Starlight of the Apocalypse

After Yuwang learned the basic uses of the Space Magic Wand, Princess Thaisis and her attendants left Blackstone City. Yuwang returned to the restaurant to find his companions. As soon as he entered, he saw that the table was piled high with plates and cups. Though the table wasn't big, it certainly couldn't hold up the stack. He couldn't help but pat the pouch of coins in his backpack.

"Finally decided to come back, huh? I thought you were going to pay for our dinner too, burp~~" Ber Yi said, letting out a contented burp.

Yuwang felt a little embarrassed. Normally, social duties were done as a courtesy, and each district had agencies that distributed living supplies and food according to a plan. The government only provided a small symbolic subsidy. In other words, Yuwang was really poor, and this meal would probably cost most of his savings.

"Don't worry, if it comes down to it, you can just pawn the treasure the princess gave you, and show us first!" Sophia joked.

"Boss, check please!" Yuwang said helplessly. Having grown up with nothing but his parents' gifts, he'd never received something so valuable from anyone else. Thaisis had given him such a precious magical artifact, and he'd been planning to save up to buy her a gift in return—but it seemed that would take even longer now.

The restaurant owner, who had been worried these young folks might be eating for free after ordering so many expensive dishes, immediately smiled and brought over the bill as soon as he heard "check please." "Young master, your total comes to one gold coin and five tin coins, but we'll just round it up for you!"

"What? This expensive?" Ber Yi jumped up. Though he wanted to enjoy a lavish meal, he had grown up with Yuwang and knew how little money he had. This price wasn't just a hit—it was like bleeding out!

The restaurant owner's expression darkened. "Didn't you look at the prices when you ordered? You have good taste, all of them are ancient vegetables from the surface, and camel meat—those are practically extinct except in the Oasis! If I hadn't seen this young master perform so well this morning, I would've charged you the full VIP price, and it would have been more than this!"

"Boss, cut us some slack. We're all students!" Sophia and Chang Xi joined in the bargaining.

Yuwang took out his coin pouch, dumped it on the empty table nearby, and started counting. There were a lot of tin coins, mixed with a small amount of silver. He counted, and there were eight silver coins, and the tin coins were over two hundred. After paying, he really didn't have much left.

As the main eater in the group, Ber Yi felt a bit embarrassed. "Uh... let's all pitch in!" He pulled out three silver coins. "I spend a lot usually, so this is all I have left!"

Since they were on an official assignment, Sophia and Chang Xi hadn't brought any money with them.

Yuwang patted Ber Yi on the shoulder, took the silver coins, and handed ten silver coins to the owner.

The restaurant was near the square, and soon the announcement for the afternoon event rang out. Mahamoud sent someone to invite Yuwang to the podium.

Yuwang took his three companions to the podium. After briefly introducing them to the vice-chairman, Mahamoud arranged for them to sit in the guest section of the audience.

In the afternoon, the winners from the districts competed for the final two Blackstone City "Emissary" spots, with Bing Pi among the contenders.

After intense competition, Bing Pi and another contestant from a district, a bioroid called "Fan Zi," won the honor. Mahamoud invited Yuwang to join him in presenting the honor medals to the winners. The two bioroids would wait for the guards from Kedu, who were responsible for escorting all the city's "Emissaries" to the Holy City of the Gods.

Once the competition ended, Mahamoud told Yuwang that he would have the captain heading to Eagle Eye City handle his assignment. As a special envoy designated by the princess, Yuwang needed to travel to the Winter City to participate in their selection tournament.

Before Yuwang left, Mahamoud awarded him the Blackstone City Honor Medal and gave him a bag of gold coins as a reward on behalf of the city. He also offered to send a guard unit to escort him to Winter City, but Yuwang declined. The vice-chairman understood that while Winter City was a bit far from Blackstone City, the route lay within the Alliance's territory and was relatively safe, so he didn't insist.

Because of the time crunch, after enjoying the dinner Mahamoud had arranged for them, the group left the city and set off for Winter City.

As they exited the council hall, Ber Yi rubbed his belly and said, "Today, I think I've eaten every good thing I'll ever have in my life. What more could I want?"

"Wow, your life goals are just too easy to achieve," Sophia teased with a laugh.

Ber Yi chuckled and turned to Yuwang. "Quick, let's see how much the city gave you in prize money!" His eyes sparkled with greed.

"You fool! There are people everywhere on the streets, let's wait until we're out of the city to look!" Sophia lightly tapped Ber Yi on the head, then turned to Yuwang. "Let me see the treasure the princess gave you later!"

... The four of them laughed and talked, and before long, they had left the city.

Leaving the underground city behind, the group made a brief stop by Mirror Moon Lake to rest. Yuwang sat under a poplar tree, staring absentmindedly at the lake.

Without any hesitation, Ber Yi and Sophia grabbed his backpack, rummaging through it. One pulled out the coin pouch, the other the magic staff.

They both exclaimed, "Wow!" in unison, startling Yuwang and Chang Xi, who had been lost in thought.

"My goodness, Yuwang, you've netted a big fish with this! There's at least a hundred gold coins here! The vice-chairman is generous!" Ber Yi said, counting with excitement.

"Such a beautiful staff! What material is this made of? Especially the gem on top—this is probably rarer than anything even the Kedu nobles have!" Sophia exclaimed.

Yuwang was also happy to count the gold coins along with Ber Yi, but he heard him muttering, "Over a hundred coins! I'm starting to reconsider my options... from now on, I'm sticking with you, Yuwang, bro!" He even mimicked Chang Xi's tone, and Yuwang kicked him in the leg and said, "Go away!"

Meanwhile, Chang Xi had joined Sophia to admire the magic staff.

After counting the gold coins, Yuwang had exactly one hundred coins. He took one and handed it to Ber Yi, saying, "This is for you. Don't pester me anymore, I'm determined in my choices too!"

"Yuwang, show us how the staff works!" Chang Xi nudged him with her shoulder.

"Yeah, Yuwang!" Ber Yi squeezed up beside him, almost knocking him over.

Yuwang quickly stepped aside, shaking off his shoulder, and said, "If you come any closer, don't expect any more free meals!"

This made the food-loving Ber Yi immediately behave.

Yuwang tilted his head and thought for a moment. He remembered a story his mother once told him about a mighty monkey king, so he grabbed the staff and quickly waved it in the air, muttering to himself, "Big, bigger still… bigger…"

The three of them stared in astonishment as Yuwang grew taller, surpassing the height of the poplar tree. He finally became as tall as the dunes, but just then, he glanced at the distance and began running with his massive form...