Chapter 215: An Old Acquaintance

Just as Yang Bo prepared to bring the Pirate online, a warplane flew over from the other side of the canyon, almost brushing the ground.

The warplane in front of Yang Bo instantly took off, or more accurately, hovered about two or three meters above the ground.

The distant warplane did not initially notice the nearby one. Once it flew into a certain angle and spotted the warplane, it also flew over.

The opponent’s warplane also hovered two or three meters above the ground as their laser cannons began to stand guard.

After about ten minutes, both warplanes landed, and two groups of people emerged from the opened hatches.

“What are they saying?” These people were wearing armor, but Yang Bo didn’t hear anything because they were using communicators.

However, it was clear from their actions and body language that the two groups weren’t allies.

Not knowing what the other side was talking about, Yang Bo simply entered the warplane, but it was a sealed cabin, so he couldn’t get inside.

Only after the exterior door closed as the people returned and the air inside was replenished, with harmful gases evacuated, did the inner door open.

Yang Bo took a careful look inside but didn’t find anything unusual.

“Looks like quite a few people are trying to take over this mine.” Yang Bo muttered to himself.

In the interstellar nations, areas are divided by habitable planets. Anything within a certain range of a planet belongs to the nation.

Other places are considered unclaimed territory. This is to avoid unnecessary conflicts that would arise if nations claimed too vast an area.

“Still, the Company clearly made a lot of money, secretly extracting resources here.” Yang Bo thought of the dozens of mining levels beneath the site, where the original mining company had earned a fortune.

The nature of this mining operation was similar to running an illegal coal mine, as if the mining company reported the energy stone veins to their country, the government would send supervision and possibly even warships to guard it.

The mined energy stones would then be procured entirely by the government, as they are strategic materials.

Additionally, the company would face hefty taxes, so many mining companies secretly extract high-value minerals when they discover valuable planets.

Some might ask, why can’t advanced technology detect these things? The universe is vast, and no man-made equipment can explore it all.

Energy stones are typically located thousands of meters underground. Without using large-scale detection equipment to thoroughly scan every planet from multiple angles, it’s impossible to confirm their presence.

And in a universe with countless planets, 99.9% of them have no value.

The farther the detection range, the less accurate the data is. Just like Earth’s large radars, they can’t scan every direction, only focusing like a flashlight with a set range and direction.

Moreover, the farther the equipment detects, the more detailed the data, but the energy consumption drastically increases.

Even if someone could build large, long-range detection devices, nobody would do it. The energy consumed by running such equipment 24/7 is enormous, and the payoff may not be worthwhile.

Even large warships have a precise detection limit of only tens of millions of kilometers. Beyond that, the data becomes blurry.

Furthermore, the longer the detection range, the longer the response time to the feedback.

Also, mining companies have many ways to avoid detection. Like how Yang Bo saw the Bounty Hunter Guild using cloaks that could block the Planetary Security System.

Yang Bo even knew that some mining companies might turn into Pirates if circumstances changed.

Anything can happen in the vast universe. Only in public space lanes is safety relatively guaranteed.

Even in such lanes, if something goes wrong, the military might take a long time to arrive.

Ten minutes later, the people returned, and the outer door closed. After a few minutes, the airlock opened on the other side.

“Looks like someone leaked the news!”

“That’s how Black Market intelligence works. Good thing we got here early!”

“What’s the situation below the mine? According to plan, we have over 20 hours left, right?”

“Another spaceship just arrived. Have we confirmed who they are?”

The people who went out to talk came back into the warplane and removed their helmets, beginning their discussion.

“Yes, they’re from An Zhijie Corporation. Looks like they’ve been hired to investigate what’s going on here.” Someone inside the warplane responded promptly.

“Did you report to headquarters? What’s their stance?” The recently returned man asked.

Yang Bo observed the newcomers as they took off their helmets. Some had white hair, some black or even blonde, and they were all quite handsome. Every one of them was male.

The warplane’s interior wasn’t large. The whole space was metallic silver with about a dozen reclining seats.

“This is clearly a modified warplane.” Yang Bo immediately recognized that it had been adapted for transport—it was originally designed to carry bombs but now held people instead.

As for the regulations forbidding private ownership of warplanes and mechas, those really only apply to commoners.

On the spaceship Yang Bo traveled on, there were two mechas, yet it was a private ship. Without explicit evidence of wrongdoing, no one would investigate.

There are too many private ships like this, and if authorities tried to search them all, they wouldn’t manage.

“The higher-ups gave the order: If they’re still here when we take over the mine, make sure they never leave.” one of the people inside responded.

“Did you report the current situation to headquarters?” a blonde middle-aged man asked.

“Yes, and they haven’t located the enemy mothership yet. We’re still unclear about their identity. The mothership is actively searching for them.”

“Did the captured engineers confess? Do we know which mining company they’re from?”

“Yes, but it’s just a small mining company. We’re still investigating which larger company might be behind them.”

Hearing this, Yang Bo sneered to himself. For a company to pull off such large-scale mining here for so long, it must definitely be backed by a very powerful entity.

It was like those private gold mines he knew of in his past life. Some people managed to mine for ten or twenty years. The reasons why they could operate for so long must be due to their connections.

It reminded him of illegal sand dredging operations in rivers where some could go for three or five years before they were exposed.

“Captain, the other side is requesting a call.” At that moment, someone came over with a device.

The blonde middle-aged man nodded, and a holographic communication display opened.

Yang Bo looked at the hologram and was surprised: “An old acquaintance?”

The hologram showed a bald man, who introduced himself: “We are from the Bounty Hunter Guild. This time we’ve been tasked with investigating here. We have no intention of being your enemies.”

“If that’s the case, then leave. We have nothing to fear from the Bounty Hunter Guild.” the person in charge of the warplane stated.

“If you could provide detailed information on the mine, we’ll leave immediately.” The bald man smiled.

Indeed, Yang Bo recognized him as the man he tracked on March Planet.

“Shameless! Are all members of the Bounty Hunter Guild this shameless? Go find out on your own! Do you really think we’ll hand over our data?” The blonde leader cursed angrily.

Seeing that they had a warplane, it was clear the mission’s bounty was high. They might even have a mothership nearby.

If the blonde leader handed over the data, the other side would just cash in the mission and leave. Moreover, once the mine’s details were leaked, even more competitors would arrive.

Yang Bo also understood the other side’s goal. Even if the data was sold on the market, it still needed to be confirmed.

“Fine, we’ll investigate ourselves. But be warned, you better behave.” The bald man kept smiling but his words carried a clear threat.

“We’re just doing our own job. We don’t intend to provoke the Bounty Hunter Guild, but I’ll remind you that this is unclaimed territory, with no law.” The blonde was furious but suppressed his anger as they hadn’t yet located the enemy’s mothership. Once they did, if it wasn’t too powerful, he’d handle them later.

“Precisely because there’s no law, you all should tread carefully. Goodbye!” the other side ended the call.

The blonde man switched the display to the warplane’s external view system.

He saw the other warplane take off and land several kilometers from where Yang Bo had emerged from the mountain crevice.

The blonde then contacted the mothership, requesting the dispatch of two warplanes for support.

“Looks like conflict’s about to break out here!” Yang Bo observed several members from the Bounty Hunter Guild exiting their warplane along with three mechas, moving toward the mountain crevice.

Yang Bo suspected this because the mountain crevice led directly to the bottom of the mine, something only people with inside information from the mining company would know.

“These people are too cautious, never revealing their identity. Even if they did, it wouldn’t help much right now.”

“Looks like it’s time to make a quick getaway with the Fat Boss.” Yang Bo felt the situation here was too dangerous, and more groups could show up later.

“03, go support 01.” At this moment, the higher-ups issued the warplane new orders.

“Has the Fat Boss run into trouble?” Yang Bo looked at the target display on the warplane, which was marked near the mine entrance, where they had landed.

The warplane flew quickly, following the canyon for five minutes before spotting a burning warplane wreck in the canyon below.

However, just then, the warplane Yang Bo was in shook violently before losing power and plunging toward the ground!

“Request assistance! Request assistance!” The blonde yelled urgently while putting on his helmet.

The warplane crashed directly into the ground. Their armor lit up as they braced for impact.

Once the warplane settled, the hatch burst open, and the dozen or so people inside, clad in armor, rushed out, spreading in all directions.

“Smart move!” Yang Bo wasn’t sure why they scattered, but after exiting the wreck, he saw them regroup, forming small clusters and maintaining alert.

They armed themselves with laser guns, and one of them even carried a laser cannon, a heavy single-soldier weapon.

However, the laser cannon was heavy, slowing down the carrier’s movement. Also, due to energy issues, its firing time was limited, so they could only fire one salvo before discarding it.

“Was this the Fat Boss’s doing?” Since the crash site was a few kilometers away from the mine, Yang Bo couldn’t be certain.

Circling the warplane, Yang Bo discovered the rear end had been hit, specifically the engine. However, due to the engine explosion, it was unclear what weapon had struck it.

The group gathered again, but Yang Bo couldn’t hear what they were saying. They had an internal communications system, and Yang Bo was in an invisible state.

The group reorganized into four smaller sections: two people at the front, four in the middle, and two in the rear.

Behind them were two others carrying high-powered laser rifles, bringing up the rear.

They advanced toward the mine entrance.

After they moved ahead, Yang Bo found a hidden spot, adjusted his armor’s appearance, and then took out his mecha and used the Pirate Leader’s biological sample to Camouflage himself as the leader.

He casually strolled to the crash site. The emergency lights inside the warplane were still on.

Heading to the weapons storage, he found several types of laser guns. Yang Bo casually grabbed a pistol and a rifle.

He also picked up a few spare power batteries. They didn’t carry any Energy Suit, given its high value and limited supply.

Just as Yang Bo finished and was preparing to leave, a figure suddenly rushed in.

Yang Bo immediately aimed his laser gun and saw it was the Fat Boss.

The Fat Boss was holding a Laser Gun and tossed Yang Bo a communicator.

“I can’t believe how shameless you are! We brought down the warplane, and now you’re here looting it.” Yang Bo had just placed the communicator on his helmet’s slot when the Fat Boss’s irritated voice came through.

“This is unclaimed territory. Stop whining.” Yang Bo was curious about what had happened to the Fat Boss, though he didn’t show any kindness in his response.

“Take your stuff and hurry up. We’ve got mechas outside.” The Fat Boss grumbled again through the communicator.

“What happened to your spaceship? Was it destroyed?” Yang Bo asked as he prepared to leave.

“How did you know? Was it you?” The Fat Boss immediately pointed his laser gun at Yang Bo..

“I know where there’s still a usable warplane.” Yang Bo needed to find a way out too. Since the Fat Boss’s ship was destroyed, they needed to capture another warplane or spaceship.

“You don’t need to tell me that. This is the second warplane we’ve taken down!” The Fat Boss responded gruffly.

“So you’re planning to take hostages and force them to hand over a warplane or spaceship?” Yang Bo quickly grasped the Fat Boss’s plan.

Sorry for the delay; had a stomach issue. Too rough.