“What do you mean, ‘not necessarily?’ Think about it. The reason we’re all crammed together on this ship, swallowing our pride, is because we didn't have ships to begin with. Everyone had to grit their teeth and squeeze together, trying to earn their first pot of gold and accumulate initial capital. That's why we had to listen to the orders from above. But when the great era opens up, everyone will have money and be able to freely buy ships for interstellar voyages. Who will give a damn about him then? He might even have to come begging to the major forces. I'm telling you, this is what happens when you don't know how to treat people.”

“That makes sense, but that's all in the future. What do we do now? We’re practically broke.”

“Yeah, our deficit is even worse now. If we can't find any resources, we're really going to become a joke.”

“What else can we do? We can only try to get Su Mo to take us along for some scraps. Otherwise, we're really going bankrupt.”

“Do you think he'll be willing?”

“We don't need to worry about that. I heard the family elders are discussing going to Ye Xue and asking her to help us out. But Ye Xue isn't on the Black Tooth right now. She seems to be out on some other assignment. We need to be patient and wait.”

“What if it doesn't work? Su Mo seems like a hard person to talk to.”

“Then we can only do Lord Sperd's mission and search for anomalous regions.”

.....

A strange look appeared on Su Mo’s face. It wasn't that he didn't understand how to be flexible. It wasn't that he wouldn't take anyone along. It's just like the old saying goes, 'Fertile water should not flow into other people's fields.' That's why he didn't bring along those unfamiliar people whose backgrounds he didn't know.

Like Xiao Wen and the others, Su Mo brought them in, didn't he?

As for mining, there was even less to say. Although he had Zhao Wushuang fully in charge, Zhao Wushuang would still share a portion of the final profits with him.

He wasn't stupid. He wouldn't refuse money that he deserved.

As for the complaints from these Ye family members, Su Mo wouldn't take them to heart.

The reason he brought the Ye family along in the first place was for Qian Chengxue's sake, not really for the Ye family.

Whether they appreciated it or not, it was none of his business.

After a long while, Su Mo finished eating and slowly strolled towards the GT department's maintenance area alone.

He had a troubled expression on his face as he muttered to himself.

"What to do?"

Su Mo's mind was full of thoughts about how to explore.

For a moment, he really couldn't think of a good way. Could it be that he really had to get a ship and slowly drift around in space?

"What are you dawdling around here for? Hurry up and see if the mecha's internal energy has been replaced and get ready to set off for exploration."

The voice of the Artificial Creator·Devourer sounded in Su Mo's mind.

Su Mo responded to the Artificial Creator·Devourer in his mind with a helpless expression.

"How can I go out and explore? By driving the Gluttony mecha? If the profit from going out isn't one million star coins, wouldn't I be losing money? And even if the profit exceeds one million star coins, it won't work. You still have to calculate that damn tax, as well as mining costs and conversion losses. To put it bluntly, we don't have a clear target right now. If we go out and don't find a resource point worth more than five million star coins, I'll lose everything!”

"So, you're planning to give up?"

The Artificial Creator·Devourer asked in a deep voice. If it were any other time, it would be too lazy to urge Su Mo. But now it was different. There really were Titan relics in this starry sky.

"It's not that I want to give up, it's that I need to think about what to do."

Su Mo said with a headache.

"What is there to think about? Just drive the Gluttony mecha out there. Did you think you could drive other toys out there? Did you think exploring wouldn't be dangerous?”

The Artificial Creator·Devourer didn't consider other options at all.

"The problem is that I can't afford it! One trip could turn me into a pauper!"

This was the first time Su Mo had worried about money.

The Artificial Creator·Devourer was silent for a few seconds before replying, "Let's go. If this exploration fails, it's on me. I'll cover your losses."

Su Mo was very surprised and delighted after hearing this. He couldn't believe that the Artificial Creator·Devourer had changed its nature?

"Are you sure you're not lying to me?"

"I keep my word."

The Artificial Creator·Devourer replied without hesitation.

"Okay, with you saying that, there's nothing to hesitate about. Let's go!"

Su Mo was immediately full of confidence and ran towards the maintenance area.

Soon after, he arrived at the maintenance area and saw that the Gluttony mecha's nuclear fuel rods had been replaced.

Obick's efficiency was even more efficient than Su Mo had imagined.

"Is my mecha ready?"

Su Mo walked up and asked somewhat timidly.

Obick turned to look at Su Mo and said politely, "Lord Su Mo, your mecha's internal energy has been replaced."

"Ah, good, thank you for your hard work. I'll go up and try it out."

Su Mo replied with a smile.

"Wait, Lord Su Mo."

Obick called out to Su Mo.

"Uh, what's wrong? Is there something?"

Su Mo asked with a somewhat unnatural expression.

"Lord Su Mo, please don't be foolish and drive the Gluttony mecha around again. If you do that, we'll be in trouble too. And this matter is very serious. We don't have many nuclear fuel rods left in our own reserves."

Obick exhorted Su Mo worriedly.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. I won't."

Su Mo perfunctorily said awkwardly.

"That's good."

Obick didn't say anything more when he heard Su Mo say that.

Seeing this, Su Mo quickly got into the mecha.

Not long after, the Gluttony mecha once again left the Black Tooth. Without saying a word, Su Mo controlled the Gluttony mecha and rushed towards the distant starry sky, trying to get away from the Black Tooth as quickly as possible, as if he were a thief.

Inside the cockpit, Su Mo said to the Artificial Creator·Devourer.

"Next, I'm really counting on you. I'm betting everything I have on this."

"Don't worry, you know my abilities."

"Alright, let's go!"

Su Mo was full of confidence and pushed the control stick.

The Gluttony mecha followed the direction it had come from and turned into a stream of light, disappearing into the vast starry sky.

---------------------------------------------------

More than half a month later, the Gluttony mecha floated above a barren planet.

Su Mo looked at the remaining internal energy content displayed on the console, which had dropped to 55% and was about to fall below 50%.

He twitched his lips and said to the Artificial Creator·Devourer.

"Big brother, the internal energy is about to fall below 50%. Have you found a resource planet yet?"

Su Mo was now directly treating the Artificial Creator·Devourer like his big brother.

"No."

The Artificial Creator·Devourer replied.

"Are you sure you're up to this?"

Su Mo was about to cry. The fuller of confidence he was before, the stronger the contrast was now.

"How am I not up to it? The problem is that there aren't any resources in this area, okay? There has to be resources for me to tell you!"

"We've run so far, is there really nothing at all? Could we have accidentally missed something?"