Chapter 247: God Said, Do Not Feed the Trolls [Four-in-One, Subscription Requested!]

"The Most Evil Pirate from the Morning Glow Route Enters the Empire's Star Domain via the Yuri Pass"

"The Unmentionable Mass Murderer Approaches the Union Corporation"

"The Despicable State-Thieving Hacker Enters the Union Corporation, Causing a Robot Riot"

"The Adventurer Arrives at the Fang Corporation, Publicly Slaughtering a Million Corpses"

"Lu Chen Storms the Interior of the Fang Corporation, Single-Handedly Removing the Collars of Billions of Humanoid Slaves"

"The Dual Liberator of Humans and Humanoids, the True Hero of the Empire, Lu Chen!"

Seeing this headline, the first thing that flashed in Lu Chen's mind was a string of news headlines.

He had guessed that the Empire would choose to handle the matter coldly for political reasons and would not hold him too accountable.

However, he hadn't expected the Morning Glow branch of the *Imperial Entertainment Weekly* to publish so quickly!

Unlike the Fang Corporation, which had temporarily applied for two fleets for support and concealed the news in advance in a bid to capture him alive, the Morning Glow branch of the *Entertainment Weekly* permanently stationed an Eighty-Level fleet, alongside a large number of Seventy-Level to Eighty-Level spy ships and research vessels. Its defensive power far surpassed that of the Fang Corporation.

After all, once the Atavism Laboratory evacuated, the Fang Corporation was nothing more than an outdated slave-trading enterprise engaged in unsavory gray business. Its headquarters was located in a remote area, making it impossible for a regular Imperial fleet to be stationed there permanently to protect the company.

Otherwise, wouldn't that mean the Imperial fleet was colluding with the Fang Corporation? That would make it inconvenient for the Empire to withdraw at any time or change its stance.

Centuries ago, after the Fang Corporation failed to cultivate atavistic dragons and its backers and technical team withdrew, it ceased to be Imperial property. Although there were still shareholders from the Empire, those were merely individual actions and could not represent the Imperial headquarters.

Therefore, under normal circumstances, the Fang Corporation could only rely on bounties to deter adventure groups and protect its slave trade.

The beast-seeking fleet sent by the Fang Corporation to the Ancestral Saddle Nebula was even just a Fiftieth-Level mercenary group.

As for the Imperial Hurricane Fleet deployed via requested support, its primary target was likely to capture Lu Chen rather than to protect the Fang Corporation.

Consequently, upon encountering the tenacious Dragon-Seeker III, the Hurricane Fleet chose a kite-flying tactic to preserve its strength as much as possible, avoiding a life-or-death battle to the end for the protection of the company.

Now, with the Fang Corporation's slave trade exposed, and the public enslavement of humans on Fang Star brought to light, Lu Chen could even expose the Fang Corporation's former atavism laboratory if he so chose.

The stance of the Hurricane Fleet would likely execute a 180-degree turn, claiming they were merely investigating the Fang Corporation when they were ambushed halfway by the Dragon-Seeker III and forced to retaliate.

And that narrative would hold not a single flaw!

If they didn't do this, the Primordial Firmament Adventure Group might genuinely launch a forced assault on the Morning Glow editorial department of the *Entertainment Weekly*.

The Fang Corporation could still argue it was a private enterprise unrelated to the Imperial government, engaged in slave trading; even if adventure ships stormed in and out, slaughtering a million corpses, it wouldn't cause the Empire to lose face.

However, the Morning Glow editorial department of the *Imperial Entertainment Weekly* was solid, genuine property of the Imperial headquarters. Although not a governmental organization, it was a private media company operating under the Empire's banner.

Despite having a resident Eighty-Level fleet, a large number of spy ships and research vessels, and the latest reinforcements already on the way, Lu Chen's hacking capabilities combined with his stealth skills exerted a terrifyingly powerful deterrent.

No one could guarantee whether an accident might occur, whether the Primordial Firmament had other auxiliary adventure ships, or whether the Undraped Realm or the Adventurers Association was secretly funding them behind the scenes.

The *Imperial Entertainment Weekly* still retained fresh memories of the incident two months ago in the star region near Cygnus, where they relentlessly pursued the *Leonin* without success, only to be ultimately thwarted by Nan Yuanzi of the Adventurers Association.

Once defeated in the present battle, the editorial department's servers contained the dark history of the *Imperial Entertainment Weekly* subverting various national regimes, alongside extensive technical support from the Imperial headquarters.

Once exposed, such material would detonate public opinion.

Lu Chen's purpose for visiting the *Imperial Entertainment Weekly* this time was none other than the Hero's Medal and the previous erroneous reports.

There was no deep-seated, mortal hatred between them; the issue could be entirely resolved through public opinion, while simultaneously demonstrating the Empire's stance—standing firmly opposed to any form of enslavement and slave trade, exactly like Lu Chen!

The current situation was that both sides took a step back, giving each other a graceful way out. The matter would thus pass, achieving an outcome where only the Fang Corporation suffered.

Of course, if Lu Chen refused to take this step down and insisted on launching a forced assault on the *Entertainment Weekly* editorial department, such headlines could only delay the advancement speed of the Primordial Firmament and weaken their fighting will.

Meanwhile, reinforcements for the *Entertainment Weekly* were already on the way.

All of this was publicly verifiable information.

Just moments ago, Lu Chen was fishing while concurrently investigating the defensive deployment of the *Entertainment Weekly* editorial department.

The conclusion was that launching a forced assault on the Morning Glow editorial department carried far too high a difficulty, akin to attacking the Fang Corporation.

It could only be managed by keeping the *Leonin* in complete stealth, performing symbolic acts of sabotage to stir up some commotion.

At most, worm drone units could be deployed to infiltrate the *Entertainment Weekly*'s news servers, unearthing some incriminating dirt to make public.

Nothing more.

Lu Chen decided to check the news content first to see whether the *Entertainment Weekly* spoke reasonably, and whether it could influence the Imperial government to rescind the Fang Corporation's unreasonable petition to strip him of his Hero's Medal.

If their tone was pleasant and his Hero's Medal could be preserved, Lu Chen resolved to call off the troops.

The news content began with an interview and investigation into the White Dew Floating Island in August.

It primarily interviewed thirty-eight human women regarding their recovery status.

Under the meticulous care of two humanoid maidens, these women had largely recovered their memories.

Most of them were impoverished individuals, refugees, and rescued adventurers.

Back then, they had indeed signed legitimate labor contracts with the Balhae family, but the contracts were overly long, and failing to read the fine print, they signed them in a daze.

None of them expected there to be a project involving the provision of egg cells fused with Zerg embryos, nor did they anticipate being pampered and kept plump while daily indulging in illusions.

Naturally, half of them were aware of this but chose not to confess.

Overall, the Balhae family's enslavement methods were remarkably mild, primarily targeting the cultivated hybrid Zerg offspring. Whether these individuals could be classified under the human category required further definition.

In fact, it was difficult to determine whether it constituted enslavement of the Zerg-hybrids; it might merely be brainwashing.

Currently, the New Federation headquarters had dispatched troops to investigate the Balhae family's Zerg-human experiment issues, and further news was awaited.

Regardless, Lu Chen forcibly taking away thirty-eight human female slaves in the Sengoku star system and bringing them back to the August Floating Island for mental rehabilitation—though heavy-handed—was an absolute act of liberation, fully deserving of the title of Imperial Hero.

"Good grief, half a month ago they were still claiming I hijacked human female slaves and violated human rights!"

However, the *Entertainment Weekly* also clarified that the previous incident was a misunderstanding, brought to light only through further investigation.

Next, the article touched upon Lu Chen's resolution of the robot riot at the Union Corporation. Although the timing and location of the robot riot were suspiciously coincidental, Lu Chen ultimately prevented a catastrophic loss of life by utilizing virus programs to control the robots, personally resolving the crisis.

This section carried a somewhat sarcastic undertone, yet logically, Lu Chen could find no fault with it.

Finally came the battle at the Fang Corporation.

Discarding its usual jocular style, the news adopted an extremely cautious phrasing regarding this event.

Although Lu Chen's methods were radical, inflicting capital punishment on a million Imperial criminals, these slave owners had engaged in slavery and abuse for many years. Under Imperial law, they were heinous offenders facing imprisonment of over twenty years. Considering Lu Chen's status as an adventurer, his sudden wrath leading to the slaughter of a million corpses and the liberation of billions of humanoid slaves served to deter other slave masters throughout the galaxy, though he might potentially face various bounties and manhunts in the future.

Consequently, the Imperial government would likely not pursue Lu Chen's legal liability for taking the law into his own hands, nor would it strip him of his Hero's Medal, let alone issue a bounty for the Primordial Firmament Adventure Group.

As for the Imperial Hurricane Fleet involved in this battle, it had originally arrived to investigate the Fang Corporation, but upon encountering the surprise attack by the Dragon-Seeker III, it was forced to retaliate in self-defense.

This aligned precisely with Lu Chen's prior expectations!

Following the battle, the Imperial Hurricane Fleet immediately landed on Fang Star and other planets to arrest additional slave masters, liberating billions of slaves across the remaining planets and sweeping away the Fang Corporation's centuries-long slave trade in one fell swoop.

Combating the slave trade and the practice of slavery was a national policy upheld by the Empire for thousands of years; no slave master could possibly escape the sanctions of Imperial law!

The Fang Corporation would be deregistered, and all of its shareholders would be subjected to investigation.

"It seems the Fang Corporation has followed in the footsteps of the Interstellar Herders Adventure Group, becoming an abandoned pawn of the Empire."

However, the news made no mention of the atavism laboratory.

Lu Chen had no intention of exposing it further.

After all, the atavism laboratory was a thing of the past, and he possessed no evidence that the Empire or the Fang Corporation was currently conducting related experiments.

Without a smoking gun for ongoing crimes, the Empire would always find excuses to quibble.

The article concluded with a summary:

Three months ago, upon their first contact with the Primordial Firmament Adventure Group at True Spirit Star in the early section of the Morning Glow Route, they had just helped the indigenous people of True Spirit Star repel an invasion by the ancient flying lizardmen.

At the time, the *Entertainment Weekly* proposed that the Imperial fleet immediately award Lu Chen a Hero's Medal, a suggestion they had never regretted.

Through his subsequent series of adventures and liberation acts, Lu Chen had validated the true worth of this medal.

His sense of justice transcended race and stance, opposing all oppression against the underprivileged classes, making him a dual liberator of human and humanoid slaves, worthy of the title of a true hero.

In light of this, the *Entertainment Weekly* proposed that the Imperial government revoke Lu Chen's ordinary Hero's Medal and upgrade it to a Silver Hero's Medal, which alone befitted Lu Chen's justice and love that transcended all humanity.

"Too high, they've elevated me too high... I somehow feel like I'm being mocked, yet I can't pick out a single flaw."

Lu Chen was truly speechless.

The end of the article also mentioned a piece of trivia—

Lu Chen was born on Rust Star in the Blue Valley Star system, belonging to the Empire's secondary alliance, making him a native-born Imperial citizen.

Lu Chen put down the reading material and sighed in contemplation:

"Brilliant, truly brilliant... You people really have mastering public opinion down to a science."

The grand five-thousand-word front-page headline had completely extinguished Lu Chen's fighting spirit.

It made him feel too embarrassed to go and raid the *Entertainment Weekly*'s editorial department anymore; going there to stir up trouble now would feel unbecoming of an Imperial Hero's stature.

"Forget it, I won't visit the *Entertainment Weekly* branch for now. I'll wait here until the official notification from the Imperial government comes down."

The Imperial government's notification arrived even faster than he anticipated.

However, it was not addressed to him personally, but rather issued to the Adventurers Association.

The Association promptly forwarded this notification to Lu Chen while concurrently publishing a news piece of its own.

*"The Conclusion of Lu Chen's Hero's Medal Incident: The Fall of the Fang Corporation, and the Empire Fails to Revoke Lu Chen's Hero's Medal!"*

The news department of the Adventurers Association was equally unyielding, proving itself to be an expert in the art of public opinion.

The detailed content published in this news article bore no essential difference from the *Entertainment Weekly*'s report, yet the perspective differed entirely.

The *Pangu Navigation Log* narrated the event from the perspective of adventurers compelling an Imperial corporation through armed remonstrance.

Ignoring whether Lu Chen's actions were just, it prominently showcased the transcendent strength of Lu Chen and his allies.

It detailed how they broke through the heavy defenses of the Imperial Hurricane Fleet and the Kanglang Fleet, how they massacred seven corporate executives amidst the encirclement of the Fang fleet and ground armored units, slaughtered a million corpses, and even threatened the major shareholders hailing from the Imperial headquarters.

As for the two adventure groups involved in this incident:

The Primordial Firmament Adventure Group ranked twelfth on the annual rookie leaderboard.

Meanwhile, the Dragon-Seeker Adventure Group hadn't even entered the rookie leaderboard yet.

Yet these two inconspicuous adventure groups managed to blast their way through multiple lines of defense belonging to the Fang Corporation, forcing the *Imperial Entertainment Weekly* to surrender in advance and even lavishly praise the Primordial Firmament Adventure Group to avoid being engulfed by the flames of war or secretly redeploying forces for total defense.

This segment genuinely amused Lu Chen.

The Association's news in the past hadn't been this direct.

This time, because the Pao Li Adventure Group had its face slapped by the Jiangchuan Three Swordsmen dispatched from the Empire, they had to launch a counterattack.

At the time, the *Imperial Entertainment Weekly* had even dismissed the annual rookie leaderboard as a gathering of stray cats and dogs, mocking the Morning Glow Route as mere child's play.

This time, the Adventurers Association had finally cleared its name and exhaled a breath of long-suppressed pride.

The Primordial Firmament Adventure Group earned 150,000 adventurer points from this single battle, rising from 210,000 to 360,000, and leaping from twelfth place on the annual rookie leaderboard straight into seventh place!

Even though its new ship was not yet registered, the Dragon-Seeker Adventure Group still acquired 80,000 adventurer points, bringing its total score to 90,000 and entering the top hundred of the annual rookie leaderboard for the first time, reaching fiftieth place!

On the side of the Imperial government, it ignored the Fang Corporation's unreasonable petition and refused to revoke Lu Chen's Imperial Hero's Medal.

Regarding the *Entertainment Weekly*'s proposal, the Imperial government held that although Lu Chen acted out of justice, he employed illegal means; therefore, to maintain social stability across all levels of the Empire, the Silver Hero's Medal would not be additionally awarded, while concurrently, his legal liabilities would not be pursued.

With the Imperial government casting its final verdict, the matter thus came to a close.

Lu Chen felt a lingering sense of unfulfillment.

However, the livestream room of Spring Chant and Summer String was a scene of jubilation.

Viewers hailing from the Morning Glow Route felt that Lu Chen's battle had allowed all adventurers of the Morning Glow Route to raise their heads with pride.

Whether viewed from the perspective of sheer might or moral righteousness, this battle was a monumental success, far exceeding expectations!

New viewers from the Empire's star domain, especially those from the Kanglang State and neighboring star regions, collectively breathed a sigh of relief.

Meanwhile, netizens on the Adventurers Association forum felt that the details in both news articles were insufficient, flooding the boards with requests for detailed combat footage of the conflict, which ultimately led them to discover the recorded livestream replays...

They witnessed with their own eyes the epic spectacle of Lu Chen publicly slaughtering a million corpses and liberating billions of humanoid slaves.

Lu Chen's fan base skyrocketed linearly, comprising not only adventurers and numerous humanoids, but also a large influx of Imperial citizens.

Inside the livestream room, Spring Chant and Summer String let out a long sigh of relief.

"Phew, as expected of Teacher Lu! The two of us were scared to death back then; who would have thought it would end up like this?"

Lu Chen also linked into the livestream room, responding to the two female anchors:

"Don't get too smug. Moving forward, the Dark Web will definitely post nameless bounties on me; the Imperial shareholders of the Fang Corporation won't sit idly by."

Spring Chant and Summer String paused to think, realizing he was right. Such massive prominence for Teacher Lu could not possibly come without a price.

"Could it be that Teacher Lu is about to go on the run?"

Lu Chen sat on a small wooden stool on the raft, his eyes fixed intently on a fishing float, unable to tell whether it was being moved by the waves or a fish.

"No, I am going to hunt down every single person who placed a bounty on me, one by one."

"..."

The bullet-comment section was flooded with expressions of awe.

Spring Chant and Summer String probed further:

"Then is Teacher Lu still going to visit the editorial department of the *Entertainment Weekly*?"

The viewer count in the livestream room continued to skyrocket...

Among them were plenty of viewers from neighboring star regions.

Everyone eagerly awaited the answer to this question.

Lu Chen looked deep in thought, finally uttering a single phrase after a long pause:

"I suppose I'll still drop by for a visit, share a small drink with the editors of the *Entertainment Weekly*, and discuss life and ideals."

The bullet-comment section fell dead silent.

"There's no need, truly."

"Teacher Lu, your health is important, get more rest! A bunch of editors aren't even worthy of Teacher Lu's stature!"

"I heard the Realm of Night is super fun, with crime levels far surpassing the Fang Corporation. That place should be Teacher Lu's next stop."

Lu Chen had never actually intended to visit the *Entertainment Weekly* editorial department again; saying this was primarily to scare them, keeping their nerves constantly on edge and maintaining a state of total defense—which was exhausting in its own right.

"Don't be nervous. This time it's a friendly visit; I won't resort to blades and guns."

The viewers in the livestream room understood immediately.

You're planning to hack them!

Tonight was destined to be a sleepless night for the Morning Glow editorial department of the *Entertainment Weekly*.

To diffuse the atmosphere, Spring Chant and Summer String quickly chimed in:

"Everyone, don't be nervous! It's not out of the question that Teacher Lu is just joking. I must say, Captain Lu has incredible livestreaming efficacy; he is simply the most suitable adventure group captain for streaming we've ever seen. We're going to make a fo—"

Before the word "fortune" could escape her lips, she was interrupted by the director.

The more they tried to cover it up, the more suspicious it looked; the more they explained, the paler it became.

A bizarre atmosphere permeated the livestream room.

Until Lu Chen sat motionlessly for a long while, waves crashing against the raft one after another, yet not a single fish took the bait.

They didn't even witness Lu Chen execute a single rod-pulling motion.

The sun hung at the edge of the horizon, storms began to brew, the setting sun glowed like blood, and the evening glow blanketed the vault of heaven like an apocalypse.

Lu Chen's retreating silhouette appeared lonelier than ever before, resembling an ancient elder fishing in solitude across eternity.

Viewers in the livestream room remarked that this scene carried too much artistic ambience, suggesting the director take a few photos of Teacher Lu's fishing silhouette and have them framed on the wall.

Lu Chen attributed the lack of fish taking the bait to the ocean waves.

*God said: Do not make waves.*

And thus, the ocean waves within a radius of ten miles instantly fell into absolute stillness, reflecting the blood-red evening glow.

They also reflected the Spring and Summer livestream ship suspended among the clouds.

Spring Chant and Summer String, along with the viewers in the livestream room, were too stunned to speak, feeling as though they had witnessed a divine miracle.

Was this truly something a Forty-Seventh-Level cultivator could accomplish?

Could it be a water-element magic technique?

For cultivators, probing into personal abilities was a major taboo; the viewers in the livestream room were burning with curiosity, yet none dared to ask for details.

Yet, bizarrely enough, even though the surrounding ten miles were dead calm, Lu Chen still didn't manage to pull his rod even once.

The fish seemed terrified of him...

Among the viewers in the livestream room were quite a few professional fishermen who successively offered tips to Lu Chen.

Suggestions ranged from lowering one's mindset and posture,

to breath-concealing cultivation techniques,

to using the fishing rod to simulate the natural swimming movement of bait,

and even resorting to playing the fool, burning incense, praying to Buddha, or playing fish videos on their wristbands...

Lu Chen listened, feeling they sounded profound despite not fully understanding.

As expected of professional fishermen—they knew everything except how to catch fish!

However, one netizen's suggestion in the comment section caught Lu Chen's attention:

"Teacher Lu might as well try blood-sacrificing to prime the fishing spot. Of course, that doesn't mean committing suicide to feed the fish, but rather using one's own fresh blood to prime the spot.

In the ocean, countless creatures are constantly slaughtering each other; marine fish are extremely sensitive. The reason they don't dare to approach is because Teacher Lu's domineering aura is simply too overwhelming; they are intentionally steering clear of his sharp edge.

Teacher Lu can try releasing fresh blood to prime the spot—it acts as a signal that you are injured and nearing death, and the fish schools naturally won't be afraid anymore."

Lu Chen thought about it seriously... It actually made a lot of sense!

Hence, he slashed an incision across his left wrist and bled about half a jin into the water.

Sure enough, it took effect shortly thereafter.

A school of over a hundred sharks surrounded the raft tightly.

"Haha, it works, it's super effective!"

Unfortunately, these sharks weren't biting the bait; instead, they cast covetous gazes at Lu Chen on the raft.

The fish schools were indeed no longer afraid of him; they were simply bold to a fault, actually wanting to devour him, the fisherman.

If not for the livestream ship broadcasting overhead, he would have been tempted to chop off an arm and toss it down as bait while holding the rod with his remaining hand.

What a flawless plan!

Alas, if that scene were broadcasted, the audience would surely think he was resorting to desperate measures for the sake of fishing, making his methods too lowly—hardly the act of a true hero.

That would never do.

Consequently, Lu Chen immediately retrieved various pastries and meats from his storage pouch, smeared them with his fresh blood, and threaded them onto the fishing hook.

Yet even so, the sharks remained indifferent.

They simply circled the raft in a frenzy, exposing one gorgeous shark dorsal fin after another on the twilight-veiled ocean surface.

They wouldn't eat the bait, nor did they dare bite him; the fish schools merely orbited his wooden raft like a silent threat, as if staging a sit-in demonstration.

"Trying to force my hand, are you?"

Lu Chen's mind was made up.

An audacious idea suddenly struck him.

Why not jump into the water himself to serve as the bait, and then control the fishing rod telekinetically from afar?

If he managed to reel himself in along with a fish, would that technically count as successfully catching a fish?

Besides, he couldn't die anyway, and getting bitten a few times by sharks was no big deal.

Furthermore, this method avoided self-mutilation by amputation, lacked the unsightly desperation of other tactics, and should constitute an acceptable new style of fishing.

He could even showcase his telekinetic object-manipulation skills!

With this thought, he immediately put the plan into action, secretly slicing open a few gashes on his chest to increase the blood-priming output.

Next, he hooked the fishing line onto the corner of his garment.

Feigning an accidental slip, he stumbled and tumbled into the water.

He quickly simulated drowning and cessation of breathing, letting blood flow in steady trickles as he floated like a helpless corpse upon the calm surface of the sea.

Yet, a long time passed, and not a single shark came to consume him.

Peeking through a crack in his eyelids, he saw that the fish schools had fled far away, continuing to circle him from a distance in the void.

The scenario was akin to over-issued currency within a financial system—continually circulating internally without ever entering the private sector or being distributed to the general populace out of fear of potential losses, rendering any attempt to stimulate consumption entirely impossible.

Lu Chen rolled over and continued bleeding.

Yet the fish schools swam even further away.

Enraged, Lu Chen leaped back onto the raft, drew the Demon-Slaying Sword, and slashed a circle around himself.

*Swish—*

Over a hundred sharks instantly multiplied into over two hundred, their blood dyeing the calm ten-mile radius of the ocean surface crimson.

The calm sea surface vanished instantly, reverting to a turbulent, roaring expanse.

Spring Chant, Summer String, and the viewers in the livestream room were dumbfounded.

Ultimately, they arrived at a consensus:

"A protector of humanoids, but not an animal protector."

...

A short while later.

Goliath and Aeri returned piloting a flying shuttle.

Aeri stood at the bow of the shuttle, calling out excitedly:

"Captain, the *Entertainment Weekly* has surrendered! You're still an Imperial Hero!"

Lu Chen, however, looked utterly dejected, devoid of any excitement whatsoever.

"Yeah, I know."

Aeri was perplexed. Glancing downward, she realized the sea surface was drenched in blood.

There was shark blood, alongside a tiny fraction of the Captain's blood.

"Captain, why is the sea full of blood?"

Goliath sat cross-legged on the engine cowl of the flying shuttle, stretching lazily as she raised her head to gulp down wine.

"Need you ask? If you can't catch them, you grab a sword and hack them; there's always a way to deal with fish."

Suppressing a smile with great difficulty, Aeri asked Lu Chen with a straight face:

"Captain, all supplies are ready. Where are we heading next?"

Lu Chen raised his head to look at the livestream ship hidden within the clouds, lost in thought.

Then, opening his wristband light-screen, he addressed Spring Chant and Summer String in the livestream room:

"Our livestream contract comes to a temporary close here. The next time I embark on an adventure suitable for broadcasting, I'll call you."

Struck like a bolt from the blue, Spring Chant and Summer String widened their eyes in dismay, self-reproachfully blurting out:

"I'm sorry, Teacher Lu... We shouldn't have streamed your fishing session!"

"Fish are just getting harder and harder to catch these days; everyone experiences this, not just Teacher Lu coming home skunked. You don't need to feel sad, oh."

Lu Chen was speechless. Weren't they just making things worse with those explanations?

"You're overthinking it. Our upcoming adventure is far too dangerous; the enemies will be vicious enough to kill even livestream anchors.

When that time comes, you'll only become my dead weight."

In truth, Lu Chen meant those words entirely.

He had already looked up information regarding the Realm of Night, gaining some understanding of its law and order as well as its defensive deployments.

Hundred-Level fleets were stationed permanently within the star system.

Aside from Ank Star at the very center, the remaining planets possessed virtually zero order and were currently controlled entirely by gang factions.

Some local tyrants even approached the Hundred-Level threshold of cultivation!

This was an entirely different league from the Fang Corporation.

The notion of going there to dominate, storming in and out at will, was entirely out of the question; it was merely a trip to experience the local culture.

However, Spring Chant and Summer String assumed Lu Chen was referring to the Morning Glow branch of the *Entertainment Weekly*.

They believed there must be unspeakable secrets hidden within the editorial department, and that Teacher Lu was once again preparing to run amok and slaughter his way through.

At the Fang Corporation, the Imperial fleet's stance was ambiguous, and the livestream ship didn't participate in combat, so naturally, no one targeted them.

If they were to visit the *Entertainment Weekly* editorial department, however, the mere existence of the livestream ship constituted an act of exposure, and it might well be secretly destroyed by Imperial spy ships, afterwards chalking it up to collateral damage from the war without leaving room for refutation.

"Since that's the case, our shipboard livestreams are coming to a close for now. After Xia Xian and I rest for a short while, we will continue bringing everyone exciting starry sky trial broadcasts later on.

Everyone, make sure to follow and bookmark the livestream room so you won't miss Teacher Lu's next thrilling adventure!"

The viewers in the livestream room felt a pang of loss.

Regardless of their race or stance, they all felt as though they had undergone a baptism of miracles.

Before the livestream room closed, viewer tips went through the roof.

Presumably, it was a subtle hint for Captain Lu to start broadcasting earlier next time!

After the livestream ended, the *Spring and Summer* flew out of the cloud cover, descended to the ocean surface beside Lu Chen, and hovered steadily at a low altitude of ten meters.

Spring Chant and Summer String felt a lingering reluctance, wanting to say something, but choking it back down. In the end, they could only default to their routine sign-off:

"The company will tally the livestream earnings from these past few days shortly and transfer Teacher Lu's share as soon as possible!"

"Alright."

Subsequently, the *Spring and Summer* slowly ascended, flew out of the atmosphere of Konglong Star, and soon departed the Kanglang State, soaring toward the next mountain pass.

...

The three of them returned to the *Leonin*.

For some inexplicable reason, Lu Chen felt that fishing was far more difficult and exhausting than storming through the Fang Corporation.

He headed to the bathroom to soak in a warm bath, sip some iced beer, and listen to soothing music to calm his agitated mind.

Nearby, Aeri applied soothing spirit-healing and disinfectant medicated water to the cuts on Lu Chen's wrist and chest.

"Hurry up with that application, or they'll heal completely by the time you're done."

Goliath remarked casually.

Then, sliding past Aeri, she unceremoniously discarded her garments, wrapped herself in a bath towel, and slipped into the massive bathtub.

In the blink of an eye, an exquisite bubble bath billowed into existence.

Lu Chen loathed those fragrant pink bubbles, feeling as though an oversized man like himself was about to be wrapped into a princess by them.

"Do me a favor and only make these bubble baths when you're bathing alone, alright? I'm a man."

Goliath tilted her head, instantly reading Lu Chen.

"You're a man, if you want to look just say so! Sister isn't that stingy; now that we've struck it rich, you can look all you want!"

With that, she waved her hand to release a delicate burst of sword qi that popped every single bubble in the tub, boldly throwing open her bathrobe...

Beneath it was a close-fitting layer of bubbles.

Half-revealed, refracting a sacred radiance.

It left Lu Chen in a state of nervous anticipation, only for him to see precisely nothing.

It mirrored his fishing experience from earlier today to a tee—infuriatingly elusive.

Shortly thereafter, Goliath dragged Aeri into the water as well, and by a democratic vote with a two-to-one absolute majority, the bubble bath was resurrected.

Speechless, Lu Chen decided to find an opportunity to lecture Goliath, abruptly asking:

"What did you two buy after shopping for so long today?"

Aeri answered first:

"I bought some local spirit-cultivation manuals, elixirs, and various daily supplies... Cities on the Empire's side are much more prosperous, and the quality of goods is indeed higher. The Captain should have come along to shop."

Lu Chen let out a cold snort.

"What small-time stuff does Konglong Star have? If a man's going to shop, he should go to the Realm of Night—that's where my true destination lies!"

Aeri was slightly startled.

"The Captain is going to the Realm of Night?"

Lu Chen nodded.

"Mm, rest on the island for a bit, and we set sail immediately."

"I thought we were going to the *Entertainment Weekly* editorial department!"

Aeri breathed a slight sigh of relief, though she couldn't shake the feeling that heading to the Realm of Night was equally a path of no return, fraught with danger.

Lu Chen gulped down a mouthful of iced beer, wearing a smug expression as he declared:

"I scared them, made them nervous, terrified them into losing their appetites and sleep, to the point where even in their dreams they imagine me invading their minds and stealing their criminal evidence."

Aeri thought about it seriously; that tactic was indeed quite insidious.

"Stealth hackers are terrifying. The Captain not going actually poses a greater threat, leaving a persistent psychological shadow in their minds."

Goliath couldn't care less about any *Entertainment Weekly* branch.

"Whatever, I have no desire to revisit a place that doesn't make money and lacks any entertainment. The Realm of Night is definitely where it's at!"

Lu Chen cast a sidelong glance at Goliath.

"What did you buy today?"

Goliath had almost forgotten the matter, leaping to her feet in eager haste to unpack her purchases.

"Haha, naturally the latest Halo gaming capsule! The capsule alone cost over ten thousand spirit stones, and none of the games inside cost less than a hundred spirit stones. Spending this money feels exhilarating!"

Lu Chen originally intended to severely reprimand her, but the moment he heard "Halo gaming capsule," his scolding withered away.

The Halo gaming capsule was precisely the high-end gaming equipment he had fantasized about owning back during his days living on Rust Star!

In his past life's games, the Halo gaming capsule brand had already existed.

At the time, he had felt that playing games on a computer was vastly underwhelming.

Only fully holographic simulated gaming capsules offered the ultimate gaming experience!

The Union Cultivation capsule was essentially a gaming capsule in nature, but it was far too realistic regarding physical exertion and spiritual energy circulation; playing games in it felt exhausting, and once immersed in a cultivation capsule, one couldn't tend to other matters.

The truly perfect gaming capsule simulated only five-senses amplification for positive enjoyment, avoiding excessive physical fatigue while simultaneously accommodating daily life.

"No way, I'm going to play first, I have to claim the first run on this machine!"