123: Think I'm poor? I'll shower you with rare treasures! [Thanks to 'Angu' for the gift]
"Hmm, it looks quite lively."
Su Jue nodded and commented.
The group walked toward the city gates.
The closer they got, the more they felt the oppressive presence of the city.
At the city gates, a long queue had formed.
All sorts of races and lifeforms of various shapes were waiting to enter the city.
An eight-armed Octopus-Man was arguing loudly with a Crystal Skull floating in mid-air.
An Elemental Lord, wreathed in flames, stomped his foot impatiently, causing the ground to tremble.
The scene was chaotic, yet it maintained a strange sense of order.
This was because Gold-Armored Guards stood every ten meters along both sides of the line.
They were expressionless, but the iron-blooded killing intent they exuded ensured no one in line dared to cause trouble.
It was finally Su Jue and his group's turn.
The person in charge of registration was a Cat-Eared Girl with a bombshell figure.
She couldn't help but freeze for a moment when she saw the composition of Su Jue's group.
A strong-looking Minotaur, a timid cat-girl, and a lazy-looking Capybara.
And... an Infant wearing animal pajamas?
What kind of strange adventuring party was this?
"Entry fee is one million federation coin per person, or source crystals of equivalent value."
The cat-eared guard let out a lazy yawn and spoke in a businesslike manner.
"What?! One million?!"
Mao Xiaomeng, who was following behind, couldn't help but cry out in shock when she heard the number.
This was way too expensive!
Back in her previous adventuring party, she couldn't even earn one million in a year of risking her Life!
"Too expensive? If it's too expensive, then get lost." The cat-eared guard glanced at her with an unfriendly tone. "Myriad Beast City doesn't welcome paupers."
"You..." Mao Xiaomeng's face flushed with anger.
*Cough, cough!*
Niu Tuo quickly pulled her back, signaling her not to speak out of turn.
Then he looked at Su Jue with a troubled expression.
Forget one million, he couldn't even produce a hundred bucks right now.
Su Jue frowned.
federation coin?
He didn't have any money either.
His money was all with the Su Family on Blue Star, and their assets had long since been seized.
He thought for a moment and pulled a crimson flame crystal, which he had picked up earlier in the Mountain-Moving Earth Dragon's cave, out of his dimensional universe.
"Is this enough?"
The cat-eared guard's eyes lit up when she saw the crimson flame crystal.
A Rank Six source crystal had a market price of at least three million federation coin.
It was more than enough for the entry fees of all four of them.
But her eyes darted around as a flash of greed flickered within them.
These people clearly looked like country bumpkins who didn't even know the rules of Myriad Beast City.
That Minotaur and cat-girl were pathetically weak.
That Infant was even more of a burden.
The only variable was that ordinary-looking lazy Capybara.
This combination was practically a walking wallet!
If she didn't fleece them, she'd be doing her position a disservice!
"Not enough."
The cat-eared guard shook her head, a troubled expression appearing on her face.
"The price of source crystals has plummeted recently. This piece of yours... is worth two million at most."
"You're still short two million. If you can't produce it, then go to the back of the line."
After saying that, she stopped looking at Su Jue and began to call for the next person.
She was certain these bumpkins must have other treasures.
As long as she left them hanging for a bit, she wasn't afraid they wouldn't obediently hand them over.
However...
She didn't wait long enough for Su Jue to pull out more treasures.
Instead, she felt a chubby little hand rest on the registration desk in front of her.
That desk was forged from Rank Ten Obsidian; even a full-strength strike from a King Realm Expert would only leave a faint white mark on it.
Before her very eyes, that little hand gently poked a hole through it.
A smooth, deep hole, as if it had been annihilated by a power from a higher dimension.
"?!" The expression on the cat-eared guard's face froze... "Is it enough now?"
Su Jue looked up and asked in a childish, milky voice.
His face still wore that harmless, innocent expression.
But the more he looked like that, the more terrifying it was.
The cat-eared guard's body began to tremble uncontrollably.
Cold sweat quietly soaked her back.
The surrounding area also fell silent.
Everyone in the queue looked at the Infant in animal pajamas as if they were seeing a ghost.
That was Obsidian!
Renowned for its hardness and stability, it was a material used to build the main armor of interstellar fortresses!
Even an average King Realm Expert would need to use a divine ability just to leave a mark on it.
But now... it had been punctured by an Infant with a single finger?
What kind of cosmic joke was this?!
"Enough... it's enough! It's enough!"
The Cat-Eared Girl fell to her knees before Su Jue with a *thud*, her voice shaking beyond recognition.
"My... My Lord! This lowly one was blind! Your entry fee, I... I'll waive it! No! I'll pay it for you!"
As she spoke, she frantically pulled source crystals out of her spatial ring, terrified that if she were a second too slow, she would meet the same fate as that desk.
Su Jue looked at the Cat-Eared Girl kneeling on the ground, shaking like a leaf, and was somewhat speechless.
He only wanted to prove he had the ability to "pay," he didn't mean to scare her like this.
He had originally wanted to say that he had social anxiety and preferred to solve problems with money.
But the other party had knelt immediately.
How was he supposed to deliver the rest of his lines?
"Forget it."
Su Jue shook his head, feeling that it had become dull.
He casually pulled three more source crystals of even better quality from his dimensional universe and tossed them onto the ground.
"For the four of us. Keep the change."
After saying that, he set off on his short legs and walked toward the city on his own.
Niu Tuo and Mao Xiaomeng hurried to follow. As they passed the still-kneeling Cat-Eared Girl, their faces showed a complex mix of sympathy and satisfaction.
That's what you get for being a snob! You've hit a steel wall! Our master has plenty of money!
Capybara let out a yawn and followed slowly at the very back, as if none of this had anything to do with it.
It wasn't until Su Jue's group's backs disappeared into the city gates that the silence was broken.
The surrounding silence was finally broken.
"Did... did I see that right? What was that just now?"
"An Infant... punctured an Obsidian desk?"
"Those source crystals... Holy crap! Those are Rank Seven Purple Thunder Crystals! A single one is worth ten million!"
"He... he just threw them on the ground like that?!"
"Boss, should we try to snatch them?"
"Snatch your head!"
The crowd instantly erupted into a frenzy.
Everyone looked at the still-kneeling Cat-Eared Girl as if she were an idiot.
She had ignored ten million just to try and extort that tiny entry fee.
Now she's done it; she's offended a true god!
Hearing the surrounding discussions and looking at the three source crystals radiating purple lightning on the ground, the Cat-Eared Girl's vision went dark, and she fainted from sheer terror.
Atop the city walls.
Two Stone Giants had witnessed everything that had just occurred.
"Interesting," said the Stone Giant on the left. "That Infant is not simple."
"More than just not simple." The Stone Giant on the right spoke with an even more solemn tone. "I felt a power from him that makes my heart tremble."
"That power is very vague, but its level is definitely far above ours."
"Should we report this to the King?"
"Not for now. The King is in seclusion, preparing for the events six months from now. Let's observe first. I've already sent 'Golden Eye' to follow them."
The Stone Giant on the right finished speaking and fell silent...