I want a ship of my own! I made up my mind, no longer thinking about Uncle’s advice, deliberately ignoring the dangers of the boxing match. I got up, put on my clothes, and walked out of the cabin. I went to Captain’s door and pressed the electromagnetic doorbell. There was no response for a long time. It was three o’clock in the middle of the night; I knew Captain must be sound asleep. I pressed it again, and the electromagnetic door slid open silently. Captain Sevenfingers, wearing only a large leather coat, stood at the door, his eyes bloodshot, looking at me angrily. “What is it!”

“I want to go!” I said, my face calm and expressionless.

“What?” Captain didn’t understand.

“I said I want to go to the training camp!” I repeated, raising my voice a little.

A gleam flashed in Captain Sevenfingers’s hawk-like eyes, and he said quickly, “Really? You know that once you make a decision on my ship, it cannot be changed!”

I avoided his forceful gaze, nodded, and turned to leave.

I walked back to my room with my head down. When I looked up, Uncle Brandon was standing at the door. At that moment, the look of pain and regret on his face was something I would never forget in my life. I was at a loss for words. “Uncle, I, I…”

Uncle shook his head. “I know what you’re thinking. Every boxer thinks he’s lucky, but do you know that their endings are all unfortunate.”

I lowered my head. “I don’t want to be a small-time pirate all my life. You’re getting old, and I want to buy you a villa on Moonfall Star. This is our only chance, Uncle!”

Moonfall Star is universally recognized as the most beautiful and best environment in the universe, the top choice for the wealthy to spend their retirement.

Uncle came over and put his arm around my shoulders. “We all know the fate of pirates. From the day we became pirates, we were mentally prepared. I’m already lucky to have lived this long. You don’t need to worry about my later years; I’m already very happy.”

We walked into the room and closed the door. Uncle sat on my bed and said to me, “You’ve already spoken to Captain, and it can’t be changed. But remember, as long as you make it to the top-level boxing matches, you can quit the ring at any time. So don’t think about pirate ships or villas and such. Get out early—your life is the most important thing. Without your life, you can’t enjoy any money!”

I nodded, but in my heart, I had no intention of following Uncle’s advice.

Everyone is like this when they’re young. Although they agree on the surface, in their hearts they think the older generation is too cautious. The opportunity is right in front of us—why don’t we seize it? Only when they grow old do they understand why, when they were young, the elders said those things. Then, as an elder, they say the same things to the young, and watch as the young make the same mistakes they did, helplessly shaking their heads, unable to help.

The next day, Captain Sevenfingers announced the matter, and everyone looked at me with pity in their eyes. Captain walked up to me, patted me hard on the shoulder, and said to everyone, “Lie Feng is a brave young man, just as brave as his father! To reward his courage, I’ve decided to give him five hundred cosmic credits!”

The Killer Bee set off at full speed, aiming to reach the underground boxing training camp’s location—Maloka Planet—within half a month. Maloka Planet belongs to the Fide System of the Kanfum Nebula, the ninth of thirteen planets orbiting the Fide star. The environment is harsh, filled with poisonous plants and man-eating beasts, completely uninhabited. Yet, this is the best place to train underground boxing fighters—killing machines. Those trained in such an environment can defeat any opponent. This is one of the secrets behind the pirate alliance’s underground boxing matches thriving for so many years—fighters trained on Maloka Planet are not only superhuman in strength and skill, but also incredibly ruthless! The bloody matches born from this ruthlessness are exactly what those perverse rich people are willing to spend huge sums of money to chase after.

After fourteen days of full-speed travel, the Killer Bee finally arrived at Maloka Planet. Outside the planet’s atmosphere, Captain Sevenfingers sent a signal to the training camp on the planet. Soon, there was a response. Captain gave the order: “Prepare to land!” The Killer Bee plunged into Maloka’s atmosphere, slowly descending toward the designated coordinates. As we entered Maloka’s atmosphere, the whole ship shook slightly. At that moment, the pirate ship’s engines shut down, and the artificial gravity inside the spaceship was gradually replaced by the planet’s gravity. This was the most uncomfortable time—my whole body felt awful, my stomach churned with food from days ago, and it felt like my intestines were tying themselves in knots! Then came the violent shaking caused by the ship’s hull rubbing fiercely against the atmosphere as we plunged in. Even though I had tightened the metal safety harness, my whole body was still jolted as if it would fall apart.

Finally, the spaceship gave a sudden jolt, and then everything calmed down. We knew we had landed safely at last.

I disembarked with Captain; the other crew members had no desire to set foot on this planet and couldn’t even be bothered to leave the ship. Uncle Brandon hugged me tightly, tears streaming down our cheeks and mingling together as they dripped onto the deck. Captain Sevenfingers watched us indifferently, not urging me at all. At last, Uncle let go of me. “Go on, since you’ve chosen this path, you must walk it well!”

I let go of Uncle, picked up my bag from the ground, and left with Captain.