Chapter 234: Chapter 166, Victory and the Fruits of Victory are Not Always the Same Thing
As Wang Jiarong sat on the spaceship heading towards the Quintet, the sensation of surviving a disastrous ordeal still lingered in her mind.
When the Green Skin Orcs’ fleet emerged from the jumping point, she really felt everything was over, with the probability of escaping being less than one percent.
The appearance of the “Quintet” was truly a deliverance from fate.
Upon calming down, she knew this was no coincidence.
The universe being so vast, it would be extremely coincidental for the Quintet to happen to be jumping away from the Rage Owl Star System to Korolya via the Star Realm Tunnel and then happen to encounter their Beautiful Lady Convoy leaving the Star Realm Tunnel, only to be caught up to by the Green Skins… How low would that probability be?
It must have been that the “Quintet” received some information, then deliberately waited here. They already knew about the Green Skin Orcs’ fleet appearing; this could also explain why the Quintet was in stealth mode, then using the element of surprise, fired its weapons full force, instantly destroying an enemy mainline destroyer.
She had no intention of blaming the Imperial Navy.
Communication becomes extremely difficult when inside the Star Realm Tunnel, which is normal.
Upon boarding the ship and meeting Colonel Yelisia, Wang Jiarong quickly stepped forward and embraced the female captain.
“Colonel Yelisia, sister, thank you so much. If not for you, I would have been doomed this time.”
Her gratitude was sincere.
There was a reason she called her “sister.” They both knew each other, having mixed in the upper circles of Capital Wing Star in the Star Sector Capital when they were younger, so they had some interaction.
As they grew older, both had their own life experiences. Like most of the Fufana Family’s offspring, Yelisia went to the Naval Academy, and with her direct lineage and outstanding achievements, she became a representative of the younger generation, the youngest captain.
Wang Jiarong, on the other hand, did not belong to a particularly powerful family, but had a very formidable aunt who married into the Gu Family.
Tianma the Gu Clan was rooted in the Tianma Star Sector, and their reputation had spread across several neighboring Star Sectors in recent years, mainly because they were an important member of the Empire Commerce Guild, owning several large-scale interstellar caravans and many smaller ones, with considerable financial strength.
With her aunt’s connections, and also investing some money from her own family as shares, she used the Gu Commercial Fleet’s name to establish her own small caravan, which had been quite successful over the years.
Since everyone had grown up and embarked on their own paths, Wang Jiarong and Yelisia hadn’t seen or contacted each other for many years.
Unexpectedly, by a twist of fate, they met here today, and their respective identities matched up perfectly: the Imperial Merchant Fleet was raided by alien pirates, and the Imperial Navy quickly stepped in to rescue the merchant fleet from peril.
After a brief embrace and another use of “sister” to try and bring them closer, Wang Jiarong gestured to her entourage who accompanied her here, bringing forward three cases.
“A modest gift, as a token of appreciation,” said Wang Jiarong with a light smile, “and when we return to Flying Wing Star, a more generous gift will be sent to express our thanks.”
She knew how to conduct herself.
Although fighting pirates and aliens was the duty of the Imperial Navy, she was rescued after all, and obligations needed to be fulfilled.
This was also a way of developing closer ties.
“This is our duty as soldiers,” Yelisia said while accepting the gifts without any ceremony.
Of course, she didn’t open the cases right there and then.
There was no need to; it would seem too petty.
She also trusted that Wang Jiarong wouldn’t be so clueless.
After chatting briefly, Wang Jiarong’s gaze naturally turned to Gu Hang, who was standing by her side.
“Cousin.”
“Hmm,” Gu Hang responded with a nod.
The interaction between them was somewhat cold.
This shouldn’t be.
In Gu Hang’s memory, there was indeed an image of this cousin.
Her aunt, who married into the Gu Clan, was Gu Hang’s biological mother.
When he was younger, his father died early, so he didn’t play much with his Gu Family cousins and instead spent more time with his maternal uncle’s daughter, Wang Jiarong. The two had a fairly good relationship.
Wang Jiarong’s original trading route did not include Rage Owl Star. She came here because Gu Hang contacted her through the Quintet’s communication system. She then brought a batch of goods that Gu Hang specifically requested, along with some typical bulk merchandise, planning to make a trip to the remote Rage Owl Star System.
She had even made up her mind that for this trip, she wouldn’t earn anything and was just doing her cousin a favor.
If it weren’t for the close relationship and the connection of having an aunt/mother, who would do such a thing?
But unexpectedly, instead of not making a profit, she was now at a significant loss.
Losing two escort ships, with the remaining two including Beautiful Lady, all had significant damage, and repairing the ships would also cost a considerable amount of money.
This loss was not something a small business venture could compare to.
To earn back this money, she would probably have to run for many years.
For this reason, Gu Hang could understand why Wang Jiarong didn’t show him any favorable expression.
They may have had a good relationship, but this trip to the Rage Owl Star System had cost her too much.
Gu Hang did feel guilty.
But not much.
Upon reflection, he couldn’t blame himself. He wasn’t intentionally trying to trip up his cousin. He had no idea about the Green Skin Fleet approaching when he sent out the invitation.