Swallowing the Stars: Starting with the Battle of Geniuses

Chapter 93 Wealth Moves People

Two months have passed since I arrived in the Abyss, and in these days, I have truly integrated into the life of a scavenger.

The sky was perpetually shrouded in demonic energy, shrouded in darkness, yet from somewhere deep within the abyss, a source of light appeared, maintaining the distinction between day and night.

He would scavenge at sunrise and rest at sunset.

Day after day, as he integrated into the group, sometimes chatting and joking with people, sometimes treating people to drinks and having fun, he gradually resolved some of the doubts he had at the beginning.

Take mechanical technology and flesh-and-blood technology items as examples.

The development of flesh and blood technology was mainly undertaken by the two royal families, while the development of mechanical technology was mainly undertaken by the lower-level alien races.

In this way, the technology that involves space technology and the most advanced technology will naturally be the flesh and blood technology promoted by the two royal families that dominate the abyss.

Even among the lower-level alien races, despite being restricted from researching flesh and blood technology, they still held it in high esteem, almost to the point of devotion. They were somewhat like extremely fanatical enthusiasts.

They have no particular affection for the mechanical technologies developed and produced by their own race, treating them basically as everyday tools. There seems to be no difference in how they treat these products compared to basic technologies like cement construction and agricultural techniques.

This difference is like how we might be amazed by a rocket that a country has built that can fly, but we would hardly marvel at how silky a towel is or how comfortable the light is.

Hunzhen found it strange because, in his eyes, the "towels" these natives considered were no less important than the "rockets."

Basically, the mechanical technology of the lower-level alien races all originated from the modification of metal debris that fell from the sky.

Their actual civilization foundation was relatively weak, and after being deeply instilled with servility by the two royal families, their enthusiasm for independently developing their own technology was not high.

Many of the mechanical and technological products we use today are substitutes for those who cannot afford physical technology.

Even the metal device used by Xingluo that could separate the garbage mountain seemed to have been developed by Xingluo himself.

Hunzhen also discovered from this that there was another reason why Xingluo was ostracized, which Old Man Huo had not mentioned.

The lower-class races here worship flesh and blood technology, regarding it as sacred, but Xingluo does the exact opposite.

He wanted to build spaceships using mechanical technology and break down the barriers of the sky.

He enjoys studying mechanical and technological products.

While everyone else succumbed to despair, he gazed at the stars above.

Those people couldn't see Xingluo's thoughts; in their eyes, Xingluo was undoubtedly an anomaly.

Those who are different are always lonely and rejected, no matter where they are.

Hunzhen felt a certain empathy for this loneliness that was so different from others.

Perhaps this is also why, objectively speaking, he seems to have an extra affinity for this indigenous resident.

It's not just because Xingluo is a good person.

After all, for someone who can actually ensure their own safety in most situations, it is difficult for them to genuinely feel gratitude for help that they need but don't actually need under the guise of strength.

Understanding local customs, integrating into one's surroundings, and gathering intelligence are not the true purposes of Hunzhen.

This is merely a means for him to achieve his next goal.

After two months of scavenging, he had verified an important piece of information and subsequently set a goal.

That was the "lower-level quota" that Xingluo had mentioned.

This wasn't a big secret; he easily learned of it during a drinking session with his fellow scavengers at a tavern.

In short, the living conditions are different in each level of the Abyss.

The closer you get to the upper levels, the scarcer the energy becomes, and the worse your quality of life becomes.

Water flows to lower place, man goes to higher position.

Even those born into the poorest of families yearn for a better living environment.

People with this mindset naturally start planning ahead in their youth, while those without it remain stuck here, slowly growing old. Capable young people gradually leave, and over time, the first layer becomes the situation we see before us, which is dominated by middle-aged and elderly people.

There is only one way to reach the deeper layers.

That is the "feather ship" that can basically only be ridden by powerful figures at the domain lord level. The "lower-level quota" is naturally the quota for riding the feather ship.

During the process of diving deep into the abyss, one must resist an abyssal force called "deep-diving pressure".

However, the pressure of diving from the first level to the second level was not too great, and the city lords with the strength of a domain lord were naturally able to resist it easily.

Their use of feathered ships for travel was naturally for the benefit of those juniors who had not yet reached the level of Domain Lord.

In any society, talent needs to move around.

The two royal families often clashed, and both were fond of killing and war.

Once living organisms become active, they inevitably need to consume energy.

These lower-class races were the tools that supplied energy for the war between the two royal families.

Even if it's just to make the tool work better, they will urge their slaves to keep society functioning properly.

The lower-class races wanted to develop and move down the social ladder, and the two royal families were happy to see the slaves work hard, so they hit it off immediately.

Even so, it's impossible to do good deeds for nothing; only by stimulating competition can more benefits be created.

This spot also requires a certain amount of competition to obtain.

Based on the resources each city contributes every ten years, each city has a different number of boat seats available each year.

Hunzhen only learned later that it wasn't that the city gate guards were lazy and indifferent, but rather that he had used Xingluo's connections to enter the city so smoothly.

After that, if you want to stay in the city, you need to have a fixed property and pay monthly fees.

As for the advantages of staying in the city, the most obvious one is that you can safely weather the aftermath of the battle between the two royal families. Of course, if you're unlucky enough to be spotted and killed like before, no one will help you get revenge; at most, city cleaners will come to help clean up the body afterward.

In addition, every now and then, the abyss will exhibit unusual activity, with terrifying suction and corrosive energy emanating from the "Great Hollow".

The towering, technologically advanced walls, reaching tens of meters high, seemed to have been built specifically to resist this erosion.

If one lives in the wilderness, there is a high chance that one will not escape being swallowed by the abyss.

Back to the point.

For the city lord, the determination of whether a person is qualified for this quota is also based on the amount of resources they submit.

In other words, whoever pays the most money gets to participate!

However, the situation changes slightly when you arrive in Blackrock City.

Each city has a limited number of slots, with a minimum of one slot available.

However, the retirement situation in Blackrock City is quite serious, with only one spot available each year. Lord Nash even slightly lowered the contribution requirements, but not a single person signed up...

Every few years, people sign up, and most of them are residents from other cities who have come alone, having crossed many dangerous areas.

In the eyes of some natives of Blackrock City, Hunzhen was probably one of them.

Most scavengers only go out to scavenge every few days.

Only Xingluo and Hunzhen go out to scavenge almost every day.

Needless to say, Xingluo was well known to the people of Blackrock City.

But Hunzhen, an outsider, was different.

Seeing such effort, it's almost as if they've written their purpose clearly on their faces.

As the saying goes, one should not flaunt one's wealth.

Hunzhen was not aware of this at first, and even when he became aware of it later, he didn't care much about it.

Originally, Old Man Huo only intended to build a good relationship with Hunzhen and occasionally get some free food and drinks, but he naturally developed other intentions.

"It's normal for money to sway people's hearts."

Hunzhen thought to himself.

Normal scavengers don't go out as frequently as he and Xingluo.

Most of the residents of Blackrock City are idle and dormant, and the scavengers here are no exception.

With incomes dozens of times higher than those of ordinary people, scavengers usually go out once every one or two months to find and collect metals or extraterrestrial minerals that are worth a certain price. It takes about seven days, plus the round trip, so a trip takes about ten days.

And what about Hunzhen?

Putting aside actual efficiency, he was also much faster than others in order to ensure that the funds for purchasing "lower-level slots" would be reasonable in the future.

A single trip takes a week, yet he earns just as much as other scavengers.

Moreover, they would typically rest in Blackrock City for two or three days before venturing out again.

This is at least five times faster than that of an ordinary scavenger.

That's several hundred times the income of an average worker.

The latest novel is first published here!

There's not much profit in targeting familiar local scavengers, because they generally don't have much money saved up. Many of them only go out to scavenge when they're broke, and the familiarity with the scavengers makes it harder to target them.

But Hunzhen is different.

This is clearly a case of saving money with the intention of securing a lower-level spot; their pockets must be bulging with cash right now.

In Blackrock City, most of the people there were just drinking buddies; there were hardly any true friends. The only one who could be called a friend was Xingluo, who only ever looked up at the sky.

Even if they acted secretly, no one would avenge Hunzhen or seek justice for him. This is the most important thing—to solve the problem once and for all...

We're not related, and Hunzhen seems to have just been lucky. Even if he's strong, he can't be that strong at such a young age, right? How could I not be tempted?

It's not that no one has considered that Hunzhen could come and go like the wind, even crossing from different regions to this place; he must have some unusual trump card.

But the potential profits were too great, and they simply couldn't resist.

Today, Hunzhen returned from scavenging and drank with people in the tavern. Before he knew it, it was already past midnight.

In this first layer of the abyss, fine wine and food are naturally considered luxury goods.

If it's just a mediocre wine, it's impossible for even star-level or cosmic-level life forms to become intoxicated.

At this moment, Hunzhen paid the bill and left, his body swaying slightly, clearly already deeply drunk.

In the shadows diagonally opposite the tavern, the person keeping watch saw Hunzhen's situation, hesitated for a moment, then hardened his expression and followed him alone.

He wanted to eat it all by himself.

According to the initial consensus and calculations, the plan was to wait until Hunzhen's money bag was just a few more trips away from reaching the lower-level quota before harvesting the韭菜 (a metaphor for exploiting people).

It's too early to say.

but……

"Even if we have to wait that long, so what? With so many people sharing the profits, the total gain won't be as much as if I ate it all myself!"

Most people in Blackrock City are retired and idle, but Old Man Huo and his group are clearly not among them.

I've never been this drunk before, and I probably never will again.

Seeing such a great opportunity, even if Hun Zhenzhen had some trump card, she might not be able to defeat him while drunk.

The stalker's desires quickly outweighed his reason.

As for the possibility that he was genuinely pretending to be drunk?

From the smell of the alcohol, he could tell that Hunzhen was drinking "Divine Intoxication," a drink that could even knock out a cosmic-level expert. The fact that Hunzhen could still find his way was already a testament to his excellent alcohol tolerance!

The stalkers followed closely behind.

Everyone living in Blackrock City has to pay a "housing tax" and will also be allocated an empty house.

He already knew Hunzhen's residence and the route home perfectly.

"That fork in the road ahead, nobody's lived there lately, it's the best spot to start!"

The stalker suddenly accelerated, deviating from the natural walking speed of a passerby, and charged wildly, directly bypassing the side section of Hunzhen Road.

"Um?"

But when he arrived, Hunzhen, who should have been trapped like a turtle in a jar, was nowhere to be found.

"He...he discovered I was following him!?"

Cold sweat suddenly appeared on the tailor's face.

Looking at the deserted alley, the stalker felt an unprecedented fear.

It was as if a pair of merciless eyes were silently watching him from the shadows, quietly observing his clownish, panicked state.

With their positions reversed, Hunzhen, having been able to wait in comfort, was now the one trapped, not Hunzhen.

He cautiously observed his surroundings, and, no longer wanting to eat alone, quickly sent a distress message.

And so, until his companions arrived, the person in the shadows still hadn't made a move.

"He...he let me go?"

The stalker felt a sense of relief at surviving a disaster, but at the same time, he was also puzzled.

"Just a simple warning?"

"Or does he feel he's only been in Blackrock City a short time and doesn't want to cause trouble?"

Various thoughts flashed through his mind.

The two companions who arrived looked at their sweat-drenched lookout and frowned, asking, "What happened?"

The stalker snapped back to reality, took a deep breath, and said, "He's noticed me."

The man frowned and asked, "Are you sure?"

The fear hadn't completely subsided. Recalling how his seemingly clever actions had been witnessed by Hun Zhen, the stalker's eyes darted left and right. Finally, he gritted his teeth and honestly said, "I... I saw he was drunk, so I wanted to make my move first. I probably alerted him..."

"you……"

The other person's eyes widened, and he was about to slap the person who was watching him across the face.

But his arm was grabbed by the first man, who looked at the sweating surveillance man and frowned, saying, "It seems we can't wait any longer."

buzzing.

Just then, the person in front noticed that his communicator vibrated.

He quickly answered the call, then his expression changed drastically: "What did you say? He went straight out of the city!?"

Upon hearing the exclamation from the first person, the stalker's thoughts raced, his pupils dilated, and he uttered his judgment: "He's planning to leave Blackrock City directly and go somewhere else!"

"What a decisive guy."

The first man's face darkened, and he clicked his tongue.

The night was slightly swaying, and the lamplight illuminated his aged face. It was none other than Old Man Huo, who had spoken with Hunzhen that day.

After a moment's thought, Old Man Huo quickly organized his intelligence information and made a judgment.

"The nearest city similar to Blackrock City is Donglin City to the east. If he wanted to exchange for a 'lower-level spot,' he should have headed east. We need to confirm this with those old guys as soon as possible!"

(End of this chapter)