A Theory and a Price

"Dragonform Grass?" "Four stalks?" Fang Yu, Bai Chen, and the others all had their eyes light up. On the Primordial Star, there were dozens of common Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, with Crimson Star Grass and Dragonform Grass being the most prevalent. Both aided living beings in absorbing star force. They were also the raw ingredients for Crimson Star Pills and Dragonform Pills. A mature stalk of Crimson Star Grass generally sold for between 11,000 and 13,000 Star Coins. Dragonform Grass, however, commanded a far steeper price—at least 200,000 Star Coins per stalk. "Are you sure they're mature?" Bai Chen pressed hurriedly. "Positive," Xia Yao nodded repeatedly. "Dragonform Grass contains refined star force essence, its entire body is blood-red, its creeping vines twist like a dragon, and atop it rests a single leaf divided into six lobes..." As she spoke, Xia Yao even prepared to unfasten her battlesuit to retrieve the hidden Dragonform Grass. "All right, all right," Bai Chen chuckled softly. "I believe you. It's just hard to take in all at once that so many stalks of Dragonform Grass could grow so close to the base." "Though when you think about it, it makes sense. If this area could nurture so much Crimson Star Grass, it must be a place rich in star force..." "There's no time to lose. Let's move immediately and hurry back to the base before anything else happens," Bai Chen said in a low voice. "Remember, until we're back inside the base, no one is to speak the words 'Dragonform Grass' again, just in case someone is listening in secret." "Mm." "Understood." "Let's go. Back to the base, quick." No one dared delay any longer. Carrying portions of their spoils on their shoulders, they hurried toward the space base. Originally, the continuous traveling and intense battles had left them all thoroughly exhausted. Yet the thought of the Dragonform Grass revitalized them. Even laden with heavy hauls of spoils, they reached the Safe Zone's perimeter in just half an hour. Passing the mechanical tower, they stepped into the Safe Zone. Only then did everyone finally breathe a collective sigh of relief. "Inside the Safe Zone, everything is under surveillance. Even an Earth Martial Artist wouldn't dare act recklessly here," Bai Chen said with a smile. "Even if Xia Tao finds out, he can't touch us. The spoils are completely ours." "Great!" "We're going to make a fortune." Bai Chen, Xiong Meng, and the rest all broke into smiles. Having twenty stalks of Crimson Star Grass forcefully seized by Xia Tao had made them feel utterly aggrieved, but realizing he had missed four far more valuable stalks of Dragonform Grass made them feel considerably better. "I've already called for a base transport craft. Everyone, take a rest," Bai Chen said. "We can ride straight back to the base in a bit—no need to hike any further." "Hahaha, awesome, Captain." "It's another hundred kilometers to the base; I didn't want to walk another step." Everyone set down their packs of spoils and slumped onto the ground. Only Xia Yao remained dedicated to her duty, standing atop a small rise and warily keeping watch over the surroundings. Though they had reached the Safe Zone, low-level dire beasts could still appear. "Captain, someone like Xia Tao, so arrogant and domineering, even openly seizing others' treasures..." Fang Yu sat down beside Bai Chen, a glint of killing intent in his eyes. "Does the space base really do nothing about it? Does the alliance place no restrictions on them?" Just earlier, although Bai Chen had handled the entire confrontation with Xia Tao, Fang Yu knew full well that they had all walked along the edge of death. "Restrictions? Doesn't the alliance have restrictions?" Bai Chen gave a self-mocking laugh. "The Blue Moon Alliance has explicit laws stating that martial artists cannot slaughter one another, and the university has its rules too... During the practical combat period, students are forbidden from killing one another." "The space base monitors everything as well... If they had actually murdered us, a massive chunk of their Primordial Points would have been deducted. And because we're from the same school, tracking them down would have been easy." "That's the only reason they didn't lay a hand on us," Bai Chen sighed softly. "Otherwise, we would've been dead meat today." Fang Yu fell silent. It sounded logical. Had the other party not harbored reservations, their squad likely would have been slaughtered. "This is your first time encountering something like this, so it feels suffocating," Bai Chen said, shaking his head. "Run into it a few more times, and you'll come to understand the bloody rules of the Wilderness Zone." "Getting out in one piece today is already a stroke of luck." Fang Yu nodded slightly. Subconsciously, Fang Yu recalled how vigilant the captain had been when they ran into Zhang Tao's squad... Bai Chen truly knew the rules of the Wilderness Zone inside out. "I know what you're thinking. Whenever we kill a dire beast, our communication star rings register it immediately, and if martial artists slaughter each other, Primordial Points are deducted in an instant," Bai Chen whispered. "This proves that every single one of our actions is monitored. If the space base wanted to, it could easily clamp down hard on infighting among Civilization Warriors." Fang Yu couldn't help but nod. That was precisely what puzzled him. On the Blue Star, the Blue Moon Alliance maintained strict oversight over martial artists. Consequently, although ordinary people wouldn't dare provoke powerful martial artists, even if they somehow did, they wouldn't have to fear being murdered outright. Yet on the Primordial Star... things were completely different. While powerful martial artists were not entirely unrestrained, the Blue Moon Alliance currently seemed unable to exert effective supervision over them. "Back then, I had the exact same doubts. It's not just us—countless martial artists have shared this confusion," Bai Chen said quietly. "Because of that, a theory has circulated among martial artists for a very long time." "A theory?" Fang Yu asked curiously. "That the space base is not controlled by the Blue Moon Alliance—or at least, not entirely," Bai Chen enunciated each word carefully. "It's very likely that the Blue Moon Alliance only obtained partial authorization from the space base, allowing them to organize and dispatch martial artists from the alliance down to the Primordial Star to participate in combat." Fang Yu's mind buzzed. Such a conjecture sounded utterly unbelievable. After all, from childhood, the textbooks had always recounted the hardships the Blue Moon Alliance endured landing on the Primordial Star and establishing the space base. However... If this hypothesis were true, then many seemingly unreasonable rules and peculiar occurrences suddenly made complete sense. "If the space base isn't controlled by the Blue Moon Alliance, then who controls it?" Fang Yu couldn't help asking. "No idea. It's only a theory, not necessarily the truth," Bai Chen shook his head. "At least, among the martial artists I know, no one has been able to confirm it..." "Remember the notices on the Primordial Net? Our profiles all state that we are affiliated with the Blue Star," Bai Chen said with a smile. Fang Yu nodded. That detail had left a deep impression on him. Combine that with this theory, and consider that so many alien powerhouses were roaming the Primordial Star at the same time... Anyone with common sense would start drawing further conclusions. "So-called 'Civilization Warriors' doesn't mean warriors who are civilized or polite," Bai Chen chuckled. "It means we are warriors affiliated with the 'Blue Star Civilization.'" "Every martial artist who comes to the Primordial Star is a warrior of the Blue Star Civilization." "When warriors from different civilizations slaughter one another, Primordial Points are awarded. Clearly, they encourage us to fight against alien races." "At the very least, when martial artists engage in infighting, the space base imposes certain penalties... Combined with the Blue Star Alliance's regulations, even in the Wilderness Zone, powerful martial artists won't go on indiscriminate killing sprees," Bai Chen said. "However, wealth tempts the hearts of men. Plundering, kill-stealing, and seizing treasures are simply unavoidable." Fang Yu nodded in agreement. Even on the Blue Star, some martial artists took reckless gambles for wealth, let alone on the Primordial Star. A fragile constraint was still better than no constraint at all. "In any case, don't overthink it. The best thing we can do is grow stronger within the rules," Bai Chen said with a smile. "In reality, people like Xia Tao are in the minority." "Most martial artists still rely on their own hard work." "Walk along the river long enough, and your shoes are bound to get wet." "He can act arrogant now because he's still weak and his elders can shield him," Bai Chen sneered. "When he gets stronger and starts provoking more formidable martial artists, sooner or later, he'll mess with someone he can't afford to offend." *** More than an hour later, inside the space base. Under the amazed and envious gazes of numerous martial artists along the way, Fang Yu, Bai Chen, and the others, carrying large bundles and packs, strode into the base's Commodity Sales Center. Inside the room, two humanoid androids held scanning devices as they took down the stacked beast skins and sharp claws, inspecting them one by one. Corresponding prices promptly appeared on an electronic screen beside them. "3,200 Star Coins." "5,200 Star Coins." "1,180 Star Coins." ... Watching over one hundred assorted trophies, Fang Yu and the others saw that the most expensive item was the gallbladder of a Level 25 two-headed wire snake, which reached 12,000 Star Coins. Ultimately, the total price of all the spoils settled at 283,260 Star Coins, a figure that left everyone thoroughly satisfied. "Sale confirmed. Would you like to convert directly to Star Coins or to Primordial Points?" the android asked directly. "If converted to Primordial Points, it will be 56.65 Primordial Points." "Convert to Primordial Points," Bai Chen answered without hesitation. Soon, all the Primordial Points were transferred to Bai Chen's account. "This hunting excursion lasted four days. According to our agreement before forming the squad, as well as everyone's overall contribution during the hunt," Bai Chen said slowly, "the Primordial Points from these spoils will be split as follows: 25% for me, 20% for Fang Yu, 20% for Qin Yang, 18% for Xiong Meng, and 17% for Xia Yao." "Does anyone have any objections?" Bai Chen asked. "None." "Sounds good!" No one had any objections. If calculated strictly by combat contribution, Xia Yao and Xiong Meng combined fell far short of 35%, and they had earned the fewest Primordial Points from the actual kills. Precisely because of this, when distributing the spoils, the split tilted slightly in their favor as compensation. After all, their designated roles in the squad meant they were never positioned to earn many Primordial Points through direct combat. 'My share of the spoils comes to 11.33 Primordial Points, which isn't a huge amount,' Fang Yu thought to himself. 'However, the Primordial Points earned from slaying dire beasts over the four days total a full 42 points.' On average, this hunting trip netted Fang Yu over 13 Primordial Points a day. That was five to six times more efficient than hunting low-level dire beasts in the Safe Zone. High risk, high reward. "All right. Now let's sell the Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures." Bai Chen and Xia Yao brought out the remaining ten-plus stalks of Crimson Star Grass and the four stalks of Dragonform Grass. The humanoid android swiftly completed the appraisal. "These Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures have a total value of 926,000 Star Coins," the humanoid android stated the price. "Would you like to proceed with the sale?"