When Luo Feng returned home, his parents were overjoyed. However, Luo Hongguo and Gong Xinlan had no idea what he had gone through in just three or four days. Early the next morning, with the morning mist still hanging in the air, Luo Feng greeted his family and prepared to make a trip to Hongning Base City.
“You’ve only just come back, and you’re leaving again.”
Breakfast was laid out on the table. Gong Xinlan stood up and pushed Luo Hongguo’s wheelchair as they saw Luo Feng off.
“I’ll be back soon. I’ll come home for lunch.” Luo Feng smiled.
“Coming home for lunch? Then I’ll go out and buy fresh ingredients myself today and cook all your favourite dishes,” Gong Xinlan said with a smile.
Luo Feng nodded.
Although he had enjoyed all kinds of delicious food in the virtual War God Palace, dishes far better than anything his mother could make, whenever he caught the aroma of her cooking, he felt a warmth and affection that came from the bottom of his heart.
“Dad, Mum, I’m off. I’ll have a surprise for you at lunchtime.” Luo Feng grinned before running towards the intelligent fighter aircraft.
“A surprise?”
Luo Hongguo, sitting in his wheelchair, exchanged puzzled glances with Gong Xinlan.
The dark blue triangular intelligent fighter quickly took off from Mingyue Residential District before flying directly towards Hongning Base City in western Asia.
“I’ve wanted to let Mum and Dad use the Spirit of Plants all along. This time I can finally exchange for some.” Luo Feng was filled with delight.
“Luo Feng.”
A crisp voice echoed through his consciousness.
“Babata?” Luo Feng connected a thread of his spiritual force to the wrist guard storage space.
“Luo Feng, this exchange is a great opportunity,” Babata said eagerly. “Forget about the Spirit of Plants. It contains a little energy essence, but the amount is tiny. It’s useful for ordinary people and apprentices, but it does very little for Planetary level fighters. After choosing some Spirit of Plants, let’s see if there’s anything else worth exchanging for. Your Headmaster might have some valuable treasures hidden away.”
“Alright. The Mu Ya Crystals I’m publicly known to own amount to four and a half, enough to exchange for items worth ninety Stars. I’ll take some Spirit of Plants, and you can decide what else to exchange for.”
“Haha, don’t worry. Leave it to me!” Babata replied confidently.
…
At the headquarters of Hongning Base City, at the entrance to the giant spacecraft building.
An elderly silver haired white woman, apparently around sixty years old, dressed in luxurious black leather clothing and wearing a hat, walked out through the entrance. Three subordinates who had been waiting immediately stepped forward to greet her.
“Chairwoman.”
“Chairwoman, shall we head back now?”
Among the three subordinates, two were actually War Gods, while the third was a butler.
“No rush. We’ll stay in Hongning Base City for another three days. Since negotiations with Hong failed, we can still approach the other Inspectors or his personal guards.”
The silver haired elderly woman spoke in a sharp voice. Her face remained expressionless, but the glance she swept across the surroundings was enough that no one dared meet her eyes.
She was a woman.
Yet she was also the ruler of Earth’s underground world, the Chairwoman of the HR Alliance.
“Pay close attention to Hongning Base City. If any of the three chief guards or six Inspectors appear, inform me immediately,” the silver haired woman instructed.
“Yes,” the butler replied at once.
“Let’s go.”
Soon, a luxurious Maybach with a long history rolled up slowly. Surrounded by her attendants, the elderly woman entered the car, which then quietly drove away from the headquarters of the Extreme Dojo.
About an hour later.
A dark blue triangular fighter descended from the sky and landed on the nearby airstrip. A young man in black casual clothes, carrying a backpack, jumped out of the cabin as the hatch closed automatically behind him.
“Inspector.”
“Inspector.”
The guards at headquarters respectfully saluted as soon as they saw Luo Feng.
With his backpack slung over his shoulder, Luo Feng strode directly towards the entrance. Only a handful of senior members of the Extreme Dojo had permission to enter the spacecraft headquarters. Anyone attempting to force their way inside without authorisation would be killed by the defence system. Luo Feng was naturally one of those with full access.
“Greetings, Inspector.”
“Greetings, Inspector.”
Under the respectful greetings of the blue robed staff, Luo Feng headed straight to see the Headmaster.
…
At the same moment.
“Chairwoman, Inspector Luo of the Extreme Dojo has just entered headquarters.”
The report quickly reached the HR Alliance Chairwoman.
Walking through the giant spacecraft building.
“So it’s an interstellar transport ship.” Babata’s voice was filled with amazement inside Luo Feng’s mind. “I wonder how badly it’s damaged. I’d love to examine the whole thing, but unfortunately many of its systems have been completely shut down, even the power supply, so I can’t investigate it.”
“What would be the point? It belongs to the Headmaster,” Luo Feng replied mentally.
“You fool. The Yun Mo Planet Ship can’t be repaired, so we need to start figuring out how to leave Earth. Without a spaceship, how are you supposed to leave?”
“This ship can still fly?” Luo Feng asked.
“No. This interstellar transport ship has been damaged and grounded for far too long. Many parts have probably rusted and deteriorated over time. Even a World Master’s body will decay with enough time. A perfectly intact interstellar transport ship left underground for tens of thousands of years would develop problems, let alone one that was already damaged.”
Luo Feng nodded to himself.
“Then why are you so excited?”
“Because even though it’s ruined, it proves there are still plenty of spacecraft wrecks on Earth. If we gather enough wreckage, we might be able to assemble a small spacecraft,” Babata said excitedly.
“Assemble a spacecraft?” Luo Feng was stunned.
“That’s easy. Do you know who I am? I’m an intelligent lifeform. My database contains enormous amounts of knowledge, including advanced civilisations’ technology. Given enough machinery, materials, robots and so on, I could even build a large interstellar warship, let alone assemble a spacecraft.”
Luo Feng truly was fascinated by the vast universe.
Especially the Virtual Universe Network. According to Babata, once connected to it, one could meet countless races spread across the boundless cosmos.
“The universe…”
Although he had no plans to venture into space anytime soon, owning a spacecraft capable of travelling through the universe could only be a good thing.
“Babata, I can buy large amounts of machinery and materials for you to build with.”
“Er…”
Inside the wrist guard storage space, Babata wore a helpless expression.
“Long distance travel through space places extremely high demands on a spacecraft. It’s not just about the internal energy systems. The hull itself also needs extraordinary strength. The materials available on Earth simply aren’t strong enough. That’s why it’s best to use the wreckage of existing spacecraft for assembly.”
“There’s no rush with this. Once you’ve reached the Stellar level, you can occasionally visit other planets.”
…
Luo Feng left the matter of assembling a spacecraft entirely to Babata while focusing all his attention on cultivation.
Inside the spacecraft, in a quiet meditation room.
“Headmaster.”
Luo Feng bowed slightly.
“Luo Feng, sit.”
Hong, dressed in black, sat cross legged on a meditation cushion. Luo Feng also sat cross legged opposite him.
“What brings you here this time?” Hong asked.
“I want to exchange for some items,” Luo Feng replied directly. “Using Mu Ya Crystals.”
“Haha, excellent.”
Hong could not help smiling.
He knew very well how valuable Mu Ya Crystals were. Whether for his own cultivation or for nurturing the Moyun Vine, he needed them badly. Naturally, he welcomed anyone willing to exchange with him.
“This is the exchange catalogue. It’s much more detailed than the one you saw last time.”
With a wave of his hand.
Whoosh.
A huge holographic screen appeared in the dim meditation room, displaying countless items together with descriptions and prices.
“It really is much more detailed than before.”
Luo Feng’s eyes lit up.
“Exchange for whatever you like,” Hong said. “You should have enough for ninety Stars’ worth of items. If you have more Mu Ya Crystals, feel free to exchange them.”
A faint smile appeared on Hong’s face as he spoke. He had long suspected that among those who had searched Mist Island, someone must have secretly kept one or two Mu Ya Crystals.
Luo Feng stared at the screen.
“I’ll take three of Spirit of Plants Number Two, two of Number Five, and two of Number Nine.”
Hong nodded slightly.
He was not afraid of people buying.
He was only afraid they would not.
“Babata, can you see the screen?” Luo Feng asked mentally.
“I can. I already knew you Earthlings couldn’t possibly produce any real treasures. As expected, you’re treating this rubbish like priceless artefacts.”
Although Babata had expected Hong’s collection to be poor, it still turned out to be even worse than expected.
“Oh? There’s one little treasure.”
Babata suddenly shouted.
“Luo Feng, look under the Ancient Civilisation Equipment category. The Gravity Chamber.”
Luo Feng quickly looked down.
Ancient Civilisation Gravity Chamber, one to one thousand times Earth’s gravity, price, ninety Stars.
Luo Feng was startled.
Wasn’t this exactly the same ancient gravity chamber used at the Elite Training Camp?
It had not been available during the last exchange. This time, the Headmaster was actually willing to offer it. Clearly he wanted Mu Ya Crystals very badly.
Still, the price was astonishing.
Ninety Stars, equivalent to four and a half Mu Ya Crystals. There were very few people on Earth who could afford that.
Hong had clearly set the price deliberately, hoping Luo Feng would spend all four and a half of his publicly known Mu Ya Crystals on it.
“Headmaster, I’ll take the Ancient Civilisation Gravity Chamber.”
“Oh?”
Hong looked at Luo Feng in surprise.
“It seems you really did make some additional gains. This gravity chamber is indeed extremely useful for cultivation. I’ve always been reluctant to part with it, but since you want it, I’ll sell it to you. As for the Spirit of Plants, do you still want those?”
The gravity chamber alone cost ninety Stars, which should have exhausted Luo Feng’s publicly known assets.
“Add another two portions of Dragon Blood, and two Millennium Black Crow Roots as well. Let’s make it a round figure.”
Hong looked at Luo Feng in astonishment.
“The Spirit of Plants and two Millennium Black Crow Roots total three Stars. Altogether that’s twenty Stars. Add the ninety Stars for the gravity chamber, and the total comes to one hundred and ten Stars.”
One hundred and ten Stars.
That was equivalent to five and a half Mu Ya Crystals.
Five complete Mu Ya Crystals appeared on the surface of Luo Feng’s black casual clothing, while the remaining half crystal was recorded as credit on Hong’s account.
“My, Luo Feng, you’ve gained quite a lot this time.”
Hong smiled.
“I did make one discovery that nobody else noticed.”
Luo Feng smiled before adding, “Though after this, my pockets are completely empty.”
“You’ll receive the Spirit of Plants before you leave. As for the Ancient Civilisation Gravity Chamber, you’ll have to wait a few days. I’ll arrange for someone to deliver it to your home.”
Hong was in an excellent mood.
All the major factions on Earth had obtained only a limited number of Mu Ya Crystals. Those who understood their true value were desperately trying to buy more from others, not sell them.
Yet Luo Feng had sold his, which greatly pleased Hong.
…
When Luo Feng walked out through the spacecraft entrance, he carried a silver case containing the Spirit of Plants.
“Inspector Luo.”
Luo Feng looked up in surprise.
The silver haired elderly woman dressed in luxurious black leather approached with three attendants. Speaking fluent Chinese, she smiled and said, “Hello, Inspector Luo. Forgive my intrusion. You may call me Isadona. Would I have the honour of inviting you for a cup of coffee?”
“Isadona?”
A name immediately appeared in Luo Feng’s mind.
The Queen of the underground world, the Chairwoman of the HR Alliance Council, Isadona.