Ch 11 (part 2): Interplanetary Planting Master

Unintentionally, Lu Li’s image flashed in his mind again, and Su He scowled. He quickly cleared his mind, expelling any thoughts of Lu Li. Turning away from the hawk, he could still feel its gaze on him. He kept telling himself it was just a bird, but as the hawk and Lu Li’s images overlapped, Su He couldn’t take it anymore and turned back, glaring at the hawk.

His fierce expression seemed to work; the hawk quietly looked at him for a moment, then spread its wings and flew away. Su He let out a sigh of relief, feeling the atmosphere in the room lighten instantly, free from the previous pressure. He picked out the energy stones from the array and divided the radishes into two parts. Unable to carry them all, he used Lu Li’s coat to bundle half of them. The remaining radishes were hidden in a corner, to be retrieved later if time permitted, or left for others to find if not.

Cautiously leaving the room, Su He quickly found an underground pipeline. A shadow passed overhead; the hawk gracefully swooped down and landed on the nearby ruins.

Su He: “…”

Staring at each other, Su He made a funny face at the hawk and then jumped into the pipeline, running swiftly. He doubted the hawk would follow him underground, as the subterranean world wasn’t suitable for its flight. He navigated the pipes skillfully while the hawk traced his path from above.

The connection between a spirit animal and its owner was a subtle thing. In many ways, Su He had much to learn. For instance, he didn’t know that because of his close contact with Lu Li, the hawk had also memorized his scent. Even through layers of desert and numerous pipelines, the hawk could easily track him. Nor did he know that what the spirit animal saw, the owner would also see. So, the face he had just pulled at the hawk was seen by Lu Li, who smiled slightly.

Lu Li’s departure was abrupt, and so was his return.

While Shen Shen and the others were gossiping about the sentinel’s new guide, wondering if it was a man or a woman, how old they were, and what they looked like, Lu Li appeared covered in mud.

Everyone: “…”

Lu Li ignored them and went to his cabin to shower. Even from this distance, he could still feel the seductive scent lingering on his body. To regain his composure, he injected three times the usual dose of guide suppressant and soaked in cold water for half an hour before feeling somewhat normal.

He dressed, buttoned his shirt, and tied his tie. When he reached for his jacket, he thought of Su He again. What was Su He doing now? Was it safe for him to stay in the 36th ruins? Even though his hawk was watching over him and he had confirmed there were no large dark beasts nearby before leaving, Lu Li’s sentinel instincts to protect kept nagging at him. Despite not being bonded yet, their 100% compatibility meant they were destined for each other; no one else would ever suit him better.

Thinking of this, Lu Li remembered what his grandfather had told him. His grandfather had hoped that his future wife or partner would bond out of love, not because of external factors or yielding to primal instincts. At that time, Lu Li had not yet awakened. His father was a sentinel, and his mother was a guide, so there was a high chance he would become either a sentinel or a guide. He would never forget his grandfather’s tone when he spoke of primal instincts.

The rest of the memory wasn’t pleasant. Lu Li stopped thinking about it.

Listening to gossip about himself along the way, Lu Li maintained his usual demeanor as he entered the command room. What had been a bustling hub instantly became a picture of organized efficiency with his arrival. Everyone suddenly seemed very busy, working fervently as if the previous lively chatter had been an illusion.

Shen Shen quickly claimed the command station, pretending to check the instruments intently. Wei Na stood by the star-gazing platform, seriously studying the star map. Little Taro squeezed in beside her, trying to hide the half-eaten apple up his sleeve. Jiang Bo and Liao Kai seemed to be in a heated argument over the vacuum cleaner, almost starting a fight.

Lu Li walked nonchalantly towards Shen Shen, with everyone’s sidelong glances following him. His usual gentle expression betrayed nothing, but the flames of curiosity burned higher among the crew. They almost wanted to grab him and demand to know what had happened. Lu Li met the most eager gaze, catching Jiang Bo’s look. Jiang Bo plastered on a fawning smile, and Lu Li returned it with his usual warmth before looking away. Jiang Bo immediately received a wave of sympathetic glances from the others, as if they were all saying, “You’re dead.” He was close to tears, wondering why the boss singled him out when everyone was gossiping.

“Has General Zhuang left already?”

Lu Li broke the silence in the command room where everyone’s eyes were darting around.

Shen Shen immediately collected himself and nodded, “General Zhuang and his men have left. He said they would return to the Iris at the appointed time and that we shouldn’t worry about them.”

“What about Reno?”

“Reno is still in the lower hold, waiting for you.”

Lu Li gave his orders, “Proceed as planned. Wei Na, take the fourth squad and follow Reno. Make sure to assist Reno in bringing the sapling back to the Iris. Deputy Shen, you’re in charge of the Iris’s supplies. Everyone else is free to move around, but try not to cause any trouble.”

“What about the 36th ruins?” Shen Shen asked knowingly.

Everyone’s ears perked up in unison.

Lu Li said, “I’ll handle the 36th ruins myself. By the way, keep Zhao Jingguang detained on the Iris. Don’t let him out.”

Lu Li wasn’t worried about any traps Zhao Jingguang might have left, but with Su He at the 36th ruins, he instinctively wanted to eliminate any potential dangers around Su He and didn’t want other sentinels getting close.

Everyone heard the expected answer and, satisfied, assured they would complete their tasks. Lu Li gave them a half-smile before leaving the Iris once more. Shen Shen had chosen a good landing spot, right in the central area of the ruins on Broken Star, with the largest black market beneath it—where Su He had briefly stayed. Lu Li was very familiar with the place and easily found the entrance to the black market.

He lightly jumped down, setting up a sensory barrier to block the nauseating stench inside. The winding tunnels formed a giant maze, but Lu Li always chose the quickest path. He moved swiftly, like an agile leopard, navigating the dark tunnels without any external aid, reaching the black market in the shortest time.

The black uniform of the Seventh Legion stood out sharply here. Lu Li’s arrival seemed to momentarily freeze the bustling market, though it quickly resumed its lively facade. But it was hard to say how genuine that liveliness was. The presence of the Federation military on Broken Star was already sensitive, and some had already recognized Lu Li. In a corner of the black market, a giant lynx crouched down, slipping into a narrow tunnel leading to the underground level of the black market, where the headquarters of the Silent Group on Broken Star was located.

Ignoring the various scrutinizing glances around him, Lu Li walked straight to a stall selling biological agents.

The stall owner greeted Lu Li with an ingratiating smile, “You’ve got a good eye, sir. We have the most comprehensive selection of agents on Brokestar. Our guide suppressants are produced by the largest Australian-New Zealand Biotech Group in the Federation, guaranteed quality.”

Lu Li ignored the owner’s pitch and asked, “Do you have inhibitors?”

The stall owner immediately swore that although they were on Broken Star, they operated within the bounds of the Federation law and absolutely did not have any illegal inhibitors.

Lu Li gave him a cold glance and said, “You have five inhibitors in the second box from the left behind you. I’ll take them all.”

The stall owner: “…”

Damn it, he hated sentinels the most!

“How much?” Lu Li didn’t give the stall owner a chance to deny it.

The stall owner tentatively said, “15,000… 12,000… 10,000…” Seeing Lu Li’s calm expression, he put on a miserable face, “7,000, that’s already at cost.”

“Deal.”

Lu Li took the inhibitors and glanced down at the ground before leaving. He had caught Zhuang Wei’s scent; he had arrived at the black market before him. As Lu Li left, the black lynx re-emerged. The Silent Group had already received news of the Iris arriving at Broken Star, and as long as there were no conflicts of interest, they did not want to provoke Lu Li.

Twenty minutes later, Lu Li returned to the 36th ruins in his mech. The black hawk circled above him as he jumped out of the mech. The hawk grabbed the inhibitors from his hand and dived into the underground tunnels.

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