Starting Cultivation in Wasteland

Chapter 937 - 805: Still Waters, Subtle Ripples

The operator, worried about being discovered, flew the drone higher, resulting in blurry images, but the groundhog was too distinctive to go unnoticed.Even though he wore a tactical helmet, his features were still quite distinct.

"Alright, we don’t know what happens next," someone finally decided, "Let’s get back to whatever we should be doing."

This decision got unanimous approval from everyone, and as a result, Youyou’s disappearance was not noticed until twenty-four hours later.

It was only discovered because it was her turn to take a shower, but she never showed up, and when the guard went to urge her, they found she was already gone.

Meanwhile, at the same time, Youyou had already finished her bath on the merchant ship, holding a cup of tea while chatting with Xiao Moshan.

There was no other choice; those three were all Supreme beings, and if she wanted to chat, Xiao Moshan was her only option.

"Are those two also Supreme beings? How come I heard that man call Jian Lei ’boss’?"

Xiao Moshan reluctantly smiled, "Even among the Supreme beings, there are ranks. This is a world where strength is everything."

Youyou sipped her tea lightly before asking again, "But isn’t his development... a bit too fast?"

Xiao Moshan spread his hands, "He’s not like the average person, didn’t you sense it?"

Youyou fell silent once more, only speaking again after a long pause, "He was willing to spend so much money to rescue me; my life now belongs to him."

"That’s not necessary," Xiao Moshan shook his head, "I even left the team, yet when he heard I was in trouble, he still came to rescue me."

Youyou was not in the best mental state, appearing a bit drowsy.

But hearing those words, she forced herself to perk up and opened her eyes wide, "You left the team?"

As they were chatting, Qu Jianlei and his group were also in a conversation.

Paranoid suggested, "Let’s not fly this starship back to Star No. 2; there’s a chance Star No. 3 has already issued a warrant."

"No need," Granny Jia said flatly, "Star No. 2 isn’t controlled by others yet!"

"But he has other starships!" Paranoid pointed at Qu Jianlei, "I’m not talking about the Blade starship!"

"Is that so?" Granny Jia looked at Qu Jianlei, nodding thoughtfully, "No wonder you’re not afraid to forcefully escape Star No. 3."

Qu Jianlei silently gave a thumbs-up, Granny Jia’s thinking was really not ordinary agility!

His forceful departure from Star No. 3 indeed wasn’t just betting on a time gap.

Even if there was no time gap, it didn’t matter; as long as he could forcefully take off, he’d have opportunities.

If he could hold out until 8384 and 3344 came to help, even if they couldn’t win the fight, they could at least escape.

Two starships were always waiting in space, and the Energy Block cost already exceeded ten million; was he just burning money for fun?

It was simply to have a backup plan ready for situations like this.

After hearing his explanation, Granny Jia couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow, "Such deep foresight... just how insecure are you?"

Your words... are a bit hurtful! Qu Jianlei nodded imperceptibly, "Can’t help it, have a strong desire for control."

Unknowingly, it was time to warp, and Granny Jia suddenly noticed, "Two starships are closing in!"

Paranoid didn’t even bother to lift an eyelid, "Don’t make a fuss, they’re his."

It really was 3344 and 8384 coming; when he went to Star No. 3, these two starships also warped over with him.

Back then, Qu Jianlei didn’t want to make a scene, so the two starships warped independently.

Now... showing them off a little wouldn’t hurt, at least three starships warping together could save Energy Blocks, right?

After the warp was over, the two starships left, yet Granny Jia couldn’t resist looking back, "So... they’ve been on standby all along?"

Paranoid replied with a sly smile, "Yeah, insecurity issues."

"You are..." Granny Jia was speechless, eventually finding the right words.

"You’re quite overly cautious, aren’t you? Even a Planet Governor doesn’t travel like this."

Soon, the armed merchant ship landed on Star No. 2, and everyone naturally disembarked without any hindrance.

What followed was a reunion scene, with Bentley and Flower Scorpion expressing great joy over Youyou’s return.

Claire felt a bit of slight disappointment, "This sister... I don’t quite remember her."

Unlike them, Qu Jianlei was more concerned with Xiao Moshan’s next move — perhaps there were too many women and too few men in the team?

"Saving Youyou, won’t it affect you?"

"I really want to say no," Xiao Moshan spread his hands, answering very calmly, "but... is that possible?"

Truly impossible, he and Youyou were both Jian Lei’s former comrades!

Moreover, he had just been released, and then Youyou was mysteriously rescued, wouldn’t that arouse associative thoughts?

Especially troublesome was that during this time, his whereabouts were a mystery, making it impossible to prove his innocence.

This predicament probably couldn’t be alleviated much, even with Granny Jia stepping in.

Regarding these matters, both were very clear.

Qu Jianlei slightly smiled, "I thought with your intelligence, you could fabricate some alibi or something."

"Didn’t think that far," Xiao Moshan answered without hesitation, "knowing her whereabouts, I of course had to save her."

Qu Jianlei was silent for a moment after hearing this, and then he said, "If I say I never knew her whereabouts, will you believe me?"

This was the truth. Ever since Youyou had been taken right under his watch, he hadn’t received any news about her.

Through all the ensuing years, he could of course investigate, but often he had his own pressing matters to attend to.

Even on those rare occasions when he had some spare time, it was too far away from the Hope Star Realm.

Coming over wasn’t easy, not to mention, with his magnetic trouble-attracting nature, he’d likely face new issues midway.

But Xiao Moshan was different; not only had he always been in the Hope Star Realm, but he was also military personnel with access to information.

However, Qu Jianlei wouldn’t make excuses like this; what he hadn’t done, he hadn’t done, while the other indeed had.

"I believe you," Xiao Moshan stated casually, "Otherwise, you’d have rescued her long ago."

He truly was someone who had come to understand life; if Jian Lei could relocate everyone from Garbage Star, how could he simply stand by as Youyou suffered?

Just like this time, upon hearing his call for help, Jian Lei immediately leveraged his connections to get him out.

Actually, he himself could also think about it—Jian Lei, a native of Garbage Star, braving entry into the Imperial realm, and enduring such tribulations.

In such circumstances, fighting alone to carve out this situation, what enormous cost must have been paid?

Under his command, at least two Supreme beings—it was already quite remarkable.

If Supreme beings could be won over by cultivation level, then what about three starships? That indeed required a fortune!

The crucial part was, within such a framework, still remembering to visit old friends at Garbage Star—how impressive was that?

When Jian Lei left Garbage Star, he arranged everything properly, leaving not only a lot of supplies but also Limb Regeneration Healing Pods.

Departing under such conditions, it could be considered with a clear conscience; not returning would be quite understandable.

In fact, he was not without enemies; formidable foes everywhere, just one Divine Text Association was enough to make most Awakened have nightmares.

Bentley and others felt this too, but none felt it as deeply as Xiao Moshan!

After all, he was an Imperial native, positioned within the military’s intelligence department, knowing the difficulties better than most.

Pausing for a moment, he chuckled bitterly, "I plan to first see how things unfold; if it’s impossible, I might wander through the interstellar with you."

"Don’t!" Qu Jianlei glared, "You should mind your own little matters... Impossible? Do you think I care about you?"

"You don’t care about me, but can I care about you?" Xiao Moshan shamelessly replied, not minding being teased.

After Youyou arrived at the manor, she rested for three days. Her injuries were not entirely healed, but she started cultivating with everyone.

Flower Scorpion initially advised her to treat the wounds on her face, but she smiled lightly, indicating these minor injuries were inconsequential.

Xiao Moshan stayed in the manor for two days and then quietly left, probably to understand the subsequent developments.

The manor seemed to return to peace, but Qu Jianlei was acutely aware that the matters of Star No. 3 were far from over.

It wasn’t just his sense of insecurity; even Bentley privately came to remind him to remain vigilant.

Old Bent had the same idea as him, mainly unclear about Granny Jia’s energy upper limit.

But one thing was certain: because of stepping in to bail out Xiao Moshan, Granny Jia must have caught the attention of some people.

Attempting to completely sever the ties between Youyou and Xiao Moshan was nearly impossible.

Qu Jianlei also subtly inquired Granny Jia whether someone might come investigating the manor.

But Granny Jia casually replied, "Here, you don’t need to worry about that."

If there truly were issues, she naturally would handle them, so everyone could focus on cultivation and calculations.

This attitude from Granny Jia would be most welcomed by ordinary people—having someone take charge was great, wasn’t it?

However, Qu Jianlei felt slightly uncomfortable, as he put it himself: Not only did he have a poor sense of security, but he also had a strong desire for control.

He didn’t like situations out of his control.

But he couldn’t force Granny Jia to say anything; after all, she was a senior, willing to take responsibility, so what more could he say?

Two days later, Flower Scorpion came to inform him: Youyou seemed to miss her family.

Qu Jianlei fell silent at the news; Youyou first stationed at Garbage Star, then hunted, and detained for ten years...

These times combined, it’s been almost twenty years since she returned home. It’s really natural to miss her family.

However, it was clear that now was not the best time to visit home, not even suitable for sending communications.

Youyou naturally knew this too, so she didn’t mention it to him, although the longing in her heart was hard to conceal.

While the manor was tangled up with these trivial matters, people from Star No. 3 were turning their eyes to Star No. 2.

The disappearance of three pursuers was eventually discovered; at first, someone tried to cover it up, but it was ultimately undeniable.

In fact, what the military valued most wasn’t that groundhog, but the A-level Poison Attribute.

However, this figure’s existence was top secret at the military region headquarters; few were aware.

A Supreme erupted in anger, "Investigate whoever is involved, what about Jia Shuiqing?"

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