Beep, beep, beep.
Student... could you explain what is going on with the Lianxun crystals in your spatial button?
The final security check before leaving Planet Kashile scanned a massive amount of Lianxun crystals inside Wang Tianwei's spatial button.
Shi Zhixin, who had come to see them off, couldn't help but click his tongue when he saw the quantity.
You were only on your own for a little while... and you mined this much?
Did she have a specialized mining machine or something?
Wang Tianwei slowly extended her index finger, and Hiranuma Yusho's eyelid suddenly twitched.
Sure enough, the next second she pointed it right at them.
I just picked up the ore they blasted out... and dug out some of the protruding pieces while I was at it.
Having spent half a month with her, Shi Zhixin wasn't easily fooled by her excuses. Instead, he asked,
What did you use to dig them out?
Wang Tianwei had no choice but to honestly take out the impact drill she had made from the jagged teeth of a mutated sandworm.
The moment the other three teammates saw the impact drill, they all shared a feeling of, I knew it.
Huang Yan stared coolly at Wang Tianwei.
Did we underestimate your hoarding abilities after all?
...
Jian Jingyu was a bit dazed, suddenly recalling that his dad seemed to have judged a Federation mineral smuggling case back in the day. How was that criminal sentenced again?
He had thought that all the Lianxun crystals Sister Ma mined had been used on his mecha... Now it seemed that was probably just a drop in the bucket.
Sister Ma... with this amount, I might have to start delivering prison meals to you.
Hearing Jian Jingyu's whisper, Wang Tianwei immediately lunged forward and poured out all the Lianxun crystals from her spatial button. Rumble!
I'm not taking them! I'm really not taking them away, they are all here! That's it, really! I swear!
Everyone fell silent as they faced the mountain of crystals... Do you moonlight as a miner?
Hiranuma Yusho thought of the transforming mecha design blueprints Wu Fangyu had sent him. Since he owed her a favor,
Excuse me, how much is the fine? We will...
It was best to establish the nature of the incident first; ideally, it could be solved with money.
Wu Fangyu's eyes instantly lit up. Shelling out money was something they excelled at!
Sister Ma cared so much about her pride, she definitely wouldn't want to tell her family. The opportunity to curry favor had arrived!
So she boldly followed up on her squad leader's sentence,
We'll pay it for her!
Just as she finished speaking, she saw Huang Yan turn his head, eyes slightly narrowed, looking them up and down as if looking at idiots.
Tsk...
Mu Ning finally couldn't hold back a laugh. She took a few steps to the pile of Lianxun crystals,
Hmm.
If she was really allowed to take them all away, it would be enough for a few years in prison.
Shi Zhixin pointed a finger at Wang Tianwei and stepped to Mu Ning's side.
Commander Mu, I was the one who asked the kid to mine the Lianxun crystals. At the time, it was also for mecha experiments...
I understand.
Mu Ning met Wang Tianwei's apprehensive gaze.
Do you know what you did wrong?
The young girl in front of her nodded like a pounding garlic pestle.
I really do!
With the habits she had developed over many years in the apocalypse, it was hard for her not to swipe a little something when it was left unguarded...
And she had indeed genuinely forgotten about it later because she was so busy; otherwise, she wouldn't have left them so nakedly in her spatial button for people to inspect!
Mu Ning waved her hand and told her to board the starship.
Consider this a warning. Next time, don't go digging around in other people's territory.
Wang Tianwei was so moved that tears welled up in her eyes. She didn't have to eat prison food!
Thank you, Commander Mu! I will absolutely remember!
Go on.
Wang Tianwei hurriedly put away her spatial button and fled onto the starship.
Just a moment ago, she was dawdling and reluctant to leave, but now she wished she could fly back at the speed of light.
Take off quickly! Before Commander Mu changes her mind. She really didn't want to get arrested.
Huang Yan was the second to thank Mu Ning.
Sorry for causing you trouble.
He knew that Wang Tianwei probably wouldn't go to jail over this little bit of stuff, but the commander letting it go so easily was clearly doing them a favor.
Behind him, Jian Jingyu and Zhang Lyra followed suit.
Thank you, Commander Mu. We will keep an eye on her from now on.
Mu Ning reached out and patted Zhang Lyra's head.
Hurry back, there must be a lot of people waiting for you on Planet Tianshu.
Zhang Lyra's face slowly turned red from the bottom up.
Heh... hehe... I got a head pat from Commander Mu!
All the wounded and the soldiers parasitized by the Zerg were sent onto the starship, and the safety officers could finally return as well.
For safety reasons, each cabin was strictly isolated, and movement between them was not allowed.
Meng Chongyun and Mu Ning did not board the return starship.
Their purpose in coming this time was to observe the latest evolutionary direction of the Zerg. Planet Kashile was close enough to the frontlines, making it the perfect location.
Finally, the students said goodbye through the glass to the soldiers and mecha masters of the Third Military Region whom they had fought alongside.
The starship finally left the port.
As soon as Wang Tianwei and the others sat down, they felt incredibly sleepy. After chatting for just a short while, they couldn't even keep their eyes open.
Relying on their last bit of willpower, they found their bunks and passed out dead to the world without even taking off their clothes.
The next day, everyone was awakened by the starship's broadcast. Groggy, they heard that they seemed to be arriving soon.
Ugh, so fast?
Wang Tianwei rolled over in bed but couldn't bring herself to get up.
It was probably because she had been too exhausted before; once she relaxed even slightly, her whole body felt sore and weak, as if she had been soaked in warm water, unable to muster any strength.
Zhang Lyra next to her felt the same way. People from other military academies were getting up one after another, but they clearly hadn't slept enough either.
Not to mention their messy bedhead, they were stumbling around as they walked, looking as if they hadn't even opened their eyes.
At the critical moment, Huang Yan glanced at his optical computer... and then the optical computers on everyone's wrists vibrated three times in succession.
This was a rule in their group chat: important things are sent three times.
Wang Tianwei had to pull the optical computer's virtual screen as close as possible, take a deep breath, and force her eyelids open.
Major media outlets on Planet Tianshu are already waiting at the entrance of the camp, just to welcome the return of the top six contestants stranded on Planet Kashile!
At the same time, a large number of fans and citizens who came spontaneously have gathered here, all wanting to be the first to see...
What Huang Yan forwarded was a news report, and the footage currently playing was exactly the entrance of the competition camp.
The originally spacious passage was packed tightly. Only by using security lines did they manage to carve out a space in the middle for people to pass and for aircraft to dock.
The number of people waiting outside the security line far exceeded the day they went to register, and a large portion of the crowd in the back were holding up banners!
The most conspicuous one was the exact same banner she had prepared for her teammates' birthdays, which read,
Little Bear! Goldfish! Happy 18th Birthday!
It seemed that shop had been dug up by the internet too...
There were also many people wearing zebra and weasel headgear.
The banners in their hands were obviously produced by Zero Realm, because what was written on them wasn't the names of the four of them, but QL's Greatest Threat...
Of course, there were also support banners for other military academies, but Wang Tianwei completely ignored them.
The two girls propped themselves up on their beds and took a long time to recover their senses.
Sigh... I'm going to wash my hair.
You go first then.
