Chapter Sixty: Arrival at Dragon Serpent Star

Traveling through the Dark Universe was a dull and monotonous affair.

Nine days later.

“Twenty minutes until our interuniversal traversal ends. We’ll arrive at Qiu Dragon Star,” Babata announced.

“By the way, Babata, to enter the Dark Universe from the original universe, one needs to reach the speed of light. But what about returning? How do we get back from the Dark Universe to the original universe?” Luo Yuan asked curiously. This vast universe was so mysterious—how could anyone on Earth imagine what would happen if one achieved light speed? He’d heard, more than once, the wild speculation that reaching light speed could reverse time, but it had always sounded like idle talk.

“It’s simple. Decelerate. Slow down until you come to a complete stop. You’ll automatically traverse back to the original universe,” Babata replied. “In the Dark Universe, no material exists at rest.”

“Er, I don’t quite get it, but it sounds impressive. Luo Yuan, do you understand?” Luo Feng interjected from the side.

“Don’t ask me. I’m a humanities major,” Luo Yuan replied, his face flat and expressionless.

“Oh.” Luo Feng fell silent.

The ship gradually decelerated, from 1.2 times the speed of light all the way down—to a halt.

The two of them felt the faintest vibration underfoot, lasting for about ten seconds. Then, all was calm again.

“Interuniversal traversal complete. Welcome back to the original universe,” Babata said.

“External visuals, one hundred percent,” Luo Yuan ordered.

In an instant, the vast starry expanse appeared before their eyes. Most striking in the distance was a planet glowing with shifting rainbow hues, and faintly visible around it were two satellites.

“That planet is Qiu Dragon Star,” Babata explained. “We’ll proceed according to our plan once we enter.”

“Babata, the docking port here probably charges a fee, right? Do you have any money?” Luo Yuan asked.

“Don’t worry. My former master left behind some coins. Sometimes, small change comes in handy.”

“Coins?” Both men were startled.

“Yes. I searched the entire storage space and found 932 Qianwu coins. That should be enough for you two to get by on Qiu Dragon Star for a while,” Babata replied.

Luo Yuan raised his brows at this. A single Qianwu coin could be exchanged for a thousand Black Dragon coins; however, one thousand Black Dragon coins could not be exchanged back for a Qianwu coin. On the black market, perhaps, but generally it took twelve to nineteen hundred Black Dragon coins to get a single Qianwu coin. In other words, they now possessed 932,000 Black Dragon coins—a hefty sum. Qianwu coins themselves were a symbol of status.

As they spoke, the Black Dragon ship accelerated toward the distant Qiu Dragon Star.

...

Standing in the control room of the Black Dragon ship, they watched the external virtual display. The ship was approaching Qiu Dragon Star, nearly touching its atmosphere. The planet’s atmosphere was extraordinary—one could clearly see colorful clouds drifting by, giving the world an enchanting outer glow.

“Beep!”

“Docking signal received,” Babata said. “The ship will follow the guidance signal to the planet’s docking port.”

The Black Dragon ship pierced the atmosphere. Through the external display, Luo Yuan saw a massive silver city below—a vast docking port packed with ships of all sizes. Some were only a few dozen meters long, even down to a dozen or so; others were gigantic, stretching over ten thousand meters, clearly used for large-scale transport.

“We’ve received instructions; we’re heading to the C-Class sector,” Babata announced on the console’s screen. “The A-Class docks hold ordinary ships and warships. B-Class is for B-Class vessels. C-Class, for C-Class ships and warships. There’s even a D-Class sector above that,” Babata explained.

The immense port was divided into several sectors. Every ship and warship in the C-Class area was staggeringly expensive.

With a soft whoosh, the Black Dragon ship descended and finally touched down.

The hatch opened.

Luo Yuan and Luo Feng flew out, trailed by three “Flowing Silver Guardians” Babata had repaired and brought under his control.

“Honored gentlemen, welcome to Qiu Dragon Star. Your Black Dragon Mountain X81 ship incurs a docking fee of six hundred Black Dragon coins per year. Less than a year will still be charged at six hundred. Here is your docking card.” A man in a gray uniform, standing about 2.8 meters tall with two curved horns atop his green-skinned head, flew over and landed before them. He was polite and smiling, speaking fluent standard galactic language, and handed Luo Yuan a half-transparent silver card marked with a large C.

Luo Yuan smiled slightly. With a flick of his wrist, a coin appeared in his hand, which he tossed over.

“Qianwu coin,” the green-skinned man’s eyes lit up.

“Keep the change,” Luo Yuan said offhandedly.

“Thank you, sir!” The green-skinned giant replied with utmost respect. To him, these two were traveling in an X81 luxury vessel, paying with Qianwu coins, and guarded by three Flowing Silver Guardians. Their background must be formidable. Even as a ninth-rank planetary warrior, he was just a run-of-the-mill citizen on Qiu Dragon Star. In the eyes of such obvious scions of great families, he was less than nothing.

Luo Yuan and Luo Feng flew up into the sky of Qiu Dragon Star. The sky above looked like a thin veil of purple. In some regions, it was blue; in others, purple, green, red, and so on, shifting hues constantly. Sunlight streaming through the atmosphere and shining on the ocean below created a breathtaking scene.

“Magnificent,” both Luo Yuan and Luo Feng couldn’t help but exclaim.

After nearly half an hour in flight, they finally glimpsed an enormous city in the distance. Its city walls were jet-black and stretched beyond the horizon. Perched atop the walls, shimmering like translucent glass, were immense glassy dragons, coiling in all their splendor.

The city gates were nearly a kilometer wide, with crowds flowing in and out like rivers.

Luo Yuan and Luo Feng descended to the ground and entered the city together.

“Signal received. Luo Yuan, your communication number in Qiu Dragon City is 19287342324. Luo Feng, yours is 19287342325,” Babata announced.

A communication number was much like a ‘phone number.’ Even the most advanced communicators couldn’t make calls across more than a few light-years. Some advanced planets would automatically assign a code to each visiting being’s auxiliary light-brain. On this planet, one could chat directly via communicator. For communication between different planets, there was only one option—enter the “Virtual Universe Network,” where conversation was possible.

Luo Yuan’s Little Ba and Luo Feng’s Babata were both far superior to any ordinary light-brain.

“Babata, download a map of Qiu Dragon City and start navigation mode,” Luo Feng requested.

“And send me a copy as well,” Luo Yuan added.

“No problem, consider it done!” Babata replied cheerfully.

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