Ch 28: Interplanetary Planting Master

The Storm

Su He slept through until the next morning.

Although the universe has no day or night, people still follow Earth Standard Time for their routines. When Su He opened his eyes, for a moment, he felt like he was back on Earth. Instead of the cold metal floor and uneven gravel, he lay on a relatively soft mattress. A clean and tidy room greeted his eyes, making him feel like he had returned to civilization from a primitive state.

Su He was momentarily stunned but soon remembered he was on Lu Li’s Iris ship, not on Earth. Stretching and propping himself up, he noticed the hawk standing by the window, quietly watching him. Feeling a bit embarrassed, Su He nodded to the hawk, recalling that he had fallen asleep beside the bed last night. Waking up on the bed meant Lu Li had probably been here. He glanced at the quilt, now soiled by his jacket, and sheepishly folded it back.

The hawk gestured for Su He to follow it, leading him to a bathroom where Lu Li had prepared toiletries. Su He quickly showered and washed his clothes using the machine, following Han Rui’s instructions. Remembering what the old man had said about male friendships heating up quickest after a good fight, Su He thought his bond with Lu Li had grown stronger through their life-threatening experiences. With his mind flitting between thoughts of Lu Li and Han Rui, Su He finished getting ready. He was conscious of being a guest and didn’t plan to wander around. Wondering where Lu Li had placed Han Rui and how he had fared during the escape from Broken Star, Su He attempted to contact Han Rui’s terminal but received no response. He then extended his mental tendrils to search for Lu Li.

Sentinel and Guide abilities differ in their focal points. Sentinels’ heightened senses allow them to easily construct a sensory map of their surroundings, detecting the smallest details and lingering scents. However, this omniscience does not equate to omnipotence; they cannot invade another’s mental world or directly convey information.

Guides, in contrast, can accomplish tasks Sentinels cannot, such as transmitting information within a certain range or even hypnotizing Sentinels to control them. Yet, Guides cannot sense specific details about others without invading their mental space.

Currently, Su He wanted to find Han Rui. In his sensory range, everyone appeared as flickering points of light, making it impossible to identify Han Rui. However, he could always locate Lu Li, whose presence was the brightest, warmest light. Transmitting his message to Lu Li, Su He quickly retracted his mental tendrils to avoid disrupting his work.

In the command room, Shen Shen was reporting on the situation of the refugees in the lower deck to Lu Li.

Before leaving Broken Star, the Iris had rescued a total of 412 people from the ruins, 107 of whom were transferred to the Silent Corps. This transfer was not free; Lu Li charged the Silent Corps a rescue fee of 10,000 credits per person. Considering that General Zhuang likely funded this, Lu Li generously rounded off the total. While he didn’t care how Zhuang Wei managed to board a Silent Corps‘ ship, he felt justified in earning some benefits for covering Zhuang Wei’s tracks. Not transferring all 400 people was already a gesture of goodwill.

Lu Li reviewed Shen Shen’s statistics, which detailed the identities of the lower deck refugees. However, neither he nor Shen Shen truly believed these records. The Federal Army would take over verifying these identities when they arrived, dealing with any criminals or smugglers among them.

He was more concerned about, “How much energy do we have left?”

Despite earning a million credits from Zhuang Wei, the money was quickly spent. Using it, Lu Li purchased a batch of energy stones from the surrounding surviving ships. Everyone was escaping in a hurry, and no one had spare energy stones. They pitifully scraped together enough to barely sustain the Iris’s life support and weapon systems, but nothing more. The Iris had to find a small asteroid belt to wait for Federal Army rescue.

Shen Shen reported, “Excluding the reserved energy for the weapon systems, we have enough to sustain the life support system for about a week.”

Lu Li raised an eyebrow, “We haven’t offended the Fourth Corps, have we?”

The Fourth Corps, stationed closest to them, had already deployed a large force to Broken Star upon receiving the Iris’s report. Their priority was clearly to eliminate the King Beast, meaning the Iris’s rescue would wait until after the battle on Broken Star concluded.

The two exchanged looks, simultaneously considering a troubling possibility. Shen Shen hesitated, “Does the argument between the General and General Karen at Central Command count as offending them?”

Lu Li felt reassured, “If it was just an argument, General Karen wouldn’t hold a grudge.”

Shen Shen weakly reminded him, “The argument was quite severe, almost leading to a fight. But even if it had escalated, General Karen would have come out on top.”

Lu Li: “…”

Although it felt inappropriate, Lu Li hoped General Karen’s satisfaction with his victory would expedite their rescue. About to speak, Lu Li’s expression changed, followed by a wry smile. He knew Su He was awake and looking for Han Rui. Handing over command to Shen Shen, he prepared to personally explain Han Rui’s situation to Su He.

As soon as Lu Li left, the others in the command room exchanged knowing glances and gossip flew.

“What’s going on between the boss and the Guide? They’re still not bonded!”

Yawning, Jiang Bo speculated, “Maybe the young Guide is too inexperienced to understand?”

He had seen the boss enter the room last night, thinking the Guide was with him. Excited, he stayed up all night, anticipating their bonding, believing it would break the Iris’s single-ship curse. However, seeing the boss in the morning, it was clear nothing had happened, leaving Jiang Bo dejected.

Yue Sen suddenly chimed in, “What if it’s the boss who can’t perform?”

The Iris fell into silence, everyone staring at Yue Sen with twisted expressions. Trying to stifle laughter, Liao Kai mouthed, “Little Taro, you’re dead!”

Yue Sen: “…”

These traitorous bastards!

In the corridor, Lu Li paused, chuckling softly, “These guys!”

He knocked on the cabin door, where Su He and the hawk were peering out the window. A small, two-leafed sprout danced merrily on the hawk’s head.

“Han…” Su He turned excitedly, only to find no sign of Han Rui behind Lu Li.

Closing the door, Lu Li approached, “What are you looking at?”

Suppressing his curiosity about Han Rui, Su He replied, “It seems like the Iris hasn’t moved. From the window, it looks like we’re still in the same place, surrounded by floating asteroids.”

Lu Li nodded, sitting beside Su He, “We’re low on energy stones. We can only sustain either the navigation or the life support systems. We’re waiting for the Federal Army’s rescue.”

Thinking of the already-departed smaller ships, Su He looked sympathetically at Lu Li, “Is the Federal Army really that poor?”

Lu Li was taken aback, then laughed. His handsome smile was infectious, hard to dislike. After laughing, Lu Li truthfully explained, “It’s not the Federal Army that’s poor; it’s me.”

Su He: “…”

Awkwardly, he glanced at Lu Li, clumsily changing the subject, “By the way, where’s Han Rui?”

Lu Li apologized, “There was too much happening yesterday, I forgot to bring Han Rui over.” Su He widened his eyes in surprise.
Softening, Lu Li continued, “Han Rui is safe on a starship with someone I know. I’ve asked them to take care of him.”

Su He frowned, “But I couldn’t reach Han Rui this morning.”

Lu Li realized that General Zhuang, wanting to conceal his whereabouts, would control the starship’s communications. He assured Su He, “We’ll find Han Rui when the Federal Army arrives.”

Su He nodded, then, after a moment’s thought, thanked Lu Li, “Thank you!” Despite everything, he needed Lu Li’s help, and Lu Li had saved his life. Given how busy Lu Li was, forgetting one thing was forgivable.

With a gentle demeanor, Lu Li asked, “Hungry? Let’s get some food.”

They walked through long corridors to the top floor of the Iris. The ship’s designer had created a panoramic dining room at the tail, offering an unobstructed view of space. Lu Li, having bought the Iris, hadn’t altered this design; it remained the dining area.

When they arrived, the dining room was sparsely populated. The few Sentinels present whistled at Su He, who was brought there personally by Lu Li. Because of the inhibitors, they couldn’t smell Su He’s pheromones, but they knew it had to be the rumored young Guide.

Dong Ming handed Su He a large, red apple with a cheerful smile, “Have an apple.”

“…” Su He, recognizing the apples he had sold to the Iris, accepted the apple with amusement, feeling the young Sentinel’s friendliness without needing to extend his mental tendrils.

Su He’s arrival caused a stir, with the Sentinels gathering around him and Lu Li. The men teased Lu Li, “Boss, good luck!”

Exasperated, Lu Li warned them not to scare Su He.

The room buzzed with lively chatter when Lu Li’s terminal lit up, showing Wei Na’s serious face. “Boss, we’ve detected a subspace storm heading our way at superluminal speed.”

Everyone: “…”

Lu Li immediately stood up, “I’ll return to the command room.” Glancing at Su He, who held his breakfast with a bewildered expression, he hesitated to leave him alone. “Let’s go back to the room and eat there.”

Su He obediently nodded.

In front of the Iris, violent energy surged like a stormy sea in the dark void. The storm moved too fast, reaching the asteroid belt in the blink of an eye. Ignoring the weapon systems, Lu Li ordered maximum energy output to break free from the subspace storm’s pull.

An invisible force seemed to whirl through the cosmos, shaking the Iris violently. Su He nearly fell but held onto the bedpost tightly. Reno’s roots extended from the cabin walls, gently wrapping around Su He to secure him.

Half of the Iris had already been caught in the storm. Glancing at the virtual screen displaying the storm’s range, Lu Li decisively ordered, “Turn around and steer into the storm.”

No one questioned his command. Shen Shen immediately relayed his orders.

Holding onto the command console for support, Lu Li continued, “Move in the direction of the storm. Do not go against it.”

The Iris’s target was the eye of the storm.

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