92 The Asceticism That Surpasses Humanity [End of the Ferryman Chapter!]

Born without gender? Or perhaps, like the elder sister, their gender blurred and indistinct? Lu Chen felt that once a person's gender became ambiguous, it brought an asceticism that transcended humanity—strangely stimulating, in fact. He had never been particularly interested in the black dragon before, but now, suddenly, he found himself intrigued.

"Is your beetle ship also modified by Godo? To me, this thing can't withstand any interstellar storm. It's only good for midday flights; sooner or later, it'll be wrecked. Driving such a half-baked ship into the Pangu Corridor—was Godo out of her mind?"

Lu Chen deliberately provoked the two humanoid girls, hoping to glean more information about the black dragon Godo.

The two girls were so agitated they nearly jumped out of the hibernation pods.

"You can't speak about Godo like that!"

"She's a genius among geniuses!"

"Oh? What's so genius about her?"

The two girls thought seriously, then murmured,

"Master of roasting meat."

"Winter heating."

"Setting fires on mountains."

"No, that's not it... Godo used flame to suppress the dark poison within us. Otherwise, with our talents, we would have become dark monsters long ago... She's a once-in-a-millennium genius in fire arts!"

Lu Chen nodded slightly.

"Alright, it seems Godo is remarkable... Do you know where her family is? Dragonfolk are rare these days. Where did she come from, and how did you meet her?"

The two girls stared at Lu Chen warily. But on second thought, since Godo's black dragon identity was already exposed, any other secrets seemed trivial.

"She doesn't have a family, she's a wanderer."

"When we first met her at age five, she was already as grown as now—begging on the street."

"Short, flat-chested, a bit cute perhaps, always with a youthful appearance, gender indistinct."

"She bears no features of humanoids, loves tinkering with animals and converting them into ships, and doesn’t stand out in a crowd. Except for her ability to quietly revert to black dragon form, we've seen no special secrets."

"Her catchphrase is 'Waiting for Godo.' She says someone in the universe will always wait for her... Maybe that's her last remaining secret; even we don't know the details."

"Sometimes, she's like a child younger than us, very playful; sometimes, she suddenly becomes commanding, as if she could conquer the universe alone..."

As they spoke, the two girls grew animated, faces bright with joy.

Lu Chen could see it clearly.

For Godo to risk her life to cover the escape of two ordinary childhood friends, even exposing her black dragon identity, showed she was a romantic and childlike soul.

After all, compared to the possibly unique black dragon with a reversion ability in the universe, these two humanoid girls were truly ordinary.

The Imperial fleet could have killed her—back then, they suffered heavy losses only because they wanted to capture her alive.

Lu Chen reflected that perhaps, in this universe, not everyone cared about life and death as much as he, a traveler, did.

"Godo's story ends here. She's impressive, but that's not reason enough for me to save you for free. I need to verify if your adventurer accounts really have two thousand spirit stones."

"Why don't you believe us?"

"I've said before, humanoid children aren’t clever enough to lie!"

Then, the snake girl opened her old mechanical wristwatch, operated it, and revealed the deposit in the Adventurer Association's bank.

Name: Maru Swallow.

Identity: Chief Financial Officer of the Seeking Medicine Adventurer Team.

Balance: Exactly two thousand spirit stones!

The account belonged to the adventurer team's communal funds.

Lu Chen glanced at the low-resolution light screen.

They really had two thousand spirit stones, and had even formed a Seeking Medicine Adventurer Team, complete with a chief financial officer...

Was this just playing pretend at adventuring?

"How did you get so much money?" Lu Chen asked curiously.

The two girls replied proudly,

"We earned it together with Godo!"

"Used to be in the First Empire Bank. Before setting out, we found the Adventurer Association's branch in the Empire and deposited it there."

"We even bribed the Empire's border guards, took a special route into the Pangu Corridor... But maybe that’s when we got targeted."

"Luckily, things didn't turn out too badly. Godo escaped again, and we're alive, meeting you guys."

Lu Chen pondered.

Back then, the Adventurer Association signed trade agreements with the Empire and the New Federation, establishing Adventurer Banks in both for easier currency settlement.

First, to encourage adventurers from the Empire to venture out; second, to absorb as many spirit stones as possible.

Adventurer Bank branches were rare in the Empire and New Federation. The girls had managed to find one, which was no small feat.

Perhaps their backgrounds weren't so simple after all.

"Alright, I accept your commission to take you to the White Dew to find Lady August, but we have our own adventures, fraught with danger, and you two are still ill. For safety, I must have you enter hibernation."

The two girls looked at the glass box on the windowsill.

"You seem to be cultivating little creatures. Maybe we can help."

"No, hibernation is for your own good."

To dispel their doubts, Lu Chen nonchalantly produced three medals.

"Let me show you my medals... Empire Hero Medal, Medal of the Crownless Nation's Idealists, Tatu Star Desert Air Force Medal. Also, we rescued a trainload of slaves—if we deliver them to the New Federation base, we might even get the Federation's Freedom Medal. So believe me, we are the good guys."

Golia, Aili, and even the two humanoid girls, doubted these proved Lu Chen's goodness—they suspected he just wanted to show off his medals.

Still, the girls dutifully took the two Spirit Recovery Pills handed to them by Aili.

Then lay down, reluctantly shut the pod doors, and entered hibernation once more.

...

Afterward, Lu Chen opened several bottles of champagne and beer.

"Who would have thought slave trading was so lucrative? We made a fortune this time!"

Aili sipped her champagne, staring blankly at Lu Chen.

"Maybe I haven’t realized how powerful the captain is yet. It just feels so dangerous..."

Golia downed her canned beer in one gulp.

"Pervert or not, anyone who can hack invisibly can’t be weak."

"Alright, next we inventory the loot!"

With that, Lu Chen and Golia returned to the Dushi Star interstellar train.

They searched, sorted, and tallied.

They found over two thousand spirit stones in cash—after all, it was just a cargo ship, most crew mere workers, not as wealthy as those on the Bullhorn.

No particularly valuable goods—preliminary estimate, worth just over a thousand spirit stones.

The most valuable was the Dushi Star itself, a fully intact level-40 interstellar train!

Even though it was a custom model with years of service, its size, multiple cabins, and unmanned combat boats meant it was worth well over ten thousand spirit stones.

Besides, there were more than three hundred humanoid slaves—though none seemed particularly gifted, almost all were cultivators, not cheap labor.

Normally, liberated humanoid slaves would be sent to New Federation frontier bases for settlement.

Depending on talents shown during pioneering, they might be recruited by passing adventurers, taken by the Federation to advanced academies, or remain at the base to make a living.

Of course, a few originally prosperous humanoids, having earned enough, might return home to reunite with family...

The New Federation's policies emphasized absolute freedom.

Lu Chen, in the train's main cabin, met all the humanoid slaves.

Finally, the three hundred slaves voted to travel to the nearest New Federation base:

Skelcrow.

Also known as Scarecrow Star.

Scarecrow Star's policy was to accept any freed humanoid slave, regardless of age, race, culture, talent, or faith...

Once a hundred people gathered, the Federation Freedom Medal and a thousand spirit stones would be awarded.

The premise: undeniable proof of the liberation, and one hundred percent voluntary consent from the slaves.

Naturally, a thousand spirit stones for a hundred people was modest compared to the three thousand six for saving three children on Saion Star.

But the Federation’s finances were limited, so it would suffice.

Lu Chen's priority was liberating humanoid slaves; profit was secondary.

Otherwise, he could have found a black market, spent some time, sold all the slaves, and easily made several thousand spirit stones.

Perhaps, after collecting so many medals, Lu Chen was now addicted to the thrill of medal hunting.

Half a day later.

The Leonin dock arrived at Scarecrow Star.

It was a comprehensive agricultural planet dominated by wheat fields.

Rolling slopes covered with pale spirit grains, golden wheat, crimson flower seas, emerald tea shrubs...

Clear, broad rivers crisscrossed the land, rushing down from hilltops, washing and nourishing the valleys, then surging up the next slope, weaving through the hills.

The scenery was enchanting, captivating.

The planet lord, Shepherd Salinger, notified in advance, wore a scarecrow hat and personally approached Lu Chen's interstellar train.

He received the three hundred slaves, then led Lu Chen and his companions on a tour of Scarecrow Star's green ecological agriculture.

"There's not a single modern spirit machine on the planet—everything is hand-planted and grazed so farm goods fetch a good price. Humanoid farmers can live well, avoiding dangerous adventuring."

"Scarecrow Star is like an ecological test field—everyone has their own land. Though the untalented might be annexed and become tenant farmers, strict tax policies prevent large landowners. Even tenants earn enough in a year to buy the right to leave for other Federation planets to seek their fortune."

"And besides..."

Lu Chen listened absently, not taking it too seriously.

The Federation’s system was relatively free in all aspects, but excessive freedom led to social Darwinism.

The planet lord's repeated assurances that large landlords would never appear only proved they were inevitable.

To Lu Chen, perhaps there was no perfect system in the universe to protect the vulnerable. For the weak to live freely was already a considerable blessing.

A high-efficiency society depends on not burying talent, not overprotecting the weak.

After the tour, Lu Chen and his companions attended the lord’s banquet.

At the banquet, Salinger personally awarded Lu Chen the Federation Freedom Medal and three thousand spirit stones.

No publicity was given.

After the meal, Salinger whispered to Lu Chen,

"The disappearance of the Dushi Star is already Imperial news. The Starsea Insurance Company is investigating nearby star systems. Captain Lu, you’d best rest here a few days—the Federation fleet will protect you."

"Thank you, Lord Salinger, for the warning. This Dushi Star interstellar train is hard to hide—I must take my leave!"

With that, the Leonin dock and Dushi Star lifted off, departing Scarecrow Star.

Taking the Dushi Star on a voyage, while evading the insurance company and Imperial fleet’s eyes, was a troublesome business.

Lu Chen casually found a Crownless Nation commercial planet and sold off the Dushi Star.

Imperial news had saturated the nearby star systems, and merchants took advantage of Lu Chen’s urgency to sell.

Lu Chen, with the Dushi Star and all the loot, managed to get only seven thousand spirit stones.

Apparently, that was only because he was a Medal of Idealist recipient...

Nothing could be done. The merchant immediately dismantled the Dushi Star after purchase.

Even so, Lu Chen had profited handsomely!

"Seven thousand spirit stones for the Dushi Star and loot, three thousand for the Freedom Medal, two thousand in cash, and two thousand promised by the humanoid girls... All for a cost of only four hundred spirit stones—one battle netted fourteen thousand spirit stones!"

Lu Chen had thought this mission was just a minor episode of his travels, but it yielded his greatest profit yet.

With twelve thousand in cash, plus the remaining eight thousand, he now held over twenty thousand spirit stones.

Altogether, his assets exceeded twenty-five thousand!

It was a windfall.

"Maybe soon, we can afford a level-50 Feon Disha-class long-range ship..."

Saying this, Lu Chen generously gave both Aili and Golia a thousand spirit stones each as pocket money, in acknowledgment.

Golia, holding her thousand spirit stone crystal, recalled she had only swung her sword once or twice in this battle—she was nearly embarrassed.

"Who knew following you to rob would be so profitable..."

Back when she was a star pirate, she always won fights, never lost, but the loot always exploded into dust—she nearly robbed herself into poverty.

"What do you mean robbing... I'm liberating slaves!"

Lu Chen declared righteously.

Before leaving, Lu Chen bought over a thousand spirit stones' worth of various pills, preparing for further study on the road.

After selling the Dushi Star, the Leonin dock set out again, heading straight for the Ancestor Saddle Behemoth Park.

Only three days' voyage remained!

Yet, after just one day, news of the Leonin dock hijacking the Dushi Star spread.

Imperial news in the nearby star systems was everywhere—mocking, denouncing, urging action...

The Leonin dock even received a lawyer's letter, forwarded by the Adventurer Association on behalf of Wolf Fang Company.

Lu Chen read it patiently and replied politely,

"Scram."

...

Meanwhile.

On the outskirts of the Rogel stellar system.

A ripple of space appeared.

The Guernica Beast Taming Corps, Ninth Ship—the Scorpion Tail—emerged slowly from the starry sky, heading for Rogel’s seventh planet.

A woman in black leather, the Scorpion Lady, stood before the beast ship’s light screen, gazing at the former border stronghold.

"It’s time to disappear, Arden Fema."