020 The Discovery of the Street Stall Area
As time passed, the number of creatures in the market increased, soon reaching hundreds. Under the gaze of ten first-order Fire Sun terracotta warriors, these creatures of different races behaved extremely well. After a few hours, surprisingly, there were no troublemakers among them, which somewhat surprised Song Chi.
In a short period, all the items wholesaled yesterday were sold out, fetching prices at least triple their original value, resulting in substantial profits for him.
However, amidst his happiness, Song Chi also sighed inwardly.
His starting capital had been quite modest, so even with several times the price difference, his earnings amounted to less than a thousand strands of zero-order floating land origin. It was a decent sum but not overly significant.
Luckily, transactions continued in the free stall area, and the simple transaction tax added to his earnings significantly.
Song Chi, now holding more than a thousand strands of Zero Level Floating Land Origin's funds, was quite confident. He disguised himself as a trader and wandered into the stall area.
Of course, the term "Thousands of Thousand Thousand Levels of Floating Land Origin" was just an expression. It didn't mean he actually had more than a thousand thousand thousand floating land origins in hand. At present, he possessed more life protozoa. However, according to the influential domain of the Xinhuo Human Civilization, the total value exceeded a thousand strands of zero-order floating land origin.
Resources like floating land origin were typically used as currency only by intermediate-level star sea civilizations and above. For lower-level civilizations, life proto-nuclei served as hard currency.
...
The stall area was not large, and the 10m x 10m space seemed cramped with hundreds of intelligent creatures from across the star sea.
Seeing this, Song Chi decided to spend 150 strands of zero-level floating land source to upgrade the market from lv0 to lv5.
Amidst the uncertainty of the numerous intelligent creatures, Heaven's Market began expanding rapidly, quickly reaching dimensions of 300m x 300m.
Simultaneously, the stall area also expanded from a meager 10m x 10m to 30m x 30m. Though still crowded, it was a marked improvement.
[Name: Heaven's Market]
[Market owner: Song Chi]
[Level: lv5]
[Specification: 300m x 300m]
[Basic configuration: 24 vacant shops, 1 30m x 30m stall area, 1 first-floor inn (30 rooms), 1 lv0 full attribute training room (doubles psionic energy practice efficiency), lv0 psionic energy protective array, random delivery platform for lv0 ultra-long-range space door.]
[Additional configuration: None (0/4)]
[Characteristics: Avoid evil (can move freely in the void, avoiding natural disasters)]
[Required for upgrade: 60 strands of floating land source (zero level), market transaction volume reaches 600 strands of floating land origin (zero level)]
[Note: This inconspicuous little market located on the dark side of the Broken Star Sea seems to only allow creatures below the first level to enter. Fortunately, it has good potential.]
Looking at the market attribute panel visible only to him, Song Chi frowned slightly.
Even with the addition of two configuration slots when the market upgraded to lv5, including the all-attribute training room, the ultra-remote space door random delivery platform, and the nether energy protection array, nothing had changed. Strengthening these three in the future would clearly require additional resources.
Receiving this news didn't improve his mood much.
The only consolation was the market's monthly openings, which ensured stable income as long as his initial capital remained adequate and the space gate placement strategic.
After the upgrade, Song Chi began to explore various stalls, hoping to discover some bargains.
Prices varied widely across the Shattered Star Sea. Perhaps some items in the possession of other alien races, priced cheaply, were incredibly scarce resources within the strong human civilization.
Surveying the stalls, Song Chi shook his head repeatedly.
"One ton of refined iron ore costs twenty level 0 life proto-cores. That's twice the price outside the market. Any sensible buyer would balk at that." "Two tons of mithril raw ore cost eight level 1 life proto-cores. It's slightly cheaper than market rates, but without shipping channels, one would lose money on the black market."
...
Ten minutes later, Song Chi halted in front of a small stall run by a cow-headed man.
His gaze appeared casual, but he surreptitiously kept glancing at a palm-sized black ball.
[Rare Item: Adamantite Rough Stone]
[Quality: white]
[Evolvable: 1 {Gold Moon Guan Dao}, 2 {Gold Rock Shield}, 3 {Gold Rock Hull Armor}]
[Remarks: The finest among white wonders.]
This seemingly ordinary black spherical object was actually an exceptional white wonder.
Song Chi had been excited upon discovering it. His initial goal was to find materials with significant price differences, not rare items. Encountering such a surprise delighted him.
It was known that every star sea rare object was exceedingly precious, taking a long time to form, even the lowest-level white rare object.
Pretending to browse other items on the stall, Song Chi finally picked up the black ball with apparent nonchalance.
"What's this?"
At his inquiry, the ox-headed stall owner scratched his head awkwardly. Acquired from slaying a warrior of a rival tribe, he had never identified the ore's type, only knowing it was extraordinarily hard, beyond even the best blacksmiths' skill in his tribe.
"If you're interested, it's yours for 100 Level 0 Life Cores. This ore's quality is top-notch. Once forged into a weapon, its destructive power would be astonishing."
Song Chi frowned and countered.
"Since we're uncertain about the metal ore type, 100 zero-level life proto-cores seem excessive. How about 50 cores?"
Direct agreement might raise suspicions, hence the need for cautious negotiation.
In the end, Song Chi acquired this white wonder for 75 zero-level life nuclei.
Though his expression remained composed as he examined the rough gold stone, inwardly he was smiling broadly.
Adamantite rough stone and adamantite ore were essentially the same ore, with the former being the essence of an entire large adamantine ore vein, far more valuable than its refined counterpart.
The attribute panel revealed it could be fashioned into the hull armor of a Fireship or into standalone weapons and shields.
With this acquisition, Song Chi savored success and frequented various stalls in search of another Xinghai rare object.
Along the way, he procured several batches of rare materials from the strongholds of Xinhuo Civilization. Even if he sold them later on the black market, he could still net over a hundred strands of zero-order floating land origin—better than nothing.
As time passed and over half the market's opening hours elapsed, Song Chi's expression turned somewhat grim.
He recalled having positioned a space gate in a robust mechanical civilization recorded by Xinhuo Human Civilization, yet no mechanical race had yet entered the market—disappointing him slightly.