Starting Cultivation in Wasteland

Chapter 912 - 780: Observation Fee

Bentley’s attitude was quite arrogant, but the warship opposite really couldn’t refuse.The Military’s rank system is universal; otherwise there wouldn’t even be such a thing as military rank, unless they needed to emphasize classified factors on top of that.

Yet even if it involved classified matters, the level of their clearance obviously couldn’t compare to a special pass.

Fortunately, the mission they were on was very low-level in terms of secrecy; plenty of people already knew about it, so there was nothing embarrassing about explaining.

Turned out that just over two months ago, there had been a sizable battle in the Asteroid Belt.

More than ten Armed Merchant Ships took part, along with a considerable number of Attack Ships.

Don’t think that just because Qu Jianlei destroyed and captured several starships, a battle involving a dozen or so starships is small in scale.

Both sides fielded seven or eight starships, all with decent weapon systems; that kind of scale is really not small.

It wasn’t even a clash between two political powers, but a battle between two rival interest blocs.

When the fighting was over, just the starships destroyed numbered seven or eight, and almost none of the remaining ships came out unscathed.

The fallout from this battle was huge; Qu Jianlei and the others had already heard about it while they were on the Transfer Star at the time.

However, all kinds of intel indicated that this was only the first engagement between the two blocs, and that larger-scale fighting could not be ruled out.

The Star Domain Government treated the news with great seriousness.

The Asteroid Belt really can’t be allowed to descend into chaos—there had been problems with order before, but it was chaos with an underlying order, a delicate balance.

To put it more bluntly, in a mining zone with such enormous interests at stake, there’s no way everyone can be all smiles; this kind of tense equilibrium is actually the most reasonable state.

But the first clash between the two blocs had already stirred up such a storm that nobody could say how far things would eventually escalate.

If it kept getting bigger, forming a huge vortex, the vast majority of small and medium forces simply wouldn’t be able to stay clear.

When the nest is overturned, how can any egg remain intact? Even if they were unwilling and resentful, they would still have to make a corresponding choice and be dragged into the war.

The Imperial realm is just too vast; scenes like this have appeared elsewhere before.

The Star Domain Government would of course try to prevent this situation from unfolding.

As for communication with the two major blocs, that was the Government’s job; the orders given to the Military were to stabilize this region.

That was why warships appeared here and also requisitioned a few Armed Merchant Ships to participate.

The Asteroid Belt is simply too massive; the Military can’t devote all its attention to it—just showing a presence is enough.

But anyone who dared ignore the Military’s warnings would definitely provoke a full-scale encirclement and suppression; that went without saying.

Bentley had heard something about this battle as well; after listening he said, "All right, we won’t hold this against you this time. We’re leaving."

Watching the battered, ragged starship sail off, the Military warship couldn’t help but snort coldly. "Hmph, ’won’t hold it against us’..."

However, all they could do was complain in private; the Military is the organization that values obedience above all.

After 8384 had pulled some distance away, Xiao Qin let out a deep sigh. "There really isn’t any safe place left in the Imperial realm, is there."

Bentley answered offhandedly, "With the status we have now, only the gray zones are suitable for us to survive in."

He wasn’t someone who liked to talk; he was just worried Xiao Qin might reject this constant sense of turmoil and bring some hidden risk to the group.

Xiao Qin didn’t say anything else; instead Claire asked, "The two blocs... why didn’t they spell out who they are?"

"Some people just don’t like speaking plainly," Flower Scorpion replied with a smile. "Of course, maybe they think we can dig it up ourselves."

Everyone fell silent at that; they all knew the boss had built quite a reputation out here.

With that kind of standing and qualification, getting hold of some intel really wouldn’t be difficult.

After a while Xiang Xue finally said, "I just hope he hasn’t been dragged into this."

Yet putting aside whether Qu Jianlei had been dragged in or not, the five people aboard 8384 were already getting pulled into it.

Six or seven hours after leaving the warship, a heavy-load merchant ship appeared ahead; by rights they should have been able to pass each other at a fairly long range.

But that merchant ship sailed on for a bit, then suddenly adjusted its course and headed toward 8384.

Just as Bentley was debating whether to fire a warning shot, the other side flashed a "no hostile intent" signal.

Old Ben pondered for a moment and said, "Light up our signals, warn them to maintain a reasonable contact distance."

When starships meet by chance in space, what distance counts as reasonable contact? There’s no authoritative definition.

The default range is between 250,000 and 300,000 kilometers, but he didn’t bother to spell that out for them.

The other party was smart enough to stop at around 300,000 kilometers and sent a request to open a public channel.

Once connected, the other side asked very politely, "May I ask, is this the 8384 that once served as Guardian of the Gedel Star Body?"

Qu Jianlei killed the Supreme Siegwa at Gedel Star Body, when he was guarding the mines for Wanmi Mining.

Bentley and the others knew about this, but they still replied, "Random encounter in deep space—don’t ask where we come from, just get to the point."

The other side wasn’t surprised by his attitude—everyone knew this battered old starship was hard to deal with.

So they answered respectfully, "If it is that starship, we have a business deal we’d like to discuss with you."

Most people, upon hearing that, would definitely have one first reaction—what kind of business?

But Bentley wasn’t an ordinary person. He snorted dismissively. "Talking business with us—you sure you’re actually in charge?"

Do me a favor and get this straight: the team talking to you right now comes with a Supreme. You think just anyone gets to negotiate with us?

The other side answered without the slightest hesitation. "We’re indeed far beneath your level, but we do have authorization from above."

"As long as we encounter Starship 8384, we’re fully empowered to negotiate on our side’s behalf... We’ve been looking for you for a long time."

Bentley gave a light snort. "As long as it doesn’t involve combat between the two major camps, you can talk."

The other side suddenly froze, then after two or three seconds said, "That’s exactly what we want to talk about."

"Then there’s nothing to talk about," Bentley refused without hesitation.

He wasn’t sure where Qu Jianlei stood, nor whether they should get involved.

But either way, this wasn’t the top priority right now, so he wasn’t about to make a choice.

A little pushback was enough; they could decide later. "You should be well aware that our ambitions aren’t here!"

The interests in the Asteroid Belt were indeed enormous, but Bentley felt Jian Lei only saw this place as a temporary foothold.

Even if Jian Lei did intend to develop here, what he’d just said still held—at the very least, bragging a bit first could raise their asking price.

The other side didn’t find his words inappropriate. "We know your side has lofty ambitions, and we won’t insist on persuading you to help."

"But we do have one more shameless request: can you guarantee you’ll stand aside and just watch?"

Bentley was immediately displeased. "Well now, you really dare say anything, huh? Is that supposed to be an order?"

We’re not related or obligated. What we choose to do—who are you to tell us?

"It’s not an order," the other side responded quickly; they, too, realized their request was a bit over the line.

So they straightforwardly laid a chip on the table. "If you can clearly commit to standing by, we’re willing to pay a partial spectator’s fee."

Spectator’s fee... So you can make money like this too? Even Bentley was a bit surprised. "And how much is this fee?"

"That’ll require detailed discussion," the other side was just a messenger; on truly sensitive matters, they really couldn’t decide.

"But please rest assured, as long as you’re willing to talk, nothing else is a problem."

"Heh," Bentley let out a dry chuckle. "Which camp are you from?"

"Which camp we belong to isn’t important," the other side’s attitude was surprisingly forthright.

"We’re willing to offer a sum just to buy your non-intervention. That’s not lacking in sincerity, is it?"

But such little tricks—how could they possibly fool Bentley?

He saw through the logic at a glance. "You’re betting the opposing camp might not pay to buy our neutrality."

"That way, your side will first leave a good impression on us, making it easier for your next moves, am I right?"

The other side was stunned for a moment before replying, "Whatever our intentions, if the other side has no wish to contribute, that’s also disrespectful to you."

This was hinting that they could collect money from both sides... Bentley was quite seasoned with this sort of maneuvering.

Even so, in the end he didn’t answer directly, choosing instead to shift angles.

"Heh, you don’t even dare reveal your origin. We don’t like dealing with skulking types."

But that line was clearly within their calculations as well. Hearing it, they still replied unhurriedly,

"We’re only delivering the message. If you’re interested in detailed talks, our higher-ups will be waiting at Lanyun Market."

"Got it," Bentley said lightly. "You can go now—we’ve got other matters to handle."

The two sides parted ways there. After Starship 8384 flew for another half day, they ran into a similar situation again.

Long story short, on their way to the Abandoned Mine Star Body, they ran into four such groups in total.

Aside from one claiming to be under the Sail Consortium, the other three never revealed their identities.

But without exception, all four groups hoped to establish cooperation with 8384.

The Sail Consortium, having previously worked with 8384, went further, stating that as long as 8384 was willing, price would never be a limiting factor.

In the end, Bentley and the others had to make a huge detour before they finally reached the Abandoned Mine Star Body.

Qu Jianlei had returned here long before, and had even completed half the modifications on the second Customs Enforcement Warship.

In truth, this warship didn’t need major adjustments—tweak the exterior a bit, change the paint, and it could be put into normal use.

Still, to avoid unnecessary trouble, Qu Jianlei decided to modify it more thoroughly—just in case they needed to sell it off later.

Once everyone regrouped, a round of celebration was inevitable—the Celestial Sharp trip hadn’t been extremely dangerous, but it had been far from easy.

They’d planned a lot in advance, yet during execution, plenty of unexpected incidents still cropped up.

The fact that everyone managed to get out completely unscathed was something to be genuinely grateful for.

Including Qu Jianlei’s spur-of-the-moment seizure of the Customs Enforcement Warship—though risky, it had ultimately succeeded.

After the celebration, Qu Jianlei asked in frustration, "This cavern’s a bit cramped with four Starships squeezed in. Should we expand it?"