The Interstellar Queen of Scavengers

Chapter 503: Chapter 503: Living in the Present

Cheng Yu was surprised: ”Live in the moment?”

Repeating the phrase, he suddenly smiled, nodded, and said: ”Indeed, living in the moment is most important.”

However, Ji You suddenly changed the topic, saying: ”But, the premise of living in the moment is that you can protect yourself, and even more so, live a joyous life. Otherwise, all is moot.”

Cheng Yu: ”...”

Ji You: ”Otherwise, your living in the moment is nothing but self-deception.” Of course, this sentence wasn’t only meant for Teacher Cheng Yu, but also for herself. She certainly loves money, but the premise of loving money is that she can stay alive, live well, and also protect friends, family, and loved ones around her...

So—

Money is significant to Ji You, but not the most important thing in her life.

Cheng Yu opened his mouth, hesitated for a moment, then nodded with emphasis: ”Yes... that’s right.” So, he didn’t want to deceive himself, and over the years, he has been striving to improve himself and do what he wants to do.

However—

The trees want to stay silent, but the wind keeps blowing. If it wasn’t for Cheng Kun continuously causing trouble, Cheng Yu’s life would have been quite free and easy.

Thinking about Cheng Kun, Cheng Yu’s face darkened slightly, and he spoke very seriously: ”Master, when I mention my family background, it is not to complain to you, but to tell you that my half-brother Cheng Kun is very narrow-minded and vengeful. Since his behind-the-scenes plotting didn’t succeed this time, there will surely be moves to come, and the forces behind him are the Cheng Family. With Cheng Family’s abundant financial and social resources, it’s uncertain what he will come up with next. So, please, Master, you must be cautious.”

Upon hearing this, Ji You nodded and said: ”I understand.”

Cheng Yu hesitated, then bit his teeth and finally spoke: ”If... if I cause you trouble in the future, the contract we signed can be declared void at any time.”

Ji You frowned and waved her hand: ”That’s absolutely unnecessary! Since I’ve put it in black-and-white, not only me, but you too, must abide by the contract’s terms. Only forces beyond our control would lead to its nullification.”

Cheng Yu looked up, stared at Ji You earnestly, and nodded vigorously: ”Master, I understand.”

Ji You said: ”Work well for me, aim for a raise.”

Cough cough...

At this point, Ji You suddenly felt a bit of heartache. Why did she always rashly bring up raises? Reflecting on it, she realized that she must have been influenced by the blood-sucking capitalists of her past life, where talk of raising wages and benefits came easily... These capitalists were best at dangling big dreams before their employees...

Alas!

Cheng Yu exclaimed loudly: ”Master, rest assured, I will work diligently! Striving to get a raise and bonus soon.”

Ji You: ”...”

Awkward, now that she wanted to go back on her word, it would be too embarrassing to do so.

Having agreed on everything, Ji You then listened to Cheng Yu talking about his half-brother Cheng Kun’s modus operandi and the complex power divisions behind the Cheng Family...

About that, Ji You boasted verbally, but she dared not take it lightly, so she listened very attentively and took note of everything Cheng Yu said.

After a while.

Cheng Yu said: ”Master, this is all the information I currently have about the Cheng Family. I will try to gather more about them recently.”

Ji You: ”I know.”

Thinking it over, Cheng Yu took the initiative to say: ”Master, I’ll try to contact you online in the future, avoiding offline interactions. That way, as long as Cheng Kun can’t figure out your true identity, he won’t be able to target you.”

Ji You nodded and replied: ”Okay.”

Contacting through Star Network is definitely better. Otherwise, wouldn’t she be exposed as soon as she has any real-life interactions?

Thinking of how she fooled Teacher Cheng Yu into working for her for a mere 1000 credits and recalling those ’Spicy Eye’ behaviors Cheng Yu had to endure, if he ever found out about her real identity... Ji You couldn’t help but shiver with fear...

Only online contact is exactly what she would wish for.

Once they finished communicating, Ji You logged off.

Meanwhile.

At the administrative center of the Alliance—the luxurious estate on Nami Star. A burly red-haired man knelt, head lowered, before a younger man.

The young man’s appearance was delicate, his eyes showing a sharp glint as he gently lifted his hand, tapping on the table.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

...

Thump, thump, thump...

The red-haired man continued kneeling, not daring to utter a sound.

Aside from the young man tapping the table, there wasn’t the slightest noise around.

After a while, the young man raised an eyebrow and said: ”I gave you so many people, so much money, and you tell me that not only did you fail to discredit Cheng Yu, but you couldn’t even steal a single soul device?”

The red-haired man stammered: ”Young... Young Master... your subordinate...”

”Damn!” The young man shouted angrily, slamming the table: ”What is the use of such trash?” After saying that, the young man pressed a bell and ordered: ”Butler, take him away to the Northwest Mining Area to mine.”

The moment his words fell, a squad of well-equipped, burly men quickly emerged, the leader of whom simply picked up the red-haired man like a chicken and dragged him out...

The red-haired man suddenly began to struggle violently: ”Young Master! Young Master! Please give me one more chance!”

The young master remained indifferent.

Very soon.

The red-haired man was dragged away by the group.

After a while, the butler walked back in and quietly reported to the young master: ”Young Master, it’s been taken care of.”

The young man: ”Hmm.”

His face was grave, and he said nothing.

The butler cautiously chose his words before saying: ”It has been found out. Red-haired messed up the job, allowing someone to find the loophole, leading to the failure.”

The young man suddenly asked: ”Have you found out the true identity of the Soul Artifact Master?”

The butler shook his head and said: ”Not yet.”

The young man, who was Cheng Kun, darkened his expression, saying: ”Find out as soon as possible.”

”The Master has not had direct contact with Cheng Yu, and her identity is confidential. The Star Network prohibits the querying of citizens’ identity information,” said the butler, looking troubled, but knowing his young master’s temperament, he still nodded: ”Yes. I will arrange for people to investigate this.”

After thinking, the butler continued: ”A Soul Artifact Master with such strong capabilities should not be without identity or status within the Alliance. Young Master, shall we start by checking the major soul device laboratories?”

Cheng Kun thought so too. A Master who can use ubiquitous Companion Stones to create soul devices could not be a nobody; at the very least, they could be a prized disciple of some Master...

So, Cheng Kun nodded, saying: ”Do that. When you find her real identity, be polite to her. It’s best to make her work for us.”

Butler: ”Understood.”