Chapter 880: Chapter 750: A Delayed Realization
After Liu Yongming got off the starship, the military personnel surrounding it quickly departed.
The two company-level warships quietly withdrew as well, and the site returned to calm.
The Paranoid spoke up first, "Let’s leave after a while, otherwise it’ll seem like we’re afraid of them."
"I was thinking the same thing," Qu Jianlei said with a smile, feeling that this guy’s thoughts really aligned with his own.
The two waited for more than three hours, until evening approached, before disembarking the starship and leaving.
The area around the 8384 ship seemed deserted, but who knows how many eyes in the star port were watching this place.
Upon exiting the star port, no one checked their identities, and the guards pretended not to see them as they walked past.
Once outside the star port, Qu Jianlei released a motorcycle, and amidst the astonished gazes of others, the two sped off and vanished.
They rode until twilight began to fall, and then found a mid-range restaurant for a meal and drinks.
The Paranoid’s appetite was large, no less than Qu Jianlei’s, and after finishing he remarked, "The restaurant you picked isn’t that great."
"Yet you didn’t eat any less," Qu Jianlei retorted with a roll of his eyes, "Next time, you’re paying."
"I know a good place," the Paranoid said as he mounted the motorcycle, "Let me show you."
But after riding less than twenty meters, he almost fell twice, so Qu Jianlei stepped off, "Forget it, let me do it."
He rode all the way to the place the Paranoid pointed out, and both were dumbfounded.
The alley where the old restaurant stood was gone, replaced by a Forest Sea, the largest trees requiring two people to embrace them.
"Sigh," Qu Jianlei said with deep emotion, "This is what they call a sea change."
The Paranoid was noticeably distracted, and after a long pause, he whispered, "Time really is like water."
"Let’s go," Qu Jianlei said, putting away the motorcycle, and the two disappeared into the night.
The observers monitoring the pair from afar were completely blindsided, "Damn it, we’ve lost them."
"It was always impossible to keep up; these two dignitaries were merely not bothered before."
"I’m rather curious, what did these two dignitaries come here for? Surely not just to see the Forest Sea?"
Qu Jianlei employed his body technique and soon arrived at the rented house from before.
The Paranoid’s reaction was slower. His body technique was decent, but the problem was his poor body fusion.
On the way, he kept bumping into walls or trees.
Fortunately, he could control his strength well and had excellent technique for dissipating force.
Collisions caused almost no sound, nor did they lead to any damage.
But even so, it was quite embarrassing, and had they not escaped observation, the Paranoid feared he would die of embarrassment.
Arriving at the lodging, as expected, Bentley and the others were still inside.
Seeing Qu Jianlei return, everyone was ecstatic and came forward to greet him.
In the midst of exchanging pleasantries, a figure flashed, and someone jumped in from outside the courtyard wall.
Bentley’s head whirled around, but sensing no movement from Jian Lei beside him, he refrained from reacting further.
The Paranoid twisted his neck and then looked at the old Bentley, "Wow, at your age, you’re still pushing for A-level?"
He had met this group before, though he was unfamiliar with the recently advanced A-level girl, the rest were acquaintances.
Xiang Xue looked at him in surprise, "Boss, who is this?"
"Sort of a half-member," Qu Jianlei replied casually, "From now on, you should call him Lord Paranoid."
"Lord?" Flower Scorpion glanced at the Paranoid, then at A-level Xiang Xue, thoughtfully asking, "Supreme?"
This guy, emanating such a discordant vibe, could he really be Supreme?
The Paranoid ignored her, instead looking at Qu Jianlei, "So I’m only a half-member... no need to be so blunt, right?"
Qu Jianlei was indifferent, responding, "It’s better that everyone understands clearly."
He was always straightforward in speech and action; any circuitous paths were only taken when absolutely necessary.
Now he saw through it: this guy’s temperament was truly bad, but he wouldn’t rashly lash out at ordinary people.
The Paranoid rolled his eyes and pointed at Bentley, "This guy is about to break through!"
It was the second time he said this, and upon sensing, Qu Jianlei found it to be true.
"Old Bent, you can do it, get ready, let’s head to Blue Star for the breakthrough."
Breaking through from B-level to A-level is best assisted by a Qi Gathering Array, but Bentley, a wild Awakened, wouldn’t be able to utilize what Xiang Xue had enjoyed from the military.
As the Paranoid heard this, a hint of doubt flashed in his eyes, but he said nothing.
Bentley, originally maintaining a cautious stance towards this person, relaxed upon hearing Jian Lei mention "Blue Star," dropping pretenses, "Rhine contacted us..."
The five of them had been low-key, not seeking to reach out to the Haiyin Clan proactively.
But after Rhine returned, they heard small asteroid belt personnel had arrived at Celestial Handle Star, as crew of the 8384 ship.
The crucial point was that their identities had been handled by the Haiyin Clan, and the five couldn’t indefinitely avoid using them.
Following the thread of identity, Rhine tracked them down and even made a special visit.
When she heard that their Supreme had left, she wasn’t impolite and warmly invited them to temporarily stay at the Haiyin Family residence.
However, these five were all sensible, and the four that came from Garbage Star were not just ordinarily cautious.
They politely declined the invitation, and Rhine didn’t mind, saying to contact her when their Supreme returns.
At this point, Xiang Xue interjected, "Rhine told me that the Haiyin Family has vacant courtyards available for residence."
She and Rhine are both A-level, and both come from families with relatively favorable conditions within the Imperial society, so they have much in common when they interact.
"Then let’s break through here," the Paranoid spoke, "the Haiyin Clan does still have significant influence."
"Alright then," Qu Jianlei nodded, "I’ll reach out to her tomorrow."
Unexpectedly, there was no need for him to contact; early the next morning, Rhine arrived at the inn.
Upon seeing Qu Jianlei, she apologetically said, "Truly sorry, Renado, that kid, has been spoiled by his family."
"It’s no big deal," Qu Jianlei shook his head with a smile, "A large tree is bound to have some withered branches...how did you know I returned?"
"I heard about the Star Port incident," Rhine replied casually.
Two Supremes appearing on a starship, such news is a big deal on any planet.
Not to mention, it even attracted the military’s strong interest.
If such news didn’t reach the Haiyin Clan’s ears, they’d surely not deserve their status on Celestial Handle Star.
Not to mention, this matter also involves another lordly family.
The Haiyin Family disregards the Norton Clan, but no matter what, both belong to the noble circle.
Rhine herself was puzzled, "Forgive me for asking, my lord, how did you end up at odds with the Norton Clan?"
Qu Jianlei smiled wryly and shook his head, recounting the situation.
He actually suspected all along that it was a Norton family merchant ship that wrecked Rhine’s vehicle.
But since no concrete evidence exists, he wasn’t bothering to mention it to the Haiyin Family to avoid any misconceptions.
Anyway, he had enough strength to deal with the Norton Family on his own, so why ask outsiders for help? Didn’t want to belittle himself.
As expected, after Rhine listened to the feud’s details, her eyebrows raised in surprise, "How does it sound similar to my encounter?"
She had been searching for that disgusting starship ever since she nearly lost herself in space that time.
Although only a clash of wills, the process was utterly infuriating.
She had asked many people to investigate, but never received definitive news, until recently, when slightly relaxing her efforts.
This time, she actively inquired about the Norton Family because they had requested this from her.
The Haiyin and Norton families differ significantly; one is an Earl, while the other hardly retains even lordship.
However, this generation of the Norton family produced a Supreme, barely qualifying them to associate with the Haiyin Family.
But Rhine has no connection with the Norton Clan; her main focus does not relate much to the Haiyin Family.
Only this time, a Norton Family request reached other Haiyin Family members.
But facing a duo of Supremes, Haiyin Family members recognize the weight; it’s impossible to provoke easily.
Thus, this member approached Rhine, hoping she could mediate somehow.
Rhine didn’t agree to this request, merely offered to understand first, with further talks later.
After all, Rhodiola rosea had extended help to her; she could not rashly offend her benefactor.
Yet now, hearing the conflict details, she felt she shouldn’t have even considered mediation.
She knew perfectly well how revolting such garbage was to people.
Qu Jianlei harbored no inclination to embellish the story; he merely shook his head, disdainfully expressing.
"That’s all it was, yet they planned to provoke me, causing me to have a confrontation with the Customs Enforcement Division...I won’t let the Norton Family off!"
This time, Rhine came with that B-level middle-aged man by her side.
She nodded her head to the man, "Go investigate what the Norton family young master has been up to."
The middle-aged man turned to leave, and she spoke again, "How long does Rhodiola rosea plan to stay on Celestial Handle this time?"
"I have a land deed here," Qu Jianlei pulled out a document folder, "Take a look, can you help with the transfer?"
The land deed he offered came from the Star Thief Lair.
Such things emphasize procedural norms; previously he couldn’t facilitate, but now with Rhine’s involvement, the issue seemed manageable.
Rhine took it and upon seeing, her eyebrows mildly raised, showing a troubled expression, "How... is it this place?"
Qu Jianlei furrowed his brow, "Is it inconvenient? Then forget about it."
He thought the land deed he offered wasn’t problematic, nestled against mountains and facing a lake, totaling less than half a square kilometer.
A plot like this around Blue Star Divine Land’s city couldn’t be considered small, but here in the empire, land is abundant!
Even though Celestial Handle is the Central Star, there is still ample land supply.
