Gottle originally planned to stay on Gedel for a few more days to get to know Rhodiola rosea better.
However, the other party seed 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 ho.
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 supplented 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 Supre at ho, soone has quirky tastes."
He said this as a subtle hint about the "Ice Attribute Supre," which might never be needed, but who knows?
Forewarned is foreard.
"Other Supres?" Gottle nodded thoughtfully, not surprised by the news.
The other Supres were not on this rchant ship, showing that the organization must have more than one such ship.
Yet it remained uncertain if the crew on those rchant 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 so fresh air.
The fundantal 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 beco major problems if left unchecked.
Wanmi Mining's assessnt 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 arrangent 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 so 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, sothing unexpected occurred; another Mine, upon hearing of his brief departure, sent representatives to discuss escort arrangents.
Li Ang t the "White Sturgeon" again, inquiring if he intended to take on an escort assignnt.
The Mine aid 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 diater of over eight thousand kiloters, 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 Governnt 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 rchant ship traveling there had a high chance of avoiding inspection.
Even if inspected, the mining company nad Simoni stated they would handle the customs clearance.
Qu Jianlei was a bit puzzled, "Don't they also have Ard rchant Ships? Are things really so tense now?"
Li Ang smiled mysteriously, "The situation is indeed tense; their Ard rchant Ships must also protect the Mine..."
"Last ti 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 rchant 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 na."
The logic made sense—I hired you for escort, so last ti 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 soone waiting outside? I don't want friendly fire at a crucial ti."
"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 ans, 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 Supre, 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 ," Qu Jianlei replied without hesitation, turning to leave.
Over an hour later, a battered rchant ship took off, breaking through the atmosphere.
Soon, another heavily loaded rchant 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 clearly or not, I've already said it.
The heavily loaded rchant ship clearly understood his ssage, 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 ti, he was unlucky, encountering five waves of rchant 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 consud over twenty thousand energy blocks, and the materials were sowhat 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 rchant ship entered a wide mine tunnel, and he turned on the lights, looking at the familiar surroundings, feeling a sense of ho.
The next mont, he shook his head, surprised he'd consider this place ho; how much did he like being a recluse?
In the end, there were just too few environnts 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... soone did co?"
He flew into the air, drawing an arc, reaching a point over a hundred kiloters away in no ti.
Within an area of about a thousand square ters, so 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 ti, 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 soone 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 unclaid 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, replacents 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 sowhat cruel.
He didn't want to treat it as purely artificial intelligence.
However, this ti Little Lake expressed, "It doesn't matter, guarding the ho, accumulating so family assets isn't easy for us."
After everything was settled, Qu Jianlei piloted 8384, arriving once again at Lanyun Market.
However, this ti the reception was different; before he could send a landing request, the ground responded.
"Welco, rchant Ship 8384, you can choose any place to land."
(Update end, asking for monthly tickets, subscriptions, and recomnded tickets.)
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