More Loss Than Gain

"First place in the freshman coefficient score? Is there a reward for that?" Xia Yao asked, slightly puzzled. "First place gets one million Star Coins," Fang Yu said. "The top ten get three hundred thousand." "A million?" Xia Yao's eyes widened, and she could not help blurting out, "Damn, the university is really generous to you guys. My annual training stipend is only three hundred thousand—everything else, I have to earn myself." "Then again, it makes sense." "You spent your first three years studying at a junior college, yet you managed to advance straight to elite students. You have immense potential, so it's only natural they'd give you some extra compensation." Xia Yao pondered for a moment before adding, "Putting it that way, Fan Xing has too massive an advantage. Surpassing his coefficient score is going to be really tough for you." "His Life Level is so much higher, and his overall strength is probably still greater than yours. The only reason your coefficient scores are tied right now is that the dire beasts in the Safe Zone are Level 20 at most," Xia Yao said. "Once you reach the Wilderness Zone, the beasts his team hunts will definitely be stronger." Fang Yu nodded in agreement. Earlier, he had wondered why his coefficient score had not pulled ahead despite how hard he had been hunting... Only with Xia Yao's explanation did he realize the gap in their Life Levels was that significant. "Still, no need to be discouraged. You're not completely out of chances." Xia Yao smiled again. "Following an Earth team to hunt powerful beasts makes it very easy to end up being dead weight." "Civilization points are automatically distributed based on the contribution of each member involved in the hunt. If his contribution is negligible, his efficiency in earning points might not keep up with yours," Xia Yao noted. "After all, in our team, you're an absolute main force." Fang Yu gave a slight smile, knowing she was trying to console him. He saw things clearly enough. When it came to the freshman rankings, doing his best was all that mattered... What truly counted was dedicating himself to cultivation and tempering his own abilities. He could not put the cart before the horse. "Do you want to keep hunting?" Xia Yao asked. "No, let's call it." "After reaching 1.1, the coefficient score barely budges with civilization points," Fang Yu said, shaking his head. "I doubt killing another hundred beasts would get me to 1.2." "Let's head back, rest, and then train." In this kind of trial hunting, the dire beasts were generally far weaker than Fang Yu, offering little benefit in tempering his saber technique or footwork. If he wanted to grow stronger, he mainly had to rely on his fist technique training. "All right." "Relying solely on hunting Safe Zone beasts can push a coefficient score to 1.2 at most, and the number of kills required is staggering," Xia Yao said with a shrug. "Over these past two days, freshmen from several universities across Xia Country just arrived at the Trainee Base, so there was still a decent buildup of beasts in the Safe Zone. Moving forward, their numbers will plummet, and finding them will get harder and harder." "That's why seniors like us never bother coming out here." "Heading back to recuperate and save our energy for when we enter the Wilderness Zone is a good idea anyway." *** Meanwhile, aboard the aircraft carrying Fan Xing. "Fan Xing, was that the guy you mentioned earlier? The Fang Yu who's right on your heels on the leaderboard?" asked a stoic young man seated beside Fan Xing. "Yeah." The smile on Fan Xing's face had faded, and his brow furrowed slightly. "My kill rate has been pretty fast. I thought I'd have a commanding lead, but I didn't expect his coefficient score to hit 1.1 so quickly as well." "No need to dwell on it." "Once we enter the Wilderness Zone, with the captain's help, your coefficient score will rise rapidly, and you'll naturally leave him far behind," the stoic young man said, shaking his head. "Still, even though the captain agreed to take you into the team, if you want to earn the respect of everyone else, you'll need to work hard." "Understood," Fan Xing nodded, though he sneered internally. The stoic youth seemed concerned on the surface, but he was subtly steering the topic toward the captain... As if Fan Xing would ever reveal his connection to the captain. Fan Xing was well aware that most members of the team resented him. *It wasn't easy awakening a Low-Rank Star in junior college and then evolving it into a Middle-Rank Star Aspect. What I need to do now is secure first place among the freshmen,* Fan Xing thought to himself. *I won't let Big Brother down.* His spot on this Earth team was owed entirely to his older brother's connections. *** Taking half an hour to travel from the edge of the Safe Zone back to base, Xia Yao carried a large sack of loot and brought Fang Yu to the Commodity Sales Center at the heart of the base. The interior was spacious. Dozens of passageways stretched out, with people occasionally seen carrying spoils along the corridors into small rooms. Since there were not many people around right now, there was no need to wait in line. "If it's Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures—like herbs, ores, spiritual marrow, and the like—you can choose to sell them to the base, or take them back to Blue Star to find your own channels to sell," Xia Yao explained. "However, trophies carved from dire beasts must be sold to the base." "Smuggling them back to Blue Star is strictly forbidden. If caught, you'll face severe penalties," Xia Yao said. Fang Yu nodded without asking why. On the Primordial Star, there were many rules that seemed unreasonable on the surface. Before long, the two entered an appraisal room. Inside were three humanoid simulation androids, who skillfully unpacked the items from Xia Yao's sack, appraising and sorting them one by one. In just a few minutes: "All items valued at a total selling price of 7,800 Star Coins," the android with a badge on its chest announced in a cold tone. "Do you wish to receive Star Coins, or exchange them for Primordial Points?" "If exchanged for Primordial Points, you will receive 1.56 Primordial Points." "Primordial Points," Xia Yao answered without hesitation, pointing at Fang Yu. "Transfer all of it to him." Shortly after, 1.56 Primordial Points were credited under Fang Yu's name. The two promptly exited the Commodity Sales Center. "I bustled around for half the day, killed dozens of dire beasts, and ended up with just this pittance of Primordial Points?" Fang Yu could not help saying. "It barely covers the wear and tear on my weapons." Battling dire beasts meant risking one's life. On top of that, gear like weapons, combat suits, and combat boots suffered abrasion and wear. When sold for salvage later on, their buyback price would be substantially lower than what they cost new. "Now do you see why seniors like us would rather rest a few extra days than hunt low-level beasts in the Safe Zone?" Xia Yao chuckled. "The effort and return simply aren't proportional." "Only freshmen going through their trials would bother hunting more of them." "Actually," "This is also a deliberate tactic by the space base to push us into the Wilderness Zone," Xia Yao mused. "The spoils from slaying beasts in their twenties fetch far higher prices, and with a bit of luck, you might even find some Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures... That's the quickest way to make money." "Relying solely on killing dire beasts? You'll never get rich in a lifetime," Xia Yao said, shaking her head. "Slaughtering beasts is mainly done to earn Primordial Points." "What's your total tally of Primordial Points now?"