Starting Cultivation in Wasteland-Chapter 388 - 266: Oppressive Bullying

Qu Jianlei carefully observed the military station by the riverbank for two days, and also took the opportunity to observe that warehouse.

Honestly speaking, from the outside, you can’t really tell there’s a warehouse there; it just looks like a high ground above the riverbank.

There are quite a few large rocks on the high ground, all round in shape, clearly worn down by the erosion of time.

So, once upon a time, this place underwent dramatic changes, and the rocks that were once under the riverbed ended up on the high ground by the bank.

However, Qu Jianlei wasn’t one for lamenting about the past; he thought this place as a warehouse was actually pretty good.

Although it’s by the water, the terrain is high enough not to flood even in heavy rains.

Moreover, being close to the water enables waterway transport, greatly reducing costs... well, the Empire doesn’t really value waterway transport.

A civilization that dumps its garbage into space wouldn’t fuss over a bit of energy, would it?

Currently on Zarif Star, energy is indeed in short supply, but it’s just a temporary anomaly.

Whether it’s the Star Thieves or the Pioneer Team, neither has seriously considered utilizing waterway transport.

It’s a matter of technological development focus, heavily influenced by mainstream technological routes.

Technologies with narrow applications generally receive little attention.

Hydroelectric generators are already considered somewhat mainstream technology and only began to be promoted on this planet after Qu Jianlei’s arrival.

But Qu Jianlei didn’t have the heart to mull over these matters; what he was thinking about was: the terrain... so flat.

There are plenty of pebbles of all sizes, but when people step on them, at most, it’s just a bit uncomfortable on the feet.

If it were an off-road vehicle, you could absolutely hit the gas and speed through without worrying about scraping the undercarriage or anything.

So, as a large warehouse, it really fits the bill, at least ensuring the transport of goods is unhindered.

Qu Jianlei observed for two days and saw no vehicles coming or going, but he’s already certain: there’s something fishy here.

As for the current lack of activity, isn’t that normal? On the brink of a major battle, everyone would want to keep their cards hidden, right?

After observing for two days and eavesdropping on countless conversations, Qu Jianlei decided to take a little break—he was genuinely a bit tired.

He overheard part of the Star Thieves’ schemes, but they were all trivial.

So the immediate priority was still to contact Blazing Fire and see what new updates they had.

You could say that he, as a disruptor deep in enemy territory, hardly contacted headquarters, which somewhat hinted at dereliction of duty.

However, when Mu Guoguo connected with him, she almost broke into tears, "Lord Black Heaven, you still remember you have a radio with you?"

"The situation behind enemy lines changes rapidly," Qu Jianlei replied righteously, "My first consideration is how to complete the mission."

"Secondly, my own safety, ’orders of the military in the field may override instructions from the home base’... ultimately, it’s about the achievements."

His words were a bit brusque, but then again, a skilled warrior is often this way; those who can fight naturally have a bit of a temper.

Besides, Qu Jianlei wasn’t even a part of the Blazing Fire Team’s organization; calling someone "Captain Mu" was just giving the other face.

"Black Heaven, I didn’t mean to blame you," Captain Mu dared not provoke him, "The Star Thieves recently announced they want to recruit you..."

"If you’re willing to go, you can directly take the position of the seventh leader... and whoever convinces you to go gets rewarded with twenty kilograms of gold."

Twenty kilograms of gold? Qu Jianlei mentally converted it; it wouldn’t even be enough to buy a decent house in a first-tier city on the Divine Land.

But this was just the cost of a verbal agreement; it couldn’t be assumed the other side wasn’t sincere... hold on, what was he even thinking?

He chuckled dismissively, "Different paths make us not seek each other; let me explain the current situation..."

Qu Jianlei reported the intelligence he had gathered in great detail to Captain Mu.

However, he didn’t mention the information about this suspected warehouse.

One reason is the intelligence wasn’t particularly accurate, and secondly, he was worried about the possibility of new spies leaking his plans.

As for the things he had done during these days, he discussed some of them, leaving out those that were inconvenient to mention.

For instance, he had once infiltrated the core area and stayed for some time.

That was his private affair; he hadn’t joined Blazing Fire, so why say so much?

Then he also inquired about the current status of Blazing Fire and what he needed to do to cooperate with them.

Mu Guoguo was quite satisfied with Qu Jianlei’s achievements.

For a B-level Warrior to gather so much intelligence behind enemy lines and cause such a stir was already quite remarkable.

So he emphasized: you must pay attention to your own protection, don’t worry if your actions are small, safety comes first.

To reassure Black Heaven, he even vaguely hinted that the Celestial Level Team had been contacted and some arrangements had been made.

As to what exactly the arrangements were, he didn’t specify, considering Qu Jianlei wasn’t in the camp; it wouldn’t be of much significance anyway.

The main point was that Black Heaven was currently behind enemy lines, and any unexpected accident might lead to leaks.

The final request Mu Guoguo made was hoping that Qu Jianlei could build a larger secret camp.

If Blazing Fire were truly outmatched, they might scatter and break through, at which point assistance and settlement would be needed.

This indicates that Captain Mu isn’t as optimistic about the current situation as he claimed, and is already preparing a retreat plan.

Previously, he hadn’t mentioned it because he knew that Black Heaven didn’t have much supplies either.

Now that three military stations have been cleared and some supplies have been seized, they can accommodate some team members, especially the injured ones.

Qu Jianlei indicated there was no problem, but he had been on the offensive and hadn’t considered this aspect.

His sense of security was indeed not great, but arranging a fallback for a team was something he was doing for the first time.

In the end, Mu Guoguo still emphasized: Be careful of the star thieves’ bounty; you’ve become famous.

Honestly speaking, an electromagnetic attribute B-level is considered more worthy of recruiting than A-level warriors with Five Major Attributes by many major forces.

Qu Jianlei responded with a couple of vague acknowledgments, instead hoping that Captain Mu wouldn’t disclose his identity to unrelated people.

Are you worried about me? I’m still worried about you.

After closing the radio, Qu Jianlei began to seriously consider where to build a camp for them.

Choosing a location wasn’t difficult; even in policing areas on Pioneer Planet, there were large uninhabited zones.

Building a camp was genuinely tough; after the camp was set up, most supplies still needed to be transported there.

He thought about it and simply expanded a secret vault, transforming it into a place where two hundred people could hide and live.

This was a huge project, especially since during the daytime, he still needed to monitor that large warehouse.

While monitoring, some energy must be reserved to deal with possible emergencies, right?

So this secret camp took him a full ten nights to build, while absorbing four B-level crystals to replenish his Inner Breath.

This ceaseless busywork left Qu Jianlei little time to gather intelligence.

Finally, when the work was completed, he also took Sullivan over to help guard the secret camp.

Sullivan, seeing the hollowed mountain belly, couldn’t help but be shocked, "Is this... a naturally formed cave?"

Qu Jianlei didn’t answer directly but instead asked, "Who doesn’t have a couple of friends?"

He absolutely didn’t want anyone to know that he could manipulate techniques with multiple attributes.

Then he left the secret camp, and upon a slight inquiry, he was startled to discover that the star thieves had already begun their siege of Blazing Fire.

Currently, it’s just skirmishes between small units, but could be considered the beginning of a larger battle.

He eavesdropped outside the star thieves’ military camp for two days, roughly determining that Blazing Fire hadn’t suffered too much.

After all, Blazing Fire had already prepared for guerrilla warfare and fortified defensive zones, allowing them to choose whether to fight or flee actively.

Qu Jianlei could hear that the star thieves were surprised by how well Blazing Fire hid when they wanted to.

He knew the reason; recent hunting had removed Blazing Fire’s worries about food, naturally calming them down.

However, there was also bad news; the star thieves had already discovered Blazing Fire’s water reservoirs.

Next, they’re sure to target hydraulic generators—anyone could figure that out.

Qu Jianlei was truly helpless in this matter, so he opted to attack the star thieves’ scout teams.

In just a single day, he took out three squads, totaling over thirty people.

Under the Thunder Strike Skill, none escaped unscathed, and the attack speed was extremely fast.

But performing electromagnetic attribute techniques created a loud noise, so he had to flee immediately after each attack.

The star thieves, having consecutively lost scouts, realized who their opponent was.

In a wilderness camp, a B-level Wood Attribute Warrior spoke coldly, "This Black Heaven... don’t bother persuading them!

Another B-level Earth Attribute Warrior commented, "That’s what several of the chiefs think—let’s try capturing first."

"Capture?" The Wood Attribute Warrior scoffed, "How many brothers do we have to lose for that?"

A B-level Fire Attribute Warrior chimed in, "Electromagnetic attribute... it’s worth it; our electromagnetic cultivation methods are incomplete."

The Earth Attribute Warrior nodded, "In space battles, electromagnetic techniques have unique advantages—it’s key to whether we can withstand the military."

Can’t deny that these star thieves indeed have ambition, daring to consider confronting the military head-on.

"Limited effect," the Wood Attribute Warrior remained unmoved; space battleships naturally have electromagnetic resistance—a true Electromagnetic Supreme is another story.

But in the next moment, he was startled: My emotions today are a bit off, why am I questioning the chiefs’ decisions?

So he coughed lightly again, "I’m just curious, how could such a figure suddenly appear on this planet?"

"Who knows?" the Earth Attribute Warrior expressed confusion too, "Maybe... a military mole?"

Just then, a Modified Warrior hurriedly ran in from outside, "Report, the logistics team was attacked... most of the supplies were destroyed by fire!"

"Damn," the B-level Warriors discussing were all stunned.

The Wood Attribute Warrior spoke grimly, "Which force did it? Are there any survivors?"

"Over thirty survivors," the Modified Warrior replied respectfully, "It was electromagnetic techniques... luckily, it was in dense forest!"

"Black Heaven!" the Wood Attribute Warrior slammed the table fiercely, gritting his teeth, "It’s too much!"