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Chapter 577: The Black Zone (9)

“Success…? So you’re saying there was a chance we’d fail, you bastard?”

Yeongwoo asked while staring at the button now rolling across the floor.

Kejen glanced back over his shoulder.

—Where there’s success, there’s always failure, right? Sounds like something you would’ve said yourself.

“…Well, I mean… yeah.”

Hearing it out loud, he had to admit it made sense.

And in any case—they had successfully taken off.

“Damn, what a morning.”

Yeongwoo leaned his back against the ship’s inner wall, finally calming down.

“So what now? We’re just stuck like this until we reach your hideout?”

Kejen nodded.

—Yeah. But actually…

“Actually what?”

A bad feeling creased Yeongwoo’s forehead.

Thankfully, it wasn’t something catastrophic like “the royal seal is missing.”

—The seal is already inside the Black Zone.

“What?”

—You could say I left it in the safest place.

“Then what about your hideout? Was that a lie too?”

Kejen shrugged.

—Of course not. It’s true I have a hideout near the Black Zone.

Then he added.

—But I also have another one inside the Black Zone. My real hideout.

“…You bastard.”

—I just don’t like letting anyone into my personal space. But now that we’re really in the same boat… I suppose I can offer a small invitation.

It was his way of admitting he respected Yeongwoo’s guts for making it this far.

“So the hideout near the Black Zone—that was just a decoy?”

—Pretty much. But it’s a real external hideout too. I can do basic resupplying and small repairs there.

“Oh.”

For the first time, Yeongwoo realized Kejen might be far more competent a thief than he initially thought.

Well—he did steal the royal seal, after all.

“And the one inside the Black Zone?”

—That’s my sanctuary. I can’t wait to go back.

Kejen didn’t reveal anything more about it.

“So at least we won’t have to stop at the fake hideout on the way, right?”

—Not unless something catastrophic happens, yeah.

“Well, lucky break. One less hassle.”

As Yeongwoo said that, Jeonggu—sitting opposite him with a devastated expression—muttered.

“Come to think of it… we haven’t even arrived at the Black Zone yet.”

The fact that they hadn’t even reached the doorstep of that criminal marketplace already made everything feel overwhelming.

Yeongwoo comforted his father.

“Did you think being a villain would be easy, Dad?”

“I—I’m not a villain…”

“You’re the founder of a bandit clan. Try acting with some boldness.”

Not that Yeongwoo wasn’t feeling the pressure himself.

This was the first time he was truly experiencing the harsher side of outer space.

Rumble—!

With a thunderous vibration, their scrap-heap ship broke free of Planet Dique’s atmosphere.

At last, they drifted into the vastness of space.

And that was when Earth spoke to him through his consciousness.

○ How are things over there? I can tell your location is shifting fast.

‘I feel like I could die any minute. We’re headed toward the Black Zone now.’

○ What…? You’re not even there yet and it’s already that bad?

‘Don’t even ask. If things go sideways, I might need a new hull owner by tonight.’

Half-joking, half-serious—Yeongwoo’s words made Earth deliver some unwelcome news.

○ Bad timing… but I’ve got a problem.

‘…What now?’

○ I can’t see the Black Zone’s coordinates.

‘Huh? What are you talking about? The Black Zone is still a planet, right? So obviously—’

○ Exactly. A planet should have coordinates. But it’s not being detected. Which means orbital bombardment support is nearly impossible.

‘What.’

Earth explained that manual approximation was still technically possible—if they moved closer and aimed blindly.

But doing so would expose the Earthship.

‘Bombarding a target without proper targeting coordinates while exposing the Earthship is idiotic.’

○ Agreed. So realistically, we can’t help you once you’re inside.

Meaning—once Yeongwoo entered the Black Zone, the Earthship would be unable to assist him at all.

‘It really is a black zone now.’

○ And the distance is tricky… even communication may cut out once you enter.

‘Then the return stone won’t work either.’

○ Most likely, yeah.

Which meant their original plan—stealing someone else’s ship on the way out—was now basically mandatory.

“……”

After thinking for a moment, Yeongwoo tapped the skeletal remains of the cockpit.

Tap.

Kejen looked back from the front.

—What?

“The Black Zone. Why doesn’t it have coordinates?”

—Ah.

Kejen smirked, as if impressed.

—How’d you figure that out already? Planning to bombard the marketplace or something?

“If I’ve got a weapon, why wouldn’t I use it?”

—Sorry to disappoint you, but people like you aren’t rare. That’s why the Black Zone has no coordinates. Or rather—it has them, but they’re private.

“What? How’s that even possible? Unless it’s something like a planetary warship—every planet—”

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Kejen hesitated, then answered.

—It’s because it’s not a planet.

“What?”

—The Black Zone is a massive ship.

“…No way.”

Yeongwoo’s jaw dropped.

And then he understood everything.

Why every criminal in the universe flocked there.

‘Holy shit… that’s why. Because it’s a ship. No fixed coordinates, and it can move in emergencies. That’s why everyone goes there.’

It was basically a miniature version of a planetary fortress tailored for criminals.

—That’s why no one gives out coordinates. They just say it’s on the outskirts of the Tuani Galaxy. Because it’s always been there.

And the celestial bodies like Planet Dik acted as reference markers for locating it.

If you wanted to find the Black Zone, you just found the rental-planet cluster orbiting nearby.

—It doesn’t reveal its coordinates, but it still needs to accept visitors. So unless something huge happens, it stays on a fixed route.

“And that route matches the rental planets on Tuani’s outer rim.”

—You catch on fast.

“So unless there’s a worst-case emergency… no one ever sees it move.”

—Pretty much. Ironically, because it stays still, it’s become the safest marketplace in the galaxy.

Or rather—for competent criminals it was safe.

With so many criminals gathered there, the place was naturally shielded from rival factions—and even if the space police attacked with intent to wipe it out…

“Well, in a real crisis it can move. It really is the perfect black market.”

Everyone inside the Black Zone doubled as defense forces.

Yeongwoo had already seen something similar—the planet Doatel, protected by its ring of refugee fleets.

‘But the Black Zone can move, which makes it even better. No wonder criminals flock to it.’

Following that logic, Yeongwoo naturally jumped to the next idea.

‘Wait… so that means…’

Seeing Yeongwoo’s expression shift to something visionary, Kejen spoke in disbelief.

—You crazy idiot… don’t tell me you’re thinking of taking over the Black Zone yourself?

“Why not? It’s fine to have one planetary ship in the underworld.”

—Kid, you think the Black Zone was built overnight? It took thousands—maybe millions of years—to earn criminals’ trust—

“Yeah, yeah. Thousands at least, billions at most.”

Yeongwoo waved dismissively.

He raised one finger.

“But I grow a hundred million years every day.”

—You psycho. You really think that nonsense applies to something as massive as the Black Zone?

“What nonsense? I’m already massive.”

—Huh?

“I’m the owner of one of the universe’s wonders—a planetary ship, remember?”

—…

He wasn’t wrong.

Yeongwoo was the official owner of a planetary warship.

But he was also a rookie villain who had never once stepped foot in the Black Zone.

—Your brain’s gone way off the rails, but listen. The universe has boundaries. Some of them you can’t cross.

“Good thing crossing lines is what I’m best at. And come on—someone designed the Black Zone, right?”

Kejen fell silent.

Even as a native of the Black Zone, he had no idea who the true owner or founder was.

“In this world, hard things exist—but impossible things rarely do. If someone else can do it, chances are I can too. All I need is the method.”

And in this case, the method was already in his hands.

He owned a planetary warship.

“I just have to figure out the ‘how.’ I’m already halfway there.”

Kejen rubbed his forehead and sighed deeply.

—Dreams are for when you’re asleep. When you’re awake, talk like you live in reality.

Then he clenched his fist.

—Anyway… you know how to throw a punch, right?

“A punch…? Why bring that up?”

—Because when we get to the Black Zone, the first thing you’ll do is fistfight the gatekeeper.

Then he pointed toward the front viewport.

—And that thing you see over there—that’s the Black Zone. Also known as the place where you’ll be lying facedown on the floor soon.

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