Chapter 134: First Trade at the Centauri Outpost

Year 210 of the Human Federation.

Within the orbital path of the only planet around Alpha Centauri.

The space city built to serve as a trade hub was barely half complete.

Even so, it was already open for preliminary use.

On this day, over a hundred ships formed a convoy and slowly docked here.

It was a fleet from the Xitoris Kingdom, led by Tuoba himself.

However, due to a rule Lin Yu had established—no non-Federation warships allowed entry—

And because the Federation had promised security for all civilizations that came here,

Tuoba wasn’t able to bring his colossal warship and had to come on a merchant ship with the rest of the convoy.

As for safety, he wasn’t worried in the slightest.

After all, a promise from a Tier 3 civilization carried real weight.

This merchant convoy was actually run by Tuoba’s own family. Usually, they followed behind the Second Pioneer Fleet, so this wasn’t an official merchant group from the Xitoris Kingdom.

After all, the Xitoris Kingdom stretched over 30 light-years and held 47 star systems.

Even if Tuoba reported what was happening here to the authorities, it would take at least three to five years before a government convoy could be organized.

This gap was the perfect window for Tuoba’s family merchants to act as middlemen and make an absolute fortune.

It’s well known—the first group to trade with a new civilization always reaps the biggest rewards.

A new civilization means a treasure trove of things no one’s ever seen before.

Unknown equals fresh, and fresh means huge profits!

This rule still held true, even in the age of interstellar travel.

Once the ships settled, Tuoba strode steadily down the ramp, greeted by Violet—the chieftain of Emeraldshade Forest, one of the Elves’ four great tribes.

Nowadays, the Elves staffed nearly every area of the space city that served as the trade hub.

Of course, each of them had received comprehensive training and now worked as qualified salespeople.

At the same time, Mu Qingxue had promised the Elves a 5% commission on every order they facilitated here.

Don’t underestimate 5%—that could be a staggering amount.

Relying solely on tourism back in Elphoria, it would take a hundred years of hard work to earn what they’d make in sales commissions here in just a single year.

After a quick discussion, the chieftains of the four tribes agreed to the opportunity and sent Violet herself to oversee everything.

As a result, there were tens of thousands of Elf girls present right now.

Another thirty thousand or so were also on hand, each with at least half a year of rigorous sales training—real professionals.

“Chieftain Violet, it’s been a year since our last trade negotiation.”

Tuoba was noticeably more relaxed around Violet than he ever was with Lin Yu.

After all, Lin Yu represented a Tier 3 civilization, while Violet was only head of a subordinate civilization. He and Violet were equals.

So naturally, he spoke much more casually.

Not to mention, it hadn’t literally been a year. Now that every Tier 2 civilization had translation devices,

No matter what time standard you used, the sound coming out of your mouth was converted to the listener’s language and time frame.

Conversations flowed smoother than ever.

“Indeed. We’ve been preparing nonstop, and some goods are ready to be traded. But there are many categories that need more time—especially Federation products, which take quite a while to ship in.”

Tuoba nodded at her reply.

That made sense. Their own territory stretched across 30-plus light-years; how big would a Tier 3 civilization like the Federation be?

Even if their ships were way faster, it still took time to cross tens, even dozens, of light-years…

So delays were perfectly understandable.

Following Violet’s lead, Tuoba began touring the various exhibition halls.

Every section was packed with goods on display, many of which you could sample or test.

“What’s all this?”

In the beverage area, Tuoba looked at the items before him, genuinely surprised.

Everything here was nothing like the wines and drinks he’d tried just before.

“This is tea. Brewed with a special method, it’s packed with antioxidants, refreshes the mind, aids digestion, boosts immunity, greatly strengthens the body—even extends your lifespan.”

Violet explained with a smile, then gestured for one of the Elven tea specialists to demonstrate the brewing process.

Tuoba was absolutely floored.

Greatly strengthen the body? Extend your lifespan?

Was she for real?

Was this stuff really that incredible?

Believe it or not, Violet wasn’t making things up—this tea came from plants grown on Proxima Centauri V, then harvested and processed with care.

It truly could strengthen the body and even extend lifespans, and it worked on all carbon-based lifeforms.

In fact, most products in this display area had similarly impressive effects.

The secret was…

Air on Proxima Centauri V contained a unique element—a trace amount, less than 0.001%, but a big deal for every animal and plant there.

Which meant that tea trees grown on Proxima Centauri V absorbed it too.

That said, the real effect wasn’t as miraculous as it sounded. Unless you’d been evolving on Proxima Centauri V for tens of thousands of years like the local fauna…

Even drinking this tea every day of your life would only add three to five percent to your lifespan and slightly improve your health.

As for Violet’s claims of dramatic improvement…

Well, what salesperson hasn’t hyped up their product?

And as for the real reason, Violet had no intention of telling Tuoba about Proxima Centauri V. She only claimed it was all the result of Federation bioengineering technology.

That made Tuoba respect the Federation even more.

He knew that gene technology to boost health and longevity did exist in the Milky Way.

But…

Only Tier 4 civilizations had access to that tech, and they kept it strictly internal—never sharing with lower civilizations.

Plus, gene serum made by Tier 4 societies only worked for their own kind, whereas this tea benefited all carbon-based species.

That was seriously impressive.

Tuoba’s eyes sparkled as he watched the Elven tea-maker begin the brewing process.

Elegant…

Utterly elegant.

Who would’ve thought making tea could have so many steps, so many rituals—even each movement was impossibly refined.

Mystery solved—this must be a high-society drink within the Federation.

After all, only the elite go out of their way to complicate the simple just to show off their status.

To him, even the most delicious wines and liquors he’d sampled earlier couldn’t come close to the value of this tea.

He took a cup and took a tentative sip.

A burst of tea fragrance exploded on his tongue, and even his mind felt instantly clearer.

“Good! Good! Good!”

He set the cup down, exclaiming his approval three times in a row.

“Chieftain Violet, what’s the price for this tea? I’ll buy it all!”

“We have more than ten different varieties. The cheapest runs at three thousand trade points per ton, while our top grade goes for considerably more per ton.”

Violet calmly quoted the price.

And that price…

It was enough to make your head spin.