Year One: One Hundred Billion

The aid Qin Qianli mentioned was truly substantial. On the newly leveled ground near their spaceship, over a hundred large shipping containers were stacked together, towering higher than the nearby mountain.

As soon as the containers were unloaded, Qin Qianli's spaceship hurriedly took off again, leaving without so much as a farewell.

"This Omi National Management Corporation can't possibly be a charity, can it?" Zhong Yun muttered as he gazed through the monitor at the container stacks outside, which blocked out half the sun.

"The Omi National Management Corporation is the largest management company in the Omi star system. They do have a charity department, but they're not a charity," Zero explained.

"By the way," Zhong Yun recalled something important, "didn’t you say they would be taking over the administration of this planet?"

"We signed a separate agreement with them. The administration rights are now ours," Zero replied.

"Really?" Zhong Yun was both astonished and delighted, but then his expression changed as another thought occurred to him. "What price did we have to pay?"

He knew all too well that there was no such thing as a free lunch in this world. Without profit, the Omi National Management Corporation would never be so generous.

"They relinquished the management rights to this planet. In exchange, we have to pay off the debt over fifty years, including service charges and interest."

"They will also provide us with a certain amount of high-quality loans. The supplies outside are part of that loan."

"So, how much do we have to repay?" Zhong Yun asked cautiously, mentally calculating his income.

"In the coming year, we must repay one hundred billion Omi credits," Zero's voice remained as calm as ever, as if he were mentioning a mere million.

"One hundred billion?" Zhong Yun swallowed hard. "And if—just if—we can’t pay…?"

"They'll take this planet as collateral," Zero replied.

"You…" Zhong Yun nearly choked. His trembling finger pointed at Zero, his face full of frustrated reproach. He tried to speak several times, but the words stuck in his throat.

Finally, he slumped weakly into his chair, utterly bereft. "How did I end up saddled with a spendthrift like you?"

"Are you worried that we won’t be able to repay it?" Zero, ever observant, had clearly improved at reading expressions. He seemed to understand why Zhong Yun was so distressed.

That was the last straw for Zhong Yun, who exploded in anger. "At a time like this you’re still making jokes? How are we supposed to pay? Sell me or sell you? That’s a hundred billion, not a million, and we’ve only got one year. Show me how you’re going to earn it!"

What Zhong Yun said was true: earning a hundred billion in a year wasn’t impossible, but the challenge lay in keeping things under wraps. Zero harbored too many astonishing secrets—if any were exposed, they’d face endless trouble.

"Forget it." After venting, Zhong Yun calmed down and sat back in his chair. "If worse comes to worst, we’ll just give up the planet. It was a windfall anyway."

Thinking it over, he realized his temper at Zero had been unwarranted. The planet had been discovered by Zero; how it was handled was entirely his business. Who was he to interfere?

All along, it was Zero who had helped him. Without Zero, he’d likely have died long ago and never survived in this new body.

Without Zero, how would he have acquired Jialan’s knowledge, cultivated the Seven Fairies, or attracted Liu Yunqi?

In truth, everything he now possessed was thanks to Zero.

Feeling guilty, Zhong Yun apologized, "I’m sorry for losing my temper with you just now." He was honest enough to admit his mistake as soon as he realized it.

Zero’s expression remained icy as ever, though for an instant, as Zhong Yun lowered his head, a subtle change flickered in those emotionless eyes—a change that vanished almost immediately, unnoticed by Zhong Yun.

"We can repay the hundred billion," Zero said.

"Oh?" This time Zhong Yun was more composed. Thinking back, Zero had never made a promise without confidence. His curiosity was piqued.

"Suxuan Pearls," Zero replied, uttering just those three words.

"Damn," Zhong Yun groaned, "so you still have your eye on my Suxuan Pearls."

"At your current level, even if you gathered all the ingredients, you couldn’t possibly synthesize the Rejuvenation Elixir," Zero said bluntly.

After weighing his options, Zhong Yun forced out, face contorted in pain, "Will one be enough?"

"All of them," Zero insisted, leaving no room for negotiation.

"I went through so much to make just nineteen, and you want to take them all? At least let me keep one for a souvenir," Zhong Yun pleaded, as if a piece of himself were being torn away.

"According to incomplete statistics, there are over five hundred black datura plants over a hundred years old on Davo," Zero replied, shattering Zhong Yun’s last feeble resistance.

Zero was right; black datura older than a century was rare, but with enough money you could always find some. No matter how difficult Suxuan Pearls were to make, with enough time, it could be done.

But how rare was a habitable planet? In the boundless universe, planets were countless, but finding one suitable for human life was harder than finding a needle in a haystack—one in a hundred million, if even that.

Zhong Yun knew which was worth more.

Still, he was puzzled. "Are Suxuan Pearls really that valuable?"

A hundred billion Omi credits was an astronomical sum—converted into Davo credits, it was over two hundred and fifty billion. Fewer than twenty companies on Davo could muster that kind of money.

With that much, you could buy a resource planet of comparable size. Yet a handful of pearls was worth so much? It sounded almost absurd.

"Suxuan Pearls have always been an essential ingredient in many high-level potions. Since the destruction of Jialan, their supply has plummeted and prices have skyrocketed. Now, they’re virtually priceless," Zero explained.

"So we’re rich now?" Zhong Yun muttered.

"What’s your current success rate at opening the box?" Zero changed the subject.

At that, Zhong Yun grew sullen. "Out of ten tries, one or two succeed, maybe."

"At your current level, opening that box is indeed a challenge," Zero said. Curiously, a trace of helplessness seeped into his typically mechanical voice, surprising Zhong Yun—he’d never heard Zero show emotion before.

Whatever was inside that box must be of great importance, Zhong Yun thought. "What exactly is in that box that requires such a complicated structure?"

"You’ll know when the time comes," Zero replied, giving nothing away.

"Since your reboot, you’ve become more and more… human," Zhong Yun remarked, studying him with a peculiar look.

P.S.: A little plug for a friend’s new book, "The Cockroach Xiao Qiang’s Revenge," book number 1262596.