"Li Ming, where’s your suitcase?" Feder suddenly remembered, looking around.
"Lost? You don’t want the weapons inside?" Feder asked in surprise.
Li Ming said casually, "Travel light, I remember the place. I can go get it when I have time."
"Ah, my junior, it’s our first time meeting, but I’ve heard Old Luo and the teacher mention you a few times," Ya Ro chatted with Li Ming excitedly.
"Brother, I’ve also heard Brother Luo mention you often," Li Ming flattered in return.
"Oh?" Ya Ro’s interest was piqued. "What does Old Luo say about me?"
Li Ming paused, not sure if Brother Ya Ro could tell he was just flattering him.
A little flattery should be enough, he couldn’t start making up reasons to praise him on the spot, that would be taking things too far.
"Shut up," Luo Chuan said impatiently.
Ya Ro, a beat slow to react, finally understood and, not feeling embarrassed, introduced himself to Li Ming, "To formally introduce myself, I am Ya Ro—the Wind Hunter."
"Wind Hunter?" Li Ming didn’t quite understand. "Is that a suffix to Brother’s name?"
"It’s my nickname," Ya Ro explained.
"In the interstellar hustle, you need a cool nickname. It’s not self-appointed, most come from one’s deeds, blown up by friends," Ya Ro said matter-of-factly,
"Consider me, when I was in the Land of Stars, I was like the wind, elusive and unpredictable, hence the nickname, Wind Hunter."
"A meteorite falling would kill a few C-grade life forms in the Land of Stars," Luo Chuan sneered, "don’t embarrass yourself."
Li Ming, thoughtful, was actually interested and asked what the Land of Stars was.
"It’s a lawless zone, located near the Red River Star Stream and bordering several nearby star clusters, situated within an extremely large meteorite belt with severe electromagnetic interference. It’s a paradise for wanderers, raiders, and criminals from the nearby star clusters."
Based on what Ya Ro said, Li Ming had a rough idea, a chaotic place, teeming with powerful life forms.
"Yitelan Civilization can’t handle this place?" Li Ming asked thoughtfully,
"Not just Yitelan Civilization, nearby advanced civilizations in several star clusters have more than once assembled allied forces, only to be completely defeated," Ya Ro said without reservations, "Inside, there are several large space raider groups that include A-level life forms."
"There are A-level life forms, too?" Li Ming exclaimed, somewhat surprised.
"It’s not that they were defeated," Feder who had been listening for a while, couldn’t help correcting, "The interstellar environment in that area is special. Once the allied forces assemble, most people escape to the Red River Star Stream."
"When the allied forces retreat, they just return. Every attempt is a huge waste of energy with nothing gained."
"But the A-level life forms there also dare not come out easily. Once they’re spotted, they face being besieged."
Ya Ro, unreceptive to being contradicted, said carelessly, "Right, right, you’re right. Anyway, the Land of Stars has been doing fine for many years."
Feder started to lose his temper, wanting to explain, but then turned away; there was no point in explaining to someone like that.
Castelon added, "Actually, it’s a sort of ecological balance. There’s always criminals in space. Having a place for them to go means less chaos elsewhere."
The Land of Stars had many reasons for its existence, and Ya Ro spoke of it with great admiration.
According to him, in the Land of Stars, there’s nothing you can’t enjoy and nothing you can’t do.
To hear it from him, the Land of Stars seemed like a good place to be.
"Seems like you’re pretty curious. Why don’t you come with me for a visit? I’ll take care of you," Ya Ro teased.
Everyone looked at him strangely, with a look that was a mix of amusement and disbelief. Luo Chuan said indifferently, "We still don’t know who would be protecting whom."
"Hm? What do you mean?" Ya Ro didn’t quite understand, and no one offered an explanation. He looked dissatisfiedly at Luo Chuan, "You wronged me last time for killing Fu Zongchen, I haven’t settled that score with you yet."
Luo Chuan ignored him.
Li Ming, however, was pondering silently. If he wanted to develop rapidly, metal energy and various weapons and equipment were essential.
And in the interstellar realms, almost all civilizations have weapon control regulations.
Blue Star’s weapon control was already strict enough, only allowing purchases through the Black Hole Network.
Not to mention within the Yitelan Civilization. Even though its level of civilization was higher, the restrictions he faced were undoubtedly even heavier.
On Blue Star, he had to be very cautious in his actions, let alone within the Yitelan Civilization. Even just the basic surveillance equipment was much more advanced than on Blue Star, and being constantly under surveillance was even more troublesome.
Forget about killing or arson, even absorbing metal materials would require utmost care.
What’s more, Princess Asmara wouldn’t shelter him, and if she discovered his tracks, she might become even more curious about him, possibly deciding to dissect him instead.
Her ruthlessness was already well established. Being near her or interacting with her was a big problem.
But if he was to run away, he’d need to pick the right place, one where he could develop unchecked and find plenty of resource supply.
This Land of Stars seemed like a good option.
"But first, I must get my hands on a C-grade gene seed," Li Ming calculated.
If he tried buying it on the Black Hole Network, he didn’t know how long he would have to save up.
Maybe he should first head to the Yitelan Civilization, snatch a C-grade gene seed, and then look for an opportunity to escape.
But once there, would he be able to get out? Perhaps he should ask Feder first?
As he mulled over this, he had already arrived at the main ship in the sky.
The heavy hatch opened, dropping them into the deck chamber, where a young man was waiting for them, nodding slightly, "Welcome, everyone."