226 When a woman closes her eyes, it means she wants to be kissed! [Four-in-one, please subscribe!]

Lu Chen hitched the Firefly ship to the belly of the Leoning.

The Firefly interfered with the starship's flight speed, preventing it from entering warp drive, so it was impossible to tow it all the way to the New Federation star system.

"Let's head back to the White Dew first!"

Lu Chen had considered bringing the insect-man onto the Leoning. After all, the kid was an information officer; if left on the Firefly ship, he might secretly start it up and make a run for it. However, Golia strongly opposed the insect-man entering the ship. It wasn't due to racial prejudice, but rather a lack of hygiene. Even Lu Chen himself had to be disinfected in the decontamination chamber, burn his clothes, and enter the cabin stark naked. Ellie agreed that this was necessary, and she simply burned her own spacesuit.

*What a spendthrift woman...* Lu Chen thought to himself.

"I see, you two just want to see me naked. Fine, come on, feast your eyes!"

After repeated disinfection and burning his clothes, Lu Chen stepped into the rear cabin with the upright confidence of a gentleman. In the blink of an eye, Golia and Ellie had him bundled up in bath towels, pushed him into the washroom, and started scrubbing him with body wash. Lu Chen was speechless, sighing as he showered, "Women really are clean freaks..."

Fortunately, the insect-man on the Firefly ship thought it over and didn't dare to escape, following them all the way to the White Dew. He even passed through the security checkpoint with ease.

Just like that, less than a day after the Leoning set sail, it returned to the massive interstellar freighter, the White Dew. It felt like a newlywed bride returning home for a visit the day after the wedding. Lu Chen had expected that towing a tumor-like monster beneath his ship would attract a lot of attention, but to his disappointment, it didn't. Along the way, he saw ships towing all sorts of things—he even spotted a pirate ship hauling a giant silicone brood-mother beast. After staring for a long time, Lu Chen realized it was actually a sex toy made for star beasts. It was still covered in silt and seaweed, likely fished up from the depths, or perhaps it was a silicone lure used to bait star beasts. Lu Chen was truly enlightened; the minds of fishermen were active indeed—they could pull up anything.

...

The Leoning arrived at the Ban family’s Treasure House at the tail end of the White Dew. Because the Firefly ship was latched to its belly, the Leoning had to hover above the dry dock. It was morning, and Ban Yue, who was still asleep, was violently awakened by his grandmother.

"Get up, quick! Your friend has business!"

Ban Yue clutched his backside as he got up and went to the dock to take a look. He was a bit dazed, until Lu Chen bypassed the Firefly ship and jumped down. Ban Yue smoothed his long hair and asked in bewilderment, "Brother Lu, you haven't been out adventuring for many days, have you? You’re back already?"

Lu Chen nodded. "It hasn't even been twenty-four hours since I set sail, and I ran into a dormant star-beast ship. It was too big, so I had to come back and offload it."

*Physically dormant, right?* Ban Yue stared at the tumor-like ship for a long time, unable to identify the species. "What kind of monster is this?"

"A Firefly-class star-beast ship. It specializes in illusions and has mutated after eating people. Take a look and give me a quote."

"A Firefly ship can grow this big? And it can grow human flesh?"

In the dock, Ban Yue had his men inject the Firefly with a massive dose of tranquilizers before unloading it from the Leoning's belly. He took a few people inside to inspect it, but they all ran out retching shortly after. Without a word, they all went to wash up. Their shower time lasted even longer than the exploration of the Firefly ship.

Fifteen minutes later, Ban Yue came out in fresh clothes. "As expected of Brother Lu, you really do run into all sorts of monstrous treasures!"

Lu Chen nodded; he was in a hurry and didn't have time for pleasantries. "Just tell me what it's worth."

Ban Yue nodded slightly and mused, "The Firefly is decent, but it's ruined. It’s equipped with a retro-style neural server, and those are unstable enough on their own—let alone a knockoff version. It was bound to collapse."

Lu Chen didn't mince words, boasting like a merchant selling his own melons. "That's debatable. With modern tech enhancements, the knockoff might be better than the original. The problem lies in the Firefly's illusion capabilities; it has immense talent and huge potential for modification."

Ban Yue shook his head cautiously. "Illusion talent isn't necessarily a good thing in a spirit beast. I heard the Galaxy Heart virus originated from ancient neural network servers—I don't know if it's this specific model, though."

Lu Chen and Ban Yue traded pros and cons. "Impossible. A virus of the Galaxy Heart's caliber requires massive computing power—at the very least, it would need to be a neural network running an entire society. Even the computing power of the big sister from the Cylon star system wouldn't be nearly enough."

Ban Yue was slightly startled and glanced at Lu Chen. "Brother Lu, your words seem to imply something... I like archaeology and artifacts, but this is just a retro-style server. My factories are just ordinary ship modification plants; this Firefly ship might be beyond our modification capabilities."

Lu Chen ignored him. "Just give me an estimate first."

Ban Yue pondered for a long time and held up three fingers. "Thirty thousand. The cost of a total refit is too high."

Lu Chen thought to himself that after he left, Ban Yue would definitely be lectured by his grandparents. "Fifty thousand. It's a level 50 illusion-type star-beast ship, after all—a rare commodity. You clean it up, and without needing any major refits, you could turn a small profit reselling it."

Ban Yue looked back at his grandparents. The old couple shook their heads vigorously. Lu Chen understood. The price was profitable, but the risk was high, and the margin wasn't enough—it wasn't worth it. So, he proposed, "Keep the fifty thousand; I'm not in a rush for the cash. Help me gather the parts to build a set of close-fitting combat armor."

"Combat armor for fifty thousand?"

Lu Chen nodded. "Yes."

Ban Yue breathed a sigh of relief. "I really can't do anything with you... I just hope that next time Brother Lu finds a real treasure, you won't forget your old friend."

"Certainly, certainly."

In reality, the armor Lu Chen intended to build for fifty thousand was far beyond level 50, but he needed to keep Ban Yue steady for now. At that moment, the insect-man Fei Sheng walked out of the Firefly ship, approached the shop entrance, and asked Ban Yue weakly, "May I work here? I can work for a year for free. After a year, you can decide whether to keep me. Insect-men are very hardworking and don't require high wages."

Ban Yue looked at Lu Chen, utterly bewildered. Lu Chen waved his hand. "Since the ship is sold, find a cage, disinfect this slave trader, and lock him up."

Ban Yue was surprised. "A slave trader... an insect-man?"

Lu Chen shrugged. "Don't underestimate him. He was trafficking human women to take to the Federation to serve as breeding machines."

Ban Yue was stunned, until he suddenly remembered something. "Now that you mention it, I remember. In the Pangu Corridor, there's a humanoid adventure group specializing in this business called the June Flower Adventure Group. They come from the New Federation, are entirely humanoid, and specialize in trafficking humans—men and women alike—to take to the Federation star systems to clear land and dig potatoes... They’ve been wanted by the Three Thousand Star Spirits for years. However, capturing humans to serve as breeding machines is rare; humanoid males have no interest in human women, as any children born would have diluted bloodlines, leading to discrimination by their own kind."

Lu Chen was surprised. The Empire's slave trade was larger in scale but had always been secretive, emphasizing political correctness. To think that slave owners in the New Federation could openly operate while being wanted by the Three Thousand Star Spirits was preposterous.

"I'm about to set off for the Federation to find the insect-man's buyer, a very special slave owner."

Ban Yue stared at him, astonished. "Brother Lu is going to the New Federation?"

"Yes."

"Has Brother Lu been to the Federation before?"

"Never."

"Then you must be careful!" Ban Yue said meaningfully.

Lu Chen was confident. "I am a recipient of the Federation's Medal of Freedom."

Ban Yue shook his head. "The various Federation outposts in the Pangu Corridor are directly under the Federation headquarters; they are a civilized society, which is why they awarded you the Medal of Freedom. But the New Federation’s member star systems are a loose alliance, the laws are not well-established, and the natives are fierce. Brother Lu, you must be careful."

Lu Chen didn't care at all. "I like humanoids, especially beast-eared girls, and they like me... I have fans in the Federation. They affectionately call me: Lu-Bao."

Ban Yue sighed. "You should probably pray that they know how to read first."

Hearing this, the insect-man nearby became unhappy. "How can you be so racially prejudiced in your business? We insect-men are not like those low-end orcs; we have group intelligence."

*Low-end orcs...* Lu Chen found it amusing. *You complain about humans discriminating against you, yet you’re discriminating against orcs yourself!*

"You're a slave trader; you're the lowest of the low!" Lu Chen defined him with one sentence. Afterward, he had someone weld a cage together. The moment the insect-man saw the cage, his face turned pale and he panicked. "No, no, no, Kind-hearted Master Lu, if I'm dirty, I can stay in your decontamination chamber, I won't enter the ship—please, don't put me in a cage!"

Lu Chen tilted his head. "What are you thinking? Even in a cage, you're staying in the decontamination chamber!" He opened the cage door and kicked the insect-man inside.

"Nooooo—"

Just like that, Lu Chen stuffed the insect-man into the cage, gave him some food and water, equipped him with a second-hand wristband, and tossed him into the ship's decontamination chamber. The Leoning set sail once again, heading for the New Federation star system.

...

The Pangu Corridor was incredibly long, like a twisted pipe that was nearly sealed. It started at the Sea Hero Port. The space in the front section was twisted, leading to unknown places, and the endpoint had yet to be discovered. In the middle, there were a certain number of narrow passes, held separately by the Empire and the New Federation. Lu Chen checked the map; the nearest Federation pass was in the airspace about two days' journey ahead of the White Dew.

Lu Chen set his course based on the target location. He would reach the pass a day ahead of the White Dew, spend two days adventuring, and then spend another day catching up to the White Dew.

"Perfect!"

Lu Chen immediately set the ship to autopilot. The Summer-type adventure ship had powerful radar and excellent autonomous flight capabilities, automatically avoiding many dangerous airspaces. This meant that the three of them could get some rest or focus on their cultivation.

Along the way, Ellie took a Marrow Cleansing Pill in advance and ran to the cultivation chamber to enter the Yunlan Sect for a breakthrough. Lu Chen also wanted to take pills to push his cultivation, but unfortunately, the pills that could upgrade him were becoming increasingly scarce. It was getting harder to buy them with money; he needed to find rare medicinal herbs and have Lady August customize them. Golia’s magic-replenishing effect was still there, but it wasn't as potent as it used to be. This was why he was in such a hurry to acquire the primary descendants of the Interstellar Zerg—he had to rely on adventures to make any progress.

As for Ellie’s breakthrough in the cultivation chamber? Lu Chen was still a bit worried, so he went in to check.

In the cultivation chamber, within the Yunlan Sect’s Spirit Peak, goose-feather-sized snowflakes began to fall. Ellie was soaking in an open-air marrow-cleansing pool at the summit. The surrounding clouds were rolling, the snow screen was misty, and the scenery was magnificent and picturesque, complete with a Cyan Light Array to block divine sense and light. Ellie hadn't been in the water for long and was still preparing her herbs. Seeing the Captain enter, she shrank into the water in a fright, leaving only her head exposed, looking like a little red apple.

Lu Chen, however, said with a serious face, "A breakthrough is no small matter. Shouldn't you have waited until we returned to Lady August’s Floating Island to undergo the cleansing according to her medical advice?"

Ellie understood the logic, but her expression remained firm. "The mission is dangerous, and I want to become stronger quickly to help the Captain and Sister Golia share the burden. Captain, don't forget, I am also a Spirit Master and have dabbled in medicine. Besides, I have the prescription Lady August provided, so even if the breakthrough fails, I won't be hurt."

Lu Chen nodded slightly. "Then I'll call Golia to come up the mountain to watch over you. I'm still a bit worried."

Unexpectedly, Golia poked her head out from the clouds. "Idiot, having someone nearby during a breakthrough is distracting, especially a man!" Saying this, she dragged Lu Chen away to the Sword Peak to practice swordsmanship.

It was in the back mountain's sword courtyard, which was also covered in snowflakes. The snow on the ground was deep enough to cover the tops of their shoes. The senior brother, second sister, and third junior brother were commenting on the weather again, eventually concluding that they should continue practicing. The other disciples were practicing mechanically. The vast snowy screen added a touch of romance to the scene.

Lu Chen sat cross-legged on the roots of an ancient pine by the cliff, rubbing his hands together and breathing out fog. It was quite atmospheric. Golia sat sideways on a drooping pine branch nearby, slightly higher than he could reach. Despite the heavy snow, she wore a thin cyan robe, looking quite ethereal and not at all cold.

Lu Chen felt that Golia dragging him here to practice was just jealousy. After all, if something went wrong during Ellie’s breakthrough, he might just end up assisting with dual cultivation...

"I'm a Spirit Mechanic who drives armor; why am I practicing swordsmanship with you? There are so many maps in the cultivation chamber—wouldn't it be better if we explored them together?"

Golia, drinking from a flask in the snow, suddenly straightened her exquisite, painterly face and said solemnly, "What's the point of exploring virtual worlds? You’ve luckily learned two types of Chosen Powers, yet you stop at the surface and don't seek progress. Isn't that a waste of this opportunity?"

Lu Chen still didn't understand. "And what does that have to do with learning swordsmanship?"

Golia shook her head and explained, "The sword is the number one spirit weapon of the cultivation era. At the pinnacle of the sword, one stands above the world. Do you understand the value of the Dao of the Sword? Any power can be imbued into a sword to enhance attack and defense, including the two Chosen Powers you’ve learned."

Lu Chen asked excitedly, "Can a lightsaber do that too?"

Golia’s eyelid twitched. She feigned calmness and nodded. "A lightsaber can too, but it's harder... You can start with an ordinary spirit sword. Aren't you going to build combat armor? You can carry a sword; having an extra weapon is never a bad thing."

Lu Chen said with disdain, "How can an iron sword be cooler than a lightsaber?"

Golia fought the urge to hit him and said seriously, "An iron sword has sword energy. Those skilled in the five-element spirit arts can even manifest all sorts of cool sword shadows. Not only is the lethality high, but it's much cooler than your lightsaber."

Lu Chen still felt that a lightsaber was cooler. *The beauty of technology—how could you, a woman, possibly understand?*

"Speaking of which, why are you suddenly teaching me so seriously? It's making me feel a bit uncomfortable."

Golia stated bluntly, "Because you're too weak, obviously... Haha, from today on, I'm going to be your teacher, your elder, so you stop scheming against me."

*Am I someone who lacks a teacher? Even you want to be my teacher?* Lu Chen looked up at Teacher Golia, who was looking down from above, nearly catching a glimpse of her...

"What scheming am I doing? You give me 'benefits' every day—can you blame me?"

Golia argued with a straight face, "I'm a succubus; isn't it normal to give you some benefits? It’s to earn some money or make you treat me better, but you can't touch me on your own—that's a lewd act."

Lu Chen didn't back down, defending his reputation: "So kissing you isn't lewd? I saw you close your eyes yesterday. Your mother should have taught you that when a woman closes her eyes, it means she wants to be kissed!"

Golia hadn't expected Lu Chen to be more direct than she was, making her feel a bit embarrassed. She suppressed a blush and said, "Yesterday, I was testing you... Besides, that's an act of emotion; it's different."

Lu Chen said with scorn, "Do you even understand men? Kissing you is also for the next step; there's no damn emotion involved."

Golia’s eyelid twitched; her psychological defenses were nearly broken, and her voice became much quieter. "I thought you had feelings for Ellie; you praise her often."

Lu Chen nodded slightly, staring at her, and said with complete seriousness, "Ellie is well-behaved and weak, so of course I have to praise her. You mess around all day and are so strong—can I praise you? If I praised you, wouldn't your backside be in the sky?"

Golia was stunned for a second, then snapped back to reality, pulling a long face: "Finally, you admit I'm strong. Now that you've admitted it, start practicing your swordsmanship!"

"..."

Lu Chen was speechless. He thought that since he was free anyway, he might as well try. "How do I practice?"

Golia held the flask in her left hand and made a sweeping gesture with her right. The movement was very casual. A snowflake landed gracefully on the pine root in front of Lu Chen. *Snap.* It broke into two halves. Lu Chen felt as if he had heard the sound of the snowflake shattering.

Lu Chen was amazed. The snowflake had been dancing perfectly in the air and only split into two when it hit the ground. It was as if the snowflake itself didn't know it had been cut, or perhaps it was some kind of high-level sword energy with a delayed effect.

"Sword energy?"

Golia took a dainty sip of wine and waved her hand. "No sword energy used. This is basic sword technique."

Lu Chen frowned and stood up. He grabbed her slender right hand and looked at her five fingers, which were painted with red nail polish. "If it's not sword energy, is it your fingernails?"

Golia, who usually had a thick skin, didn't know why, but she felt her heart racing when Lu Chen touched her hand. She resisted the urge to pull away and let him study it. She shook her head: "Not the nails either."

"Then what is it?"

"It's 'Momentum' (Shi)."

"Momentum?"

Lu Chen looked at Golia in disbelief, unable to believe that word could come out of her mouth. "Don't talk nonsense. With your intelligence, what do you know about 'Momentum'?"

Golia said triumphantly, "I use the side of my palm to instantly compress the air or space, creating a brief, sharp gap, reaching the scale of—what was it, molecules or atoms?—to cut the snowflake... Can you understand that?"

"It's atoms!"

Lu Chen was speechless. Golia continued her indoctrination. "As long as there is a sword in your heart, everything can be a sword. I've also heard that the top swordsmen can cut a sword gap approaching the smallest spatial scale with just one hand."

"Approaching the smallest spatial scale... are you talking about the Planck length?"

Lu Chen was dumbfounded. If Mozi could keep dividing a wooden ruler until he cut it into the atoms within the wooden molecules—at which point it could no longer be divided—then the Planck length was the smallest spatial scale that couldn't be cut. Below the Planck scale, existence no longer had any actual physical meaning, including energy and time. The core of Zeno's paradox regarding the flying arrow lay in this—that space itself cannot be infinitely divided!

Golia tilted her head, having never heard of the Planck length. "Is that the name? I don't seem to have heard of it... Anyway, they say everything can be cut, though I'm skeptical. Unless it's a Chosen Power, the possibility isn't high. You should start from the basics and not be overly ambitious."

Lu Chen thought, *This world doesn't have the names of Mozi or Planck; of course you wouldn't know.*

"I'm not being overly ambitious! You just explained it so casually and expect me to cut a snowflake with my hand?"

Golia thought about it and said, "You can use a sword."

"And then?"

"And then you practice."

"No mental cultivation method?"

Golia was stunned, pouted, and said, "This is just an introductory sword technique. If you need a mental guide for the introduction, it just means you're not cut out for this."

*Isn't this what you dragged me here to practice?* Lu Chen endured it! Because this "Snow-Cutting" move was truly cool, and he really wanted to learn it.

"Who considers 'Snow-Cutting' an introductory sword technique?"

"A Sword Saint's introduction, of course."

"Are you a Sword Saint, then?"

Golia thought seriously. "I must be at least a bit stronger than a Sword Saint; otherwise, how would I dare to teach you, a Chosen One?"

Lu Chen was rendered speechless, unable to refute. However, this woman's swordsmanship, while seemingly plain, had indeed reached a certain level. Just like her figure, it couldn't be underestimated.

Golia rummaged through her storage bag, pulled out a thin, one-inch-long blade, and tossed it to Lu Chen. "This is a razor for my eyebrows. Take this and practice. Don't rush, practice slowly. I'm going offline to play games."

"Remember to steer the ship properly."

"Yes, yes, yes."

Lu Chen held the blade, admiring Golia. *She enters a virtual cultivation chamber, wears an ethereal cyan robe, and yet she still has to trim her eyebrows and paint her nails...* Fortunately, she looked quite good.

Holding the thin, sharp blade, Lu Chen fixed his eyes on a snowflake dancing in front of him. *Whoosh.*

He slashed across. The snowflake split immediately. It turned into two pieces in the air, blown here and there by the wind, landing more than a meter apart. He tried dozens of times in a row, all failures.

"I don't believe it!"

If Golia could learn it, there was no reason he couldn't. He tried for another hour... still failure. Afterward, he tried cutting the snow while invisible, but snow had no spiritual sense, so invisibility was meaningless. He failed again.

"I'm getting serious now!"

Lu Chen decided to use his Chosen Powers to assist his practice. He slashed through the air, rippling the cold wind and accurately hitting a snowflake. The snowflake instantly exploded into... mist. Lu Chen tried several times, but the result was the same. Then, he used his Resonance power to slash at a snowflake. The snowflake vibrated, collapsed instantly, and split very precisely into eight pieces.

"Not bad, I've achieved the feat of an eight-fold snow cut!" Lu Chen comforted himself. But the snowflake scattered in the air and landed in eight pieces, all over the place. It was still far from Golia’s realm of "Snow-Cutting."

Lu Chen realized that his two Chosen Powers were powerful, but when it came to cutting snow, they were counterproductive. His mental resistance was strong, but that was also useless. He finally understood: to cut snow, one needed to achieve a moment of stillness. Absolute stillness. Both physically and mentally, one had to be still.

Lu Chen resonated with heaven and earth, merging with all things, becoming one with nature, as if he could hear the rhythm of everything. He could even perceive the operation of the cultivation chamber server's spirit code. This gave him a God's-eye view that encompassed everything, yet it couldn't make him calm.

*Come to think of it, I'm someone who loves adventure and fears loneliness—how could my heart ever be truly calm?*

"Snow-Cutting conflicts with my nature... I'm not practicing anymore." Lu Chen stood up and said firmly.

In the cockpit, Golia took off her gaming glasses and asked Lu Chen via the connected ship screen. "It's hard to calm down, isn't it?"

Lu Chen nodded. "This kind of sword technique doesn't suit me."

Golia naturally knew this was just the first bottleneck for beginners, one that many people were stuck on for a lifetime. It was impossible for Lu Chen to break through in a day. "Sigh, you're just a greenhorn, so it's normal to be restless. Perhaps that's why you can't catch any fish. I have a suggestion: you can focus on something through meditation—something you really like—to achieve stillness."

Lu Chen was speechless. "So there *is* a mental guide? Why didn't you say so earlier?"

Golia pouted. "I thought you were a genius who didn't need these low-end cultivation techniques. Just like when you learned your Chosen Powers—did you use any special techniques?"

*Of course. No emotion, just pure technique!*

"I'll try."

Lu Chen focused his meditation, imagining that he was fishing. As a result, the float didn't move for half an hour... He couldn't even imagine a scene of catching a fish in his meditation! Lu Chen instantly became irritable.

"No, focusing on fishing is useless."

"You could also focus on someone you like, for example, that certain someone..." Golia smiled sweetly, closed the video connection meaningfully.

*Tch, isn't she just trying to get me to think about her?*

*If she wants me to think about her, I will! Who’s afraid of whom?*

Lu Chen calmed his mind and tried to meditate, focusing on Golia. From the moment he met her on Rusty Star, to the bits and pieces of their adventures together. Sucking blood to replenish magic, fighting together, traveling, playing around. Until he remembered the scene of her taking a bath last night...

Blood rushed to his head instantly, and his mind felt like it was going to explode. Lu Chen spat out a mouthful of "old blood," nearly falling into a demonic path.

"It seems thinking about Golia makes it hard for me to be calm. Let me try someone else."

So, he meditated again, starting from his best friend Wang Qunyu, thinking about his mother, his classmates who had crushes on him, his teachers, and Ellie... He soon fell asleep.

Just like that, a day passed. Lu Chen’s thinking was all in vain! He was completely missing the point.

"Is this thing harder than the Chosen Powers?"

...

A day and a half later, the Leoning finally arrived at the Imperial pass. Lu Chen and Ellie both walked out of the cultivation chamber one after another. Lu Chen yawned. Ellie had succeeded in her breakthrough, her cultivation reaching level 50, and there was even a hint of a powerhouse's aura between her cute brows! Lu Chen felt the condescending gaze from above. *Fearing that my teammates suffer, yet fearing that my teammates get too strong...* That was Lu Chen's current mood.

"Can you really succeed in a breakthrough in the cultivation chamber?"

Ellie smiled sweetly. "Yes, I made many preparations this time, though I almost failed in the middle."

*Almost failed... and still succeeded on the first try.*

*It's you, alright! A little expert at humble-bragging.*

However, Lu Chen thought it over—Ellie was a retrogressive little wolf-girl; this talent was simply preposterous! At this moment, Ellie asked Lu Chen with concern, "I saw the Captain practicing swordsmanship; how did it go?"

Lu Chen stroked his chin, curled his lips, and looked indifferent. "I made some progress."

Ellie clapped her hands and said happily, "As expected of the Captain!"

Lu Chen *had* made some progress... he had cut thousands of snowflakes! Afterward, he and Ellie took showers one after another and returned to the cockpit.

As they approached the Imperial pass, the routes became busy. However, most of the passing ships looked very dilapidated; they were all low-level, aging star-beast freight ships. It was evident that the Federation's economy was indeed much worse.

The insect-man Fei Sheng opened the wristband light screen and connected to Lu Chen. "Look, in just this little while, I've already seen several slave ships pass by... Of course, most are humanoids betraying humanoids. After all, there are many kinds of humanoids, and even within the same clan, there are those who betray their own kind. These people are the ones who deserve to die. But an insect-man like me, who traffics humans to improve the quality of the insect-man population—I'm a national hero."

Lu Chen couldn't refute this and only said, "I'm not a saint here to save the universe. I only strike at slave ships that cross my path for a price. These villains who traffic their own kind will eventually be struck down by heaven; I don't need to punish them one by one."

Fei Sheng laughed wildly. "You think humans don't traffic their own kind? Yet you’ve lived until now and created a great Imperial civilization? The universe is just like this: some people find happiness through technology, some through enslaving others, and some through technology to enslave others."

Lu Chen was amused. *A tiny little insect-man wants to educate me?*

"Yes, yes, yes, you're right. For an entire civilization, these are common occurrences, but that doesn't mean justice doesn't exist in the universe. You being caught by me, locked up, and even killed by me—that's all justice. Be grateful for my mercy and stop complaining!"

Fei Sheng still insisted on arguing: "That's only because I've lost my cultivation and can't beat you! Committing many evils might lead to being killed, but not necessarily. Besides, innocent people are killed, enslaved, and exploited all the same... In the jungle world of the universe's scale, technology is just a highlight; the law of the jungle is the underlying color of civilization!"

Lu Chen couldn't refute this. "Right, you're just too weak, and you talk too much nonsense."

Fei Sheng quickly said, "It's not nonsense. I am weak, but Balhe is much stronger than you. He is very strong himself, and he has an insect-tide army. His background is even beyond your imagination... You’re going to your deaths; I’m doing this for your own good!"

*I don't fear backgrounds; I only care about combat effectiveness.* Lu Chen shrugged. "Then thank you very much. Unfortunately, in this universe, I have the biggest background."

Fei Sheng: "..."

The Leoning slowly entered the Federation pass: Xia Kou. It was a tattered storm gap, with an artificial asteroid resembling a giant rock floating nearby. A Federation fleet was stationed on the asteroid. Ships passing through the pass had to pay a hundred spirit stones. If the captain was human, they would also be questioned about their purpose and whether they had clearance documents, using this as an excuse to demand more toll fees.

It wasn't until Lu Chen took out the Federation Medal of Freedom that they enjoyed half-price passage in accordance with New Federation law. The attempt to extort him failed.

Fei Sheng asked in surprise, "You're actually a recipient of the Federation Medal of Freedom?"

Lu Chen spread his hands. "What else?"

"You like beast-girls, right?"

"Stop prying."

"Since you are a friend of the Federation, you shouldn't burn bridges and do things harmful to the Federation."

"What you’ve done is equally harmful to the Federation!"

Lu Chen turned off the wristband screen, thinking, *This insect-man is too afraid of death.*

After passing the Xia Kou pass, the Federation's starry sky was no different from the Empire's. The spiritual energy concentration was just lower, similar to the Blue Valley star system where Rusty Star was located.

The Leoning prepared for a jump. Come to think of it, this was the first jump for the new ship. Lu Chen was somewhat nervous. It was always like this when piloting a new ship; once you did it enough, you’d get used to it.

"Confirming destination coordinates."

"Confirming flight path safety."

"Warp drive at full power."

"Acceleration countdown—ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one!"

"Jump!"