Chapter 104
Seeing Ye Bai's expression, Kazmai proudly patted his round belly. "These two little treasures are exactly what every lord dreams of. I can sell each for just 5 gold coins or 10 Source Crystals."
"No problem, I'll take them."
The price wasn't exactly cheap, but the rarity of the black gold sheep lay in their scarcity. Since they were already delivered to the territory, Ye Bai certainly wouldn't let this opportunity slip by.
During her time at the Merchant Guild, Ye Bai had increased her livestock inventory and had arranged for the villagers to build pastures in advance. By today, two pastures were already completed, and buying these two black gold sheep meant they could be sent there immediately.
Currently, Ye Bai had a total of 29 gold coins, 23 silver, and 55 copper. This included 10 gold coins obtained from defeating the Crocodile King boss, 60 silver paid to the territory's guards and soldiers, and 40 silver from selling night cloaks to five players.
This time, Ye Bai planned to use gold coins for the transaction; the Source Crystals would still be useful after upgrading the town, so there was no need to sell them just yet.
Next, Ye Bai turned her attention to the blueprint.
【Swift Military Boots Crafting Blueprint】
Description: Method for crafting the equipment 'Swift Military Boots.'
Required Building: Tailor Shop
Craftsman Restriction: Tailor profession
Materials Needed: Beast Hides x4, Refined Gold x2
Another blueprint for crafting high-quality equipment at a rare level, perfectly matching her "pillar industry." The price was 6 gold coins—she bought it!
The remaining items were just some food, candles, spices, cowhide, and linen—resources that would never run low. After a quick glance, Ye Bai decided to clear them out.
In total, she spent 19 gold coins. Kazmai generously rounded down the total and even added 10 points to her personal favorability.
After this round of purchases, Ye Bai's gold coins dwindled to a precarious 10.
"Not much money left..."
Ye Bai glanced at the players lurking nearby in the market, their heads peeking around.
Instantly, a chill ran through them, and they hurriedly turned to leave, pretending nothing was amiss.
"…"
Besides harvesting the chives, it seemed she would have to hunt some bosses to earn more gold. With so few coins, she always felt insecure.
Ye Bai sighed inwardly, unaware that if other factions with only 10 gold coins in liquid assets knew of her plight, they would have their own thoughts.
Suddenly, she noticed that her alarm was about to go off. With a thought, she logged off.
At this time, there were less than 10 minutes left until the spaceship arrived at the Illusory Sea Star.
Upon returning to reality, Ye Bai sensed a change in the magnetic field around her. She released the shield on her personal terminal, and the next moment, she received a notification:
【New communication signal received. Would you like to connect?】
【Yes】
With her agreement, Ye Bai opened the "skylight" above her head, and the transparent cabin faithfully reflected the outside scenery.
At that moment, the spaceship she was on was slowly entering a space station.
A blue-purple planet, shrouded in dreamy colors, appeared in her view. It had two moons orbiting it, and further out in its orbit, she could see two other planets revolving around the system's star.
The newly connected signal sent Ye Bai a message:
"Dear traveler, welcome to the Illusory Sea System."
---
"Attention passengers, this flight is about to reach its destination. Please gather your personal belongings..."
As the spaceship entered the space station, Ye Bai heard the sounds of other travelers moving about in the cabin.
Being essentially alone, Ye Bai had no luggage. Fortunately, she had over 20,000 star coins on her, which was more than enough to live on for a while, even in the advanced civilization of the Illusory Sea System.
【Dialing new communication, contact 'Aurora.' Would you like to send?】
【Yes】
Ye Bai smiled. The interesting part of interstellar travel lay in this: without using the star network, Aurora's message had likely already reached Blue Star. After finding no information source, it would be forwarded to her signal's previous location, Markur Star. By the time it reached the Illusory Sea Star, Ye Bai would have already been living there for some time.
As the signal connected, Aurora's long-missed face appeared once more in Ye Bai's consciousness.
Aurora stood at 1.8 meters tall, with large, bright eyes, a small nose, and flawless, porcelain skin. Aside from her hair floating in a gravity-defying manner when she was excited, Illusory Sea people were not much different from those of Blue Star. These features were classified as Type IV carbon-based life.
"Ye Bai, are you okay?" Aurora's hair, resembling jellyfish tentacles, floated around as her excitement bubbled over.
"I'm doing well," Ye Bai replied with a smile.
Through the holographic communication, Aurora looked Ye Bai up and down a few times, relieved to see her safe.
"That's great! I'm so glad you're okay. The day I left, your signal cut off before you finished speaking. After seeing the news about Markur Star, I contacted the Star Alliance on the star network. I wasn't sure at first, but I can't believe you really ended up there!"
As she spoke, Aurora glanced around, then lowered her voice, suppressing her excitement. "I took a half-day off. Wait for me for ten minutes after you arrive at the space station. I'll come pick you up, and we can go soak in the hot springs together."
Ye Bai paused, recalling that Aurora had once told her that in Illusory Sea civilization, soaking in hot springs together was as common a social ritual as dining and drinking.
"Okay..." Ye Bai replied, feeling a bit out of her element but willing to go along with the customs.
They didn't wait long at the space station before Aurora arrived in her private spaceship.
In the interstellar age, transportation within planets was no longer considered a vehicle; private spaceships had replaced cars.
"This is my first time on a private spaceship."
Having never seen one before, Ye Bai curiously looked around. Aurora, far from being condescending, excitedly began to give her a detailed introduction.
"Hahaha, then you’ve come to the right place! Check out my FD V generation warp engine! If I upgrade the cabin structure, it could even make interstellar voyages..."
"Wow! That's amazing!"
The two quickly fell into an animated conversation. It must be said that there’s a reason some people become friends.
Before long, the spaceship entered the blue-purple planet Ye Bai had first seen.
To her surprise, she learned that this seemingly advanced planet was called Giant Sea Star, not the home planet of the Illusory Sea civilization, which was actually located further out in the orbit. The Illusory Sea Star was a reserved area intentionally kept free from outside influence.
In contrast, Giant Sea Star was a semi-open planet, akin to a "new development zone" marked by the Illusory Sea civilization.
Spaceships and personnel with permission could enter and settle on Giant Sea Star, which had a livability rating of 4. Even before reaching D-level, Ye Bai could live here comfortably, let alone now that she had adapted to harsher cosmic environments.
After the spaceship landed at the spaceport, the two made their way to a bathhouse filled with Illusory Sea style.
Along the way, Ye Bai noticed that the ornamental plants lining the streets were all spore-like, in shades of pink and blue, creating a strangely dreamlike atmosphere.
"Splish splash..."
Ye Bai and Aurora entered a private hot spring pool. Somehow, the softly scented water kept bubbling up with a multitude of bubbles, adding a sense of ritual to the experience.
"Ah..." Ye Bai slowly adjusted to this peculiar sensation, while Aurora had already begun to enjoy herself.
After a while, Aurora turned to Ye Bai, her expression turning apologetic. "Ye Bai, I'm sorry. It was my fault for sending you that resume on the star network. I should have looked into Markur Star's reputation more carefully before telling you."
In Aurora's eyes, Ye Bai had gone directly to Markur Star for a job, only to discover the background of that corporation.
But Ye Bai knew the reality was far from what Aurora imagined. If she had gone there at that time, she might have ended up as a monkey in a public zoo, captured along the way and taken to an underground auction.
"It's not your fault. Before the situation was revealed, they did seem like a legitimate business."
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