Chapter 1 From the Start

From the very beginning of this operation, Hesperiana had basically maintained a dazed state while tagging along with the team, but none of her previous befuddlement could compare to the bewilderment of being thrown onto an alien spaceship. It wasn't until she saw the bridge of the Petrified Turtle Rock that she truly believed this was a real, tangible, high-tech aircraft, and it was quite obvious—humans couldn't build something like this.

"This is all real…" Hesperiana looked around the bridge, but didn't dare touch anything, fearing that she might break something and get mercilessly extorted by Hao Ren. The latter's image in her mind had always been terrible and unchanging. "Where on earth did you get this thing?"

"Earth already has vampires and werewolves, so why can't there be alien technology?" Hao Ren replied casually. "Besides, according to common sense, alien technology is more reliable than you fantasy species."

Hesperiana stared at Hao Ren blankly, finally managing to say, "Are you from Mars? Or maybe Reach?"

This just showed how different an up-to-date vampire was from a traditional one. This brat even knew about Reach…

The Petrified Turtle Rock slowly passed through the upper crust's tunnel, and then cruised slowly over its surface. The murky, dense atmosphere and the decaying, dying景象 of the upper crust filled the returned images with an unpleasant atmosphere. The spaceship flew over a landscape of uneven hills that looked like rotten meat. Ahead were some scattered geothermal vents, and the murky hot air gushing from the vents made the air in this area appear dark green. Looking at this hellish scene, Vivian couldn't help but sigh, "It's hard to imagine that a whole paradise is hidden beneath it."

"What are you going to do with this crust?" Nangong Wuyue asked curiously. "It's full of toxic wastewater and gas, and there are those mutated monsters, plus it's blocking the sunlight. These things definitely have to be dealt with, but underneath is the sanctuary… I really can't think of a safe way to peel this layer off. If you drop a bit of渣down there, it's like a ten-thousand-meter high-altitude坠物, it's not just a matter of smashing a pit."

Lily said without thinking, "Aren't we going to take over the First Born's nervous system? How about reactivating those Celestial Pillar Trees and having them retract their canopies?"

Hao Ren flicked her forehead. "Don't be silly. That would collapse the entire穹顶. Hundreds of millions of tons of petrified material have accumulated here. If the Celestial Pillar Trees even tremble slightly, the ecosystem inside will be mostly wiped out. Terminal, check how to deal with similar situations. Is there a company that specializes in peeling planets?"

"Do you think there would normally be a company that specializes in peeling planets?" the data terminal retorted without hesitation. "However, this unit can introduce you to a similar private company."

As the data terminal spoke, it sent a file to Hao Ren. The latter was stunned when he saw it. "The Fiyaeli United Mining Company? How are these guys everywhere?"

"Let me put it this way, there isn't a profitable industry they don't get involved in. Even if it's not profitable, they'll join in to make a吆喝. How else could they become known as galactic-class奸商?"

Hao Ren said "Oh," and felt that something was wrong with the name of the Fiyaeli United Mining Company. "But we're going to peel this planet. You're finding a bunch of miners… um, you don't plan to have them dig up the entire crust…"

The terminal哼唧了一声, "That's right. They're the most efficient private miners in the universe. It is said that a small civilization cluster near Arcturus was threatened by a wandering asteroid swarm. A bunch of giant asteroids were about to滅they滿門. At that time, they sent out SOS messages everywhere. Then, a group of Fiyaeli United Mining Company's mining ships happened to pass by—the asteroid swarm hadn't even had time to砸down before it was dug up by those孙子."

Hao Ren: "…"

He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, thinking that this efficiency should be enough. "Okay, let's go with them. But is it safe for them to dig up the entire crust? When heavy construction machinery starts, a lot of the Celestial Pillar Trees should collapse, right?"

"They have the technology to create a gravitational shielding layer surrounding the entire planet to prevent the broken rock穹顶 from falling."

Hao Ren thought for a moment. "Okay, one last question: how will the fees be calculated?"

The data terminal became happy when it heard this, and used a holographic projection to display the structure of the upper crust of the炼狱planet. Layers of岩层 formed by the petrification of the tree canopy were marked with different colors and presented on the projection. "Do you know what this is?"

"Rocks."

"Wrong, this is money!" the terminal exclaimed. "This is a堆积岩层 formed from the First Born's body fragments and high-intensity secretions. More than 80% of the civilizations in the Milky Way can't manufacture something this strong. Although this unit doesn't know what this thing can do, there are venture capitalists in the universe who are willing to spend a lot of money囤积this rare commodity. And that's just the most wasteful and tasteless way to use it. Think about those collectors, those involved in the arts, those who倒腾interstellar antiques and異文明珠宝across the galaxy. The rich people who have money to burn like to砸money to buy a pile of broken rocks and供them at home, and then invite others to their homes to吹比—although neither the牛吹ers nor the 牛听ers know what these stones are for, they just enjoy it."

As the data terminal spoke, Lily nodded in agreement and offered her opinion, "Appreciating奇石is a noble hobby. I usually collect rocks too."

Hao Ren waved his hand and brushed her aside. "Go away. You want to hug a half-砖home and舔it when you see it at a construction site. Can that be compared to the hobbies of the土豪?"

Then he asked the data terminal with great interest, "You're saying that someone is really willing to spend money to buy this stuff? The rich aren't傻子. If you drag a bunch of rocks to them and say these are fossils of super creatures with a lot of collectible value, they have to believe it."

The data terminal嘿嘿smiled. "They definitely won't believe it normally, but what if an inspector signs the appraisal report?"

Hao Ren immediately understood the whole process.

Inspectors, witnesses of civilizations, 送行ers, and recorders, the神明's eyes and tongues, the only "mortals" in the universe who have the authority to appraise and assess historical events from an observer's perspective (many ordinary civilizations simply regard inspectors as a kind of demigod)—however, Hao Ren had absolutely no concept of this before.

As long as he proves it, these petrified substances on the surface of the炼狱planet will have great value among certain collectors: you can't guess the world of the rich.

And this kind of proof is completely painless for Hao Ren and the entire Godly Law.

After he figured it out, he nodded. "I'll let the United Mining Company come here to採礦for free and issue them an appraisal report on the historical value of these 'ores,' and they will only be responsible for ensuring the safety and efficiency of the entire mining process while maintaining the planet's orbit. No one has to pay, a win-win situation."

"And in the long run, those奸商will make a big profit," the data terminal made a strange嗤嗤sound, seeming to feel regret. "Tsk, they dare to buy ordinary stones, let alone ones signed by an inspector. It's just that the wealth of the pan-civilization circle has no value to you, so let those奸商earn it. We'll get some favor."

Hao Ren嘿嘿smiled. "Many times, favors are more useful than cash."

At this moment, a clear voice came from the side, "After not seeing you for a while, how have you and Patty both become like奸商?"

Hao Ren looked up and saw Nolan's holographic image standing beside him. He smiled quite self-confidently. "So inspectors are big shots. Don't look at me like this, I'm actually amazing."

"I know," Nolan tilted her head. "A few days ago, I went to Irim and saw the elves recorded in the database. They built huge statues and monuments for the Sun King. I knew you usually do great things."

"You've already been there," Hao Ren scratched his head. "I was thinking of letting you recognize my strongholds in various places after a while. Now it looks like it's not necessary. You already have them in your database."

Nolan nodded, then suddenly pointed to the console. "I only have one question now."

Hao Ren: "What?"

"Why does this PDA still have to be plugged into me when I'm flying the ship?"

Hao Ren was slightly stunned and turned to look at the terminal. "That's right, Nolan is responsible for flying the ship now. What are you still doing up there?"

The data terminal immediately felt the crisis of its entire life as a machine. It squeezed itself into the slot and shouted, "This unit isn't leaving! This is this unit's throne! This unit is destined to be the warship's mainframe in this life. If anyone dares to unplug this unit, this unit will fight you to the death!"

Hao Ren: "…"