"It's time to make a decision." Chen Gu stretched lazily in the car and sighed. I have to obtain the extraordinary matter of the Ku-Tu-Wa-K Star Body Insect as soon as possible.

But when he got home, a call from Qing Ruyan came again. "I've discovered some very important information. The energy-gathering organ of the Hesla must be secured!"

Chen Gu wondered, "Why?"

Qing Ruyan huffed. "I went through a lot of trouble to dig up this information, you know."

"I'll treat you to a meal; you can choose the place."

"Really?" On the phone, Qing Ruyan's voice lit up with joy. "Okay, I'll send you the address in a moment."

Qing Ruyan sent the location of an out-of-the-way place named "Rivers and Lakes." Chen Gu drove there, expecting it to be some hidden, upscale establishment in the bustling city—after all, he was prepared to be thoroughly fleeced—only to be slightly taken aback upon arrival. It turned out to be a small, shabby restaurant; even Fairy Taste Residence behind Lubei Middle School was a couple of notches above this place.

Qing Ruyan was already waiting. Upon seeing him, she hopped up and down, waving her arms vivaciously. "Here, over here!"

Chen Gu looked doubtfully at the restaurant. It used a cooking method quite rare in this era: "traditional stir-fry." Several large stoves, stoked with coal, were fanned into life, emitting roaring flames.

Above the stoves were several large iron woks, where two plump cooks were energetically stir-frying food.

There were only eight tables in the restaurant, all filled with customers. Qing Ruyan was holding a hand-written paper ticket, something even rarer in this age, with their queue number: 37!

Chen Gu couldn't help but ask, "What number are they up to now?"

"29. Try to contain your drooling. It won't be long before it's our turn."

Hearing her muffled voice, Chen Gu thought to himself, You're the one who needs to hold back your drool, huh?

"Why choose this place? This here..." He gestured at the surroundings, to which Qing Ruyan replied matter-of-factly, "Because it's really delicious!"

Just then, from inside the restaurant, a whole tender steamed chicken was plunged into a wok of hot oil. The sound of SIZZLING AND CRACKLING arose, followed by a rich aroma of fat and meat. Qing Ruyan sniffed greedily, and even Chen Gu felt his appetite stir. "It does seem to have something special."

The two cooks and two waitstaff in the restaurant provided service that couldn't be described as enthusiastic, or even attentive, but the diners didn't mind and ate to their heart's content.

Chen Gu and Qing Ruyan sat patiently on the stone benches at the entrance, waiting for a full hour and a half before it was finally their turn.

As soon as they were seated, Qing Ruyan, clearly familiar with the menu, ordered with ease, reeling off a list of dishes that made Chen Gu hungry just by hearing their names.

Once the meal had been ordered, Chen Gu asked, "So, what's the news exactly?"

Qing Ruyan reluctantly tore her gaze away from the bustling woks, composed herself before the tableware, and began, "That Hesla is likely a dangerous mutant species. It once dominated an entire planet. It not only repelled numerous human fleet attacks but also engaged in a massive battle with the Alien Insect Race, ultimately driving away those despicable insects! Finally, the one who killed it was a very famous person."

Chen Gu's interest was piqued. "Who?"

"Mi Xiaoli!"

This time, Chen Gu was genuinely surprised. "The Queen of Freedom, Mi Xiaoli! The only woman in the Star Sea on par with Aviloya? The commander of the Rainbow Mercenary Corps and an invincible Ninth Power Level expert?"

For the general public, all they knew was Mi Xiaoli's public identity as the leader of the number one mercenary group in the Star Sea.

Due to the emergence of the Rainbow Mercenary Corps, some older mercenary groups, like the Blue Blood Thugs Mercenary Corps that Chen Gu was familiar with, gradually fell into decline.

The Rainbow Mercenary Corps had outstanding military achievements in the war against the Alien Insect Race. Their success even made the ace fleets of the four major Star Nations look inadequate in comparison.

And among professionals, confirmed Ninth Power Level individuals in the entire Star Sea were extremely rare; Mi Xiaoli was one of them.

There was also an interesting anecdote: Mi Xiaoli's original given name used characters that meant 'Little Grain.' As her strength and influence grew, everyone in the Star Sea felt this name was too 'cute' and didn't suit Her Majesty, the Queen of Freedom. Therefore, following a campaign by some enthusiastic media outlets, people began to write her name using different characters that sounded more imposing, resulting in the 'Mi Xiaoli' known today.

Eventually, even official records adopted this name.

It was unclear what her personal feelings about this were. One thing was certain, however: she greatly valued freedom. Otherwise, she wouldn't have earned the title Queen of Freedom.

With her strength, joining any Star Nation would have made her one of its most powerful figures. However, she couldn't stand such restraints. Instead, she decided to establish her own mercenary group, and it "accidentally" became the strongest in the Star Sea.

Qing Ruyan felt no envy, jealousy, or competitiveness toward such a woman. She said, "Very few people know that the Queen of Freedom has a terrifying intuition when it comes to judging rare materials. This may have something to do with her professional abilities. In any case, her judgments in this respect have hardly ever been wrong. If she specifically extracted the energy-gathering organ from that Hesla and stated it was very useful for a Radiation Missionary, then it must be true. There might even be some unexpected benefits."

Hearing that it was a trophy from Mi Xiaoli, Chen Gu really wanted to acquire it, but he also felt troubled. "But what she wants is a dangerous species capable of competing in giant beast battles, and you should know how expensive that is. Moreover, I only have three days left. Even with the money, it's completely impossible to acquire a powerful dangerous species in time."

Chen Gu suddenly thought of another question. "Why does Mi Xiaoli want a giant beast? With her strength, couldn't she just easily capture one?"

Qing Ruyan gazed longingly as a waiter carried a dish past their table to another. She sighed softly before continuing to answer Chen Gu's question, "I inquired about this as well. It's said that the Queen of Freedom made a bet with a friend. Both bet on a different club, and the outcome will be determined by the clubs' year-end rankings. They both agreed not to interfere with their chosen club's operations. So, I think the buyer in this transaction will ultimately gift the giant beast to the club backed by the Queen of Freedom."

Chen Gu said, "Even so, the Queen of Freedom still broke the rules, right? She still meddled in the club's operations, just more indirectly. But a simple investigation would easily reveal it."

Qing Ruyan laughed merrily. "You really don't understand Her Highness, the Queen of Freedom. What is freedom, if not the ability to do as she pleases? This isn't the first time Her Majesty has done something like this. She has a famous saying: 'Why do I strive to be the most powerful person, if not so that you can't control me?'"

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