Zi Ye angrily poked Sheng Guodong's cup, about to launch into a tirade, when the damn pervert messaged her. "Ouch, brat, where did you learn such skill? That white rose jelly is incredible, got any more? Send me a few more bottles."

Zi Ye glanced at An Junlie, seeing him smiling while watching her, and a surge of irritation rose within her. She snapped, "None! Absolutely none left! It wasn't me who made it. If you want some, go ask the alien!"

With that, she cut the communication and shoveled a large spoonful of jelly into her mouth.

An Junlie smiled faintly. "It's fine. There's still white rose left. If you like it, I'll make more. We can share it with everyone."

Zi Ye slammed her spoon down onto the dining table with a loud snap. She wanted to curse him out, but one doesn't strike a smiling face. She couldn't even find a pretext to vent her anger. Frustrated, she twisted her head away and stormed off.

Aliens, or whatever, she hated them the most.

From the jelly An Junlie made, the damn pervert saw a massive market opportunity. He secretly approached An Junlie to discuss. "Hey, how about we partner up? I supply the roses, you produce, and we split the profits fifty-fifty. We'll take over the Silver Rune market together!"

An Junlie, thinking of his penniless state, tried to haggle. "Four-six split? You take four, I take six."

The damn pervert immediately cursed Zi Ye a thousand times in his mind; that scoundrel must have taught An Junlie bad habits. Cultivating white roses wasn't easy for him either. After some back and forth negotiation, the damn pervert ultimately lost out, agreeing with gritted teeth. He thought glumly to himself, if the result was going to be the same anyway, he might as well have wasted less breath...

Once the deal was struck, they immediately started producing white rose jam to break into the market. Whether An Junlie's skill was simply too good, or he'd somehow tapped into the collective palate of the Silver Rune people, the white rose jelly sold phenomenally well, becoming almost an essential household item.

In just one month, the damn pervert jumped from eighth to second on the rich list, almost squeezing Zi Ye out of the top three. Fortunately, Zi Ye had lost a large number of robots recently, and by selling them off, she managed to barely cling to third place.

The damn pervert was overjoyed, grinning from ear to ear, frequently showing off to Zi Ye. "See? My white roses sell better than your robots! Admit defeat? Call me Big Brother, and Big Brother will gift you a couple of bouquets."

Zi Ye inwardly gagged. Someone practically over sixty daring to call himself Big Brother? 'Old Ancestor' would be more fitting.

As for An Junlie, he finally escaped the ranks of the destitute, reaching the average standard of the Silver Rune Star. He used every credit he earned to buy groceries, trying to nourish Zi Ye back to health. Pitiably, Zi Ye ate while watching her own weight climb.

Ten pounds gained in just one month!

The only drawback was that people gradually forgot the name 'Alien'; they only remembered that he made excellent jelly. Over time, his nickname morphed from 'Alien' to 'Jelly.'

–

From the second day after returning home, life settled back into its routine.

Zi Ye meticulously maintained all the robots, reconnected the wiring chewed through by the mice, and began analyzing and studying the spoils from the 69—the skyship particles and the battleship wreckage.

All the skyship particles worth taking were secured, though there wasn't an excessive amount. In contrast, the battleship provided much richer loot. Besides the hull fragments and metal shards, the ship's hangar contained intact officer passes, heavy missiles, prisoner manifests, clearance data, and more—each item possessing immense utility.

Zi Ye wasn't interested in the items in the hangar but was captivated by the battleship wreckage. She moved the entire haul to her workshop, treating it like a treasure to be studied. Seeing her laboring, An Junlie wanted to reward her. "What do you want to eat?"

Zi Ye didn't look up. "Whatever."

An Junlie dreaded hearing the word 'whatever' the most. Lan Li had once warned him that when a girl says 'whatever,' you must never believe her; if you brush it off casually, the consequences will certainly be severe.

He wondered if Zi Ye's 'girlish' temperament had picked up on any of a woman’s traits in this regard. An Junlie stroked his chin, deciding, Forget it, I’ll decide myself.

After all, she hadn't rejected a single dish he had cooked so far.

Just as he was about to turn and leave, Hongfa sent a message. He got straight to the point. "Remember that prisoner we sent over yesterday? I figured he was lost, so I dumped him on the snow mountain. Who knew the guy sneaked into my room in the middle of the night? I gave him a beating and forced him to draw a map of the area around the interstellar battleship docking points."

Hearing Hongfa's voice while working, Zi Ye glanced down at her own communication device. The message wasn't for her; Hongfa had sent it to An Junlie.

This was just a subtle shift in Hongfa's behavior, something Zi Ye normally wouldn't pay heed to. Yet, for some inexplicable reason, she had become inexplicably sensitive to it lately, staring at An Junlie with clear displeasure.

An Junlie hadn't noticed her expression. He asked Hongfa, "How is it?"

Hongfa chuckled. "Sent it to the shared files. Go look promptly. Here, have a kiss."

An Junlie acknowledged the request and turned to tell Zi Ye, but when he looked back, she had already set down her work and walked toward the front storage bay. All the words he intended to say choked in his throat. He could only shake his head helplessly.

He had to admit, the drawing was quite useful.

The interstellar battleship docking point was situated right at the edge of a wormhole. A Silver Rune Star Gate was established there. Once an interstellar battleship reached Syatu Star, it could directly jump through the Syatu Star Gate to the Silver Rune Star Gate. After exiting the Silver Rune Star Gate, it would take only three minutes to reach the docking point.

The setup of the Silver Rune Star Gate was extremely unique, with numerous sentry posts established nearby. Any battleship passing through without special official clearance would be fired upon.

After extensive analysis, the sentry post turrets were determined to be capable of firing Whip-class light missiles, with a range of up to 50km in space.

Even if they managed to breach this route, the mechs might not withstand the successive bombardment from so many sentry posts. An Junlie looked at the data, his heart sinking slightly.

Mechs were not tools designed for long, independent journeys; their energy and ammunition depended on supply from a mother ship. Currently, the legion's mother ship was nowhere to be found and would certainly not come to escort him.

Trying to breach this area alone would be no less difficult than navigating the wormhole.

He watched Zi Ye's receding figure at the doorway and followed, intending to discuss it with her, but she entered the Little Sprout training system before he could reach her. He stood silently before the gym entrance, letting out a sigh.

Given the current situation, he would have to plan things out long-term.

An Junlie pushed the gloom aside, rolled up his sleeves, and headed for the kitchen.

He loved cooking.

Whenever he felt depressed or in a foul mood, unlike ordinary men who sought solace in drink, he preferred to set everything aside, tie on an apron, and step into the kitchen to prepare a meal he enjoyed. The process of cooking was the most single-mindedly focused activity, allowing him to calm down in the shortest possible time.

For him, creating a perfectly flavored, aromatic, and visually appealing dish was the best form of stress relief.

Of course, having someone appreciate his culinary skills made him even happier.

Evidently, Zi Ye was not in the mood today. After her training session, she showered, snatched a few bites of food, and retreated again. He frowned, grabbing her wrist. "What's wrong?"