Starting Cultivation in Wasteland

In the blink of an eye, it has already been two months since Qu Jianlei and others returned from space.

During this period, everyone has not detected any anomalies, and the process of mining the Energy Stone Ore went exceptionally smoothly for Ping’an.

However, Shanshui Small Building has not relaxed its vigilance, especially Qu Jianlei, who has also purchased quite a variety of alert equipment.

Various calculations are proceeding systematically, especially the Super Spirit Gathering Array, which frequently yields phased results.

However, it is far more complicated than the regular Spirit Gathering Array, and it will take quite some time before it is transformed into tangible achievements.

On a certain day two months later, Big Head Butterfly turned, "There’s a slight fluctuation in the backdoor data anomaly."

In the era of interstellar navigation, the protection of data has already become extremely rigorous.

Still, there’s no absolute certainty in the world, and some random factors can affect the fluctuation of data.

Yet, the data monitoring level of Little Lake far surpasses high-precision equipment; its identification of an anomaly truly indicates an abnormality.

Qu Jianlei has always been wary of this backdoor, and when rebooting the computer group, he specifically informed Little Lake.

But after the group had been running for two months, no anomalies appeared, so his focus wasn’t here.

Now hearing that Little Lake has made a new discovery, he was momentarily stunned, "These guys haven’t given up?"

In the next moment, he tensed up, "The military’s difficulties with me, could it be because of this backdoor?"

Qu Jianlei has never figured out why the military suddenly troubled him.

If it was said to be due to the potential involvement with ’Traveler’s wealth,’ he’d never believe it.

One must know, in the Sirius Star Realm, this is a task that anyone can undertake, unrestricted by identity.

Because fewer people are taking on the task, it even became an atonement task for the Awakened.

Once there is progress with this task, the government gives generous rewards; hostility is absolutely unlikely.

If people in the Outer Star Realm make progress, they would most likely receive substantial rewards.

The possibility of the military disregarding civil-military separation and forcibly taking over is extremely low; logically, it doesn’t add up.

Little Lake also secretly infiltrated the military’s intranet multiple times, trying to find clues but never succeeded.

It can only determine one thing: this decision was distributed top-down by the Military Department, and the Star Domain Military just hurriedly took over.

Until this moment, hearing about the backdoor that had been inactive for a long time suddenly moving, Qu Jianlei suddenly had an epiphany.

— These two phenomena surely have quite a close connection!

Previously, the backdoor hadn’t taken any action, possibly because the military was still coordinating or avoiding certain matters, so hadn’t activated it.

Now, after more than two months, the heat has dissipated somewhat, so minor actions have begun again.

Considering this, he furrowed his brow in frustration, "Damn, having an official identity truly is useful."

Big Head Butterfly rotated twice, "Boss, with my current computing power, I can investigate clues in the Outer Star Realm through the Relay Tower."

"You’re getting a bit ahead of yourself, aren’t you?" Qu Jianlei responded moodily, "Here, it’s your home field; in the Outer Star Realm, it’s an away game!"

Big Head Butterfly replied sheepishly, "I mean, I have the capability now... Well, if enemies can go, so can I!"

Qu Jianlei felt a bit tempted too, yes, it doesn’t make sense to just passively endure harassment without troubling others.

But ultimately, he chose prudence, "Forget it, this is a crucial period for development, and a golden era, missing it would be a pity."

"Yet I really want to show them some colors..." Little Lake replied sulkily, "Honestly, I can’t stomach this either."

"There will be opportunities," Qu Jianlei casually replied, "To be honest, I can’t swallow this bitter pill either."

Just then, Flower Scorpion approached, looking jubilant, "Boss, the first batch of Energy Blocks is back!"

In fact, the Energy Blocks Qu Jianlei extracted on the abandoned Star Body numbered in the tens of millions.

But this time is different; it’s with official Imperial mining permits, the Energy Blocks of very clear origins.

Of course, to get these Energy Blocks into Qu Jianlei’s hands, some channel maneuvers are still needed.

Though these procedures involve some hurdles, they are much simpler than money laundering processes.

Overall, this is Qu Jianlei’s first substantial, legitimate, and sustainable income after entering Imperial society.

Flower Scorpion and the boss came from the same place, feeling similarly, she expressed with a bright smile.

"Gross earnings exceed sixty million, net earnings at least thirty million, boss, this is just two months!"

"Ping’an’s people express that if everything goes smoothly next year, gross earnings can reach five hundred million, net profits at least two hundred million."

"Our shares have reached sixty-three percent, not much else to say, stable earnings of one hundred and twenty million in profits."

"And this is only the first year, Jilt said once stabilized, we earn at least two hundred million a year, if not, he’ll make up the difference!"

Qu Jianlei shook his head, casually asserting, "If he says so, then two hundred million is the cap."

It’s not about mistrusting Jilt but about avoiding greed; he cannot tolerate Ping’an doing things too greedily, nor can their side be too greedy.

Two hundred million in annual net profit is not insignificant; it’s enough to repay loans with considerable surplus.

If it’s two hundred million this year, then expecting two hundred fifty million next year... that’s excessive!

In the end, they were merely holding dry shares while the other party was truly responsible for production and transportation.

Even though Ping’an’s people had already explained that they only wanted to use this project to gain experience while deepening their ties with us.

Qu Jianlei believed that when the other party said those words, they really meant them, but times change, and people’s hearts can as well.

In short, they are just sitting there, collecting money. Although they will step in when problems arise, if they’re not in charge of production, they shouldn’t harbor wild expectations.

Unless they also send people to deeply involve themselves in production, transportation, and even sales.

Alternatively, sending separate monitoring personnel would work, at least enabling more precise control over relevant data.

However, in reality, Qu Jianlei couldn’t send anyone.

Even Klei, whose cultivation level was at the bottom, and Xiao Qin, who had the least presence, he wouldn’t allow them to take such risks.

A team that is ready to flee at any moment cannot simply send people out; it would be too irresponsible.

So, don’t meddle excessively or expect too much; it’s enough if the other party maintains the expected standards later on.

As for whether any internal problems will arise? That’s not something he needs to consider... as long as it doesn’t cut into his profits.

When you’re holding dry shares, you’re relying on your strength, so don’t even think about intervening in specific affairs—after all, every profession has its specialization.

Clearly just holding dry shares but wanting to manage everything, that’s just not recognizing one’s own position correctly, and the cooperation won’t last long.

Yet, even Flower Scorpion found it hard to grasp his logic, startled upon hearing, "The upper limit is only two billion?"

"I’ll explain it to you later," Qu Jianlei replied casually, "Has Ping’an said anything else?"

"No," Flower Scorpion shook her head, "But Duoduo said, Jilt hinted that there would be plenty of opportunities for cooperation in the future."

"Plenty..." Qu Jianlei smiled silently; if Jilt truly thought that way, then one could only say he was also getting carried away.

But generally speaking, as the helm of the Ping’an’s big ship, it was impossible for Jilt to be so shallow.

A mere A-level individual navigating among many forces that hold Supreme power, yet not significantly falling behind.

Jilt may have some other trump card, but this alone shows that his ability to handle affairs is definitely not lacking.

Thinking of this, Qu Jianlei smiled slightly, "The first batch of Energy Blocks has already been transported back, indicating all the links have been connected."

"Since that’s the case, let’s pack up, it’s time to leave."

Upon hearing this, Flower Scorpion was instantly stunned, "Time to leave?"

"Time to leave," rarely speaking, Granny Jia voiced her opinion, "If we don’t leave, there will be more trouble."

After she spoke, even Paranoid and Mu Yu remained silent.

Although these two held themselves in high regard and were older, they both knew clearly that in terms of dealing with people, they truly couldn’t compare to this younger generation!

Though Jia Shuqing was slightly younger, she had lived solidly day by day for over two hundred years.

Moreover, during her glamorous days, she was also a representative figure among Peak Supremes, having seen a lot of the world.

Speaking of it, she was exactly like Paranoid used to be, arrogant without equals, with eyes set on the heavens.

This was a common problem among geniuses, unrelated to their character, simply unable to find anyone worth conversing with among ordinary folk.

Yet Paranoid acted more extremely than her, with a more irritable disposition.

As a relatively normal genius in society, Jia Shuqing had encountered quite a lot.

This is not surprising, as a lofty existence, she didn’t need to be extra accommodating.

As long as you don’t reject others, giving them a chance to contact you, you are approachable!

So once she spoke, basically no one refuted.

Finally, Qinghu straightforwardly asked, "Then should I stay?"

She was relatively rigid in action, or could be said principled—since we promised Ping’an to keep a Supreme as a guardian.

Qu Jianlei shook his head, decisively indicating, "No need to leave a Supreme here in the short term."

"At least leave someone," Qinghu glanced at Flower Scorpion, then at Celestial Sound, "Otherwise, Ping’an won’t be able to contact us."

"Neither of them can stay," Qu Jianlei shook his head.

Celestial Sound was still linked to the next step in securing the gold mine on Qingsha Star. Since we are involved, we certainly aim to seize it.

As for Flower Scorpion, she had already suffered enough, and leaving a woman alone here wouldn’t be reassuring.

After considering, Qu Jianlei found that, for a moment, he couldn’t find the right person to stay here.

He glanced at everyone, "Do you all have someone trustworthy? We can recruit a few."

On hearing this, everyone shook their heads unanimously, then glanced at each other, and unexpectedly, they all started smiling.

Each being a loner, talking about it... just quite something.

"Tsk," Qu Jianlei frowned, realizing that involving personnel here was crucial, with annual profits exceeding a hundred million, it’s impossible not to send someone.

The workforce is indeed limited.

(First update for August, seeking guaranteed monthly votes for support.)