Chapter 902: Chapter 770: The Price Has Gone Up
Bentley and the others did not know that Qu Jianlei was actually Ran Bingluan, whom the Anomalous Management Division was searching for.
Only Paranoid guessed it and even confirmed it with him, making it the secret between the two.
Qu Jianlei didn’t want to inform them—not because he didn’t trust these comrades who followed him from Garbage Star, but because it would increase their psychological pressure, and he didn’t want to create a tense atmosphere.
As for whether Old Ben or Flower Scorpion might have guessed, well, let them guess. He wouldn’t take the initiative to say.
As for Paranoid, this guy is not afraid of any pressure, and he has a fatal dependency on Qu Jianlei.
Currently, he needs a simplified version of the Spirit Gathering Array, but this is not his only requirement.
Once he fully integrates with his body, he will still need to continue his cultivation, right?
As the cultivation level increases, the simplified version of the Spirit Gathering Array will eventually become unusable; at that time, he will have to use a more advanced version.
That’s why Paranoid has always supported Qu Jianlei in analyzing the ordinary version of the Qi Gathering Array, even saying he could assist.
Understanding this, Qu Jianlei genuinely isn’t worried about this guy turning on him.
In fact, thinking further, Paranoid is not suitable to be exposed in front of the Imperial entity, even if he doesn’t mind losing face; it’s still inappropriate.
He has been experimenting with his body, living for nearly four hundred years now, which itself is an excellent experimental material.
If it spreads, who knows how many people will target him.
Moreover, his theories and operations for surpassing the supreme level will also be coveted, undoubtedly.
If he indeed possesses corresponding strength, that would be fine, at least there would be some deterrence, but the problem is he’s just a half-trained novice.
So neither of them can really be exposed at this moment; they can only choose to stick together.
Seeing that everyone intends to go out for a walk, Qu Jianlei simply starts planning their journey.
Early the next morning, the Guards at Niaoming Stream Manor discovered that all three men and four women had actually left together.
Not even a single person was left behind to guard; it was quite rare.
While everyone was still on the road, they received communication from Rhine, asking what they were going to do.
Qu Jianlei responded straightforwardly, saying they were going to Transfer Star and the Asteroid Belt, as there were some matters to attend to there.
Rhine was not surprised by this answer, since the two had met in the Asteroid Belt.
The crew around Rhodiola rosea was likely composed of ship operators, so leaving together wasn’t strange.
However, she did remind them that inspections had been stringent recently in the Asteroid Belt, and if they encountered issues, they should mention the Haiyin Clan.
It must be said, among all the second-generation individuals Qu Jianlei had encountered, Rhine was the most meticulous.
From her demeanor, one could analyze that she was definitely not a soft-hearted person, but she considered everything thoroughly when repaying favors.
The key is that this sense of gratitude came from her heart.
Amidst these reflections, Qu Jianlei and the others boarded the 8384 ship, which had been docked for half a year.
They spent a day inspecting the entire starship and doing maintenance, and the dilapidated starship took off.
Having sat unused for six months, such maintenance speed was truly impressive; the credit mostly went to Little Lake, otherwise another three days would have been tough.
Just like that, after 8384 left, some people curious about the docking records looked them up.
Then someone remarked in astonishment, "Are you kidding? It was docked for half a year, and they only used one day for maintenance... are they tired of life?"
Unaware of the complaints behind them, Qu Jianlei and company proceeded.
After the warp, their dilapidated 8384 ship reappeared at Transfer Star.
This time it was not smooth sailing; there were Customs Enforcement Team members blocking the way and Military inspections.
People from the Customs Enforcement Division recognized the 8384 but were no longer as fearful as before, allowing passage only after Qu Jianlei showed their permit.
The Military was even more overbearing, with warships coming to inspect the ship.
Only when Qu Jianlei presented the Military pass did they verify it and refrained from boarding.
However, the Military discovered that the document was issued by Liu Qingyu, and someone explained over the channel.
"Apologies, we meant no offense; it’s a unified directive from higher-ups."
Evidently, this was the handiwork of the Anomalous Management Division, and they directly communicated with the regional Military without involving lower levels.
The inspecting soldiers might not know who authorized it, but even if they did, they could not expose the name "Anomalous Management Division."
Ultimately, dealing with this department inevitably involves a series of confidentiality agreements.
Qu Jianlei didn’t mind and even felt fortunate for having been cautious during planning and choosing Transfer Star.
If they had chosen other planets, they might have faced no major issues before landing, but going elsewhere would be difficult.
Subsequently, 8384 made a safe landing, and the group proceeded to Elf House.
Qu Jianlei chose this place due to its private starship travel service.
The seven of them enjoyed a splendid meal, and while others were resting, Qu Jianlei once again approached the service staff with a request.
Regarding tips, there’s no need to elaborate, but he was surprised that the fees for the private starship had increased!
Traveling to Celestial Sharp Star, each person’s round-trip ticket costs a staggering 400,000, while earlier trips to Celestial Handle Star had only cost 200,000 per person.
This is an unlimited date ticket, but the limited date ones aren’t much cheaper either.
He expressed his disagreement with the price, and the waiter could only reply with a bitter face: No way, the inspections have been too tight lately.
The waiter didn’t mind mentioning the Anomalous Management Division, explaining that due to their intervention, two private starships had incidents.
He didn’t speak on the scale of the events; anyway, with the current tense atmosphere, many private starships aren’t interested in taking risks.
However, on the flip side, those still willing to take jobs are generally very well-connected, so price hikes are inevitable.
Previously, competition was relatively fierce, and the price was only "moderate"—even though for ordinary people, it was already exorbitant.
After receiving Qu Jianlei’s generous tip, the waiter unexpectedly gave a thoughtful complaint.
"It used to be 160,000 to Celestial Sharp, now it’s gone up to 400,000. It’s not that they don’t dare raise it further, it’s just that no one would take it if they did."
Qu Jianlei listened, smiled, shook his head, and handed over 2.8 million in silver notes.
Expensive, it truly is, but isn’t safety the top priority? Anyway, he wasn’t short on cash.
Last time, he took two billion from Chi Yang and acquired some from Arc Light, making his silver notes exceed six billion.
After obtaining the tickets, the seven left the Elf House and headed directly to the Secret Camp in the caves.
Compared to the Niaoming Stream Manor, the conditions of this cave were really not great, only Paranoid sighed a bit upon seeing it.
But there was no choice, and after entering the Secret Camp, Qu Jianlei explained the situation he learned to everyone.
"...The Anomalous Management Division is cracking down too hard, the price of private starship tickets has skyrocketed, and too few people are taking them."
"Therefore, although our tickets are not registered, it’s best to wait a while before using them, and we should leave in two groups then."
Bentley and others said it didn’t matter, but Claire muttered softly, "Why is this Anomalous Management Division everywhere?"
Paranoid wanted to tease her and asked, "How about we deal with the Anomalous Management Division too?"
Claire pondered for a while, then cautiously glanced at Qu Jianlei, "I follow the boss."
Qu Jianlei listened and smiled slightly, feeling a bit relieved; although the little girl had a temper, she knew not to make enemies casually.
The seven began their cultivation in the caves.
On the eighth day, Qu Jianlei went out to scout the situation, and Little Lake discovered a piece of news: An interstellar battle had erupted in the Asteroid Belt!
The parties involved in the star war weren’t mentioned in the news, but it drew some of the Anomalous Management Division’s attention.
Qu Jianlei thought this was a good time to leave, confirmed the news, and went back to inform everyone.
Thus, the seven were divided into two groups, boarded private starships, and headed for Celestial Sharp Star.
There was a five-day gap between the two flights.
This was certainly related to the scarcity of passengers going to Celestial Sharp, but it was also evident that the control was very stringent this time.
Qu Jianlei took the second flight to Celestial Sharp, accompanied by Flower Scorpion, Xiao Qin, and Claire.
Upon reaching Celestial Sharp, they reunited with the previous group, consisting of Xiang Xue and Bentley.
Paranoid had already left; he wasn’t interested in wasting time here.
Three days later, they received news that he had safely landed on Celestial Hook Star.
This time, Paranoid had snuck over.
With the Anomalous Management Division involved, the smuggling checks were indeed strict, but given his skills, he wasn’t worried.
As long as he didn’t bring anyone else, he believed he could handle it, first trying to hide, and if something really went wrong, didn’t he still have credentials?
After hearing this, Qu Jianlei just stroked his chin: Why does everyone else’s luck seem better than mine?
This time, they didn’t use the Celestial Handle Star identity, nor did they rent private residences not requiring identity checks.
Qu Jianlei believed that under the high pressure of the Anomalous Management Division, choosing to live in residential areas also came with uncertainties.
So everyone directly found an abandoned factory area and set up tents inside to live.
Celestial Sharp is the earliest developed planet in the Celestial Hook Star Realm; there’s a sense of decline, and abandoned factory areas aren’t hard to find.
The reason for not staying inside the factory buildings was because living there could easily lead to being seen as vagrants.
As mentioned earlier, if the government catches vagrants, they will handle them, and if private forces catch vagrants, the consequences could be worse.
Setting up two relatively refined tents could at least demonstrate some level of capability.
The four women stayed in the tents, while Qu Jianlei and Bentley slept in the rented car.
There were indeed some people in the abandoned factory area, but they looked more like ruffians rather than vagrants.
This group, although it seemed to have more women, the women from Garbage Star naturally carried a fierce aura.
The tent and the rented car also showed their capabilities.
Plus, with Qu Jianlei and Bentley, a group of six, there really wasn’t anyone foolish enough to bother them.
However, they did encounter one City Guard inspection during their night stay.
After all, these places are dense with transient populations, and it’s impossible to ignore them during large-scale searches.
But this time, Qu Jianlei didn’t take out the pass, opting to use an Illusion Technique instead.
