Thirty-four days later, Ding Meng ended his cultivation. When he came out of the Induction Cabin, the entire hall was empty. There was not a single person in sight.
Ding Meng was puzzled by this. "I remember that there were many hunters who came here to cultivate. Why haven't I seen anyone in the past few days?"
With his current cultivation and brain development, even if he was lying in the Induction Cabin, his telekinetic vision could still clearly perceive every corner of every room on the tenth floor of the spaceport building. This question was answered when he walked into the deputy commander's office on the eighth floor.
"Brother Ding, you're finally out." Sileman greeted him warmly. "How was it?
Did you recover well? "
Ding Meng was a little embarrassed. "Captain, I stayed a little too long. I think I used up a lot of your military merit points, right?"
"Ahem." Sileman's expression was also a little awkward. "It's nothing. Don't mind it, brother."
In the past 34 days, Ding Meng had used up a total of 4,098 military merit points. On average, he used up more than 100 points a day. Sileman's military merit points had long been used up.
In desperation, Sileman could only "borrow" military merit points from his other brothers in the division. At first, there were still people who were willing to lend him some. After all, he had a high reputation here. However, in the end, no one could "borrow" them even if they wanted to. Ding Meng had used up most of the cultivation resources in the entire base, causing the other hunters to have no resources to use.
Planet KV303 was a remote place to begin with. Headquarters only allocated a small amount of resources to this place every year. Now, all the amplification products had been used up by Ding Meng alone.
"Well …" Ding Meng scratched his head in embarrassment. "Commander, captain, I didn't pay attention to the cultivation time. I'm really sorry …"
"It's okay."
Gulaga patted him on the shoulder in a friendly manner. "Brother Ding, you don't have to apologize. The fact that you can cultivate for such a long time shows that your strength is extraordinary. We are sincerely happy for you. We had something to tell you, but you just happened to come out. Now that everyone is here, Miss Qu, you should tell them."
Qu Xiaoqing had already stood up from the sofa. Her complexion was very good, and her face was full of vitality. She must have encountered something good.
As expected, she smiled and said, "Ding Meng, let me tell you a piece of good news. Through the efforts of the commander and the captain, we have contacted a commercial fleet from the Norse Empire. They will pass by here in two days, and after a short stop at planet KV303, they will send us back to the Empire."
Ding Meng nodded. This was indeed good news.
Qu Xiaoqing then looked at the vice-captain and Sleeman. "Before leaving, I've already ordered some supplies from the caravan. I'll have to trouble the captain to distribute these supplies to the people living in the basement."
Gulaja hurriedly thanked her, "We were just worrying about this matter. We didn't expect Miss Qu to be so generous. Thank you so much."
Qu Xiaoqing said sweetly, "Captain, you're too polite. Without the captain's help, we would have been doomed long ago in the K8 system. After being taken in by you and disturbing your base for so long, it's only right for me to contribute a little bit."
This "little bit" was not little at all. There were a total of 500 bottles of energy mixtures, a total of 100 boxes. It was enough for the people living in the basement to live for a long time.
Qu Xiaoqing did not lack money anyway. First, it was convenient for her to help, and second, it could be said that she had formed a connection with the Green Arrow Corps. In the future, after she joined the army, she would inevitably have to deal with the Green Arrow Corps and other outer space organizations. It was better to establish a good relationship early.
After a series of thanks, Qu Xiaoqing's smile disappeared. "Ding Meng, I have bad news to tell you. This time, you can't go back with us."
Ding Meng seemed very calm. "Has the Empire listed me as a wanted criminal?"
Qu Xiaoqing nodded with a serious expression. "We just found out. Half a month ago, the military listed you as a fourth-level wanted criminal. You are accused of being a spy for the Federation and being suspected of murdering an Origin Ability user of the Empire. You are prohibited from entering the Norse Empire's territory."
Ding Meng did not react at all. This result was completely within his expectations. When he was on the Songqing spaceship, Lan Bing's "framing" statement sounded ridiculous, but Ding Meng had a feeling that Lan Bing was not spouting nonsense.
Sometimes, a true enemy would not lie to you. Things like lies were like a layer of paper, and paper could not wrap fire. No matter what you did, you could only achieve the results you wanted with sincerity. It was the same for your enemy.
At this time, Xin Jie walked over and looked at Ding Meng with a playful expression. "Are you happy to hear this news?"
Ding Meng said, "I'm happy and not happy at the same time."
Beside him, Xing Yi almost suspected that she had misheard. "Brother Ding Meng, you're happy to encounter something like this?"
Before Ding Meng could answer, Xin Jie had already answered for him, "Of course he's happy. This means that his strength has increased and his identity has attracted attention. Think about it, Xing Yi, if you want to become a wanted criminal, you must first have the strength to commit a crime. Don't you think so?"
"I …" Xing Yi was speechless. She had no way to respond to this god-like logic.
Ruo Lan curiously asked, "Then, why is he unhappy?"
Xing Yi was finally able to respond. "It's not simple. He's become a wanted criminal of the Empire. No one would be happy about this …"
"You're wrong." Xin Jie immediately interrupted her.
Xing Yi was stunned. "Wrong?"
Xin Jie said, "Of course you're wrong. Do you think he's unhappy because he's a wanted criminal?"
Xing Yi curiously asked, "Isn't he?"
Xin Jie said, "Of course not. If I were him, I'd think a level 4 wanted criminal is too low. It'd be best if he was a level 1 wanted criminal. The military would place a bounty of a million Star Coins. That way, I'd be able to sell myself for a large sum of money. Wouldn't that make me happy?"
What could Xing Yi and Ruo Lan say?
They could only stare dumbfounded. They couldn't even make a "hehe" sound.
After leaving the spaceport building, Ding Meng prepared to go for a stroll in the wilderness. There were no more amplification items in the Sensory Hall, so he could only go out to practice his skills.
Xin Jie walked side by side with him on the spacious landing plaza.
Although it wasn't time to say goodbye yet, both of them knew that it was coming. They didn't know when they would see each other again. Perhaps it would be the next day, or perhaps it would never happen again. After all, interstellar refugees like them were already used to a life of exile. They rarely had high expectations for the future.
Xin Jie looked at the snowstorm in the distance and let out a long sigh. "I've always been curious. What did you steal from them?
So you stole the K-virus. "
Ding Meng smiled. "I didn't steal it in the first place. I just happened to come across the virus."
"I believe you."
Xin Jie's face also revealed a happy smile. "Now that you can't go back to the Empire, what do you plan to do next?"
Ding Meng said, "It's good to stay here."
Xin Jie smiled. "I definitely don't believe that."
Ding Meng said, "Oh?"
Xin Jie said seriously, "This place is too small. It can't hold you. Even if it can, sooner or later, it won't be able to hold you."
Ding Meng thought for a moment. "You mean … that Haitian Group will come looking for me?"
Xin Jie shook his head. "That's not what I meant. I just think that you left a deep impression on me. I've always been curious about you."
His words were very obscure, but how could Ding Meng not understand the logic behind it?
The two of them had only met twice, and the time they had spent together was only a few days. However, there was an extraordinary attraction between them because both of them were curious. What kind of person was the other person?
Why did he escape from the Black Gold Base?
Why did he appear on the Swordfish spaceship?
Why did he have such amazing abilities?
However, neither of them would take the initiative to ask. Sometimes, silence could allow people to maintain an appropriate distance between them. However, this time, Ding Meng spoke first.
"Do I count as half a friend of yours?"
Xin Jie was curious. "Why not half a friend, but half a friend?"
Ding Meng seemed to sigh slightly. "Because it's too expensive."
"Too expensive?" Xin Jie obviously did not understand.
"Yes!"
Ding Meng nodded silently. "Friendship is priceless, but friends are precious. For a galactic refugee like me, I'm already very satisfied to have half a friend."
Xin Jie's eyes flashed. "But a galactic refugee like you is not an ordinary refugee."
Ding Meng glanced at him. "How can I be different?"
Xin Jie stared at him. "Do you know that I investigated you on the space station of planet TT12?"
Ding Meng asked, "Why did you investigate me?"
Xin Jie smiled. "In the military database, other than the Empire Federation, the other regions and forces, big and small, don't have any information about you at all. Even the refugee camp's shelter system doesn't have any records of your incident. You seem to have appeared out of nowhere. Isn't that strange?"
Ding Meng said, "What does that mean?"
Xin Jie stopped smiling and said seriously, "That's why I'm very curious. Where did you come from?"
Ding Meng suddenly stopped and looked up into the depths of the snowstorm in the distance. His gaze was somewhat absent-minded. After a long time, he finally spoke. "If I say that I came from the Devourer Sector, would you believe me?"
Xin Jie said, "I definitely believe you."
Ding Meng glanced at him again. "You believed me one moment, and then you didn't believe me the next. Why do you believe me now?"
Xin Jie said, "That was then, and this is now. At least, there's a big difference between then and now."
He did not say what was different, but Ding Meng still understood what he meant. Xin Jie did not believe Ding Meng's words, but Ding Meng himself.
"What about you?" Ding Meng asked in return. "Where did you come from?
And where are you going? "
Xin Jie sighed, which was rare. "I might come from the same place as you, but the place I'm going to is probably different from yours."
Ding Meng asked, "Where do you want to go?"
Xin Jie was silent for a long time before he spat out two words. "The future!"
For a moment, Ding Meng was silent as well, as if he was thinking about the meaning behind Xin Jie's words.
However, Xin Jie did not give him too much time to think. He showed his signature smile again. "It's about time. No matter what, I'm still looking forward to our next meeting. I hope you won't forget what you promised me on the Swordfish spaceship."
Ding Meng also showed a knowing smile. "Don't worry, I won't forget. Steak!
I promise I'll treat you to a full meal! "
Xin Jie did not say goodbye to him because he did not like parting. So he turned around and walked towards the spaceport building while shaking his head. He was still chanting his signature tune. "My head can be broken, but my hair can't be messed up. Blood can flow, but my shoes must be oiled. I can't run, but I must tremble when I walk. I can skip meals, but I must smoke good cigarettes …"