Chapter 125: I

Although he felt he'd been cheated, Feng Xue still paid extra to buy a house-ship.

There was no choice—it was just too appealing!

Beyond its exterior, the vessel was essentially a three-story villa with a basement and attic, fully equipped with an electric water heater, temperature-controlled bathtub, air conditioning, refrigerator, and robotic vacuum; it even came with an emergency synthesis unit capable of producing vitamins, starch, protein, and common pharmaceuticals. At Feng Xue's request, a seawater desalination system and self-cleaning module were added, and the propulsion system ran directly on seawater (more precisely, electrolytic water fusion)!

Added to that were entertainment products copied from the Weather Goddess—anime, games, films—after all, pre-civilization researchers had leisure too—and if not for the lifespan limit, Feng Xue felt he could live out his entire life inside this ship!

If forced to name a flaw, it lacked a weapon system, but that was normal—civilian tech and military tech differed not just in price, but in acquisition difficulty alone.

After finalizing minor details like interior design, Feng Xue paid a deposit, took his receipt, and left the dock. The Silver Sail needed time to find a suitable buyer, and the new ship's customization required time too—perfect for him to wander around this island dubbed the "Novice Seeker's Kindergarten."

"So where are we going?" Sara asked, her voice transmitted directly through the nanofilm clinging to Feng Xue for disguise.

"First, to the Seeker Association—to register as a Seeker."

"Are you insane?" Sara snapped at his words. Come on—you want to find the Earth God, fine, do it secretly. Why register as a Seeker? Do you really think the Seeker Association has no spies?

"Not insane." Feng Xue replied dryly, summoning Little Xiao Lingdang to guide him.

Unlike the Bounty Hunters' Guild, which placed its offices right at the harbor (to intercept wanted criminals immediately), the Seeker Association's office was deeper inland—but with Little Xiao Lingdang's guidance (or rather, Blood Eye's intel), the trio reached the guild entrance quickly.

Contrary to the imagined high-tech or grandiose headquarters, the current office appeared extremely plain—on first glance, it looked like a two-story diner; aside from the automatic door, it showed no trace of the second-largest maritime power's prestige.

"Welcome. How may we help you?"

Inside the automatic door, a curved counter faced the entrance, where several young, attractive women stood behind it, occasionally operating devices resembling computers.

After scanning the room with his over-the-shoulder vision, Feng Xue returned his gaze to the greeter who had greeted him—her remaining lifespan, after conversion, was about 170 years—and said casually:

"I'd like to register as a Seeker. What's required?"

The question was blunt; even the greeter was taken aback. But since this was the Novice Seeker's Kindergarten, they were no stranger to hot-headed youths who thought Seekers looked cool and rushed in on impulse. The greeter paused only briefly before replying:

"The Seeker Association is a loose organization—no special procedures are needed. Just fill in your alias and corresponding emblem, then collect a secret key."

"That's it?" Feng Xue had already learned from Sara and Blood Eye that the Seekers operated on "if you believe you are, you are," yet he was still surprised.

Still, he didn't hesitate. Guided by the greeter, he approached the counter to fill out the registration form, then asked:

"How do I obtain intelligence?"

"Simply input your identity key into any internet-capable terminal to access the Seeker Network. If you lack such a terminal, we sell them here—prices range from 300 to 5,000 yuan depending on function. Also, the forum's pinned page has a free AI image generator to help Seekers design their flags. Use it freely, but if you finalize a flag, remember to register it in your forum profile."

The receptionist took the slip Feng Xue had casually filled out, entered "Shenxiao" into the device, and handed him a string of characters that made his eyes spin.

Feng Xue scanned it with his wristwatch. As Little Xiao Lingdang chimed "Connected," a forum appeared before him, its background a world map—astonishingly, it precisely marked numerous sites that looked profoundly significant; clicking them revealed related information and exploration guides.

"Wait, can anyone just register an alias and view this info?"

Seeing this confusion often, the receptionist explained naturally:

"The Seeker Association was founded to share intelligence and avoid redundant exploration. As for leaks—we're not worried, because everyone's ultimate goal is to find the Earth God.

"Even if the Sea God's followers (the Sea People) find him first, we'd be glad—because then all we'd need to do is breach their defenses, which is far simpler than searching the entire world!

"Of course, the forum does contain higher-security content—mostly active excavation sites. To access these, you don't need money, but your qualification as a Seeker. If you have prior excavation experience or other qualifying credentials, these secrets will automatically open to you.

"The Association only charges for technology—whether recovering lost pre-civilization tech or creating/improving new tech, we provide support. Pricing details are available on the forum's pinned section.

"Also, if you acquire pre-civilization tech but lack the ability to develop it, you may submit it to the Association. We'll pay you an annual percentage based on its practical value and application scope."

Listening to the receptionist, Feng Xue couldn't help but admire the organization's grand vision—just this spirit of sharing meant that as long as one Seeker survived, new Seekers would spread across the world within years!

After casually browsing the forum and asking a few more questions, Feng Xue left the association office with Sara and Fina. Only then did Sara ask again:

"What intelligence do you need? Why join the Seekers?"

"Information on the gods."

Feng Xue had no intention of hiding this from Sara—or rather, once he'd decided to rely on her disguise, he realized many things couldn't be concealed anyway. Fortunately, with Little Xiao Lingdang and the house-ship, his risk tolerance had risen considerably—

"I'm going to search for two gods: one is the God of Immortality, about whom you've told me, and the other is the Moon Goddess. I believe no organization in this world understands the distribution of gods better than the Seekers—whose ultimate goal is to find the Earth God!"

(End of Chapter)