A Thousand Gold Pieces for a Single Throw

A speechless expression suddenly appeared on Stelle's face.

If Aha could take human form and stand before Stelle, They would definitely understand exactly what her expression meant.

Because her face was practically screaming, "Are you an idiot?"

Hey, setting aside just how adorable Earthly Beasts were—arguably tied with Pom-Pom for cutest creature in existence—

What kind of situation, and what kind of person, would ever need an Earthly Beast to get things done?

God, this was way too absurd.

At this moment, Stelle had no idea that a few months later, she would carefully mix purified water and red clay together, molding a bizarrely shaped Earthly Beast to give to a certain eyepatch-wearing man.

And when that man looked at the lump of red-clay handiwork in the Trailblazer's hands that could barely be called an Earthly Beast, he only gave a cold snort.

Yet he still slowly reached out and accepted the red clay from Stelle's hands.

The man's lips moved.

"The thought is enough."

That was what Aha said.

"After all, no one can refuse the words 'giving people what they like,' right?"

"That makes sense."

Stelle scratched her head, stuffed the two slips of paper into her pocket, and turned to leave.

"I'm not going to keep chatting nonsense with you. I'm going into deep sleep. See you."

The Aeon of Elation watched as the Trailblazer's consciousness gradually faded, until she was so deeply asleep that not even a train crash could wake her. They shook Their head helplessly. In the blink of an eye, Their presence also abruptly diminished.

"How boring. Then Aha will go take a stroll through the Simulated Universe and see what new amusement the followers of that scrap heap of Nous have come up with. Hahahahaha..."

They left amid booming laughter.

She slept well through the night.

Stelle woke naturally.

She felt more refreshed than ever.

The Express Crew had planned to warp to Amphoreus ten days later, and not even half that time had passed yet.

She had not spent much time on Jarilo or the Xianzhou Luofu, so there was no need for her to rush off to Penacony to search for her next target.

In that case, she might as well give herself a break and properly relax aboard the train.

Having made up her mind, Stelle hugged the pillow in her arms tightly and rolled over.

Since she had decided to relax, then of course she should keep lying down for a while longer.

Stelle had woken naturally and was already fully rested. Otherwise, with her usual habits, she definitely would have gone back to sleep.

Since she could not sleep, she could only lie in bed and play on her phone.

A few friends had sent her messages, and Stelle replied to them one by one.

Big Herta had asked when she would test the updated Simulated Universe again.

Stelle: Alright, alright. I'll definitely test it once before the next warp.

Argenti had somehow learned that the train was about to warp. He said that if the Nameless could keep an eye out for news of Idrila the Beauty, he would reward her handsomely.

Stelle: (Idrila is most likely nowhere to be found, but I can't let Argenti down. I'll agree for now.) Okay, I'll ask around for you.

Dr. Ratio had sent her several pictures.

Dr. Ratio: Image, image, image

Stelle opened them and—wow, good lord. They were all high-end luxury goods from Penacony that were impossible to buy at any price, and their prices were directly proportional to their practicality.

The more expensive they were, the more they were worth it!

Dr. Ratio: Hey, Miss Stellaron. I'm at a large auction. These things are all quite practical, and I think you'll like them. Take a look—which one do you want? I'll give it to you.

Boss Dr. Ratio was truly generous.

Stelle tapped open the images.

A silk nightgown, lightweight in fabric and extravagant in material, which felt like wearing nothing at all.

A pure gold necklace with a top-quality aventurine gemstone set in its center.

And a pair of chopsticks, a spoon, and a rice bowl made from some unknown material... She did not know why they were being sold for so much, but one thing was certain: the material was exceptionally good.

Maybe the spoon could not be bent?

Or perhaps even if the rice bowl were smashed onto the floor, it would not get dented?

Some wire in Stelle's brain connected to the absurdity switch again.

Dr. Ratio had told her to choose, right? If she really had to pick, then she would choose—

Pots, bowls, ladles, and pans!

Her finger rested on the screen, but for a long time, she did not send a message.

From Dr. Ratio's side, the chat box with the Trailblazer kept showing that the other party was typing...

"Having this much trouble deciding? I never thought Stelle had decision paralysis," Dr. Ratio chuckled softly.

Since that was the case, then as the gift-giver, he would take matters into his own hands and buy them all!

Dr. Ratio calmly raised his bidding paddle. "I'll take them. Ten million."

"Ten million!"

Ha, eight figures.

Were these things really worth that much?

The other auction participants could not help clicking their tongues. Quite a few recognized the bidder as a senior executive from the Strategic Investment Department of the Interastral Peace Corporation. He was not short on this bit of money.

Someone seemed dissatisfied at being overshadowed by the Interastral Peace Corporation and insisted on competing with Dr. Ratio, adding another five million on top of the ten million.

"Fifteen million!"

Dr. Ratio was not angered when he heard someone raise the bid. He adjusted his posture, leisurely crossed one leg over the other, and settled into a more comfortable position.

The bidder occasionally turned his head to cast provocative looks at Dr. Ratio.

Dr. Ratio merely smiled faintly. Looking toward the auctioneer, he gave a slight nod. His voice was neither loud nor soft, yet in the silent venue, it rang out with unmistakable force and landed clearly in everyone's ears.

"I think you need to understand one thing. Ten million is not the total price for these three auction items, but...

Ten million for each one. A total of—thirty million."

Ha, was he insane?!

That was way too much of a markup!

The bidder's lips trembled. He finally realized that, with his own means, there was no way he could compete with Dr. Ratio.

What kind of joke was this? He could barely scrape together thirty million, but there was no way he could buy this random junk with such an unchanged expression!

This was where the difference between people showed itself.

Dr. Ratio's liquid assets could easily support raising the price to a hundred million, but he had a lot of money, not a lack of brains.

Rather than handing money to the auction house for no reason, he might as well give the Trailblazer more Credits and take her out for a few more good meals.

Dr. Ratio watched at ease as the auctioneer announced the result. After being exquisitely packaged, the three items would be taken away by him together.

Then he would give them to the Trailblazer.

Whether he boarded the train to visit her, or the Trailblazer came to Penacony to find him.

Dr. Ratio slowly drew a breath, toying with the chip in his palm.

He missed the Trailblazer. Giving gifts was merely an excuse.

As long as he could see the Trailblazer once, he was willing to spend lavishly.

"Friend, ever since you left Penacony, we probably haven't seen each other again, have we?"

Dr. Ratio lowered his head to glance at his phone screen. It was the latest message from Stelle: I want that set of pots and pans.

He smiled, brought the phone close to his lips, and said softly, "Of course. I've already bought it. After all, you are my only 'friend.'"