Starting Cultivation in Wasteland-Chapter 454 - 326: Friends and Foes

The news of the A-level disappearance greatly disturbed Spirit Fox. He hoped Black Heaven could take him away that very night.

Qu Jianlei first sent him into the underground, then, after some thought, picked up the handset to call Youyou.

Youyou seemed to be busy with something and didn’t pick up for a long time, making Qu Jianlei hesitant to keep calling.

After two hours, just as he suspected she might have been injured last night, Youyou finally responded.

She wasn’t injured, but she was indeed busy, as the star thieves were dealing with the aftermath of yesterday’s battle.

Youyou, being somewhat "unreliable," was tasked with clearing debris and rescuing people from the ruins.

She didn’t personally handle things but supervised workers, yet she was overwhelmed with work.

Qu Jianlei frankly told her that Spirit Fox was also at No. 13 Triumph Road — the secret of this place had already been leaked.

Youyou was indifferent, as even the relay tower had collapsed, and the Imperial investigation team might already be on the way, rendering the secrecy rather moot.

As for where Pan Yifu and Baldy were, she wasn’t sure — after all, she wasn’t very trusted.

She didn’t even know if those two were captured, but she did know that three A-levels had indeed been captured last night.

Qu Jianlei wanted to know the origins of the Supreme, and Youyou still had no idea.

Qu Jianlei then expressed that he wanted to take Spirit Fox and leave during the night — he could manage alone, but taking someone with him was difficult.

Youyou felt a bit troubled, "I’m not trusted either right now, how about you stay until the Imperial Fleet arrives?"

Qu Jianlei thought for a moment, then called Spirit Fox out from the underground and asked if he was willing to stay here.

"What I mean is, you can rest and heal here... I surely won’t stay here indefinitely."

"No, I want to leave too," Spirit Fox shook his head vigorously. "It’s not that I don’t trust you, but it’d be too embarrassing if I fell into the hands of star thieves."

It wasn’t just about face; coming from a wealthy family, the star thieves surely knew, and the ransom would definitely be astronomical.

Youyou thought for a moment and then responded, "I can make some efforts, but I need two amnesty quotas."

Regardless of whether she betrayed the Empire or not, she was currently working for the star thieves, a fact that can’t be denied.

"Two quotas are no problem," Spirit Fox readily agreed, "but it’d be best if there’s no victim involved."

"If there is indeed a victim, let’s hope their family doesn’t have too much power; otherwise, community service would be the least of the consequences."

Community service was the lightest punishment. This reply was not only sincere but also rather bold — even the existence of a victim wasn’t feared!

"Alright then," Youyou replied gravely, "wait for my news, it shouldn’t take too long."

However, in reality, it took quite some time, and it was two hours later when an off-road vehicle finally stopped at the entrance of No. 13.

Two people got off the car, used a key to open the gate, and walked in.

Spirit Fox already knew that Youyou was female, B-level Wood Attribute, but when he saw another man, his face darkened: was this a trap?

With his only remaining left hand, he began a Finger Technique, "So it’s you. You actually dared to come alone?"

The man was none other than the Fourth Master of the star thieves, also an A-level Gold Attribute.

Fourth Master glanced at him and spoke casually, "When you had both hands, I couldn’t deal with you, but with only one, can you manage?"

Spirit Fox, seeing he wasn’t shouting, breathed a sigh of relief.

Yet he honestly stated, "If the other amnesty quota is for you, I have no power to help - you’re wanted by the military."

Youyou calmly remarked, "I’m also wanted by the military... is it difficult?"

"You are different," Spirit Fox shook his head, having already heard from Black Heaven about her situation.

Though he was curious about how Black Heaven knew such a person, he wouldn’t ask about those trivial things.

He explicitly stated, "Even now, you’re just a prisoner of war, not having participated in any battles, so protecting you is easy."

Fourth Master waved and spoke straightforwardly, "I don’t need your protection. You let Hongyun escape yesterday... I didn’t stop you."

Qu Jianlei nodded; indeed, this person was present at that time, although he wasn’t sure if he was spotted while rescuing Hongyun.

At that time, his mind was mostly focused on the Supreme, and he truly couldn’t pay attention to others.

"You might not have been able to stop me... alright, what do you want to say?"

"Just pass a message to Hongyun," Fourth Master replied solemnly, "I only hope he can pass a word to the military."

"It’s about the defeat at Kainan Nebula, the fault doesn’t lie with the frontline soldiers."

Before Qu Jianlei could speak, Spirit Fox reacted first, gasping, "Kainan Nebula... you’re caught up in that?"

Fourth Master glanced at him and coldly replied, "None of your business!"

"It’d be best if it’s none of my business," Spirit Fox, uncharacteristically, didn’t care, letting out a long breath, "I didn’t hear anything today."

Qu Jianlei looked at him disdainfully, this is the extent of your responsibility.

However, he understood. Although unknown what the Kainan Nebula event entailed, that kind of trouble was likely beyond his capacity too.

So he merely nodded, "Passing the message is no issue, but what Lord Hongyun’s stance will be, I dare not guarantee."

Whether it was an illusion or not, Qu Jianlei felt that when he mentioned the word "Lord", the other seemed to show a slight smile.

Could it be that Youyou told this guy that I’ve already reached A-level cultivation?

Anyway, the Fourth Master didn’t seem surprised by his words; he nodded, "Hongyun is quite reasonable."

"Otherwise, do you think a water attribute like him could have survived yesterday, and you saved him just in time... pure luck?"

Qu Jianlei’s eyes lit up at the words, "Right, how’s Pan Yifu doing?"

"He’s been detained on the starship," the Fourth Master said casually, "He was injured by Tang Zhigao himself, so there’s no escaping."

Spirit Fox’s eyes lit up at the sound and couldn’t help but chime in, "Who is Tang Zhigao?"

The Fourth Master glanced at him, with a faint hint of disdain in his eyes, "He’s obviously a star thief."

Qu Jianlei couldn’t understand why these two were at odds, but he didn’t care to ask, "And the other two captured A-levels are?"

"One’s the Old Ghost, and the other’s Baldy," the Fourth Master replied offhandedly, "White Clothes is dead."

Qu Jianlei spoke again, "Where are the two of them being held?"

"That I can’t inquire about," the Fourth Master answered frankly, "We each have our own roles to play."

"The star thieves are also in chaos now, morale isn’t stable, so I can’t just start asking questions randomly."

Spirit Fox couldn’t help but add another sentence, "You’d better find Pan Yifu; his energy is no less than Hongyun’s."

"What energy could he have?" the Fourth Master snorted disdainfully, "An A-level stationed at Garbage Star."

"That’s not how you put it," Spirit Fox said solemnly, "Pan Yifu knows the secret of the Black Box."

"The secret of the Black Box?" The Fourth Master was initially stunned, then he caught on.

"You mean that thing he did last night? Haha, stationed A-level, knowing some station secrets means big energy?"

He gave Spirit Fox a disdainful glance, "The military projects Hongyun participated in are more than you think. Who do you say has more energy?"

Spirit Fox finally shut up; when it came to military stuff, he truly had no say.

Qu Jianlei thought for a moment, feeling there was nothing more to ask, "When can we set off?"

The Fourth Master hesitated, glanced at Youyou, and then coughed lightly, "Uh... wait an hour."

"Haha," seeing this, Spirit Fox couldn’t help but burst into laughter, "An hour, are you sure you can last that long?"

In a rare occurrence, the Fourth Master didn’t retort this time but sneaked a look at Youyou.

The current light wasn’t great, but you could see his face was slightly flushed.

"The two of us came to this courtyard, we must have some reason, right? In an hour, it’ll be my turn to patrol."

Youyou remained calm and composed.

Though she was female, she was quite mature; she couldn’t possibly not understand, but she acted like she didn’t hear.

An hour later, Youyou drove, with the Fourth Master personally sitting in the passenger seat, and they sent the two out of the core zone.

Upon reaching the control zone, the patrol intensity by star thieves was much lighter, but it was still stricter than before the night raid.

The off-road vehicle stopped by a grove, and Qu Jianlei and Spirit Fox got out of the car.

The Fourth Master tossed over a backpack, "There are some medicines inside, but not much."

Qu Jianlei took the backpack and couldn’t help but ask, "When will the star thieves attacking the Pioneer Team withdraw?"

The Fourth Master shook his head, "That’s uncertain; currently, there are disagreements, and many advocate increasing the attack intensity."

"Isn’t that self-deception?" Spirit Fox couldn’t help but speak again, "With the relay tower gone, who can they fool?"

The Fourth Master replied indifferently, "Such tactics are common in war; taking the initiative to attack makes it easier to leave the battlefield."

It was clear that he was inclined to support this suggestion.

But Spirit Fox didn’t agree with his words, "I know all about advancing by retreating, but star thieves... haha, I don’t have high hopes."

The Fourth Master fell silent and only spoke after a while, "Even if they are a motley crew, this is their lair."

Spirit Fox’s lips moved with a look of disapproval, but he only said in the end, "Leaving now, thanks for the help."

He and Qu Jianlei left under the cover of night, and after walking quite a distance, he snorted, "Lair? Haha, soon it won’t be."

Qu Jianlei curiously asked, "Lord Spirit Fox, in your estimation, how soon can the Imperial Fleet arrive?"

"At most three months," Spirit Fox answered casually, "If it’s quick, it could be just ten days or so."

Qu Jianlei was stunned by this, "Can the difference really be that big?"

Spirit Fox replied offhandedly, "It’s quite interesting; first, it depends on how long it takes for maintenance personnel to discover the malfunction."

"Secondly, it depends on what the empire plans to do about this matter."

"If they’re deploying troops, moving an army is a process, and it won’t be quick."

"If they just draft a few Supreme beings, it might be faster, but the timing of the supreme beings is unpredictable, so who knows."

Qu Jianlei frowned slightly at what he heard: are Supremes coming too?

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