Chapter 136 Reactions from all parties
Wen Le and his friends followed the tour guide around to eat, drink and have fun just like ordinary tourists. In fact, the scenery and food were not even a little bit inferior to those on special tourist planets.
As people who had lived on the Abandoned Planet before, this remote and desolate planet really didn't appeal to Wen Le and Jin Cancan. The others also didn't find it appealing either, as they used to travel with their parents every year and had visited even more desolate planets than this one. Everyone was used to it.
The only thing that could attract people was probably the various bars, casinos and arenas along the street. These things that were considered illegal on other planets were legal here.
In a word, as long as you have money, this place can become a paradise.
Because of the minor status of Wen Le and his friends, the tour guide only took them to an ordinary water bar, where they could simply drink, and it did not include other special services like other bars.
Although there are few such bars in the local area, there are still one or two. As someone who travels this route all year round, the tour guide knows the owner of the bar there and usually takes some tourists who don’t like the hustle and bustle to sit there for a while.
As for the casino and the arena, the tour guide also chose relatively mild projects. Although the kickbacks were not as high as those of the usual projects, they were better than nothing.
After all, the tourists this time were minors. If people knew that he encouraged minors to gamble and watch overly bloody and violent gladiatorial performances, which had a negative impact on their growth, he would be brought to the Supreme Interstellar Court and might even spend decades in prison.
In serious cases, one may even face life imprisonment. Although there is no death penalty in Interstellar, this kind of unfree life is worse than death for free people. It would be better to die.
Therefore, when the tour guide was facing Wen Le and the others, he was very cautious in what he said and did, for fear that he would be caught by the braid and get into trouble if he was not careful.
Therefore, hotels generally don't make money from commissions on underage tourists, but rather from other sources. For example, tour group fees can be double, sometimes triple, or even triple the price for adults. Because Wen Le and his group were all underage, the tour group fee alone was tripled.
Food, clothing, housing, and transportation are also twice as expensive as usual. These are unwritten rules within the industry. After all, the risks and responsibilities of hosting minors are greater than usual, so charging more is understandable.
Jin Cancan couldn't help but complain to Wen Le in private, saying that they were basically discriminating against minors. They were all tourists, so why should they pay several times more than others when they came here?
That money can buy several bags of special beef jerky produced by the system. As a person who has always received pocket money and has not saved any private money so far, Da Miao feels very painful.
Minors’ money is also money, why should they be taken advantage of?
Big Cat expressed his dissatisfaction, but Wen Le glared at him: "If you don't agree, just keep it to yourself."
There are cheap tours, but who would dare sign up? There's no such thing as a free lunch. If you don't make money on one thing, you'll have to make it back somewhere else. Haven't we seen this kind of thing before? Even in the interstellar era, tourists who were ripped off for cheap reasons were commonplace, and no one likes to read this kind of news.
In the past, everyone would unanimously criticize travel agencies for cheating people, but now when such news comes out, the ones who get criticized the most are the tourists who have been cheated. Travel agencies cheat people on one hand, but who can be blamed for being greedy and getting cheated?
In this era of information transparency, the qualifications of all industries are public. If you take a chance and choose a hotel with poor qualifications and get cheated, you can only blame yourself.
Because generally only travel agencies with poor qualifications will use the gimmick of cheapness and affordability to attract tourists.
Big Cat was speechless after being blocked by Wen Le. He muttered something and put the matter behind him.
As Wen Le and his companions followed their guide around, eating and playing, they heard a few people discussing them: "The people we sent out heard that the Imperial Capital Military Academy sent a group of students here, supposedly to investigate the mutant Zerg."
The person who said this seemed worried: "Do you think this will cause us any trouble?" After all, their identities are not open to the public. If they are found to be a gathering place for space pirates, the military may be attracted and they can raze this place to the ground with a few starships.
Everyone knew that they had been let off the hook before because they didn't want to cause any more trouble. Even though they usually acted loud and aggressive in front of others, when it came to a fight, they were no match for one hand. After all, the arm couldn't twist the thigh.
To put it bluntly, killing them is as easy as crushing an ant. The disparity in strength is there, and no one wants to do something stupid like hitting a stone with an egg unless it is absolutely necessary.
Life is so beautiful, why bother to perish together with the other party. Besides, even if you risk your life, you can't beat the other party.
His words immediately drew a laugh from his companions: "What are you afraid of? We haven't done anything wrong, so why should we be afraid of ghosts knocking on our door in the middle of the night?" In his opinion, robbing passing cargo ships was perfectly normal; it was part of his job. But colluding with the Zerg against the government was pure suicidal behavior; any death they got was their due.
"You're just too timid," another person chimed in. "We didn't hijack any official spaceships, nor did we collude with the Zerg, nor did we commit any antisocial terrorist acts like others. We simply hijacked a few private cargo ships. Is it really necessary for the military to mobilize so many troops to investigate this matter?"
You have to know that they are also very cautious when robbing, and they will not easily cause death. At most, they will beat someone half to death. Even if they are caught, they will be sentenced to a dozen years at most. For the average life expectancy of the interstellar population of over 150, a dozen years is nothing. Just endure it and it will pass.
So it is not particularly serious, and the authorities turn a blind eye to their existence. To put it more cruelly, they may even deliberately keep them for training.
So relatively speaking, pirates like them who "keep to themselves" are relatively safe. Now that they know that the military academy has sent students to carry out the mission, they just hide. If they can't afford to offend, can they just hide?
Besides, those students weren’t coming for them this time, so what was there to be afraid of?
After a few people discussed it, they simply gathered all their subordinates to go out to "work". They had been resting for half a month and it was time to start working, otherwise those people would be fed up with laziness.
Normally, pirates were supposed to be on the brink of death, and they wouldn't leave until they had spent all the money they received from the robbery. However, this time, the situation was special, and no one dared to complain.
Those who have managed to survive until now and are still alive and kicking without being harmonized are hardly fools. With someone taking the lead, others quickly followed suit. Once these people left, the streets suddenly became much quieter. However, those who stayed out of the situation felt that this matter had nothing to do with them, so they simply stayed and continued to enjoy themselves.
Of course, there are also those who are unaware of the truth, but such times are also quite enviable. As the saying goes, fools have their own luck, and sometimes not knowing anything is actually a blessing.
As for the one who had something to hide, he was getting a little anxious and angry at the moment. If those students found out that they were colluding with the Zerg, the consequences would be disastrous.
There is no one in the entire galaxy who doesn't hate the Zerg. There are even some extreme people who organize groups to march in the streets every year to demand that the Empire send troops to fight the Zerg and completely eliminate those disgusting bugs.
Although such matters were always suppressed by the authorities and there was no official response, after all, going to war with the Zerg was a major event that affected millions of people, and the Empire would not send troops to fight the Zerg to the death just for a few paraders.
Everything they had done before the war would be wasted. Not only would this cost them a tremendous amount of manpower and resources, but they would also have to be wary of extremist groups hiding in the shadows, preventing them from taking advantage of the situation to sabotage them. In short, this was a major issue, and the Empire didn't want to start a war without absolute necessity.
The leader of this organization obviously also knows this. The empire is not like them where they can just cause trouble when they are unhappy. Those in power have too many things to consider, so they will not act easily. This gives them an opportunity to take advantage of.
So when his men were desperately trying to find a solution, he even had the leisure to go on a date with a bar's top star. When his men found him, he casually said, "What's there to be afraid of? Even if those guys graduated from a military academy, they're just a bunch of inexperienced students."
What big deal could a bunch of greenhorns do? They were just going through the motions. If they persisted, he could just deliberately leak some information to them and send them packing.
It could be said that the leader had never taken Wen Le and his group seriously from the very beginning. In his opinion, there was no point in fighting with a bunch of rookies. He would rather spend that time lovingly on his beloved.
The military advisor was a little worried: "It's better to be safe than sorry. If these people find out something, we'll be in big trouble." He was also worried that these students were just a cover to deceive people, and the real enemy was hiding in the dark, and might be investigating them now.
But before he could finish his words, the leader interrupted him: "What are you afraid of? Don't we have the people over there to protect us? We signed an agreement back then. They will guarantee our safety. Anyway, they will handle any problems."
The military advisor stammered after hearing this, but he didn't say anything to dampen the mood. But he sighed inwardly. It seemed he had to find a way to escape as soon as possible. When the leader of an organization was so clueless, the organization was not far from disbanding.
This idiot actually believed their lies, thinking that signing the agreement would allow them to rest easy, without even considering when they had ever fulfilled their promise. As for the agreement, without the protection and oversight of the StarNet Mastermind, it was just a piece of waste paper, and they could tear it up at any time.
A chess piece that has no use value is nothing but a discarded piece that can be abandoned at any time. However, this person did not understand and naively thought that he had hugged a big tree to enjoy the shade, but he did not know that this big tree was actually a man-eating tree in disguise, which could take the life of his partner at any time and anywhere.
He had opposed the collaboration from the beginning, but the leader had insisted on his own way. Furthermore, he had been a bit greedy at the time, thinking he could temporarily benefit from this big tree. Now it seemed like he was just trying to get the skin of a tiger. He was too naive at the time, and it was all greed that ruined him.
These chaotic thoughts flashed through his mind, and the military advisor felt increasingly heavy-hearted. An ominous premonition kept lingering in his mind, giving him a sense of oppression as if a storm was about to come.
No! I need to make plans to escape as soon as I get home today, otherwise it will be difficult to escape later. Besides, they're not easy to deal with. The longer we wait, the harder it will be to escape, and we might even end up getting arrested.
Thinking of this, the military advisor came out with hurried steps.
The small chief waiting outside saw him come out and hurried over, looking at him eagerly and asked: "Well, what did the chief say?"
The military advisor's eyes flickered with complexity as he looked at the men before him. Logically, they had worked together for so long and shouldn't have watched each other die. But at this moment, he could only choose to let his friend die before him. Even a husband and wife would flee separately when disaster struck, let alone these colleagues.
At this moment, he was in a difficult situation and couldn't save himself, so he couldn't care about these people. At the same time, a vicious thought flashed through his mind: if he let these people block him in front, maybe he would have an easier time escaping.
Thinking of this, the military advisor suppressed his emotions, smiled reassuringly, and said to the small leaders, "Don't worry, the leader said he knows what's going on, and nothing will happen."
With the military advisor saying this, everyone naturally breathed a sigh of relief, repeating that they believed their leader. At least on the surface, they believed him, but what they really thought in their hearts was unknown.
After returning, several people gathered together and talked about what had just happened. They were not fools to have made it to their current positions. If they were fools, they would probably have nothing left of their bones by now. So they did not believe the military advisor's words at all.
Even though they are usually competitors and always make sarcastic remarks when they meet, which is a bit like a king not meeting a king, their relationship is actually not as bad as it appears. At least when they encounter problems, they can still sit down and discuss countermeasures calmly.
They are not afraid of informing on each other. After all, anyone with a little common sense can see the current situation and cannot do such short-sighted things for the sake of their own lives.
"Well, do you think what that old bastard said is true?"
"I think everything he said is true. Our leader is really someone who can say such things. But... I don't think things are that simple. I'm afraid that the old bastard is hiding something from us." As for what it is, it is still unclear at the moment, but it is definitely not a good thing.
Anyway, their military advisor never thinks of them when he gets benefits, and only thinks of letting them take the blame when something bad happens. They have worked together for more than ten years, and they have already figured out each other's personalities.
This is also the reason why several small leaders usually acted hostile. On the one hand, they were afraid that the leader would be wary of them. On the other hand, they left the military advisor alone for fear that the other party would use some shady tricks behind their backs to catch them all in one fell swoop.
Compared with those new colleagues who came up later, everyone still feels that old colleagues who know each other well are more secure. After all, everyone knows each other's personalities, while new colleagues' tricks still require more brains to figure out.
Comparing the two, of course my current partner is more to my liking.
One of them suddenly said: "I'm afraid the situation is about to change." So everyone should make plans as soon as possible and find a retreat route, otherwise it will be difficult to escape when the time comes.
Although he didn't say the last part out loud, everyone was no fool and naturally understood. Everyone fell silent, and the atmosphere in the room grew increasingly heavy. Unless absolutely necessary, no one wanted to give up their current good life. As small leaders in the star pirate group, their lives might not be as comfortable as those of the leader and military advisor, but they still managed hundreds of people and received monthly donations from their subordinates, so their lives were still quite comfortable.
But then again, no matter how comfortable life is, you have to be alive to enjoy it. Otherwise, no matter how much wealth and glory you have, it will be useless if you lose your life.
After a while, someone finally couldn't help but say, "Is there no hope at all?" How could it suddenly become like this? He was clearly fine before, but he couldn't accept the sudden outburst.
But everyone usually lives their lives with their heads held high, every day counts, and they've already prepared for the worst. So, I was a little bit shocked at first, but I soon calmed down.
"I'm afraid the result will be even more terrible than we imagined." The person who spoke earlier said this with difficulty.
Having reached this position, there are people or things that you care about. It is impossible not to have some worries in your heart. The ones you can't give up the most are your family, especially those who have children. Your heart is torn.
On a normal day, they might not care much about their children, feeling that as long as they have enough food, clothes, and money to spend, they are doing their duty. It's not clear if they spend much time cultivating a relationship with their children. But after all, they are their own children, and in times of crisis, their first thought is how to get the little ones out of the house.
In any case, it is the continuation of their own lives. They probably can't escape, and they won't have the chance to have another child in the future. At least the child at home is alive so that their lineage will not be extinct.
Even in the interstellar age, some things are still hard to eradicate. Who would want to let them die out if they could leave a legacy in this world? Even a tiger won't eat its own cubs, let alone these people. Are humans no better than an animal?
Thinking of this, several people could no longer sit still and took their leave to arrange their own escape routes. As for the details, there was no need to let outsiders know. After being in the business for so long, everyone had some cards that could save their lives. The final result depended on their luck and skills.
…
In the hotel, the members of Class A also gathered for a small meeting. The squad leader said, "I think we may have been exposed." Although it was a bit depressing to say this, the thought of exposing oneself before the mission officially began made people unhappy.
Jin Cancan glanced at him: "Wasn't it exposed a long time ago?" Their whereabouts were "public" from the very beginning. They almost used a loudspeaker to tell others that they were military cadets and came to the pirates' nest just to investigate them.
Now the monitor has only just realized what has happened. His reaction is incredibly slow. With such intelligence, how can he still claim to be the monitor of the elite class?
The squad leader was choked by Jin Cancan's words, the words on the tip of his tongue stuck in his throat, he didn't know whether to say it or not. If he said it, it would seem like he was being superfluous, but if he didn't say it... it would make him look even less intelligent. As the squad leader, he hadn't noticed such an obvious thing sooner, which was already a huge mistake.
Seeing the squad leader's embarrassment, Wen Le couldn't help but reach out and pat Da Miao, signaling him to cut the slack. At times like these, simply giving a warning is enough; there's no need to embarrass others by saying too much. This not only undermines one's intelligence, but also comes across as intimidating.
Jin Cancan couldn't help but glance at the owner, snorting inwardly, but ultimately remained silent. The owner was just like that, always playing the good guy. There was no need to worry about such things. It was the monitor's mistake in the first place. Telling him where he was wrong would help him correct it promptly and avoid making the same mistake again.
But since the owner doesn't approve of his behavior, forget it. Jin Cancan thought a little boredly, lazily curled up on the sofa in that standard Beijing pose, as if he had no bones. Seeing Wen Le, the corner of his mouth couldn't help but twitch, but in the end he didn't say anything to him.
After all, you can't ask a soft cat to maintain a correct posture all the time. After all, it can roll itself into a ball of fur if it disagrees with something.
"So our mission now is to eat, drink, and have fun," Lily concluded. She finally understood why the school had agreed to let them stir up trouble. It was obvious they were using them as a cudgel to alert the enemy.
Since they are exposed in the open, smart people naturally dare not touch them casually. After all, their identities are there. Before taking action, they have to think carefully about whether the price they will have to pay after touching them is worth it.
At the moment, it is definitely not cost-effective.
Wen Le alone is enough to give those who take action a headache. After all, he is the only underage three-star healer in the entire galaxy. As the saying goes, scarcity makes things valuable. The Healers' Guild will never stand by and watch their treasure suffer.
As for the other students, they all have some background, and with the huge Imperial Capital Military Academy standing there, they can't afford to offend just this one.
Even if they could afford to offend them, these poor students who hadn't achieved anything yet were not worth the price they were about to pay.
The monitor nodded, he agreed with what Lily said, so he continued: "That's right, so we can have fun without worry, just think of it as a group tour." Other schools organize tours every year, but they are busy as dogs every day, so this time they can just think of it as compensation from the school.
Anyway, Instructor Li had told them before they came that safety comes first and mission comes second. With this golden medal of immunity from death, what else do they have to fear?
Such a happy decision~
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