Volume 5, Chapter 0 – Senting

Senting Star.

In a clearing deep within a forest in the southern hemisphere, a disaster unseen for centuries suddenly struck.

A small civilian spacecraft had landed there. The tremendous buffering airflow generated during its descent sent flowers, grass, fallen leaves, and branches flying everywhere. Even some of the trees within ten meters of the clearing were uprooted if they were unlucky enough.

In short, the scene was as chaotic as the aftermath of a typhoon.

Five minutes after the spacecraft landed, a ladder extended from the entrance. Immediately afterward, the main hatch slid open to both sides with a series of soft clicks.

Fully prepared, Anran stepped out of the spacecraft.

Senting Star was the first stop on her way to White Sea Star. She had neither the star charts for the rest of the journey nor sufficient energy. Rather than flying to some planet only to make a forced landing, it was better to stop at Senting Star first and look for an opportunity.

With that in mind, Anran left the spacecraft, while Aila stayed behind to guard it.

Nominally, the entire Sea Blue Forest was governed by Governor Fitch. However, Fitch had climbed into the governor’s seat through connections. After taking office, he had no interest whatsoever in managing this “barren” frontier region. As a result, apart from a few core planets, the rest of Sea Blue Forest was extremely chaotic.

Anran worried that if both she and Aila left, they might return to find even the spacecraft gone.

It was a risk she could not afford to ignore.

After completing the [Aila’s Heart] mission, Anran immediately obtained this special title.

Besides allowing Aila’s favorability toward her to break through the seemingly insurmountable threshold of 90 and reach 100, it also allowed her to freely inspect Aila’s attribute panel just as she viewed her own. A dedicated channel had also been opened between Anran and Aila, allowing the two of them to communicate through it even across an enormous distance.

It was the sort of “technology” that made one think, “I have no idea why this works, but it is incredible.”

It certainly lived up to its name.

Aila’s Heart.

Taken together, those three effects probably counted as touching Aila’s “heart.”

Whatever the case, all she could do was shout, “Ancient Essence is freaking amazing!”

…

Blackmine City was the first city Anran encountered after leaving the forest.

Although its name contained the words “black mine,” most of the city consisted of gray-white buildings in a medieval style.

That did not mean Blackmine City’s technology was backward. It merely seemed intent on preserving its traditional style. Many high-speed vehicles could be seen racing along the roads, while the city was perhaps even more famous for its extraordinarily extensive underground transportation network.

Anran asked around near the plaza.

Thanks to Pirate Princess Anran’s broad experience, even without the players’ powerful buff that let them “automatically understand any language they were supposed to understand,” Anran could still comprehend what the people of Sea Blue Forest were saying.

Blackmine City was called Blackmine City because it had originally risen to prominence through mining. The “black mineral” in question was coal.

In other words, this was a city that had grown rich by digging coal.

Of course, its mines had long since been abandoned.

An old man feeding pigeons beside a magnetic levitation sphere told Anran all this.

At the center of the fountain floated a sphere radiating green light. Streams of water intertwined above it, refracting into a mesmerizing glow.

The old man enunciated clearly, but spoke very slowly.

“You want to study the knowledge of Mechanics? Then your best choices would be the Mechanic Guild or the Mechanical Holy See. Aside from the National Science and Technology Association, those two organizations should have the richest reserves of knowledge.”

The Mechanical Holy See?

“How do you get there? Unfortunately, neither organization has a branch on Senting Star. The nearest ones are on Ruilanduo Star, and that is very far from us. More than a hundred light-years away, I think.”

Then why the hell did you bring them up?

Anran rolled her eyes.

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“Locally, Blackmine City is only a small place. How could we have any organizations engaged in technological research and development? Heh heh heh.”

“…”

Sir, I could get down on my knees and beg you at this point.

“Senting Star, you say? Let me think. Hmm… Victorflia University should have some, but even if you were one of its students, you would not have access to advanced technology. There is also Kelvin Arms Company. It is a major arms manufacturer famous throughout Sea Blue Forest, so its military machinery technology is definitely reliable. You, however, definitely could not get in.”

“…”

“Sir, do you know where I can buy a star chart of Sea Blue Forest?”

Anran decided to ask a different question.

She could set aside the knowledge required to advance as an Intermediate Mechanic for now and visit the Mechanic Guild later.

Sea Blue Forest was a large map suitable for players from Lv. 20 to Lv. 50. At Anran’s current level of 30, she was still quite formidable in a “backwater” like Senting Star.

“Oh, there are plenty of places.” The old man lowered his head and appeared to sink into thought. A long while later, he added, “But Blackmine City does not have any either.”

Thud.

“…”

“Then tell me where I can find one somewhere else.”

“Somewhere else? The Star Hunter Guild, certain shops in major cities, and some intelligence brokers all sell them. Of course, if you have the right connections, you could also go straight to a civilian spaceport and ask someone for one. There are all sorts of channels. It depends on what you choose, young lady.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“No need to be polite, young lady.” The old man smiled as he scattered the last handful of corn on the ground before him.

“Oh, right. One more question, sir.”

“What is it?”

“Have you heard of Muguang Entertainment Company?”

“Muguang? Which ‘Muguang’ do you mean?” The old man froze.

“This one.”

Anran dipped her finger in some water and wrote out the name.

“…”

The old man stared at the two characters she had written and pondered for a moment. “Young lady, if you are thinking of joining that company…”

He stroked his beard. “I would be quite looking forward to it.”

“Pfft!”

Looking forward to it, my ass.

Never seeing you again.

After thanking him once more, Anran turned and left.

She had wasted half an hour here, and her greatest priority now was to fully equip herself with weapons.

However, she had no money.

Without money, she could not buy raw materials or tools.

And without money, she would have to find a way to earn some.

For example, by deliberately… showing an opening.

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“Young lady, looking for a room?”

Scout, Level 19.

“No.”

“Our inn may be small, but it has every facility you could need. The environment is no worse than those big hotels, and we are right beside the mine pit. Even the famous Mine Pit Hotel would not dare claim it is better than our inn. Most importantly, our rates are cheap. Are you sure you do not want to consider it, young lady?”

“What the hell is a ‘Mine Pit Hotel’?”

“Young lady, you have never even heard of the Mine Pit Hotel?”

“Ah, I am from out of town. I only arrived on Senting Star yesterday.”

“…”

“The Mine Pit Hotel is the most luxurious specialty hotel in Blackmine City. It was built beside an abandoned mine pit and is only one kilometer from our inn. You can ask other people if you do not believe me.”

“Oh.”

Anran nodded, then went to ask a few other people. Sure enough, it was exactly as the man had said. The Mine Pit Hotel was not merely famous in Blackmine City; it was considered a renowned hotel throughout Senting Star.

Staying in a mine pit.

Comfortable or not, the experience was certainly novel.

“Young lady, would you like a room?”

“I… suppose I will.”

Hee hee.

The man, who claimed to be the innkeeper, led the way with a smile on his face. Anran followed behind him, smiling as well.

“Take this young lady inside and show her the room,” the innkeeper said to someone dressed in white.

Scout, Level 17.

Two other people were sitting in the lobby playing games. One was Level 22, the other Level 24, and both had the perfunctory profession of Thug.

“Got it.”

“Young lady, follow me and take a look at the room first.”

“Okay.”

Ten minutes passed.

“Boss, how is it going?”

“She has been inside for ten minutes.” The innkeeper smiled at the white-bearded man who had just walked in.

“Ten minutes? They should be nearly done by now.”

“They should be coming out soon.”

“This one is such high quality. Shouldn’t I get paid a little more?” The white-bearded man rubbed his hands together and grinned.

All the wrinkles on his face bunched together.

The innkeeper laughed and cursed. “You will get every bit you are owed. Still, it really is rare to find one of such high quality.”

“I think we should sell her to Starblue Company after we are done with her,” the white-bearded man said as he stroked his beard.

Within Sea Blue Forest, Starblue Company was as famous as Muguang Entertainment Company. However, because of its vile practices, the moment it left Sea Blue Forest, Starblue Company was nothing more than a pathetic weakling that could not hold its head high.

“What are you thinking? She is definitely going to the higher-ups,” the innkeeper barked.

“Who are the higher-ups?”

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“You do not even know who the higher-ups are? You…”

Hmm?

The innkeeper, who had been talking enthusiastically, suddenly froze. That voice did not sound like any of his underlings. No, it was clearly a woman’s voice.

What the hell?

The innkeeper whipped his head around and saw Anran standing beside him.

His heart lurched. Had she heard everything they had just said?

Damn it.

No, wait. Hadn’t his underling taken her to see the room? Where had that man gone?

“Sir, I did not expect to see you here as well,” Anran said. “Blackmine City really is black to the core.”

“…”

“Heh heh. So what if you figured it out? Brothers… Pfft!”

Anran struck.

Everyone in the building went down.

Because these NPCs were too low-level, the experience penalty meant Anran only received a little over five thousand EXP.

But the experience did not matter. The money did.

Anran found more than forty thousand Bilu in cash, along with several bank cards. She snapped the cards in half and took all the cash.

Now that felt good.

Standing outside the small inn, she gazed at the star-filled sky and enjoyed the cool night breeze.

Robbing NPCs really was the fastest way to make money. No wonder the previous Pirate Princess Anran had been so wealthy. She had practically been one of the richest “rich ladies” in all of Night of the Stars.

After taking her down, the Empire had practically fattened by three jin from a single bite.

Damn it!

And now I am dirt poor.

Anran was furious.

However, the current her was less than an ant before the entire Empire. She had no capital whatsoever to wrestle with it. For now, she could only take things one step at a time and reclaim the portion of her wealth that the Empire had not yet swallowed.

Forty thousand Bilu was neither a great deal nor a tiny sum. It was clearly insufficient for a complete set of equipment. Mechanically operated firearms were not expensive to build, but those internal-launch power guns were rather costly. More importantly, she lacked tools.

Ordinary tools could not work Lig Alloy at all. At the very least, she needed blue-grade tools.

Anran walked around the hardware market and selected only a few commonly used tools.

“This should be enough.”

Anran had already decided to make a Mechanic’s Toolkit herself.

A Mechanic’s Toolkit forged from Lig Alloy could more or less be considered a purple-grade item.

The tools required extremely high precision. At Anran’s current skill level, she could work quickly, but the resulting quality might be a little lacking. Fortunately, she had Aila. Under Anran’s hands-on guidance, Aila worked very smoothly. Even though it was her first attempt, she encountered no real obstacles.

With Lv. 10 Basic Mechanical Theory, Basic Assembly, and Basic Mechanical Mastery, together with the talents Dexterous Hands and Exclusive Craftsmanship, Anran’s efficiency when manually crafting machinery was now increased by 170%.

It was astonishingly fast.

[Mechanic’s Toolkit (Purple)]: Tool.

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“Phew.”

Anran let out a long breath. The tools of her trade were finally back in her hands.

History would surely remember those NPCs who had delivered more than forty thousand Bilu to her.

“Anran, Anran, what are we doing now?”

“We will make a few more weapons, then head straight to Ruilanduo Star.”

The location of Ruilanduo Star was immediately marked on the map within Aila’s core.

As a relatively large planet, Ruilanduo Star had a Mechanic Guild, a Mechanical Holy See, star charts, and surely a place where private spacecraft could replenish their energy.

Before heading to White Sea Star, they could complete all their preparations on Ruilanduo Star.

Anran did not make many weapons because she did not have that much money. She produced two double-barreled scatterguns, one sniper rifle, one armed quadcopter, and two internal-launch power guns.

An internal-launch power gun was a small firearm built around an electromagnetic launcher. It used electromagnetic acceleration to fire its bullets, giving it far better rates of fire, range, and armor penetration than guns built with conventional mechanical structures. It belonged to the kinetic weapon branch.

Among the mechanical weapons in Night of the Stars, kinetic weapons and energy weapons were the two largest branches.

“Let’s go.”

“Mm. Anran, Anran, after we complete this jump, the spacecraft’s remaining energy will only support about seventy light-years of warp travel.”

Seventy light-years was not even enough to leave the front section of the Sea Blue Forest map.

Under Aila’s control, the spacecraft soared into the sky and flew toward the nearest Star Gate.

Even with a Star Gate available, a small spacecraft like this was still very “slow.”

As a result, while they were still on the way, she received news that the game would soon undergo an update and maintenance.

Profession balance adjustments?

Could they really be planning to buff Mechanics?

There was also the opening of competitive mode. Somehow, she felt that it would slow down the players’ leveling pace.

On top of that, the players would be unable to log in for twenty days of game time. This was the critical period for her to widen the gap as much as possible.

…

“Phew.”

“Docking fee: five thousand Bilu.”

“Here.”

That really hurt.

After doing the math, Anran realized she was bankrupt again. She had only a little over two thousand Bilu left in cash.

Money truly flowed away from me like water.

How miserable.

After leaving the hover station, Anran took Aila directly toward Sarina City.

They arrived at the entrance of a tall, pure-white, monolithic building on the eastern side of the city.

“Welcome to the Mechanic Guild!”

A beautiful young woman greeted Anran and Aila.

Welcome to the world of Mechanics.