Chapter 501: Interstellar World Farming (14)

'The price is really high.'

The contents on the wristband screen were all data about the various planets being sold by the Federal Government this time.

One planet after another with vastly different styles was marked with different prices; even the lowest-rated tier was enough to make Shen Yao clutch her wallet and sigh in despair.

'Host, why not take a look at the data for those exploration planets with open permissions?'

The system had already learned to smoothly change its train of thought; anyway, buying a planet was out of the question, so it could only take an unconventional approach and see if there were any bargains to be found.

Shen Yao:...

Shen Yao closed the planet sales page at lightning speed, even though she truly fancied a few of them.

Opening a different webpage from before, Shen Yao slid her finger to the bottom position.

'This time, over 100 exploration planets were opened in the entire N62 Star System.'

Among them, L-system planets accounted for about 20; three unnamed planets were closer to L98 Planet—one had an extremely high sand content, with 98% being desert; one showed no signs of life and was suspected by the Federal Government to be a Dead Planet; and one had a large number of active volcanoes, posing the greatest danger.

Those recognized by the Federal Government and granted open permissions were all exploration planets of extremely low intrinsic value; their greatest feature was that the World Core still existed, and once the World Core was taken, they would become true Waste Planets.

As for the fate of Waste Planets, they were sold off to earn the Federal Government one last sum of money.

Some Waste Planets might not even qualify to be sold, because they couldn't generate benefits even when they possessed a World Core; one couldn't let people work for nothing, after all.

'Host, the system suggests going to the last one,' because its World Core was the easiest to find.

The system's investigations these days weren't useless; it had figured out the situation of those 20-plus exploration planets, and ranked by ease of finding the World Core and safety, the one with active volcanoes could make the top three.

The remaining two were too far from L98 Planet, making them not cost-effective for Shen Yao.

Shen Yao touched her chin, then took the opportunity to post anonymously on the forum, claiming she wanted to pay for information.

System:... Huh?

It was being perfectly united, so why didn't she ask it?

'It's different; investigating more information is better safe than sorry,' Shen Yao thought to herself that the system hadn't never messed up before, and besides, exploration planets with open permissions couldn't be entered for another two months; if possible, during this period, Shen Yao had to add several more layers of insurance for herself.

Saying it and doing it; while investigating information, she also had to carefully consider the insurance.

Hire mercenaries? No, safety wasn't high, and they might even turn traitor.

Mecha single soldier? Couldn't afford it, a bit expensive.

Spend money buying weapons, and exercise every day? This one could work; anyway, if they weren't used up, they could be thrown into the Space Backpack and continue to be used in other worlds.

Having saved some Federal Currency from farming for several years, Shen Yao didn't spend it all, but made planned purchases; in less than a month, she had more or less prepared everything.

Similarly, because of these things, half of the Federal Currency in Shen Yao's hands was spent.

No way, weapons were too expensive, and some were controlled products that were hard to buy.

For safety's sake, Shen Yao could only buy privately from others at a high price, and naturally the price was ten or twenty percent more expensive than official channels.

But even so, it was very worthwhile, after all, weapons could truly save lives.

It's just that this money, 'isn't easy to spend.'

She still had to put in effort to keep saving; if possible, she had to consider expanding the farm scale.

'Host, in less than a month, those exploration planets will fully open permissions.'

'We need to be the first batch to enter,' because the World Core was indeed easy to find, and the system worried about others getting there first.

Shen Yao:...

Shen Yao looked at the increasingly anxious system and calmly soothed it, telling it not to be so nervous.

Before exploration planets were opened, they had been carefully searched by Exploration Hunters; not found before, but found now? What a pipe dream.

'No rush; we enter in the first batch, and it's easy to be watched by those people.'

'Better to mix into the crowd behind and not attract attention,' Shen Yao felt that although the planet with many volcanoes was dangerous, there were still not a few people going.

Modern society had many gamblers who didn't care about their lives, let alone the Interstellar World; the people here were more willing to fight and rob for profit.

You have to know that if something happened on an exploration planet, there was a high probability of no effective accountability.

In view of this, Shen Yao definitely had to be careful again and again, reducing the dangers that might exist around her to the minimum.

Not only that, Shen Yao also considered waiting for Xu Zi Qing to come together.

Since some people wanted to develop further, how could they not interact more? Xu Zi Qing was good in every way, except his background was a trouble.

But if Xu Zi Qing could find a way to balance the interests of both sides, well, that was thinking too early; let's first see if their two solo travels (adventures) were compatible.

Xu Zi Qing had said on the spaceship that he would come in half a year; actually, he arrived at L98 Planet half a month earlier than expected.

Shen Yao piloted a flying vehicle to personally pick him up, and on the way she didn't forget to tell Xu Zi Qing about her plan to go explore W2305 Planet.

'Want to find the World Core?'

Xu Zi Qing bent his finger and tapped, quickly understanding Shen Yao's intention.

Shen Yao nodded, 'This is the fastest shortcut I can buy a planet.'

Other methods weren't impossible, they just needed too much time, and Shen Yao was unwilling to wait.

As expected, Xu Zi Qing wanted to accompany Shen Yao; the two discussed the matter of going to the exploration planet, and since Xu Zi Qing himself was an Exploration Hunter, the purchase of related supplies was once again put on the agenda.

You can't catch the wolf without letting go of the child.

Shen Yao gritted her teeth and spent money, while Xu Zi Qing contributed both manpower and effort to perfection.

When the time came for their departure, Shen Yao's Space Backpack was already filled with all kinds of hot weapons and high-tech products.

The two went low-key to the boarding spot and successfully boarded the ship with electronic tickets.

'Careful'

Almost being hit by a passerby from the past, Xu Zi Qing reached out to shield Shen Yao behind him and quietly reminded her to be alert to the surroundings.

Those who could board at this time were all Exploration Hunters who wouldn't give up and mercenaries trying their luck.

After all, Shen Yao didn't truly want to make a living from this, so there was no need to conflict with them.

The two walked forward along the corridor and soon arrived at the room they had booked; they swiped their wristbands to enter and locked the door behind them, and Shen Yao turned her head and exhaled.

In the not-large room, two single beds for resting were placed one on the left and one on the right; in the middle was a desk, and further ahead was a window through which the outside scenery could be seen.

Don't look at how narrow and cramped it is here — the selling price is several times that of the hall.

After all, there were simply not many places to rest along the way, and once they reached the exploration planet there would be even less chance.

There are quite a few people with money who don't lack money; compared to this bit they shelled out, the World Core is still more valuable.

Sitting on the bed completely relaxed, Shen Yao opened the Star Network on her wristband and began looking up data on the planet they were going to.

All of it was intelligence bought with money from exploration hunters or mercenaries.

True or false, she didn't know; as long as the system said it hadn't heard of it, Shen Yao would buy it.

The bought intelligence wasn't just for Shen Yao to read herself; a copy was also sent to Xu Zi Qing's side.

The room was quiet; no one spoke.

Until the space suddenly went dark, Shen Yao looked up and blinked, and turned on the sensor light above her head.

The spaceship had already left L98 Planet and was flying toward their destination.

Shen Yao reached out and tapped her shoulder, then took out the food prepared earlier from the Capsule Space and called Xu Zi Qing to go to the table together.

"Shen Yao, this time period is exactly when the exploration planet's volcanoes are erupting; we need to make preparations."

Ordinary protective suits won't do; fortunately what they bought are the latest technology — not only heat-insulating but also able to form their own oxygen circulation.

Shen Yao nodded and pushed the prepared food over to Xu Zi Qing.

They are all raw materials produced by the farm, healthier and safer than those sold on the market.

"I plan to prioritize exploring the area where volcanic eruptions are frequent; World Core forms vary, but there are many volcanoes on this planet, and I feel there must be some connection between the two."

Or rather, the World Core is buried beneath the volcanic magma, often accompanying the flow of volcanic magma.

Xu Zi Qing thought for a moment and said, "Well said."

The two quickly finished the food before them, then brought up the exploration planet's map to mark it.

After constant discussion and analysis, only three places remained on the map in the end.

They form a triangle orientation on the map, with the spaceship's landing spot in the middle.

No choice — who let the volcanoes on this exploration planet be in a constant state of eruption; it's only a matter of more or less, there is no possibility of existence or non-existence.

Shen Yao touched her chin and selected a spot not too far and not too near their spaceship's docking point, tapping it: "We'll go here first."

As for whether there is a World Core here? Shen Yao doesn't know, and the system doesn't know either.

Don't really expect the system to be omnipotent; it merely sensed the World Core is in the volcanic magma, and these three places are where volcanic eruptions are most frequent and volcanic magma is most abundant — going there afterward will also increase the probability of finding it.

Xu Zi Qing did not object; after nodding he marked the location, just waiting for the spaceship to land before taking action.

The time the two spent on the spaceship was relatively relaxed; they didn't go out much normally.

So they didn't catch the hall's trouble-making, nor did they provoke any forces.

All the way safely they walked down the spaceship, and the view before their eyes was filled entirely with red.

Here really is nothing but red — no other color can be seen.

The flying vehicle was released by Xu Zi Qing from the Capsule Space; the two put on protective suits and boarded it, and following activation they directly left the spaceship's docking point.

Boom—

The flying vehicle in mid-air nimbly avoided the magma constantly surging out.

The scorching temperature made the surrounding space distort; Shen Yao looked outside through the window, and only after a good long while did she discover a bird beast flapping its wings.

"The survival conditions here are really too harsh;" compared to that planet with no life existing, this one doesn't seem much better either.

Thinking of their next purpose, she thought to herself: even such a harsh environment has to disappear — the words she speaks now appear even more hypocritical.

Not feeling she had done anything wrong, Shen Yao quickly rallied her spirits and fixed her gaze on the volcanoes passing beneath the flying vehicle.

Whether it was the boundless expanse ahead or the dense clusters beneath her feet, both gave Shen Yao a harsh lesson.

"The flying vehicle still needs a few hours; I just activated the Constant Temperature Oxygen Shield, so we can take off our protective suits and eat, drink, and rest first," everything requires energy to operate, and Xu Zi Qing also wanted to settle trivial matters in advance so that when they arrived they could better concentrate on the real business.

Shen Yao pressed the button in the middle of the protective suit and took off the suit in one click.

The flying vehicle's space is not large; the front has their two seats and the control panel, the back is a space of a few square meters used to store miscellaneous things.

Shen Yao took out the food made in the Capsule Space; neither of them stood on ceremony, eating large mouthfuls into their bellies, then after closing the Constant Temperature Oxygen Shield they put their protective suits back on.

No choice — if the protective suit breaks it can be replaced with a new one, but once the Constant Temperature Oxygen Shield's energy is depleted it cannot be used again.

When they reach the destination they will still need to rely on the Constant Temperature Oxygen Shield for lodging and living; it absolutely cannot be turned on casually.

The time staying in the flying vehicle was a bit boring; Shen Yao kept refreshing the Star Network data, checking for effective information about this planet.

Until Xu Zi Qing reminded her they could go down, they had already arrived at the destination.

"Here" can be lived in?

Right next to it is a volcanic vent, black smoke continuously rising from above; volcanic vents of all sizes similar to this stretch as far as the eye can see.

"This volcano won't erupt for the time being; we'll simply rest on the mountainside, and afterward"

"Afterward we'll move to another place; if possible we'll directly use the Space Shield," Shen Yao took over Xu Zi Qing's unfinished words and continued.

After all, this time going out, Xu Zi Qing counts as accompanying her; Shen Yao cannot push all matters onto the other party.

Having the system mark the surrounding volcanic eruption times in advance, Shen Yao cooperated with Xu Zi Qing to take out the tent stored in the Space Backpack.

The tent is heat-insulating, but the air inside is not; the Constant Temperature Oxygen Shield activated again, and the two people finally had a temporary foothold.

They hadn't rested long before they had to go out to find the World Core; taking advantage of few people around, they wanted to scout the area first.

"Use the propeller," the distance is too close for the flying vehicle to be convenient.

Shen Yao fixed the propulsor at her waist rear position, still wearing the protective suit she hadn't taken off; Xu Zi Qing was dressed the same as her; the two planned to search the surroundings first, and if there was no harvest they would go inside.

Inside the temperature is even higher; correspondingly, frequent volcanic eruptions cause magma and solidified volcanic ash to be everywhere.

Shen Yao and Xu Zi Qing were busy here for roughly several days, and found nothing.

They even saw a fierce man who dared jump into the volcanic magma here; when he came out, his whole body was steaming, scaring them into thinking he was some human-form beast.

"If we still have no leads today, we'll switch to that area next door," they couldn't keep circling here, it was useless.

Xu Zi Qing pointed at the figures not far away who were sneaking glances at them, "We need to seize the time."

If we leave too late, who knows what we might encounter.

Shen Yao gave an acknowledging sound and nodded; the two returned empty-handed again on the last day, and helplessly boarded the flying vehicle to leave that very evening.

The same procedural arrangement as before; the only difference was that the volcanic eruptions in their current area were too severe, with nowhere to set foot, so they could only have the flying vehicle hover mid-air and activate the space shield.

After several days of this, Shen Yao discovered traces of the World Core's appearance at a volcano vent spewing magma.

The system jumped up and down in the space guaranteeing, "Host, the World Core is right at the hundred-meter underground position, absolutely will not be wrong."