Counterfeit Hero

With the arrival of merchant ships and smuggling ships to Mars Port through the Freedom Channel, the areas surrounding the ground port began to bustle. People exchanged a variety of goods for the first batch of food and living supplies that arrived in months, and a spontaneous market was formed almost instantly.

Major corporations also began resuming production once the raw materials transported by corporate fleets arrived. Smugglers and adventurers quickly found their places, exchanging intelligence and investigating routes their smuggling ships could traverse. The Free Port was in a state of renewal, and goods organized by commerce groups from across the universe were snapped up almost as soon as they arrived at the port. The role of mercenaries became increasingly valuable.

The only ones having a hard time were probably the pirates and violent syndicates.

With the entry of the Fei Alliance Joint Army, the violent syndicates dependent on various factions were almost left with no room for survival. The previous factional dominance was broken, with the Feiyang people now setting the rules. Patrols on the streets were conducted by Feiyang and Chuckna soldiers. No syndicate dared to seek trouble in front of these cold-eyed soldiers armed to the teeth and the menacing military Mecha beside them. Though secretly, some extortion and intimidation still occurred, blatant robbery in public had disappeared.

The pirate groups fared even worse. The main defense area for the Feiyang and Chuckna fleets was the A-Class channel connecting Mars Free Port to the main trade route, patrolled by hundreds of warships. Every Jump Point was tightly guarded, with thorough scans and boarding inspections required for each vessel passing through. Attempting robbery in these star domains was a death wish.

Pirates dared not linger on A-Class channels, nor dared they on B, C, or D-Class channels!

If one could maintain a safe distance from the regular fleets of the Fei Alliance Joint Army and not provoke them, then the ”Shattered Ghost” fleet roaming Mars Free Channel was a death warrant waiting to be served.

Since the start of the Sect War, this fleet has never ceased its operations.

Not only did they plunder commerce groups and smugglers, robbing pirates of their sustenance, but they also attacked pirate fleets appearing within their sight. To date, over twenty pirate groups, both large and small, have been removed from the Mars Pirate Group list after encountering the Shattered Ghost fleet. With this familiar ghost fleet wandering the Mars Channel, pirates could forget about unspoken plunder; they even resorted to prayer just to loiter near their own turf.

This existence was clearly untenable. Many pirate groups have begun to turn over a new leaf and start businesses.

Unlike the Sect War period, doing business now actually had profitability and security.

With numerous space stations and Freedom Docks on Mars Free Channel captured by the Shattered Ghost fleet but ultimately falling under the control of the bandit army, it was evident to all the relationship between this fleet and the Puluo Town bandit army. Therefore, when one day it was discovered that it was possible to buy a pass at Puluo Town and in space stations and Freedom Docks controlled by the bandit army, no one found it strange.

Pass fees were levied according to the type of vessel, nature, and quantity of cargo, averaging around twenty percent.

In the mainstream human society, such exorbitant fees would be maddening, but in Mars Free World, for corporate and commerce fleets yielding profits in the hundreds or even thousands of percentages, this was negligible. They were even delighted that the bandit army was happy to charge these fees.

Facts showed that merchants always possessed sharp insight. Fleets holding passes navigated seamlessly within the Mars Free Channel scope, encountering no issues in procurement at Freedom Docks or in trade transactions at space stations. Some fleets, upon meeting the ”Shattered Ghost,” even enjoyed premium service from this ragged fleet—escort.

The ship captain of the first merchant ship to encounter the ”Shattered Ghost” fleet was overwhelmed with emotion when that fleet surrounded the transport ship fiercely, then slowly transformed into an escort formation and greeted him after he nervously transmitted the electronic pass. The transition from hell to heaven was too exhilarating for him.

There was once an oblivious pirate group that raided a commerce fleet holding passes, but within two days, they were completely annihilated. All plundered goods were returned intact to the owners. This incident further enlightened the fleets bustling through the Freedom Channel, revealing who truly dominated this star domain.

The Mars Channel was akin to a large distribution market. Its buyers included not only the corporate commerce groups of Mars Channel but also those across the surrounding regions, including Chuckna, Suss, Jiepeng, Saleria, Leray, and Tatania, Puditok, Desic—encompassing the entire Southeast Star Domain. Besides these countries, neutral nations farther north and west also supplied this market.

When a valve was placed on the flow of goods in such a market, one could imagine how much money poured into the bandit army’s coffers.

Feiyang people, Chuckna people, bandit army.

These are the three greatest forces overseeing Mars Free Port. Every Mars person’s life is influenced by these three powers. People constantly watch for subtle changes among them.