268: mark

To be honest, Zeta's six-armed alternating flight motion was truly too ugly.

However, this was the best way for Zeta to fly.

Using powerful Mental Power to propel himself?

In Zeta's opinion, this was absolutely a luxury only a spendthrift would indulge in.

Physical strength did not necessarily mean Mental Power was equally strong.

For the vast majority of cosmic creatures, their Mental Power might not even be a fraction of their physical strength.

Therefore, it was impossible for them to engage in the luxury of using Mental Power to propel themselves.

Flying using their physical racial Talent, similar to wing-like structures, was their most common method.

Although Zeta's flying posture was ugly, his speed was actually very fast.

In just half a day, he flew to the vicinity of Earth's location.

Finding a relatively large planet, Zeta hid his massive figure.

He began to secretly observe Earth's location.

This place held both the potential for a huge opportunity and the possibility of immense danger.

As his senses spread, the unguarded Earth held absolutely no secrets before Zeta.

Every blade of grass and every tree on Earth was laid bare before Zeta.

The actions of every life form on it were observed by Zeta.

Zeta's eyes were filled with surprise; he never expected that by following the coordinates, he would truly discover an ownerless life planet.

Not only that, but the potential of this life planet was also very high.

A species called humans lived on it, possessing not only extremely strong reproductive capabilities but also relatively high intelligence.

They were definitely first-rate hot commodities in the trade market.

Moreover, even other creatures besides humans possessed considerable intelligence.

They lived together, forming the large family known as Earth.

Zeta stared at the Earth before him, his eyes shining.

He thought to himself, this isn't just a planet; it's an inexhaustible treasure.

However, Zeta was not blinded by the immense profit before him.

On the contrary, he was extremely cautious.

He began to explore outward from Earth, little by little.

Searching for any potential traps.

However, Zeta was disappointed.

Or perhaps, he was too pleasantly surprised.

Because he discovered that not only around Earth, but even the entire star system showed no trace of any powerful forces ever existing.

It was as if this was an extremely simple, wild, and ownerless life planet.

After taking a few deep breaths, Zeta finally managed to calm his excited mood.

He never imagined that he would encounter such a good thing.

Furthermore, through the clues on Earth, Zeta learned that a major battle had once occurred here.

A battle like child's play.

Two seemingly powerful beings had fought on Earth, destroying two-thirds of its life.

And the signal he received was sent by one of the losers.

After obtaining this information, things became clear.

Zeta never imagined he would be so lucky.

Lucky enough to be hit by a pie from the sky.

This priceless planet before him carried no risks whatsoever; he had simply stumbled upon it.

Thinking of this, Zeta reached out his right hand into the void and quickly grasped a peculiar disc-shaped device.

This device was called an Ownerless Planet Marker.

As its name suggested, it was a device that could mark an ownerless planet, making it one's property.

Once Earth was marked by Zeta, he would possess its nominal ownership.

He could auction Earth, making himself rich overnight and becoming the savior of the Ze Clan.

However, just as Zeta was about to mark Earth, he hesitated.

By directly marking Earth, he could indeed proceed steadily and gain the maximum benefit.

But he had another option: to sell Earth to the black market for even greater profits.

Wherever there were living beings, there was conflict.

Just as there were legitimate trade markets, there were also illicit black markets.

Directly marking Earth would make Zeta the nominal owner of Earth, but it was also equivalent to handing Earth over directly.

Handing it over to the power that created the Ownerless Planet Marker—the Dawn Merchant Guild.

He would only possess the nominal right to dispose of Earth.

How many yuan crystals Earth could be auctioned for was not something Zeta himself could decide.

As the largest merchant guild in the Sirius Star Region, the Dawn Merchant Guild's influence spread to every corner of the Sirius Star Region.

It was an existence that any creature in the Sirius Star Region had to look up to.

It was also a colossal power that Zeta could not afford to offend.

Under such circumstances, the relatively weak Zeta was merely an ant-like existence in the eyes of the Dawn Merchant Guild.

Although the Dawn Merchant Guild would not directly embezzle the ownership of Earth.

However, after marking Earth, how many yuan crystals he would receive would depend on how many yuan crystals the Dawn Merchant Guild decided to bestow upon him.

In contrast, while black market transactions carried a certain risk, they could allow Zeta to obtain more yuan crystals.

However, creatures involved in the black market were not to be trifled with.

There was a greater possibility that Zeta would directly lose his life, ending up in the tragic situation of losing both his wealth and his life.

For a moment, Zeta found himself in a dilemma.

He didn't know how to choose to maximize his benefits.

However, after a brief moment, Zeta relaxed.

Greed wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but excessive greed was an act of extreme foolishness.

If he dealt with the black market for small items, he might still walk out alive.

An ownerless life planet?

He would probably get the money but wouldn't live to spend it.

Thinking of this, Zeta couldn't help but clench his fists.

If his strength were a bit greater, perhaps he would have the power to control his own destiny.

Perhaps he could obtain greater benefits from this planet before him.

Alas, there were no 'ifs' in this world.

Just like the pitiful creatures on this life planet before him, they had no idea that their tragic fate was already sealed.

Once he used the device in his hand to mark this planet, they would become goods beyond their control.

However, there wasn't much joy in Zeta's eyes.

Because he knew that he was merely an ant in the eyes of more powerful beings.

Living involuntarily within a larger cage.

Weakness was the original sin!

This time, Zeta no longer hesitated, quickly activated the device in his hand, and tossed it towards Earth.

The seemingly small Ownerless Planet Marker, after leaving Zeta's hand, grew with the wind, quickly expanding to a thousand meters in size, and floated directly above Earth.

Not only that, but countless powerful Mental Power rays were emitted from the Ownerless Planet Marker, enveloping the entire Earth.

It began to scan every blade of grass and every tree on Earth, attempting to transmit all data from Earth to the Dawn Merchant Guild's database.

That's right, the Ownerless Planet Marker was simultaneously marking Earth and acquiring information about it through scanning.

It was precisely through this method that the Dawn Merchant Guild could confirm the authenticity of marked planets.

Going to each planet to confirm them one by one? That efficiency would be far too low.

As a top-tier power, the Dawn Merchant Guild naturally wouldn't do such a foolish thing.

In the Extremely Cold Universe branch of the Dawn Merchant Guild, a manager named Monliss was looking at the data transmitted by the system with surprise.

Just moments ago, the system notified Monliss that an ownerless life planet had been discovered.

However, if it were merely the discovery of an ownerless planet, it would not have alarmed Monliss at all.

After all, while the probability of life planets being born was low, the universe was boundless, and countless planets were born and destroyed every single moment.

Due to sheer numbers, the life planets born every second were countless.

However, even life planets had strict grade tiers.

From the most ordinary F-grade life planets that could only give birth to unconscious creatures, to SSS-grade life planets with extremely high research value.

The difference in value between life planets could be described as heaven and earth.

What surprised Monliss, of course, was the grade of this life planet — A-grade!

An A-grade life planet might not seem high in grade, but it was already a rare commodity worth millions of yuan crystals, extremely valuable.

As for S-grade above A-grade?

Or SS-grade, SSS-grade life planets?

Those could no longer be described as rare; they were practically unique.

Once they appeared, countless powerhouses would scramble for them.

Thinking of this, Monliss patiently reviewed the information transmitted by the Ownerless Planet Marker.

Soon, she discovered the reason why Earth could be rated as an A-grade planet — it possessed a large number of indigenous creatures with strong reproductive capabilities and considerable intelligence.

Strong reproductive capabilities? This meant that Earth could be an inexhaustible source, as long as enough resources could be provided, it could continuously supply goods to its owner.

Considerable intelligence?

This determined the value of Earth's life.

Even if unintelligent chaotic creatures were powerful, in the eyes of true powerhouses, they were nothing more than garbage.

Most notably, Earth was still a low-level planet.

Low-level meant powerful potential for transformation.

Some planets, although meeting the above two conditions, were still not enough to be rated as A-grade life planets.

This was because the indigenous power levels on these life planets were too high, already fixed.

Even if one wanted to transform them, it could only be done in limited directions.

Unless a powerhouse with a similar evolutionary direction happened to be encountered, they simply wouldn't sell for a good price.

A-grade, it's actually A-grade?

After clearly seeing Earth's basic information, Monliss's eyes shone brightly.

She thought to herself, this planet hunter named Zeta is truly lucky, to be able to pick up such a priceless A-grade life planet on an initial planet.

The only pity was that Zeta's strength was too low.

So low that he couldn't even know the true value of Earth.

This led to one point: the value of Earth was entirely at Monliss's discretion.

It seemed it was time to specially prepare a unique auction for Zeta.

At this auction, Earth would be auctioned by the Dawn Merchant Guild for a value that would satisfy "everyone."

Under-the-table dealings?

No, no, no, this was merely a basic operation for the Dawn Merchant Guild.

Monliss even felt that she was very benevolent, willing to give Zeta some scraps.

After all, she could completely intercept Earth's information, replace Zeta, and become the new owner of Earth.

More legitimately pocketing this huge profit.

The Dawn Merchant Guild isn't corrupt?

If Monliss knew Zeta's thoughts, she would surely laugh her head off.

These top-tier powers, if they were truly benevolent, would never have reached their current level.

They were merely relatively benevolent.

If they discovered that a target did not possess strength commensurate with the profits, they would devour their client entirely at the first opportunity.

Fortunately.

Monliss, who had stumbled upon an A-grade life planet, seemed to be in a good mood.

She was willing to give Zeta a few yuan crystals to make him grateful.

Of course, during the auction of Earth, Zeta would also need to sign an agreement with the Dawn Merchant Guild.

A confidentiality agreement, not to disclose any information about Earth.

This way, no one would know that she had embezzled an A-grade life planet.

That's right, Monliss only planned to give Zeta a few yuan crystals as a reward for an A-grade life planet worth several million yuan crystals.

This huge kickback was simply outrageous.

However, the most dramatic thing was:

Due to not knowing the true value of Earth, Zeta, who received a few crystals as a reward, would not only have no complaints.

He would even be grateful to the Dawn Merchant Guild.

It was truly like being sold out and still helping the seller count the money.

As soon as she thought of the millions of yuan crystals she was about to receive, Monliss's face lit up with even greater joy.

A face covered with tiny scales bloomed into a smile.

However, after only a moment, Monliss put away the joy in her heart and began to patiently examine Earth's data.

Even among A-grade planets, their values could vary wildly.

A better A-grade planet could fetch a higher price.

As the owner of Earth, Monliss naturally needed to understand her goods better.

Only by fully understanding Earth's situation could she directly hit the buyer's pain points and sell this A-grade planet for a high price.

Moreover, this A-grade life planet had only just been captured by the Dawn Merchant Guild.

To be happy now was truly a bit premature.

However, the more Monliss looked at Earth's information, the more she felt something was amiss.

This seemingly ownerless life planet appeared to have more potential than she had imagined.

This was a life planet that had been visited by other cosmic travelers.

It was not a purely indigenous planet in the true sense.

Furthermore, the previous discoverer of this planet had also transformed it, a transformation that swept across all life on the entire planet.

Although this foolish discoverer was ultimately killed by powerful planetary natives because he was too weak.

But undoubtedly, he had already left his mark on this planet.

It's unknown if the Star Devouring Beast Avatar, if it knew it was categorized as "too weak" by Monliss, would be so enraged as to directly rise from the dead. (End of chapter)