Chapter Nine: The Laid-back Girl, Hu Xiaoruan

"I'm from the Rose No. 1 mothership. If you're not here, I can find you on Rose No. 2-6, Sky No. 1-6, or even the ultimate mothership Sword and Rose. Anyway, we're all in the same civilization fleet," the long-legged female player explained carefully.

Huang Yunshuo had no intention of playing guide to a novice, but the mention of the civilization fleet caught him off guard. She looked delicate and frail; even her newbie wooden shield had broken, suggesting she'd died more than a few times—pitiful, really. Maybe he should lend a hand?

"It's not that I'm trying to flirt," Huang Yunshuo reassured himself. "I'm only here to gather information, and for purely humanitarian reasons." Though inwardly he agreed, he still put on an aloof front.

"Unfortunately, I'm not on Sword and Rose. Farewell," Huang Yunshuo said, waving goodbye.

"Don't go, master!" The long-legged girl hugged his arm, pressing it against her astonishingly warm and supple curves, and murmured weakly, "I may not be much help, but I can cheer you on. Big brother, do you need a useless teammate who can chant '666' and dance encouragement?"

"Damn," Huang Yunshuo thought, enjoying the sensation while marveling at her persistence.

"Alright, since you're so sincere, I'll reluctantly help you out a little," he said, feigning reluctance as he addressed the girl named Hu Xiaoruan.

Hu Xiaoruan was overjoyed, her voice sweet and alluring as she thanked him twice, clinging to his arm and attempting to press even closer.

Huang Yunshuo quickly withdrew his hand, added Hu Xiaoruan to his party, and gestured grandly, "Let's go scavenging!"

In "Reforged Era," a party consists of five or fewer members. Each additional member increases monster hunting experience by 5%, so with two people, their experience would be 105% of normal.

Of course, this hardly mattered. Hu Xiaoruan had made it clear—she was just a cheerleader, nothing more.

Hu Xiaoruan happily followed Huang Yunshuo, watching as the so-called idiot master rushed at a chicken with only 16 health left, dispatched it with two strikes, and picked up three copper coins and a tuft of down.

Huang Yunshuo returned and, while scanning his surroundings, began extracting information.

"Xiaoruan, what's the situation with your civilization fleet? Tell me more," he prompted.

Twenty years ago, following a massive evacuation from their homeland due to overwhelming human numbers and constant attacks from the Kongsang, it was impossible to withdraw everyone at once. Over three years, humanity evacuated in eight waves, each as a distinct civilization fleet, equipped with one ultimate star mothership and over a dozen ships of various types and sizes.

Every civilization fleet was heavily armed, carrying terrifying numbers of people and supplies. In addition, due to unexpected events, many smaller fleets failed to catch up with the main civilization fleets—Mirror was originally part of such a small fleet.

Later, the small fleet was wiped out by a Kongsang reconnaissance force. Mirror barely escaped, journeying alone toward the coordinates of the new homeland, never encountering any civilization fleet along the way.

Thus, the civilization fleets were objects of envy and longing for Huang Yunshuo and anyone aboard Mirror. Life there was more spacious, conditions better, and safety assured. Even the most ordinary mothership housed billions, with space equal to a small planet: endless artificial forests, hundred-meter-deep seas, kilometer-high skyscrapers...

"I don't know how to explain it," Hu Xiaoruan said, momentarily at a loss. She knew too much about the civilization fleet and couldn't decide where to begin.

So Huang Yunshuo started asking targeted questions, scavenging and farming monsters as he did.

"By the way, idiot brother, it's said our civilization fleet will soon reach a place called 'Cangdong,' an interstellar wasteland. Because the conditions ahead are too complicated, the fleet plans to rest outside Cangdong for a while," Hu Xiaoruan told him.

"Cangdong?!" Huang Yunshuo's pupils contracted.

If memory served, the recent important coordinates issued by SkyNet included Cangdong—a primordial-class interstellar wasteland not far from Mirror's route. They'd even held a meeting to discuss whether to detour around the deadly Cangdong wasteland. Who would've thought Sword and Rose would rest there?

If he could catch up to the civilization fleet during this time...

Huang Yunshuo clenched his fist in excitement. Civilization fleets gave great rewards to survivors returning from the wild star systems: higher citizenship, better gear, and ample supplies. After all, those who survived outside the fleet were experienced warriors; once their battleships and mechs were replenished and recharged, they could be sent to the front lines as needed.

"How long will they rest? Do you know?" Huang Yunshuo asked.

"Three months," Hu Xiaoruan replied with a smile. "You can find all this info on SkyNet; don't tell me you don't know, idiot brother."

Huang Yunshuo forced a bitter smile. SkyNet, to prevent survivors from being captured by the Kongsang and leaking intelligence, provided limited support to ships like Mirror. Otherwise, he wouldn't be so clueless about the civilization fleets, resorting to teaming up with a deadweight just to gather information.

"Three months—will it be enough?" Huang Yunshuo stroked his chin. "Xiaoruan, I'll help you reach level two and give you a new wooden club. After that, whether you survive is up to you."

Hu Xiaoruan understood that Huang Yunshuo was being as generous as he could. She quickly thanked him sweetly, pressing his arm against her curves again, letting him enjoy another moment of tenderness.

"This girl knows exactly what to do—so comfortable!" Huang Yunshuo squinted in delight.

To expedite Hu Xiaoruan's departure, he ignored the wounded chickens and targeted a chick with 34 health, hitting it with his club.

-24!

A critical hit—damn! Huang Yunshuo was startled, rushed in with a kick, but the chick survived with 10 health.

The chick pecked angrily at his ankle, -17.

"Ouch," Huang Yunshuo exclaimed, finishing it off and picking up three copper coins and a tuft of chick down.

He allocated the party's experience cap—80%—to Hu Xiaoruan, and after killing just two chicks, she was bathed in white light and leveled up.

He traded her thirty copper coins. Hu Xiaoruan added two tufts of chick down to the trade window. "I picked these up earlier during the chaos," she said.