The Leviathan's Challenge
Behind the boy was the Captain's Room of the Lebert, where countless floating virtual screens displayed a luminous blue view of the entire scene.
His body was small and thin, almost childlike as he curled up in the chair against the backdrop of the wide captain's chair. Yet, no one dared to regard him as a harmless child.
Clearly, he was a key player in the incident, possibly even the leader, and he had chosen this very place to record the video. This bold display and mockery felt like a slap in the face to the Union.
—The faces of all the officers present were grim.
The young man smiled and waved at the camera.
"Nice to meet you. Please take care of me; I am the captain of the Lebert..."
He paused, as if suddenly remembering something, and slapped his forehead with an annoyed expression. "Oh, sorry, I forgot to change the name this morning!"
The picture abruptly changed, shifting to an exterior view of the Lebert.
Under the distant starlight, the metal hull of the ship, once known as the Star of the Alliance, was bathed in a golden glow. The majestic ship's name, painted with silver star ore extract on the hull, was now crooked. The red paint was crossed out, replaced with the name "Leviathan" scrawled in unruly, childish handwriting.
The new name, written in bright red paint, appeared jarring and ridiculous against the sleek, perfectly proportioned steel starship.
The picture cut back to the captain's room.
The thin boy, who looked as if he could be seen through, maintained his heartless smile.
"From today onward, the Leviathan will no longer trouble you. Of course, if you have old loyalties and think about military and maintenance expenses, I won't refuse. So, please bring enough coins when we meet next time!"
The video ended.
It was brief, but the officers at the screen were livid.
This was not just theft of the ship and unauthorized renaming; it was an insult to the alliance's laws and a contempt for its authority!
A young general stood up angrily and saluted the general sitting at the head of the table, his eyes flashing with anger.
"Allow me to lead the warship in tracking the whereabouts of the Lebert! I will make this arrogant fugitive pay the price for his actions and fight for the glory of the alliance!"
The general looked at the still image frozen on the screen and then slowly shook his head.
"Don't be impulsive; it's not that simple."
All eyes turned to the general at the center of the round table, awaiting his next words.
"Before the Lebert was hijacked, its protective shield showed no signs of tampering, nor did any crew send a distress signal. If it wasn't breached from the inside, then the intruders must have developed a weapon powerful enough to penetrate the light energy shield and intercept signals across at least four light-years."
An officer asked, "Is it possible that it's..."
The general shook his head, his eyes deepening. "It's hard to say, but that possibility can't be ruled out."
He then smirked coldly. "However, I am not without contingencies."
The general tapped a few times on the virtual screen in front of him. A soft, mechanical female voice announced:
"The emergency mode is activated. The Lebert's backup positioning system is now online—activation complete."
As the voice finished, a bright spot appeared on the light blue star chart floating above the round table, moving steadily away from the alliance's control area.
Everyone was surprised.
"This is…"
The general squinted his eyes. "Given the worsening situation in recent months, I ordered all retired warships to be equipped with emergency backup positioning systems to prevent them from falling into enemy hands. I didn't expect it would be needed so soon."
The other officers at the table expressed their admiration.
The light spot on the star map was moving towards a meteorite field on the edge of the alliance's control zone, a desolate region with only a few abandoned planets, seemingly trying to escape the alliance's grasp.
"Send three main ships and twenty light warships to pursue the Leviathan!"
Regardless of any potential hidden motives behind this incident, let them understand the consequences of angering the alliance!
At the same time.
Outside the surveillance range of the Alliance's vast network, the video data leaked from the Alliance's military channels flowed into a dark warship quietly stationed outside the occupied area.
There were no stars here, only icy darkness.
This warship was massive, nearly twice the size of the Lebert. Its black steel exterior was virtually indestructible, and its streamlined design gave it an imposing presence. The top-of-the-line interstellar gun had a black hole muzzle peeking out from beneath the outer protective layer, resembling a menacing beast lying in wait.
Inside the heavily fortified captain's room on top of the ship, a massive virtual screen covered one entire wall.
In the light blue data network, the boy's sly smiling face froze on the screen and then was replayed from the beginning.
In the captain's room, enveloped in darkness, the blue light from the electronic screen illuminated the figure of a man standing in front of it.
He was tall, with broad shoulders and straight legs, exuding an imposing sense of gravity.
An almost terrifying aura emanated from him. The coldness, seemingly seeping from his bones, was restrained by immense control, yet it still held a power that made one shiver deep within.
In the darkness, a low, hoarse chuckle broke the silence.
"Interesting."
---
In the former Lebert, now Leviathan's captain's room, Ge Xiu lounged in the captain's chair, his slender legs swinging leisurely.
A massive virtual star map floated on the table, with countless complex orbits and icons interwoven, resembling a patchwork of blue galaxies.
He stared intently at the star map, as if peering through it to some distant unknown.
The galaxy was mirrored in his eyes, like blue waves on a dark lake.
Xiaoyi peeked anxiously at the door but hesitated to enter.
Ge Xiu suddenly raised his eyes, his gaze piercing through the air as if it were a tangible arrow, and looked straight at Xiaoyi standing at the door.
He raised an eyebrow, feigning confusion. "Huh?"
Xiaoyi, as if waking from a dream, stumbled into the captain's room.
The recent experiences had felt like a surreal dream—a combination of impossible delusions and bizarre fantasies.
Xiaoyi was still unsettled, fearing he might wake up to find himself in the bottom of a tattered trash heap, watching the dirty sky of a desolate planet through the garbage mound.
He took a deep breath and began reporting on the ship's current condition:
"As of now, eight cargo ships from the Lebert have returned. The rest are still on their cargo collection missions and have not yet returned. Including the number of people on the cargo ships we boarded, there are a total of 32... hundreds of people…"
Ge Xiu casually glanced at the star map floating before him, his fingertips rhythmically tapping on the cold metal table.
Xiaoyi, trembling, added quietly:
"...Only forty-two people stayed."
After taking over the Lebert completely, Ge Xiu had explained the situation to the kidnapped individuals, presenting them with two options: stay aboard the renamed Leviathan and fight against the alliance's pursuit, or return to their original planet with a cargo ship, retaining the materials on board.
The advantages and disadvantages of these options were clear, and most people made the rational choice.
Thus, only forty-two chose to stay.
Xiaoyi, dejected, awaited Ge Xiu's response.
Instead of the anticipated anger, he saw Ge Xiu's dark eyes narrow slightly, his lips curving into a satisfied smile.
It was as if a successful architect was admiring his own design, or a chess player was looking at his masterpiece.
Xiaoyi frowned in confusion and asked:
"Why did you choose to reveal the real situation now? If you hadn't, we might have had more helpers and a better chance of winning..."
Ge Xiu turned his attention back to the star map and replied casually:
"What I want is fewer people."
Xiaoyi blinked, not understanding.
"The Leviathan is a retired warship. Even if it's converted into a cargo transfer station, it can't support the needs of three thousand people."
"But then... what about the cargo ships?" Xiaoyi asked, still unable to grasp the situation.
Ge Xiu yawned, stretching his slender waist in the wide captain's chair, his voice low and seemingly profound: "Under the current circumstances, the cargo ships only slow us down. And... they have other uses."
Xiaoyi nodded, still puzzled.
Ge Xiu stood up and walked towards the massive porthole. The brilliant galaxy outside bathed his profile in a light blue glow, accentuating his slender form.
He gazed out the window and asked leisurely:
"Each cargo ship previously targeted 200 people, but this time the target was doubled. To transport more labor, the Lebert even reduced its interstellar artillery. Do you know why?"
Xiaoyi shook his head.
Ge Xiu turned to look at him, the shrinking Star Sea and Milky Way reflected in his dark eyes.
He said meaningfully: "Because their frontline needs more cannon fodder."
Just as he finished speaking, a glaring red warning flashed on the star chart, and a loud alarm echoed through the captain's room.
"Alert, alert, multiple high-energy reactions approaching!"
Xiaoyi gasped, his eyes wide with panic as the star map turned red. Dozens of bright red spots appeared, surrounding their position, closing in at an alarming speed. They would be caught within five hours!
Sweat drenched
Xiaoyi's back, and his limbs trembled with fear.
"What's happening?"
He looked at Ge Xiu desperately, like a drowning man searching for a lifeline.
Ge Xiu turned his gaze back to the porthole, staring into the dark universe as if seeing something beyond the visible stars. His lips curled into a slight, almost predatory smile.
He shivered with an icy awareness, feeling a cold chill spread from his feet upwards.
At that moment, Ge Xiu turned back to Xiaoyi. His eyes glinted with suppressed excitement and enthusiasm, his expression almost inhumanly cold and treacherous.
He licked his lips and whispered softly:
"War is coming."