LSDWTWHA chapter 26

Chapter 25

The “Star Pirate Leader” is a gaming streamer known for his skills and has established a star pirate group that enjoys hunting down isolated starship mechas. He has gained quite a reputation online.

However, this popularity is met with both passionate fans and those who scorn his bullying tactics.

Qi Yue is one of those who dislike the “Star Pirate Leader.”

She can’t stand the cowardly, bullying nature of both this person and his guild.

Two years ago, when Qi Yue first started playing “Star Wars,” she had been killed by the “Star Pirate Leader” several times. Later, as her skills and level improved, she sought revenge, but he always donned armor as thick as a turtle shell and fled faster than a rabbit.

Unable to exact revenge in the game, Qi Yue could only find relief outside of it; every time she came across a video of him, she had to jump in and spew some insults.

This time, when she saw a video someone uploaded about the “Star Pirate Leader” getting wrecked, Qi Yue clicked on it without hesitation.

Wrecked? That’s great! She had to mock this guy thoroughly.

At the beginning of the video, Qi Yue saw the “Star Pirate Leader” aiming at a new starship gifted by the system. She couldn’t help but roll her eyes: this scumbag has really hit rock bottom, even bullying a newbie who hasn’t even chosen a profession. He even ambushed the player while they weren’t online.

After the starship was hit, the bullied newbie suddenly activated, presumably because the player “Shark Naming is So Hard” logged in. Ugh, that name is ridiculous; you can tell right away that the newbie is just a hot-headed little scatterbrain.

As usual, the “Star Pirate Leader” connected through the public screen to provoke and threaten the other player into surrendering.

But Qi Yue knew this was just a scheme from the “Star Pirate Leader.” Even if the other side truly surrendered, the “Star Pirate Leader” would still send them back to the training camp.

However, the newbie didn’t surrender; taking advantage of the “Star Pirate Leader’s” moment of inattention, they shot back with a cannon blast. It wasn’t a difficult move, but it was performed so smoothly and unexpectedly.

Although the damage was minimal, it was highly insulting and genuinely made the “Star Pirate Leader” lose face.

Deservedly so, that’s what you get for ambushing others. Qi Yue felt a surge of satisfaction inside.

Qi Yue thought this was the entirety of the “Star Pirate Leader’s” downfall. While it was quite pleasurable to watch, she was also a little worried for the newbie. After all, the “Star Pirate Leader” would surely go mad with rage for losing face in front of his fans, and he would seek revenge on this newbie.

Sure enough, later in the video, the “Star Pirate Leader” pursued the newbie relentlessly, and the onslaught intensified. The newbie was shot at mercilessly, with no ability to fight back.

Qi Yue became anxious as well. On one hand, she hoped this oddly named newbie could escape; on the other hand, she felt that with such a huge equipment disparity, even she would struggle to escape if she were in that position.

But to her surprise, the newbie managed to dodge the “Star Pirate Leader’s” attacks perfectly each time, their movements becoming increasingly skillful.

Qi Yue was no longer focused on the “Star Pirate Leader”; instead, she wanted to know what remarkable moves the newbie would showcase next when the next round of bombardment came.

As the video progressed, the comments on the screen exploded with doubt:

“Newbie? You call this a newbie?”

“Where did this pro come from to bully newbies?”

“Hahaha, if this is a newbie, I’d eat my starship. The “Star Pirate Leader” is really up against a tough opponent this time!”

But some viewers were countering:

“This really is a newbie. There were a few brief pauses in movement early on; it’s obvious they aren’t familiar with the controls.”

“Exactly. Also, ‘Star Wars’ is a real-name game, and every account is bound for life, so there’s no way for someone to have a smurf account to bully others.”

Watching the argument in the comments, Qi Yue was also perplexed. If it weren’t the middle of the night, she would definitely share this video with her brother to see if this was a genius newbie or if a pro was just pretending to be a novice.

In the video, Su Su had already escaped to the asteroid belt, and during the final wave of concentrated fire, he surged forward, crashing head-on into the “Star Pirate Leader’s” starship.

Are they going to take each other out? Qi Yue thought so at first, until she saw Su Su force the “Star Pirate Leader” to urgently adjust direction, using heavy artillery to blast at close range, pushing the opponent towards a massive floating rock.

Then that “Star Pirate Leader,” whom she despised, along with his starship, exploded into fireworks in the cosmic realm.

The comments flooded the screen with “Incredible” and “666.”

People began to express curiosity about Su Su, the starship pilot: “Wow wow, can someone explain how skilled this operation is?”

“Top 100 in the starship pilot rankings.”

“I’m ranked sixty-three; I could replicate the moves in the video using a high-level starship, but I couldn’t pull that off using a novice starship.”

After finishing the video, Qi Yue remained dazed in her chair, her scalp tingling from the final counter kill. Until she saw the ending, she had never considered this possibility; the newbie’s counter could literally mean counter-kill, he actually took down the “Star Pirate Leader” using a novice starship.

Qi Yue was so excited she couldn’t sleep, replaying the video multiple times.

She didn’t dare to disturb her brother in the middle of the night, but others weren’t so fortunate. Qi Yue shared the video on social media and called her friends one after another, bragging about the newbie who countered the “Star Pirate Leader.”

“You’re telling me this at half past midnight? I seriously owe you guys. Your brother has been refusing to cooperate with therapy. After a month of shouting, he finally consented to come in for a checkup. I was just organizing materials for tomorrow and barely slept for ten minutes before you called me back,” one of the friends, Xiang Chen, yawned and asked Qi Yue.

Qi Yue was completely unfazed: “But this newbie is super cool! He managed to counter-kill the ‘Star Pirate Leader’ using a novice starship. For the first time, I feel like someone else, besides my brother, can pilot a mecha this well!”

“Are you sure he’s a newbie?” Xiang Chen, still half-asleep, squinted and asked, echoing what most people had said.

Qi Yue was full of energy: “I’m going to the intelligence department to work overtime right now. Before dawn, I will gather all his information!”

Xiang Chen’s face fell: “Seriously… the intelligence department’s authority isn’t meant for this.”

Qi Yue’s search for information wasn’t going smoothly. When she accessed the game, the owner of the account had already changed their name. Utilizing the intelligence department’s authority, Qi Yue found that the account owner had renamed themselves “White Scale Shark” and joined the game’s fifth-ranked “White Scale Guild.”

However, apart from that, there were pitifully few clues about this player.

The login address turned out to be a temporary address on Freedom Island, clearly concealed by some technical means to hide the original address. The identity used was indeed real-name verified but belonged to a fisherman from Freedom Island.

As a professional intelligence officer, Qi Yue naturally knew what the situation on Freedom Island was like; there’s a high personnel turnover and a great abundance of fake identities, so many that peeling away one layer reveals another. The management is chaotic at best.

Finding someone through such intelligence is indeed very difficult.

The next morning, Qi Hanyi was already at the hospital, beginning his mental force examination.

He lay in the treatment chamber of the consultation room, shirtless, covered by a transparent dome, with his eyes peacefully closed.

Outside the treatment chamber, Xiang Chen furrowed his brow as he studied the data results.

Qi Hanyi’s physical examination wasn’t optimistic. The symptoms of his mental force collapse had worsened significantly.

The attending physician, Xiang Chen, furrowed his brow as he looked at the test data, opened the treatment chamber, and asked Qi Hanyi, “I say, hasn’t your mermaid already differentiated? Why not let her help with your treatment? The most effective way to tackle mental force collapse is still through the mermaid’s singing. The medication I’m prescribing can only be considered auxiliary and has considerable side effects. Would you rather take this medication than listen to a mermaid sing?”

“I won’t let the mermaid help me with the treatment.” Qi Hanyi opened his eyes, sat up, and asked while putting on his clothes, “By the way, how is the special treatment method you’re researching coming along?”

“Not likely to be ready before your mental force completely collapses.” Xiang Chen said: “Unless you actively cooperate with the treatment, maintain a calm emotional state, and most importantly, you cannot use mental force to pilot a starship until you are fully treated.”

“I’ll do my best.” Qi Hanyi slightly tilted his head, buttoning his shirt, his expression casual as if they were discussing something trivial rather than matters concerning his body and fate, like deciding whether to eat today.

“It’s not ‘do your best,’ it’s a must.” Xiang Chen’s tone grew stern. “Qi Hanyi, I know what you went through in the past. I’m not pressuring you to be treated by a mermaid, but you need to give me time, right? Don’t neglect your body—no matter how unafraid of death you are, you wouldn’t want the elder of the Qi family to have to bury you, would you?”

Qi Hanyi pursed his lips, a rare hint of confusion flickering in his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by sharpness and indifference: “I don’t trust anyone else with the White Scale.”

If a war broke out with the insect race suddenly, he would have to go to the battlefield and pilot the White Scale, which would inevitably require the use of mental force.

Everyone has their own strategies and understandings of combat, and Qi Hanyi feels most in sync with the White Scale starship. It can always unleash its strongest power in his hands, and it must be under his command to triumph time and again, leading the soldiers into battle and ensuring their safe return. This is his confidence as an admiral of the interstellar expeditionary force, as well as a chain he cannot shed.

Seeing his good friend in this state, Xiang Chen sighed: “Maybe you should find something to relax; you’re living far too heavily and too tense.”

“I don’t need entertainment.” Qi Hanyi refused.

Rather than saying he didn’t need it, he didn’t even know how to relax or have fun; his life was always filled with training and work, with no time for rest.

Now that he had some time, he still habitually sought overtime and training, busying himself with tasks. He was like a clock wound tightly, tirelessly moving forward and never stopping.

“How about playing a game?” Xiang Chen suggested, recalling the gaming video Qi Yue sent yesterday. “It’s a game developed using the parameters of your equipment. Don’t you want to experience it for yourself? I’ve seen that Qi Yue girl is very into it.”

Qi Yue is the only daughter of Qi Hanyi’s fifth uncle’s family, and she just graduated and started working in the intelligence department this year. Her cheerful personality contrasts starkly with Qi Hanyi’s serious demeanor. Yet, she is the only one among the younger generation who is willing to be close to him and treats him like an older brother.

“You’re talking about ‘Star Wars’?” Qi Hanyi naturally knew about Qi Yue playing ‘Star Wars.’ She had been bullied in the game early on and sought his guidance on various combat techniques.

Though Qi Hanyi considered games a waste of time, he had taken her guidance seriously when it came to his domain.

However, upon hearing about ‘Star Wars,’ he immediately thought of Su Su, who had asked him to play a game yesterday. A sudden wave of inexplicable irritation surged within him, and he frowned deeply: “It’s unnecessary; they’re just outdated starship and mecha models, practicing those operations has no meaning for me.”

“It’s not practice; it’s play!” Xiang Chen wanted to crack open Qi Hanyi’s head and dump out all the work-related thoughts inside.

“No war, no work; simply experiencing the joy of piloting mechas and starships, exploring the cosmos, fighting for reasons that aren’t so meaningful, winning applause if you succeed, dying and getting to try again.” Xiang Chen said: “Go and experience it; you live too hard.”

“Fighting for reasons that aren’t meaningful?” Qi Hanyi questioned with genuine curiosity: “What kinds of reasons?”

Xiang Chen irritably scratched his neck: “Sigh, I can’t explain it to you. Here, this is the video your sister sent me last night; you can take a look.”

Xiang Chen opened the video Qi Yue sent at midnight.

Qi Hanyi was dragged to a consultation chair and watched the crude novice starship onscreen, immediately recalling related information: “A simplified version of the E-class experimental starship from fifty years ago. Although it’s the lowest tier mecha, it excels in balanced functionality and coordination, frequently used as a basic template for starship development.”

Then, he looked at the starship of the “Star Pirate Leader”: “Retrofitted from the B-class turtle-snake starship from forty years ago. Its massive size, ammunition and mecha carrying capacity, and terrifying defenses earn it fame. However, its drawback is a lack of mobility; its turning capability is clumsy, and it was decommissioned fifteen years ago.”

Xiang Chen couldn’t understand these technical terms, but he recalled Qi Yue repeatedly narrating the events, so he explained: “This ‘Star Pirate Leader’ is a streamer who enjoys bullying newbies. The one on the other side is the novice starship being targeted by him; who do you think will win?”

Qi Hanyi didn’t care about who would win but seemed to understand Xiang Chen’s point: “This is what you refer to as a not-so-meaningful reason for combat?”

Qi Hanyi adjusted his sitting posture, crossing his long legs and leaning back against the chair: “It’s indeed quite boring.”

Xiang Chen felt a wave of frustration, wanting to get back at Qi Hanyi deliberately by not revealing what happened next, pointing to the screen where the newcomer starship’s landing gear was bombed and the “Star Pirate Leader’s” advanced starship: “Then who do you think will win?”

“The pilot of the E-class starship is a newly registered newbie. The ‘Star Pirate Leader’ is an experienced veteran player,” Xiang Chen added mischievously.

“He will win,” Qi Hanyi pointed to the E-class mecha on screen.

Xiang Chen was somewhat surprised: “Why?”

Qi Hanyi shot him a glance: “Because you asked me to guess.”

Unquestionable outcomes are not worth guessing; Xiang Chen’s tone felt certain he would guess wrong, insinuating that the B-class starship would win. So it was without a doubt that the E-class starship would win this fight.

However, it indeed piqued Qi Hanyi’s curiosity a little.

“The operational limitations of the E-class starship are quite stringent; achieving victory over the opponent while piloting it isn’t easy.”

“The attack power of the E-class mecha cannot penetrate the defensive armor of the turtle-snake; to genuinely pull off a counter-kill, one must leverage some other advantages, such as terrain, strategy, or even psychological warfare.”

“So what would you do?” Xiang Chen asked curiously.

Qi Hanyi: “This location on the map is a one-to-one reproduction of the real cosmos. Out at one hundred thirty star distances, there is a small asteroid belt. If it were me, I would choose to lure the opponent there; then, at the instant they attack, I would use the debris as cover and swiftly turn and counterstrike.”

“The enemy, in a panicked state, would likely react poorly and adjust direction using the side thrusters. I would exploit the misdirection to unleash heavy artillery, forcing the opponent off-course, crashing directly into the debris of the asteroid belt.”

“There are other methods, but this is the most efficient under known conditions. However, this operation also entails considerable risks and demands high requirements for the pilot. Piloting skills, psychological quality, and familiarity with the terrain are all indispensable. If the one you’re speaking of is genuinely a newbie, they would probably opt for some more reliable methods instead. For example, attempting to position themselves to strike the opponent’s weakest point beneath the starship, which would be the ammunition storage area, or exhausting their ammunition and then seizing the opponent’s starship, blasting open the top ventilation duct, and diving straight into the enemy’s mecha interior…”

After Qi Hanyi finished explaining, he noticed a somewhat dazed expression on Xiang Chen’s face and raised an eyebrow in confusion: “What’s wrong?”

Xiang Chen became serious: “His methods are exactly what you just described.”

Qi Hanyi’s indifferent expression finally turned serious; he paid careful attention to the pilot’s operations. He hadn’t seen the conclusion yet and paused midway.

“Here…”

“What’s wrong?” Xiang Chen, unfamiliar with gaming, asked as he didn’t know about starships.

“This point, the responsiveness of the starship has exceeded that of the E-class starship, indicating mental force manipulation.” Qi Hanyi paused the video.

Xiang Chen was taken aback; only humans and half-breeds born of mermaids possess the mental force talent in the empire. Most of them are nobles, a few are commoners, and there are very few individuals from Freedom Island.

But having mental force does not equate to being able to use it, much less maneuvering it for piloting a starship.

This is something that requires both talent and skill.

“So you’re saying this player comes from your military? Hahaha, no wonder they’re so good; a professional person playing a game is indeed somewhat unfair.”

“Not true.” Qi Hanyi replied firmly: “He’s a newbie.”

“Ah?” Xiang Chen’s face changed slightly. Although the individual was piloting a novice starship, nearly everyone who had watched the video eliminated the possibility of him being a newbie; his operations were too fluid, his movements precise, and he seemed greatly familiar with the map. Particularly, he chose such a bold strategies, which gave the impression of a high-level player masquerading as a novice.

However, if Qi Hanyi insisted he was a newbie, Xiang Chen could only believe it.

“How could you tell?”

“At the beginning, there was a jitter, the ignition was delayed by 2.5 seconds, while aiming, the cannon’s mouth fluctuated three times, causing the first attack delay; even when connecting communication, it was four seconds slower than normal. All these signs indicate a lack of familiarity with the starship’s operating system, and this battle is undoubtedly the first experience.”

“He should be operating the starship for the first time today. Before this battle, he’s only activated the starship once while following the tutorial, hadn’t made any communications, and had never used the cannon. But he should have familiarized himself with the terrain nearby, particularly around the asteroid belt, and coupled with an exceptional memory for the terrain, this led to the contradictory situation of being awkward with operations but agile in maneuvering and familiar with the map.”

“From the subsequent combat, it can be seen he is rapidly adapting, quickly formulating a strategy, provoking the opponent, planning to lure them into the asteroid belt, and utilizing the debris to secure a kill. However, his ability was restricted by the operational limits of the E-class mecha. He aimed to break through these limits, successfully using mental force to connect the starship.”

After Qi Hanyi analyzed the whole process, he provided his evaluation: “He’s a genius.”

“Wow!” Xiang Chen dramatically gasped, “This is the first time I’ve heard you say something like that.”

Xiang Chen squeezed his eyes at Qi Hanyi: “What, are you smitten?”

Qi Hanyi didn’t respond, straightening up and adjusting his clothing: “I’ll take your advice and play the game to relax.”

“Relax my foot! I think you want to go into the game and abduct some children,” Xiang Chen said sarcastically.

Qi Hanyi didn’t deny it: “If things go smoothly, he might become the next pilot of the White Scale.”

Xiang Chen’s expression changed in an instant, beaming with excitement as he pushed Qi Hanyi toward the consultation room exit, practically desperate to send Qi Hanyi home right away: “Go! Right now! If you don’t bring him back, I’ll look down upon you.”