18: The lesson Liu Ruyan learned: Green Tea (a term for a woman who is overly cunning and manipulative) suffered a set

spaceship Calendar Day 6.

Lower Level, Civilian Area.

The air was filled with a sense of oppressive restlessness.

With the establishment of the Upper Level Noble Area and the successive promotions of Gu Nian, Chen Chuxia, and others, the mindset of the girls in the lower level had completely unraveled.

Originally, everyone was equally destitute, eating the same coarse food.

But now, some lived in luxury suites, eating steak and drinking red wine, while others were squeezed into capsule pods, fighting tooth and nail for a few points.

This massive disparity was like a spark that could ignite long-simmering resentment at any moment.

Liu Ruyan keenly sensed this atmosphere.

She felt that her opportunity had come.

In a corner, a few girls were huddled together, whispering complaints about today's tasks being too heavy and the points being too few.

“This is just too much bullying! I scrubbed the deck all morning and only got 10 points! I can't even trade that for half an apple!”

“Exactly! Why do they get to enjoy themselves up there while we work like oxen down here?”

“That Gu Nian... she used to be too afraid to even speak in class, but now look at her, acting all high and mighty. She's harsher than anyone when it comes to deducting points!”

Liu Ruyan walked over.

She had intentionally fixed her hair today. Although she was still wearing that dirty nightgown, she still maintained that 'Campus Belle' air that was etched into her bones.

“Sisters, stop complaining.”

She sighed, looking at everyone with a face full of sympathy.

“What's the use of complaining? They are now high-and-mighty Chief Financial Officers, and what are we? We're laborers, slaves.”

“Sister Ruyan...”

When the girls saw her, it was as if they had found their pillar of support.

“What do you think we should do? If this keeps up, we'll be worked to death sooner or later.”

A sharp glint flashed in Liu Ruyan's eyes.

She lowered her voice and leaned in closer.

“Actually, Gu Pingsheng isn't that scary.”

“No matter how powerful he is, he's just one person. The spaceship is so big and there's so much work; can he really do it all alone?”

“What if none of us work?”

“What if we unite and go on strike?”

The girls were startled and looked at each other.

“A... strike? But... he has a gun...”

“So what if he has a gun? Can he really kill all of us?”

Liu Ruyan sneered.

“There are over thirty of us! Haven't you heard that the law doesn't punish the masses?”

“As long as we stand together and force him to negotiate, make him improve our treatment, and make him open up the Upper Level... he'll definitely compromise for the sake of the spaceship's operation!”

“When that time comes, not only will we have enough to eat, but we'll also live in big houses!”

Her words were extremely inflammatory.

The eyes of several girls, who were originally timid and fearful, began to flicker.

Greed had triumphed over fear.

“Right! Sister Ruyan is right!”

“Why should we take this kind of abuse!”

“We strike! Force him to negotiate!”

Watching this scene, the corner of Liu Ruyan's mouth curled into a smug arc.

As long as she rallied these people, she would have bargaining chips against Gu Pingsheng.

When the time came, even if she couldn't be an adjutant, she could at least snag a management position.

However.

What she didn't know.

Was that less than two meters away from them, a patch of shadow distorted slightly.

A pair of cold eyes was quietly watching everything... Upper Level, Captains Quarters.

Gu Pingsheng was wiping the desert eagle in his hand.

The purple gun body glinted with a cold metallic luster under the light.

“Knock, knock.”

The door wasn't closed, but someone still knocked on the doorframe.

A petite girl walked in.

She was wearing a black bodysuit and walked without a sound, like a ghost.

An An.

An assassin who had awakened the A-rank talent [Shadow Stealth].

She was also the 'eyes' that Gu Pingsheng had secretly cultivated.

“Captain.”

An An's voice was very soft, without any inflection.

“Liu Ruyan is organizing a conspiracy down below.”

“She has incited seven girls to prepare for a collective strike tomorrow morning, intending to force you to improve their treatment and open up Upper Level permissions.”

“Oh?”

Gu Pingsheng didn't stop his movements, still unhurriedly wiping the barrel of the gun.

“A strike?”

“A mutiny?”

He blew away non-existent dust from the muzzle, a mocking smile curling on his lips.

“Interesting.”

“It seems life has been too comfortable these past few days; some people have forgotten who they are.”

He stood up and holstered the gun at his waist.

“Let's go.”

“Let's go see what kind of surprise our 'Great Campus Belle Liu' has prepared for me.”

...Lower Level.

Liu Ruyan was still dreaming her pipe dreams.

She was currently pulling a few girls aside, planning the details for tomorrow's action.

“Tomorrow morning, everyone gathers in the hall. No one is allowed to take any tasks!”

“When Zhao Min comes to urge us, we'll state our conditions...”

Before she could finish her sentence.

“Hiss—”

The airlock door leading from the Upper Level to the Lower Level suddenly opened.

Gu Pingsheng walked out.

Behind him followed a fully-armed Lin Qinghan, as well as the ghost-like An An.

The originally noisy Lower Level area fell silent instantly.

Everyone sensed that something was wrong.

The aura around Gu Pingsheng was too cold.

Cold like a block of ice that had never melted for ten thousand years.

He walked straight toward Liu Ruyan.

His leather boots clicked sharply against the metal floor.

Every step seemed to stomp on everyone's heartbeat.

The smile on Liu Ruyan's face froze.

She watched Gu Pingsheng approach step by step. Her instinct told her to retreat, but she found her legs were so weak she couldn't move.

“Gu... Gu Pingsheng...”

She stammered, trying to force a smile.

“Why... why did you come down...”

Gu Pingsheng didn't speak.

He walked up to Liu Ruyan and looked down at her.

That look was like he was looking at an ant that didn't know it was courting death.

“I heard you want to strike?”

Gu Pingsheng's voice was flat, betraying no emotion.

Liu Ruyan's heart skipped a beat.

How did he know?!

She subconsciously looked at the girls around her who had just vowed to follow her.

She found that those people had long since shrunk into the corners in fear, each with their heads bowed, wishing they could bury their faces in their laps.

A bunch of useless trash!

Liu Ruyan cursed in her heart, then bolstered her courage and said:

“I... I just feel... the current treatment is too unfair...”

“We're all classmates... why should...”

“Slap!”

A crisp slapping sound interrupted her excuse.

Liu Ruyan was spun halfway around by the blow and fell heavily to the ground.

Half of her face swelled up instantly, and a trickle of blood seeped from the corner of her mouth.

The entire place was deathly silent.

No one expected Gu Pingsheng to strike directly.

And he hit her so hard, so mercilessly.

“Fairness?”

Gu Pingsheng crouched down, grabbed Liu Ruyan by the hair, and forced her to look up.

“On this spaceship, I am fairness.”

“You want to negotiate with me?”

“Are you even worthy?”

Liu Ruyan was dazed from the slap.

Growing up, when had she ever suffered such a grievance?

Tears instantly gushed out, mixing with snot and blood, smearing her face.

“You... you dare hit me... my dad is a school director...”

“Heh.”

Gu Pingsheng laughed.

A laugh that made one's skin crawl.

“School director?”

“This is space. This is the apocalypse.”

“Never mind your dad being a school director; even if he were the Jade Emperor, he couldn't save you here.”

He released his grip and disdainfully wiped his hand on Liu Ruyan's clothes.

“Lin Qinghan.”

“Here.”

Lin Qinghan stepped forward, the High-Frequency Vibration Blade in her hand humming.

“Throw her into the Confinement Cell.”

“No one is allowed to let her out without my command.”

“And no one is allowed to give her water or food.”

“Yes!”

Lin Qinghan didn't hesitate for a second. Like dragging a dead dog, she grabbed Liu Ruyan by the collar and dragged her toward the Confinement Cell at the bottom of the spaceship.

“No! Don't! Gu Pingsheng, you can't do this!”

“I was wrong! I was really wrong!”

“I beg you, let me go! I'll never do it again!”

Liu Ruyan struggled desperately, her cries heart-wrenching.

But Gu Pingsheng didn't even give her a second glance.

His gaze swept over the others present.

Especially those few girls who had just been incited by Liu Ruyan.

Those people were trembling all over and knelt directly on the ground.

“Captain, have mercy! We were forced!”

“It was Liu Ruyan! She's the one who instigated us!”

“We won't do it again! We really won't!”

Gu Pingsheng looked at them coldly.

“Deduct all points.”

“For the next three days, you will be responsible for cleaning the spaceship's toilets.”

“If there's a next time, you'll be thrown directly out of the airlock.”

“Get out.”

The girls ran away as if they had been granted a general amnesty... Confinement Cell.

This was a new functional area added after the spaceship upgrade.

Located at the very bottom of the ship, it was originally intended for storing hazardous materials.

The space was cramped, less than two square meters.

All four walls were made of thick, soundproof alloy.

No windows, no lights.

Once the door was closed, it was absolute darkness, absolute silence.

“Bang!”

The heavy alloy door slammed shut.

The last sliver of light vanished.

Liu Ruyan slumped on the floor; it was so dark she couldn't see her hand in front of her face.

“Let me out! Is anyone there?!”

“Gu Pingsheng! You bastard!”

“Wuwuwu... I'm afraid of the dark... Mama...”

She frantically pounded on the door, crying out loud, cursing, and begging for mercy.

But there was no response.

This was a true dead end.

Sound couldn't get out, and it couldn't get in.

Time seemed to lose its meaning here.

One minute, two minutes... one hour, two hours... The darkness was like a living monster, slowly devouring her sanity.

Fear.

Boundless fear.

She began to hallucinate.

It was as if countless eyes were staring at her in the dark, and countless hands were pulling at her clothes.

“Ah—! Get away! All of you, get away!”

She huddled in a corner, clutching her knees, shivering violently.

Her throat was already hoarse from screaming.

Her tears had run dry.

Hunger and thirst began to torture her body.

But even more terrifying was the sense of loneliness, of being forgotten by the whole world.

She began to regret.

She truly regretted it.

Why did she have to provoke that man?

Why did she have to recklessly challenge his authority?

If she could do it all over again, she would definitely be obedient. Even scrubbing the deck would be ten thousand times better than staying in this hellhole... A full 24 hours.

When that heavy alloy door opened again.

Blinding light shot in.

Liu Ruyan subconsciously shielded her eyes with her hand, letting out a whimper like a wild beast.

Gu Pingsheng stood at the door, backlit.

His expression couldn't be seen, only that tall, cold silhouette.

“Come out.”

He said indifferently.

Liu Ruyan shuddered.

She used both hands and feet to crawl out like a dog.

As soon as she cleared the doorway, she lunged forward and tightly hugged Gu Pingsheng's thigh.

“Wuwuwu... Master... I was wrong... I was really wrong...”

“Don't lock me up... I beg you, don't lock me up...”

At this moment, where was there even a trace of the Campus Belle in Liu Ruyan?

Her hair was as messy as a bird's nest, her face was covered in filth, and her clothes were torn and tattered.

Her eyes were vacant, filled with fear and servility.

She was truly terrified.

That kind of despair, where no one would answer her cries, had completely destroyed her psychological defenses.

Gu Pingsheng looked down at her.

He didn't kick her away, nor did he help her up.

He just watched quietly.

As if he were looking at a wild beast that had finally been tamed.

“Do you know what you did wrong?”

“I know... I know...”

Liu Ruyan nodded frantically, her head thumping against the floor as she kowtowed.

“I shouldn't have had selfish motives... I shouldn't have played little tricks...”

“In the future, I'll listen to everything you say... I'll do whatever you want me to do...”

“Even if it's to die... I'll go...”

A satisfied curve appeared on Gu Pingsheng's lips.

This was the effect he wanted.

For this kind of self-important person, reasoning was useless.

Only by letting her truly experience despair would she understand who the master was here.

“Very good.”

Gu Pingsheng bent down and grabbed Liu Ruyan's hair, forcing her to look up.

“Since you like playing with interpersonal relationships and trying to figure out people's hearts so much.”

“Then I'll give you a chance.”

“From today on, you are responsible for the spaceship's intelligence collection and interrogation work.”

“Keep an eye on those people below. If anyone has double intentions or wants to cause trouble, tell me immediately.”

“Also, if any prisoners are caught in the future, they'll be handed over to you for interrogation.”

“Do well, and you'll have food and water.”

“Do poorly...”

Gu Pingsheng pointed to the dark Confinement Cell door behind him.

“And you'll live inside there forever.”

Liu Ruyan shuddered, a deep fear flashing in her eyes.

But immediately following that was a wild joy from surviving a disaster.

She was useful!

She was still useful!

As long as she was useful, she wouldn't be abandoned, and she wouldn't have to return to that hell!

“Yes! Yes! I will definitely do it well! Definitely!”

She clutched Gu Pingsheng's pant leg tightly, like grabbing onto her last life-saving straw.

The light called 'ambition' in her eyes had been extinguished.

Replacing it was absolute submission and a ruthless determination to survive by any means necessary.

Since she couldn't be a queen.

Then she would be the most vicious dog.

As long as she could live.

As long as she could stay by that man's side.

“Woo—! Woo—! Woo—!”

Just then.

A shrill alarm suddenly echoed throughout the entire spaceship.

Red warning lights flashed frantically, dyeing the corridor blood-red.

Gu Pingsheng's expression changed.

He shoved Liu Ruyan aside and strode toward the bridge.

“Alice! What's the situation?!”

“Warning! Warning!”

Alice's voice was urgent and cold.

“Radar has detected unidentified flying objects approaching rapidly!”

“Quantity: 3!”

“Identification signal: Interstellar Pirates!”

“Time to contact: 30 seconds!”

Gu Pingsheng rushed into the bridge and looked at the massive holographic screen.

In the pitch-black void.

Three armed spaceships painted with hideous white skull logos were flanking them in a triangular formation.

Those dark muzzles had already locked onto them.

“Interstellar Pirates...”

Gu Pingsheng narrowed his eyes, murderous intent surging within them.

“Just in time.”

“I just finished cleaning up the internal mess; I was just worrying about where to test the cannons.”