Chapter 2235: Serving the Dishes?

Chapter 2235: Serving the Dishes?

Jiangnan and his group were all stunned as they watched from the deck. Was this Cosmos Rank starship really that ridiculously extravagant?

Borden's eyes nearly bulged out of his head:
Σ(°△°|||) "Sss~ The entire hull of this starship is forged from Huangdao Fine Gold? That's an incredibly expensive rare metal!"
"Using it just to plate a starship? Who does that? So wasteful! This is practically a crime against nature!"

Samo frowned. "Milky Way Star Domain? I've never heard of it."

The group looked at the luxurious starship, then back at their own 18-hand-me-down junker, and their faces darkened.
There was simply no comparison!

Jiangnan's jaw dropped. Milky Way Star Domain? That's the home star domain of humanity, isn't it?
They even named it themselves!
Haitang Mining? Haitang?
This has to be Boss Pang's ship, right? Only he'd be so tacky.
He loves gold, even his codename is Golden Pang Badi!
So Boss Pang came to develop the Beimian Xingkong Kuangchang?

Just then, Jiangnan remembered that Jian Ge once told him all of Blue Star's top experts had charged into the starry sky for training.
Only a few were left at home. He never expected to run into one here!

Sure enough, a team came down from the golden starship.
Leading them was Pang Badi.

He wore a golden python leather suit, slicked-back hair, and a pair of sunglasses covering his face.
On his ten fingers were over thirty rings of various materials, a thick gold chain around his neck, and seven or eight watches on one wrist.
He leaned on a Cosmos Crystal Source cane, a cigar dangling from his mouth.
With a puff, he blew out a thick cloud of golden mist.
(¥$˘³˘)⋋︴Hoo~

Behind him came Omega and Alpha, both old subordinates of Pang Badi—one an accountant, the other a laser enforcer.
They were all lackeys who'd followed Pang Badi through thick and thin.
And now, both had reached the Transcendent rank.

Among the guards were not only humans but also quite a few Apocalypse Race warriors.
As soon as Pang Badi appeared, many of the starry sky races who had come for the meeting cast envious glances.

A hint of a smile curled at the corner of Jiangnan's mouth, his eyes filled with relief.
(◕ᵒ̴̶̷⇀ᵒ̴̶̷) "Tch! Boss Pang still knows how to carry himself."
"Da Zhi, remember what I said before? Someday, I'll make humanity walk openly under the stars, without feeling inferior because of their race—instead, proud of it."
"Now? I've done it."

Wang Youzhi was also moved, but then he rolled his eyes.
(꒪ั～꒪ั*) "That's him, not you. You still don't dare show your face, huh? Blake? Starry Sky Fugitive?"

The smile on Jiangnan's face froze instantly.
(٥͡°￣͡°) "Can you not ruin my moment?"

All the Bully Gang underlings stared wide-eyed. Wait, this crazy-rich Haitang Mining is Boss Nan Shen's family business?
Run by humans?

And Jiu Lan was somewhat dazed. Jiangnan had done it. Humanity had done it. What about the Netherworld race?
At that thought, she clenched her fist. At least the Netherworld race had already started to act.

Just then, a team of Apocalypse Race members came to greet Pang Badi and his group.
(｡･ˇꇴˇ･) "Haha! Boss Pang? I knew you'd come. I've arranged seats for you. All your expenses on Ni Shen Star—food, lodging, everything—are on me!"

Pang Badi laughed heartily and gave the Apocalypse man a bear hug.
($͡°͜ʖ͡°) "Brother Gulake, why be so polite with me? I'll pay. My family's big; a little bit doesn't matter. How's your father doing lately?"

Gulake grinned. "He's good, really good. It's my father who told me to take good care of you! He knows you don't mind a little expense."
"Boss Pang? Over at our mining area, we've got a batch of rare ore. Would you be interested in…"

Pang Badi smiled. "Easy. I'll drop by later. Just tell me how much you need. Let's talk while we walk?"

Gulake, face full of smiles, said, "Boss Pang is truly generous. Don't worry, your cut won't be short. Let's go, let's go!"

The two teams chatted and laughed as they headed toward Ni Shen Star.

Shengyi whispered: (ﾉ)◔3◔ิ) "Gulake is Gunaite's eldest son. Gunaite belongs to the Ancient Family branch of the Apocalypse Race, and he's the main mine lord for the Apocalypse here."
"Pang Badi came over just a few months ago. He's made quite a name for himself in the Starry Sky Mine. Rumor has it he has the ability to convert any substance into rare ores."
"That's unique across the entire starry sky. Haitang Mining has grown big in just a few months by importing, exporting, and flipping various rare ores. Boss Pang is called the God of Wealth."
"And they say he's in charge of the Dimensional Star Navigation in the Beimian Xingkong Kuangchang region. Everyone has to show him some respect."

Shengyi really was a walking encyclopedia of the starry sky. Her intel was accurate.

Jiangnan chuckled to himself. Boss Pang sure knew where to pick a place to develop.
Even if humans had money now, they couldn't buy up general mining areas without enough Sequence qualifications.
By using this method, Boss Pang could funnel some resources back to humanity, but it was far from enough to support the race's growth.
That would kill him with exhaustion. So this was just a temporary measure while he looked for opportunities?
Better than doing nothing at all.

And cooperating with the Apocalypse Race let Pang Badi thrive smoothly here.
Common interests aligned them.
After all, they were all experts who'd climbed from Blue Star, elites who'd reached the top in the chaotic era of spiritual energy recovery.
Even charging into the starry sky, they wouldn't stay unknown.

Jiangnan grinned. (๑¯ٹ¯ิ) "Let's go too. Boss Pang looks busy. I'll contact him later."

The group parked their junk ship and flew toward Ni Shen Star.

The mining area bidding conference was held inside the Star Mine Bureau's Splendid Hall in the development city at the center of Ni Shen Star.
It was still check-in time, and the entrance to the Splendid Hall was packed. Every mining bidding conference was like this.
After all, winning a bid meant you'd have a mine in the family!
Any faction leader, race representative, or individual could participate—as long as they could pay the price.
Even entering required an admission fee.

Jiangnan pulled a long face. The Sacred Law Council was too crooked. How much money did they rake in from the Starry Sky Mine every year?
What's yours is ours, and what's ours is also ours?

Just as Jiangnan's group was about to line up, several cat-eared little sisters came over. They were from the Cat Demon race, smiling.
ฅ(ΦᆺΦ๑) "Excuse me, are you Lord Blake? You don't need to queue. Lord Xuense has already notified the venue. He reserved front-row seats for you."
"Please use the VIP channel. The entry fee has been paid. All your expenses inside the venue will be charged to Lord Xuense's bill."
"Of course, that doesn't include bidding fees, meow~ This way, please?"

Jiangnan had a melting expression. There were even Cat Demon girls? The starry sky races were the best! Beast-eared girls were the best!
(〃⁼̴〰⁼̴) "Hehe~ Hehehe~ That Xuense kid sure knows how to suck up, huh? Take us over."

The few Cat Demon girls were shocked. What kind of identity did this Black Soul race guy have?
He called Lord Xuense a "kid"? And Xuense was one of the ten major mine lords!
They became deeply curious about Jiangnan's identity.

As soon as they entered the Splendid Hall, Jiangnan was amazed by its vastness and grandeur.
In the center was a display stage with a huge holographic projection ball.
Many people were finding their seats with their own number cards.

At the back of the hall were simple anti-gravity seats, a bit crude.
But the front-row area near the display stage was luxurious, with its own activity zones.
The seats were NuLuNuLu big sofas produced by the Lumu race, bouncy and soft like a maiden's embrace, even with massage functions.
Sitting in the front row didn't give any advantage in bidding, but it was a symbol of status and identity.
Only those with some wealth could afford it.

Jiangnan and his group took their seats, all looking comfortable.
The two Cat Demon girls respectfully said:
(ΦᆺΦ๑) "Respected Lord Blake, the bidding conference hasn't started yet. Is there anything else we can serve you?"
"We have everything you can think of and even things you can't. Here's the menu."

With that, a holographic menu projected in front of Jiangnan.
Jiangnan's smile gradually twisted. Xuense said all expenses were on him, right?
Freebies not taken are wasted!

(︶.̮︶〃)ﾉ "Why bother looking at the menu? Just serve everything listed. Go for the expensive stuff!"

The rest of the Bully Gang nodded vigorously.
Exactly! After spending half a lifetime in prison, shouldn't they enjoy themselves a bit?

The Cat Demon girls looked shocked.
(Φ⌂Φ‧̣̥̇) "Are... are you sure? You want everything on the menu served now?"

Jiangnan lifted his chin: (◕ˇʖ̫ˇ) "Of course! It's only natural!"
It's not my money anyway!

The two Cat Demon girls exchanged glances, blushed a little, and said, "Well... all right."
Then they pressed themselves against Jiangnan, left and right, holding his arms and reaching out with soft cat paw pads.
They started kneading his chest.
And they pressed their faces toward his cheek.
ฅ(๑ΦᆺΦ(｡･ˇ口ˇ･｡)ΦᆺΦ๑)ฅ

Jiangnan: !!!
(๑ŏ口ŏ) "Protect me! Come to my rescue! What are you two doing? There are so many people here—aren't you embarrassed? Get up!"

The two Cat Demon girls tilted their heads, confused.
ฅ(Φ～Φ๑) "Get up? What do you mean? Are you done already?"

Jiangnan's face darkened: (̿▀̿益▀̿̿)̄ "What do you mean 'done'? I spit! Get up now! Retreat! Retreat! I'm not that kind of person!"

Wang Youzhi: (ಡωಡ) "Mhm~ When he's not a person, he's something else entirely!"

Jiangnan gritted his teeth: (งᵒ̌皿ᵒ̌)ง "Is all your menu service like this?"

The Cat Demon girls shook their heads. "No. There's one item called 'Heart-Clawing Liver-Rubbing.' Since you said to serve everything, we thought..."

Jiangnan's face turned even darker. "Heart-Clawing Liver-Rubbing" my foot! First twins, then cat-eared beast girls? Who could withstand this kind of torture every day?
(￢﹏￢٥) "No, no, no! Not this! Serve proper food. I mean edible food!"

Shengcai: (๑◔◠◔ิ๑) "Boss, I..."

Jiangnan covered his face: (ﾉ)益(ヾ) "I wasn't talking about you!"