In truth, Gu Jiaqi could not quite appreciate the beauty of these pieces of jewelry. In Gu Jiaqi’s aesthetic sense, simplicity, elegance, and a sense of strength were what made something fashionable. The glittering jewelry and goldware in this bag looked soft and delicate, easily broken and utterly useless.
But this was merely her personal opinion. In reality, retro styles were very popular in the interstellar era. Goldware was indeed not rare, and jewelry was not particularly difficult to obtain, but these antiquated, classical designs were far more valuable.
The current Empire could naturally replicate almost anything, but no matter how advanced its replication technology was, some craftsmanship and aesthetics could never be perfectly reproduced.
Not to mention the ancient cultures that had been buried beneath the endless currents of history.
Therefore, when Gu Jiaqi looked at this bag of jewelry, her eyes truly lit up.
However, the bizarre outfits of the two people before her made this bag of jewelry seem somewhat illegal. The corner of Gu Jiaqi’s mouth twitched, and she could not help asking, “Have you always wrapped yourselves in this much black cloth to protect yourselves from zombies?”
“That’s right,” Zhou Qi said. “Not just zombies, but mutated beasts and mutated plants as well. Sometimes, even the slightest patch of exposed skin can become a target for their attacks. We don’t have many defensive items, so we have no choice but to use this crude method.”
Lulu added from the side, “Those white people at their base all have gas masks and things like that. At the very least, they have masks. They’re all made by enslaving Asian and Black people.”
Hearing them bring up this matter again, Gu Jiaqi’s expression darkened. It was not because she sympathized deeply with Zhou Qi and the others. It was simply the indignation of someone of Asian descent who could empathize with what they had experienced.
“If you need me to help you deal with those white people, I’m willing to help.” Gu Jiaqi’s voice was not particularly loud, but Zhou Qi and Lulu could both tell that she was serious.
Zhou Qi chuckled. “Thank you, but I don’t plan on provoking them for the time being. After all, our team only has a dozen or so people, and we don’t even have a safe place to stay. It really isn’t suitable for us to confront them head-on.”
At this point, Gu Jiaqi suddenly asked, “You can enter too? I thought the probability of being able to enter this black hole was relatively low.”
Zhou Qi nodded. “All of the dozen or so people in our group can see this black hole, but we haven’t tried to see whether we can actually enter it.”
Of course you haven’t, Gu Jiaqi thought. You’ve only come here to steal potatoes twice.
Zhou Qi handed the bag in his hand to Gu Jiaqi. “Here are another 800 crystal cores we picked out. We’ll find a way to gather the rest.”
Gu Jiaqi accepted the crystal cores. These would be an important source of energy for her planet.
As for the bag of jewelry, Gu Jiaqi accepted that as well. However, she was not the type to take advantage of others. Gu Jiaqi took two boxes of pork from her space, something that had been giving her quite a headache. She did not know how to cook it herself, and she did not dare sell it, so she might as well give it to them. At least that way, it would not go to waste.
“This is some pork. How about I use it to trade for your jewelry?” There was more than a hundred pounds of pork. Gu Jiaqi felt that it was more than enough to trade for these retro pieces of jewelry. Besides, given how scarce supplies were on their side, they probably rarely got to eat meat. These pieces of jewelry that could neither be eaten nor drunk might actually be a burden to them.
Sure enough, Lulu exchanged an excited glance with Zhou Qi and hurriedly nodded.
“Sure, sure!” This was practically the same as having a meat pie fall from the sky!
However, the two of them discussed it and ultimately decided to take only one box back.
Zhou Qi said, “After all, we don’t have a refrigerator, and we’ve already given you all the ice-type crystal cores we had. There’s no way for us to preserve it. We don’t even have enough salt, so we can’t pickle it either. Could you keep it for us for the time being?”
What a miserable life…
“What color are ice-type crystal cores?” Gu Jiaqi rummaged through the bag in her hand, deciding to give them some back for the time being.
Unexpectedly, Zhou Qi was very firm. He had no intention of taking back the crystal cores he had just given away.
“It’s like this. We’re planning to move our home to the area beside the black hole. We used to live on the other side of the city, but for the sake of making life more convenient in the future, we’ve all agreed that we should move.”
Originally, every round trip required them to be careful of all kinds of zombies and mutated beasts. They also had no convenient means of transportation, so every additional trip carried enormous risks. Therefore, it would be better to wait until they had moved before bringing the pork over.
Gu Jiaqi nodded in understanding. Right now, this black hole was like a source of water in the desert. It was perfectly normal for humans to migrate here.
At this point, she suddenly remembered something. “Captain Zhou, there’s something I forgot to tell you. This black hole may shrink or even disappear.”
Gu Jiaqi told Zhou Qi that the black hole could be affected by negative mental power, in other words, emotions, and that it could shrink rapidly as a result. The news left Zhou Qi and Lulu, who was standing beside him, extremely shocked.
The black hole absolutely could not be allowed to disappear!
For the people of the Desert Plane, the black hole was undoubtedly a lifeline. The news Gu Jiaqi had brought them only strengthened their determination to move here. And the sooner, the better!
The two of them wore solemn expressions, and in the end, they did not even take the box of pork with them. They were going back to start moving immediately!
Seeing the two of them about to leave in such a flurry, Gu Jiaqi hesitated for a moment before calling them back. She took out a handcart she had used as a child from her spatial chip. This handcart was no ordinary handcart. It could carry more than three tons of cargo, yet it required almost no effort to push.
Gu Jiaqi was still being cautious. After all, she was not familiar with this apocalyptic team at all, and there was no way she would decide to help them move. But she could still lend them a handcart.
She taught Zhou Qi how to use the handcart. After sincerely thanking her, the two of them left. With the entire afternoon still ahead of them, perhaps they would have time to make two trips.
Watching the entrance of the black hole become empty once again, Gu Jiaqi weighed the bag of crystal cores in her hand before turning around and leaving.
After returning to the house, Gu Jiaqi went upstairs to check on Xiaoshu. She had already arranged all the toys, and Xiaoshu was playing with them now.
Gu Jiaqi watched for a while and somehow felt that something was wrong. Oh, playing alone really was too lonely…
She went online on StarNet to take a look, and sure enough, there were companion robots. Gu Jiaqi had already bought Xiaoshu a bodyguard robot before. Buying another robot to play with her was not unreasonable, right?
Fortunately, companion robots were currently on sale. One only cost 3,888 star coins. Gu Jiaqi placed an order without hesitation. After all, she was not short of crystal cores now.
…
“Little A, come here!” Gu Jiaqi was terrible at naming things. She named her robots according to the alphabet, and she had just reached Little U. Naturally, she would have even more robots later, at which point she would simply call them One, Two, Three, Four.
After Little A came over, Gu Jiaqi glanced at the energy level displayed on his chest. It was actually still full…
These crystal cores were way too powerful. No wonder those zombies could still move even after they had already died like that. It turned out that these crystal cores were essentially the energy source of a perpetual-motion machine.
She vaguely felt that she might have gotten her hands on an enormous treasure. She carefully put away all the crystal cores. Just as she was preparing to sell these retro pieces of jewelry as well, her mind was suddenly filled with the sound of alarms.
Were there new arrivals again?
Gu Jiaqi walked to the entrance and looked up. She was stunned.
From far away, she could already see a beautiful woman appearing at the entrance of the black hole.
The thing was, Gu Jiaqi had excellent eyesight, and her house itself was built directly opposite the black hole. With one glance, she could see that the person who had been unexpectedly caught by the robots at the entrance was a beautiful woman wearing a goose-yellow gauze dress.
Moreover, this beauty seemed almost boneless. Even though she was struggling desperately, she could not break free despite only one robot holding both of her arms. Gu Jiaqi secretly calculated that even if four robots restrained her, she could still fling all four machines away without changing her expression. From this, the difference between this beauty’s physical strength and Gu Jiaqi’s could be clearly seen.
Thinking this, Gu Jiaqi had already reached the entrance of the black hole. “Bring her over.”
At her command, the robot mercilessly dragged the beauty over to her.
Gu Jiaqi carefully admired the beauty. She truly had never seen anyone this beautiful before. It was not that her facial features were exceptionally striking, but rather that her bearing was extraordinarily eye-catching.
She was somewhat like a fairy from a mythological tale.
“Miss, I mean you no harm. I am merely curious about what this black passage is. Could you please ask your guard to release me?”
The beauty was probably feeling somewhat uncomfortable from being gripped by the robot’s mechanical hands. She looked at Gu Jiaqi pitifully and pleaded.
Gu Jiaqi blinked. “Release her. Go back and stand guard.”
She had never intended to keep holding her anyway. Everyone had an appreciation for beauty, and this beauty was clearly a delicate person, so of course she could not be too rough with her. She was simply afraid that if she let her get too close to the black hole, the woman might run away, which was why she had ordered the robot to drag her farther away.
“Thank you, Miss.”
After the robot released her, the little fairy straightened her clothes and smoothed her hair. The expression on her face also returned to calm.
“My name is Gu Jiaqi. May I ask your name?”
Gu Jiaqi looked at the yellow gauze dress the young woman was wearing, somewhat puzzled. The style of the dress was quite novel, but the way she spoke was so formal and old-fashioned that she sounded like someone from ancient times. Gu Jiaqi could not quite determine which era this person had come from.
Hearing Gu Jiaqi introduce herself first, the woman in yellow smiled faintly. “My name is Qin Ruyue. I am from the Great Xing Dynasty.”
The Great Xing Dynasty? Another place she had never heard of… At least Gu Jiaqi could now confirm that this fairy really was an ancient person.
“May I ask, Miss, is this place an immortal paradise?” Qin Ruyue turned around and looked around her, her eyes filled with wonder.
What did it feel like when a fairy asked you whether this place was an immortal paradise?
Miss Gu was deeply ashamed.
“Uh, it’s not an immortal paradise. It’s just another world.”
Qin Ruyue looked at the unusually clear stars overhead. In the distance, there were also two enormous blue planets. She had never seen such a magnificent sight before.
She even suspected that she was dreaming.
“As Buddhism says, there are three thousand great thousand worlds in existence. It seems that the saying is indeed true.” Her voice was soft and sweet, and Gu Jiaqi found it extremely pleasant to listen to. In all the time her black hole had been open, apart from Xiaoshu, Qin Ruyue was the visitor who had surprised her the most.
“That’s right. It’s like that.”
Qin Ruyue lowered her head and uttered a soft sound. When she spoke again, there was actually a hint of tears in her voice. “There are three thousand worlds, yet is there truly no place for me to stay?”
Gu Jiaqi suddenly felt at a loss for words.
Qin Ruyue raised her tearful face and looked at Gu Jiaqi. “Miss Gu, I have a small, presumptuous request…”