Global Era of Star trekking

279 Chapter 166: Departure

Song Mingsong and Bai Xiuqin's courtyard was located right in the middle of Green Moon Manor.

Not long ago, they had summoned all family members, but now there was no one to be seen in the courtyard.

Directly below the courtyard, in an underground secret chamber, the entire Tenth Direct Vein family was gathered.

This secret chamber, dozens of meters beneath the surface, had been excavated by a Third Rank Peak Soldier Figurine under the grandfather's command. The surrounding stone walls were specifically lined with a rare material known as Spirit Sealing Stone, which was excellent for soundproofing, making it the venue for discussing various important matters within the family.

In the crowd, Song Chi looked aside. There was another stone door there, leading to a sealed chamber that wasn't for discussions, but the place where the entrance to the "Dragon Blood Mystic Realm" was located.

According to the grandfather and the eldest uncle, over the past few months, only ten dragon blood trees remained in the mystic realm, three of which bore dragon blood fruits that had officially reached a thousand years in age.

These fifteen millennium dragon blood fruits, each with the effect of prolonging life by ten years, had already been plucked and the sale information was listed on the quantum communication bracelet's Ring Dragon Spine Continent family forum.

As for why they were not submitted directly to the family, the grandfather's reason was simple.

The family would only offer two Golden Merit points per fruit, but if they could find a clansman in need on the forum, the price might reach three to four Golden Merit points, or even exchange for a Purple Component if they encountered someone urgently in need.

...

"Alright, that's settled then. Xiuqin, second brother, Little Chi, and Little You, it will just be the five of us. We'll set off in five days!"

After a round of discussion, Song Mingsong made the final decision. He would lead the group, including his grandmother Bai Xiuqin, Second Uncle Song Hai, along with Song Chi and Song You—a total of five people—to take the family's transport warship departing in five days to the Soul Spirit Floating Land.

Upon hearing this final decision, the eldest uncle Song Shan nodded slightly.

"That's acceptable. Without you there, Dad, it wouldn't be advisable to start the promotion mission for Mom either. It's better to go to the Soul Spirit Floating Land together. We can't miss this opportunity to acquire Divine Soul Type resources!"

At these words, Song Hai nodded in agreement, but soon sighed softly.

"It's a pity that you, the eldest, can't leave for now. Otherwise, with two Third Rank Torch Captains together, it would be not only safer but we would also have greater gains!"

The others could only express their helplessness. Song Shan needed to contain the eruption of the Origin Eruption Eye. Several months had passed, and less than nine months remained until the end of the profitable year.

The yield from a Third Rank Origin Eruption Eye for an entire year was not insignificant, so naturally, they couldn't give up halfway through.

...

With the final list of participants for the expedition to the Soul Spirit Floating Land set, everyone soon left.

"Grandfather, do you need any Third Rank Floating Land Origin?"

As he spoke, without waiting for the others to be puzzled, he took the lead in recounting the excuse he had prepared in advance.

He described the Spirit Mechanism Synthesis Platform in the Ruins Market as something every creature entering the market could use to synthesize once.

However, the exchange rate he gave for Third Rank Floating Land Origin with Second Rank Floating Land Origin was 16:1, or 1600 strands of Second Rank Floating Land Origin for 100 strands of Third Rank Floating Land Origin.

Although this was not as favorable as the 20:1 offered at the Merit Tower, it would still allow him to earn 600 strands in one go without attracting unwanted attention.

Third Rank Floating Land Origin was, after all, a rare find, and occasionally trading 100 strands was fine, but doing so every month would easily draw attention.

Moreover, this would also let his grandparents benefit from the deal, a situation with threefold gains.

Hearing his words, Song Mingsong didn't hesitate and immediately brought out 1600 strands of Second Rank Floating Land Origin. Nôv(el)B\\jnn

After receiving the 1600 strands of Second Rank Floating Land Origin from them, Song Chi also took out 100 strands of Third Rank Floating Land Origin from the Ancestral Torch and handed them to his grandfather, Song Mingsong.

Having previously brought out even Fourth Rank Floating Land Origin, the presence of these 100 strands of Third Rank didn't seem out of place. On the contrary, the market was seen by the elders as a place they could only go once a month, so pretending to go there temporarily for synthesis would instead reveal the truth.

It wasn't until he was back in his own courtyard that he entered the Ruins Market and took out 1000 strands from the 1600 strands of Second Rank Floating Land Origin to re-synthesize 100 strands of Third Rank Floating Land Origin.

Thus, he made a clean profit of 600 strands with ease.

...

Time passed quickly, and five days went by in the blink of an eye.

In the vault of the sky above Green Moon Island, five Torch Warships hovered high up, with people like Song Shan, Zhao Hongxue, and Song Chao watching from below. The five warships quickly ascended, and once they pierced through the clouds, they all commenced their jump charge simultaneously.

At the rear position of the five Torch Warships, in a private communication channel, were Song Chi and Song You.

"Fourth brother, when did your flagship get upgraded to Second Rank?"

The Cang Qiong had been upgraded not long ago, and only a few elders in the family were aware of it. Song You, who had been focused on cultivation, had no idea until now.

"It's not that scary. It just got promoted the other day!"

His nonchalant tone only made Song You more speechless.

What do you mean it just got promoted the other day? Do you realize when you awoke? It's only been a little over a year, right?

Mentally grumbling, Song You then considered his own flagship. Although there was not much difference in awakening time between himself and Song Chi, his flagship was still a long way from reaching Second Rank.

Even with the assistance of Song Shan and Zhao Hongxue, it would take at least two more years before it had a chance of achieving the rank of Escort Ship.

Two years, in the Interstellar Great Era, was indeed not a long time; it could even be considered quite brief. However, in the early stages of development for a Torch Warship, this period could create a significant gap.

Seeing Song You's mood drop, Song Chi naturally knew what his younger brother was thinking and quickly started to offer words of comfort.

...

At the foot of Dragon Spine Sacred Mountain, in the family assembly square.

Compared to the emptiness when they had just returned, the square now had completely transformed.

Countless supplies were piled up around the square, including but not limited to food, clean water, medicine, warship enhancement resources, standard energy batteries, and Dinghai II-type exoskeleton powered armor, among others.

It could be said that the White Jade Square, which exceeded one hundred thousand meters in both length and width, had now become a large-scale materials storage site.

Warships of standard Starry Sea designs were either rising or descending, constantly hovering above the square, continuously transporting more resources to ensure the expedition to Soul Spirit Floating Land would never lack logistical supplies.

Witnessing the busyness of these standard Starry Sea warships, an explanation came through the communication projection group from the Torch Warships, voiced by Uncle Song Hai.

"Those are the ordinary clan members who have not awakened yet. They are responsible for some logistical transportation tasks, earning starting resources for their descendants."

Hearing this, Song Chi felt very emotional.

In his previous life as an ordinary person, he could all too well imagine the helplessness and pain of being unable to join in the magnificent Great Era of the Starry Seas.

During the conversation, the five Torch Warships descended one after another, landing in a designated warship docking area at the edge of the square.

As Cang Qiong landed, Song Chi quickly heard a reminder from the clan member responsible for managing this docking area, urging him to promptly load the warship with supplies.

This reminder wasn't just for him; all Torch Ship Captains who landed here would hear the same message.

And Song Chi understood the reason: it was to help all family members heading to Soul Spirit Floating Land for their missions, to also transport some supplies there, reducing the workload of the family's logistical teams.

The Soul Spirit Floating Land had been discovered during exploration in the Alien Star Domain, located who knows how far from Torch Human Civilization Territory. It could only be reached back and forth by using Component-type space beacons.

This also meant that the Torch Warships capable of traveling between the two Star Domains were not numerous since the Component-type space beacons were quite rare.

Thus, to fully utilize every inch of space on those special Torch Warships commuting between the two Star Domains, those participating in missions were also required to load up a portion of the supplies that needed immediate transportation.

As the traction beam of Cang Qiong worked steadily, Song Chi quickly finished loading enough materials, and together with his grandparents, waited peacefully for the departure time of the specific Transport Warships.

According to Grandma Bai Xiuqin, these people were from the Seventh Direct Vein, which had been established for over two hundred years. There were already four Third-Rank Torch Ship Captains openly known among them.

Such strength might not rank highly among the other Song family veins, but it was still much stronger than their Tenth Vein.

"The Seventh Direct Vein, huh..."

His thoughts lingering, Grandpa brought over the group from the Seventh Direct Vein.

"Little Chi, Little You, come over and greet your distant Grandfather Song Yuan!"

The leader of the Seventh Direct Vein this time was named Song Yuan. He was nearly twenty years older than Song Mingsong and was serving as Deputy Vein Master in the Seventh Vein. His strength was considered quite formidable among the Third-Rank Torch Ship Captains.

"Grandfather Yuan!"

After a round of greetings, they soon received news that the Transport Warship behind them was about to depart, and the group of nearly thirty people stepped aboard one of the Transport Warships in sequence.

As soon as they entered the warship, everyone's Spectral Energy suddenly stalled, clearly restricted by the "Torch Warship Boarding Certificate," temporarily unable to use Spectral Energy anymore.

To this, the many Torch Ship Captains, who were already aware, showed no surprise.

The Transport Warship underfoot was a Second-Rank Torch Warship. Had the "Torch Warship Boarding Certificate" component not been used, then as soon as these dozens of people boarded, they would have had to deduct hundreds of threads of Second-Rank Floating Land Origin, and it would have to be deducted several times more later on, which was too expensive.

It's not that the Song family lacked this bit of Second-Rank Floating Land Origin; it was just unnecessary.

After all, not only them but several Transport Warships would be commuting between the two Star Domains every day. If they operated like that every day, the cost would still be significant.

Using the Torch Warship Boarding Certificate, though, albeit with the body's Spectral Energy subsequently sealed for 24 hours, there was already a temporary outer space combat platform assembled on the other side in the Soul Spirit Floating Land Star Domain.

All the family members there could safely wait out these 24 hours within the combat platform until their bodies recovered without worrying about any danger.

Regarding the issues of lingering time, since they were traveling to the Soul Spirit Floating Land Star Domain aboard a Transport Warship, their own flagships would not be bound by a return time limit and could stay indefinitely on the other side.

If they wished to return later on, they would simply repeat today's procedure and take a Transport Warship back from the Soul Spirit Floating Land Star Domain.

Lost in thought, the hatch of the transport chamber slowly closed. The warship's engines started, and amidst the roaring sounds, it rapidly ascended into the sky above the square.

High in the Vault of Heaven, the Transport Warship beneath everyone's feet began to tremble slightly, the Alien Star Domain launch already activated.

Looking out through the warship's window, Song Chi observed that two other Torch Warships were closely flanking their Transport Warship. Wrapped tightly by tethering beams of light, they too had activated the Alien Star Domain launch.

If everything went according to plan, these two Torch Warships would also serve as Transport Warships on a future journey.

Once their Transport Warship reached the Soul Spirit Floating Land Star Domain, they would rapidly mark it with a space beacon. After a 24-hour return and a one-month period for the warship's deployment feature to recover, they would become the designated Transport Warships for the corresponding group.

Only in this way could a perfect shuttle cycle be formed between the two star domains.

ps: This chapter is a bit lacking in content, and the word count doesn't meet the usual standard, but I'm struggling to stay awake. My eyelids are battling it out, and I simply can't hold on.

Time to break into pieces, goodnight!!!