"We are from Duozhao Star, and I am the commander of the Fourth Royal Guard of Duozhao Star."
"Ten years ago, treacherous officials rebelled, and a civil war broke out on the planet. We defended the emperor, but were overwhelmed and forced to flee into space, seeking armed assistance from other Toadman planets to help us return and purge the traitors."
"However, the treacherous officials had already bribed other Toadman planets with immense benefits, so no planet offered us aid. They even attempted to detain us and send us back to our home planet."
"In the breakout battle, we lost seventy percent of our forces. The remaining thirty percent were forced to wander in the universe."
"We have no identity and have become undocumented residents of the Galactic Empire, so we can only cooperate with some smuggling groups."
"We steal various things, such as ores, livestock, forests, and warship parts from battlefield ruins, and then sell them to smuggling groups for fuel to continue our exile."
"Stealing ore from your territory was a measure of last resort."
Jiang Ye was surprised.
They were actually regular army?
And had been in exile for ten years?
"Ask it," Fu Qiuyan instructed the linguist. "Stealing is one thing, but why did you forcefully attack the human camp in the Xin Ke asteroid belt? This is not stealing, this is robbery. Stealing and robbing are fundamentally different."
The linguist quickly typed on the keyboard, translating for the Blue Toadman.
The Blue Toadman glanced at it and then replied with its claws.
"We have the Fourth Prince in our fleet. He has contracted radiation sickness and requires various medications to sustain his life. The interstellar smugglers sell us very expensive medicine, and for the sake of the Fourth Prince's life, we had no choice but to fight desperately."
Jiang Ye spoke, "Why are you trying to save the Fourth Prince's life? Is it to support him on the throne after you eventually return to Duozhao Star?"
The linguist immediately translated.
The Blue Toadman wrote a reply:
"Our duty is to protect the Fourth Prince."
After a moment of hesitation, the Blue Toadman suddenly dipped its claw into a large amount of mucus and quickly wrote on a piece of glass.
"In fact, I don't think we have the ability to return to Duozhao Star anymore. We were originally a very small unit. Over the past ten years, we have intermarried and had children in an attempt to strengthen our forces, but we have lost them all in one battle after another. Our current troop numbers are only one-third of what they were ten years ago."
"We no longer know the meaning of this exile. Ten years have passed, and the treacherous officials who rebelled have become the new emperor of Duozhao Star, and everything has stabilized. In the first few years, the treacherous officials' troops would still pursue us, trying to eliminate us completely. Now they no longer chase us, because they know we are no longer a threat."
"We also don't know the meaning of protecting the Fourth Prince. We, these people, will not even be recorded in the history books of the Toadmen. From the perspective of Duozhao Star, we have already disappeared into the universe, like dust disappearing into the sea, or a spaceship disappearing into a black hole. Perhaps the Fourth Prince is the spiritual support that allows us to continue moving forward. It is because of the Fourth Prince that we have persisted for ten years without stopping our struggle. Otherwise, we would have long ago become dried-up corpses in a ghost ship, flying by inertia year after year into the endless dark universe."
"Where are you planning to go?" Fu Qiuyan asked.
The Blue Toadman diligently wiped away the large reply on the glass and wrote a few symbols.
"Don't know." The language expert immediately translated.
Fu Qiuyan and Jiang Ye exchanged glances, their expressions becoming complicated.
"Do you believe what it says?" Fu Qiuyan asked, pointing to the computer screen beside them. "The bioelectrical monitoring is within normal range, so it's highly likely it's not lying."
"It should be the truth. Matters within the Galactic Empire are easy to investigate," Jiang Ye said. "What are your plans?"
"I'll listen to you," Fu Qiuyan said.
"Then I'll report to my superiors," Jiang Ye said.
Jiang Ye left the underground prison and found a guard rest room. He asked the guards to leave temporarily, closed the door, and took out his phone to call Dai Zhixing.
He explained the entire situation to Dai Zhixing over the phone. After a long period of contemplation on the other end, Dai Zhixing replied.
"The internal affairs of the Toadmen are a hundred thousand miles away from us, and it's not easy for us to interfere," Dai Zhixing said. "Although the Blue Toadman is a bit pitiful and appears to be a loyal subject, it is not on our side, so we cannot simply sympathize with it. It belongs to the Toadmen, and the rise and fall of the Toadmen will affect us humans."
"I understand," Jiang Ye said. "I want to know your opinion, how should we handle this?"
"You can handle it however you want," Dai Zhixing said. "You can negotiate with this group of ore thieves and demand some ransom. Or you can use the Blue Toadman as bait to capture the entire ore-thieving team and eliminate future trouble. Or, if you want some benefits, you can capture and detain the Blue Toadman and the ore-thieving team, and send them to Duozhao Star to the current Toadman emperor of Duozhao Star, demanding some money or other things."
After hanging up the phone, Jiang Ye returned to the front of the Blue Toadman's cell.
"What did he say?" Fu Qiuyan asked.
"Demand ransom from the ore thieves, wipe out the ore thieves, and sell the ore thieves to Duozhao Star," Jiang Ye said. "That's the superior's intention, and I can't think of any other way to handle it."
"The last option..." Fu Qiuyan bit her lip.
"You think it's a bit despicable, don't you?" Jiang Ye smiled. "Don't forget, the Toadmen and humans are not on the same side."
"Then let's go with the last option," Fu Qiuyan nodded, quietly calculating. "Continuing to fight the ore thieves will waste money, and demanding ransom from them won't yield much. They are so poor that they fight desperately for some cheap ore. The only way is to sell them as a package to Duozhao Star, which might yield the maximum profit and compensate for the losses incurred by Ju Lanlan."
"Half and half. You are responsible for selling the ore thieves, and you get half of the money. You can't do it for free," Jiang Ye said, pointing to the Blue Toadman lying opposite the window. "Find a way to use it as bait to lure out the other ore thieves and capture them all."
"Okay, then I'll make up a little fairy tale for this Blue Toadman," Fu Qiuyan said immediately, as if she was prepared. "Read books."
"What fairy tale?" Jiang Ye became interested.
"Just tell it that we are willing to help their ore-thieving team. The Galactic Empire is expanding rapidly now, and we have spare planets to give them so they can multiply and prosper. When they accumulate enough strength in the future, they can raise an army to return to Duozhao Star and have the Fourth Prince ascend the throne," Fu Qiuyan said. "After they return to Duozhao Star, we will demand some rewards, set the rewards high, such as demanding two subordinate planets, to make them believe that we are truly helping them for long-term returns, and to shift their attention to negotiating with us, thereby inducing their entire ore-thieving team to reveal themselves."
"Alright, we can try it," Jiang Ye said. "I won't be involved anymore. The Spiral Star side is still very busy, and I need to go back and monitor it. I'll leave some of the reinforcement fleets for you to help capture the ore thieves."
"Don't worry, I should be able to handle this," Fu Qiuyan nodded.