Less than half an hour passed.
The commissioner, whose shift had ended at what was considered "closing time," hurried from the floating city to the ground below. After a brief exchange with the Black Obsidian Realm guards, the commissioner, eyes wide with fear, proceeded to his post. He continuously wiped the fine sweat from his brow, resolving issues for ticket purchasers who had activated their passage to the floating city.
Status, it turned out, was indeed that important.
If Chen Yu were merely a low-level resident of the underground caves, then forget about causing a scene; even if he had thrown a tantrum and rolled around on the ground beneath the floating city, the other party wouldn't have spared him a single glance.
He might even have been imprisoned on charges of obstructing official business.
The ticket purchasers boarded the city, fully satisfied.
It wasn't as though Chen Yu gained nothing. Among the many ticket buyers, quite a few came to greet him to express their gratitude before ascending.
Some bolder individuals even tried to obtain Chen Yu's contact information.
To this—
Chen Yu had no reason to refuse.
The ability to spend hundreds of thousands of gold coins on tickets was enough to demonstrate the capabilities of these buyers. They might not be able to compare to major commercial clans like the Elton family, but economic development was driven by large trade associations leading countless small merchants.
In the future, Chen Yu's city would eventually need to be put on the right track.
Whether it was the free city-state in need of rebuilding or the Windfall City, which was preparing to quell disturbances and spanned seven thousand miles, both cities required commercial support.
Chen Yu didn't aspire for all these merchants to do business in his city.
It was about accumulating connections.
No one could guarantee that there wouldn't be a time when they would be needed.
The Batu Federation had scarce resources. Although the Elton family was deeply rooted, most of its members had already relocated to the Batu Federation. In the future, when Chen Yu's city developed, it would still require a great deal of resources. It would not be as smooth for the Elton family, situated in the Batu Federation, to acquire resources as it had been in the Tatu Kingdom.
Right now, these merchants were excellent potential collaborators.
Most importantly, having them handle procurement might not arouse suspicion.
Chen Yu's association with the Elton family was likely common knowledge among the Tatu Kingdom's royal family, and their attention would inevitably be focused there. Small merchants like these would help avoid such a situation.
Why not seize the opportunity?
"As expected of you, you can even make connections out of this. You really aren't picky," the little demon remarked, shaking its head as it watched the merchants leave with grateful expressions and bowed backs. "I thought you wouldn't bother with these small fry once you started interacting with more high-end people."
"Am I that kind of snob?"
Chen Yu smiled at the little demon, spreading his hands in a feigned posture.
"My heart is broad enough to encompass all things under heaven."
"Tch..." Seeing Chen Yu about to boast again, the little demon let out an exasperated scoff. It then looked intently at the crowd outside the window, "Look at how scared they are. That follower of Liya looks like he's about to cry. Speaking of which, it's been half an hour, why hasn't Liya arrived yet?"
"Patience, my friend."
Leaning back in his seat, Chen Yu's finger discreetly tapped at the virtual projection on his wristband.
"You're quite composed," the little demon commented on Chen Yu's unhurried demeanor. It then walked over, tilting its head to glance at what he was doing. Upon seeing Chen Yu's actions, it became flustered, "Holy cow, no way, you're still selling bread combos at a time like this?"
"Even a fly's leg is still flesh."
Chen Yu continuously placed bread combos on his trading channel.
It had been nearly a year since they entered the caves, and the bread combos remained as popular as ever. The combos uploaded would be snapped up within two minutes. This was even with Chen Yu restricting the purchase quantities.
This observation indicated that the wealth gap among these survivors was widening. Just as Chen Yu was now engaging in stratagems with the royal families of various nations and held two cities,
many people in the caves were still struggling to make ends meet.
The only change was that initially, when Chen Yu supplied bread, countless survivors had expressed their gratitude and hailed it as a saintly act. Now, however, more were privately messaging Chen Yu, asking when he could bring them to the city and expressing their desire for stable work under him.
Even if the work was slightly arduous, it was fine as long as they didn't have to live in constant fear.
They yearned for a stable life.
The underground caves were infested with space monsters and beasts, making them fraught with peril.
Having personally witnessed neighboring survivors being brought to the city by Chen Yu and living stable lives, those who had not yet been relocated felt restless. Their drive for exploring the caves gradually diminished; they merely went through the motions of acquiring resources, buying bread from Chen Yu daily to stave off hunger, and waiting for Chen Yu's people to bring them to a safe haven.
"Besides, can I really just ignore their plight?"
Chen Yu pointed at the scrolling messages in the chat channel and said, "They are now pinning their hopes on me. The directional scrolls for coordinate imprinting that were prepared earlier have been handed over to the Elton family, and the integration of survivors in the region has become much slower. Although people have been sent from the city-state to establish contact, the efficiency is still relatively low. During this period, I must at least ensure these survivors have enough to eat, and not let them starve to death in the caves."
"Whoa, that makes you sound quite noble."
"It's not nobility," Chen Yu said softly as he quietly watched the scrolling messages. "It's just doing what I can. They believe in me, and I naturally won't let them down."
Gently tapping the screen, Chen Yu personally appeared to appease the emotions of the survivors who had not yet evacuated.
He even promised them that he would safely escort them to the city-state.
With Chen Yu's assurance, the survivors rejoiced. Afterward, they showered Chen Yu with various praises. After looking at them for a long time, Chen Yu seemed immune to these flattering words and didn't pay them much attention. Many also mentioned discovering some treasures during their explorations and wanted to know if Chen Yu needed them.
As he had nothing else to do, Chen Yu asked them to place their exploration findings on the trading platform.
When Chen Yu had free time, he would go to the auction house to select items.
If he needed them or could use them, he would purchase them, either by providing the required resources or by storing them as resource points.
Chen Yu understood their intentions.
The resources they found through exploration were useless to them, and it was more practical to exchange them for needed resources than to let them go to waste. Chen Yu, on the other hand, was happy to do them a favor and cultivate his image as a benefactor.
For him, resource points were not lacking.
Wealth was also not lacking.
By solving the livelihood issues of the survivors, they would be more loyal to his city in the future, and he might even unearth some unexpected resources.
Stretching lazily, just as Chen Yu was about to click on the trading channel—
"Jiang Yaqing invites you to a video call."
Seeing the call invitation that suddenly appeared on the projection, along with the familiar name, Chen Yu was stunned for a full half-minute.
"The female Bodhisattva, she hasn't contacted you in a while, has she?"
Upon seeing the invitation, the little demon also grinned. Nuo Yi craned his neck and leaned in as well.
"What female Bodhisattva?"
"It's your Brother Chen, the great benefactor who helped him a lot when he first arrived in the caves," the little demon said with a smile. "There were a few rather remarkable incidents in between, which is why your Brother Chen nicknamed her the female Bodhisattva."
"Shh!"
Chen Yu raised a finger, subtly shaking his head at them, and then accepted the call. Before Chen Yu could even speak, the familiar shrewish roar came from his wristband.
"Chen Yu!!!"
"You're taking this long to answer my video call, are you tired of living!!!"