Chapter 523: The Fortune of the Star City: Song Chi’s Risky Trade

“Apocalypse Machina”?

Staring at the shop sign ahead, Song Chi couldn’t help letting his imagination run wild.

Judging by the name, it was probably a store specializing in mechanical goods.

“But I wonder what kind of civilization is behind it? The Machina Race? Or just some tech-based civilization?”

“I hope it’s the Machina Race. Maybe I can finally buy the Intermediate AI I’ve been searching for!”

Countless thoughts flashed through Song Chi’s mind in an instant.

When he and Song Yan stepped through the doors of Apocalypse Machina, the first things they saw were ranks of mech constructs in all shapes and sizes.

Some resembled humanoid mechs, others looked like beast-shaped models built for close combat, and there were even strange starships, floating-land speeders, and, to Song Chi’s surprise, a model of a starry sky fortress.

All of them shared one trait—they immediately drew the eye, radiating a brutal, mechanical beauty.

Looking at these products, Song Chi pretty much had his answer.

“It really is a Machina Race shop!”

Only a civilization like the Machina could assemble such a display of mid- to high-tier mechanical tech—especially that star fortress.

Song Chi gave these goods only a quick once-over, and neither he nor Song Yan showed any particular excitement.

Amateurs might see these as treasures, and it’s true they were powerful, but anyone with real knowledge of Machina tech would keep their distance. To most, these things were as dangerous as monsters—something to respect, but never get too close.

And honestly, Machina products had power, but their fatal flaw was a total lack of stability.

Not just unstable performance—but unsafe by design.

Pretty much every device made by the Machina Race could be hijacked at any time, turning tools and weapons into enemy combat units in the blink of an eye.

Just imagine—going into battle, only to have your weapon turn on you mid-fight and cut you down where you stand.

And this wasn’t some rare incident, either. There were many wars where Machina had won using exactly these brutal tactics.

Ignoring the merchandise, Song Chi got straight to business.

“Do you have any Intermediate AI for sale?”

The Machina Race shopkeeper quickly answered.

“Intermediate AI are only available via barter—no Floating-land Origin trades. If you’re interested, show us your barter chips and we’ll assess their value!”

“So, only bartering, huh…”

Song Chi frowned. He had plenty of resources on hand, but he wasn’t sure if any would really be useful to the Machina.

With that on his mind, he left the shop briefly. After heading to a designated zone in the city to summon his battleship, he soon returned to Apocalypse Machina—with several storage capsules in hand.

Inside the four storage capsules was nothing but mineral resources—exactly the kinds recorded in the battleship’s database as crucial to Machina industry.

None of these minerals were especially rare, so Song Chi had no clue if they’d be enough to trade for an Intermediate AI.

Say what you will about the Machina—thanks to their powerful computing, it took them only moments to inventory the tens of thousands of minerals in those capsules, even pinpointing a few particularly valuable ones.

Liquid Silver, Titanite…

Following the Machina’s suggestions, Song Chi left to fetch more resources. When he returned for the third time, he could only shake his head helplessly.

Turns out, the minerals they’d asked for were in short supply even in the Market. In the end, the Machina shopkeeper would only part with 20 Intermediate AIs.

But to upgrade his Sky-Domain AI component to level 70, Song Chi needed at least 60 Intermediate AIs—he was still far from enough.

Just as Song Chi was feeling stuck, Song Yan stepped up and retrieved an orange oddity from his Torch Ancestral Orifice.

Floating-land Origin Core Fusion.

Song Chi had gotten his hands on a purple version of this core back in his first Outer Domain expedition, but Song Yan’s was orange—a much higher tier.

Seeing this item, the Machina shopkeeper perked up with real interest, and before long Song Chi walked away with another 50 Intermediate AIs.

After leaving Apocalypse Machina, Song Yan was quick to warn:

“Seventh Brother, AI brings too much uncertainty. If you’re not careful, it could take over. Be on guard.”

Song Chi nodded. “Don’t worry. The Heavenly Ruin has an AI component, and these are just upgrades for it.”

“That’s fine, then.”

Hearing it was for an AI component, Song Yan’s concern melted away.

While AI components were stronger than normal AI, they had to be bound to a Torch Captain’s Torch Seed.

With the entire Torch Human Civilization’s Torch Seed network acting as a safety net, no AI—regardless of tier—could threaten the system.

Even a mythical rainbow-tier AI component couldn’t break free.

“Come on, the Torch Source and Seed network forms the foundation of our whole civilization. No single AI can shake that.”

……

“Astrology Tower? Is that another special shop in the city?”

After leaving Apocalypse Machina, the two kept wandering through Saintlight City.

As they turned onto a new street, Song Chi noticed a stately silver-white spire right at the heart of the avenue—looking every bit extraordinary.

Song Yan, who’d visited Saintlight City plenty of times over the centuries, explained in response to Song Chi’s question:

“Yeah, you could call it that. But the Astrology Tower doesn’t actually sell stuff. It only does one thing!”

“What’s that?”

“Astrology!”

Song Chi: ???

Hearing that, Song Chi looked baffled. Only after Song Yan quietly added an explanation did it click.

“Star divination… to put it nicely. Really, it’s just fortune-telling, isn’t it?”

“Uh… you’re not wrong.”

The two kept their voices down. Song Chi was about to walk past the spire, but a sudden thought flashed in his mind.

He stopped dead in his tracks.

Noticing something was up, Song Yan shot him a glance.

“You want a reading?”

Eyes brightening, Song Chi nodded firmly.

Instead of heading inside immediately, he made his way to a specialized area to summon the Heavenly Ruin.

Inside the battleship, he took the second Timepiece Chess piece he’d gotten from Pan Ying, lifted it from the Destiny Compass, then left the ship and hurried back.

“Hope this pays off!”

Muttering under his breath, Song Chi and Song Yan entered the Astrology Tower together.

Outside, he hadn’t realized, but inside it was clear—the tower’s business was booming. At least when Song Chi entered, there was already a long line on the first floor.

With time to kill while waiting, Song Yan unfurled an isolation field around them and began explaining the tower’s details.

The Astrology Tower was actually the outpost of a high-tier civilization—the Astrologer Civilization. They had towers like this in each neutral city of the Red Star Continent, but the one in Saintlight City was especially prestigious. It was reportedly established by a Seventh-Tier astrologer personally.

“So you mean there’s a seventh-tier astrologer in this tower? Can we actually get them to do a reading for us?”

Song Chi’s voice rose a little. Originally, he hadn’t had much hope—the Timepiece Chess’s corresponding piece was at least black-tier, not something easily divined.

But if a top-level astrologer was personally present, there just might be a chance.

But Song Yan shook his head.

“You’re dreaming. Astrology always shortens the astrologer’s life. At seventh rank, they’re basically legendary. Never mind same-tier Supremes—even eighth-tiers can’t always get them to act. And us? No chance.”

Hearing this, Song Chi could only sigh.

Wasn’t that always the way? Back on Blue Star, true fortune-tellers were always in demand by the rich and powerful.

While they talked, it was finally Song Chi’s turn.

Song Yan watched with open curiosity, eager to see what Song Chi would ask.

“What do you want to divine?”

At the astrologer’s window on the first floor, Song Chi hesitated a moment, then handed over the luminous silver Timepiece Chess piece.

“I want to ask…”

But before he could finish, the elderly astrologer swiftly handed the Timepiece Chess back, explaining:

“This is beyond my abilities. You may go up to the second floor!”

Song Chi: …

He was speechless. Had he really queued up all this time, just for nothing?

Still, he could understand—there was too much lingering behind the Timepiece Chess for a regular astrologer to handle.

Second floor of the Astrology Tower.

He’d expected to wait again, but to his surprise, the upper floor was nearly empty—yet even here the astrologer sent him up to the third floor.

This routine repeated six times in all, until the two finally reached the seventh floor at the very top of the tower.

Thanks to the referrals, they weren’t stopped from entering the top level. But the astrologer’s window was still closed, and Song Chi heard only one thing from the attendant: “Please wait patiently.”

Any other time, Song Chi would have been too impatient to bother waiting. But since Song Yan had said there really was a seventh-tier astrologer here, he could only comfort himself that the other party certainly had the right to act superior.