Chapter 430 - 418: A Native Enters the ’City
While the "powerhouses" who saw an entire planet as nothing more than an ant were still scheming to make some extra cash, Shi Ming had already piloted the Dayun far away from that troubled place.
He journeyed through the Dark Cosmos for another thirteen days.
’Almost there.’
’The Dayun’s traversal of the Dark Cosmos is really fast. It’s about three days ahead of schedule. If I had the coordinates from a Wanderer’s Atlas, it would be even faster!’
An azure planet had already appeared on the Dayun’s "Horizon Wisdom Window."
Azure Star, the core planet of the [Cangtun Star Domain], an Intermediate Civilization Star Domain.
Unlike the sapphire blue of Earth, the blue of Azure Star came from its soil. And just as a region’s environment shapes its life, the intelligent beings of Azure Star were also a blue-skinned, humanoid race. In appearance, they looked a bit like miniature versions of the movie Avatars, but they seemed gentler, without a trace of aggression.
The development of civilizations shared many similarities.
Even when separated by an unknown number of light-years, biological evolution often followed strikingly similar paths. Although walking around in his human form on this unfamiliar planet wouldn’t be particularly strange or conspicuous, Shi Ming acted out of an abundance of caution. He used the Ten Thousand Forms Sanctuary to assume the appearance of Rui Liang of the Dark Star Race before descending onto the planet.
"DOO DOO DA."
"Welcome."
"Guests from afar, please dock your ship at the docking port. The hourly fee is 10 Deep Blue Coins. First-time visitors to Azure Star can enjoy one hour of free docking. If you need to exchange for Deep Blue Coins, please call the Cyan Assistant for assistance~"
A synthesized electronic voice sounded.
Thanks to [Zhu], Shi Ming could now effortlessly master any language, and communication was no longer an issue. Azure Star was the sole intermediate civilization core planet among more than forty surrounding star domains—the center of its cosmic neighborhood, so to speak. As a result, its tourism and trade sectors were thriving. It also served as a major, open transportation hub, making it the perfect place for a newcomer like Shi Ming, fresh from Earth, to "broaden his horizons."
Like most other places,
as long as you had enough money or resources,
you were treated like a king here.
Shi Ming had no Deep Blue Coins, and the currency of the low-level Seven-Eyed Race civilization wasn’t accepted here. However, he had inherited a large quantity of Cosmic Crystals (also known as Cosmic Stones) from Rui Liang, and this currency was accepted for exchange. The official rate was 1 Cosmic Crystal to 10,000 Deep Blue Coins, but the actual exchange yielded 8,120, with the remaining 1,880 deducted for handling and service fees.
Shi Ming called for the exchange service.
An Azure Star Person with a blue tail zipped over, even pulling off a sharp braking maneuver as they arrived.
"Exchange for Deep Blue Coins."
Shi Ming’s command of the local language was already quite fluent.
"Honored guest, what currency will you be using to exchange for Deep Blue Coins? And how much would you like to exchange?" the Azure Star Person asked, wagging its tail. Its voice had a mechanical beauty, and aside from an innate gentleness, it held little emotion.
Shi Ming casually took out 10 Cosmic Crystals.
Cosmic Crystals were a universal medium of exchange, much like Gold.
The Azure Star Person handling the exchange was stunned for a moment. Then, its voice gained a hint of human-like shock and delight, seeming less programmed.
Shi Ming, however, remained indifferent, his expression blank.
He did this so no one would know it was his first time making an exchange. In many walks of life, being a novice is an awkward position to be in—something to be avoided in daily life, even for a Nirvana-level expert.
In reality, his Spiritual Power had already spread out, silently probing all the novel things in his surroundings.
"Honored guest, here are your 81,200 Deep Blue Coins."
"I wish you a pleasant journey."
The Azure Star Person handed him a card.
The currency exchange was complete. The service fee was nearly 20,000, but it was a necessary expense.
The Three-Eyed Golden Crow was too conspicuous and couldn’t shrink its body enough, so it remained on the Dayun. It was busy digesting the essence of the "Seven-Eyed Race Sage" it had chosen. The Golden Crow had once possessed the Great Prophecy Technique. If this digestion was successful, it would not only fill the void left by the loss of that ability but would also allow it to advance even further along the path of destiny.
Ah Jian, on the other hand, followed Shi Ming to experience other civilizations.
Once the Dayun was docked, Shi Ming set foot on the azure planet. Behind him, he could already hear the whispers of the mechanical beings who handled the exchange and reception.
"A service fee of nearly 20,000!!!"
"This month’s quota is met, just like that!"
Although Azure Star was the hub for dozens of surrounding star domains, the circulating currencies were Light Blue Coins, Azure Coins, and Deep Blue Coins, as well as the "Purple Star Stones" issued by the Thirty-Seventh Cosmic Country. The more advanced "Cosmic Crystals" were not, strictly speaking, currency, but like Gold on Earth, they were universally accepted throughout the Star Sea.
Exchanging one Cosmic Crystal incurred a service fee of 18.8%, which was also part of the service staff’s performance quota.
...
Compared to present-day Earth, Azure Star was extremely prosperous, even far surpassing Earth during its Land Era. Its spaceports, star-trade zones, and star-research institutes were famous in the surrounding regions. The planet’s core was called Sixteen Square, where sixteen enormous blue statues stood tall. These depicted the sixteen Holy Hall-level masters of this Intermediate Civilization Star Domain, who were known as "Saints."
Shi Ming felt like a country bumpkin in the city, experiencing the advancements of an "intermediate civilization."
It was as if he had arrived in a pro version of Night City.
Azure Star had four core competencies:
Potions, modifications, cuisine, and intelligence.
Cuisine was not for the common person. The "humanoid creatures" here did not need to eat; potions were all they required to maintain their vital signs. Furthermore, their juvenile stage was extremely brief. Once an embryo was formed, it was placed in a "mechanical womb," given a single "activation potion," and would rapidly develop to the size of a seven- or eight-year-old child. Afterward, its designated guardian could send it to various educational institutions to receive "instilled" learning, systematically cultivating it into a specific type of talent.