The staff came up quickly after receiving the information.
After all, even on an A-class Star Block, mechs were not something ordinary people could afford.
Zhou Yi readily spent all the credit she had just transferred onto her card, then made up the shortfall with the Star Coin balance in her account.
A 10% discount on 880,000 Star Coins came to 792,000.
She had saved nearly 90,000 Star Coins.
"You have such a large mech, so it won't be convenient for you to take it with you. How about buying a Mech Ring as well?"
The staff member handling her payment began his sales pitch, glancing at Zhou Yi's fingers.
"A storage ring has too much space and too many miscellaneous items. It's better to keep a mech in a dedicated Mech Ring."
The people at the Alliance Merchant House had sharp eyes, whether they were judging people or goods.
Although Zhou Yi was dressed simply, she had just upgraded her Star Card and spent so much money at once. The ring on her hand was surely no ordinary item.
The man took out a ring for Zhou Yi to inspect. A tiny metal cube was set into a slender band.
Thirty thousand Star Coins. Zhou Yi felt a little pain in her chest.
"Do I still need a Mech Ring if I already have a storage ring?"
Zhou Yi asked Xiao Fu in her mind, trying to save herself some money.
Yes. You don't want to have to dig through a pile of things whenever you need your mech, do you? Besides, without a Mech Ring, you won't even be able to enter official mech competitions in the future.
"Got it."
With tears in her eyes, Zhou Yi bought the ring as well, then stored the mech that now belonged to her inside the Mech Ring with a touch.
The man handling her payment finally left in satisfaction, leaving Xiao Yin behind to continue introducing Zhou Yi to the mech's follow-up services and support.
Zhou Yi had already paid and was heading out when the man from earlier was still chattering away to the salesperson serving him.
When he saw Zhou Yi pass by him, the man looked at her hand. A Mech Ring gleamed brightly on her left finger.
It was not as if he had failed to see the staff come up to process her payment earlier. He simply refused to believe that the shabby-looking woman could really afford a mech.
Even he had hesitated for a long time without being able to make up his mind. How could a girl dressed like that afford one?
This wasn't scientific!
Whether from shame at himself or dissatisfaction with society, the man's face flushed an ugly red.
Zhou Yi had already passed him, but when she noticed his assessing gaze and unpleasant expression, she silently stepped back and added one more sentence.
"Talk less. Someone who doesn't know better might think you're a salesperson."
She had been so eager to buy the mech that she had even forgotten dinner.
As Zhou Yi went downstairs, she felt her stomach growling.
Normally, she would not think much of a growling stomach. She could just down a few bottles of Nutrient Solution.
But after enjoying the feeling of being rich and eating those delicious little cookies, Zhou Yi did not really want Nutrient Solution anymore.
"Do you have anything to eat here?"
Zhou Yi asked Xiao Yin.
"Of course. Please follow me."
Following Xiao Yin, Zhou Yi arrived at the food section and saw many foods she had previously seen on the Star Net.
Compared with the pictures, the food before her was clearly far more tempting.
Zhou Yi looked here and there before finally deciding to buy little cookies.
Original flavor, sweet flavor, fruit flavor, spaceship-shaped, bear-shaped, mech-shaped.
Zhou Yi grabbed a handful here and another there, quickly filling a large bag with cookies.
"There are 108 cookies in total. Your membership discount has already been applied, so the total is 9,720 Star Coins."
One cookie for one meal, one cookie for one meal...
Zhou Yi comforted herself with that mantra as she paid.
Money hurt to spend in small amounts, but once you started spending freely in large amounts, there was no restraint left.
After buying the cookies, Zhou Yi went to pick out several outfits and pairs of shoes.
It was not that she disliked what she was wearing. It was just more comfortable to wear clothes made of special materials when piloting a mech, and they could also protect the body.
Zhou Yi chose three sets of clothes and shoes in different neat styles, all in black.
After putting the packaged cookies and clothes into her storage space, Zhou Yi fled the Alliance Merchant House as though escaping.
"Welcome back next time!"
Xiao Yin saw Zhou Yi off at the entrance, her voice following Zhou Yi's fading shadow into the wind.
By the time she finished shopping at the Alliance Merchant House, night had already grown deep—though that was only true for A58 Star Block.
For the universe as a whole, day and night were merely small, individual concepts. There was no night in the vast expanse, yet it was always night.
Zhou Yi boarded the spaceship again and found a window seat as before. After eating a little cookie and drinking some water, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.
Zhou Yi was awakened by someone on the spaceship pushing her. By the time she woke up, everyone else had already left except for the male student who had nudged her.
On an unmanned spaceship with only one route like this, if she really slept through the trip, she might end up back on A58 Star Block.
Oh, no. She might end up on D72 instead.
If she slept long enough, she could make two round trips.
Zhou Yi entered Huadun in the dark. If the security guard at the gate had not recognized her, he might have treated her like some suspicious person and dealt with her on the spot.
Perhaps because she had slept too long on the spaceship, Zhou Yi found herself unable to sleep after returning to the dormitory.
Her fingers rubbed against the Mech Ring as she wanted to release the mech and take another careful look at it.
But after raising her head to look at the ceiling and roughly estimating the room's height, she gave up.
It was fine to look at the mech later. It would be bad if she accidentally bumped its head or scraped it bald against the wall.
The more she thought about it, the more awake she became. Zhou Yi simply took out the Crystal Marrow, sat on her bed, and began cultivating the Star Gathering Art.
Now that she had the mech, her Star Patterning career could finally officially begin.
Zhou Yi cultivated for quite a while before washing up and going to bed. She only slept for about five hours before it was time for class.
Wide! Awake!
Although she had not slept for very long, perhaps because happy events lifted the spirit, Zhou Yi was in exceptionally good condition.
After changing into a very clean set of ragged clothes, Zhou Yi happily took her books and went to class.
"Zhou Zhou!! You're finally here! I missed you so much!"
Seeing the missing person return, Lu Xiaoxiao became excited. For the past week, she had only been able to hang out with Hu Manduo, and it had been boring to death.
"You wouldn't let us come see you. If you hadn't come back soon, we would've thought something had happened to you."
Zhou Yi had truly been too busy these past few days. She had only hurriedly exchanged a few words with Xiao Xiao and Hu Manduo, and barely had time to check the messages on her Star Brain.
"I'm fine. I've been perfectly safe here. It's not like aliens could abduct me."
Zhou Yi said jokingly.
But Lu Xiaoxiao and Hu Manduo both wore serious expressions.
"Zhou Zhou, you're just too innocent. The aliens on other Star Blocks are really bad."
All right, she had forgotten. Aliens were everywhere here.
Before you continue