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

At the exact moment the time came, without warning or transition, the space inside the spaceship was instantly replaced.

Song Chen only felt an extremely faint spatial fluctuation, which was much more subtle and precise than his own spatial traversal.

This teleportation was like slicing tofu with a scalpel, while his Void Travel was like chopping bones with a cleaver.

The space technology of the Cangxing civilization is not on the same level as his.

The scene before them stabilized, and Song Chen and the others were standing in a large hall. To be more precise, the entire spaceship had been directly teleported into the hall.

The spaceship, with a diameter of 300 meters, came to rest steadily under a huge dome, which was at least 2,000 meters high and wide enough to accommodate more than a dozen spaceships of the same size parked side by side.

The top of the dome is transparent, and the radiating rings of the shimmering star rotate slowly overhead. Rainbow-colored light shines down through the transparent dome, turning the entire hall into a flowing sea of ​​light.

The floor is made of a semi-transparent crystalline material. When you step on it, it emits soft halos that spread outwards from your feet, making it feel like walking on a glowing lake.

There was a very faint fragrance in the air, like a forest after the rain, or like the sea breeze blowing over the rocks; it seemed that everyone smelled it differently.

Chen Yuanzhou later said he smelled the scent of old book pages, Gu Qianzhi said he smelled the sea breeze, and Zhou Wangyue said he didn't smell anything, but he felt very relaxed in this place.

Given Zhou Wangyue's vigilance, the fact that he felt relaxed in such an environment speaks volumes.

People came and went in the hall, and all sorts of life forms moved around. There were multi-legged creatures covered in crystal shells, which made a crisp tinkling sound with each step.

There are gaseous life forms floating in mid-air, their bodies being a cloud of smoke that constantly changes color, occasionally condensing into a blurry hand to pick up something.

There are semi-mechanized humanoid creatures, one side of their face is flesh and blood, and the other side is a sophisticated optical instrument.

There were also several figures made entirely of light, similar to the Dawnbringers we had seen on the spaceship, but more solid, and leaving glowing footprints on the floor as they walked.

The most eye-catching creatures were a group of tiny creatures, no bigger than the palm of your hand, flying around the hall in groups, all wearing matching blue vests.

The vests have the logo of the Cangxing Alliance Investment Department printed on the back, and these are probably the junior staff of the investment department.

The mission members stood beside the spaceship, their faces etched with awe.

They had read descriptions of the diversity of cosmic civilizations in the spacecraft's data, but reading about it and seeing it with one's own eyes are two different things.

The female sociologist had already taken out her recording device, her fingers flying across the virtual keyboard as she muttered to herself, recording the characteristics and behavioral patterns of each life form.

"The Blue Star Civilization Mission?" a voice came from the side.

Song Chen turned his head and saw a woman in human form walking towards them.

She looked almost exactly like an ordinary human, about 1.7 meters tall, wearing a simple white uniform, with her dark brown hair neatly tied back, regular features, and healthy wheat-colored skin.

But Song Chen's discerning eye caught a subtle difference: her pupils were not round, but horizontally spindle-shaped, like a goat's eyes.

Her fingers also have one more joint than humans, a total of four joints instead of three.

The walking posture is very smooth, and the stride of each step is completely consistent.

"I am an investment department contract signing guide, number SR-4417. You can call me Sarah." Sarah spoke Universal Language with a slight accent.

"Please follow me. The signing room is ready."

The members of the mission exchanged glances.

Gu Qianzhi took a deep breath and straightened his collar. He had specially changed into a formal dark suit today. Although he didn't know if the Cangxing Alliance cared about this, he felt that wearing a suit was a basic respect for his negotiating opponent.

"Let's go." Song Chen waved his hand.

Sarah led them through the hall and down a curved corridor.

The walls on both sides of the corridor alternately display dynamic star maps and real-time data: the return on investment of a certain star system, the latest repayment progress of a certain civilization, and the resource allocation status of various star sectors under the alliance...

As Chen Yuanzhou walked and looked around, his eyes grew brighter and brighter. These data were as valuable to their understanding of the cosmic economic system as an encyclopedia.

"This is publicly available data that is updated in real time," Sarah explained, noticing his gaze.

"The Alliance Investment Department has always adhered to the principle of information transparency, and all affiliated civilizations can view the Alliance's investment dynamics and economic data at any time."

"Of course, you won't see the classified parts, such as the specific military strength of a certain civilization, ongoing secret negotiations, and the details of the Disciplinary Department's operations."

"Can you tell me about the disciplinary department?" Song Chen asked.

"This is the core department of the alliance's law enforcement system," Sarah explained.

"Responsible for enforcing divine punishment, recovering debts, and handling armed conflicts between civilizations."

"They and the investment department are the two pillars of the alliance. The investment department is responsible for spending money, and the disciplinary department is responsible for collecting money. One plays the good cop and the other plays the bad cop."

"But you don't need to worry about the disciplinary department. As long as you repay on time, the disciplinary department will never come after you."

Song Chen didn't respond. He mentally translated what Sarah had just said: "As long as you obediently pay back the money, you won't get beaten up."

It sounds nice, but it's essentially the same thing.

The signing room was at the end of the corridor. Sarah pushed open two towering white doors, and the scene inside made all the members of the delegation stop in their tracks.

This is a perfectly circular hall, about one hundred meters in diameter.

In the center of the hall is a huge circular stone platform, at least ten meters in diameter. The platform is made of a single piece of extremely smooth, dark green jade, with fine golden patterns that can be faintly seen flowing slowly on the surface.

Dozens of high-backed chairs were placed around the stone platform. Each chair was carved from an unknown dark red wood, and the back of the chair was carved with star patterns in different shapes.

Huge holographic projection screens hung on the four walls of the hall, displaying the official emblem of the Cangxing Alliance, the department logo of the investment department, and a series of clause titles written in multiple languages.

The air was filled with a solemn atmosphere, like a mixture of a courtroom and a bank lobby, so serious that people involuntarily slowed their pace.

"Please take a seat." Sarah gestured for them to sit on the seats on one side of the stone platform.

Song Chen sat down in the main seat, with Zhou Wangyue to his left and Gu Qianzhi to his right.

The other members of the delegation took their seats in turn, each with their backs ramrod straight.

The empty seat opposite the stone platform was reserved for the investment department representative.