Black Pearl (Third Update)

Lin Zhen first pre-ordered a manual on the Treading the Sea online. The book was priced at two million Tianhe Coin, which wasn't too expensive.

However, if you exchange it for Earth's currency, it would be two billion, which doesn't seem cheap.

After the secret manual chip was delivered, Lin Zhen left the Prince Manor.

He might buy a residence on Emerald Star in the future, but not now; he still needs to return to Earth.

After leaving the Prince Manor, he flew directly using his Star Power. Chris guided Lin Zhen on the way and broadcasted the aerospace merchandise store live.

The space merchandise store sells items needed for space travel, but the most important item is the spaceship.

Earth's technology is nowhere near as advanced as Emerald Star's. Lin Zhen desperately needs a good spaceship. Guided by Chris, he arrives at the entrance of the Space Merchandise Hall.

Wow! What a huge storefront.

This shopping mall looks like a huge mountain, with an incredibly large entrance.

The width and height are both ten kilometers!

Moreover, this is just a door frame, without any door panels. It's designed to facilitate the entry and exit of spaceships. If the door were too small, some large spaceships wouldn't be able to get out at all.

Even so, some super-massive spaceships cannot dock there, such as cargo ships like the Red Rose, or war machines like the Sky City bound for Earth.

Such a spaceship could only be parked in the open, but fortunately Lin Zhen didn't need something that big.

Upon entering the space museum, there was an automatic scanner that immediately identified Lin Zhen.

"Welcome, Count. Please feel free to browse."

There's no need for sales assistants here; everyone's Intelligent Life is the sales assistant, knowing everything about the spaceship's price, performance, and special offers.

"Master, the spaceship will be your biggest expense so far. I suggest you Xuan Ze a medium-sized spaceship, but the weapon defense system must be advanced. You should know that if you encounter Interstellar Pirate in space, once the spaceship is destroyed, many experts may perish in space."

Lin Zhen nodded in deep agreement. Interstellar travel often involves distances measured in light-years. If one relies on physical strength, one might not only exhaust oneself but also get lost, or encounter Space Turbulence or encounter Star River Beast and perish. Without a good spaceship, it's impossible.

"Besides weapon defense systems, speed is also crucial; the faster the better. Don't be afraid to spend money."

Lin Zhen walked among those enormous spaceships, listening to Chris's detailed explanations and introductions, and she helped Lin Zhen choose the most suitable one.

When they arrived in front of a black spaceship, Chris said, "This is good. It's the latest Phantom X99 Series, with a total weight of 14 million tons. It's a small War Fortress, equipped with Orbital Cannon and void missiles, and has a maximum range of 800 years. It's a very top-tier brand for civilian use."

"How many people can it carry?" Lin Zhen asked, looking at the behemoth that was five hundred meters tall.

"The maximum number of members is five thousand, and there is also Energy Block storage tank. The maximum travel speed is thirty kilometers per second."

Lin Zhen silently calculated that the speed of this spaceship was about the same as the aircraft he had robbed. Although its firepower was stronger, its speed was still not enough.

"Let's see if there's anything even faster."

"That's probably difficult, Master. The Spaceship you're piloting now is already quite fast. Civilian spaceships can only reach this speed thanks to technological advancements. Any faster would be possible with military spaceships, but those are prohibited from being bought or sold."

"Even if I'm a nobleman, it's still not allowed?"

"Master, although you are a nobleman, you are only a nobleman in name only. You do not hold any official position or have any fiefdom, so..."

Chris didn't finish her sentence, but the meaning was clear: Lin Zhen was just an empty shell of a nobleman.

Lin Zhen was also a little depressed. Although he didn't want to take on any official position, having a fiefdom would still be nice.

A fiefdom can provide a noble with a steady stream of money. If the Solar System is developed, it would be great to designate the surrounding star systems as one's own fiefdom.

Just then, Chris spoke up again, "Master, there's a spaceship up ahead that's being auctioned."

"It was auctioned? Let's go take a look."

Lin Zhen quickened his pace and arrived at the crowd ahead.

A dark spaceship sat there, with a huge painted skull on it, which stood out conspicuously.

"What a pity, what a pity!" Chris exclaimed, repeatedly expressing her regret.

"What's a pity?"

"What a pity for such a fine spaceship, Master. This spaceship is not a technological product of the Empire. It comes from the Sanjiang Star Region Federation. Its technological level is a level higher than that of the Empire. It belongs to the sixth generation of the Interstellar Hunter Series spaceships and was originally a military command ship."

"Then its performance must be excellent?"

"It is indeed very good. It is 4,000 meters long, 2,000 meters wide, and 300 meters high. It has a maximum capacity of 30,000 people, a maximum endurance of 1,000 years, and a maximum speed of 1,500 kilometers per second. It is equipped with large-caliber Energy Cannon, interstellar long-range missiles, and a A-Rank protective shield."

"That's great! It's five times faster than the spaceship I hijacked. Why isn't anyone buying it?"

"There are several reasons. First, this spaceship consumes a lot of energy. The Energy Block consumed by the spaceship are a huge expense, and ordinary people simply cannot afford it. Another reason is the skull. The skull is the symbol of Interstellar Pirate, which means that this ship was originally a pirate ship. Nobles disdain buying pirate ships, as it would lower their status and they also consider it unlucky."

Lin Zhen raised an eyebrow, somewhat tempted.

He had only been a nobleman for a day and had no sense of being one at all. He didn't really care about his status.

He could also see that these pirate ships, especially the captured ones, were like cars that had run over and killed people on Earth—no one wanted to buy them no matter how much money they cost, and it bothered him.

Chris saw through Lin Zhen's thoughts and hurriedly said, "Master, please don't be impulsive. You are now a nobleman of the empire. There is another downside to buying a pirate ship. Those pirates are definitely not just one person or a small group. They are a large group. If the former pirate owner or friends of this ship find out that it has been sold, they will definitely want to take the ship back. That will cause trouble. This is one of the reasons why people are unwilling to buy it."

Lin Zhen considered for a moment. "What was the original price of this ship? What is its current price?"

"Originally, this spaceship was going to be sold for 20 million Sanjiang Coin, which would be 20 billion in Tianhe Coin. However, this is a pirate ship, which was intercepted by the Imperial military and then auctioned off. The price has been greatly reduced to only 10 billion."

Lin Zhen's platinum membership card allows him to borrow 10 billion yuan. Since this spaceship is worth more than its price, he decided to buy it.

As for the trouble with pirates, Lin Zhen didn't think it was a big problem. He was currently traveling on remote interstellar routes, so he wouldn't encounter pirates.

"I'm going to apply for a loan."

Lin Zhen acted immediately, entering the Dimensional Universe and obtaining a loan of 10 billion from the bank.

With a repayment period of ten years, Lin Zhen is not worried that she will be unable to repay the money in the future.

With the money in hand, Lin Zhen immediately went to the spaceship sales office.

"I want to buy this ship."

"Ah! Earl Lin Zhen, are you sure you want to buy this Black Pearl?"

"Is this ship called the Black Pearl?"

"That's right, it's called the Black Pearl. Look, there's even a mural on the ship."

The salesperson pointed to the hull, where the Black Pearl" were indeed painted in a very prominent and large font in the universal language.

Upon hearing the name, Chris paused for a moment before hurriedly reminding Lin Zhen, "Master, I just learned that the Black Pearl is a notorious pirate ship. Those spray paints are applied with high-tech materials, and they can't be removed unless the ship's deck is dismantled. No wonder no one buys it. You mustn't fall for it. Even if you do buy it, you should extort more from them, otherwise they won't be able to sell it."

Lin Zhen nodded, then turned to the salesperson. "So it's the Black Pearl. No wonder no one's buying it, and it's so expensive at 10 billion. Forget it, I'll look at something else."

"No, Earl Lin Zhen, the performance of this ship is top-notch. It comes from the Sanjiang Star Region Federation, and even our Empire's spaceships can hardly compare. Ten billion is already a bargain price. Moreover, since you are a noble, you can enjoy a 10% discount. You can get it for only nine billion."

Lin Zhen seemed somewhat tempted, but still shook his head. "Of course I know there's a discount, but I still feel like I'm losing out. I just can't get this skull and crossbones banner and the words 'Black Pearl' on. If I walk through the stars, people will think I'm a pirate. How embarrassing for a dignified Empire Earl!"

The spaceship has been sitting here for two months. Although people admire its performance, no one has ever shown any interest in buying it. After all, 10 billion is not a small amount, and every Intelligent Life would remind its owner not to buy it.

The salesman was also a bit anxious, so he gritted his teeth and said, "Earl Lin Zhen, if you are willing to buy, we will also give you high-quality Energy Block worth 300 million. These Energy Block are enough to support your spaceship to travel in the universe for fifty years. Otherwise, you will have to spend money to buy Energy Block."

Lin Zhen stirred. Three hundred million was no small amount. Energy Block were like gasoline for a car; no one could do without them.

But he felt he could still negotiate the price, so he pretended to hesitate and considered it.

Seeing that Lin Zhen still wouldn't budge, the salesperson grew impatient and added fuel to the fire, "Your Excellency, if you purchase this spaceship, we'll also give you ten slaves as a gift!"

"Ten slaves?" Lin Zhen was taken aback; this wasn't a slave market.

"That's right, ten slaves, and they are proficient in spaceship piloting and familiar with weapon operation. Two of them have even reached the Planet Stage, and the remaining eight are at the Satellite Stage. What do you think? You would need at least 200 million to buy these ten slaves on the slave market, and they would definitely be inferior to these ten people in terms of spaceship operation."

"Deal!" Lin Zhen knew that this should be the other party's bottom line, and it was impossible to bargain further.

The sales staff were overjoyed. Giving away ten slaves was like getting a bargain. They happily signed a contract with Lin Zhen. Lin Zhen paid the money, and after spending nine billion, they immediately arranged for someone to add Energy Block to Lin Zhen's Black Pearl.

While waiting, someone brought ten slaves to Lin Zhen.

Lin Zhen raised his head. The two slaves in front of him had already reached the eighth level of the planetary realm, and their powerful aura was overwhelming!

Today is the third chapter. I'm adding an extra chapter to reach 700 monthly votes. Everyone voted so fast, we've already reached 720. Just 75 more votes and we'll have 800.