Because of the relationship between their families, the two of them often hung out together since they were kids, and Song Chi naturally became the leader of the duo due to his psychological age.
However, Shen Qing often did not accept this because he was two years older than Song Chi and always insisted that he was the boss. Over time, "Big Qing" became his nickname.
Knowing that Song Chao and Shen Wenjie could chat for hours on end without pausing, and with noon approaching, Song Chi and Shen Qing decided not to sit around anymore. After saying goodbye, they both left the office together.
Once they stepped out of the office, Shen Qing, who had been cautious just moments before, instantly changed, draping an arm over Song Chi's shoulder and heading straight for the first floor.
"Come on, it's been a while since we last saw each other, we need to catch up properly today."
In contrast to the excited Shen Qing, Song Chi had more on his mind.
"Isn't it still your working hours at this time? Let's wait for lunch."
Although he had Shen Wenjie's backing, it was still better to be cautious within the principality's law enforcement agency.
Shen Qing paused for a moment but did not refuse. He was at a critical point for a promotion, and although it was unlikely that a small matter like this would get him into trouble, it was always better to be cautious.
The two waited for over half an hour until the midday mealtime arrived. Then they left the Torch Bureau in Shen Qing's Benteng Type-II car and headed straight to a well-known restaurant nearby.
"You're doing pretty well, huh? This car must cost at least a million, right? When did you buy it?"
The Benteng brand kinetic car, under the banner of the Chenxing Principality's Benteng Consortium, was known for its quality. Even though the Benteng Type-II was a model from over a hundred years ago, it still cost over a million Credit Points.
Even if it couldn't compare to the Floating Land Mining Cart with onboard intelligence that he had recently purchased, it was not something that a typical Zero Rank Torch Ship Captain would covet.
It's not about affordability, but Zero Rank Torch Ship Captains seldom spent their money on kinetic cars that could only fly within Floating Lands, as it would cost a hundred threads of Zero Rank Floating Land Origin, which is the total gain from a trip to the Alien Star Domain.
And since Shen Qing had gotten one, it meant that he had enough spare cash after strengthening his Torch Warship, which indicated that he had been doing quite well for the past two years.
Shen Qing smiled proudly and said with animated eyebrows:
"Not bad. During an exploration of the Alien Star Domain a few months ago, by a stroke of luck, I stumbled upon an ancient civilization's ruins and found a batch of great stuff. Besides keeping one blue and one white item for myself, I sold the other white items that I didn't need for thousands of threads of Zero Rank Floating Land Origin."
Song Chi's eyebrows shot up.
An intrinsic phrase from his past life unconsciously slipped out of his mouth.
"Holy shit!"
Ancient civilization ruins, such an opportunity was indeed rare, even exceedingly rare.
The Shattered Starry Sea was boundless, nurturing civilizations as numerous as the sands of the Ganges. Over millions of years, countless civilizations have perished for various reasons, leaving behind traces of their existence. Blown by the winds of time, these remnants slowly turned into ruins of ancient civilizations.
Although there are many such ruins, when considering the entire, boundless Shattered Starry Sea, it's a whole different story. For an ordinary person to come across such ruins, it's incredibly difficult.
Caught up in his musings, Shen Qing flashed a mysterious smile but did not continue speaking, effectively capturing Song Chi's curiosity.
…
The Four Seasons Restaurant, top-floor private room.
Only after all the dishes had been served, did Shen Qing finally start to speak under the intense gaze of Song Chi.
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His voice dropped to a hushed whisper that only the two of them could hear, and he began to recount the complete details of the incident.
"The civilization I encountered is called the Buluo Civilization, and those ruins are located on a completely barren and abandoned Floating Land. Last time, I only managed to open the first layer of the ruins, and based on my last investigation, there are at least two layers to that place."
His eyes twinkled as Song Chi's thoughts raced.
At least two layers, judging by the fact that the first layer contained Blue Oddities and multiple white relics, it's highly likely that there are Purple Quality relics in the ruins.
"What do you think, interested in giving it a try together? The teleportation beacon I left behind will last for about three more months, we don't need to hurry; we can spend this time fostering our growth, and then attempt it together in a little over two months."
More than two months—upon hearing this time frame, Song Chi, who had been hesitant, made up his mind in an instant.
"Alright, then let's give it a try together in two and a half months."
It had been almost half a month since his first exploration of the Alien Star Domain, and in thirteen days, he would make his second deployment.
According to this timeline, two and a half months was more than enough for him to make two more deployments to the Alien Star Domain and participate in two more Ruins Market trades, giving him ample time to acquire a vast amount of resources.
As long as he had enough resources, it wouldn't be hard to enhance the Cang Qiong to First Rank in one fell swoop; coupled with the Orange Quality "Dark Matter Energy Shield Generator" component, exploring that "Buluo Civilization Ruins" wouldn't be a concern.
Hearing that Song Chi had agreed, Shen Qing's smile grew even wider. Although there was no great danger in those ruins, the rejection stance within was rather staunch. Even though he had further strengthened his Torch Warship over the past few months, he was still not too confident.
After some negotiation, they finalized their plans, never mentioning either Song Chao or Shen Wenjie throughout their discussion.
Song Chi did think about bringing his father along, as that would undoubtedly increase their safety, but since Shen Qing hadn't mentioned it, he naturally wouldn't bring it up first.
Was it possible that Shen Qing hadn't thought of asking Shen Wenjie for help? Of course not.
So, since Shen Qing chose not to inform Shen Wenjie, it must have been after careful consideration.
Song Chi could guess at some of Shen Qing's concerns and understood them as well; after all, if they reported the matter to Shen Wenjie, how would they divide the spoils afterward? And who would get the Purple Quality relic if they found one?
Purple Quality Starry Sea Oddities were coveted not only by Second Rank practitioners like Shen Wenjie but also by Torch Ship Captains of Third Rank and above.
Shen Wenjie probably wouldn't go so far as to seize an item from his junior, but what if they encountered a Purple Relic that was extremely suitable for him?
Moreover, all that was assuming there really was a Purple Quality relic. What if there wasn't, or what if Shen Qing's guess was wrong and the so-called second layer of the ruins didn't even exist? Wouldn't that mean everyone had made the trip for nothing?
Due to these various uncertainties, it was normal for Shen Qing to choose not to inform Shen Wenjie about the matter.
"Big Qing, you..."
Having established the general direction, Song Chi was about to ask about the details of the civilization ruins when Shen Qing suddenly pressed his index finger to his lips, signaling Song Chi to be silent.
"Shh!"
At the same time, streams of Spectral Energy converged towards his ears, as if he was desperately trying to catch something.
Shen Qing had awakened his Seed of Torch two years ago. With the specialized Spectral Energy Cultivation Platform on the Torch Warship and the generous support of resources from his father and Second Uncle Shen Wenjie, his Guidance Technique had reached lv7. Coupled with the aid of Spectral Energy, his hearing was incredibly sharp at that moment.
Anyway, Song Chi didn't hear anything at all.
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