Chen Ming soon arrived at the Pirate Space Station.
The new director had already arranged for people to wait at the special channel of the cruiser dock to meet Chen Ming and greet him.
The new director wasnât the former vice director reappointed but was sent over from the headquarters of the Sinda Corporation.
He was obviously well aware of the previous directorâs situation, so his attitude towards Chen Ming was quite respectful.
A friendly face wonât get hit.
When given respect, Chen Ming reciprocated, greeting and getting acquainted with him normally.
Anyway, as long as no one bothered him or his acquaintances, he didnât care who the director was or what the internal company interests were.
After politely declining the new directorâs invitation to dine together.
Chen Ming didnât see the workshop director or Old Wu at the maintenance factory.
Instead, he saw the bald guy he previously gave some money to and the sole newbie who survived the military attack, both working at the factory.
After a brief chat with them, Chen Ming ran straight to the hardware store on Space Arm 2, intending to find the owner.
However, upon arrival, he found the hardware store closed.
Only then did he remember that Bai Quanâs promotion ceremony was less than two weeks away, and the owner had been invited to attend it, so his absence was normal.
Chen Ming turned and ran to the Administration Building, but the directorâs office was locked, probably due to some errands.
So Chen Ming headed all the way to the bar.
At the entrance, the security guard didnât know Chen Ming but clearly recognized him and gave him a respectful glance as he walked into the bar.
After all, Chen Ming wasnât wearing any protective suit or power armor this time, so it made sense for the security to recognize him.
Previously, Chen Ming wore various protective suits and power armor because he feared exposing his identity and jeopardizing his safety.
But now that his identity had been publicly revealed.
Moreover, with his current Spiritual Power, even without any protective equipment, he could react quickly to any weapon attack attempt, manually create armor, and ensure his safety.
Therefore, those are indeed unnecessary now.
Chen Ming entered the bar, his eyes scanning the entire venue, and this time he didnât make a wasted trip.
Chen Ming casually asked the bartender for an orange juice, then walked a few steps to the corner of the bar and sat down beside Old Wu, who drank here as usual.
The drinking Old Wu noticed Chen Ming then and asked unexpectedly, "Back already?"
"Yeah, getting chased around outside, so I came back to hide for a couple of days."
"What could chase you down like that?"
"Over eighty Mechanical Race cruisers."
Old Wu almost spat his drink out, feeling that Chen Ming was speaking the truth.
"Did you dig up their ancestral graves?"
"No, I dug up the foundation of their new house, not much else, howâve you been lately?"
Old Wu raised his cup and said, "Same old, passing days, doing what needs doing, just like Iâve got a date with a girl for dinner in a bit, else why would I be drinking something so light?"
After a brief chat.
Chen Ming shifted the conversation to business, asking, "Have the pirates in the Star Realm increased in the past half month?"
Old Wu nodded, "A bit more, and probably more soon."
"How so?"
Old Wu took out his terminal, laying several articles on it, saying, "Have you seen the news lately? The birth of malformed newborns has increased."
"And not just in one or two places, but across most of the Empireâs regions."
"Then thereâs the rumor that the malformed newborn wave of decades ago is returning."
"Such issues have endless repercussions, causing panic among people."
"With the chaotic environment, itâs normal for pirates to become more active."
While Chen Ming viewed the news reports on Old Wuâs terminal, Old Wu continued, "And lately, people from Zuo Jing have been active within the Empire."
"Theyâre proclaiming that their cultâs god has punished humanity due to desecration, tsk tsk..."
"Yet, some still believe this nonsense, what can you do?"
Chen Ming slightly shook his head, saying, "Zuo Jing is indeed troublesome."
"Who says otherwise?"
"By the way, any movement from the Empireâs higher-ups?"
"So far, no. The propaganda department has only slightly blocked some reports on malformed newborns, but no real solutions have been provided."
Chen Ming wasnât surprised by the lack of solutions since he believed the Empire wouldnât be able to offer any even if it wanted to.
The Dimensional Gaze caused by Dusk couldnât be handled by anyone.
The Spiritual Ability Associationâs president, who had firsthand experience of dimension infection, couldnât solve the Dimensional Gaze, so even less can other inexperienced psychics.
The next twenty years within the Empire will inevitably see various conflicts erupting.
Peaceful navigation through these twenty years depends on the higher-upsâ strategies.
But this doesnât concern Chen Ming, as the Dimensional Gaze only affects delicate newborns, and he has no intention of getting married and having kids for now.
Besides, he plans to continue exploring externally, being away from the Empire means he wonât be affected.
So Chen Ming didnât discuss this topic further with Old Wu and instead brought up the workshop director.
"I just headed to the directorâs office; where is he?"
"He should be..."