The Calculated Gambit

Ge Xiu licked the remaining candy in his mouth with nostalgia. The once whole, round candy had melted into a thin slice with sharp edges, leaving a slight sting on his taste buds when his tongue brushed against it.

"You should check the pockets of a few more people," Ge Xiu thought, but he pushed it aside as he continued walking down the long corridor with a light, quick pace.

Xiao Yi followed closely behind, peering timidly and curiously at the interior of the ship. Through the isolation glass on the metal cabin door, he saw the cockpit was eerily quiet. The four crew members were sprawled awkwardly on the floor, the huge blue screen displayed an autopilot icon, and a metal bottle of high-grade supplies lay on the table, with amber wine dripping down the edge to the floor.

Xiao Yi took a deep breath as he glanced in through the window edge. Ge Xiu, however, gave the scene only a cursory glance before turning his attention back to the brain of the crew member he had acquired.

Xiao Yi looked at his childhood friend with a mix of shock and admiration. "Oh my God, Xiaoqi, how did you do it?"

Ge Xiu shrugged casually, his thin, pointed shoulders protruding slightly from beneath his uniformly distributed gray and white material. "Intelligence indicated that their emergency procedure involves stunning all areas outside the cockpit. This means there must be an air system in the cockpit independent of the rest of the ship, sealed tightly enough to prevent anesthetic gas from infiltrating."

While speaking, he deftly tapped on the blue screen with his fingertips, his expression nonchalant, as though discussing something trivial. "So I located the control pipe in the starship circuit diagram and reconnected the inner circuit, ensuring that activating the emergency program would inject the anesthetic into the cockpit's air circulation system."

As he worked, the independent ventilation system in the cockpit began to hum, quickly replacing the high-concentration anesthetic gas with normal compressed air.

Ge Xiu took out Leach's identity card from his pocket and swiped it at the door. He smirked, and the cockpit door slowly opened before them. Ge Xiu made an exaggerated and comical bow, as though saluting an invisible audience.

Xiao Yi stared at him in awe, though he mustered the courage to ask, "Little Qi, how did you—"

Ge Xiu paused, considering for a moment, then said carefully, "I had a dream…"

He pressed his skinny knuckles to his lower lip, a playful smile on his lips as he continued, half-truthfully, "In my dream, a stranger told me that I had my own fleet in a past life."

He gave Xiao Yi a sly wink before turning and jumping into the cockpit, leaving Xiao Yi with a mixture of shock and curiosity.

Ge Xiu first stepped over the unconscious crew members and began methodically searching the containers. Ten minutes later, he gathered the anesthetic injections, adrenaline, and crew ID brain chips, piling them on the cockpit floor. He then carefully stashed all the candies into his pocket.

Finally, he took out what he had prepared and approached the unconscious non-commissioned officer lying on the ground. Throughout, Xiao Yi watched curiously from the cockpit.

Having calmed from his earlier panic and fear, Xiao Yi's excitement was palpable. "Xiao Qi, what's our next move?" he asked timidly, his eyes bright with curiosity as he tentatively touched the bionic material of the driver's seat.

Ge Xiu peeled another candy and popped it into his mouth. Without turning around, he replied vaguely, "No return."

Xiao Yi was taken aback. After a few moments of thought, he nodded, trying to sound calm. "Well, you're right. The environment on Junk Star is terrible. We can take everyone to a better place."

Ge Xiu stopped his actions and looked up at Xiao Yi. The candy made his left cheek bulge amusingly, but his focused expression and dark, swirling eyes were intensely captivating. Xiao Yi felt a shiver run down his spine.

Ge Xiu broke the silence with a casual question, "Do you know why I asked you to sabotage the fuel tank according to the data?"

Xiao Yi shook his head slowly.

"Because that area had just been repaired by the crew member. When others see the returned data, they will suspect the repair work was subpar rather than the ship itself having a problem. This way, they will have their own people make the repairs instead of reporting it to the main ship," Ge Xiu explained slowly.

"What about sending the report?" Xiao Yi began, but his words faltered as he saw the "autopilot" icon still lit on the main control panel. His heart skipped a beat as a troubling thought crossed his mind.

He asked, trembling, "Xiao, Xiao Qi, don't you know…"

Ge Xiu flashed a pure smile, revealing his two cute tiger teeth. Yet, the excitement in his eyes contrasted sharply with his innocent expression, creating an unsettling mixture of purity and malevolent heat. 

"Yes, our next destination is: the main ship," he said brightly.

With that, Ge Xiu pulled a rope, lifting the non-commissioned officer upside down. He tied the rope to a bar, securing it, and then took out an adrenaline injection, administering it to the non-commissioned officer.

The sergeant woke abruptly, gasping and struggling, but the upside-down position left him disoriented and helpless. Ge Xiu watched with interest as he flailed about.

After a few minutes, the sergeant finally settled down. He looked around, seeing only two slender, young teenagers in the cockpit, and initially felt a slight sense of relief. It seemed like a small-scale incident, involving only two children.

He sneered, "Impressive that you two managed this, but it ends here."

The sergeant's imposing tone was undermined by his precarious, trembling state. The autopilot's blue light bathed his face as he continued arrogantly, "This cargo ship is heading for the main ship. Without the password, the autopilot cannot be cancelled. Surrender now, and I might let you leave unharmed. Otherwise, you'll regret it when we reach the main ship—"

Ge Xiu's lips curled into a fleeting smile.

He stared at the sergeant as if observing an insect with childlike amusement, and then reported a series of numbers quickly.

The sergeant's mouth fell open. "How did you—"

The numbers Ge Xiu had given were the administrator password. How was this possible?

Ge Xiu maintained his smile, as though he had anticipated the sergeant's reaction.

He tapped the non-commissioned officer's forehead, making him sway in the air. The inverted view blurred further due to the motion, and Ge Xiu's voice came through, carrying a sinister edge beneath its sweetness, "For ships of this size, there's only one password. If the administrator's optical brain is available, cracking it isn't too difficult."

The sergeant gritted his teeth, but before he could devise a plan, he heard Ge Xiu's next words:

"But don't be nervous; I'm not going to cancel the autopilot mode, nor am I planning to drive the ship away."

What?

The non-commissioned officer's mind struggled to process the information. Not planning to drive the ship away? What did that mean?

Ge Xiu tilted his head innocently, "Now, you need to tell me all the information about the main ship."

His casual tone belied the gravity of his request. The sergeant's face went pale as he realized the implications. His blood ran cold as he stammered, "Are you crazy?"

Ge Xiu's smile brightened.

The non-commissioned officer, now drenched in cold sweat, knew that betraying information about the main ship would lead to severe consequences. His thoughts raced with fear and anger. Ge Xiu's nonchalant demeanor made it clear that this was no mere threat; it was a dangerous game.

Ge Xiu shook his head regretfully, "Such a pity. The answer is wrong."

He pulled out a brain terminal, its light reflecting off his fingers.

"Your control bracelet is quite useful," Ge Xiu said casually while playing with the terminal. "I noticed it even has an electric shock function…"

The sergeant's heart sank as an ominous premonition gripped him. He looked down at his wrists—nothing was there.

Before he could react, he felt a violent jolt of pain between his legs, nearly incapacitating him. He writhed in mid-air, like a fish out of water.

After a grueling half-minute, the shock ceased. The sergeant, drenched in sweat, looked at the boy before him with a mix of horror and disbelief.

Ge Xiu chewed the last of his candy, eyes sparkling with cruel delight. "Isn't that enough? There's a second gear, you know…"

Before he could finish, the sergeant, panicked, yelled, "Wait, wait!"

Ge Xiu paused, pretending to be curious. "Oh? Have you remembered the answer?"

The sergeant, face ashen, nodded frantically. "I'll tell you everything!"

Ge Xiu's smile widened as he stowed the brain terminal away. "I need details on its staffing, combat facilities, and internal wiring defenses."

He paused, his gaze lingering on the sergeant, and added slowly, "If the information you provide is incorrect, I might turn it up to the next level."

Ge Xiu's eyes flicked to the sergeant's trembling legs, and he popped the last piece of candy into his mouth. The sergeant shivered at the prospect.

With a sweet smile deepening, Ge Xiu

 continued, "After all, I can't guarantee it will survive the next round. Believe me, I have ways to verify the authenticity."

The sergeant's last hope shattered. He looked at Ge Xiu with despair and nodded in resignation.

---

The Leibert, one of the eight main ships retired from war and repurposed as an interstellar transit station, was unexpectedly stolen ten days after being dispatched to transport slave cargo resources. Despite its shift to cargo operations, its formidable energy barriers and combat-tested hull made it a core asset of the alliance.

As the Leibert's positioning signal vanished from the Alliance's interplanetary surveillance, a video was sent to Alliance Command.

Located on the A-class main star of the central galaxy, the Alliance Command's massive conference hall, built from expensive Albert Asia steel, loomed in the air. Bionic light sources illuminated the cold, black steel with sharp edges and decisive lines, casting a majestic, impersonal atmosphere.

A tense silence pervaded the command post. Senior military officers, permanently stationed by the Federation, stared solemnly at the floating electronic screen.

The data, scanned by military-level brains and free from any virus, was a visual document from the coordinates of the Leibert's last known position.

The video began to play, revealing a thin, wiry boy with a mischievous smile and pointed tiger teeth.

"Hi!"