The pattern he gave Qin Chuwen was extremely arrogant, with lines covering the entire back of her neck, completely outside the coverage of the high-necked protective suit, as if he wanted to be seen.
However, Qin Chu was clearly more cautious than him. The tattoo, which resembled a collar, was not openly displayed. Wearing a high-necked uniform, only its vague outline was visible.
Only the last two letters are positioned slightly higher, cleverly protruding beyond the collar's coverage.
Levy clearly didn't care about any of that, and simply unzipped the protective suit, revealing the full appearance of the tattoo.
This guy even took a picture of his own tattoo and tried to figure out the meaning behind the thorn flower.
I searched for a while, but couldn't find it.
He looked up at Burke and asked, "Hey, do you know what this tattoo is?"
Qin Chu: "..."
He was about to walk over and kick Levi when he saw Burke, who was standing in front of Levi, change his expression repeatedly. Suddenly, he pulled out an energy gun from his waist and pointed it directly at Levi.
"Who are you? Where is Qin Chu? Who sent you to take our captain's place?" Burke asked coldly and seriously.
Levi was still holding a mirror when he was asked this question and was taken aback.
Unfortunately, this person was naturally thick-skinned. Even with a gun pointed at him and his identity exposed, he showed no panic whatsoever. Instead, he glanced at Burke with a puzzled look and said, "What nonsense are you talking about? If you're not clear-headed, go back to sleep."
After saying that, he went on to admire the details of the pattern on his neck in the mirror, completely ignoring the dangerous gun barrel in front of him.
Burke was stunned for two seconds by his self-righteous attitude, seemingly doubting himself.
But he quickly made up his mind, squinted at Levi and said, "Stop pretending. I've known Qin Chu for so many years and I've never seen him unzip his collar in public."
Qin Chu: "..."
Levy paused for a moment after Burke's words, then looked up at Qin Chu, seemingly seeking confirmation, or perhaps teasing him.
Burke shoved the gun right at Levy's face: "Also, Qin Chu never shares a room with anyone. What are you plotting with this pirate leader in the office at night?"
“A conspiracy?” Levy stroked his chin. “You’re not wrong, it’s a very private matter anyway.”
Burke choked for a moment, feeling as if he had been smeared with dog food all over his face.
But he quickly became serious: "What are your purposes? Tell me honestly. Don't think you can trap Qin Chu. When our captain returns, what awaits you will be more than just energy guns."
As Burke pointed his gun at Levy, he even activated the emergency button on the starship.
In an instant, red lights flashed throughout the starship, and the patrol troops scattered throughout the ship quickly gathered in the cockpit.
Seeing that this matter had blown up, Qin Chu just wanted to facepalm.
Levy acted too casually, assuming that since the mastermind had switched their identities, they could successfully conceal it. He hadn't expected Burke to notice something amiss.
But there's absolutely no way to explain this now.
Burke is merely a virtual data entity constructed from real-world data, and in this world, no matter how unlike "Qin and Chu" Levy may seem, he is indeed "Qin and Chu".
"Oh, you're saying I'm not Qin Chu? Then where is Qin Chu?" Levi's attitude remained casual, but he put down the mirror in his hand and casually pulled up the zipper that was open to his chest a little.
However, the tattoo design was still blatantly exposed.
Upon hearing his question, Burke instinctively turned to look at the "space pirate" sitting to the side.
Upon seeing this, Qin Chu had a sudden thought, believing that Burke had noticed something.
Although Burke is just a data entity in this world, if you tell him the general reason, you might be able to get his help.
Qin Chu wanted to take the opportunity to clarify his identity.
Burke frowned at him, then sneered at Levi: "Ha, you two were afraid of being exposed by pretending to be Qin Chu, so you prepared two? Once I realized that the imposter wasn't right, you pulled out the other one with a similar personality and said he was the real Qin Chu? You really have a good plan!"
"...Why aren't you usually this smart?" Qin Chu was speechless.
Levy was amused by Burke's attitude: "Well, there's nothing we can do about it then. This guy is as genuine as can be, but you don't believe him."
The genuine captain of the First Warship has now been branded as an imposter, leaving Qin Chu with mixed feelings.
He looked at Burke, a rare hint of doubt in his eyes: "Why do you think I'm not Qin Chu? Is it because of my identity as a space pirate?"
Burke pointed his other finger at Qin Chu's nape: "You're quite the convincing backup guy, but you've overlooked one thing. Would Qin Chu take off his clothes to get a tattoo? Especially a matching couple tattoo?"
Burke's tone almost reached the ceiling.
He shook his head with deep emotion: "Even if all of humanity were to perish one day, Qin Chu, that guy who only knows how to blast cold air all day, would never fall in love, let alone have someone press down his tattoos, understand?"
"..." Qin Chu's expression was completely blank.
Levy couldn't help but chuckle.
"What are you laughing at? You seem pretty smug, don't you?" Burke brought the gun closer.
Levy nodded seriously: "We've achieved a goal that even the extinction of all mankind couldn't reach, so why can't we be proud of it?"
Although Burke was very astute, his influence on the First Warship was ultimately not as great as that of Captain Qin Chu.
The cockpit was surrounded by guards on high alert, but when they saw the situation inside, they all paused for a moment, looking at Burke, who was pointing a gun at Levy, with a puzzled expression.
A few seconds later, without any hesitation, these people pointed their guns at Burke.
"Hey! What are you doing pointing at me? Can't you tell that the guy sitting here is an imposter?!" Burke roared angrily.
Levy watched the scene with interest, remaining silent, seemingly wanting to see how things would develop.
In the end, Qin Chu couldn't stand it anymore and gave him a wink.
Levy then slowly waved his hand towards the outside: "Don't be nervous, Lieutenant General Burke and I were just joking around. Go on, do what you need to do."
The group hesitated for two seconds before putting away their weapons, but they did not all retreat.
"Do you believe me now?" Levy looked up at Burke. "If I were an imposter, I could just accuse you of treason and have you suppressed, couldn't I?"
Burke hesitated, a hint of suspicion in his eyes.
Just then, a message came through the cockpit screen from a low-level prison officer: "Sir, a space pirate has escaped!"
When this news came out, everyone inside and outside the cockpit was stunned.
Qin Chu frowned, stepped forward, pushed aside Levi and Burke who was still holding a gun, and went straight to the screen to ask, "How many space pirates? How long has it been?"
Soon, the administrator was no longer needed to answer.
A figure flashed in front of the starship, then crawled into the escape pod and quickly initiated a warp.
Before the shadow of the escape pod completely disappeared, the man could still be seen operating the pod's lights, drawing a vulgar slang in space.
Upon seeing this slang, Levy's eyebrows immediately rose.
This matter is neither a big deal nor a small one.
However, just before the handover with the Ministry of Defense, a space pirate escaped from their warship, and they will inevitably lose face.
Seeing this, Burke hesitated for two seconds and temporarily put the gun away.
His gaze lingered between Levi and Qin Chu for a moment before finally settling on Levi, who was seated in the main seat.
"Warp position locked, contrary to the original course. Shall we choose the new course for pursuit?" The starship's navigation system popped up with this question.
Qin Chu frowned slightly, his eyes lowered as if deep in thought.
Levy still remembered that extremely vulgar slang, and without thinking, he said, "Choose a new route and catch up."
Unexpectedly, the space fell silent as soon as he finished speaking.
It seemed as if the air had been sucked out.
In the cockpit of the first warship, everyone was frozen in place, as if the pause button had been pressed.
Burke, who had put away his gun, still kept his right hand on the energy gun, while the other personnel who remained outside the cockpit were all frozen in that moment.
The space where they existed seemed to be shrouded in a layer of fog, leaving only Levi and Qin Chu as the two living people.
"What's going on?" Levy stood up from his chair and looked around at the frozen figures.
Qin Chu then leaned over to check the time on the control screen.
Time seemed to freeze at that very second, without any change.
He looked up at Burke again.
In this world, Burke's behavior is very real and agile, even breaking free from the constraints of the mainframe and realizing that Levy is not the captain Qin Chu.
Many times, Qin Chu even felt that this Burke was his deputy in real life.
It wasn't until Qin Chu saw Burke frozen in place that he truly realized that Burke was just a data entity made of data.
“This space has stopped,” Qin Chu said.
Levy had finished surveying the surroundings and then turned his attention back to the control screen.
They and everyone and everything around them seemed to be separated by a layer of fog, except for this control screen, which was very clear and still on the page where they were waiting for Levy to give instructions.
"Was there a problem with my instructions just now?" Levy frowned.
Qin Chu did not answer immediately, but pondered for a while before saying, "This scene is related to reality."
"Hmm?" Levi turned to look at him.
“Just before the mastermind rebelled, I captured the Black Spider Pirates. Perhaps because our identities were reversed, I didn’t initially realize that things were unfolding the same way as in reality, until now,” Qin Chu said.
"Did a space pirate escape in real life?" Levy asked.
“Yes.” Qin Chu pulled up the video from the control screen. “This space pirate is a special race with excellent disguise. They can survive in space for a period of time with just their weapons and also have a certain degree of invisibility. That’s why they escaped from the lowest level prison.”
"So how did you choose?" Levy asked.
Qin Chu glanced at Levi: "Choose to continue along the original route."
"Not going after them?" Levy raised an eyebrow.
"Mm." Qin Chu nodded.
Levy's eyebrows remained raised, clearly indicating his incomprehension.
The slang that the space pirate left behind was very insulting, and Qin Chu was not the type to tolerate it. He thought Qin Chu would chase after the man and kick him on the spot.
Moreover, the military and the Ministry of National Defense have always been at odds. Now that a space pirate has escaped from the First Warship, I wonder how the Ministry of National Defense will laugh at them.
Levi was surprised that Qin Chu simply tolerated it.
Qin Chu explained, "The primary duty of the First Warship is to protect the outer star systems. Occasionally maintaining order in the surrounding area is acceptable, but it cannot abandon its post without authorization."
His tone was calm and restrained, and as Levi listened, he felt that this was indeed the choice Qin Chu would make.