Identity

Looking at the exactly 300 Black Dragon Coins, the receptionist pursed his lips but didn't say anything more.

"Thank you, sir. Welcome to Qiu Long Planet once again."

After the formulaic thanks, the man left immediately.

Lin Fan ignored him. He looked around and communicated with 101 in his mind.

"101, plot a route to the Black Dragon Mountain Empire's office building stationed on Qiu Long Planet."

"Yes, Master. Route plotted."

With a flash, a guiding arrow appeared in front of Lin Fan.

Following 101's guidance, Lin Fan flew for about half an hour before a massive city appeared before him.

"Qiu Long City..."

Looking at the magnificent dragon head on the city wall and the intricate carvings of horned dragons, Lin Fan couldn't help but shake his head with a sense of emotion.

"If Earthlings hadn't been modified by Mountain Sitting Guest, they would be far too insignificant in this universe."

Inside the Black Dragon Mountain Empire's office building on Qiu Long Planet, Lin Fan sat on a large leather sofa. Opposite him was a hot-bodied female clerk with fox ears.

"Sir, you want to apply for Black Dragon Mountain Empire citizenship?" The fox-eared clerk looked at Lin Fan, a flash of interest in her eyes. "If you are a wandering warrior, the process can be quite tedious. You will need..."

Lin Fan took out a Ganwu Coin and handed it over, cutting her off.

"As long as it can be done as quickly as possible, money is no object."

Seeing the Ganwu Coin, the fox-eared clerk's eyes lit up instantly.

She quickly tucked the Ganwu Coin into her pocket, then pulled a thin stack of paper currency from her bosom and handed it to Lin Fan.

"Sir, this is 950 Black Dragon Coins."

Then, she took fifty Black Dragon Coins from her pocket and placed them into the coin slot of the instrument nearby, which the machine swallowed immediately.

"Sir, the processing fee is 50 Black Dragon Coins. I will take you to get your documents now."

"Fine."

Half an hour later.

Lin Fan declined the fox-eared clerk's enthusiastic invitation and left the Black Dragon Mountain Empire's office building.

At this moment, he held a black citizen ID card in his hand. With this, he was officially a "Cosmic Citizen."

"Next is opening an account for the Virtual Universe Network."

"101, go to the Virtual Universe Company."

"Yes! Master!"

Qiu Long City, Virtual Universe Company.

A woman with fine fur all over her body and a face resembling a fox bowed slightly and smiled.

"Sir, is there anything I can help you with?"

"Open an account."

"For account opening, how many years of Virtual Universe Network fees would you like to pay at once? There are three tiers: 100 years, 1,000 years, and 10,000 years. The annual network fee is 10 Black Dragon Coins or 0.008 Ganwu Coins."

The fox-like woman spoke fluently.

"100 years."

"Very well, sir."

After paying 10 Black Dragon Coins, Lin Fan quickly completed all the procedures.

He inserted a chip-like object into the auxiliary intelligent optical computer on his arm, and 101's voice echoed in his mind.

"Master, the module has been updated. You can now enter the virtual universe at any time."

Hearing this, Lin Fan nodded.

He then headed straight for the nearby Cosmic Galaxy Bank. Just a few minutes later, he held a bank card bound to his mental imprint.

Lin Fan stood on the street, his gaze locked on a vast complex of buildings in the eastern part of the city that exuded an aura of blood and violence.

That was the slave market.

Compared to spending money on metal to increase the growth progress of Calamity or Sky Splitter, Lin Fan preferred to buy slaves.

After all, he didn't know how much metal was needed for Calamity and Sky Splitter to reach the third stage. If he ran out of money and their ranks hadn't increased, it would be a very poor investment.

Moreover, Calamity and Sky Splitter were already sufficient for his current level. Even if they reached the third stage and he obtained the third layer of the weapons' inherited secret techniques, he likely wouldn't be able to comprehend them with his current realm.

Although this process could raise his realm, he was definitely going to participate in the Virtual Universe Company's genius competition later, and he needed to keep his realm at the Planetary Level.

So, rather than investing in something uncertain and restricted, it was better to turn his money into slaves.

This way, he could take the slaves to explore dangerous areas on Qiu Long Planet to obtain more resources.

Having weighed the pros and cons, Lin Fan no longer hesitated and headed straight for the slave market.

Arriving at the slave market, Lin Fan surveyed his surroundings.

It was a massive, circular plaza covering a vast area. Above some vendors, huge virtual screens cycled through 3D images and detailed data of various slaves.

From Planetary Level 1 to Stellar Level, their combat power, race, specialties, and even lifespans were all clearly priced.

The wide streets were bustling with noise, filled with countless merchants and adventurers from all over the universe dressed in exotic attire.

On both sides of the street, dense rows of transparent alloy cages and display stands stretched as far as the eye could see.

Thousands of alien lifeforms of various shapes stood there: burly men of the Black Ape race, several meters tall and like iron towers; humanoid girls with water-blue skin and enchanting, beautiful features; and alien warriors covered in scales, exuding fierce origin energy.

Although many of them possessed strength far greater than Lin Fan's, there was not a flicker of resistance in their eyes—only bottomless dead silence and numbness.

The micro-biological control chips implanted in their brains had long since stripped away their souls; their lives and deaths were entirely controlled by a single button on a controller.

In front of a shop, slave traders in gorgeous uniforms smiled obsequiously, peddling these "fresh goods" to the wealthy patrons passing by.

In this most prosperous corner of Qiu Long Planet, the cruel law of the jungle in the universe was played out to the fullest.

The dignity of life was thoroughly crushed. Even top-tier powerhouses who had once reigned supreme on some indigenous planet were now nothing more than consumables on a shelf, waiting to be picked and traded at will.

Watching this, Lin Fan felt little emotion. After all, he had no sense of belonging to this world, let alone the Earth of this world.

His only thought was to keep getting stronger so he wouldn't become one of these "goods"—nothing more.

Lin Fan walked and stopped, examining the "merchandise" sold in the surrounding shops. Finally, he stopped in front of a huge display stand.

The person in charge of reception was a middle-aged supervisor as fat as a ball, wearing oily, silk-like clothing and wiping what looked like sweat from his forehead with a white handkerchief.

Seeing Lin Fan stop, although his attire didn't look like that of a young master from a wealthy family, those in this line of work had long since trained their eyes to be sharp. From Lin Fan's calm demeanor, the fat supervisor sensed the scent of a "big client."

"Welcome, sir, to the 'Longba' slave firm!"