NOVEL NEXT chapter 253 - Initial Networking
Hours later, a silver-white spaceship sliced through the starry sky, descending like a savior upon the desolate cosmos.
When the tractor beam cast its soft white light, everyone closed their eyes, letting the warm energy envelop them.
Ding! The slight vibration from the metal floor roused everyone as if from a dream; some stumbled, others directly knelt, but each person greedily savored the solid sensation beneath their feet.
“We’re finally safe.”
“It feels so good to be alive.”
Smiles of relief appeared on everyone’s faces.
At this moment, a man in a cyan uniform approached with an incredibly respectful expression:
“Greetings, everyone. I am Yu Juntao, the captain of this spaceship, and it is an honor for the most elite talents of the Qingmu Star Region to board our Zelda.”
Wu Ziyan stepped forward and said,
“Captain Yu, we also want to thank you for your timely rescue. Thank you.”
“No, no, no, this is what I should do.”
Yu Juntao quickly waved his hand, then turned sideways, making a gesture to invite them: “Everyone, we have prepared the reception room. Please move there for now. Also, feel free to tell me if you have any needs.”
Everyone followed Yu Juntao into the reception room, and as they sat on the sofas, fatigue washed over them like a tide.
In less than half a day, they had experienced the most perilous battle of their lives, as well as the panic and fear of almost dying in spatial turbulence and the vast universe.
The entire reception room was eerily quiet; everyone seemed drained of strength. Some stared blankly at the ceiling, some curled up, and others had already fallen into a deep sleep, leaning on a companion’s shoulder—even the slightest snore sounded like a hymn to life at this moment.
Seeing this, Yu Juntao quietly exited the room.
Hours later, the spaceship prepared a sumptuous dinner. Over a dozen people sat around two round tables, which were laden with colorful, fragrant, and delicious dishes. Before the meal began, everyone uniformly turned their heads, their gazes focused on one person.
“Black Crow, dinner’s ready. Aren’t you going to take off that mask?”
Wu Ziyan’s lips curved upward; she really wanted to see what kind of face was hidden beneath the mask.
“Take off the mask!”
“Take off the mask!”
“Take off the mask!”
Everyone started to egg him on, their eyes filled with anticipation and amusement.
Amidst the cheering, Qin Tian spoke:
“Alright, I’ll take it off.”
To be honest, if not for that incident, he would never have let these talents see his face.
After all, several of these talents had been heavily tricked by him, and one of them had even been so angry that he vowed to grind him to dust.
However, after saving their lives, his concerns vanished.
Everyone was a respectable person; they couldn’t possibly repay kindness with enmity, could they?
Under everyone’s gaze, Qin Tian slowly removed his mask.
A stern face was revealed—its contours as sharp as if carved by a knife, eyebrows like swords, a high nose bridge, and thin lips pressed into a line. His skin was slightly pale, yet it exuded the resilience of someone who had long endured battles, and his deep eyes were as calm as a cold pool, yet subtly flickered with a heart-stopping sharpness.
Everyone’s breathing hitched.
They had privately speculated about Black Crow’s possible appearance. Some, based on his sneaky and cunning combat style, guessed that a sharp-faced, monkey-like face might be hidden beneath the mask—triangular eyes, thin lips, and a smile that held three parts sinister °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° and seven parts cunning, like a scheming rat from the streets that specialized in hitting people where it hurt.
Others, judging from his decisive actions on the battlefield, believed he should have a rugged face, sharp eyes, and a perpetually cold, bloodthirsty smile, making people shiver just by standing there.
However, at this moment, all speculations collapsed the instant the mask was removed.
Black Crow looked to be about their age, and this young man was truly handsome—a cool, dashing guy. “It’s you!”
Zhuge Yu’s eyebrows slightly lifted, and his perpetually narrowed eyes uncharacteristically opened into a slit.
No wonder he calculated that Black Crow had interacted with him; sure enough, once the mask was removed, he immediately remembered where he had seen Black Crow before.
More than half a year ago, he and the Young Master went to Alpha 1 and met a young man in a unique small shop. At the time, the Young Master immediately judged this person to be a talent and wanted to enthusiastically get closer, but it turned out to be a cold shoulder; the man completely ignored the Young Master.
Since the Young Master was going to the Imperial Capital for enrollment a few days later, he instructed him to investigate that person and try to bring him under his wing.
Afterward, he did as instructed, but besides finding out a name called “Qin Tian,” there was no other useful information.
From this, it could be inferred that Qin Tian’s background was certainly not simple, and it was too difficult to win over such a person. After explaining the situation to the Young Master, the matter was dropped.
But who would have thought that half a year later, they would meet again in this manner?
He was a contestant, Qin Tian was an examiner, and at the same time, Qin Tian also saved his life. Young Master, your judgment was indeed correct; he is indeed a very formidable person.
“You two know each other?”
Everyone looked at Zhuge Yu in surprise.
Zhuge Yu: “We met once, right, Qin Tian.”
Qin Tian. So that was his name.
Qin Tian nodded: “That’s right, I’m also deeply impressed by your squinting eyes. Oh, when can you open your eyes and talk to me?”
Pfft!
Upon hearing this, many people couldn’t help but burst out laughing. Some, like Wu Ziyan, even let out a goose-like laugh.
“Hehe, Black Crow, no, Qin Tian, you’re too funny.”
“Haha, Zhuge Yu, Qin Tian is right. You always squint when you look at people. Are you looking down on us?”
“Yes, if you really can’t open them, I can find someone to do a canthoplasty for you. It’ll be instantly effective.”
“Hahaha!”
Joyful laughter filled the air. It was truly amusing to see the highly strategic descendant of the Zhuge family being teased.
A line of black appeared on Zhuge Yu’s forehead. Was this Qin Tian never going to stop? He said this in front of the camera, and now he’s saying it in front of everyone. He could already imagine that people in their circle would definitely use this to tease him in the future.
The “opening eyes” joke was here to stay.
This celebration banquet was exceptionally warm. Amidst the clinking of glasses, former rivals, who had once been at odds, now raised their cups and drank like old friends of many years.
Having gone through life-and-death battles together, those overt and covert struggles had long since vanished—facing powerful enemies together, and supporting each other to escape from spatial turbulence, this friendship, forged with their lives, was more solid than any alliance of interests.
“Qin Tian, next time you come to the Centaurus Sector, remember to look for me.” Wu Ziyan gave Qin Tian her contact information, her eyes still slightly flushed.
The others also left their contact information, agreeing to meet again in the future.
Qin Tian raised his wine glass, looking at the shimmering starlight in the wine, a rare smile appearing on his lips—this crisis, which had almost cost him his life, had instead become his opportunity.
In the Qingmu Star Region, he finally had his own network of connections.