Chapter Thirty-Five: News from the Andromeda Galaxy

As everyone was engrossed in watching, a figure suddenly burst in—it was Lei Zhenzi. Having obtained a new body, Lei Zhenzi had immediately asked Tang Yi for a private chamber, where he secluded himself to familiarize himself with his vessel and to retrain his techniques.

“Lei Zhenzi, you’re out so soon?” Tang Yi called out loudly without turning around. The crowd glanced back, and indeed, it was Lei Zhenzi.

“Haha, I’ve made some progress and wanted to see everyone. I missed you all so much!” Lei Zhenzi declared, laughing heartily.

“Enough with the sentimentality. You’re just in time—watch today’s recording first.” Tang Yi gestured for Lei Zhenzi to sit, and everyone resumed their attention to the film.

On the screen, Li Zhan and Bai Dongfang appeared. The two were being chased by a swarm of enormous mosquitoes that seemed to have emerged from nowhere. These mosquitoes were bigger than chickens, their sharp beaks nearly half a meter long—terrifying just to behold. They occasionally spat dark venom, making them all the more dreadful. Driven to desperation, Li Zhan and his companion retreated.

The scene shifted, showing Hua Shaojie and Gu Zhenzhen. After encountering their first snake-headed bear, they changed direction, only to run into another. Forced to keep turning, they found that no matter where they went, they would encounter a snake-headed bear, which couldn't be killed. Eventually, one bear became enraged, frightening them into retreat.

The shot changed again, showing Zhang Qiang and Liu Mingde running frantically, pursued by a horde of snakes whose mouths were filled with backward-facing fangs, menacing indeed. Yet, when they reached a thousand meters from the valley, the snakes ceased their pursuit and withdrew.

Next, the footage depicted Guo Ziping and Liu Yuefeng's escape, as well as Lü Zhengyang and Ding Pengfei's flight.

When the film ended, everyone felt unsatisfied, as such experiences were rare after so long traveling in space. But Tang Yi announced it was time to rest, promising even more exciting adventures tomorrow.

The next morning, as sunlight washed over the ship, Tang Yi and the others gathered in the conference room. Soon, everyone was present, including Lei Zhenzi, freshly emerged from seclusion.

Tang Yi rose from the chairman’s seat, swept his gaze around the room, and cleared his throat. “Everyone saw yesterday’s film. If you have suggestions or opinions, feel free to share.”

Hua Shaojie was the first to stand and speak. “Let me begin. From yesterday’s events, we can see that this forest is home to numerous unusual creatures. But one thing is certain: what we encountered were not spirit beasts, merely ordinary wild animals, though their power and intelligence far exceed what we’re used to. They’re comparable to spirit beasts. Also, I noticed that none of these creatures come within a thousand meters of our valley base.”

As Hua Shaojie finished, Bai Dongfang stood. “From my observations, the creatures on this verdant planet are broadly similar to those from our world, except their bodies are several times larger. That’s something we all need to be wary of.”

During the meeting, everyone offered their insights and opinions. Just as Tang Yi was about to wrap up, Hua Shaojie suddenly addressed him: “Brother Tang, now that I think about it, you seemed to know we’d be driven back yesterday. At the valley entrance, there were chairs and formations in place. Did you have a plan all along?”

Tang Yi chuckled, “Heh, that’s right. I anticipated it. It was intentional—what, you want to spar?”

“No, no, I just wonder why you didn’t tell us in advance. We ended up so embarrassed yesterday,” Hua Shaojie replied with an apologetic smile.

Tang Yi shifted the question to Zhang Sanfeng. “San Feng, why don’t you explain why I did this?”

Zhang Sanfeng nodded thoughtfully. “I believe Tang Yi’s purpose was simple and clear: to ensure you remember this lesson, so that you’ll think thrice before acting in the future—especially in unfamiliar places. Wouldn’t you agree, Tang Yi?” Turning to look for Tang Yi, he found he had already left. Looking back, the conference room was empty except for Zhang Cuishan standing by his side. “These people—they’ve all been led astray by Tang Yi,” Zhang Sanfeng sighed helplessly.

In the ship’s control cabin, Tang Yi instructed Jet to activate the long-range galactic communication system. After a moment, the connection was made, and Lu Changsheng’s cheerful face appeared on the screen, visibly excited.

“Old Lu, what could make you so jubilant?” Tang Yi asked upon seeing him.

“Haha, Tang Yi, it’s been a while. Right now, I’m at the heart of the Andromeda galaxy. Just now, we finally killed the mother of those ghost creatures. How could I not be happy?” Lu Changsheng exclaimed, gesticulating enthusiastically.

“What? The mother? Does that mean once the mother dies, the rest of the ghost creatures perish as well?” Tang Yi jumped from his seat.

“Exactly, Tang Yi. You’re as sharp as ever. And we owe you a great deal of thanks; without your arsenal and your help establishing our foothold in Andromeda, we wouldn’t have achieved this. By the way, I’ve ordered your share to be prepared—one hundred storage rings, all of your own design, the ones with vast capacity,” Lu Changsheng grew more excited, then suddenly subdued. “But now the whole Andromeda galaxy is barren, nothing left to be nostalgic about. We’re preparing to return to Pegasus.”

“Oh? I have a suggestion, if you’re interested in hearing it,” Tang Yi mused after a brief pause.

“Of course, Tang Yi. If you have a good idea, please share it!” Lu Changsheng felt a surge of hope.

“Well, having seen the planets in Andromeda myself, I noticed that while the ghost creatures devoured almost everything, some things remain untouched—like those strange rocks and the planetary soil. So, I suspect the mineral veins underground haven’t been consumed. You should thoroughly survey the mineral resources of each planet in Andromeda; there ought to be a great many to discover.”

“You’re right! All this time, we’ve focused only on the loot dropped by those creatures, never considering this! Hahaha, tell you what: for every mineral deposit found, you’ll get a twenty percent share. How does that sound?” Lu Changsheng offered.

“Agreed, let’s do as you say, Old Lu,” Tang Yi replied with a sly grin, pleased at the unexpected windfall of mineral wealth.