Global Era of Star trekking Chapter 5: Zhu Tian Ruins Market - Cang Qiong (Please follow)
Previously on Global Era of Star trekking...
Chapter 5: Zhu Tian Ruins Market – Cang Qiong (Please follow)
The logic was straightforward: it was already afternoon, leaving less than 20 hours before the scheduled assembly tomorrow morning. Once the spatial gate launcher is triggered, the resulting portal remains active for a full 24 hours.
To put it simply, opening the Ruins Market now would lead to a direct scheduling conflict with the Alien Star Domain exploration set for the next morning.
As the Ruins Market Lord, he possessed absolute authority over the domain; provided no beings of the First Rank or higher appeared, maintaining order was entirely within his power. However, this control was contingent upon his physical presence within the Ruins Market.
Should he depart prematurely, there was no telling what level of chaos might erupt within the Ruins Market dimensions.
Furthermore, he still had various preparations to complete. With tomorrow representing his maiden voyage into the Shattered Starry Sea, total readiness was a necessity.
Beyond that, he had several theories regarding the Ruins Market beneath his feet that required systematic verification.
Wasting no time, Song Chi utilized the Ruins Market token to phase in and out multiple times, bringing a variety of objects with him on each trip.
Water containers, rucksacks, chairs...
Ten minutes later, he reached his first conclusion: any object he could physically lift and carry could be transported into the Ruins Market space. Conversely, items that surpassed his personal carrying capacity could not be brought inside.
With this confirmed, he hurried toward a previously scouted stall location—one of the few empty zones within the Ruins Market. Though a 10×10 space was modest, it provided ample room for a Spectral Shuttle, which measured less than 7 meters in length.
Indeed, Song Chi was now testing whether it was possible to summon a Spectral Shuttle while inside the Ruins Market.
Under his focused intent, spectral energy surged, concentrating rapidly at the point between his eyebrows.
“Hmm?”
Sensing the vibration at his brow, Song Chi felt a surge of delight; he had successfully accessed the Ancestral Torch.
A beam of light soon radiated from his forehead, and the sleek Spectral Shuttle materialized instantly in the empty space before him.
“The Spectral Shuttle can indeed be summoned within the Ruins Market!!”
Song Chi could hardly contain his fervor at this discovery.
This meant the Ruins Market wasn't just a sanctuary to escape to in times of peril; it also provided massive tactical flexibility for his many future plans.
What is the most agonizing challenge for a Torch Warship captain exploring the Alien Star Domain?
Most would likely point to "alien civilizations," as a violent clash with an Alien Species frequently ends in the total destruction of the vessel and the death of the crew.
In truth, however, that isn't the primary issue. The problem that truly haunts "every" Torch Warship captain is the vessel's limited storage capacity. Since a warship’s physical dimensions are static, its cargo space is naturally restricted.
Due to this bottleneck, every captain must perform grueling calculations before departing for the Alien Star Domain and again before returning, desperate to maximize every cubic inch of the cargo bay.
Consequently, bulky mechanical gear—such as Tiger-type Floating Land Mining Carts, Hornet-class combat drones, and Land Warfare-type Exploration Robots—is typically left behind.
After all, even if such equipment is brought to the Alien Star Domain and a massive bounty is found, the return trip poses a dilemma: should the expensive machinery be brought back, or abandoned to make room for the harvested resources?
These tools are far from cheap. Abandoning them might be acceptable if the resources are of extreme value—resulting in perhaps only half the potential profit—but it would be disastrous if the value of the loot ended up being less than the abandoned gear.
Yet, if the gear isn't discarded, the Torch Warship's limited capacity prevents it from bringing back a significant harvest.
This has long been an intractable paradox, causing endless stress for Torch Warship captains.
Because of this, the market value for spatial folding and expansion components has skyrocketed. Even white-quality spatial components often command prices reserved for blue or purple grades, and they remain incredibly rare on the market.
Earlier, on his trek home, Song Chi had been obsessing over the cramped interior of the Spectral Shuttle, trying to devise a flawless plan before tomorrow's deployment. Now, those worries seemed entirely unnecessary.
The Ruins Market space, where a Torch Warship can be summoned at will, functioned as a near-perfect auxiliary storage area—and a massive one at that.
While there were limits on what an individual could carry, large objects were a different story when it came to the Torch Warship. Because the ship is housed within the Ancestral Torch, it created a loophole.
It was entirely feasible to load heavy machinery into the Torch Warship, store the ship in the Ancestral Torch, and then manifest the vessel once inside the Ruins Market. This method bypassed the personal carrying restrictions perfectly.
Furthermore, this tactic could be applied during future explorations of the Alien Star Domain. By using the Torch Warship as a ferry, resources that would normally be left behind could be stashed in the Ruins Market, vastly increasing the efficiency of every mission.
Of course, this entire strategy relied on one critical factor: he had to be able to open and enter the Ruins Market freely even after being deployed to the Alien Star Domain. Otherwise, the plan would crumble.
As his mind raced through the possibilities, a sudden notification sound snapped Song Chi back to the present.
[Please assign a name to the Ruins Market immediately!]
Upon hearing this, he recalled that there were still administrative tasks to handle; not only did the Ruins Market require a name, but so did the Spectral Shuttle sitting before him.
Shaking off his distractions, Song Chi focused his gaze on the market and the shuttle.
After a few moments of silent deliberation, two words struck him.
“Zhu Tian.”
In his previous life, he had consumed many Xianxia novels. Since this Ruins Market could randomly link to various Star Domains across the Shattered Starry Sea, the name “Zhu Tian Ruins Market” felt perfectly appropriate.
[Zhu Tian Ruins Market, naming successful.]
With the market named, it was time for the Spectral Shuttle, though this proved to be a much more frustrating ordeal for Song Chi.
“Starry Sea!”
[Sorry, that name is already taken. Please select another.]
“Crossing!”
[Sorry, that name...]
“Galaxy.”
[Sorry...]
...
Because of the massive population of Torch Warships within the Torch Human Civilization, most common names had already been claimed.
“Shenzhou!”
[Sorry...]
“Cang Qiong.”
[Cang Qiong is currently available. Do you wish to confirm the name “Cang Qiong”?]
“Kunlun...”
“Oh? It’s available?”
Interrupting his own train of thought, Song Chi immediately hit the confirm button.
Once the naming was finalized, he turned his attention to the detailed status screen of his Spectral Shuttle.
He hadn't yet had the chance to fully analyze the ship's attributes due to the earlier interruption by his former classmate, Yang Minghui.
[Name: Cang Qiong] [Model: Torch-Spectral Shuttle] [Level: lv0] [Basic Components: Colorless Torch Warship Armor lv0, Spectral Main Cannon lv0, Spectral Secondary Cannon lv0, Warship Armor lv0, Spectral Engine lv0, Spectral Shield lv0, Patrol Radar lv0, Spectral Cultivation Room lv0 (8/8)] [Special Components: None (0/2)]
...