Qin Chu rubbed her cheek and pushed him away with a blank expression.
Just as Qin Chu was about to push Levi away, his fingers brushing against her hair, he frowned and grabbed her hair again: "Don't move, what's wrong with your hair?"
"What's wrong?" Levy asked, puzzled.
Qin Chu leaned over and parted Levi's hair roots to take a closer look.
Levy's hair was originally a shiny golden brown, which is also his hair color in real life.
But now, his hair roots have turned black.
Chapter 133, The Sixth Story (17)
Qin Chu frowned as he stared at Levi's hair, his expression somewhat unpleasant.
Ever since he noticed that their tattoos had faded, Qin Chu had been concerned about the changes in their consciousness.
As they navigated through these layers of scenes, Noah said they were slowly approaching the mainframe. If that's the case, then these outer scenes are very likely the mainframe's defenses.
Since it's a defensive strategy, every time they choose to fail, they will suffer damage.
The dangers that are out in the open are not the real dangers. It is the hazy, indistinct feeling that makes everything so hard to grasp, like right now, that is what causes the most anxiety.
"Hmm? Hair, are you sure?" Levi glanced at him, then shook his head, his tone casual, "Is it dusty?"
"Don't move." Qin Chu pressed him down and pulled his hair back to look again.
But just as he had just been seeing things, Qin Chu saw nothing this time; Levi's hair was still a dazzling golden brown.
Qin Chu was somewhat puzzled, and frowned without saying a word.
"Alright, don't overthink it. If we waste time, something else might go wrong." Levi pulled him by the hand and they walked out of the port.
What Levy needs to do now is simple.
Resources are scarce on garbage planets, but survival is still a necessity. So many people gather together, forming loose organizations to try to contact other planets and regularly haul away supplies.
Qin Chu often did these things when he was around ten years old.
In fact, the transfer of supplies between planets is in a gray area. Although the people waiting on this planet were very dissatisfied with Levi's lateness, they still wanted to do a good job, so they reluctantly handed over the goods to Levi.
Several people busied themselves piling items onto the aircraft.
This is a manned spacecraft, and it's not supposed to carry cargo, but on a junk planet, there aren't many options.
The people on the garbage planet were never well-liked. As they finished putting their things away and prepared to leave, the merchant standing to the side took the money, shook off the dust, and muttered under his breath, "Poor bastards."
The tone of his voice was very disdainful, and it wasn't quiet either.
Qin Chu subconsciously turned to look at Levi's reaction.
In the first scene, Levy only saw the slang written by the escaped space pirate in space, and arrogantly wanted to chase after him and teach him a lesson.
This was indeed Levy's habit; in his life, there was almost nothing that required him to tolerate.
Qin Chu thought Levi would at least react, but Levi merely glanced back casually, said nothing, did nothing, and boarded the aircraft directly.
The spacecraft took off and headed towards the junk planet not far away.
Although this trip took a little longer, it was still a very fruitful one.
The boys behind him were so excited when they saw the supplies that they started pacing around inside the cabin. One of them couldn't resist trying to open a can, but his hand was knocked off.
"Don't touch anything! We'll need to count it when it's delivered!"
Qin Chu and Levi sat together in the cockpit.
Levy was piloting the aircraft, and he was sitting in the co-pilot's seat looking over there through the rearview mirror.
"What are you looking at so intently?" Levy asked him.
"I haven't seen a scene like this in a long time," Qin Chu said.
Levy chuckled.
Then he thought for a moment and said, "I didn't expect you to have lived like this when you were a child. I've seen these things; they're all close to their expiration date and won't last long."
"Hmm." Qin Chu was not surprised. "Otherwise, these merchants wouldn't have taken the risk of selling their goods to us."
"Is the situation better now?" Levy asked.
“Much better,” Qin Chu said. “Most people have emigrated. This garbage planet has also set up an official docking point. Where there is a docking point, there will always be some supplies, so we don’t have to run to other planets to get these soon-to-expire items.”
However, it still lags far behind the other developed planets of the empire.
The spacecraft continued along its orbit and soon came into view a small, grayish planet.
Qin Chu watched for a while, then couldn't help but turn to Levi and ask, "That merchant just now..."
"What? You're calling me a poor wretch?" Levy chuckled. "Let him call me whatever he wants. I managed to get a lower price for this one."
But after he finished speaking, he asked, "If it were you, how would you react?"
"That's the typical reaction. At this point, getting the goods in hand is the most important thing." Qin Chu thought for a moment and then said, "However, there are quite a few merchants who want to deal with their nearly expired goods. I'll talk to them again next time I'm hauling goods."
After answering that question, Qin Chu looked at Levi again: "And what about you?"
“What? Didn’t you just see it?” Levy said.
"This isn't your reaction to clear the level. If you were in this situation, what would you do?" Qin Chu asked.
Levy clicked his tongue.
What would he do? He would break into the merchant's house late at night, tie him up, and make the not-so-polite merchant watch as he plunders all his property.
Before leaving, he called out to the merchant who had been robbed and was left with only his underwear, "You poor bastard."
But Levy didn't say any of this.
He simply said, "I'd rather not think about it. What if they do it my way next time?"
Qin Chu remained silent.
He knew that Levy's choice was the most appropriate under the current circumstances.
But... he was more interested in seeing Levi act recklessly.
The aircraft flew over the port and landed directly at their small organization's gathering place.
Many people were already waiting there, and when they saw the aircraft land on the ground, they finally showed expressions of relief mixed with hope.
The hatch opened, and several teenagers jumped out, excitedly telling those around them about their experiences.
Levi brought Qin Chu down and watched the group of people divide the goods.
During this period, Qin Chu's aura of "keep away, strangers" had approached its later mature form, so although the people around were noisy, no one bothered Levi.
After waiting for a while, Levi became a little impatient. He turned to look at Qin Chu and said, "The scene hasn't changed this time."
"Yes, it did take a bit too long," Qin Chu said.
Just then, a brand-new aircraft landed nearby, the hatch opened, and a slightly chubby boy jumped out.
He glanced around, then ran straight towards Levi, waving as he ran: "Hey, Qin Chu, I was just looking for you!"
Levy had been watching the man intently for a while as soon as he charged at him.
Just as the boy was about to get close, he reached out and grabbed Qin Chu, saying incredulously, "No way? This is Burke."
"Hmm." Qin Chu also looked up.
"He lives here too?" Levy raised an eyebrow.
"No, he's the son of a caravan leader. He'll stop by when he's passing through," Qin Chu said.
Levy was still staring at the boy, Burke, who was running towards them, his expression somewhat displeased.
His emotions seemed to come out of nowhere, and Qin Chu was puzzled when Levi tugged at him again: "Tsk, didn't you say he was just a senior? How come you know him now?"
That was so sour it was practically bubbling with sarcasm.
Qin Chu tried to explain, but Levi interrupted him and began to calculate: "You've known him since you were fifteen, from the time you were on the garbage planet, to when you were adopted, to when you entered military school and joined the First Starship, you've been with him the whole time?"
Levy couldn't continue.
It's too sour.
It's as if her boyfriend has a classmate he's known since elementary school and even in college, and they even work together.
This is simply unbearable.
Levy's gaze towards Burke subconsciously turned hostile.
Young Burke rushed up and started chattering: "Qin Chu, how long has it been since we last met? I saw something really strange, let me show it to you..."
"I don't want to watch," Levy coldly interrupted him.
Burke pressed on: "Didn't you say you were very interested..."
“Not interested,” Levy refused again.
Burke continued, "Well, I've just brought the aircraft here. Are you going to..."
“No, I’m busy,” Levy replied coldly.
Burke finally scratched his head and retreated.
Levi held Qin Chu's hand and hummed.
Qin Chu raised his hand to rub his forehead, both amused and exasperated: "You acted quite well this time. With your attitude in the first scene, you wouldn't have gotten Burke to point a gun at you."
“I don’t care, just stay away from him from now on. You already have a boyfriend, you need to think about his feelings.” Levi said, sounding aggrieved.
"..." Qin Chu told him the current situation, "Burke is already married, and his son is five years old. He listens to his wife very much."
Levi felt slightly relieved for a second, but was still very worried: "Do you know how high the divorce rate is in the Empire?"
"That's enough." Qin Chu kicked him.
In the meantime, the supplies had been distributed. Levi stood up, holding his own box, and turned to look at Qin Chu.
"Why are you looking at me? Go home." Qin Chu asked, puzzled.
“I’m so sorry,” Levy said. “Although I’m going back to my home now, I really need you to show me the way.”