Starting Cultivation in Wasteland

Qinghu’s request really surprised Qu Jianlei.

He had considered taking the other person away; a friend in trouble, lending a hand is the right thing to do.

But he truly didn’t believe that a supreme cultivated from the imperial ranks would willingly follow him, a wanted criminal.

One could say the trouble Rhodiola rosea caused was slaying Balrog and destroying an imperial fleet, at most it was a "fierce bandit" nature.

However, Ran Bingluan’s involvement in "Tribulation Thunder" had the suspicion of shaking the empire’s cultivation foundations.

The former seemed unforgivable, but in fact, even if caught, Rhodiola rosea would most likely be just paying for the crime.

The latter’s charges felt lighter, yet the interests and associated management models involved had a greater impact.

If Ran Bingluan were caught, at least it’d be life imprisonment, and if all knowledge could be extracted, arranging a death would be highly likely.

That is to say, being with the latter would only bring greater danger.

Qu Jianlei wasn’t sure how the empire considered it, he derived such a conclusion from his perspective.

So he didn’t think Qinghu would be interested in getting involved in this vortex, didn’t even bother to ask.

Now the other willingly proposed such a request, he hesitated and asked, "Leaving Celestial Handle... where do you want to go?"

"Find a place to hide," Qinghu casually responded, "Or, you could consider hiring me."

Qu Jianlei was again speechless; this time he remained silent for ten seconds before instructing Little Lake to type a line.

"Accept my employment... do you know how sensitive Ran Bingluan’s identity is?"

"Of course," Qinghu answered without hesitation, "Ran Bingluan is already very sensitive, not to mention adding Rhodiola rosea!"

Qu Jianlei remained speechless—could he suspect the other was a military spy?

Qinghu waited for a moment, seeing the other silent, then spoke again, "Just a guess..."

"I want to surpass the supreme, the alien energy should be quite crucial, right? As for what your identity is, it’s not important to me."

Qu Jianlei could only answer, "Do you have a preferred hiding place?"

Hide... Qinghu was again speechless, "Once hidden, unless you are apprehended, I can only wait until I advance beyond the supreme."

Qu Jianlei understood her meaning; she wanted to join in.

"Joining a promising team can’t be empty-handed... what do you have?"

"I can fight, my theoretical research isn’t bad," Qinghu responded without hesitation, "And a bit of money, over a billion."

A dignified supreme, having over a billion in cash isn’t much, but for most supremos, there’s no real need to have lots of cash.

"Over a billion in cash, is it with you?"

"Not really, otherwise it would be detained, there’s a billion in the Haiyin Clan’s fund; the rest is more scattered."

Qu Jianlei thought for a moment and replied, "I want the news about the guy who robbed me; how soon can you find out?"

It’s not that he mistrusted Qinghu, it’s just her choices were a bit unexpected.

Moreover, he had some untied thoughts, which were better cleared with information as a token of joining.

Qinghu replied indifferently, "For such things, there’s no need to find small figures, just approach the supreme directly."

Qu Jianlei knew, the supreme in charge of the Anomalous Management Division was called Talina, currently residing next to the military region.

Besides Talina, there were two supremes in the Star Realm military region, and another supreme at a nearby planetary military region.

Without considering other combat powers, just counting supremes there were four, plus ready-to-go various warships.

Though Qu Jianlei was stubborn, he wasn’t so stubborn as to knowingly venture into danger.

He hesitated and asked, "Four supremes clustered together, are they preventing sneak attacks?"

Qinghu answered without hesitation, "Perhaps they thought so before, but it’s fine now... often dispersed."

Qu Jianlei could only remark, "Recently Rhodiola rosea’s team re-emerges, the external checks are stricter, maybe there will be changes."

Qinghu was visibly stunned at the words; she had been under house arrest, previously still concerned about the outside, now she didn’t really worry.

She hesitated and expressed, "I’m not too sure, I’ll observe in the coming days."

"First protect yourself," Qu Jianlei suggested, "Where can you move around now?"

"I can leave the military region," Qinghu’s response somewhat surprised him, "It’s just... there’s nowhere to go either."

Qu Jianlei thought a moment, indeed, house arrest and imprisonment are different.

The latter is unable to move freely, the former is relatively free, mainly one wouldn’t know where to run.

Qinghu is a typical example, once run-off she’ll definitely be on the empire’s blacklist, and currently even unable to leave Celestial Handle Star.

Sure, she could hide, but if searched thoroughly, it might not stay concealed.

As a well-known supreme, the hiding process is very humiliating; if found publicly, it could lead to a direct social death.

Qu Jianlei pondered and replied, "Then go out for a stroll these days, if there are changes, I will contact you anytime."

Qinghu seemed a bit confused, "Will I need to act then?"

"Depending on the situation," Qu Jianlei ultimately didn’t finalize a concrete plan.

The next day, Qinghu left the military region under the guise of clearing her mind.

The military couldn’t stop her; she was also an outstanding supreme with hopes of surpassing the supreme in the future.

The most crucial thing is, they can only confirm that Qinghu once searched for information about the Concealing Array.

As for whom she gave the information to, or whether she even gave it out, that’s up for debate.

On the abandoned mine star body, the Concealing Array was triggered and self-destructed, and the military can only ascertain that there was once an array there.

As for who set up this array, whether it belongs to Ran Bingluan or Rhodiola rosea... it’s difficult to say.

Because both of these supremes have had contact with Qinghu.

It means that they aren’t even certain whether she transmitted the Concealing Array information.

Moreover, behind Qinghu, there is someone above Supreme who can confine her, which is all due to the Anomalous Management Division’s significant authority.

After being confined, Qinghu didn’t divulge any relevant information, only stating that she obtained the data for personal use.

Hence, when she wanted to go out, the military truly had no reason to stop her.

However, they still sent two female warriors to accompany her—not as assistants, but for barefaced surveillance.

When Qinghu wanted to go out again the next day, the military couldn’t hold back and mentioned that the current situation is quite severe.

The implication in their words was obvious: Do you know Rhodiola rosea has surfaced?

Qinghu paid no heed; she remained aloof and insisted she wanted to go out.

She went out three consecutive days, making the military extremely frustrated, yet they truly couldn’t stop her.

Qinghu appeared calm and collected, but inside she was puzzled: What about the variables that guy mentioned?

Nevertheless, Qu Jianlei was also at an impasse, as he hadn’t found the opportunity to strike against Talina.

During these three days, Talina only went out twice, heavily guarded, and crucially, she went out and returned during the daytime.

This prevented Qu Jianlei from taking action, as it would be easy to mistakenly harm bystanders and difficult to retreat.

However, on the fourth day, Qu Jianlei finally found an opportunity; Talina unexpectedly went shopping at a mall with people!

Talina’s appearance was passable, though she was older, she cared greatly about her maintenance.

Moreover, from her appearance, she was relatively choosy about her attire, paying great attention to dressing.

Qu Jianlei didn’t think Talina would be completely unguarded.

With Rhodiola rosea having appeared, her presence at the mall could very well be a trap.

However, at this moment, he couldn’t care about that much; if he delayed longer, the three supremes in space would grow impatient.

Besides, attacking at the mall wasn’t without advantages—Little Lake’s infiltration of the network here was effortless.

Supremes shopping naturally is a dignified affair; clearing and closing floors is necessary.

Aside from the current floor, the floors above and below were even sealed off.

Shopping at the mall naturally involves prominent figures, but upon hearing that dignitaries have arrived, no one dares to challenge.

Qu Jianlei connected with Bentley and Flower Scorpion, made the necessary arrangements, and then used the Transformation Technique to enter the mall.

Actually, besides the three blocked floors, other floors also had security guards, but sadly, they couldn’t withstand the effect of supreme’s spiritual power.

Talina started shopping from the top floor, and when she reached the third floor, the first floor was already being cleared.

In the midst of bustling chaos, Qu Jianlei leaned against a pillar and suddenly exerted force, shooting like an arrow towards the ceiling.

The floor between the first and second layers had long been secretly corroded by him using the Transformation Technique to mud, and instantly burst into a big hole as he broke through.

Breaking through the floor, his speed didn’t diminish, and he fiercely collided with the floor between the second and third layers.

This floor was hastily made using the Transformation Technique as mud, to avoid drawing the attention of the supremes.

However, although the effect of the mud transformation was poor, it still failed to withstand a supreme’s full-on impact.

As he broke through this floor, a muffled sound was heard, and the entire mall... went out!

This is the logic bomb that was pre-installed in the power distribution room, explosively detonating, causing the power system to trip.

This trick was inspired by the digital battleship for Qu Jianlei.

Previously, he used similar methods very cautiously, fearing discoveries of Little Lake’s presence.

But when battling the digital battleship, he discovered that logic bombs... aren’t exactly rare.

Essentially, it’s something like a network virus on Blue Star, or a hacker technique, not requiring artificial intelligence.

The brightness in the mall instantly dropped by nearly half.

Celestial Handle Star’s prosperity was the best in the entire star realm, yet not all light sources had backup power.

Talina was glancing over several pieces of clothing, when Qu Jianlei took action, her eyebrows lightly raised, sensing abnormalities.

Upon realizing there was indeed elemental fluctuation, Qu Jianlei had already dashed to the third floor.

Talina indeed considered the possibility of an attack when going to the mall and made considerable preparations.

—Whether it was Ran Bingluan or Rhodiola rosea, they were both daring to the extreme, capable of anything.

But she hadn’t truly expected the opponent would attack from two floors down.

This unexpectedness was only momentary, yet shortly thereafter, the light dimmed further.

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