Ch.35″Perhaps a tense feeling is needed for a body that has grown lax…”

I hate to say this, but the event chain related to the pirate attacks, which users call the “Pirate Empress Event”…

<Warning! Pirate fleet approaching!>

<Estimated arrival at base in approximately 5 minutes.>

“Hmm.”

…was still very much ongoing.

To be precise, the “Pirate Empress” event hadn’t even happened yet.

We were still stuck in the preliminary skirmishes leading up to it.

I was starting to think about upgrading the base to the next level in preparation for the upcoming “Pirate Empress” event.

Of course, I was only “thinking” about it—implementing it right away would be impossible.

—————————————-

<Base Level 4 Upgrade>

<<<Required Resources: 10,000 Minerals, 500 Rare Resources>>>

<Upgrade Unlocks>

˪<Additional Docking Facilities>

˪<Additional Resource Storage Construction>

˪<Rare Resource Synthesis Factory>

˪<Additional Shipyard Construction>

—————————————-

The mineral requirement for level 4 was ridiculously high.

To accomplish this, I’d need to aggressively collect minerals first, but…

As I saw just a few days ago, our mineral reserves were in a truly pathetic state.

The reason was the warning message I just received.

Basically, we had too many places to spend minerals—repairing damage from pirates who kept attacking us like bland soup that nobody asked for, or building new ships to replace destroyed ones.

With so many demands on our resources, it was impossible to save anything.

As these thoughts crossed my mind, I realized I was getting thoroughly sick of this one-trick pirate event progression.

And I wasn’t the only one thinking this way.

—————————————-

Title: Isn’t this event literally just pirates attacking over and over? One-trick much?

Author: Anonymous

Content: It’s getting a bit annoying tbh;;

Is it always like this?

Comments:

-[You’ve figured it out, come join the game company]

-[You’ve discovered the truth]

-[You’re too smart to be playing this game]

-[A newbie with enough brains to quit, congrats]

… … … … … …

—————————————-

They’re not wrong.

Looking at the newbie’s post on the community board and the comments below it, I found myself agreeing with them, feeling bored with this one-dimensional pirate event.

But right at that moment,

A realization flashed through my mind, sending a chill down my spine.

‘Wait, what the f*ck am I thinking?’

I’ve been kidnapped and imprisoned in a game made by developers who can’t even balance difficulty properly.

And I’m feeling “bored” about repetitive pirate attack events?

Have I already adapted to this insane world?

Am I mentally broken, marinated in adrenaline instead of dopamine?

Feeling this way, I decided I couldn’t just sit around anymore.

Instead of safely commanding from inside the fortified base headquarters as usual, I decided to board one of the departing cruisers to witness the battle against the incoming pirates firsthand.

I figured if I experienced the fighting up close, with shells hitting the ship I was on, I probably wouldn’t have these stupid thoughts about being “bored” anymore.

Of course, regarding my decision…

“You know this is absolutely not allowed, right?”

My Adjutant Jessica, as well as…

“Commander, you going to the front lines directly poses too great a risk.”

“That’s right, Commander. Just hearing you command us with that sweet voice of yours makes me… makes me want to come over and over…♡”

“I don’t know about ‘coming,’ but honestly, I think it’s dangerous.”

The three Superhumans who served as my “executive officers” all expressed their opposition to my decision.

Of course, they weren’t saying my opinion was wrong—they were concerned about the “danger” involved.

“I know it’s dangerous, but if I stay here doing nothing, I think I’ll lose my mind first.”

“Ah.”

“Besides, with all of you protecting me, I’m not particularly worried.”

“Commander…♡”

Citing the preservation of my mental health as justification,

I ordered the deployment of the SSS-rank cruiser “Overseer” that we had captured previously,

So I could observe the battle against the newly arrived pirates in real-time.

==========

But there was one thing I hadn’t anticipated.

Unlike usual, with me included in this “pirate interception force,” our power was excessively concentrated on protecting me.

With a fleet of 30 ships, including 5 cruisers (one being the Overseer I was on) along with newly produced vessels,

And Superhuman forces including Ignis, Berial, and Pashtra,

The pirates who had come for some simple plundering with just one cruiser and five destroyers suddenly found themselves helplessly torn apart by a force five times their size.

The pirates were being destroyed so thoroughly that my initial plan to regain tension through actual combat disappeared completely.

In its place came something resembling pity for the pirates.

Right from the start, four of their ships (excluding their flagship cruiser) were blown away by concentrated fire from our cruisers, including the Overseer I was on.

The remaining ship… simply melted away under Pashtra’s particle beam, dying a miserable death.

And was their flagship cruiser doing any better? Absolutely not.

-“Aaaaargh!!!”

-“M-monsters! These women are monsters!”

-“Fuck, please spare me! I don’t want to di—”

Our Ignis, who had reached level 45 through efficient leveling, was…

-“Out of my way, you vermin! Damn woman!”

-“…”

-“How dare you rampage so chaotically on my pirate ship! I’ll make you pay for this with your body!”

-“…”

-“Die!”

-BOOM!

When a giant wielding a large tachi sword who identified himself as the captain of the pirate ship attacked her,

She dodged a few times to gauge his strength, then…

-“You’re in my way, trash.”

-SLASH!

-“Urgh?!”

Ignis, who was already close to SSS-rank with excellent stats and good growth,

Cut the pirate captain and his tachi sword vertically into three pieces.

Similarly, Berial, who was deployed alongside her, used her increased number of “dolls” that came with leveling up.

In the ship-to-ship melee combat that should normally put us at a numerical disadvantage, she quickly gained control of the cruiser’s interior through sheer numbers.

-“Everyone advance, the Commander is watching this battle.”

-“Roger, ro…”

-“Just say that once.”

But the pirates, perhaps trying to prove they were experienced enough to pilot a cruiser,

Despite their captain being turned into three pieces,

Were holding out “longer than expected” against the doll army directly commanded by Berial.

But even so, shouldn’t they be surrendering by now?

What benefit could they possibly gain by continuing to resist like this?

As I was wondering about this, suddenly…

-Static noise…

-“Commander, we’re receiving a communication request from the pirate ship.”

“Communication?”

Curious about this unexpected event, I ordered the communication to be connected.

With some static noise, a communication screen appeared on the large display in the bridge of my cruiser.

And on that screen…

-“Damn you all to hell! Did you think we’d just hand over this ship to you?!”

A middle-aged man—the pirate ship’s first mate—holding what was clearly a “I’m a self-destruct button!” Big Red Button,

Was shouting at the communication screen with eyes filled with madness.

“Ignis, Berial, retreat immediately.”

-“Yes, Commander!”

-“Understood, everyone retreat!”

I had no intention of losing valuable Superhuman characters because of this crazy old man.

I ordered Ignis and Berial, who had infiltrated the ship, to return, planning to “subdue” the cruiser by carefully targeting just the bridge with artillery.

But just as I was about to put this plan into action,

-“Kuhack?!”

The first mate who had been glaring at me suddenly made a choking sound,

Looked behind him, and muttered something like “You, how dare you…”

The strength left the hand holding the button, and he collapsed in front of the screen, dead.

Naturally, seeing this, I raised a mental question mark, wondering what had happened.

As if to answer my question,

Someone’s hand grabbed the collapsed first mate’s head and threw it off-screen.

Then, a very young-looking girl appeared on the screen and said to me:

-“Hey there, big brother, want to make a deal with me?”