Poverty makes me capable of anything.

With that thought in mind, Hastings walked to the vicinity of the hatch.

The door suddenly opened automatically.

Hastings paused for a moment, then stepped out without hesitation.

In a flash, he was back in the cockpit, where the blue phantom sat calmly in its original spot, as if it had long anticipated his return.

He said with great pleasure, "Welcome to my spiritual cyberspace!"

Hastings' expression changed slightly.

"From the moment you left this spaceship, you've been trapped in the virtual world I created. But don't worry too much, because the network speed here is really terrible. I estimate that you can leave once the spaceship runs out of energy."

"lie!"

Hastings roared.

The panic in his heart made him eager to escape from here.

She tried to boost her internal energy, but it resulted in nothing; the spaceship was unharmed.

It made a soft "poof" sound, more like a fart.

Hastings had no choice but to believe what the phantom said.

Even the ruler of the star field could not suddenly strip him of all his power.

The only things that could give him this feeling are illusions and virtual spaces.

"That's why I hate you bunch of bastards who deal with machines all day long! You're always spouting meaningless words, acting all mysterious, and scheming behind people's backs. If you've got the guts, come out and fight me!"

Hastings roared.

Actually, his dislike for the mechanic wasn't for that reason.

That's a green story that can't be told.

While he was still in school, a rich and handsome guy studying mechanical engineering stole his childhood sweetheart, and the "suddenly appearing" type won again.

This time, however, the male and female roles are reversed.

That is why Hastings has no decent mechanics under his command.

While anger may cause him to lose his composure, it also allows Hastings to unleash even greater power; the greater his anger, the stronger he becomes.

Supernatural abilities related to emotions are still quite rare.

"Even if you manage to leave here, with your strength at the newly reached Star Slayer level, it's impossible for you to defeat my Guardian."

An Ran's illusory figure stepped down from the chair.

"You should understand your situation by now, so let's get straight to the point. I won't beat around the bush; just submit to me!"

and many more!

Although he heard An Ran's last sentence, Hastings' attention was not on it at all; he was more focused on the first sentence An Ran had said.

"How did you know I had already reached the Star Slayer realm?!" Hastings exclaimed in surprise.

Is there a traitor among them?

wrong.

Even if there were an inside traitor, it would be impossible for him to know his true strength.

He had only been a Star Slayer for less than a year, and even his closest friends didn't know it.

This is a secret he keeps to himself!

“Because I can see through people’s hearts, you must be thinking right now that only you know about this, so why do I know about this?” An Ran, who was operating in both directions, chuckled.

Unseen by Hastings, the scene of his deputy communicating with Faris of the Protoss was unfolding before Anran's eyes.

"He's nothing but a pseudo-Star Killer, yet he dares to be so disrespectful to Lord Faris!" the second-in-command roared.

Faris nodded solemnly.

A mere Hastings dares to be so arrogant.

Sooner or later, I'll be dancing on your grave.

Hastings clenched his fist.

He felt like An Ran had seen right through him.

There are no reservations.

This is even more terrifying than being stripped naked.

Are there really witches who can read other people's minds?

And she's a mechanic too.

"What benefits do you gain from submitting to you, and what is your purpose?" Hastings asked.

"It's very simple. You submit to me and do my bidding, and I guarantee your safety. As for my goal, eliminating the Protoss cult is just one part of it."

What a boastful tone.

Hastings gasped.

Eliminating the Protoss Cult is only one part of the whole process. Do you also intend to eliminate the Lord of the Night?

“You’re not having an easy time either,” An Ran said. “You used to be so powerful, and now you have to grovel before the Protoss. What a fall from grace…”

Anran shook her head with a sigh.

"If it were just the Protoss religion, that would be one thing, but those subordinates who used to submit to you are now all disloyal and disloyal. It's truly a sorry state of affairs."

Hastings frowned: "What nonsense are you talking about?"

"See for yourself."

Anran directly shared what she had seen with Hastings.

By this time, the deputy had finished his discussion with Faris and was echoing Faris's words. The two of them took turns cursing Hastings, making him sound like the most lowly, useless, and annoying piece of trash in the world.

Hastings is very dark.

He said in a deep voice, "You're a mechanic, so the scene just now could also have been faked by you."

"Believe it or not. Here, take this. If you've figured it out, press the button on top, and I'll tell you what to do next."

Anran tossed a white button over.

Hastings caught the button.

At this moment, An Ran's illusory image melted away like flowing water.

It feels like nothing has changed, yet it also feels like everything has changed.

Hastings turned around and saw that all the people who had just disappeared had reappeared, and he was holding a white button in his hand.

Destroy it!

Hastings increased the pressure with his right hand, but he ultimately failed to press it down.

What if he needs to use this?

He knew that many of those who had obeyed him had already found a way out, while he, as the eldest brother, had not yet started anything.

This might be an opportunity.

Hastings's mind was in turmoil, and just then, his men in the cockpit shouted in panic, "Captain, something bad has happened! Captain, that giant robot that the enemy was talking about in their announcement has come out!"

What giant robot?

Hastings stared blankly as the tall and imposing guardian flew over from the depths of space.

The humanoid robot had two long guns strapped to its back.

The enormous wings were not merely decorative; with a single swipe in the air, they could unleash blue light blades that instantly blasted two unfortunate spaceships into pieces.

The pirates in the cockpit turned pale with fright.

Although he didn't understand what was going on, Hastings knew he had to go out and stop the ferocious robot.

If we let him continue to wreak havoc like this, our fleet will be completely destroyed.

I, Hastings, am not someone to be trifled with!

Hastings roared and charged out, angrily increasing his strength by 20%.

Like a bull with its tail on fire, it charged straight out of the cockpit.

"Wow……"

A tremendous suction force emanated from the shattered hole, and the pirates in the cockpit scrambled to stabilize themselves using various methods.

"With the captain in charge, we're safe this time."

"I don't know where this petty thief came from, daring to cause trouble on our turf."

"Captain is awesome! Captain, let's take him down!"

Hastings instantly rushed into the Guardian's melee attack range.

He threw a punch, and the burst of energy rushed straight towards the guardian's chest.

He had already used 80% of his strength. Hastings mainly wanted to conceal his true strength, otherwise he would have gone all out.

The force of the punch was like a flame from a flamethrower, spreading rapidly in all directions after hitting the guardian's body.

From a distance, it looked as if Hastings could destroy the Guardian with a single punch.

Hastings initially thought the same thing.

But when he saw the red light suddenly flashing in the energy flow, Hastings's expression changed drastically.

Oops.

The enormous fist pierced through the energy currents, and it looked like it was about to send Hastings flying with a single punch.

Hastings only had time to raise his arms in front of his chest as a defensive gesture.

However, at that moment, the fist suddenly veered to the side, narrowly missing Hastings' body.

"Missed it?"