## Chapter 400: Suspicion, Explosion
Little Frog Diego finished inquiring about the background of Tang Song and the other two, then found an excuse to leave and returned to Abad's side, telling him everything he had learned.
The modified human Abad walked at the front of this fleeing team. His body, weighing over ten tons after modification, walked on the soft sand without leaving the slightest mark of sinking.
Clearly, his mechanical body came with an anti-gravity module. Abad multitasked, leading the way while using a piece of beast hide dipped in grease to wipe and maintain his alloy battle blade, which was two palms wide and over three meters long.
Solidified yellow beast oil was wiped over the blade again and again, and the stained blade gradually shone with a cold light.
Diego widened his eyes, looking at the battle blade that Abad had carried on his back for years. He had never seen Abad use this blade and always thought it was just an accessory.
Just like the several times Abad told him when he was drunk, that he was once a Space Pirate who didn't blink when committing murder, Diego always thought Abad was talking nonsense when he was drunk.
Just like he himself would boast about having the bloodline of the Frog God when he was drunk... It wasn't until he learned that Abad had a Spaceship and saw Abad dig out a large pile of weapons buried under his bed right in front of him, that Diego believed his friend was truly a Space Pirate, the kind who didn't blink when killing. But when killing, do his eyes really not dry out?
"You mean they're lying to me?" Diego couldn't help but want to look back at Tang Song and the other two after hearing Abad's words.
Abad reached out and pressed down on his head, stopping his action: "I've robbed many merchant ships. Those merchants, after losing their goods, didn't have such relaxed looks!
Most merchants value their money to an extent you can't imagine. Some who prioritize wealth over life even dared to fight us with their dilapidated cargo ships to protect their money and goods!"
"Based on my decades of robbery experience, these few don't seem like merchants. Moreover, facing danger, they are too calm, as if they don't take the impending danger seriously at all!"
Although Abad's body modification modules looked old and broken, this set of prosthetic limbs cost him most of the net worth he had accumulated over decades of plundering. The dilapidated appearance was just a cover. Abad didn't even need to turn around just now to clearly see the first reactions of the crowd when facing danger.
To someone who didn't know the ropes, Tang Song and the other two might seem like novices, but Abad had roamed Space for decades. Although due to an accident, the only original part left on his entire body was his head.
However, his experience and consciousness remained.
Facing Diego's alarm and reminder, he saw clearly that the reason these three didn't make any action wasn't because they were scared silly! It was because they simply didn't take the danger seriously. On the contrary, when facing the impending danger, he clearly saw that raccoon's face was full of eager expression. Decades of robbery experience told him that these three were not to be provoked!
"Then I'll return the money to them and let them leave!" Diego strongly believed the judgment of his old friend Abad. To be safe, he decided to abandon this business and drive away these three unstable factors!
"Too late!" Abad shook his head: "No matter their origin or purpose, if you try to drive them away now, you will completely offend them. Escaping is the priority now, don't create extra trouble. Let's leave this Planet first!"
After fooling the Little Frog, Rocket Raccoon sidled up to Tang Song. "Crystal procurement merchants? Tang, didn't we come to this Planet through your space magic? When did we get a Spaceship?"
Rocket Raccoon bared his teeth, mocking Tang Song for lying, completely oblivious to Boss Tang's gaze turning dangerous.
Rocket used facts to tell us that you should never offend a petty person, especially if he's your boss.
The jumping Rocket Raccoon was immediately rewarded with a flick on the forehead by Tang Song. A large bulge instantly appeared on Rocket's forehead.
"The research progress of the Doomsday Project is too slow. After returning to the Hive Laboratory, you need to speed things up!"
Tang Song had no sense of guilt about bullying a child. Facing the teary-eyed Rocket Raccoon, who was on the verge of crying from the pain, he criticized him with a serious complexion.
"Was I beaten because of this? It seems I really have been slacking off in the Laboratory these past few months!" Rocket Raccoon covered his head, his eyes filled with confusion, mixed with three parts of introspection.
Even after Boss Tang flicked a cool drop of water onto his bulge to reduce the swelling, the cool, comfortable feeling even added three parts of gratitude to Rocket Raccoon's eyes when he looked at Tang Song.
Rocket Raccoon was completely unaware that Groot, standing beside him, couldn't bear to watch and used a branch to cover his eyes! "I am Groot! (Wake up, he's gaslighting you!)"
A vine extended from Groot's foot, quietly reaching towards Rocket Raccoon, trying to pull at his clothes corner, wanting to save his brother who was being gaslighted. However, just as his vine lifted its head, Groot came back to his senses and suddenly found that demonic man looking at him with a smile.
Whoosh! Groot retracted the vine he had extended at the fastest speed.
"You are from the Flora Colossus among the Treants?"
Amidst Groot's unease, that smiling man had already arrived in front of Groot. Under Groot's trembling gaze, Boss Tang kindly greeted Groot as if a leader was visiting the countryside.
Groot's large, round eyes held a hint of clear foolishness. "I am Groot! (I don't understand what you're saying?)"
"Recently, the people below told me that they discovered a group of Treants on a Planet. They seem to be Flora Colossus as well, and their personality is very gentle. I wonder if they are your kindred?"
"I am Groot?" (Really, where are they?) Groot looked at Tang Song with some urgency. As he looked up, his gaze met Tang Song's half-smiling eyes.
Groot's thick arms, twisted from dozens of vines, immediately sprouted fresh tender buds, tangled together.
Groot yearned for family. He was born on Planet X, the last descendant of the Treant Race on the planet - the Flora Colossus.
However, he was always out of place among his kindred and was once considered a freak.
Planet X was filled with violence. Those kindred, although similar in appearance to him, also possessed great strength and regenerative ability.
But they were full of violence: they liked to occupy surrounding planets, oppress slaves, and use violence to counter violence...
They had been to many, many planets, flying the banner of "Empire," capturing races and bringing them back to their own planet, and conducting experiments under the banner of "Science."
Groot did not consider these kindred as his own race. He was lonely. He had always wanted to find his true kindred - the Flora Colossus!
"I am Groot? (But what about Rocket?)"
Groot looked at Rocket Raccoon, one of his few friends, so conflicted that a row of small white flowers even bloomed on his arm.
"Alright, you don't have to worry about being separated from this raccoon. That planet's race is undergoing Civilization Jump, extensively cutting down forests and developing industry!
That Flora Colossus tribe wasn't living comfortably either. I've already had people relocate that Treant tribe to Svartalfheim! You will see them in a few days!"
As Tang Song spoke, he watched Groot's expression change with interest, from happiness upon hearing about the existence of his kindred, to the struggle of leaving his companion, then to anger upon hearing about his kindred being persecuted, and finally to happiness and gratitude upon hearing about his kindred being saved.
Simple rhetoric could manipulate people's hearts. This wasn't a magical technique, nor was it dark magic. It was the practical application of psychology and management, incorporating the experience of several practical PUA masters.
As for why Tang Song knew these things...
He specifically found several High-level Staff with psychological knowledge and real management experience for this, and also found a few playboys who had pursued countless women.
He spent two months learning this knowledge.
Of course, Boss Tang didn't learn these things for pursuing women (serious face). He learned them to manage the increasingly large Tang Group.
Lane: Hmm???!!!
The scorching sun beat down, and the boundless desert made one feel desolate.
Especially within this group planning to abandon their homes and flee, the oppressive atmosphere persisted.
Even though Abad had quickened his pace, significantly increasing the speed of the entire team.
However, the shadows of two shuttles quickly appeared on the horizon behind them.
"Abad, what do we do now?"
Facing the two shuttles about to fly overhead, Diego looked at his friend, who claimed to have been a Space Pirate for decades, feeling somewhat at a loss.
"Make way for them and let them go first!"
Abad looked up at the shuttles flying towards them. These old models, in the past, he wouldn't even spare them a second glance.
But on this Planet, which was almost abandoned by interstellar civilization, these few shuttles were a dimensionality reduction impact.
He felt around in the abdominal cavity of his modified mechanical body. The limited energy source remaining made Abad abandon the idea of taking down these few shuttles.
He took the lead and changed Direction, leaving the path opened by the pack beast caravan.
Abad led the team to the shaded side of a nearby sand dune and ordered everyone to rest in place!
The refugees who had been traveling for most of the day felt as if they had been granted a great pardon.
Those who were utterly exhausted didn't care about the sand on the ground, which was hot from the sun. They collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily.
Diego took advantage of the moment he was drinking water to secretly observe the three customers he had picked up halfway.
Indeed, with Abad's reminder, he finally noticed something was off.
Unlike the many refugees who were eager to rest and drink water, these three guys were too calm, especially the one named Tang. His white clothes were so clean they hadn't even picked up any dust.
How was this possible? In this environment filled with yellow sand, let alone walking in the desert for most of the day, even standing outside for a while would result in shaking three pounds of yellow sand from your clothes when you returned.
Diego secretly observed Tang Song's clean clothes, which looked as good as new, using his water skin as cover. While astonished, a pair of clear black and white eyes suddenly appeared before him.
"Cough cough!"
Diego was startled. As a frogman, he was actually choked by the water he drank, coughing repeatedly!
Tang Song revealed a mischievous smile, "Hahaha."
The little plan that this Little Frog and his space pirate friend thought they were whispering naturally couldn't escape him.
However, Boss Tang, who prided himself on being magnanimous, naturally wouldn't bother with the two of them. Moreover, he had performed divination and calculated that these two still had a connection with him, and an opportunity of his seemed to be tied to them.
This was also the reason why Tang Song opened the Space Gate in front of this fleeing team and paid money to join them halfway.
A caravan walked along the desert trade route. Above the caravan, two shuttles circled at low altitude, protecting this caravan loaded with goods.
"These poor devils are quite sensible!"
On a specially modified shuttle, Fat Toad Geta drank a large glass of ice water. It took him a while to recover from the grief of losing his wealth.
Hearing the information relayed back from the two reconnaissance aircraft ahead, and learning that the fleeing scavengers had made way, the Fat Toad said disdainfully.
"Did you see clearly? Do those poor devils really have nothing valuable?"
Fat Toad Geta's greed was famous throughout the entire Planet. To describe him using Earth terms, he was the type who felt like he'd lost money if he didn't pick it up when he went out, the kind who would even taste the contents of a manure truck passing by his door. Having lost so much money this time, the already stingy him now wished he could scrape the ground three feet deep to make up for his loss.
"Old Master, Balun said that these people combined only have a few pack beasts, and there are quite a few of them."
The shuttle pilot communicated with the two reconnaissance aircraft ahead, then turned and spoke to the Fat Toad.
"What if there are many of them? Can any number of them withstand our energy cannon!" The Fat Toad patted his big belly indifferently, clearly not taking those poor devils seriously. Upon hearing that the team had a few pack beasts, he couldn't help but feel his index finger twitch with desire.
Even a fly's leg is still meat!
"Old Master, the energy cannon consumes our energy source reserves. What little those poor devils have probably isn't enough to break even. What if it attracts those monsters hidden in the sand..."
"Consider these poor devils lucky, then this Old Master will perform an act of kindness!" Whether it was hearing that robbing them wouldn't break even or fearing the monsters in the sand, the Fat Toad waved his hand: "Tell the caravan to speed up and reach Frog God Mountain as quickly as possible!"
"Yes, Old Master!"
Under Abad's deliberate avoidance, the two teams passed each other. About twenty minutes after the caravan left, Abad led his team back onto the trade route.
"Boom!"
Just as the two groups, one after the other, were hurrying along, and the sun was gradually dimming, a sudden explosion echoed throughout heaven and earth. In the distant sky, a giant mushroom cloud suddenly rose. Although they were a great distance away, the ground felt as if an earthquake had struck. The Earth trembled, and the people in the fleeing team stumbled and fell to the ground.
The startled pack beasts even carried their masters directly into the storm.
"That direction, is that the black Spaceship?"
The moment he heard the explosion sound, Diego instinctively moved closer to Abad. The modified human Abad looked at the rising mushroom cloud with a solemn complexion.
"The Self-Destruct Program on that Spaceship was activated. It looks like the Predator encountered a difficult enemy!"
Having been a Space Pirate who was active for a time, Abad naturally knew the Predator's custom. When encountering a troublesome Rival, Self-Destruct was their last backup plan, and also their glory.
And the existences that could force these Predator to Self-Destruct their Spaceship were clearly not something they could provoke.
Minutes ago, near Shadow Storm's crash-landed personal craft, under MODOK's command, a massive amount of mutated creatures surrounded the Spaceship.
As a monster resembling a sea cockroach tore open the Ship's Hull and was the first to rush into the Spaceship, the Spaceship's trigger-based Self-Destruct system immediately went to zero. The Spaceship's internal energy source system instantly converted the energy supply mode into Self-Destruct energy. The entire Spaceship instantly turned into a super bomb comparable to tens of millions of tons of nuclear warheads. The explosive energy wave instantly swept across hundreds of kilometers, and the energy flames instantly devoured thousands of mutated creatures.
Even MODOK, hundreds of kilometers up in the high altitude, was blown away by this energy wave. If he hadn't been wearing that golden armor, the aftershock of this energy explosion alone would have caused him to start bleeding from the seven orifices!
(End of chapter)
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