Published: March 2, 2025
The teleportation square of the Star of Africa is not large, and it appears chaotic, rough, and dilapidated, clearly showing signs of neglect in management.
According to the information Wang Jie gathered, there are no sanitation workers or civil servants in the Star of Africa; the only official personnel here are the earth puppets that look like dirt clods.
They are the guards, shop assistants, protectors, and enforcers of this city; they are the true masters of all living beings here.
After five years, visitors to the Star of Africa have long understood how untouchable these dirt clods are. Fortunately, they generally do not concern themselves with mundane affairs—mundane affairs here refer to anything that isn’t illegal.
The Star of Africa, more than a gathering place, is an enormous marketplace.
Wang Jie looked around; in the small square, countless people flowed in and out, especially around several Exchange Stone Pillars, where crowds waited for teleportation. In addition, there were several teams of enforcers—the so-called dirt clods—maintaining order.
After a brief glance, Wang Jie followed the crowd into the city.
...
This was Wang Jie’s first visit to the Star of Africa, and everything felt novel, but this novelty didn’t last long as the entire Star of Africa had little worth praising. Following the crowd to the main street, Wang Jie casually inquired and quickly found his destination— the official acquisition station.
The acquisition station is located at the entrance of the main street in the Star of Africa; it’s precisely because of the official acquisition station that this area can be called the main street.
From the outside, it looked as rugged as ever, but it occupies a vast area, about the size of three football fields. The massive doors were bustling with people coming and going, and every professional emerging from the main door wore a smile, looking quite pleased with their haul.
Embodying the caution of a Lone Walker, Wang Jie lingered at the entrance for a moment, confirming that there was no danger, before stepping inside.
As soon as he entered the door, before Wang Jie could observe the internal environment, a roughly 1.5-meter tall earth puppet walked straight up to him.
“Hello, guest.”
The dirt clod’s voice was heavy and clear. Wang Jie was curious about such beings, but adhering to the principle of avoiding trouble, he felt no need to explore and merely nodded, waiting for the earth puppet, who should be the attendant here, to guide him.
“May I ask what you wish to sell, guest? Mutated beast corpses or soul crystals?”
“Both.”
As Wang Jie listened and responded, he scanned the layout of the official acquisition station’s interior— an extremely spacious hall with earth puppets lined up on both sides. Whenever a guest entered, an earth puppet would step forward to welcome them. At the end of the hall were three additional entrances: one with a sign for mutated beast corpses, one for soul crystals, and the middle one with a VIP passage sign.
The layout was simple, but it had everything it needed.
“So, may I ask how many you wish to trade?”
Upon hearing the earth puppet’s question, Wang Jie fell silent for a moment before raising both hands.
The ten Spatial Rings hanging from his hands sparkled under the sunlight...
“B-rank Spatial Rings, ten in total, are they all full?”
Wang Jie nodded. He wasn’t sure if it was an illusion, but he felt that after he nodded, the earth puppet’s tone became much more friendly.
“Please follow me, guest.”
The earth puppet turned and led Wang Jie through the hall to the end, entering the VIP passage.
...
When Wang Jie exited the official acquisition station, the ten Spatial Rings that had been on his fingers were completely empty.
Reflecting on the trade just completed, he thought, “The mutated beast corpses were priced at a total of 25,222 sixth-tier magic crystals, and the soul crystals were priced at a total of 121,524 sixth-tier magic crystals, with random attributes.”