Chapter 570 - 554: Gray Channel
Undercurrents surged in the depths of the Sea of Magical Power.
A black battleship, one thousand five hundred meters long, glided smoothly through the void.
Twelve sets of Super AT Force Field Generators propped open a faint blue deflection barrier around the exterior of the hull, slicing through and redirecting the oncoming energy tides.
Inside the bridge, it was completely silent.
Allen sank into his spacious, custom-made ergonomic leather command chair. The magnificent scenery outside the bridge unfolded before his eyes, but unfortunately, no matter how beautiful the view was, one grew tired of it after a few days.
He hadn’t chosen to teleport directly to the G-771 Plane via the cross-realm Star Gate of the Mystic Code Council.
The reason was simple: it was expensive.
The toll calculation for Star Gate teleportation was directly linked to mass, volume, and distance. For a main battleship of the Ten Thousand Miles of Sunshine’s sheer size, the toll for a single ultra-long-distance jump would cost tens of millions of Low-Level Magic Stones.
He had just spent 20.5 billion to buy the plane. With his liquidity bottoming out, he had to be frugal with every single Magic Stone.
Another reason was that Allen intended to personally survey this vital traffic artery connecting the civilization’s core to the frontier with his own eyes and sensors.
"Jarvis, channel projection."
[Command received. Expanding the holographic Star Map of the ’Gray Channel’.]
As the mechanical voice faded, a complex light-and-shadow model rose in the center of the bridge.
Two main routes, emitting a faint silver-gray light, intersected in the void, forming a massive "X" shape. Right at the center of this gigantic intersection lay a dazzling golden ball of light—the headquarters of the Mystic Code Council, the heart of the White Wizard Civilization.
"So this is the ’highway’ of the Wizarding World," Allen marvelled as he stared at the Star Map.
The Sea of Magical Power was vast, boundless, and fraught with lethal energy turbulence. Ordinary ships sailing blindly could easily get lost or be torn to shreds by the magical tides.
Ten thousand years ago, before the Star Gate was invented, the Advanced Wizards of the Mystic Code Council took the lead, expending immeasurable resources to chart out two relatively stable energy currents within the Sea of Magical Power. This ultimately formed these two "Gray Channels" spanning the universe.
On both sides of the channels, over tens of thousands of various planes had already been developed. The closer one got to the core zone, the more stable the order was, with established Wizard Clans and large academies standing in great numbers. However, the non-renewable resources there had been overexploited for tens of thousands of years. The Magic Stone Ore Veins were exhausted, and every inch of land was astronomically expensive.
"But at the far ends of the channels..."
Allen traced his finger along one of the extensions of the "X" shape to a location marked as the D-25 sector on the Star Map. The light there was dim, with large swaths of shadow signifying the unknown.
The G-771 Plane was situated right there.
Departing from the Council headquarters, even at full speed, it would take a full month and a half to get there.
"Being far from the center means untapped rich mines, pristine planar ecosystems, and cheap raw materials," Allen muttered to himself. "But it also means the decline of law and order, and a carnival for Black Wizards."
[Warning: Approaching the main line of the Gray Channel in thirty million kilometers.]
[Adjusting speed. Dimensional navigation engine output reduced to 40%. Super AT Force Field switched to low-energy cruise mode.]
The battleship jolted slightly.
Outside the floor-to-ceiling observation window, the previously dim and chaotic Sea of Magical Power abruptly brightened. A silver-gray band of light, tens of thousands of kilometers wide, stretched across the void. It looked like a roaring river flowing with starlight, constantly showcasing the pinnacle technology and capabilities of the Wizard Civilization.
The moment the Ten Thousand Miles of Sunshine merged into the main route, the surrounding view suddenly cleared up. Many flying constructs of various shapes were weaving through this band of light.
To the front left, a massive, three-thousand-meter-long bone ship was carving through the waves. It was a transport ship of the Necromancy School, its hull constructed entirely from the spliced skeletons of some Starry Beasts. Eerie green Soul Fire burned between the ribs, serving as its propulsion.
To the right, a small Floating Island encased in a Transparent Force Field drifted slowly by. Expansive clusters of strange, glowing plants grew on the island, which was being pulled by chains attached to several Void Ray Fish measuring hundreds of meters in length. That was a mobile manor of the Contract School, closely followed by a Life Ark that resembled living coral, continuously growing and extending countless tentacles.
There were also exotic Flying Shuttles made of pure elements, roaring Mechanical Airships, and even Bloodline Wizards crossing the void directly with their physical bodies.
Merchant ships, battleships, exploration vessels, slave ships...
The bizarre, savagely growing prosperity and uncanniness of the Wizard Civilization were taken in all at once in this moment.
"So this is... the Gray Channel." It was a grand panorama unique to the Wizard Civilization.
The sleek hull and angular, cold sci-fi design of the Ten Thousand Miles of Sunshine stood out glaringly among the hodgepodge of bizarre ships. Coupled with its massive main cannon and eighty-four pitch-black plasma secondary cannons, it radiated an undisguised aesthetic of violence.
The nearby merchant ships, which had been sailing smoothly, took the initiative to change course and put a safe distance between themselves and the battleship.
On a channel with no strong legal constraints, firepower was the best passport.
"Jarvis, initiate commercial sniffing and collect trade data from public channels," Allen ordered, taking a sip of a trendy beverage. The long voyage had made him a bit bored, so he had to find something to do.
[Intercepting public commercial broadcasts...]
[Comparing data... Commodity price fluctuation model established.]
A waterfall of information instantly streamed across the light screen.
[Black Iron Ore: Core zone purchase price 40 Magic Stones/ton; current sector purchase price 35 Magic Stones/ton.]
[Standard Low-Level Magic Stone: Based on the core zone benchmark, current sector premium rate 5%.]
[Standard Protection Scroll: Core zone selling price 500 Magic Stones; current sector selling price 800 Magic Stones.]
...
A classic price gap.
The closer to the fringe, the more the prices of manufactured industrial goods, advanced knowledge, and Alchemy armaments skyrocketed exponentially. Meanwhile, the prices of raw materials and unprocessed ores were suppressed to rock bottom.
Because fringe planes lacked complete industrial systems and advanced Alchemy Wizards, they were reduced to mere extraction sites for raw materials.
"No wonder those veteran Morning Stars would rather sink their funds into channel trade than go pioneer new lands themselves." A shrewd gleam flashed in Allen’s eyes.
For most Wizards, cross-plane transportation was exorbitantly expensive and fraught with massive depreciation and risk. But he was different.
He possessed the Cybertron Half-Plane, fully automated Golem production lines, the industrial capacity to source and process materials locally at any time, and over a dozen top-tier laboratories—each running a sub-thread dedicated to research and development.
He didn’t need to transport raw materials back to the core zone for processing only to sell them back again. He could establish an industrial base right in the G-771 Plane, dump industrial goods directly in the latter half of the channel, and reverse-harvest the wealth of the entire region.
"It shouldn’t take long to earn back that 20.5 billion I spent on the land, with interest to boot," Allen thought, quickly calculating his return on investment.
Time flew by during the tedious voyage.
The battleship continued its advance along the Gray Channel. Ten days, twenty days, thirty days...
The scenery outside the window gradually changed. Past the D-10 sector, the previously dense fleets of merchant ships thinned out. Those luxurious Floating Islands and the investigation fleets of large academies became practically non-existent.
Taking their place were armed smuggling ships covered entirely in concealment Runes, and Black Wizard vessels outfitted with offensive weaponry. Every single ship moved in a rush.
The energy light bands on both sides of the channel also grew unstable. Occasionally, the wreckage of destroyed ships could be seen floating in the void.
This was the edge of order, a hunting ground frequently prowled by Black Wizard raiding fleets and all sorts of unknown monsters.
[Notice: The battleship has entered a ’Risk Sector’.]
[Current area is outside the regular patrol range of the Mystic Code Council.]
[Detecting an increase in spatial interference bands. The probability of encountering a Black Wizard raiding fleet has risen to 42.7%.]
Jarvis’s alarms echoed through the bridge.
Allen’s expression remained unchanged. He stood up, walked to the massive floor-to-ceiling window, and gazed down at the Sea of Magical Power, which was steadily growing dimmer and more profound ahead.
According to public intelligence, many Black Wizards specialized in looting passing merchant ships in the latter half of the Gray Channel, or even directly invading weakly defended resource planes.
Allen wasn’t afraid of a conflict. On the contrary, having verified the feasibility of "Law Stealing," he was actually looking forward to one. His Thanatos needed more Dawn Star Level souls to fuel its furnace, and his Metal Law research required the remains of High-tier Casters as control samples.
But as a rigorous manager, Allen preferred to advance his plans step by step.
"Let’s hope this journey stays peaceful. I don’t want anything delaying my money-making schedule."
Before his words could even fade—
Blinding red lights suddenly flashed frantically across the bridge!
[Alert! Alert!]
[Detecting three high-energy biological readings approaching from the eleven o’clock direction!]
[Unknown hostile targets are breaking through the energy tides and approaching at high speeds!]
[Warning! This vessel has been locked onto!]
Allen’s composed expression instantly broke, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.
"Me and my big mouth..."