Chapter 46: Into the Black Cove
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Since Bai Linan didn’t know how to pilot a mech on his own, he had rode with Ye Chong. The cabin that offered limited accommodation became overloaded when there was more than one man inside. Foolish Bai insisted on keeping the ladies product he bought from a spokesperson who happened to be none other than Feng Su much to Ye Chong’s annoyance; as if the cabin was already not narrow enough for starters. Movements were limited with Bai’s products everywhere which affected Ye Chong’s piloting inputs as well. Without a second thought, Ye Chong winded down the window and lobbed every junk out, ignoring Bai Linan who was weeping in the corner.
He inserted a chip that contained the calculated route to the Black Cove and displayed marked route on the galaxy map. The chip was a purchase from an undistinguished pawn shop by Bai Linan with 12 gold zuan. Apparently the broker of the pawn shop specifies in offering updated routes to the Black Cove.
The mech Ye Chong was piloting zoomed into the space, travelling in auto-pilot mode.
After travelling for about 38 hours, they finally arrived at the protected area in the Black Cove – the Elma Zone. Ye Chong was glad that Bai Linan reminded him to bring extra supply of batteries, if not they wouldn’t be able to travel this far.
The galactic environment of the Black Cove was rather unique as it was surrounded by a large area of asteroid belt and the asteroids in the Elma Zone were not stationary; they were actively moving about. In addition, there were countless of asteroid whirls lurking among them. If one were to get sucked in accidentally, one would be shredded into a million pieces within a second by the overwhelming force in its own orbit. It is almost like a huge meat mincer functioning at high speed. Travelers were rare in Elma Zone for a reason.
Ye Chong had already switched back to manual piloting and attempted to make it through the belt. A glance at the belts of asteroids that densely floated by, a track of free orbit about 100 meters broad could barely be discerned. It was only then that Ye Chong was convinced by the fact mentioned by Bai Linan; spacecraft of any kind could never make it to the Black Cove. It was justifiable with the restricted space for movement due to the mass of asteroids. No spacecraft would be able to travel through this without a scratch or two.
One brief second his mind wandered off elsewhere and an asteroid about two meters in diameter flew by in his face. He froze in fear and Bai Linan almost chickened out of the excursion. Ye Chong could not afford to build castles in the air so he drove on with full focus. In fact, quite a large amount of asteroids on the orbit had been cleared with only a few finer ones that would occasionally hurl pass; talk about jump-scares in the galaxy.
Out of the blue, a small group of pilots in their onyx black mech-humanoids appeared! Ye Chong felt his throat tightened as his face drained immediately.
Their piloting skills were brilliant! They flew in high speed, kicking the asteroids out of the orbit using their feet as they travelled. There were no changes in their direction and they didn’t seem to be affected by the asteroid. The mech was like a giant blob of cannonball, the asteroids in his way were all cast aside and he wasn’t hindered by those at all. Theoretically, if both parties were of vast difference in weight, this could happen. It was just like a brandishing hammer smashing away oncoming peas. The catch in this was the differences between that black mech and the asteroids were not many to begin with, yet the asteroids got shoved away while he continued his journey. It was amazing enough for Ye Chong.
Ye Chong was sure enough that he couldn’t perform such skillful piloting at that moment. Flying at high speed in a belt of moving rocks was not the issue for him but his traveling direction would be altered when he knocked away the oncoming asteroids; it was difficult to maintain it. It wasn’t even a slight change but a major adjustment from his initially planned route!
The group was as fast as lightning and in a blink of an eye they disappeared into space. As they carried on, the asteroids on the orbit were all cleared up.
“Who are these people?” Ye Chong asked seriously.
Bai Linan replied, “I’m not really sure about that. Maybe they are the orbit cleaners or something. You know… the orbit here is not a stable one. It would be a real problem without them clearing up a path!”
Ye Chong knew he would not be getting much information from Bai Linan so he remained quiet, and his anticipation grew as they journeyed towards the Black Cove. He was having immense expectation of intensifying his strength, and witnessing the skills possessed by that black mech had just raised the bar for him! It was a skillset that was entirely different from the ones Mu had taught him, and nothing else could motivate him more than this!
The route was winding. He did his best to focus, but it was still thrilling for him. Imagine a rookie pilot maneuvering through such a route – that would be impossible! The pilot could never make it! It was an estimated short route yet Ye Chong took two hours in total just to travel through. Bai Linan glimpsed at the time and complimented uncontrollably, “Master has such amazing piloting skill! I came once with the Cyclops-dude last time and he took literally 6 hours just to make it through! Much more inferior compared to master’s skills!”
It was a space station they saw upon entry. It took the form of two gigantic rings connected to the same axis and from the center about five pipes of channels were extended three kilometers long bridging to the inner ring. The outer ring on the other hand was wrapped over the inner ring, and both were working together. The diameter of the inner ring was about 15 kilometers long while the outer ring was shockingly 19 meters in diameter!
“This… is the outskirt of the Black Cove, namely the S.S. Zhi Lan.” Looking at how astounded Ye Chong was by the view, Bai Linan proudly introduced the place, “It seemed that it was named after one of the founders of the Black Cove – Mr. Yang Zhilan. The S.S. Zhi Lan is known to be grander in size compared to S.S. Hui Tan that was newly built in Fal galaxy last year.” He chuckled and continued, “Here, is what we called paradise. Anything you wanted, as long as you have enough bet, you can always bargain for one. Service… products… the merchants here would satisfy your every need. Service of course, includes that special kind of service…” Bai Linan let out a hearty laugh.
Ye Chong did not show much care about Bai Linan’s babbling. He carefully piloted his mech into the automatic parking walkway, but the gate was closed upon his arrival.
A few seconds later, the air pressure in the walkway was adjusted to the optimal level for breathing. Beep! The control system in the walkway notified Ye Chong that it was safe to exit from his mech. Ye Chong and Bai Linan climbed out of the mech and he kept it back into the alternate dimension as they proceeded to the gate. Click! The sensor at the door detected their presence and opened up as programmed.
Bai Linan made his way out first, followed by Ye Chong after a few moments of being skeptical. Ye Chong was on his toes as he scrutinized his surrounding while Bai Linan’s willowed face turned into a spark of vitality; he seemed charged.
The environment changed once they stepped out of the walkway. A modernistic lobby with a big hologram in the center surfaced. The walkway they exited from had a few more other walkways by the side; they spread to the surroundings in half circle. The hologram was separated into different windows with a tour guide for the S.S. Zhi Lan, and the latest news reports of the area too.
Bai Linan gave a cautious reminder, “Master, if anything goes wrong in the Black Cove, never ever solve it with violence. The consequences would be deadly. The defense team here is outstanding!” Ye Chong seemed intrigued at trying it out and that sent chills to Bai’s spines. “Master, please! Please, don’t use your fist! You might be able to throw great punches but most fighters who showed disrespect like you had a bad time with the defense team here! They eventually got escorted out. What happened to them, nobody knows! But everyone was sure that, once you were taken away, you are never to be seen again!”
Bai Linan was sweating in fear.
Ye Chong couldn’t help but to inhibit his desire temporarily.
After wiping off his sweat, he told Ye Chong, “Master, I suggest we walk our ways separately!” Like a magician pulling out a rabbit from his hat, he took out 2 communicators and passed one to Ye Chong, “Master, I had set up my number inside. If there is anything, feel free to contact me through this, but nothing bad should happen. Oh yes! My master, you can’t really bargain here but you can have good deals. The merchants here have a good reputation, and they do not commit daylight robberies. Alright, that is all. Have a nice day, my master!” Bai Linan shoved a pouch of gold zuans into Ye Chong’s hands, “Ciao! Tata!” Before Ye Chong could say or ask anything, he scurried away in a jiffy!
He looked at the pouch in his hand, glanced around the place, and seeing Bai Linan fleeing the scene.
Man…
Ye Chong thought in bewilderment.