The Interstellar Queen of Scavengers-Chapter 964: Passing Through

The spaceship stopped in a small yet fortress-like space station dock, with strict defenses. Ji You, Shen Changqing, Chu Jiaojiao, Sheng Qingyan... a group of seven people, together with the spaceship, all went through security checks at the space station.

This space station is a military defense space station built by the Alliance near the Star Domain close to Bee Head Star. It serves as a forward base, specifically for collecting and probing Star Beast information, defending against their invasions, and combating interstellar pirates to protect commercial ships or the life and property of Alliance citizens along the way. Currently, there are 100 mechanical warriors stationed here.

The station is heavily guarded, ensuring safety by requiring all individuals, whether Alliance citizens or foreign nationals, to undergo intricate layers of security checks.

Ji You, Chu Jiaojiao, Sheng Qingyan... all cooperated fully with the stationed troops’ inspections.

Once all checks were completed, Ji You and her group received their passes for Bee Head Star.

Distributing the passes was a middle-aged warrior with healthy, sun-kissed skin and bright eyes. When he saw Ji You and the young group, his stern expression softened slightly as he asked, "Are you students from the Lanyue Star Military Academy?"

Ji You replied loudly, "Yes."

The middle-aged warrior smiled, "Nice, very spirited."

He handed the pass to Ji You, having examined her brief profile and knowing she was from the Combat Department, with a minor in Material Handling. He then asked, "How is Professor Ye Hong?"

Ji You paused for a moment and quickly responded, "He’s doing well."

The old geezer is indeed doing well, especially when he’s scolding people—his energy is robust, and you can’t tell he’s a few hundred years old.

When Professor Ye Hong was mentioned, the middle-aged warrior saw Ji You’s smile quickly wrinkle into a frown and said with a laugh, "He’s a very serious, meticulous, and stubborn old guy. However, his teaching is excellent. Yet he’s quite old now and can’t keep up with teaching demands; probably in another 10 years, he’ll have to retire. So, if you’re interested in Material Handling, you should cherish your time in his classes."

"Ahem..." Ji You said, slightly embarrassed...

Professor Ye Hong is a good teacher... but she’s publicly vowed never to take his classes. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Ahem...

Furthermore, the old professor isn’t just stern and stubborn; her homework always gets sent back for revision. Even during the final exams, after making dozens of materials, she barely scraped by with a passing grade. He’s simply... beyond words in terms of difficulty.

Yet, because of his strictness, despite only attending online classes and never in-person ones, Ji You’s Material Handling skills have only improved rapidly. Nowadays, she can produce usable materials from basic ones with ease.

...

Ji You brushed aside the previous embarrassment and earnestly said, "Professor Ye Hong’s teaching quality and professional capabilities are indeed very commendable. I respect him greatly."

The middle-aged warrior smiled, "Thank you for your admiration. He is my uncle. I lost my parents early, and my uncle raised me. He always hoped I would study Material Handling with him, but my interest lies in Mecha Battle, which he considers unfortunate. So every time he sees me, he scolds me bitterly."

Ji You: "!!!"

It turns out he’s Professor Ye Hong’s nephew!

Indeed—

That old-fashioned geezer treats his kin just as sternly as others. Ji You curiously glanced at the middle-aged warrior’s badge: [Ye Liqiang, 55 years, Battalion Commander of the 189th Reconnaissance Camp, Sixth Legion. 2-star warrior.]

stars!!!

Ji You’s eyes shone brightly, and upon hearing this senior’s words, she felt an affinity and immediately became warmer towards the stern-looking Ye Liqiang, even blurting out, "What a coincidence~ Every time Professor Ye Hong sees me, he likes to give me a good scolding too."

"Ahem..." The middle-aged warrior cleared his throat and said, "... Ji You, you must be very outstanding."

——presumably not only outstanding but also quite cheeky.

Oops, too fast with the words. Ji You raised her hand, scratched her head, and awkwardly laughed, "Haha... Haha... Honestly, Professor Ye Hong is really good. His strictness is for the benefit of the students, and I definitely understand and support that."

The middle-aged warrior smiled, "The passes have already been issued to you."

He looked at Ji You and her group of seven, all extremely promising students who will surely be pillars of the Alliance in the future. His formerly stern demeanor softened more as he continued, "Recently, Star Beast activities have been frequent in various places. According to space monitoring information, Bee Head Star is relatively safe at the moment, but your practical combat experience is limited. You must be prudent in your fights with Star Beasts, avoid rash actions."

Ji You, Chu Jiaojiao, Shen Changqing... immediately nodded seriously, "Yes, we will pay attention and prioritize safety."

The middle-aged warrior continued, "The space station here is roughly 3 light years from Bee Head Star. If we need to deploy rescue, it’ll take at least 30 light minutes. So make sure you gauge the risks properly."

Ji You responded loudly, "Yes! Don’t worry, senior!"

"The warriors stationed here patrol the vicinity of Bee Head Star daily around 12:30 Alliance Standard Time. If you need other supplies, you can seek help from the patrol warriors." After saying this, the middle-aged warrior waved his hand, "Mm, you may leave now; if you hurry over, you’ll just catch Bee Head Star’s sunset glow... it’s certainly a rare sight."

Ji You and others replied loudly, "Yes."

Then.

Ji You and her team boarded the spaceship, activated it, and swiftly raced out of the artificial atmosphere.

The dark cosmos, boundless and vast.

Inside the spaceship, everyone stayed tense. After departing from Ye Liqiang’s space station, there were no human guards along the route. If attacked by a Star Beast or faced other emergencies, Ji You and her team would have to rely on self-rescue; they couldn’t help but stay on edge.

The spaceship traveled smoothly, with the journey being calm and uneventful, until it arrived above Bee Head Star’s atmosphere.

Bee Head Star is a planet with over 70% land area, scarce water resources concentrated in the Southern Hemisphere, where the dangerous Black Thorn Bees reside. Ji You and others’ mission targets are Black Gold Rats, who prefer living in the expansive land area of the Northern Hemisphere and typically hide underground, especially where Black Gold Ore is abundant.

Originally, they wouldn’t need to interact with Black Thorn Bees.

Unfortunately——

Ji You, Chu Jiaojiao, Sheng Qingyan... couldn’t help but glance at Liu Fufeng...

Unfortunately——

A spur of greed.