985 The Strong Are Still Strong

The auctioneer laughed out loud. "The starting bid is 500 Star Coins. Okay, begin…"

At that moment, Carolyn's entire body was trembling. Her eyes were filled with uncontrollable despair.

She had spent two years in the divine territory. The favored girl who was once high above the masses had put down her self-esteem. She had thought about suicide. She was not afraid of dying, but the last bit of pride in her heart stopped her. Even if she died, she could not die for nothing like this. Suicide was the weakest thing she could do.

After spending two years here, Carolyn was very clear about what kind of place the slave market was. Now that she was under the control of a slave vendor, she did not even have the chance to kill herself. At that moment, the strange-looking and disgusting alien races were drooling over her and expressed great interest in mating. Carolyn felt disgusted and wanted to vomit, but she was filled, even more, with despair and remorse.

She was done for. The Star Alliance was not a heaven. At least to the humans from the Holy City, it definitely wasn't. She closed her eyes in pain and hoped that this would end quickly so that she would not have to face this humiliation.

"I bid 1,000 Star Coins!"

Among the countless excited and noisy voices offstage, an unusual and unsociable voice was extremely ear-piercing. However, Carolyn felt that this voice was somewhat familiar. Furthermore, the words that she had heard gave her a pleasant surprise. She suddenly opened her eyes.

The noisy hall instantly fell silent, and everyone looked at this idiot. The beginning price was 500, but everyone had started to retreat. After all, this toy was only worth about 100 Star Coins. Her being worth 500 Star Coins was simply a joke.

Meanwhile, it was as if Carolyn had been struck by lightning. Ever since she had been captured, she had never shed a tear. However, she could not help but cry. She would never forget this voice even if she died… It was Wang Zhong.

Not so long ago, she was still a supreme being in the Federation. She remembered the small city of Tianjing, the gravity room, and the reckless student… The person had liked her but slipped past because of her ambition…

Not so long ago, everyone who entered the Star Alliance felt that even without Wang Zhong, they could lead the Earth to the top. However, Carolyn saw everyone she knew fall from disappointment to despair.

He was here.

The next moment, Carolyn finally reacted. She could not let him see her in such a shameful state… Just as Carolyn turned her face away, her face was immediately pushed back by the wolf goblin. "Boss, you have good taste. 1,000! Is anyone going to quote a higher price? I have said that this is the best product. You can walk past, but you can't miss this!"

Just as he was about to open his mouth, he felt a massive pressure charging over. Before he could react, it was as if his head had been hit with a heavy hammer, and he fainted. The large black cow, who had appeared out of nowhere, lifted up Wang Zhong. "That doesn't count. This is my slave, and he is out of his mind. Damn! Basir, for this poor product, I will pay at most 50 Star Coins!"

Wolf goblin Basir looked vexed. Of course, he knew that "that idiot" did not have any money. He was probably trying to save his fellow people. Thus, Basir turned his trick against him and listed a high price.

"Old Cow, take care of your slave. I'm too lazy to make a fuss with you. If you're not buying, then go away!" The wolf goblin was unkind. Old Cow shrugged his shoulders, carried Wang Zhong, and walked away. The others started to laugh and point at Basir.

"50 Star Coins, no more. If you sell her to us, we will buy. If not, we will leave!" Someone started to shout.

Basir had a bitter expression on his face. 50 Star Coins would definitely not do as he had bought her for 200 Star Coins. He had been cheated. Damn, he definitely could not sell her at a low price. For now, he would tolerate it. He would eventually find a buyer.

…

The Heavenly River that flowed boundlessly connected the Heaven and the Land. The water that flowed down eventually formed hundreds of meandering rivers. The rich spiritual influence remained in the inner circle, with the Heavenly River at the center. However, waste materials that flowed from the Heaven along the Heavenly River passed through dozens of river branches and flowed into all corners of the Land.

The rich spiritual energy in the river valleys were not as thick as in the inner circle, but in general, the level of spiritual energy was between that of the middle circle and the outer circle. At certain points, special periods, or special environments, the level of spiritual energy could reach that of in the inner circle.

The lake boundary of the two rivers was a rather special place. The two torrential branches of the Heavenly River met here and formed a massive lake. Every 30 days, there would be a high tide period that lasted seven days, and the spiritual energy for where the two rivers met could then reach levels only found in the inner circle.

No matter how strong one was, the Heavenly River was fatal to even Foundational Stage beings. The beautiful Heavenly River that contained boundless energy brought about desire and nightmares. If one got too close to it, one would lose one's life. Furthermore, if one directly touched the Heavenly River, even if one touched the greatly weakened river flow, it would be like putting one's hand into molten iron that reached several thousand degrees Celsius. It would instantly turn into nothingness.

However, the universe was balanced. In the area surrounding the Heavenly River, the river sand that had transformed after soaking in the Heavenly River had become one of the most valuable materials in the Land. It could be used for elixirs, weapons, and so on. Of course, energy pieces could be extracted to form one of the materials for the star stone.

Thus, the fight between various civilizations was extremely brutal in the areas near the Heavenly River. The rules were jointly managed by the civilization alliance in the Land, but in reality, many areas were formed through unspoken rules or with brute force. They simply had to offer gifts to the "Land Alliance". After all, the strong occupied the inner circle, and the other lower-class civilizations had to have their share. This was balance.

The Two Rivers District was in the Spiritual Tide area. An association that was made up of 12 level-6 civilizations managed this area. Very few civilizations could monopolize this section.

Not only did the high tide period that came every 30 days maintain the operations of the Two Rivers District, the special Golden River Sand between the two rivers also attracted business. The golden sand was of rather high quality and contained special high-grade energy. It also looked luxurious and glistened. It was a natural material that could be used to make high-leveled jewelry and refined weapons.

The Heavenly River Sandpit was situated along the border of the Two Rivers District. Here, the threat that the Heavenly River posed to living beings was relatively lower. Of course, only races with powerful vitalities were suitable to live here.

On the long, empty shore along the river, several dozen massive sand-gathering machines that had been created by machinery races were at work. Their long automatic transmission belts extracted sand from the river bed in a continuous stream. Then, the sand passed through several refining machines before arriving at the sandpit behind.

In the sandpit, thousands of workers transported the sand like worker ants. These "sand workers" came from various races and had different physiques. A majority of them were from lower-class civilizations. In general, those who came here as sand workers often had no other way out or had been punished by the advanced civilizations. A small number of them were practitioners who lacked resources but could endure the radiation from the Heavenly River.

There were few oddballs like this, but they existed.

Under the supervision of a large and terrifying insect supervisor, the sand workers rapidly and neatly transported sand from the sandpit to the sand-cleaning machines in the distance. These black, square-shaped machines were also created by the machinery races. Large amounts of sand were poured into the machines and discharged after being filtered. Then, the sand workers would have to transport the waste materials to the landfill even farther away. Every now and then, people from the machinery race would come to collect the waste materials.

The sand workers did not rest, even for a moment. Under the supervision of the insect race, even the sand workers who often slacked off could only grit their teeth and bury themselves in work. An insect supervisor had compound eyes that could see 300 degrees around them, allowing them to supervise 100 sand workers closely without any blind spots. This was also one of the reasons why the insect race was one of the fundamental races in the Land. They were natural supervisors, information collectors, and professionals. At the same time, they were terrifying executors in a dimensional war.

To the sand workers, the supervisors were not scary. What was terrifying was the seemingly normal golden sand that concealed great danger. The energy radiation from the golden sand would corrode the bodies of the sand workers. Every sand worker had a work band on their arm. Not only did this band contain the individual serial number of the sand worker, it also acted as a rough estimate for the radiation that their bodies had accumulated. Green meant that they were safe, but when it turned yellow, it was a warning. A vast majority of the sand workers had yellow stamps. Once the yellow stamp turned red…

"Wa ah ah ah ah…"

Suddenly, they heard a fiery roar. In an instant, the orderly work system paused.

A member of the rock race with bulging muscles that looked like massive rocks was ripping his face apart. It looked as if his crude hands were about to break his own head. In reality, he flattened his head after some time, causing his mournful wails to grow weaker. However, his shriek became even more bone-chilling. All the sand workers that stared at him could clearly see the terrifying red band on his arm.

"Work! Work! Work!"

The insect supervisor roared angrily and stretched out its many limbs. A majority of them had more than four limbs, and each of their hands were holding a long whip. They waved the whip, and the whip crackled with electricity, hitting the bodies of the sand workers who had stopped working.

The sand workers immediately returned to their work posts. Their eyes were filled with uncontrollable uneasiness and helpless apathy. If they had a choice, they would not be willing to do this work. This was one of the few high-risk jobs in the divine territory, and the only benefit was being able to enjoy the thick spiritual energy during the high-tide period.

Today, there was another fool who did not realize that their body had reached the radiation limit. However, the rest of them were also risking their bodies right? The next to wail mournfully and lose themselves could be them.

However, they were helpless. According to the rules in the Two Rivers District, they could enjoy the burst of spiritual influence during the high-tide period only if they finished a certain number of work hours during that period!

Furthermore, everyone would typically almost reach their radiation limits while working during this period. They might make it for this month, but they might fail the next month because their condition was not good. The price of failure would be insanity, just like what they had seen just now! The energy radiation from the golden sand would affect the spirit first. If the radiation did not show any effects, one could rest and get rid of the radiation bit by bit. However, if there were effects, they would be irreversible for living beings unless an advanced civilization was willing to step in. But that was just like a cold joke.

However, there was someone who voluntarily came to do this detestable and problematic work. Furthermore, he was from a level-4 civilization.

In the Golden Sand Pub, Aiolos was biting on a steak of meat that was similar to beef. It was very similar in shape and taste, but Aiolos was sure that it was definitely not beef steak. After all, the boss of the pub was a male tauren.

The goblins had a wide range of influence in the Land. If free beings were willing to become sand workers, the rewards were not bad. However, Aiolos did not have any savings and spent whatever he had. He was not cheated to work here either. He took one month to understand the basic situation in the divine territory. Then, he came here and had been working here for two years. To the sand workers, Aiolos was rather well-known. He was a legend as a free being had never been able to last this long.

At this moment, the cow goblin boss was looking at Aiolos affectionately. Her thick, red lips occasionally broke out in an awkward smile. She almost could not keep in the saliva that vigorously secreted from her mouth.

Meanwhile, Aiolos was sitting beside a Titan from a respected level-7 aristocrat civilization!

The cow goblin was evidently overflowing with love. "Aiolos must be the strongest human. Even though his strength is still in the Middle Foundational Stage, Aiolos is completely different from other humans. He will definitely become a great figure in the future."

He would be able to become a great figure even in the Foundational Stage.

This female cow was very sure! After all, even that Titan was willing to be friends with him. This was the best proof. Furthermore, he was a genius who could complete all his work in just 10 days. When the radiation from the golden sand shone on his body, it was as if the radiation did not remain on his body. The work band on his arm was always in the safe green color and had never turned into the warning yellow color. If this kind of physique could be passed down to her offspring… Saliva spilled out from the corners of her lips, as if floodwaters had been released.

Clang clang clang…

The door of the pub was pushed open, and a group of fatigued sand workers, who had just finished work, streamed in. This annoyed the female cow, Sinsai. She pouted and had no choice but to get to work. The pub did not just sell alcohol and food but also a special soup blend that could get rid of radiation. The sand workers received high salaries, but no one had ever heard of a sand worker becoming wealthy. Their difficult jobs caused them to invest their money in their daily lives.

Thus, restraint was a wild wish for them.

Silver electric Titan Tsarilorhuan looked out of the corner of his eye and saw that Sinsai was no longer staring at Aiolos. Then, he laughed and said to Aiolos, "Aiolos, to be honest, Sinsai is a good girl. You have also been here for over a year. It's time for you to follow local customs. In Sinsai's hometown, she is a top beauty. Look at her buttocks and her waist. They are of the same thickness. Don't you think that her physique is very bewitching?"

Aiolos finished his last bite and looked up at Tsarilorhuan. The silver electric Titan's hair was like silver electricity and had shockingly powerful currents running through. Titans looked extremely similar to humans, but there was a cloud of electricity in their silver eyes, a special characteristic of the Titans. They could shoot electricity from their eyes and actually kill you with a gaze. However, there was a malicious glimmer in this one's eyes. He definitely did not have good intentions.

However, Aiolos was already used to it. He wiped his mouth and fought back. "Tsari, I still prefer Titan women. We've talked about this. So, when are you introducing your little sister to me?"

"Go away. How dare someone as insignificant as you have plans to approach my little sister? When she transforms, you won't even be able to reach her knees!" Tsarilorhuan laughed as he scolded Aiolos. Titans, who were three meters tall on average, could reach terrifying heights of above 10 meters when they transformed in battle. "However, if you can advance beyond the Foundational Stage, that is not impossible. With your disposition and looks, you can become her male companion."

Aiolos could only express his acceptance. Then, he invited the silver light Titan to drink. "Tsari, you are too dirty now."

In the past, Tsarilorhuan would have definitely killed Aiolos if he made jokes about his little sister. Now, he even made jokes about finding a handsome male companion for his sister.

"In human words, one who stays near black gets stained black."

"One who stays near ink gets stained black. How about I write a letter to your little sister about this?"

"Can you afford the postage to Titan?" Tsarilorhuan laughed. He did not seem to be flustered.

This was a combination of a human and a Titan, an extremely awkward combination.

Humans were extremely weak, and almost everyone who knew about this race would break into laughter. They were a bottom-class civilization that had blended into the Star Alliance with their celestialoid appearance. Those who knew about humans generally agreed that humans were only suitable for decoration. Allowing them to join the Star Alliance was a more peaceful way to exploit their potential. This was not the first time the Star Alliance had used this method. Once the resources on Earth and in the Holy Land had been fully exploited, they would lose their value. Most importantly, this was what humans wanted.

The methods used by the advanced civilizations were very complex.

Meanwhile, the Titan race was a top level-7 civilization, while the silver electricity Titans were top beings among the Titans as they could naturally control electricity. They were aristocrats in the Star Alliance. In the Land, even the weakest Titan could not be looked down upon easily.

However, the sand workers in the pub were already used to him. In reality, the only person who could make friends with Tsarilorhuan was this human called Aiolos.

In general, humans were weak, extremely weak. However, Aiolos was extremely strong. He might only be in the Middle Foundational Stage, but his talent and potential caused many geniuses from level-5 civilizations, or even level-6 civilizations, to sigh.

It was said that sand was refined by waves, just like how real gold was refined by fire. In the Heavenly River Sandpit, one's resistance to the energy radiation from the golden sand was the most direct way of determining one's talent and strength. This was the reality. Regardless of race or civilizational level, only power could win the respect of those on the boundary between life and death.

Tsari had come here for committing an offense, but the strong bodies of the Titans could resist the radiation here. However, Tsari did not plan to actually work as a sand worker. Naturally, he used his strength to force people to work for him. No one dared to oppose him, as those who had opposed him were beaten up until they were half dead. Getting injured in this kind of place was extremely dangerous.

He had thought that everything was going smoothly but never expected that a lower class civilization would dare to mess with him. That was Aiolos.

Aiolos could not defeat Tsari, but Tsari did not dare to kill Aiolos either. He was already in trouble, but if he killed a free being for no reason, he would be in even more, and his enemies would definitely attack him when he was down. He did not want to spend the rest of his life in this terrible place.

He thought that Aiolos would understand after teaching him a lesson, but Aiolos had unbelievable recovery abilities. Even though he was half dead after their fight on the first day, he came back on the second day and on the third day. After fighting for a week, Tsari gave in.

They would not have known each other if they had not fought. Furthermore, with Tsari's discernment, he believed that this mere human was not a mediocre person.