The seabed of Planet Ante holds mineral deposits exceedingly rare within the Great Solar System. Flipping through the manifest, one could identify over a dozen types of ores worth purchasing based on mineral content alone, and checking the prices—if all were converted to Songxing Coins—they were even lower than the prices for similar ores on Dishu!

Although these ores required orders exceeding one hundred billion Bante coins, payable only in equivalent advanced civilization currency, this condition presented no difficulty for Yang Ying. Converted to Songxing Coins, it amounted to a mere fifty million.

However, Yang Ying did not place an order. While the price itself was acceptable, it didn't eliminate other issues; the real problem was transportation.

One hundred billion Bante coins worth of ore, even when highly refined, would not shrink significantly in volume. Even if forged into blocks on-site, it would weigh several million tons and occupy hundreds of thousands of cubic meters.

The Jushou was a battleship, not a transport vessel. While moving ten thousand tons of material was not difficult for the Jushou, transporting several million tons exceeded its capacity.

As Yang Ying pondered, he glanced at Pipinav and had an idea, asking, "Pipinav, these ores here are in quantities of millions of tons. How do other advanced civilization races transport them after purchasing?"

"They hire transport companies, of course," Pipinav replied, slightly surprised by Yang Ying’s question. To him, this was common knowledge, known to everyone. He paused for a couple of seconds before answering, "With such advanced navigation technology among advanced civilizations, how could there be a lack of businesses dealing in logistics? Here, most people place their ore orders and then notify their civilization's transport company to ship the ore back. Doesn't that solve the problem?"

"I see," Yang Ying nodded, but this answer was useless to him. Earth did not yet have inter-stellar transport companies; if one existed, only he could operate it. While he possessed battleships capable of spatial jumps, he had never considered a dedicated transport vessel.

Upon returning this time, perhaps he should consider constructing a transport ship capable of spatial jumps to avoid this situation in the future.

As for the present, seeing a massive resource array before him, Yang Ying was unwilling to give it up.

"All I need is a transport company. If Earth doesn't have one, can't I hire someone else's? Hmm, the Songxing people would be good. They must have established routes to Earth, and since they handle the transport for a fee, it's a commercial transaction. No one owes anyone anything." Yang Ying made his decision, placed orders with several ore merchants, and arranged to view the goods upstairs later.

Yang Ying browsed for a moment longer when there was a brief knock at the door. Several Ghost Agents quietly assumed defensive positions, but Yang Ying waved them down, signaling no need for concern.

Pipinav went to open the door and found the very same intermediaries from earlier. He stepped out to speak with them briefly and returned with a look of delight. "Esteemed guest, I have wonderful news! A batch of Guluo Grass has just been listed. Because of this, the trade center has decided to hold an auction, which you absolutely must not miss!"

"Oh, Guluo Grass? What is that?" Yang Ying asked.

"A spice! You have come to Planet Ante and never heard of Guluo Grass?" Pipinav’s eyes widened in utter astonishment.

Seeing his expression, Yang Ying knew Guluo Grass must be something extremely famous, and he appeared somewhat provincial.

Since Yang Ying was an honored guest from an advanced civilization, Pipinav did not pry further, assuming Yang Ying and his party had traveled from afar and simply hadn't heard of Guluo Grass. He explained seriously, "Guluo Grass is an herb that grows in the deep seas of Planet Ante. It carries a wondrous and peculiar fragrance—you wouldn't find a second like it in the entire Orion Arm. It is the most highly sought-after product on Planet Ante, ranking third among the top ten spices in the Orion Arm! This top-tier spice is hard currency throughout the galaxy. If you visit Planet Ante and leave without taking some back, you will surely regret it later."

"Is that so?" Yang Ying flipped through his information terminal until he found the entry for Guluo Grass. The description explained that when burned, Guluo Grass emitted a dreamlike aroma that could calm the mind and greatly aid the cultivation of spiritual power, making efforts doubly effective. However, it concluded with a caveat: the effect was limited to Rank One and Rank Two practitioners; the aroma was ineffective on Rank Three masters.

"It can even aid in the cultivation of spiritual power?" Yang Ying raised an eyebrow.

"It only helps in calming the mind and reaching a better state of focus; it doesn't increase spiritual power just by smelling it." Although Pipinav had not awakened his spiritual power, he clearly knew a great deal about Guluo Grass. "In fact, many top-tier spices have this effect. Guluo Grass's effect is just slightly stronger, and it only assists in the quantitative increase of spiritual power. As for qualitative change, that still depends on one's own training. Many people value Guluo Grass not for its cultivation benefits, but for that dreamlike fragrance. Many wealthy individuals who don't practice cultivation often use the scent of Guluo Grass to adorn their rooms."

Yang Ying looked at the price listing for Guluo Grass. It stated that it was awaiting auction.

"The auction starts in half an hour. The news has been disseminated to all intermediaries, and eligible bidding clients will soon gather here," Pipinav said. "Ji Fu Bai Xiao Xian early, let's go now. The auction hall is on the B1 level. If we arrive early, we can secure a good private box; if we are late, I fear all the boxes will be taken."

Yang Ying considered this, exchanged a look with Katerina, and then smiled, "Then let's go. It’s a good opportunity to buy some to take back for Bai Bai to use."

The group proceeded to the next floor. At the entrance to the auction hall, few people had arrived yet. Pipinav stepped forward, exchanged a few words with several Octopods, and swiftly completed all the necessary procedures for using a private box. Then, one of the Octopods led the party to the door of Box Number Eighteen. Yang Ying glanced around and noticed there were only twenty boxes in total, meaning if they had been slightly later, the boxes would have been gone.

Entering the box, they were confronted by a large pane of one-way glass, allowing those inside the box to see out, while preventing anyone outside from seeing in. The auction hall lay outside the box.

They waited a while longer, observing the crowds gathering in the hall below. Many people, having heard about the Guluo Grass auction, had swarmed to the venue. However, since the private boxes were already occupied, many advanced civilization races were crowded into the main auction hall, bustling shoulder-to-shoulder—quite lively indeed.

Pipinav took the opportunity to briefly explain the Bante Planet auction process, noting it was similar to Earth's, involving competitive bidding with a minimum increment established for each round.

When the auction time arrived, an Octopod auctioneer pushed a small cart to the stage. On the cart rested ten small containers, each no larger than a palm. The auctioneer carefully opened one, and an ethereal fragrance immediately wafted out, drifting toward the audience. Several aliens from advanced civilizations in the front rows seemed momentarily entranced.

As the scent continued to spread, even Yang Ying in his box caught a trace of it. Indeed, the subtle fragrance was unique, impossible to describe with mere words, yet it was invigorating. This was before it was even lit, and according to Pipinav, the effect compared to its scent when ignited was incomparable.

At this point, the auctioneer felt the aroma had permeated the entire hall, achieving his objective. He resealed the container and then used highly evocative language to highlight the unique qualities of the Guluo Grass, emphasizing that this was a rare opportunity—the next batch wouldn't arrive for at least a month—and urging them not to be frugal in their bidding, thereby whipping the crowd into a frenzy. He then announced that the current batch of Guluo Grass would be divided into ten portions for separate auction. Yang Ying quickly calculated the total weight to be roughly equivalent to two kilograms on Earth.

"That little?" Yang Ying asked Pipinav.

"Did you think Guluo Grass was abundant? If it weren't for its rarity, how could it attract so much competition?" Pipinav had a look of utter common sense.

"First portion. Starting bid: ten million Bante coins. Minimum increment: one million. Payment must be made in equivalent advanced civilization currency! Bidding starts now!" the auctioneer boomed.

"Twenty million!" Someone immediately doubled the starting price.

Yang Ying commented, "The starting price is only fifty thousand Songxing Coins—that’s quite cheap."

"Based on past experience, you won't secure any portion without two million Songxing Coins, which is four hundred million Bante coins," Pipinav laughed. "This is also one of Planet Ante’s most vital sources of foreign exchange income, as major clients like yourself do not appear frequently."

The price began to skyrocket wildly.

"Fifty million!"

"One hundred million!"

"One hundred twenty million!"

"One hundred fifty million!"

"Two hundred million!"

It was as if the currency of Planet Ante were worthless paper; the advanced civilization races shouted out huge figures without hesitation.

"Four hundred million!" This voice came from the box adjacent to Yang Ying's.

The atmosphere in the auction hall instantly stiffened; they hadn't expected the price to reach four hundred million so quickly.

"Any other bids? Four hundred million, offered by the guest in Box Seventeen! Are there any others?!" the auctioneer roared. "Four hundred million, once! Four hundred million, twice!"

"Four hundred ten million!" Another box called out.

"Excellent! Box Six bids four hundred ten million! Any further bids?!" The auctioneer surveyed the room. "The dreamlike Guluo Grass, ranked third among the top-tier spices in the entire Orion Arm, now at four hundred ten million!"

"Four hundred twenty million!" This time, it was Box Ten.

"Four hundred thirty million!" Box Seventeen continued its bid.

"Four hundred thirty-one million!" Box Six immediately followed suit.

However, it was clear neither side wanted to drive the price too high on the very first lot, potentially affecting the remaining nine portions. After Box Six placed its bid, silence descended.

"Four hundred thirty-one million. Any other bids?" The auctioneer clearly wanted to push the price as high as possible. After delaying for a while, he called out, "Once. Twice..."

"Four hundred forty million!" Yang Ying bid from Box Eighteen. If you wish to know what happens next, please log in at , for more chapters, support the author, and support genuine reading! This site's newly drawn earth giant beauty has been changed to: Rib muscle Shan is kindly invited to read!