Cai Jianqiang raised his head and looked at the sky. "The Neohuman Alliance is the darkest organization in the universe, and it's also the mortal enemy of humanity. Why would he work with such an organization? He even cultivated a Corpse King Transformation. Also …" He paused and looked at Lu Yin. "Purple … I'm sorry about Bai Xue."
Lu Yin laughed. "You didn't do it, so why are you apologizing?"
"I didn't believe you," Cai Qiang apologized.
He was a very straightforward person, and he had chosen to believe in Lu Yin and Zi Rong. In the end, Lu Yin had been proven to be right, and he still felt that he had wronged Lu Yin.
Lu Yin liked to be friends with such people.
"Do you have wine?
I'll drink with you, "Lu Yin said.
Cai Jianqiang waved his hand, and over ten jars of unopened wine appeared on the table. It was the same wine that the three of them had drunk together in the past. "Let's use this wine as a tribute to that forthright friend of mine!" Cai Jianqiang shouted.
Lu Yin raised the jug. "Alright."
The two of them drank the entire jar in one gulp, feeling very comfortable.
There wasn't much alcohol, but the two of them drank the whole night. Until the next day, the two of them were still a little dizzy. They didn't dissolve the alcohol, and this kind of tipsy feeling was very good.
Cai Jianqiang supported himself on the stone table as he swayed. "Let bygones be bygones. I know why you came looking for me, and if you want to come back, then so be it. The Lockbreaker Society's status has indeed not been as high as it used to be, and it's destined that you won't always be a Lockbreaker."
Lu Yin nodded. "Thank you."
His appearance could be hidden from ordinary people, but it couldn't be hidden from Cai Jianqiang.
He did not intend to hide his meeting with Saul from anyone, so it was not strange for Cai Jianqiang to know about it.
Only with Cai Jianqiang's agreement would Saul be able to truly return to the Lockbreaker Society.
Lu Yin's goal had already changed, and he no longer intended to completely control the society. The Innerverse and Outerverse would be restored sooner or later, and everything that Lu Yin had done would be investigated. Given how terrifying the Lockbreaker Society was, if Lu Yin went overboard, then it would become very troublesome.
What he wanted was not an enemy, but a friend.
Saul had returned to the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society, and everything that had happened in the past was now his responsibility. However, this did not affect Lu Yin's control over the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society.
Saul was well aware of this, but he had no other choice. Otherwise, once the Innerverse and Outerverse were connected, he would be hunted down by the Lockbreaker Society. Even an Emissary would not be able to handle such a situation, let alone an Enlighter like himself.
"Now that Saul is back, there's no need for me to stay on Planet Hydrotink," Cai Jianqiang said with mixed feelings.
"Brother Cai, you don't have anywhere to go in the Outerverse. Why don't you help me?"
Cai Jianqiang was puzzled. "Help you?
How can I help you? "
Lu Yin smiled, and it was a very sincere smile. "Of course. I was the target of an assassination attempt a few days ago, and Zenyu Star has been facing a crisis ever since. You should know that the Great Yu Empire is now very powerful, and the Great Eastern Alliance is being attacked from both sides. My days are very difficult."
Cai Jianqiang was confused. "How can I help you?"
"Join the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons and become their captain. Help me protect the Great Yu Empire."
Before Cai Jianqiang could reply,
Lu Yin patted him on the shoulder. "Brother Cai, help me out. You don't even know that the captains of the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons are still missing, and I have to take care of everything. Why don't you help me? You don't need to listen to orders, and you'll just be helping a friend. How about that?"
Cai Jianqiang opened his mouth and was about to speak.
"Then it's settled. Thank you, Brother Cai. Come, let's toast to our generous friend."
Cai Jianqiang was stunned speechless as he was forcefully dragged away by Lu Yin.
In reality, Cai Jianqiang had not intended to refuse, as he truly had nowhere else to go. Planet Hydrotink was not a suitable place to stay. He and Saul did not see eye to eye, and he also looked down on someone as gloomy as Saul.
Lu Yin was excited, as he had not thought of this when he had asked Saul to return to the Society. It had only occurred to him when Cai Jianqiang said that he wanted to leave.
Cai Jianqiang was a peak Hunter who was only one step away from breaking through to the Enlighter realm. It was not that he did not want to break through, but rather that he was accumulating his foundation. Once he succeeded and became an Enlighter, he would no longer be an ordinary Enlighter.
The addition of such a person would mean that the Great Yu Empire had gained another Enlighter.
There were also Aden and the old smoker, both of whom could fight against Enlighters. There was also Sister Leng and Yan Yan, who were not too far behind.
The Thirteen Imperial Squadrons' strength was gradually increasing, and even if multiple Enlighters joined forces to launch a surprise attack, they might not be able to defeat these people.
Unknowingly, the Great Yu Empire's strength had increased by so much. Who would have thought that ten years ago, the strongest person in the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons had been Huo Qingshan? Now, Huo Qingshan was not even in the top five.
Cai Jianqiang left, and Saul relaxed.
The person with the most complicated feelings was Felynn, but no one cared what she thought at the moment. Lu Yin had given her a chance, and since she was useless, she could not blame anyone else.
As if afraid that Cai Jianqiang would go back on his word, Lu Yin hurriedly brought him back to Zenyu Star. He could not wait to confirm the fact that Cai Jianqiang had become the captain of the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons.
The darkness of outer space was always unfathomable, and no one knew what would happen.
Between Zenyu Star and Planet Hydrotink, a very ordinary large spacecraft was parked in space. Flames soared into the sky, and from time to time, explosions could be heard.
Inside the spacecraft, many people in ordinary clothes were wailing.
In a corner of the spacecraft, dozens of Sentinels pushed through the crowd. Behind them was a burly man who donned his universal armor and jumped into space. After that, the other Sentinels all donned their universal armor and jumped into space as well, relying on inertia to fly towards a distant planet.
There were only so many universal armors on the spacecraft, and if the spacecraft crashed, only those wearing universal armor could escape. Everyone else could only wait to die.
"Boss, these people won't leak this information, right?" someone in space asked through a gadget.
The leader, a burly man, replied, "No, the rescue team can't possibly arrive so quickly. By the time the rescue team arrives, these people will have already been reduced to ashes." As he spoke, another explosion came from the spacecraft behind them. When they turned around to look, their eyes were filled with despair.
However, the boss did not care. These people were just the cheapest miners that he had hired to mine, and it did not matter if they died. At most, he would lose some money. "What a waste of time. Go back and hire another batch."
"Yes, Boss."
The universe was vast and boundless, and the amount of territory an empire covered was often unimaginable to the average person. Most people would not be able to cover the entire region in their lifetime, let alone the Great Yu Empire, which covered an entire weave.
The entire Frostwave Weave belonged to the Great Yu Empire, and the population was simply too large to be counted. This gave many people the opportunity to take advantage of the loopholes.
Large merchants often hired laborers who were not registered with the empire, so no one would even know if they died. A single spacecraft with tens of thousands of laborers was not even a drop in the ocean to the Great Yu Empire's population, so no one would care.
However, this was all too common in the universe. It was not just the Great Yu Empire, but the entire universe.
The universe was far crueler than what the average person could see.
Lu Yin had once thought that the cruelty of the universe was due to the competition between cultivators, where the strong preyed on the weak. However, no matter how cruel the competition between cultivators was, there was still a chance of survival. He did not know that the cruelty of the average person meant that there was no chance of survival at all.
Tens of thousands of laborers could only wait for death within the spacecraft. Every year, more than ten million of them died, and these people did not even leave a single mark on the empire's records.
The spacecraft continued to explode, and the laborers were in complete despair.
Just as they thought that they would be turned into cosmic dust, the flames suddenly extinguished, and the spacecraft seemed to be controlled by a large hand. All of its functions stopped, as if it had been paused.
On the spacecraft, many of the despairing workers were lost, not knowing what had happened. When they confirmed that the spacecraft had stopped exploding, they all cried with joy; they finally did not have to die.
Behind the spacecraft, Lu Yin and Cai Jianqiang sat in the collapsible spacecraft and quietly watched this scene.
"It's strange that there aren't any cultivators on such a large spacecraft," Lu Yin commented.
Cai Jianqiang glanced at him. "They've been abandoned."
"Abandoned?
What do you mean? "Lu Yin was confused.
Cai Jianqiang was more than a hundred years old, and he had experienced much more than Lu Yin. "These people were probably hired. Something happened to the spacecraft, and the people who hired them and their bodyguards all fled, leaving them here to die."
Lu Yin's eyes widened. "Die?
No one cares? "
Cai Jianqiang laughed. "How?
There are rescue teams in outer space, but they're too far away, and some of them might not be willing to move. If not for our coincidental appearance, these people would have had a 99% chance of dying. "
Lu Yin frowned and looked at the spacecraft in front of him. He had thought that it was just a normal spacecraft malfunction, but he had not expected such a cruel reality. The empire was too large, and its population was too large to count. Furthermore, the unification of the Frostwave Weave had only happened a few years ago, and it had been too rushed.
Many thoughts flashed through Lu Yin's mind, and he unknowingly released his domain to envelop the spacecraft.
"Father, the spacecraft didn't explode. We survived, and we can go back to see Mother."
"The heavens have eyes, and we're still alive. I hope that the rescue team will arrive soon."
…
"Bro, when will the rescue team arrive?
Didn't they say that the taxes we paid would be used to increase the rescue team's speed? "
"Hmph, don't even think about it. That money has already been pocketed by someone."
"The Great Yu Empire doesn't care?
I heard that the Royal Regent is diligent and loves his people. "
"Bro, you're too naive. How could the higher-ups know about our suffering? That Royal Regent's glorious deeds were all exaggerated by the media. Because of him, our taxes have increased, and I heard that he wants to recruit more soldiers. Many cultivators from our planet have been taken away, including your second uncle. Otherwise, we wouldn't be in such dire straits."
…
"Bro, hang in there. Once the rescue team arrives, your injuries can be treated."
"Cough, cough. Don't comfort me. Even if the rescue team arrives, I won't have the money for treatment. The boss has already run away, and no one will pay for us."
"The higher-ups of the empire are a bunch of beasts. They're so unreasonable that they can't even guarantee basic medical treatment."
"Forget it. The empire is too big, and they can't do anything about it."
"That Royal Regent has the energy to wage war against the outside world, but he doesn't care about his own internal affairs. What kind of Royal Regent is he? He's far inferior to His Majesty, Undying Yushan. Even though the Great Yu Empire only covered thirteen filaments back then, it could at least guarantee basic medical treatment."
…