The Star Thief fired, not because the passengers were resisting, but because someone unfortunately stood in the middle.

This is also a usual tactic of robbers, meant to serve as a warning—look carefully, we really dare to shoot.

Behind the C-level Warrior were several Modified Warriors.

Among the dozen Star Thieves boarding the starship, there were only two C-level Warriors, the rest were Modified Warriors and ordinary people.

But if you think that's all the combat power they have, you are gravely mistaken—there's still the Star Thief Battleship outside.

Anyway, this lineup is sufficient to plunder a cheap starship; B-level Warriors rarely fall to such a level of destitution.

Even if there are any B-level passengers, unless they want to die, they won't stubbornly fight against the Star Thieves, after all, this is space.

The Star Thieves boarding the ship were very skilled in their work, four rushed to the cockpit, while others blocked the cabin doors.

Next, it was a feast for the Star Thieves, knocking on doors one by one to ransack for money and valuables.

Upon learning that the Passenger Starship had been controlled, additional Star Thieves boarded, including a B-level Warrior this time.

However, their main target was the cargo hold—if lucky, the yield would be greater there.

The flight crew of the starship had given up all resistance, as for the lost goods? Let the insurance company worry about that.

While the Star Thieves were plundering money, a complex look flashed in Qu Jianlei's eyes, he perceived some information.

Apparently, this group of Star Thieves resorted to crime due to recent tight inspections leading to a shortage of supplies.

Otherwise, given the prosperity of the Celestial Hook Star Realm, even hidden Star Thieves rarely resort to robbery.

So... is it my fault again?

However, the captain's assessment wasn't wrong either; the Star Thieves wounded a few people during the heist but didn't seem intent on killing.

Yet, after all, they were a bunch of people with their lives on the line, engaging in inappropriate behavior with some female passengers was frequent.

Moreover, these Star Thieves didn't just rob cash and supplies; they... even forced bank transfers!

Most passengers had accounts linked to their wristwatches, which the Star Thieves would demand the passwords for and force transfers.

Qu Jianlei faced Star Thief robbery for the first time, and it surely was an eye-opener.

He even pondered what methods the Star Thieves might use to launder money after transferring funds.

Finally, it was the turn of his compartment, the details need not be elaborated.

Being a cripple, Qu Jianlei faced rough treatment from the Star Thieves, who had a particular disdain for disabled people.

His cash over a hundred bucks was snatched away, along with a simple terminal.

His wristwatch-linked account had just over three hundred—he had earned some money in the past months, but it had all been taken by creditors.

"Poor bastard!" one of the Star Thieves even kicked him, aiming at his turned-out left foot.

This rough manner reminded him of his days on the Garbage Star and Zarif Star.

Involuntarily, a murderous intent surged in his heart, but he managed to suppress it.

Having barely escaped from the Celestial Hook Star, he needed to cherish such an opportunity.

The destination of the cheap starship was the Yuanwang Star Realm, Tesla's hometown.

Qu Jianlei had no plans to stay in the Yuanwang Star Realm, and he certainly didn't want to play the filial son or virtuous grandson to anyone.

He planned to stowaway again the same day he got off the starship—as long as the control there wasn't stringent.

Then, it would be as the saying goes: the sky's the limit for birds, the sea's the stage for fish.

So for now, he'd swallow his anger, but he had already memorized the aura of the thug who kicked him.

Once convenient, I'll make you understand what Supreme Wrath means!

Yet the next moment, he noticed something strange, the woman with a dusty aura was fiddling with her wristwatch.

Soon after, the Big Head Butterfly appeared in his mind, "The woman's wristwatch is sending out information."

Wristwatches are somewhat like phones on Blue Star but not exactly.

During interstellar travel, regular wristwatches don't have permission to contact the outside world, but short-range mutual communication is possible.

Qu Jianlei had no expression on his face, but inwardly he responded silently, "Got it."

He hadn't expected that the woman with a dusty aura turned out to be an insider for the Star Thieves.

Earlier, when the Star Thieves didn't touch this woman, he had felt suspicious.

It wasn't that he enjoyed watching action scenes; rather, the woman's looks and figure matched the Imperial aesthetic and seemed easy to interact with.

Now the woman was sending a message, "That cripple has decent maintenance skills, suggest taking him."

Screw you! Qu Jianlei really wanted to curse: What did I do to you, relentlessly targeting a crippled person?

The Star Thieves reacted professionally, showed no response to the received information, and after plundering, moved to the next compartment.

They took almost three hours robbing all the passengers.

Before the Star Thieves withdrew, someone kicked open the compartment door roughly, pointed at Qu Jianlei, "You, come with us!"

Three hours were enough for Qu Jianlei to seriously consider his options.

With a blank expression, he slung his backpack over his shoulder, stood up with his crutch, and walked towards the compartment door without saying a word.

The speaking Star Thief seemed puzzled, actually asking him, "Aren't you going to ask me what I want you to do?"

He originally planned to teach him a lesson, make him understand his situation, and then roughly take him away.

But since the other person was so tactful, he couldn't be bothered to use force, after all, he was a rare technical talent.

Qu Jianlei responded expressionlessly, "I don't want to get beaten, so I'll just be obedient."

The Star Thief saw how cooperative this guy was and had no further intention of using force.

He snorted coldly, "We asked the captain, your maintenance skills are very high, in the future, join us, and you'll enjoy the best life."

No need to ask the captain! Qu Jianlei nodded slightly, still with no expression on his face, "Okay."

He leaned on his cane and limped onto the bridge with the Star Thieves, entering the Star Thief battleship.

Once inside, he behaved very obediently, standing quietly in the corner of the hall.

In fact, he was secretly talking with Xiaohu, "So, can this warship be operated alone?"

"No big deal," Big Head Butterfly slowly turned, "It's not a warship, just an armed merchant ship, there's room for performance improvement."

"Why improve it?" Qu Jianlei was somewhat surprised, but ultimately said, "Let's consider it later."

Xiaohu was a bit excited, "When do we kill and seize the ship?"

Qu Jianlei had no psychological pressure against killing Star Thieves, but he had an overall plan.

"I plan to check out their lair first, hopefully, I'll get bigger rewards."

"That's a good idea," Big Head Butterfly's speed increased, obviously more excited, "Pirate treasure... I like it."

"If there really was treasure, why be a Star Thief," Qu Jianlei disagreed, "As long as the rewards aren't too bad."

Just then, a B-level Star Thief came over and was stunned to see him, "What's this guy's deal, a hostage?" 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Whether in the outskirts or the Prosperous Star Realm, hostage-taking is one of the main businesses of Star Thieves.

But a valuable hostage appearing among the passengers of a cheap starship seemed a bit strange.

"Liu Ge, not a hostage," said a knowledgeable Star Thief, explaining the situation.

After hearing that, Liu Ge nodded slightly, "That's good, our team is growing stronger."

Then he reached out and patted Qu Jianlei's shoulder, "From now on, we're family, rest assured... we won't treat you badly."

Qu Jianlei nodded slightly, not answering, seeming a bit awkward.

Liu Ge said nothing more, after all, just a Maintenance Master, a talent, but that's about it.

However, since he joined, the Star Thieves' attitude towards Qu Jianlei became more enthusiastic.

First, they sent someone to verify Qu Jianlei's identity.

This was a necessity; even the government would verify identity for jobs, but for the high-risk profession of a Star Thief, identity verification was also strict.

However, on this point, there couldn't be any issues. Tesla's identity was not only real but also had a small infamy.

Of course, just a gambling-addicted Modified Warrior, his fame wasn't great, but he had many creditors.

Those lending forces, even if not entirely dark, were at least gray, possibly semi-gray and semi-white.

Such forces being connected to Star Thieves was quite normal.

Tesla's identity was quickly verified, and then he was placed in a four-person room.

The person who took him to the room was a C-level Warrior and solemnly warned the other three in the room.

"Don't bully him because he's disabled, he's a maintenance expert. You might need his help in the future."

The three men laughed and agreed, and indeed, they didn't bully Qu Jianlei much thereafter.

But expecting them to fawn over him, that was impossible.

A Maintenance Master's role is big, but it's not like the Star Thieves lacked Maintenance Masters.

For a group of life-risking people, technical talents were valuable, but the most valued were those with the biggest fists.

This time, the Star Thief battleship deployed for looting had three ships in total, and after half a day, the three ships connected and began transition.

Qu Jianlei dutifully crawled into the Life Support Pod, but... what the hell was that smell?

Sweat, foot odor, body odor, and a mix of smells... these Star Thieves' hygiene standards were seriously lacking!

Thankfully, he only had to endure for a bit over an hour before he received a prompt that he could exit the pod.

The transition time wasn't proportional to the distance, but clearly, they hadn't gone far for just over an hour.

Qu Jianlei preferred to believe the Star Thieves wanted to hide their lair's location.

Xiaohu quickly identified the nearby Star Map, "This is... the asteroid belt of Celestial Blade Star!"

Celestial Blade Star was also developed relatively late in the Celestial Hook Star Realm, similar to Celestial Handle Star, later than Celestial Hook, Celestial Blade, and Celestial Sharp.

This planet was known for its strong industry, mainly because there were many Mineral Stars nearby.

Especially the asteroid belt around Celestial Blade Star, where mineral resources were extremely abundant.

Not only were there many rare minerals, but some asteroids themselves were high-purity mines.

The natural environment of these asteroids was exceptionally harsh, with most lacking an atmosphere, few even had water.

Yet, despite this, it couldn't stop capitalists' desire to mine the ores!