Starting Cultivation in Wasteland-Chapter 588 - 458: On Edge

Xiao Hu complained while rapidly scanning the booklets.

In these past two days, it had become quite adept at this task, having scanned all of Qu Jianlei's cultivation method books.

Scanning these now was truly a breeze, "Ah, there's so much repetition."

Qu Jianlei ignored its muttering and began to study three Transformation Techniques.

After researching them, he was surprised to find that this Transformation Technique...wasn't as convenient as he thought.

Simply put, using the Attribute Transformation Skill causes the attribute elements to fluctuate.

This means that the person using the Transformation Technique originally intended to disguise their foundation, but others would notice: something's off with this guy!

Such a Transformation Technique felt really useless.

The applicable realm for this Transformation Technique is on the battlefield.

A commander using a Transformation Technique can, to some extent, avoid an enemy's decapitation operation,

Of course, if it's a seasoned A-level warrior, the homogeneity of the elements within them is strong, and the Transformation Technique is not easily detected by lower-tier warriors.

Only when one reaches the Supreme level, with the ability to simulate various attributes, does the Transformation Technique become useful.

But once you reach Supreme, what could still be difficult? Why bother transforming?

Moreover, this Transformation Technique is easy to learn but hard to master, continuously consuming inner breath to maintain.

Even so, you can't disdain it; among the Five Major Attributes, only the wood, water, and fire attributes have mature Transformation Techniques.

The Earth Attribute and Gold Attribute Transformation Techniques are...a long story.

However, Qu Jianlei's eyes lit up instead, "I can work with this!"

He had never simply learned ready-made techniques; the cultivation methods he practiced were self-created.

"Xiao Hu, can you deduce a Transformation Technique compatible with mine from these three?"

"Can't you see I'm busy?" The Big Head Butterfly spun slowly, "Besides scanning, I also have to replicate."

I know your multitasking capabilities, Qu Jianlei thought helplessly, "Help analyze it, quickly."

"The configuration is a bit insufficient," Xiao Hu responded softly, "that...vortex?"

Qu Jianlei snorted in annoyance, "You're being lazy, be careful or I'll delay your upgrade."

"Master, don't be like this, okay?" Xiao Hu's voice held a note of helplessness, "I'm just good at learning."

"You're better at creative thinking than I am; you should plan a scheme first, and then I'll deduce it, right?"

Qu Jianlei realized he was right and snorted sulkily, "You squanderer!"

So he spread out paper and pen, starting to seriously analyze the differences and similarities of the three Transformation Techniques.

When he looked up, he was astonished to find that dawn had broken.

"Truly..." Qu Jianlei smiled and then shook his head, at this moment, it was as if he had returned to Blue Star.

The experience of unknowingly working through the night was too common.

However, here was not as peaceful as Divine Land; he was soon to ambush a Supreme.

Instinctively, he called out, "Xiao Hu."

"Hmm...hmm?" Xiao Hu, seemingly just waking up, appeared a bit slow to respond, "What's up?"

Qu Jianlei understood this response all too well, "What have you been up to?"

"I...I was patching the central system of Star No. 4," Xiao Hu answered softly.

"It was late, with nothing to do, so I wandered into the central system since I don't need to sleep."

Still dishonest, Qu Jianlei sighed, "Just the central system of Star No. 4?"

"Well...I also went to Star One," Xiao Hu replied hesitantly, "only for a little while."

Star One is the Star of Hope, the Central Star of the entire Star Realm, so did it actually enter the center of the Star Realm?

Really causing a fuss, Qu Jianlei was at a loss for words, "Run into trouble?"

Xiao Hu answered dejectedly, "Mainly because of configuration issues, otherwise...hmm!"

"Looks like I'll delay getting you the vortex," Qu Jianlei said, a bit displeased.

"With little capability, you dare create trouble; while I'm being cautious, you dare to roam around."

"This is so unfair," Xiao Hu protested, "wasn't I just trying to gather some data for you?"

"Yeah, right," Qu Jianlei snorted, "Alright, I've deduced a preliminary model; help analyze it."

"Analysis is fine," Xiao Hu timidly bargained, "but the vortex..."

"Why do you insist on wandering?" Qu Jianlei was sincerely exasperated.

"The Imperial technology here is far more advanced than that of Blue Star. The vortex isn't enough. Wait until we have big machines, then take risks, alright!"

"Eh?" Xiao Hu let out a small sound, "Your elemental mimicry plan seems to have an issue!"

"Really?" Qu Jianlei's attention immediately returned to the new technique.

Time flew by, and in a blink, another day and night passed.

That evening, Hertman came by again and took those booklets.

He didn't ask what techniques were selected but simply inquired, "When do you plan to take action?"

Qu Jianlei told him, "I need to make a trip to Star No. 3, then I'll consider taking action."

Is he... planning to escape with the money? The Guard Captain couldn't help but suspect.

He forcibly suppressed this thought and casually probed, "Are you going to Star No. 3, do you need any help?"

"No," Qu Jianlei shook his head and answered openly, "I need to create the fact that I'm not on Star No. 4."

Not on Star No. 4? Hertman blinked and then understood the implication.

He couldn't resist asking curiously, "Are you participating too?"

Qu Jianlei gave him a strange look, "Do you think a Modified Warrior like me... is qualified to participate in such an operation?"

"I'm a middleman, trying to avoid unnecessary suspicion. Is it wrong for me to hide out?"

That's a reasonable explanation. The Guard Captain acknowledged it, but the next moment, he was a bit curious too.

"For such a significant target assassination, your organization would actually adjust the timing just for you?"

"Shouldn't the middleman be protected?" Qu Jianlei looked at him curiously, "Isn't that how others do it?"

Hertman was at a loss for words. For the government, how could they consider the middleman's situation?

In his view, the middleman earns this living, so naturally, they should bear the corresponding risk.

The official world is ruthless, which is an objective fact. Once managing society, it's impossible to consider everyone's fate.

However, Panda having such an understanding seems normal to him; some organizations indeed value compassion more.

Just like the "Quantum Pioneer Team" incident a while ago, being extremely harsh on employed lower teams, even pushed the Earth Level team into rebellion.

Yet internally, the Quantum Team was exceptionally harmonious, with strong cohesion, which was a unique organizational culture.

So he could only sigh lightly, "Your organization is quite remarkable."

"No organization," Qu Jianlei shook his head, speaking earnestly, "I don't understand what you're saying."

Upon hearing this, Hertman broke into a silent laughter, then nodded slightly, "Yes, no organization, we all know that."

After leaving, the Guard Captain's brows furrowed slightly, feeling somewhat uneasy: Could he really be escaping with funds?

Then he smiled helplessly, thinking if that's the case, what can be done?

But there's a way to verify it; after returning, first take inventory of the books retrieved.

Among those books, there are quite a few that are quite valuable. If the person is fleeing with money, these would be taken as well.

Earlier, in front of Panda, he couldn't pettishly check the inventory, but afterward, there was no such taboo.

Yet, upon returning and checking, he found: the exact number sent out was received back.

The next day, someone reported that Panda had booked a ticket to Star No. 3.

The person monitoring Panda noticed that he received a significant amount of money and instinctively felt something was off.

Hertman smiled, "Alright, I understand... Let's just do our job well."

Panda setting off means the other party intends to act; putting aside unnecessary worry, this is actually good news.

However, not long after, an unsettling news arrived: Panda disappeared on Star No. 3!

Hoyel, being the second-in-command of Star No. 4, had quite a few connections on Star No. 3 and wasn't in a low position.

Entrusting someone to keep an eye on a nobody was really not that difficult.

But to have lost track like this, inevitably made one nervous.

Someone suggested to the Guard Captain, "Should we go to the Engineering College to inquire, ask his companions?"

"No," Hertman shook his head, decisively stating, "We mustn't make any move."

Now, he could only bet that he hadn't misjudged the person — mainly, he didn't dare to offend them again.

Besides, he vaguely discovered something; those three women seemed to be quite remarkable as well.

The famously stern Military Discipline Officer Gavin left with his tail between his legs after interacting with them.

Finally, after persisting for three more days, there came a network signal from Star No. 3, contacting the Guard Captain.

The sender was Panda, hoping to offer recent information about Kushnier.

Movements needn't be certain, just some general directions—after all, no one dares to scrutinize the Supreme's actions.

The Guard Captain really didn't dare to promise, only saying he would do his best.

The key was to avoid raising Kushnier's suspicions.

Panda said it didn't matter, being cautious indeed was necessary, but the tone wasn't very pleasant.

"Better be careful; for us, cooperation is good, but it's fine if there isn't any."

Hertman ended the communication, shook his head, and smiled indifferently.

Immediately after, someone went to locate Panda's whereabouts on Star No. 3.

Unfortunately, Panda's location turned out to be at the Third War Zone headquarters...

There was no solution; the Guard Captain was quite certain that Panda could not possibly belong to the Third War Zone.

Otherwise, there would be no reason to expose Kushnier's plan.

He couldn't help but sigh, "Even a network genius... truly a gathering of talents."

While he was lamenting, that "network genius" was pestering Qu Jianlei.

"Master, an enhanced version of Vortex... It's just a custom order, won't cost much anyway."

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