Mine!

Spaceport, Berth 419.

The alloy ground shimmered with a cold, pale light. In the distance, massive loading arms were ferrying cargo containers into a freighter, but the gazes of Tang Ping and Luo Xiaoyu were locked firmly onto the Black Dragon Mountain X4396 before them.

This was a standard C4-class Universe Warship, its entire hull covered in dark-colored Star Pattern Dark Steel. The edges of every armor plate were inlaid with silver-blue energy veins, resembling a flowing galaxy under the spaceport's illumination.

The 3-kilometer-long, streamlined hull extended from the diamond-shaped ram at the bow to the triple-engine bay at the stern. It possessed no unnecessary protrusions, yet twelve sets of folding particle cannon nests were concealed along the sides of the hull; when closed, the muzzles sat flush with the armor, leaving only faint traces of energy circulation.

Beautiful, truly beautiful! The limit of technology is aesthetics!

Tang Ping inadvertently stepped within 3 meters of the hull, and the detector on his wrist instantly blared an alarm, indicating that the surface of the ship was still covered by an energy shield invisible to the naked eye.

This warship, fit only for a Universe Level powerhouse, was worth 4 billion Black Dragon Coins—comparable to an ordinary life-bearing planet.

This was the treatment afforded to a first-rate genius of the Luo family.

The next moment, the identity scanner on the side of the hull suddenly lit up with a pale green light screen. "Beep. Retinal scan passed. Genetic sequence matched. Authorization status: Highest Authority."

"Gate of Opening." Luo Xiaoyu lifted her chin, her tone indifferent.

Swish. The armor plates in the middle of the hull unfolded like a lotus flower to both sides, revealing a boarding passage about 10 meters wide. A pale blue tractor beam shot out immediately, its edges wreathed in fine, stardust-like particles. When it touched their bodies, there was no sense of weight; instead, they felt as if they were being gently lifted by energy, moving slowly into the ship.

Tang Ping glanced down at his cuffs; where the beam had passed, even the wrinkles on his spacesuit had been smoothed out.

As soon as they stepped into the ship's corridor, a deafening shout rushed toward them: "Greetings, Master!"

Anti-slip platforms half a meter high rose automatically from the alloy floor on both sides of the corridor. Hundreds of figures knelt in unison on the platforms, the alien woman at the very front particularly striking.

She possessed the silhouette of a human, yet her details betrayed her extraterrestrial origins. Her long, silver-purple hair hung to her waist like liquid metal, with faint, lightning-like shimmers occasionally flashing at the tips.

A diamond-shaped, cyan-blue crystal was embedded in her forehead, and three hair-thin energy veins connected the crystal to the corner of her right eye, pulsing gently with her breath. Her pupils were rare vertical slits, and her irises were a gradient of indigo; at this moment, they were slightly lowered, masking the emotions in her eyes.

The battle armor she wore was dark gold, with shoulder guards shaped like eagle wings and complex star maps carved into the edges. The energy core on her chest was a dark red crystal that pulsed slowly in time with her heartbeat.

The armor covered her forearms and shins, and faint silver scale patterns were visible on her exposed skin—the signature trait of the Star Scale Race to which she belonged.

It is said that the scales of the Star Scale Race can harden during battle into a defensive layer comparable to warship armor, and a Universe Level Star Scale powerhouse can even withstand the shock of a star exploding.

"Rise," Luo Xiaoyu said, raising a hand.

"You should be clear on the rules of our Luo family: Planetary Rank serve for a thousand years, Star Rank for ten thousand, and Universe Level for one hundred thousand. There is no salary during this time, but you may receive one portion of Universe Origin Energy Liquid each month. If you complete special missions, you can also obtain rare resources like Star Core Fragments."

Her gaze swept over the slaves below, finally landing on the Star Scale woman. "As long as you do not commit a fatal error, the slave chip will be removed once the term expires. If you make significant contributions, even a Universe Level slave can regain their freedom early."

"Yes!" the Star Scale woman was the first to respond.

"Yes!" the Star Rank and Planetary Rank slaves behind her followed suit, their previously dim eyes finally igniting with a faint light.

Hope is the most precious thing in this world.

A while later, the ship's intercom sounded: "Takeoff application approved. Flight path cleared. Engines preheated."

Tang Ping walked to the porthole and watched as the spaceport's tractor arms slowly released their grip. The thrusters at the bottom of the warship spewed pale blue flames, and as if pulled by the stars, it slid slowly into the hundred-meter-wide flight path.

When the warship completely cleared the spaceport's gravitational range, the triple-engine bay at the stern suddenly erupted with a dazzling blue-white light. A low "hum" traveled through the hull, though it was dampened to near silence by the internal soundproofing system.

"Entering acceleration lane. Light-speed jump in 30 seconds," the intelligent voice announced. Outside the porthole, the stars began to blur, turning into streaks of light.

The moment the speed broke the light barrier, the surrounding space suddenly twisted, and the dark purple Dark Universe appeared before them. There were no stars there, only slowly flowing clouds of dark energy, spreading out across the cosmos like ink-colored silk.

"According to star map calculations, because we must leave the Dark Universe multiple times to resupply various materials at destination star systems, the total time to reach the BX10081 star system will be 1 year and 3 months. With energy consumption controlled at 17%, this is the most fuel-efficient flight mode."

Luo Xiaoyu walked to Tang Ping's side, looking out at the Dark Universe. "During this time, you can familiarize yourself with the training pods on the ship. The one from the Star Scale Race, her name is Ling Shuang; she is a Universe Level 3 powerhouse.

If you want to improve your strength, you might want to ask her for guidance."

Luo Xiaoyu tapped her personal terminal with her fingertip, and a pale blue holographic projection instantly unfolded before Tang Ping.

Floating clearly in the projection were two sets of data: one was a fund transfer agreement marked "1 billion Silver Blue Coins," and the other was an encrypted icon labeled "BX10081 Star System Resource Archive."

Her tone was crisp, without any unnecessary pleasantries. "According to our agreement, you will manage all our money from now on. This 1 billion Silver Blue Coins has been transferred to your account, and the situation of the star system is in the document. I'm going to the cultivation room first."

As she spoke, she paused, her gaze sweeping over the funds in the projection, and added, "My cultivation resources are sufficient for now. The Planetary Rank cultivation stipend issued by the family every month, the genius bonus at the end of the year, and the 'Body Tempering Spirit Liquid' from my exclusive benefits are enough to last me until the Star Rank.

So, feel free to invest this money however you like. But for the sake of our future, if the annual return is less than 5%, you might as well just buy into the Luo family's internal wealth management."

Tang Ping nodded upon hearing this, having long since agreed with this sentiment.

He knew the financial strength of the Luo family all too well. If Luo Feng was a rare genius in cultivation, then his younger brother, Luo Hua, was a true powerhouse in the field of investment.

The Luo Family Financial Department, led by Luo Hua, was almost invincible in the interstellar capital markets of the Ganwu Universe Kingdom. Even the long-established financial groups under the Virtual Universe Company had to give them three points of respect.

The returns on the Luo family's internal wealth management projects were far superior to anything outside. In the short term, there might be minor fluctuations due to the price volatility of interstellar resources, but as long as one held them for over ten years, the rate of return was stable at a minimum of 50%. Some projects connected to rare mineral veins could even achieve a 100% doubling of returns.

In the interstellar investment circle, this was known as the "myth of guaranteed profit."

"Beep. Black Dragon Mountain Empire Bank notification: 1 billion Silver Blue Coins have been credited to your personal account. Current account balance: 2,020,000,000.00 Silver Blue Coins."

That's a lot of zeros!

The moment the crisp notification sound faded, Luo Xiaoyu seemed to shed a heavy burden, her previously tense shoulders relaxing slightly.

She raised her hand to put away her personal terminal and turned to walk toward the cultivation room at the end of the corridor, her footsteps so hurried they almost kicked up a breeze. "I'm going to cultivate. Don't disturb me unless it's something important."

Tang Ping watched her back and shook his head helplessly.

This girl's obsession with cultivation had reached the point of paranoia; it was as if everything other than improving her cultivation was a waste of life.

But on second thought, reaching the Planetary Rank level 9 at the age of 18 placed her in the top hundred among the younger generation of humans in the entire Milky Way Galaxy. This achievement certainly justified her "desperation."

Putting his thoughts aside, Tang Ping touched the galaxy file icon in the Holographic Projection with his fingertip, and the encrypted document unlocked instantly, with countless data flooding into his Personal Terminal like a tide.

He sat on the alloy chair in the ship's lounge area, sliding his finger across the screen to carefully browse the detailed information of the BX10081 Star System, quickly getting to the bottom of this star system's "background."

The bad news: the star system had no habitable planets; the surfaces of the five planets were either lava landscapes exceeding 500℃ or frozen wastelands at minus 200℃, with violent Wind and thunderstorms occurring almost every moment.

Even the most drought-resistant interstellar moss could not survive there, fundamentally ruling out the possibility of establishing a long-term base, which significantly diminished the overall value of the star system.

The good news: every one of the five planets in this star system was a "rich ore planet," and the ore they contained was the core material for crafting a Tier 3 Telekinetic Weapon: Star Pattern Steel Mother Ore.

This ore had a hard texture and could carry the mental fluctuations of a telekinetic user, making it a scarce resource in high demand on the interstellar market; even a low-grade Tier 3 telekinetic dagger could sell for over 1 billion Black Dragon Coin.

However, the atmospheres of three of the planets contained highly corrosive "Unknown Particles," and if ordinary mining mechs worked in such an environment, their shells would be corroded and perforated within three months; the other two planets had frequent geomagnetic storms that would interfere with the energy systems of mining equipment and could even cause the mechs to lose control.

The document also included a historical record: previously, the BX10081 Star System had been managed by the "Black Dragon Mountain Mining Subsidiary" under the Ganwu Universe branch of the Virtual Universe Company.

Due to the high difficulty of mining, the subsidiary only sent a small number of robots to perform surface mining each year, and the profits distributed to the Luo Family were pitifully small, amounting to about 1 million Black Dragon Coin every ten years, which converted to exactly 1 billion Silver Blue Coin.

And now, the Luo Family had completed the full acquisition of the mining equipment in the star system, and the subsidiary's personnel were in the process of handing over, just waiting for Luo Xiaoyu and Tang Ping to arrive to officially take over.

According to the agreement, they could subsequently recruit their own mining teams and optimize the mining plan, with the final profits to be split fifty-fifty between the two of them and the Luo Family.

Seeing this, Tang Ping couldn't help but sigh; the Luo Family had truly invested a fortune in cultivating geniuses.

One had to know that even though the two of them were currently only at the Planetary Rank, they were able to obtain half the profit rights of a rich ore star system; such a tilt in resources was extremely rare among all the noble families in Black Dragon Mountain.