https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-91-Morning-Star-Research-Institute-Illusion-Butterfly-Drones/12833466/
Chapter 90: Floating Land Fortress
Chapter 90: Floating Land Fortress
There was no way around it. Although the brainwave remote control system was of high purple quality, the quality and status of the Cosmic Market—a secret realm—were clearly higher. It was only natural that it would impose restrictions on the brainwave remote control system.
Inside the "Inn" of the Cosmic Market’s basic configuration.
Song Chi stepped onto the second floor of the inn. He hadn't visited this floor since upgrading the market to Level 11.
Looking down the corridor of the second floor, Song Chi's lips curled into a slight smile. Just as he had expected, after upgrading the market to Level 11, another guest room had been unlocked on this floor.
This meant that, in addition to the guest pass he had given to the centaur, he now had another new guest pass in his possession. In the future, even if he discovered a star-sea race with significant potential, he wouldn't have to worry about missing out.
With this confirmed, Song Chi entered the all-purpose training room as usual and began a new round of Guiding Technique practice.
...
The next day, as soon as the cooldown period for the Purple River Warp Device was over, the component was activated again. After a half-hour charging period, the Azure Sky Transport once more initiated a spatial jump and vanished from the desolate star region.
Jinsha Star Domain, Lizhe Star Zone, Guangyuan Floating Land.
As one of the few life-sustaining floating lands in the Lizhe Star Zone, Guangyuan Floating Land has been one of the top three most popular floating lands in the zone since it was developed by the Jinsha Military Department 1,300 years ago.
Stretching over 6,000 kilometers east to west and 4,000 kilometers north to south, Guangyuan Floating Land is densely covered in vegetation and rich in diverse biological resources, making it a typical Level 1 life-sustaining floating land.
From a distance in the star sea, the green-covered floating land appears picturesque. However, the massive, towering ring-shaped space fortress floating above it ruins the beauty.
This fixed space fortress, with a diameter exceeding 100,000 meters, features neatly arranged docking bays for spacecraft, a formidable fortress railgun with a terrifying diameter, and a nuclear energy shield that can be fully activated within ten minutes at full power. All these elements speak to the fact that this fortress was once a formidable war behemoth.
Even with prior knowledge and preparation from seeing its full image online, Song Chi was still deeply moved when he first laid eyes on this enormous space fortress. Such a creation could only be described as a masterpiece of engineering.
The Guangyuan Floating Land Fortress is said to have been funded and built by the Jinsha Military Department over a thousand years ago. At the time, Guangyuan Floating Land was newly developed, and the White Tower Floating Land was part of the Chaotic Star Domain. The sudden occupation of Guangyuan Floating Land by the Jinsha Military Department led to frequent clashes.
To address this, the floating land fortress was constructed. After its completion, combined with the presence of the Jinsha Second Fleet stationed there, it provided significant deterrence against the Chaotic Star Domain, ensuring two centuries of peace for Guangyuan Floating Land.
Now, this fortress has been abandoned for centuries, and the Jinsha Military Department has long since relocated the Second Fleet to other star zones. Since it was built on the floating land itself and cannot be moved, it could not follow the Second Fleet.
Today, the fortress is under the control of the Guangyuan Floating Land Patrol Fleet. While a small core area still maintains defensive structures, most of the fortress has been repurposed into various exchange, entertainment, and trading venues.
Even ordinary citizens from the floating land below can visit the fortress for a fee, engaging in various entertainment activities.
Guided by the dock manager, Song Chi maneuvered the Azure Sky into an empty docking bay, successfully completing the intricate docking procedure.
The hatch opened, and a mysterious figure in a billowing cloak and robe emerged from the Azure Sky, heading toward the bustling commercial area of the fortress.
Upon arriving in the vicinity of Guangyuan Floating Land, he logged into the Ember Network to gather information. Of course, the network he was connected to was the Guangyuan Local Network, not the White Tower Local Network.
Through the Guangyuan Local Network, he learned a lot. He discovered that this fortress was not only a place for Ember Captains to meet in person but also a shipping point for goods from the Ember Network Marketplace. Therefore, the number of shops here was substantial.
To put it simply, if a product was available on the Guangyuan Local Network, it was likely available in the fortress. If it wasn't on the network, it might still be found in the fortress.
As Song Chi entered a shop in the fortress's commercial area, the shop owner immediately greeted him.
"Sir, welcome. What can I do for you?"
As he spoke, a projection appeared on the outside of Song Chi's cloak, displaying a line of text.
"Curios, curios that cannot be converted into ship components."
The shop owner was clearly taken aback. After years of business, he had seen all sorts of strange people, but someone like this was a first for him.
Even though the person was standing right in front of him, they insisted on using the communication screen to type. Well, maybe there was something wrong with their voice. But why would they specifically come to the Ember Store to inquire about oddities that can't be converted into Ember components?
Just as Song Chi thought the person was here to prank him and was about to scold them, the communication screen in front of the hooded figure changed again.
"Besides the oddities that can't be converted into components for an Ember spaceship, I also need a group attack secondary ship cannon. A main cannon would work too, but it has to be of high quality."
Seeing this message, the shopkeeper restrained the scolding words that were about to spill out. His tone softened as he said, "High-quality main or secondary ship cannons for group attacks are not available in my small shop, but I do know where you might find them, along with the oddities you mentioned that can't be converted into ship components."
Pausing, the shopkeeper then whispered, "When you go there, remember to say that I sent you."
...
In the commercial district, Song Chi was looking around, trying to find the "Morning Star Multipurpose Shop" that the shopkeeper had mentioned.
Turning a corner and walking deeper into the alley, Song Chi finally found the shop in a rather secluded corner.
"How can a shop in such a remote location have good things? It's probably a scam," Song Chi muttered to himself, his eyes full of doubt.
Who in their right mind would open a famous shop in such a corner?
Despite his doubts, he decided to go in since he was already there. He stepped into the Morning Star Multipurpose Shop.
The shop looked quite simple from the outside, but inside, it was a refreshing change. The shelves were neatly arranged, and all the goods were categorized and placed in different sections. At first glance, the place looked clean and tidy, making it very comfortable.
Moreover, the variety of items in the shop truly lived up to the "Multipurpose" name. There were exoskeleton armors, energy pulse guns, mining ship components, and various mechanical creations. It also had gene optimization serums, elementary and intermediate body-forging potions, nutritional supplements, and a wide range of weapons and equipment. There were even things like flying car batteries and the sale of catgirls and foxgirls as maids.
Most importantly, there were dedicated sections for star sea oddities and ship components. Just a quick glance revealed dozens of different oddities and components.
At this point, Song Chi put aside his initial skepticism. Clearly, the owner of this "Morning Star Multipurpose Shop" was not someone to be underestimated.
Dozens of star sea oddities, some of which seemed to be of purple quality—what did that mean? It meant that the shop had a terrifying financial backing. Otherwise, it wouldn't have such valuable goods in stock.
Even if we don't count the other items, just the dozens of oddities themselves were worth nearly a million zero-stage floating land essences. If we add the value of the other goods in the shop, the total value of the inventory in this Morning Star Multipurpose Shop could easily reach several million zero-stage floating land essences, or even more.
Thinking about this, Song Chi couldn't help but take a deep breath. After the market transactions ended, earning over a hundred thousand zero-stage floating land essences had given him a small sense of pride. But this scene before him completely shattered that pride, making him realize what it meant to be in the presence of a hidden dragon. Compared to the owner of this shop, his small fortune was nothing.
As he was lost in thought, a lazy, sweet voice came from behind the counter.
"Another customer, who referred you?"
Song Chi turned around to see a tall figure in a black velvet dress with her hair tied up at the back. Her eyes were half-closed, and her fair arms were raised as she stretched, emphasizing her voluptuous figure in the velvet dress.
From the docking bay of the fortress, on the Caelum ship, Song Chi's eyes subconsciously shifted, and a word popped into his mind.
"Fairy!"
At the same time, the hooded figure in the Morning Star Multipurpose Shop turned its head, shifting its gaze.
Indeed, this figure in the black hooded robe was not Song Chi himself but a combat robot controlled by his brainwave remote control system. After all, it was his first time at this floating fortress, and being cautious was always a good idea.
As he turned, the beautiful woman behind the counter slowly lowered her arms, which were as smooth as jade, and a hint of curiosity flashed in her eyes.
Song Chi, however, paid no mind to this. Using his mental commands, he activated the communication bracelet under his black cloak, and a holographic screen appeared before him.
"Hello, I was referred here by the owner of the Oak Shop. Do you have any unique items that can't be converted into ship components, as well as any high-quality ship-mounted main or secondary cannons with area-of-effect attributes?"
Click, click, click! The sound of high heels tapping against the floor echoed as the woman stepped out from behind the counter. Only then did Song Chi notice that she was wearing a pair of elegant red high heels.
Having lived two lifetimes, Song Chi wasn't a rookie and maintained his composure, quickly lifting his gaze to meet the woman's face.
Noticing his attention, the woman pondered for a moment before pointing her slender fingers toward the sections for unique items and ship components.
"You can go and take a look yourself. Items that can't be converted into ship components are quite rare, but you're in the right place. Feel free to explore."
With that, she returned to her position behind the counter, showing no intention of guiding or introducing Song Chi to anything.
This behavior struck Song Chi as a bit odd, but he quickly recalled the value of the goods in the shop. If this woman was indeed the owner, her demeanor made sense, given the wealth she must possess.
He made his way to the sections for unique items and ship components, carefully examining the displays.
From a distance, he hadn't been able to see the full extent of these sections. Now, upon closer inspection, he realized his initial assessment had been somewhat conservative.
There were over sixty items in total, with the majority being unique items that couldn't be converted into ship components—about forty of them. The ship components section had only a little over twenty items.
Among the forty unique items, four were of purple quality, more than ten were blue, and the rest were white. In the ship components section, there was one purple-quality item and four blue-quality items, with the rest being white.
Song Chi first focused on the ship components. After a thorough inspection, he furrowed his brow. Out of the twenty-odd ship components, there were only four main or secondary cannons, one of which was a blue-quality main cannon. Its attributes were inferior to the particle beam cannon on the Sky Dome and lacked any additional special features.
The three white-quality cannons were even less suitable for his needs.
With no better options, Song Chi directed his battle robot to the unique items section.
As he scanned the items, he found several with promising attributes.
Unique Item: Spirit of the Cold Abyss Wind
- Quality: Purple
- Evolvable: {Wind Totem}
- Note: A wind spirit formed over ten thousand years in the depths of the Cold Abyss, with special uses.
Unique Item: Essence of the Nine Heavens Cloud
- Quality: Purple
- Evolvable: None
- Note: An essence formed at the peak of the Nine Heavens on the Cloud Continent, possibly known only to the native life forms of the Cloud Continent.
Unique Item: Crystal
- Quality: Blue
- Evolvable: None
- Note: A substance formed within the core of a small asteroid that has existed for nearly ten thousand years, rarely used by any life form.
Each of these unique items came with detailed descriptions. Most could not be evolved into any form, and even those that could were not ship components. Instead, they were forms unknown to the Ember Human Civilization, making their usage a mystery.
As a result, the value of these unique items was significantly lower compared to ship components of the same quality.
For example, if the four purple-quality unique items could be converted into ship components, each would be priced at around 80,000 to 100,000 strands of zero-grade floating land essence. However, they were currently priced at a uniform 40,000 strands, half the value of their ship component counterparts.
Song Chi wondered why the shop retained so many unique items that couldn't be converted into ship components instead of selling them outside the Ember Human Civilization's domain. The Guangyuan Floating Land was not far from the Chaotic Star Domain, making it convenient for such transactions.
He had a theory about this.
If his guess was correct, the owner of the Morning Star Multi-Function Shop had likely tried to sell these items elsewhere. However, the Chaotic Star Domain was too unpredictable, and even with the shop's resources, ensuring a safe transaction was far from guaranteed.
(End of Chapter)
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