Ch 34: Interplanetary Planting Master

Speculations

The girl’s death did not cause much of a stir on the Iris. Both the members of the First Squad and the residents from Starbreaker were used to life and death. The real concern was that this lifeform, which was hard to classify as either animal or plant, could evade the sentinels’ senses. They remained buried in the sand, seemingly lifeless with no detectable signs of life.

Su He thought that after this incident, the people from the lower deck would be too afraid to go outside, but to his surprise, the number of people by the sea did not decrease. As he pondered Lu Li’s plan for farming, he was working near the Iris, contemplating how to set up the formation. Suddenly, a shadow sneaked up behind him. Su He quickly turned, knife in hand, to find a sneaky-looking old man who immediately raised his hands in surrender, saying, “I’m not a bad person.”

Su He: “…”

The old man had a fawning smile on his face, looking at Su He ingratiatingly. In a low voice, he said, “I’m a merchant, selling various bio-agents.” Su He didn’t respond, so the old man continued to promote, “Various bio-agents, including inhibitors.”

“How do you know I need inhibitors?” Su He asked.

The old man chuckled but didn’t answer directly. He had seen Lu Li alone with Su He several times and quickly guessed Su He’s identity. He still remembered when Lu Li had bought five inhibitors from him at a low price.

Su He changed the question, “How much for the inhibitors?”

The old man chuckled again and looked behind Su He. Su He turned around to find Lu Li approaching. Meeting Lu Li’s all-seeing gaze, the old man thick-skinnedly said, “I don’t want credits, just a guarantee from the Iris.”

“What kind of guarantee?” Lu Li raised an eyebrow.

The old man whispered, “Guarantee that no matter what happens, the Iris won’t abandon me.” This was the concern of everyone on the lower deck. They were not Federation citizens, so the military had no obligation to them. The recent incident made them realize this place was not safe. If a sacrifice was needed, the old man feared they would be the first to go.

“Deal.” Lu Li agreed readily. The old man, satisfied, pulled out two inhibitors from his coat and handed them to Su He, explaining, “I escaped in a hurry and only brought two.”

Lu Li’s gaze swept over his hand and suddenly asked, “Where is your supply of inhibitors?”

The old man slyly smiled, “I need to continue my business after leaving here, Major Lu can’t cut off my livelihood. But there’s an old saying, ‘The darkest place is under the lamp.’ Major Lu is smart, you’ll figure it out.”

With that, he scampered off, disappearing from Su He and Lu Li’s sight. Su He put away the inhibitors, hesitated for a few seconds, then seriously looked at Lu Li and said, “Thank you.”

Lu Li smiled slightly and said, “Don’t overthink it.”

Su He nodded lightly, and Lu Li went back to his tasks. Su He watched Lu Li’s figure from a distance, thinking about Lu Li’s promise not to force him. He felt a bit conflicted. He didn’t know Lu Li’s true thoughts or how he managed to control himself. For a sentinel, resisting the attraction to a guide wasn’t easy. He remembered Lu Li’s suggestion to consider settling at the Seventh Legion’s base. Would he follow Lu Li forever? Actually, thinking about it, Lu Li was a good person. If it was Lu Li…

Su He paused, his ears turning slightly red. He quickly shut down those thoughts, his eyes flickering as he turned his gaze away, not daring to think further.

After the morning’s incident, the rest of the day was relatively calm. The First Squad members re-checked the area around the Iris, ensuring no lifeforms were lurking in the sand. It wasn’t until evening that Wei Na and the Third Squad returned with their mission to collect lifeform samples. They were not in good shape, with two mechs severely damaged.

Su He happened to be outside and saw the condition of the mechs clearly. Both damaged mechs had their lower halves missing, as if bitten off by something. Fortunately, the mechs’ flight systems were located in the back, allowing them to fly back from the sky.

Wei Na, not bothering to rest, rushed to the command room. She brought back a few pieces of news, both good and bad. Curious, Su He secretly followed. Seeing him, no one said anything, and Lu Li’s glance allowed Su He to stay in the command room.

Standing at the front, Wei Na dropped a bombshell first. “We discovered a huge energy mountain 15 degrees northwest.” She displayed a virtual screen, showing an endless stretch of yellow sand with countless milky white energy stones piled up into a mountain over a hundred meters high. The sight was so overwhelming that everyone’s eyes lit up with excitement. Though Lu Li’s expression remained relatively calm, his eyes were brighter than usual.

“But…” Wei Na’s tone changed, and another scene appeared on the screen. Dense green tendrils squirmed around the energy mountain. Zooming in, everyone could see clearly that these lifeforms, whether animals or plants, approached the energy mountain in waves, deposited energy stones, and quickly retreated, replaced by another wave. Wei Na paused the screen and said to Lu Li, “No lifeform would collectively and systematically excrete energy stones, so I suspect they are consciously producing them.”

Everyone: “…”

Wei Na continued, “Given that these lifeforms do not seem to need energy stones themselves, it’s possible we haven’t discovered why yet. But more likely, there’s another lifeform behind them that needs the energy stones. The plant lifeforms we found might just be tools for producing energy stones.”

Everyone: “…”

Wei Na resumed, showing footage of the Third Squad’s battle with the plants. She seemed puzzled, “Last night, they didn’t show much combat ability, but today it’s completely different.” The lifeforms on screen were fierce and powerful, surging like waves against the black mechs. Red laser beams swept through, and the fallen lifeforms were quickly devoured by those behind. In one shocking moment, a lifeform’s root, with its sharp teeth, bit off a mech’s foot, chewing it up and spitting out sand-like material from its tail.

With a serious expression, Wei Na paused the footage again. “As the footage shows, these lifeforms have incredibly strong digestive systems. Based on the current data we have on this planet, natural evolution doesn’t explain this.”

Lu Li pondered and suddenly said, “Let me see the map of the planet you’ve charted.”

Thanks to last night’s haul, the Iris temporarily resolved its energy crisis. Today, the Third Squad went out to find more lifeform samples and to map out the planet. The map showed the Third Squad’s path was all desert, with no oases, plains, or other lifeforms. The group exchanged glances, beginning to understand.

Shen Shen speculated, “This map covers about a tenth of the planet’s area. It can’t be that this planet is all desert except for the sea behind us, right?”

“… That’s impossible,” Jiang Bo refuted, without much confidence.

Lu Li frowned slightly, “Natural evolution might be unlikely, but what if it’s controlled?”

If, as Wei Na suggested, the lifeforms were not naturally evolved but some sort of genetically engineered product designed to produce energy stones. They could consume anything, breaking it down, reassembling, refining, and condensing it into energy stones. Anything useless would be quickly expelled. To increase efficiency, the designer gave these lifeforms green tendrils on their backs, similar to photosynthesis. The tendrils ensured the lifeforms could survive by absorbing light energy or other free energy in the universe, even after consuming most of the planet.

Everyone: “…”

The speculation was wild, yet it made sense. The crucial question was, who was behind these lifeforms? Were they also on this planet? The group exchanged uncertain looks, and Lu Li concluded, “This is just speculation. Whether it’s true doesn’t matter. Our goal is to collect energy stones and leave this planet. Whether these lifeforms have a ‘master’ doesn’t concern us much.”

Everyone agreed, but Jiang Bo suddenly asked, “What about the energy mountain we found today? Are we just going to leave it?”

“Of course not,” Lu Li stood up, “We’ve been poor for so long, now we have a chance to get rich. Even if there’s a King Beast ahead, we’ll fight through to get those energy stones.” He ordered, “Wei Na will lead the way. The Third Squad stays to guard the Iris. The First, Second, and Fourth Squads come with me to the energy mountain. As usual, 70% of the spoils go to the Iris, and 30% is split among you.”

“Yes, sir.”

The group cheered. Despite Wei Na’s warnings about the dangers, the immense benefits had them all fired up. Even if there was a King Beast, they’d still go for it.

Su He: “…” As the others left the command room one by one, Su He lingered behind. Pretending not to see Shen Shen and the others winking at each other, he whispered to Lu Li, “Be careful.”

Lu Li’s eyes softened as he looked at Su He and nodded. Su He’s face turned red, feeling the need to explain. He was simply concerned for Lu Li… well, not just for Lu Li, but for the Iris. He hesitated over the right words, but Lu Li interrupted with a smile, ruffling Su He’s hair, “This time, you’ll get a share of the spoils too.”

Su He blushed furiously, quickly saying, “I didn’t mean…”

“I know,” Lu Li interrupted, gently, “It’s the Iris’ rule. Whenever we loot pirates or get windfalls, 70% is turned in, and 30% is split. You’re part of the Iris now, so you get a share.” Before Su He could say more, Lu Li added, “Rest early. I’ll leave the hawk with you.”

Dazed, Su He watched Lu Li leave, only realizing later that Lu Li had called him part of the Iris. When had he become part of the Iris? But thinking about it, it wasn’t so bad. Su He, feeling a bit awkward, washed up and squeezed into the windowsill with the hawk.

The sea at night was stunningly beautiful. Su He leaned against the hawk, talking softly to himself, “I wonder what Han Rui is doing now? His situation shouldn’t be too bad, right? I left him three of the inhibitors Lu Li brought, so no one should discover he’s a guide for a while. But what if the inhibitors run out?” He petted the hawk’s feathers under its neck and continued, “Lu Li said he’d asked a friend to look after Han Rui. Is his friend also a sentinel? Are they trustworthy?”

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