Chapter 7
In the early morning, the sky was just getting brighter, and the light that penetrated the ravines was even fainter.
As Xipo carried the body out of the door, he saw the door of the opposite room was open and a couple was staring at him.
Xipo's face darkened reflexively, and he was pushed aside by Xiyue. Xiyue looked across and nodded expressionlessly.
The husband nodded, pulled his wife, closed the door, and left. They were also heading to the North District.
Xiyue waited for a while and kept a distance before signaling Xipo to follow.
"They are Fernhead's parents. His father is Li Kangwen, and his mother is Du Yun. They are not at home regularly. They came back in the middle of the night last night."
"How do you know? His surname is Li, and he's Old Man Li's son?"
After asking, Xipo shook his head. If he was really his son, he wouldn't have acted so indifferent when seeing a stranger coming out of Old Man Li's house. Besides, Fernhead hadn't called Old Man Li "Grandpa."
As expected, Xiyue said, "It shouldn't be. I heard some noise when they came back."
Xipo blamed himself. After sending Fernhead away last night, he had wanted to keep watch, but he fell asleep soon after.
The further north we went, the more people walked through the narrow ravine. Most of them merged into the main road from the two side roads, apparently heading to the North District.
The North District not only has a police station, but also the only waterway berthing point in the entire star area, which is similar to the bus stop in the previous life.
Unlike other times, people in the morning all lower their heads and walk hurriedly, giving a feeling of rush hour.
Outside of Xihai, it was difficult for these "trash citizens" to find permanent employment; at best, they could only work temporary jobs. It seemed many of them had gone outside to find temporary work.
Finally entering the North District, Xiyue's eyes lit up.
Compared to the gray South District, the North District is simply a wealthy area. Many exterior walls are painted, and there are even lights on in a few windows.
In this environment, whether or not one has access to electricity clearly differentiates between the rich and the poor.
The people coming out of the North District not only had cleaner faces, but their clothes were also noticeably better. Presumably, the jobs they found wouldn't allow them to go to work wrapped in rags.
There is another new discovery: from entering the North District, there is a group of people going upstream.
Young men and women, wearing heavy makeup, often hold a cigarette in their hands. Just from the way they walk, you can tell what they do for a living.
Others work from sunrise to sunset, but they return home from sunrise to sunset.
This is understandable. Selling sex is the most mainstream job in the interstellar world and requires no mental effort at all.
The North District is very small. It took nearly half an hour to cross the South District, but it took less than ten minutes to cross the North District and see the police station.
The rich and poor classes also fit the pyramid structure.
On the ground where the security is located, looking up from the bottom, you can see part of the white exterior wall and the round dome. The windows around the wall are very small, more like air vents, which has a sense of technology.
There was a zigzag stone staircase at the end of the main road. Xiyue and Xipo followed the crowd up. After a few steps, they separated from the crowd and walked to the door of the public security station.
Perhaps their direction was a bit conspicuous, attracting some attention. Among them was a middle-aged man with an unshaven beard and wearing an oversized leather jacket, who kept staring at Xipo.
The feeling of being watched continued until they arrived at the police station. Xipo turned back with a sullen face and bared his teeth. The other party snorted and turned away.
"What do you do?"
The door of the police station was closed, but there was a security guard sitting in the window next to it, with the emblem of the Central Star District in the middle of his hat.
Xipo raised his back and felt a little embarrassed to speak for a moment.
"Here to deliver the recyclables." Xi Yue beside him said with a smile.
Security guard: "Lift it up and take a look."
Xiyue lifted a corner of the cold-proof blanket, revealing the corpse's legs. Then, the tightly closed door opened with a click.
"Send it in."
It was very small. Besides the room where the security guards stayed, there was only one other room, with the door closed. Xiyue faintly heard snoring, and thought it must be their dormitory.
Xipo put the body down, and after the security guard checked it, his eyes fell on the winter blanket.
"Where are you from?"
Xi Yue rushed to say, "I found him from a contaminated area a few days ago. He nearly lost his life. Look, sir, he's lost a lot of weight."
The security guard looked Xipo up and down and chuckled, "You're lucky."
He took out a 500-yuan white coin from the drawer and threw it on the ground.
"Go away."
Xipo gritted her teeth and picked up the spinning coin before Xiyue bent down.
Xiyue's smile remained unchanged: "Sir, this is where I buy my starship tickets, right?"
"New here? A one-way ticket is 300, and a card is 100. If you want to apply for a card, please verify your biometric information here." The security guard was becoming impatient.
Xiyue followed his finger and found a device on the wall. It looked like a laptop, but a bit larger. There was a circular groove on the right side of the screen, and next to it was a sentimental note: "Put your finger up!!!"
Xiyue shook her head at Xipo, motioning him to look at the screen.
There is an introduction to the Starship Card on the screen.
Using the One-Card system, a Starship ride costs just 100 Star Coins, regardless of the distance. Otherwise, a one-way ticket would cost 300. The application process is simple. Whether using a computer or not, once biometric information is collected and identity verified, a virtual card is generated. In the future, aboard a manned Starship, you won't need to bring anything; just arrive.
However, this means real names.
"But..." Xipo used his mouth to gesture towards the coin in his hand.
500 star coins were only enough to buy a one-way ticket. As for the return trip, there was no need to worry, as Xiyue was going there to withdraw money anyway.
Xiyue took the coin and bought a one-way ticket from the security guard. Before the latter's face became extremely ugly, she pulled Xipo out of the security station.
"You go alone..."
"Do you still need to worry about me?" Xi Yue smiled, "Go back and accompany Xi Yao. She happens to be alone at home, and I am worried about her."
"Then I'll take you to the docking point."
The mooring spot is not far away, with only a wooden sign. If it weren't for the long queue next to it, it would be difficult to find.
The wooden sign shows the starship's first and last stops, which are Star Sector 33 and Star Sector 29, with stops at Star Sector 31 and 32. There are double arrows between the two station names, and the round-trip route is the same.
With so many people waiting, Xipo became overly alert. Worried that this might reveal something unusual, Xiyue found a random topic to distract him.
"Sector 29 is in the northeastern corner, so it makes sense that the terminal is set here. Why is the starting station set at 33? All the way west, it passes through the Betelgeuse Belt and the Sirius Belt."
Xipo's expression was a little strange. Seeing Xiyue raise her eyebrows, he nodded.
I see.
This route was originally opened by Sector 33. Specifically, the owner was most likely a transportation company under Xihai's name. Of course, it now belongs to the Central Sector. As for who would redeem it with Star Reputation...
Haha, after all, he is one of that group of creditors.
"Star City No. 33 is large in scale and is one of the most important shipping hubs. If you want to go somewhere else, you can transfer there. It's very convenient." Xipo picked up a sentence that would not reveal his identity.
After saying that, everyone in the team looked up at the manned starship that appeared in the sky.
"We're here, you can go back." Xi Yue waved her hand.
Passengers boarded and disembarked in a relatively orderly manner under the watchful eye of flight attendants equipped with psychic weapons.
The starship was huge, and it took the entire team away in one trip, leaving Xipo standing there feeling all alone. So Xiyue waved to him, and he nodded, but still didn't move.
This stepbrother's opinion of her seemed to have changed.
Xiyue thought about it and didn't try to persuade them anymore, choosing a window seat. The starship quickly took off, and amidst the roar, she caught a glimpse of whispered conversations in the front row.
"Really changed?"
"I heard from Xiaoying next door that she works in a place like that, serving high-ranking citizens, so how could she be on leave? She said she arrived yesterday afternoon and didn't bring any of her original legionnaires with her, just a butler and a driver."
"Wow, worthy of being called General Yuan. Many people say that he goes to the front lines alone, and it seems to be true."
"Oh, don't talk nonsense. Didn't some people say he was unkind and didn't care about anyone's face? Well, as soon as we got there, we were taken to the most upscale casino at No. 33. I heard they played all night long."
"Did Xiaoying say that? With someone like her, how could she work in a top-tier entertainment venue?"
"Well, she heard it from her sisters. Anyway, the information is reliable! Let me tell you, do you know why he didn't bring any of his old subordinates with him?"
"Why don't you just say it directly!"
"Hehe, that's because the Interstellar Code stipulates that any legion commander cannot take a single soldier with him during a transfer, so as to avoid becoming overburdened with troops."
"...You better take a break. Who told me last time that so-and-so would be the commander of the 59th Legion, bringing with him a hundred A-class mecha warriors? Wasn't it you? You never say a word you can trust. Go away, don't bother me getting some sleep. I still have work to do soon!"
After that, there are some meaningless jokes.
Xiyue sat up straight and looked through the glass at the dazzling blue light shield in the distance.
General Yuan?
She carefully recalled the list of debts she had seen at that time, and was not sure whether the creditor named Yuan was on the list.
There is probably one, after all, Xihai has borrowed from the entire galaxy.
To understand who was behind this, one only needed to look at who ultimately benefited. He had ascended to the throne of Xihai so quickly, commanding eight star regions. It would be strange if his hands were clean.
In the faint reflection of the glass, Xiyue curled up a cold smile.
Star City No. 33, East District.
Xiyue found a public restroom, washed up quickly, took off the cold-weather blanket wrapped around her, and stuffed it into her backpack. The cold-weather blanket was extremely dirty, but the combat uniform underneath was relatively clean.
She thought about it and tied her long silver hair into a bun, which better matched her combat uniform.
"3303."
She recited the numbers she had memorized, went out, turned left, and entered the elevator room of the high-rise building.
It was still early, and the elevator was empty. She pressed the button for the 33rd floor and began to survey this clearly high-tech elevator.
Because of the scarcity of metal, the cabin is made entirely of stone and glass, and it operates silently. Perhaps the super energy source known as the "Juhe Core" provides its kinetic energy.
There was no one on the 33rd floor either, and both ends of the elevator hall were sealed off by large panes of glass, making it seem like a dead end. Xiyue observed for a moment, then randomly chose one side and walked over.
A message appeared on the transparent glass: "Please enter the warehouse number."
Below is a numeric keypad and next to it is a palm print.
Xiyue pressed "3303", hesitated for a moment, and pressed her hand on the palm lines.
The glass slid upwards, and she walked in. There was still an empty, enclosed space inside. At this moment, the glass slid down, and a few more lines of words emerged.
"Go to warehouse: 3303
Confidentiality level: High (only the Central Military Region can access customer information)
Validity period: Permanent
Xiyue focused her gaze on the note in the middle, temporarily dispelling her doubts.
The original owner chose a warehouse like this to store things, which shows that he was quite cautious.
That's right. If she was caught and found to be the culprit for opening the contaminated area, not only herself but also Xihai's family would be in danger. However... Xihai's death was ultimately related to her.
Xiyue was thinking, the ground paused, and the glass door opened again, revealing a pure black room.
The floor, walls, and even the entire ceiling were all black, making it difficult to tell at first glance how big the room was. But the most eye-catching thing was floating quietly in the center of the room.
A black flying motorcycle with shiny paint and smooth lines. Even Xiyue, who doesn't like to be high-profile, couldn't help but admire it in his heart.
So cool!
But... wouldn't that be too conspicuous? She'd gone to great lengths to hide her identity before, so driving something this flashy wouldn't contradict her original intention.
Xiyue quickly figured it out.
Because of the contrast.
The more impressive and stylish the person riding the flying motorcycle, the less likely others would associate her with Commander Xi's daughter. After all, in Starnet gossip, Commander Xi's eldest daughter was described as "cold," "polite," and "gentle."
The same is true today.
Who would think that the dashing motorcycle rider, after taking off his clothes, is actually a rubbish citizen living in Sector 29?
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