Chapter 43: Zhang Qiang Takes Action

“Wow! It’s so lively here! How long has it been since I’ve seen so many people in person?” Hua Shaojie looked out at the bustling crowd on the dock, his spirits instantly lifted. The others shared his sentiment; after months of deep space travel, such a scene was a rare and welcome sight.

The ship designated 005 slowly approached the dock. At that moment, a team of officials swiftly advanced toward them. The leader shouted loudly, “This merchant vessel, please display your flag for registration purposes.”

“Flag? Brother, this ship doesn’t have any flag yet! What should we do?” Hua Shaojie responded in a clear voice.

“Then have one person disembark to register first; only after that can the others come ashore,” the man onshore replied.

“Phew, luckily we had some prior training, or else we’d be completely lost!” Hua Shaojie thought with relief. It turned out that the currency on this planet was surprisingly similar to Earth’s old-fashioned gold and silver coins. If they hadn’t obtained this information from the Jet Scanner beforehand, they wouldn’t even be carrying these yellow and white metals—they only had spirit stones, at least mid-grade ones at that.

Hua Shaojie leapt onto the dock and followed the officials to a large building nearby to complete the registration. They were indeed fortunate. Since the dawn of the Great Maritime Era on Dream Blue Planet five hundred years ago, regulations for outsiders had only been perfected in the last fifty years. Had this been fifty years ago, when management was chaotic, a simple misunderstanding might have escalated into outright conflict.

After completing the paperwork, Hua Shaojie paid over a hundred taels of silver and received a specially made badge along with identification documents. With these two items, they could conduct business and travel freely across the Central Continent. Of course, entering another country required stamping the badge and documents with that nation’s emblem.

Once the eight of them disembarked, they let 005 leave the port on its own. No one knew where it went. Hua Shaojie and the others, empty-handed, entered an inn, which drew curious glances from outsiders. These foreigners didn’t even carry luggage.

The inn was a colorful mix of people and the best place to gather information. After extensive inquiries, Hua Shaojie and his companions finally gained a deep understanding of their current location.

On Dream Blue Planet, the average lifespan was three hundred years. There were two suns, but intriguingly, they never appeared in the sky simultaneously. That meant the inhabitants never saw both suns at once. Instead, there was an interval between them—after one sun passed over a place, followed by about two full days and nights, the other sun would appear. Each day here roughly equated to one Earth day. This made adaptation straightforward, though after so long on the spaceship, they had already adjusted well.

The planet had three moons of varying sizes, each visible on different nights. Rarely did two appear together, and all three at once was a century event, signaling momentous occurrences—such as the unearthing of a great treasure or a cataclysmic upheaval—anything powerful enough to affect every inhabitant of the planet.

They also learned that the Central Continent comprised seven countries, and their current nation was called the Great Zhou. Each country was steeped in martial culture—not only were martial arts flourishing, but so were magic and Daoist practices. If Tang Yi had known this, he would have exclaimed, “Wow, isn’t this a hot-blooded legend?”

What puzzled them most was the absence of teleportation arrays or similar devices. Despite the vast expanse, transportation mainly relied on waterways. For instance, the countries of the Central Continent depended on the seas, while the interior regions were dominated by mountains, chasms, and deserts—harsh environments inhospitable to humans. These waterways were fixed routes, remarkably swift. The current sailing technology on this planet roughly matched Earth’s 18th-century maritime advancements. Along these established lines, it took only about a year to sail from the Central Continent to the Sand Continent.

For Zhang Qiang, this environment was a perfect fit. Why? Unlike the others who had only prepared a small amount of gold and silver in rings for this trip, Zhang Qiang had a special attachment to these precious metals. Before turning thirty, he had struggled and toiled over gold and silver. Even after joining Tang Yi and no longer worrying about basic needs, he still loved collecting these treasures. Now that he possessed a massive spatial ring, he was even more invested, amassing not only gold and silver but also gems and pearls—mundane treasures useless to cultivators.

More extraordinarily, since embarking on their interstellar journey through the galaxy, Zhang Qiang often used his item-generation device quota to create curious, glittering objects—such as luminous pearls, cat’s eye stones, and the like. Upon learning this, Tang Yi would jokingly scold him, asking if he had been born in the wrong body or was turning into a dragon.

Now, Zhang Qiang boldly tossed a large ingot of gold onto the counter, eyes raised toward the ceiling as he told the innkeeper, “Give us eight upstairs rooms.”

The innkeeper’s face lit up at the sight of the rolling gold. “Eight rooms upstairs? No problem, no problem! Bear, kick out those who owe rent—there’s a distinguished guest arriving. Please have a seat, gentlemen; the rooms will be ready shortly.”

This innkeeper was sharp-eyed. Although Hua Shaojie and his party wore somewhat unusual clothing, their generous spending and air of authority commanded respect, so he treated them politely.

As they sipped tea and waited, sudden loud noises came from the second floor—bangs and crashes. Soon, the burly man named Bear, who had been sent upstairs to evict some tenants, returned looking like a frightened panda. Covering his face, he scrambled behind the innkeeper and trembled as he said, “M-Master Innkeeper, they’re hitting people!”

Hua Shaojie nearly spat out his tea in surprise. That big, tough guy’s voice was higher-pitched than a woman’s.

At the staircase, several rough-looking men appeared—clearly fighters. The leader spoke, “Innkeeper, we agreed that after three days, once our payment arrived, we’d settle the rent. What’s the meaning of you kicking us out now?”

The innkeeper was unyielding. “No money, no stay. It’s simple. Don’t think I’m afraid of you just because you know martial arts. So, are you leaving or not?”

One of the group, visibly hot-tempered, retorted, “We offered our weapons as collateral. You have no credit.”

“Hmph, your lousy weapons aren’t worth a thing, even if you gave them to me. I was kind enough to accept them as collateral. Bear, return their weapons. Today, we have honorable guests, so I’m waiving your rent for the past few days. Otherwise, your weapons wouldn’t cover the fees.”

Hua Shaojie narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing the group. Sensing an opportunity, he stepped forward and said, “Innkeeper…”