Chapter 957: Chapter 825: Warning Signs (Second Update)
Qu Jianlei mentioned the asteroid belt, and it wasn’t just a spur-of-the-moment thing; his combat power gets a boost in that area!
Apart from the Paranoid and Granny Jia, his two major allies, he also has other starships, complemented by Little Lake.
To be blunt, in a space environment, unless faced with high-level warships, he’s free to roam and dominate.
Especially since the asteroid belt is known for its chaos; various star bodies are everywhere, making effective surveillance impossible.
If their team dared to ambush five Supreme combinations on a habitable star, in the asteroid belt, they could take on ten!
On the ground, ambushing five Supremes means the opponents will have different attribute combinations and attendants, risking significant loss for the team.
In the asteroid belt, even if they take on ten, as long as all five of their warships are present, and the opposing side lacks a crushing advantage in starship level and number, their team could win, possibly without any casualties!
Qu Jianlei has a clear understanding of his advantage, though every time he thinks about it, there’s a touch of irony.
Clearly, it’s supposed to be xianxia style, so why has it turned into a sci-fi genre? He loves the life of a Wind Master, enjoying freedom and seeking immortality.
"Asteroid belt..." Qinghu was somewhat speechless upon hearing, questioning whether such a harsh environment was suitable for Awakened to live long-term?
Unaware of Little Lake’s existence, as a Supreme cultivated from the system, she instinctively rejected those chaotic zones.
She knows quite a bit about the asteroid belt and is aware that there are many fugitives there.
But is that extremely harsh environment truly suitable for long-term residence, life, and cultivation?
She doesn’t think so; those Awakened fleeing there are merely seeking survival.
So, are you planning to flee as well?
However, she didn’t have a position to prevent the other party, "Alright then, I’ll do my best to deliver materials within half a month; wait for my news."
After Qinghu left, Qu Jianlei didn’t put away the Qi Gathering Array and Spirit Gathering Array; instead, he accelerated his calculations.
At the same time, he activated two Anti-Smuggling Terminals, and after connecting them, let Little Lake infiltrate the entire planet’s system.
In the end, the computing power wasn’t enough. The Anti-Smuggling Terminal’s functions are powerful, but it’s still too much to execute this operation.
There’s no choice; the computing power is limited, but having it is better than none.
Fortunately, Balrog has already hidden, so there’s no worry of being discovered, allowing for greater intensity.
But even so, Qu Jianlei had to employ Vortex and even Baofeng constantly cooling down.
Six days later, Little Lake finally completed the monitoring layout for the entire Celestial Blade Star network.
This was mainly thanks to Big Head Butterfly discovering a set of large and several sets of medium-sized computing units, secretly stealing a substantial amount of computing power.
However, with this layout finished, Qu Jianlei could truly relax.
A few days later, Qinghu sent materials through someone.
Meanwhile, she also notified Xiao Qin that currently, the asteroid belt isn’t very safe— the Anomalous Management Division has mobilized the army for inspections.
Qinghu’s suggestion was still hoping Qu Jianlei would return to Niaoming Stream, and after some time, could consider going to Maiden Star Realm.
Qu Jianlei believed her suggestion was well-intentioned, but he disliked living under others’ roofs.
Moreover, his current constitution... well, he didn’t like causing trouble for friends.
Qinghu probably guessed his thoughts; surprisingly, she didn’t mention the matter again— being a Supreme, doesn’t she also have some pride?
Another five days passed, and Qu Jianlei was busily calculating; Big Head Butterfly surfaced in his mind.
Little Lake has been very busy lately, and now suddenly appeared, indicating something happened.
"Boss, someone in the Star Port is evaluating the 8384 ship..."
Evaluations don’t sound serious, but it’s not simple; it’s not your starship to casually evaluate!
Usually, an evaluation is performed only when action is to be taken against a starship.
But what actions can a Star Port, merely a docking place, take against a starship?
The people evaluating the starship are using the Star Port’s central system, which Little Lake discovered.
In the monitoring network controlled by Big Head Butterfly, the Star Port is a place as important as the Military Region and Planet Government.
Monitoring the 8384 ship’s security is just one aspect; it also includes but is not limited to: searching flight information, identifying arriving passengers...
Little Lake’s monitoring is also very covert, mainly integrating and analyzing data in the backend.
Only when certain devices lose control, creating blind spots, does it consider appropriate active probing.
The evaluation information this time was collected on the backend, then promptly informed the boss.
Qu Jianlei pondered and asked, "Are there other evaluation cases?"
"Very few," Big Head Butterfly slowly turned, "The Star Port usually restricts departure; the next step is detention."
Qu Jianlei said calmly, "Detaining our starship, they would need the gall to do that."
Little Lake listed a few on the Baofeng Terminal, "These are the starships secretly evaluated by the Star Port in the last ten years and their handling methods."
The evaluations were divided into public and secret; those initiated by captains or publicly by the Star Port naturally weren’t listed.
Qu Jianlei looked over, finding ten or so starships secretly evaluated, with handling methods varying widely.
Simply put, he couldn’t analyze from past cases how the 8384 would be treated.
Qu Jianlei softly sighed, took out his handheld device, and announced, "Everyone, pay attention, it’s raining continuously and heavily. Take a break for two days."
This was the agreed-upon signal to "depart." The continuous rain, how was it created? Who in the manor wasn’t aware?
Some people were still immersed in cultivation, such as Youyou and Claire, and even Fourth Master was quite obsessed...
However, this didn’t matter, and no one would rashly interrupt them—it’s a major taboo in cultivation.
As evening approached, ten people finally gathered together, and Qu Jianlei packed up the Qi Gathering Array and Spirit Gathering Array.
However, those energies couldn’t be completely dissipated instantly, so everyone stayed for another day and night before quietly getting up to leave.
By the time they reached the Star Port, it was already early morning, but they still applied to take off.
The Star Port refused without hesitation, "It’s nighttime, temporary take-off applications are not accepted. Wait until daytime to handle it."
This statement wasn’t wrong; the Star Port indeed had such regulations.
However, rules are meant to restrain ordinary people. Qu Jianlei had secretly cut in line before; would he care about such things?
He gave a cold snort, spoke through the public channel, "I’m the Deputy Captain of Starship 8384, who said that just now? Report your work ID!"
The public channel instantly fell silent. The person who blocked him originally had a guilty conscience, so how could they dare report their work ID to Rhodiola rosea?
"No one reporting their work ID?" Qu Jianlei sneered, "Sure enough, cunning little people!"
Then he stated, "In ten minutes, my ship is taking off. Does anyone have any objections?"
Finally, someone couldn’t hold back, "This is against regulations!"
"Regulations don’t bind me," Qu Jianlei frankly replied, "The person speaking... report your work ID!"
The public channel was silent, with no one speaking, as if it were a silent movie.
In fact, there were people at the Star Port who pursued their duty diligently, but at this moment they stayed silent.
If it were purely about maintaining the Star Port’s order, they wouldn’t mind arguing based on reason.
But everyone had heard something about Starship 8384, at least knew some rumors.
Protecting the unit’s interests was certainly not a problem, but involving other factors... Sorry, no participation!
The Star Port also had forces maintaining order, but who would want to get caught up in this big vortex?
Ten minutes later, the battered Starship 8384 soared into the sky and quickly disappeared.
This time, on the Celestial Blade Star journey, there were two starships receiving outside, Starship 3344 and the Omen Ship.
The three starships didn’t converge, maintaining a considerable distance while heading towards the Asteroid Belt.
On the third day after 8384’s departure, a very ordinary Armed Merchant Ship landed.
After landing, two people lingered aimlessly around the Star Port.
This behavior wasn’t against regulations at the Star Port, but those who understood knew that ordinary people weren’t interested in doing this.
Sure enough, after walking around for ten minutes, one person’s wristwatch rang.
As soon as he answered the communication, his face changed, "What, they’re gone?"
He then couldn’t be bothered with much else, directly shouting, "Listen, I don’t accept any excuses!"
"Let me ask you one thing, why did you let them go? Can you bear the consequences?"
The person on the other end was stunned for two or three seconds before responding straightforwardly, "You could’ve stopped them—why didn’t you come earlier!"
After saying this, he hung up the communication without hesitation—like hell, I’m not indulging you!
He knew the other side wasn’t easy to deal with, but those working at the Star Port were also knowledgeable!
Your family clearly has the Supreme, yet you didn’t dare to stir trouble, now venting your anger on me?
The two who were wandering also paused, "Such temper?"
They were indeed serving as Balrog’s advance team, just wanting to see if they could keep Rhodiola rosea’s team on the Celestial Blade.
The so-called evaluation was propelled solely by Balrog, with the intention of thoroughly understanding Starship 8384.
This evaluation wasn’t just about understanding the starship’s performance but also its origins, associated forces... all aspects.
Once the related evaluation was submitted, Balrog could figure out the best way to suppress Rhodiola rosea’s team.
Suppressing Rhodiola rosea was his established goal, which was no longer subject to change.
Balrog had lived quite a restrained life for a considerable period before—the Empire hoped he would follow rules.
But for this reason, he felt that others seemed to have forgotten his existence, with some obsessions exploding forth, completely uncontrollable.
He genuinely intended to dominate Rhodiola rosea; this was beyond doubt, as he wouldn’t tolerate falling in such a remote place.
However, he also needed to consider his costs, for he had many contingency plans in hand.
Previously, he thought he wouldn’t need to pay much until Harman and Chatelet successively failed.
So this time, he planned to be serious, and in extreme circumstances, he would summon the Anomalous Management Division and the Divine Text Association’s Supremes.
He could even bring in stationed troops.
But ultimately, he had to consider the cost, and he hoped it wouldn’t escalate to that level.
