Identity

Seeing that he'd paid exactly 300 Black Dragon Coins, the receptionist pursed his lips, but didn't say anything.

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

After offering his perfunctory thanks, the man left at once.

Lin Fan ignored him and looked around, then spoke to 101 in his mind.

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

"Yes, Master. The route has been plotted."

Whoosh! An arrow appeared before Lin Fan.

Following 101's directions, Lin Fan flew for a little over half an hour before a vast city came into view.

"Qiu Long City..."

Looking at the magnificent dragon head on the city wall and the intricate carvings of horned dragons, Lin Fan shook his head with a sigh.

"If Mountain Sitting Guest hadn't altered us Earthlings, we'd be so insignificant in this universe."

Inside the Black Dragon Mountain Empire's office building on Qiu Long Planet, Lin Fan sat on a wide leather sofa. Across from him sat a female clerk with a curvy figure and fox ears.

"Sir, you'd like to apply for citizenship in the Black Dragon Mountain Empire?" The fox-eared clerk looked at Lin Fan, a glint in her eyes. "If you're a wandering warrior, the process may be a little complicated. You'll need to..."

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

"As long as you can get it done as quickly as possible, money isn't a problem."

The sight of the Ganwu Coin made the clerk's eyes light up.

She quickly slipped it into her pocket, then took a thin stack of banknotes from her blouse and handed them to Lin Fan.

"Sir, that's 950 Black Dragon Coins."

Then she took fifty Black Dragon Coins from her pocket and fed them into the slot of a nearby machine. The machine swallowed them up.

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

"All right."

Half an hour later.

Lin Fan declined the clerk's enthusiastic invitation and left the Black Dragon Mountain Empire's office building on Qiu Long Planet.

He now held a black citizen ID card. With it, he had officially become a "Universe Citizen."

"Next, I need to open an account with the Virtual Universe Network."

"101, take me to the Virtual Universe Company."

"Yes, Master!"

Qiu Long City, the Virtual Universe Company.

A woman covered in fine fur, her face foxlike, bowed slightly and smiled.

"Sir, how may I help you?"

"Open an account."

"For an account, how many years of Virtual Universe Network service would you like to pay for upfront? We offer three options: 100, 1,000, or 10,000 years. The annual fee is 10 Black Dragon Coins or 0.008 Ganwu Coins."

The fox-faced woman recited the options smoothly.

"One hundred years."

"Certainly, sir."

After paying 10 Black Dragon Coins, Lin Fan quickly finished all the paperwork.

He inserted a chip-like device into the Auxiliary Intelligence Optical Computer on his arm, and 101's voice sounded in his mind.

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

Lin Fan nodded.

Then he headed straight for the nearby Cosmic Galaxy Bank. Just a few minutes later, he had a bank card bound to his Spiritual Imprint.

Standing in the street, Lin Fan fixed his gaze on the vast complex in the eastern district of the city, which radiated a bloody, violent aura.

That was the slave market.

Rather than spend his money on metal to advance Calamity or Sky Splitter's growth, Lin Fan preferred to buy slaves.

After all, he didn't know how much metal Calamity and Sky Splitter would need to reach the third tier. If he spent all his money without managing to raise their tier, it would be a terrible deal.

Besides, Calamity and Sky Splitter were already more than enough for his current level. Even if they reached the third tier and he gained the third level of the Inheritance Secret Technique from both weapons, he probably wouldn't be able to comprehend it at his current level.

Although the process would help raise his level, he planned to take part in the Virtual Universe Company's upcoming Genius Battle, so he had to keep his level at Star Level.

Rather than invest in something uncertain and limited, he might as well turn his money into slaves.

That way, he could take them on adventures through Qiu Long Planet's dangerous regions and obtain more resources.

After weighing the pros and cons, Lin Fan made up his mind and headed straight for the slave market.

When he arrived, Lin Fan looked around.

It was a vast, ring-shaped plaza. Above some stalls hung enormous virtual screens displaying three-dimensional images and detailed information about various slaves in a continuous loop.

They ranged from first-tier Planetary Level to Star Level. Their combat strength, species, specialties, and even life spans were all clearly priced.

The broad streets teemed with people. Merchants and adventurers from across the universe, dressed in all manner of strange clothes, streamed through them.

On both sides of the streets stood countless transparent alloy cages and display platforms, stretching as far as the eye could see.

Thousands upon thousands of alien life-forms stood there, each with a different appearance. There were burly Black Ape men several meters tall, built like iron towers; humanoid girls with water-blue skin and ravishing beauty; and warriors from Alien Races, covered in scales and radiating a fierce Origin Force aura.

Although many of them were far stronger than Lin Fan, their eyes held no spark of defiance—only an unfathomable, lifeless numbness.

The microchip implanted in their brains had long since robbed them of their souls. Their lives and deaths rested entirely on the press of a button on a controller.

In front of the shops, slave merchants in elegant uniforms smiled ingratiatingly as they did their utmost to sell these "fresh goods" to passing big spenders.

In this most prosperous corner of Qiu Long Planet, the universe's brutal law of the jungle was on full display.

The dignity of life had been utterly crushed. Even the strongest warriors, once lords of some primitive planet, were now nothing more than consumable goods on a shelf, there for anyone to choose and trade away.

Lin Fan felt little as he watched. He had never felt any real connection to this world, much less to its Earth.

He had only one thought: to keep growing stronger and never become one of these "goods." That was all.

Lin Fan wandered from stall to stall, inspecting the "merchandise" on display. At last, he stopped in front of a huge platform.

The person in charge was a middle-aged supervisor as round as a ball. Dressed in glossy, silk-like garments, he dabbed at the liquid on his forehead—which looked like sweat—with a pristine white handkerchief.

When he saw Lin Fan stop, he could tell from the young man's appearance that he didn't look like some rich young master from a prominent family.

But people in this line of work had long since trained themselves to spot a likely customer. From Lin Fan's calm expression, the fat supervisor managed to catch a whiff of a "big spender."

"Welcome, sir, to Longba Slave Trading Company!"