Chaos' Heir-Chapter 1136: Silly dreams

It took a while and some veiled threats, but the meeting eventually ended, leaving Khan alone in the meeting room. Despite the sequence of relevant events, his mind had recovered, and his more focused, glowing gaze now rested on an intricate star map.

Clifford obviously didn't know everything. He simply couldn't. The man was a mere second-level warrior from a small pirate crew, and information was always priceless when it came to lawless environments.

However, Clifford had what Khan lacked. He had already obtained official information from his noble clearance and Nott Station, so he only needed the unofficial one, and Clifford delivered.

Khan's hunch had turned out to be correct. The illegal trade routes truly ended in Merth 290. He had obtained confirmation directly from a criminal who flew through them and also learned what stood on the other side.

The answer to the question that had survived the meeting with Captain Lochport had arrived, solving the doubts but also bringing disappointing conclusions. The pirates and criminals didn't have a specific source of stolen or smuggled goods. They had countless, and they all converged on Merth 290.

Foll𝑜w current novels on fɾēewebnσveℓ.com.

To a certain degree, every structure engaged in illegal activities. Khan had been part of that club since Nitis, and his actions grew more daring in the following years.

Captain Lochport had tried to be an exception with Nott Station but had still accepted compromises. The soldier had simply avoided engaging in such activities to fill his virtual wallet.

So, the Global Army's domain had no shortage of goods to sell, trade, or more through illegal channels. It only lacked smugglers and routes, but those were easily found, and Khan was now studying many of them.

Clifford had merely described all the illegal paths he knew about, occasionally adding details about cargoes he could remember. Khan could use that information to pressure relatively nearby space stations, colonies, or other structures, but those politics and quick gains didn't interest him.

Truth be told, the illegal routes weren't of much help. Khan didn't need them anymore. Killing Mister Ratré and colonizing Coravis were bound to keep criminals away from him, allowing him to continue his journey undisturbed.

Still, it was better to prepare for anything when traveling the universe, especially when involved in such a dangerous mission. Besides, it would be dumb not to seize that chance now that the White Mouse crew was under Khan's service, so he took it.

'It's not complete,' Khan thought, tinkering with the interactive desk to make the holograms zoom out.

Of course, Clifford's knowledge mainly involved the nearby quadrants. His information stretched farther than Khan had expected, but the Global Army's domain remained far bigger.

Obtaining a complete map of all the illegal routes inside the Global Army's domain would require Khan to subjugate every pirate crew available, and even that probably wouldn't suffice. After all, those paths changed often and adapted to eventual regulations, making them typically short-lived.

'I have everything I need to become a space pirate now,' Khan realized. 'Captain Khan, scourge of the unregulated universe and charmer of Princesses.'

Those thoughts didn't last long since Khan promptly mocked himself. 'Well, the unregulated universe around Merth 290.'

Khan chuckled on his own, shaking his head and pushing aside those silly thoughts. Means didn't necessarily imply action, and Khan had far better things to do than dream about a life that had never been in his cards. He didn't even remember when that idea had formed, and wasting any brain matter on it was pointless.

Gordon had already downloaded a copy of the star map with the illegal routes, so Khan turned off the interactive table and stood up. The noble guard might benefit from the information, but Khan wouldn't have anything to do with it. His mind had recovered, and he didn't need anything else.

Much had to be done, but not by Khan. Nothing required his presence now, and he was sure his forces would fulfill his every request, even if that meant working overtime for weeks on end. His time would come, but the next period was bound to be peaceful. That was unless more Princesses knocked on his door, of course.

Khan had no desire to go back to the torturous workout but hurried anyway, dashing among the crews of workers while navigating the many corridors to return to his quarters.

The fancy flat was exactly how Khan had left it. He didn't have the time to activate the cleaning robots, so a few trays littered the bedroom floor, and some still had uneaten food on them.

Khan considered eating but quickly decided otherwise. He was actually starving, but the prolonged mental training had revealed more clues by now. One of them was that intense sensations could help him retain his sense of self, preventing him from getting lost in foreign memories.

Khan's hunger was nowhere comparable to his main anchor, but every little bit helped, especially as he started to approach the heavier memories. So, he sat on the floor without eating anything, activating the flat's menus, which played a familiar image on the wall before him.

The blue tattoo covered the wall and joined the light from Khan's eyes in illuminating the otherwise dark habitation. He fixed his gaze on it, repeating the same preparations he had developed in the past training sessions, but his mind took longer to get ready that time.

Maybe it had been the talk about marriage. Perhaps Khan still wasn't done lingering in pointless dreams that day, but the symbol on the wall felt brighter and colder, summoning memories that his brain should have long since forgotten, reminding him of his second curse that didn't want to disappear.

'I'm not meeting you again, am I?' Khan wondered, talking to himself and an imaginary figure that always appeared in his most dangerous, desperate moments. 'Maybe the mana was wrong. Maybe it doesn't know anything, and there's no real point in saving it.'

Khan knew getting angry at a simple picture of the tattoo on his shoulder was pointless. Still, he had stared at that symbol for weeks already, and absorbing the foreign memories had inevitably affected his mental state.

'Even if there's no point,' Khan mentally sighed, lowering his gaze. 'Even if it was wrong, I'll save it anyway. After all, you are part of the universe.'

Khan closed his eyes, pushing away anything that tried to disturb his concentration. His second attempt succeeded, so he looked at the image on the wall again, diving into the foreign memories.