Inside the Determination ship, Gong Feng held a cup of coffee in one hand. In the other hand, he lifted a crystal Platonic icosahedron above his head.

The icosahedron glowed with rainbow-colored light under the white cabin lights. Gong Feng looked at it. "It’s beautiful," he said.

He looked at the timer. Three minutes were left. Gong Feng complained, "This ship is so old. Every time I try to start the faster-than-light engine, I have to speed up to 80% of light speed first. Once I find treasure, I will replace this ship."

Suddenly, the communicator beeped. It was a call request.

"Answer it. It’s annoying," Gong Feng told the ship’s AI.

The screen showed a middle-aged man with an angry face. He said, "‘Determination,’ you’re breaking the rules. Stop and prepare for inspection. Pay the ‘entry tax’ now."

Gong Feng cursed quietly. Then he spoke calmly. "Boss Qi, we’ve known each other a long time. Can we pay next time? You know I’ve had bad luck and came back empty-handed again."

Pirate Qi Bao shouted, "No. If you don’t find treasure, it’s your problem. You still owe the fixed ‘entry tax’ of 100,000 Special Units. You have five minutes to pay. Otherwise, I will destroy your ship."

After Peng Yu made the pirate Nebula famous, many adventurers came. At first, the pirates robbed them with force. But the adventurers fought back, and the pirates suffered losses. The adventurers who were robbed paid money to get nearby nations to send fleets to deal with the pirates. The result was the destruction of the "Bluebeard" pirate group.

The intervention of the official fleets scared the pirates. They stopped harassing adventurers and became more careful.

But, like cats that always love fish, how could pirates not rob?

The pirates watched as adventurers moved freely through their Nebula. These adventurers carried Special Units, which were valuable.

There were many pirate groups in the Nebula, but only a few dozen were large. After the destruction of "Bluebeard," the pirates held meetings. They discussed how to deal with the adventurers.

In the end, they came up with a solution. It was something the adventurers could accept. It wouldn’t anger the neighboring nations either.

The result was the "Win-Win Agreement." The agreement said if adventurers found treasure, they had to give 10% to the pirates. If they returned empty-handed, they still had to pay 100,000 Special Units. The pirates would also guarantee the adventurer’s safety during their treasure hunts.

The "Win-Win Agreement" was gradually accepted by adventurers. It became the main rule in the pirate Nebula. New adventurers followed it without question.

This happened because sending fleets from neighboring nations to attack pirates was too expensive. The cost was too high for adventurers. The pirates’ solution was a middle ground, and over time, the adventurers agreed to it.

Now, 90,000 years later, the "Win-Win Agreement" was still in effect.

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The "Skull Pirate Gang" was one of the ten largest pirate groups in the Nebula. Qi Bao was a lower-ranking leader in this gang. Gong Feng’s treasure-hunting area, the "Core 32B" asteroid belt, was under Qi Bao’s control.

After Gong Feng finished his treasure hunt, he didn’t report to Qi Bao. Instead, he tried to fly out of the Nebula. Qi Bao soon noticed and chased after him.

Gong Feng and Qi Bao knew each other well. Three of Gong Feng’s last four hunts were in Qi Bao’s area.

The "Vengeful Ghost" was a patrol ship over 500 meters long. It had three laser cannons, three particle cannons, and 30 smaller guns. One shot from its main cannons could easily destroy Gong Feng’s Determination.

When Gong Feng heard Qi Bao’s message, he cursed under his breath. He didn’t want to anger Qi Bao, but he had no money left. After five failed hunts, Gong Feng decided to stop being an adventurer and leave the Nebula. He didn’t want to pay the "entry tax."

Unfortunately, luck wasn’t on his side. Just as he was about to enter hyperspace, the pirates caught up with him.

"Boss Qi, don’t be angry. I’ll stop and pay. Look at my old ship. It’s junk. Sometimes it doesn’t even respond. It will take some time," Gong Feng said quickly, hoping to calm Qi Bao down and avoid being destroyed. One shot from the Vengeful Ghost could destroy the Determination.

The coffee and Platonic icosahedron were on the ship’s control panel.

Gong Feng pretended to press buttons on the panel as if he was trying to stop the ship. He checked the timer. One more minute, and he could start the faster-than-light engine.

"If I can hold on for one more minute and enter hyperspace, Qi Bao won’t be able to stop me," Gong Feng thought to himself.

Qi Bao watched Gong Feng on the screen. He didn’t care much. The Determination was too old, with a control panel full of mechanical buttons. Qi Bao mocked Gong Feng, thinking, "This ship is over 100,000 years old. This fool thinks he can find treasure with it. What a joke."

Gong Feng’s delay had another reason. He was waiting for the ship to get near an area with holographic network coverage. He hoped to send a distress signal to the Kabas Empire military.

The "Win-Win Agreement" was just a civilian agreement, not recognized by any government. So, if an adventurer was chased by pirates, the military would still respond to distress signals. But the help might not always be real.

Gong Feng hoped the military would help, even though it seemed unlikely.

The pirate Nebula was a dead star system with few intelligent life forms. The cosmic holographic network didn’t cover much area. Only certain regions had signals.

When Gong Feng noticed the holographic network signal, he quickly pressed the distress button. A quantum wave traveled toward the Kabas Empire military at faster-than-light speed.

On the Vengeful Ghost, a thin navigator reported to Qi Bao, "Boss, the sensors detected a large energy surge from the Determination when it tried to start its faster-than-light engine."

"Gong Feng, you poor bastard. You’re finished now!" Qi Bao shouted.

The Determination failed to start its faster-than-light engine, and the pirates noticed. Gong Feng turned pale and didn’t know what to do.

Before Gong Feng could react, a secondary cannon on the Vengeful Ghost fired. A massive cannonball hit the Determination’s energy shield and tore it apart with kinetic force.

The Determination spun out of control in space but regained balance. The cabin filled with smoke. The burning smell made it hard to breathe. Most of the equipment was destroyed.

But Gong Feng was shocked by something else.

As the Determination spun, the coffee spilled onto the Platonic icosahedron. The coffee flowed over it and onto the control panel, soaking the circuits. The icosahedron connected with the ship’s system.

At that moment, the Platonic icosahedron turned into a golden energy sphere. It seemed like endless data was flowing inside. Then, it merged into the ship’s main AI core.

The AI instantly shut down. The ship lost control, and equipment overloaded, causing major damage.

"What is this?" Gong Feng yelled at the golden energy-wrapped AI core.

No one answered. The golden energy surrounding the AI core made it restart. Some ship functions were restored.

The screen beeped. Qi Bao appeared, angry. He ordered, "Idiot, stop the ship now. If not, I will destroy it in five seconds." Six main cannons on the Vengeful Ghost charged up, ready to destroy the Determination.

"Idiot, answer me now!" Qi Bao shouted again.