Starting Cultivation in Wasteland

Supreme Roger returned to the small attack ship, and then various military vessels quickly departed.

Some of the engineering ships retrieved the surveying equipment, proceeding not only orderly but also with exceptional speed.

In less than half an hour, all the military ships had returned.

Not only were Zhan Donglai, Jilt, and others puzzled, but Qu Jianlei and his group in the cave were also full of astonishment.

Mu Yu furrowed his brows, "A trap? The military can’t be so agreeable."

Qinghu also raised his eyebrows, "I’ll go take a look. With so many outsiders around... would they really be so shameless?"

Qu Jianlei raised his hand and donned a Wood Armor, "Let me go instead, everyone be ready to respond."

"You’re the boss," Qinghu blocked the doorway, donning himself in Golden Armor.

"If we let you take the lead every time, what’s the point of having teammates like us?"

"That’s right," Mu Yu raised a hand, adding a Rock Armor to Qinghu, "It’s just a reconnaissance."

The next moment, the stone door opened, and Qinghu stepped out, clad in four layers of Gold, Wood, Rock, and Ice Armors.

The military ships were indifferent to the developments below, but other people turned their heads to look.

— Isn’t this a bit exaggerated, getting ready for war now?

In a hidden space in the void, a faint ripple appeared, followed by whispers so low they were almost inaudible.

"The first acquaintance... indeed has his own creation."

The military paid no further attention to the situation on the star body, and after hovering in space for five or six minutes, the three ships restarted.

Silently, they moved away from the star body, heading deeper into space, just as they had come.

Watching them recede into the distance, Zhan Donglai couldn’t help himself and looked at Qinghu, "Friend, what did you all do?"

They had met once at a banquet, so they weren’t total strangers, and they had toasted each other, so calling him a friend was natural.

"We did nothing," Qinghu answered casually, "We’re also a bit puzzled..."

She was never much of a talker, and now, with doubts in her heart, she was even less inclined to speak.

Seeing her indifferent demeanor, the others were also somewhat speechless.

You all are a bit puzzled? Heh, the truly puzzled ones should be us, right?

Once the ships disappeared from sight, Ping’an’s people again sought confirmation from the Purple Star officials: Is it okay to sign the contract now?

However, the officials hesitated noticeably, and someone even stated.

"The military mentioned it, that this might belong to a star body in the Wanderer Nebula, should we just sign without concern, is it really appropriate?"

"What’s inappropriate!" Jilt was so angry he glared with his eyes wide open.

He didn’t initially want to sour the relationship with the officials, but they needed to get it straight, the military had left without a word.

He increasingly felt how powerful the backers they were relying on were.

Thus, his courage naturally swelled.

"It’s not necessarily from the Wanderer Star Cluster, and even if it is, can’t these resources be developed with private funds?"

The argument quickly reached Zhan Donglai’s ears.

After pondering for a moment, he finally made the decision, "Those carrying the Military Department’s orders have left, let’s do what we need to do."

When they came, it was with great fanfare. If nothing gets accomplished, how will we explain it when we return?

Someone else tried to continue their cautious approach, "But the military is taking this seriously, we have to be careful."

Zhan Donglai was so enraged he started cursing, "I’m a civil officer; the military’s thoughts... are none of my business!"

This wasn’t a matter of lacking upbringing, the division of camps was a major issue; he had to choose his side wisely!

The Business Alliance people also stepped up to make their presence felt, "Even if it’s the wealth of the Wanderer, it’s just residual ore, what major issue could there be?"

Half a day later, the signing ceremony was complete, and the official two starships had left.

Qu Jianlei and Jilt, along with others, stayed on the star body for another three days to settle various matters before leisurely returning.

In fact, the reason they stayed longer was also to wait for a possible military counterattack.

The military’s withdrawal was too decisive and puzzling — just as sudden as their arrival.

Although Qu Jianlei and others all thought that the likelihood of an immediate return was low, it was always better to be overly cautious in strategy.

Therefore, they might as well wait; if any changes occur, they could have a strong counter-offensive ready.

Awhile ago, Zhan Donglai and others were present, along with other Central Government officials, and unless absolutely necessary, Qu Jianlei did not wish to reveal the Little Lake.

Now, there was no need to worry too much. If the military were relentless, they could just fight it out and then continue their fugitive lives.

This way, their return to the Purple Star was three days later than the officials.

To the average person, it was entirely normal for the official contract-signing team to return first.

The officials had completed their procedures and naturally wanted to return quickly, while Ping’an’s people had matters to attend to, so returning a few days later was no big deal.

But to those with an ulterior motive, this was very intriguing—at least the military sensed something different.

When the Imperial Storm decided to leave, he did not provide a detailed explanation to the military; he merely announced the cancellation of the action.

His status was sufficient to support such a display.

With the military department’s approval, the Celestial River military didn’t dare ask too many questions, but their curiosity was piqued, quietly observing Ping’an’s movements.

Confirming that the other party returned three days late, the less thoughtful ones assumed, "They’re really daring, not afraid of accidents at all."

However, those with intelligence would at least ponder, "Are these people simply careless, or do they have unwavering confidence?"

Both the military and the central government issued orders to stop discussing the matter, and the confidentiality level was elevated to the highest.

The Imperial is indeed skilled at controlling information.

Nonetheless, among those who accompanied Zhan Donglai, there were people from the Mineral Management and Transport departments.

In these two departments, trying to completely block information was nearly impossible.

The Mineral Management Division was already in a lull due to Schreier’s death, and upon hearing the general situation, they didn’t dare to cause any more trouble.

The keyword "Supreme Above" was avoided, but the fact that three military ships left in a hurry was undeniable.

Even within the military’s internal communications, there’s a note about the three ships leaving and conducting a "training exercise" in deep space.

Schreier had backing, and the initial lack of strong reaction was merely to first assess the opponents.

Not everyone is as stubborn as Schreier, and even among his supporters, there were some criticisms of his methods.

With the arrival of this news, no one in the Mineral Management Division mentioned shares again.

Moving forward, no one dared step up to obstruct the necessary procedures that Ping’an was dealing with.

The Transport department remained lukewarm, not mentioning shares or giving up.

But when Ping’an’s people went to the department to handle affairs, no one dared to drive them away anymore, and efficiency was remarkably high.

The reactions of other parties need not be detailed, suffice to say, the mining of Energy Stone Ore progressed smoothly.

Schreier’s Supreme’s death went uninvestigated, as if he’d been erased from memory.

Qu Jianlei and his team returned to Shanshui Small Building, bearing an intense sense of crisis from their space journey.

Initially, everyone believed their team was formidable and strong, feeling a bit overconfident.

But the sudden military mobilization made them realize their team was still weak.

If the behemoths choose not to contest, fine; otherwise, just a small move from them would be beyond what they can withstand.

The strangeness of the military’s departure left them puzzled.

Until the reasons were clearly understood, no one would naïvely assume the matter was over.

So, upon returning to Shanshui Small Building, they not only remained low-key but kept vigilant.

Yet after a few uneventful days, Qu Jianlei decided to rebuild that 1.6 billion-worth computer array.

He wasn’t thinking it was truly safe but felt the risk must be taken to accelerate calculations.

For instance, the teleportation array must be quickly improved and perfected.

If not for having the "Ground-to-Starship Teleportation" as a trump card, options would have been far fewer.

Little Lake might have been exposed, and everyone’s response wouldn’t have been as composed.

Also, calculations for the Super Spirit Gathering Array had been interrupted for too long and needed continuation...

Activating the large computer array now was about risking to buy time.

Qu Jianlei had prepared for the worst; if faced with a powerful sudden attack, he would decisively abandon Shanshui Small Building.

He’d dismantle the array temporarily and transport as much as possible—there’s a good chance of transporting everything using the teleportation array.

He shared his thoughts, gaining unanimous support from the other team members.

The Paranoid bluntly suggested, "Why not set up the Spirit Gathering Array too, dismantle everything together later if needed..."

Dismantling a Spirit Gathering Array is quicker than the computer array, but clearing the "abnormal energy" of Spiritual Qi is a bit troublesome.

It easily attracts various official instruments’ attention, and once recognized, consequences are significant.

But Qu Jianlei straightforwardly nodded, "I support it. If we’re truly fleeing, exposing a bit more doesn’t matter."

The 1.6 billion equipment might not be preserved, Energy Stone Ore shares might be lost, so everything else... truly isn’t significant.

After these words, an inexplicable tension emerged in the quiet manor.

Flower Scorpion worried about Bentley and others, "When will we return to Paradise?"

Qu Jianlei pondered before replying, "Let’s wait a bit longer; it’s not exposed there, and there’s no major issue currently."

By noon the next day, the computer array was fully assembled.

While Qu Jianlei was debugging the array, two regular Spirit Gathering Arrays were also erected, along with a regular Qi Gathering Array.

With the Grand Array activated, it entered a mode of voraciously devouring Energy Blocks.

Various elemental auras began to fill the array, and Spiritual Qi surged crazily.

While debugging, Qu Jianlei shook his head: once the computer array starts, it’s all about burning Energy Blocks.

Alas, there’s really no solution.

At that moment, in the cloud layers about ten kilometers behind him, a fleeting shadow flickered, followed by a soft sigh.

"It’s really Spiritual Qi...but how to meet them? What a headache."

(Requesting monthly votes for the last three hours of July, there will be updates as usual at midnight, reserving a guaranteed monthly vote for next month.)