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Shattered Starry Sea, Tianqi Galaxy, Fallen Whale Starfield, an area dense with spatial cracks.
As a notorious restricted area within the expanse of the Heavenly Initiation mechanical civilization, this starfield had always been scarcely visited by anyone.
Thousands of years ago, the overlord of this starfield, the Starry Sky Behemoth known as the "Long Fin Void Whale," fought a great battle with the "Genesis" Intelligent Brain-led mechanical legion of the Heavenly Initiation civilization.
That battle made the Star River change color, but no creature knew the outcome of this fight, only that afterwards, the Void Whale Starfield was renamed by the Heavenly Initiation civilization to the Fallen Whale Starfield, and the region began to be plagued by dense spatial cracks.
For countless years, any lifeform that dared to rashly enter this starfield was ultimately devoured by these cracks, utterly reduced to dust and debris beneath the void winds.
This day, a sudden intrusion by a mechanical fleet broke the silence of this star field.
The number of warships in the fleet was not large, with several dozen or so, big and small, orbiting tightly around a large flagship, carefully moving forward.
The flagship at the center of the fleet was cloaked in cyan-brown, with thick layers of cyan-brown armor covering the immense steel beast that measured a kilometer in length and more than two hundred meters in width. The flagship's prow boasted an almost hundred-meter-wide railgun silently emanating its terrifying deterrence.
"Can we confirm that the target fled into this starfield?"
In the steel giant's main control room, a silver-armored robot with an icy voice sat in front of the control console.
The energy fluctuations emanating from the silver-armored robot were not strong, just at First Rank, almost negligible compared to the Second Rank and Third Rank robots standing behind it; however, for some reason, its status seemed to be much higher than theirs.
"Based on the last radar detection results, the target's signal disappeared within this starfield."
"And..."
Before the voice dropped, an urgent alert preempted it.
"A fluctuation emitted by an unknown spatial gate detected, coordinates xxxxx."
The red lights in the silver-armored robot's eyes flickered uncertainly, and seconds later, an order came from its mouth.
"Go have a look."
...
Zhu Tian Ruins Market, with less than two hours left until the official end of the market's trading, the hustle and bustle showed no sign of diminishing.
Not only was Song Chi making a profit from the price differences, but so were the Starry Sea Alien Races on the other side of the spatial gate.
After realizing that certain resources could easily sell for twice or even higher prices within the market, the high-rank aliens on the other side of the spatial gate began to send out large numbers of their Zero Rank subordinates to wildly sell these kinds of materials, each earning a full purse.
And the more they indulged in this tireless trade, the more they felt that 24 hours were simply too short; how could they afford to waste even a minute or a second?
Song Chi naturally was pleased to see this, as he could collect a 10% transaction tax with every batch of materials traded. Over more than twenty hours, together with the earnings from selling the gene optimization drugs, the total value of the resources he had accumulated in his hands had already exceeded three thousand strands of Zero Rank Floating Land Origin.
Compared to the 300 strands he had scraped together before the market opened, this was a tenfold increase in real terms.
...
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As the buzz of trade in the Ruins Market grew ever hotter, the appearance of a single figure was like a stone cast into the water, instantly quieting the usually noisy marketplace.
Hundreds of beings of various forms and races all turned their heads simultaneously to look at the figure that had just entered the Ruins Market.
Although the species variety within the market was vast, without exception, all were flesh-and-blood carbon-based lifeforms. However, the newcomer was entirely composed of metallic components—a mechanical lifeform.
"Mechanical Race!"
Some knowledgeable aliens identified the origins of this mechanical lifeform at first glance.
Caution immediately flashed in the eyes of the myriad aliens present.
The Mechanical Race was notorious throughout the Shattered Starry Sea. These mechanical beings were often tagged with descriptions like crazy and extreme, so many civilizations and species within the Starry Sea preferred to keep a respectful distance.
Red vision scanned across the Ruins Market's entrance barrier as the Mechanical Race being, radiating the peak aura of a Zero Rank, stepped into the market. Its red-light flickering vision swept across all the aliens present, as if searching for something.
Seeing this, a slight disturbance arose among the aliens, but eventually they acquiesced, allowing the Mechanical Race to survey every corner of the marketplace.
Domineering as it may be, the being had not broken any of the market's rules, and with the aim to maximize the last stretch of trading time for more resources, no lifeform wished to stir up trouble and waste their precious time.
Unnoticed by the aliens during this process was a minor episode in a corner of the market, where Song Chi, at some point, had transformed from a wandering consumer to one of the stallholders.
Aside from various Life Cores on his stall, prominently displayed at the center was exactly that First Rank Floating Land Origin Core Fusion Device.
Before long, the Mechanical Race being that hadn't found its target, as expected, stopped in front of Song Chi's stall.
Pointing at the Floating Land Origin Core Fusion Device on the stall, a cold, emotionless synthetic voice emanated from within it.
"How is this Purple Quality Strange Object traded?"
Hearing this, Song Chi, who had already prepared for this moment, immediately replied.
"A Purple Level Floating Land Origin Core Fusion Device in exchange for another type of relic. If you can provide a satisfactory and suitable relic, you can take this Fusion Device at any time," he said.
No sooner had his words faded than the Mechanical Race being turned and rapidly headed towards the market's main gate.
Song Chi's mind was immediately peppered with question marks, wondering if his response had been too excessive. Could it be that the Heavenly Initiation Mechanical Civilization had achieved a new breakthrough in core energy technology and no longer valued relics of Purple Quality Floating Land Origin Core?
Just as he was pondering, the same Mechanical Race being that had left not long before reentered the market, this time flanked by more than twenty Mechanical Race beings, also of Zero Rank.
These twenty-plus subsequent arrivals closely guarded the initial Mechanical Race individual, displaying an exceedingly high level of vigilance.
Upon witnessing this scene, Song Chi's mood immediately brightened, his expression unchanged, but inside he was overjoyed.
The more imposing the contingent, the more valuable the relic they would offer for the Floating Land Origin Core Fusion Device, hence their heightened wariness, which increased his anticipation.
Regarding the idea of using Zhu Tian Ruins Market's Power of Laws to actively seize the item, to be honest, Song Chi had indeed entertained this thought. He was well aware that if he truly exploited the secret realm's laws, failure was improbable. Nevertheless, he eventually suppressed the urge.
Once such a precedent was set, the market's reputation would inevitably crumble, merely a matter of time.
In a past life, there was an ancient Huaxia saying that went, "If you do not want anyone to know, do not do it."
Even though the Shattered Starry Sea was vast, he might manage to keep his actions secret once or twice, but if he wanted to rise to prominence, he would heavily depend on the Zhu Tian Ruins Market, requiring it to open hundreds or thousands of times, wouldn't he?
If he broke the rules today out of greed, tarnishing the reputation of the Zhu Tian Ruins Market, the resulting uncontrollable consequences in the future would far exceed the gains of his strong-arm tactics today by a thousandfold, even a millionfold.
As someone who had lived two lifetimes, Song Chi would certainly not make such a low-level mistake.
More than twenty fully armed members of the Mechanical Race arrived at Song Chi's stall without any delay, and the one at the front immediately brought out a relic that also emitted a purple glow.
This was a peculiar object shaped like an eyeball, emitting intense purple light despite its grey-green hue. The eyeball was filled with numerous tiny pupils stacked densely together, making one's scalp tingle.
Overlooking its exterior quality, Song Chi looked up and quickly learned the attributes of the object.
[Strange Object: Multi-eyed Tribe Origin Eyeball]
[Quality: Purple]
[Evolvable: 1(Soul-Extinguishing Pupil Light Cannon), 2(Mid-Range Soul Wave Detection Radar)]
[Remark: A fine purple relic among others, with a very powerful energy contained within the eyeball.]
After checking the attributes, Song Chi's expression remained calm, and without hesitation, he firmly shook his head.
This time, it wasn't just superficial judgement—truly, there was no trace of interest in his heart.
The component converted from the Level 1 Floating Land Origin Core Fusion was also purple in quality, and its attributes were in no way inferior to this Multi-eyed Tribe eyeball that could evolve into either a shipborne main cannon or an aerial radar.
If the Mechanical Race's offer was merely this strange object, then what was the point of the trade? Just to switch a purple engine for a shipborne main cannon or aerial radar? Ridiculous.
Seemingly not surprised by Song Chi's reaction, the Mechanical Race member took back the Multi-eyed Tribe eyeball relic after being rejected and then took out another item from an extremely delicate portable mechanical box in his hand.
It was also a peculiar object, but this one emitted a dazzling orange light.
Upon seeing the eye-catching orange glow, a strong surge of excitement flashed through the depths of Song Chi's heart.
Orange Quality Strange Objects in the Shattered Starry Sea are rare and bestowed with the suffix "Glory". Now, an Orange Glory Quality Strange Object had appeared right before his eyes—how could he not be excited?
[Strange Object: High-Level Dark Matter Energy Crystal]
[Quality: Orange]
[Evolvable: (Dark Matter Energy Shield Generator)]
[Remark: Among the rarest of the rare, an Orange Oddity formed from extremely pure Dark Matter Energy after tens of thousands of years, of astonishing value.]
Suppressing the excitement in his heart, Song Chi tried to keep his demeanor unchanged while he was already determined internally; that Orange Glory Quality component capable of evolving into a shipborne energy shield must become his.
"Not enough!"
These rapid surges of emotions took place in a blink of an eye, but the next words from Song Chi received a response that infuriated all the Mechanical Race members present.
The red light flickered, and the leader of the Mechanical Race spoke again.
"Even an Orange Glory Quality Object is not sufficient, human, can I take it that you have no real intention of making an equivalent trade?"
To this, Song Chi did not reply, his face displaying an air of indifference.
And the reason for his strong confidence lay in something he was relying on.
A Level 1 Floating Land Origin Core Fusion Body, on the surface it indeed appeared to be a mere Purple Quality Oddity, but this was only in relation to carbon-based life forms. For silicon-based life forms like the Mechanical Race, an Energy Core was akin to their heart.
An object capable of providing infinite energy supply, with an output power that far exceeded other energy cores, was definitely something that could drive every member of the Mechanical Race mad with desire.
Therefore, to every member of the Mechanical Race, the value of what was seen as a Purple Quality Floating Land Origin Core Fusion Body by carbon-based life forms might even surpass that of an Orange Quality Oddity.
Song Chi's attitude caused the eyes of the more than twenty Mechanical Race members to blaze red, giving off a sense of restlessness.
Seeing this, Song Chi adopted a vigilant posture while his mind turned a thought. In the next second, the sky above the Ruins Market changed dramatically, and a hundred-meter diameter phantom pupil materialized rapidly. At the same time, the more than twenty Mechanical Race members suddenly felt an extremely cold gaze locking them from above, covering them completely with an intense aura of death.
For a moment, nearly a thousand members of various Alien Races within the Ruins Market were terrified. Although the massive pupil in the Vault of Heaven wasn't targeting them, it still caused all creatures to break out in cold sweat, many Alien Races feeling thankful that they had chosen not to cause any trouble earlier.
It was only after the more than twenty Mechanical Race members discarded the idea of taking action that calm was restored in the Ruins Market once more.
The leader of the Mechanical Race once again left the market, unable to make a decision about Song Chi's asking price.
Before long, it reappeared, this time with a mechanical suitcase in hand.
On reaching Song Chi, it opened the brand-new suitcase in front of him, and immediately a strong purple light illuminated half of the stall area.
Looking at all six Purple Oddities inside the suitcase, the various Alien Races around them flashed different expressions in their eyes. However, remembering the giant eye that had only recently disappeared, a chill fell over them, and any unusual thoughts that had just arisen were quickly extinguished.
"Apart from that piece of high-level Dark Matter Energy Crystal, you may also choose one from these six Purple Oddities. If you still do not accept, then this transaction will be terminated here," the leader stated.
Song Chi understood that this must be the highest price the backer of this group of the Mechanical Race was willing to accept. If he continued to haggle, the other party might really just walk away.
With this in mind, he did not continue to raise the price but instead carefully examined the six Purple Quality Oddities in the suitcase before him.
Since there was no longer any possibility of further negotiation, he naturally wanted to choose the most valuable and suitable one for himself out of these six Purple Oddities.
Out of the six oddities, aside from the Multi-eyed Tribe's eyeball seen earlier, two of them could not be converted into components for the Torch Warship and were thus initially excluded by Song Chi. The remaining three were:
[Energy Gathering Stone]
[Eternal Star Core's Fire]
[Snook Star Warship Cannon]
These three oddities could be converted into a thruster and shipborne secondary cannons, both of which were highly valuable components for a warship. The Eternal Star Core's Fire was an exceedingly rare object that could enhance the quality of the Seed of Torch.
ps: Seeking followers for the new book, recommendations, monthly tickets, rewards, ventures, and comments!!!!
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