Lu Wanqing was utterly bewildered, not understanding how Little Harvey had returned. However, as the child tugged her along, she instinctively followed him out.
Outside, Lu Wanqing saw a spacecraft. It appeared even more dilapidated than the one she had seen before, looking as though it had been salvaged from a junkyard, fit only for scrap.
Little Harvey pulled Lu Wanqing onto the spacecraft and started it up.
With a whoosh, the spacecraft accelerated, lifting into the sky.
It was only then that Lu Wanqing belatedly realized Little Harvey seemed to have been operating it manually just now.
No, not just then, but now as well!
At that moment, she suddenly felt nervous and couldn't help but ask, "Harvey, are you controlling this spacecraft?"
"Mommy, trust me!!!" Little Harvey said sternly.
As soon as he finished speaking, the spacecraft lurched forward violently. The mouth Lu Wanqing had just opened was instantly filled with a blast of cold air, her words choked back by the wind.
"Protective shield!!!" Lu Wanqing urgently warned.
"Mommy, the protective shield on this spacecraft is broken and won't deploy. Please bear with it, we'll catch up to Daddy soon!" Little Harvey said earnestly.
Lu Wanqing: "!!!" What if she ended up losing her life here?
She had been living in the interstellar era for several years, accustomed to various intelligent systems and high-tech conveniences. This was the first time she had personally experienced such a dilapidated object in this technologically advanced age. What was most terrifying was that such a broken-down thing could still function!
And most importantly, the operator was her own child, Little Harvey, who was only seven years old. Seven!
Was it a joke for such a young child to be piloting a spacecraft?
Especially such a broken spacecraft. Wouldn't it crash the very next second?
Lu Wanqing was thus taken away by Little Harvey. The hotel owner was also startled and rushed out, watching their spacecraft depart. He couldn't help but shout anxiously, "Miss Lu!!!"
But Lu Wanqing, already on the spacecraft, couldn't hear him, and even if she could, she likely wouldn't have been able to respond.
After a few glances, the hotel owner quickly realized they were escaping. If they got too far away, would the people from the capital accuse him of deliberately swindling prize money?
Without a second thought, the hotel owner immediately opened his optical communicator and recorded the departing spacecraft, preserving evidence!
*
Space.
The Immortal Star Pirates' ship had traveled some distance when Uncle Wu seemed to notice something was amiss. Was their ship too quiet?
"Has anyone seen Harvey?" Uncle Wu grabbed a companion beside him and asked.
"Young master? He was very upset and was in his room," the person replied quickly.
Uncle Wu inexplicably had a bad premonition and hurried to Little Harvey's room. Upon opening the door, he found the room empty; there was no sign of the little fellow anywhere.
At this, Uncle Wu immediately became anxious and rushed to find Xavier.
"Boss, something's wrong, Little Harvey is gone!" Uncle Wu burst into the main cabin, shouting in distress.
Xavier paused slightly and looked up at Uncle Wu.
Uncle Wu's face was filled with worry, "Boss, I've searched the entire ship, and Little Harvey's room, but I can't find him."
Harvey had a knack for getting into trouble from a young age. Xavier also sensed that something was amiss, and he quickly stood up.
Xavier searched room after room, but Harvey was nowhere to be found.
Uncle Wu followed closely behind Xavier, worried, "Boss, do you think Harvey went back to find Lu Wanqing?"
"Turn back!" Xavier commanded without hesitation.
It wasn't a 'could have gone back,' it was a 'definitely went back'!
Uncle Wu reacted and quickly nodded, "Yes!"
Xavier immediately went to find the pilot and ordered them to turn back. Their speed was high, and sure enough, as they approached the junk planet, they encountered the little fellow piloting a spacecraft wobbling through space.
"Boss, I see him, it's the young master!!!" a pirate shouted excitedly from the ship.
Xavier's eyelids twitched, his gaze locked onto the spacecraft in the distance.
Uncle Wu also saw the condition of the spacecraft and couldn't help but gasp, "Boss, isn't that spacecraft the one we reported as scrapped from our warehouse? Its intelligent mode is almost entirely defunct, it can only be piloted manually!"
In their era, mechs with defunct intelligent modes were so undesirable that even pirates wouldn't want them, so it had been left in the warehouse as a pile of scrap metal, hoping to salvage parts someday to repair other mechs.
Previously, after leaving Lu Wanqing behind, Little Harvey had piloted a spacecraft back to find her. So this time, to prevent Little Harvey from doing the same thing, they had deliberately locked up all the usable spacecraft on the ship. But who could have imagined that Little Harvey would be able to find this almost completely scrapped spacecraft, and actually fly it to pick up Lu Wanqing!
"Boss, Harvey's piloting skills are quite good! He can manage such a broken spacecraft for so long!" a pirate on the ship exclaimed sincerely, having observed Little Harvey's piloting.
This was genuinely true. Although all of them, as pirates, could manually pilot spacecraft, Little Harvey was only seven years old. A seven-year-old child managing to pilot a spacecraft independently for such a distance was truly remarkable!
"Harvey, you're amazing!!!" a pirate couldn't help but shout at the spacecraft approaching them.
Some pirates whistled, expressing their admiration and pride for Little Harvey's independent piloting.
"As expected of the Boss's son, he's just amazing!!!" a pirate said loudly.
Xavier listened to the pirates praising Little Harvey, and the corners of his mouth curved slightly. However, seeing Little Harvey approaching, the smile on his face quickly disappeared, replaced by a stern, displeased expression.
"Bang!"
As the spacecraft neared their ship, it suddenly lost control and crashed into their vessel.
The little spacecraft was no match for the enormous ship.
With that collision, the small spacecraft nearly fell apart!
"Ow, hurry and save them!" a pirate exclaimed anxiously.
Many pirates rushed out, working in a frenzy. They finally managed to control the spacecraft that was spinning erratically in space and towed it back to their ship.
Lu Wanqing and Little Harvey were also brought back onto the ship.
Even after boarding the ship, Lu Wanqing still felt dizzy and disoriented. She couldn't control herself and, turning her head, she opened her mouth and vomited violently.
This... was truly thrilling!
She had nearly lost her life!
She now knew Harvey's flaw. His impulsiveness and disregard for consequences. If he didn't change this temper, he would eventually get himself killed!