Aftermath

Hearing Delis, Qin Cang and Kailun exchanged a glance, then burst out laughing.

"Cao Benqi, what do you think? Five hundred thousand Hunyuan Units. That'll cover what we were short. Once we've rested up, we can head straight out to look for the Machine Race's legacy treasure." Kailun sent Qin Cang a mental message, unable to contain his joy. Wasn't all that effort to save Delis for the sake of those Hunyuan Units?

"Captain, since he offered on his own, we don't have to ask him for it. Take all five hundred thousand Hunyuan Units. We'll get everything ready, then find the Machine Race's legacy treasure." Qin Cang sent Kailun a mental message, though he still felt that five hundred thousand Hunyuan Units was too little.

By the usual rules, half of someone's net worth was only the starting point. But judging by the situation, Delis didn't have much cash left. For an Immortal Military Lord of his strength, five hundred thousand Hunyuan Units was an enormous sum.

Besides, if they got their hands on the Machine Race's legacy, they might bring in hundreds of millions of Hunyuan Units. The Machine Race's Machine Puppets and other mechanical equipment were especially popular among the Human Race and could fetch a very high price.

Unfortunately, the Machine Race members were all cunning, and few people ever managed to catch one of them in person. When people encountered the Machine Race, they could at most dismantle a few parts. It was rare to get an entire army's worth of the Machine Race's weapons of war.

"No, I can't accept it. You were the one who suggested we come rescue him, and you were the one who killed that Sky Wolf. The rest of us didn't help much.

"Anyway, I can't take those five hundred thousand Hunyuan Units. At most, I'll borrow one hundred thousand from you to buy the Fire God Source Crystal. Once we're back from the Machine Race's treasure, I'll find a way to pay you back, whether or not we find anything." Kailun refused, though not entirely; he was still thinking about the Machine Race's treasure, too.

"All right, Captain. Consider the one hundred thousand Hunyuan Units a loan. You can pay me back when we get back." Qin Cang agreed. Since Kailun had said that, Qin Cang knew him well enough to be sure he wouldn't take the money. Still, it was time to start making plans for the Machine Race's legacy treasure.

There'd better be a spaceship—or at least some rare mechanical weapons of war. Qin Cang prayed silently that the Machine Race powerhouse had left behind plenty of good things. He had no interest in ordinary treasures.

"Hahaha, that's for the best. I'll treat it as a loan and pay you back when everything's over. I hope the Machine Race left us some good stuff." Kailun laughed. As far as he was concerned, he was making a huge profit.

He'd always suspected that Qin Cang was holding something back, but he hadn't expected him to have hidden so much. That made their chances of obtaining the treasure even better. As an Immortal God, Kailun had a good eye. He could tell that Qin Cang's plant lifeform was a Star-Eating Grass, but he had no idea how strong it was.

One thing was certain: the Star-Eating Grass was stronger than he was. It had killed that Sky Wolf with such ease. Didn't that mean it was at least at Marquis Level?

With a Star-Eating Grass at Marquis Level protecting him, Qin Cang had to come from an immensely powerful background. A powerful background meant plenty of life-saving measures. In other words, their safety on this treasure hunt was practically assured. And with such a terrifying Star-Eating Grass, what kind of defenses would the Machine Race have set up to protect what lay inside?

As for why Kailun didn't ask Qin Cang to use the Star-Eating Grass to break down the palace gates—

Well, on a treasure hunt, someone else would clear the path, break through the defenses, bring out the treasure, and use their trump cards to survive any danger. What would I even be there for?

Everyone on a team had to contribute before they were entitled to a share of the spoils. If all you did was provide the location of a treasure, how much could you expect to get?

For now, Qin Cang had only said he wanted to choose one treasure first. If he did everything else, then it wouldn't be as simple as getting first pick. The entire treasure trove would be his, and Kailun would be left with whatever scraps he tossed him.

So they absolutely had to buy the Fire God Source Crystal—and that wasn't all. Kailun had to be the first to take on every danger. When they came across a dangerous area, he had to scout it out himself. Only then could he prove his worth and have more say when it came time to divide the treasure.

Kailun knew Qin Cang wouldn't keep all the treasure for himself and leave everyone else with scraps, but that didn't mean he should take advantage of Qin Cang's generosity. He had to prove his own value. Besides, Qin Cang had already said they would leave once they'd secured the Machine Race's treasure.

So Kailun needed to make the most of their time together, build their rapport, and get his hands on more treasure when the time came.

A deal with guaranteed profits like this—how many chances could even an Immortal God, with an eternal lifespan, expect to get in a lifetime?

If they brought along a Marquis Immortal to explore, how much of the treasure would Kailun get to keep?

While Kailun was thinking about how to secure the Machine Race's treasure—and even how he would spend the Hunyuan Units—Delis finally spoke up. "My lords, if you think five hundred thousand Hunyuan Units is too little, I... I can offer a million. We can discuss it."

Delis was getting anxious. Five hundred thousand was all the cash he could spare right now. He'd worried they would think it was too little, and now neither of them was saying anything.

To him, the situation was obvious: they thought it was too little. And yet they'd come to rescue him, nearly getting themselves into danger in the process. If word of this got out, he might as well quit.

Immortal Gods had infinite lifespans, but what they cared about was their reputation. If he lost all face, he might as well find somewhere to self-destruct.

The stronger someone was, the more they cared about their good name.

"Haha, Commander, you've misunderstood. Five hundred thousand is plenty. We were just thinking about something else.

"How about you transfer it directly to me? You don't need to worry about anything else. Just make sure Cao Benqi's real identity doesn't get out." Kailun laughed. He'd been thinking about how to spend the money and completely forgotten the person paying for it. How awkward.

"Oh, I see. I thought you felt it wasn't enough. I'm glad you don't, I'm glad you don't." Delis was relieved. He'd already been planning to call in a favor and borrow money from a friend.

As an Immortal, he might not have much cash on hand right now, but fortunately he knew plenty of people. With his reputation, he could borrow some money.

But after borrowing it, he'd have to figure out how to repay the debt. He couldn't stay on the Outer-Region Battlefield anymore. If he died, the people behind him would be in trouble; they were all relying on him.

As for selling his spaceship, he'd only said that to sound generous. He would never sell it. If he could borrow money, there was no way he'd sell it. His spaceship was one of his most precious possessions. He couldn't sell it unless he had no other choice.

Delis soon transferred the five hundred thousand Hunyuan Units to Kailun. Kailun kept one hundred thousand and transferred the remaining four hundred thousand to Qin Cang.

The three of them opened a bottle of fine wine and chatted as they drank. In the Dark Universe, their spaceship accelerated to its maximum speed and headed for Barracks Base No. 001.

After a hundred years of battle, it was time for a rest. Everyone, including Qin Cang and Lan Ying, was in high spirits.

Over those hundred years, with Kailun leading the way, they had hunted only two other Immortals besides this Sky Wolf. Both times, they had scouted the enemy several times in advance, confirmed that they were weaker, and then joined forces as a group of six to kill them. Qin Cang, of course, had coasted the whole time.

Even the weakest Immortal was still an Immortal, with a much greater net worth than a World Lord. After dividing the spoils and adding in what they'd gained from hunting other World Lords, they'd made a considerable fortune over the past hundred years.

The World Lords in their legion were even more excited than Lan Ying, Lie Feng, and the others. They'd never imagined they would survive the terrifying Sky Wolf and make it all the way to the barracks base. Nothing could have been better news.