Envy twisted Lin Xiaohe inside.
Hidden within the Stardust Wall, she gloomily “watched” how the Mantis Armed Group was raking in money hand over fist.
She thought darkly to herself, surely no big idiot would actually pay that kind of money, right?
“Your account has received a payment of 199,000.”
“Account received 199,000.”
…
The leader of the Mantis Armed Group had actually set up incoming payment alerts, and on speakerphone, no less.
A long string of notification tones made Lin Xiaohe’s eyebrows twitch.
Who was squirming with jealousy in the shadows?
Oh, it was her. Never mind then.
Lin Xiaohe kept a straight face, crossed her arms, and floated quietly inside the Stardust Wall.
She just wanted to see what kind of reaction the Mantis Armed Group would have when they brought the tourists to the Stardust Wall and saw her!
A total of 5,041 tourists paid the 199,000 tour and sightseeing fee. Among them, one poor sucker paid 500,000 for a premium service.
Lin Xiaohe’s mouth twitched. She followed their communication channel and found that poor sucker.
What a coincidence! It was Brother Dong!
Lin Xiaohe felt a sense of helplessness, like she wanted to curse someone out but couldn’t.
Old Dong, if you’ve been possessed, just blink! When you did business with me, you haggled over every little thing and wouldn’t even give me a discount. How come you’re so generous when you run into con artists?
Brother Dong had no idea someone was secretly paying attention to him and roasting him.
He opened his ship’s hatch and let the Mantis Armed Group’s dedicated tour guide into his vessel.
The guide was a short, skinny man who was tall, with large eyes that took up almost half his face. He said obsequiously, “Greetings, honored guest. My name is Skinny Monkey, and I will be at your service for the upcoming tour.”
Brother Dong kept a straight face, his gaze dark and heavy. He didn’t seem very enthusiastic about the trip. “Skip the nonsense. During that war, were there any casualties?”
His heart felt like it was being squeezed by a giant hand. Regret, as dense as swarming ants, gnawed hole after hole into that cold, hard heart.
Was his little brother still alive? Had he really managed to escape to the Black Domain?
Just thinking about how he had sent his little brother into Lin Xiaohe’s hands for a mere 300 million credit deal made him wish he could travel back in time and slap his past self silly!
Paying 500,000 star coins naturally bought a little privilege.
Skinny Monkey knew the honored guest was from the Dong family, so naturally, he knew what he cared about. “No casualties on Lin Xiaohe’s side, but the Ministry of Security suffered heavy losses.”
On the surface, the Federation government was everywhere proclaiming their victory, bragging about how they had won big.
But in reality, anyone who had bought inside information knew the Ministry of Security had taken a huge loss!
To serve the VIP well, Skinny Monkey even threw in an extra piece of information: “Besides the black market, the Federation, and the Empire, the Star Horizon Life Exploration Team was also there at the scene.”
Who the exploration team was there for went without saying.
Brother Dong rubbed his throbbing forehead and suddenly felt a sense of relief.
Compared to being a big, juicy piece of meat that attracted wolves from all sides, his little brother would have been better off staying at home, being a good-for-nothing and living off the family.
The massive fleet of spaceships slowly advanced toward the Stardust Wall.
A rough male voice boomed enthusiastically over the communication channel: “Honored tourists, now appearing on your screens is the warning written by the traitor Lin Xiaohe herself: ‘This is the boundary. Trespassers die!'”
He lowered his voice and warned, “This isn’t just for show! Guess why the Stardust Wall is thicker than before?”
He paused for ten seconds to let the tourists guess for themselves before revealing the answer.
“For the past three months, countless people have tried to uncover the secrets behind the Stardust Wall, including the Imperial military, Federation conglomerates, black market mercenaries, and others. As they say, the bold eat their fill, the timid go hungry. Relying on their own strength, they decided to challenge Lin Xiaohe’s warning.”
“Without exception, they were all killed by the green warning light, and they, along with their ships, became part of the Stardust Wall.”
The fleet advanced slowly. The closer they got to the Stardust Wall, the more the ships’ shield levels were raised.
“Alright, we can’t go any further!” The Mantis Armed Group valued their lives.
They had seen many cases of heavily armed ships being completely defenseless against the green warning light.
Therefore, they would rather stop at a far distance than take a single step closer.
The tourists were unhappy with this. That’s it?! And they still dare to charge 199,000 per person!
The Mantis Armed Group wasn’t flustered at all. They cleared their throats and said, “Don’t rush. Now, look in the direction I’m indicating. Can you make out that those are spaceship wreckage?”
The tourists strained their eyes, and within the unevenly dense Stardust Wall, they finally found shapes that vaguely, possibly, maybe looked like spaceship wreckage.
The Mantis Group guide said with absolute conviction, “That’s the Imperial ship, Mayflower! As the oldest and most powerful cosmic exploration team in the Empire, the Mayflower came specifically to explore the Stardust Wall.”
He sighed heavily. “Unfortunately, Lin Xiaohe’s power has already surpassed human limits. The Mayflower hitting the Stardust Wall was like an egg hitting a rock. But they still put up an unyielding resistance and managed to leave behind some wreckage!”
Tourists from the Empire were deeply moved and shed tears.
Brother Dong asked Skinny Monkey, “Is he telling the truth?”
Since this was a one-time deal, Skinny Monkey answered honestly. “It’s true that the Mayflower came. The part about the wreckage is fake.”
Just like clouds in the sky; some people see cotton candy, others see mushrooms.
The image of wreckage in the Stardust Wall was a forced interpretation.
Brother Dong clicked his tongue twice, shook his head, and said, “Instead of barely making out wreckage, you’d be better off saying there’s a person sealed inside. Wouldn’t that be a bigger selling point?”
Skinny Monkey chuckled. “That’s too far-fetched. Who would believe that?”
Then, on the communication channel, a tourist excitedly chimed in, “Wow, isn’t that a person sealed in there? That’s such a clear, obvious human shape! Who is this hero? How are they so powerful?”
Skinny Monkey was speechless. This batch of tourists was too easy to lead, walking right into the trap.
He muttered under his breath, “What human-shaped stardust cloud? If we had material that good, we would have made up ten or eight stories by now.”
Brother Dong gave him a strange look, pointed at the screen, and said, “Isn’t this obvious enough? It has a head, arms, and legs. Isn’t that way more plausible than your wreckage?”
Skinny Monkey’s eyes widened, and his hair stood on end.
He could swear to the heavens that at this location, there was absolutely no human shape!
The Mantis Armed Group had been here many times and had never seen it!
On the screen, that human-shaped stardust cloud began to move, growing larger and larger, as if it was about to walk right out of the Stardust Wall.
For a moment, the tourists were so excited they howled and screamed, but the members of the Mantis Armed Group were sweating profusely, not even daring to breathe heavily.
Finally, like a bubble being popped, the human figure broke free from the Stardust Wall’s confines and returned to the normal universe.
She floated in the void, a green halo flickering beneath her feet, a faintly amused expression on her face.
The tourists’ smiles froze on their faces. Their minds, as if rusted, couldn’t process what was happening for a moment.
One second, they were lamenting how tragic it was that a hero was sealed away.
The next, they were horrified to discover that the person who was supposed to be dead was walking out alive.
And what was even more, even more terrifying…
“AAAAHHH! It’s Lin Xiaohe! Run for your lives!!”
