Starstones were only half familiar to Qi Heng.
Why only half?
Because in the past, no finished version had existed. There had only been prototypes still undergoing research.
He had never expected a completed product to emerge after the destruction of Zerg technology, much less become so widely used.
The function of a Starstone was straightforward. Like a rechargeable battery, it could be used repeatedly after being replenished.
The difference was that it stored stellar energy, and only cultivators capable of using stellar power could recharge it.
Qi Heng recalled the Zerg he had seen exchanging Starstones for daily necessities.
Regardless of whether they were widely used elsewhere, within the slums, Starstones had already replaced currency to a certain extent.
As for where the stellar energy stored inside them came from, the answer was obvious after a moment’s thought.
It was unquestionably connected to the numerous female Zerg living in the slums.
The authorities used basic necessities to compel the Zerg to provide stellar energy voluntarily.
Any stellar energy they cultivated was converted into fuel rather than being used to strengthen their own bodies. As a result, the Zerg’s overall power remained suppressed.
What a thoroughly calculated scheme.
That said, Starstones were undeniably useful.
If Qi Heng could obtain enough Starstones filled with stellar energy, the power stored within them would serve as an excellent energy source for the system.
Should he find a way to acquire some?
But where could he obtain them?
At present, Qi Heng knew of two sources within District 49.
The first was the shop in the central district that collected Starstones.
The second was the large number of female Zerg living throughout the slum.
He could not touch the former.
As for the latter, perhaps there were other methods.
For example, he could exchange items the female Zerg needed for their Starstones.
Yan Ning had traded Starstones with Yun Tian’s family for clothing. As long as Qi Heng possessed something the female Zerg wanted and offered a slightly better price than the central district, he would not have to worry about attracting customers.
There was only one problem.
He did not seem to possess anything worth trading.
Qi Heng fell into thought.
Nearby, Yun Tian continued chatting with Yan Ning. He glanced strangely at Qi Heng, who had suddenly stopped speaking, and whispered into Yan Ning’s ear:
“Does he do this often?”
“Do what?”
“Stop talking in the middle of a conversation. Did I say something wrong?”
Yan Ning hesitated before answering:
“He’s probably thinking about what you just told him.”
“The Starstones?”
“Mm.”
After that day, Qi Heng planned to continue working in the mine.
This time, however, he had another objective.
“You want to explore other tunnels?”
Yun Jiu frowned with concern.
“Isn’t mining here good enough?”
“Didn’t you say there were rarer associated minerals? I want to try my luck.”
A faint smile rested on Qi Heng’s lips as he reassured him:
“Don’t worry. I’ll be careful.”
“The tunnels are complicated. What will you do if you become lost inside?”
Yun Jiu attempted to persuade him to abandon the idea.
“Besides, the other minerals are extremely rare. That isn’t the kind of thing you can simply rely on luck to find.”
“I have an excellent memory. I’ll also mark the route as I go, so I won’t become lost.”
Qi Heng had already made up his mind.
His attitude remained firm, and no matter what Yun Jiu said, he refused to reconsider.
Yun Jiu remained silent for a while before finally giving up.
“Then be careful.”
He and Qi Heng were neither relatives nor close companions. Offering a few warnings was already the limit of what he could reasonably do.
It was not as though he could physically restrain Qi Heng and prevent him from leaving.
After descending into the mine, Qi Heng picked up a vine basket and greeted Yun Jiu before preparing to depart.
“Wait.”
Yun Jiu suddenly called him back and pressed something into his hand.
“Take the mining lamp. Some of the tunnels are extremely dark. Without it, you won’t be able to see anything. Don’t refuse.”
“The lamp isn’t particularly useful to me. You know I’m already familiar with that tunnel.”
“You can return it after we leave.”
Yun Jiu had already gone that far. Refusing again would be ungrateful.
Besides, Qi Heng was interested in how the mining lamp worked.
“Thank you.”
He accepted it, expressed his gratitude, and turned away.
The tunnels beneath the mine crisscrossed in every direction.
As mining continued and the tunnels extended deeper, some female Zerg ignored the danger in pursuit of better-quality ore. This resulted in a cave-in every so often.
Even so, many female Zerg continued risking their lives by working in the deepest sections.
Qi Heng entered one of the tunnels carrying the mining lamp.
He pressed a particular part of its surface.
A small flame rose inside.
The light passed through a frosted, translucent crystal covering and illuminated the surroundings.
【Analysis of the mining lamp’s construction is complete.】
A1’s voice accompanied the sound of Qi Heng’s footsteps.
【The outer casing consists of crudely hand-polished quartz approximately 0.4 millimeters thick. It contains one irregular Starstone measuring approximately two centimeters. The stellar energy stored within it can generate heat through friction and ignite a flame for twenty-four hours.】
Qi Heng was not surprised by A1’s analysis.
He had already expected something like this.
A civilization could not develop without energy.
Since the power suppressing the Zerg had so thoroughly restricted their technology, it would never permit them access to any other meaningful source of energy.
Starstones, however, were different.
Their energy came from the Zerg themselves.
By encouraging the Zerg to exchange large numbers of Starstones for supplies while returning only a small portion for everyday use, the authorities simultaneously prevented the Zerg from increasing their own strength and maximized the consumption of the Starstones in their possession.
It killed two birds with one stone.
[Does the database contain information about Starstones?]
Qi Heng continued deeper into the mine while asking the question.
He turned left and right, appearing to wander without direction. Yet as he progressed, the number of female Zerg visible in the tunnels steadily diminished.
【Please wait, Overlord. Searching the database.】
【…Starstone manufacturing technology reached maturity in Galactic Core Era Year 12,780. Starstones produced through this technology were divided into seven grades, A1 through A7, according to their specifications and capacity for storing stellar power.】
【The lowest grade could store one hundred units of stellar power. The highest could store power at Level 7, approximately equivalent to the Star-Shattering grade…】
【A Starstone’s grade can be distinguished by its color, luster, and purity. The higher the grade, the more translucent the Starstone becomes, and the closer its color approaches gold…】
[Tell me the grade of the Starstone inside this mining lamp.]
【The Starstone inside the lamp is defective. In essence, it is only a fragment of an A1 Starstone. The stellar power currently stored within it is approximately twenty-four units.】
Qi Heng stopped.
Unlike the active mining tunnels outside, this passage had clearly been abandoned for a long time.
Its walls were scarred and uneven from repeated excavation, and it was difficult to find even a single piece of Obsidian Crystal remaining.
The tunnel should originally have continued deeper.
However, the path ahead had been completely blocked and buried beneath fallen stone.
A collapse had evidently occurred here.
Since the rocks were far too massive to remove through ordinary labor, the tunnel had gradually been abandoned.
Qi Heng repeatedly struck the fallen stones with the stone rod in his hand.
Even the smallest slab covered several square meters. Stacked together across the passage, they formed an enormous barrier before him.
“A1, scan the mineral content and thickness of the rubble blocking the tunnel.”
【The core branch subsystem [Scan] must be activated.】
【This function has not yet been unlocked. Forcibly activating it will consume one unit of energy per minute.】
【Any usage lasting less than one minute will still consume one complete unit.】
“Then scan this section of the mineral vein as thoroughly as possible. Gather as much information as you can within one minute.”
In the past, Qi Heng would never have cared about a single unit of energy.
Now, however, even the wealthiest landlord had no surplus grain.
Since he was spending the energy anyway, he naturally intended to extract the greatest possible benefit from it.
The system’s functions were extremely powerful, even when using an unupgraded Level 1 scanning module.
【Understood.】
A blue membrane of light abruptly appeared in the air.
It swept rapidly upward across the pile of rock.
Its penetrating power was extraordinarily strong. In an instant, it passed through the rubble and reached the buried section of tunnel beyond it.
【Function activated. Estimated energy consumption: one unit.】
【Scan results: rubble thickness, nine meters. Obsidian Crystal content within the obstruction, sixty percent.】
【The mineral content within the next one hundred meters of this tunnel is eighty-five percent. Associated Black Crystal deposits are present within a three-hundred-meter range, with estimated reserves of…】
“This truly is good news.”
Qi Heng smiled after hearing A1’s report.
He had been searching for a collapsed tunnel that could still be excavated.
His plan was to use an unconventional method to absorb the energy contained throughout the mineral vein.
After examining several tunnels, he had selected one that showed very few signs of recent Zerg activity.
Only an abandoned tunnel like this, where any unusual occurrence would be unlikely to attract attention, was suitable for what he intended to do.
Obsidian Crystal could provide only a limited amount of energy.
Had Qi Heng not needed to accumulate his first reserve of capital, he would never have considered consuming the minerals in the vein directly.
Although Obsidian Crystal was not an exceptionally rare resource, it still belonged among the valuable mineral resources.
Almost any other use would be more worthwhile than simply allowing the system to “eat” it.
The associated Black Crystal deposit discovered during the scan was an unexpected bonus.
Qi Heng opened the system interface and switched to the list of subsystems.
More than twenty subsystem names were densely arranged across four rows.
Each possessed a different name, but every one was displayed in gray.
The [Scan] subsystem he had just forcibly activated was listed among them.
Qi Heng ignored the others and focused on the subsystem labeled [Energy Conversion].
The more he learned about the slums, the less secure he felt.
He had originally believed that the slums had formed naturally after the decline of Zerg civilization.
Under that assumption, delaying the system’s repairs and energy replenishment would not have placed him in immediate danger.
However, after discovering all the suspicious clues around him, his sense of crisis had fully awakened.
Qi Heng intended to repair the system and upgrade its functions again.
It was not because he had finally decided to save the world.
He merely wanted to prepare himself for unforeseen circumstances and gain more resources with which to confront future dangers.
His finger pressed against [Energy Conversion].
The characters flashed with light and suddenly illuminated.
【Two hundred energy points deducted. Branch subsystem [Energy Conversion] permanently activated. Synchronizing with reality…】
【System energy-absorption efficiency increased from the original twenty percent to one hundred and twenty percent.】
Two hundred energy points.
The system’s remaining operational lifespan had instantly been reduced by twenty days.
Qi Heng now had even less time.
But he was not finished.
“Deduct fifty energy points and produce the maximum possible number of basic mining worker Zerg.”
The system’s database contained the Tianjia Zerg’s entire former genetic archive.
After examining it, Qi Heng discovered that only some of the advanced genes evolved during the civilization’s later stages had been lost.
The original Zerg genes still remained intact.
As long as the system possessed sufficient energy, producing them required almost no effort.
【Production of juvenile basic mining worker Zerg complete. Quantity: one hundred and fifty.】
One after another, plump white larvae resembling silkworms appeared on the ground before Qi Heng.
Without a commander, they would obey only the Overlord who had created them.
Following their instincts, they began inching closer to Qi Heng.
Qi Heng looked at the worker Zerg before him and calmly issued his orders.
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