radicalducati Chapter 303 The Raiders Return
Chapter 303 The Raiders Return
Chapter 303 The Raiders Return
"Hey, what do you do for a living on Earth?"
"S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, simply put, are responsible for protecting the Earth and maintaining world peace."
Quill blinked. "Have you ever done anything shady that made quick money?"
"What do you mean by that!"
Du Mu glared at him: "On Earth, everyone knows that we S.H.I.E.L.D. agents are all partners of justice. I, in particular, have inherited the fine traditions of our former director—honest, upright, and incorruptible. If someone is short a dollar on the bus fare, I'll chase them down three blocks to make up the difference. You're saying I'm taking shortcuts?"
"You're disrespecting our former director; it's an insult to his character!"
No, what does this have to do with your former director?
Quill's lips twitched. "Then how come you're more skilled at stealing than I am, a space thief? And how come you can start a spaceship just by lighting a fuse?"
Not long ago, he personally witnessed Du Mu board the Starka raiders' ship, open the control panel, pull out two wires, casually touch them together, and with a flash of sparks, the ship started up in just over ten seconds.
This isn't a car on Earth where you can start a spaceship by simply igniting it. What the hell is the principle behind this?!
Du Mu waved his hand dismissively: "This is nothing special in America; any passerby would have this skill."
Lighting the fire is more of a ritual; otherwise, he could have done it even faster.
After hearing this, Quill secretly rejoiced that he wasn't on Earth. With his petty thievery, he probably wouldn't even be able to afford a meal there.
"Stakka and his gang must be furious right now."
Yondu said this, but he couldn't suppress the urge to smile.
He had been holding a grudge against Staka for kicking him out of the Raiders back then, when Staka wouldn't listen to his explanations.
Seeing Du Mu steal Stanka's spaceship, he couldn't be happier.
They now have three ships in total: one belongs to the Guardians of the Galaxy and is piloted by Rocket; another belongs to Yondu and is steered by his second-in-command.
All that was left was the Raider ship that had just been stolen. Du Mu handed it over to Yondu to control, since he was most familiar with the Raider ship's systems.
Yondu was happy to be the pilot; after all, it was much better than doing odd jobs on the ship.
That's human nature. When he was a raider leader doing odd jobs, he was full of resistance, but when he was a driver, he accepted it.
Just then, the control panel suddenly lit up.
Quill glanced at it: "It's a message from other raiders."
Du Mu asked, "What did you say?"
"They said they found a fat fish, but it's a bit tricky, and they want us to lend a hand."
Quill frowned. "Should we pretend we didn't see it?"
He was worried that responding would give him away.
Du Mu's eyes lit up, and he said seriously, "Quail, you call yourself a chivalrous thief, but now that they're in trouble, of course we have to lend a hand. Tell them we're coming right away, and that they must hold on."
"what?"
On a remote planet.
The raider ship was parked on the ground, and dozens of people were attacking a galactic caravan.
The aliens in the caravan were fairly well-equipped and were currently fighting desperately against the raiders.
The leader of the raiders was a burly man with a menacing face, grinning maliciously: "Stop struggling! Put down your weapons now, and I might spare your lives!"
The caravan did not respond.
Anyone who's been around has heard of the infamous reputation of these interstellar pirates.
Except for a very few who follow the rules, most plunderers are wicked and claim to never waste a single grain of food.
If they give up resisting, these raiders will surely steal all their valuables, and they may even lose their bodies. No matter if they are men, women, young or old, even if they have alien pets, they will not be able to keep their excrement.
Because of their notorious reputation, the caravan's men were determined to fight to the death.
Seeing that shouting was useless, the raider leader spat, "Once our reinforcements arrive, you're all dead!"
As soon as the words were spoken, the roar of engines came from the horizon, and two Raider ships descended from the sky and landed steadily on the ground.
Upon seeing this, the caravan members turned ashen-faced.
The raiders, on the other hand, were filled with excitement, howling and shouting.
The hatch opened, and Du Mu led Quill, Yondu, and a group of raiders off the spaceship.
The raider leader was stunned when he saw Yondu: "Yondu? What are you doing here? Weren't you kicked out of the raiders a long time ago?"
Du Mu stepped forward and replied with a smile, "Yondu is my man now, working for me."
"is that so?"
The raider leader sized Du Mu up and down, and seeing that he was an unfamiliar face, assumed he was another new recruit.
He was too lazy to ask any more questions, and he didn't care whether Yondu was still considered a raider. He pointed at the caravan members whose faces were ashen.
"This is a fat fish. Take care of them and we'll give you 30%."
Du Mu laughed, "Fat fish are great! I love fat fish the most! Let's catch them!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the raiders behind him raised their guns.
The raider leader, believing the situation was settled, grinned from ear to ear.
But he soon realized something was wrong, discovering that the looters' guns were not pointed at the caravan members, but at them.
He was immediately taken aback: "Brother, what do you mean? The fat fish is over there."
"No, no, no, you're the fat fish."
Du Mu flashed a bright smile, revealing his snow-white teeth.
The raider leader swallowed hard. "Wait, you're not a raider?"
Du Mu chuckled and said, "Who said I'm a plunderer? I'm a plunderer-plunderer. We only plunder plunderers. Lay down your weapons and surrender immediately, and I might spare your life."
Raider Leader:
'
'
A few fools tried to resist, but Du Mu raised his hand and fired several shots, cleanly and swiftly.
The remaining people immediately became obedient, obediently squatting down with their heads in their hands.
In this way, Du Mu and his group easily defeated the raider team.
As for the caravan members, they took advantage of the chaos to escape. Du Mu didn't bother with them; they were plunderers, and those who didn't plunder weren't plunderers.
Quill rushed forward first, quickly stripping the raiders of their equipment with practiced ease, clearly not a first-timer.
Yondu's eyelids twitched as he looked on: "Just how many raiders did this kid rob back then?"
Du Mu glanced at him sideways: "What are you standing there for? Hurry up and go help."
Yondu hesitated, "This isn't a good idea. I used to be a raider, after all."
Although he joined the raiders, it was out of necessity. Du Mu held his and his crew's lives in his hands, so he had no choice but to obey for the time being.
Du Mu waved his hand: "You can choose any of the spoils you get."
Yondu paused for a moment, then shook his head: "I have principles."
"When we get back, I'll make you a squad leader of the raiders. You won't have to take orders from Quill anymore. If you do well, I'll give the flying arrow back to you and set you free."
Yondu's eyes lit up, and he straightened his back instantly: "Mission accomplished!"
Du Mu chuckled: "Aren't you a man of principle?"
Yondu said with a serious expression, "But your sincerity touched my principles."
He immediately ordered his crew to rush at the looters and strip them naked in no time.
As a former raider, his professional skills are indeed undeniable.
Du Mu waved his hand and said, "Take their spaceship away, and bring everyone with you."
Quill was stunned: "You've stripped them of all their gear, why are you bringing people along?"
Du Mu said matter-of-factly, "These people are all talented individuals who are sold to the black market for slaves. It would be such a waste to let them go to waste."
Quill: "6"
'
Yondu:
'
'
You are the real plunderer!
In the time that followed, Du Mu went around robbing and plundering...helping the raiders.
The communication equipment is on 24 hours a day. As soon as someone sends a distress signal, they rush over and take the person and the boat with them.
The spaceship was left behind, and the people were sold on the black market for money.
During this time, some plunderers tried to resist, but they were no match for Du Mu. Anyone who dared to resist had their brains pierced by his gun.
Yondu and his crew were getting better and better at the job.
At first, I felt awkward, but gradually I started to enjoy it.
There's no way around it, this line of work makes money just too fast.
Back when I was a raider, I wouldn't even get a few kills a month.
The universe is so vast, catching a fat fish depends entirely on luck, and you also have to guard against it escaping or fighting back, which takes a lot of effort.
They might not reap much benefit, so most raiders make a living by taking on commissions and occasionally looking for an opportunity to pull off a heist.
However, it's different for raiders.
The targets will come to them unsuspectingly, and the raiders are all nomadic people who carry all their belongings with them, making them much richer than ordinary caravans.
As time went by, the ranks of the raiders grew larger and larger, almost reaching half the size of the raider ships that Du Mu sent back to the lunar base.
However, unlike other looted ships, these latest raider ships have not yet been added to the missing persons list and will not attract much attention.
As for the Galaxy Sand Sculpture Group, they were not with them.
Although Quill was eager to get involved, they had more important things to do right now.
These past few days, Ronan has been feeling incredibly frustrated.
Those Nova Empire people were like madmen, chasing his fleet every day and causing him heavy losses.
Although his undead legion was powerful enough, the Nova Empire was, after all, a force that could rival the Kree Empire, and its Nova Legion was certainly not to be underestimated.
As long as they don't cower on Xandar like cowards, and are truly deployed to fight, they are one of the top legions in the universe.
What's even more annoying is that these people are like a piece of chewing gum, once they stick to you you can't get rid of them. Ronan was afraid that if he wasn't careful, they would run away and steal Xandar. Ronan was so annoyed that he wanted to curse them out.
Ronan certainly knew why the Nova Empire was acting so mad.
I don't know which despicable person spread these rumors, but the Nova Empire actually believes that the Cosmic Orb is in his possession and even says that he wants to use the Orb to destroy Xandar.
Now that the Nova Empire heard about the risk of destroying the sphere, they couldn't sit still any longer and demanded that he hand over the Cosmic Spirit Sphere, or they would start a war against him.
That wasn't entirely unfair to him; he did indeed intend to use the Cosmic Orb to raze Xandar to the ground, and there's no arguing about that.
The problem is that the cosmic orb isn't even in his possession!
However, the Nova Empire didn't believe it at all. They had asked several people to confirm that Ronan had been searching for the Orb of the Universe, especially the Dark Elves, who spoke with great conviction, as if they had personally witnessed him putting the Orb of the Universe in his pocket.
With all parties giving the same story, the New Star Empire naturally believed it without a doubt.
They abandoned their previous conservative approach and adopted the demeanor of cosmic police, listing thousands of crimes committed by Ronan in one go, shouting that they would never forgive evil and launching a righteous crackdown on Ronan.
Ronan felt extremely wronged.
He hadn't done anything wrong, yet he was chased by the Nova Corps for days and nights, and no one listened to his explanations.
"asshole!!"
Ronan sat on the throne in the command hall, his face ashen, growing increasingly furious with each passing thought.
When has he, a dignified accuser, ever suffered such humiliation?
"It must be that damned Earthling!"
After much thought, Ronan concluded that the person who reported the matter to the Nova Empire was most likely Du Mu, since the Cosmic Orb was in their hands.
He doesn't know what he's done to offend Earthlings, but every time he runs into them, nothing good ever comes of it.
"Once I obtain the Sphere of the Universe and destroy Xandar, Earth will be next!"
Ronan gritted his teeth, already adding Earth to his list of targets for elimination.
"Ronan, do you really have the Orb of the Universe?"
Nebula stood to the side, looking at Ronan with a hint of suspicion in her eyes.
These days, the Nova Empire has been chasing them like madmen, and she's starting to wonder if Ronan really is hiding a cosmic orb from her.
Ronan, seeing even his own people looking at him like that, became even angrier: "How many times have I said it? No!"
Nebula hesitated for a moment: "But right now there are rumors that you helped Thanos find the Orb of Destiny, but after finding it, you got selfish and chose to betray Thanos to keep the Orb for yourself, planning to use it to destroy Xandar, and then... kill Thanos!"
Ronan: "???"
Who voiced my thoughts... no, who the hell is spreading rumors about me?!
Upon hearing this, Ronan broke out in a cold sweat and felt a chill run down his spine.
Destroying Xandar is a minor matter; at most, we'll be chased by the Nova Corps, which is troublesome but manageable.
But who exactly is Thanos?
That was a notoriously insane Titan in the universe.
Putting aside his terrifying personal strength, his Dark Order is a top-tier legion in the universe, with the Four Obsidian Generals in command, each a powerful figure capable of standing alone, and countless soldiers below them.
In the entire universe, the Dark Order can be considered one of the most powerful forces.
Ronan's undead army was nothing compared to them; they were simply not in the same league.
That's why Ronan cooperated with Thanos, helping him find the Orb of the Universe in exchange for Thanos sending troops to help him destroy the Nova Empire.
Although he had long harbored resentment towards Thanos and planned to eliminate him, that was only after he obtained the Orb.
Before this, no matter how much Thanos looked down on him, he didn't dare to have a conflict with him.
But now, rumors are spreading that he has already taken the Orb and wants to kill Thanos.
Isn't this pushing him to his doom?!
Even with Ronan's composure, he couldn't help but curse, "Which bastard spread this kind of news?!"
Nebula's expression was somewhat subtle: "Ronan, are you really planning to kill my father?"
"Rumors! Pure fabrication and framing!"
Ronan quickly explained that this was the first time he had felt how terrifying rumors could be.
Nebula said helplessly, "It's no use you saying it. Everyone thinks that way now, and maybe my father thinks so too."
Ronan's lips twitched, and he said as if to reassure himself, "It's okay, Thanos knows me well, he definitely won't believe such so-called rumors."
Just as Nebula was about to speak, a string of data flashed in her eyes, and she said in a complicated tone, "You should explain to him yourself. My father requests to see you."
Ronan:
'
It seems Thanos knew his character all too well.