Chapter 9: Monthly Fair

Chapter 9: Monthly Fair

Meanwhile, Mu Mu returned to his home, which was located on the edge of the downtown area.

As soon as Mu Mu entered, he went to wash his hands and change his clothes, then headed into the inner room.

The room had been converted into a laboratory. Along the walls, rectangular tables were filled with test tubes and petri dishes, containing various colored liquids and non-human tissue samples.

Mu Mu said, "Brother, I used the mushroom potion and the healing potion you gave me."

The person fiddling with the test tubes, wearing glasses, responded in a cold tone, "Was anyone killed?"

"Dead?" Mu Mu pondered for a moment before shaking his head. "I gave them to the governor, and no one died."

Mu Xing's hands paused for a moment.

The planetary governor… If he remembered correctly, it should be Cang Cheng, right?

Also known as the so-called useless fifth prince.

Mu Xing asked, "You gave the potions to the governor?"

Mu Mu told him what had just happened.

"The planetary governor was very handsome and saved Mu Mu, so I gave him a gift because I like him."

Mu Xing pushed his glasses up with his knuckle.

Based on what Mu Mu said, it seems this fifth prince is an Awakener.

Unlike the rumors…

Interesting.

Mu Xing continued to gently swirl the test tube, blending the two liquids.

"You’re such a looks-obsessed person, Mu Xiaomu."

"I learned it from my big brother."

Mu Mu wasn’t about to back down.

"Who doesn’t appreciate beauty?"

Mù Xīng said, as he dripped the liquid from the test tube onto a withered vine.

The withered vine rapidly absorbed the bright green reagent.

After 5 seconds, the vine revived, with green replacing the withered yellow, radiating vibrant life.

Another 5 seconds later, the newly revived vine exploded violently, splattering debris all over Mù Xīng’s face.

Mù Xīng removed his glasses, one lens coated with reagent, and muttered to himself.

"Another failure… What went wrong this time?"

Mu Mu was no longer surprised by these failures.

He grabbed a large towel from the room and wiped his brother’s face, and then used a special cloth to clean Mù Xīng’s glasses.

After doing this, Mu Mu left, holding the towel.

He was going to wash the towel.

Meanwhile, Mù Xīng pondered, looking at his dwindling research funds, growing increasingly worried.

While vine-like plants were abundant on Luo Ri Star, using them as test subjects was free, but the auxiliary materials for the reagents were costly.

His spiritual energy was depleted, preventing him from sensing the reagent fusion, and he couldn’t afford precision instruments, leading to a rising failure rate.

Without money, he couldn’t buy better equipment, and without better equipment, he couldn’t continue his research. Without research, he couldn’t earn money, and without money, he couldn’t send Mu Mu to better educational institutions.

A dead-end cycle.

Mù Xīng sighed.

Money is still tight...

He adjusted his glasses, and a cold light glinted off the lenses.

Wait, maybe he could go talk to Governor Cang Cheng based on Mu Mu's description.

But... Luo Ri is so poor, and Cang Cheng is an overlooked prince—how could he possibly have any money?

*

Another day passed, and the monthly market in the central district of Luo Ri began.

"Market day, huh... I wonder if the nutritional supplements will be cheaper this month. Last time they were 700 stellar credits per set, I stocked up on two sets, and they're almost gone."

"In the previous months, the Lion Commerce Association put out tens of thousands of daily necessities, but all were priced in the four digits! Even the nutritional supplements were priced at 1200 stellar credits per set; it's far too expensive."

"If they're not cheaper this month, we'll just have to snatch them!" I'm sick of this life."

"Don't even consider it. I heard the thug brothers from West 11th Street were punished by the governor yesterday for robbing. I could hear their screams from afar."

"Really? I thought the new governor was just a sickly ordinary person. How did he manage to lock up the thug brothers?"

"I don't know about that."

...

Supplies were scarce on the border planet, and the interstellar trade routes and delivery services hadn't extended to this region yet. The residents relied entirely on the goods brought by the guild during their monthly stops to survive.

However, the guild was in it for profit, and the quality and prices of the guild's goods at the market fluctuated every month.

Typically, governors of other planets would try to maintain good relations with the guild's branch leaders, offering bribes to get goods at reasonable prices.

But Luo Ri was poor, and past governors had generally had poor relations with the guild, leading to subpar and expensive goods at the Luo Ri market.

Still, the residents of Luo Ri had no choice but to grit their teeth and purchase what they needed.

Mu Xing and Mu Mu were also heading to the market to shop.

The two of them, one big and one small, arrived at the central market area, holding hands.

As soon as they caught a glimpse of the market, they were astonished by the scene before them.

Mu Mu: "Wow! It's so lively!"

Originally a desolate plaza, it was now bustling with mobile shops, each brimming with a variety of goods.

From nutrition supplements to household robots, a comprehensive range of goods was available.

The ground floor alone couldn't accommodate all the items, so the Merchant Association erected a temporary second floor to extend the sales area.

Assistant robots were busily unloading goods from the hovering trucks to replenish the stock. Their movements never ceased, indicating the substantial volume of cargo.

"Daily Necessities Kit – 110 Star Coins

100 Entry-level Flavored Nutritional Supplements – 310 Star Coins

Summer Outfit – 55 Star Coins

...

Weapons, Specialized Items, Spirit Runes, etc., please go to the second floor"

"Wow, the prices at this market are so low! Last time, I paid 1200 Star Coins for entry-level flavored nutritional supplements, and now they’re only 310!"

"There are also more varieties of items, and they even sell weapons and Spirit Runes on the second floor."

"Am I seeing things? Is this really the market on Sunset Star?"

"Perhaps the Merchant Association president, out of respect for the Fifth Prince, decided to release so many goods. Don’t hesitate, stock up fast. If you miss this chance, you might not get another."

They had initially expected today’s market to be terrible, but instead, it was bustling with cheap and abundant goods.

Today, we really came to the right place!

Residents flooded into the market, entering a frenzied hoarding spree.

This wasn't the first time Mu Mu had seen such a lively scene.

The place he lived in as a child was much more bustling than here, but in the year he had lived on Sunset Star, this was the first time Mu Mu had seen so many goods; his eyes were glued in astonishment.

"Big Brother, I want to buy that set of clothes."

Mu Mu had his eyes on a children's outfit with a bear design. Such children's clothing had long been out of fashion on the central planet, only to be bought cheaply by the Merchant Guild and transported to the frontier planets for sale.

Mu Mu used to have plenty of clothes, but now, even this cheap, outdated outfit made him look longing.

Mù Xīng, standing beside him, clenched his fists tightly.

"Alright, I'll buy it for you. Is there anything else you want, Mu Mu? I'll buy whatever you want today, okay?"

"No need. I just want one set of clothes. You should buy more clothes for yourself, brother. Your clothes are old and full of holes."

Mù Xīng was somewhat embarrassed by Mu Mu's words.

It was true that many of his clothes had holes, but they were caused by chemical corrosion.

"Okay, if you buy one set, I'll buy one set. If you buy two sets, I'll buy two sets. So shouldn't you buy more so I can buy more clothes too? That would be fair, wouldn’t it?"

Mu Mu nodded confusedly. "I guess that makes sense."

Mù Xīng then led Mu Mu to pick out several sets of clothes.

The quality of the clothes was better than he had expected, and the prices were cheaper than those at previous markets.

Mù Xīng's light brown eyes shifted thoughtfully as he pondered.

Although everyone said the market was lively thanks to the fifth prince’s status, even if the fifth prince wasn’t favored, the Merchant Guild still had to respect his status.

Face?

What is face worth?

Mù Xīng knew well that the interstellar Merchant Guild was driven by profit. This newly appointed fifth prince must have made some kind of deal to make the Merchant Guild offer such discounts.

Each item only earned about 10 star coins, barely covering the interstellar shipping costs.

This fifth prince was no ordinary man.

Mu Xing looked at Mu Mu, who was dressed in new clothes and looking at herself in the mirror, and secretly made a decision in his heart.

*

On the temporary platform on the second floor of the market, Cang Cheng picked up a teacup and took a sip of black tea.

This tea was brewed from tea powder and tasted somewhat bland, but compared to what he had daily, this black tea was far superior in flavor.

Black tea was a luxury beverage popular only on first-class planets and the main planet, with prices for a 10G pack starting at 50,000 star coins.

Through the operations of the Galactic Merchant Association, such teas would double in price when sold on second and third-class planets.

Seeing that Cang Cheng had enjoyed his tea, Simon, with a smile, said, "Since you enjoy black tea, my lord, how about I bring the remaining stock from the cargo ship for you tomorrow?"

"Alright."

Cang Cheng agreed.

Simon grinned widely.

The second floor, where Cang Cheng stood, had one-way glass installed. Cang Cheng could see the entire market below, but those outside could not see inside. Thus, people were unaware that, as they shopped freely, Cang Cheng was observing everything closely.

"My lord, the household goods have sold more than half, and the healing elixirs are selling very well too. I believe that within the next month, residents of Luo Ri will lead much better lives, all thanks to your grace!

Your remarkable wisdom..."

Cang Cheng glared at Simon coldly. "Shut up."

Simon zipped his lips shut.

"Have any weapons been sold?"

"We've sold ten laser swords, but no one has bought the Spirit Runes yet."

The butler, Philip, answered Cang Cheng.

Cang Cheng nodded.

Selling ten laser swords was a significant achievement in his view, given the poverty of Luo Ri's inhabitants.

Cang Cheng picked up a Spirit Rune plate that Simon had just brought over, his fingertips concentrating magic as he began to draw on it.

The basic wind-elemental magic 'Blade of Wind' had already been successfully drawn by Cang Cheng. Now, he intended to draw some other wind-elemental Spirit Runes.

His magic flowed freely as he drew a mark resembling a claw on the Spirit Rune plate—the intermediate wind magic 'Chain of Wind Blades.'

Next, Cang Cheng drew a pair of wings on another Spirit Rune plate—the basic wind magic 'Wings of Wind.'

Lastly, on a third Spirit Rune plate, Cang Cheng drew a square filled with several wind currents—the basic wind magic 'Wall of Wind.'

The patterns on the three Spirit Rune plates glowed faintly, indicating their successful creation.

Crafting two basic wind magics and one intermediate wind magic again drained most of Cang Cheng’s magic.

Cang Cheng felt somewhat tired.

He lazily leaned back on the sofa, his eyelashes slightly drooping, looking quiet and well-behaved, like a beautiful painting.

These were new Spirit Runes that Hilmeth had never seen before.

Hilmeth was greatly interested in these new Spirit Runes.

Curiously, he asked, "What are the functions of these Spirit Runes?"

Cang Cheng’s tone was light and cheerful, "Want to know? Let me touch your tail, and I’ll tell you. How about it?"

Hilmeth pressed his lips together, naturally unwilling to agree.