“Hiss—” With a sharp sound, the main hatch of the “Killer Bee” spewed out a cloud of white gas. The hatch opened under the action of two mechanical arms, revealing a stretch of dark red gravel outside, like blood that had dried for several days, making one’s eyes uncomfortable after looking at it for a while. Outside, three people in blue uniforms stood in a row with their hands behind their backs. Their clothes were made of nano-synthetic plastic material, which never got dirty, kept them warm and breathable, and even in this sand-blown environment, not a speck of dust would cling to them—of course, such clothing was expensive, far beyond what us small-time pirates could afford. Captain Sevenfingers had a black suit made of this material, and he wore it at every pirate gathering held once every five years.

Captain Sevenfingers led me out of the spaceship and, from a distance, reached out to the leader: “Haha! Instructor Thompson, hello! It’s you picking me up again this time!” Instructor Thompson, however, was not buying it. He simply extended his hand for a polite shake and immediately let go, snorting, “Seven Fingers, your people are always the worst. I hope this time they’re a bit stronger!” Captain replied awkwardly, “Haha, of course, of course! This time I’ve brought you the very best!” He pulled me forward. Instructor Thompson sized me up, and I took the chance to observe him as well: Instructor Thompson, like me, was East Asian. His eyes were even more sinister than Captain’s. When he looked at me, I felt like a mouse being stared at by a venomous snake, my whole body uneasy. A thin scar ran from his nose all the way to the right corner of his mouth, and his mouth looked as if it had been carved from stone, sharp and angular. Just standing there, he was like a fierce beast hiding in the grass, waiting for prey to pass by, sending chills down one’s spine.

Captain said to me, “Hunter Reed, this is Instructor Thompson, one of the three people in charge here—he was also a boxer, once known as the ‘Battle Axe’ demon king, and still holds the top record of 134 undefeated matches in top-tier boxing!” “Demon king” was what we called the black market boxing champions, because anyone who could become a champion in the black market ring had hands as bloody as a demon king’s. Instructor Thompson showed not the slightest hint of pride at Captain’s praise. In less than three minutes of meeting him, I had already experienced the power of this legendary boxer twice—the first was when he looked at me just now, giving me the feeling of being stared at by the deadliest snake; the second was now, when his proudest achievement was being praised, yet he didn’t show a trace of pride. What a cold and composed boxer!

Chapter Three

Instructor Thompson grabbed me in one swift motion. No matter what, my skills were among the best on the ship, but his strength was so overwhelming that I didn’t have the slightest chance to resist! He said to Captain Sevenfingers, “Alright, I officially take custody of your boxer. You can go back now!” Captain Sevenfingers nodded at me, crossed his pinkies to make a cross: “Hunter Reed, train hard. Just ten matches and you can achieve your dream!” With that, he turned and left. Instructor Thompson snorted, “Ten matches? A dream? Hmph, is that what he told you?” The last sentence was directed at me. I nodded and said, “I want a pirate ship!” Instructor Thompson nodded, “The earnings from ten top-tier league matches are indeed enough to buy you a decent pirate ship, but how many people actually make it to the top-tier matches? By the time you get there, it probably won’t just be ten matches…” There was a hint of sigh in his words. I didn’t quite understand and was about to ask, but he waved his hand, “It’s getting late, let’s go! If we don’t leave now, we won’t be able to once the sandstorm hits!”

The climate on the planet Maloka was harsh. Every evening, sandstorms raged, sweeping away all people and beasts. In such planet-wide storms, nothing but the local plants could survive. But in this environment, the plants had no green leaves; all had degenerated into thorns, with deep, extensive roots burrowing into the planet’s crust. During the day, the weather was relatively decent. Thanks to a thick atmosphere, cosmic rays were hard to penetrate, so it was even possible to walk outdoors without a spacesuit. The planet’s atmospheric composition was very similar to Earth’s, with a slightly higher oxygen content, so the animals here were all larger than those on Earth. Humans here could breathe freely without an oxygen generator.