I Married A Degraded Alpha
Chapter 37: Starstone

Chapter 37: Starstone

As she watched the money in her account dwindle, Yuri wasn’t worried. Instead, her eyes sparkled with anticipation, as though she could already see the stunning gem she was chasing.

Tuss, watching from the side, twitched a smile. She looks every bit the hopeful gambler.

Regardless of whether they hit the jackpot this time, Tuss decided this would be their last gamble. He wouldn’t encourage her to do this again.

"Should we cut the stone now?" Yuri asked, though she was perfectly capable of doing it herself.

Tuss replied with a question of his own, "Do you want to sell the gem now?"

It was as if they were certain to find a gemstone within.

"Maybe one or two?" Yuri asked uncertainly.

"Then let’s open two of them." Tuss picked two stones from their cart and went to join the queue for the gem-cutting machine.

There were many others who, like them, had bought rough stones. The line was long. Tuss told Yuri to sit and wait while he got their stones cut. Yuri sat on a nearby chair, her hands resting on the cart, her chin propped on her arms. She looked relaxed, albeit bored.

Technology in the interstellar era was advanced. The stone cutting machines were incredibly efficient. Once a stone was put in, it spun around, the debris flushed away with water, leaving no dust and making no noise. The process was fast, too. If a gemstone was present, the machine would beep. The gems would remain untouched.

From the moment Yuri sat down, she counted that the machine had already cut open sixty-six stones. Not one of them had contained a gem.

The spectators gradually lost interest and started to leave.

"There’s no chance there’s a gem in any of these stones, right?"

"Gem gambling is all about luck. Forget it, don’t be disheartened, we can always buy finished jewelry."

"But there’s something special about finding it yourself."

"But only if you can actually find one. Don’t think about it, the chances are very slim. Look around, nobody else is finding any gems either."

"You’re right. If gems were that easy to find, they wouldn’t be worth much in this interstellar era."

"....."

Yuri listened to their conversations, looked at the stones in her cart, and hesitated. Are the odds really that low?

Just then, it was Tuss’s turn to use the stone-cutting machine.

Yuri sat up straight, stretching her neck to watch.

When the machine beeped rapidly, the entire area fell silent. The next moment, a crowd gathered from all directions.

"Did someone find a gem?"

"What is it?"

"Who’s that lucky?"

The crowd pushed in closer.

Yuri watched the crowd grow, silently placing the stones from her cart into the dimensional button.

On the other side, Tuss stood by the machine, looking at the gemstone in the trough, his expression serious.

He had hoped to cut a regular piece of jewelry, but instead, he’d found something entirely unexpected.

"Hey, hurry up and take out the gemstone," someone urged impatiently.

"Yes, let’s see it. If it’s high quality, I’ll buy it."

"The highest bidder gets it, I want it too."

Tuss glanced at those shouting the loudest and thought to himself, I doubt you can afford it.

Amid the crowd’s persistent urging, Tuss picked up the gemstone from the trough. Acting swiftly, he covered it with the hem of his shirt, ensuring it was securely hidden. As a result, his lean waist was exposed.

At that moment, he wished he had worn a shirt with bigger pockets.

"Hey, why are you hiding it? Let us have a look."

"Right, we’re not going to steal it, just let us see."

"Nice abs."

"And a handsome face too."

"Mom, I’ve found your son-in-law."

"...."

The crowd completely surrounded Tuss, each person chattering about different things.

In the crowd, a young man doing a livestream was checking the footage he just recorded. Tuss had moved so swiftly they couldn’t see clearly what he had, but his camera had captured it.

The young man played the video over and over, slower each time....

Suddenly, he let out a high-pitched yell, "Ah--"

The people in his livestream and the people around him were stunned. What happened?

The young man took a screenshot, enlarged the screen, and held it up for everyone to see.

"Now’s my chance," Tuss thought. He picked up the unopened stones from the ground, and taking advantage of the moment everyone’s attention was diverted to the young man’s screen, he bolted from the crowd.

Tuss slipped through the crowd with the agility of an eel, leaving Yuri impressed. "I didn’t know you had such skills," she said.

Tuss felt a twinge at his temples, not bothering to explain further, he hurriedly said, "Let’s go, or we won’t be able to escape soon."

Yuri’s expression hardened. She took the stones from Tuss’s hand, tossed them into the dimensional button, and in the next moment, they were sprinting down the street together.

The sound of the wind whooshed past their ears, everything in front of them blurred into a haze.

His speed increased.

Back at the gem-cutting machine, when everyone saw what was on the young man’s screen, they were all stunned and horrified.

"Is that a starstone?"

"Also known as a star shard."

"Holy cow, the Alliance have a starstone now."

"Remember how smug and sarcastic the Empire was a year ago when they found a starstone? I feel like shoving this in their faces."

"What are we waiting for, let’s go roast them on the interstellarnet."

"Hey, where did that guy go?"

"He ran off while you all were watching the screen."

"Darn it. Which way did he go? Why didn’t you stop him?"

"I couldn’t, he was too fast."

"Quick, seal off the port, don’t let him leave the planet, I want to see that starstone."

......

The crowd was excited, some ran towards the port, some went to buy rough stones, hoping to find a starstone themselves, others were messaging friends to share the news.

The young man’s livestream continued. Now, not only the people at the scene knew someone had found a starstone, but people all over the Alliance did as well, and the news was spreading all over the interstellarnet.

The video of Tuss finding the starstone went viral across the network within an hour.

Bored aboard their starship, the cadets at the military academy were browsing news and watching videos on the interstellarnet. When they saw the word "starstone" pop up, they didn’t hesitate to click on it. Then, they were stunned.

"Is that really a starstone?"

"The guy who found the starstone is Tuss, right?"

"Yes, it’s Tuss. You’re not mistaken."

"Oh my gosh, Tuss actually found a starstone."

"He’s about to become one of the top ten richest people in the Alliance. I can’t believe I’m classmates with one of the ten richest people. No one would believe me if I said this out loud, right?"

"Do you think we can take advantage of our meager classmate connection and ask Tuss to let us see the starstone up close?"

.....

While they were discussing, they turned their gaze to Daleks, Ender, and the others, saying, "You guys are so close to Tuss, you’ll definitely get to see it, right? Can you bring us along?"

Daleks was still in a state of shock.

Ender had already regained his senses, saying rationally, "Even Tuss himself may not be able to keep the starstone, let alone us."

After all, it was a starstone.

Apart from being a symbol of fortune and power, it also had great benefits for betas. Rumor has it that as long as a beta can control their psychic power to circulate within a starstone, their level could be raised by one rank.

This is the only known method to increase one’s level throughout history.

Normally, the levels of betas and alphas are determined at the moment of differentiation and almost impossible to increase afterwards. It’s like having two hands and two legs, it’s determined the moment you’re born, and you won’t grow an extra one later.

Until one day, starstone was discovered and found to be able to increase a beta’s level.

Then, the whole interstellar world was in an uproar.

Starstones became increasingly precious and mysterious.

Hearing Ender’s words, everyone else calmed down.

Yes, even Tuss himself might not be able to keep the starstone.

If Tuss were still an SS-tier alpha, the Alliance might be more courteous to him, but he wasn’t anymore. Thus, the problem now wasn’t even if Tuss could keep the stone, it was if the Alliance would take it away from him without giving her any compensation.

The military academy students began to worry about Tuss.

"Ender, why don’t you contact Tuss and see how he’s doing?" someone suggested.

Ender shook his head, "He’s probably very busy right now, we shouldn’t bother him."

Ender’s concern was correct, Tuss was indeed busy. They had finally made it to the port, only to be told that it had been temporarily closed.