The Interstellar Queen of Scavengers

Ji You stopped working and asked He Bi about the progress.

He Bi said, “All done.”

Upon hearing this, Ji You suddenly stumbled and almost fell to the ground, but she promptly reached out and held onto the nearby workbench for support.

“Woman!” Little Golden Dragon jumped down: “You…”

Ji You raised her hand, interrupting Little Golden Dragon, “The body’s normal response to fatigue, no big deal, don’t chatter.”

Little Golden Dragon stared!

Chatter, it did not!

How did it chatter?

It was just concerned about her! This woman was full of energy, working tirelessly for six days without a hint of drowsiness. Now that she heard everything was completed, finally the burden lifted, she’s feeling sleepy, right?

Little Golden Dragon saw it; her eyelids wouldn’t stay up, yet she spoke calmly to He Bi.

Truly—

Not caring about her own body.

Little Golden Dragon was so upset, it didn’t want to bother with her, turning its back and pointing its rear at Ji You.

Broadcast port.

He Bi apparently heard Little Golden Dragon’s noise, paused, and asked, “How’s your body? Do you need to rest before talking?”

“No need.” Ji You’s voice was calm, clearly aware of her physical condition. This was what He Bi admired most about this pesky little sister’s approach to work. On issues of health and safety, she’s very measured and won’t act recklessly.

Therefore, He Bi also felt assured for her, and proceeded to explain the cleanup of the grid area to Ji You.

Throughout, Ji You listened quietly.

Once He Bi finished, he said, “We suspect there was a main control system here that has been dismantled by them. We have meticulously examined those abnormal grid areas but found no traces. How did they dismantle it?”

Upon hearing this, Ji You frowned.

Just then, Little Golden Dragon couldn’t hold back any longer and asked, “Senior He Bi, when did you issue the return command?”

He Bi: “Hmm?”

Little Golden Dragon tried hard to explain, “Did you say anything about returning? When did you say it, and is there a record?”

He Bi sensed something off, recalled carefully, and said, “I did say it, approximately 30 minutes ago.”

They needed to return from the farthest point to the spaceship here, and even driving the Mecha at maximum speed would take 20 minutes. Moreover, they hadn’t moved quickly, instead constantly probing around, thus causing some delay.

Little Golden Dragon, hearing this, widened its eyes: “Then the return command I heard wasn’t from you?”

He Bi was startled, “What?”

Little Golden Dragon babbled on, trying to explain to He Bi, finally saying, “In other words, the timing doesn’t match. That previous command wasn’t from you, Senior He Bi, so who was it?”

Upon hearing this, He Bi frowned deeply: “So, they were here earlier? And none of us noticed?”

This matter is serious.

It’s not just generally serious, but extremely serious.

The enemy had been here, watched as dismantled the grid cages, yet showed no reaction, and even seemed to aid in speeding up the dismantling process…

Then—

It can only mean they were prepared for us dismantling the grids, prepared with something more potent to deal with us, suggesting a larger crisis could be awaiting us.

“They’ve been here,” Ji You spoke with relative composure, “That’s why I think the situation is troublesome. However—”

Ji You looked at everyone and said, “There’s no need to panic as they likely didn’t come here themselves, but kept some distance.”

Little Golden Dragon had said the sound was far away, at least tens of thousands of miles away.

From such a distance, it’s clear they don’t dare approach us readily, whether fearing to alarm us or having other concerns… this indicates they also hesitate to provoke us directly.

This is a major advantage.

He Bi carefully asked Little Golden Dragon about the details of the voice, and Little Golden Dragon, with a neutral expression, answered earnestly.

He Bi said, “So, they approached us at least twice.”

Once, saying to retreat.

Once, saying to return.

Yue Qiyuan, rubbing his chin, said, “So, under what circumstances did they say these two words?”

Little Golden Dragon heard these phrases, and everyone turned to it.

Sitting atop Ji You’s head, under everyone’s gaze, its posture snapped upright.

Then.

Little Golden Dragon said, “I don’t know, ask Mr. Ji.”

Everyone: “…”

Little Golden Dragon, feeling slightly nervous, couldn’t help but tug at Ji You’s hair.

Ji You, with a stern face, said, “Once it was during your second breach of the grid wall. They said retreat. Once it was after breaking all the grid areas, they said return.”

Little Golden Dragon immediately lifted its head high, saying, “Exactly, that’s it.”

Amidst everyone’s silence, Ji You earnestly said, “The first time, they were surely shocked that we could break through the grid wall, so they immediately changed their attacking plans. The word ‘retreat’ obviously carried a hint of surprise and unpreparedness. The second time, when we dismantled all the grids, they said ‘return’, this clearly bears an air of composure knowing the result. This indicates, they’d already devised countermeasures.”

Ji You explained word by word, and nobody interrupted her.

Finally, Ji You said, “Now the only question is—They probably already dismantled the main control system here, so would they still monitor us?”

As the words fell, everyone fell into contemplation.

Silence for a few seconds.

Ji You said, “This monitoring must be eliminated!”

If not eliminated, it’ll be like a thorn in our backs, hindering everything we do with concerns.

Yue Qiguang, scratching his head, said in frustration, “How to eliminate it? The problem is we don’t know where this thing is hidden.”

Ji You gazed at the distant front, saying softly, “If we can’t find it here, then let’s move on, head to where they might be. Where they are, there should also be a monitoring system. Finding that place achieves the same purpose.”

“Hmm?” Yue Qiyuan was a bit puzzled.

He Bi felt a prick at heart, “You mean looking in the direction from where the sound was transmitted?”

“Senior He Bi understands,” Ji You teased with a smile, “Exactly. If we can’t find their traces, then let’s follow the direction from which they came; we’ll inevitably find traces.”

Suddenly silent Shen Changqing spoke up, “But… what if they leave the original place? What if they’ve set up a trap there for us?”

This is quite possible.