Chapter 442: Are you PUA‑ing me?

Eh?

Go to the Heavenly Disaster Battlefield to pick up trash?

Zhang Jie confessed to Xiao Jiu his plan to extend the trash‑collection business to the Heavenly Disaster Battlefield, sparking Xiao Jiu's great interest.

Then why do we have to go pick up trash on the Heavenly Disaster Battlefield?

Tsk! Don't you get it?

Nowadays, the Iron Law Star Alliance stands on the front line against the Heavenly Disaster; everywhere, whether in star‑dense civilized hubs or small star systems at the Alliance's border, there are fronts battling the Heavenly Disaster.

And the damaged warships, war machines, and biological weapons from these battles drift silently in various places.

Their final fate is either to be sucked in by a planet's gravity and undergo material recycling, or to drift forever in the universe.

These wrecks are usually not reused; this isn't a planetary battle, so most destroyed items lose most of their function, and recycling costs can exceed direct mining by more than double.

Heat gets dissipated by entropy, but matter is eternally conserved; the universe hasn't reached the point where humanity can squander all matter.

With our abilities, recycling this scrap can easily produce something quite good.

By then, we'll rely on picking up trash on the battlefield to build a super fleet! How about that?

Um....

So the question arises: why should we go pick up trash?

Good question.

Xiao Jiu repeated it again; one sentence left Zhang Jie speechless. Indeed, why is he obsessed with picking up trash?

To be frank, isn't he just doing this for a plate of vinegar‑dipped dumplings?

But since humans want to do it, there must be some deep meaning behind it.

Being unconditionally trusted by a Small Ship Girl is a good thing—at least Zhang Jie thinks so.

To achieve this, we first need a space station that can shift freely, plus a complete scrap‑recycling production line.

Most importantly, we need enough ships, preferably ones with Ship Life.

Xiao Jiu began a serious analysis; at that moment, she kept rummaging through the scrap heap with gloves on, not knowing what she'd found, and slipped it into her pocket.

When are we getting ready, humanity?

Xiao Jiu tilted her head at Zhang Jie, instantly making him cast aside his worries.

If you want to do it, just do it—no need for hesitation; do what you like, why all the questions? Just do it if you want.

Isn't this already being prepared?

Taking over the garbage station is going more smoothly than you imagined; first, we're not starting from scratch, just taking over.

Furthermore, this counts as sticking to your old trade—it's just that the quality of the recycled garbage is a bit lacking.

You need better trash!

As for Xiao Jiu's little trinket, all she does besides helping you pick up trash is eat sweets and read novels—she shows no ambition whatsoever.

This is already a useless Ship Girl.

Human! Grab me a drink!

Xiao Jiu lay on her small bed, too lazy even to walk; indeed, she's already a useless Ship Girl.

From initially being quiet and inactive, to becoming lively and noisy, then to being too lazy to move.

Xiao Jiu lived through a shut‑in's entire life in an extremely short time....

Before, she at least occasionally cooked for Zhang Jie; now she not only refuses to cook for him, but even turns the tables, making him wait on her.

Even to the point of laziness, when Zhang Jie sometimes has no time to let her have a bite, this lazy Ship Girl simply soaks instant noodles in her mouth and eats them.

If she weren't a powerful semi‑mechanical lifeform, she'd scald her mouth.

Hey! Hurry up, human!

Xiao Jiu patted her small bed, looking utterly lazy; Zhang Jie was speechless, so he tossed a pastry to her, and the useless Ship Girl began chewing it with gusto.

Meanwhile, Zhang Jie himself was trying to develop an intelligent recognition system dedicated to trash scavengers.

If he had to pick up trash one by one himself, he'd wear himself out.

So developing a plugin for trash scavengers that targets Ship Life is truly necessary.

Zhang Jie prepared to use this lazy Ship Girl for the first experiment!

The previous prank plugin that made Xiao Jiu meow gave Zhang Jie some remodeling experience.

Zhang Jie believed that, given his skill, modifying such a thing should be simple.

Xiao Jiu, stop watching and come over to help me with an experiment.

Ah~ I don't wanna move~

Xiao Jiu rolled twice on her small bed, then obediently rolled to the edge.

What experiment?

Meow!

Zhang Jie absent‑mindedly pressed a button, and Xiao Jiu let out an involuntary meow, then instantly bared her teeth in angry embarrassment.

What are you doing, human!

Be serious!

Cough....

Zhang Jie put away his mischievous thoughts, turned, and showed Xiao Jie a tiny Crystal Core.

What is this?

A Crystal Core specialized for Ship Life.

Inside is the knowledge I've organized; plug it in and Ship Life instantly becomes a veteran trash scavenger!

"........"

Xiao Jiu fell silent, giving Zhang Jie a speechless look, as if looking at a big idiot.

"What kind of look is that?"

"Human."

"Do you know what your behavior is like right now?"

"Zhang Jie:?"

"Like what?"

"It's like someone using a pure gold ladle to scoop dung soup."

"Mosquitoes firing cannons, a chamber pot with a gold rim!"

"Zhang Jie:......"

"Shouldn't it be cannons shooting mosquitoes?"

"Ah, anyway, that's what I mean!"

"Xiao Jiu's description was spot-on; Zhang Jie couldn't find anything to rebut....."

"Xiao Jiu's mouth is really... as sharp as ever."

"Do you know how expensive a Ship Girl is? How long would we have to pick up trash to afford one?"

"But anyway, since you're my driver, I'll help you, human!"

"......"

"Zhang Jie looked at Xiao Jiu with a puzzled expression, always feeling that her words were weird."

"Are you CPU-ing me?"

"No way!"

"She definitely didn't PUA Zhang Jie! Absolutely not!"

"Never mind all that, try this first."

"Xiao Jiu nodded, took the Crystal Core from Zhang Jie's hand, and inserted it into the slot behind her ear."

"As a stream of memories flooded her mind, Xiao Jiu felt as if she had picked up trash for hundreds of years, and various methods for analyzing scrap just popped into her head."

"But at the same time, some side effects gradually appeared with the influx of memories."

"Xiao Jiu only felt a bit... like she wanted to vomit..."

"How is it?"

"....."

"Human... I feel a bit... want to..."

"Ng........"