Chapter 108: Rock Lion Gene Chain

It was said that wherever there was life, there would be a branch of the Tyron Chamber of Commerce, and naturally, they had one established in No Man's Land.

Even Opto-Electric Technology, a company primarily focused on weaponry and cybernetic enhancements, held a place here.

The influx of lifeforms in No Man's Land was tremendous. Someone had once leaked that the sales volume of the local Tyron Chamber of Commerce was second only to the major administrative planets of the Star Glory Empire.

Naturally, there were also several companies slightly inferior to these two behemoths, filling the gaps for the middle and lower classes.

On his way, Li Yu also spotted a few companies from the Radiant Council, verifying his earlier guess that their approach was completely different from that of the Star Glory Empire.

Their biotechnology was highly developed, alongside their unique runic technology. The Silver Holy Spear he got from Xia En was a prime example of the latter.

"Take a look at this gun. How much is it worth?" Li Yu asked, holding the Silver Holy Spear as he sought an appraisal in a rather grand shop.

Their architectural style was peculiar, heavily relying on a gold and white color scheme and covered in intricate carvings and engravings. The interior space was massive, yet many areas were left empty and unutilized.

It closely resembled the European architectural styles from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in Li Yu's previous life.

The appraiser had graying hair and wore glass spectacles, across which complex symbols occasionally flashed.

He wore a white robe embroidered with a brilliant golden sun. On the wall behind him hung a carving of the Throne of the Sun.

A dazzling sun hovered above a golden throne, with miniature stars arranged beneath it, alongside a few symbolic tiny figures prostrating on the ground.

"By the Solar Councilor... this is a Silver Holy Spear. It is quite valuable. The buy-back price is around ten million Star Coins..."

There wasn't much information about the Radiant Council on the Star Glory Empire's internal network, and even on the Black Hole Network, public records were scarce.

Li Yu had his head down, flipping through the basic information on the Radiant Council he had just purchased for ten thousand Star Coins. Hearing the appraiser's words, he looked up as if waking from a dream.

"Oh... sure... ten million it is," Li Yu nodded, easily selling off the Silver Holy Spear he had taken from Xia En.

After completing the transfer, the appraiser brought out an exquisite metal box and carefully placed the Silver Holy Spear inside.

Li Yu's expression turned peculiar. From the documents he had just read, he had learned about the general structure of the Radiant Council.

They were called the Twelve Councilors, but a more fitting title would be the Chief Gods.

The Radiant Council was actually a theocracy. The so-called Councilors were supremely powerful deities, each possessing enough individual strength to shake the entire interstellar society.

They had their own subordinate councilors, acting as subordinate deities, as well as their own divine realms, which were entire star systems.

All the faith was divided entirely among the Twelve Chief God Councilors. According to the data from the Black Hole Network, there used to be more than twelve Councilors in the Radiant Council.

However, the defeated Councilors had all been exiled. More importantly, due to the unique nature of the Radiant Council, expelling a Councilor did not diminish their overall strength.

This was because the remaining believers were simply redistributed, augmenting the power of the other Chief God Councilors.

The various religions occasionally popping up across different interstellar civilizations likely had the shadows of those exiled Councilors lurking behind them.

'I didn't know you could play it like that...' Li Yu mused, genuinely surprised. He had thought the Star Glory Empire, a massive colonial interstellar empire, was already outrageous enough.

Who would have guessed there was a massive interstellar theocratic council right next door.

The Solar Councilor was one of the more powerful figures among the Twelve Councilors. His followers believed that every star in the universe was an incarnation of the Councilor himself.

"Honored guest, may I ask where you obtained this Silver Holy Spear?" the appraiser inquired with a hint of respect.

"Does your buy-back policy also investigate the origins of the goods?" Li Yu suddenly grew vigilant. Could Xia En have left some kind of tracking mark on it?

"By the Solar Councilor, you misunderstand," the man hurriedly explained. "This bears the emblem of the Night Councilor, so it is just a routine question."

"But rest assured, the Solar Councilor will not look into these matters. However, if you were to visit a shop affiliated with the Night Councilor, it might bring you some trouble. Therefore, if you have anything else to sell, please do so here."

The open and hidden struggles among the Councilors were incredibly fierce. After all, eliminating one Councilor meant a bigger slice of the pie for the rest.

After being respectfully escorted out, Li Yu couldn't help but think of Hel and Xia En. That "deeply affectionate" couple must be doing wonderfully right now.

As he pondered this, a knowing, amused smile crept onto his face.

The classic Tyron Tower looked almost identical to the one in the Black Market of the Heavenly Desolation Star. In fact, all the Tyron Towers across the galaxy were essentially exactly the same.

The official slogan claimed this was to ensure every interstellar lifeform experienced the feeling of being at home.

"I need a hundred Thousand-Calorie Grade Nutritional Potions and ten Rapid-Healing Vitality Serums. Oh, and do you have any portable Compressed Space devices here?"

Navigating the store with ease, Li Yu found an Enville guide and listed his requirements.

"Potions are on the thirteenth floor, and Compressed Space devices are on the fortieth floor," the guide replied with a smile, leading the way.

Nutritional potions and vitality serums were highly consumable goods during space travel. As for the space compression device, the metal block he currently had was simply too inconvenient, requiring a full expansion every time he needed to use it.

"Hello. This is the latest S-12 Compression Ring. It utilizes mature Wormhole Technology, allowing you to store and retrieve items without fully expanding the space."

The guide explained to Li Yu. When worn on the hand, the ring projected a miniature screen displaying its contents.

Once an item was selected, it would be teleported out through a fist-sized wormhole. It was indeed far more convenient.

But naturally, the price was also significantly higher. The cost per cubic meter of folded space was a staggering three million Star Coins, three times that of a standard space compression device.

Li Yu sold his two metal blocks and bought a ten-cubic-meter compression ring, transferring everything inside.

The scythe, the scimitar, the nutritional potions, compressed energy blocks, and various other oddities...

'Damn system... won't even let me store my things in it,' Li Yu muttered, his heart aching over the expense. The ring looked quite ordinary and could mimic various styles.

Having been scammed by the Tyron Chamber of Commerce once before, Li Yu obviously wasn't going to buy a Gene Chain online again. Paying that ridiculous interstellar shipping fee was purely an IQ tax.

Gene Chains were a highly lucrative trade, second only to the slave trade, so the Tyron Chamber of Commerce naturally treated them with the utmost importance. The person in charge of this section was even a floor manager.

However, upon hearing Li Yu's request, the manager clearly looked troubled.

The green-skinned Goblin, who barely reached Li Yu's waist, shook his head. "I am very sorry, Your Excellency Jesus. We currently do not have the Ice Tiger Gene Chain in stock here. It would need to be dispatched from headquarters."

"But right now, spaceships are forbidden from approaching the inner sector... so..."

"However, we do have a Rock Lion Gene Chain, which is not much different from the Ice Tiger Gene Chain."

"A Rock Lion?" This unexpected situation made Li Yu hesitate slightly, but all of his doubts vanished once he watched the demonstration video.

Crimson liquid dripped from the user's body in the video, its scorching temperature baking the ground dry and visibly distorting the surrounding air.

At that level, no one could possibly doubt its lethal destructiveness.

"The reason the Ice Tiger Gene Chain is twenty million Star Coins more expensive than the Rock Lion Gene Chain is because the Ice Tiger race caught the eye of a prominent noble, who has taken to keeping them as pets," the Goblin explained meticulously.

"In the future, the production of this Gene Chain will likely be extremely low, which drove up the price. But in reality, both are absolutely top-tier among C-class genetic modifications."

"Alright then... I'll take the Rock Lion Gene Chain," Li Yu nodded. Since they were about the same, whether it was an ice tiger or a rock lion made no difference to him.

"Four hundred million Star Coins. How would you like to pay?" The Goblin's face beamed with a wide smile, his eyes practically bulging out of their sockets at the rare sight of such a massive client.

"Is there a discount?" Li Yu asked after a moment of thought, instantly freezing the smile on the Goblin's face.

"Well... as you know... the Tyron Chamber of Commerce... doesn't do discounts," the Goblin chuckled awkwardly.

"This is a four-hundred-million-coin deal, and you don't even have any perks to offer?" Li Yu's eyes widened.

The Goblin's gaze darted around nervously before he finally gritted his teeth. "I have the authority to gift you an invitation ticket..."

"An invitation ticket? To what?" Li Yu asked suspiciously.

"An invitation to the Mermaid Appreciation Meeting," the Goblin leaned in with a sly look and whispered.

"A Mermaid... Appreciation... Meeting?" Li Yu was completely speechless. Those words alone were enough to deeply trigger the Interstellar Species Rights Protection Organization.

It was like holding an illegal slave auction—more than enough to whip a certain crowd into a frenzy.

The Mermaid issue had always been one of the most prominent problems within the interstellar society's slave trade.

"Fine... I'll reluctantly accept it," Li Yu coughed dryly, deciding that he would attend with a critical and scrutinizing eye to see exactly what this Mermaid business was all about.

After all... without investigation, there is no right to speak. Otherwise, even if he wanted to fight for the rights of Mermaids in the future, it would be hard to make a compelling argument.

He took the pink invitation ticket. It featured a special anti-counterfeiting mark, contained absolutely no information about Mermaids, and simply bore the word "Invitation."

He transferred the funds efficiently. The money he had worked so hard to scrape together after much tossing and turning was gone in a flash.

When he disembarked the spaceship, he had nearly five hundred million Star Coins. Now, he was left with only around forty million.

Before long, a silver metal box was brought over. It wasn't opened immediately, and the Goblin beside him asked,

"Will you be taking this with you, or would you prefer to integrate it here?"

"We can provide you with free Gene Fusion Monitoring Measures to ensure you are completely undisturbed. Should any accidents occur, we can administer immediate medical treatment."

Although many interstellar races criticized the Tyron Chamber of Commerce for caring only about money,

their service was truly top-notch. Whether in the Black Market of the Heavenly Desolation Star or right in the core of the No Man's Land System, they consistently provided incredibly attentive service.

Just like their slogan said—creating joy with heart.

"I'll do it here," Li Yu replied. Fusing it anywhere would yield the same result, but the key factor was... it was free.

The metal-forged room was fully equipped with comprehensive testing facilities. Li Yu's physical data was displayed on a large screen—heart rate, blood flow speed, Cellular Activity...

There was even a comparison with average demographic statistics...

"Your physique is truly perfect. It is significantly higher than the average stats for D-Class Lifeforms. You are the strongest D-Class Lifeform I have ever seen in my life."

The Goblin's voice carried an undisguisable tone of sheer amazement.

"Don't talk to me about averages..." Li Yu shook his head, feeling no sense of complacency.

He lay down on the bed as the professional staff slowly injected the crimson liquid into his body.