Yuanyuan absentmindedly took stock of the equipment, then dragged Qu Jianlei to the kitchen.

"Hurry up and cook, old Kate, you and your spouse are in for a treat today!"

With her being so casually familiar, Qu Jianlei could only shake his head and smile helplessly.

To be honest, this little one has a unique charm that easily puts others at ease with her.

Given Qu Jianlei's sense of security, it was almost impossible for him to cultivate with someone he hadn't known for long.

On the way back, he was still pondering carefully on how to be cautious of her.

You should know, even just the Qi Gathering Array is enough to make a Supreme try to seize it, and Yuanyuan's background is quite impressive too.

However, after meeting Yuanyuan, all his precautions flew out the window—how could someone so adorably silly be harmful?

Of course, staying guarded is still necessary, but there's no need to be overly concerned.

Next, he started cooking, while Yuanyuan repeatedly emphasized that the dishes should be lightly flavored.

"...If you want something heavy in flavor, separate our three portions first, then add seasoning to yours."

Unfortunately, after tasting her dish and then trying Qu Jianlei's heavily flavored one, she decisively decided.

"Our food should go back in the pot... Strange, it doesn't taste heavy, yet it's not delicious."

Old Kate and his wife, being Modified Warriors, could only eat a few dishes, but they nodded repeatedly while eating.

After dinner, Qu Jianlei tidied up a room to quietly meditate and replenish Qi.

At dawn the next day, old Kate and his wife bid farewell and left.

Qu Jianlei wasn't in a hurry to set up the Qi Gathering Array but started researching the defense system of the entire Half-Star Island.

This place was once a military research institute, and its original defenses were decent.

Unfortunately, due to long-term disrepair, many devices and facilities have become old and damaged.

Afterward, even though appropriate repairs were made when the ownership changed hands, it wasn't as good as before.

The main issue is the significant reduction in surveillance and failure to fix some damaged defenses timely.

According to the elderly couple guarding the place yesterday, the security here is fairly decent.

Sometimes, when there are people with bad intentions, they are quickly detected. All along, no particularly professional Awakened has been snooping around.

However, for Qu Jianlei, he needs to guard against professionals; these defenses and alert devices are far from sufficient.

Over the next ten days or so, he made numerous improvements to the entire defense system of Half-Star Island.

The cost of these modifications naturally fell to Yuanyuan. After all, this is her family's property, right?

Clearly sorting things out with close friends is always a good idea for everyone.

Yuanyuan, besides paying, was also responsible for purchasing materials.

There aren't many shops by Lonely Leaf Lake, and numerous materials are relatively rare, requiring a trip to Celestial Heart City to purchase.

The little one made several trips, feeling slightly disgruntled, but Qu Jianlei remarked, "How about you do the work, and I go buy the stuff?"

How could she manage that? So, she could only obediently run errands.

After running for a few days, she contemplated cutting corners by getting a brotherhood junior to help with the purchase.

Qu Jianlei chuckled helplessly and asked her, "Do you want them to know you're in seclusion here?"

This is truly why this one is adorably silly—it really was the case.

After being told this by him, Yuanyuan finally corrected her attitude and earnestly ran errands for the purchases.

By the twelfth day, the defense system was relatively transformed.

With such a large place, it's impossible to cover everything, but all the gaps have been filled, and more monitoring and alarm devices have been added.

Even with such upgrades, after ten days or so, Qu Jianlei was half dead with exhaustion.

This is with the help of the small lake, with all procedures organized neatly, coupled with his strong physique; otherwise, it would take a month to finish.

However, the defense of Half-Star Island hadn't improved significantly.

Qu Jianlei already had a plan to set up a defense array inside the original defense array.

The newly established defense array wasn't small, covering nearly a thousand square meters, just enough to protect a building thoroughly.

In fact, there's a third layer of defense array.

Within this thousand square meters, Qu Jianlei set up two more small defense arrays, each covering about a hundred square meters.

He would use one, and Yuanyuan could use the other.

For anyone outside to affect their cultivation, they'd have to break through three levels of defense arrays continuously to succeed.

With this time for buffering, it was enough for him to take appropriate measures without worrying about being disturbed.

Seeing Qu Jianlei's arrangements, Yuanyuan couldn't help but remark.

"This isn't just cautious; you're basically afraid of dying... What's frustrating is that you actually don't trust me!"

The innermost layer is a personal defense array for each, and it's obvious whom this guy was guarding against without guessing.

Qu Jianlei responded seriously, "You're overthinking, men and women are different... It's not suitable for us to cultivate in the same defense array for a long time!"

Yuanyuan squinted at him, thought for a moment, then nodded, "Indeed, breaking through would make one susceptible to interference..."

"I'm a bit curious, which of us do you think will advance first?"

Qu Jianlei blinked and solemnly responded, "Don't compare, maintaining this mindset will affect your chances of advancement."

"Tch, always preaching," Yuanyuan pouted sulkily and muttered under her breath.

Next is setting up the Qi Gathering Array. Although it's Qu Jianlei's first time, he's simulated it many times before.

It only took him half a day to install the Qi Gathering Array perfectly, and then another half day to make various fine adjustments.

That night, the Qi Gathering Array was activated, and Qu Jianlei could distinctly feel the strong energy filling the air.

This energy, converted from Energy Blocks, was much more gentle than Crystals, not as violent.

Compared to the energy from the Celestial Hook Enigma Mansion, there was some difference, but it could be easily converted into various elements.

Qu Jianlei greedily absorbed the energy in the air, and within two minutes, he actually felt a bit dizzy.

Is this "Drunken Energy"? He stopped absorbing and looked at the little one nearby, "How do you feel?"

Yuanyuan nodded, confidently answering, "This is exactly how an A-level Cultivation Room feels!"

"But the effect here... seems even better."

"Isn't that normal?" Qu Jianlei replied with some pride, "I meticulously made adjustments."

Neither of them expected there was a misunderstanding here.

Yuanyuan noticed a problem, "You haven't been in a Cultivation Room before?"

Qu Jianlei looked at her helplessly, "Do you think my relationship with the Military is good?"

Yuanyuan blinked, growing more curious, "How come you're not yet 40 and managed to cultivate to A-level peak?"

"Of course, it's Crystals," Qu Jianlei replied forthrightly, "Otherwise, I'd barely reach B-level."

"You gotta be really rich?" The little one widened her mouth in astonishment.

This doesn't mean she's that poor; it's just that the energy within Crystals is too violent, and cultivation requires controlling the pace.

If absorbed too frequently, it can harm the body, and if not treated in time, it can damage the foundation over time.

Moreover, the quota for Awakeners' Crystals is limited, and to absorb in excess, one has to buy them at a high price.

High-priced Crystals plus huge healing costs can achieve such an effect.

"Talking about it is all tears," Qu Jianlei sighed, "I feel so poor now."

"Tsk," Yuanyuan dismissed it, then realized a problem.

"You said your relationship with the Military is not good, but this Qi Gathering Array..."

The Qi Gathering Array has always been controlled by the Military, a truly terrifying thought.

Qu Jianlei glanced at her helplessly, "Assuming my relationship was good, do you think I could have reasonably obtained the Qi Gathering Array?"

"It's really possible..." Yuanyuan instinctively retorted, the Military can do a lot of tricks.

However, she closed her mouth the next moment, thinking, how bold does one have to be to dare to trade within the Military's monopoly system?

Qu Jianlei shook his head helplessly, this little one... really is adorably stupid.

"Alright, next we need to test the Qi Gathering Array's consumption."

The previous effect was too good, so he decided to lower the output slightly.

Testing lasted for almost ten hours, and various output indicators were measured.

From feeling the Qi Gathering effect distinctly to the "Drunken Energy" level, it's roughly 40,000 to 60,000 Energy Blocks a day.

In Qu Jianlei's mind, combined with the analysis from Lonely Leaf Lake, to break through to Supreme, he must reach "Drunken Energy" level.

Any less, while beneficial for A-level Cultivation Level improvement, makes the breakthrough difficult.

As for the dizziness, Yuanyuan thought it was no big deal and could be controlled through personal adjustments.

After the analysis, Qu Jianlei was stunned by the massive energy demand.

Training like this for a year would require spending at least 20 million Energy Blocks!

And right now, he has just over 20 million in Silver Notes.

How long to break through to Supreme? It's uncertain; generally speaking, the fastest is two months, the slowest two to three years.

Yuanyuan also realized, "No way, an A-level Cultivation Room's daily rent is only 3,000 to 5,000."

"Maybe it's energy leakage," Qu Jianlei didn't mind; his Defense Array also consumed Energy Blocks extravagantly.

Is it the same energy consumption when many people cultivate compared to just two?

Although he doesn't have much money, problems solvable by money aren't really problems.

"Need to exchange Silver Notes for Energy Blocks, rest for two days, then formally start... You can assume 3,000 a day."

He felt his consumption was the bulk, for the little one, just a symbolic fee seemed fine.

Yuanyuan secretly smirked, thinking he underestimated her.

Yet there's no choice; she isn't as extravagant as him, although not lacking money, she only has two to three million.

Qu Jianlei decided to first exchange a million in Energy Blocks. He felt this was about right; he could add more if needed.

But exchanging such a vast amount of Energy Blocks could easily attract attention, so they had to do it separately.

Just the exchange and transport took the two of them two whole days.

Finally, all was ready, and on the second day of their rest, a visitor arrived.

After the visitor rang the doorbell, they didn't wait and instead directly jumped over the gate and fence.

"Hmm?" Qu Jianlei frowned, "Yuanyuan, if there's a murder, can you handle it?"

The main thing is, now everything is ready, he really doesn't want to change locations again.

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