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Chapter 502: The Chaotic Universe (9)

Soon, the Collection Team 2 would also be hit with the classic “personal reasons.”

As Yeongwoo grabbed Zelo’s wrist and widened his eyes, the imposing presence of Ship Owner Jeong Yeongwoo surged out with golden radiance.

Fwoooosh!

“If you don’t want to die, kneel…!”

According to interstellar law, he was a Level 6 existence, with an overwhelming Prestige of 48.

The first to drop to his knees under Yeongwoo’s pressure was Ridio, who had been preparing his next shot from a distance.

■ K-Kugh?

He suddenly felt a twisting pain deep inside and involuntarily dropped his gun.

Then—

■ Ugh… What is this…?

Kuahtan, who had been swinging his thorned sword, also bent his upper body, compelled into showing deference.

Though he wasn’t as debilitated as Ridio, it was clear he was affected by the pressure.

In contrast, the senior-most member of Collection Team 2, Zelo—

■ You’ve already brought Order to your side, Ship Owner Jeong Yeongwoo.

With one arm half melted, he pulled it back and swung his remaining arm to strike Yeongwoo.

Fwaaash!

Unlike his two companions, he remained unfazed by Yeongwoo’s pressure.

“What the—?”

Startled, Yeongwoo quickly raised his Aratubank to block the incoming punch.

Clang!

‘What the hell is going on?’

There were only two logical explanations for something like this.

First, the opponent was strong enough to willingly endure the penalty for not showing deference.

Second, the opponent’s Prestige was comparable to Yeongwoo’s and therefore unaffected.

Either way, it was a headache.

This meant that the Space Administration possessed combatants on par with a newly appointed Ship Owner.

‘Well, these guys weren’t exactly your average bureaucrats anyway.’

Crack.

Sensing Zelo’s retreating punch being withdrawn, Yeongwoo immediately thrust Bastard forward.

Boom!

Zelo’s only remaining wrist was split diagonally, spewing dark blood.

Splatter!

And that’s when Yeongwoo finally noticed it.

A yellowish shimmer hovering above Zelo’s head.

It was the visual cue that an individual was currently under forced deference.

In other words—

■ Get a grip, everyone! Are we going back empty-handed!?

This brazen senior collector was risking insubordination to engage in battle with a Ship Owner.

Just like Remu, who once dared to raise a blade against Chairman Dogo.

Fwoosh!

Zelo somehow extracted himself without even a groan.

Yeongwoo couldn’t help but admire the man’s courage and tenacity.

‘Damn… It’s guys like him who keep this government running.’

Odds were, a guy like that wouldn’t even respond to bribes.

‘But seriously, how is he fighting while under deference? Doesn’t that mean his Prestige must be at least 45?’

Yeongwoo’s own Prestige was 48.

To resist deference against him, the opponent would need at least a rating of 46.

Anything less would be affected, with the severity increasing the wider the gap.

Thus, Zelo’s ability to move freely suggested his estimated Prestige was 45.

‘Then that gunman who's totally immobilized must be around 43. The one-eyed guy, maybe 44.’

While Yeongwoo was gauging the enemy’s capabilities, Earth—who had snuck off to the far end of the conference hall—spoke telepathically.

○ These guys are 16th and 17th-grade government employees, right?

‘Yeah, why?’

○ That makes them pretty high-ranking. The officials who evaluated our planet were 11th grade.

‘Wait, really?’

Now that he thought about it, that did sound familiar.

When he tried to bribe the promotion evaluators, Manager Desirak, who had been dispatched on-site, said—

―Trying to bribe an 11th-grade official? A bold idea, but well beyond your reach.

And the interstellar rank of that 11th-grade official was Level 4.

‘Then what about 16th and 17th-grade employees? What existence level are they?’

○ Your administrative officer probably knows, but he seems to be playing it safe for now.

Yeongwoo guessed they were probably Level 6.

Though he stood at the border between Level 5 and 6, for now, he was still officially a Level 6.

‘Ah… Even at Level 6, I’m still just a senior functionary.’

Ironically, Yeongwoo sighed upon realizing Zelo was also a Level 6.

In that subspace he saw when the walls of identity broke down, only Level 5 and up were called “Mountains.”

You had to break free of the Level 6 ceiling to be recognized as a truly great being.

‘If that’s the case, then there's even more reason not to give them my biometric data. There’s no way rapid growth can happen under government control.’

Especially since the venture he and Renaissance were building was a disguised charity business.

The farther they stayed from the government, the better.

“You want more? I’ll admit you’re unusually capable for civil servants—but that’s not enough to beat me.”

As Yeongwoo rose, looking completely unbothered, Zelo glanced down at his completely ruined arms and murmured—

■ This isn’t a simple matter. Submitting biometric data is a duty of all Ship Owners.

Then, both his arms began to glow as he started to reconstruct his hands.

Turns out Zelo had regenerative abilities as well.

“Duty? There’s no such thing. That’s just a government-imposed responsibility, created for their own convenience.”

■ If we return empty-handed, someone else will eventually be sent to collect it.

If Team 2 failed, then Team 3—or someone entirely new—would be dispatched.

Yeongwoo simply shrugged as if it didn’t matter.

“Then next time, send someone at the deputy director level at least. Your average staffer won’t get my data.”

Of course, he had no intention of meeting their replacements.

By that time, Earthship’s propulsion upgrades would be complete, and he’d be gallivanting through space.

“You guys are competent and loyal enough that I’d rather not kill you. So I’ll let you go with some friendly advice. I’ll overlook the lack of deference with my boundless generosity.”

As he sheathed Bastard, Zelo looked back and forth at his two still-crushed companions.

■ …Seems we have no choice. We’ll hope for another chance.

“Don’t hope for anything, you bastards.”

When Yeongwoo pretended to draw his sword again in irritation, Zelo raised both arms skyward, his entire body glowing.

Shaaah!

“What now?”

Yeongwoo reflexively raised Aratubank again.

That’s when Earth cautiously crept back toward him.

『Huh? That’s…』

“…What?”

『A planetary court directive.』

As Earth spoke, a rift in space opened above Zelo’s glowing head.

Fwoom!

And from within, a metallic object fell into Zelo’s palms.

“That’s the court directive?”

『No, the directive was already delivered to me. That’s…』

Just as Earth trailed off and raised a finger, Zelo explained—

■ It’s a trophy directly issued by the Planetary Court.

[Translator - Night]

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“A trophy?”

■ It says: Award for the highest score in planetary promotion assessment.

“Oh.”

It was the result of the promotion evaluation—the one that had forged his fateful bond with Prince Aldo.

“What the hell? You crazy bastards were planning to deliver it after the battle was over? What if all three of you had died?”

At that, Zelo spoke in a calm tone.

■ I would have informed you about the trophy beforehand.

In other words, this was Team 2’s insurance policy.

But realistically, it was far more likely they’d never considered the possibility of losing the fight against a ship owner.

Shhhk.

Zelo then lowered the trophy to chest height and spoke again, this time with a solemn tone.

■ Honoring the achievements of Representative Jeong Yeongwoo of |l||I-Earth07, we hereby present this trophy on behalf of the Planetary Court.

The trophy in question was silver-white, with the Earth perched atop a slender pillar.

Slide.

As Zelo gently placed the trophy down on the floor, Earth stepped forward toward it.

“What, you’re the one getting the trophy?”

『Of course. It’s a symbol of planetary promotion.』

Earth then placed its hand on the surface of the trophy and spoke.

Thump.

『Three ranks? What the hell did you do during the promotion?』

“What?”

Yeongwoo couldn't help but take a step closer at those words.

“You’re saying the planet's rank increased by three levels?”

『See for yourself.』

As Earth stepped aside, Yeongwoo quickly moved forward and placed his hand on the trophy's surface.

Tap!

A tooltip appeared before his eyes, much like equipment details.

[Platinum Planet Trophy] – Epic Trophy

【|l||I-Earth】

【Planet Rank +3】

【Planet Durability +30%】

Right then, a planetary notice lit up in the sky above the arena.

Paaah!

《|l||I-Earth’s planetary rank has increased by 3 levels!》

《Planet durability has increased, allowing it to withstand greater impact!》

『No more low-tier planet life from now on.』

Earth looked at Yeongwoo with a rare, satisfied expression.

It was only natural—after all, planetary rank was something that couldn’t be increased through the planet’s own effort alone.

Since all planets were destined to revolve along predetermined orbits around their central stellar bodies, this kind of advancement was usually impossible.

But this crazy representative had gone and raised its planetary rank by three levels.

“…You’re really that happy about it?”

『Of course. Now we won’t be treated like a low-tier planet anywhere we go.』

“But you’re not even a ‘planet’ anymore. Aren’t you something completely different now?”

『At my core, I’m still a planet. I still have the right to participate in planetary councils and all.』

“I see.”

But Yeongwoo’s thoughts were headed in a completely different direction.

He was still mulling over a particular line from the planetary notice:

《Planet durability has increased, allowing it to withstand greater impact!》

‘To withstand greater impact…’

As Yeongwoo scratched his chin, Earth, who was reading his mind, began to look worried.

『You… You bastard… What are you thinking now?』

And right on cue, Yeongwoo started saying something outrageous.

“I’m talking about Star Scars. I mean… could we, or rather the Earthship, get one too?”

『…Huh? Star Scars? What are you talking about?』

“You know, Star Scars. The one Uncle used to block the Chairman’s sword strike.”

『…What?』

Of course, Earth understood what he meant.

Star Scars—scars formed when stars collide.

A kind of metamorphic phenomenon.

Among the Centauri siblings, one possessed such a scar on one hand, which he used during their formal meeting to block an attack from Chairman Dogo.

So strictly speaking, Star Scars were injuries, but they also served as a type of enhancement—vastly increasing the durability of a star.

“You get what I mean, right? If the Earthship had Star Scars all over it, we could basically turn it into a bulldozer-class warship.”

『You insane bastard… You got that idea just because our durability increased by 30%?!』

Earth’s jaw dropped.

Bravery born of ignorance—this was an idea that went well beyond imagination.

“Exactly. With this much durability, shouldn’t we at least try making a Star Scar?”

『You idiot, you can only get a Star Scar by headbutting a star!』

To that, Yeongwoo frowned like he already knew.

“I mean… yeah. So if we headbutt a star and survive, doesn’t that technically work? Is it theoretically possible?”

Theoretically possible.

At those irresistible words, Earth shut its wide-open mouth and fell into thought.

『…I don’t know if there’s a precedent, but I guess… it’s not impossible. But there’s no guarantee it would work either.』

“Why not? Is there a rule that only stars can have Star Scars?”

『No, but… we’re not as big or strong as stars, you know.』

Yeongwoo tilted his head.

“What are you talking about? We’ve got my mother-in-law’s authority backing us now. You and I might be weak, but the Earthship is big and strong—probably stronger than a star.”

『…….』

That, too, made theoretical sense.

Although it was a kind of artificial prestige based on formulas used in describing planet-ships, the Earthship’s current status even surpassed the Sun.

『Even so… You’re seriously thinking about ramming into a star based on one calculation? If anything goes wrong, the whole planet might split in half. That’s suicide.』

As Earth firmly declared its opposition, Yeongwoo looked up at the air around them.

“Then let’s ask someone who knows.”

『What?』

“We don’t have to figure this out ourselves, do we? My mother-in-law is a star. Let’s go ask her. See if it’s okay for us to headbutt a star.”

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