Great! I'm surrounded by villains!
Chapter 274 - 193: It’s My Treat

Chapter 274: Chapter 193: It’s My Treat

"I thought that the Fox Demon seemed quite happy about it,"

said the broad-shouldered woman, innocently explaining herself as she let go of Earth Wolf Twelve.

But Earth Wolf Twelve’s reaction was a bit different from what she had imagined.

While the Fox Demon, held in Duan Mingyuan’s arms princess-style, was smiling brilliantly and wrapping her arms around his neck, Earth Wolf Twelve reacted differently. This Interstellar Cowboy drew his revolver and pressed it against her chin, which puzzled her.

"I just wanted to cheer you up."

"Cheer me up my ass."

Earth Wolf Twelve was infuriated. As he looked up, he saw the security camera facing their direction. To ensure the safety of the council members during the summit, he required all security personnel to stay at their posts at all times, closely monitoring every camera and not missing any detail.

So, the sight of him being scooped up around the waist by this woman was undoubtedly seen by his subordinates.

"Give me one."

Not annoyed in the slightest, the woman smiled and extended her hand towards Earth Wolf Twelve, asking for a cigar.

Earth Wolf Twelve, despite his cursing, still passed her the cigar out of habit.

After a moment of silent puffing smoke, he gradually snapped out of the gloom of being given a princess carry by a woman.

He was a chauvinist at heart, one of the last Rangers of Hot Sand Star, and a hot-blooded Interstellar Cowboy. Being carried by a woman like that was a disgrace in his life. He believed the main problem was that the woman was clad in Exoskeleton Armor, which gave her much more strength than usual.

"Mocking Pigeon, what are you suddenly doing on Mechanical Star? Aren’t you and your fleet fighting a war in another Star Zone?"

Earth Wolf Twelve asked with a hint of caution. His old friend had brought her entire fleet to Mechanical Star’s zone, looking like they were ready for interstellar war. If he remembered correctly, Mocking Pigeon and her fleet should be fighting against the Iron Guard Consortium in another Star Zone.

It was under her leadership that the United Front was established.

He worried this was another order from the Chamber of Commerce.

Mocking Pigeon and Actus’ Cosmic Pirates were different. They represented the most hardcore soldiers of the Eastern Battlefront. Since the destruction of their home planet, Mocking Pigeon had thrown herself entirely into the war with Universe Company. The first Eastern Battlefront war alone lasted several years, dragging Universe Company into the mire, forcing them to eventually withdraw from the region of the Eastern Battlefront.

She was one of the rare warmongers in the galaxy. At the recent Chamber of Commerce meeting, Actus, who also hailed from the Eastern Battlefront, was a lot more cautious when speaking in front of Mocking Pigeon, deviating from his usual sarcastic ways.

If the Chamber of Commerce had commanded Mocking Pigeon’s fleet to attack Mechanical Star, he would be caught in a difficult situation.

The Cowboy didn’t have many friends; he really didn’t want to go to war against the few he had left.

"The war is over,"

said Mocking Pigeon simply.

"Over? That quickly?"

"The Iron Guard Consortium has been pampered for too long—they’re nothing but pretty decorations. After losing a few battles, they retreated."

This was far from the galactic war she had hoped for—it was without any real bite.

With the infighting in Universe Company escalating, even the most militaristic Iron Guards started considering battle losses and investment returns after engaging in combat.

Once they were bogged down by too many trivial matters, their combat effectiveness dropped sharply.

No wonder Universe Company’s control over various Star Zones was weakening. The long-standing internal strife had already turned it into a paper tiger, with even the Long Branch Committee making their own plans.

Of course, all this had nothing to do with why she came to Mechanical Star.

"You haven’t answered my question yet, did the Chamber of Commerce send you?"

"No."

Mocking Pigeon shook her head, "I just heard that an Interstellar Cowboy was being bullied by Cosmic Pirates, so I brought the fleet over to help him show some muscle."

"This joke isn’t funny at all."

Earth Wolf Twelve looked away.

"Do you think I’m joking?"

Mocking Pigeon stared at him seriously, "Why do you think I made a special trip to the clinic?"

"Isn’t it because you wore your exoskeleton armor for too long, and now your body feels uncomfortable all over?"

That was the excuse Mocking Pigeon found, hoping Earth Wolf Twelve would introduce her to a trustworthy doctor.

Of course, all these were lies.

As the commander of the Eastern Battlefront fleet, there weren’t many in this universe who were in better shape than her. Only this interstellar cowboy would believe she had traveled across several star zones just to see a doctor.

"It’s because I wanted to see who I’ve lost to."

Out of the blue, Mocking Pigeon uttered such a sentence, causing Earth Wolf Twelve to fall into silence once again.

He naturally knew what Mocking Pigeon meant.

She needed a trustworthy vice-captain, something she’d mentioned to Earth Wolf Twelve at least a dozen times on different occasions, but each time she was fobbed off with various excuses.

"It seems I’m a step too late."

Mocking Pigeon showed rare sentiment, "If it had been a few days earlier, would you have joined my ship?"

"I wouldn’t have."

Earth Wolf Twelve shook his head.

The atmosphere was somewhat awkward; two individuals who had spent the majority of their lives on the battlefield shouldn’t be dwelling on such trivial matters.

"Why not? What’s wrong with my fleet?"

This was the first time Mocking Pigeon directly asked the question, "You could train rangers, and cultivate another elite force."

She didn’t want to put it so bluntly, but with Earth Wolf Twelve having decided to leave the Chamber of Commerce and board another’s ship, considering the relationship between Blue Star and the Chamber, the next time they met, it’s very likely they would be on opposing sides.

From the day she came to her senses, she was taught to fight for whatever she wanted, not shying away from taking it by force if necessary, but for this one matter, Mocking Pigeon didn’t want to use any form of coercion.

"Or is it that you look down on me?"

"Don’t talk nonsense, you know that’s never been my intention."

Earth Wolf Twelve became flustered; he felt uncomfortable all over, and Mocking Pigeon’s gaze made him want to find an excuse to escape.

While the weight in his heart dropped, another situation arose that made him feel like he was sitting on pins and needles.

"There’s a good bar in the hotel, come on, it’s on me."

"...Lead the way."

Mocking Pigeon took a deep breath, trying her best to return to her usual self.

A long-lost old friend, going to a bar to drink until utterly drunk, casting aside all worries, that seems to be the romance befitting their kind.

On reflection, she and Earth Wolf Twelve met at a Chamber of Commerce cocktail party, where this interstellar cowboy had arrogantly looked down on her, claiming that he could drink ten times more than she could, so for every one drink she had, the cowboy would down two in response.

Then she showed this self-important cowboy the boisterousness of the people from the Eastern Battlefront, making him throw up all night. The next day, he woke up with even his footsteps unsteady.

Drinking, speaking whatever comes to mind, sharply critiquing some of the recent cosmic events, grumbling about the crappy situations encountered during voyages.

Just like before.