This trip to Alto Star had brought about a comprehensive upgrade to Cheng Weilu’s spaceship. From the ship’s systems and weapons to its food supplies and daily necessities, every aspect had undergone a massive leap in quality.
After asking for Cheng Weilu’s opinion, Li Xu even converted an unused room into a walk-in wardrobe and filled it with the clothes he had purchased on Alto Star. Of course, he only used half of the space. The other half was filled with women’s clothing and accessories, all prepared for Cheng Weilu.
From all kinds of formal dresses and various outfits to shoes, bags, hats, scarves, and jewelry, there were even different styles of pajamas. Cheng Weilu had no idea who had purchased all these understated yet luxurious clothes. She merely took a brief look around before putting them out of her mind. She never stepped into the wardrobe again and continued rotating between her two old outfits every day.
Li Xu, meanwhile, began putting on a daily fashion show as if he were playing a dress-up game. Every day, he greeted and chatted with Cheng Weilu while dressed in an array of stylish outfits, prepared three meals a day, and dragged Cheng Weilu to the gym whenever she was too lazy to move.
After the spaceship had been upgraded, Robert did not have much housework left to do either. Delighted to have some free time, it began experimenting with growing plants inside the spaceship. Li Xu provided it with scientific advice, and Robert was busy in its workshop every day, leaving it with much less time to drag Cheng Weilu into idle conversations.
As a result, most of Cheng Weilu’s conversations were now with Li Xu.
She did not dislike spending time with Li Xu. It was simply that she would only clearly realize much later how he had been quietly infiltrating her life.
Like rain moistening everything without a sound, she remained oblivious until, all of a sudden, she realized that this person had already stepped silently into her territory.
For now, however, the thing worrying her most was that it had been nearly a month, and Qiqi still had not replied to her messages.
It was not unheard of for the two of them to lose contact for an extended period. There had been several occasions in the past when they had encountered stellar storms and, through sheer bad luck, become stranded in the Alliance’s border star systems. The longest time, it had taken nearly two months before they reached an area where they could connect to the Star Network and send each other messages to report that they were safe.
Xiao Wei screened the enormous amount of information on the Star Network for her every day, searching for news related to space weather. Cheng Weilu had gone through all the relevant information, but so far, she had found no definite leads.
Although she believed that with Qiqi’s ability to adapt to changing circumstances, she could escape successfully from most situations, Cheng Weilu inexplicably felt a vague sense of unease this time. If it was not due to the weather, then Qiqi might have encountered some other kind of accident.
This worry had left her somewhat distracted over the past few days. At the table in the living room, when Li Xu called her back to herself, Cheng Weilu had already forgotten what he had said. She looked up blankly and asked, “Sorry, what did you say?”
Li Xu drew in a light breath, his tone relatively calm. “I was asking what you thought of lunch and whether you had any suggestions for dinner.”
“Oh, it’s good. Pretty tasty.” Cheng Weilu lowered her head and took another bite, chewing slowly. “It’s already very good.”
For long-distance interstellar travel, food was generally chosen based on how well it could be stored and how easy it was to prepare. Cheng Weilu did not have particularly high standards when it came to food on a spaceship. The supplies she had stocked before had also consisted of common ingredient packs, general-purpose nutritional fluids, energy bars, and similar items.
After Li Xu upgraded the ingredients, the quality of their meals had improved dramatically. The vegetables were fresh, the meat was top quality, and the meals had a reasonable balance of meat and vegetables. Moreover, based on her previous preference when buying ingredient packs, he had deduced that she preferred Huaxia-style cuisine and had prepared everything in that style. She genuinely had no suggestions to offer.
But clearly, Li Xu was not satisfied with her answer. He lowered his eyes to the tabletop, his gray irises hidden beneath his lowered lashes.
He was unhappy again.
Cheng Weilu sighed inwardly, put down her utensils, and said seriously, “I really think it’s already very good. The vegetables, the meat, everything is much better than what I used to eat. As far as I’m concerned, I have nothing to complain about. I’m very satisfied with you as the person doing the cooking. Is there anything you want to eat?”
“Yuanyang rice noodles,” Li Xu said.
“Huh?” Cheng Weilu had never heard the name before. “What’s that?”
“A specialty from a small city on Baicheng Star.”
“Then let’s have that for dinner. I’ve never had it before, so I’d like to try it.”
“Mm.”
Cheng Weilu glanced at the corners of Li Xu’s lips, which had lifted slightly.
Good. He was happy again.
…
Three days later, they reached the entrance to the Star Banner Route.
Li Xu’s current identity had been prepared for him by Zhou Yan: an Alliance citizen and senior equipment engineer under the Heavenreach Group in Alto City. His identity was clean, and because Zhou Yan had spent many years establishing connections there, the Alto City background carried considerable weight along the route and could help them avoid a great deal of trouble.
Thus, at the checkpoint, Li Xu was registered as the primary pilot of the spaceship, while Cheng Weilu was listed merely as a passenger. Only the primary pilot’s data would be entered into a higher-level database, allowing Cheng Weilu to avoid the risk of the military scanning and discovering her identity data.
There was nothing wrong with this arrangement. In fact, it was the optimal solution. However, when Cheng Weilu looked at the approval message returned by the entrance checkpoint, she suddenly realized something else.
“Li Xu,” Cheng Weilu looked at him. “That’s not your real name, is it?”
Li Xu was silent for a while before asking, “Why?”
“I couldn’t find anything related to you in the Alliance’s historical records concerning the war,” Cheng Weilu said. “And you don’t want the military to discover you. If that’s your real name, their identity screening would definitely pick up the keyword.”
Li Xu said nothing. After a while, he was about to speak when Cheng Weilu interrupted him. “It’s fine. I was just asking. I’m not particularly curious about your identity. I just suddenly figured this out and wanted to confirm it.”
“…” Li Xu’s gray eyes fixed on her. “You don’t mind that I lied to you?”
“I don’t mind,” Cheng Weilu said. “I was just asking. I really don’t care.”
“You don’t care.” Li Xu repeated the words.
“Right.”
That night, Li Xu did not leave his room. Cheng Weilu had no choice but to heat up some ingredient packs for herself.
It was only later that Cheng Weilu realized that she might have said the wrong thing.
But she had no idea what exactly she had gotten wrong. Li Xu’s emotional changes were simply impossible for her to understand. She was too lazy to think about it anymore. After all, he was the one who had chosen to be unhappy.
…
The Star Banner Route had seven jump points along its entire course, known as the “Seven Stars.” On the second day after entering the route, the spaceship reached the first jump point, First Star.
It was considerably smaller than the civilian jump points Cheng Weilu had visited in the past, but there were still plenty of ships coming and going, so they had to queue to enter the jump point.
By the time their spaceship entered the port, more than forty ships were already lined up ahead of them. The waiting time inside the port was approaching two stellar hours.
With nothing better to do, Cheng Weilu joined an information group within First Star Spaceport. The group was like a temporary information pool. Travelers passing through could join for the time being and exchange information.
Cheng Weilu projected the group’s messages into the spaceship’s living room and had Xiao Wei filter them, wanting to see whether there were any unexpected incidents that might somehow be related to Qiqi.
“Equipment prices in Alto City have risen another 10% recently. Stock up early.”
Swipe away.
“Autumn is coming to Alto Star. Buy equipment and receive complimentary tickets to Red Leaf Valley, plus an additional free one-day luxury tour of a manor.”
Swipe away.
“There is some excellent protein powder for sale on the 27th floor of the Heavenreach Tower in Alto City. Buy two cans and receive a signed muscle photo of the tower’s manager.”
?
Swipe away.
Just how many advertisements had Zhou Yan placed here?
Irritated, Cheng Weilu blocked all keywords related to Alto Star.
“There was a collision between spaceships in the Seventh Star three days ago. Pay attention to the route and update your star map promptly.”
Her star map was already updated to the latest version.
Swipe away.
“Cynthia doesn’t seem to be at Nianchuan Fortress. A few days ago, there was an administrative meeting of the Alliance Military Department. She should have returned to Baicheng Star for the meeting. Security at the fortress’s exit may be relatively lax.”
Cheng Weilu paused on the names Nianchuan Fortress and Cynthia for a moment.
Useful. Mark it.
“Based on the Gray Dove Base incident a few days ago, the Alliance military may be considering restructuring the current defense system, but the process will take a long time, and the progress is unknown.”
Cheng Weilu paused on this message for a while.
Behind her came Li Xu’s voice.
“Mark it.”
She turned around and saw Li Xu standing behind her. She had no idea how long he had been watching.
The group’s rule was that anyone who sent one useful piece of information could exchange it for a private contact method.
Cheng Weilu looked at Li Xu and asked, “Want to send one?”
Li Xu walked over and sat beside her, then sent a message.
“Nianchuan Fortress may come under attack by interstellar pirates within the next month. Civilian spaceships are advised to stay away whenever possible.”
They had not even been to Nianchuan Fortress yet. Cheng Weilu looked at Li Xu in confusion.
“How do you know?”
“Precognition.”
“……”
Having fulfilled the group’s requirements, Li Xu looked at Gray Dove’s message and said, “I’ll send this person a private message and see who they are.”
Cheng Weilu nodded. The Gray Dove Base incident was related to the criminal charges against her, so she was quite concerned about it.
Li Xu opened the message. The other party’s port number was 1247. Their number was 1246, and this person’s spaceship was directly behind theirs.
“Is the information about Gray Dove Base reliable?”
The other party quickly replied.
“Reliable. Is the information about the possible attack on the fortress reliable?”
Li Xu replied, “90% probability. The military system hasn’t touched the underlying infrastructure in all these years. Why restructure it all of a sudden? What happened at Gray Dove Base?”
“I heard that someone may have invaded Gray Dove Base under the name of a certain deceased high-ranking figure and easily altered the backend system. This caused panic within the Alliance Military Department, which was why they summoned the commanders of the various fortresses back to Baicheng Star for discussions. What’s the basis for your 90% estimate?”
Li Xu stared at the reply for a long time before responding.
“First: the Alliance’s upper echelons have long been colluding with interstellar pirates. The fortress commanders leaving their fortresses is an ideal opportunity for an attack. Second: the military department needs an unexpected incident to divert attention from its recent negative incidents. Because of its location, Nianchuan Fortress is the best point of entry.”
Cheng Weilu stared at Li Xu in astonishment as he calmly typed out the message.
She seemed to have just witnessed some astonishing insider information about the Alliance.
Li Xu then sent another message.
“If possible, I’d like to meet you.”
The other party was silent for a while before replying.
“I was thinking the same. If convenient, meet at Seventh Star Spaceport in ten days. No waiting after the deadline.”
Li Xu turned his head toward Cheng Weilu.
She nodded. “I have no objection.”
After Li Xu finished exchanging messages, Cheng Weilu continued searching the group for information. Looking at the keywords she was filtering, Li Xu asked, “Are you looking for someone?”
“My best friend hasn’t replied to me for nearly a month. I don’t know where she went,” Cheng Weilu said. “I’m worried that something might have happened to her.”
That was why she had been so distracted these past few days, constantly searching for news about weather disasters and sudden incidents.
Li Xu’s expression softened somewhat before he said, “I thought that, given your personality, you wouldn’t be the type to make close friends.”
“Are you surprised?” Cheng Weilu looked at him strangely. “Didn’t you investigate me? You should know I have a few friends.”
Li Xu opened his mouth, then closed it again.
He had indeed investigated her.
“How did you know?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Cheng Weilu’s eyes remained fixed on the rapidly updating information projected before her. “You came from the military, after all. Yet later, when discussing current affairs, you stopped avoiding me entirely. If you didn’t know enough about my identity and background, I don’t think you would have done that.”
“And the premise for trusting me is that you think I’m completely harmless.” Cheng Weilu came to a conclusion.
Li Xu fell silent.
She had not said it outright, but she had figured everything out on her own.
“Tell me what you found out about me.” Cheng Weilu’s tone was relaxed, but Li Xu’s expression did not look very good.
“Ten years ago, you appeared on a small planet in the Freedom Corridor and were rescued by a salvager. You obtained an identity in Freedom City and subsequently became a salvager. You achieved outstanding results, had a steady temperament, a clean background, and extremely simple social connections.”
“You prefer Huaxia cuisine and old-fashioned novels and films. You own an independent residence in Freedom City, which you purchased in full with your salvager commissions. You also own three low-intelligence robots of different models.”
“All correct.” Cheng Weilu nodded approvingly without getting annoyed. “Zhou Yan’s information brokers are pretty reliable. Anything else?”
Li Xu looked at her.
“…No.”
Of course, there was one more thing.
Cheng Weilu had probably forgotten it completely. When she had first applied to become a salvager, there had been a mandatory field on the application form: “Preference in Orientation.”
She had written:
“I like beautiful people.”
When Li Xu saw this sentence in the investigation report, he finally understood why she had treated him with such tolerance throughout their journey.
…
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