It was a sharp-edged triangular pyramid-shaped object, pitch-black all over. Glass was inlaid at the very bottom, and through it, the brightly lit interior could be faintly seen, as bright as day.

From the perspective of Lenon's aircraft camera, countless mechanical arms were rising and falling, the cold iron gleaming with a bluish-gray cold light.

It seemed to be a massive heavy processing factory.

Lin You's eyebrows twitched. "Factory?"

Could this be that elusive pheromone factory?

At this moment, the sound of static echoed in the cabin. Lenon pressed the answer button, and Devon's voice came through, the signal slightly distorted, "Lenon, they've gone over. The border checkpoint spotted the Royal Family's aircraft, and its coordinates are currently inside the 'factory'."

"That is truly good news." Lenon chuckled, downing the high-proof liquor with ice in front of him. "It wasn't in vain that I've waited here for almost three days."

He sighed emotionally, "Your intel is very accurate, Colonel Devon."

Devon: "Of course. I previously took half a month's annual leave and figured out Zone 35 inside and out."

He muttered, "After this, the annual leave I saved up for two years has been completely used up. Next time, even if a little male Zerg asks me out on a date, I won't be able to go."

Lenon: "If I return alive this time and can still command the Third Legion, I'll use a special channel to make up for your annual leave, but..."

The two of them fell silent together.

But what if he couldn't return?

Neither was willing to explore this possibility. After a moment of silence, Devon added, "One more thing, Lenon. From the moment the Royal Family's aircraft crossed the border, the area you are in has been completely on lockdown. Lin Yu is terrified of dying and has taken security to the extreme. Right now, it's hard for even a fly to enter Zone 35."

Lenon: "As expected. Otherwise, why would I come so far in advance and fly around in this godforsaken place for three days?"

If Devon hadn't intercepted the 'factory's' visitor logs, they wouldn't have been able to wait here to catch them.

Lenon looked out the floor-to-ceiling window. That pitch-black behemoth slid over from the edge of the planet, gradually approaching. Its heavy shadow pressed down upon him like a prehistoric beast.

He flicked the control panel. "I see them. Going offline for now."

"Alright," Devon replied calmly, but didn't hang up. Amidst the complex static, he said softly, "Good luck, Major General."

Lenon hummed in response and hung up the communication. He lightly started up the aircraft, avoiding the behemoth, and actually headed towards the inside of the planetary ring.

55 cried out in alarm, "What is he trying to do?"

The internal structure of the planetary ring was extremely complex. The high-speed moving rocks traveled at speeds of dozens of kilometers per second. Even with the assistance of the most advanced obstacle avoidance systems, flying an aircraft into the planetary ring would still result in death or severe injury.

Lin You said, "That is the best hiding spot."

Lin You had pulled off a similar maneuver before. In the Crater Hive dungeon of Interstellar War, players had to bypass the worker bees' surveillance and get close to the Queen Bee BOSS to complete the kill reward. However, no matter how strong an individual was, it was very difficult to deal with the siege of the worker bee swarm. According to the forum's guide, the best method was actually to craft a fireproof suit and crawl into the hive through the magma, because no worker bee would think anyone could be there.

A place of death became the best sanctuary.

Similarly, based on the previous conversation, Zone 35 had been locked down. Therefore, the area around the "factory" would definitely be heavily guarded with multiple layers of defense. But no one would monitor the inside of the planetary ring; it was a universally recognized dead zone.

Lenon drove into the planetary ring.

He wore the uniform of the Third Legion, his chest covered in medals, and his sash meticulously tied, as if he were not breaking into a life-forbidden zone alone, but attending a ceremony to be awarded.

Tumbling rocks brushed past the aircraft and were skillfully dodged, leaving only moderate-sized dents on its surface. The cockpit shook violently, yet Lenon's hands remained very steady. He carefully adjusted the angle and position, then merged into the planetary ring, rotating along with the dust and rocks under the planet's gravitational pull.

As if he had always been there.

Lin You secretly gasped. "If it were me, I would've crashed by now."

Lenon turned off the electric lighting system and activated the electromagnetic wave shielding equipment, letting the aircraft rotate along with the planetary ring. From afar, it looked just like the other scrapped aircraft at the border of Zone 35—nothing but a cold steel coffin containing the remains of a Third Legion general.

Lenon picked up the long-barreled rifled gun on the passenger seat and slowly began wiping it with a silk cloth.

The silver sniper rifle was wiped until it was gleaming. The metal of the barrel reflected a cold light like the moon. He quietly watched the screen in front of him. On it, two red dots were slowly pulsating, sliding along their set trajectories and gradually approaching.

It was the "factory" and this aircraft.

Twenty minutes later, they began to converge.

The "factory" brushed forward against the planetary ring's orbit. In a place Lenon couldn't see, the camera in the living room quietly turned, directly facing the direction of the "factory". And through the aircraft's floor-to-ceiling window, Lin You could already see the structure of the "factory" clearly.

—It could roughly be divided into three levels from top to bottom. The assembly line matrix composed of mechanical arms was located at the bottom of the triangular pyramid, used to produce pheromones. The middle was partitioned into independent research offices and bedrooms, serving as the living quarters for the "factory's" leaders and visitors. The hall at the very top was surrounded by glass floor-to-ceiling windows on all four sides, used to receive the most important guests.

Lin Yu was inside.

Unlike the cold industrial style of the lower two levels, the top level's decor was luxurious and soft. There were genuine leather sofas transported from the Main Star, rare green plants placed by the windows, and even the carpet under their feet was worth a fortune.

The First Prince sat carelessly on the sofa, shaking a newly developed pheromone preparation in his hand. The liquid exhibited a dangerous peach-pink color.

Lin You asked, "55, can you figure out what they're saying from their lip movements?"

55: "I'll try—the resolution of the spaceship's camera is too low. It's very difficult to parse the lip movements. It would be about right if paired with a 12X scope."

The system struggled to compute. "Hmm, I barely managed to analyze it. Lin Yu is saying, 'Is this new toy more effective than that addictive pheromone from last time?'"

"That man wearing a tie said—oh, I just cross-referenced the Empire's information database. He is Genate, a researcher at the Imperial Pheromone Research Institute, and the top student of the institute's dean, Skeri. He was once sentenced to death for hacking his neighbor's entire family to death with an axe, including a five-year-old child, after an altercation with his neighbor. I didn't expect him to be here, and it seems he has become the person in charge of the factory."

"Dean Skeri's top student?" Lin You paused slightly. "If I remember correctly, Lin Yu married Skeri's son as his female consort?"

55: "Yes, your memory is quite good—oh, he's here too. That gray-haired old man in the back is him."

Lin You looked over and indeed saw an old man standing in the middle, also holding a bottle of peach-pink liquid in his hand. He was shaking the beaker, full of obsession.

Lin You: "So what is the dean saying?"

"He says, 'It's much more effective. This is my and Genate's proudest work. We've enhanced the level of discomfort after addiction and the controlling efficacy. Female Zergs will weep bitterly and beg for your grace. Without your pheromones, they will be like dogs wagging their tails begging for pity. Please enjoy to your heart's content.'"

"Then the First Prince said, 'I can't wait. Are there any test subjects? Bring a test subject here for me to try it out on.'"

"The Dean: 'I will arrange the most beautiful one for you right away.'"

"The First Prince looks quite satisfied. He nodded: 'Besides being beautiful, it's best if they have a fierce temperament, the kind that won't yield no matter how they're tormented. That way, it'll be interesting when they start begging after being fed the medicine.'"

The camera's resolution wasn't high enough to clearly see Lin Yu's expression, but Lin You could clearly sense his nonchalant attitude, as if the test subjects weren't living people, but white mice raised in a cage.

55 shuddered. "There are still live test subjects in the factory?"

Lin You couldn't control his cold sneer. "How capable. It seems this factory doesn't just produce addictive pheromones, it's also a brothel in space."

No wonder the First Prince traveled across thousands of mountains and rivers, insisting on coming to this godforsaken place.

As the Crown Prince, there were many things the First Prince couldn't play around with on the Main Star. Otherwise, if such a scandal were exposed, it would inevitably provoke condemnation and affect the Royal Family's reputation. But placed in this deserted land, no one would know about it. No matter how outrageous he was, it didn't matter, just like that notorious Xinnu Island from Lin You's previous life.

While they were talking, the spaceships slowly converged. The angle between them was already less than 50 degrees, but no one noticed the aircraft in the planetary ring.

Lenon had bet right. There were many surveillance cameras around the "factory," but none paid attention to this dead, life-forbidden zone.

Lenon calmly adjusted the aircraft.

The aircraft's hatch opened silently. Without anyone noticing, an extremely tiny robot flew out from the aircraft's hatch. After precise calculations, it attached itself to a certain spot on the "factory's" glass.

Highly concentrated corrosive liquid sprayed out from it, smearing onto the glass layer by layer.

The high-strength glass was bulletproof, but it couldn't withstand the corrosion of chemical reagents. It was corroded into a grain-sized hole, leaving only a thin layer connecting it.

Two minutes later, a beautiful red-haired female Zerg was dragged by the scalp and escorted in front of Lin Yu.

Lin You's eyebrows twitched. "Someone from the Third Legion?"

That person was wearing a uniform with a silver medal on their shoulder. From the visual details transmitted back by the system, it precisely belonged to the Third Legion.

Genate: "Look at this one." He lifted the female Zerg's face. "Is this one beautiful? Captured in the previous pursuit battle in Zone 35, a major of the Third Legion. We specifically kept them untouched, just waiting for you to come."

Lin Yu hooked the female Zerg's chin with one finger, examining them from side to side like a picky buyer evaluating goods, and nodded in satisfaction. "Beautiful. But it's a pity you guys failed to catch Lenon that time. I still think he's more beautiful."

He smacked his lips slightly, as if he were truly regretful.

Lin You couldn't hold back and tightly gripped the small screen.

55: "Let go, let go! Host, it hurts! It hurts!"

At this time, the aircraft was almost directly converging with the "factory," the floor-to-ceiling windows facing each other from afar, less than 10 kilometers apart.

55: "Visually estimated to have entered the firing range of the Heavy Rifled Gun MK198."

Lenon's silver long-barreled rifled gun was precisely the MK198.

Lenon engaged the autopilot mode.

Engaging the autopilot mode in a planetary ring with complex trajectories was a highly irrational choice. In at most five minutes, the aircraft would be struck by high-speed rocks, and even the hardest steel in the galaxy could only withstand two or three hits before reaching the brink of being scrapped.

And the window of opportunity for the factory and the aircraft to converge was also roughly five minutes.

Genate was still talking eloquently. He was placing a light brain in front of Lin Yu's eyes. "Your Highness, if you are not satisfied with this one, we have other types. Look at this gray-haired, blue-eyed one. He is also a general of the Third Legion and bears some resemblance to Lenon. I will bring him to..."

The 12x scope was mounted on the gun. Through the crosshairs, Lenon pulled the trigger.

He hit that grain-sized gap.

The glass instantly cracked into cobweb-like fissures.

Then came the second shot.

The bullet shot out from the barrel, once again hitting the gap dead center.

The third shot.

Every single shot hit the mark.

The cobweb spread out. The excellent performance of the high-strength glass prevented it from shattering over a large area, only exposing a gap the size of a bottle cap.

But it was enough.

The shattering sound of the glass threw the interior into a panic. The people in the living room finally noticed the ice-cold aircraft outside the window—its iron-gray structure blending perfectly into the planetary ring. Lin Yu released the red-haired military female Zerg as if electrocuted and frantically looked up, trying to find the source of the attack, but the aircraft opposite was pitch-black, and nothing could be seen.

At this moment, the brightly lit factory was like a target in the dark of night.

Genate immediately protected Lin Yu. "Go! Head to the lower level first!"

They started running. For a moment, the living room turned into a chaotic mess. The crowd moved with messy footsteps, dashing left and right, making it extremely difficult to aim.

But Lin You heard the fourth gunshot.

Genate maintained a protective posture with the First Prince still behind him, yet a bullet pierced right through Genate's brow—through that gap that was only the size of a bottle cap.

55's calm voice rang out: "Genate, Imperial Pheromone Research Specialist, fugitive at large. Penetrating wound to the brain, no vital signs. Deceased."

The corpse crashed to the ground.

Lin Yu let out a scream. The gray-haired dean pulled him over with one hand. "Your Highness, we..."

Before he could finish his sentence, a blossom of blood exploded from his forehead.

Lenon fired the fifth shot.

55: "Skeri, Dean of the Imperial Pheromone Research Institute, Chairman of the Galaxy Pharmaceutical Company. Penetrating wound to the brain, no vital signs. Deceased."

Following that was the sixth shot, the seventh shot...

"Imperial Research Institute..."

"Galaxy Pharmaceutical Company..."

"Consul of the District 35 Consular Bureau..."

Massive amounts of data flowed through the system. After cross-referencing, it accurately reported each person's name. Any single one of them was a prominent and famous figure. Lenon fired so quickly that the cold mechanical voices intertwined and rose and fell, forming a boundless echo.

55: "...Deceased."

Lin You was about to speak when his pupils suddenly shrank.

At the end of his line of sight, he saw two golden-red spindle-shaped objects, trailing bright blue tail flames, shooting towards them at high speed.

The "factory" finally realized something was wrong and decided to counterattack.

For a better sniping angle, he had removed more than half the glass of the aircraft. At this moment, the cabin was almost exposed to the outside. The Zergs' formidable bodies allowed them to survive unprotected in space for a brief moment, but only a brief moment. His silver wings spread open, the bone wings propping against the corner of the sofa to provide momentum for his body's movement. Those two shells were heading almost straight for his face.

Lenon had absolutely no intention of dodging.

In the struggle just now, snipers had fired at him. In order to seize the momentary angle, Lenon never dodged unless it was fatal. His shoulders, calves, and various other places were covered in grazes and bullet holes, which slowly healed under the terrifying regenerative abilities of a military female Zerg, leaving behind hideous marks. Blood floated in the air from his fingertips, as crimson as the expensive pigeon-blood rubies of the Pamir Galaxy.

Under the excessive blood loss and injuries, Lenon's muscles twitched involuntarily. His face had lost its color, and his body spasmed and trembled slightly. The pain made his mind dizzy, yet every motion of aiming and holding the gun was so steady, as precise as interlocking gears.

And on the other side of the aircraft's floor-to-ceiling window, the planetary ring continued its slow movement.

55 suddenly cried out in shock, "Heavens!"

It saw a vast expanse of metallic wreckage.

The Graveyard just happened to be passing by.

Those crashed aircraft had long since turned into inorganic metallic coffins within the planetary ring.

Corpses in space would not decay. Through a layer of tempered glass, 55 could see the dead warriors with faces covered in frost and skin turned a purplish-cyan. Their eyeballs were cloudy, their pupils dilated, leaving only an unfocused pale white.

Yet even though their consciousness had long dispersed and their souls no longer existed, here and now, it was as if they were piercing through several layers of glass, lingering on this steel warship, quietly watching their commander.

Lenon pulled the trigger.

—The ninth shot.

The bullet passed through the gap, and a spray of blood bloomed.

Once again, a bullseye.

The system said softly, "Lin Yu, Crown Prince of the Empire, First in Line of Succession to the Royal Family. Penetrating wound to the brain, no vital signs detected. System has determined—"

"Deceased."