Chapter 111: Taking Stock of the Spoils in Hand

The journey to the Imperial Star was not as easy as Du Yun had imagined. This was the conclusion she reached after the starship had been traveling for three full days, only to learn that they had covered less than one-tenth of the total distance.

"It actually takes a whole month to reach the Imperial Star?" In the year 316, Du Yun had never left her home planet. After arriving at Blue Water Star, she hadn't even visited a major city. Consequently, she was an absolute novice when it came to interstellar adventures; she knew nothing at all.

"Well, if it weren't for the high quality of this Blue Light starship, capable of multiple black hole traversals and interstellar jumps, it would take at least a year to return to the Imperial Star. And that is a conservative estimate." Dou Zhi seemed to ignore her lamentations. For an entity like it, interstellar journeys measured in years were commonplace; there was nothing to be surprised about.

"But I have to wait a month on this ship!" Du Yun felt bored to death. Her sister was getting married back home, and if she stayed stuck in this world, wouldn't her family worry? If her sister's wedding were delayed because of this, it would be a terrible sin.

"Yes, that's right," Dou Zhi replied calmly, while pondering how to control the Blue Light starships over long distances, still failing to realize why this was such a problem for Du Yun.

"No, I have to go back!" Du Yun clutched her head, rolled around on the quilt a few times, and then declared resolutely.

"What?" Dou Zhi was startled by her shout and finally realized what was bothering her.

"I said, I cannot wait for a crossing that might take who knows how long. I want to go back! Now!" Du Yun gritted her teeth. She felt that Dou Zhi must have a way; otherwise, how could they carry out the Savior Plan? It was just that Dou Zhi hadn't mentioned it before, and she hadn't been in such a hurry.

"Do you really have to?" Dou Zhi asked, feeling guilty. In truth, since its recent repairs, it had already restored its scanning system for rifts in the multidimensional universe. It was actually possible to return to Du Yun's home now, but it had been so busy subjugating the Blue Light starships that it had forgotten to mention it, and once it remembered, it was too afraid to say anything.

"Yes, I must!" Hearing Dou Zhi's incredibly guilty tone, Du Yun would have been a fool not to realize something was up. However, considering how effectively Dou Zhi had performed in the zombie world, she decided not to expose it.

"I know you can find the key to a flash-jump. I'll give you three days. In three days, I want to go home!" Du Yun thought for a moment and decided to allow some extra time. After all, she had many items on her that needed to be organized.

Living conditions at home were poor, and with her sister getting married, Du Yun had plenty of useful things in her storage grid that needed to be set aside in advance. Furthermore, there were energy carts and various energy crystals that would be useful even if she reached the Imperial Star; these, too, needed to be gathered together.

Speaking of energy crystals, Du Yun had been cautious. Since she didn't know the true character of the other team members besides the Leader, Lean, and Da Zhuang, she dared not easily reveal these items, which possessed both immense power and significant value.

Therefore, except for the energy crystals currently on the New Hamer, the crystals from the other thousand-plus starships had been gathered by Dou Zhi’s command and sealed in the ships' storehouses. They remained undiscovered, as no one had boarded the other vessels along the way.

This trip to the zombie world had turned Du Yun into a wealthy woman sitting on a mountain of treasure. Yet, the feeling of possessing such wealth without being able to use it was something she both loved and hated.

What she loved was that over a thousand starships were loaded with countless energy carts and energy crystals, all under Dou Zhi's control. Without Dou Zhi's unlocking command, those ships were nothing but scrap metal, so these assets were truly hers. If she could one day convert them into currency, she would be so wealthy she could live in absolute luxury until the end of her days.

What she hated was that she was currently in an unknown world with neither status nor connections. Even if someone were willing to buy her goods, she lacked the power to protect them, and the consequences of that could be dire.

"I'd better just tidy up the little bits and pieces I have on hand for now!" Du Yun was broad-minded; money not physically in her hands didn't count as money. Since those starships were left near Blue Water Star and she couldn't deploy them, she might as well pretend they didn't exist to avoid a heartache every time she thought about them.

Having set her mind at ease, she began to count her current belongings. She hadn't realized the extent of it, but once she laid everything out, she was shocked herself.

Throughout the journey, Du Yun had tossed many items into her storage grid. Not to mention the miscellaneous goods she had casually collected from a grocery store warehouse, or the valuables salvaged from the airport and dormitories along the way—just the twenty energy carts she had recently acquired, the hundreds of millions of tons of supplies, and the numerous bright red energy crystals were enough to make her grin from ear to ear.

"Hahaha, so many supplies! This is enough for everyone to eat for half a year. And since there's plenty of grain but fewer vegetables and meats, I can take some grain back and trade it for meat and vegetables. That way, we'll eat well, and things will be more comfortable at home." Du Yun looked at the neatly stacked supplies. Aside from large quantities of S-grade and A-grade nutrient solutions, there were plenty of grains and vegetables she could put to good use.

"And there are quite a few valuable trinkets. I'll give them to those two boys later to sell and see how much money I can get back." Du Yun muttered to herself with a smile as she organized her spoils. It wasn't until it was time to cook that she suddenly realized she was aching all over.

"Gosh, I'm so tired!" After storing the valuable items in an energy cart, she felt her back stiffen. She collapsed onto her quilt and rested for a while before she started to feel better.

"Well, time to make dinner. What should I cook today?" Du Yun blinked and headed toward the kitchen, her mind already racing with menu ideas.

Over the days spent with the Leader's team and those two high-level zombies, she had noticed a peculiar phenomenon: everyone, including Lya, who had previously been hostile, looked forward to mealtime with immense anticipation.

The team members, who never used to step foot in the kitchen, were now eagerly helping out just to eat her cooking. As for the two high-level zombies who were usually nowhere to be seen, they would appear in the kitchen promptly at mealtime, and the way they looked at her was entirely different than before.

Du Yun thought to herself: no matter the occupation or the species, foodies are truly everywhere!