Glacier Planet welcomed its “summer.” The ice sheet near the equator where the spaceship had been docked cracked and melted into water, and after finishing her temporary rest, Cheng Weilu piloted the spaceship away.
Li Xu looked at the glowing orange star outside the porthole, as well as the blue water and ice ridges, and could not help asking curiously, “Where exactly is this planet located?”
Cheng Weilu was lying lazily, her eyes never leaving the e-book. “This is my secret base. I’m not telling you.”
Li Xu chuckled and walked over to the table in the living room. “Then you can at least tell me our itinerary from here, right?”
Cheng Weilu closed the projection and sat up straight at the table. She had been taking it easy for seven days, but now they really had to face the practical problem at hand: how to reach the Freedom Corridor under their current circumstances.
The Freedom Corridor was an independent political entity only one-fiftieth the size of the Alliance. Its star systems were distributed in a long, narrow strip, hence its name. This region had actually split away from the Alliance one or two hundred years ago.
The Alliance’s territory was simply too vast, and the levels of development between its star systems and planets varied enormously. For a long time, only the star systems in the central region received the Alliance’s attention. The peripheral star systems on the outer edges were relatively underdeveloped, and at first, they did not even have military fortresses stationed there.
However, the dense population and rapid development of the central region required the constant infusion of various resources from the peripheral star systems. Thus, the Alliance established a vast network of jump points to ensure the smooth flow of this “lifeline.”
This fragmented and unbalanced development model eventually led to the appearance of interstellar pirates in the exploited peripheral regions, where they made a living by plundering passing spaceships.
The Freedom Corridor lay on the outskirts of several star systems in the Alliance’s central region and maintained close ties with the Alliance. As a buffer zone, it could not only resist the large number of interstellar pirates emerging from the peripheral star systems, but its free and open policies also attracted all kinds of people who had left the Alliance.
The Freedom Corridor was highly advanced in terms of economic and technological development, but its military strength was extremely weak. This was also one of the reasons the Alliance had always allowed it to exist instead of annexing it.
As an independent power, the Freedom Corridor also served as a balancing force among the several opposing factions within the Alliance, allowing the entire situation to maintain a peculiar stability.
Cheng Weilu was a free citizen of the Freedom Corridor. As a salvager, she could use almost all of the Alliance’s civilian jump points. The problem now was that after causing trouble at Gray Dove Base, this privilege might no longer be available to her.
After leaving the G103 jump point, there was still a long distance to travel before they could leave Alliance territory. If she could no longer use civilian jump points, her journey home would probably take forever.
Cheng Weilu had not been idle these past few days, either. She had logged onto the salvager forum and discovered that, surprisingly, her account had not been deactivated. It was merely frozen for the time being, preventing her from accepting any more jobs. Every day, she also searched the forum, but so far, she had not seen any wanted notice for her issued by the Alliance military. To be safe, however, she did not touch her account without authorization.
Strangely, though, nearly half a month had passed, yet Cheng Weilu still had not received a reply from her friend. She looked at the dimmed red little witch avatar in her contact list and sent her a message for the third time: “Qiqi, it’s A Luo. I’m heading to the Freedom Corridor. Please reply to confirm you’re safe.”
Recalling what Li Xu had done at Gray Dove Base that day, Cheng Weilu asked, “Just how familiar are you with the military? And how much does the military know about you? When we escaped from Gray Dove Base that day, would they be able to identify who you were?”
“I’m very familiar with the military. As for how much the military knows about me…” Li Xu paused. “I modified the base’s system. The data showing that we left the base won’t be recorded, and they probably don’t know who was actually ‘killed’ when the fighter jet was destroyed.”
Cheng Weilu understood. In other words, he had never shown himself from beginning to end.
Now Cheng Weilu understood why she had not seen a wanted notice for herself. “So Arvid thinks I was the one who sabotaged his base from beginning to end.”
“Possibly.” Li Xu did not deny it. His expression remained unchanged as he looked at her. “What do you want to say?”
She could no longer use her identity to pass through the Alliance’s jump points. As far as the military was concerned, her identity was in a state of suspected death. Passing through a jump point would leave an identity record, and once the military discovered it, they would definitely arrest her.
She really had not seen it coming before. This guy was seriously a bastard, using her to the fullest extent.
Cheng Weilu moved her lips. “Nothing. I’m cursing you in my head.”
“If you’re cursing me in your head, don’t say it out loud.”
“…”
But whether he was the mastermind or an accomplice, it made little difference to her. What had happened was already set in stone. What mattered was solving the problem in front of them. Now, they could only take unofficial routes, keep a low profile without being discovered, safely leave Alliance territory, and return to Freedom City.
Cheng Weilu lifted the access restrictions she had placed on Li Xu’s Star Network and star map, then had Xiao Wei project the star map.
“Our only option now is an unofficial route. We’ll have to take three segments.” Cheng Weilu had Xiao Wei enlarge the star map. In the holographic image, two small white dots and one slightly larger blue dot were connected by three segments of a broken line.
“First, we’ll head to the Star Banner Route. There are some small built-in jump points along the way. They’re a little more expensive, but relatively safe.”
“Then we’ll pass through Sevi Base. Commercial spaceships travel along this route, and they carry some defensive equipment of their own. We can follow behind them.”
“The final segment is Nianchuan Fortress. This is the last step before leaving the Alliance and entering the Freedom Corridor, and it’s also the most difficult. Supposedly, this fortress is where the Alliance military’s current supreme commander is stationed. We’ll have to secretly bypass it without being discovered.”
As Cheng Weilu focused on explaining the route, Li Xu listened quietly. But when she reached the final route, his expression changed slightly before returning to normal without a trace.
“That Nianchuan… Fortress. Why is it called that?” Li Xu asked. “And who is the commander?”
“I don’t know.” Cheng Weilu shook her head. “I know very little about the Alliance. But someone I know once told me that the commander is a female general who is strict in military discipline and has an excellent character. If we’re really unlucky enough to run into her, it should still be better than running into Arvid, right?”
Still, Nianchuan was indeed somewhat strange compared with other fortresses, such as “Aegis,” “Windwing,” and “Dawn’s Light.” It sounded like a person’s name, perhaps commemorating someone.
Remembering that Li Xu was also a member of the military, Cheng Weilu asked, “Who was the military’s supreme commander fifty years ago? Could it be her?”
Li Xu was silent for a moment before saying only, “It wasn’t her.”
…
Unofficial routes presented two problems. First, they were long and required multiple replenishments of supplies. Second, there was a risk of encountering interstellar pirates.
It had been nearly a month since Cheng Weilu left Freedom City, and their energy reserves were almost depleted. Before entering the Star Banner Route, they had to replenish their supply.
She also planned to equip the spaceship with some usable defensive weapons. If they really encountered interstellar pirates, they could at least hold them off for a while and take the opportunity to escape.
Cheng Weilu did not know much about weapons and equipment, but that was all right because she had Li Xu. Now that they were in the same boat, with their lives at stake, they had to take it seriously.
The spaceship landed on a small planet called Alto, the closest supply point calculated by Xiao Wei before entering the route.
Alto was an artificially modified planet. Its atmospheric environment, temperature, and gravity were all highly suitable for survival. Although there was no star nearby, humans who were good at defying the laws of nature had forcibly built an artificial sun for it, giving the planet its own cycle of dawn and dusk.
The reason for its modification was its location. Before entering the Star Banner Route, all spaceships had to replenish their supplies, making this an ideal stopping point and consequently creating business opportunities. Those who modified it ultimately created the present-day Alto City.
The spaceship was parked at the aerial port. Cheng Weilu and Li Xu wandered around the city, riding an unmanned vehicle as it flew between enormous buildings that towered into the clouds. It was daytime, but the city’s neon lights never went out. Various holographic advertisements were projected outside the buildings, while all kinds of small passenger aircraft flew through the sky.
The unmanned vehicle’s autonomous driving mode took them into a massive building. This was an officially designated shopping center in Alto City. Its name was extremely over-the-top: Heavenreach Tower, implying that the building was so tall it nearly touched the heavens.
The most essential energy supplies were located on the bottom ten floors. The ten floors above those contained various small weapons and defense systems officially permitted for purchase. The next ten floors sold all kinds of food and daily necessities. Another ten floors above those were entertainment spaces, offering everything from holographic games to live human services. Anything above that required a certain level of authorization to enter.
The two entered the lobby. Cheng Weilu swiped through the holographic guide and discovered that roughly the upper half of the building consisted of restricted-access areas, which presumably had something to do with certain transactions that could not be made public. She first needed to purchase the access code for the self-service energy replenishment.
Although there were people everywhere in the building, all purchases could be completed through self-service. Unless necessary, the sales staff would not approach customers without permission. Cheng Weilu liked that very much.
Li Xu accompanied Cheng Weilu as they walked around the bottom six floors. She bought a sufficient supply of energy, then, under Li Xu’s scrutinizing and disdainful gaze, bought some very expensive spaceship defensive shields, small turrets, and energy rounds.
Having been born in a peaceful era and knowing almost nothing about military weapons, Cheng Weilu watched a demonstration of the equipment in the store and asked Li Xu somewhat incredulously, “Can this thing really be installed on my spaceship? Is it actually legal?”
“Are interstellar pirates acting legally when they rob you?” Li Xu asked.
Cheng Weilu obediently shut her mouth and paid.
But the weapons and equipment were really expensive. She had upgraded her system many times and stocked up on energy before, but she had never suffered such a massive financial blow all at once.
After buying some daily necessities in the household shopping area, Li Xu also bought a pile of clothes, shoes, and accessories. Cheng Weilu herself basically had only two or three outfits and a spacesuit to rotate between. Those clothes had been made by Robert out of personal interest, and she had paid him for them.
Robert was already no longer charging Li Xu for the several sets of clothes he had made for him. Yet he was buying more. They spent most of their time aboard the spaceship while traveling, so Cheng Weilu had no idea who he was planning to wear all these clothes for.
Of course, it was all Cheng Weilu’s money.
Li Xu looked at her pained expression. “Put it on my tab.”
What kind of domineering CEO nonsense was that? Put it on your tab? You’re not even registered for an account yet, Cheng Weilu thought, moving her lips again.
The purchased goods would all be delivered to the aerial port within two hours, after which the equipment would be installed. The two still had some free time. Cheng Weilu looked around. Considering that Li Xu had been in hibernation for fifty years, he would probably be curious about city life, so she asked whether he wanted to look around some more.
The two spent some time in the rest area of the atrium and ordered tea. They had barely sat down when the lobby began playing an energetic and cheerful promotional advertisement. A man appeared on the huge holographic projection in the center of the lobby, singing and dancing to the rhythm of the music.
Li Xu froze with his tea halfway to his lips. Looking at the man in the projection, he asked, “Who is that?”
Cheng Weilu looked up. He was a black-eyed, black-haired man of pure Eastern descent. From her perspective, he looked to be in his early thirties, roughly equivalent to a human from Earth. He wore a flamboyant smile, with a hint of playfulness in his eyes. His hair was slicked back until it gleamed, clearly dedicated to showcasing the charm of a mature man. He was dressed quite boldly, with a large portion of his chest exposed in the projected holographic image. He was probably quite proud of his pectoral muscles.
Cheng Weilu flipped through the information about the planet Alto that her friend had previously given her. After scanning it and comparing the results, she said, “The actual controller behind Alto City seems to… be called Alto, or perhaps he’s referred to as the City Lord. This Heavenreach Tower belongs to him too.”
Li Xu looked at the man a few more times with undisguised disdain before pulling Cheng Weilu through the lobby and, using the indoor navigation system, gliding toward a corner of the rest area.
Completely baffled, Cheng Weilu followed the silent Li Xu until they reached an empty corridor. She watched as he pulled out a photon gun from his waist, precisely located three alarm devices hidden in the corner of the corridor, and fired three shots.
Cheng Weilu: “…?”
He then walked beneath the corridor’s surveillance camera and looked up at the screen.
“Come see me, Zhou Yan.”
Not long afterward, Cheng Weilu noticed the passage doors at both ends of the corridor automatically closing and locking. The transparent glass walls on both sides turned opaque white, trapping the two of them inside.
Sure enough, if nothing unexpected happened, something unexpected was going to happen.
Cheng Weilu looked at Li Xu speechlessly. After being called out by her, this man had stopped causing trouble quietly and started causing trouble openly instead.
…
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