281 On Second Thoughts (1/2)
[I can buy stuff online?!]
[Error: Datalink failed. Running internal diagnostics. Communications Equipment damaged, patchwork repairs detected, only rescue beacon and theft report functions are available.]
Rescue Beacon?! Remian hesitated. What would happen if he called for a rescue? Would he be able to find a way for this alien civilization to cure him? Would they be friendly? Or would this gamble end up destroying both him and this Qi World?
Thinking about the people who built the Pod, Remian felt assured that they were unlikely to destroy this world off-hand. It was much more likely they would try to sell the locals their products in an Always Happy manner because Always Happy Means More Sales.
Then again, doing so would change this world forever. Was it worth it?
Everything to gain for him, but this world's destiny would be changed irreversibly.
Oh, come on, that wreck in the Red Mists meant they were coming here already anyway, or may already be on the way searching for their fallen ship. It's possible, even likely… no, downright probable… that the Always Happy aliens would eventually come here and set up shop.
Or they could enslave the entire population of 'savage' locals and sell them off as cheap domestic labor. After all, to an advanced civilization, the low-tech people of this world could be seen as tribal barbarians, always fighting among themselves at the drop of a hat, and the most prevalent form of government this world had was outright tyranny. This was a world where might made right openly, and the greatest law was the whim of the greatest power.
Anyway. To send out the beacon or not. Just what would happen to this world if he did….?
[A local wouldn't hesitate.] Death noted in amusement. [Only you would be morally worried about consequences to everyone else. A local would only care about the benefits to himself and his own.]
[Well, I'm an alien here, you know.] Remian sighed. [If I do this, I will have to do it in a sparsely populated area, try to avoid affecting the locals as much as I can. I'll fly the Pod back to the Red Mists forest and send the signal from the shipwreck's location.]
***
Meanwhile, Remian bought five Green Jade Vitality Pills at a Tier 5's affiliate's discount price. He ate one immediately, washing it down with nano-filtered, quadruple-processed water from the Food Processor (though contained in a locally-fashioned stoppered gourd that tasted mildly like winter melon).
Those pills were bought at 320,000 each. After buying more supplies, more clothes for himself and Xiao Yan and giving Xiao Yan some spending money of her own, Remian was left with a little over 210,000 Black in his bank account.
Oh, that's right. The Alchemist Guild set him up with a bank account and he even had a crystal bank card to go with it. He still carried a few thousand Black around in bank notes, though.
”Are we planning a long trip?” Xiao Yan asked as they hand-carted more and more supplies to the pod.
”Yeah.”
”How far?”
”I'm told it could take years if we go on foot. That's why we're flying.”
”And how long would flying take?”
”If we were Sky Qi experts? One day will do. But I don't know how fast Sky Qi experts fly compared to the Pod, so I'm expecting anything between a day and two weeks.”
”Where are we going, really?” Xiao Yan really wanted to know now.
Remian broke it to her. ”We're going to the Grand Luo Continent.”
***
Meanwhile, back on Remian's home world, from the west a fleet from Libertaria arrived. Led by a mothership the size of the Flame Emperor, the thirty ship fleet docked only briefly at Kara-Goth then made their way to the Nine Kings Range Battlefront.
From the east, the Song Clan from the Dragon Empire sent word that they, too, were sending in a fleet. Seeing Kara-Goth overburdened with the Libertarian fleet when they arrived, Song Chen directed them to his own territory, the Bog Marshes in the Eastern Edge Region. He shared with his clan his ambitions to build the Great Docks of his dreams.
At the same time, Tim sent a horde of Lynxmice and men over to the Blood Lands to start his Nightshade Farm. Lynxmice weren't much help in a fight against Spectres, after all. They were much better at digging holes and planting farms.
As for Remians airport and training center at Rocky Thorns… the town was built, the airport was ready and in fact, received and repaired many airships damaged in the fighting, but the training center saw no progress whatsoever.
Kara-Goth itself was ramping up heavily on mining. Arnold's Frames Workshop was given an entire hill overnight and was forced to expand exponentially with the skyrocketing demand for Combat Frames. Agility and magical barriers were the top requests of everyone ordering a Frame, and the orders were backlogged three years.