Starting Cultivation in Wasteland-Chapter 614 - 484: The Corrupt Will Remain Corrupt

Qu Jianlei was on the verge of losing it, but he had no outlet to vent his frustrations.

He even considered just grabbing some food and leaving, but then thought, if I leave just like that, wouldn't that confirm my suspicion?

As he was leisurely eating his breakfast, Zi Jiu Immortal came over with a meal, "Hey, have you heard about what happened in the early morning?"

"I just heard about it," Qu Jianlei let out a sigh of relief; at least someone was willing to talk to him about it.

Zi Jiu Immortal sat down, preparing to dine while asking, "Who do you think did it?"

"Anyway, it wasn't me," Qu Jianlei answered irritably, "I was in my room all night."

"Who can prove it?" Xiang Xue also came over with her meal and sat down next to him, "You can't explain it away!"

Qu Jianlei gave her an irritated glance, thinking, I'm in trouble, and you're gloating?

"I have no need to explain; those accusing me as a suspect should provide evidence... the burden of proof lies on whomever alleges."

Xiang Xue smiled smugly, "Nowadays, aren't there still many who rely on their personal judgment?"

Qu Jianlei shook his head, choosing not to argue with her anymore.

Just as he finished breakfast and was about to leave, Cheng Qingshan walked in, "Panda, come over here, I need to talk to you."

The massacre that happened in the early morning was truly outrageous—over a hundred people.

As mentioned earlier, the Empire has many vultures; they also carry out massacres but are mindful of their methods, avoiding such bloodshed.

Like a car accident, or being imprisoned and never heard from again, or perhaps a mysterious disappearance...

The entire Daisis family got murdered, leaving a ground full of corpses... such a tragic scene that the Academy had no choice but to intervene.

Cheng Qingshan informed Qu Jianlei that he received the notice in the middle of the night but didn't disturb him at the time.

This means he was certain Panda was in his room then, yet things have escalated to this point, and they need to give an explanation to the public.

Qu Jianlei stated flatly, "Someone is trying to frame me, or maybe the Academy!"

"You're right," Cheng Qingshan confirmed, "If I hadn't realized this, I would have woken you up in the middle of the night."

"I will rule out those trying to frame the Academy; for now, I just want to know... who are your enemies?"

Qu Jianlei responded unemotionally, "All the enemies I can name are dead; as for those in the shadows... it's hard to say."

In fact, he could guess who might be behind it—either Hoyel's rival or the ones who instructed Daisis to investigate him.

There is absolutely no third possibility... such a grand scheme could never have been carried out by an average enemy.

Cheng Qingshan pondered a moment before asking, "Panda, have you considered... returning to Star No. 2?"

He suggested Panda lay low, though he wasn't sure if the other party would be willing to accept the advice.

Qu Jianlei shook his head, knowing well in his heart that returning to Star No. 2 wouldn't necessarily be much safer.

The real deal is to catch the mastermind behind the scenes, or he won't be content.

He replied solemnly, "How about this, I've completed my task; expelling me from the Academy might suffice as an explanation to the public."

"That's impossible," Cheng Qingshan was taken aback; he knew how astonishing this guy's potential for destruction was.

He kept shaking his head, "That's not possible, it has nothing to do with your task completion, Green Water Academy wouldn't be able to explain it."

Qu Jianlei remained silent, then sighed after a pause, "Give me three days, is that okay?"

"No problem," Cheng Qingshan answered without hesitation, then asked with concern, "Is three days enough?"

Qu Jianlei was momentarily stunned, then gave a cold smile, "Three days is enough."

Then he returned to his small courtyard and began preparing various gear.

After a while, Xiang Xue and Aunt Liu came; although she was somewhat gloating, she was genuinely concerned about his situation.

After entering the small courtyard, she realized Qu Jianlei was packing various weapons and equipment, and couldn't help but frown.

"Are you planning... a mass slaughter?"

"Better to be prepared," Qu Jianlei answered seriously, then asked, "Any news?"

Xiang Xue looked at Aunt Liu, who shook her head, "No, we agreed in advance to conduct a covert investigation."

"Hmm," Qu Jianlei nodded, not saying much more.

Xiang Xue spoke up, "Do you suspect the person who initially hired Daisis is behind this?"

Qu Jianlei nodded again, "Besides them, I can't think of who else would do this."

Theoretically, Hoyel's political rivals could also achieve this.

However, with such a tragic incident, he is the prime suspect, and then it might implicate others.

Qu Jianlei thought, if the news wasn't particularly isolated, framing anyone would not likely target him.

Not to brag, but even directly going after Hoyel would be less risky than framing him.

Xiang Xue looked at Aunt Liu, "Aunt Liu, can we step up our efforts a bit?"

Aunt Liu pondered for a moment, looked at the gear Qu Jianlei was organizing, sighed, nodded, and turned to leave.

At this moment, Qu Jianlei realized that his information channels were somewhat lacking.

Aside from the Earth Scholar organization, he could only rely on the Guard Captain, as for the military's Hals and Fourth Master... not likely to help.

Then he sent a message to Hertman, wanting to know if there was any news from him.

It didn't take long for the Guard Captain to reply with a message: "In that area, an informant went missing last night."

"Damn..." Qu Jianlei gritted his teeth as he read it. As expected, the opponent was really ruthless, not even sparing the eyes of the Guard Team.

By late morning, Hals checked in.

He also asked about the massacre yesterday, and even the Military suspected Panda had a hand in it.

Qu Jianlei replied helplessly, "Cheng Qingshan can prove that I didn't go out in the early morning... do you have any more news?"

Hals shook his head, "I've told you before, the relationship between the Military and the Customs Enforcement Division... how should I say it? It's complicated."

"Unless necessary, we won't actively inquire about customs-related information."

After lunch, Qu Jianlei's watch received a message, the code suggested it was sent by Fourth Master.

The code indicated that he hoped someone could be sent immediately to the academy gate to pick someone up — send someone, not himself!

Can you get any news? Honestly, Qu Jianlei didn't have much hope for this.

But since they notified him, he couldn't just ignore it.

To be safe, he changed his appearance and clothes, and personally went to the school gate to meet.

A scholarly-looking middle-aged man arrived from outside the school, Gold Attribute, C-level, looked like a minor official.

Qu Jianlei approached and confirmed the code without asking much, directly bringing the man into the school, arriving at a wasteland.

Then he sensed the surroundings briefly, not feeling any danger, before asking out loud, "What did you bring?"

"It's you," said the middle-aged man upon hearing his accent, then he gave a thumbs up, "Your Transformation Technique is much better than mine."

"Fourth Master?" Qu Jianlei spoke in astonishment, "How did it end up like this?"

"Sigh, don't mention it," Fourth Master shook his head, giving a bitter smile, "This time, we really ran into a tough one."

"No rush, take your time," Qu Jianlei spoke solemnly, "It's safe here, do I need to do anything?"

"I brought you a video," Fourth Master took out a small metal button, "The massacre video from last night..."

He was quite impressive, having set up two undercover lines in advance near the Daisis Family.

Fourth Master anticipated that since the other side could instigate Daisis to suddenly check the Passenger Starship, they weren't particular about doing things.

Just as the living dead killed Daisis, bringing a passive stance to Black Heaven, those with truly black hands wouldn't give up this opportunity.

So he arranged two people for surveillance and really caught something!

One of the surveillance people was killed, and at that time surrounding information was blocked, with nothing getting out.

The other surveillance person was more nimble, did not try to send out information, and recorded the general appearance of the two murderers.

Since information could not be transmitted, this person quietly blended out after dawn.

After leaving the neighborhood, he sent the message out.

However, once the message was sent, he was hit and sent flying by an unmanned garbage truck.

The person receiving the message was also hunted down five minutes later.

Fortunately, this individual was a legitimate member of the living dead, extremely vigilant, and managed to escape after a few hours of maneuvering.

Fourth Master finally got the video; hearing the opponent's reaction, he immediately knew they'd encountered major trouble.

There were four A-levels in the living dead, the organization's power was not small, but they lacked a Supreme.

Yet Fourth Master, having roamed the interstellar for many years, had seen too much darkness and dirt.

He didn't need to think to know this force wasn't something the living dead could handle.

Their boss was indeed not bad, but just able to escape under a Supreme, contending with such a force was too much.

Therefore, he didn't continue to investigate but unhesitatingly found Qu Jianlei.

He didn't see it as shirking; the sniper dying by suicide and Daisis being mistakenly killed were all minor issues.

Essentially, this force was targeting Black Heaven from the start, and Black Heaven was also searching for them!

Qu Jianlei nodded deeply after listening to him, "Fourth Master, I really admire this maneuver!"

He had vaguely considered such a possibility: Daisis's family might also get into trouble.

But in the end, his heart wasn't dark enough, only considering it a "possibility."

Of course, he could use an excuse, claiming he had no one available.

However, couldn't he turn to the Guard Captain or Aunt Liu for help?

In the end, it was Fourth Master's decisive action, arranging more than one person for surveillance.

It's said that only the same kind can understand the same kind; a thief catching a thief is definitely more efficient than a constable catching a thief.

"What to admire, I'm scared," Fourth Master replied with a bitter smile.

"The opponent's moves are too ruthless, their energy too great; I'm willing to help, but the main responsibility is still yours."

Qu Jianlei nodded, "This is my responsibility, how could I hide behind you?"

"Unless necessary, I wouldn't ask for your help... now, let me first take a look at the situation."

(Update to, requesting monthly votes, designated and recommended votes.)