Route 99, Handsome Stranger, We Meet Again! 【Four-in-One Subscription Appeal!】

The one-eyed man's spiritual pressure slowly dissipated... then suddenly burst forth again! From the hollow abyss of his eye socket, a crimson flame instantly ignited. The flame concentrated into a small red dot, rapidly expanding into ripples, forming a blood-red pupil resembling a crimson eye.

Lu Chen thought he was about to activate his Sharingan. Terrifying...

Just then, Gloria sped back on her jet ski. Having had a little too much to drink throughout the day—morning, afternoon, and evening—her drunken driving was a bit faster than usual. She aimed for the side hatch of the Leonin but was blocked by the one-eyed man and his group.

“Move, move, move!” With her speed too fast to evade, Gloria honked wildly, panicking and desperate. She slammed on the brakes, scattering the group like startled chickens. The adjutant leapt up, drawing his sword with grace as he landed.

“Who’s there?”

Gloria only stopped once she reached beneath the Leonin. A pile of beast-hide clothes, various bone ornaments, and medicine boxes lay scattered on the ground. Ellie hastily disembarked and collected them one by one.

Gloria staggered off the jet ski, her voluptuous and alluring figure concealed beneath a loose kendo uniform. Though her movements appeared unsteady and lethargic, she maintained a poised stance, ready to draw her sword at any moment—a reflexive posture known only to skilled swordmasters at a certain level. This was not the demeanor of a mere 38th-level swordsman.

The adjutant swordsman stared intently at Gloria but didn’t act. Her flushed face shimmered under the evening glow. Gloria clutched a small wine flask, pouring it out repeatedly until empty, then grumbled,

“Who blocked my way and spilled all my wine?”

The dozen or so men opposite her were speechless. Clearly, she had already drunk it all...

Gloria rubbed her eyes and glanced at the ship before her.

“Huh, isn’t this that broken ship that got its sail bitten by beast teeth and had its engine smoking?”

Her words caused the men’s expressions to stiffen, silence falling like a shroud. The one-eyed captain suddenly frowned.

Perhaps the bite marks on the triangular sail could be seen, at least for now. But an engine puffing blue smoke on a deep-space voyage ship was rare. How did this woman know? Could it be that the Leonin, lost yesterday, had been tailing the triangular sail ship from behind all along, attempting to counter-track?

The realization sent chills down their spines. If the Leonin had fired a laser cannon at the triangular sail’s engine, it would be disabled, forcing them to disembark and fight hand-to-hand—a nightmare scenario.

The air hung heavy with oppressive silence. The dying sun cast a bloody glow on everyone’s faces.

The blood-red pupil in the one-eyed man’s right eye faded. Suddenly, he released the hand covering his left eye, which fixed its gaze on the young man inside the armor.

“I want to ask you a question.”

Lu Chen exhaled, relieved. Unexpectedly, Gloria had averted disaster this time instead of pouring oil on the fire.

“What question?”

The one-eyed man asked curiously,

“You, a person gifted in all five elements, how did you manage to cultivate to over level thirty in an era like this, the Age of Decline?”

Glancing at the group beside the one-eyed man—composed entirely of men, no women—Lu Chen smiled.

“Your adventuring team has too high a male ratio. If you had two stunning beauties with remarkable talents as companions, you’d cultivate fast like me.”

The one-eyed man pondered seriously for a moment, sensing some truth. A body gifted with all five elements had great tolerance, able to withstand various types of spiritual energy, even demonic power. With dual cultivation and medicinal aid, cultivation was possible.

“This is Senior Ranchy’s territory. I’ll give him face and not quarrel with you juniors. Better bring more high-level weapons next time, or your next meeting will be your last.”

With that, the one-eyed man led his group back to their ship.

Lu Chen smiled.

“Shouldn’t it be: You should stay here and repair your ship well if you want to see us again? We’re leaving first.”

Everyone was momentarily stunned, embarrassedly realizing they were here to repair their ship...

The atmosphere froze to an icy point.

Lu Chen, Gloria, and Ellie swaggered back aboard the Leonin without a care, leisurely flying away from the Great Longevity Star.

***

Inside the Leonin’s cockpit, Ellie eagerly gathered the clothes, ornaments, medicine boxes, and various strange local insect eggs, exclaiming,

“Sister Gloria, you’ve made a contribution again!”

Gloria blinked, dazed, not sure where her merit lay, then laughed heartily,

“Haha, when do I not make contributions? Either I earn money and splurge after, or I’m on my way to make new achievements!”

She watched Ellie lift all the goods alone and frowned slightly, saying,

“But things on this broken planet are so expensive. I barely bought anything before all the money was gone.”

Ellie placed the items on the leisure table, agreeing,

“It’s pricey, but all genuine. And not much more expensive than the fakes.”

Lu Chen inspected the goods carefully to confirm their authenticity.

“Leopard print flying leopard coat, seamless bamboo membrane underwear, ice dragon spine bone necklace, dragon’s blood amber pendant, white mask mushroom rosemary, fiery vein zircon insect sludge essence...”

There were also exotic snacks, fruits, desserts, and a bucket of beast bone wine.

All genuine materials.

With Ellie as the appraiser, it was hard to buy fakes. Although the merchants intended to sell fakes by price comparison, Ellie chose the more expensive authentic goods.

His attention fixated on a dragon’s blood amber pendant containing a sealed drop of dragon’s blood. Maybe calling it a drop was an exaggeration—just a thread of it. Yet, even through the translucent, cloudy amber, Lu Chen sensed its pure and immense aura.

“It’s genuine, but what use is a single drop of dragon’s blood?”

Gloria curled her lips.

“Isn’t it pretty? Ellie said this pendant might even act as bait to lure a true dragon!”

Lu Chen stared at Ellie, speechless. She cared for him but secretly hoped to catch a real dragon.

Ellie, embarrassed, quickly handed the medicine box to the captain.

“Captain, these are the pills you ordered!”

Lu Chen opened the box, which was packed full, emitting a rich aroma of herbs and potent spiritual energy, refreshing as if standing in a medicinal garden.

Most pills were for him—blood explosion, energy burst, marrow cleansing, even demon-suppressing medicines.

Ellie’s humanoid-specific pills were few.

Lu Chen looked at her reproachfully yet sympathetically.

“Why so few for yourself?”

Ellie smiled sweetly, hands behind her back.

“It’s enough. Maybe I level up faster than you, Captain.”

Lu Chen’s face stiffened.

Gloria, lying in the gaming chair, dozed lightly but suddenly muttered,

“Drop the ‘maybe.’”

Lu Chen was speechless and quickly changed the subject.

“You should learn from Ellie—spend every penny wisely!”

Gloria closed her eyes, activating the rocking function on the recliner, swaying contentedly.

“What’s ‘wise spending’? If every penny you spend brings you happiness, that’s wise spending. I’m a born strong talent; unlike mortals who need cultivation, I live for joy. Spending money makes me happy; keeping it is like having fleas crawling on me.”

She reached into her loose clothes, scratching herself, swaying her hips provocatively.

Lu Chen successfully diverted the topic and let it be.

“Fine, this time you made a contribution. You’re right!”

Elsewhere, Ellie carefully inspected the upgrades to the ship and armor.

“Congratulations, Captain, your scavenger armor has been upgraded—duck egg yellow. Very pretty!”

Lu Chen blinked.

“What yellow?”

Ellie quickly corrected,

“Daisy yellow.”

“Hmm, not bad. I quite like it.”

He beamed with pride.

“I also upgraded the ship’s defensive formations and bought you a spirit amplifier specifically for beast tamers on the ship. Try it out.”

Ellie, eager to experiment, donned the half-helmet-like spirit amplifier at the cockpit, linking it to the ship’s energy storage. After a simple test, she showed a thrilled expression.

“Very useful! Thanks, Captain!”

From the recliner, Gloria mumbled groggily,

“What about me?”

Lu Chen answered casually,

“Next time for sure.”

“You better mean it...” she murmured, drifting back to sleep, lost in some sweet dream.

Lu Chen confidently told Ellie,

“After this refit, our overall strength has improved significantly. Future adventures should be easier.”

“Mm!”

After leaving the Great Longevity Star, the Leonin continued toward the heart of the Zu’an Nebula.

Lu Chen showered and returned to the leisure table, sipping tea while browsing news about the nebula. Reports mentioned several ships from the Guernica Beast Taming Corps discovered within the nebula... and that a Guernica ship over the Akka Star’s jungle was attacked by a star beast swarm. The battle ended, but the ship’s whereabouts were unknown.

Besides that, many escaped adventuring teams were embroiled in conflicts with the Giant Beast Park and even the Galactic Animal Protection Association. Lu Chen sipped tea, enjoying the gossip.

Suddenly, the gossip turned to him.

On the Adventurers’ Association forum, a post claimed sightings of the Leonin and the shopping escapades of Ellie and Gloria in major commercial districts of the Great Longevity Star.

This meant the once-unstoppable Primitive Star Dome Adventuring Team had officially entered the Zu’an Nebula!

“Wow, this is going to be exciting!”

“Isn’t this a dangerous time to go into the Zu’an Nebula?”

“Dangerous is an understatement—they’re carrying a 20,000 spirit stone bounty from Wolf Fang Company, roughly equal to hunting a star beast.”

“Why can’t our 30-level ships enter, but their 30-level ship can? Is the Giant Beast Park discriminating or deliberately luring people deeper in?”

Soon, an official from Giant Beast Park posted a clarification:

“The Leonin has illegally entered the Zu’an Nebula. The company is dispatching a fleet to capture it to protect its navigation safety.”

Comments poured in with criticism.

Lu Chen shut off the screen.

Ellie still looked worried.

“The Justice Hunters seem to be after us, and Wolf Fang’s hunting fleet is nearby…”

Lu Chen calmly sipped tea.

“No need to worry. Before the upgrade, they couldn’t catch us; now it’s even less likely. Maintain course and keep going.”

Yet all along, Lu Chen could feel someone tailing them. Radar showed multiple ships navigating around the Leonin—a lot more activity than before.

Fortunately, he had no alert warnings. Perhaps they were incompetent, or simply observing with no hostile intent. After all, the Primitive Star Dome Adventuring Team’s legend was well known; who knew if they were hiding their true power? The empire suspected the Adventurers’ Association was intentionally supporting them.

Despite the 20,000 bounty, not everyone dared to mess with the Leonin.

At its peak, up to eight ships escorted the Leonin, though some left and others joined intermittently—likely just out of curiosity.

Soon, a ship caught up from the side, less than a kilometer away. It was a level 50 star beast ship resembling a fish with ram-like horns.

Lu Chen felt he’d seen it before, until the Guernica Beast Taming Corps emblem—a phoenix reborn—appeared on the ship.

Ellie warned,

“Captain, this is the 17th Guernica ship, the Fish Capricorn. They chased us once on Mist Sea Star. Should we evade?”

Lu Chen shook his head.

“They don’t seem to be chasing us this time... maybe they want to negotiate.”

Just then, the Leonin received a video call from the Fish Capricorn.

The caller was the same fish Capricorn woman, slender and agile, with ram horns and a fish tail—her lower body soaking in a bathtub, upper body leaning on its rim. Her freckles sparkled with sequins, her eye shadow dark and defiant.

“Handsome Lu, we meet again.”

“Lu who?”

“Handsome Lu.”

Such a flirt...

Lu Chen sighed silently.

“If you’re here to set me up, sorry—I only marry from my team.”

The fish Capricorn woman twitched in anger.

She resisted, but had more important business.

“Don’t be so vain, kid. Auntie isn’t here to set you up... I’m here to save someone!”

Lu Chen was stunned. Was this woman crazy, asking an enemy for help?

“If it’s someone even you can’t save, neither can I.”

She snorted.

“There are tons stronger than you on Mist Sea Star, yet only you got the treasure.”

He wouldn’t admit it even if praised.

“No way. I didn’t get it. Don’t make things up.”

She pinched her slender waist at the mermaid junction, as if it were a sensitive spot.

“Don’t worry, the captain said to be gentle with you. I won’t force you.”

Lu Chen felt something was off.

“Wait, you Guernica Corps came here to save someone?”

She shook her head.

“No, this is personal. I’m trying to save a relative. I want your help because it involves radar and signal decoding. I heard you’re an expert in this area.”

Lu Chen shook his head.

“No, I’m not.”

She immediately showed sincerity.

“If you help me save or even find this person, I’ll personally pay you 10,000 spirit stones. Deal?”

Lu Chen nodded instantly.

“Yes, I am an expert.”

“Good. Come aboard my ship.”

Without waiting for refusal, she cut the call.

Lu Chen stretched leisurely.

Ellie warned,

“Captain, it might be dangerous. Why not have her come to our ship?”

“Isn’t that just as dangerous?”

Lu Chen patted Ellie’s head and smiled.

“Don’t worry, Ellie. No one in this universe can fool me!”

Still, caution was wise. Would there be an alert if he was kidnapped? What about gentle confinement? Would forced marriage count as danger?

Lu Chen had no experience with that.

It reminded him of Rust Star, when he repaired Aunt Wang’s plumbing, was forced to stay for dinner, played games all night, and had Aunt Wang tuck him in while lingering for a long time—no alerts then either. He’d been terrified, fearing Aunt Wang might get the wrong idea—or too right an idea.

For now, Lu Chen decided to bring Gloria along to negotiate aboard the Fish Capricorn.

The two entered the ship’s spacious reception chamber—five times larger than the Leonin, even bigger than its cockpit.

On the fishbone table lay tea cups and snacks.

The fish Capricorn woman greeted them alone. Her bathtub floated on clouds of mist, freely movable. Though appearing youthful and bratty, she was actually nearly forty—a bratty auntie.

“Please sit.”

Gloria sat at the table, pouring wine and eating snacks as if the others weren’t there.

Lu Chen picked up a snack, tasting it while guessing,

“The person you want to save—is it a young man with eight tentacle-like appendages on his head from the Evil Spirit Bounty Hunter Corps?”

The woman’s expression changed.

“How do you know?”

Lu Chen explained honestly,

“Not long ago, I visited the Thousand Islands Sea, ate at Senior Lu’s place, and saw your portrait on the shell wall.”

(Side note: This story is from chapter 87; it was added later and some may have missed it.)

The fish Capricorn woman was Senior Lu’s adopted daughter. Rescued from a slave ship by Senior Lu, after escaping an imperial lab and being recaptured, she was saved again near Thousand Islands Sea when the previous king's ship capsized. She lived underwater there for decades until a year and a half ago, when her level reached 50 and her beast taming talent was noticed by the Scorpion Woman, who brought her into Guernica.

She eyed Lu Chen skeptically, finding the coincidence too great.

“Really that coincidental? Could it be your revenge trail led you here?”

Lu Chen laughed.

“Revenge on a girl? Besides, you’ve been riding my coattails on Mist Sea Star; you should be the one seeking revenge.”

The fish Capricorn woman lost face and crossed her arms proudly.

“I’m over forty; you better respect your elders.”

Lu Chen smiled, shaking his head.

“Let’s just save the person.”

She snapped back to seriousness and recounted the story.

“About three days ago, we arrived at the Zu’an Nebula and saw news of the Evil Spirit Bounty Hunter Corps’ losses. I didn’t care; my dad had retired years ago. But two and a half days ago, the Fish Capricorn received a distress signal—a signal from a wristband embedded in a complex locator signal.

The wristband’s unique bio-code was our childhood game code. While Fish Capricorn tried to decode it, I emailed my dad and learned that ‘Little K’ had followed the Evil Spirit Corps into the nebula. This must be his distress call.

Fish Capricorn couldn’t crack it and sent it to headquarters, who also failed. Then someone recommended you.”

Lu Chen guessed the recommender.

“The Scorpion Woman?”

The fish Capricorn woman cleared her throat, unwilling to say more.

“Don’t ask.”

Gloria, who had been silently drinking and snacking, suddenly piped up,

“People like the Scorpion Woman; what’s wrong with asking about her?”

Lu Chen gave her a side-eye, reminded of a shapeshifting story involving Little Rakel that night.

He didn’t answer, instead analyzing,

“Since there’s a locator signal, Little K was attacked by the beast swarm and then captured by humans. If he’s alive, it must be related to his bloodline and identity—he’s the grandson of a sword saint. If the enemy knows—or he reveals—it they might hesitate to harm him, allowing him to send the signal.

Show me the signal.”

The fish Capricorn woman led Lu Chen to the cockpit. The star beast ship’s cockpit was small, with low spirit-tech integration, glass walls revealing the fish brain.

Lu Chen took the information officer’s seat and pulled up the full distress signal—a long string of spiritual pattern codes.

The structure looked simple.

Usually, simple-looking codes are either very easy or very hard to decode.

Lu Chen fiddled with it for a while but couldn’t break it.

Who hid it so well?

The treasure map showed no response. If Little K were nearby, the promised 10,000 spirit stone reward would have triggered the map.

He wasn’t nearby.

Lu Chen asked again,

“When you received the signal, where was your ship?”

The fish Capricorn woman couldn’t recall, so she gave Lu Chen access to the navigation chart to find their position: near Akka Star.

“Not far. Let’s check it out.”

She frowned, reluctant.

“Why go there?”

Lu Chen read the news and understood.

The Guernica ship attacked by the beast swarm near Akka Star was the Fish Capricorn.

“I guess Little K might be on a moving ship. A single distress signal can’t pinpoint location accurately. He’s trying his luck. If we get another signal, I can pinpoint the enemy ship’s real-time position and heading.”

“Alright.”

The fish Capricorn woman stared at Lu Chen, thinking this kid was extraordinary—better than all Guernica information officers combined.

***

Three hours later, the Fish Capricorn and the Leonin arrived at Akka Star, one following the other.

Akka Star was a primitive jungle world with a vast ocean, high spiritual energy concentration like the rest of the Zu’an Nebula. Yet the air was thick with toxins, miasma, and strange insects and beasts—annoying and unkillable, with little spiritual value, making eradication costly.

Smoke still lingered in the atmosphere—star beast blood, laser scorch, explosion shockwaves...

“Did you catch any star beasts here?”

Back on the Leonin, Lu Chen asked curiously via video.

The fish Capricorn woman shook her head.

“We encountered a star beast swarm but caught none. We don’t need low-level star beasts; we’re after the Black Phoenix.”

The Black Phoenix? Lu Chen paused before recalling.

“You mean the Ancient Firebird?”

“Yeah, something like that.”

“Any leads?”

“None yet.”

“So you came halfway here to save someone?”

“We have a third ship, the Archer, joining us. They’re ridiculously strong.”

As she spoke, her information officer warned,

“Captain, this is confidential!”

She pointed at Lu Chen.

“He’s a hacker; he just connected to the ship system with a wristband. What secrets remain?”

Lu Chen thought her smart.

“Wait outside the atmosphere. Keep the signal amplifier on and watch for any anomalies. I’ll go ashore and report any news.”

The Fish Capricorn stayed outside the atmosphere to receive signals. The Leonin landed by the sea.

Lu Chen disembarked alone to scout—without even activating his armor.

Standing by the vast ocean, he guessed that after the Evil Spirit Bounty Hunter Corps’ mishap, Little K fled into the deep sea but was eventually found by a passing ship.

Walking along the shore, Lu Chen soon detected spatial anomalies and contacted the Fish Capricorn.

“There’s evidence of spatial folding here, and nearby spiritual pressure reached level 60. What’s going on?”

She explained,

“That’s a level 60 Black Swan, wingspan over a kilometer, adept at folding and hiding in space, even carrying beast swarms across oceans. It has space flight abilities akin to warp speed.”

Is that the low-level star beast you don’t care for?

“Not that I don’t care, maybe I got beaten by it,” Lu Chen joked.

Curious, he asked,

“Humans need level 100 to have spatial abilities, right?”

She calmly replied,

“It’s not quite warp speed yet, but it folds nearby space with the swarm and suddenly appears to attack in groups. Very troublesome.”

“Are the beasts the same species?”

“No.”

Lu Chen thought this required high intelligence to coordinate.

Signs increasingly supported Ellie’s guess: the star beasts in Giant Beast Park might be reversionary humans bred as beasts.

“Any sign of the Azure Winged Dragon or Ancient Firebird?”

“No.”

Lu Chen ended the video call.

The ocean lay before him.

With nothing else to do, he chopped wood and made a raft, bringing along a nuclear-powered fishing rod to fish offshore.

This time, he left Gloria on the ship gaming and brought Ellie along.

Ellie was thrilled. Usually, she stayed behind to guard the ship; this was the captain’s first solo landing adventure with her.

She changed into hiking gear and prepared all sorts of outdoor equipment—until Lu Chen explained her role.

On the raft, Lu Chen suddenly asked,

“Ellie, you’re a beast tamer, right?”

“Yes.”

“Fish are a type of beast?”

Ellie didn’t understand.

“Yes, in a tamer’s eyes.”

Lu Chen revealed his plan.

“I need you to attract fish, make them taste the bait’s deliciousness—that’s it. At most, lure them within ten meters; the rest is on me.”

Ellie asked,

“But won’t that spoil fishing fun for the captain?”

Lu Chen sternly rebuked,

“Do you know what fishing is? This is called spirit baiting!”

Ellie somewhat understood.

“Okay, I’ll try.”

She closed her eyes, extended her right hand palm-down, sensing the fish under the water and trying to use her beast taming power to attract the big fish to the surface.

Soon, Lu Chen sensed a large fish slowly ascending toward the raft.

He whispered excitedly,

“As expected of Ellie, not bad—a big one!”

The shadow beneath grew larger.

Lu Chen was ecstatic.

Ellie, however, looked worried.

“Captain, isn’t this fish too big?”

Lu Chen beamed.

“Not at all. It has to be this big to fit my status. I have a nuclear-powered fishing rod; even star beast fish will be caught!”

Looking down, his handsome face twisted with excitement.

“Look, it’s coming! It’s biting! It’s hooked!”

The shadow engulfed the raft.

Ellie turned pale, trembling nervously.

“Captain, it’s not just biting... it wants to eat us!”

Lu Chen ignored her.

“No way... no problem. I’m the bait. Once I press the nuclear button, it’s mine!”

Just then, a twenty-meter-long giant tooth shark burst from the water, jaws wide, lunging to swallow the raft whole.

Lu Chen stood firm.

Ellie, desperate, grabbed his shoulders, stepped on the water, and leapt into the air, narrowly avoiding the shark’s attack.

The shark leapt out, jaws still open, unable to close.

The hook and bait flew out with Ellie’s jump.

At that moment, the Leonin onshore fired a horizontal laser, piercing the giant shark’s head.

Gloria quickly removed her gaming glasses and rushed out excitedly.

“Ha! I made a contribution again!”

Lu Chen cried silently.

Back on shore, he was speechless.

How could a fishhook swallowed by a fish come back out?

He was not convinced.

Ellie used water magic to drag the giant shark ashore, comforting the captain,

“The shark’s mouth wasn’t closed, so it’s not considered hooked. So it’s not a failure, just not a success. Don’t be discouraged, captain. We were close this time—we’ll catch it next time.”

Lu Chen felt no consolation.

“Ellie, why are you as silly as Gloria? How can I go inside a fish’s belly and not die?”

Gloria sneered,

“If you go in and Ellie pulls the rod, that counts as Ellie catching the fish. How does that concern you?”

Lu Chen argued,

“Can’t I go in waist down and hold the rod with my upper body?”

Ellie, ever the angel, reminded him,

“That’s a giant tooth shark, captain. If your lower half is inside, your body’s split in two.”

Lu Chen still disagreed.

“It’s the future. I’m a cultivator; I can take all kinds of limb-extension pills, regrow my lower half, and have spirit-tech prosthetics and flying wheelchairs.”

Gloria mockingly put her hand on his shoulder,

“Air force is fine—it’s a combat branch. But if you lose your lower half, how will you marry?”

Lu Chen slapped her hand away.

“I’d rather be unmarried than fail to catch this damned fish!”

Gloria shrugged.

“Guess you’ll have many wives then.”

Ellie chuckled quietly.

Lu Chen had no comeback.

Without another word, he tore the giant tooth shark into pieces and roasted it again.

But this time, the fish didn’t taste as good.

He couldn’t finish it all, couldn’t dry it, and the fridge couldn’t hold much, so he gave some to the Fish Capricorn’s crew.

Feeding fish to fishmen... some sort of revenge.

On the video screen, the fish Capricorn woman eyed the deliciously roasted shark, sensing its amazing aroma through taste sensors.

Yet the more fragrant the fish, the angrier she became.

Damn it...

“I’m a fishman, and you want me to eat fish?”

“Just say yes or no!”

“No.”

But when Lu Chen tried to close the screen, she couldn’t help herself.

“Wait, you sent it... I’ll give it to the crew.”

At that moment, Fish Capricorn’s radar beeped.

“Captain, another new distress signal received!”

(End of chapter)