Using his SS Grade Life Shapeshifting, Jiang Ziliu turned into another ordinary-looking young man who would hardly stand out in a crowd, and began operating under this alternate identity.
He then cleared out the safe house he had originally set up and headed to the vicinity of Base No. 10 to begin his activities.
Level Four Base No. 10 lay 300 kilometers southwest of Base No. 12.
During that great human catastrophe, the entire planet had also expanded nearly tenfold under the mysterious influence of Dark Energy.
As a result, the distances between humanity's bases were now enormous.
Level four bases were already the lowest-ranked bases, yet the area each had to guard extended over 150 kilometers.
The distance between two different level four bases was usually around 200 to 300 kilometers.
He decided to operate around Base No. 10 for a while before doubling back to Base No. 12, letting the heat die down first.
More importantly, his Probability Judgment had confirmed that a special medicine could be found here at Base No. 10.
This medicine could help his Green-Skinned Shapeshifting Spirit evolve a healing ability.
Probability Judgment had confirmed that the medicine gave the Green-Skinned Shapeshifting Spirit an 85.3% chance of awakening a healing ability!
His third contracted beast's Flesh Shapeshifting was extremely useful, but if all it offered was the shapeshifting ability fed back to him, the Green-Skinned Shapeshifting Spirit would be a half-crippled, useless contracted beast.
It would struggle to develop powerful combat strength, so it could develop in a support-oriented direction instead.
Besides, its attribute was life, which was perfectly suited to evolving a life-type healing ability.
Once it awakened such an ability, its position as a support-type contracted beast would be very secure.
With this in mind, Jiang Ziliu came to Base No. 10.
His current alternate identity was Li Tao, a very common, ordinary name. The identification documents for this name had likewise been obtained on the black market.
Base No. 12's main products were Slime gel and the potions made from it.
Base No. 10, meanwhile, contained a special dungeon.
This dungeon had been created by the Elf Race, a Wisdom race of the cosmos. They had established this Dungeon Space not to invade humanity, but as a trading dungeon.
Not all the dungeons on Blue Water Star revolved around invasion and resistance to invasion. Many races were not enthusiastic about combat, so they established large numbers of trading Dungeon Spaces to trade with other Wisdom races, exchanging what they had for what they lacked.
The one at Base No. 10 was just such a dungeon.
This Dungeon Space had originally opened in the wilderness. Later, humanity's higher-ups built a new base around its entrance and exit, stationing forces here specifically to deal with the Elf Clan.
And the material Jiang Ziliu needed happened to come from the Elf Race!
Moreover, it was an exclusive product, sold only in small quantities, never in bulk.
Outside Base No. 10, it would be difficult to buy it at the lowest possible cost.
Another reason Jiang Ziliu had come here was that he wanted to see the Elf Race, this intelligent alien race, for himself.
He wanted to see whether the elves were as beautiful as the fantasies of his previous life and the accounts of people in this life claimed, satisfying his curiosity.
Entering Base No. 10 under his Li Tao identity, Jiang Ziliu saw the base's bustling population.
Base No. 10 had a total population of over a million, but only 300,000 were permanent residents. The remaining 700,000 were transient visitors drawn by its reputation.
Base No. 10 not only had powerful defenses, but flourishing commerce as well.
The defensive forces here were primarily intended to guard against the Elf Clan. This Dungeon Space might be a trading dungeon, but it could also be converted into an invasion dungeon.
After gathering some information, Jiang Ziliu did not immediately head to the Dungeon Space where trading took place. Instead, he first visited a boutique tailoring shop with a fairly good reputation.
This boutique tailoring shop was one of the more high-end establishments among the thousand-plus tailoring shops throughout Base No. 10.
"Esteemed sir, would you like to order custom clothing specifically suited to the elves?"
Jiang Ziliu received a warm welcome, and the shop even brought out high-grade elven tea to serve him.
The shop assistant was also a beautiful woman. Brimming with enthusiasm, she displayed a large selection of exquisite clothing designs rich in natural elements such as green leaves, grass, and trees.
After choosing carefully, Jiang Ziliu spent nearly 300,000 yuan to order two sets of exquisite, nature-inspired clothing from the lower-middle range of custom designs.
All the clothing here was made entirely by hand. Machines simply could not produce anything this exquisite and intricate.
Among the designs he saw, even the cheapest cost 100,000 yuan, while the most expensive reached one billion yuan.
This 100-million-yuan outfit had an even more intricate design, and all its materials came from the Elf Clan: thread obtained by processing the leaves of their Elven Mother Tree.
The supplementary material was soft back hair from purebred Nature Unicorns belonging to the Elf Race.
These precious materials, combined with the exquisite design, gave this outfit its staggering one-billion-yuan price tag!
The Elf Clan's pursuit of beauty and nature was carved into their very marrow and souls.
If what you wore was ugly, tattered, or filthy!
Sorry, the elves would not only refuse to trade with you, but would also "escort" you out of their trading Dungeon Space!
But how shrewd humans were.
Some people had deliberately dressed themselves up, making themselves look clean and beautiful, and wore exquisite clothing that incorporated green, natural elements extremely well.
As a result, these people not only succeeded in opening trade with the elves, but the elves even took the initiative to lower their prices.
The first people to do this had reaped enormous benefits.
Later, everyone began doing the same, creating an unwritten rule in this trading Dungeon Space: your appearance had to conform to elven aesthetics if you wanted your transactions to go well.
Cleanliness, beauty, and nature were the heart of trading with the Elf Race, not profit!
This unwritten rule seemed to indulge the elves, but Jiang Ziliu privately reasoned that it was very likely Base No. 10's handiwork.
Think about it: with a rule like this in place, who arrived at Base No. 10 without being travel-worn and covered in grime?
But if you wanted to meet the elves out of curiosity, or wanted to trade with them, you had to have clothing custom-made at Base No. 10.
And so Base No. 10's custom tailoring industry had developed.
The streets of Base No. 10 were filled with similar shops, all of which knew how to produce clothing that best suited elven aesthetics.
This enormous industry could also be called an enormous source of profit.
The formation of this unwritten rule could not have happened without Base No. 10's wholehearted efforts to promote it.
Having come here, Jiang Ziliu could only do as the locals did and fork over this unnecessary expense!
His clothing would take ten days to make, and those ten days were clearly another rule carefully controlled by Base No. 10.
After all, people would stay in hotels, eat meals, and go shopping during that time.
Base 10's buildings and gardens also imitated elven styles, and large numbers of ornamental trees from the Elf Race had been planted there.
This was yet another unnecessary expense.
But Jiang Ziliu simply stayed in his hotel for those ten days, devoting himself to using Probability Judgment to work out and research certain potions related to contracted beasts.
Even the two times he went shopping, he was looking for books on elven potion-making knowledge that could only be found here.
Busy as he usually was in the wilderness, he never neglected his studies whenever he had time.
It was his extensive knowledge, combined with diligent study, that allowed him to keep finding ways for his contracted beasts to grow and evolve through Probability Judgment.
Otherwise, with Probability Judgment alone and no corresponding knowledge, evolving his contracted beasts would be tens of millions of times harder!
Ten days later, Jiang Ziliu finally received his two outfits.
To be honest, the 300,000 yuan had been well spent. The outfit was exquisite, natural, and elegant, exuding the tranquil beauty of a forest.
This outfit was entirely suitable as formal attire for important ceremonial occasions.
Only after changing into his new clothes did Jiang Ziliu head to that special trading Dungeon Space.