Meng Chixin and Wu Suiyun exchanged telepathic thoughts through their crystal cameras. Meng Chixin said, "Fellow Cultivator Wang, you once established 'Ghost Character', an assassination and intelligence organization. Of the twelve of us, you are the best at stealth and infiltration. Naturally, you will be the commander of the operation this time. In your opinion, what should we do next?"
"After three days of study, I believe that you must have a basic understanding of the universe beyond the Ancient Sages Sector. With your Yuanying and Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators, it shouldn't be difficult for you to disguise yourselves as regular local Cultivators, right?"
"It's not a big deal."
Han Baling, the dominator of the prairies, was full of confidence. "After three days, we have grasped the local customs of this Sector. We have even grasped the common slang and jargon in the marketplace. Nobody will notice any loopholes! Speaking of which, the slang and jargon of this Sector are indeed bizarre. Let me give you an example. Unmarried men and women who are too old are often discriminated against in this place. They are often cursed as' dogs' and 'single dogs'. They are also often injured by 'ten thousand tons of critical strikes'. How strange! "
"That's not strange at all," Meng Chixin said casually.
"Faced with the enormous pressure from the Imperium of True Human Beings, the Xing Yao Federation must've encouraged reproduction. Only by having more people can more warriors be raised! Such policies that encourage reproduction are common in the history of the Ancient Sages Sector, too. It is perfectly normal that the unmarried men who are too old to provide warriors for the country are called 'single dogs'. "
"You are right, Master. I was too ignorant. As it turns out, it is the Federation's active preparedness policy!"
Han Baling slapped his head. "All in all, we are familiar with all the local jargon, such as' single dogs', 'primeval forces', and …"
"That's good!"
Long Yangjun nodded her head in great satisfaction. "Learning, observation, and selection. Our first goal has been achieved. As for the more cutting-edge fields, we will have to wait until we infiltrate the Federation.
"Next, we will have to choose suitable identities for everybody and officially sneak into the Federation!"
Meng Chixin said, "Didn't Screwhead, the guide, say that he could reach out to the major sects within the Federation and enter the Federation as' half legal '? Also, Fei Qi once mentioned that his superiors in the CFIA seem to have a way to sneak into the Federation. "
Long Yangjun shook her head. "Neither of the two approaches is very safe."
"First of all, it is possible for Screwhead to reach out to the major sects within the Federation and obtain half-legal, if not fully-legal, identities. However, the purpose of those major sects is to absorb the talents on 'Firefly'. If he takes such a path, it is inevitable that he will be asked about Firefly and reveal certain techniques that only the Cultivators of the 'rightful government of the Star Ocean Republic' know. It is even possible that he will run into the crew of Firefly who entered the Federation through such a path in the beginning.
"We don't know the first thing about the situation inside Firefly. We don't know the slightest technique of the 'Cultivators from the sea of stars', either. Even if we can fool Screwhead for now, there is no way that we can get through so many procedures later.
"Secondly, if we take the path of the CFIA, we may be able to sneak into the Federation, too.
"But I've always been suspicious about the CFIA, the anti- Federation organization. Such a small organization has been operating right under the Federation's nose for so long without being annihilated. Is it possible that the Federation is setting a long line to catch a big fish?
"Chances are that almost twenty agents of the Secret Sword Bureau of the Federation are lurking around every secret branch of the CFIA at all times! If we go to the CFIA recklessly, it is hard to say whether or not we will be trusted, but we will certainly be noticed by the Secret Sword Bureau in the very first second.
"Although it doesn't matter if our identities are exposed or even if we end up on bad terms with them, it is still better to observe in secret for a while first.
"After all, even if the Federation does open its door to us and welcome us respectfully, what they present to us is likely to be a disguise that is not as real as what we find out in person."
Meng Chixin nodded. "You do have a point, Fellow Cultivator Wang. It is true that it is more likely that we will find out the real face of the Federation if we investigate in secret. However, if neither of the two paths work, what identity should we disguise ourselves as?
"With the Cultivation of the twelve of us, it is not difficult for us to change our appearance. But most of the information in the Federation is on the Spiritual Nexus. Without an identity that can be detected through the Spiritual Nexus, it will be barely possible for us to do anything. We can't go everywhere in secret, can we?"
"The problem is not exactly difficult," Long Yangjun said. "As long as we have enough money, we can get almost anything in the black market of Fish Dragon City, including absolutely legal identities, resumes, and packages that can change our appearance. Many outcasts have decided to return to their roots after staying here for decades. They simply change their identities and return to the Federation through the black market."
Meng Chixin frowned. "As long as we have enough money?"
"Yes. That is the biggest problem that we are faced with — we are out of money," Long Yangjun said rather helplessly.
"We came empty-handed without any local currency. Fei Qi and the rest of them were on a hunting trip, and they did not bring much money with them. Over the past few days, everybody has been buying jade chips, crystal processors, and all kinds of equipment crazily. The coins and crystal cards that we looted from Fei Qi are running out."
"To get twelve legal identities on the black market, preferably if they are related to each other so that we can explain why the twelve of us are in the same place, will cost an astronomical amount of money!
"Also, after we do arrive at the Federation, we'd better abide by the law and not do anything out of line, in case anything goes wrong during our cooperation in the future. In that case, we will have to prepare a large sum of money to cover our daily expenses.
"I'm afraid that you have all sensed it during your life in the Dragon Snake Space Zone. The spiritual energy in this Sector is much thinner than in the Ancient Sages Sector. What we consume in our daily training are the crystals that we brought from the Ancient Sages Sector. The consumption rate is very high, too!"
Hearing that, everybody nodded quickly.
Yuanying Cultivators and Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators were behemoths that swallowed crystals. Not just improving themselves, the amount of crystals and spiritual energy that they had to absorb every day to maintain their high level was astronomical.
The path of training was like sailing against the current. Unless they entered the hibernation state, they would not be able to skip training for even one day.
As it happened, the density of spiritual energy in the outside world was much lower than in the Ancient Sages Sector. For them, it was like a normal person coming to a planet with less than 5% oxygen. They could not have felt more uncomfortable.
In such an environment with a 'low oxygen content', to maintain their level, they could only consume the crystals that they brought from the Ancient Sages Sector.
However, the capacity of their Cosmos Rings was not infinite, either. At the rate of consumption, they would run out of crystals very soon. Then, they would have to purchase the crystals locally, which would cost a fortune.
In the Ancient Sages Sector, the unparalleled experts were naturally supported by their sects, tribes, and countries. The spiritual energy in their hometown was abundant, too. They never had to worry about such things. However, after they came to a modern Cultivation civilization that they were not familiar with, training resources, or in other words, 'money', became their biggest problem.
"We have to find a way to make money."
Long Yangjun counted on her fingers and said, "Firstly, we have to buy twelve legal identities in the black market. Secondly, we have to prepare the funds for our training and activities in the Federation. Thirdly, we have to prepare two Crystal Suits for everybody. That will be twenty-four in total. If we count Heiye Lan, it will be twenty-six in total. That will be another huge sum of money."
Ba Xiaoyu the Beggar was confused. "Why do we have to prepare so many Crystal Suits? Don't we have Colossi?"
Long Yangjun explained, "It's true that we have Colossi. However, such 'ultimate magical equipment' is too powerful and eye-catching. Once it's used, we will be falling out with them without any room for retreat!"
"Also, the maintenance and supplies of the Colossi are very inconvenient. I'm afraid that we will not be able to use them again after a great battle.
"Therefore, the Colossi can only be used as the last 'trump card'. For self-defense, we will still have to use the Crystal Suit.
"The Crystal Suit that we have right now is all the goods of the Imperium that we captured from Heiye Lan. The style of the Immortal Cultivators is very intense. I'm afraid that it is not suitable to be used in the territory of the Federation.
"Also, we've captured a few Crystal Suits from Fei Qi, too. But they are all garbage with a mediocre performance and will not be enough to help us break out of the siege in the crisis.
"Here's what I'm thinking. When we do sneak into the territory of the Federation, we must not reveal the Cultivation of the Yuanying and the Divinity Transformation Stage unless it is absolutely necessary. The seven Sectors of the Federation have only a thousand Yuanying in total. If twelve unknown Yuanying suddenly appear at the same time, the Secret Sword Bureau will certainly explode.
"Normally, we will be active as the Core Formation Stage at best. So, we will need twelve middle- and high-level Crystal Suits from the Federation that befit the identity of the Core Formation Stage Cultivators. Naturally, if possible, we will also need twelve high-level Crystal Suits that can carry out the highest combat ability of the Yuanying and the Divinity Transformation Stage in case of emergencies.
"The Crystal Suit does not have to be brand-new. Fellow Cultivator Spiritual Vulture, please purchase some components on the basis of the Crystal Suit of the Imperium.
"However, both the purchase of brand-new Crystal Suits and the modification will cost a lot of money.
"The total cost of the three items will definitely be astronomical. What do you think of the money, fellow Cultivators?"
Long Yangjun looked at everybody with glittering eyes.
'Heaven Battering King' Qi Changsheng grinned. "What's so difficult about that? We can just rob them!"
Long Yangjun clapped her hands. "You are quite right, Fellow Cultivator Qi. In order to earn such a huge sum of money quickly, we can either gamble, rob, or both of them!
"My plan is that we will be divided into three groups.
"Gambling is very popular in Fish Dragon City. In all the arenas and life-and-death arenas, there are all kinds of magnates who are willing to throw money away. We will invite 'Sword Maniac' Yan Liren to test his skills in the arenas. It shouldn't be a problem for him to win a couple of games. By the way, we will figure out the details of the magnates and the forces here and figure out a way to rob them!
"For that matter, the eleven of us will be divided into two teams and work together.
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