Encountering a curious kid, Qu Jianlei's reaction was to fire a shot directly.

The method was a bit simplistic and brutal, but it was definitely effective—Get lost, is this something you can look at?

When he did this, Qu Jianlei also felt a bit helpless, but did he have another choice?

The opposing starship was indeed scared, "Firing from so far away, are you nuts?"

That's what they said, but they absolutely didn't dare to get any closer, while quickly escaping and sending out an active scan.

Long-distance active scanning is also a fairly obvious hostile act in interstellar navigation.

"Really is a bunch of meddlesome guys," Qu Jianlei snorted with anger and fired another shot.

The previous hesitation vanished along with the opponent's probing; you really can't be polite to this kind of person.

The opponent fled even further, yet didn't leave, just tailing him from a distance.

When Qu Jianlei turned to confront them, they would start to flee again, also not returning fire.

This is purely infuriating! Qu Jianlei finally understood.

This kind of person... how to say it? He had seen them a few times on Blue Star, all while driving.

It doesn't exactly count as road rage, more like they feel you didn't yield and just harass you all the way.

Back then, his status was very sensitive, and those who provoked him eventually regretted it.

In this situation, according to his personality, he'd really like to educate them a bit.

However, his starship wasn't fast enough, and he was carrying a large haul of loot, so getting entangled with them was not worthwhile.

So he instructed Qinghu, "If they get within four hundred thousand kilometers, fire again."

The other side really wasn't just meddlesome; once they closed in and found him firing, they would move away, then close in again.

After a few rounds, the opponent figured out the four hundred thousand kilometer limit and started flitting back and forth.

Qu Jianlei felt a sense of powerlessness again, "Damn it, I definitely need to upgrade the propulsion system."

Qinghu suggested, "Boss, they might be trying to wear down our ammunition."

"Let them get closer," Qu Jianlei snorted coldly, "If it dares enter three hundred thousand kilometers, launch decoy missiles."

Calamity doesn't come without a reason; if you go looking for death, you can't blame him for being ruthless.

Qinghu stopped firing, and the opposing starship indeed came closer and closer.

Qu Jianlei wasn't concerned, as the lights on his merchant ship were almost completely off.

If the other side wanted to see the exterior clearly, they'd at least need to get within two hundred thousand kilometers.

However, perhaps the opponent realized something; they approached to about three hundred thousand kilometers but didn't get any closer.

This guy truly was infuriating; later on, it maintained a distance of three hundred fifty thousand kilometers, constantly trailing them.

Seeing this, Qu Jianlei actually got interested, "Got plenty of time, huh? Then let's play a bit."

"Qinghu, speed up and slow down, see if they can afford to burn Energy Blocks like we can."

Moving at a constant speed doesn't consume much Energy Blocks, but varying the speed does cost a lot.

The opponent clung onto them like glue, for three days and nights.

In the end, whether it was because they couldn't afford the Energy Blocks, or couldn't waste anymore time, at some point, they finally left.

Luckily they did leave; if they kept this up, Qu Jianlei would've considered luring them to the Iron Shavings Star Body.

Titan isn't exactly family, but they are wealthy, and large in size, he could take the chance to sell all this junk.

But since they left, he definitely needed to fix these starships before selling.

After another three days, Qu Jianlei finally returned to his base.

This time upon returning, the first thing he did was arrange for the analysis of the merchant ship's propulsion system, clearly quite upset.

After arranging for the analysis, he started making new adjustments to the Spirit Gathering Array.

The adjustments went quite smoothly this time; after eight days, he finally found a satisfactory ratio.

With one day of cultivation, Energy Block consumption dropped dramatically from around thirty thousand to below ten thousand.

However, after three days of cultivation, Qu Jianlei discovered a new issue.

The Energy Block consumption had decreased, but the amount of Spiritual Qi—alien energy, it could provide seemed to have a capped limit.

To test this theory, he used different combinations to analyze if it was an anomaly caused by savings.

Turns out, it really wasn't about savings; even with the original setup, the Spiritual Qi limit remained restricted.

So it seemed to be an issue with the array he referenced, no wonder it's called "Simplified Qi Gathering Array".

Realizing this, Qu Jianlei couldn't help but sigh again, "More work to do."

Currently, the Spirit Gathering Array was enough for his cultivation, but the upgrade was imperative.

Then he went to find Qinghu, only to discover that not only was the calculation unit installed, but the weapon system was also completed.

These two systems were both installed on the battered merchant ship.

Qu Jianlei asked curiously, "Why use 8384 instead of 3344?"

In his plan, the high copy of 3344 was the main ship.

Mostly because 3344's combat power was strong, and its performance was excellent. If it had been used on the last mission, there would have been no speed disadvantage.

It's a pity that the recognition of high-fidelity warships is too high, making it easy for people to link it to a certain Ice Attribute Supreme.

Xiao Hu replied, "The fifty million computing units are reserved for it. Can we pick it up now?"

The main issue is that we wasted too much time on the way back. Even if it hasn't arrived, ten days will be enough if we go now. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"No rush," Qu Jianlei responded in a deep voice, then asked, "The propulsion system modification..."

"It's been analyzed," Xiao Hu replied proudly, "The computing unit is really handy, and I've listed all the materials."

Material list... Upon hearing that, Qu Jianlei felt a headache coming on, "Do we have to handcraft them?"

"The handcrafted version is truly regal," Xiao Hu replied casually but noticed the boss's displeasure, so he explained further.

"Handcrafting means customized matching, and the speed can be increased by ten to fifteen percent."

"This... Sigh," Qu Jianlei sighed helplessly. It seemed he was on an irreversible path of handcrafting parts.

"How many starships have been repaired?"

It's not that he wanted to exploit Xiao Hu; this guy multitasked daily and didn't need rest. Isn't idleness a waste?

"Not a single one," Xiao Hu replied pitifully, "The big one didn't make it in time, and the small one... lacks materials."

Upon hearing this, Qu Jianlei frowned, "Can't you dismantle one?"

Xiao Hu replied, "The Strong Attack model's materials are different from the Assault model's. We need to dismantle two."

"Start by dismantling a Strong Attack one," Qu Jianlei stated firmly, "After repairing two Strong Attack models, we'll head to Lanyun."

In the coming time, he cultivated while perfecting the Concealing Array.

Finally, on the tenth day, he completed a rough construction of the Concealing Array and immediately set one up in the mine.

Then he used his perception to check, and, to be fair, the effect was pretty good.

Even an A-level Awakened would find it hard to discover the vacuum gate behind the Concealing Array unless they were purposefully perceiving it.

"There's still room for improvement, but that requires innovation. The energy consumption is a bit high too."

The high energy consumption isn't that big of an issue. There's no need for a constant open state for the Concealing Array; just open it when needed.

However... why do all my array designs consume so much energy? Qu Jianlei couldn't quite understand.

But on second thought, solving the issue of existence comes first.

Energy-saving and emission-reduction can be gradually improved.

But this enhancement... posed a problem, making Qu Jianlei think of Qinghu Supreme.

He had promised to share research results on the Concealing Array with them, but now he could only temporarily break that promise.

Recalling these past events, Qu Jianlei couldn't help but feel a twinge of emotion; he really felt quite innocent.

He wondered if Qinghu Supreme had any updates on the Concealing Array.

However, it didn't matter if they didn't. It would be nice to have a reference, but development wouldn't stop without it.

Qu Jianlei collected his thoughts and went to check Xiao Hu's progress.

The Big Head Butterfly had already repaired one attack ship, and the second was nearing completion.

It eagerly suggested, "Shall we take the attack ship out for a spin?"

This is space; where would the wind come from? Qu Jianlei rolled his eyes speechlessly.

But Xiao Hu rarely had such interests, and since he had never piloted a small attack ship, it might be nice to relax.

This thing's speed is faster than large starships, although it doesn't have a jump system, its conventional speed is astonishing.

However, safety must be emphasized, "The attack ship's early warning system isn't as good as a starship's, right?"

This is his main base, built with immense time and resources.

If those sharp-eyed starships discovered it, it would be a big problem.

Xiao Hu had an idea, "We could activate the armed merchant ship's long-range detection. Its perception range is extensive."

Upon hearing this, Qu Jianlei rolled his eyes, "Activating detection here? Are you just hoping someone finds our doorstep?"

Hearing this, Xiao Hu was dumbfounded, "Then what should we do?"

Qu Jianlei shook his head, "Never mind, I'll just bring more Energy Blocks."

The advantages and disadvantages of a small attack ship are equally apparent, and one major downside is its short range.

As long as Energy Blocks are sufficiently supplied, it won't be difficult to shake off large starships, and there's no worry about not having enough energy for the return trip.

After their discussion, Qu Jianlei piloted the small attack ship, traveling over two million kilometers.

Just as they were about to return, the attack ship detected intense energy fluctuations over five hundred thousand kilometers away.

Xiao Hu was a bit eager, "This attack ship has decent invisibility ability. Should we take a look?"

Qu Jianlei waved his hand, "Don't become the person you dislike. Let's head back quietly."

Xiao Hu reluctantly turned back but couldn't help muttering under its breath, "I also feel it's a bit close to home."

Qu Jianlei pondered and asked, "How about we set up some miniature detectors around the vicinity?"

"No need," Xiao Hu couldn't help but refute, "With how barren it is, do you really plan to stay long?"

Pausing for a moment, it added in a low voice, "Boss, you never stay long anywhere. There's no need to waste money."

Qu Jianlei's face turned black, "I've decided, once we repair that large armed merchant ship, we'll head to Lanyun!"