The people from Titan were very courteous, "You can take these two damaged merchant ships, or you can leave them for a price reduction."

"We suggest you leave them, for the same reason you would leave a captive."

In Qu Jianlei's impression, starships should be very expensive, and armed merchant ships like these would be even more so.

Although these two are damaged, if they have repair value, they should be worth some money, right?

However, unfortunately, after a brief inspection, the people from Titan indicated that theoretically, they were only worth thirty million.

Among them, the main power system of the heavy merchant ship was completely destroyed, and the hull was also severely damaged.

It no longer has repair value, and only some parts can be used, reducing the price to only five million.

The other ship requires great repairs, which won't come cheap, with an estimated value of twenty-five million.

Of course, this is only a "theoretical" estimate, and the people from Titan were not firm on the price.

No way, the counterpart are "esteemed robbers," so naturally, the price could be negotiated. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

However, Qu Jianlei did not agree with their estimate.

"Even if that merchant ship isn't worth repairing, those weapon systems should still be worth a lot of money, so why were they only valued at five million?"

The people from Titan didn't expect that someone who came to rob would fuss over such a trivial matter.

If your demands for robbery are high, would you really care about this? Indeed, you are worthy of being esteemed robbers!

However, they had to respond, "Dismantling, transporting, and installing these weapon systems incurs significant costs."

The weapon systems are indeed valuable, but the associated costs are too high, making them a bit of a hassle.

In a society with abundant resources, patching up might be less economical than buying new ones.

Qu Jianlei felt that his thinking was a bit limited: Am I really ... addicted to picking up junk?

But he had no choice. He always stayed outside the mainstream society, so acquiring brand new weapon systems was indeed inconvenient.

So he simply stated, "In that case, I'll dismantle those weapon systems, and the rest will still count as thirty million, is that okay?"

Picking up junk is embarrassing, but his Gao Fang warship seriously lacks firepower, making it a dire need.

How others viewed him didn't matter.

The people from Titan weren't surprised by his words; having the means to obtain brand new weapon systems doesn't mean that others can do the same.

Moreover, even if there was a channel to acquire weapons, it would be wise to hide one's strength, not to mention they could also sell them to forces like the Star Thieves.

So, thirty million was settled, and then the robbery officially began.

When Qu Jianlei came with his plan, he intended to fill the warship with Energy Blocks, so he vacated quite a bit of space.

He also cleared out a lot from his Storage Ring and Storage Talisman.

Of course, to avoid being forced to wander again due to a failed robbery, he still carried a considerable amount of survival supplies.

So now, the entire company-level warship could barely hold thirty million Energy Blocks.

Adding the Storage Ring and such, fifty million was the absolute limit.

Considering that he also needed to dismantle some weapons and replenish some ammunition, which would take up quite a bit of space.

So, thirty million was indeed the upper limit, as the living space in a company-level warship is quite cramped, with extremely poor comfort.

Qu Jianlei was a bit troubled on how to offer a price, but Little Hu suggested, "Rob three million Energy Blocks, and the other three million in Silver Notes."

What they didn't expect was a more distressing turn of events.

Titan Group's total reserve of Energy Blocks on this asteroid was just over three million, less than four million.

For a mining company, such Energy Block reserves are not considered low, but for here, it's really not much.

Apart from mining and refining, Titan has fortresses and warships.

Considering the extremely harsh environment on the star body, it was necessary to ensure the staff's living conditions, which also required considerable energy.

Titan Group stated that they could first provide two million Energy Blocks, but they owed you one million.

As for the Silver Notes...it was also awkward; there were only just over one million Nameless Silver Notes.

This was a barren Mineral Star with no places to spend money, so having a moderate amount of Silver Notes was enough to deal with all sorts of situations.

The people from Titan said they could make a transfer, but Qu Jianlei was quite speechless... I want to make a transfer too, but unfortunately, I don't have the capability.

After all, it was these three armed merchant ships' fault.

This force had been entangled here for some time, consuming a lot of the defenders' Energy Blocks.

They had already reported the situation, and the Group was organizing a transport ship to come.

In any case, only this amount of reserve was left, and they must keep over ten million blocks for circulation.

"Esteemed robber, we really can't give any less; if we face another unforeseen threat, we wouldn't even be able to survive."

This was truly frustrating! Qu Jianlei was equally at a loss.

Finally, he made a decision, "Two and a half million blocks, no less, owing two million in Silver Notes and five hundred thousand Energy Blocks!"

"It's really not possible," the people from Titan pleaded bitterly, "What if someone else attacks..."

Qu Jianlei suspiciously asked, "You have captives in hand, what are you worried about?"

However, the other party confidently replied, "What if it's another force that comes?"

"You may not be aware, but recently, there have been some changes here, and the order is quite chaotic."

Qu Jianlei listened and was silent again; could it be because the Star Thief Lair was attacked?

A vibrant social organization encountering chaos, leading to the fragile social ecological balance being broken?

Considering my magnet for trouble... Forget it, I better not think about this.

He piloted the Gao Fang warship as it landed, "Let's transport twenty million blocks first, autopilot only, no one should come close!"

Truckloads of Energy Blocks were delivered, manipulated by Qu Jianlei using mechanical arms into the ship's hold.

When halfway through the delivery, people from Titan spoke again.

"If your side is willing to undertake protection duties, we can transport another five million blocks."

Qu Jianlei pondered a moment and replied, "Protection duty, do you think those guys collecting protection fees have fallen completely?"

The news from Titan Group was quite accessible; they indicated that those people were only facing temporary troubles, not necessarily down for good.

However, their perspective was quite keen, "Since there's already a power vacuum, it's only normal for someone to step in and fill it."

Qu Jianlei highly agreed with this view.

The gray area also holds power.

This area objectively exists and can't be forcibly erased; as someone disappears, naturally, someone rises to power.

However, he wasn't interested in collecting protection fees, "Forget protection; isn't robbery quicker?"

You're so... straightforward! The Titan people were left speechless by this retort.

But since the other party spoke so candidly, they too expressed their stance explicitly.

"Your Excellency, this robbery is just once; if there's a next time, the group will take targeted revenge."

Qu Jianlei understood, "Should be; robbing once is fine; who hasn't had inconvenient times?"

"If robbing becomes a habit, that would mean not taking Titan seriously."

Seeing he grasped the situation, Titan people further indicated, "Dismantling the weapon system requires some time, as well."

"How about we assist in dismantling, and your side ensures protection until the Energy Block transport ships arrive, isn't that fair?"

Qu Jianlei didn't think this was a good idea; can transport ships of Energy Blocks truly lack an escort capability?

The defensive forces on this star body were robust, and with escorting warships... are you trying to trap me?

His sense of security urged him to refuse this proposal.

Nonetheless, if he really did so, the other party could easily deduce: the warship had little powerful backing!

So he pondered again and asked, "When will the Energy Block starship arrive?"

The other party couldn't provide an exact answer, indicating approximately three to five days, a maximum of ten days.

Qu Jianlei answered without hesitation, "My side values time and will only wait here for three days."

"Within these three days, my side will be responsible for protecting you, and likewise, you must ensure the weapon dismantling is complete!"

If dismantling the weapon system himself, the warship's mechanical arm was truly inconvenient; staying home with that merchant ship was more suitable.

Now that the other side was willing to help, he even saved Energy Blocks during dismantling, so why not?

The key was to define the timeframe well, preventing them from sneaking around.

With such an exchange, he was willing to take some risks; after all, being Supreme, cannot be too timid.

Privately discussing among themselves, the Titan people agreed to his suggestion.

Then Qu Jianlei donned his Space Mecha and shot out from the launch bay, "Let me guide you on this work."

This was an agile Space Mecha, extremely vulnerable in the face of a battle fortress's heavy firepower.

However, the other party really didn't take action; instead, they also deployed a maintenance mecha to liaise over weapon dismantling.

Qu Jianlei had his own stance on weapon systems; after all, he was a professional at crafting components.

The maintenance master opposite didn't really grasp his logic, but it didn't matter, fulfilling whatever requests he made was his role.

Their communication and exchange lasted around an hour, then he flew back into the warship.

In fact, an hour can't resolve every issue, and the key to maintenance work is knowing how to respond adaptively.

The opposing maintenance master continued operations while maintaining communication.

Until at the darkest moment, the Gao Fang warship lifted off.

The Titan people were startled upon seeing this, hastily inquiring about what happened.

Qu Jianlei calmly indicated that since they accepted the protection task, naturally, they need to patrol the skies.

After the Gao Fang warship took off, besides patrolling, there was another crucial task — replenishing gas.

Using the vacuum door every time consumes gas, which must be continually replenished in space.

The gases here are both harmful and poisonous, but filtering them didn't cost much, certainly simpler than manufacturing gases.

The Titan Group people also noticed this aspect, but they weren't surprised.

However, they didn't know the one speaking with them was no longer in the warship but lurking on the star body.