Starting Cultivation in Wasteland-Chapter 605 - 475: Strength and Weakness

Qu Jianlei finally understood the reason for Xiaohu's silence when he heard it speak that way.

But he couldn't help asking, "After the Customs Enforcement Team left, was that terminal still on the Starship?"

"No," Xiaohu's voice was a bit heavy, "It established a connection with the Starship's main AI."

Qu Jianlei was silent, and after taking a few more steps, he asked, "Isn't invading the Starship's central control without permission illegal?"

"Only if you're caught," Xiaohu replied, "If you're not caught, it's perfectly normal."

You've become smarter! Qu Jianlei asked again, "Shouldn't that guy be considered artificial intelligence?"

"One level lower than me," Xiaohu first praised itself before adding further.

"But much stronger than the data center in the Star Realm's central control."

Qu Jianlei asked again, "So did it discover you after connecting to the Starship's central control?"

"Not quite discovered," Xiaohu was confident but immediately added another explanation.

"As long as it suspects, it can make arrangements. The key is... its hardware is too strong, sigh~"

It's an objective fact that Qu Jianlei doesn't have much money, and Xiaohu felt frustrated because—I know I'm stronger than it.

"Take your time," Qu Jianlei knew how to comfort it, "You need to improve yourself too."

Xiaohu was finally led astray, "True, I wonder if I can still get those broken hairpins."

Qu Jianlei thought for a moment and asked, "Can you investigate why the Customs Enforcement Division is giving me a hard time?"

"That... might not be easy," Xiaohu rarely showed hesitation, "They're not to be messed with."

"Then let's put it aside for now," Qu Jianlei sighed and turned to Fangcao, "Where are you going?"

"We have a base in Fengrao," Fangcao replied seriously, "I also have some official matters to handle." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

The two parted ways, and Qu Jianlei finally returned to the Engineering College after nearly two months.

The renovation of the library was complete, and he went to take a look.

There were some minor flaws, but he didn't point them out. Small matters that don't affect the big picture should be left for the other party to understand gradually.

During the tour, he ran into the head librarian, Halek.

This time, the head librarian was very enthusiastic, pulling him aside for a lot of praise, repeatedly expressing gratitude to Green Water Academy.

Qu Jianlei listened expressionlessly, still puzzled in his heart, weren't you very critical of Green Water Academy before?

The second thing after coming back was cooking. After two months of his absence, the three women had already been longing for his dishes.

During the meal, Xiang Xue spoke up, "I heard that things have quieted down a lot over on Star No. 2. When are we leaving?"

Qu Jianlei thought for a moment and shook his head, "It's quite nice here too. Let's stay for another month or two."

He not only had to collect the final payment but also had to handle any possible loose ends, not bringing any trouble back to Star No. 2.

In fact, under the banner of Hoyel, he was more successful on Star No. 4.

Especially here, with its vast land and few people, if he could buy a large piece of land, he could even try using the Qi Gathering Array.

The next night in the academy's wasteland, the sound of clanging echoed again.

With Xiaohu's involvement, the strength of the Defense Array slightly increased, and the key was a significant reduction in energy consumption.

Compared to before, it reduced by almost thirty percent.

At this point, with a few more days of fine-tuning, the Array could be finalized.

The next day at noon, Hals heard that Panda was back, and came to check in once more.

For some reason, he didn't mention anything about Kushnier and acted exactly the same as before.

Qu Jianlei was a bit surprised; the major war zone had issued a restriction on him, yet the attitudes of the Third and Fourth War Zones were completely different?

He casually mentioned that the Customs Enforcement Division had intervened, almost snatching his Vortex.

Fortunately, he had just obtained the Vortex at the time and hadn't had the chance to run the data, not knowing the other party's intentions.

Hals showed deep envy at the mention of "Vortex".

After he clearly heard about the Customs Enforcement Team's actions, he sneered disdainfully, "Those guys are darker than you think."

Pausing for a moment, he spoke again, "The water runs deep in smuggling; since you haven't suffered losses, I advise you not to get involved."

Qu Jianlei frowned, "Can you help me find out the reason behind their actions this time?"

Hals looked at him helplessly, "I said the water is deep, and you're getting interested?"

"They might be trying to steal my Array design," Qu Jianlei looked at him in surprise, "Would the Military tolerate that?"

That's why he asked the chubby guy for help instead of Hertman.

Hals nodded thoughtfully, "But since you refuse our recruitment... how's the design going?"

"It's infinitely close to success," Qu Jianlei casually replied, "But you know, I really don't like being constrained."

"Alright then, I'll ask around for you," Hals agreed and expressed envy again.

"But with your wealth, it doesn't matter if you don't join us... not everyone can afford a Vortex."

"So what," Qu Jianlei replied uncaringly, "A large computer isn't more useful than a Vortex?"

"But the vortex is portable!" Hals said earnestly, "You can use it for official business when you're out!"

After a pause, he asked again, "You have the vortex now, Baofeng can retire, sell it to me?"

Qu Jianlei looked at him helplessly, "Can you afford it?"

Qu Jianlei could feel a bit of the little fatty's financial strength; even though he's B-level, buying a Baofeng would surely cost him dearly.

Hals coughed lightly, "Well... can you make it cheaper?"

Qu Jianlei gave him a glance, "What are you thinking? If I wanted to sell it, I could easily sell it at the original price."

The little fatty gritted his teeth, "I'll help you inquire about the smuggling investigation... how's that?"

Qu Jianlei shook his head, "Really no, I need Baofeng as a backup, when I buy a new one, I'll sell this one cheap to you."

This was the result he discussed with Xiaohu.

One must admit, although Baofeng is somewhat inferior to the vortex, as a portable response terminal, it is still quite suitable.

The main computation for Xiaohu takes place on the vortex, but for any secretive actions, Baofeng's cooperation is needed.

Moreover, accustomed to running data on the terminal, Qu Jianlei didn't want to burn out his brain; having a backup device is very necessary.

"Having Baofeng as a backup," the little fatty murmured in frustration, "this level of luxury is almost like the government offices."

After clocking out, Hals went back, and surprisingly didn't return the next day, probably he was quite stimulated.

That evening, Hertman came to find Qu Jianlei again, still riding his motorcycle.

Qu Jianlei hadn't hastened him for the balance payment, partly to avoid misunderstandings, and partly to observe the other party's reaction.

The Guard Captain was quite straightforward, coming directly to find him.

After meeting, he gave a thumbs up first, then handed over an alloy box, "Ten million, want to check?"

"Ten million?" Qu Jianlei didn't rush to take it but questioned in confusion, "Balance payment?"

"The boss thinks you did a splendid job," the Guard Captain answered earnestly, "Balance payment doubled."

Qu Jianlei nodded, took the box without any hesitation.

"Truth be told, this situation was pretty annoying, I almost couldn't leave Star No. 3, and was even subjected to a surprise smuggling check during the trip."

Hertman smiled wryly, "The boss tried to pull some strings, but it's quite challenging."

"The restriction order under the major war zones is quite high, they said they need to delay a bit, or it wouldn't give face to the higher-ups."

"The key thing is you're just specially hired, not very legitimate, but thankfully you have some tricks... Well, should I help you apply for some compensation?"

"No need," Qu Jianlei shook his head, he was simply indicating that it's reasonable to take a little extra.

"I'm somewhat curious about why customs enforcement would target me."

"Customs enforcement... targeting you?" The Guard Captain's voice turned somber, "Are you certain?"

"Ninety-nine percent sure," Qu Jianlei couldn't fully guarantee, but his intuition never lies.

"Well, this... it's truly troublesome," the Guard Captain frowned, "Explain the details?"

After hearing, he stated, "I'll find out, in the future if customs enforcement wants to operate through the boss's channels, then they'll have to wait."

After a pause, he continued, "Originally, I wanted to tell you some good news, Annette has submitted a transfer request from the hospital."

Qu Jianlei smiled indifferently, "So, he knows to be afraid?"

"That night... such a lively scene," the Guard Captain said gleefully, "Alright, if there's nothing else, I'll be on my way."

Qu Jianlei took the box back, the routine is to scan it first; finding no issues, he opened the box to count.

The number was certainly correct, Xiaohu cheered up again, "A large machine, a large machine!"

"Hold on," Qu Jianlei said seriously, when dealing with this fellow, the words must be clearly spoken.

"The aftermath here isn't finished yet; don't you recall how frustrating it was being stuck in space?"

Being blocked by a customs enforcement warship is unforgettable, with nowhere to run.

Even though he's A-level, exhausting Inner Breath in space, he'd last no more than three to four hours.

That's precisely why those customs officers were brazenly inspecting passengers, ignoring everyone's reactions.

If Qu Jianlei was indeed caught with issues back then, other than surrendering, he'd have to attempt hijacking a warship.

Hijacking a space mecha would be pointless, the warship wouldn't let him go.

But hijacking a warship, even if successfully escaping, he'd surely end up on the "notorious bandit" wanted list.

Not to mention, he might fail to seize the warship, or unable to operate it after the seizure.

Xiaohu fell silent upon hearing, recalling the frustration, being intimidated by low-tier AI to the point of silence was unheard of.

After a long while, it finally spoke gently, "We still need a base first."

"Such a vision... it's hard to achieve in the short term," Qu Jianlei stated regretfully, "Let's stabilize first and then talk."

However, stabilizing is easier said than done; he needs substantial resources for cultivation but doesn't want to be constrained.

Immediately, he thought about the pressing issue, "Wondering if the little fatty or the Guard Captain could gather any information."