And the culprit behind the disappearing treasure chest—our fun-loving god, Aha—is currently holding the remaining 16 Destiny Coins, enjoying a "drama" he personally directed.
That's right, in just a short time, Aha had already handed out three more Destiny Coins.
"Hahahahaha! Congratulations! You got the tails side! Boom boom boom!"
A bolt of heavenly lightning struck down, instantly reducing a destitute general—who wasn't even a Pathstrider—to ashes.
After laughing heartily, Aha took out another Destiny Coin.
"Next up, which protagonist will appear? Aha is looking forward to it."
Inside the train.
Everyone was sitting together having dinner. Tonight's meal was especially sumptuous—Ye Yun and Xiangling had stir-fried 12 different dishes.
Each dish had generous portions. Ye Yun figured, since it was just their group eating, he might as well serve everything in large basins.
Twelve basins of food and three pots of rice were placed on the table. Everyone helped themselves.
The four little ones were chatting and eating at the same time—typical kids, unable to sit quietly even at the dinner table.
Jing Yuan, Zhongli, and Welt each scooped a big bowl of rice, added some dishes on top, and stood chatting by the floor-to-ceiling window, having a great time.
Jade, Topaz, Bronya, and others were also eating.
Topaz was so engrossed in the conversation that she forgot about "Numby" (the small creature).
Seeing this, Numby had no choice but to run over to the small spirits like the Fire Monkey, Bubu Flower, Rios, Little Firefly, and Blue.
Ye Yun had prepared berries from a certain yellow-mouse world for the little spirits.
These berries tasted pretty good and helped the spirits grow stronger.
Numby approached, and Rios glanced at her before signaling Blue to give her a few berries.
"Bluu~ Bluu~"
Blue smiled and handed over the berries.
Numby happily hopped a few times and started munching down.
After dinner, everyone dispersed.
Some went for tea and chess, some watched anime, some played video games, and some went to sleep.
Stelle went over to the spirit incubator and placed the high-grade spirit core she had drawn earlier into it.
She checked the time—12 hours were needed.
So, she left it to incubate and ran off to team up with Silver Wolf for some gaming.
Bronya, Gepard, and others went to the mini-bar to shop for items that could help develop Belobog's economy.
Now that they had help from a company, Belobog no longer had to worry about sales channels.
The only thing missing was a product—a unique one.
After browsing for a long time, they eventually chose something that surprised Ye Yun.
How to put it—this thing would definitely sell if it went to market, but the initial returns might be slow.
[Product: Icefield Deer Fawn]
Description: A species from a certain fantasy world. The meat is incredibly delicious—one bite and you're hooked.
Price: 50 star coins
Bronya had brought 10,000 star coins this time and planned to spend it all on this.
She had already made up her mind.
It's best to develop agriculture first. Belobog simply couldn't afford the upfront investment required for industry.
The biggest issue? Raw materials—Belobog couldn't supply them.
Buy them? Sure, but what about the factory tech? Even producing items that match current market standards would be hard, let alone surpassing them.
Belobog was like a small village in the modern world. Agriculture had to come first to lay the foundation for any industrial leap.
Bronya remembered something Topaz told her yesterday:
"Any civilization trying to skip the agricultural age and jump straight into the industrial era is committing civilizational suicide."
So—
Bronya decided to take it step by step.
If one generation isn't enough, then two. If two can't do it, then ten. Belobog would succeed eventually.
She bought 200 Icefield Deer fawns and returned to Belobog with Gepard and the others.
These deer required very specific environmental conditions—conditions that Belobog happened to meet perfectly.
Bronya planned to set up a ranch on the icefields to raise them.
Once these deer matured, a large sum of funding would come in.
And why was she so confident it would work?
Simple—
Tonight, Ye Yun had made a dish using Icefield Deer.
Everyone raved about it—not a single bite was left.
Even the last bit of broth was scooped up by Paimon to mix with her rice.
Not long after Bronya returned to Belobog, she received a message from Topaz.
Topaz: Bronya, can you reserve two Icefield Deer for me?
Bronya immediately agreed.
In Ye Yun's shop.
Jade and Topaz came shopping. After exchanging their Stellar Jade, they asked Ye Yun to help them find something to strengthen their powers.
"Ye Yun~ We've got a total of 30,000 star coins. Can you help us find something to boost our power?" Jade leaned on the counter charmingly.
Ye Yun thought for a moment. There was something.
He searched and pulled up an item.
[Product: Equipment Enhancement Card]
Description: An item from a certain game, used to upgrade and enhance equipment. Note: There's a chance of failure. The higher the enhancement level, the higher the failure rate.
Price: 10,000 star coins**
Ye Yun explained:
"Your powers are gem-based, right? Your Jade and Topaz gems count as equipment.
This is a bit of a gamble, but if it works, your strength will definitely increase."
It was expensive, but justifiably so.
Even in fantasy worlds, this item could enhance high-grade weapons.
Topaz was impressed. It seemed perfect.
"Jade, let's buy this. We'll split it—three cards each."
Jade smiled.
"Alright, your call, little Jelena."
She reluctantly stuffed 300,000 star coins into the vending slot.
They disappeared, replaced with 30 Equipment Enhancement Cards in her hand.
She handed three to Topaz.
"Here, Jelena. These are yours. I'll take the rest back for the others. We'll count on you here from now on."
That's right.
After a discussion among the Ten Stonehearts, it was decided that Topaz would be stationed permanently on the train.
To that end, Diamond even spent a large sum to buy materials to build a new train car for Himeko.
The only condition was that one room in the car be reserved for Topaz.
Himeko naturally agreed—who wouldn't accept such a good deal?
Once the materials arrived tomorrow, she planned to get Welt and Clara to help with construction.
Clara, now clutching the train blueprints Himeko gave her, was studying hard to avoid dragging things down.
Later—
Jade disembarked, boarding a warship headed for Bielpoint.
***
Pier Point.
Jade brought 27 Equipment Enhancement Cards into the highest-level conference room of the Strategic Investment Department.
At this moment—
All members of the Stoneheart Ten, except Topaz, were present.
Jade entered the meeting room and sat in her designated seat.
Diamond looked over at her.
"You got the goods?"
Jade placed a briefcase on the table and opened it.
"This is what Topaz and I bought. Three cards each—Topaz already took hers."
Jadeite distributed three Equipment Enhancement Cards to each person.
Diamond examined the cards before him.
"What do these do? I thought you'd bring back weapons or something."
Aventurine was also curious.
"Jade, you spent so much Stellar Jade, and all you brought back were these things that look like entry tickets?"
Jade smiled charmingly and crossed her legs.
"These are called Equipment Enhancement Cards. As the name suggests, they're used to enhance and upgrade equipment.
According to Ye Yun's explanation, they come from a certain game world."
The others didn't quite understand what she meant.
Aventurine leaned back slightly in his chair.
"Jade, did you forget the plan we agreed on? We were supposed to get something that boosts our personal strength.
These only enhance gear. They don't improve our own abilities."
Jade smiled calmly.
"Don't worry, Aventurine. Like I said—these are Equipment Enhancement Cards."
As she spoke, Jadeite took out her Jade Stone, placed it in front of her, then pressed one of the cards against it. The stone began to glow brightly.
She continued,
"And our Stonehearts are considered equipment too!"
As her words landed, the Equipment Enhancement Card vanished, and her Jade Stone had been successfully enhanced—a small star symbol appeared on its surface.
The others could sense the change—the energy within the stone had clearly become stronger.
Aventurine looked at the card in his hand and laughed heartily.
"Interesting! This came at the perfect time."
He clenched the three cards tightly.
This would give his plan in Penacony even more assurance.
The others followed suit, using the cards to strengthen their own Stonehearts.
Most of them succeeded twice. Jade and Diamond had better luck, both managing three successful enhancements.
Except for Aventurine, who didn't use any, only Pearl failed every attempt.
Furious, Pearl slammed the table and glared at Jadeite.
"Hmph! Don't buy this junk again next time!"
With that, he stormed out of the conference room.
Opal removed his pacifier and scoffed.
"Tsk, someone sure had bad luck. Jade, good job this time. These cards are perfect for us Stoneheart Ten."
Then he turned to the others.
"Everyone, if there's nothing else, this meeting is adjourned."
After the meeting, Jade and Aventurine went to a small tavern for a drink.
The tavern was Aventurine's property. Jade and Topaz often came here—it was like a small base for the three of them.
Jade gently stirred the spoon around her teacup, then looked at Aventurine.
"Don't tell me you plan to wait until you've infiltrated Penacony before using the cards."
Aventurine shook his head.
"No, no, no. I plan to use them after the judgment when the dust has settled."
Jade sighed at the thought of the plan Aventurine had previously described.
"You sure you want to take this kind of risk?"
Aventurine sipped his wine.
"Unless you have a better way to get inside?
This is the best option. Even if I fail, you'll have a perfect reason to step into Penacony.
From the very start, we've already won. The only cost might be something small—like me dying there."
Jadeite nodded.
"Let's hope I won't have to collect your corpse."
Sajin smiled.
"Let's hope."
Luofu Xianzhou, inside the General's residence.
Jing Yuan returned home in high spirits—today had been very satisfying. Drinking tea and chatting with friends was all he needed.
He summoned his butler.
"Pass down the order to gather all the Stellar Jade on the market. Also, have Yanqing lead a team to open treasure chests."
The butler suddenly remembered something.
"General, you may have forgotten. Last night, most of Luofu's Stellar Jade was already taken by the girls from the Express team.
Except for the Fyxestroll Garden and The Shackling Prison—those two places they didn't visit."
Jing Yuan froze. Oh right! The butler had told him this morning.
He felt numb—he dropped the birdcage in his hand.
"Then have Yanqing go now! Get all the treasure chests from those two areas and bring back the Stellar Jade!"
Jing Yuan took a deep breath, nearly having a demonic outburst.
What had he done?! That Stellar Jade should have been his!
When he left earlier, he saw Xing, March 7th, and the others still lining up to shop.
Now that he thought about it, they must've used the Stellar Jade they got from Luofu's chests, right?
Just thinking about it made his blood boil.
I'm such a fool! I've failed the Xianzhou!
No! I must hurry. I need to clear out all the treasure chests on the entire ship tonight!
Midnight.
Though Jing Yuan had already gone to bed, he suddenly sat up and slapped himself hard.
I really am an idiot! Back when the butler reported the situation, I even compensated those residents who were bothered by the girls!!!
He tossed and turned the entire night, unable to sleep.
Meanwhile, Stelle, March 7th, and the others were happily spending money in Ye Yun's shop.
March 7th walked up to the bar with her star coins.
"Ye Yun, what do you think I should buy? I want to power up."
Ye Yun thought for a moment.
"How about a new weapon?"
March 7th perked up.
"What kind of weapon? Let me see."
Ye Yun tapped away on a screen. A beautiful longbow appeared before her.
[Item: Hou Yi's Bow (Replica)
Description: Crafted by a top craftsman from a certain mythological realm, this replica of the legendary Hou Yi's Bow boasts incredible destructive power.
When drawn, it automatically generates Solar Arrows.
Solar Arrows automatically lock on and ignore defenses below Emanator level.
Bonus Skill: Rain of Arrows – unleashes dozens of Solar Arrows in a designated area. (Note: This skill consumes a large amount of the user's stamina.)
Price: 150,000 Star Coins]
March 7th's eyes lit up. This was perfect!