Chapter Sixteen: The Blue-Grade "Superconducting Laser Cannon"
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No sooner had the seatbelt been fastened than the sensation of weightlessness reached its peak, followed immediately by a whirlwind of spinning and dizziness.
In the outskirts of Jiangyuan City, at the ultra-long-range Starsea Deployment Platform, the crowd was noticeably thinner than the bustling throng of the previous day, yet nearly three thousand citizens still gathered here.
At this moment, the faces of over two thousand parents and elders present were etched with worry—their concern for their own children was palpable.
Awakening the Spark of Fire, mastering the Spark Fire Fleets—indeed, this path offers a shortcut to rapid ascension, granting an extraordinary social status. Yet this shortcut is far from a smooth highway; it is strewn with thorns.
Every expedition into the alien star realms, to put it mildly, is a venture where danger and opportunity coexist; to put it bluntly, it is a repeated gamble with life. Win the bet, and you live—lose it, and death is the only outcome.
All the parents present understood this grim reality, yet they had no choice but to accept it, for this was one of the few chances ordinary people had to turn their fortunes around.
If even one descendant could advance slightly further along the path of the Spark Fire Fleet, the entire family would reap benefits, potentially rising to become a new Spark Fire clan, easily passing down the legacy for centuries, even millennia.
For ordinary citizens within the stronghold of Spark Fire human civilization, this was nearly a universal aspiration.
A buzzing hum filled the air.
Amid the intense vibration, the parents finally saw the towering beam of light reappear. When the light dissipated, nearly a hundred spectral energy shuttles had materialized on the once-empty deployment platform.
These were the hundred spectral energy shuttles deployed yesterday—though in terms of numbers, only 94 of the original hundred had returned.
“All trainees, orders: immediately depart the deployment platform.”
Outside the platform, the Spark Fire Bureau agents’ commands rang out promptly. One by one, the spectral energy shuttles began to leave, freeing space for those returning.
...
Nearly two hours later, all the trainees awakened in this session of Jiangyuan City had returned. According to the Spark Fire Bureau’s statistics, 1,032 individuals had successfully awakened, with 1,032 welfare dispatches issued, and 980 successfully returning.
In other words, 52 trainees had either perished or, due to unknown reasons, had become lost within the alien star realm.
This was a perfectly normal figure, yet the atmosphere on site was inexplicably heavy—not just a number, but 52 vibrant lives.
However, the weighty mood did not linger long in the hearts of the trainees. On the way back to the academy aboard their hovering vehicles, the students of the First Spark Fire Academy eagerly exchanged news, their chat group, “First Spark Fire Academy 255th Awakening Students Exchange,” buzzing with excitement.
“{Class 10 ‘Lu Jie’}: How did everyone’s haul go this time?”
“{Class 3 ‘Zhou Lu’}: Haha, pretty lucky—I found an asteroid belt and gathered 30 tons of uranium ore.”
“{Class 4 ‘Zhang Chao’}: Jealous! Uranium ore is worth 8 strands of zero-grade floating land essence per ton—that’s 240 strands total. Why did I only find refined iron, and less than 60 tons at that? Boo hoo.”
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“{Class 5 ‘Sun Hao’}: Jealous +1, big bro, take me along next time.”
...
Glancing through the chat logs, Song Chi looked over at Sun Hao sitting beside him.
“Haozi, how was your haul this time?”
Sun Hao typed on his communication wristband while whispering,
“50 tons of gaseous ore.”
At the mention of “gaseous ore,” Song Chi’s brow twitched slightly, and the corner of his mouth twitched.
Gaseous ore is a high-level resource. It is said that certain high-quality fleet components require this material for enhancement, so its value has always been high. On the market, one ton usually sells for 10 strands of zero-grade floating land essence.
“Five hundred strands of zero-grade floating land essence, and you’re jealous of others?”
Closing his communication screen with a tap, Sun Hao threw a muscular arm around Song Chi’s shoulder and chuckled.
“Chi bro, you don’t know me yet. What’s the point of flashing in front of others? Keeping a low profile is my life motto!”
Looking down at the arm thicker than his own thigh, Song Chi could hardly fathom how someone nearly two meters tall, weighing close to 150 kilograms and always drawing attention wherever he went, could be associated with the word “low profile.”
Ignoring Song Chi’s eye roll, Sun Hao quickly asked in return,
“Chi bro, how about you?”
“10 tons of mythril.”
Song Chi casually mentioned the 10 tons of mythril, not with intent to conceal, but because explaining the more than 600 tons of purple copper was impossible.
He was well aware that his “Multiverse Market” cheat could never be exposed; otherwise, endless troubles would surely follow.
A rare artifact that could randomly trade with alien civilizations scattered across the shattered star seas had an unimaginable value.
As for the purple-grade component—the “Atomic Fusion Nuclear Engine”—he had no plans to reveal it just yet. Purple-grade engine parts are valuable, inevitably attracting unwanted attention.
Whether he would keep it for himself, sell it on the black market, or trade it through the Multiverse Market, he had yet to decide.
He leaned toward keeping it for personal use. A purple-grade engine was more than enough to serve him well for a long time.
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At that moment, a startling message suddenly appeared in the chat group.
“{Class 1 ‘Deng Chang’}: Base component, blue-grade main cannon ‘Superconducting Laser Cannon.’ Interested parties, feel free to private message me. Attached is a JPG of the Superconducting Laser Cannon’s stats.”
Superconducting Laser Cannon lv0
Grade: Blue
Consumption: 20 per shot (spectral energy points)
Attack: 15
Charge time: 5 seconds; cooldown: 10 seconds
Upgrade cost: 3 strands of zero-grade floating land essence, 300 spectral energy points
The moment this message appeared, the chat exploded.
“For real? A blue-grade main cannon? @Class 1 Deng Chang, did you get this on the latest expedition? That’s awesome, man.”
“Damn, I didn’t even get a white-grade component. The big shot’s already pulling out blue-grade parts? Waaaah.”
Not only the students but even the academy teachers were stirred.
“{Class 2 Teacher Huang Guowei}: @Class 1 Deng Chang, if you’re really thinking of selling it, we can discuss it face-to-face when you return to the academy.”
...
Song Chi’s eyes gleamed faintly, a flicker of interest stirring within him, though he kept his expression neutral.
“Are you crazy? A blue-grade main cannon is something you keep for yourself!”
Sun Hao’s teasing voice buzzed in his ear, but Song Chi shook his head in quiet disagreement.
“Everyone has their own plan. Sure, a blue-grade main cannon packs a punch, but without enough resources to upgrade it, it might not even survive the next expedition.
If he sells it at a high price now, he can use the resources gained to comprehensively upgrade the spectral energy shuttle, improving survival chances in future alien star realm explorations. It’s a trade-off—if he thinks it’s worth it, that’s all that matters.”