89: Repairs to continue (3.4K, please support!)

There was fog on the sea, but even so, it was as clear as if no one had ever dumped trash into it.

There was no plastic, no fishing nets; as long as you leaned out to look, the area below the harbor was full of schools of fish.

Scales shimmered with silver light, and even with the sea fog, they looked like billions of tiny mirrors, sparkling.

Jiang Feng was driving on the coastal highway, looking at the sea, then turned his head to look at the slums.

The straight road was like the magic brush of the Industrial Design AI, separating the real world from the world in the painting with a single stroke.

The sea was the ideal, the slums were the reality.

Jiang Feng frowned: "Mainframe, look up information regarding marine ecology."

"In 2203, the Terran Union launched a major project, spending two years filtering the entire Earth's ocean."

"In 2206, the Terran Union established contact with the alien race 'Flower of Gaia' and sold them about one million species of marine life in exchange for a substantial amount of re..."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Wait!"

Jiang Feng blinked: "Don't you think this is wrong?"

In his impression, there was indeed a faction called 'Flower of Gaia' in the game Stellaris.

They were a type of 'plant person'—this was not an insult, but rather how they defined themselves; although they were still primates, they could perform photosynthesis.

They did not get hungry, were extremely egalitarian, strongly advocated for peace, and attached extreme importance to the environment.

"Based on calculations, the Terran Union might have made contact with this civilization even earlier."

"The ocean filtering operation was highly likely a measure taken to establish a good relationship with that civilization."

Jiang Feng sighed; he was too busy and needed to pay more attention to these 'historical news items.'

"What about after that? Who else were the marine creatures sold to?"

"Restricted content detected, retrieving..."

Jiang Feng tapped the steering wheel and thought to himself: 'Restricted content? It's just buying and selling marine life, what is there to restrict?'

"Two transactions detected. In 2235, about five hundred thousand species of marine and terrestrial life were sold to a newly discovered alien civilization, after which the news was erased."

"In 2238, the Terran Union once again exported about six million species of marine and terrestrial life to them, and this news still did not leak."

"Why?"

Jiang Feng's eyes lit up, and he pressed: "Keep checking, check the scientific research department; you will definitely be able to find the unedited information."

"I have found several research reports in scientific papers that fit the situation at that time."

"What are they?"

"The research reports are titled 'The Criminal Genes of the Hazbzan Race' and 'Social Investigation Report on the Hazbuzan Syndicate'."

"There are also 'Feasibility Study of Criminal Syndicate Polities,' 'Field Research Report on Zumaka,' and 'Terran Union Crisis: How to Handle Diplomatic Relations with Spiritualist Alien Races'."

"And 'Hazbzan, Intellectually Abnormal and Aggressive Intelligent Beings'."

Jiang Feng slapped his thigh; all the questions in his mind and the various anomalies since arriving in this world were all explained!

As the most detestable faction in Stellaris, the 'Criminal Syndicate Enterprise' was a nightmare for every civilization, relying on creating criminal activities on other civilizations' planets to scrape up wealth.

Encountering them at the start of the game was truly incredibly painful.

'The Terran Union must have had terrible luck, meeting such a thing right at the start. Materialist versus Spiritualist, Extreme Militarist versus Extreme Egalitarian; the ethics were completely incompatible, and the other side was in an aggressive stance.'

'In this way, all of the Terran Union's colonized planets would quickly erupt into a crime wave.'

'According to the Terran Union's original temperament, they definitely couldn't suppress it.'

'As a result, the xenophilic Terran Union leadership could only submit, trying to avoid war as much as possible by pandering to the other side.'

Jiang Feng quickly sorted everything out in his mind: 'So that's why the Terran Union couldn't even eradicate the slums, and couldn't even take down the gangs.'

Combining this with the news the Mainframe had found earlier, Jiang Feng narrowed his eyes, his heart shaken.

'It seems this sea of stars is full of crises, even more terrifying than I imagined!'

Ahead was District 602. Jiang Feng stopped overthinking and dialed Lin Xiaoyu's number.

"Hello? Xiaoyu, did you send out the robot?"

Before going home last night, he repaired the parts Zhao Mingyuan sent, and incidentally manufactured four new 'robot' Robot Dogs.

After returning home, he also modified Iron Clad Gold and the three robots at home, and took out one Robot Dog, having Lin Xiaoyu send it to his parents early in the morning.

"It's been sent. It's over a thousand kilometers away. I sent it at noon, and it should arrive this afternoon. Mom will definitely call back then."

Lin Xiaoyu responded on the phone: "Can you make it back for dinner today?"

Jiang Feng pondered for a moment: "I have to finish the work before I can clock out, but I'll try my best. Right, if I don't have time to answer the phone then, just help me tell Mom and Dad. I'll call them back tonight or tomorrow."

"Mm, I will." Lin Xiaoyu smiled: "Then I'll cook and wait for you later."

"Alright." Jiang Feng smiled unconsciously and hung up the phone.

His eyes turned to the road, becoming sharp once again. With the changes in events and the situation, it was time to make a big move.

"Mainframe, deploy the 'Hand of Chaos' combat group."

"Create gang confrontations and vendettas in various places to create opportunities for our subsequent plans, and don't limit it to just between gangs."

"Pick some policemen with poor conduct and, using the etiquette of the Garol Gang, send them to see Lord Shiva."

Jiang Feng said with a smile while turning on some music.

"Understood, I will launch operations using the storage center as a base."

The Mainframe's voice disappeared, and Jiang Feng knew that the robots he left in the storage compartment would begin to mobilize.

The 'Hand of Chaos' combat group was composed of 4 'Peregrine' units, 4 'Storm' units, and 4 'Shadow' units.

All were equipped with 'Guess Who I Am V2' holographic disguisers.

They could operate silently and needed to be charged about once every two days.

Jiang Feng looked into the distance; the shipyard was at the end of the road.

The morning light penetrated the towering roof of the shipyard, casting beams of light onto the dusty concrete floor.

Jiang Feng opened the car door and jumped out, wearing a black trench coat over a simple khaki jumpsuit, emitting a faint, fresh scent.

One could only say that having a wife who urges you to clean is a mix of joy and sorrow.

He looked up and saw the van Jasmine had arrived in was already parked. Several private soldiers came over to inspect, still with that cold demeanor. Jiang Feng didn't blame them; their brains had been messed with, and if they were smiling and welcoming, it would actually be bizarre.

The car door slid open, and Jasmine stepped out. For some reason today, she was wearing a small black suit, and the sound of her high heels hitting the ground was as crisp as an alarm clock.

It was exactly eight o'clock.

Jiang Feng carried the black briefcase and smiled: "Quite punctual."

Jasmine nodded slightly, her gaze immediately passing over him to look at the open bed of the hover pickup truck.

The private soldiers were inspecting it; inside, brand-new equipment was neatly stacked.

Ten disc-shaped 'worker bee' maintenance drones, and six 'artisan' maintenance robots that were round and sturdy, with three retractable mechanical arms on each side.

They were brand new, their surfaces painted orange-yellow, making them a uniform color with the other industrial tools.

Jasmine walked straight over, slowly walked half a circle around the truck bed, and examined them carefully.

In fact, she couldn't tell anything.

Jiang Feng could understand her pretending to know what she was doing; regarding the shell and interface of each piece of equipment, the only thing she could judge was that it was more perfect than her lipstick, without even a single flaw visible.

Jiang Feng didn't rush her; he simply sat on the back of Gold-Wrapped Silver.

Since the modification yesterday, it could easily carry two hundred kilograms, let alone him.

Finally, Jasmine stopped and turned to Jiang Feng, her eyes revealing a hint of sharpness.

"Jiang Feng, are you sure they are... absolutely clean?"

She walked over, looking down at him, arms crossed, keeping her voice very low.

"If Galaxy Heavy Industry knows that we have the star digger's data, the two of us, along with everything we represent, will be completely crushed, without even leaving a trace."

"Are you sure these new guys won't leave any... traces that shouldn't be there?"

Jiang Feng admitted that his gaze was indeed attracted by the fragrant breeze as Jasmine walked over for a moment. He understood in his heart that this was human nature; yesterday, she had witnessed the garbage performance of those drones with her own eyes.

Today, after a night had passed, she would naturally wonder whether that so-called 'Mr. S' was reliable.

This was human nature, instinctively seeking advantages and avoiding disadvantages; there was nothing to be afraid of.

Jiang Feng stood up, meeting her gaze, and smiled slightly. He stood right in front of Jasmine, close enough to clearly see his own reflection in her eyes, his world-weary gaze revealing a softness.

"Jasmine." His voice was not loud, but every word was clear.

"Do you think we can still be separated now?"

He raised a hand and pointed to the charred wreckage in the huge dry dock.

Jiang Feng pointed to himself, then finally pointed to Jasmine: "From the moment we decided to do this together, from the moment we walked into this shipyard, from the moment we started dismantling the first piece..."

"From that moment on, we were grasshoppers on the same rope."

"If any part of the process goes wrong, do you think those people from Galaxy Heavy Industry will only cause trouble for you?"

"Or only cause trouble for me?"

Jiang Feng shook his head calmly, speaking slowly: "No, Jasmine."

"We are like two bombs tied together; if one explodes, both will be smashed to pieces."

Jasmine's pupils contracted slightly, and her hands, which were crossed over her chest, gradually relaxed and fell naturally to her sides.

Jiang Feng looked at the corners of her eyes, which were gradually smoothing out, and said decisively: "Don't ask such questions anymore. Now, the only thing we need to do is pry open this pile of scrap iron and take out its 'brain' intact."

"Then, we hack it and get all the data."

"And then what?"

Jasmine suddenly curled the corners of her mouth: "You just took on a big job? Engineer?"

Jiang Feng discerned the teasing in her tone and confirmed that her tense nerves had relaxed, so he shrugged.

"I was thinking, if you're eating pork belly, you'd have to at least share a piece of tenderloin with me... wouldn't you say?"

Jasmine "puffed" and laughed out loud.

"In your dreams." She glared at Jiang Feng.

Jiang Feng only felt a tingling sensation down his back, rushing straight to the top of his head. He clenched his fist, coughed lightly, and hurriedly avoided her gaze.

Jasmine looked at his attempt to hide it and finally breathed a sigh of relief; the invisible barrier in her heart melted away like ice and snow.

She stepped aside, clearing the path to the wreckage, and raised her hand in a "please" gesture.

"It's in your hands, great expert."

Jiang Feng nodded, no more nonsense.

"Clap clap!"

He clapped his hands and shouted lightly: "Guys, time to work!"

In an instant, the worker bees and artisans were all awakened.

The drones rose lightly into the air, emitting an almost screeching hum; they were not household drones, and silence was not in the design scope.

The robots also used their retractable mechanical arms to support their bodies, jumped out of the truck bed, and began to look around, collecting data.

Inside the huge dry dock, the thirty-meter-long triangular wreckage still stood silently.

The exposed energy cable from yesterday, flickering with faint blue electric arcs, was still stubbornly emitting heat.

It was just like a dying poisonous snake that didn't forget to bite back before it died.