Published: February 13, 2025
The transaction regarding the "Combination" with Gu Ban was settled within just one hour.
Ji Si'an left, taking with him a deposit of one hundred million Moon Age Gold. Subsequently, a continuous stream of various beast pool equipment would be transported to Cloud Summit Manor over the next period.
At the same time, what he left behind was the secret about the Rebel Dragon Race.
Ye Zhongming held a star chart that was not complete but sufficient to explain many issues, remaining silent. He finally learned where the Rebel Dragon Race was located. However... if they had this information, why were they still wandering in the universe?
The information Gu Ban provided Ye Zhongming was a star chart, or more precisely, a positioning map that pinpointed a location in a certain star field. Once there, one would be close to the habitat of the Rebel Dragon Race.
And that point... was a star gate.
Star gate!
This term, even just by its literal meaning, made its implications clear. It turned out that to reach the Rebel Dragon Race, one had to go through a door.
Over the years, this door had been moving further away, making each hunt for Gu Ban take longer and longer.
Ye Zhongming checked the operational trajectory of the Survivor Fortress and discovered that if it had not been for the arc-shaped trajectory it had traveled over the years, this star gate might have disappeared into the vastness of the universe long ago.
But an arc doesn’t mean a circle; one day, this star gate would be completely out of reach until it vanished.
Even now, using the fastest spacecraft would take two months to arrive. Fortunately, the information provided by Gu Ban indicated that once they entered the star gate, they would not be far from the habitat of the Rebel Dragon Race. If all went smoothly, a month of hunting would be enough to capture several of them, making the entire journey take about five months.
Five months...
Although Ye Zhongming had previously suspected that Gu Ban was casting a wide net and making moves in various places, he always felt that the other party was willing to invest considerable resources.
Yes, there is a difference between investing resources and being willing to invest them.
Now, he confirmed that it was indeed an illusion, as with the star gate moving farther away from the paths of the All Races of the Universe, its value was gradually decreasing. The information Gu Ban provided now had a hint of being 'recycled waste.'
Of course, this didn't mean the news was worthless; on the contrary, it was still highly valuable to Ye Zhongming.
Ye Zhongming estimated with Jikesu that if the direction of the Survivor Fortress did not change in the short term, it could take another twenty years or even more before they completely lost the ability to navigate to the star gate.
Twenty years was at least enough, Ye Zhongming thought.
With the exploration of the Rebel Dragon Race now on the agenda, Ye Zhongming had a lot on his mind.
The existence of the star gate was one aspect, but he was highly suspicious that other races or forces among the All Races of the Universe also held knowledge of other star gates.
If that were the case, the current situation in the universe might not be as he perceived it.
At the same time, Ye Zhongming also needed to prepare for the next large-scale collaboration with Gu Ban.
Just like Gu Ban, Ye Zhongming did not want to put all his eggs in one basket. The dark channel there was a good route for goods, and so was the Gu Ban side. This would not only allow for more flexibility in concealing their identities but also reduce the suspicion and defense both organizations had towards Ye Zhongming.
Having too many good things is not always a good thing.
On the third day after Ji Si'an left, the first batch of beast pool equipment was delivered to Cloud Summit Manor, along with a large number of technicians.
The beast pool was no longer equipped like a roulette; instead, it was something manufactured by the All Races of the Universe. Gu Ban’s technology was evidently one of the best, and Ye Zhongming felt that they could even omit the "one of."