"I can help you," Bi said, hands clasped behind her back, looking every bit the imposing warlord.
Even Li Changzhou, who had once been a warlord himself, didn't possess her commanding presence.
"Thank you," Li Changzhou stepped forward, gesturing for her to take action.
Bi extended her right hand from behind her petite frame and lightly touched Li Changzhou's shoe. Instantly, Li Changzhou's shoe flew off, revealing his grey socks branded with Mag Star.
"...is this how you're helping me?"
The female doctor was instructing the Dinosaur Head Warrior to scavenge the spoils from the deceased, while she negotiated with the robots for compensation—there was a reason why weapons above 'Divine Will' rank and civilized grade weren't allowed.
Besides, no alien in the shop made a sound, and those who were bold only dared to silently drink their liquor.
On planets with legal planetary sovereigns, the Cosmic People had no authority over them, but unless they intended to stay on a single planet for life, it was best not to offend them.
The Divine Will Great Wall was mighty, but no matter how mighty, it couldn't possibly apply its law across the entire universe.
The crowd parted, clearing a path for them, as they walked out of the bar.
The female doctor contacted the others and set a new rendezvous point, in the nearby park.
Children of odd shapes and sizes were playing with Flying Cars (which resembled snowmobiles) on the lake in the park; the small waves chased after the cars like a dog in hot pursuit.
A three-headed waterfowl hid by the lake; one head yelled at the speeding kids, another ate food fed to it by a couple, and the final head seemed to be sunbathing, barely hanging on to life.
"Captain," the female doctor handed over something. "This is the bounty from the mission."
Li Changzhou took it; she added, "Those guy's money, the compensation for repairs, and covering the meal for me and Chris (the Dinosaur Head Warrior)—it just about squares us."
"I haven't even had the chance to eat those!" The Dinosaur Head Warrior was holding skewers bought from a street vendor—indeed, the grilled frog people mentioned earlier!
Li Changzhou examined the currency in his hand.
There were two types, both resembling long, rectangular devices similar to mobile phones. One looked like some kind of metal, just a single piece; the other resembled green glass, and there were two of them.
Memories of the currency automatically surfaced.
Mi'er Metal, a nearly idealized substance that could amplify any energy, but when forged into armor, it could isolate any energy its wearer didn't wish to allow through, all based on instinctual awareness.
Legend had it that in the most formidable of battlefields, even stars could be destroyed, with only Mi'er Metal remaining intact, making it exceedingly precious.
The green glass was a solidified form of planetary Qi Luminescence, indispensable for Divine Will Warriors to repair or enhance their 'Divine Will,' and likewise extremely valuable.
A piece of Mi'er Metal and two pieces of green Qi Luminescence, when converted to Divine Will Coins, would be about thirty million, enough to buy Itheri's Flying Car.
Flying Cars were that expensive?!
This was the bounty of a Divine Will Warrior!
Li Changzhou tossed one piece of Mi'er Metal and one piece of green Qi Luminescence to the female doctor: "Divide this among yourselves."
The female doctor, Itheri, and the Dinosaur Head Warrior all stared at him—the Dinosaur Head Warrior, while looking on, continued to eat his grilled frog people.
"This," the female doctor looked at the two slabs in her hand, "all of this for us? We hardly contributed."
"I've said it before, I don't like Money." If it wasn't for researching 'Divine Will,' Li Changzhou would have given them the green Qi Luminescence as well.
The reason he gave for not liking Money was false; of course, he wanted it, wanted to use the metal to build Equipment.
Equipment was important. The difference between being chased by a dog in slippers versus running shoes, or being chased by a lion on foot versus in a car, was a clear demonstration of Equipment's importance.
The functions of Qi Luminescence went without saying.
But Itheri and the rest were going to join him for a game mission they didn't need to partake in, and the money was a portion of the compensation Li Changzhou was offering them.
"When we get paid, use the money after we've bought the Flying Car for yourselves."
"..."
Not only Itheri and the female doctor but even the Dinosaur Head Warrior, who stopped eating his frog people, said, "Captain, you don't need to make such a big sacrifice just to seem impressive."
Itheri gave him a strong kick, which didn't move the Dinosaur Head Warrior at all but reminded him to keep eating his frog people.
Itheri said to Li Changzhou, "It feels like you're settling your final affairs."
"Same feeling here," the female doctor nodded.
Li Changzhou started to laugh and was about to say something when he suddenly looked up towards the park entrance. Houhou, Da Yi, and Arnes were coming towards them.
"Captain, we've already picked out a ship!" As they approached, Houhou tapped on his personal mainframe on his arm, bringing up a holographic window displaying a pancake-shaped spaceship.
"The Master Series!"
"With accommodations for five thousand, comprising two thousand five hundred couples, a gestation period of three days, and one month to reach maturity, with an average lifespan of ten years; they have a strong reproduction worship, which ensures plenty of offspring, devoid of any no-marriage beliefs; possessing decent Intelligence Level, they can serve efficiently as cleaners, cannon fodder, and surveyors."
"With a population, we can take on faraway jobs. We'll hibernate, and these people will pilot the ship, collecting resources along the journey."
"The ship's Speed is also much faster than our current one. The standard flying Speed reaches—"