Starting Cultivation in Wasteland

The one speaking was the girl from earlier.

Although Qu Jianlei had changed his appearance and physique, his focused use of the Pioneer in the tea shop still made him seem a bit out of place.

The Pioneer was not as good as the Baofeng or the Vortex, but it was still a fairly high-end terminal.

The key was that his expression was also quite solemn, lacking the sort of casual ease one might expect.

These two factors weren't uncommon individually, but combined, they seemed peculiar — someone wealthy had urgent matters but was still using public networks?

The girl was also idle, and finding it strange, she decided to report it.

Qu Jianlei felt a bit helpless when he heard this.

Earlier, he hadn't sensed any malice in the girl's eyes, likely she was just tempted by the huge bounty.

In general, when someone noticed him, he would apply a bit of spiritual influence, suggesting the person ignore him.

But he hadn't done that with the girl, mainly because she was still young and not fully developed.

For adults, occasional spiritual influence is not a big deal, but it's different for minors; it could really affect their development.

However, he didn't regret it, and if given the chance, he wouldn't do it again — one needs to have some principles.

What he resented were those who added to the chaos — if the bounty hadn't risen to astronomical levels, would a child even care about this?

Yet, this also reminded him: he really couldn't underestimate the power of these bounties.

Usually, no matter how high a bounty is, it only fuels the enthusiasm of bounty hunters, with little effect on ordinary people.

Even if a regular person wanted to report it, they would still have to consider the consequences of a false report.

Imperial society is different from Blue Star; those clearly trying to fish in troubled waters would face corresponding punishment.

And for those mindless reports, City Guards or Patrol Guards generally aren't very interested.

However, this time was different, as the wanted target "Panda" was a person who "could change appearance," with no genetic data available.

A company wanting to join the excitement offered a sum of money, encouraging ordinary people to report.

If they were wrong, the reporters wouldn't get the money, but as long as they had a reason to report, they wouldn't bear any responsibility.

The funds were mainly used as subsidies, given to the attending City Guards or Patrol Guards.

Moreover, this company was vigorously promoting the situation, making all Jiuchuan City residents aware that the authorities were after a heinous criminal.

Once the power of the masses is mobilized, it's truly terrifying, Qu Jianlei couldn't help but to sigh to himself.

He took a turn, entered another shopping mall, and soon disappeared from public view.

However, although he managed to slip away successfully, he was acutely aware that he probably couldn't stay on Star One...

He could influence others' emotions, but being in a state of constant tension might lead to problems.

Thinking of how he had declined Aunt Liu's suggestion to "lie low for a while," made him feel even worse.

He had to take some revenge; otherwise, he wouldn't feel settled.

As for which company to take revenge on, he'd already decided, that company encouraging ordinary people to report.

This company, named "Tomorrow," was also located in the high-tech district.

Tomorrow Company's main research direction was non-metal materials, but that wasn't the point; the point was they were also a high-tech enterprise.

The company wasn't far from the Cyan Blade Commerce Association, but it wasn't a small courtyard — it was a four-story office building with a research institute and factories behind it.

The four-story building housed not only Tomorrow Company but also three other companies, though the entire backyard was Tomorrow's.

Qu Jianlei could imagine why this company hated the attackers; it was merely a case of weeping for the rabbit when the fox dies.

But why should your joy and sorrow concern me, and why are you targeting me?

If it were a normal bounty, it wouldn't be too bad, but what's hateful is they set up this reward fund for reporting... trying to show off how smart you are?

If you're really smart, you'd better first figure out that the company attacked wasn't a high-tech enterprise!

Because of this resentment, he returned to the high-tech district.

The checks here were slightly relaxed but only slightly; probably they thought the culprit was still inside.

Qu Jianlei thought this was unlikely, more likely the City Guard was doing it to show other companies they were diligent.

However, these layers of checks still made it more difficult for him to enter unnoticed.

Fortunately, when he arrived, it started raining again, and the rain was quite heavy.

With the rain as cover, it became very convenient, and before long, he found himself near Tomorrow Tower.

It was the afternoon, about an hour before quitting time, and Qu Jianlei decided to try and get things done during the daytime.

Because Tomorrow Company had localized well, Star One was already a mature habitable star, and nine-tenths of the employees were locals.

Which meant that after work, many people would go home, and not many stayed in the company.

Qu Jianlei's luck was fairly good; after waiting five or six minutes, an off-road vehicle stopped at the parking lot in front of the building.

"A Tomorrow Company car," Little Lake reminded him, "it's from the Public Relations Department."

"Just one person," Qu Jianlei perceived the situation inside the car and launched a gentle spiritual attack.

Just an ordinary person, he had perfect control over his force.

Then he casually walked over, opened the car door, and disguised himself as this individual with his usual trick.

This time, he didn't plan to kill too many people, but the Public Relations Department... weren't they the ones promoting the bounty?

He gave the person an injection of anesthetic too, to prevent them from waking up halfway, thinking he could deal with them before leaving.

To conceal his Spiritual Attribute, killing a person like this was no pressure at all.

Qu Jianlei, after disguising himself as the other party, went straight into the building and sensed the first and fourth floors occupied by Tomorrow Company.

Altogether, there were more than thirty people: one A-level, one B-level, three C-levels, and the rest were Modified Warriors and ordinary people.

With the face of the public relations officer, he knocked on the A-level's door first, then knocked him out and beheaded him.

Next was the B-level, again knocked out and beheaded.

As for the others, he didn't kill them, just knocked them out and anesthetized them, then chopped off their limbs.

After all, the Imperial has medical methods for limb regeneration. Aren't you rich? Then help your employees heal.

The reason he killed the A-level and B-level was not out of fear of retaliation, but to tell the others—I'm not afraid to kill!

As for those below C-level, they're not worth killing, just a group of workers who have no say in anything.

This whole busy session took about half an hour.

Then Qu Jianlei pondered whether to go to the back research institute and factory to chop some more limbs.

But at this moment, an alarm sounded from afar, approaching quickly.

"Am I exposed?" Qu Jianlei touched his forehead, calmly going downstairs.

When he reached the parking lot, he saw the police lights less than a hundred meters away from the parking lot.

He opened the car door, beheaded the public relations officer, collected the head, and instantly disappeared into the heavy rain.

Surrounded by dense trees, he was in no hurry to leave.

He was curious about how he got exposed. If anyone dared to stand in his way, he wouldn't mind striking hard again before escaping.

It wasn't long before Qu Jianlei realized it was the strong scent of blood that gave him away.

He didn't kill many people, but chopped off quite a few limbs, and the strong bloody smell was noticed by people from other companies.

Because of previous gruesome incidents, no one dared to check what happened, opting to call the police directly instead.

After all, there was a reason, even if it was a false alarm, funds from Bright Moon Company would cover it—yes, that's what happened.

However, it turned out there wasn't a false alarm, the entire Tomorrow Building was a river of blood.

Two people were dead inside the building, and there was a beheaded one in an off-road vehicle outside the parking lot.

The City Guards immediately reported back, recognizing that these methods were related to the recent cases.

This time, the Supremes reacted very quickly, especially Cohen, who was just over ten kilometers away and arrived in just over a minute.

Soon after, a Supreme from a financial group, who did not participate in the search, promised to help if needed.

When Cohen called for help, he arrived immediately to help search the area.

Last to arrive was Arindel, primarily due to being farther away.

The three Supremes simultaneously released their Spiritual Power, perceiving any anomalies around.

The City Guards were very certain that the massacre hadn't happened long ago, and the perpetrator couldn't have escaped beyond a twenty-kilometer radius.

If the perpetrator were a Supreme, they could have fled over twenty kilometers, but at such speed, they couldn't hide their aura.

If not a Supreme, even with full effort, they couldn't run beyond twenty kilometers.

Not to mention the stringent checkpoints around, it's impossible to run quickly.

Qu Jianlei's face darkened; he was merely curious and ended up being blocked by three Supremes!

Thinking of relying on speed and Body Technique to break through now was basically dreaming.

He underestimated them, didn't expect three Supremes to arrive so fast!

In fact, it was more than just three Supremes.

Soon, the Tomorrow Company employees with severed limbs were awakened, indicating that the perpetrator was someone from the public relations department.

However, that someone was already slain in the car... It was a familiar smell, a familiar recipe!

Since the perpetrator dared to act under the spotlight again, Cohen, under the pretext of assistance, invited two more Supremes.

Fubi also stopped guarding the Commerce Association's gathering point—in such a situation, if the perpetrator dared to retaliate against the Commerce Association, there was no escape!

Six Supremes in total, centering on Tomorrow Building, searched a thirty-kilometer radius.

Qu Jianlei truly dreaming trying to escape, this was the biggest operation he faced since crossing worlds!

"I underestimated the impact of the Divine Text Research Association," he finally acknowledged his mistake.

But given the situation, thinking about it doesn't help, better slowly leave the center of the incident.

Fortunately, the rain continued, although lighter, it wasn't stopping entirely.

But there's also an unfortunate side: among the six Supremes, two are Water Attribute; using water's converging properties to escape was out of question.

Therefore, the rain only hindered instruments and vision a little, not much help.

However, the luckiest thing was: there was no Wood Attribute among the Supremes!

Fahim's experience had already spread among the Wood Attribute Supremes.

No matter how those Supremes viewed the news, no one would rashly face the force where Panda belonged.

Qu Jianlei used the Wood Attribute's converging properties as cover, slowly distancing himself from the Tomorrow Building.

Since leaving the search area in the short term was impossible, he had to carefully choose a hiding spot.

(First post in the Year of the Rabbit, wishing everyone a happy New Year, great expansion, and also congratulating Master He Meng "official prosperity in the Year of the Rabbit.")