was just candy. He could almost guess what would happen next.
Sure enough, Ye Zhong said to him, "What you just took is a slow-acting poison. It's not fatal, but it requires regular doses of an antidote. I've already given her the formula. She will provide you with the antidote every six months. The next time I return to Tuomu Star, I will visit both of you. If anything happens to her, your entire clan will bear my wrath."
Lun Zheyi's eyelids twitched, and he hastily assured Ye Zhong he wouldn't dare.
Ye Zhong's final statement was undoubtedly a blatant threat. However, he himself knew it was merely an empty bluff. Return to Tuomu Star? Who knew when that would be? No one understood his drifting fate better than he did! But to intimidate Lun Zheyi, he said it anyway. He believed that, under this dual deterrence, the probability of Lun Zheyi daring to harm Wei You was very small.
Wei You was also very satisfied with this arrangement.
His future life seemed bleak! Lun Zheyi's face turned ashen, but he had no choice but to accept it.
"Goodbye, you two!" Ye Zhong's ghostly disappearing figure once again caused Lun Zheyi's expression to change.
Instead of entering the nearest city, Ye Zhong piloted the Moon Servant King for several hundred kilometers before landing near another city.
In the darkness, the Moon Servant King silently landed in a wilderness eighty kilometers outside the city. The holographic screen showed no one within thirty kilometers, so Ye Zhong didn't have to worry about being seen.
He planned to enter the city the next day.
Sitting alone in the wilderness under the night sky, Ye Zhong felt an indescribable loneliness. He smiled wryly; he was already accustomed to such solitude. Yet, even so, at times like this, he couldn't help but feel somewhat unsettled.
However, he quickly suppressed these emotions. Most of the time, he was accustomed to replacing sentimentality with rational thought.
Did falling ill this time make his nerves more fragile?
Mocking himself inwardly, Ye Zhong quickly dismissed the thought. It was better to focus on more practical issues. But he soon realized that the future was like an unfathomable mystery, and he couldn't obtain any useful information.
Whether it was searching for Mu Shang or Rui Bing, he had no clues. He didn't even know how to return to the He Yue Star Domain, let alone the Five Major Star Domains.
For now, he just needed to survive. This was the only goal he could plan for and achieve, and it was what he must do now. He didn't understand why the Ye Family was targeting him like this, but he would never allow others to control his fate—not even the Ye Family, even if they were likely closely related to him!
His fate could only be controlled by himself!
Bit by bit, he pieced things together. Although the future remained uncertain, Ye Zhong was very clear about what he needed to do now.
It was simple! He had to deal with the Ye Family troops that could appear at any time and fight for his own destiny!
However, what Ye Zhong didn't expect was that the Ye Family was also facing a difficult problem at this time. In fact, this problem wasn't unique to the Ye Family; all three major families were grappling with it.
In the study of the Ye Family head, all the main family members were present, including Ye Juxing and Ye Guangxing. However, everyone's expressions were extremely grave.
"I assume everyone is aware of the situation. There's no need for extra words. The reason for gathering everyone here is to discuss sending additional forces to the Black Corner," the current head of the Ye Family said, getting straight to the point after looking around.
Since the establishment of the Black Corner, the Ye Family had never dispatched large-scale combat forces there. Not only the Ye Family, but the other two major families had also adhered to this tacit agreement.
Sending large-scale combat forces to the Five Major Star Domains was unprecedented. Moreover, the most important thing was that this would directly affect the Ye Family's strategic deployment for a considerable period in the future, having an immeasurable impact on the family's prospects. Therefore, the family head was extremely cautious about this issue.
"Has the Black Corner still not identified the cause?" one of them asked.
The family head shook his head: "No, they've already suffered significant losses in this matter, but they still have no clues. The Five Major Star Domains have always been our strategic focus, and we absolutely cannot abandon them." This statement set the tone: no matter what, they could not give up the Five Major Star Domains!
No one objected to this. The strategic importance of the Five Major Star Domains had been established many years ago and was deeply ingrained in everyone's minds.
Everyone fell silent. Faced with this thorny issue, no one knew how to begin.
The matter of transferring combat forces might not seem like a big deal, but it actually had far-reaching implications. In the He Yue Star Domain, after so many years of management, a delicate balance of power had been achieved on almost every planet, even every city.
No matter where personnel were transferred from, it would profoundly disrupt the local balance. The problem didn't end there. Some families, led by the Shi Family, had been gaining momentum recently. If the balance were broken now, the consequences were obvious to everyone.
The He Yue Star Domain would likely plunge into new chaos!
For the three major families, stability was what they desired most. Chaos in the He Yue Star Domain held no benefits for them. On the contrary, their strength would be significantly depleted in such turmoil, which was the last thing they wanted to see.
"Should we recall Ye Yin?" one of them suggested.
Ye Juxing shook his head and refuted, "Even if Ye Yin returns, it won't make much of a difference. What we need now is a sizable combat force. The number of mecha pilots we can currently mobilize is only about fifteen thousand."
Aside from the family head and Ye Guangxing, everyone else gasped in shock. Fifteen thousand mecha pilots were undoubtedly a powerful combat force, but judging by the family head's tone, this level of strength still wasn't enough.
Had the crisis in the Five Major Star Domains really reached such a critical point?