Back at the small base, the others hadn't returned yet. Cheng Tian used an instrument to notify them and then began to tidy up the base, which had been thrown into disarray by the recent evacuation.
The others also came forward to help.
Zhou Yan invited Zhu Lan to sit down and asked, "Cheng Tian said you're from the SA galaxy. Which planet? Which family are you from? There are 19 planets and over forty noble families in the SA galaxy. How come I've never heard of someone as powerful as you?"
This barrage of questions left Zhu Lan somewhat stunned.
The system immediately offered advice. Zhu Lan calmly replied, "From Emperor Star. My family isn't among those powerful noble families, so it's normal you haven't heard of me. There are tens of billions of people in the entire galaxy, and there's a lot we don't know about each other. Don't be surprised."
Although she said this, Zhou Yan clearly didn't believe her. In Zhou Yan's opinion, someone with such strong individual combat power and such a large spatial nexus couldn't possibly not be from one of the high-ranking noble families. If she were, it was impossible she wouldn't have heard of her.
The person in front of her was obviously trying to fool her.
But it made sense. They had only met by chance, and the other party would certainly not reveal everything.
As long as she wasn't a threat to them, that was enough.
"That's true."
She changed the subject. "Cheng Tian said you want to return to the SA galaxy. But the warp speed of the starships seems to be decreasing. Are you going to contact someone to pick you up?"
"Probably." She wasn't entirely sure herself, not knowing when the main system would respond.
"Then can you take us with you when you leave?" Seeing her slightly puzzled look, Zhou Yan quickly explained, "We ended up on this barren planet by accident. There's not much energy here, and the supplies we brought won't last long. If we can't leave, we won't be able to deal with the aliens if we encounter them again. We'll just be running around the planet, which is too dangerous."
Zhu Lan had already observed this group. They were clearly not a well-organized, survival-capable team. There were elderly, young, women, and children in the group. The two children she had seen earlier were probably around ten years old, and there was also a boy of fifteen or sixteen, and a man in his forties with an injury... all of whom were burdens to their team.
She hesitated for a moment and said, "If it's possible, you can leave with me."
For the first time, Zhou Yan showed her a sincere smile and thanked her repeatedly.
Not long after, the others returned to the base. They packed the items they had taken, then sat on the simple sofas in the common area to rest.
Someone laughed and said, "This is the first time we've run away and come back. Otherwise, we'd have to waste more resources looking for a new place to settle. It's great!"
"And the corpses of those beasts outside! Think of how much nutrient fluid we can make from them! This is too good!"
Only then did Zhu Lan notice that many people hadn't entered. Zhou Yan had also gone out after talking with her, likely to deal with the alien corpses.
About an hour later, everyone returned to the small base again. When over thirty people squeezed in together, the common area, which was less than a hundred square meters, was almost full. They all found places to sit and rest. Those without seats simply used something as a cushion and sat on the ground.
Zhou Yan walked up to her, her face smudged with dried black blood, but she was smiling. She took out several glass tubes containing liquids of various colors, mostly dark yellow and blue, very thick, resembling paint.
"You killed most of the aliens and helped us protect the base. This is nutrient fluid made from the aliens. It's for you."
Zhu Lan knew that this so-called nutrient fluid was for consumption. Thinking about the strange-looking monsters, even if she didn't need to eat and was starving, she wouldn't want to touch those monsters.
Especially when she saw the yellow liquid, she was reminded of the webs the ugly spiders spun from their glands, which made her even more nauseated.
"I don't need it. You should keep it for yourselves."
"But you... Oh, I forgot you have a large spatial nexus. Well then, if you want it anytime, you can find me. I'll keep it for you until we leave."
Zhu Lan really wanted to say it was unnecessary.
But she felt it might attract resentment, so she let it go.
She wanted to ask them why they didn't eat the monster corpses, but the moment the words were about to come out, she remembered that this should be common knowledge for them, so she asked the system.
【They can be eaten, but the cooking process consumes energy and nutrients. Making them directly into nutrient fluid is the most convenient. Also, those aliens, like those spiders, might be poisonous, so they don't dare to eat them randomly.】
It was easy to distinguish if common animals were poisonous, so the biggest reason they didn't eat the aliens was to make nutrient fluid.
Nutrient fluid was easier to preserve, more convenient to carry, retained the nutrients they needed to the maximum extent, and didn't require energy to cook, making it much more convenient than processing it into food.
Zhu Lan felt that eating such nutrient fluid would be worse than not eating at all for her. She ate more for the enjoyment of the process rather than to satisfy hunger.
They were clearly exhausted today. After dealing with the aliens, they all returned to their rooms. With over thirty people living in a few rooms, and Zhu Lan occupying one, they had to temporarily reassign rooms, making it five people per room.
Zhou Yan used to sleep with her two children. Now, another woman was added to her room. After arranging everything, she went to Zhu Lan again. "We have people on guard at all times, and the base has an alarm system. You don't need to worry about your safety."
Of course, after witnessing Zhu Lan's abilities, she didn't worry about this person's safety either.
"Mm, thank you."
"You're welcome. If anyone should be thanked, it's us."
After saying that, she left.
Zhu Lan lay on the bed, looking at the small skylight above, wondering where Zhong Yan might be now. His soul had returned, and he should have woken up long ago. He might be waiting for her to go to him. If he couldn't see her for a long time, that person would probably feel quite wronged.
Such a good person, who trusted her so much, she had to find him quickly.
——
"Is there still no news?"
The robot replied, "Traces have been found in the SZ galaxy. There's something we cannot decide on and require your consultation."
The anthropomorphized voice of the main network carried a hint of doubt. "What is it?"
The little robot replied, "You previously instructed the Ninth District to lead the pursuit. However, the Director of the Ninth District, Su Yanyun, intentionally let a spy from the Sixteenth District escape during the pursuit. Although he provided a reasonable explanation, we still request his arrest."
The main system was silent for a moment, then said, "I will personally notify him to come and explain to me. Increase the intensity of the pursuit. Dispatch people from the Second, Third, and Tenth Districts as well. They dare not use the main network system, so try to search those barren planets. S has entered our world. If we don't find A quickly, she will surely retaliate fiercely against us."
That person possessed immense power, so great that he dared not challenge it lightly. According to the intelligence from 007, she and that mysterious woman from another dimension were the most likely to completely eradicate the alien disaster. Sudan Novel Network.
He was already disgusted with this world.
Especially when he was doing what he believed was saving humanity, those people who constantly betrayed him and stabbed him in the back made him feel deep powerlessness and rage.
If it weren't for those rules, he would have stopped caring about them long ago.
The Ninth District... even the people he personally promoted were working against him.
He vowed that once the alien crisis was resolved, he would immediately leave this damned world!