The Interstellar Queen of Scavengers

Chapter 191: Chapter 191: Cowardly Threads

Ji You jabbered on and on, her saliva flying in all directions, but the real kicker was that the students around her were actually listening with grave seriousness, thinking that every word Ji You said was on point. Just then, Mu Jianling, with her hands clasped behind her back, strolled over leisurely, casting a casual glance at the crowd, who immediately fell silent.

Caught up in her enthusiasm, Ji You was speaking with such fervor that she didn’t even notice Mu Jianling approaching.

From behind.

Mu Jianling said softly, ”Not bad, well spoken indeed. Your insights are quite unique.”

Ji You turned around, and upon seeing it was Teacher Mu Jianling, she immediately shut her mouth and instantly managed a smile, her face brimming with an embarassed look: ”Oh— It’s Teacher Mu! I was just sharing some minor insights, all inspired by your teachings. You’re the one who enlightened me.”

Teacher Mu uttered: ”Oh—”

For some reason, despite seemingly being complimented, she felt a weird sensation inside. Ji You asked timidly, ”Teacher... have you approached us with any instructions?”

Mu Jianling answered: ”Yes.”

Ji You, ever the obsequious one, quickly said: ”Whatever instructions you have, just say the word, and I’ll get right on it.”

The students: ”...”

When it comes to thick-skinned, in the whole class, nobody could match Number 4444.

Mu Jianling gave her a sideways look and said, ”My instruction is for you to stay 5 meters away from me. Just seeing your thick-skinned face gives me a headache.”

Ji You: ”...”

Mu Jianling demanded: ”Aren’t you going to scram?”

Ji You took a step back, then two, then three, until she was 5 meters away, only then did Mu Jianling stop glaring at her.

Ji You: ”...”

Yeesh~

Why is Teacher Mu’s spiritual pressure so terrifying?

The other students probably didn’t feel anything abnormal because Teacher Mu’s spiritual pressure was directed solely at Ji You, who felt at that moment that she was almost incapable of resisting, so she just wimped out—or rather, she retreated 5 meters in heartfelt compliance.

Ji You focused her mind and entered the Spiritual World, taking a quick look at her Six Strands, and upon seeing them, she immediately got fed up. Other than Old Five, who was playfully swimming in this illusory space, the remaining 5 strands were nowhere to be found in the sky.

Ji You: ”...”

Upon seeing Ji You, Old Five immediately swam over cheerfully, flaunting various poses in front of her, either flicking its tail, stretching its head, or twisting into a pretzel shape...

Ji You, puzzled, asked: ”Old Five, why are you so happy today?”

Old Five wagged its tail, gesturing for Ji You to look at its body. Ji You had a laugh and said, ”Oh, you’ve recovered, huh? Nice, you’re plump again, back to a fat strand.”

—Prime for the taking.

Unaware of the implication, Old Five continued to wag its tail happily.

After being overly exploited by Ji You last time, it took Old Five several days to recover. During this time, Ji You had explicitly ordered the other strands not to bully Old Five, not to make Old Five work, so it could recuperate.

Hmm?

Where were the other strands?

Why haven’t they come to welcome her after such a long time?

As Ji You was feeling puzzled, she suddenly noticed a pile of strands on the ground—twisted around each other in a tangled mess, almost indistinguishable from one another, covering almost the entire surface of the Spiritual World.

Ji You asked in confusion: ”What are you guys doing?”

Boss was silent.

Second shut its mouth.

Third looked at Fourth, clearly indicating Fourth should speak up. But Fourth was too shrewd to easily become the spokesperson—why would it incur the Master’s displeasure? It aspired to be Master’s most beloved Little Cutie, so Fourth raised its head, wagged its tail, and with a flick, hit Sixth, who was next to it.

Sixth wanted to act timid, but under the pressure from the other four strands, it still vigorously whipped its tail:

”Ji Bapi!”

”Hei Xin You!”

”Huang Shiren!”

...

As Sixth’s tail wagging got faster and faster, though these strands lacked mouths and couldn’t speak, Ji You, their Master, understood exactly what Sixth meant.

Seeing this, Ji You’s face darkened.

What’s going on?

One by one, are you staging a rebellion?

Sixth saw Ji You’s face darken, shook its head, and wagged its tail. As soon as it started to grumble, it couldn’t stop talking, daring to blurt out anything: ”We’re dead tired, you’ve squeezed us dry all day, haven’t given us a thing to eat, you’re not just skinning us, your heart has turned black, we’re all too exhausted to move.”

Ji You: ”...”

Ji You glanced at Sixth’s cheerfully wagging tail.

The moment Sixth caught the glance, it stopped wagging its tail and curled up into a ball, looking like a dead strand.

Ji You thought it over. She had been operating the Small Mecha for such a long time without a break, and also sparring with Xuzhou and Zhang Ye, which consumed a great deal of spiritual power. No wonder these strands were tired. But—she still felt slightly depressed...

Aren’t other people’s strands dutiful without complaint?

Why does hers always seem to demand 10, or 8 Candy Beans after doing just a little extra work?

She’s their Master!

Master!

Definitely not an employer!

A master who has to coax their strands with benefits and treats to get them to work—what kind of world is this?

Ji You said irritably, ”Keep nagging and you’ll get nothing good at all!”

Sixth dared not make another sound.

The other strands moved slowly, distancing themselves from Sixth, to avoid being implicated by this imbecilic strand.

Sixth: ”...”

So infuriating.

These words were what they told me to say, so why are they treating me like this after I’ve said it?

Sixth was unhappy, it retracted its tail and went into seclusion.

Ji You looked at her strands, acting like spoiled brats, not mentioning any rewards, and instead started to motivate them, filling their minds with fire-up gibberish, saying, ”You’ve worked hard today, and you’ve performed very well. I hope you’ll keep it up, improve a little every day, and aim to surpass yesterday’s self! Can you do it?”

Six Strands: ”...”

Ji You exclaimed loudly, ”What’s the difference between a person without dreams and a salted fish? It’s the same for strands. If they don’t have dreams and goals, they’re just salted fish strands!”

Six Strands: ”...”

The air was awkwardly silent; no strand responded, and a wave of embarrassment spread throughout the entire ethereal Spiritual World—

Ji You felt her face was burning:

Seems like they can’t be hoodwinked anymore.

These lazy things, indeed, each one is self-serving, won’t lift a finger until they see the cake. It’s too difficult, just too difficult to bluff them.

Ji You let out a deep sigh, ”Everyone’s done well today, as a reward, each of you gets a Candy Bean.”

Whoosh—

In the blink of an eye, the previously lifeless Spiritual World buzzed to life, all strands, with Boss leading, started shaking heads and tails, running in circles—

Look—this happy energy, Ji You watched and felt embarrassed to burst their bubble.

But still, Ji You slowly said, ”I’ll keep tabs.”

All strands froze instantly: ”???”

Huh?

Deceiving strands again?

Dishing out IOUs now?

Ji You forced a smile, chuckling, ”I’m a bit short on cash recently, I’ll note it down for now. If I do get Candy Beans, aren’t they all going to be for you? I don’t have other strands outside—why are you all so fussy with me? Be careful or I’ll throw in the towel!”

Hmph—

Let them fend for themselves!

If the master doesn’t show her power, do they think she’s easy to bully?

Six Strands thought it over, that’s true, and instantly backed down.