Chapter 35

The trees near and far changed color overnight, red, yellow, green... The moist and plump leaves seemed to be drained of blood, losing their vigorous vitality, the veins became thinner, and the leaves became dry and brittle.

Wandi looked around and suddenly felt sad. Change could be a turning point or a dead end. All her speculations were based on data and everyone's experience, but this was a completely unfamiliar planet after all. They were like frightened birds, cautiously treating every change.

Autumn and winter are the most difficult seasons. I just hope that before the weather gets colder, they can make enough preparations to deal with all possible crises.

"Sister Wandi, my meal is ready. Come out and eat it while it's hot!" Ji Wenxue knocked on the door and poked her head out from the crack.

Although not all food is ripe now, various fruits, vegetables and grains are harvested intermittently. Ji Wenxue always thinks of ways to make these things into nutritious and delicious dishes.

Wandi turned around and said yes with a smile. When they arrived at the hall, the table was already full, and it looked very appetizing.

"The cow we hunted before was divided among us today. These are the last ones left." Ji Wenxue helped Wan Di pull out a chair, and then pulled out her own and sat next to her.

"Speaking of which, the last time I found that cow, it was amazing! Usually there's nothing there, not even a few birds flying around." Yao Si scooped a spoonful of rice with beef cubes and stuffed it into his mouth with satisfaction. "Eating delicious food makes me feel better!"

"Has it gotten better? Did anything bother us Yao Si these past few days?" Wan Di asked curiously. Of course there were troubles, but she had done her best to quietly resolve many of them.

"Well, that's it. Actually, it's nothing. It's just that living a stable life like this sometimes makes me feel like everything that happened before was just a dream. I don't know if it was intentional or not, but I seem to have forgotten some details. All that's left is the summary that needs to be written in the textbook." Yao Si was about to scoop another spoonful of rice, but then he withdrew his hand. "Wait a minute, I still get a headache when I talk about textbooks."

Hahahahahaha, everyone laughed. Days passed and the weather became colder.

Wandi and a few others boarded the spaceship. They were going to conduct a second trade to ensure a smooth winter. As they traveled through the vast interstellar space, they felt a slight conflict: they wanted to see different planets, but they also wanted to return to their home planet as soon as possible.

"Sister Wandi, are we still going to the Department Store Planet this time? But if we don't find the Energy Stone, what will we use to trade with those people?"

Ji Wenxue asked the question that everyone was concerned about, and even Jiang Zouwei knew nothing about it.

"We're not going there. We're going to the planet where the lady we traded with last time is. As for what we're exchanging..." Wandi paused, "There will be something."

The vague statement is actually out of helplessness.

The agreed time was approaching, but the Energy Stone still remained unsuccessful. Evening prepared to resort to other methods. She had many ideas, some legitimate, some shady... enough of them to increase the likelihood of obtaining the Energy Stone, until it was almost certain.

However, Wandi hadn't yet decided which method to use. She needed to consider the surrounding environment. Looking at the large screen on the ship's control console, she suddenly noticed a ship behind them that looked a bit off. "Stay alert, fly sideways and accelerate to get rid of it. The suspicious target is at 8 o'clock. Fire gun number three."

All personnel acted quietly and quickly according to the command, their eyes fixed on the display screen. The spaceship looked aggressive and was in relentless pursuit.

"Could it be that these interstellar pirates were former enemies?" Wandi said. If that was the case, it seemed that they would inevitably meet today.

"Can we send them a signal, telling them that the spaceship has changed hands and they have found the wrong person?" Ji Wenxue suggested. Otherwise, if something goes wrong, a fight might break out.

"This spaceship has been specially modified by pirates. Any message sent will become a provocative and threatening letter. Besides, sending it without any evidence seems like quibbling and will only add fuel to the fire." Wandi shook his head. Judging from the appearance and driving habits of the spaceship behind, it is definitely not an ordinary one that is easy to deal with.

It would be more accurate to say that it was a group of thieves who wanted to rob each other rather than the previous victims seeking revenge.

Jiang Zouwei was already standing at the entrance of the artillery position, eager to try. Compared with any negotiation or communication, she felt that it was the simplest and most efficient way to solve the problem directly.

Ying Zhao moved her lips but didn't say anything. She had never encountered such a situation before and didn't know what to do. She had originally agreed with Ji Wenxue's proposal, but after Wan Di rejected it, she also felt it made sense. After much thought, she decided to remain silent and obey the instructions.

Yao Si stared at the spaceship with great interest.

Wandi saw Jiang Zouwei approach the turret from the corner of her eye. She stepped towards the joystick. "Start the ship's angle at fifty-six. Fire tracking rounds at a rate of three per second. After one round of attack, activate all turrets and fire again at a rate of two per second."

The spaceships behind them were gazing intently, their attack turrets concealed beneath their wings, hesitant for some reason. But Wandi didn't want to worry about that. As the saying goes, striking first is the strongest advantage. Rather than passively fleeing under attack, it would be better for them to break the deadlock. Once this was dealt with, there would be other matters to attend to.

The ship was indeed caught off guard at first, but it quickly began to fight back.

"What kind of hatred and grudge do these people have? It seems like they have to fight to the death." Jiang Zouwei said while operating the turret.

"That's right. It looks like a desperate situation." Ji Wenxue frowned. She saw that Wandi's initial attack actually contained a warning and explanation, and the second round of attacks was the full-blown hostility.

"Ah!" Ying Zhao hugged the pillar in panic to avoid being thrown out.

"The enemy's spacecraft is much more advanced in model and functionality than ours, and the number of tracking missiles is astonishing," Wandi said, maneuvering the craft nimbly and spinning to evade the attacks. Their spacecraft lacked expensive protective shields, so they could only rely on the most primitive methods of evasion.

Fortunately, it was Wandi who attacked first and shot down one of the wings of the opponent's spacecraft, otherwise they would be facing a more serious situation now.

The fight between the two sides quickly intensified. By the end, Ji Wenxue, Ying Zhao, and Yao Si were dizzy from the spaceship's rapid movements. Suddenly, a massive fireball flew towards them. Before they could react, the door to the spaceship opened, and they were unsure whether they were being carried by Wan Di or Jiang Zouwei before they jumped out.

The few of them felt their vision go dark. When they woke up again, they saw that they were surrounded by small houses they had never seen before, neatly arranged in rows. The most eye-catching one was the large sign over there, which read:

The lips and teeth are cold, and then the eyes are cold, the ears are cold, the nose is cold, and the body is cold, so the mouth is the most important planet.

"What a long name." Yao Si rubbed his head.

Ji Wenxue looked around, closing and opening her eyes, her head still a little confused, "Is this really called that, or am I hallucinating?"

While checking everyone's physical condition, Wandi said, "It's real. This is a small planet 720,000 light-years away from us, but I've never been to this place."

Jiang Zouwei calmly and cautiously paid attention to the surrounding environment. "No matter what, it's better to be careful."

Wandi also nodded. "Luckily, no one was hurt. The spaceship was caught on fire, so we'll try to find a way back from this planet."

Ji Wenxue, Yao Si and Ying Zhao nodded obediently.

Walking on unfamiliar streets, everything around me feels new and strange.

"There are so many pictures of mouths. Some are talking, some are eating, some are drinking water, and some are gently closed." Yao Si's head moved around following these pictures. These pictures were all well-drawn, with bright colors and clever shapes, and looked lifelike.

"But what is this street? A commercial street? Or a residential area? If it's a commercial street, the shops seem a bit monotonous. It seems like all I see along the way are restaurants and beauty salons." Ji Wenxue leaned forward again, trying to look further ahead. "And why is there no one on the street? It should be bustling at this time of year."

The strange phenomenon made everyone feel a chill. There was no one else on the quiet street except them, and there was no other sound.

Ying Zhao twitched his nose. "There's a smell of experimental reagents here, reagents used to maintain cell activity, and they smell like the most expensive, high-end stuff. I usually don't want to use them for experiments."

"There's a hospital up ahead," Jiang Zouwei said. It was nice to have no one around. She preferred the deserted area to the crowded area.

"Bang!" A man suddenly stumbled out from the street over there, and because he lowered his head, he accidentally bumped into Wandi.

"Uh... sorry..." The girl who bumped into someone saw the hand reaching out to her, took it, and stood up. She looked up and saw a beautiful face she had never seen before. She glanced around, and with just a glance, she was sure these people were outsiders.

"It's okay. Why are you running so fast? Are you in trouble?" Wandi asked.

The girl didn't respond for a long time. She looked at everyone one by one and finally looked at Wandi with a smile. "No trouble."

"We see a lot of shops here, but no one is inside. Do you know where everyone has gone?" Ying Zhao said. It was precisely because of this that although they were confused along the way, they couldn't find anyone to ask. Now that they finally got the chance, they naturally had to ask quickly.

The girl patted her clothes and said, "Today is our grand event. Everyone is going there. Do you want to go with us?" She turned her gaze to Wandi again. She was best at finding the leader in a group of people.

Wandi looked at the strange girl, who was also looking at her, but her gaze wasn't directed at her eyes, as if to show politeness, but at her mouth. She felt something strange in her heart, but nodded and said, "Go."