"Help, call the Federation quickly!" the flight attendant captain urged, for no one could save them now but the Federation. Only when the Federation's forces arrived could they possibly be rescued from this crisis.
In the cockpit, the anxiety of the ship's captain and the flight attendant captain could not alter the reality outside. In the passenger cabin, Lu Wanqing held Xiao Yi tightly, feeling uneasy amidst the ship's high-speed, erratic collisions.
Space pirates.
Lu Wanqing was no stranger to these two words. Another one of her cubs was in the hands of space pirates, or more precisely, the child of some pirate leader.
But Lu Wanqing absolutely would not naively believe that the space pirates outside were her pirate cub. Those people had fired upon their ship as soon as they boarded. This was definitely not something her red-haired cub would do!
Danger!
This was Lu Wanqing's feeling at that moment!
What should she do now? How could she contact Zhong Li Feiyu?
As Lu Wanqing pondered this, she quickly opened her comm-device, wanting to send a message to Zhong Li Feiyu. However, after trying, she became anxious – it wouldn't send!
Lu Wanqing refused to give up, but after repeated attempts, they all ended in failure.
The ship became more chaotic inside. People screamed, many stood up, anxiously shouting for space pods, wanting to escape, to save their lives!
The flight attendants tried desperately to explain, "Everyone, please don't panic, don't make a mess..."
"Boom!"
Another blast struck, severely damaging the ship. The system broadcast began to urgently report dangerous warning messages!
"Beep! Warning! The ship has suffered severe damage from cannon fire. Ship damage is forty percent. Ship engine is seventy percent destroyed. Please captain and flight attendants prepare the space pods immediately and arrange for passengers to escape!"
"All passengers please line up and escape in order at the ship's emergency escape exits!"
The ship's broadcast of urgent prompts suddenly sounded throughout the vessel. All passengers suddenly reacted, rushing towards the escape pod exits, pushing and shoving.
Lu Wanqing saw a girl pushed down by someone behind her, about to be trampled by those nearby. She quickly pulled the girl up.
The girl steadied herself and quickly glanced back at Lu Wanqing. Her face was full of unease and fear.
"Thank you," the girl said, her trembling voice revealing her current fear.
Lu Wanqing was also afraid, but perhaps due to her previous experience with an incident, she was now somewhat fearful of escaping in a space pod. Regardless, she decided to observe for a couple of seconds.
It was these two seconds that caused everyone inside the ship to witness it: those who escaped in space pods were hit by the pirates' cannon fire within a single second!
The crowd that had been desperately trying to push their way out froze. Those at the front turned deathly pale and retreated in fear.
We can't go out. Going out means death. Those pirates won't let them go. They will die!
"Wuwuwu, I don't want to die..." A man's sobbing suddenly broke out within the ship.
Everyone subconsciously looked in the direction of the sound. Lu Wanqing also looked. She saw a middle-aged man, ordinary in appearance, but on his face now was visible fear and despair.
Lu Wanqing looked around and noticed that most people's faces showed fear. Many were helpless, terrified, but didn't know what to do.
Lu Wanqing was also afraid. She didn't want to die, especially with a child by her side. She had to protect her child!
Her heart pounded in her chest. Lu Wanqing quickly grabbed Xiao Yi and whispered to him, "Xiao Yi, if we encounter danger later, take out the giant panda immediately and hide inside it."
The giant panda mecha was an ultra-3s mecha. When Lu Wanqing designed it, she gave it extremely high defensive capabilities. It was perfect for use now. Lu Wanqing felt that if danger truly came, the giant panda mecha should be able to protect Xiao Yi for a while.
"All people on board, listen up! If you want to live, hand over Lu Wanqing and Zhong Li Yi!" Just as everyone was in a panic, the pirates outside suddenly spoke, broadcasting loudly so everyone could hear.
Lu Wanqing and young Zhong Li Yi also heard.
Lu Wanqing was first bewildered, then shocked, and finally disbelieving.
They were coming for her?
Why?
Had she offended anyone recently?
Thinking of who she might have offended, one person suddenly popped into Lu Wanqing's mind – Song Yan!
Lu Wanqing's heart raced. While feeling anxious, she also felt speechless. Last time it was Lu Yuanyuan, and this time it was Song Yan. Why did people in the interstellar era who caused trouble always choose to do it on a spaceship?
However, this question flashed through her mind for only a second, and she quickly understood.
Couldn't they only cause trouble on a spaceship?
The Imperial Capital, as the federal capital, was the most prosperous and also the most heavily guarded. It would probably not be easy for ordinary people to cause trouble in the Imperial Capital. Conversely, it would be easier to do so on a spaceship leaving the Imperial Capital. Especially when the spaceship was flying in space, it was neither the Imperial Capital nor any outer city, but a region of space with the loosest supervision?
Didn't the infamous space pirates of the interstellar era survive by relying on such rules?
Space was too vast and too empty. The distance from one planet to another was filled with vast domains. If the Federation needed to station guards, the human and material resources consumed would be enormous.
Although there were many humans in the Federation, compared to the entire space, humans were merely a tiny speck of dust in the universe. It was already an excellent achievement for humans to manage the planets they occupied. Where would they have so much manpower and material resources to manage space?
Space pirates exploited such loopholes, constantly roaming through space, robbing passing spaceships to survive.
Lu Wanqing suddenly regretted not bringing Xiao Yi out alone. Even if she truly wanted to go out and play, she should have brought Zhong Li Feiyu along. If Zhong Li Feiyu were present, even if an accident occurred and they encountered space pirates, wouldn't they still have a chance of victory?
The ship had taken two direct hits, and the engines were ruined. Everyone had to escape as quickly as possible to have any hope of survival.
And it was at this moment that the vicious pirates outside finally revealed their objective: they wanted Lu Wanqing and young Zhong Li Yi!
On the ship, someone quickly recognized Lu Wanqing and young Zhong Li Yi and started shouting loudly.
"Lu Wanqing and Zhong Li Yi are here! They are here!"
Young Zhong Li Yi instinctively felt fear.
Lu Wanqing quickly hugged the child.
At this moment, the flight attendant captain also hurried over. She rushed to Lu Wanqing and young Zhong Li Yi.
Lu Wanqing, Zhong Li Yi, the flight attendant captain looked at them. Her face was somewhat pale. These two were not people she could afford to offend. But if she didn't hand over Lu Wanqing and Zhong Li Yi now, everyone on their ship would die. The pirates were so ferocious; they would have no compassion and wouldn't spare the innocent passengers!
"Miss Lu, Master Zhong Li..." the flight attendant captain stood in front of Lu Wanqing and young Zhong Li Yi, her voice trembling with nervousness.
"You are our guests, and according to company regulations, we must guarantee your safety at all costs. However, the ship's engines are now broken, and everyone must immediately board the space pods to escape, otherwise, we will all die here..."