227: Investment feedback

Ten minutes later.

The insect corpses at Barrier No. 5 were completely cleared away, and He Ming's figure flashed as he returned to the top of the wall.

Director Chen approached, surrounded by a group of city guards.

"Thank you so much!"

"I've lived most of my life, and this is the first time I've ever seen a Star Lord Level!"

"My lord, it's all thanks to you. Otherwise, we definitely wouldn't have been able to hold out!"

...He Ming waved his hand and chuckled softly.

"Don't get complacent. We're going to support other areas."

Everyone replied in unison, "Yes!"

He Ming and Shui Meng quickly moved to the adjacent Barrier No. 4.

The defense officer and guards on the wall of Barrier No. 4 cheered excitedly upon seeing the two.

Shui Meng turned her head toward the outside of the city, where a beetle about a hundred meters tall was charging toward the wall like a bulldozer, crushing its own kind.

She leaped onto the wall, thrust her palms forward, and her Star Power suddenly erupted.

The wave-like Star Power distorted the space, sending the insect tide back into a deep sleep. The hundred-meter-tall tank bug stumbled as if drunk, toppling over with a crash and crushing a large number of insects on the ground into bloody pulp.

He Ming leaped down from the wall and began collecting the insect corpses.

An hour later.

The insect tide threatening A3 Stronghold was temporarily suppressed; at least for the next three days, nothing could possibly go wrong.

He Ming and Shui Meng were settled into a rest area in A3 Stronghold specifically prepared for professional mercenaries.

"Boss, weren't those bugs you showed me the kind that could swallow an entire planet? Will we have a chance to encounter them?"

He Ming shot Shui Meng a look.

"Those bugs have high-tier Realm Lord Level strength. If no one stops them, they can swallow an entire Solar System in a single day."

Shui Meng asked curiously, "If we run into them, can we beat them?"

"We can, but it would be too conspicuous."

In the years she had spent with He Ming, the words Shui Meng heard most often were to keep a low profile, stay cautious, and never show off unless absolutely necessary.

Therefore, her mindset was also gradually shifting.

"Understood. The tree that stands out from the forest will be destroyed by the wind!"

"King against king, general against general."

"At most, we can only be considered mid-tier combatants, and the Zerg lack nothing in mid-tier strength, producing hundreds of millions of Domain Lord Level insects every day."

"As for the lowest-level Zerg, like the ones outside the city, they can never be fully wiped out unless the hive is destroyed directly."

Shui Meng nodded.

"Boss, I get it. You want to exploit a bug here and farm mobs infinitely, right?"

He Ming scoffed and shook his head.

"You're right about the bug, but infinite farming is impossible. The reason a hive can infinitely spawn troops is that it absorbs planetary energy; once the planetary energy is drained, it becomes a dead star."

"At that point, a Realm Lord Level Starry Sky Giant Worm will be born."

"The kind of bug that can swallow planets?"

"Correct."

He Ming closed his eyes and quickly communicated with the omniscient notebook.

[imperial seal of china inner universe level]

[Second Stage Star Lord Level, 46%]

A faint smile appeared on He Ming's lips. He had advanced by a stage in just one day. At this rate, it wouldn't be long before he reached Realm Lord Level.

This leveling speed was even more terrifying than his original body's cultivation speed.

Three days later.

He Ming's clone descended upon A3 Stronghold.

"Is it here..."

The next moment, a Spatial Artifact suddenly appeared in He Ming's hand.

Hmm!

"Interesting..."

He Ming operated the Spatial Artifact to inspect it closely.

Ten million tons of seven-colored star marrow crystal.

Various types of rare ores.

Ten Domain Lord Level treasures.

Twenty stalks of divine medicine.

"To accumulate so many things in less than three years, this treatment... is truly enviable."

He Ming grabbed Shui Meng.

"It's time for us to leave."

"Oh."

He Ming and Shui Meng returned to the Mercenary Guild through the star gate.

They submitted the mission and earned 1,000 points.

Since the mission was completed as a team, the 1,000 points were split equally, with each person receiving 500.

100 points allow promotion to Level 2 Mercenary, and 500 points to Level 3.

Their mercenary IDs were updated; they were only 100 points away from being promoted to Level 3 Mercenaries.

After walking around the fortress and finding nothing interesting, they rented a star-rated suite and settled down for the time being.

He Ming went to the desk and wrote a list.

"jarvis, update these items in the system mall."

"Very well, sir."

Milky Way Galaxy.

Imperial Capital.

"Sovereign, the system mall has updated again!"

Wan Xingying raised an eyebrow and asked hurriedly, "What's been updated this time?"

"Ten Domain Lord Level treasures!"

"The system also just sent a notification that ten million tons of seven-colored star marrow crystal will be delivered to the royal treasury in 30 days!"

Wan Xingying's brow gradually relaxed. Recently, too many Stellar Levels had been exchanging for seven-colored star marrow crystal, leaving the treasury with less than ten thousand tons.

Ten million tons of seven-colored star marrow crystal would be enough for the Stellar Levels of the Milky Way Galaxy to use for several years.

"Anything else?"

"Twenty stalks of divine medicine. According to the system description, these medicines can instantly heal injuries, return one's strength to its peak, and even allow for further progress!"

"In addition, there's a large quantity of rare ores. Our Milky Way Galaxy doesn't have these; they are only produced in the core regions of the Eastern Universe."

"With this batch of ores, we can produce battle armor with even better performance!"

Wan Xingying finally broke into a smile upon hearing this.

Naturally, the Imperial Capital wasn't the only place to notice the system mall update.

The Stellar Levels throughout the Milky Way Galaxy went into a frenzy once again.

Yuan Qi Galaxy.

Governors Mansion.

Seven Stellar Levels were gathered in the office; they were all governors from nearby galaxies.

"Yuan Qi, are you confident about passing the next Star Tower Trial?"

Yuan Qi sat on the sofa, wiping the alloy spear resting across his thighs. His eyes were full of spirit as he looked up at the speaker and spoke slowly, "As long as I have enough seven-colored star marrow crystal, I can reach Peak Stellar Level 9 within a hundred years!"

"I have already cultivated the Great Divine Ability, Clairvoyance. As long as I can exchange for Void Shift, I will definitely pass the next Star Tower Trial!"

A burly Stellar Level spoke up, "Just now, the system updated again. Ten Domain Lord Level treasures—seven of them are battle armor, one is a battle saber, and two are spears."

"There are also twenty stalks of divine medicine, said to instantly heal injuries and return power to its peak, or even further."

"If we add these, maybe you really will have a chance to pass the trial next time."

Another tall Stellar Level added, "Yes, this system update also introduced a new mechanism: points can be traded internally."

"Our cultivation level isn't high enough; there's not much point in us participating in the trial."

"Since the establishment of the Star Tide Empire, mandatory participation in the trial has been canceled and replaced with voluntary application."

"So, we plan to pool our points together to give you enough capital to participate in the next Star Tower Trial."

The reason the six were so confident in Yuan Qi was that he was ranked 19th on the simulated battle leaderboard, having passed the advanced AI level.

Being able to rank in the top 20 of the Milky Way Galaxy in combat skills already put him among the very elite.

They chose to invest in Yuan Qi in the hope that after he passed the Star Tower Trial and became a Domain Lord, he would be able to provide them with returns.

The AI-simulated battle leaderboard on the virtual network platform has gained widespread recognition among Stellar Levels.

There are over twenty thousand Stellar Levels in the entire Milky Way Galaxy, but fewer than 1,000 can pass the entry-level AI.

Those who can rank in the top 100 are all highly-watched quality stocks.