https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-77-External-Deep-Space-Torpedo-Launcher-Happy-New-Year-s-Eve-/12833425/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-79-Energy-Crystals-New-Year-s-Eve-Bonus-Update-/12833428/
Chapter 78: Success and Rewards
Chapter 78: Success and Rewards
Without hesitation, Song Chi and Shen Qing landed the airship and stepped out. They began to examine the specific attributes of the five peculiar artifacts.
The five artifacts emitted a dazzling light, a kaleidoscope of colors that left both of them momentarily spellbound.
They then extended their hands, placing each artifact against their foreheads to use the Flame Seed in their Ancestral Flame Orifice to sense the attributes of the components they would transform into.
Unfortunately, their luck wasn't the best. Among the five artifacts, one could not be converted by the Flame Seed, which could transform most peculiar artifacts.
Name: Core of Contamination
Quality: White
Effect: Contains a strong contaminating force that can taint various items in the star sea.
Convertible: No
Note: A peculiar artifact with a very singular purpose.
Fortunately, it was just one of the two white-quality artifacts, the least valuable among the five. Otherwise, Song Chi and Shen Qing would have had plenty to complain about.
...
The second artifact was a special plate with a grid-like pattern on its surface, which could be converted into a basic component: the ship's armor.
Fire Pattern Turtle Shell Ship Armor LV0
Quality: White
Consumption: 3/s
Protection: 13
Upgrade Requirements: 5 strands of Zero-Rank Essence of Floating Land, 500 energy points.
This artifact had average value, with attributes similar to the Golden Rock Ship Armor on the Sky Sovereign. Song Chi wasn't particularly interested, but selling it would still net him several thousand strands of Zero-Rank Essence of Floating Land.
The third artifact was the main event.
Purple River Jump Drive LV0
Quality: Blue
Consumption: 500 per jump (Phantom Energy Points)
Effect: After charging, the loaded airship can perform a spatial jump in a specified direction. Current maximum jump distance: 1 light year.
Charge Time: 1 hour; Cooldown Time: 24 hours
Upgrade Requirements: 10 strands of Zero-Rank Essence of Floating Land, 1000 Phantom Energy Points, 1 Zero-Rank Void Crystal
The attributes did not disappoint. Upon seeing the "Purple River Jump Drive," Song Chi and Shen Qing's hearts raced.
A jump drive is a rare type of special component. As a spatial component for airships, a blue-quality jump drive allows a Flame Airship to jump tens or even hundreds of light years in a very short time, drastically reducing the travel time of a Flame Airship.
Although the current maximum jump distance is only 1 light year, this number will quickly increase to double digits or more with subsequent upgrades.
Suppressing their excitement, they turned their attention to another blue-quality artifact.
This was a blue-quality secondary cannon, which, though not as rare as the Purple River Jump Drive, was still quite valuable.
Faint Light Cannon LV0
Quality: Blue
Consumption: 2 per shot (Phantom Energy Points)
Power: 2.3
No cooldown or charge required
Upgrade Requirements: 2 strands of Zero-Rank Essence of Floating Land, 200 Phantom Energy Points
Finally, Song Chi and Shen Qing turned their gaze to the last artifact, the highest-quality purple artifact among the five.
Molecular Repulsion Energy Shield LV0
Quality: Purple
Trait: Shield value increased by 25%
Consumption: 7/s (Phantom Energy Points)
Protection: 17
Shield Value: 213/213
Charge: 30s; Overload Cooldown: 1 hour
Upgrade Requirements: 7 strands of Zero-Rank Essence of Floating Land, 700 energy points, 1 ton of gas ore
Upon seeing the attributes of this purple component, Song Chi and Shen Qing's expressions were different. Song Chi's expression was slightly dim, as he already possessed an orange-quality Honor Energy Shield, making this purple-quality Molecular Repulsion Shield less appealing to him.
Shen Qing, on the other hand, had a gleam in his eyes, and his hands were even trembling.
His Qingfeng's energy shield was only white-quality. If he could replace it with this purple Molecular Repulsion Shield, the combat power of the Qingfeng would increase several times over, which was no exaggeration.
From the performance of the Sky Sovereign and Qingfeng in the previous battle, it was clear that even though Shen Qing's Qingfeng had ascended to the next rank a year earlier than the Sky Sovereign, the Sky Sovereign clearly outperformed the Qingfeng.
With its high-quality energy shield, the Sky Sovereign could maneuver freely in a web of firepower, even using its hull to block the overwhelming insect swarm. The Qingfeng, however, would have its energy shield overloaded early on without the Sky Sovereign's protection, and its hull would suffer severe damage.
After examining the properties of the curios, the two men exchanged glances, and Shen Qing spoke first:
"Xiao Chi, I'll take the purple-quality molecular repulsion shield, and the other four will be yours. If that's not enough, I can gather some more Essence of Floating Lands when we return..."
Before Shen Qing could finish, Song Chi waved his hand dismissively.
"It's more than enough. You were the one who discovered this ruin, and the deep space torpedoes were the ones that took down the queen bug. You deserve the bigger share!"
Gratitude flickered in Shen Qing's eyes. He had initially expected some negotiation over the purple-quality spacecraft component. Though they were close friends, even brothers needed to settle accounts clearly, and who wouldn't want a purple-quality part?
"Xiao Chi, thank you!"
With that, they each stored the five curios in their respective ships. Shen Qing took the purple energy shield, while Song Chi collected the remaining four.
After dividing their spoils, they resumed their search of the second layer of the space. A few minutes later, Shen Qing's excited voice came through the communication screen.
"Xiao Chi, come quickly, I've found something."
Hearing the urgent call, Song Chi promptly piloted the Skyship over.
In a secluded corner of the second layer, two airships hovered in the air, their cannons firing beams of light. The Skyship and the Green Edge were both targeting a new spatial barrier above them.
Indeed, above this remote corner, there was another spatial barrier covering the top of the second layer.
Compared to the barrier separating the first and second layers, this one was much smaller, only about a hundred meters in length and width, a tenth the size of the first. However, the repulsion field surrounding it was no less powerful, and in some areas, it was even stronger.
Clearly, there was at least a third layer above the second, though whether there was a fourth layer remained unknown.
Even if there was a third layer, the two of them could not explore it further. The current mission was set to end in just over an hour, and if they wanted to avoid any mishaps upon their return, they needed to leave this enclosed space now.
While the spatial barrier was the most basic form of spatial technology, it still involved "space." The gravitational pull that drew the Embership back was also a form of spatial force. The interaction between these two spatial forces would significantly increase the risk of an accident.
To ensure a successful return, Embership captains generally made sure their ships were in a state free of any energy interference before initiating the return sequence.
It wasn't just spatial forces that could cause issues; other forms of interference could also lead to problems, but spatial forces were the most critical to avoid.
After a series of bombardments, they saw that the repulsion field on the spatial barrier showed no signs of weakening. Song Chi and Shen Qing immediately realized that the remaining time was insufficient to break through this second barrier, let alone deal with any additional insectoids that might be lurking in the space above it.
Since the second layer contained insectoids, they instinctively assumed the third layer would as well. The repulsion fields on both barriers were identical, suggesting they were created by the same species.
"Looks like we won't be able to explore the third layer. I wonder which nearby civilization will benefit from it, or if some lucky Embership captain will discover it."
They stopped their attacks, and on the Green Edge, Shen Qing sighed in resignation, a mix of frustration and acceptance in his eyes.
Obtaining a purple-quality curio was already more than he could have hoped for. While he felt a twinge of regret about the unknown third layer, his curiosity outweighed his frustration. Knowing they couldn't satisfy their curiosity, he didn't dwell on it too much.
Of course, he didn't realize that while he was lost in thought, Song Chi on the Skyship was secretly pleased. With the space anchor characteristic of the marketplace, he could return to explore this ruin further. This realization filled him with excitement.
"Sorry, Qing..."
After a moment of silent apology, Song Chi's mood shifted, and he began to work with Shen Qing to steer their airships toward the queen bug's lair. They had been wary of it not being fully dead and had been distracted by the Crystal Box, so they hadn't thoroughly examined it before.
The spoils of war have been distributed, and not long ago, Shen Qing reported that he had obtained the Essence of the Floating Land. Now, they can head over to check it out with peace of mind.
Speaking of the Essence of the Floating Land granted by the insect queen, this was a surprise to both of them. They had initially expected to obtain a single strand of a zero-grade Essence after defeating her, but the final result was a single strand of a second-grade Essence.
The total amount of Essence within her body was still the same as when she was at her peak, a third-grade being. This came as a shock to both of them.
Standing before the partially collapsed insect queen's lair, Song Chi and Shen Qing followed two battle robots. Song Chi's fire chrysanthemum soldiers had been completely wiped out while blocking the insect tide, and Shen Qing's Qingfeng didn't carry any soldier components, so they had to rely on the battle robots to lead the way.
Their progress was slow, as the ground was covered in a layer of sticky, slippery liquid. They had to take each step carefully.
Just as they passed through the breach created by the deep space torpedo, a massive, bloated corpse caught Song Chi's eye. His pupils dilated, and he was taken aback for a moment before regaining his composure.
The creature resembled an ant from a previous life, but it was magnified to a super size. Its upper body was covered in a blood-red carapace, while its lower body was an exceptionally large abdomen. At first glance, it was both bizarre and strangely beautiful.
Even though it had been dead for some time, the lair still exuded a strong sense of oppression. If not for Song Chi and Shen Qing's advanced Guiding Techniques, they might not have been able to withstand it.
This was still after the insect queen's life energy had degraded to peak first-grade. They couldn't even imagine how terrifying she must have been at her peak, a third-grade being.
After a moment of contemplation, Song Chi and Shen Qing exchanged a glance and quickly began their next task.
They each retrieved a cutting device from their airships and began manually dissecting the insect queen's corpse.
Most of the insect's body was inedible, acidic flesh, but a small piece of prime meat, located at the center of its heart core, was edible.
Not only did it taste exquisite, but it also contained an astonishing amount of energy. Given that this insect queen was a third-grade being at her peak, the value of that prime meat was extremely high, a rare find indeed.
As for the other insects outside, due to their small size, the amount of prime meat in each was negligible. Given the urgency, they didn't waste time collecting it. There were over thirty thousand of them, and it would have taken a significant amount of time to collect each one.
With their coordinated efforts, they quickly found the location of the prime meat within the insect queen's body and began to carefully cut it out.
Even though this was a third-grade insect queen, the prime meat from her body was incomparable to that of a regular first-grade insect. After special processing, it could be transformed into a dish that rivaled the effects of a high-grade body strengthening potion, or even surpass it.
Ten minutes later, they successfully separated the entire piece of prime meat. Due to the insect queen's size, even though the prime meat only made up a small portion of her body, it still weighed about forty pounds.
Song Chi and Shen Qing each took twenty pounds, planning to process it carefully upon their return. They intended to cook it that night before the energy within the meat dissipated.
Unlike high-grade body strengthening potions, which, despite their effectiveness, required a high level of physical fitness and could only be used by those with a first-grade Guiding Technique or higher, the prime meat from the insect queen contained very gentle energy. Anyone, regardless of their Guiding Technique level, could consume it safely.
Suddenly, Song Chi's gaze froze, and his entire body stiffened.
Shen Qing immediately noticed his abnormal state.
"Xiao Chi, what's wrong!"
Song Chi didn't speak, but his fixed gaze provided the answer.
Following Song Chi's gaze, Shen Qing's eyes suddenly widened. Deep within the cut they had made, a faint light was flickering.
"This... This is?"
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(End of Chapter)
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