Fatty, looking pitiful and timid, sneaked into the bar, chose a secluded seat, and ordered a drink. He sat there with his head drooped like most honest and naive ordinary people, only drinking. Anyone passing by would startle him as if he was always ready to stand up and give up his seat. He naturally looked silly, and now with this disguise, he seed even more honest. His chubby face made people unsuspecting. Just as he was drinking, a hand landed on his shoulder. Fatty shivered, looked up, and saw an older crewman with greasy clothes. The elder crewman chuckled, sat across from Fatty, and said: "Fatty, get a drink."
Fatty had seen this old fellow in the dining room earlier. During the disturbance, he had shrunk to one side to watch the show. He inwardly cursed, but his face showed a frightened expression as if he had been beaten, nodding repeatedly, saying: "Okay, okay." He didn’t dare to wave for the waitstaff, so he stood up, jogged to the bar, and bought a bottle of liquor from the impatient bartender with a face full of flattery, pouring it for the old chap, smiling ingratiatingly: "I just hitched a ride on your ship, so take care of . I’ll toast to you."
The old man chuckled, gulped down his drink, and said: "I hear you’re a chanic? Heh, there are many ways to get to zrich. Why must you board this ship?" Fatty thought: "Damn, don’t I know? Going through other countries and transferring multiple tis would take at least half a year. By the ti I get there, it’ll be too late." But he smiled and said: "I have so urgent business, and many of my friends travel this way." The old man shook his head and said: "Why be such a fool? There’s no problem taking a smuggling ship, but why would you bring a Hurricane onboard?" Fatty imdiately realized and, with a pale face, asked: "Does no one else bring a cha?" The old man gave a strange smile and said: "They do! But no one dares to bring such an enviable cha! This cha is the latest model, just a year off the assembly line. Damn, I’m tempted to snatch it myself..." He nudged towards others in the bar with the corner of his mouth and added: "Not to ntion these guys."
Fatty shivered all over and said: "Old man, this is too unsporting, I’ve paid for the ride without causing anyone any trouble." The old man squinted and laughed: "No trouble, no trouble. Just toss you into the trash chute, and no trouble at all." Fatty was nearly in tears, tremblingly said: "Please don’t scare , I’m naturally timid, this is a smuggling ship, not a pirate ship. If you send back, I won’t take this ship, won’t that do?" The old man drank continuously, ignoring Fatty’s pleas, maintaining a calm deanor. Eventually, seeing Fatty almost in tears, he pretended he couldn’t resist any longer and said: "Old Ivan here can say a word or two. They’ll have to give us so respect in the Power Cabin. Without power, this ship would be adrift in space. Since you’re a chanic, why not move to the Power Cabin, help out now and then. I’ll tell everyone we’re short on personnel... But about the protection fee..." The old man’s murky eyes nearly closed into slits, and a sooty hand was stretched out in front of Fatty.
Fatty, feeling both amused and indignant, thought: "This crafty old ghost really is an old ghost. He scares you half to death in a few words. I can’t verify it, though, only a fool would ask if others want to steal their cha. Not only did he find free labor, but he’s also charging protection fees. Shady, very shady." With a pained expression, he pulled out the electronic credit card specially prepared for him by the Military Departnt, tremblingly asking: "Uncle Ivan, how much is the protection fee?" Old Ivan gestured for him to put the card away, saying: "Not here. I won’t charge you too much, anyhow. You have a pitiful look. Let’s drink." The old man flushed with pride, kept drinking, occasionally lowering his voice to share so so-called insider secrets of the smuggling ship, seeking to gain more of Fatty’s trust.
Tian Xingjian could not pass up such an opportunity. While pouring Ivan’s old ghost more drinks, he subtly pried for more insider information. The old man drank too much and beca less guarded, as nothing was secret, just so gossip. Piece by piece, soon Fatty understood the basic situation on this ship. It turned out, this old civilian mid-sized [Apollo] transport ship was bought by Audrey’s father. The idle and poor crew mbers were all fostered by him. With him around, no one dared to act out. Yet, so ti ago, Audrey’s father suddenly passed away due to illness. Smuggling, of course, is a dangerous livelihood. A serpent cannot function without a head. Among all smuggling ships, the old captain was reputedly the most loyal. Audrey grew up on this ship, and the ship was their family’s. Her inheriting the captaincy was undisputed. However, people have their selfish desires. There were factions of crew leaders vying for power on this ship. After all, smuggling is a man’s job, and being led by a girl who recently reached puberty was hard for them to stomach. With her father’s passing, so nobles were making passes at Audrey. If she companied them, crossing the border and receiving goods would be smooth. But Audrey, remaining chaste and uncompromising, severed most of the ties on the Gazalin Empire side. Now everybody’s financial avenues are getting affected, exacerbating conflicts.
Old Ivan gulped down a cup of wine, smacking his lips and said: "Since Audrey took over as the ship captain, it’s been anything but peaceful. Eric, though a chef, besides the old captain and , has the longest tenure on this ship. He’s ruthless, and since he supplies the food, many heed his words. Apart from him, there’s the forr deputy captain, Anthony, also no pushover. If not for their mutual disdain and secret competition providing Audrey a balance of power, her authority would’ve been usurped long ago. Heh heh..." The old man tilted back another cup of wine, and said mysteriously: "These guys not only want to be the ship captain, heh, they even want to see if they can marry the young lady, playing the doting son-in-law to the old captain."
"Damn..." Fatty recalled Eric’s brutish deanor and Audrey’s stunning beauty, breathtaking at first sight, and was indignant: "This is like frogs munching on barley, a total waste!" Listening to Ivan, Fatty sympathized with Audrey and increasingly worried for Ann Lei. This world is survival of the fittest, and Ann Lei’s character is ill-suited for behind-enemy-lines missions. If anything untoward occurred, he would regret it for a lifeti.
Old Ghost Ivan, although both cajoling and scaring, ended up protecting the managing section of the Power Cabin. In the increasingly lively bar, no one ca looking for trouble with Tian Xingjian, including the few crewn from the dining hall earlier. They rely glared intimidatingly when passing by, but seeing Old Ivan return the glare, gave weird grins and left the pitiful-looking Fatty alone.
While drinking, suddenly the spaceship shut down the power engines, plunging the bar into darkness. After a few seconds, the ergency lights ca on, and the spaceship began to shake violently, as if it were about to break apart. Fatty’s face turned ashen. This ti it wasn’t feigned, he was genuinely terrified. Clearly the ship was passing through a space jump point. Today’s jumps don’t require life pods anymore, as the whole spacecraft acts as one big life pod. During jumps, the engines are useless. The spacecraft would have accelerated through the jump point’s speed-up devices before entering the jump point. Only after passing the jump point would the ship’s engines restart. At such high speeds, the forces on the whole ship are significant. An old transport ship like this could turn into scrap tal at any mont during a space jump. Looking at Old Ghost Ivan’s mocking expression, Fatty was close to tears.
Damn you, old ghost. You’re over sixty; Ive lived forty years less than you!
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It’s Mid-Autumn, I wish everyone happy Mid-Autumn Festival from Moscow. Here the mooncakes are 30 RMB each and are sold loose. I guess after eating them I’ll beco immortal. Still have to cook. I’ll post this much for now and add more if I have ti. (To be continued, for more Chapters, visit CMFU to support the author and support genuine reading!)
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