Chapter 872: Chapter 742: Catching Rabbits While Gathering Grass
Under Qu Jianlei’s full perception, it was discovered that there weren’t many people in the opposing team, only about a dozen in total.
Besides the Supreme, there were just two A-level and three B-level individuals.
The rest were C-level and Modified Warriors, with only two ordinary people.
"High Tier Awakened are more than ordinary people... Is this the team of the Supreme?"
Next, Qu Jianlei didn’t hold back at all, releasing a Spiritual Attack, knocking everyone out.
If this were regular society, he wouldn’t be so reckless, and wouldn’t use indiscriminate Spiritual Attacks.
But at this moment, in unmonitored space, it didn’t matter anymore.
Qu Jianlei then sensed the other side’s cave, found no potential threats, and forcibly broke open the stone door.
After entering the cave, he first placed restrictions on all the living people before beginning to assess the place.
He had to admit, the team brought by the Supreme was indeed different.
The cave wasn’t large but definitely not small, with even an Armed Merchant Ship inside.
However, the Armed Merchant Ship appeared heavily damaged, from a glance not much stronger than 8384.
The difference was that 8384 pretended to be shabby while possessing strong combat power, but this merchant ship was genuinely dilapidated.
There was also an Attack Ship within the merchant ship, which was basically intact.
Yet, with the merchant ship and the attack ship combined with the Supreme, they indeed wouldn’t worry during ordinary interstellar travel.
The other setups within the stone cave were far inferior, in layout, planning, and comfort, compared to Qu Jianlei’s camp.
But that’s hard to compare, as Qu Jianlei’s camp was built piece by piece, treated as a home to manage.
Meanwhile, these people probably just treated this place as a transition, merely making do without much care.
What surprised Qu Jianlei was that the cave actually had a Defense Array!
Not the kind he developed for fun, but an officially sold set, installed according to blueprints for direct use.
In theory, the latter is more convenient, where users know what it is without knowing the why, merely following the standards for operation.
As for the principle, it’s unnecessary to master, and for aftersales service and repair, only officials should handle it.
However, even such a Defense Array is impossible for ordinary people to buy individually.
Once purchased, it usually comes with equipment, installation, testing, and aftersales.
To buy a set and take it away alone, not only do you need relevant technical personnel but a colossal reputation!
This group indeed had some means and technical talent, as they installed the Defense Array in the cave.
Qu Jianlei shook his head, thinking if they had activated the Defense Array earlier, I wouldn’t have knocked down so many people instantly.
The Defense Array not only protected against physical attacks but also against spiritual attacks.
Qu Jianlei only hesitated slightly before figuring out why the other side didn’t activate the Defense Array.
Once activated, the Defense Array’s shield would show Energy Fluctuation, with intense levels creating halos!
The other party initially intended to muddle through, hence they didn’t plan to activate the Defense Array.
When he started probing the other side’s limits, they dared not casually activate it—otherwise, it would be detected by a warship.
When he initiated the attack, the other side might have considered activating the Defense Array, but regrettably, it was already too late.
The Defense Array isn’t an instant-use; it goes through a process from start to energy increase then defense peak.
Qu Jianlei shook his head, ultimately it was the opposing side’s bad luck for encountering him.
Then he took out the Genetic Testing Device to examine the identities of these people.
The Supreme wasn’t Kerry but part of the Wood Attribute sequence, and gene verification showed he was a fugitive named Gide.
This proves that Sheriff was right; many High Tier Awakened hid in the Asteroid Belt.
If he hadn’t found them at the door, they likely wouldn’t have caused a stir in the Asteroid Belt but would have quietly lain low.
The water here... is indeed unusually deep.
Gene detection showed that five fugitives were among the Supreme’s entourage, indicating that fugitives do group together.
These fugitives have set prices with the Imperial; the Wood Attribute Supreme’s bounty exceeded millions.
The reasons for the bounty were detailed in the list, though Qu Jianlei had no interest in verification.
He himself was wanted, knowing some reasons might be true, but others were indeed outlandish.
Anyway, he had no intention of handing these people over to the Imperial, even if these fugitives collectively were worth some money.
If he wanted to claim the bounty, he’d inevitably expose himself, even indirectly through the Sheriff, prone to scrutiny by interested parties.
Moreover, most of these people are Awakened, likely not executed but made to atone for their crimes.
Once atonement is complete, if they survive and return to society, wouldn’t that add potential enemies?
So it would be better to kill them directly, once and for all.
As for whether these people deserved death? The principle is: provoke him proactively, then die!
After killing these people, Qu Jianlei unexpectedly obtained six Storage Talismans.
Although three of them were almost out of durability, it was enough to show that these people were no angels.
Qu Jianlei also discovered another fact: killing wanted criminals is really quite profitable, as they carry most of their wealth with them.
Just from this single encounter, he acquired more than forty million in Silver Notes and nearly twenty million in Energy Blocks.
The only regret was that the Supreme wasn’t Kerry.
He didn’t rush to take away the armed merchant ship but first sealed the entrance and then piloted his starship to ascend.
The neck and head area had not been completely checked; he definitely had to finish the task before leaving with such a substantial haul.
This battle was carried out silently, without firing a single shot, so even if there were people on neighboring star bodies, they wouldn’t notice.
Qu Jianlei seriously began considering another issue: should he become a Professional Hunter?
He wasn’t exactly greedy for the government’s bounty; the key was... the things carried by the wanted criminals were quite valuable.
After twenty more days of painstaking search, he finally found Kerry.
Once again, his Perception provided the clue, making him even consider whether he should specifically hunt Supremes in the future.
He must not get conceited! Qu Jianlei secretly warned himself, a Supreme who is like a stray dog cannot be compared to one organized!
Among those Supremes who were on the wanted list and on the run, there were definitely ones with extremely strong Combat Power!
Unfortunately, facts proved many Supremes weren’t as formidable as he thought.
Just like this encounter with Supreme Kerry.
He wasn’t alone in his flight; with him were two A-levels, three B-levels, and a Modified Warrior.
These people were also wanted criminals, fierce enough, but unfortunately not formidable at all.
More amusingly, after Qu Jianlei left the 3344 ship, Kerry actually led a charge toward him.
It seemed he wanted to capture a Gao Fang warship and believed he could seize it before the other side reacted.
"Still too young," Qu Jianlei looked helplessly at the opponents lying scattered on the ground, shaking his head.
a Supreme over one hundred and fifty years old, had seen too little, daring to dream all kinds of dreams.
In this battle, Qu Jianlei obtained five more Storage Talismans — two of which were almost out of durability.
Additionally, he found a small starship in the cave where Kerry hid, and it was in quite good condition.
This starship was slightly larger than an Attack Ship, with defensive weapons that were better than nothing, and without jump capabilities, making long-distance space travel almost impossible.
Of course, if pressed, it’s not impossible to venture into the depths of space, but the chances of returning are very slim.
Kerry getting such a starship was likely for convenience in accessing the head and neck area... at least it facilitated contact with normal human society.
As for how they left with the starship without being detected... it didn’t seem that difficult.
Anyway, Qu Jianlei wasn’t wrong, whoever escapes into space has to retain means of returning to human society.
Realizing this, he couldn’t help but feel a bit tempted: now with two starships in hand, is it possible to get more?
The desolate star bodies in this area, he had only inspected half of them, and some of the populated star bodies had questionable practices.
He thought he could take another two starships if he continued investigating.
After hesitating for a moment, he gave up on this plan: since he had already captured Kerry alive, it would be wise to stop.
The old saying holds true, "don’t push your luck," no matter what you do, you must know when to stop.
However, even though he thought this way, the prospect of possible gains left him reluctant: starships could be acquired.
Big Head Butterfly was even more filled with lament, "it’s all about the money, these two small broken starships, how much are they worth?"
However, Little Lake’s complaint served as a warning bell for Qu Jianlei, "you little money grubber... you must learn to curb your greed!"
The Gao Fang warship, clutching two starships, flew into the depths of space.
Arriving at the base, Qu Jianlei checked again and found no signs of anyone tampering, then left with the 8384.
This time, although the dilapidated starship carried a free passage certificate, it was still inspected when approaching the Transfer Star.
It was still the Customs Enforcement Division conducting the inspection, although they remained restrained.
"8384 ship, you have a passage certificate, but what about the two starships following you?"
They were indeed restrained, in another scenario, the Customs Enforcement Division would have checked without saying a word.
Qu Jianlei, however, answered nonchalantly, "you should contact Sheriff, the matter he entrusted to me has been completed!"
Hearing this, the Customs Enforcement personnel’s faces changed.
Sheriff was one of their own Supremes, everyone knew, but the most fatal thing was, the opposing party dared to address the Supreme by name.
Listening to that tone, there was no need to think, the speaker was surely a Supreme!
The Customs Enforcement Team might not be very afraid of Supremes, as even Buckingham Supreme almost got tricked by the Customs Enforcement Division in the past.
However, this time, the opponent dared to fire upon their Customs Enforcement Warship, obviously a different matter.
The tone of the Customs Enforcement team immediately became much more courteous, "Please hold on for a moment, Master, we will contact Sheriff at once."
