Global Era of Star trekking

During the conversation, three figures approached from outside the courtyard. It was the smiling couple, Song Chao and his wife, along with the recently returned Song Chi.

At this moment, Chen Lixia was clutching her son's arm tightly, as if she feared that letting go would result in another "disappearance" from him.

Regarding this, Song Chi didn't know what to say.

Before he departed, he had already informed his parents in advance that this trip might be lengthy, though he hadn't specified exactly how long; after all, he had no idea what might happen next in the Asteroid Belt.

"Grandma, Uncle!"

Outside the courtyard, Song Chi respectfully greeted them.

Upon hearing this, Bai Xiuqin quickly stood up.

"Little Chi, it's good that you are back..."

Behind Bai Xiuqin, Song Shan, who had also risen, revealed a sigh of relief on his face, though it was quickly concealed again; nonetheless, the perceptive Song Chi caught it.

Clearly, his disappearance during this period had genuinely worried his grandmother and uncle.

Soon after, the second uncle and the fourth uncle's families also quickly gathered.

Of course, welcoming Song Chi home was only part of the agenda. The primary reason for so many people coming together was to discuss the upcoming joint Copper Mountain Floating Land operation with the Bai Family.

Half an hour later, the discussion results were out.

They would officially depart in a week, with the specific destination being the Golden Moon Star Zone in the central part of the Golden Lion Star Domain.

There were no other special reasons; this Golden Moon Star Zone had previously been confirmed as the rendezvous point by the old master and the Bai Family.

In the basement, with the primary matter of the Copper Mountain Floating Land operation settled, and under the wide-eyed stares of those around him, Song Chi took out more than a dozen Purple Components for warship mounts.

Having anticipated the unusual gazes from the elders beside him, Song Chi was mentally prepared. After all, even a seasoned Third Rank Torch Captain would be shocked to produce so many Purple Components all at once, let alone him, who had just advanced to Second Rank a little over a year ago?

The reason he still chose to take them out was after careful consideration and the confirmation that this was the most beneficial approach for both himself and his family.

Firstly, if he were to exchange these components directly at the Family Merit Hall, it would surely draw immense attention. Letting the elders exchange some of them first could effectively avoid this issue.

Secondly, the components he was offering were also in line with the family's purchasing price, allowing the elders to save some Golden Merit Points, thereby achieving two benefits simultaneously.

"These Purple Components, some were obtained over the past year from lucky finds in the Ruins Market, while others were traded through bartering..."

After thinking it over, Song Chi still did not reveal the existence of the Stellar Battlefield, or rather, he did not yet have the intention to do so.

He estimated that the fragmented star space probably wouldn't last much longer and would soon be completely erased beneath the expanding void rifts, but this was relative to the preceding ten thousand, or tens of thousands of years, not to say that it would be devoured by the void immediately.

Without saying too much, for at least the next ten years, there was no need to worry about this problem. Based on this, Song Chi set his own exploration time to five years.

After five years, no matter the progress of his exploration, he would report the matter to his grandfather, or in other words, to the family.

Given the current state of the gigantic Tri-Eye Race flagship, reporting to the elders would actually be of no use. Explorations of such caliber would require the involvement of a Fourth Rank Clan Elder, or even a Fifth Rank ancestor from the family.

Before then, Song Chi wanted to attempt the exploration on his own. Reporting it to the family would certainly bring rewards, and they would not be small. Song Chi was clear about this.

But he was more aware that, no matter what, the gains would never be as great as what he could achieve through his own exploration. The family would definitely take the lion's share, so this was not about him being selfish; it was simply human nature.

Because of this, there was no pressure on Song Chi.

In the underground chamber, Song Mingsong and others exchanged glances, their eyes flickering uncertainly, each with their own thoughts. However, no one asked further questions, and they began making their selections one after another.

"Little Chi, I'll take this Purple Warship Armor; it's worth 4 Golden Merit Points, which I've transferred to you."

"Little Chi, your uncle's wife won't be polite with you either. I'm also in need of a suitable warship armor..."

...

Soon, only 6 of the 13 Purple Components remained; the rest had been exchanged away by the elders.

Dad and Mom also exchanged for one each, effectively enhancing the combat power of the flagship further.

In exchange, the Golden Merit Points in Song Chi's personal account skyrocketed to 63 points.

After leaving Grandpa and Grandma's yard, Song Chi greeted his parents and then summoned the Cang Qiong, charging straight to the Family Merit Hall.

...

"Confirm that you'll exchange all six Purple Components for Golden Merit Points?"

On the 59th floor of the Merit Tower, the clan member in charge of the exchange service asked again with calmness on his face.

Seeing that the clan member's calm expression seemed genuine, Song Chi nodded lightly, though a slight joy welled up in his heart.

Each floor of the Merit Tower has a dedicated merit exchange counter. He chose to come to this 59th floor for the exchange in hopes of attracting less attention.

Now, it seemed his choice was correct.

From the 50th floor and above in the Merit Tower, one needed at least 20 Golden Merit Points to enter, and generally, those who could take out so many Golden Merit Points were clan members of at least Third Rank.

Under this premise, the items they offered for exchange naturally far surpassed those on the lower floors, so Song Chi taking out six Purple Components at once didn't seem too extravagant here.

Of course, this was just about not attracting too much attention on the spot. As for the family's records, there was no escaping them.

"Six Purple Components, totaling 25 Golden Merit Points. Hand over your Communication Bracelet!"

After the exchange, his personal account of Golden Merit Points on the Quantum Communication Bracelet reached 88 points.

After a brief thrill, Song Chi's eyes narrowed. He was 2 points short of the "Light Energy Aggregation Engine," and the "Magma Core Fire" was still 42 points away.

After hesitating for a moment, he finally took out the "Spatial Expansion Pseudo-Realm Stone" Component that he had disassembled but hadn't initially brought out for exchange.

But before going through with the exchange, Song Chi first activated his Quantum Communication Bracelet on his wrist.

Channel: Green Moon Manor Family Chat

"Song Chi: [Spatial Expansion Pseudo-Realm Stone] Attributes JPG, does anyone need it? If not, I'm exchanging it with the Merit Tower!"

"Song You: Fifth Brother, how many Purple Components did you actually get? I'm so jealous!!!"

"Zhao Hongxue: Stop embarrassing yourself here; act furious JPG."

"Song You: As you command, my dear Mother."

...
Continue your saga on empire

"Song Shan: Little Chi, save it for your Uncle. Here are 13 Golden Merit Points; I'll make up the other 3 to you later when my hands are a bit less tight."

After a lively discussion, in the end, the Uncle secured the space-expansion component with 16 Golden Merit Points.

As for Dad and Mom, Song Chi had already mentioned it to them beforehand, but both indicated they didn't need it.

Compared to space-expansion components, they currently preferred to spend their limited funds on enhancing the battle and defense capabilities of the flagship.

With those 13 points added, his Golden Merit Points officially exceeded 100, but he was still a good deal short of the "Magma Core Fire," though enough to exchange for the Orange Engine.

Looking at the 101 Golden Merit Points in his personal account, only 29 points short of 130, Song Chi was tempted to borrow some from his elders, considering a direct exchange for that strand of "Magma Core Fire," but after a second thought, he shook his head.

He had noticed earlier that his aunts seemed quite interested in the remaining six Purple Components in his hands, but in the end, none of them had spoken up.

He was initially puzzled, but now recalling the circumstances and considering that the Uncle had only taken out 13 points and still owed him 3, it wasn't hard to deduce that the elders in the family were not exactly flush with funds at the moment.

To prepare for the upcoming threat of the Fourth Rank Golden Armored Giant Beast, they had almost all spent their liquid assets recently.

Therefore, even if he did ask, it was very likely he wouldn't be able to scrape together nearly 30 Golden Merit Points.

Standing in front of the door connecting the 59th floor with the 60th, Song Chi paused. With just over 100 points in Golden Merit, he met the requirements to ascend to the 60th floor. He was considering going up to see what lay beyond the 60th floor before exchanging for the "Light Energy Aggregation Engine!"