Qu Jianlei had many doubts in his heart, but his escape speed was not slow. He definitely didn’t want to endure another artillery strike.
His escape speed was certainly not faster than a cannonball, but he couldn’t just stand there waiting to die.
However, imdiately after, sothing strange happened. The incoming shells achieved precise strikes.
It wasn’t surprising that the strikes were precise, but the other side locked onto an area of about a hundred thousand square ters, repeatedly plowing it with artillery.
Though a hundred thousand square ters sounds large, it’s only about the size of ten standard football fields.
Put more intuitively, it is a roughly circular area with a radius of about 170 ters.
High explosive shells were fired and plowed the ground three tis, then stopped attacking; no thermobaric bombs were used.
In fact, the cannonballs made by Imperial Technology have imnse power, and after three rounds of plowing, only more than a hundred shells were used.
And the area affected by the shell’s lethality was actually close to two hundred thousand square ters.
Obviously, the other side treated the person holding the radio as just an ordinary person.
However, such an extent of attack, even if it were modified warriors, could still cause serious injury.
But Qu Jianlei used Wind Attribute Body Technique, and by the ti the shell landed, he had already escaped seven or eight hundred ters away and continued to run.
After discovering the anomaly, he didn’t stop, only slowing down after running around fifteen hundred ters.
When he truly stopped, he had already reached two kiloters away.
Then he began to carefully savor this artillery strike: precise enough, but was such a waste of shells necessary?
The resources of the Star Thieves are much richer than that of the Pioneer Team, but are still essentially scarce.
Last ti, the Star Thieves washed the ground at any cost mainly because there might be an A-level warrior in the area, it was worth gambling.
Trying to kill the A-level while destroying the resources carried by the transport cha, preventing the Pioneer Team from replenishing.
But was it really worth consuming more than a hundred shells for an ordinary scout?
Then Qu Jianlei realized: those who attacked might be Pioneers helping the Star Thieves guard their lair.
This explanation might make sense, after all, they are using soone else’s resources without feeling the pain.
At the sa mont, inside the attacking military station, a B-level warrior was ranting, "Who told you to waste like this?"
Another B-level warrior coldly replied, "These scouts are too cunning, they are hard to catch. There is a need to clear hidden dangers with a big war approaching."
The forr laughed angrily, "Even if not ntioning the waste of shells, this is our security area, and you use artillery to plow the ground?"
"Don’t you know people would think it’s already fallen... Have you considered the impact? Or is your heart still with the Pioneer Team?"
The latter casually retorted, "There’s no settlent around there; it’s a rare bombable spot, just right to warn other scouts."
The forr was speechless upon hearing this, and after a long ti reluctantly spoke, "But still, save so shells, will you?"
So this ti of being washed by artillery, the responsibility still rested on Qu Jianlei himself.
He chose a rare uninhabited place to explain the strange event he encountered thoroughly, in order to gain sufficient ti.
Unexpectedly, the other side saw this place as perfect for bombardnt and opened fire decisively.
Qu Jianlei really didn’t expect this, but he figured it out: if he were near the settlent, the other side probably wouldn’t wash the ground with artillery.
There’s no choice, the artillery wash already caused him so psychological shadows, he must try to avoid it.
Actually, getting close to the settlent makes it easy to get caught; this is the opponent’s original intent with firing — either get hit by shells, or beware.
But Qu Jianlei was not thinking about this, he was considering: what if the opponent still dared to open fire near the settlent?
Given the technological level here, artillery strikes are relatively precise, but the possibility of accidents objectively exists.
The key is that the people in the settlent will not only be active in their residences, but the surroundings are their activity range.
Qu Jianlei’s character is one that doesn’t like to burden others, and the indigenous people on Zarif Star have suffered enough already.
The Star Thieves previously showed so empathy towards the indigenous people, but now the situation has changed dramatically, and in their anger, they may no longer empathize.
The key is, although Qu Jianlei is reluctant to admit it, he also feels that he might... indeed attract trouble.
So he considered choosing those settlents that had existed in the past as tax control points, where the indigenous people are more inclined towards the Star Thieves.
If the opponent dared to bombard here... well, innocents might still be hurt, but the Star Thieves would lose public support even more.
Choosing the lesser of two evils! He contemplated for a mont and selected a settlent where he had once burned a military station.
The next communication ti would be seven and a half hours later, and he began to call Mu Guoguo.
Commander Mu connected to the radio, the first sentence was, "Why are they shelling you?"
"That’s not important," Qu Jianlei dodged the topic, quickly explaining the anomalies he encountered in detail.
Finally, he stated, "I believe there is a larger Pioneer Team colluding with the Star Thieves... You have to be careful."
Commander Mu was silent for about three seconds, one can imagine the shock this news had on him.
Then he bluntly asked, "Do you have any suspects?"
"Quantum," Qu Jianlei replied without hesitation, "This team is suspect... unless those Pioneers are from multiple teams."
Being able to deploy a team of six or seven thousand to help the Star Thieves guard their ho, such a rich human resource can only be possessed by a Celestial Level Team.
```
The Profound-level Team could certainly muster up this many people, but leave their own camp unguarded and abandon their supplies?
"Quantum..." Mu Group Leader chuckled bitterly, "You think I haven’t already offended the Star Thieves enough, and now want to add the Pioneers to my list?"
There was no avoiding a bitter laugh, after all, Quantum is one of the four major carts of the Pioneer Team.
Qu Jianlei responded earnestly, "You’re the one who asked to speak my speculation."
"Alright," Mu Group Leader wasn’t one to shirk responsibility, "Do you have any evidence? Even sothing that might count."
"No," Qu Jianlei answered without hesitation, "It’s purely intuition."
On this point, he wasn’t lying; his suspicion towards Quantum initially stemd from Lucio.
He was the Wood Attribute B-level under the seventh leader, captured while hunting armored cattle.
Lucio claid at the ti to be under Fat Fox’s employ. If Qu Jianlei didn’t have the ability to discern emotions, he would likely seek Fat Fox for verification.
On what grounds did he dare assu that Fat Fox would certainly protect him?
Later on, there were the two B-levels from Fat Fox who followed Pan Yifu.
Although these two also participated in the attack on the military station, it’s normal for spies to act that way to gain trust from others, right?
The key is that Fat Fox’s territory is so distance from the security zone, how could they encounter Pan Yifu who was hurriedly escaping?
Then there’s Fat Fox’s secret camp in the cave, which surprisingly had quite a few people hidden inside.
Qu Jianlei wasn’t suspicious at the ti, but thinking back now, it seems a bit odd.
Hiding so many people within the Star Thieves’ security zone, yet never launching a sizable attack—do you really need that many people for intelligence gathering?
Nevertheless, all these doubts are a bit too far-fetched, Qu Jianlei couldn’t even use these speculations to persuade Mu Group Leader.
Anyway, he thinks Fat Fox might have issues, and the Celestial Level Team employing Fat Fox is Quantum.
Hence, Quantum... naturally, there are suspicions, but even Qu Jianlei himself is ashad to voice such speculation.
"Intuition..." Mu Group Leader was a bit bewildered upon hearing him speak of intuition.
If soone else ntioned intuition, he’d treat it as a joke; he doesn’t believe in it. But hearing it from Black Heaven, it’s different.
After all, he can perceive other people’s emotions.
However, in the end, he made a decision, "Alright, let’s not talk about it anymore; maybe it’s just a bunch of Pioneers pulling together."
Qu Jianlei poured cold water with a chilling remark, "If that’s the case, the consequences would be even more severe."
"Who can say for sure?" Mu Group Leader replied indifferently, but whether his mood was truly relaxed was uncertain.
"You haven’t finished talking about the bombardnt earlier, what’s that all about, tell ?"
Qu Jianlei recounted the incident, and Mu Group Leader couldn’t help but click his tongue upon hearing it.
"Oh my, has being a scout beco this dangerous now? Where are you now, are you safe?"
Once he understood Qu Jianlei’s reasoning, he expressed it very clearly.
"That’s right, no matter how important the intelligence is, don’t go out to the wild mountains to deliver it. Where’s the best place to hide a drop of water?"
"Of course, in the river or the sea," Qu Jianlei reluctantly replied, finally realizing where the problem lay.
But the next mont, he sighed, "Alright, soone is coming to search, let’s contact in the next ti slot."
Being too close to the settlent has its drawbacks; once the radio is discovered, soone’s bound to co out soon.
It’s still the middle of the night, those coming out to search are all Indigenous People; otherwise, he might not even finish speaking.
"Wait, the last sentence," Mu Group Leader solemnly advised, "Try to confirm their identity under the premise of ensuring your safety."
Qu Jianlei chuckled bitterly upon hearing, "I’ll do my best, that’s it, leaving."
He packed the radio away and quietly departed, ultimately choosing not to act against those Indigenous People.
Even if these people are inclined towards the Star Thieves and accept their orders to hunt scouts.
Then, he went once more to the secret camp of Fat Fox’s pioneer team.
The communication with Mu Group Leader allowed him to clear his thoughts, now he just wants to observe this slightly suspicious team.
He arrived during the night but didn’t rush to perceive Shandong, instead finding a secret spot to rest briefly.
By the next day, the secret camp still showed no signs of movent.
On the evening of the third day, two people ca, opened the secret camp’s door, and went inside without coming back out.
However, just in that brief mont of the door opening, Qu Jianlei noticed: inside the secret camp... there seed to be no one!
Before, it was stuffed with people, where have they all gone now? He beca even more suspicious.
Yet claiming that all these people switched allegiance to the Star Thieves... is practically baseless.
Qu Jianlei could arrest these two and extract the truth through interrogation, but what if it’s not as he imagined?
That would an thoroughly offending Fat Fox, unless he can kill these two to silence them.
"With a clear conscience"—it’s simple to say, but to achieve, it requires true restraint.
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