Abyss Solo

Chapter 71: 043 Don’t Panic, Within Plan_2

Kolev raised his hand to rub his forehead, somewhat nostalgic for the previous project.

The robot son was really quite nice, indeed.

…

In the interest of saving costs, Yang Ming bought a regular seat ticket from the Star Alliance (Galaxy Interstellar United Airlines).

But Yang Ming hadn’t expected that Kolev had transformed from a thrifty and heroic pirate leader into a luxurious and extravagant capitalist.

Kolev frowned as he looked at the economy class in front of him.

Hundreds of passengers crammed into a narrow area, with two illegally added rows of seats making the aisle so narrow that one almost had to turn sideways to pass through.

“What’s wrong, Uncle?” Yang Ming asked in a clear and bright voice.

But Kolev turned his head and walked over to a flight attendant:

“Upgrade me to two cabin…, yes, all three segments, ordinary business? No, no, something better…, a medium-private cabin? Why would my nephew and I need a couple’s private cabin? Is there anything higher? Oh, Royal Hall, that’s it, I pay here, right?”

Yang Ming was carrying his suitcase and came over, just about to swipe his card, but with a swipe of his finger, Kolev had already completed the payment.

“This one’s on me,” Kolev chuckled, “my dear nephew.”

“Uncle, we should save a little.”

“Oh, no need at all,” Kolev laughed proudly, “ever since our last trip, I took stock of my assets, and as long as I don’t mess with business investments, I can live extravagantly for a couple of hundred years without worry.”

Yang Ming could only shrug at this.

They moved from the middle of this 600-meter-long passenger ship to the bow area.

Here, right above the bridge, directly in front were several huge portholes, offering an unobstructed view of the magnificent cosmos as the ship sailed. In this vast area, there were only sixteen egg-shaped seats, each equivalent to a small cabin, where two or three people could comfortably play cards and have fun.

The “independent escape pod” was also one of the expensive ticket elements here.

Besides the two of them, there were four or five other guests here.

“Extravagance.”

Yang Ming pouted and shook his head.

Kolev calmly and confidently sat in his seat, turned his head toward Yang Ming, and with a pleasant smile said, “Care to chat about investment plans, my dear nephew?”

“Evaluating things on-site won’t be too late, Uncle.”

Yang Ming stretched lazily and walked to the cabin next door, hung his suit jacket on the wall, casually picked up an electronic book composed of projections, and lay down in his seat.

Kolev hummed a simple tune, took out a block of glass, and began to fiddle with it.

Yang Ming was somewhat afraid that the old man might relapse into his occupational habits and assume the captain’s authority over the passenger ship.

“Where has my cousin developed now?” Yang Ming asked aloud.

“She hasn’t gone far,” Kolev laughed, “since she wanted to start from scratch in the workplace, I didn’t feel it was right to interfere.”

“You don’t know Molly’s location?”

Yang Ming asked full of suspicion, then opened the projector on his watch and stared slightly dazed at a map.

“Alright, I do know,” Kolev said puzzled, “what are you looking at?”

“A homemade attribute board.”

“Attribute board? What is that?”

Kolev wanted to take a closer look, but Yang Ming had already turned off the watch projection.

Yang Ming smiled and said, “It lets me visually understand myself, it’s also one of the functions of my assistant, Little Lyu. Alright, Uncle, if you don’t have any valuable questions, I’m going to start learning.”

“Study away! Not a single bit of care for the elderly!”

Kolev huffed and closed his cabin door.

Yang Ming glanced at the two fellow travelers who were attracted by their conversation, smiled awkwardly, and lowered his head to continue reading the book about industrial development.

To start a factory, one always needs to know a bit of professional jargon.

…

The first two-thirds of this voyage were rather peaceful, so peaceful that Yang Ming was getting a little drowsy.

After two Galaxy Days, two jumps, two sections of smooth sailing, and passing by two bustling space stations, the ship accepted more passengers for the third time, with two new members arriving at the Royal Hall at the bow as well.

Yang Ming, who was reading, was captivated by a fragrance that reached his nose and looked up at the silhouette passing by him.

It was a stylish young woman dressed in a light brown close-fitting tea-length dress that highlighted her curvy figure; she had slightly curly brown long hair, a well-defined face, and her plump lips occasionally pursed.

She seemed uneasy.

Yang Ming keenly detected that this pretty woman appeared to be fearing something, her eyes constantly darting around.

“None of my business.”

Yang Ming put on his headphones, slowly reclined, and let himself immerse in the ocean of industry.

Soon, the ship started again, heading toward the directional jump channel, with the next stop being the Head Star of the Luofeng Empire.

Yang Ming keenly noticed that the attractive woman diagonally to his left seemed to become increasingly anxious.

She kept checking the time on her network terminal, playing variety show videos several times but quickly shutting them off in irritation; whenever someone walked behind her, she would immediately look over, her eyes filled with tension.

What the hell?

A feeling of unease welled up within Yang Ming as well.

Better not let anything weird happen.

On a normal journey, there wouldn’t be any blood-drawing checks, but if something peculiar occurred, that could be uncertain.

Moreover, they were heading to the Luofeng Empire to get things done, so gaining extra attention at the start could easily lead to unnecessary trouble.

“Hope she’s just avoiding her romantic rival.”

Yang Ming prayed as such.

Two hours later, as the ship entered deep flight, the light within the cabins dimmed a bit, and the starry sky outside the portholes became exceptionally dazzling.

The woman holding her network terminal stood up, walked past Yang Ming’s seat with her head lowered, and rushed toward the back.

Yang Ming hoped that this was just a routine bathroom visit.

Though Yang Ming knew that was unlikely.

Yang Ming had long caught the sound of breathing hidden behind the door of the head cabin, where two well-trained men had been observing the woman for some time.

The woman entered the head public shower room, which had three separate toilets and two single shower pods.

The two men rushed up!

Yang Ming raised his hand to rub the corners of his eyes.

He keenly picked up on various subtle sounds coming from the public shower room: knocking sounds, shouts that were never voiced, the scuffing of high heels on soft carpet, and urgent low growls.

They were trying to strangle her.

Did those assailants really not have any high-tech special agent equipment?

“I mustn’t get involved in this, shouldn’t start side quests. I’m no justice seeker; every current action must be within the plan.”

Yang Ming repeatedly reminded himself in his heart.

He decided to remind Kolev too.

“Uncle Haton,” Yang Ming turned his head to call, “are you asleep, Uncle Haton? I think we can…”

Yang Ming straightened up in a flash.

Kolev’s “egg cabin” was in a closed state, and no breathing could be heard. Observing through a slit, it was empty inside.

When did he disappear?

Yang Ming had been monitoring the external environment for the last half-hour and hadn’t noticed anything abnormal here; Kolev definitely hadn’t moved for the last half-hour!

Yang Ming frowned and looked toward the public shower room; could the old man really be doing it?

…

“Oh, finally.”

Kolev’s nose let out a gentle groan.

Old-age constipation, truly a torturous issue.

Kolev gently sighed, pressed the button on the automatic toilet, and the last trace of bad odor was neutralized.

He pulled up his pants, held his waist, sighed softly, and hummed a cheery tune, unlocking and pulling open the soundproof door of the restroom.