Chapter 167: Negotiations End

If you want to use it again, you have to repair it first, or it will fall apart the moment you fire. "But this level of defense is already more than enough!" Zhang Cheng was quite happy; with this spaceship, he won't have to worry about safety when he goes to space for fun in the future.

The others who saw this scene had their eyes reddened with envy, "Ah, that's really infuriating!" "How did he manage to get such a powerful spaceship?" "Even our mighty Terminus Planet only has two Collapsing Star‑rank ships, and they don't even have weapons!" "This human named Zhang Cheng is just too lucky." "Hmph, what's luck good for? Sooner or later his ship will fall into the hands of our Terminus Planet." "How arrogant; our Other Species Home won't miss this opportunity either!" "The Desire Church doesn't allow anyone to monopolize the prize." They were all a bunch of envious, jealous, hateful guys.

Zhang Cheng let out a cold laugh, thought to himself that the spaceship would return to the crystal sphere. He ignored the jealous gazes around him and turned to the second treasure chest.

He opened it—blue light glittered. "Well, you can't get the best every time," Zhang Cheng wasn't too greedy; the blue item was actually decent, at least not the lowest‑grade white. Inside the chest was a beating heart.

【Name: Demon Heart】 【Type: Enhancement Item】 【Effect: After a Terrifying Beast consumes it, it gains demonic power, doubling its strength. If its rank is below S Rank, consuming it also raises it by one level.】

"It's of no use to me."

It was almost at Destruction Rank; the Demon Heart was indeed not very useful to Zhang Cheng, and eating it would just be a novelty.

The surrounding aliens, seeing this, breathed a sigh of relief and wore a grateful expression. "Good, good, this time it's only blue. If it were gold again, they might actually try to snatch it."

He opened the third chest—purple!

It was a disc‑shaped flying device; standing on it, you could control flight with thought. It can reach up to 3,000 km per hour, matching fighter jet speed, and is recommended for Terrifying Beasts of X Rank or higher.

"It's good for escaping, but I don't need it." He put the flying device away and looked at the final chest. "This is the last one; I wonder what good thing it'll contain." "Hope it's not gold; then I could feel a bit better." "One gold, one purple, one blue—following the pattern, the fourth chest should be either green or white, probably just junk."

Everyone stared as Zhang Cheng opened the chest!

In an instant, golden light flashed. The aliens were stunned. No way—another gold one?

Is luck this overpowered?

"Zhang Cheng's luck is good—two gold out of four chests. I remember my seven chests didn't even have a purple one." "People are killing each other over luck." "Could this be the legendary Emperor Ou?" Er hao said, pursing his lips.

Yi hao quietly stared at the chest in Zhang Cheng's hand, his gaze sharp, as if he could see through the box.

"There's a familiar feeling inside this chest." "What could it be?" Yi hao frowned, puzzled.

Immediately after,

A round tube slowly floated out of the chest, hovering before Zhang Cheng's eyes. It was surrounded by concentric rings of blue light, made of bright white metal, looking especially sci‑fi.

"What is this…" Zhang Cheng stared at the tube, racking his brain but still didn't know what it was.

"Whoa!" "It's the Era Key!" Zhang Cheng hadn't even reacted yet,

But the three officials were the first to stand up. They swooped down from the planet‑size starship, staring at the tube in Zhang Cheng's hand, their eyes lighting up.

The Terminus Planet Deputy Leader's previously arrogant demeanor vanished in an instant, and he said pleasantly, "Zhang Cheng, I know we have had some past grievances." "But I want to discuss something: if you give me the Era Key, our Terminus Planet will immediately withdraw from Earth!"

What the heck??

The Dragon Nation audience widened their eyes.

What exactly is the allure of the Era Key that could make the Terminus Planet pull out its troops?

"The Terminus Deputy Leader really has a big mouth!" "He wants to cut off our retreat the moment he opens his mouth." The head of the Desire Church glared sharply at the Terminus Deputy Leader.

Then he looked at Zhang Cheng, trying to put on a smile, "Mr. Zhang, please don't trust those people from Terminus Planet; they're famously cunning." "I suggest you hand the Era Key over to me. I guarantee that not only will we withdraw, but we can also give you five disaster‑level Terrifying Beasts!"

Everyone was stunned.

Withdrawal plus Terrifying Beasts made the offer quite generous.

"Hmph!" "You can do it; our Other Species Home can do it too!"

The Other Species Home's deputy leader waved his hand generously, "Zhang Cheng, as long as you give me the Era Key." "I promise, our Other Species Home will not only withdraw, but also protect Earth for free for a month, so it won't be bullied by other villains!"

While saying this, the Other Species deputy leader couldn't help glancing at the Desire Church members.

In an instant,

The three officials, who had just been on the same front line, instantly drew swords, the scene thick with gunpowder smell, about to clash.

"Seems this thing is quite valuable," Zhang Cheng said, looking at the Era Key in his hand.

Something that could make three major planets trade withdrawal for it is almost incalculable in value.

Thinking of this, Zhang Cheng looked at the Mysterious Judge and asked, "What exactly does the Era Key do?" Upon hearing this, the three officials hurriedly blocked Zhang Cheng, "Ah, it's useless, useless, just give it to me quickly!"

They went berserk, lunging at Zhang Cheng, intending to brazenly snatch it!

Fortunately, the three great monsters of Lion Camel Ridge descended from the sky, blocking Zhang Cheng and erecting an impenetrable protective wall.

Now the three officials finally behaved more calmly.

"Speaking of the Epoch Key, as the name suggests, it's the key that opens the door to a new era."

"Whichever planet possesses it, in a sense, gains the ability to step into a new epoch."

The Mysterious Judge finished seriously, only to find everyone was listening in a daze.

So he spread his hands and shouted:

"Ah!"

"Simply put, the Epoch Key is a key."

"A key that can open the door to a secret treasure; with it, you can unlock the secret treasure instance of the Terrifying Arena!"

"Thus you obtain extremely precious relics."

Zhang Cheng suddenly understood.

No wonder the three officials were scrambling to get it.

It turns out it's the key to opening the treasure!

"How do we use this thing?"

Zhang Cheng looked at the Mysterious Judge and asked.

The Mysterious Judge waved his hand, and a screen appeared before them.

On the screen was a uniquely shaped six‑faced prism building, each facet made of special glass, reflecting dazzling light.

Around the prism building floated rings of varying sizes, encircling a brilliant glowing band.

"This is…" Zhang Cheng squinted, his brow slightly furrowed.

"This is the Epoch Treasury, consisting of five levels; the higher the floor, the greater the reward."

The Mysterious Judge explained, "Of course, the permission required for each higher level also rises."

"The Era Key you hold is Level‑1, so it can only open the first and second floors of the treasury, but that's already enough."

"Moreover, the Era Treasury is equipped with defense mechanisms; only by passing them can one take the treasure."

Zhang Cheng listened, pinching his chin as he pondered.

In other words,

the Era Treasury is a reward instance.

To open the treasury, you need an Era Key.

After opening it, you still have to get through the defense mechanisms.

"It's much like some games we've played before."

Zhang Cheng gave a slight nod, looked at the Mysterious Judge and asked, "Then how do I activate the Era Treasury?"

The Mysterious Judge shook his head: "Sorry, you don't yet meet the conditions to open the treasury."

"Why? Don't I already have an Era Key?"

The Mysterious Judge extended two fingers: "To open the first and second floors, you need two Level‑1 Era Keys."

"You're still missing one right now."

As soon as the Mysterious Judge finished speaking,

the Vice President of the End Times Guild immediately spoke,

"Right, right, you're missing one; holding it is useless, so just give it to me!"

"That way it's good for you, good for me, good for everyone."

"Giving it to our Desire Church isn't bad either."

The Head of the Desire Church replied: "The Era Treasury's defenses are formidable; even if you get inside, you might not obtain the treasure."

"So hand over the Era Key to us, and we can give you a super disaster‑level ghost artifact!"

"Bastard, it's just a super disaster‑level ghost artifact, right? Do you think we don't have one?"

"Zhang Cheng, I've said it here; if you give me the Era Key, I'll give you three super disaster‑level ghost artifacts!"

The offer becomes increasingly tempting.

Zhang Cheng also understood.

This Era Key is certainly worth a fortune!

If the three major planets get it, perhaps they could obtain a supreme treasure and boost their strength another level.

Then later turning around to attack Earth again would be truly disastrous.

So…

"Stop daydreaming."

"The Era Key, I will never sell it to you."

Zhang Cheng firmly refused the leaders of the three major planets.

Upon hearing this, the three planetary leaders' expressions instantly soured.

"But..."

The three leaders tried to follow up, but Zhang Cheng cut them off and began speaking on his own:

"You value the Era Key so much, so you must have some in hand, just not enough in quantity, I suppose."

"Therefore, I have an idea that benefits both sides."

"That is, you each produce one Era Key, open the treasury first, and the remaining treasures are contested purely by strength!"

"Mutual grabbing is fine too; what do you think?"

The three planetary leaders were stunned upon hearing it.

In fact, just as Zhang Cheng said,

each of their leaders holds only one Era Key.

To open the door, two are indispensable.

In theory, the three planets could pool together two.

The key is that they remain wary; once inside the Era Treasury, conflicts of interest are inevitable.

It could very well end with both parties losing everything.

Such a situation has occurred before.

They each want to obtain two themselves.

But this item can only be drawn from a lucky box, with a terrifyingly low probability; it may take hundreds or even thousands of years before another appears.

Of course, one could also buy it.

But it's too expensive.

Even if you sold a planet, you still couldn't afford an Era Key.

"Is there no other way?" the Vice President of the End Times Guild said, his face grim and his mood sour.

"Unless you gather them yourselves, there's no other route," Zhang Cheng waved his hand and turned to leave.

Seeing this, the Vice President of the End Times Guild grabbed him, then finally compromised: "Fine."

"We'll do it just as you said!"

The negotiation ended!