6 The All-New Flagship, Leonin — [Two-in-One]

The fat shopkeeper was taken aback for a moment. Soon enough, he seemed to understand, assuming it was some playful banter between a young couple. He put on a knowing expression, as if he'd seen through it but chose not to say anything. His greasy face flickered with emotion, and he even managed an empathetic look.

“Well, then, you’d better work hard… For a man, having less cultivation than his daughter is quite a blow to one's pride.”

Daughter, my foot!

Gloria, fuming, grabbed Lu Chen by the waist with one hand and hoisted him up effortlessly. With the bag of spirit stones in her left hand and Lu Chen slung over her right shoulder, she turned and strode toward the starship.

Lu Chen could only spread his hands helplessly at the fat shopkeeper, shaking his head with a sigh. Powerless to struggle, he resorted to kicking Gloria in the rear.

“Put me down, you unfilial girl!”

Each kick landed with a satisfying bounce, growing more rhythmic and melodious.

“Today, I’ll show you who’s really the father here!”

Gloria paid him no mind, hauling him onto the ship as easily as an eagle snatches a chick, tossing him onto a lounge chair. She still clung tightly to the spirit stone pouch, clearly not planning to give it up.

“For the sake of these spirit stones, I’ll let you off today, old man!”

Lu Chen got up, straightened his clothes, and regained his captain’s composure. He didn’t bother trying to snatch the spirit stones back and simply said,

“For an interstellar adventurer, to sail the sea of stars, apart from strength, gratitude is the most important virtue. The second is integrity.”

Gloria, hands on her supple waist, looked completely unconcerned and grinned smugly.

“I already said, as long as you can make me rich, I’ll call you anything you want—even father. But I never agreed to let you take advantage of me in public. Since you’ve had your fun, I see no reason to keep up the act.”

Lu Chen let the trivialities slide and turned to explain the way team funds would be allocated.

“When I said fifty-fifty, that’s after subtracting team expenses—such as buying a new ship, installing heavy weapons, stocking up on spirit oil, water, food, and all the necessities of life… All this is to make more money. I’m sure you understand.”

As he spoke, he rapped his knuckles on the conference table, signaling Gloria to set down the spirit stones.

Gloria glared at him angrily, then frowned in thought.

It was only their first job together, yet they’d already earned fifteen hundred spirit stones with ease. This guy’s nose for profit was indeed uncanny—a true master at making money.

After a moment’s hesitation, Gloria gritted her teeth and tossed the spirit stones onto the table.

“Fine, you pass this time. But you’d better remember, women are ruthlessly pragmatic. We crave romance but never supply it. The moment a man stops making money, a woman will run for the hills. That’s just how we’re wired—don’t blame me.”

Lu Chen simply smiled, unable to tell if she was a feminist or an anti-feminist at heart.

With Gloria’s formidable strength backing him up, the number of treasures Lu Chen needed to find decreased, but their quality soared. He’d gone from scavenger to treasure-hunter, and from scavenger to adventurer. Even his premonitions now factored in Gloria’s presence as a prerequisite for success.

In short, with Gloria around, he made money faster and in greater amounts.

Now that he’d made his first real profit from adventuring, as captain, Lu Chen had to draw up a detailed financial plan.

“After that treasure-hunt through the black hole’s drag zone, our ship’s at its limit. The patched hull is too old and can’t handle any further upgrades—the ship can’t survive another long voyage.”

“My plan is to spend a thousand spirit stones on a brand-new Flying Andy-class Zhou model starship. As for our current ship, we might sell it, or strip it for parts and junk the rest.”

“We’ll also need offensive weapons.”

“With our current finances, we can’t afford to mount heavy weapons on the new ship—at best, we can pick up some second-hand gear to fit my… er, our scavenger armor with shields and a laser cannon.”

Gloria’s eyes widened.

“That counts as a team expense too?”

Lu Chen replied with righteous conviction.

“Of course. The scavenger armor is a money-making tool.”

Gloria was dubious.

“Couldn’t I just go pick up the treasures myself, if you told me where they are?”

Lu Chen spread his hands.

“You think I have a treasure map? I just go by gut feeling. You’re in charge of fighting off enemies if the ship’s in danger.”

Gloria, resigned, asked,

“So after all that, how much will I have left?”

Lu Chen worked it out roughly.

“You’ll have at least a hundred spirit stones.”

“You—!”

“Hey, it’s not like we’ll be buying a new ship every time. Next job, you’ll have more to spare.”

That made sense, but Gloria was the live-in-the-moment type and had no patience for waiting.

Suddenly, she noticed a message-in-a-bottle sitting on the table.

“We brought this bottle back—why didn’t you sell it?”

“Because it’s worthless.”

“You never pick up worthless things. Let me see.”

She popped the cork and poured out the letter inside.

It turned out to be a plea for help, scrawled on a torn scrap of clothing!

The message, written in blood from a finger, was nearly illegible now, the blood long dried to a faint stain. There was also a crude self-portrait that looked like a young wolf-girl.

The girl claimed to be a Little Siriusian from the Empire’s third-tier alliance, sixteen years old, with a marked talent for beast-taming. She’d set out to sea in search of the Nalga Beast-Masters Guild, only to be captured by space pirates halfway through her journey. Sold to a farm owner on Rogel’s seventh planet as a slave, she endured grueling labor and unspeakable torment. Only by disfiguring herself had she avoided further abuse, and though she could secretly heal herself, the owner now planned to force reconstructive surgery on her. She couldn’t hold out much longer, and begged any adventurer to rescue her—grant her freedom, and she would serve them for life…

Gloria scanned the letter, thoughtful.

“I see. You want to recruit a third teammate, right?”

Lu Chen glanced at the bloodstain; it did seem to be from a wolf-blooded girl, and her innate talent was impressive.

Yet everything about the message-in-a-bottle and the promise of lifelong service seemed suspicious.

“Don’t you have a teammate waiting for you at the front of the Pangu Corridor?”

Gloria coughed and made a fist.

“She’s not as promising. I’ll cancel that contract later… As I recall, Little Siriusians all have white hair and red eyes, they’re genius beast-masters, and they’re lolis—your favorite, aren’t they?”

In fact, this type wasn’t just Lu Chen’s favorite—every man in the universe liked them, and every adventurer team was desperate for a beast-master.

“It’s obviously a scam. Who asks for help with a message-in-a-bottle in space? Plus, the seventh planet is nowhere near the black hole drag zone.”

Gloria conceded the point, but insisted on going anyway.

“If she turns out to be bad news, we can just capture her and sell her. No loss, right?”

Lu Chen thought, That’s my girl!

On reflection, an adolescent beast-master with such bloodlines would be a rare prize for any adventurer group. Even if she were a villain, a little brainwashing and re-education could make her useful.

His treasure-finding instincts covered an entire star system.

The wolf-girl was within the Rogel system, but no red marker appeared on his treasure map.

That meant at least one condition—no sovereignty dispute, high value, or low-risk acquisition—was not satisfied.

Perhaps it was worth getting closer before deciding.

His adventures were all about joyful treasure-hunting, not danger!

With that thought, Lu Chen maintained a calm exterior.

“Let’s spend the money first.”

The moment spending was mentioned, Gloria perked up.

“Exactly! You’ve got to seize the day and live it up under these stars!”

Lu Chen shook his head.

“I mean, we should convert all our money into power first. That’s the optimal approach for interstellar adventurers.”

…

Half an hour later.

The starship arrived at Rogel Prime, the first planet of the system.

The entire Rogel system suffered from water scarcity, and the first planet was no exception: the winds were fierce, the sky perpetually gray. Towering skyscrapers crowded the cityscape, their lights blazing as hovercars cut through the gloom, creating shafts of illumination in the haze. Occasionally, water trucks sprayed artificial rain from the sky.

This was the fresh supplies and procurement district.

In the massive shipyards outside the city, only brand-new adventure ships were docked—far more upscale than those on the third planet.

Lu Chen almost felt embarrassed to park here.

He ended up docking at a free shipyard a hundred miles outside the city.

Gloria donned wind goggles and a dust mask, rolled her hover-bike down from the ship, stretched, and ferried Lu Chen into the main city.

Despite the hazy weather, the dazzling advertisements flickering between skyscrapers only fueled her shopping desires.

“Clothes, handbags, fine wine, gourmet food, movies, concerts… Men have to choose; women want it all!”

Lu Chen felt that women were just too real.

“Don’t forget, you’re only getting about a hundred spirit stones. I suggest you buy a good sword.”

Gloria snorted, completely ignoring him.

“Fool. Masters let their sword aura do the talking. Unless you have a billion-spirit divine blade, a new sword won’t enhance my power. When you help me earn a billion, come talk to me.”

Lu Chen didn’t believe her, but it was her money to spend.

As long as she didn’t touch the team’s share, he had no say—and if he tried, he’d end up hanging from a lamppost.

With the navigation system’s help, Lu Chen and Gloria found the official Flying Andy dealership in the city.

The dealership took up an entire building.

On the first floor, a single ship was displayed, a show of opulence.

In reality, Flying Andy was a consumer brand known for cost-effective starships.

Rumor had it that Flying Andy had dealerships in every inhabited star system in the universe.

Lu Chen wasn’t sure if that was true—no one had ever checked—but at least, in the New Federation’s territory, there were none. There, bioengineered beast-ships were cheaper and more versatile than Flying Andy’s models.

So the Empire had forced through a law to protect spirit beasts…

Yes, the same Empire that enslaved beastfolk closer to human form was now protecting spirit beasts.

The Flying Andy showroom was lofty and spacious; aside from a manager, all the staff were robots.

Flying Andy mainly produced short-range ships for in-system travel, and their long-range technology was neither deep nor advanced.

Only three long-range models were available:

The Level-50 Xia, starting at 100,000 spirit stones.

The Level-40 Shang, starting at 10,000 spirit stones.

The Level-30 Zhou, starting at 1,000 spirit stones.

These prices weren’t much higher than their short-range counterparts.

You could say Flying Andy singlehandedly made civilian warp drives as cheap as cabbages.

All three ships shared the same long-hull design with two cargo pods, an ancient silhouette with modular engines, and mostly interchangeable parts.

Only the size, hull material, and engine tuning differed.

This made Flying Andy’s long-range ships incredibly cost-effective, popular across the universe, durable, and highly customizable.

The downside was their outdated appearance and rudimentary smart systems.

But rumor had it that Flying Andy was developing a luxury flagship line—hugely popular online, with millions of pre-orders.

To Lu Chen, that was a distant dream.

The Zhou-class new ship cost 1,000 spirit stones.

Lu Chen checked the trade-in value of his old ship, only for the robot saleswoman to offer a mere fifty spirit stones—outrageous!

Lu Chen wasn’t stupid; the warp engine he’d repaired, though untested for durability, was worth at least a hundred spirit stones!

So he decided not to trade in, and bought the new ship outright.

He chose white as the main color, with red accents—elegant as a deep-space knight.

When it came time to select options, he and Gloria disagreed.

Lu Chen wanted the base model, planning to upgrade it himself.

Gloria insisted on the premium package.

Lu Chen checked—it had the same engine, just more creature comforts: a big sofa, floor-to-ceiling panoramic windows, a luxury bathtub, multi-functional kitchen, floating refrigerator, game room, cleaning robots…

Price: 1,200 spirit stones!

To Lu Chen, a spirit stone had the buying power of about 10,000 yuan—so the premium package, for just a few extras, cost two million more?

Still, in the end, Lu Chen agreed to Gloria’s request.

“So be it—Daddy will spoil you this once.”

Life was more than poetry and distant dreams; one must also enjoy the present.

The universe was dangerous, but Lu Chen’s adventures were not—he’d earned the right to enjoy life. If things were too bleak, his teammates would get disgruntled, and that could fracture the team.

Gloria, thrilled to be on a brand-new ship for the first time, forgot all about Lu Chen’s “Daddy” joke.

After paying 1,200 spirit stones, Lu Chen spent another ten on registering the craft, linking his captain’s credentials and confirming flight permissions.

As for insurance, he skipped it.

Everyone knew that no insurance company in the universe would cover adventurers in the Pangu Corridor—buying it was just throwing money away.

After leaving the dealership, Lu Chen and Gloria went to the shipyard to collect their vessel.

Both were excited.

The first time taking delivery of a new ship was like buying your first car—a feeling a man never forgets.

Lu Chen, though, kept his excitement hidden.

Gloria gleefully drove the hover-bike into the cargo bay, then explored the pristine living quarters.

She flopped onto the big sofa before the panoramic window in the cockpit, her voluptuous and athletic figure sinking deep into the cushions. She summoned the floating fridge, grabbed a complimentary bottle of juice, and drank it down with relish…

After a satisfied belch, she suddenly remembered something important.

“Since we’re starting our adventure with this ship, we need a formidable name!”

Lu Chen nodded, already prepared.

“I’ve got one: the Leonin.”

Leonin—Lu Chen had used this name in a past life, taken from a famous patriotic fishing joke in an old game. He was so used to it that he didn’t bother to change it.

Gloria frowned.

“What does Leonin mean?”

Lu Chen answered solemnly,

“It means invincible.”

She was satisfied, asking no more.

In truth, it meant home.

“Leonin, start engines—ascend!”

The new ship rose smoothly, flying to the outer shipyard.

Lu Chen disembarked to fetch the old ship, setting it to follow the new one in autopilot.

The two ships, one after the other, headed to Rogel’s second planet.

The second planet was the spirit-tech modification zone.

Here, the wind and sand were even harsher, half-burying the sandcastles.

Leonin hovered in the upper atmosphere; Gloria was reluctant to bring it down.

Lu Chen landed the old ship and found a shop specializing in second-hand ships and refits.

The owner was a middle-aged cyborg, half his body a tangle of wrenches, cutting tools, and mechanical parts—a bit too on-the-nose.

Lu Chen parked at the shop entrance and called the blunt-spoken owner out to appraise the ship. The offered price: one hundred spirit stones.

At least that was honest.

After some haggling, they settled on one hundred and twenty.

Lu Chen, in his armor, hauled out all his gear and personal effects from the ship, wiping its memory core clean.

Then he returned to the Leonin.

Gloria was waiting for her cut.

Lu Chen had three hundred and ten team spirit stones and a hundred of his own.

“I’ll need about two hundred for shields and a laser cannon for my armor—even buying junk parts and fixing them up myself, it’ll cost at least that. Which means you should get about fifty, but since the hundred is from you anyway, I’ll split it—here’s a hundred spirit stones. Go have fun.”

Gloria took the hundred, staring at Lu Chen—she couldn’t say why, but she suddenly felt… pampered.

Lu Chen just smiled—the art of handling women was something he understood well.

He handed her another hundred.

“Take this and buy ten marrow-cleansing pills for me.”

“Leave it to me!”

Thrilled, Gloria zipped off in the new ship to the first planet, embarking on a buying spree.

A hundred spirit stones was like a million yuan—more than enough for anything short of luxury items.

Lu Chen, meanwhile, stayed on the second planet in his armor, holding two hundred and ten spirit stones.

He spent a hundred and ten on several hundred pounds of damaged titanium alloy armor plates.

Right there in the seller’s sandcastle workshop, he used their tools to hammer and flatten the titanium, reinforcing his armor for better defense and sealing.

He then visited another scrap yard.

With only a hundred spirit stones left, he couldn’t afford a second-hand laser cannon, so he rummaged through the junk pile and found a battered set of components.

Rough as it looked, it was high-grade gear!

Though heavily damaged, the laser’s core was intact—only the spirit-inscribed circuits were burnt out, but the materials were first-rate.

Two hours later, Lu Chen used the shop’s tools to disassemble the cannon, rewrite the spirit circuits, and rebuild the casing.

He integrated it into the right palm of his scavenger armor, creating the legendary—

Palm Thunder.

Spirit energy grade: level twenty!

Not as strong as Gloria’s sword aura, but far better than any weapon Lu Chen had previously owned.

A level-twenty palm laser could easily punch through the Leonin’s hull…

Though the Leonin’s engine was level thirty, civilian ships simply weren’t built for defense.

In the end, Lu Chen spent just over two hundred spirit stones and gave his scavenger armor the firepower and protection of a combat suit.

With the upgrades complete, Gloria still hadn’t returned.

She’d been gone thirteen hours.

The shop owner even tried to recruit him.

“Women aren’t to be trusted. No need to risk your life adventuring—brother, with your spirit-tech skills, why not stay here and make a fortune together?”

Lu Chen just smiled and kept waiting.

He waited until dusk.

Only then did the Leonin return to the second planet.

Lu Chen, armored, soared into the air and boarded the new ship in style.

After decontamination, he shed the armor and strode into the cockpit.

There, the cockpit was already piled high with Gloria’s shopping haul.

Bags and boxes were stacked like a small mountain.

Clothes, handbags, shoes, cosmetics—an endless array.

She wore a perfectly tailored celadon qipao, the chest cut in a heart-shaped window, virtual reality gaming glasses perched on her nose, a bamboo-scabbarded sword at her waist, and a boozy lollipop between her red lips.

For a moment, Lu Chen was dazed—he couldn’t tell if she was from the past or the far-flung future.

“Let’s go—time to find our third teammate!”