Make money by hiding in the interstellar battlefield!

"Crackling sound—!"

The flames of the crematorium licked at the severed limbs and bodies, and the pungent smell of burnt blood mixed with the stench of the star beasts swirled in the air above the crematorium, choking people and causing a sharp pain in their lungs.

Two burly middle-aged men were numbly shoveling away at the body parts, the shovels scraping against the sticky flesh and blood, making a teeth-grinding sound.

"How many have been burned today?" one of the men asked hoarsely, his voice filled with numbness.

"More than 120 already," another said without looking up, slamming his shovel down and shoveling a mangled corpse into the furnace. "They're all people who failed in their missions outside the city. To those intelligent beasts, human flesh and blood are no different from a feast. Very few of them will be left with intact corpses."

"Alas..." A long sigh came from the mountain of corpses.

"Damn it! Who is it?!"

The sudden commotion made the hairs on the two men's bodies stand on end, and they turned their heads sharply to look—

Amidst the pile of corpses, a gaunt figure was slowly crawling. His hempen clothes and shorts were stained with black and red blood, and his face was covered with mangled pieces of flesh, making it impossible to discern his original features. Only his eyes shone with a clear, cold light amidst the blood and grime.

"Damn it, I can barely breathe... This injury looks like I was torn apart by a hundred intelligent beasts!"

The man cursed under his breath, and just as he was about to push himself up, a cold, mechanical voice suddenly rang in his mind, devoid of any emotion:

[I am the fire protection subsystem of the Mothership's super AI "Mending the Sky". I have completed the basic repairs to your body. System energy is depleted and will soon enter hibernation.]

Binding task:

1. Complete brain recharging within 24 hours to avoid brain death;

2. Within 20 years, before the mothership's AI collapses, make the upgrade decision and choose whether to merge;

3. Improve the "patch system" to achieve dual-brain fusion.

"Fuck your mission!" Li Jian cursed violently, pushing himself up from the ground. His muscles trembled slightly from the intense pain. "Who am I? Where am I? Who gave me these damn missions?"

He paused, then suddenly remembered something and murmured, "Oh right, my name is Li Jiansheng. My mother gave me this name. She said that these two characters were meant to make me remember her 'shame' for the rest of my life..."

Under the horrified gazes of the two men, who were speechless and whose eyes were filled with disbelief, the blood-covered man walked step by step toward the exit of the crematorium, each step splattering blood everywhere.

---

Jian Sheng gritted his teeth, enduring the excruciating pain that pierced his bones, and stumbled toward the home he remembered.

Fragments of the body's original owner's memories are being frantically poured into his mind:

This is Mother Nest City, the seventh ring city—a colonial outpost established by Earth's humans in an outer star system. Over 70 years, it has expanded from a military fortress into a fortified city with a population of over 300 million. Because its walls extend seven layers outward, it is popularly known as "Seventh Ring City," but its official name is "Mother Nest City."

The original owner's name was Robert Shaw, 16 years old, a third-generation genetically modified human, living in Fortress Building No. 45, North Sixth Ring Road. The building's design was more like a war fortification, with windowless marble walls on the first three floors to protect against Omnipotent attacks, and the rent was ridiculously cheap.

"call……"

Jiansheng walked to the tall steel door of Building 45 and knocked on the fixed code of three long and three short knocks.

An alert voice immediately came from behind the door: "Who's there?"

"It's me, Uncle Lott, Shaw!"

"Xiao?!" A surprised look appeared on Xiao Kong's face, and Grandpa Lot's voice instantly rose, "Weren't you accidentally killed by 'Anxin Loan' thugs this evening, and your body was taken away by the city defense team?!"

"He's lucky to be alive, he's just passed out." Jian Sheng's voice was weak, but it carried an undeniable coldness.

Grandpa Lotte was skeptical and hesitated for a while before opening the door. Under his "looking at a ghost" gaze, Jian Sheng held onto the stair railing and slowly climbed up to the second floor, pushing open the door to room 213.

The 3-square-meter single room was crammed with just a wooden bed and a broken wooden table, leaving no room to even step. The air was filled with a faint musty smell and the cheap smell of cheap tobacco.

Jiansheng carried the only iron basin and crawled into the building's communal water room. Luckily, the water tower still had water stored—the fortress only supplied water three times a day, relying entirely on the water tower on the roof for storage.

He squatted in front of the pool, scooping up water and fiercely wiping the blood and grime from his face. The cold water stung his wounds, making him wince in pain, but it also made him more alert.

Lying back in bed, the original owner's memories became completely clear:

He went to the United States with his mother when he was 8 years old. His father left behind an overseas trust that sent $50 a month to his mother and son for living expenses, all of which was deposited into his sub-trust account. His mother hated him, but she couldn't live without the money, which is why she didn't kill him.

The original owner, Xiao, had a father who died in the beast tide, and a mother named Yagri who was a complete bastard. She was heavily in debt to Anxin Loan and constantly used her "nurturing grace" to manipulate Xiao, forcing him to work and pay off the debt. Now that Xiao is "dead," this debt naturally falls on "Jiansheng."

"To survive, we need to solve two critical problems first." Jian Sheng rubbed his throbbing temples as the mechanical voice in his brain sounded again: [Insufficient brain energy, brain death will be triggered in 24 hours. Minimum energy requirement: 100 million kcal].

100 million calories?

Jian Sheng's pupils contracted, and he instantly understood—it was impossible to make up for the loss by eating; this energy replenishment definitely contained a secret.

"And also, I have no money." He twitched the corner of his mouth. The original owner was penniless and didn't even have enough money to buy a loaf of bread.

"First, secure the money, then figure out the tricks of brain-boosting."

Jian Sheng finalized his plan, changed into the only relatively clean piece of clothing, and got up to go out.

Just as I reached the door, I heard hurried footsteps coming from the hallway, followed by a woman's sobs—

She was Shaw's biological mother, Yagri.

Jian Sheng's eyes turned cold, and he opened the door.

Standing at the door was a woman in her early thirties, with a pretty face and fairly neat clothes, who did not look much like the disheveled people from the lower class. It was Ya Geli.

When she saw Jiansheng, she was taken aback at first, then rushed over to touch his face, her tone deliberately concerned: "Baby, you didn't come home last night, Mom was so worried!"

Jian Sheng dodged to the side, speaking coldly without a trace of the original owner's submissiveness: "Alright, stop acting. Do you think I don't know what agreement you signed with Anxin Loan?"

Yagli froze in mid-air, her concerned expression instantly crumbling, replaced by her usual aggrieved look: "Son, how could you think of your mother like that? I did it all for you..."

She could conjure up a dramatic scene of crying, making a scene, and threatening suicide with ease.

Jian Sheng, not wanting to watch her act, interrupted her directly: "I don't owe Anxin Loan any money, and I won't pay it back for you in the future."

After saying that, he reached out and pulled Yagli, who was lying on the ground pretending to cry, up, pushed her out of the room, and slammed the door shut.

Yagli's cursing came from outside the door, but then fell silent.

Jian Sheng leaned against the door, catching his breath. The mechanical voice in his mind popped up again, warning him and making his temples throb.

[Distance from brain death: 23 hours and 55 minutes.]

He walked to the table, sat down, and tapped his fingertips lightly on the surface.

"The energy requirement of 100 million kilocalories is definitely not ordinary energy. There's also the 'patch system' and 'dual-brain fusion'... This AI is definitely hiding a big secret."

"However, the most urgent task is to raise money."

Jiansheng stood up, straightened his clothes, and a ruthless glint flashed in his eyes.

In this world, the strong prey on the weak, and intelligent beasts roam freely. Without strength, even survival is difficult.

But Li Jiansheng was never a weakling to be slaughtered.

He stepped out of the room and headed towards Rick Food Factory in the Fourth Ring Road area—that was where the original owner of Xiao worked, and it was also the only place where he could quickly make money now.

As for Yagli?

Ha, a woman who only knows how to leech off her son, he can't be bothered with her anymore.

In this life, he lives only for himself.