Starting Cultivation in Wasteland

Chapter 1124: Chapter 990: Old Grievances

Qu Jianlei and his team encountered a minor problem on their return journey to Paradise Star.

The accident didn’t occur on the Omen Ship but on the trailing 3344 ship.

After entering the Tianpeng Star System, Qu Jianlei intended to take a distant look at the Lost Star to see if the Military was still keeping an eye on it.

However, when they were still far from the Lost Star, Little Lake informed Qu Jianlei that something had happened.

The 3344 ship behind them unexpectedly triggered a passive space warning device.

It’s truly unforeseen that, in such vast space, someone had placed a warning device.

And the 3344 ship activated invisibility, not proactively investigating other situations—there was a Starship ahead, exploring the path.

Who would have thought it would trigger a warning device that drifted from who knows where?

Worse still, the signal from the warning device was very strong and encrypted.

"Ninety-nine percent it’s set up by the Military," Big Head Butterfly mused, "Boss, what should we do?"

"Let the 3344 continue the jump," Qu Jianlei issued the command, "target... Hope Star Realm sounds good."

The Gao Fang warships don’t appear often, but last time it was nearby, encountering a brawl between the Steff Adventurer Group and the Earth Scholar.

As a result, the Steff Clan even contacted Paradise Star, attempting to issue a bounty, but failed to do so.

However, Qu Jianlei thought again, this jump might alert the Military, and the Omen Ship... is not suitable for returning to Paradise in the short term either.

Don’t take the Iron Skin Snake’s protection lightly; if suspicion arises, unforeseeable trouble could follow.

"Forget it, let’s go to Hope Star Realm too. We haven’t been back for a long time."

After the two Starships jumped, two warships indeed rushed over, with marks indicating "Military Police."

"The opponents immediately implemented interference, but it can be seen that they’re likely a standard warship type."

Passive warning devices usually don’t send active probes to conceal their existence, only probing after an alarm is triggered.

Little Lake controlled the 3344 with a sure reaction speed, but still allowed the opponents to glimpse a bit.

"Could it really be the Military here having issues? Or is it... counterfeit warships?"

Apparently, the Military knows someone is causing chaos under their banner, like some archaeologist organization.

"Anyway, there’s definitely a problem. Otherwise, why would they flee using jump methods? Can their whereabouts be locked down?"

"How could it be... it’s not an official standard jump channel. Such a pity, the opponents are too alert."

"Surveillance around must be tighter, deploy more Starships over here."

The two Starships jumped to Hope Star Realm, taking half a day to establish contact.

Qu Jianlei was keen to see the four Habitable Stars, what has Hope Star Realm turned into now.

However, regrettably, even though the Omen Ship is registered here, they can’t casually land.

"Let’s wander around nearby first," Granny Jia suggested, "and see if there’s a suitable opportunity to land."

In any case, they’re not suited to return to Paradise in the short term, finding something to kill time is also nice.

Unexpectedly, Granny’s mouth seemed blessed, five days later, they indeed found an opportunity.

A cheap Passenger Starship encountered a malfunction, frantically sending out distress signals all around.

The Starship wasn’t completely unusable, but the situation remained dangerous, with the malfunction spreading.

Undoubtedly, there wasn’t a high-level Maintenance Master aboard this flight.

Still, it’s not an overwhelming problem, the signals they sent will eventually reach headquarters.

Headquarters will surely send someone to rescue, it’s just that time is needed on the road.

The Omen Ship, upon discovering the signal, went directly over and straightforwardly said, "How much are the repair costs?"

The other side was indeed reluctant to part with their money, indicating that their repair budget is limited, could we first look at the malfunction points?

Qu Jianlei piloted the Starship closer, actually boarded the Passenger Ship, and took a look.

The malfunction was substantial but not trivial; replacing personnel, even with sufficient parts, wanting a repair in space was hardly easy!

Qu Jianlei directly quoted an astronomical price: I’ll provide the parts, twenty million to guarantee the repair!

He indeed quoted high; this task including labor and materials could be done for four to five million—this considers the difficulty of space operations.

However, Qu Jianlei didn’t intend to repair, hence quoting such an exorbitant price.

True to form, the other side said he was too greedy—insisting it could be resolved for a hundred thousand!

These people run space tours for years, although not good at repairs, they’re roughly aware of prices for common malfunctions.

They hoped Qu Jianlei could charge reasonably, also stating the company’s annual maintenance budget was limited.

"Fix it or leave it!" Qu Jianlei turned and left directly, "Your company sends people over, how much does a round trip cost?"

"During your waiting time, how much less revenue do you earn?"

Anyway, he was being blatantly money-minded, attempting to earn excess profits through "reasoning and arguments."

However, the crew was also reluctant to part with their money, staunchly refusing such extortion, eventually parting on bad terms.

Qu Jianlei boarded the Omen Ship and immediately left without any intention of bargaining.

This resulted in some passengers complaining, "Couldn’t this guy haggle a bit? Does he have a grudge against money?"

Qu Jianlei didn’t have a grudge against money, but his main intention in negotiating was to get Granny Jia onto the starship.

The old lady already had strong concealment abilities, and it wasn’t difficult for him to use a bit of Illusion Technique to help her aboard.

Anyway, his refusal to take jobs showed he was just a greedy person.

Are there many people like this? Definitely, you can encounter them anywhere on the street, and the numerous passengers find nothing unusual about it.

Fixing the starship legitimately would draw more attention, and the repair level displayed would be undeniable.

Kind-hearted people are rare, especially those with skills?

Everyone’s seen plenty of petty, opportunistic people, so they don’t bother with them.

It’s best if you don’t notice me! The Omen Ship just sailed away.

Three days later, the Maintenance Master arrived with other starships and temporarily fixed the starship’s issues in half a day.

"You can sail to the destination first and then thoroughly repair it."

No one noticed the faint shadow that appeared in the cargo hold of the passenger starship.

The passenger starship’s destination is the Star of Hope, where Granny Jia left two Teleportation Array Plates.

Then she went to Star No. 4 and Star No. 2—Star No. 3 is still tense, so no rush to go there.

Qu Jianlei and the others also arrived at Star No. 2, revisiting old places stirred unique feelings in their hearts.

As luck would have it, he spotted Sofia on the street.

The former business guide had become a bit plumper, with an automatic baby carriage beside her.

Her small belly was oddly protruding—apparently nurturing new life again.

Qu Jianlei instinctively smiled and shook his head; perhaps it’s "You live your life, and I have my journey."

However, reality gave him little time for sentimental reflections; Granny Jia approached with a serious expression, "Jiu Xian has been taken away."

"Taken away?" Qu Jianlei raised his eyebrows and spoke in surprise, "Taken where?"

"Anomalous Object Observation Group," Granny Jia sighed lightly, "Her research abilities are strong, and... family heritage."

"Family heritage?" Qu Jianlei repeated, then asked with an odd expression, "Is it affected by you?"

"Well... maybe a bit," Granny Jia hesitated and nodded, "But mainly because archaeology is quite popular recently."

The archaeological popularity was triggered by the Blade Star Realm’s Ghost Cultivator incident, but there are deeper reasons.

Listening to Qian He’s words, it’s clear the Imperial accumulation of issues is substantial.

Ran Bingluan’s Tribulation Thunder, Rhodiola rosea’s Spiritual Secret Skill, Super Qi Gathering Array’s theft...

These are just connected to him; once Dean Green Water started researching Divine Text, this trend became unstoppable.

But the Imperial has been emphasizing a prohibition on private research of Divine Text—I won’t pursue it, but that doesn’t mean it’s legal!

With all this pent-up resentment, it’s as if various conflicts are beginning to erupt now.

"Isn’t this too dim-sighted?" A cold light flashed in Qu Jianlei’s eyes, "Should we deal with them?"

"It’s fine for now, on Star No. 3," Granny Jia calmly replied, "We’re not convenient to go there temporarily."

Admittedly, the Imperial people are really bold, even though her great-granddaughter faced such an issue, she remains unhurried.

"All right then," Qu Jianlei nodded since the victim declared no urgency; it’s pointless for him to be anxious alone, right?

"Anyhow, just stay in touch with them and let me know if needed."

"Hope it doesn’t come to that," Granny Jia’s eyes flashed with cold light, "By the way, the current leader on Star No. 2 is Ke Rui’an."

"Ke Rui’an?" Qu Jianlei furrowed his brow, "This person... should I know him?"

Granny Jia replied indifferently, "Hoyel, who was the second in command on Star No. 4, remember him? The one who caused you to be wanted?"

"Of course," Qu Jianlei answered without hesitation, it was a total unwarranted disaster, how could he forget?

Back then, he was planning to integrate into Imperial society, live as a normal person.

But this event completely revealed the foundational logic of Imperial society, leading to his continued flight.

Now, his thoughts have wandered, and he can’t go back anymore.

However, from another perspective, maybe he should thank this incident for making him live more clearly.

But the rights and wrongs involved, who can say for sure?

Granny Jia leisurely remarked, "Ke Rui’an was the biggest force in bringing down Hoyel, although he wasn’t in Hope Star Realm then."

Qu Jianlei raised his eyebrow at the comment, "Wasn’t it people from the Divine Text Association giving Hoyel a hard time?"

"Ke Rui’an is from the Divine Text Association," Granny Jia confirmed confidently.

"Hoyel’s maternal grandfather was tricked by him."

"Of course, there were others in their faction, but Ke Rui’an is absolutely the main player!"

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