As soon as the stone slab on the ground of the cave was lifted, Ding Meng rushed down as fast as he could.
The basement was the same as before. The neat rows of beds and various facilities were still there, and the power supply and heating systems were not damaged. The only difference was that most of the people here were gone.
Silman was lying on a simple wooden bed. His clothes were in tatters, and the bloodstains on the sheets had turned grayish-brown. They must have dried up a long time ago. However, what surprised Ding Meng the most was that Silman's right calf was gone and wrapped in a large ball of gauze. His left hand was also cut off at the wrist, and the wound looked like it had been cut off by a sharp weapon.
"What happened?" Ding Meng rushed to the bedside.
Seeing that it was him, Silman forced a smile on his face. He was obviously resisting the pain. "Brother Ding, you're finally back."
"Lie down and don't move."
Ding Meng noticed that he was struggling to sit up with one hand on the bed, so he quickly pressed him back down. "What happened?
Tell me slowly. "
"Four days ago, the Extreme Pirate Fleet suddenly rushed into this star field and attacked our base. After they landed, a large group of pirates came. They killed any man they saw, robbed any woman they saw, and robbed any supplies they found …" Sileman's face was filled with sadness. "Four days ago, the Extreme Pirate Fleet suddenly rushed into this star field and attacked our base. After they landed, they attacked our base.
Ding Meng only then noticed that the beds around him were filled with old people, and all of them were seriously injured.
As for the women, there was not a single one left.
Ding Meng used his psychic vision to sense the situation, and he was slightly relieved. In the furthest corner, Ah Qiao was curled up in front of the bed, hugging Little Shanzi. Little Shanzi seemed to have fallen asleep.
Ding Meng turned his head and said, "I know this pirate crew. They actually have the guts to break into the Federation's observation area?"
Silman sighed. "We didn't expect them to come in so brazenly."
Ding Meng frowned. "Didn't the Federation's nearby space station have any warning or support?"
Sileman shook his head. "There was no warning. Furthermore, on the day of the battle, the first thing we did was to seek help from Planet Phoenix 3 Space Station, which was closest to the Federation's border. The other party's reply was that there was no patrol fleet stationed at the space station for the time being. They sent two destroyers to provide support."
Ding Meng asked, "How many ships did the Extreme Pirates send?"
Sileman said, "It's impossible to count. The sky is filled with ship-class units, but I'm sure there's a transport ship nearby. Otherwise, with so many spaceships swarming in at once, the space station will definitely give an early warning."
Ding Meng took a deep breath. "It seems that they came prepared. This is not a coincidence."
He made this judgment because planet KV303 was too poor. It was so poor that it only had these refugees left. Even if you came here to burn, kill, and loot, the resources used would not make up for the losses. Moreover, it was the notorious Extreme Pirate Troop. They would not do anything that would make them lose money.
At this moment, Meng Yan, Xueyan, Four-eyed, and Hairy also came down from the passageway.
Sileman ignored him and continued. "Actually, they came looking for you."
"Looking for me?" Ding Meng was truly surprised. "I've never had any dealings with them."
Sileman nodded and sighed. "At that time, my arms and legs were already broken. A few of my brothers and I were hiding in the cave above. We also thought that we couldn't escape, but in order to protect everyone, the three of them took the initiative to charge out and led a large group of pirates away. Only then did the few hundred people below survive …"
Ding Meng clenched his fists. He could imagine that the three young men who rushed out were either shot into a hornet's nest or chopped into meat paste.
Sileman's eyes also turned red. "Their screams before they died … I heard them. I …"
He could not continue. After a long time, he felt that he could speak again. He silently stared at the ceiling. "I swear I will never forget their screams for the rest of my life."
What he could not forget was not the screams, but the friendship. This place could do without Captain Gulaga, Ding Meng, and even reinforcements, but it could not do without Sileman. If he died, the people on planet KV303 would lose their backbone, and there would be no hope for the future. He was the most important person here.
That was why the three young men were willing to die for him, and Ding Meng still did not know their names.
Ding Meng could not speak and could only wait for Sileman to explain. "At that time, I covered up the stone door in the basement and asked the survivors to lock the door from below. I thought that if they still wanted to come in and search, at most I would die, and there might still be hope for everyone. Who knew that they did not come in again. However, I heard the conversation of the few people outside very clearly. It should be the pirate leader of this operation."
Ding Meng asked, "What were they talking about?"
Sileman seemed to be trying hard to recall the soul-stirring scene. He was lying behind the mountain rock, unable to use his Origin Energy, and did not even dare to breathe too loudly. However, the voices outside were extremely clear.
"Brother Bin, we've searched everywhere, but we still haven't found Ding Meng."
Brother Bin: "Are you sure you've searched everywhere?"
The reporter: "We really haven't found this person. Unless he was killed in the explosion in one of the spaceships, or he was crushed to death by a falling steel plate on the ground."
Brother Bin flatly denied. "That's impossible."
The reporter: "Why?"
Brother Bin pondered and said, "According to the information provided by the client, this Ding Meng is at least an advanced warrior. If advanced warriors are really as useless as you say, then why would the client need to ask us for help?"
The reporter obviously agreed with this reasoning. "But Brother Bin, this place is so poor that there isn't even the slightest bit of profit. If we can't find him, I'm afraid it'll be very difficult for us to give the client an answer, and it'll also be very difficult for us to report back to headquarters."
Brother Bin said, "You don't have to worry about that. The client doesn't really want Ding Meng's life. He just wants to teach him a lesson and deepen his impression of him."
The reporter clearly could not understand the client's actions. He asked in astonishment, "Spending so much effort just to teach him a lesson?
This client's needs are really unique. "
Brother Bin became impatient. "What do you know?
This Ding Meng left a mark on someone else, so naturally, the other party has to teach him a lesson. If we really can't find him, then we should prepare to retreat. If we delay any longer, the starships from the space station will arrive. Kill all the men and bring all the women back so that our brothers can have some fun. Ding Meng himself will find out about what happened here sooner or later. We can consider it as deepening the client's impression of us … "
The reporter: "Yes!
I'll immediately inform everyone to retreat! "
…
Silman said, "I'm sure they didn't discover me at that time, so I'm sure they're here for you. It's very likely that they're your enemies."
Ding Meng fell into deep thought. He had quite a number of enemies, but most of them had been killed by him personally or indirectly. There were only a few that were still alive.
The Celestial Wolf Corps was definitely one of them. After all, he had caused such a huge commotion in Meteor City.
The people from Extreme Heaven Corporation were definitely a powerful enemy because Chu Yifeng had not really obtained the memory of the K virus yet.
Originally, the Ambush Corps was also one of them, but after the incident in Meteor City, the marshal had obviously sided with Ding Meng.
As for Lei Bao and Sister Hong from Listin Academy, they were not qualified to be Ding Meng's enemies. Besides, Lei Bao had died a long time ago, and it was impossible for them to know his whereabouts …
Ding Meng hesitated and said, "Could it be that these pirates were hired by Yan Fengwei?"
Silman shook his head and said, "The possibility of that is too small. Not only does the chief know about what you did in Zhifan Academy, almost all the mercenary corps in outer space know about it. Yan Fengwei's daughter has already been rescued in space, and he doesn't intend to pursue the matter because he also knows that Bai Yue has defected from Green Arrow. Both of our families have suffered great losses …"
He paused, then continued to explain, "Also, with the Celestial Wolf Corps' style in the past, it's impossible for them to have anything to do with a pirate corps like the Extreme Bandit Corps. The circle of mercenary corps is actually very small. If Yan Fengwei really did something like this, he definitely wouldn't be able to hide it …"
Ding Meng sighed. "How many people are left in our base?"
Silman's face darkened. "Forty thousand, but now there are less than five hundred."
Ding Meng was stunned. "They were all killed?"
Silman helplessly closed his eyes, the muscles on his face twitching involuntarily. "That's the people you see in the basement. The rest were all martyred …"
Ding Meng clenched his teeth again. "What about the brothers?"
Something shiny suddenly dripped from the corner of Silman's eyes. His voice sounded very strange, as if he was trying hard to suppress his grief and anger. His voice was exceptionally low and hoarse.
"They were all good boys. None of them were cowards. None of them ran away, and none of them gave up on the people here. They all fought until the very last moment before collapsing. Of the remaining four hundred or so people, many of them were saved by them. Little Liang was lucky. When he came back from his trip, he happened to see this group of pirates taking off and luckily survived. Now, he's the only one left on the ground to collect the corpses …"
"Stop talking!"
Ding Meng suddenly interrupted him and said hatefully, "I don't care where these pirates are now. Even if they run to the ends of the earth, I'll find them."
Hearing this, Meng Yan roughly understood the whole story. She could not help but feel a burst of anger. "These are tens of thousands of ordinary people. They were killed just like that. They even kidnapped all the women. This is a crime. It's simply outrageous. It's more vicious than plundering the Devouring World."
Ding Meng suddenly regained his calm and said expressionlessly, "The people here died because of me. Don't worry. Even if they die, I won't let them die in vain."
Silman reached out and grabbed Ding Meng's sleeve. "Brother Ding, I don't mean to blame you. Without your and Miss Qu's help, the people here wouldn't have survived. Don't be impulsive. The chief commander and Captain Gulaga already know about this. They're on their way. I believe our Green Arrow Corps will not remain indifferent to this matter."
"Well, I'm not going anywhere. I'll stay here and wait for them to come." Ding Meng turned his head and said to the four-eyed man, "Is there a medical cabin on the carrier?"
"Yes!"
The four-eyed man answered affirmatively. "Eight Norse Empire's Angel III general medical cabins. This big brother's hands and feet can definitely be repaired. The people below can be completely cured. I guarantee that everyone will recover within a day."
As he answered, he winked at Maozie. Maozie also understood and said seriously, "Brother Ding, let us do something. This place is too miserable. We can't stand it anymore."
Ding Meng nodded. "I'll have to trouble you two to save people. Carry the captain to the starship first."