Earth, above a region of the Atlantic Ocean.
Whoosh, whoosh…
The vast, dark seawater rolled gently below.
It was 9:30 a.m. in Huaxia, yet in this region it was deep night.
Above the turbulent ocean hovered a silver grey spacecraft.
No instrument on Earth detected its presence.
Inside the control room, the group of cosmic adventurers were filled with excitement.
“Captain!”
A child’s avatar appeared on the control screen as a clear voice sounded.
“Based on calculations, this planet is approximately spherical with a diameter of nearly 6,400 kilometres. Its surface area is around 510 million square kilometres, of which 29.2 percent is land and 70.8 percent is water. Surface gravity is approximately 0.11 standard cosmic gravity units. Atmospheric composition is roughly 78 percent nitrogen and 21 percent oxygen…”
The ship’s artificial intelligence, Atuka, rapidly reported the simplest and easiest data to collect.
“Excellent.”
The captain’s expression became serious, though there was a trace of madness in his eyes.
He turned towards the eight equally excited crew members beside him.
“Everyone, we are approaching the moment of harvesting our reward. However, the closer we get to success, the more careful we must be. This was once a planet ruled by an invincible expert, and we know almost nothing about it.”
The eight crew members listened attentively.
“When discovering an ownerless planet, caution is essential. There may be hidden experts among the natives.”
Disasters caused by overconfidence were not uncommon.
Throughout cosmic history, many adventurer teams had discovered primitive planets only to be killed by local experts after lowering their guard.
They died just as victory was within reach.
“Understood, Captain.”
“Don’t worry, Captain. We won’t be careless.”
“We’ve survived countless life and death situations. We won’t fail now.”
The crew members all promised.
The captain nodded in satisfaction.
“Absolute caution and safety come first.”
“If there are no experts stronger than us on this planet, we can maximise our profits.”
“If there are powerful experts here, then we have two options. First, notify the slave merchants. Second, notify my family.”
The captain spoke seriously.
Finding powerful natives on primitive planets was common throughout the universe.
An adventurer’s duty was simply to discover the planet.
There was no need to risk their lives fighting.
The captain looked at the control screen.
“Atuka, begin a full scale survey of the planet. Gather as much information as possible as quickly as you can.”
“Captain, this planet possesses an information network.”
The avatar on the screen sounded excited.
“I can infiltrate the network and quickly obtain large amounts of information.”
“Excellent.”
The captain’s eyes lit up.
“It already has an information network?”
The crew members laughed in surprise.
Most primitive planets discovered throughout cosmic history were extremely backward.
“Begin the infiltration immediately. Analyse the planet from every angle, including economics, religion, powerful individuals, military strength, and technology.”
The captain’s voice became firm.
“Most importantly, gather information on powerful individuals. That takes priority.”
“Understood, Captain.”
Atuka responded immediately and effortlessly infiltrated Earth’s networks.
The technology aboard this cosmic adventurer spacecraft far surpassed anything currently available on Earth.
Its level was comparable to the Black Dragon spacecraft.
Silently and without detection, Earth’s history and countless other records were gathered.
Apart from certain confidential information stored physically and disconnected from networks, everything accessible online was discovered.
Meanwhile, not a single person on Earth realised what was happening.
At this moment, atop the castle rooftop in Jiangnan Base City, Huaxia Nation.
Luo Feng, Hong, and Thunder God sat around a table.
“I reached the peak of Ninth Level Planetary Stage long ago. Why can’t I break through?”
Thunder God rubbed his bald head irritably.
“With the techniques Third Brother gave me, my combat skills and force amplification have improved significantly. My physical strength as a warrior has always been superior to Big Brother’s.”
“Showing off again.”
Hong glanced at him.
“I only just reached Ninth Level Planetary Stage. You’ve already reached the peak.”
“No matter what, Third Brother is still improving the fastest.”
Thunder God sighed loudly.
“Stop calling me Third Brother like that.”
Luo Feng rubbed his nose helplessly.
While Earth’s three strongest experts enjoyed their peaceful conversation, they had no idea that at this very moment a cosmic adventurer spacecraft had already entered their planet and was gathering enormous amounts of information through the network.
The event they had feared for so long.
The event they thought would happen much later.
It was already unfolding.
…
Above the Atlantic Ocean.
The silver grey spacecraft remained motionless above the dark sea.
Inside the control room.
The captain and eight crew members waited silently as the ship’s intelligence gathered information.
“Captain, information regarding powerful individuals has been collected.”
Atuka announced.
The adventurers immediately became alert.
Information about powerful individuals was their greatest concern.
If the planet possessed experts stronger than them, their profits would be drastically reduced.
If the planet’s experts were weaker, then the entire world would effectively be theirs to exploit.
“Report.”
The captain spoke immediately.
“I have completed a translation system between the Universal Language and the native language of this planet.”
“This planet is called Earth by its inhabitants.”
“There are nearly seven billion humans on Earth. Approximately one million are apprentice level. The number of Planetary Stage individuals is close to one hundred. The number of Stellar Stage individuals is zero.”
The control room fell silent.
The captain and crew stared blankly for a moment.
“Hahaha…”
The captain was the first to burst into laughter.
“Haha, wonderful.”
The gorilla like adventurer was equally excited.
“There are only about a hundred Planetary Stage experts. Not a single Stellar Stage expert.”
The entire crew became ecstatic.
Their spacecraft’s strength was overwhelming by comparison.
The captain was naturally the strongest.
Among the crew, there were three Stellar Stage experts including the captain himself.
The remaining members included four Ninth Level Planetary Stage fighters and two support personnel.
Such a force completely surpassed Earth’s strongest experts.
This meant they could do whatever they wished and extract maximum profit from the planet.
“Captain, there is additional information you absolutely must see.”
Atuka reminded him.
“What information?”
The captain smiled.
When he first arrived, he had been cautious and tense.
Now that he knew Earth lacked even a single Stellar Stage expert, he felt completely relaxed.
Very few people on Earth knew about Luo Feng’s elite guard force purchased on Horned Dragon Planet.
Even the governments were unaware of it.
Naturally, nothing about it appeared online.
“Captain, Earth possesses three extremely famous peak experts. Their names are Luo Feng, Hong, and Thunder God.”
Atuka spoke.
“This is a battle recording of Luo Feng fighting a monster.”
Beep.
A virtual projection appeared in mid air.
It displayed the footage of Luo Feng killing the Eight Clawed Beast Emperor.
“That Earthling flies quite fast. What’s under his feet?”
A green skinned woman asked in surprise.
“A spirit weapon.”
“It must be. To fly that quickly within a planet’s atmosphere despite air resistance, it has to be a spirit weapon.”
“A mere Planetary Stage native possesses a spirit weapon?”
“Idiot. This planet was once ruled by an invincible expert. Leaving behind treasures is hardly surprising.”
The adventurers discussed among themselves.
But when the video showed Luo Feng using the Arc Blade Disc to kill the Eight Clawed Beast Emperor…
“Arc Blade Disc!”
“A third grade spirit weapon, the Arc Blade Disc!”
The captain and the gorilla like man shouted simultaneously.
The gorilla man’s eyes shone brightly.
“Captain, we’ve struck gold. We’ve struck gold! There must be treasures left behind by that invincible expert. A primitive planet could never produce a third grade spirit weapon on its own.”
“Indeed.”
The captain’s eyes also lit up.
He understood.
This Earth was completely different from ordinary primitive worlds.
“Captain, here is the second recording. It shows Hong and Thunder God fighting together.”
Atuka played another widely circulated video.
Hong and Thunder God were shown battling the star beast, the Golden Horned Beast.
Within the footage…
Both Hong and Thunder God unleashed their domains and burned their souls in a desperate struggle.
“What the hell? They’re only Planetary Stage, right? How do they both have domains?”
“Monsters. Planetary Stage fighters with domains? And two of them appear at once?”
“Even across the entire Black Dragon Mountain Empire, finding a single planet with two Planetary Stage experts possessing domains would be incredibly unlikely.”
“That’s absurd.”
“Look. That man in black suddenly produced a pile of metal from nowhere. He definitely has a spatial storage item.”
“And its storage capacity isn’t small.”
“A spatial storage treasure. As expected of a place once ruled by an invincible expert.”
“Look at what they’re wearing.”
“That black armoured outfit is strange. It’s definitely not an ordinary combat suit.”
The crew members exclaimed repeatedly.
However, the captain’s expression became increasingly serious.
His eyes remained fixed on the opponent Hong and Thunder God were fighting.
The Golden Horned Beast.
Information regarding star beasts was notoriously scarce.
Very few people paid close attention to such knowledge.
Although the Virtual Universe contained public information, it mostly offered only general introductions.
Detailed information regarding the Golden Horned Beast was unavailable.
After all…
Even the Master of Yunmo Planet, an immortal being, knew only basic information about the Golden Horned Beast.
Ordinary adventurers knew even less.
At most, a few knew rough details.
“This…”
“This is…”
The captain stared fixedly at the Golden Horned Beast in the recording.
As a direct descendant of the Nolan Mountain Family, he had received excellent education.
He was considered an exceptionally capable trainee cosmic mercenary.
He had once studied descriptions of the most terrifying star beasts in existence.
Among them was the notorious creature famous for brutality and slaughter.
The Golden Horned Beast.
“A Golden Horned Beast. It’s actually a Golden Horned Beast.”
“And judging by its appearance, it’s only a First Level Stellar Stage Golden Horned Beast.”
“It’s merely a juvenile.”
“My heavens.”
“If a Golden Horned Beast this young could be captured alive, it would be worth more than ten planets.”
The captain almost stopped breathing.
Sweat appeared on his forehead as excitement flooded his body.
This represented a fortune beyond imagination.
Immortal beings would gladly pay astronomical prices to obtain a juvenile star beast possessing one of the highest bloodlines in the universe.