Zero-Element: Cash

Generally speaking, energy weapons and kinetic weapons each had their advantages and disadvantages. A mature fleet and a mature commander would never go to extremes. But that was at the level of space fleet battles. When it came to fighting in an atmosphere, or even with individual soldiers, miniaturizing energy weapons remained one of the problems plaguing every civilization in the universe. The best they could currently manage was mounting a phase ion cannon on a heavy tank.

Otherwise, wouldn't it be great if every soldier could carry a kinetic rifle, a blaster, and a laser that could cut through things?

What? You mean the lightsabers and light lances used by adventurers and the Starrealm Knights, the ones that could cut through warship armor and shields? Hadn't he already explained? Those things could only be made thanks to the focusing crystals found in "zero elements." They were basically alchemy. Could something that couldn't be mass-produced and made for general use even be called a weapon? At best, they were garlands for extraordinary beings to show off their status.

And yet these two blasters, salvaged from the "big blaster," were energy weapons that individual soldiers could use. They were only two meters long, barrel included, weighed no more than ten kilograms, and didn't require heavy ammunition. Any adult could carry one around. As for their firepower... Yu Lian had seen it "back then." Let's just say they were more than enough to beat sandfolk and their stitched-together monster tanks.

Keep it up, Yu Lian urged Uncle Carl's retreating back. If you can repair that hive missile and laser cutting beam, too, I'll admit you're a super tech genius, blessed with all the finest qualities of heaven and earth.

How could a talent like this have been driven to scrape by in a colonial security force? If this rotten country didn't fall, what would?

As he lamented, Yu Lian fished a thumb-sized, pale green crystal out of the pile of "big blasters." He held it up to the light. The light passed through the crystal, seeming to reveal a galaxy within.

Satisfied, he handed it to Ina.

"No." The young woman shook her head.

"..." Why couldn't she ever act the way he expected?

"From the look on your face, I can tell it's something valuable. It must be worth far more than those two big guns. What kind of relationship do we have that I should accept such a precious gift?" Ina shook her head again.

"It's a weapon..."

"Oh." The sergeant major accepted it without a second thought. Watching from a distance, Miss Belinda looked heartbroken. Unfortunately, no one noticed. Only Doctor Banks gave her a consoling pat on the shoulder before impassively telling her to get back to work.

Why was she still acting against expectations? Yu Lian gave Ina a sidelong glance, then continued, "It's a perception gem, one type of spiritual gem. Of course, it's also a kind of 'zero element.' You could take it to a corporation's laboratory for extraordinary objects and have them use it as the main ingredient in an extraordinary piece of equipment. Or, if you know a private craftsman, that works too. The first option will cost so much you'll question your existence; with the second, you risk getting robbed. It's up to you."

"I don't have any money, and I grew up in a veterans' home. I don't know any underworld types." The sergeant major put on a smug expression, as if to say that she was a sweet, well-behaved girl, superior to all you crooked little thugs. Then she handed the gem back.

What was there to be smug about?

"It has another use... Sensitive individuals can sense its rhythm and absorb the primordial energy inside to strengthen themselves. And if you have enough talent, you can directly awaken the first ring of the Starhunter path. Its endpoint is the legendary Starfall Hand."

"Starfall Hand?" Ina looked intrigued. She had no idea what it was, but it certainly sounded impressive.

"Yeah. That's the name of the ninth ring of the Starhunter path, the highest realm a psionic could reach. As the name suggests, you can shoot stars right out of the sky!" It wasn't a metaphor; that was exactly what it meant. That was why psionics who reached the seventh ring or beyond could be considered living gods. In fact, if you placed a high-ranking psionic among a "primitive civilization" that hadn't yet left its homeworld, they really would be gods who spoke with the authority of heaven and made their words come true.

Still, the idea of "shooting stars out of the sky" was, in the end, more legend than fact.

Across this vast galaxy, with over a thousand civilizations and countless trillions of intelligent beings, even three or five ninth-ring psionics emerging in a millennium would count as a "golden age" for their kind. And the pinnacle of the Starhunter path, the Starfall Hand, hadn't been seen in more than two thousand years.

Thinking of that, Yu Lian felt a pang of emotion. Back then... no, in the future, he'd been caught off guard when this giant blaster suddenly activated. But by then he'd been a high-ring expert, at least, and after three hundred rounds of fighting, he'd finally taken it down. Of all its spoils, the only thing with any value (to Yu Lian at the time) had been this perception gem. He'd planned to give it to that young man, the most talented young sharpshooter since Ina Silika, the "Scarlet-Eyed Witch"... But the tides of a great age were both stirring and cruel. They always swallowed up the sparks of hope that never got the chance to grow.

Wait, hold on. That spark of hope hadn't even been born yet. And her most admired idol, the legendary "Scarlet-Eyed Witch," was standing right in front of him.

"How do I use it?" the future hope's idol asked eagerly. "I'm not supposed to swallow it, am I?"

"Uh, you actually can swallow it..."

"Just swallow it like this?"

He felt like he'd heard that line somewhere before. If he told her to start with a glass of Alliance-made Saint Venerable red wine, then smoke a Green Bay torpedo, hum a lilting Myriang tune, dance an elegant Imperial court dance—though an energetic Wookiee or Endorian teddy bear war dance would work too—and finish with a game of Star Cards, he'd surely sound incredibly punchable.

More importantly, it felt like a terrible omen.

"You don't need to do anything. Just swallow it."

Ina shot Yu Lian a glance. After confirming he wasn't joking, she casually tossed the sparkling object—which looked radioactive, if anything—into her mouth like a piece of candy.

"..." He knew she was the decisive sort, but she was so decisive that it left everyone else at a loss.

Anyway, though it was a gem, when a sensitive person with a connection to it swallowed it, it really did melt in the mouth and leave a sweet taste behind. Ina smacked her lips, as if she wanted more.

"That's it?"

"You'll probably feel something else soon. Maybe you'll get hot, or restless, or feel like you're being filled up—or even injected... I told you, it varies from person to person. Just see how it goes. I have high hopes for you."

Yu Lian was looking forward to seeing whether anything red, green, yellow, or black would come pouring out of Ina. But she only wore a thoughtful expression as her eyes slowly glazed over, slipping into a meditative state—or, as people called it, daydreaming. Yu Lian immediately lost interest. If it were anyone else, he might have watched over them carefully, but this was the "Scarlet-Eyed Witch." Was she really going to lose control while breaking through the first ring?

So Yu Lian left Ina to digest her new power and, after "several days," stepped into the familiar hall again. Everyone else hurried after him, except for the few who stayed behind to guard the vehicles, the spoils, and Ina.

Compared with the imposing statue at the entrance, the main part of the ruins seemed far less impressive. They'd expected to find a grand, solemn underground palace, but it was merely a hall about twenty meters long and wide, with a ceiling no more than five or six meters high. Even the branch lobby of Starry Rose Bank in Tulong Port was more impressive. A starry sky pattern hung from the ceiling, the only decoration. The bricks on both walls seemed to be metal, but they were bare and featureless. The hall was divided into several sections, scattered with many unfamiliar devices. On the far wall stood something resembling a control console, though it had no visible buttons, let alone a crude, intuitive control panel with obvious wiring.

"Is this... a laboratory? Or maybe a workshop?" The moment Uncle Carl entered the hall, he stopped short and wore an expression of longing and nostalgia. He couldn't understand a single device here, much less operate one. But as a self-taught tech genius, he immediately felt a kinship with his counterparts from who knew how many millions of years ago.

Or maybe he was simply remembering the career he'd devoted his first half of life to.

"These facilities are antiques, Yoyo. Don't touch them!" Yu Lian shouted.

The big black sergeant flinched and quickly pulled his hand back.

"If you break anything, your merit will be docked when I file the report, and you might even get disciplined!" Yu Lian said.

"Merit? You're going to report this?" Doctor Banks asked.

"We can't take these things with us. We might as well wait until this is over and report them to the governor's office in exchange for merit and a bonus. The Commonwealth government has set rewards for anyone who discovers an Enlightener ruin. Trust me, I'll make sure everyone gets the credit they deserve. No one's going to skim off your share."

Everyone nodded stiffly. If Yu Lian hadn't already earned such a high reputation among them, someone might have spoken up in protest. Anyone with common sense knew there was a world of difference between turning something over to the government and selling it privately. None of these security force nobodies had a reliable way to sell the stuff, but that wouldn't stop them from imagining the possibilities.

There were countless stories across the universe about some down-and-out scavenger in a remote star sector digging around on an asteroid, finding an Enlightener relic, and selling it to some kindly passing collector—then making it big.

Ah, human nature! Yu Lian thought. But there was nothing to be disappointed about, because that was just how people were. Besides, he'd been prepared for this.

As everyone watched, Yu Lian walked straight to the central console, reached behind it, and lifted out a box. The moment he opened it, a burst of silvery light drew everyone's eyes. At the same time, Yu Lian slipped a small crystal chip from a gap in the console into his pocket.

His movements were quick and discreet. Even the nurse, who'd been watching him out of the corner of her eye, didn't notice.

"This is nether silver, also known as mithril. It's a type of active metal," Yu Lian explained.

It had been discovered by an Alliance explorer named Nether, but the word from myth had been a far better choice for its name.

"And, of course, it's also a kind of zero element!"

Everyone's breathing grew heavier.

They didn't know how many kinds of zero elements existed in the universe, or what forms they took and what they could be used for. But they all knew the simple truth: zero elements meant cash—lots and lots of cash.

By the way, if I name one of the heroines Lucy Berenkast or Lucy Linge, will longtime readers think that's a deal-breaker?