High Martial Arts: Slay enemies to become stronger, forge invincibility from billions of corpses.

The moment the metal man saw the crystal core, its two crystalline eyes lit up.

It moved closer, its liquid metal finger transforming into an extremely fine probe, gently touching the surface of the crystal nucleus before quickly retracting.

After the probe retracted into his finger, his finger re-fused into the shape of a hand.

"This is a standard sixth-order crystal core, of superior quality, with a complete psionic structure, stable vortex rotation, and no cracks or signs of energy leakage."

"The normal market buyback price is one thousand Cangxing coins for a sixth-order crystal core."

"If you are willing to pay with crystal cores, I can deduct the market price directly, and because you are paying with crystal cores instead of Cangxing coins, the actual value is more guaranteed than paper money."

"I can also upgrade you to a full package and give you an extra copy of my own 'Survival Guide to Flowing Star,' which records the procedures and precautions for each department on Flowing Star."

"As for the price, ten of these crystal cores will suffice."

"Can."

Without hesitation, Song Chen took out ten Beast King Crystal Cores and threw them over.

The metal man caught the crystal nucleus, and his liquid metal hand instantly transformed into a hollow container that encased the crystal nucleus. A ring of silver light flowed across the surface, and then the entire hand returned to its original shape.

Then it separated a small ball of liquid metal from its body. The silver liquid stretched, deformed, and expanded in its palm, condensing into a palm-sized silver-gray metal plate within seconds.

The surface of the metal plate automatically displays a dense array of universal language characters and dynamic images.

"This is an information board, a specialty of our tribe."

The metal man handed the metal plate to Song Chen.

"It contains everything you need: complete basic information, in-depth packages, treaty interpretations, and survival guides. You can access it with your mental power; it's compatible with the brainwave frequencies of your carbon-based life forms."

"A free automatic translation function is included. If you encounter an unfamiliar language within the range of the Flowing Star, simply point the tablet at it and it will translate automatically."

"This is a translation plugin I wrote myself; you can't buy it anywhere else."

"Our Mercury Clan's linguistic talent is renowned throughout the entire galaxy."

Song Chen took the metal plate, scanned its contents with his mental power, and put it into his pocket after confirming that everything was correct.

"Let me ask you a question first: how do you make money?"

The metal man let out an even louder laugh, and silver ripples rose and fell across its body.

"You're the fifth person to ask me this question today."

"Just before you arrived, two other representatives from Level 1 civilizations stood in the same spot and asked me the same question."

"Well, for a newly emerging civilization that's already drowning in debt, that's certainly the first question they should be asking."

It raised its right hand, its liquid metal fingers unfolding one by one, like a human counting on their fingers.

"There are many ways to make money in the universe, but there are only a few ways to make big money."

"First, cosmic treasure hunting. The Milky Way is full of unexplored ruins, abandoned ancient civilization facilities, and unclaimed resources drifting in interstellar space."

"Find any of these places, and you'll become incredibly wealthy."

"However, this line of work is very risky. Treasure hunters who die in ruins or are double-crossed by their peers could fill a planet's population every year."

"Second, plundering, which to put it bluntly is being a space pirate and specifically robbing merchant ships from weaker civilizations."

"It's efficient and makes money quickly, but there's a problem with this line of work: once you're targeted by the league's enforcement team, you're finished."

"The Cangxing Alliance has zero tolerance for pirates. If they are caught, their entire civilization will be wiped out without question."

"Third, honestly produce and sell things, such as mining, growing medicinal herbs, refining weapons, and conducting technological research and development. The returns are stable, but slow."

"For a Type I civilization like yours that has just entered the universe, without technological accumulation or market channels, it is unrealistic to expect to pay off the Alliance's debts with this."

Song Chen was exhausted from hearing it all, so he asked, "Is there a way to fight, make money, and not be dangerous?"

Upon hearing this, the metal man's finger hovered in mid-air for a full two seconds before he burst into laughter.

"You're really bold to ask, but there really is one."

"What is it?"

"Becoming a Punisher in the Alliance is extremely difficult, and with your current strength, you shouldn't even dream about it."

Song Chen frowned. The Punisher, those four words were mentioned before when the dawn dissipated.

He still remembers those words: If a civilization has the ability to repay but deliberately defaults, the Alliance will send a disciplinary messenger to carry out divine punishment. Divine punishment is non-negotiable, non-warning, and leaves no room for negotiation.

"The Punishers are the core force of the Alliance's law enforcement system." The Metal Man, oblivious to Song Chen's change in expression, continued speaking.

"Their job is quite simple: whichever affiliated civilization doesn't pay back its money, they go and deal with it."

"But how you clean it up is up to you."

"The Alliance has a complete set of punishment standards for civilizations that fail to pay on time. For minor overdue payments, interest will be added; for moderate overdue payments, star systems will be blocked and trade will be restricted; and for severe overdue payments, divine punishment will be directly imposed."

"And those who carry out divine punishment are the messengers of retribution."

"Each time a mission is carried out, the Punisher receives a certain percentage of the total amount of debt owed by the penalized civilization as a reward."

"A civilization owes the Alliance one million cosmic crystals. You lead a team to carry out the divine punishment, and your reward after completing the mission may be one hundred thousand cosmic crystals."

"Among the hundreds of millions of affiliated civilizations under the alliance, there are always some who are not afraid of death who will default on their debts, renege on their obligations, or secretly transfer resources to pretend to be bankrupt."

"Every such civilization is a piece of meat, and the punisher is the one who cuts the meat with the knife."

Song Chen said, "It seems that the Punisher can indeed fight and make money."

"That's right. Every time the Punisher carries out a mission, it's in real combat, and the opponent may be the entire military force of an entire civilization."

"We take a cut of the profits based on the percentage of debt owed. One big heist will be enough to feed you for tens of thousands of years."

"And most importantly, the Punisher has full authority over the Alliance when carrying out missions. You can call on the Alliance's military resources, request the cooperation of local garrisons, and act first and report later in emergencies."

"This is the highest level of privilege in the entire alliance system."

As he spoke, the metal man shrugged, and his liquid metal palm drew out several silver threads in the air.

"The selection criteria for Punishers are higher than the entry requirements for most departments in the Alliance."

"First, you must prove your loyalty to the Alliance. It's not enough to just say a few nice words; you need to have a record of actual contributions, such as helping the Alliance resolve an interstellar conflict or serving in the Alliance military for many years."

"Secondly, your personal combat strength must meet the alliance's standard, with a minimum of tens of millions of health points."

"Finally, you need someone to recommend you, at least two active Punishers, or a recommendation from a senior Alliance official."

"These three thresholds directly keep out 99 percent of civilizations."

"However, if you actually join the Punisher's team, your worry won't be about danger, but about having too many missions to complete."

"The alliance charges too much interest, and there are quite a few disobedient subordinate civilizations under its control."

Song Chen thought for a moment, weighing the words "punisher" over and over in his mind several times.

Then he nodded: "I have other questions."

"Ask away," the metal man said with a smile.

"You've paid for the full package, so you can ask whatever you want, all the way until you enter the signing hall, no problem."