Deep Space Wandering Fleet
Chapter 372 - 371: The Gift of the God of Wealth

Chapter 372: Chapter 371: The Gift of the God of Wealth

The list contained many items, with various cultural texts at the forefront.

This civilization’s history was incredibly long, with countless changes in dynasties. Whether official cherished texts or folk literature, humans accepted and collected them all without error.

After all, there was no need for the originals; electronic scans uploaded would suffice. Placing these cultural texts into the Virtual Space and replicating the entire Riley culture in its original form was quite an interesting endeavor.

The second requirement was different biological specimens from the planet; undoubtedly, the process would speed up with the help of the natives.

After all, there were just over a thousand scientific explorers who had landed on the planet; inspecting an entire planet still seemed somewhat insufficient.

Humans also wanted to purchase some living World Trees, as well as native animals and plants.

According to the trade list, a bit of metal could fetch a large haul; indeed, it was far more effective than robbery.

As for the third item, only a few diplomats were aware of it, which was...

Population!

Humans needed to capture some Rileys and bring them into Virtual World Number 14 to help explore and build the virtual world. They also needed to understand why the Rileys developed intelligence and how their brain structures differed from humans...

This trade item was no problem at all for the Riley nobles.

They themselves retained a system of slavery.

To trade some slaves was not a matter to cause so-called conscience condemnation. As for why the Divine Messenger needed some slaves, that was not their concern.

What humans offered in return was some metal devices, including cheap items like steel-smelting equipment, blast furnaces, bellows, and such. If desired, they could also share a small amount of knowledge.

From a certain perspective, humans might seem to have made a slight loss, but no one minded. Since they were here, it was a form of destiny, allowing the other party to make some progress, which was also a good thing.

At least it would please the hearts of all the people of Kunlun Mountain and fill them with a sense of moral pride. That was already the greatest benefit.

Seeing this list, all the Rileys’ breathing grew heavier, falling into an increasingly frenzied state.

"This... this..."

A hundred different books could be traded for a small metal knife!

"God of Wealth and money! Have you truly bestowed your favor upon me?" Compared to such vast riches, the King felt like a complete pauper, as if he’d been viciously struck in the head by a pie that fell from the sky!

And it was the kind that fell right into one’s mouth, no hands needed to enjoy the treat.

Was this what true... happiness was?

The Rileys had already mastered basic Mathematics, or they couldn’t have built such a vast nation. The King was rapidly calculating the benefits he could reap.

"Cultural texts... Right, we must act fast. Some books are treasured by many, and once traded, humans won’t want them a second time." The King thought silently and ordered his subordinates to prepare the relevant materials; they had to beat others to it.

Even the high officials and nobles sitting below realized this and were somewhat unwilling; all the benefits were going to the King — what was the meaning of this?

But, given that the humans were still present, they couldn’t object openly at the moment.

Noticing even his confidants turn pale, the King felt a sudden shock in his heart... indeed, the interests involved were too substantial, equating to wealth increasing multiple times over!

Who isn’t tempted?

At least I need to secure some benefits for my confidants...

Thus, pondering back and forth, the King is still in a state of mental disarray... But no matter what, he was certainly not going to come out at a loss.

Nobles were all holding back their greedy emotions, pondering how large a piece of the cake they could possibly obtain...

If the King is too greedy, then...

Yes, maybe it is a Divine test of desire?

In just a few seconds, all the Riley people had their own schemes, and even the sound of discussion had ceased.

Wang Junpeng touched his nose, guessing what these Riley people were thinking.

The Human diplomats behind him looked at each other, not sure what to say, just silently watching due to their upbringing.

A lagging civilization is always like a frog at the bottom of a well, only able to see a tiny sliver of the sky.

"Ha, some metals make them crazy with excitement; they’re probably plotting all sorts of conspiracies and tricks for such trivial things. How ludicrous," Wang Junpeng lamented in his heart.

But what right did Humans have to ridicule them? When Humans acquired advanced civilization and technology, didn’t they show the same expressions?

It’s just the pot calling the kettle black.

"If we encountered a higher civilization willing to give us Curvature Technology, wouldn’t our emotions be the same?" someone suddenly spoke up in the headset.

"Yeah, sigh... the current research progress is too slow. Curvature Technology remains a mere fantasy."

"No, it’s not the pot calling the kettle black," Wang Junpeng whispered into his earpiece. "They are greedy for wealth, seeking greater fortune on a personal level, but we yearn for the unknown, striving for more on a communal level; these are two different mindsets... The Humans aboard the Kunlun Mountain Fleet still possess the will to ascend, a strong scientific mindset, not confined by rigid frameworks; that might be the biggest difference."

And this time, the knowledge provided by the Humans in the trade was not just these metal tools; there was also a wealth of knowledge.

This knowledge included elementary Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics, and Astronomy, not overly expensive.

Particularly Chemistry could make the combustion phenomena in this civilization more commonplace and reduce the cost of creating flames.

Of course, all knowledge was hidden; Humans were not going to prepare reference materials for them intentionally. It was just mechanically translated from Human junior high textbooks, the content almost incomprehensibly dense, requiring considerable effort to study.

Short-term, it wouldn’t yield much profit, but long-term, this knowledge would be foundational for a civilization’s progress.

"It all depends on their choices... But will they choose to delve into it? Quite unlikely," another diplomat sighed.

From what had been observed so far, the likelihood of this civilization saving itself was slim.

In this civilization, the fire had already been imbued with religious sanctity, seen as a divine power bestowed by the Divine. Every act of lighting a fire required extensive rituals, followed by smelting a small quantity of metal.

What would happen if the use of fire were to become widespread?

Anything that could be popularized would naturally lose its sanctity, and such subversive knowledge would undoubtedly be forbidden by the religion.

Wang Junpeng shook his head. "If they don’t save themselves, what is it to us? Civilizations like these in the Universe, if not a hundred thousand, there are at least ten thousand; how could we possibly save them all? We’ve given them a chance, and if they cannot seize it, there’s no need for us to do more. Should we force them to study Physics and Chemistry, then spark an ideological revolution? Do you think we should spend our time educating the natives here?"