Chapter 74

Chapter 74: ke li nuo grasslands

As they walked, Ling Mo asked what this place actually did.

The answer made her pulse race.

A factory that processed household aircraft.

Aircraft!

“Qie Man,” Ling Mo asked mentally, “do interstellar people travel by aircraft for daily life?”

[Qie Man: Yes. For extremely long distances—crossing a city, or traveling from one planet to another—you still need a spaceship.]

Ling Mo ignored everything after the first word.

They walked for another ten minutes before stopping at a metal wall.

The beastman made a series of precise gestures in the air. The plain wall reacted.

With a dull boom, several seams appeared across the metal surface, as if something had sliced it open. An entrance slowly formed.

The beastman turned and waved her forward. “The things inside are what need to be processed. Go in. I won’t be entering.”

Ling Mo nodded and stepped through.

The lights overhead flicked on the instant she crossed the threshold.

Inside, black metal crates were stacked neatly in rows.

Ling Mo wasn’t even surprised anymore.

She found the serial number on the side of a crate, had Qie Man check it, confirmed it was aircraft, and happily swept the crates into her pocket space.

Qie Man mentioned these were models that had been phased out. Ling Mo pretended she hadn’t heard.

Phased out or not, these were aircraft.

They could fly.

They could save your life when it mattered.

And in a fight, controlling the skies meant controlling the advantage.

Curious, Ling Mo opened one of the crates.

To suit interstellar tastes, the aircraft weren’t cold, angular machines. They were designed in all sorts of playful shapes.

More importantly, they were solar-powered. As long as there was sun, energy wouldn’t be a problem.

Ling Mo forced her excitement down and worked quickly, collecting crate after crate.

From what she could tell, each crate held around ten aircraft.

They were household models, so each one could carry a single person. To use one, you slid your feet into the clasps, locking yourself in so it wouldn’t slip off mid-flight. And when you weren’t using it, it was easy to carry around.

She was in the middle of her sweep when the black crates ran out.

That was it?

Ling Mo stared at the half-cleared warehouse, genuinely disappointed. It ended too fast—she hadn’t even gotten her fill.

But gone was gone.

She turned to the remaining stock and opened a crate to check.

[Qie Man: anti-gravity shoes. Wear them to ignore gravity—run along walls, leap between rooftops. After they were developed, they caused only a small stir in interstellar before being quickly phased out.]

Ling Mo sucked in a breath. “How could something this good be phased out?”

[Qie Man: Their usage is far less convenient than aircraft. Aside from a small number of interstellar people who enjoy exercise, most people still rely on aircraft for travel.]

Ling Mo got it.

They were lazy.

She ran her fingers over the anti-gravity shoes like she was petting something precious. Fine. If they didn’t want you, she did.

Who didn’t have a martial-arts dream as a kid? Running up walls. Skimming over water. Flying through the night like some legendary hero.

Ling Mo was certain these anti-gravity shoes would sell out the moment she brought them home.

Her earlier disappointment vanished. She cheerfully swept the warehouse clean.

Three hours later, she stepped back out.

The beastman had been waiting. He thoughtfully offered her a bottle of advanced recovery serum.

She wasn’t exhausted, but free was free. Ling Mo accepted it.

She’d been thinking the job was done when the beastman turned and went back to the wall.

After another series of gestures, a second warehouse entrance opened.

Ling Mo glanced at the advanced recovery serum in her hand. No wonder he’d handed it to her.

The beastman noticed her surprised expression and thought she was worn out. He sounded a little embarrassed. “This is the last one. Sorry to trouble you. If you can’t manage it, you can do it tomorrow.”

Ling Mo cut him off immediately, righteous and firm. “No. I’m fine. This is my work.”

She strode inside before she could start laughing out loud.

This warehouse held aircraft and anti-gravity shoes again—but there was also a third item.

[Qie Man: gliding cloak. Wear it to gain short-term gliding ability. It was also phased out because its performance is inferior to aircraft.]

Ling Mo couldn’t help complaining as she worked. “Interstellar people are way too picky.”

She stuffed everything into her pocket space at high speed.

Halfway through, she felt her mental power straining—teetering on empty.

No problem.

She drank the advanced recovery serum and kept going.

This time she finished even faster—almost an hour earlier.

But the moment she remembered this was the last warehouse, she couldn’t help feeling regretful. If only there were a few more like this.

When she walked out, she let out a slow breath.

This haul was easily comparable to what she’d gotten at the lion beastman’s place. In terms of sheer quantity, it might even be more.

The beastman praised her efficiency, then gently tapped the smiley badge on her chest with the ring on his finger.

Ling Mo watched closely.

The smile on the badge lifted higher again.

So she hadn’t imagined it.

“It’s already dark,” the beastman said. “You probably don’t have a place to stay. If you don’t mind, stay here tonight. We’ll also take care of your mounts.”

Mounts… It took Ling Mo a moment to remember he meant the three Antler Horses.

She didn’t hesitate. One option was food, shelter, and a soft bed. The other was dangerous wilderness survival. Anyone with a brain knew what to pick.

When she saw Jiang Xin and Ye Kai again, both of them had already completed their tasks.

Because Ling Mo was a “connection,” they’d been given the easiest work available.

“So,” Jiang Xin said, “where do we go next?”