Super Gene Optimization Fluid

Xia Fei lit a cigarette next to the window and took a drag.

The insectoid ship that Xia Fei bumped out of the wormhole at the last minute never managed to lose him. The Alliance fleet could easily get hold of it, and if Xiaoyu was on the ship, she could be rescued, too.

That was one thing that Xia Fei could take off his mind, but he was now in a completely new area on the other side of the wormhole.

It was completely yellow outside like the Loess Plateau after a violent breeze. Everything seemed to be covered in this yellowish haze.

A piece of rubble, which was around ten meters cubic, slowly drifted past Lunar Eclipse. The rock bumped the tail end of the ship, pushing it slightly to one side. A few minutes later, another piece of rubble bumped into the ship again, and all of a sudden, Xia Fei’s ship was surrounded by countless space rocks, which bounced about like billiard balls.

Evidently, this was an unknown asteroid belt—a place where no warship would travel to, especially small frigates like Xia Fei’s. If he entered the asteroid belt at high speed, Lunar Eclipse would most certainly be damaged by these random space rocks.

“That was really close,” said Phantom as he stood next to Xia Fei, looking out of the window with him.

Xia Fei shook his head. “No way. The quantum activator is toast, but it doesn’t matter even if it is working, because the energy conversion unit is done for, too.”

Xia Fei rinsed off the grease using the cold water in the toilet. The bathwater on the ship was recycled and satisfied Xia Fei’s showering needs for the time being.

Just as he finished lathering himself with soap, an old, raspy voice came from the ultra-low frequencies. “If you don’t want to be torn into shreds, thugs, turn off the d*mn distress signal. Sending a distress signal in the middle of nowhere is just you begging for others to take advantage of.”

Xia Fei was stunned as he wrapped himself with a towel before rushing out.

The projected screen on the communication device showed a dark-skinned, scrawny, old man. Wearing a pair of thick, black glasses, the fellow had scarcely any hair on his head left and was sporting an unkempt goatee on his chin.

Xia Fei turned off the distress signal after a few moments of thought before introducing himself. “Nice to meet you; I’m Xia Fei, and I’m in a bit of a fix here.”

“Call me Allen.” The skinny, old man looked at Xia Fei in just a towel. “Haha! You seem to be in quite some trouble, young man.”

Xia Fei nodded. “Indeed. My ship broke in the middle of an asteroid belt. I need to stop by somewhere to fix it; is your base around here?”

Allen looked at the positioning system on the radar. “You’re .37 lightyears away from Red Rock Base.”

This was great news for Xia Fei. “That’s great; could you let me into the base for some repairs? I’ll leave immediately once I get Lunar Eclipse fixed.”

Allen let out a hearty laugh and gestured at Xia Fei. “Young man, Red Rock Base is a free territory, provided that you can afford it.”

“That’s not a problem; do they take star coins?” asked Xia Fei.

Allen shook his head. “Pan-Human Alliance currency? Sorry, but we only accept this at Red Rock Base.”

Allen grabbed a small, shiny blue rock from his pocket and waved it at Xia Fei.

Xia Fei recognized it at once. It was a Heart of Spirit, containing the original energy of the universe.

Swiping on his ring, Xia Fei brought out a dozen or so White Dews and Snake Eye Berries. “I don’t have that, but I can exchange it for other stuff.”

Allen squinted to take a better look at the stuff in his hand. “Alright, Snake Eye Berries and White Dew aren’t bad currency here in Wild Star Region. By the looks of it, you’re not from around here. How did you get here?”

Xia Fei smiled. “I lost control of my ship in a wormhole and, somehow, ended up here. Many parts of my ship have been damaged, and I know nothing about Wild Star Region.”

Allen grossly spat out some sputum. “You’re a lucky one not to be torn into shreds by the wormhole. You’re now in a place known as Wild Star Region—a military buffer zone between the humans and insectoids. Everyone who lives here is a pirate, smuggler, or wanted criminal.

“This was the main battlefield where the humans and the insectoids had fought two thousand years ago. When they retreated after the war, they left many abandoned military camps, and Red Rock Base is one of them.”

Xia Fei nodded. It seemed that luck was on his side. At least, he did not encounter an insectoid-controlled area; he would be dead meat otherwise.

“Alright, in short, the bastards at communications don’t know that we are in contact, but if they find out, you’re done for. I’ll smuggle you into the base for one hundred each of Snake Eye Berries and White Dews; how’s that?” asked Allen.

“No problem.” Xia Fei agreed in a heartbeat as he still had over a thousand Snake Eye Berries and White Dews in his ring, more than enough to pay the price.

“If you have the fruits ready, I’ll send my men to get you. Remember: If you want to survive in the Wild Star Region, never use your distress signal. It’s all up to you around here.”

As soon as he finished, Allen turned off the connection between them, and the screen was now blank.

Xia Fei returned to the bathroom to wash off the soap, then he changed into a clean set of clothes, putting on the Windshade Mark IV combat suit and secured Chasing Light to his wrist.

From his short chat with Allen, Xia Fei knew now that he was in a savage place and had to prepare for anything. Just as Allen said, one could only depend on themselves, which also happened to be Xia Fei’s survival motto.

After three long hours, he received another video-call from the ultra-low frequencies. It was from a young woman in her late teens. She wore a set of greasy work attire and was chewing on a piece of gum visibly. On her head was a red baseball cap, slightly angled downward, giving off a very boyish charm to her.

Save for those freckles on her face that greatly affected how young she looked, the girl was quite the looker, otherwise.

“Hold onto your seat; it’s gonna be a bit bumpy,” said the young woman while chewing her gum.

Xia Fei shrugged without saying anything.

The young woman skillfully descended an industrial transport ship from the top of Light Eclipse. The cargo hold opened, and all of Lunar Eclipse was now contained in the ship as his surroundings fell into darkness.