Chapter 54 First Entry into the Extraterrestrial Starfield
The slight dizziness caused by the spatial distortion lasted for less than a second.
When Ning Shuyin opened her eyes again, Zhou Zhiheng's face had disappeared, leaving only a system notification sound:
[Zhou Zhiheng's favorability rating has decreased by 20 points.]
[Current favorability: -90 (hatred of betrayal)]
Ning Shuyin: "..."
Very good, it's 10 points lower than when we first met.
In the past, Ning Shuyin would have panicked. But now—
Her main task is to promote the relationship between Su Qianqian and Gu Lei, without talking about her own love life.
As long as these men don't kill her, it doesn't matter how low their favorability rating is.
She believed that, given Zhou Zhiheng's wicked capitalist ways, her life was absolutely safe.
Because she has gone from being a "damned date" to a hapless working woman who has signed a contract to be sold into servitude.
No matter how much a boss hates an employee, as long as that employee can still work, he won't easily kill her.
Unexpectedly, being treated like a beast of burden in interstellar society has become a talisman.
We also have to thank that 5 trillion... debt.
Ning Shuyin sighed helplessly and took a moment to look at the system panel.
[For outstanding contributions in the battle at the Museum of Time and Space, 100 points have been awarded.]
This performance earned 100 points, so it wasn't a complete loss.
Now she has 205 points, which is enough to buy some obscure and useless items in the system shop.
However, it's still quite a distance from being a proper prop.
For example, the [Gene Repair Fluid (1000 points)] that she has her eye on can upgrade her combat abilities by leapfrogging from F-rank to D-rank.
It seems I can only save up slowly.
Ning Shuyin pulled herself back to reality and looked around.
This environment was not what she had imagined any starship to be like. There were no smooth white bulkheads, no uniformed crew members.
This place is like a lively underground bar.
Upbeat music played. The air was filled with the aromas of alcohol, fresh fruit, and grilled meat.
Behind the bar, a beautiful bartender was mixing drinks with mixed colors.
Two girls with animal ears swayed and danced in the center of the dance floor.
Not far away, several burly men were chatting and laughing around a table.
It appears chaotic, yet it contains a peculiar sense of order.
Everyone is doing their own thing.
When they see Caesar and Ning Shuyin appear out of nowhere, they stop what they are doing and respectfully raise their glasses in greeting.
Caesar released his hand from her waist.
He snapped his fingers in the direction of the bartender.
A crisp "ding" sound effect.
A streak of light flashed on his wrist, transforming into a continuously spinning holographic projection of a gold coin, which collided with the bartender's terminal.
The bartender's personal computer emitted a pleasant sound as gold coins fell to the ground and announced a series of numbers: "500 Star Coins received."
"Thank you for the generous tip, Your Majesty!" The beautiful bartender smiled brightly at Caesar and pushed over two shimmering drinks.
Caesar handed one of the cups to Ning Shuyin.
"This is your first time experiencing teleportation, calm down." Caesar leaned against the bar.
[Target Caesar's current favorability: 10 (Curious).]
Finally, she met someone for the first time who she had a good feeling about.
But Caesar was curious about her? Curious about what?
Ning Shuyin remained vigilant and carefully sipped her wine.
The liquor glides down your throat, a subtle energy flowing through you. This liquor is a tonic.
"Thank you." She looked up. "It was an extraordinary experience."
She knew that teleportation was Caesar's superpower.
The original work mentions that this ability is extremely energy-consuming and has many limitations.
"I didn't expect your teleportation could carry people with you," Ning Shuyin asked curiously.
Caesar replied with a smile, "There can be some weight, but it's not unlimited. Distance, mass, and energy fields will all cause interference, and the consumption will increase exponentially."
"The reason I was able to come to the museum to pick you up today is because of the previous battle, which tore a small hole in the meteorite shielding field."
After Caesar finished speaking, he downed the rainbow-colored wine in one gulp and pointed to the surrounding environment, explaining:
"This place is called the Court of Usurpation, and it's my home. How about it? It's completely different from the gloomy and chaotic pirate den you imagined, isn't it?"
"It certainly doesn't look like a pirate ship." Ning Shuyin was a little nervous, but she still gave her honest assessment.
"Haha! Just to clarify, this ship used to belong to a legendary space pirate leader, but I won it over later."
“So,” he concluded, “I’m not a space pirate, just a legitimate businessman and collector who happens to live on a famous space pirate ship. But the title of ‘King of Pirates’ sounds impressive and sometimes makes things easier, so I’ve decided not to bother clarifying it.”
Ning Shuyin maintained a calm demeanor on the surface, but inwardly she thought: The title "Star Pirate King" is not as simple as "too lazy to clarify." But as long as this legendary madman doesn't go crazy in front of me, everything is negotiable.
After Caesar finished his self-introduction, he gestured to the waiter.
Immediately, a fragrant plate of braised pork loin was served.
"Miss Ning, there are still 25 minutes until the spaceship reaches the jump point. You can eat some barbecue to fill your stomach first. That little guy Zhou Zhiheng probably didn't invite you to dinner."
Ning Shuyin was indeed hungry.
She only drank one bottle of juice the whole time with Zhou Zhiheng. But when she heard about leapfrog development, her heart jumped again.
She put down her cup, ignoring the grilled meat in front of her.
“Mr. Caesar, thank you very much for your invitation. But I have urgent business to attend to and must return to Planet A.”
For her right now, the most important thing is to keep an eye on Su Qianqian and Gu Lei's first date.
That's a top priority, concerning whether she'll turn into a cat.
Now is not the time for long-distance travel.
"Could we reschedule this date for another time?" Ning Shuyin asked cautiously.
"Oh?" Caesar was a little surprised. "Something more important than a date?"
He looked at the anxiety on Ning Shuyin's face and said, "Okay. I never force ladies."
Ning Shuyin was overjoyed and was about to express her gratitude.
“However,” Caesar suddenly changed the subject, his face showing apology, “the ship has already entered the preset course and cannot turn around for the time being. I have to go to the Chaos Trading Star first; I also have some urgent business to attend to.”
Seeing Ning Shuyin's face instantly fall, he patted her shoulder and said, "The fastest round trip will take two days. I'll send you back to Planet A as soon as I'm done with my business, how about that?"
Two days...
Ning Shuyin quickly calculated in her mind. Subtracting two days and 48 hours, she had more than 80 hours left in her countdown.
I should be able to make a date when I get back.
But what will happen on Planet A in the next two days is completely unknown.
Seeing Ning Shuyin's preoccupied expression, Caesar said, "I'm sorry, I really forgot to ask if something was wrong..."
When he said this, his gaze did not fall on Ning Shuyin's face, but instead swept towards the star map next to him.
“Miss Ning, the trading star is in the Tartarus Nebula. That area is quite lively, with shopping stars, bar stars, bathing stars, and exam stars.”
"While I'm busy with important matters, you can go shopping by yourself. If you see anything you like, just put it on my tab."
Caesar's attitude appeared impeccable.
Ning Shuyin could only nod.
After all, this big shot is not someone to be trifled with. When the other party is willing to talk "reason," the first priority for survival is to quickly go along with it.
The spacecraft arrived at the jump point on time.
The bar is temporarily closed.
Ning Shuyin was taken to the command center by Caesar.
This was her first time experiencing a leap in this world.
This mindset is somewhat similar to taking an airplane for the first time in the real world.
The stars outside the porthole suddenly stretched out, transforming into countless streaks of light.
The entire spaceship seemed to be sucked into a tunnel.
Everything around was distorted, eventually returning to nothingness.
Once the scene before me stabilized, the view outside the window revealed a different star map.
Ning Shuyin turned on her personal terminal, intending to contact Su Qianqian and remotely check on the progress of her date with Gu Lei.
However, the symbol in the upper right corner of the screen, which represents the signal, has changed to a symbol she has never seen before.
[Notice: You have entered the outer star system. There is a delay between the outer communication network and the A star network. The estimated communication delay is over 48 hours.]
Ning Shuyin's heart sank.
Remotely controlling the dating plan—failed. For the next two days, she will be completely cut off from Planet A.
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