Free Web NovelChapter 870: Chapter 740: Head and Neck Region
Qu Jianlei flipped through the wanted list, feeling a bit speechless. He hadn’t expected so many fugitives were hiding in the asteroid belt.
Not to mention the Supreme, there are thirty to eighty A-level fugitives... How many A-levels are there in the entire Celestial Hook Star Realm?
That is to say, nearly thirty A-level fugitives are determined to be hiding in the asteroid belt.
Qu Jianlei thought of Zarif Star’s Star Thief Fourth Master, who should have joined the Star Thieves under false accusations.
He couldn’t help but wonder how many of these thirty people were wrongfully accused?
However, he wasn’t too concerned about the A-level fugitives. As long as these people didn’t seek death, he wasn’t interested in dealing with them.
As for those below A-level, Qu Jianlei didn’t even have the interest to glance at them.
But when he thought again, he felt puzzled: why would a mere team of A-level Kitchen Maids dare to raid starships?
So he couldn’t help asking the Sheriff, "Are there really so many fugitives?"
The Sheriff knew what he wanted to ask and answered lightly, "People can give up a lot for survival... You know."
Qu Jianlei fell silent upon hearing this, and after a long while, he nodded, "I’ve learned, goodbye."
Where are you going, could you help me? The Sheriff really wanted to ask, but ultimately stayed silent.
Soon, that female C-level reported, "That gentleman went directly to the Star Port, boarded ship 8384, and left."
The Sheriff showed no reaction, as if he hadn’t heard, and after a long time, he smiled, "He’s really impatient."
Qu Jianlei was eager to leave, indeed wanting to quickly capture that Supreme fugitive Kerry.
The priority of the teleportation array in his hands was his top priority right now and couldn’t be delayed.
Moreover, the one who saw him capture Jabbar showed considerable surprise, so he must quickly catch Kerry.
Quickly capturing the second Gold Attribute Supreme should exert greater pressure on the targeted silhouette.
In doing so, not only would it be beneficial to obtain the teleportation array, but he could still maintain considerable deterrence when the other side’s usurping was successful.
If the delay was too long, the other side might underestimate his abilities.
After 8384 took off, it didn’t go elsewhere but headed directly towards the Abandoned Mine Star Body.
This shabby starship was notorious in the asteroid belt, and he planned to switch starships while capturing fugitives.
During the journey, he encountered several waves of starships, but there were no accidents.
After all, brain-dead young masters like Norton Family’s aren’t commonly seen.
Qu Jianlei found new starship landing marks on the Abandoned Mine Star Body again.
However, he wasn’t surprised anymore and couldn’t help but think that those who controlled these starships might well be fugitives.
While he indeed couldn’t see the light, the other side might not dare to expose themselves publicly.
He perceived that there was no one on the star body and steered ship 8384 into the dock, switching to Gao Fang’s 3344 to leave.
Information provided by the Sheriff indicated that Kerry was likely hiding in the neck area of the asteroid belt.
The neck area was just a nickname used by locals, unrelated to its shape.
What’s certain is that the neck area is where the Imperial initially developed the asteroid belt.
This area occupies a significant space, with hundreds of star bodies over a hundred kilometers in diameter, a third of which are mineral-bearing.
Many star bodies have lost their value for mining; some are still being mined, but mostly in a sparse manner.
Even some scattered small teams would bring small mining equipment, hoping to strike it rich with starships.
There’s relatively little interest conflict here, and the order is somewhat better.
But it’s not entirely peaceful; over a decade ago, someone lured people to mine, treating them almost like slaves.
Mining these sporadic minerals doesn’t yield high profits; using large-scale mining equipment is really not lucrative.
Actually, manpower combined with small equipment can ensure a certain profit.
This is the famous "Black Miner Incident," which later angered someone and was eradicated by the government.
Whether there are any black miners now is hard to say, but no one would dare use them openly.
Qu Jianlei had never been to the neck area; his base camp, although an Abandoned Mine Star Body, wasn’t in this area.
But he had heard of this place, knowing that major forces ignored it while the government had some influence.
However, he was quite puzzled about Kerry’s hiding in this area.
Being a Supreme, shouldn’t he be living a lavish life elsewhere? Why hide like a primitive here? frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
Until Little Lake commented quietly, "Boss, you’re also a Supreme, aren’t you the same?"
Qu Jianlei suddenly realized, true, if he could secretly stay low, why couldn’t others?
He indeed had many secrets, but did others not have any?
Stepping back, even if there were no secrets, maybe there were other unavoidable reasons!
He could put down the Supreme’s airs and forego various comforts, but others surely could endure hardship too?
Thus, this self-centered thinking was truly undesirable.
Then he thought of Kerry’s psychological condition, suffering from "Contact Personality Disorder."
This is somewhat different from his symptoms, but there is no doubt that the other person is not good at, or might even reject, contact with others.
Thinking of this, Qu Jianlei shook his head helplessly: the other’s symptoms might make him even more suitable to be a recluse than himself.
Immediately afterward, he even felt a faint trace of sympathy in his heart; perhaps this was empathy between those who suffer similarly.
The other party certainly killed many people, but he himself... hasn’t he also killed many people?
With these complex feelings, he began searching for Kerry’s whereabouts in this area.
The head and neck area is quite large, and investigating each star body individually would consume a lot of time.
However, Qu Jianlei had no better choice, and thankfully these star bodies weren’t particularly huge.
He carried with him an energy tester, elemental sensor, and ultrafine wave perceptor, among others.
These were all gradually collected during his time adrift, many of which were spoils of war.
In the past, he hadn’t used these instruments nor valued them much, but he was always keen on collecting related devices.
After all, he was a highly skilled Mechanical Maintenance Master; who knew when he might need them?
The sophistication of these instruments basically reached the security standards of major forces, almost comparable to important governmental departments.
Relying solely on them, he could roughly scan a star body with a diameter under two hundred kilometers in two to three hours.
Therefore, the time required for scanning a star body wasn’t too long; most of the time was still spent on the journey.
Little Lake planned a reasonable inspection route for this, aiming for the shortest distance and time.
This route map also considered different priorities.
Qu Jianlei prioritized those star bodies where tailings were still being mined, followed by those with scattered teams present.
He believed the probability of the other party hiding in such places was high; hiding a drop of water in the ocean is the hardest to find.
As for those desolate star bodies where not even birds would fly, even if you hid well there... you’d still need to come out to interact with the outside world, right?
Qu Jianlei had already fully overestimated the other party—assuming they were well-supplied and even had a Concealing Array.
But even so, there would still be corresponding resupply needs, right? The base he built on the Abandoned Mine Star Body was proof of that.
Given this, Qu Jianlei decided to start by checking the inhabited star bodies first.
When inspecting those star bodies with tailings development, some people would step forward to question his legitimacy.
However, 3344 was a high-fidelity warship, and Qu Jianlei emanated an A-level aura, then simply stated he was conducting surveys, which sufficed.
While some noticed issues with the warship, the weapons onboard were indeed functional.
Besides, if someone is only conducting surveys, they couldn’t really stop him, could they?
And if anyone got annoyed, Qu Jianlei would dispatch the Attack Ship, letting it hover around the star body for a bit.
In short, whether or not he represented the government, his combat power was undoubtedly solid,
The guards at the mine also had weapons, but since the other party didn’t intend to resort to violence, why would they court trouble themselves?
So, apart from the initial few companies where inspection was slightly hindered, the rest went relatively smoothly.
As for those star bodies mined by scattered small teams, it was even more so.
Small teams might not lack desperadoes, and some were determined to protect their gains.
However, anyone with eyes could see that just the cost of a single trip on this high-fidelity warship exceeded their profits.
So obviously their target couldn’t be small fry like them; it was better for everyone to just comply obediently.
Qu Jianlei didn’t make things difficult for them, only minded his own business.
Because he expressed such restraint, some even approached him asking if his starship could take them to other star bodies.
Not asking for a dedicated ride, just let them hitch a ride, and they didn’t mind paying a bit.
That’s the life of "Interstellar Gold Diggers"—if there’s no yield on one star body, they move to another one.
Some even asked if his starship needed extra hands since they were cheap to hire.
Qu Jianlei knew it wasn’t easy for these people to make a living, but he coldly refused.
After thirty days, he had gone through all the inhabited star bodies but found nothing of significance.
A few places did raise suspicion, which he sensed with his A-level Perception and kept in mind.
He believed Kerry was likely hiding among these few places, but he wasn’t in a rush to verify, deciding to finish checking the uninhabited star bodies first.
If he could exclude all the uninhabited star bodies, the next step would be a secondary review.
Anyway, checking all the star bodies would effectively reduce some individuals’ vigilance, making it easier for him to strike suddenly.
This was Qu Jianlei’s plan, but upon inspecting the fifth uninhabited star body, he encountered a bit of an accident.
This star body wasn’t large, with a diameter barely reaching a hundred kilometers, but it had considerable radioactivity.
Because of this, many instruments couldn’t be used—or at least, weren’t accurate enough.
Thus, he simply left the starship, flying over the star body while using A-level Spiritual Power to perceive.
In just a minute of flying, he furrowed his brows: not far ahead, there was a concealed stone cave!
