For the Ming Country, every bit of time they could gain now represented a crucial opportunity for the nation’s development.
As Gu Jiaqi had said, backwardness meant being bullied. The Ming Country had once lagged behind the rest of the world, and they had suffered enough for being backward. Now that they finally had a chance to take the lead, they would do whatever it took, even if it meant going without food or sleep.
Moreover, the researchers had no idea where these things came from, but they could imagine how difficult it must have been for the personnel at the front to obtain so many advanced weapons. They might even have risked their lives to do so. How could they possibly let them down?
Meanwhile, the people at the front lines were staring at a report in shock.
In just three days, the external security forces had already caught more than fifty people attempting to sneak in. They came from all kinds of countries, but most had been recruited by their own nations’ forces. The security situation was truly extremely tense.
It was under these circumstances that Nan Qingchuan came to Latt Star once again. But this time, unlike before, he actually saw several extra people on Latt Star.
Two people dressed in black, a man and a woman, were talking to Gu Jiaqi about something. Standing beside them was a small girl. She was rather thin, looking as though she was malnourished.
Nan Qingchuan was not particularly interested in these people. His main reason for coming to see Gu Jiaqi this time was still to carry out their previously established trade.
Besides, he had another important task this time.
The man and woman who had come in were naturally the two people who had previously pulled Gu Jiaqi into the post-apocalyptic world. Their names were Song Fei and Lulu.
Song Fei was the one who had stolen the potatoes the first time, while Lulu was the helper he had brought along today in an attempt to carry out a second theft.
Of course, the two sides had now become partners, so Gu Jiaqi was no longer glaring at them with hostility. Moreover, after visiting their world, Gu Jiaqi could understand why they would resort to anything necessary to survive. They had simply been unlucky enough to run into her.
The two had come to deliver the first batch of five hundred crystal cores to Gu Jiaqi. They still had not finished eating the potatoes Song Fei had stolen the first time. However, because Song Fei was afraid that Captain Zhou would discover them, he had kept them hidden, taking out several dozen kilograms each day and claiming that he had found them outside.
His behavior had long since aroused Zhou Qi’s suspicions, but before he had a chance to investigate, Gu Jiaqi had launched a surprise attack on them.
Now, the two young people standing before her looked somewhat awkward as they handed over the crystal cores, stammering as though they did not know what to say.
Gu Jiaqi did not make things difficult for them. After accepting the crystal cores, she said in an unusually gentle tone that she had already recorded the payment. Once they had gathered the next batch, they could simply bring it directly to her.
There was actually a small issue here. If Zhou Qi did not want to lose any crystal cores, he could simply have stopped these two from coming over. After all, without someone to lead the way, there was no way Gu Jiaqi could return to their world.
But Gu Jiaqi was not worried at all. Three tons of potatoes really was an enormous amount for the dozen or so people they had. But what about the future? Gu Jiaqi, this black hole, was no less tempting to them than returning to the time before the apocalypse. How could they possibly be willing to cut off contact forever? So they would certainly work hard to gather enough crystal cores to establish a partnership.
After collecting the crystal cores, Gu Jiaqi also told the two that there were man-eating monsters on Latt Star and warned them not to wander around after coming over. Otherwise, if anything happened to them, she might not be able to save them in time.
It was true that there really was not much worth stealing on this lousy little planet. What worried her more were the star beasts lurking underground. What if one of them suddenly emerged and ate one of her customers because it happened to be particularly powerful?
After making sure they understood these important points, Gu Jiaqi also noticed the tall figure standing at the entrance of the black hole. She raised an eyebrow, said goodbye to Song Fei and Lulu, then immediately greeted Nan Qingchuan and called him over.
Nan Qingchuan passed by the two people dressed in black, skin-tight clothing. He could sense how light-footed they were. They must be very fast runners.
Moreover, the two were actually heading toward the black hole. Could it be that they were not from Gu Jiaqi’s world?
“Mr. Nan, why do you look so troubled?”
Before Nan Qingchuan could figure anything out, Gu Jiaqi’s voice rang out. He immediately gathered his thoughts and stopped thinking about the two people.
“Planet Lord Gu, I came this time because I want to purchase some mecha. Also, the energy in the energy box you gave me last time has already been depleted. The leadership instructed me to ask about the price of the energy boxes.”
Energy had always been the most important thing to humanity.
In the distant interstellar era, humanity had abandoned electricity and light energy in favor of inexhaustible cosmic energy for daily production and consumption.
The use of cosmic energy had completely transformed life in the interstellar empire. They not only strengthened themselves but also expanded rapidly, eventually becoming the overlords of the entire galaxy.
This showed just how far cosmic energy surpassed the electrical energy used by the Ming Country. Once the energy in the light guns was depleted, it had a huge impact on the experiments.
But now, Gu Jiaqi had discovered a new energy source: crystal cores.
The cost of crystal cores was extremely low for Gu Jiaqi, yet their endurance was surprisingly good. The smallest energy box installed in a robot could last for three days. At present, the crystal core Gu Jiaqi had installed had already lasted for six hours, while the robot’s energy bar was still almost completely full.
Gu Jiaqi could preliminarily determine that the energy contained in the crystal cores was no weaker than that of the energy boxes.
What a huge haul!
So Gu Jiaqi was not worried at all by Nan Qingchuan’s inquiry.
“Mr. Nan, here are ten new ‘energy bars.’ Take them and use them first.”
The slot for the energy box on the mecha’s light gun could automatically adapt, so Gu Jiaqi was not worried that the crystal core would not fit. But Nan Qingchuan was different. In his understanding, batteries came in different models and specifications. How could such a tiny crystal possibly work?
It was only after Gu Jiaqi explained it to him that he understood. It turned out that the light gun’s energy port was made of a special metal, which they did not have on Orange Star at all.
In the end, Nan Qingchuan took the crystal cores and the three mecha that Gu Jiaqi had newly prepared. But before he left, something Gu Jiaqi said left him momentarily stunned.
“Mr. Nan, besides vegetables, grain works too. I’ll give you some of the things you need most right now.”
Nan Qingchuan looked at her in confusion. Gu Jiaqi smiled and said, “I have a copy of the mecha operating manual here.”
After Nan Qingchuan left, Gu Jiaqi looked at the darkening sky and sighed. The daylight hours on this lousy little planet were far too short. This meant that growing anything on her planet was extremely difficult.
The empire had developed for so many years, yet research into cultivation had barely progressed at all. They could not even make an artificial sun, while all kinds of soil modification agents had emerged one after another.
“Does having good soil mean you can grow things? What good is it without sunlight?”
Muttering to herself, Gu Jiaqi returned to the shed and opened StarNet to start looking at houses. She had already sold all the vegetables Nan Qingchuan had given her last time, so she now had enough money to pay for most of the house. She could put down the deposit first, and once today’s batch of vegetables was sold, she could pay the remaining balance and officially have a house of her own!
So why was Gu Jiaqi always so patient with Nan Qingchuan from the Ming Country world?
In the end, it all came down to one sentence: Rich guy, let’s be friends!
On the “rich guy’s” side, the news Nan Qingchuan brought back made everyone even more excited and expectant. They had no idea what kind of storm was waiting for them next.
Because there was a time difference between the two sides of the black hole, security at the entrance was at its weakest around noon and in the afternoon in the Ming Country. This was only relative, however. Even now, a team of twenty people was keeping a close watch on the entrance.
Not far away, a man wearing a camouflage military uniform but no identification number slowly approached. His expression was normal as he neared the black hole, and, as expected, the soldiers stopped him.
“This is a new detection device developed by the state. I’ll just place it in front of you, then I’ll leave immediately!” he said as he displayed the case in his hands.
“No! Have your superior call us to verify it!” The soldiers remained utterly impartial.
The man gripped the case tightly. He had observed the area for two days, and he was certain that there was something wrong with this black vortex that everyone could see.
Seeing that the soldiers really would not let him through and were instead about to escort him to the security office, he realized his plan was about to fail. He gritted his teeth, summoned strength from somewhere, threw the case onto the ground, then kicked it. The case instantly flew toward the black hole, and the corners of his mouth lifted.
A few moments later, his eyes widened.
How?
He saw several soldiers who had originally been standing nearby instantly pounce forward, using their bodies to shield the case.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye. The young soldier who had tackled the case held it tightly in his arms, his face filled with determination and the resolve to die if necessary. Clutching the case, he ran away, putting as much distance between it and the black hole as possible.
Everyone had already guessed it. That case was probably a bomb.