Starting Cultivation in Wasteland-Chapter 502 - 374: News

Hilton said he would find Qu Jianlei, and he actually did.

However, he didn’t immediately question the other party, instead stating, "The other party stayed in the basement for just a moment and left."

"A safe house? That’s normal," Qu Jianlei said indifferently, "Didn’t leave any trace?"

Once reaching A-level, people become very adept at controlling their aura. However, trying to clean up any aura leaks hastily won’t go unnoticed.

Hilton nodded, replying with a hint of pride, "The other party has a Wood Attribute, and sent the leaked aura underground."

"But they didn’t dare to make any big moves, and since I have an Earth Attribute, I detected a bit."

Qu Jianlei nodded slightly upon hearing this, "It’s good to gain something."

He had no personal grudge against the gunman, but being dragged into the matter, solidifying his bad reputation, and almost revealing his identity, set the cause and effect.

He could retaliate without guilt. From a logical standpoint, he was definitely on Hilton’s side.

But the matter involved the Earth Scholar organization, and Qu Jianlei didn’t want to become someone else’s tool, nor did he want to send any misleading signals.

Only when Hilton came to seek help and demonstrated enough sincerity, did he offer some guidance.

Hilton sensed Panda’s stance and vaguely guessed why the other party didn’t take action.

Indeed, it was the typical unwillingness to meddle, reminding him why he only kept an eye on the library’s main entrance back then.

So, the death of that B-level member in his family was really self-inflicted.

He asked solemnly, "Did you lock onto the gunman’s aura at that time?"

Qu Jianlei glanced at him, puzzled, and retorted irritatedly, "What, are you trying to blame me for not intervening?"

"Not at all," Hilton hastily shook his head, not wanting to cause any misunderstanding.

"I’m just curious, in the city, perception isn’t allowed to be released freely... overly strong perception can cause chaos."

This is an Imperial ironclad rule, strongly restricting even the Supreme.

Upon reaching the Supreme cultivation level, perception becomes intimidatingly strong, and if used recklessly in the city, won’t privacy be compromised?

"You aren’t qualified to question me on this," Qu Jianlei responded confidently, "Perception with a Wind Attribute—you don’t understand!"

"Uh, okay," Hilton could only accept this explanation, unable to challenge it due to his own weak perception.

In truth, he wasn’t entirely convinced by this claim. Could an A-level with a Wind Attribute genuinely have such powerful perception?

Hilton wanted to say more, but noticed the other party had already stood up, smilingly holding a wine glass.

He looked sideways to see the birthday party’s main protagonist, wearing a wreath and holding a wine glass, gazing in their direction not far away.

If not for Qu Jianlei actively standing up, Teng Pingping wouldn’t dare to approach and offer a toast.

Seeing the young girl approaching with a toast, Hilton shook his head, turned and left, feeling somewhat dismissive.

You’re considered powerful even among A-levels, is it necessary to mind such a little girl?

He walked back to the ambulance and narrated the answers he obtained to Xiang Xue.

The person inside the car remained silent for a moment before softly sighing, "It was my mistake, shouldn’t have forced it, or else he wouldn’t have just stood by."

Hilton nodded, feeling that somehow, something seemed off: always so proud, yet you’re admitting fault?

Three days after Teng Pingping’s birthday party, the library received a new issue of the "Hope Star Realm Weekly."

The weekly is in electronic format, requiring a paid subscription, with the library’s subscription fees naturally covered, which goes without saying.

Qu Jianlei usually enjoys reading this weekly, which helps broaden his horizons and integrate quickly into the Empire.

The weekly typically features various news from the Star Realm, but this time he saw something related to himself.

Namely, under the Imperial Military’s search, they finally located the former main force of the star thieves occupying Zarif Star.

Then came a battle lasting half a month.

Interestingly, prior to this, the weekly hadn’t published any news related to the battle—nothing at all.

Qu Jianlei wasn’t surprised; that’s why it’s called an information barrier, right? The Empire only announces news they want people to know.

Even up to now, there is no information explaining why the star thieves occupied Zarif Star.

Perhaps the Diamond Team’s unauthorized mining of purple-gold ore was a major scandal the Empire wanted to keep quiet.

But Qu Jianlei is more inclined to believe this involves the financial consortium behind the Diamond Team still engaged in power struggles with several other factions.

Perhaps once the dust settles, related news will emerge, or maybe it never will.

Going far off course, the fact that this battle made the news clearly means the military won.

The star thieves’ main force was largely destroyed, leaving only a few "scattered" star thieves fleeing.

Honestly, Qu Jianlei didn’t know how to interpret such news—were the ones fleeing really scattered or a large part?

What actually caught his attention in the news was that the military rescued a large number of hostages kidnapped by the star thieves, including some superpower warriors.

The weekly didn’t list the hostage names—quite normal, as Imperial citizens enjoy privacy rights, and the military has even stronger privacy rights.

Qu Jianlei saw the news and couldn’t help guessing; he wondered if Pan Yifu had been rescued.

However, to be precise, this didn’t have much to do with him; Pan Yifu had only had limited cooperation with him.

But what he didn’t know was that at this moment, Pan Yifu, lying in the hospital, was being interrogated by a middle-aged man.

The man was only B-level, but his tone was large, "I want to know what happened on the starship after leaving the Garbage Star."

Pan Yifu very much disliked this guy’s attitude, but he thought of a possibility, "Did Supreme Kushnier ask you to inquire?"

The middle-aged man pulled out a small box and pressed the switch; it was a signal jammer.

He spoke in a deep voice, "If someone asks, I won’t admit it, but I’m telling you clearly now, you’re not wrong!"

"Tch, Meng Ningge," Pan Yifu sighed helplessly, "I knew it... have you not asked the others on the starship?"

He had been captured by the Star Thieves and was just rescued, but Zarif had long recovered, and many people on the starship were rescued.

"You’re A-level," the middle-aged man answered in a deep voice, "I’ve already grasped the information on the starship, but I still want to hear you speak."

"What I know isn’t more than others," Pan Yifu smiled bitterly, "There’s a B-level with Wood Attribute named Youyou who knows more."

"I know her," the middle-aged man replied expressionlessly, "She’s now being controlled by other departments."

She’s the true culprit! Pan Yifu sighed and recounted what happened on the starship.

After he was rescued, this recount had been done three times—the first two were from military investigations.

However, after listening, the middle-aged man shook his head, "I already know this information; I want to know what you haven’t said!"

"What’s there that’s unsaid?" Pan Yifu was a bit confused, "That’s all there is."

"Not just that!" The middle-aged man replied straightforwardly, "Wasn’t there someone else in the cargo hold at that time?"

"Someone else?" Pan Yifu was stunned, "In my impression, there were only those two, right?"

The middle-aged man spoke in a deep voice, "Supreme investigated this matter carefully... Meng Ningge is a rare rising talent."

Kushnier indeed knew the details, and even personally went to the Garbage Star once.

In the duty records of the day before the starship set sail, he found records of abnormal electromagnetic fluctuations.

Then, he found the underground hideout where Qu Jianlei and Youyou had once hidden.

He believed someone had attempted to hide there to enter the starship, but he wasn’t sure who.

Also, there was a short circuit in a searchlight that night, which could serve as corroboration.

Supreme Kushnier believed Meng Ningge’s suicide had little to do with Youyou.

If Meng Ningge were allowed to continue causing trouble, and the starship was indeed destroyed, he himself would also be implicated.

However, Supreme also determined that the bomb installation was not Meng Ningge’s own idea; he must have been incited by someone else.

He had already found the person who sent Meng Ningge onto the starship; now he was trying to find out who incited him,

Unfortunately, that starship was captured by Star Thieves and later destroyed, or he would have investigated the starship.

Pan Yifu, hearing this, had a somewhat strange expression, "Does there really need to be such a person?"

He had already realized that Kushnier’s actions weren’t just about avenging Meng Ningge.

This Supreme was originally from Central City, not from the Gorge, not even an official citizen of the Empire.

With an incident involving his family, not only colluding with Star Thieves but also almost destroying a starship, even the Supreme could be impacted.

But Pan Yifu speaking like this was a bit disrespectful, and the middle-aged man’s face darkened.

"Do not presumptuously speculate about the Supreme; it’s not what you think... the Lord investigated, and Youyou isn’t skilled in electronics and mechanics!"

Superpower Warriors are notoriously "long in specializations, short in shortcomings."

The long naturally refers to individual combat strength, and the short is that apart from that, they rarely specialize in other fields.

Qu Jianlei pretended to be a Modified Warrior, and others were puzzled as to why this guy wanted to be a Maintenance Master.

The Superpower Warriors in the military are even more so, as the army can be divided into various branches, each originally specializing in its own field.

Youyou had received Mecha training, which is something all Superpower Warriors have to undergo — the training cost is too high, necessary for protection at times.

But she was only superficially familiar with Mecha; to say she’s not skilled in electronics and mechanics is really quite normal.

Pan Yifu understood and spoke in surprise, "She didn’t know how to jam signals for explosives; it wasn’t her in the cargo hold?"

The middle-aged man answered in a deep voice, "The Lord investigated very thoroughly; she might know a little, but definitely not proficient."

"Then there’s a problem, with the starship explosion, few could survive... how could she claim the hidden danger was resolved?"

Pan Yifu thought for a moment and muttered, "Maybe she was bluffing... who would have thought Meng Ningge really dared to detonate?"

The middle-aged man snorted coldly, "Constantly finding excuses, it seems you’re very resistant to Supreme Kushnier?"

"Now, let’s talk about the Earth Attribute A-level called Wen Xin, the Lord believes he is highly suspicious!"