Startup Capital

A few days later, Luo Zhiyuan had finished exploring most of Earth's oceans. He had found nothing in the Pacific, but in the Atlantic, he discovered a spacecraft buried sixteen kilometers beneath the ocean floor. It was a silver, disk-shaped vessel, about 150 meters in diameter and 40 meters tall. Aside from its hatch, it was remarkably undamaged. This was his first find.

Luo Zhiyuan sent one of his Cloud-Touching Vine avatars inside, extending a main vine to explore the ship. The spacecraft no longer had any power to activate its defenses, and the vine easily located the control room.

He sent his Auxiliary Optical Computer into the control room. After its inspection, Babata's subsidiary intelligence found no defensive measures either, and began a thorough search of the vessel.

In the cargo hold at the bottom of the ship, Luo Zhiyuan found a large quantity of Energy Crystals. In the passage leading to the hold, he found only the wreckage of two damaged robots. There were no biological remains anywhere inside the ship.

Luo Zhiyuan guessed that it had probably been a cargo ship transporting Energy Crystals. For reasons unknown, it had crashed on Earth. Now, it had fallen into his hands.

Under the subsidiary intelligence's direction, his Cloud-Touching Vine avatar used the Energy Crystals in the cargo hold to replace the ones in the power compartment. The moment the power compartment came online, the subsidiary intelligence took control of the ship's systems. It was only an intelligence Babata had created, but Babata was an Intelligent Life, so even his subsidiary intelligence was formidable. It took control of the ship with ease.

After a brief self-diagnostic, the ship brought Luo Zhiyuan some good news.

It was a C1-class ship, belonging to a commercial family in the Yinlan Empire several hundred thousand years ago. The Yinlan Empire was a low-level universe civilization that ruled eight neighboring star systems, including the Milky Way Galaxy and the Beta Star System. The commercial family specialized in interstellar transport.

The ship had been built specifically to transport Energy Crystals. At the time, Earth was a livestock planet within the Yinlan Empire, and the family had established a transfer point there. As a result, they had not stationed any personnel on the ship, relying instead on its intelligent control system and a few operation robots.

When Master of Yunmo Star Hu Yanbo seized the Solar System, the ship had been caught in the attack and shot down on Earth. The robots were destroyed at the time. Over the hundreds of thousands of years that followed, the power in the ship's power compartment was completely depleted. It had only restarted now, after Luo Zhiyuan found it. He was delighted to claim the spacecraft as his own and named it L-1, marking it as his very first ship.

After spending more than a day using his Cloud-Touching Vine avatar to haul L-1 out of the ocean, he finally brought it to the surface. Its damaged hatch could not be repaired for the time being, but the robots Luo Feng had left with the Luo Family should be able to fix it. So, late that night, Luo Zhiyuan secretly flew L-1 back to the Luo Family castle without waking anyone. He instructed the guards not to tell anyone about it.

The robots repaired L-1's hatch in no time. As for the materials, there were plenty of metal wrecks on the ocean floor. They easily found suitable pieces and used them to finish the repairs.

With his first discovery under his belt, Luo Zhiyuan was in high spirits and resumed his exploration.

Soon, after finishing his survey of the oceans, he began exploring the land.

Now that L-1 had been repaired, he used it to scan the areas he explored. Although it was only a transport ship, it still had basic scanning equipment. His work went much faster, and he made a few more discoveries along the way.

In a small valley on the Australian Continent, L-1 detected a crashed B7-class ship twenty-eight kilometers underground. Luo Zhiyuan sent his Cloud-Touching Vine avatar below the surface to investigate. The ship had been destroyed, but many items were scattered inside. Since it was beyond repair, the avatar brought only the items that looked to be in relatively good condition back to the surface.

Among them, Luo Zhiyuan found part of a log. It revealed that the ship had been used by some Star Level crew members who had been stationed on Earth at the time. After learning that the Solar System had been seized, they had tried to flee, but Hu Yanbo's attack caught them and destroyed their ship.

The crew's remains had long since decomposed, but among the surviving items, Luo Zhiyuan found two second-tier Force Battle Suits, a second-tier Telekinetic Weapon, and a second-tier Force Weapon. They had belonged to the ship's crew—and had now fallen into his hands.

The two second-tier Force Battle Suits looked like bronze-colored cloaks. Babata's subsidiary intelligence estimated that they were worth about seven billion Black Dragon Coins. The second-tier Telekinetic Weapon was a top-grade second-tier Lightning Shuttle, worth around six billion Black Dragon Coins. The second-tier Force Weapon was a mid-grade Earth-Splitting Hammer, worth about 1.5 billion Black Dragon Coins.

At this point, Babata's subsidiary intelligence explained the basic currency system of the universe to Luo Zhiyuan. Earth's currency could not be used to buy goods from the civilizations of the universe. Only the corresponding currency of a universe civilization would do.

The Milky Way Galaxy was governed by the low-level universe civilization known as the Yinlan Empire, which in turn was governed by the mid-level universe civilization known as the Black Dragon Mountain Empire. Black Dragon Coins were the currency issued by the Black Dragon Mountain Empire.

Luo Zhiyuan decided to keep the Lightning Shuttle and one of the second-tier Force Battle Suits. The Lightning Shuttle filled the gap in his arsenal, since he had no Telekinetic Weapon of his own. The second-tier Force Battle Suit was ten times better than the Black God Set at defending against physical attacks. It could withstand attacks from ordinary Star Level Martial Artists and change shape at will, so it would serve him well until he reached Star Level. He immediately replaced his Black God Set with it.

Luo Zhiyuan knew that Luo Feng had a Cloud-Touching Vine and did not need a second-tier Force Battle Suit. He planned to sell the extra suit and the Earth-Splitting Hammer, which should fetch around four billion Black Dragon Coins. That would give him his first bit of startup capital and make it easier to plan his cultivation—for instance, by buying the secret technique for using the Lightning Shuttle.

He checked the Virtual Universe and found that the secret technique for using the Lightning Shuttle cost around 200 million Black Dragon Coins if purchased separately. Without selling anything, he would not have enough money to buy it, and using the Lightning Shuttle with Spiritual Force alone would be a waste. Selling a Force Battle Suit and the Earth-Splitting Hammer was the best option for him. He would still have plenty of funds left to spend as he wished.

Half a month later, Luo Zhiyuan had used L-1 to explore most of Earth, apart from a few dangerous ruins left by civilizations. Since the ship lacked specialized scanning equipment, he had not found any other useful materials.

Still, he was quite satisfied. He would soon have his own little nest egg, which felt great. When Luo Feng returned to Earth, Luo Zhiyuan would ask him for a star map, and then he could go out into the universe on his own.

After finishing his exploration of Earth, Luo Zhiyuan returned to the Luo Family castle and hid L-1 deep beneath the sea. He did not want Luo Feng to discover it, as he was afraid Luo Feng would try to keep him in check. He wanted to see the vast civilizations of the universe for himself.

So Luo Zhiyuan continued cultivating while waiting for Luo Feng to return to Earth. He knew Luo Feng would be back soon to set up some survival bases as part of his arrangements for Earth's people. It was a precaution, of sorts.

Sure enough, a month after leaving Earth, Luo Feng returned. After setting up several survival bases and monitoring equipment in the Solar System, he headed back into the universe.

Luo Zhiyuan copied the star map Babata had, which let him enter and leave the Solar System freely, just like Luo Feng. He did not have to spend ages flying around like adventurers who had no star map. He also asked Luo Feng for one million Black Dragon Coins to use in the Virtual Universe. After Luo Feng left Earth, Luo Zhiyuan quietly departed with a Star Level Seven guard captain.

His first destination was Qiu Long Planet, the first alien civilization planet to appear in the original story. Qiu Long Planet was directly governed by the Black Dragon Mountain Empire, a mid-level universe civilization. The empire ruled more than five hundred low-level universe civilizations, including the Yinlan Empire, and directly controlled over eight thousand star systems. Luo Zhiyuan could hardly wait to see the colorful universe for himself!

After L-1 flew away from Earth, Luo Zhiyuan ordered the ship's intelligence to activate the exterior simulation. He had been sitting cross-legged in the brightly lit control room, but suddenly found himself in the boundless expanse of the universe.

He turned and looked back at the light. It was a huge, brilliant ball of fire—the Sun—radiating its passionate glow without pause.

To his left was a blue planet, its full shape just coming into view. Earth's white clouds drifted slowly across its surface.

To his right, the Moon, its many craters clearly visible, was gradually shrinking in the distance.

Ahead, the distant depths of space were filled with a brilliant field of stars, fading from deep blue into darkness. Their deadly allure held Luo Zhiyuan's gaze fast.

The sight left him so awestruck that he could not look away. He wondered how many colorful, dazzling universe civilizations lay in the boundless starry expanse ahead. He longed to roam freely among them, imagining the thrilling adventures he might one day share with countless different races, and dreaming of all the expeditions he would make through the mysterious Universe Secret Realms...

Only when L-1's speed continued to climb and it was about to reach the speed of light, leaving nothing but darkness ahead and a sky full of bright stars behind, did the ship's control intelligence remind him, "Preparing to enter the Dark Universe. Please be ready."

The warning jolted him back to his senses. Luo Zhiyuan abruptly came to, dropped from midair, and sat cross-legged on the floor. He turned off the exterior simulation, ready to experience his first journey through the Dark Universe.

L-1 was only a C1-class cargo ship, after all, and its gravity system was relatively crude. Luo Zhiyuan was currently enduring about 100g of gravity. That was no problem for him, but the experience was less comfortable than Luo Feng's first journey through the universe in the original story. The Black Dragon Mountain X81 had been a more advanced C5-class ship.

By now, Luo Feng had probably sold that Black Dragon Mountain X81. Otherwise, he would not have had so much money to buy the survival bases. If Luo Zhiyuan remembered correctly, Luo Feng had sold it for 12.8 billion Black Dragon Coins, and probably did not have much left after buying the survival bases. Maybe Luo Zhiyuan would end up wealthier than Luo Feng after selling his gear!

After nearly half a minute of shaking, L-1 successfully entered the Dark Universe. Fifteen days later, it emerged and finally reached Qiu Long Planet. This journey also confirmed something: Luo Zhiyuan's avatars had no range limit. He could still control the avatar he had left on Earth, and the Luo Family had not noticed anything unusual.

The exterior simulation came on again in L-1's control room. Luo Zhiyuan sat cross-legged in midair, gazing at the colorful planet ahead. It had two moons. This was Qiu Long Planet.

Qiu Long Planet was much larger than Earth. Clouds of all different colors floated above its surface, reflecting the sunlight in a dazzling array of hues. The ship passed through the multicolored clouds and was guided to a C-class docking area. After paying the staff a fee of 600 Black Dragon Coins, Luo Zhiyuan left the port with his Star Level Seven guard captain.

With a Star Level Seven Spirit Reader as his bodyguard, Luo Zhiyuan did not run into anyone looking for trouble, nor did he meet any companions like Luo Feng had.

As they flew along, the sky shifted from purple to blue, then red, yellow, and other colors. He kept marveling at the breathtaking scenery as they passed many castles, the homes of Qiu Long Planet's residents. These luxurious residences cost at least ten billion Black Dragon Coins.

After flying for over half an hour, Luo Zhiyuan finally reached Qiu Long City, a vast city nearly six thousand kilometers long and wide, with a history of more than three million years.

Luo Zhiyuan and the guard captain landed by the city gate. He looked up at the magnificent walls and gateway. The walls stood 120 meters high, and the gate was nearly a kilometer wide. All sorts of people from across the universe streamed in and out.

Luo Zhiyuan felt like a country bumpkin entering the big city, sneaking glances at all the unfamiliar races. The Auxiliary Optical Computer on his wrist constantly scanned Planetary Level and Star Level Martial Artists and Spirit Readers. Every so often, it even picked up information on a Universe Level powerhouse. Luo Zhiyuan was dazzled by the sheer variety of the Human Race.

After a long while, Luo Zhiyuan finally remembered why he had come. He used Babata's subsidiary intelligence to find the Black Dragon Mountain Empire's administrative building on Qiu Long Planet and headed straight there to register as a citizen of the empire. Afterward, he went to the Virtual Universe Company on Qiu Long Planet and used his new identity to open an account, paying the fee for 1,000 years in Black Dragon Coins.

After leaving the Virtual Universe Company, Luo Zhiyuan headed to the Universe First Bank. He planned to open an account and sell his gear there. He liked the words "Universe First," so instead of choosing the Universe Galaxy Bank like Luo Feng, he went straight to the reception hall of the Universe First Bank.

A staff member in the hall came over to assist Luo Zhiyuan. She did not look down on him because of his height. There were plenty of races in the universe who were about his size, and without using instruments to check, nobody would know he was only a little over two years old. She asked what business he wanted to conduct, and Luo Zhiyuan said, "I'd like to open an account and sell a few items."

The staff member smiled. "Certainly, sir. Our minimum requirement for opening an account is one hundred million Black Dragon Coins. Would you like to open one now?"

"Uh... I don't have that much money right now, but I'll have more than enough after I sell my things. Could I sell the items first?"

"Of course, sir. Please follow me. We have a dedicated system for appraising and buying items."

After asking him about the items' dimensions, the staff member led Luo Zhiyuan into a bright little room. Inside stood a circular platform about a meter tall and ten meters in diameter. "Sir, please place the items you wish to sell in the red area on the inspection platform. Our system will appraise them."

Luo Zhiyuan took a second-tier Force Battle Suit and an Earth-Splitting Hammer from his storage space and placed them on the inspection platform. Then he stepped back and waited for the results.

A band of faint light descended from above and scanned the two items several times before retracting. A dispassionate electronic voice rang out in the room: "Inspection complete. One second-tier Force Battle Suit in 90% condition and one second-tier Earth-Splitting Hammer in 90% condition detected. The buyback price is three billion Black Dragon Coins for the Force Battle Suit and one billion Black Dragon Coins for the Earth-Splitting Hammer."

"Sir, our Universe First Bank will buy the two items for a total of four billion Black Dragon Coins. If you're not satisfied, you can also consign them here. We'll charge a fee of 10% of the final sale price. Would you like to sell them to us?" The staff member asked cautiously.

"I'll sell them to you. And please help me open an account while you're at it." Luo Zhiyuan answered without hesitation. He needed cash urgently and did not want to waste time.

"Certainly, sir. Please follow me, and we'll take care of the paperwork."

It did not take long for Luo Zhiyuan to finish the paperwork and open his account. He linked it to his Virtual Universe account to make spending in the Virtual Universe more convenient. At last, he officially had his first bit of startup capital.

P.S. I just realized that the author's notes aren't visible on the PC version, so I'll say it again here. The story is free right now, so I hope you all don't mind me being long-winded, hehe.

Sorry I couldn't update at midnight; I've only just uploaded this. The story is about to reach a climax, and I have a lot of ideas to sort through, so I might not be able to update at noon tomorrow. I'll try to get it out earlier, though. We've got 125 people following the story now, and I'm genuinely delighted that so many people like my imperfect writing. I'm also surprised, since I haven't advertised it at all. The only follower I can account for is my own reading account, along with a few votes I cast myself. The rest are all thanks to your support. I'm deeply grateful—thank you!