Cosmic Trading System

A minute later, Lin Yun arrived at the second target location.

He released the Little Lion and began to examine the resources present.

Given the small region, it was almost instantaneous that the Little Lion had detected all the resources in the area.

"Only resources worth the equivalent of hundreds of thousands of Spirit Crystals?"

Lin Yun frowned at first, then relaxed.

The asteroids' resources were not scarce, and there were some rare resources as well. However, the volume of these asteroids was much smaller compared to the previous one, hence the comparatively fewer resources.

You might not think there's such a significant difference between one with a diameter of thirty or forty kilometers and one with just over twenty kilometers, but in reality, their volumes differed by about threefold.

Initially, Lin Yun planned to let the collection device collect resources here, while he ventured to other asteroids. Ideally, he would have purchased another collection device and have them run simultaneously in two, or even three places.

Looking at the situation, though, he decided it best to wait.

The total value of the resources here amounted to hundreds of thousands of Spirit Crystals.

He had expended 20,000 Spirit Crystals to teleport here, and the distance to the next target would be even greater. If he wasted too much time and resources traversing, the collection at this target location would serve no purpose.

Either way, the collection at this target location would only need tens of minutes.

He'd wait here a bit longer.

He thought that this model could work in this fashion, but it seemed it wasn't suitable for this target location.

However, although he couldn't execute this model at this location, he could consider purchasing an additional collection device now.

Regardless, he would eventually have to buy one—the earlier, the better.

With that in mind, Lin Yun made a decision and began purchasing a collection device through the Cosmic Trading System.

He opted for the same shop as before. However, Lin Yun casually haggled with the merchant and eventually purchased the device for 770,000 Spirit Crystals, a reduction of 30,000 Crystals.

The efficiency of this new device was twice as high as the current one.

"Humm—"

A minute later, spatial vibrations were conveyed from Lin Yun's trading space, and a steel "beast"—the collection device from the store owner—appeared in the trading space.

Lin Yun waved his hand and released it.

"Boom—"

The collection device started working immediately. As the saying goes, you get what you pay for. Indeed, it was a better device—it was collecting resources at a rate twice as fast as the previous device.

Originally, Lin Yun estimated it would take about fifty minutes for the first device to complete the collection.

Surprisingly, in less than twenty minutes, both devices had entirely collected the resources at this target location.

"Resources worth 180,000 Spirit Crystals—not bad…"

Looking at the catch in the trading space, Lin Yun smiled slightly.

He listed some of the resources on the Cosmic Trading System for sale, keeping others which were necessary for producing certain items. He processed the collected resources in this manner every time.

Lin Yun had chosen the third target location, which was roughly nine hundred thousand kilometers away from them.

Interestingly, this distance was variable as each celestial body was in rapid orbit. Few had fixed trajectories, and some were just passing by. It was best not to gather resources on such transient celestial bodies.

Otherwise, by the time you finish collecting the resources, you could be unwittingly transported to unknown places.

If Lin Yun had a spaceship, it wouldn't be much of an issue—he could simply fly back to Earth at a minimal cost.

However, as they were currently relying on Star One for teleportation, any increase in distance from Earth would amplify their energy requirements. Ultimately, it was possible that Star One's energy spent on teleportation would exceed what they had harvested.

A minute later, Lin Yun and his team arrived at the third target location.

The diameter of this asteroid was also over thirty kilometers.

Half an hour later, both collection devices had completely extracted the resources—a total of over 300,000 Spirit Crystals' worth.

"This is wrong... very wrong... Rarely are the universe's resources so easy to obtain!"

"Even if I had Star One's teleportation ability to increase my speed, it's implausible for me to gather resources at such a rate..."

"In less than a day—excluding the moon—I've gathered resources worth more than a million Spirit Crystals. If every place were like this, not all owners of the Cosmic Trading System would be so impoverished..."

Lin Yun began to shake his head in rejection of this idea.

He was referring to the situation described by Star Blue.

So far, he had selected three asteroids—each with a diameter of twenty to forty kilometers—where he had successfully gathered resources worth at least hundreds of thousands of Spirit Crystals.

At the very least, the collection at each location amounted to 180,000 Spirit Crystals. However, one location yielded over 300,000, and another as much as 600,000.

What about Star Blue?

Star Blue had traveled through the universe for several months and discovered dozens of asteroids of similar size, and even bigger ones. Yet, the most it had ever collected at one time was merely valued at over a hundred thousand Spirit Crystals.

The rest were resources worth a few tens to a few thousand Spirit Crystals. Instances of collections worth ten thousand Spirit Crystals were considered decent.

According to Star Blue, an asteroid yielding resources worth more than a hundred thousand Spirit Crystals in a single harvest was a rare celestial body in the universe—scant and coveted.

Lin Yun has seen that most owners of the Cosmic Trading System frequently had similar experiences during their voyages in space.

Whenever they discovered a celestial body worth more than a hundred thousand Spirit Crystals, it was as if they had hit the jackpot—a truly gratifying experience.

Had he really just hit the jackpot three times in a row just since he began space navigation?

This was abnormal, completely abnormal.

"Could it be that Earth's surroundings are packed with resources?"

An idea dawned on Lin Yun who began to get excited.

Not only could a single planet's surface be rich in resources, but various regions in the universe, each with its distinct environmental conditions, could also be rich in resources.

For example, there could exist an entire galaxy filled with spatial turbulence, or conversely, one bursting with resources where numerous planets and celestial bodies contained abundant resources. Such instances were by no means unusual in the universe.

A few of these instances were recorded in the Cosmic Trading System. It was safe to say that every explorer who ventured into such galaxies struck it rich.

Among these was a tale of a powerful civilization—a civilization of cultivators. When the powerful beings from their civilization left their planet and ventured into space, they discovered they had entered a world teeming with resources. This discovery spearheaded a period of rapid progress for this civilization.

They prospered so phenomenally that they became a force to be reckoned with in the universe.

Could it be that Earth's galaxy was similar?

This hypothesis excited Lin Yun greatly.

If so, he would most certainly hit the jackpot.

Having access to the Cosmic Trading System and situated in such a galaxy, he would quickly convert these resources into actual strength. By then, irrespective of whether an invasion was led by a Level Four or Level Five civilization, as long as they dared to invade, he would retaliate with a vengeance.

However, in that case, he would have to accelerate his development.

Otherwise, the invaders might pose a significant threat even before he was ready to face them, causing a major crisis.

Moreover, if he managed to defeat the invaders, it could potentially alert powerful civilizations or top-notch powerful beings.

A resource-rich galaxy, coupled with the extraordinary quality of Earth's human species, could dramatically upset the universe. This disruption could be too severe for him to handle, should he not become powerful enough, quickly enough.

As he contemplated this, Lin Yun's mood grew increasingly solemn.

Fortunate events could lead to misfortune, and vice versa.

Whether Earth's current state was a blessing or a curse, only time would tell.