Qu Jianlei last stowed away on Jiuchuan Academy's school bus and had encountered seven other stowaways.

Those people were later taken by the Celestial Hook Star Realm's customs enforcement team, presumably involved in some other schemes.

Qu Jianlei did not delve deeply into that encounter; after all, it was just a minor event, but he was amazed by the audacity of the stowaways.

However, looking at it now, his initial reaction... was quite limited in scope!

This time, the stowaways came in batches, totaling forty-eight individuals!

Including himself, the cargo hold of this starship unexpectedly held forty-nine stowaways.

Moreover, Qu Jianlei could sense that these forty-eight stowaways were at least three different groups.

Could it be that someday the number of stowaways will exceed the passengers in the cabin above?

Half a day after the starship's liftoff, the stowaways gradually crawled out of their boxes and inevitably... encountered each other!

At the beginning, everyone was relatively alert; if not for the fear of being discovered, they might have already fought.

Thankfully, there were snakeheads leading the stowaways, warning their people not to communicate with outsiders.

Qu Jianlei finally confirmed that there were four groups in total, three of them teams, and another lone man and woman constituting a separate group.

It was apparent that most of the stowaways were first-timers, so they listened to the snakeheads and were quite cautious.

But this tacit understanding was eventually broken when someone recognized a familiar face in another group.

Indeed, there is nothing too strange in the world—it was a 'familiar face from another box.'

These two were quite excited and began whispering to each other.

The snakehead tried to stop them; however, these interstellar stowaways weren't "pigs," on the contrary, quite a few were not easy to deal with.

Among the two whispering, one was a C-level Warrior and the other a Modified Warrior, who directly scolded the snakehead for meddling.

Once a bad beginning couldn't be stopped, it couldn't be reversed; soon, others began to whisper as well.

This situation... wasn't unexpected; the cargo hold was dark and stuffy, giving an oppressive feeling, and the journey would last several days.

Some even brought out a chessboard, looking for someone to play with.

Meanwhile, the lone man and woman remained patient, hiding in a dark corner without making a sound.

Seeing the noise grow increasingly louder, several snakeheads couldn't take it any longer and directly pointed guns at two of them.

"Damn it, if you want to die, I'll kill you now, don't get everyone else involved!"

After this commotion, everyone finally realized they were stowaways, and the noise decreased significantly. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Even if someone occasionally raised their voice, they would be warned by other stowaways, entering a cycle of order.

A few snakeheads instead gathered together, whispering.

"Damn it, this is the worst batch I've ever led, actually daring to eat strangers' food!"

"Damn it, if it weren't for the difficulty in hiding the smell of bloodshed, I'd really like to bloody them a bit."

"Alas, business is hard to do these days; if it weren't for the limited navigation some time ago, there wouldn't be so much backlog..."

Qu Jianlei listened and nodded slightly, indeed, it was the intensified smuggling investigations causing trouble.

The snakeheads' conversations weren't so low-level—at least they had to appear well-informed.

Then, surprisingly, Qu Jianlei learned that Fubi Supreme of Star No. 4 had disappeared, supposedly... done by me?

Accusing someone so baselessly, is that really okay?

He then started pondering what the disappearance of this Fubi might entail.

Without a doubt, the more chaotic the Hope Star Realm becomes, the more advantageous it is for him; however for now... being idle is still idle, right?

Qu Jianlei was deep in thought when the light around him dimmed, and a woman approached, carrying a bag.

He was hiding in a very secretive corner, and the woman, thinking no one was there, intended to relieve herself.

Seeing a sudden appearance of someone in front, the woman was scared and instinctively opened her mouth, about to scream.

Qu Jianlei swiftly moved, ghostly appearing beside the woman, covering her mouth with his hand, as fast as lightning.

He spoke softly, "Don't scream, or I'll kill you!"

The woman was instantly petrified, shivering all over, dropping the bag onto the deck.

Among these forty-eight people, there were more than one or two Awakened, and such a loud noise made five or six people immediately turn heads.

Qu Jianlei sighed inwardly, what the hell is all this!

But there was no choice; if he hadn't acted, the woman's scream would have drawn the attention of the starship's crew.

Seeing more and more eyes on him, he lightly snorted, "What are you looking at, never seen a stowaway?"

A snakehead frowned and spoke softly, "Alright, you can let her go now... she won't scream!"

"I'm moving to another spot!" Qu Jianlei frowned, released his hold on the woman's mouth, and headed to another corner.

The spot he was hiding in couldn't be stayed in—mainly because... the woman got so scared she wet herself.

Another snakehead stood up and spoke softly, "Friend, how many more people do you have?"

"Just me," Qu Jianlei replied indifferently, casting a glance at him, "What's up, do you want to check my backpack?"

This is not good news. Right now, without any legal protection, inspecting backpacks could mean something very bad.

"Friend, don't be so impulsive," another snakehead spoke up, "nobody wants trouble, right?"

The snakehead in front also raised his hands, "Don't get me wrong, we're just worried someone else hasn't come out and might get scared."

Snakeheads are the best at reading people's expressions; without this ability, they're not qualified for this job.

They know very well that in society, never provoke a lone traveler. How many lone travelers are simple?

And that move of covering the woman's mouth just now, no one would dare say they could do it.

"No one else," Qu Jianlei shook his head and walked behind a box, disappearing into the shadows.

His sudden appearance still affected the stowaways' mood; no one spoke in the cargo hold.

Five or six minutes passed before someone started whispering, but even half an hour later, the atmosphere still wasn't as lively as before.

"This is it..." Qu Jianlei muttered for the umpteenth time.

Feeling bored, he pulled out a Pioneer Terminal and absentmindedly swiped through it.

This terminal was seized from an A-level from the Cyan Blade Commerce Association, with the underlying logic reset and some entertaining mini-games.

Qu Jianlei wasn't very interested in games; he'd played too much before his travels. He was more interested in designing games.

But this was just a pastime, at least making him appear like a normal person.

In reality, his mind was still pondering, who the hell is framing me?

He exuded an air of aloofness that kept strangers at bay, so naturally, no one initiated a conversation with him.

But a day later, when the starship was about to enter warp, someone still approached him.

It was one of the only two B-levels among the stowaways, who spoke with a blank expression, "My friend, where's your Life Support Pod?"

"I knew it would be like this!" Qu Jianlei muttered in a low voice. Once exposed, various troubles would follow.

Then he unleashed a B-level aura, "I don't see the need to use a Life Support Pod!"

"Wind Attribute B-level?" The other person was slightly surprised, thinking he was just a Wind Attribute C-level.

Qu Jianlei posed as Wind Attribute mainly to avoid being matched with anyone's expectations.

And his swift moves made choosing Wind Attribute a way to avoid many explanations.

But this person was genuinely curious. A Wind Attribute B-level could live anywhere, so why stow away so discreetly?

Fortunately, he understood the taboos of social mingling and only gave Qu Jianlei a weird look before turning away.

As expected, Qu Jianlei's act of not preparing a Life Support Pod stirred unease among the stowaways and snakeheads.

Simply put, if he intended to rob everyone, the best time to strike would be when everyone was in their Life Support Pods.

In such a setting, no one would bet on his moral standing.

However, Qu Jianlei was truly helpless; he actually had a Life Support Pod...in his Storage Talisman!

But in this situation, exposing the Storage Talisman would mean figuring out how to quickly kill these forty-eight people to silence them.

Blame it on that woman... Couldn't you have picked another place to use the bathroom?

Two minutes later, that B-level warrior returned, "Friend, not even having a Life Support Pod... puts us in a tough spot."

Qu Jianlei frowned and spoke calmly, "Then just dispose of me; I'll try not to make any noise."

He didn't want to kill without cause, but self-defense posed no psychological burden.

What kind of talk is that? The B-level warrior wanted to scold him but, seeing Qu Jianlei's indifferent expression, ultimately didn't dare to escalate.

Then another snakehead came over, "Sir, by doing this, you're making things difficult for us. Even a B-level should have a Life Support Pod, right?"

Qu Jianlei shook his head, "I don't need one. A B-level needing a Life Support Pod... Are you sure you're B-level?"

"What do you mean by that?" The B-level wasn't pleased, "Are you picking a fight?"

"With you?" Qu Jianlei gave him a sidelong glance and shrugged indifferently, "You go ahead, I won't make a sound."

"Alright," the other B-level finally couldn't hold back—he's the man in the male-female pair.

"I don't need a Life Support Pod either; I'll keep an eye on this man for you. Does anyone have any more questions?"

This pair had barely spoken to each other, not a word to outsiders, since boarding the ship.

It could be confirmed that if Qu Jianlei hadn't made things so unpleasant, possibly affecting them, the man wouldn't have stepped in.

Him speaking out lent more credibility to his words for everyone.

Why wasn't anyone bothering him? Because after the starship set off, he willingly revealed himself.

Though he didn't have a Life Support Pod, his companion, a C-level warrior, was equipped with one.

In contrast, a single B-level who got caught was much more suspicious.

"Forget it," the provoking B-level waved his hand listlessly, "I won't use a Life Support Pod either, who's afraid of who."

This little storm resolved just like that; in the end, everyone was worried about causing bigger trouble.

However, the B-level's expression towards Qu Jianlei was truly one of gritted teeth.