Chapter 39: Deep Space Salvage

A method of pinpointing the coordinates of enemy vessels by locking onto their communication signals and analyzing their connections is a technique known only to high-ranking individuals with military clearance of Level D or above. It's a tactical skill restricted to the elite officers of the Earth's Space Forces.

But Tian Xiao couldn't explain how he had cracked the coordinates of the pirate mothership to Zhang Lian and the others. He had to stick to his prepared story.

Drones.

That was the only explanation he could offer.

During the battle, he had deployed a drone. While everyone was engaged in combat, the drone had spotted the pirate mothership's location. Unfortunately, because it was on the flight path of the "Flying Shadow No. 3" and was within the attack zone, it had been destroyed.

No one suspected anything.

Zhang Lian even came up with a reasonable explanation for it:

"The space pirates must have known that Flying Shadow No. 3's repair time was short. They had to complete their landing, seize control, and loot the ship within three hours. That's why the mothership kept getting closer to Flying Shadow No. 3, taking greater risks to maximize their plunder before your team appeared. Once they saw you, they threw caution to the wind and gave Tian Xiao an opening."

"Regardless of the specifics, the fact that Flying Shadow No. 3 is still intact and we turned the tide—everyone is a hero. When we get back, I'll personally recommend a commendation for the security team and make sure you all get your rewards!"

Zhang Lian's words made everyone feel invigorated and proud. Tian Xiao, however, secretly sighed with relief.

He was worried that someone might dig into his action log, asking too many questions.

Wait…

His action log.

Tian Xiao suddenly had a thought.

On the other side, Luo Fei was asking Zhang Lian, "Captain, has the pirate mothership been completely destroyed? Are there any pirates who managed to escape?"

"Don't worry. When we destroyed the pirate mothership, we performed a thorough scan and fire coverage," Zhang Lian said with a smile. "There are no survivors."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "I know you're thinking about the pirates' loot and resources. Once Flying Shadow No. 3's engines are fully restored, we'll close in and conduct a detailed search for their black box and operational logs."

Everyone's eyes brightened.

Zhu Xiaotian quietly nudged Tian Xiao's right arm and whispered, "Are we stopping to search for the pirates' operational logs?"

Tian Xiao hesitated.

Should he act like he didn't know about it?

Chen Wuling took the initiative to explain:

"Every pirate with a name has a bounty on their head! The operational logs of the mothership contain the identity records of all the pirates, along with the information uploaded to their chips and a record of the crimes they've committed across various regions. If we turn in these logs, we'll earn the bounty rewards!"

Old Lu grinned like a fox that had just caught a chicken. "Pirates are a serious problem. Each of them has at least a hundred thousand in bounty, if not more. They're all tough, and they have high-frequency pulse particle weapons. Their hands are probably covered in blood from countless crimes. We might make a fortune from this!"

Tian Xiao rolled his eyes.

A fortune?

In his mind, he could already picture the grim reality. The pirate mothership had been taken down with the full force of Flying Shadow No. 3's bio-energy cannon... There were hundreds of pirates onboard.

Even if they did find something valuable, the share for each of them would be minuscule.

This thought flashed through his mind when Zhang Lian's gaze landed on him.

Zhang Lian chuckled and said, "The bounty may not be much, but not everything on the pirate mothership was destroyed in the explosion. Get ready to search for resources. Whatever we find, you can keep 50%. Whoever locates the black box will receive a personal reward of one million."

It was as if Zhang Lian had read his thoughts.

"If anyone manages to capture those two modified Qingniao-class ships, one million for each of you. I'm not kidding."

"Got it!"

Everyone grew even more excited, with the exception of the injured crew member.

The group retired to rest and recover their bio-energy.

Three hours passed quickly.

However, not everyone had fully recovered their bio-energy. Luo Fei's bio-energy only returned to 157 points, while others were still below 100 points.

Old Lu, Zhu Xiaotian, and Tian Xiao had not participated directly in the battle, so their bio-energy reserves were in better condition, nearly at their peak.

After three hours of rest, Tian Xiao had fully recovered, reaching a bio-energy level of 194.

The engines of Flying Shadow No. 3 had been repaired.

A fleet of Qingniao-class ships was also ready, their chips restored to full functionality.

"Everyone," Luo Fei announced, "The mothership is back online and moving toward the area where the pirate mothership was destroyed. Although our bio-energy reserves are low, we cannot afford to stay too long. You are free to decide whether or not to participate in the search. We have a window of three hours to search. After that, we must return to the fleet to resume escort duties."

The Flying Shadow No. 3 stopped.

The hangar doors opened.

"Let's go!"

The crew members boarded the Qingniao-class ships, setting off to begin their salvage operation.

In the vastness of deep space, countless pieces of debris from the destroyed pirate mothership floated, scattered across the starry expanse. The debris field was densely packed, with some large fragments still bearing holes from high-energy radiation blasts, creating a horrifying sight.

Here and there, pieces of human remains and shredded combat suits drifted among the wreckage.

Ignoring the gruesome sight, Tian Xiao piloted his Qingniao-class ship. The now fully functional chips began to calculate the trajectory of the floating debris and assess its value. The ship's robotic arms extended from the front and rear to collect the nearby mechanical fragments.

These mechanical scraps, commonly referred to as space junk, weren't worth much. However, they contained some high-strength components that could be worth thousands of credits each.

Tian Xiao wasn't interested in these.

What truly caught his attention were the black boxes and the high-frequency pulse particle weapons that the pirate mothership had carried.

The black box was invaluable—it could hold records of the pirates' identities, their operations, and potentially lead to massive bounties.

The high-frequency pulse particle weapons, used on a D-class level, required materials of similar strength to build, with their weapon chips worth tens of millions. Collecting even one of these would be a game-changer, enabling a leap in technology and influence.

Unfortunately...

He thought too highly of the situation.

The high-frequency pulse particle weapons were nearly half the size of the mothership. After the saturation bombardment, they had been almost completely destroyed, with the chips blown apart by a large hole in the core.

The image from the ship's scanning system confirmed his worst fear—the chips were gone.

Wasted!

With no choice but to move on, Tian Xiao began scanning the surrounding space junk, hoping to find the black box.

The black box was small but highly durable. It had a high survival rate, especially in cases like these, as the pirates often stored them in unexpected places, like refrigerators or weapon lockers...

Suddenly, a silver pipe slammed against the side of the Qingniao's hull, producing a dull thud that caught Tian Xiao's attention.

It was unusually heavy!