Chapter 883
Chapter 883 - 869 Simple Task
1,522 words
•
8 min read
What does it feel like to look up at the starry sky?
When you stretch out your hand, what does it feel like to touch the universe?
"Actually, there’s nothing special about it..."
Lu Ping’an reached out to grasp the gigantic star before him, which seemed visible to the naked eye, but he only blocked the overly dazzling visible light.
It all seemed no different from when he was on the surface.
Only that the stars were right before his eyes, and the universe was to his left and right...
"Meow, this tastes so good! It’s a bit like shrimp, but tenderer!"
The cat, Meow, engrossed in its feast nearby, shattered the silent and poetic serenade of the starry expanse, bringing Lu Ping’an back to the mundane realities of daily life.
This was the space platform of Glorious, and also the spacefaring vessel of the Hammer-man.
The upper half of the space platform had been opened, and while the air could still be felt, it had a subtle fishy scent.
What allowed Lu Ping’an to maintain the same state as on the ground was just a watch on his wrist; it was an "Environmental Adaptation Device" common to all civilizations, not only affordable but also technologically mature.
The opening of the Seventh District was an opportunity, a turning point, bringing a slew of interest from the Exotic Races in Earth, this new stellar creatures civilization. It also allowed its participants to leave the Human "Territory’s" comfort zone, to venture out into the universe on their own through the channels of foreign races.
Perhaps there were more risks, but evidently, there were also more opportunities.
"Your Ethnic group’s foundational characteristics aren’t bad, with an initial screening rate of over fifty percent, and a high ceiling for high-level strategic combat power, thus attracting quite a bit of attention."
That was the honest words of a certain Hammer-man... Lu Ping’an was no longer face-blind, but he still found it difficult to distinguish these individuals of the Species that looked nearly identical (from a Human’s point of view).
He attempted to use Life Perception to capture the other’s vital signs, but caught only loneliness... Even now, he had yet to figure out exactly what their physiological structure was.
Yet, these words of the Hammer-man seemed simple but actually comprised two layers of meaning.
One was the literal meaning, they believed that the Human race had a high floor and sufficient potential. A basic screening rate as high as fifty percent meant that in the event of a large-scale forced selection, a vast potential force would emerge.
For the Foreign Tribe, this kind of "gift" also meant that Humans were a high-potential race.
𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞
Innate Pollution Resistance, after selections through several eras, would naturally strengthen. Professionals and their offspring, even if they could not become innate Supermen, would still have more Pollution Resistance than others.
And Pollution Resistance is the premise for harnessing pollution to obtain supernatural abilities... you must first become a vessel, then you can wield the contents.
"Your Ethnic group is now somewhat famous in a small scope..."
This clearly had nothing to do with minor skirmishes like Lu Ping’an’s; it was the handiwork of those true high-order combat powers, including those from the Silent Mountain Range, the main battleground.
If a Decree-level was a Meteor in the eyes of Extra-territorial Residents, then those above Rule-level Strongman were "stars," the shining stars that could illuminate the entire scene alone or, similarly, the little Suns (Nuclear Bombs) who could destroy a Small World on their own.
In a sense, overly developed High-order Professionals were the root cause of a civilization like Earth not focusing much on "technology"... With the premises that the existing materialistic science was trapped outside the micro world, their prospects couldn’t compete with those of the Extraordinary World’s lone wanderers.
Earth’s Strongman who had ventured into the Multi-universe had made quite a name for themselves, naturally bringing more attention to their homeland and Race.
One from theory and one from combat, the newly initiated Nirvana Plan had attracted attention with its strength.
And it was this reputation that enabled Lu Ping’an and company to receive this commission.
"Returning from a neighboring world within a month, heh, even faster than the Divine Boat."
Matter world’s small ships are always quicker than the Arks, but in Lu Ping’an’s eyes, the subspace soaring principles of these two types of vessels didn’t seem quite the same.
Lu Ping’an often gazed skyward, apparently lost in thought, but in reality, he was analyzing the rules of subspace travel.
As for the analysis of the Hammer-man’s spaceship, he still couldn’t get an accurate and complete report.
It seemed that they did not forcibly twist their own "vibration frequency" to achieve Resonance; instead, they used subtler means, taking what were conventional "passages".
"Figure anything out?"
"I figured out... I couldn’t possibly understand, haha."
But after his initial efforts, lacking the foundational knowledge in this area, he really started to just star-gaze.
By the way, Lu Ping’an now wore a blindfold made of cloth... for the sake of the emotional well-being of the Exotic Races and to avoid trouble, Lu Ping’an thought it was better to humble himself.
"You guys handle things if anything comes up, I’m blind anyway."
The "blind man" was actually quite at peace enjoying this Exotic Realm life, often voluntarily chatting with his temporary employers, whether to glean some technical know-how or intelligence.
The others felt somewhat awkward about it.
This mission was just for a short duration of one month, with probably about ten days spent traveling to and from on a ship, leaving less than two weeks for the actual labor, making it one of the simplest mercenary tasks.
The task itself was straightforward: go somewhere, kill something, take something back, and the employer even took care of the transportation expenses.
The reward was relatively simple, some Hammer-man Strengthening potions... which were common goods within their ethnic group but were restricted for sale to outsiders; those available for trade were the worst of the worst quality.
Outsiders taking on this mission also established connections with their ethnic group... in this way, their group’s "consumables" would naturally become accessible to you, a rigid rule akin to "contribution points" that could not be circumvented by individual businessmen’s wishes.
From the employers’ perspective, being able to hire several Walker-level combatants for just these consumables was a great bargain.
For Lu Ping’an and other travelers from the Foreign Domain, however, the so-called reward itself wasn’t important; what mattered was integrating into the circulation of this Star-zone, gaining more of what’s known as stellar creatures civilization "common knowledge".
The journey to the mission destination naturally allowed for making acquaintances with more residents of the Foreign Domain and even breaking free from the original employer’s channel restrictions.
In a sense, this was another function of the Seventh District... exporting cheap labor while also bringing back foreign currency, new technologies, and more intelligence.
Although the overall situation was a bit disappointing, when looking at the progress of development, it certainly couldn’t be considered a pure loss.
Even just during these few days on the ship, Lu Ping’an and his team were treated to a cleansing of their worldviews daily.
Previously, they had always played in the human territory, low-risk areas, and among their own kind; now, having opened the star gate, it was like venturing into the world at their own risk.
The Hammer-men were friendly, perhaps because in their eyes, though the name of this ethnic group was not prominent, these individuals with an average Walker-level strength deserved guest-level treatment.
As a result, those "interstellar common knowledge" were not hidden from Lu Ping’an and his group; facing the curiosity of many, the Hammer-men were even willing to explain proactively.
"Combat? We are just traveling merchants and not skilled in battle. At times like this, it’s alright to spend some money to recruit mercenaries."
"This time one of our resource areas had a problem, with reports sighting our Arch Enemy ethnic group... Hopefully, we’re in time. If not, well, consider it revenge."
The mission was straightforward, but for Lu Ping’an and his party, what they found more interesting were some of the basic necessities of life offered by the other side.
For instance, various basic devices for environmental adaptation, or cheap and reliable drop pods... Lu Ping’an vaguely sensed that the goods offered from the Seventh District seemed daunting, but were actually slightly second-rate to the real Star-zone Travelers; it felt somewhat like trading glass beads for gold.
When there was nothing else to do, Lu Ping’an and his team would also spar with the Hammer-men... of course, only after both sides agreed to a fight without using their supernatural abilities.
Once they truly engaged, Lu Ping’an confirmed that they were not as harmless and weak as they had claimed.
— End of Chapter 883 —