Controlling two beasts at once wasn’t a strain for Jiang Qin. However, she couldn’t keep it up for too long, or she would lose control.

So, she simply released her control over the Qióngqí and let it fight autonomously. Then, she immersed herself completely in the giant bird’s perspective.

Through the giant bird’s eyes, she saw the small spaceship rapidly ascending high into the sky.

The ship’s cannons fired continuously as it flew, and the great bird dodged the blasts while creating powerful gales.

The bird and the ship weren’t far from each other, but in an instant, the bird flew beyond her control range.

The moment it went out of range, the giant bird’s massive form vanished from the sky in the blink of an eye.

As it did, a surge of spiritual power flowed back into Jiang Qin.

She was a little disappointed that she hadn’t been able to take down the enemy ship.

But it couldn’t be helped. These Alien Beasts were products of her Superpower and couldn’t stray too far from her. Once they exceeded the maximum distance, they would dissipate back into a mass of spiritual power.

At the spaceship’s speed, it could certainly leave her range very quickly.

Since she couldn’t catch the ship, she had no choice but to refocus her energy on the battle at hand.

Just then, after a long moment of contemplation, Lan Yuyan spoke. "The man they were protecting... he might have been Dr. A."

Jiang Qin froze.

"If I’m not mistaken, he’s the only one who takes a nutrient pod with him everywhere he goes.

His son is inside that pod.

Of course, that’s not just a guess. I saw an emblem in a discreet spot on the ship—it’s Dr. A’s personal insignia.

Any product that comes out of his research labs will have that symbol on it."

Jiang Qin knew Lan Yuyan. He wouldn’t have said anything if it were merely a guess.

Since he’d spoken up, it meant he was at least eighty percent certain.

She never thought her first encounter with the scientist who harbored such extreme malice toward her would be under circumstances like these.

’It’s a shame I couldn’t keep him here.’

’But he did leave behind a large spaceship and an underground research institute. His losses must be considerable.’

The thought made her feel a little better.

***

Jiang Qin was right. Dr. A’s losses this time were indeed substantial.

He had lost a planet used for cultivating test subjects, twenty thousand of those subjects, and various pieces of machinery.

On top of that, what angered him even more was that they had been forced to abandon a great deal of important equipment inside the ship that was shot down.

Rebuilding all that machinery from scratch would be another enormous expense.

In other words, his losses this time were crippling.

However, before his rage could subside, he received more bad news.

"Doctor, several ships up ahead have intercepted us."

Dr. A snorted. "Ask them what they want!"

A few minutes later, another message came from the cockpit.

"Doctor, they’re asking who’s on board, where we’ve come from, and where we’re headed."

"Hah. Ask them on what authority they’re questioning us. Do they have a warrant?"

Dr. A was once again reminded of the drawback of having subordinates who lacked initiative.

But it didn’t matter. He preferred absolute loyalty over resourcefulness.

It was just that they had to ask him about every little thing, which he found irritating at times.

Two minutes later, the subordinate reported again. "Doctor, they have a warrant. They’re requesting to search our ship on suspicion of illegal smuggling."

"How many ships are we up against? Can we break through?"

"They have three ships blocking our three forward vectors. All are equipped with pursuit cannons. The probability of a successful breakout is only about eighteen percent."

After all, they weren’t piloting their original, heavily modified vessel, but a smaller backup ship.

The ship’s current payload was also affecting its speed.

Modern Interstellar ship design had long since plateaued.

Regardless of the design, there wasn’t much difference in speed between the latest models.

Therefore, assuming all ships were fully fueled, it would be extremely difficult to shake these three pursuers. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

"Doctor, please make a decision quickly. They said if we don’t respond in three minutes, they’ll charge us with obstructing law enforcement."

With a legitimate charge, they would be legally justified in destroying us.

What could Dr. A do? He could only give the order to attempt a breakout.

Every single person on his ship was a wanted criminal.

If they allowed a search, they’d all be sent straight to prison.

Only his son was innocent.

...

Aboard the opposing ship, Long Hao saw the suspicious vessel preparing to flee and immediately gave the order to fire.

He added smugly, "Hmph. I knew you guys were trouble. Just as I thought."

"Just make sure you don’t let them get away," Yuan Ling cut in, his expression serious, interrupting Long Hao’s gloating.

"Tch. Relax, I’m more than reliable, you know."

At that, Yuan Ling said nothing more, but the disbelief was written all over his face.

That ticked Long Hao off. He was just injured, not disabled.

What had been a relatively gentle interception immediately escalated into a furious barrage.

Of course, they only dared to be so aggressive because they had already confirmed Jiang Qin wasn’t on board.

Otherwise, even with the slightest suspicion she might be, they would never have dared to attack a ship leaving this planet so recklessly.

It was precisely because they had confirmed her absence that they suspected the crew of this modified ship were outlaws.

’Sure enough, they’re afraid of being searched and won’t even give their names. They’re definitely hiding something!’

Although their schedule was tight, they weren’t willing to turn a blind eye to lawbreakers they encountered along the way, so they chose to intercept them first.

...

With three ships firing on it simultaneously, the smaller vessel couldn’t hold out, no matter how well it had been modified.

"Doctor, what do we do now?"

Dr. A’s expression was grim. After a moment, he said, "Scatter. Take the escape pods."

It had been many years since he’d been forced to flee for his life.

He never imagined things could be so coincidental.

First, the only superpower user in the Interstellar era suddenly appeared. Then, his location was compromised. And now, someone had already arrived on this planet so quickly.

To this moment, he still couldn’t understand why someone would suddenly want to find his location.

He had many enemies, but very few were capable of pinpointing the exact planet he was on.

After all, not only did he have numerous research labs, but he also periodically sent out body doubles to create diversions. Logically, no one should have been able to track him to this particular planet.

The planet was, after all, surrounded by a mobile cluster of black holes.

One wrong move while navigating the area could get you killed without a trace.

’To have drawn suspicion under these circumstances... is my enemy some kind of god of reconnaissance?’

That’s why Dr. A’s first suspicion was a traitor within his research institute.

Just like the Fox Ear who had recently stolen some reagents from his lab on another planet.

But then again, he thought, that seemed unlikely.