The sloppy man was quite fast. In less than ten minutes, he had returned from the crew cabin.
Not only had he taken a shower, but he had also shaved his entire face. He had even meticulously groomed himself. It was unknown where he had found a white shirt and a pair of black pants to wear. His entire person looked very spirited, especially his slightly parted hair, which suited his oval face very well.
However, what Ding Meng admired the most was that this guy had even found a pair of leather shoes to wear. Under the illumination of the surrounding lights, the black leather shoes shone brightly. They were probably not ordinary goods.
When the sloppy man returned to the lounge, it was as if he had returned to his own home. He looked around and revealed a satisfied smile on his face. "Hmm … not bad."
Only then did Ding Meng carefully size him up. The sloppy man wasn't actually a sloppy person. On the contrary, his facial features were very regular, and his face was very angular. Judging from his appearance, he belonged to the type that was truly handsome.
The man didn't look very old, about twenty-four or twenty-five years old. In the era of origin ability, this age was considered young in the true sense of the word.
The collar of his white shirt was slightly open, and the cuffs were rolled up to the middle of his arms, revealing his fair skin. Just by looking at his skin that was as smooth and white as a woman's, Ding Meng felt that this guy shouldn't be a laborer. No matter how he looked at it, this guy didn't look like an inferior deformed person, nor did he look like someone who was born with a disability.
Moreover, the man's figure was quite good. He was also tall, and he always had a smile on his face. If he could be categorized, then he could be described as sunny and handsome.
If he could rely on this appearance and sense origin ability, he could at least become a second or third tier male celebrity if he went to the big cities of the Federal Empire.
Of course, this was Vader's opinion. Ding Meng didn't see it that way.
What really attracted Ding Meng about this man was his pair of eyes.
They were a pair of deep eyes. At first glance, they seemed to be full of smiles, but at first glance, they seemed to be somewhat melancholic. But at second glance, you could feel a sense of vicissitudes within them.
Of course, the most important thing was his temperament. A person's temperament could not be faked. When they were eating the steak earlier, the man gave off a funny vibe, as if he was putting on an act. But now that he had changed his clothes, Ding Meng felt that this man was really like a member of the upper class.
Julie and the others did not consider themselves to be inferior, but that was based on the extreme exploitation of labor. However, this person was born with a sense of superiority that was a mixture of sunshine, elegance, and unruly, which left a deep impression on others.
The scruffy-looking man apparently noticed that Ding Meng was looking at him. He smiled and walked over to greet him. "What do you think?"
Ding Meng nodded. "I think your shoes are good."
"You really have good taste."
The sloppy man gave him a thumbs up. "I just polished my shoes. Zebra brand. Not bad."
Ding Meng could only continue to nod with drooping eyelids. "Yeah, not bad."
The scruffy-looking man had already sat down on the sofa and was mumbling, "My head can be broken, but my hair cannot be messed up. Blood can flow, but my shoes must be polished. Even if I'm going to fight, I must maintain my style and not blow up …"
Little Rascal couldn't help but pop up. "Tsk tsk, this guy is a talent. You don't say, this guy is actually a little handsome. Ding Meng, you should learn from him and dress up properly. If you look like this now, I'm afraid that you'll still be a bachelor when you meet a beautiful woman in the future. Don't you agree, Ding Meng?
Ding Meng, Ding Meng?
Eh, where is he … "
Ding Meng had already started to doze off on the sofa. The continuous days of training and fighting had made him extremely tired, and this was the perfect time to rest.
Of course, he might not be able to rest properly even if he wanted to. In Ding Meng's perception, only about ten minutes had passed before he was woken up by a strange movement on the sofa beside him — Vader had suddenly stood up.
At this moment, the lights in the entire resting area had all turned red and were flashing. Furthermore, the alarm in the cabin had also started to buzz — buzz — buzz — buzz.
"What's going on?" Vader quickly rushed into the cockpit.
The central console in the cabin had already automatically generated a three-dimensional map of space. The green dot representing 703C was currently traveling on a flight path, but there was a flashing red dot chasing after them on the same flight path.
"What's going on?" Ding Meng followed him in.
Vader's face was ashen. "We seem to have been targeted."
"The people of Black Gold Base can chase us all the way here?" Ding Meng expressed his doubts.
Vader adjusted the screen beside him and pressed on the detection system to enlarge the image at the same time. Ding Meng could finally see it clearly. In the pitch-black darkness of space, a silver flying ship that looked like a war eagle was rushing towards them at high speed, just like an eagle catching its prey. Judging from the aggressive swooping posture, it was obvious that they were not coming with good intentions.
Vader's face was expressionless. "This is the Black Eagle 5A Falcon flying ship from the Black Gold Interstellar Transport Ship No.3. It's the only long-range attack ship on it."
Ding Meng couldn't help but ask, "You've seen it before?"
Actually, he shouldn't have asked this question. Not only had Vader seen it before, he had seen it too many times. He knew very well how powerful this flying ship was, and that it was definitely not something a civilian transport ship could withstand.
Although the Swordfish was fast, it didn't have any weapons. At most, it had one or two thermal decoy machines installed to defend against interstellar pirates, commonly known as "fake targets".
Looking again at the various icons and data on the screen, Vader was resolute. "It's an electronic scan. It's very likely that they've tracked us through thermal energy. We should be able to shake them off."
As he spoke, he operated the screen. Soon, the giant steel plate at the bottom of the Swordfish transport ship opened, and a small ship identical in appearance to No.703C was released. This thing was a thermal decoy machine, which was usually used by civilian spaceships when they encountered interstellar pirates.
The tail of the fake target spewed out an even more intense and dazzling crystal flame, and it flew forward at an even faster speed. Then, it made a big turn and flew off in a different direction. The principle behind this was actually quite simple. It would cause the pursuers behind to make the wrong judgment and follow the wrong target.
After the fake target turned and flew off, the icons and data on the screen slowly returned to normal, gradually changing from a fiery red to a normal azure color.
Vader let out a slight sigh of relief. "That's good. We should have shaken them off."
Before he could finish his sigh of relief, a new screen automatically rose from the control panel, indicating that new information had been transmitted.
Even Ding Meng was aware of this operation. It was certain that the other party had completely ascertained his coordinates through ion detection, and then forcibly connected to him.
Sure enough, the rays from the sky descended, and the remote projection quickly synthesized Baines' image.
"Heh, what a surprise, Officer Vader. You're actually on No.703C as well. Are you trying to escape to the Norse Empire?"
Baines looked to be about the same age as Vader, but his appearance was even more dignified than the Marshal's. Presumably, he was used to giving orders.
Seeing that Baines was actually personally piloting a spaceship to pursue them, Vader's hands and feet turned cold. Once he and Ding Meng fell into Baines' hands, he didn't know whether Ding Meng would be fine or not, but he would definitely be finished. He had seen the cruel methods Baines and the others used to deal with traitors, and he definitely didn't want to see it a second time. He also didn't want to experience that feeling himself.
Baines looked at Ding Meng. "You must be Ding Meng."
Ding Meng's face darkened, and he didn't answer. Saying anything now would be superfluous.
Baines continued, "I'll catch up to you in 20 minutes, so I'll give you 20 minutes to make the best choice in your life. If you take the initiative to stop and hand over the memory chips, I can guarantee your safety. If you continue to stubbornly drive forward, don't blame me for using some methods that even I don't want to use on you after I catch you. That will be unforgettable for the rest of your life. Mr. Ding Meng, I hope you can seriously consider my suggestion."
"I'll consider it." Ding Meng immediately turned off the instant communication.
Vader looked at Ding Meng with a hint of gratitude. Ding Meng didn't compromise, which meant that he could still be saved. Once Ding Meng surrendered, it was basically announcing his impending death in advance.
Ding Meng frowned. "Is there any other way we can escape?"
"Use the ion drive. We have to at least give it a try."
Even Vader himself didn't have the confidence to answer this question. The swordfish had an ion drive, but didn't the more advanced Falcon spaceship have one as well?
Accelerating was just delaying the enemy's pursuit. It was just a final struggle before death.
From another point of view, speeding up was hastening one's own demise.