Starting Cultivation in Wasteland-Chapter 361 - 241: Encounter

Is there a Pioneer Team? Qu Jianlei’s spirit was lifted: there truly were resistance forces!

During the days in which the spaceship was heading to Zarif Star, Youyou had explained to him about Pioneer Teams.

Pioneer Teams are somewhat similar to Wasteland Adventurers, both staking their lives for Fugui.

However, the interests involved here are far greater than those on the Wasteland, though there are times of bankruptcy, there are also many examples of great profits.

However, not just anyone can engage in pioneering, it requires authorization from the Imperial government.

This means Pioneer Teams must register in accordance with relevant procedures and be officially recognized as legitimate civilian organizations.

Especially the qualification for a Pioneer Planet, which only large teams can have.

Teams of this level have a set of requirements for personnel, equipment, personnel composition, high-level combat power, and so on.

Furthermore, which Pioneer Teams are authorized for a certain planet is also subject to Imperial approval.

This not only involves issues of interest, but the Empire is more concerned with ease of management—pioneering is allowed, but lack of control is not.

In short, Youyou believed that the Pioneers were quite lawless, but as long as one didn’t touch their interests, conflict was unlikely.

Qu Jianlei had always felt that there was something strange about Zarif Star being occupied by Star Thieves.

Star Thieves are certainly ruthless, but Pioneer Teams are not saints either, they can even be said to be licensed Star Thieves!

Moreover, since the information relay station here hadn’t been destroyed, he always thought, perhaps there was a Pioneer Team still operating!

Of course, this was just his speculation, he didn’t place all his hopes on it.

Qu Jianlei valued camaraderie very much, yet his own mindset and actions had distinctly lone wolf characteristics.

His cooperation with Xiao Moshan, Flower Scorpion, and Bentley was all very good, with a lot of tacit understanding.

He indeed had a talent for teamwork, and he greatly enjoyed the feeling, but... he didn’t mind being a solitary traveler.

However, now confirming the existence of a Pioneer Team was a pleasant surprise.

He resisted engaging with Pan Yifu for a multitude of reasons, but the Pioneer Team was different.

He had plenty of experience interacting with Adventurers, if they fit, they cooperate, and if not, they part ways, in the worst case scenario, they would clash.

Anyway, cooperating with the Pioneer Team, he didn’t feel any pressure, and could act however he pleased.

So he patiently continued listening.

But unfortunately, the child only spoke one sentence before a nearby older child covered his mouth, "Do you want to die?"

After that, Qu Jianlei heard nothing more about the Pioneer Team.

Compared to the children, the adults were much more cautious, the influence of the Star Thieves on this planet was clearly extraordinary.

Qu Jianlei had been watching here for two hours and gained nothing more, so he moved on to another settlement.

It wasn’t until he reached the third settlement that he overheard an elderly couple talking in bed.

The two were discussing today’s hunt, the old man had shot a muntjac and wanted to sell it to supplement the household income.

However, the wife mentioned that given their proximity to the prohibited hunting zone, what if the Star Thieves say you hunted there?

The prohibited zone was demarcated by the Star Thieves, rich in game and not very dangerous, it served as their hunting ground.

Anyone without their consent attempting to hunt there would face severe repercussions, potentially even death.

Ordinary people who caught game nearby were often suspected of hunting in the prohibited zone - this had become the norm.

The old man, being older and less energetic, hunted occasionally and usually nearby, he truly didn’t dare to go into the prohibited zone.

The wife feared potential trouble with selling it and suggested feeding it to their children instead.

The old man seemed reluctant, everyone knew meat was delicious, but grain was cheaper.

However, the wife’s words made sense, so he could only sigh.

"Those damn Star Thieves, they weren’t this unreasonable when the Pioneer Team was around."

The wife was unimpressed, "The Pioneer Team wasn’t that reasonable either."

"Better slightly than not at all," the old man argued with her.

Qu Jianlei understood, the Pioneer Team only had a slightly better reputation.

However, having lived among the lower classes, he knew how much impact "slightly better" could have.

He continued to listen for a while, roughly deducing that the Pioneer Team still existed but that the Star Thieves had taken over the control center.

Every now and then, the Pioneer Team would also launch attacks on the Star Thieves.

However, due to the lack of external supplies, the Pioneer Team faced shortages of food and clothes, and were severely low on ammunition, making survival extremely difficult.

The Star Thieves were aware of the Pioneer Team’s situation, so they occasionally organized troops to launch sieges.

The Star Thieves’ equipment and ammunition were also very tight, they wouldn’t bring much ammunition when besieging, and would even destroy it if necessary.

Thus, it was very difficult for the Pioneer Team to sustain themselves through battle.

They could only choose small-scale infiltration battles, which resulted in lower intensity fighting but with high frequency.

Qu Jianlei wanted to hear more, but unfortunately, after a while, the couple went back to sleep.

Qu Jianlei pondered for a while and thought this place was still a bit too close to the Star Thieves’ control center.

If he moved further towards the outskirts, the chances of encountering the Pioneer Team would likely increase significantly.

```

He was the type to act on impulse. After leaving, he walked in the opposite direction of the dock.

This time, he didn’t enter the woods but instead followed the path through the wilderness, occasionally releasing some spiritual perception.

He moved at an incredibly fast pace, covering almost eighty kilometers in a single day.

By evening, he planned to camp by a small river, and he used his Long Blade to clear a safe area.

Then he started a fire to ensure there was nothing messy around.

As for the possibility that the fire might attract the covetous eyes of adventurers? He genuinely didn’t care at all.

The fire burned for more than an hour, and it was not until the sky turned completely dark that the flames began to die down.

In fact, as soon as he started the fire, the rising smoke had already caught the attention of others.

Halfway through the burning, three camouflaged individuals appeared on a small hill three kilometers away from him.

These three used binoculars to observe attentively and confirmed that this was an intentional fire.

As for how many people were on the other side, the three couldn’t discern.

It was exactly during the transition from daylight to darkness when it required the most effort to see, coupled with the obstructing flames and smoke, making observation difficult.

However, it was confirmed that the number of people on the other side was not large.

The three whispered to each other for a while, leaving two to observe while one turned and slipped away.

Qu Jianlei had actually already noticed these three. He was startled by their attire, feeling as if he had returned to Blue Star.

But he quickly realized that this was the typical attire of a mature combat system.

The Imperial technology had already reached the level of being able to colonize planets, so they must have thought of this.

Anyway, their attire stirred a trace of sentiment in him, so he chose not to make any proactive response.

Otherwise, he would have at least followed the one who left to see what they intended to do.

After it got dark, the flames died down, but the embers were still quite hot, so he casually performed a bit of rain.

The fire was extinguished quickly, which immediately drew the attention of the two observers.

One of them, relying on the darkness, quietly sneaked to within a kilometer of the fire site.

Qu Jianlei had already set up his tent and couldn’t be bothered with this person, so he started a fire to roast some meat.

Seeing he was alone, the person couldn’t help but stealthily move closer.

However, because it was too dark, he inadvertently stepped on a twig.

The sound of the twig snapping wasn’t loud, but in the quiet of the night, it carried quite far.

At this moment, he was about eight hundred meters away from the other party, which should have been no issue.

However, Qu Jianlei reacted significantly. He bent down, picked up a single soldier machine gun, and disappeared into the night.

Then he took out a loudspeaker and called out, "Who is it? If you get any closer, I’ll start shooting!"

This was a typical reaction for ordinary people. Out in the wilderness, the reputation of pioneer teams wasn’t that great.

The person stopped when they saw this. After thinking for a moment, they quietly retreated.

After more than two hours, a group of more than ten people approached from a distance.

Looking toward the direction of the firelight, the group discussed for a moment, split into three smaller teams, and quietly maneuvered closer.

At this point, Qu Jianlei would not agree, so he swept the middle group with the single soldier machine gun.

"Rat-tat-tat," a burst of muffled sounds sent dirt flying. Then his voice came over, "Are you really courting death?"

The three groups stopped in their tracks and began to quietly communicate with each other using walkie-talkies.

The middle group had the most to say, stating that the opponent’s marksmanship was very accurate, with shot points landing no more than ten meters away.

In the darkness, nearly two kilometers away, to shoot so accurately with a machine gun...

This was not just an issue of night vision devices, nor was it about being a divine gunman; it was likely... a sign of awakened superpower abilities.

Indeed, the likelihood of the opponent being an ultimate warrior was very high.

Considering that there might be only one person on the other side, who dared to camp alone in the wild... the possibility of being a B-level warrior was substantial.

Realizing this, the group couldn’t stay calm. B-level warriors were quite rare in the Imperial realm.

Thinking about Qu Jianlei taking down the thirteenth head, who was just a B-level, it indicates how rare such cultivation levels are.

After some discussion, they used a loudspeaker to call out, "Passing friend, we mean no harm. Can we talk?"

Qu Jianlei responded in a deep voice, "Sure, but you’d better reveal your identities first."

"We are from the Black Rain Pioneer Corps," the voice from the other side’s loudspeaker was loud, "This area is under our responsibility."

Qu Jianlei heard their conversation and knew they were indeed from a pioneer team, but... the banner was not right.

So he retorted, "Isn’t this area supposed to be under the Blazing Fire Pioneer Team?"

"Blazing Fire..." The other side hesitated before responding, "We are indeed from Blazing Fire, accepted employment from Black Rain."

Qu Jianlei replied in a deep voice, "Alright, send two people over, and it’s best not to play any tricks."

(Updated until here, calling for monthly tickets and subscriptions.)