Gottle originally planned to stay on Gedel for a few more days to get to know Rhodiola rosea better.

However, the other party seemed unapproachable, and he felt that staying any longer would be pointless and might even backfire.

Just as the Cargo Starship was also loaded, a day later, he returned home.

Nevertheless, he finalized other matters, the largest being a fifty-million gratitude fee.

Out of the fifty million, Qu Jianlei received thirty million in Silver Notes, and the remaining twenty million was exchanged for Energy Blocks.

The other materials could be supplemented as needed, and the costs for Rhodiola rosea’s recovery were included in the fifty million.

The last thing was to create the hologram for the pass, and Qu Jianlei specifically brought out starship 8384 from the hangar.

Gottle couldn’t help but tease, attempting to be friendly, "I must say, sir, your taste is... quite unique."

Qu Jianlei sighed softly, "Ah, there’s no choice, I’m not the only Supreme at home, someone has quirky tastes."

He said this as a subtle hint about the "Ice Attribute Supreme," which might never be needed, but who knows?

Forewarned is forearmed.

"Other Supremes?" Gottle nodded thoughtfully, not surprised by the news.

The other Supremes were not on this merchant ship, showing that the organization must have more than one such ship.

Yet it remained uncertain if the crew on those merchant ships were equally elite...

After Gottle left, Qu Jianlei also began preparing to depart; he had been cooped up here for over three months and needed some fresh air.

The fundamental reason, however, was that one of his Attack Ships had sustained damage—a Strike-type.

The damage wasn’t severe and didn’t affect combat, but repairs were essential; minor issues could become major problems if left unchecked.

Wanmi Mining’s assessment was that repairs would cost one million, but Wanmi had to arrange a place for the repair.

Given the conditions on Gedel Star, detailed repairs were impossible.

Before leaving, Gottle decided to give them two million to handle the repairs themselves.

For the Mine, this arrangement wasn’t too much of a loss, as Starship transport wasn’t free.

But Qu Jianlei also benefited; repairing at his own base would at most cost some raw materials and Energy Blocks.

Before leaving, he planned to dismantle the Spirit Gathering Array and clear out the alien energy in the suite,

Ordinarily, given his dominant presence, the Mine wouldn’t dare send people to investigate after his departure.

However, caution is never in vain; one can never be too sure of others’ intentions,

As a result, he delayed his departure by two days, leaving an Assault-type Attack Ship to guard the premises.

Subsequently, something unexpected occurred; another Mine, upon hearing of his brief departure, sent representatives to discuss escort arrangements.

Li Ang met the "White Sturgeon" again, inquiring if he intended to take on an escort assignment.

The Mine aimed to transport to a Transfer Star, not far from Celestial Blade Star, an asteroid belt’s resource Transfer Star.

This was a proper planet, not a mishmash star body, with a diameter of over eight thousand kilometers, almost the size of Blue Star.

Most of the planet was ocean, dotted with small islands, sufficient for all sorts of heroes to rest.

Interestingly, the Celestial Blade Star Government knew the asteroid belt was problematic, so they didn’t conduct rigorous inspections.

As an important transfer location, maintaining logistic channels was key, everything else secondary.

Qu Jianlei’s merchant ship traveling there had a high chance of avoiding inspection.

Even if inspected, the mining company named Simoni stated they would handle the customs clearance.

Qu Jianlei was a bit puzzled, "Don’t they also have Armed Merchant Ships? Are things really so tense now?"

Li Ang smiled mysteriously, "The situation is indeed tense; their Armed Merchant Ships must also protect the Mine..."

"Last time they didn’t support us adequately, they must be uneasy at heart, conserving strength to protect their base."

Qu Jianlei nodded upon hearing this; indeed, in the recent battle, the two Mines provided insufficient support.

Both sent several Attack Ships; they weren’t entirely inactive, yet neither dispatched a main battle merchant ship.

The reason was simple: Wanmi Mining was the one attacked, so the neighboring Mines were only fulfilling their basic duty by lending a hand.

As for the idea of three joining forces to resist foreign invasion... well, theoretically, it made sense.

In reality, however, it was unlikely—you get driven out by an external enemy, and I seize your Mine, which is the norm.

The capital world can be truly vile.

Qu Jianlei couldn’t understand, "This Mine chased us away upon arrival, now with no clear ally or enemy, do they really think they’re so significant?"

Li Ang shrugged, answering helplessly, "It’s all business; they’re offering money."

Then he smiled wryly, "Precisely because there’s no clear ally or enemy, hiring you for escort is a way to clear their own name."

The logic made sense—I hired you for escort, so last time wasn’t my doing.

Yet Qu Jianlei wasn’t convinced; hadn’t he seen enough of the thief’s cunning pretenses?

So he directly stated, "Who’s to say there isn’t someone waiting outside? I don’t want friendly fire at a crucial time."

"If you don’t want it, then that’s that," Li Ang nodded, it was clear that he didn’t appreciate Simoni’s sudden appearance either.

However, he had to say, "This means, you may have declined their goodwill."

"Damn it," Qu Jianlei couldn’t help but curse.

He almost wanted to say—What if I refuse? What can they do?

But he swallowed his words, "Our own sense of security isn’t great, they can leave however they want."

That was the situation; he had taken out their Supreme, could the other side not retaliate?

Li Ang hesitated, "Actually, according to our deductions... they might also be victims, the probability is high."

"What does that have to do with me," Qu Jianlei replied without hesitation, turning to leave.

Over an hour later, a battered merchant ship took off, breaking through the atmosphere.

Soon, another heavily loaded merchant ship took off, signaling friendly lights towards the distant 8384.

Qu Jianlei didn’t bother signaling; he directly called on a public channel, "This is 8384, do not follow, or suffer the consequences!"

He couldn’t be bothered to repeat himself; his attitude was clear: I don’t care if you hear me clearly or not, I’ve already said it.

The heavily loaded merchant ship clearly understood his message, adjusting its direction slightly, and the two ships eventually drifted apart.

Qu Jianlei first went to the abandoned mine star body, planning to repair the attack ship.

This time, he was unlucky, encountering five waves of merchant ships along the way, taking eight days to evade them and finally arriving.

The abandoned mine star body remained desolate and lonely; Qu Jianlei checked the concealing array, which appeared untouched.

However, sustaining it for this long had consumed over twenty thousand energy blocks, and the materials were somewhat worn.

This was unavoidable; long-term operation has a significant impact on the materials.

Moreover, various radiations or storms in the universe occasionally accelerate the materials’ aging.

"I have to protect the nest," Qu Jianlei murmured softly.

The merchant ship entered a wide mine tunnel, and he turned on the lights, looking at the familiar surroundings, feeling a sense of home.

The next moment, he shook his head, surprised he’d consider this place home; how much did he like being a recluse?

In the end, there were just too few environments that could bring him peace.

Next, he arranged for Little Lake to repair the attack ship; he didn’t hurry to set up the spirit gathering array but went out to explore first.

Qu Jianlei walked out of the mine, extending his perception, carefully examining the entire star body.

A minute later, his expression changed slightly, "This is... someone did come?"

He flew into the air, drawing an arc, reaching a point over a hundred kilometers away in no time.

Within an area of about a thousand square meters, some life garbage lay scattered, with obvious starship tread marks.

A starship can ascend directly into space, but it can also travel on the ground, which conserves energy blocks.

On the star body, starship tread marks can last a long time, but Qu Jianlei was sure these were new.

Looking at the scene, his expression was uncertain.

Ever since encountering Rhine and the others in space, he had realized this abandoned mine body wouldn’t be as peaceful as he imagined.

Even without people or living facilities, for interstellar wanderers, it’s still a good place to avoid risks.

However, even though he realized this, truly discovering someone had been there left him with complex feelings.

So, my base... isn’t truly safe?

Facing this reality, his mood turned irritable and frustrated.

He tried to gather the other’s aura, but unfortunately, it had long since dissipated, with no valuable clues found.

In fact, even if he gathered clues, what could he do? Could he chase them down and kill them? This was unclaimed land!

He slowly flew back to the mine, releasing his perception once again...

Overall, this return planted a new demand for security in his mind, altering his planned itinerary.

This place couldn’t be abandoned but also couldn’t be treated as his personal reservation, nor could most of his assets be hidden here.

He needed to quickly find more residences.

Three days later, Big Head Butterfly repaired the attack ship.

Qu Jianlei left a robot and a Pioneer Terminal, with Little Lake leaving a wisp of incarnation within it.

Controlled by this wisp, the robot could perform simple maintenance on the base, activating the defense array and concealing array as needed.

When the array materials deteriorated beyond use, replacements could be made promptly.

Previously, Qu Jianlei hadn’t arranged it this way because if discovered, Little Lake’s wisp of incarnation had to self-destruct.

For Big Head Butterfly, this loss wasn’t significant, but it was somewhat cruel.

He didn’t want to treat it as purely artificial intelligence.

However, this time Little Lake expressed, "It doesn’t matter, guarding the home, accumulating some family assets isn’t easy for us."

After everything was settled, Qu Jianlei piloted 8384, arriving once again at Lanyun Market.

However, this time the reception was different; before he could send a landing request, the ground responded.

"Welcome, Merchant Ship 8384, you can choose any place to land."

(Update end, asking for monthly tickets, subscriptions, and recommended tickets.)