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Chapter 24: A New Round of Spaceship and Market Enhancements
Chapter 24: A New Round of Spaceship and Market Enhancements
Song Chi had initially planned to keep going, but the resources required for upgrading the orange-quality components were truly staggering. Even with the nearly 4,000 strands of zero-grade Floating Land Essence he had recently earned, he couldn't afford such extravagance.
Upgrading beyond the first tier demanded even more resources. Considering the actual value of first-grade Floating Land Essence, it often required at least 400 strands of zero-grade Floating Land Essence just to start. Song Chi couldn't afford such upgrades yet, as he still had other components to enhance and needed to reserve some funds for the next market transaction in a month.
Moreover, he didn't have enough first-grade Floating Land Essence. Unlike zero-grade Floating Land Essence, the amount of first-grade and higher Floating Land Essence available was drastically lower. Most Floating Lands in the Star Sea could produce zero-grade Floating Land Essence, including from the cores of alien Floating Lands and by defeating alien Floating Land creatures.
However, to stably produce first-grade and higher Floating Land Essence, one needed at least a Level 2 Star Sea Floating Land, and the annual output was limited. The higher the grade of the Star Sea Floating Land, the rarer it became. Over 90% of the Star Sea Floating Lands were ungraded or Level 1, like the White Tower Floating Land, which was a Level 1 Life-type Floating Land and one of the most valuable among all Level 1 Floating Lands.
...
Fortunately, the Dark Matter Energy Shield Generator, now upgraded to the first tier, was quite impressive. Its attributes far exceeded those of the previously upgraded Level 10 Void Energy Shield.
Dark Matter Energy Shield Generator Level 10
- Quality: Orange
- Trait: Shield value increased by 60%
- Trait 2: Shield protection value doubled
- Consumption: 40/s (Void Energy Points)
- Protection: 380
- Shield Value: 6080/6080
- Recharge: 20s; Overload buffer: 40 minutes
- Upgrade Requirements: 20 strands of first-grade Floating Land Essence, 5000 Void Energy Points, 20 tons of Mercury Crystal
The shield value alone was six times that of the previous Void Energy Shield, showcasing the power of orange-quality components.
Originally, the next component to upgrade should have been the white-quality Golden Rock Ship Hull Armor. However, with the Dark Matter Energy Shield Generator, another high-consumption orange-quality energy shield, the priority for enhancing the hull armor was not as high. At least for the short term, it wouldn't be necessary.
So, Song Chi turned his attention to the Void Energy Engine. With the high-consumption Dark Matter Energy Shield Generator, the Level 7 Void Energy Engine was no longer sufficient. The Dark Matter Energy Shield Generator alone consumed 40 Void Energy Points per second, while the Level 7 Void Energy Engine could only provide 27 points per second.
For Song Chi, who valued his life and wanted to maintain the Sky Arc's energy shield at all times, this was unacceptable.
After several dozen seconds, he upgraded the Void Energy Engine to Level 14.
Void Energy Engine Level 14
- Quality: Colorless
- Consumption: 8/s (Void Energy Points)
- Supply: 68/s (Void Energy Points)
- Overload Buffer: 20 minutes
- Void Energy Pool: 5000 points (can store 5000 Void Energy Points)
- Upgrade Requirements: 140 strands of zero-grade Floating Land Essence, 2300 Void Energy Points, 70 zero-grade Life Cores
Only after this upgrade could the Sky Arc maintain a balance between energy supply and consumption even when all components were operating at full load.
However, this left Song Chi with nearly 400 fewer strands of zero-grade Floating Land Essence.
(Note: The market exchange rate between first-grade and zero-grade Floating Land Essence is 1:10.)
Looking at the 2,600 or so strands of zero-grade Floating Land Essence left in his possession, Song Chi decided against investing more resources into the white-quality Fire Seed Ship Hull and the Fire Chrysanthemum Soldier Tree. After all, these were basic components that didn't require special component slots, and the Level 1 Fire Chrysanthemum Soldier Tree was currently sufficient. Besides, there was another resource-intensive component waiting for him.
He then stored the differential minerals acquired from the market into the shuttle, which he planned to sell on the black market later. Finally, he stored the Sky Arc into the Flame Seed Ancestral Aperture.
At the far end of the Marketplace of All Realms, Song Chi began the next phase of its upgrade.
He first spent 300 strands of Zero-Rank Floating Land Essence to elevate the Marketplace's level from LV5 to LV9.
Name: Marketplace of All Realms
Owner: Song Chi
Level: LV9
Size: 460m x 460m
Basic Configuration:
- 28 vacant shops
- 1 market stall area (70m x 70m)
- 1 inn (accommodates 40 people)
- 1 LV0 all-attribute training chamber (doubles the efficiency of Shadow Energy cultivation)
- 1 LV0 Shadow Energy protection array
- 1 LV0 ultra-long-range spatial gate random deployment platform
Additional Configuration:
- None (0/4)
Special Feature:
- Danger Avoidance (can freely move through the void, avoiding natural disasters)
Upgrade Requirements:
- 200 strands of Zero-Rank Floating Land Essence
- Marketplace transaction volume reaching 10,000 strands of Zero-Rank Floating Land Essence
- Manually initiate three marketplace transactions (1/3)
...
At LV9, the Marketplace of All Realms expanded in area, and the shops, market stall area, and inn all saw significant improvements. However, the all-attribute training chamber, Shadow Energy protection array, and ultra-long-range spatial gate random deployment platform remained unchanged.
There was one more surprise for Song Chi. To upgrade the Marketplace to LV10, in addition to the Floating Land Essence and transaction volume, a new requirement was added: the number of times the Marketplace had been opened. This condition wasn't too stringent, but it meant he couldn't upgrade the Marketplace in the short term.
Focusing on two tasks simultaneously, Song Chi began enhancing the all-attribute training chamber and the ultra-long-range spatial gate random deployment platform.
Reaching LV9 for both required a total of 900 strands of Zero-Rank Floating Land Essence, significantly boosting their attributes.
Name: All-Attribute Training Chamber
Level: LV9
Effect:
- Zero-Rank beings training inside the chamber see a 290% increase in cultivation speed.
- When cultivating Shadow Energy, the speed increases by 580%.
...
Upgrade Requirements:
- Marketplace level LV10
- 150 strands of Zero-Rank Floating Land Essence
---
Name: Ultra-Long-Range Spatial Gate Random Deployment Platform
Level: LV9
Effect:
- Activating it will deploy 19 spatial gates at random locations in the Shattered Star Sea, allowing access to the Marketplace. Each gate lasts 24 hours, with a cooldown period of 720 hours.
...
Upgrade Requirements:
- Marketplace level LV10
- 150 strands of Zero-Rank Floating Land Essence
The resource consumption was substantial, but the results were impressive.
At LV9, the all-attribute training chamber boosted Shadow Energy cultivation by an astounding 580%. Even the dedicated Shadow Energy training platform on the Ember Fleet's ships only offered a 290% boost at the same level. Seeing this, Song Chi decided against upgrading the platform on the Azure Sky, as the all-attribute training chamber was simply too good.
The ultra-long-range spatial gate random deployment platform now deployed 19 spatial gates instead of 10, meaning more alien races would visit the Marketplace during future transactions, significantly increasing potential profits.
With only about 1,400 strands of Zero-Rank Floating Land Essence left, Song Chi carefully considered his options and decided not to reinforce the unupgraded Golden Rock hull armor.
He needed to reserve some resources for the upcoming second exploration of an alien star domain in 28 days and the second Marketplace transaction in 30 days.
With only 1,400 strands of Zero-Rank Floating Land Essence, he was already stretched thin. If the second exploration yielded little, it would severely impact his future Marketplace transactions. Given the stable profits within reach, it wasn't worth taking a risk.
Without rushing to experience the ultra-high boost of the all-attribute training chamber, Song Chi exited the Marketplace of All Realms.
(End of Chapter)
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