Chapter 835: Chapter 705: The Past Returns

Qu Jianlei’s deep rest this time lasted a full five days, the recovery being relatively slow, but stable.

As he fell into a state of deep sleep, a barely perceptible patch of black appeared on the wall of the cave.

Deep in rest, Qu Jianlei was completely unaware, continuing to meditate to replenish Qi.

Two days later, he finished his practice and rose, starting to clean up the area and absorbing the last bit of Spiritual Qi.

This type of Alien Energy must absolutely not be discovered by others.

After tidying up the cave thoroughly, he got up and went to the Star Port.

After he left, a black face appeared on the cave wall, flashing by instantly.

Qu Jianlei settled the docking fees for the starship, this time exceeding twenty days, the prepaid amount not enough.

Anyway, they weren’t worried about him running away; what’s the docking fee compared to the cost of a starship?

Of course, Qu Jianlei was notoriously infamous at Transfer Star; if he really didn’t pay, they might not dare to do anything.

But... why bother? He wasn’t someone who would fuss over such an amount.

The shabby 8384 ascended into the sky, soon disappearing into the vast universe.

This time, he piloted a starship back to the Abandoned Mine Star Body and left the 8384 there.

The next trip would be led by a Standard Warship imitation, accompanied by a recently repaired Customs Enforcement Division warship.

There were still some issues with the paintwork on the Customs Enforcement warship, but Qu Jianlei didn’t want to wait any longer, so he made do.

Two Standard Warships cruising alongside each other in space were intimidating enough; even if one seemed like just an imitation, no one dared to approach.

Occasionally, one or two ships would keep their distance.

However, there was an exception. Three days later, just as they were about to exit the Asteroid Belt, the two ships encountered three heavy freight starships. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

The opposing fleet surprisingly flashed friendly lights and connected communications, "We are the Iron Scraps fleet. It’s been a while since we’ve seen you, sir."

Qu Jianlei then realized he had once pretended to be a Supreme of Ice Attribute; seems they recognized the 3344 ship.

He originally intended to deny it, saying they had the wrong person, but on second thought, keeping this disguise might be useful someday.

In any case, the Asteroid Belt was already chaotic enough; a bit more chaos wouldn’t matter.

So he let out a soft snort, "I hear your Titan has been having some trouble lately; no need to provoke us, right?"

The other side seemed quite surprised by this, "Trouble? Not really... what do you mean?"

Qu Jianlei replied casually, "I heard the Norton Family has withdrawn their investment; isn’t that a problem?"

The other side finally understood, "Oh, that... they were just short-sighted and provoked someone. Titan has already cut ties with them."

It seemed even a Supreme Family could be taken so lightly?

Qu Jianlei was a bit surprised but felt it matched the ecosystem of the Asteroid Belt; the entanglement of forces here was truly complex.

"As long as you’re fine, we bid you farewell."

The other side wasn’t bothered by his cold attitude, instead warmly inviting, "If you pass by Iron Scraps again, sir, you’re welcome to visit."

"Hmm, noted," Qu Jianlei hung up the communication.

This was an unexpected gain; either way, it opened another path to enter regular society.

As for what the opposing side specifically planned, he was too lazy to contemplate. For now, it was merely a gesture of goodwill.

Here, in this jungle society, social etiquette was indispensable; it was about making more friends, fewer enemies.

A day later, the two ships reached a suitable jump space.

Qu Jianlei carefully checked and found no obstructing starships; the imitation warship grabbed the Customs Enforcement warship and began the final acceleration.

This was his first time piloting a starship for a jump, but having simulated it many times before, there was no need for concern.

The choice of 3344 was because of its powerful computing units, surpassing 8384 by a long shot.

As for the Customs Enforcement warship, considering its future sale, Little Lake hadn’t even modified the main control system.

Qu Jianlei merely installed an Anti-Smuggling Terminal inside, with a thread of Little Lake’s split consciousness to ensure normal operation and combat.

Fifteen minutes later, the two warships officially entered jump status.

It was also Qu Jianlei’s first time seeing the spatial structure during a jump with his own eyes.

The starship exterior was pitch black, as though sailing into eternal darkness, without a trace of light.

Yet this darkness differed from the usual cold solitude of space, seeming as though trapped in a mire.

However, upon deeper reflection, this darkness not only exerted immense pressure but seemed to warp some energy.

The distorted energies appeared to emit various colored lights.

But upon closer inspection, these lights were all dark, truly giving an extraordinarily bizarre sensation.

After perceiving for a while, Qu Jianlei felt a bit nauseous and withdrew his perception.

No wonder the Empire ruled that, during Jump Status, observing the surroundings was forbidden as a protective measure for the fragile human body.

Though he was already at Golden Core level, he couldn’t sense for extended periods; ordinary people attempting this would certainly be doomed.

Could it be, this was the Dark Matter and Dark Energy humans still couldn’t observe?

Qu Jianlei didn’t have high regard for the Empire, far less than his sentiment for Divine Land before crossing over.

But at this moment, he had to admire: the people who invented warp technology were truly magnificent.

The Imperial went down the wrong path in cultivation, but in human potential development and interstellar navigation, it absolutely surpassed Blue Star.

After a moment of contemplation, that nauseating feeling wasn’t much alleviated, so he simply entered meditation.

Four days later, the ship shuddered slightly, and Qu Jianlei opened his eyes once again. Outside the window was the familiar space.

"Is this the Hope Star Realm?" Qu Jianlei pulled up the star map to check, and sure enough, it was.

The star map of the warship didn’t have the coordinates of Garbage Star, probably because the Imperial also thought it was best not to let outsiders know about such things.

So he had to find another starship to request the star map of this star realm.

However, this time it was unusually smooth; half a day later, he discovered two cargo starships.

The logo on the starships looked very familiar; they were actually from Bida Freight, "Stop the ship, temporary inspection."

The other party noticed something amiss with the imitation warship and was visibly nervous.

But when two attack ships were released, the other party completely abandoned any thoughts of resistance and projected a series of documents.

Qu Jianlei merely glanced over them, "By the way, our fleet’s star map is damaged, please transmit the star map of this star realm."

The crew of the two starships sighed in relief at his words.

They originally thought they had encountered star thieves, only to find the other party merely wanted the star map.

Map damage is not common, especially when both warships’ maps are destroyed.

However, in space, anything can happen; there are even stranger examples.

As for transmitting star maps, it’s considered one of the easiest acts of mutual aid in interstellar navigation.

Bida Freight’s people even said, "Besides the star map, do you need any other assistance? We can provide a navigation instrument."

Navigation instruments are quite valuable, but generally starships have spares, otherwise, if one is damaged, you’d truly be adrift in space.

Bida’s people didn’t say whether it was a gift or a sale, they were just silently praying not to be harmed.

Qu Jianlei snorted coldly, "Do we look like extortionists? You can leave now."

The two cargo starships politely bid farewell and left, only daring to talk among themselves after traveling quite a distance.

"We were really lucky, I was sweating in my palms just now, one of the warships was definitely off."

"Don’t bring up that topic, it’s already due to our ancestors’ virtue that they didn’t silence us. Do you really want to court death?"

"Yes, yes, knowing too much is not a good thing. Let’s pretend nothing happened; after all, there was no damage."

"Nothing did happen in the first place; we were on autopilot just now, and everyone was asleep."

The star map Qu Jianlei obtained included the coordinates of Garbage Star, but it was marked as a red zone.

That means the Imperial officially considers it a forbidden zone, not to be trespassed.

Of course, this ban had no significance for Qu Jianlei. After traveling for another half a day, he jumped again.

This time when he emerged from warp, Garbage Star was millions of kilometers away.

Is this my first stop since I crossed into this world? At this moment, his emotions were complex.

After a while, he issued the order, "Little Lake, release the anti-smuggling ship, and carefully scout the observation equipment on the other side."

The anti-smuggling warship was controlled by Little Lake’s clone, heading towards an asteroid.

The invisibility ability of this warship hadn’t fully recovered, but as long as it hid behind the asteroid, it wouldn’t be discovered.

This was Qu Jianlei’s backup plan, and there’s no need to elaborate further.

Little Lake was particularly cautious this time, taking three days to plan a landing route.

"A fifty million computation unit set is indeed useful."

"If it had been given to 8384’s computation unit, it wouldn’t be completed in twenty days, and there would be a high chance of being discovered."

Qu Jianlei murmured, "Money spent is worth it wherever it is... Prepare to land."

As they got closer and closer, the true face of Garbage Star was gradually exposed.

At about a million kilometers away, Qu Jianlei noticed the surface of Garbage Star was covered with a large area of haze.

He sighed softly, "To be honest, I thought I wouldn’t have any feelings."

"Human nature," Big Head Butterfly turned slowly, "You don’t know how much I envy that you have such emotions."

Qu Jianlei shook his head and sighed again, "I am really grateful that you’ve always been by my side, find a safe area to land."

The safest place is, of course, where the haze is heaviest.

After Little Lake chose the area, it maneuvered the starship to descend slowly.

When they were about ten thousand meters above the ground, Qu Jianlei opened the hatch and flew out.

He frowned slightly, familiar smell... "Sure enough, it’s the Hong District."

The next moment, he released his spiritual power, sensing if there was anyone on the nearby ground.

"This kind of radiation can even affect spiritual power... But it makes sense; brainwaves are also waves."

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