It turned out that rich people weren’t stupid.
In the warehouse, anything valuable had already been cleared out, leaving only crates of mutated beast meat.
This mutated beast meat was specifically requested by a mysterious client, who had paid half as a deposit but never sent anyone to pick it up.
Lin Xiaohe was especially frustrated. The theater manager’s level of poverty was beyond what she had anticipated, severely impacting her plans.
Lin Xiaohe felt like shooting him.
“Don’t be angry, you can have all this mutated beast meat!”
Lin Xiaohe twitched the corner of her mouth. What use did she have for this?! Eating mutated beast meat made it extremely easy to contract Stardust Disease!
Who in their right mind would eat it?
Well, it seemed someone actually was crazy enough.
【I want it! Give it all to me!】 Fanfan struggled hard, practically wanting to jump into the crates of meat.
Lin Xiaohe firmly gripped its branch and said fiercely, “Shut up. If you keep fussing, not a single piece for you.”
Fanfan quieted down.
Lin Xiaohe packed up all the mutated beast meat in the warehouse, totaling 500 kilograms (about 1100 pounds).
The theater manager diligently hired a truck and sent both the people and the meat on their way!
As soon as they got home, Fanfan couldn’t wait to sink its roots into the mutated beast meat.
It devoured a ten-kilogram (22-pound) piece in under 10 minutes.
【Fanfan Affection +5】
Fanfan acted as if it hadn’t eaten in eight lifetimes, its small roots splitting into several tendrils, each one claiming a piece of meat.
【Fanfan Affection +5, +5…】
The aloof and elegant Fanfan instantly became cheap in the presence of meat.
“Oh wow, so Fanfan is a carnivore.” The Lin family gathered around to watch Fanfan eat.
Lin Grandma, who had an incredibly thick filter of affection for every plant Lin Xiaohe brought home, said, “Fanfan is such a good kid. Even though it loves meat so much, it hasn’t hurt us at all.”
Lin Chiyang liked to tease. Seeing Fanfan couldn’t eat fast enough, he deliberately picked up a piece of meat and waved it back and forth in front of Fanfan.
Fanfan was so tempted it used its vines to grab for it, but couldn’t quite reach.
Lin Xiaohe was helpless. Was her eldest brother teasing it like a cat?!
She found the most reliable person at home, Lin Jingqiu: “Second Sister, are all your things packed? I booked our tickets for the day after tomorrow.”
Lin Jingqiu patted her chest, indicating everything was ready!
That day, Fanfan ate a full 100 kilograms (220 pounds) of mutated beast meat in one go and fell asleep, completely stuffed.
Lin Father didn’t sell their house or land. He rented the land to the village chief, not charging any rent, only asking the chief to pay the taxes on time.
The Lin family didn’t say goodbye to anyone. Early in the morning, they quietly left Hengshan Village.
On the starship, the Lin family’s seats were all together.
Since they booked economy class, the seats were a bit narrow and small. When fully reclined, they were only enough for one person to lie down and sleep; turning over was a bit difficult.
Lin Xiaohe’s seat was by the window. She lined up Xinbao and the others on her seat.
She was small and didn’t need to take up much space.
Since boarding the starship, Lin Father seemed a bit distracted, staring wide-eyed, unable to sleep.
“Dad, what’s wrong? Are you feeling spacesick?” Lin Xiaohe asked with concern.
Lin Father hesitated as if wanting to say something, then finally forced his eyes shut: “No, I’m just too happy. Going to sleep now.”
Lin Grandma patted Lin Xiaohe’s arm and whispered, “Leave him be. He’s afraid of running into someone he knows.”
“Someone he knows?”
Lin Grandma looked at Lin Xiaohe, a bit puzzled. “Did I never tell you? Before, your father used to work in the Fifth Star Ring.”
“Huh?! Dad, is that true?”
Lin Father snored, pretending to be asleep.
Seeing her father wouldn’t answer, Lin Xiaohe asked Lin Grandma instead: “Why is Dad afraid of meeting acquaintances?”
“Sigh, it’s a long story. Your father had many good friends, but when he left the Fifth Star Ring, he didn’t tell anyone, and he hasn’t kept in touch with them. He’s probably afraid of meeting old friends and being questioned.”
“I see.” Lin Xiaohe thoughtfully ended the topic there.
Everyone has their own secrets. There must be a reason why Dad didn’t keep in touch with his friends.
Seven days passed in the blink of an eye.
The starship landed at the port on Vitarra Star. The Lin family didn’t linger here and immediately boarded an orbital shuttle.
The interior of the orbital shuttle was quite spacious. Lin Xiaohe stored the mutated beast meat inside the cabin.
She planned to feed Fanfan well during the 11-day journey, aiming to get it to the mature stage.
Long-distance travel was both boring and tiring.
When they finally arrived at the Fifth Star Ring’s 【Jade Dome】, the Lin family couldn’t help but cheer.
“Dad, have you been to Jade Dome before?” Lin Xiaohe asked curiously.
The shuttle docked at a small berth, connected to a green arched isolation corridor. They couldn’t see anything outside it at all.
Here, they completed security checks and tax refund procedures simultaneously through an iris scan.
Lin Father said quietly, “No, I left through a different ring port back then.”
This green isolation corridor was also called the Ecological Purification Corridor.
It used ultraviolet scanning to kill radiation flora, and the air was infused with xenon to displace heavy metals in the lungs, minimizing the adverse impact of incoming populations on the Fifth Star Ring.
It took a total of three hours to walk from one end of the corridor to the exit.
Reaching the exit, they were greeted by a massive disc-shaped space. The dome was made of photosynthetic glass, and an unknown green liquid flowed down the outer walls.
People were coming and going here. There were soldiers, merchants, politicians, and civilians.
Everyone was lining up here, waiting for the final quarantine check before they could enter the Fifth Star Ring.
“Tch, more people from the Sixth Star Ring.” A passing passenger curled their lip in disdain.
Lin Xiaohe ignored them.
Xinbao connected to the network and told her they still needed to wait 24 hours before it was their turn for quarantine.
The waiting area was divided into three categories. Category A had an inner-ring observation deck and an ecological oxygen bar, costing 1000 star coins per hour.
Category B was the standard area, with folding seats and paid internet access, costing 800 star coins per hour.
Category C was in the outer-ring extension cabin, with only folding seats, costing 500 star coins per hour.
The Lin family voted and unanimously decided they wouldn’t go anywhere; they’d just stand in the main hall. Their motto was: save where you should, spend where you must.
Most people who could come from the Sixth Star Ring to the Fifth Star Ring were financially stable and wouldn’t hesitate to spend tens of thousands of star coins for comfort.
The Lin family standing there were as conspicuous as light bulbs in the dark.
Nearly everyone who passed by gave them a few extra glances.
Lin Father sat in his wheelchair, holding Lin Mother in his arms, completely unconcerned about the disdainful looks from passersby.
Lin Jingqiu focused entirely on weaving a bag, not even lifting her head.
Lin Chiyang leaned against the wall, staring blankly at the dome.
Lin Grandma secretly fed Xinbao purified water, while Lin Xiaohe tore strips of meat and tossed them into her bag.
Fanfan, that big glutton, had eaten 400 kilograms (880 pounds) of meat and only just reached the growing stage.
The whole family, by their own actions, managed to isolate themselves from all the other passengers in the waiting area.
“Lin Tiesheng?” A bald man, over two meters tall and built like a tank, stopped in front of Lin Father.
Lin Father’s body stiffened. A flicker of conflict crossed his face. Finally, without looking up, he said, “You’ve mistaken me for someone else.”
The rest of the Lin family stopped what they were doing and looked curiously at the bald man.
Lin Chiyang whispered to Lin Xiaohe, “Is he Dad’s friend?”
Lin Xiaohe glanced at the bald man’s expression – excited but with a hint of provocation. It didn’t really seem like a friendly reunion; more like a confrontation.
Maybe, in the interstellar age, this was just how men’s friendships were?
Lin Xiaohe hesitated, “Probably, I guess.”
Changed the cover art, did you notice? Is it good-looking?
