Chapter 824: Chapter 694: The Warships Arrive

For Qu Jianlei, the following month was not to his liking at all.

Although he still followed the routine of inspecting every three days, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

But that was just a facade of calmness; in truth, he dared not relax, ready to fight at any time.

He preferred to take the initiative to solve problems, yet during this period, he could only wait passively and hide his anxiety.

To ensure immediate readiness for battle, he didn’t even set up a Spirit Gathering Array, to avoid scrambling at the last moment.

This agony made him exceptionally restless, like waiting for a verdict.

It wasn’t until a month later that his worries gradually began to fade; the Imperial fleet to capture him had not appeared.

With such a long time, the military could have mobilized forces to attack, or meticulously planned a surprise attack.

However, on that day, the stealthily patrolling Gao Fang warship 3344 sent a message.

Two warships were heading towards Gedel, unmistakably standard warships although unadorned.

Accompanying the standard warships was a heavily loaded armed merchant ship, presumably transporting goods for Wanmi Mining.

Qu Jianlei dared not delay, immediately opening the ship hangar to bring out the tattered 8384, and had the attack ship ready on standby.

The Wanmi Mine noticed this unusual action, and Dark was the first to contact Qu Jianlei to inquire about the situation.

Without giving a direct answer, Qu Jianlei simply stated, "Tell Li Ang, he’d better remember his promise."

In the next moment, Li Ang took over the intercom, "I’m Li Ang, something came up earlier, what’s going on?"

Qu Jianlei didn’t hide the situation and explained it.

The current state of the two warships could attack the ground fortress of the Wanmi Mine at any time.

Hearing this, Li Ang was shocked and swore that Wanmi would never turn against a partner, pleading for some time.

Twenty minutes later, he reconnected to the 8384 ship, stating he’d figured it out, the three arriving starships had no malicious intent.

Qu Jianlei remained skeptical, keeping both the 8384 and attack ship airborne.

However, the ground fortress at the mine showed little reaction, only defensive personnel positioned, and the protective shield prepared for activation.

Yet, this was standard procedure for the mine, with starships arriving, readiness was necessary regardless of who was coming.

Over two hours later, the three starships appeared.

Due to Li Ang’s prior communication, the three starships were not surprised by the floating warships and landed without hesitation.

The other side showed no sign of aggression, so Qu Jianlei naturally refrained from provoking and controlled both starships to land.

This time, the Supreme Gottle from Wanmi Mining came again, being the first to disembark.

Qu Jianlei, under the guise of "Rhodiola rosea," stepped out of the 8384, exuding the aura of Rock Armor.

His attitude was clear; he was highly vigilant about the sudden arrival of the two standard warships.

Seeing this, Gottle could only respond with a bitter smile, "Your attitude, sir, is not very friendly."

Qu Jianlei promptly replied, "I don’t like uninvited guests."

The rationale was apparent; Wanmi Mining could have communicated with the mine in advance but did not inform them of the arriving warships.

This was also the reason for Gottle’s bitter smile: those two warships required him to keep it confidential!

One of the warships came from the stationed troops at the Transfer Star, and the other from the Customs Enforcement Division.

The stationed troops chose an unadorned warship to downplay the military aspect, indicating limited military intervention.

The Customs Enforcement Division’s warship was unadorned for a simple reason; it was the vehicle of the division head.

Typically, warships of the Customs Enforcement Division are adorned, but the head’s identity is too sensitive.

Admittedly, while the Customs Enforcement Division has its dirty laundry, their presence indeed reduced smuggling significantly.

In doing so, offending people is inevitable, and some smugglers are extremely audacious.

Regardless, the Customs Enforcement Division and the military came together, certainly to resolve issues left over from the battle.

As for why they brought the Supreme from Wanmi Mining along, it was to prevent the situation from getting out of control.

But when they found Wanmi, they asked the latter not to disclose this operation.

Wanmi Mining understood their intentions and dispatched Gottle, who had previously interacted with Rhodiola rosea.

Gottle wasn’t foolish; he knew negotiations were likely genuine, but these two parties also had some lingering unwillingness.

Therefore, they intended to suddenly descend upon Gedel to catch the other side off guard, to see how they’d react.

If the other side was truly intolerable, a fight was possible; after all, in the asteroid belt, the bigger fist makes the louder voice.

Even without fighting, arriving with such momentum would give them a bit of an edge in negotiations.

Don’t underestimate this slight edge; Gottle guessed that by now, these two sides probably hadn’t drawn up definitive boundaries.

They had no choice, as this cooperative partner was too mysterious, making it impossible to gauge their true strength.

Even their sponsor, the Sail Consortium, was unaware of this force’s details, let alone outsiders.

In any case, they came with the intent to establish dominance from the start!

Gottle wanted this point, but he couldn’t do more... Privately notifying the Wanmi Mine? That’s absolutely impossible!

The military is the most powerful war machine of the Imperial, and even the Military has intervened. This kind of matter is not something a consortium can withstand.

So Gottle could only carry out the other party’s request.

Fortunately, because he agreed to this request, the two parties stated, as long as you coordinate, we won’t make things difficult for you.

Faced with Qinghu’s accusations, Gottle found it inconvenient to explain too much and could only express succinctly.

"I’m just a witness in this matter. Wanmi has no stance, but... I hope you don’t start a fight here."

Upon hearing this, Qu Jianlei was initially taken aback, then smirked indifferently.

"Oh, I see. I really didn’t expect the Military and Customs Enforcement Division to be so afraid of death!"

The Military leader was an Earth Attribute A-level, and upon hearing this, he couldn’t help but ask, "Sir, are you insulting the Military?"

Qu Jianlei glanced at him lightly, "A mere A-level, who gave you the guts to speak to the Supreme this way?"

The Earth Attribute A-level’s expression changed, "My lord, although I am only A-level, the army’s honor is inviolable!"

The Supreme is inviolable, this is the Imperial regulation, but this time he represented the Military and couldn’t show weakness.

Qu Jianlei wasn’t surprised, but instead felt a bit touched.

He hadn’t not seen A-levels from the Military before, he had even killed some, but at that time, he could only rely on ambushes.

Back then in the Hope Star Realm, he was once not too far from Dennis, the Supreme of the Third War Zone, but the person simply couldn’t be bothered to step forward.

Now, he could directly chide the opposing A-level for daring, which shows that the increase in strength is the true source of confidence.

Then he looked over at the person from the Customs Enforcement Division, "You actually sent a Supreme... are you planning a sneak attack?"

Indeed, this time the leader from the Customs Enforcement Division turned out to be a Supreme.

Among all the Supremes in the Imperial Customs Enforcement Division, there are about ten to twenty, but averaged across various Star Realms, that’s not many.

Like the Hope Star Realm’s Customs Enforcement Division, it only has one Supreme, who often goes missing.

So the fact that the Celestial Hook Star Realm’s Customs Enforcement Division could send a Supreme shows the importance they place on this matter. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

The Supreme’s name was Sheriff, and facing his provocation, he calmly stated.

"There’s no sneak attack; I came to represent the importance of the Customs Enforcement Division. The Customs Enforcement Division is not something that anyone can push around!"

Correctly put, even the Military hasn’t sent a Supreme, which means they don’t plan to engage in a hard battle.

However, things aren’t that simple.

A surprise sneak attack, with two warships plus a Supreme, might not find it too difficult to destroy a Supreme.

Unfortunately, Gottle from Wanmi Mining wasn’t planning to cooperate; otherwise, the probability would greatly increase.

Qu Jianlei looked at him, his expression a bit odd, "A Fire Attribute Supreme, who gave you the guts to talk like this?"

In space battles, below Supremes it’s about equipment, Supremes can fight physically, but... a discrimination chain objectively exists.

Combat power bonuses are for Gold and Water, Earth Attribute isn’t bad, but Fire Attribute is relatively weak, with Wood Attribute being the weakest.

Qu Jianlei stated facts, showing his Earth Attribute gives him the right to look down on the other.

His behavioral standards are based on Qinghu’s, not feeling his tone was particularly harsh.

Sheriff responded unemotionally, "Are you planning to test it?"

In fact, he was very annoyed, not bothering to even address him as "Sir," directly asking if he dared.

"Then let’s do it," Qu Jianlei responded without hesitation, "and determine superiority and life or death. It’s not looking down on you... do you dare?"

Sheriff was rendered speechless; he came to uphold the Customs Enforcement Division’s dignity and was prepared for a vicious fight.

But having to engage in a life-or-death duel, he truly didn’t dare, for a simple reason... he couldn’t win!

Let alone, Siegwa was killed by this person, how could he possibly win against someone who killed Siegwa?

Nevertheless, he had to come, as it involved the face of the Customs Enforcement Division, which he had to maintain.

It’s curious; the Customs Enforcement Division wasn’t adept at space battles, so why patrol the Celestial Hook Star Realm?

Sheriff was speechless, seeing the situation deteriorate, the Military’s A-level spoke up to ease the situation, "Sir, we’re here to solve the problem."

Qu Jianlei responded with a cold snort, "I feel like you’re here to solve the people causing the problem, aren’t you?"

Indeed, we do have that intention! The Military’s A-level stated calmly, "If we can solve the problem, why solve the people?"

Hearing this, Qu Jianlei’s brows furrowed slightly, "Are you suggesting I should think you’re threatening me?"

He wasn’t inherently aggressive, but couldn’t he just speak like that? It was all he learned from Qinghu.

However, although the Military’s A-level was stubborn, he wouldn’t take initiative in matters like this.

He shook his head slightly, "The Military’s presence here is merely to show support for the Customs Enforcement Division. No matter what, we are part of the government system."

"Honestly, your Lordship’s influence, what it really means, no one can say for sure."

"We really want to know, how would your Lordship openly attacking the Customs Enforcement Division’s fleet near Blue Elf Star be accounted for?"

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