Starting Cultivation in Wasteland-Chapter 562 - 432: Disintegration

Gradi obtained some information from Panda, but she didn't necessarily believe it to be true.

Moreover, given her position, it was indeed inconvenient for her to act upon it, so she could only discretely notify the two families and then watch.

She didn't react even to the disappearance of the two psychologists—it might just be a coincidence.

It wasn't until the Starr Family gathered again that she began to take it seriously.

Then upon investigation, she found out that this family had received communications from the Outer Star Realm, and there was also file transmission.

The real-time communication at that time wasn't monitored, nor recorded—the data was too vast, and unimportant ones are not recorded.

If truly needed, backtracking is possible, but the required permissions are too high, not only for her, but even the Guard Captain would think twice.

Decrypting files, however, was much simpler.

Then she analyzed and concluded: something indeed happened to the Starr Family, most likely related to the psychologists' disappearance.

As for the possibility of the family arranging for someone to flee... that would require further observation.

When she noticed the first group leaving, she informed her husband.

The Guard Captain didn't want to handle this mess, but since it's almost certain that the other party is the instigator, a reaction is necessary.

It's just a short-term restriction on leaving the planet, which is really no big deal.

The Starr Clan learned they couldn't leave Star No. 4 upon Hertman's notice, and suddenly felt the sky was falling.

The Guard Captain wasn't born into a major family, but that position is too significant, even a slight choke would command respect from anyone.

Early the next morning, the Starr Family released new information: Robin Hood, who was ordered to transfer schools, had committed suicide using a Laser Pistol.

The news quickly spread, and insiders understood the Starr Family used the death of a genius talent to buy survival chances.

Should we say this family is ruthless enough? Maybe not, human life in the Imperial really is cheap.

Moreover, this affair originally was stirred up by Robin Hood himself; without his death, the matter could not be resolved.

Qu Jianlei knew the news relatively early—after all, Robin Hood's academic status was still with the Engineering College.

He admired the family's bravery for making a tough decision but he didn't think that would be the end of it.

Sure enough, the Ye Family's children began going to and from school normally, though still accompanied by Guards, their attitude was already quite obvious.

However, Poliana believed Romel needed to confess to the Cleanliness Department, to account for years of corruption.

She had always targeted Romel; Robin Hood's death didn't concern her.

But handling this matter posed extreme difficulty—Romel didn't want to die.

Due to the Imperial's values, many people viewed life and death lightly, but not everyone feels that way.

Romel had once been valiant, but eventually, his Cultivation Level was lost, and he gained power again.

The feeling of issuing orders was delightful, and as he aged, he increasingly felt the preciousness of life.

Moreover, his social connections weren't bad; he had naturally both offended and befriended people.

He pointed out to his clansmen that this was Poliana's scheme: I am the family's public face, and this is an attempt to suppress our family's reputation.

This reason was credible—strong individuals in the Imperial disregard reputation, while the weak don't need it—but a mid-tier composite force indeed requires it.

Expecting Romel to commit suicide was utterly unrealistic.

To demonstrate his value, he even proposed a suggestion: we could make an offering to the Third-in-Command!

Simply put, it involves giving away part of the family assets in exchange for the Third-in-Command's protection.

On Star No. 4, the First and Fourth-in-Command are united, while the Second and Third oppose them, but the latter two are simultaneously allied and competitive.

If the first leaves, who stipulates only the second can ascend? Can't the third have thoughts too?

However, his idea was good, yet it faced a problem: the third's status was too high, he couldn't make offerings as he wished.

The Second's Guard Captain could order the Starr Family to kill off their genius talent at a whim; how could the third be less capable than the second?

Therefore, the Starr Family could only contact the third's subordinate forces.

However, the following night, someone stealthily infiltrated the Starr Family and killed Romel in his room.

By noon the next day, the Third-in-Command called the Fourth, saying Fengrao City had been too chaotic lately; if you want to rectify it, I'm willing to support.

The Fourth understood a bit and found out Romel had contacted a confidant of the third, and ended up dead.

Who did it? Too many possibilities, but the third thought he should not remain silent.

The affair wasn't significant, but the humiliation was intense.

Therefore, the Fourth ordered not only a deadline for investigating the case but also pressured the Ye and Poliana families to release positive signals.

Yet another day passed, and Patrol Guards moved out, directly capturing several key figures of the Starr Family.

They had received reports saying this family was suspected of multiple illegal operations, even causing deaths and injuries, and the Government wanted to thoroughly investigate.

Sounds like a grand reason, but those who understand knew it was the Second-in-Command's intent.

The Starr Family injured the Guard Captain's brother-in-law heavily, as the third unexpectedly wanted to protect this family, the second had no choice but to act.

Overnight, this once prestigious family fell apart like scattered feathers.

Soon, a flock of vultures descended, directly tearing apart and dividing the Starr Clan's assets.

A seemingly formidable power, in front of true big shots, could be uprooted by the aftermath of their magical combat.

Qu Jianlei never expected such a drastic change could happen in just a few days.

He didn't even need to intervene, just watching the family crumble was enough.

The scattered members of the Starr Clan didn't need his attention either, a comeback was a pure joke.

After swallowing up the family's assets, how could the vultures allow anyone to survive?

Two days later, Gradi visited the Engineering College again, and went straight to the library to find Qu Jianlei.

Upon meeting, she asked bluntly, "Were those two psychologists your doing?"

Qu Jianlei blinked, puzzled, and asked, "Psychologists... what are those?"

Gradi chuckled indifferently, "Your act of playing dumb is a bit exaggerated, don't you want a reward?"

"Sorry," Qu Jianlei slowly shook his head, "Madam, I don't understand what you're talking about."

"You understand very well," Gradi had a talent for talking to herself, or perhaps a strong preconceived notion.

"But being cautious isn't a bad thing, that male psychologist seems to have a mysterious background."

Qu Jianlei guessed she might be testing him, but still asked, "Mysterious... how mysterious?"

Gradi shook her head, not keeping it a secret, "No one is willing to tell me, but it should be related to the Supreme."

"Supreme?" Qu Jianlei smiled indifferently, "It has nothing to do with me, I don't need to care."

Is this... a disdain for the Supreme? Gradi noted it down in her mind.

Then she nodded slightly, "Anyway, I owe you a favor, come to me if you need anything in the future."

After saying this, she turned and left, not giving him a chance to refuse.

"A favor..." Qu Jianlei smiled indifferently, the so-called debts of gratitude are hard to repay, referring to people like him who care about such things.

The kind of favors talked about by government people, it's a complicated matter, of course, there are also people who care about such things.

Anyway, since she didn't leave any contact information, this favor... he didn't have much hope.

After another two days, Director Halk finally approved the reform suggestions proposed by Qu Jianlei.

He didn't contact Panda, he just mentioned to Shari that the reform involved some costs, and the library's budget was limited.

So he made some efforts to fight for funds from the academy, which is why he dared to consider this issue now.

However, Shari scoffed at this reason, privately, she candidly told Qu Jianlei.

"That guy is just a coward, probably felt intimidated after seeing Gradi come to you twice."

Qu Jianlei was astonished, "It's not an issue of funding?"

"The funds are more than enough," Shari was much clearer about these matters than he was.

"The Engineering College is a place to cultivate professional talents, a priority that the planet strongly supports, how could they lack funding?"

Another day passed, and Shari had news again.

"I heard Halek's nephew applied to Green Water Academy for further studies but was rejected, even with his intervention, so now he's holding a grudge!"

Anyway, interacting with this quick-talking older sister was not tiring at all.

Halek was cautious about making decisions, but once he made up his mind, his actions were swift.

In the following two days, the library staff gathered to discuss how to improve the library's setup.

Qu Jianlei attended too, but he never interrupted, he just sat in his seat, silently reading while others discussed plans.

Initially, Halk was a bit upset about this and even called him out several times to "share his experience."

However, Qu Jianlei's multitasking skills were already excellent, absolutely able to keep up with the discussion's pace.

After several rounds, Halk realized that this guy was not so easily handled after all.

So the meetings returned to their normal pace, with occasional suggestions from Panda, but most of the time, he was reading.

Two days later, the renovation plan was finalized, everyone involved signed it, Qu Jianlei included.

The plan was then submitted to the academy for approval, and it was approved within a day.

Qu Jianlei was a bit surprised; the speed was indeed fast.

But Shari whispered to him again, "It's all the library's money, the academy just needed to sign off."

"I've always said it, our library is not short on money."

Qu Jianlei was somewhat speechless upon hearing this, if they had been this efficient from the start, a dozen libraries could have been renovated by now.

Nevertheless, Halk, although indecisive before making up his mind, was quick to act once he made a decision.

On the third day after the academy's approval, he brought in the engineering team, requesting them to enter the site on that day and start the next day.