The Interstellar Queen of Scavengers

Chapter 268: Chapter 268: Beef Jerky

The reason this cargo starship is docked at the edge of outer space near Taoyuan Space Station is due to a malfunction in the station’s protective shield. Currently, the engineering team is fully committed to fixing it. The protective shield can only open a small gap, and the starship, being too large to pass through the barrier, requires that unloading the materials be done manually for the time being.

This is also why Ji You and several other students are here.

Transporting materials is a monotonous and boring task that involves repeating the same action over and over again, but no student complained, everyone took their work seriously.

minutes.

Ji You had calculated for herself that it took her 3 minutes to transport a crate of materials onto the smaller vessel.

So—

Was there any possibility to cut down her brick-moving speed?

Here, while Ji You was moving bricks, she was actually watching her classmates:

Chu Jiaojiao could complete the task in 2 minutes and 25 seconds, and her best time was even 2 minutes.

Yue Qiguang was similar to Chu Jiaojiao, but slightly slower.

Shen Changqing and Yue Qiyuan, the two students with S-level spiritual power, were a bit less physically strong and averaged around 2 minutes and 40 seconds.

And Sheng Qingyan?

Little Cutie was somewhat baffling in this respect; his quickest time was 2 minutes and 01 second, but he could also take 4 or 5 minutes, depending on whether the teacher Mu Jianling’s gaze was on him or not.

Sheng Qingyan was not a good reference, so Ji You paid close attention to Xuzhou and found his level very stable, roughly between 2 minutes and 50 seconds to 3 minutes.

Thinking that everyone was working together in such silence, Ji You, who couldn’t keep quiet, rolled her eyes and suddenly said to Xuzhou, ”Little Zhouzhou, want to have a competition to see who can move materials faster? Whoever loses brings out a packet of beef jerky. Dare to make a bet?”

Xuzhou’s hands, which were moving bricks, paused. After a few seconds of silence, he glanced at her and threw a soul-searching question, ”Do you have beef jerky?”

Ji You laughed, ”I don’t, but as long as you have it, that’s fine.”

Xuzhou: ”...”

Is he assuming he will lose?

Lose?

Impossible!

And how did this girl know about the stash of beef jerky in his bag? His beef jerky was extremely expensive and delicious, coming from the natural ranch of the Huhaber Prairie, where 100 grams cost 5,000 credit points. He had scrimped and saved for a long time to buy these 2.5 kilograms. He couldn’t bear to eat it, nibbling just about 10 grams daily to satisfy his cravings...

Unexpectedly, Ji You had set her sights on it.

Seeing that Xuzhou didn’t accept the challenge, Ji You immediately said, ”Little Zhouzhou, are you scared to accept because you’re afraid of losing?”

Xuzhou: ”...”

Xuzhou gave her a dismissive look, ”Who will lose to you?”

Ji You grinned, ”Then let’s have a fair competition! Don’t be a coward! Even if you lose, it’s just a packet of beef jerky.”

Xuzhou, lifting a crate of materials, walked away with big strides, giving her another look, ”I’m a coward, not competing.”

Ji You: ”...”

Ji You felt a tightness in her chest and couldn’t quite believe it as she followed him, ”Little Zhouzhou, you’ve changed, you’re no longer the Little Zhouzhou who dares to dream and fight.”

Without turning back, Xuzhou dropped a remark, ”Say whatever you want, but tricking me for my beef jerky? No way!”

Ji You, carrying a crate of materials, chased after Xuzhou without falling behind, ”Little Zhouzhou, clarify for me, what does tricking mean? That’s just what you think; I don’t need your thoughts, I have my own. Stop making a fuss, you are just afraid of losing to me, that’s why you dare not compete! If you’re so capable, come and compete with me right now! And you must bet your beef jerky to compete!”

Xuzhou: ”...”

Xuzhou suddenly sped up, racing even faster.

But Ji You was quicker, still hot on his heels: ”Little Zhouzhou, being timid isn’t shameful, but being bold enough to bet makes you a real man! Come on! The time has come for you to prove yourself.”

Xuzhou: ”...”

Overwhelmed, Xuzhou suddenly shouted to Mu Jianling, ”Report, Teacher, I believe student number 4444, Ji You, is seriously interfering with my training. I request that she maintain a distance of over 50 meters from me. Please approve, Teacher.”

Ji You: ”...”

Instantly forfeiting her desire for beef jerky, Ji You chuckled awkwardly, ”Ah, Teacher, Xuzhou misunderstood. I was just joking with him. I merely wanted to compare our carrying speed.”

Beside them, Sheng Qingyan expressed her disdain: ”All this fuss over beef jerky? Such a disgrace for a poor dead...”

Mu Jianling remained silent.

In fact, Xuzhou wasn’t really mad at Ji You. He knew that’s just the way she was and whispered, ”A contest is fine, but using beef jerky as the wager is absolutely not happening.”

Ji You lamented, ”Is it worth making such a fuss over some beef jerky?”

Xuzhou whispered, ”They’re really hard to come by. I fought for a long time just to snatch up 5 jin. I spent 1 jin last night asking a senior for advice on Mecha driving.”

He sounded somewhat pitiful.

Oh dear!

Ji You no longer had the heart to target his beef jerky.

At that moment—

Mu Jianling suddenly announced, ”A competition is fine, but everyone will participate. Those who achieve an average speed of 2 minutes and 10 seconds within 30 minutes will all receive an additional 5 academic points.”

Wow~

Could there be such a good deal?

But—

minutes and 10 seconds was so difficult.

You have to understand, the fastest student was Chu Jiaojiao with 2 minutes, followed by Sheng Qingyan’s 2 minutes and 1 second, and then Yue Qiguang’s 2 minutes and 11 seconds. What about the others? Most were above 2 minutes and 30 seconds.

But the allure of academic points was just too strong. Instantly, all students abandoned a methodical approach, each one fervently and vibrantly began moving bricks.

The same went for Ji You. With academic points on her mind, how could she still care about beef jerky? Her priority was to hurry and move bricks; within 30 minutes, she must reach an average speed of 2 minutes and 10 seconds. How many times did she need to carry to achieve that?

Thinking this over, Ji You did not stop her hands, and soon she had completed a round trip.

Once.

Twice.

Thrice.

...

Not just Ji You, everyone’s enthusiasm was greatly boosted by Teacher Mu Jianling’s motivation, not only did their enthusiasm increase, but their efficiency was extremely high too.

Right at this time, as Ji You was carrying a supply box, she suddenly caught a flash of light nearby. She was taken aback, but during her momentary daze, she continued her swift movements, and while rushing toward the small Starship, she exclaimed loudly, ”Hey, what’s that?”

Xuzhou couldn’t help but say, ”Can’t you just quietly carry your own? Why do you have to create chaos and disturb others?”

Right after he spoke, Xuzhou suddenly realized that Ji You seemed to have gone mad. She tossed the supply box she was holding with the mechanical arm aside and pounced fiercely toward him, and in an instant, she fired a Particle Cannon.

Bang—