Chapter 1178 - 1044: Hidden Threat

Chapter 1178: Chapter 1044: Hidden Threat

The paranoid one once broke through to above Supreme—or at least that’s what he believed—and knew very clearly how terrifying such an existence was.

The other party kept hammering on this particular connection, so he couldn’t help hesitating.

The others were even more so; "above Supreme"... many of them had barely even heard of it before.

Only Granny Jia stayed relatively calm. "Then kill them. Deal with the rest along with them."

She was already at an advanced age; without Panda, she’d probably already be lying in bed counting down her days.

Whether she could break through again... honestly, it didn’t mean that much anymore.

The key was that the boss had given her another chance to break through, so what if they were up against something above Supreme?

Just as she finished speaking, Qinghu lifted her hand; another Golden Needle shot out, and another Supreme’s life was taken.

The old lady handled the statements, while Qinghu was pure enforcement, no questions asked. No one knew when she’d become this decisively ruthless.

She even called out to the others, "Don’t just stand there. Do it."

Since she’d already made a move, the paranoid one naturally didn’t hesitate either, and started picking off the remaining four Supremes.

The Wood Attribute who’d shown up later begged for mercy, failed, and instantly switched to frenzied curses, his despair spilling over his face.

But why would Qu Jianlei bother with any of that? Once the deed was done, what was there to regret?

All six Supremes died under Gold Attribute Techniques, while everyone did their best to hide any traces of other Attributes.

As for what the opposing faction would deduce from this, no one wanted to think about it.

One piece of good news was that Little Lake could basically confirm that from the start to the end of the fight, the ambushers hadn’t sent out any information.

The Wood Attribute Supreme who’d been on lookout had sent out two messages, but of course they’d been encrypted.

Little Lake cracked the cipher and could confirm that he’d only transmitted that the ambush had failed and a call for reinforcements.

Qu Jianlei felt pretty reassured about this part, but the others didn’t know.

Seeing everyone quiet and withdrawn as they cleaned up the battlefield, he had to inform them.

They already took Little Lake’s existence for granted and trusted his information channels—a Nutrient Injection’s channels were actually pretty formidable too.

The mood eased up a bit, and the cleanup went faster.

The two vehicles they’d come in were completely destroyed; after finishing the sweep for traces, everyone boarded the two captured cars.

It sounded like a lot, but from the ambush to them leaving, only fifteen minutes had passed.

The City Guard vehicles didn’t arrive until an hour later.

No one knew whether the other side had given them a heads-up, or whether Haima Star just saw too much fighting and this was simply their work efficiency.

In any case, with how vast the Imperial territory was, every Star Realm had its own local quirks.

Qu Jianlei and eleven others took two off-road vehicles and headed straight for the Star Port.

Before the ambush, everyone had been fine; now look at them—four people carrying injuries.

Koros was currently in the Nutrition Pod, while Corona was back to looking like a full-body bandage case, though at least she could communicate normally.

Qu Jianlei asked aloud, "Are you two planning to recover on Haima Star, or go to Blue Bay?"

Corona answered without hesitation, "We’ve already talked it over. If we can get on the Starship, we’re going to Blue Bay."

Qu Jianlei nodded slightly at that. "You’ll definitely be able to board the Starship, but for now the treatment options are only so-so."

When Nutrient Injection arranged this Starship, it had already been said: as long as they didn’t go around starting trouble onboard, they didn’t need to worry about outside matters.

In the past, Qu Jianlei wouldn’t have fully believed that, but Nutrient Injection had already proved with actions that he really was reliable.

Some circles’ spheres of influence truly did go beyond ordinary people’s understanding.

"It’s already very good," Corona answered without the slightest hesitation. "Thank you, sir."

The siblings had been drifting for so long; what kind of suffering hadn’t they tasted?

Having a Nutrition Pod for temporary treatment right now was already very good; in the past, it was something they’d never even have dared to imagine.

Qu Jianlei shook his head and didn’t say anything more, though he had some guesses in his heart.

Koros knew Haima Star’s situation well, yet insisted on not staying here—there had to be something behind that.

But what did that have to do with him? He just had to get the two siblings safely to the designated destination.

Since he’d taken the "good cop" role, Granny Jia very tactfully stepped up as the "bad cop"—that was the team’s coordination.

"How are you going to explain today’s attack to other people?"

"What attack?" Corona’s eyes were full of confusion. "We don’t know anything!"

It was a very genuine bewilderment. Some would say every woman has a talent for acting.

Claire found it amusing and chimed in, "You’ll have to be hospitalized in Blue Bay, right? How will you explain where your injuries came from?"

"We ran into some petty robbers," Corona replied casually. "As long as the money’s enough, you can pay them to keep quiet."

She and her brother had already quietly discussed it; they absolutely had to keep the other side’s secret.

These people had killed more than a dozen without blinking, including six Supremes—utterly untouchable beings to them.

As for the idea that the siblings had been passively dragged into this whirlpool, causing one minor injury and one serious one—who would take responsibility...

They didn’t even dare entertain that question, much less complain.

They’d insisted on following this group, which had led to this outcome—they could have separated as soon as they reached Haima Star.

And they’d also noticed that the team’s body techniques were strange.

In this situation, the fact that they didn’t just kill the two of them to silence them was already kindness to an almost excessive degree, so of course the siblings would firmly keep the secret.

"Oh," Claire nodded, "so you know too—there’s a lot of money on you two."

She was even younger than them, but born on a Garbage Star and having rolled around society for years, she’d seen far too much of how vicious people could be.

Koros could naturally understand as well, so he nodded. "It’s all thanks to you lords being kind and upright. We siblings know how to be grateful!"

That really came from the heart. If the other side truly wanted to silence them, they could also make a nice pile of money while they were at it.

In this situation, for them to actually stick to their bottom line and not make a move—speaking purely from conscience, she genuinely admired this group.

"As long as you understand," Claire nodded, then straightened her expression and warned them in all seriousness.

"You know what we’re capable of. It’s not that we don’t dare kill... we’ve really treated you two quite well—don’t let us down!"

She was copying the boss here, never mentioning the consequences of breaking the deal—"You should get what I mean!"

Koros nodded. Of course she understood everything; even faced with their warning tone, she couldn’t feel the slightest resentment.

The difference in strength between the two sides was too huge. For them to spell it out this clearly was actually a good thing.

At least they didn’t have to worry too much that the other side would secretly stab them in the back.

People were too vicious these days. Faced with their treasures, even the famed Supreme of the Divine Text Association, Aikberg, would just outright rob them.

When the vehicle had driven to about a hundred kilometers from the Star Port, everyone ditched it, walked a few kilometers, then rented two more vehicles to continue.

They were stopped and checked on the way. Seeing injured people in the car, the inspectors’ eyes grew a bit wary.

Flower Scorpion showed the transit paperwork, not even taking out an Identity Token.

The inspectors verified the information, then waved them straight through.

From that attitude, Haima Star was somewhat similar to a Transfer Star in the Celestial Hook Star Realm.

—As long as you had a backing and didn’t cause trouble on the spot, they wouldn’t bother you.

When Claire pushed the Nutrition Pod into the Star Port, she received similar treatment.

The inspection staff opened the Nutrition Pod, saw the wounded inside, and insisted she show relevant documents.

But it was still that same transit certificate. After they saw the Starship’s hull number, they froze for a moment, then sighed and waved her through.

After boarding the Starship with a scare but no real danger, everyone entered the suite and finally relaxed completely.

Koros asked Claire for some medicine, then very sensibly stayed in the small suite with the Nutrition Pod and even closed the door.

Then Granny Jia looked at Qu Jianlei and asked in a fully serious tone, "Have you figured out who leaked our movements?"

Qu Jianlei looked at her thoughtfully. "You’re worried this Starship of ours has been marked?"

Granny Jia nodded. "There are still five hours before takeoff. That’s enough time to get off and transfer to our own Starships, right?"

Compared to entering the Star Port, inspections when leaving are much more relaxed. If they could hide the relevant records, it’d be a perfect way to shake off whoever was tailing them.

Anyway, they had the Omen Ship and the 3344 Starship both nearby, so there was no need to worry about how to depart.

Qu Jianlei pondered for a moment and asked, "Then what about those two siblings... what do we do with them?"

He admitted he was a bit old-fashioned; things that should be discarded really ought to be discarded when necessary.

After pulling such a big job, you really couldn’t go soft at a critical moment.

However, if they simply abandoned them, the siblings might harbor resentment because of it, and they might also be discovered by whoever was tailing them.

That could easily trigger new problems.

Only killing them to silence them would guarantee a clean break—but... how were they supposed to do that?

"We can put the two of them into Life Support Pods," Mu Yu answered without thinking. "Isn’t that what we usually do?"

At worst, just never let them out; release them when they reached their destination.

You really haven’t dealt with society much; you talk without thinking it through! Qu Jianlei gave a wry smile.

"Then how are our two Starships supposed to land on Blue Bay Star?"

A direct landing was obviously impossible. Just dealing with Starship paperwork and personal identities would be enough to give anyone a headache.

Not to mention both Starships would easily invite associative speculation—the Omen Ship was a bit better, but still not safe.

Plus, they’d never been to Blue Bay Star, and there was no Teleportation Array Plate set up there, so Teleportation was impossible too.

Unless they took the siblings to some other planet... but that would not only break their promise, it would be a huge hassle.

Mu Yu was stunned. She obviously hadn’t considered this. Seeing that, the Paranoid hurried to step in and smooth things over.

"The main issue is they kept chanting that name above the Supreme. We all know: even the name of a Supreme can’t be casually spoken."

If a Supreme can sense it, is it realistic to expect that something above the Supremes wouldn’t notice anything?

That was exactly why the ambushers kept repeating the name ’Duogan’—it wasn’t just a threat, it was also a distress signal.

If Duogan sensed it, the way they were leaving right now was indeed a bit unsafe.

More than one of them had thought of this hidden danger.

It was just that with the Koros siblings present earlier, it wasn’t convenient to say it, so they were only bringing it up now.

(Updated to here—calling for monthly passes, follow-subscriptions, and recommendation votes.)