From the Great Plains of Earth, the Mending Donkey from the mysterious 37th parallel north evoked long exclamations of admiration from Commander Jones with its exquisite taste.
"I've never tasted such a delicious drink..."
He held the cup in his left hand, stroked his small tentacles with his right, and closed his eyes in intoxicated bliss.
"Hahahaha, I'm glad Commander Qiong Si likes it. Come, come, this is our first meeting, and everyone gets a share!"
Fang Er laughed heartily, taking out two more boxes and distributing a bottle to everyone present.
Then, he and Su Dingfang casually found seats. As for Xue Rengui...
Apologies, this fellow could probably only lie down.
Alcohol was the best way to foster camaraderie between men, and transcending race wasn't uncommon in this regard.
Didn't you see the three drunkards dragging a dog around and dancing all night?
After half a bottle of wine, Commander Jones's octopus face turned crimson. He waved his hand grandly.
"Guards! Bring out the Tyrannosaurus Rex whip I've been saving, and let Brother Fang have a taste!"
Fang Er: ...
Tyrannosaurus Rex whip?
What in the world is that?
Could such a thing be preserved? Wasn't he afraid of it getting maggots?
As his words fell, a Lomo tribesman stood up. After he left and returned, four more individuals he hadn't seen before followed him.
However...
Their appearance made Fang Er and the others gape in astonishment.
"Holy shit, what's going on!"
The four individuals, working together, carried a pillar-like object, chanting as they walked step by step into the hall.
When they placed the object on the table, the all-metal table, welded to the hull, groaned under the immense weight.
Fang Er was bewildered. Damn, was the Tyrannosaurus Rex whip that big?
"Come, come, Brother Fang, this is a good thing. Your Brother Qiong has been cherishing it for a long time, reluctant to even take a bite."
"Your 'Mending Donkey' is too enjoyable, but I feel like something's missing."
"Come, come, pair it with this, and let's eat and drink together!"
Commander Jones seemed quite pleased with Fang Er's reaction. He pulled out a small knife, cut a fist-sized piece from the Tyrannosaurus Rex whip, and placed it on a plate, offering it to Fang Er.
Fang Er: ...
Was this thing eaten raw?
He decisively pulled out a mask and put it on. Damn, the smell was overwhelming!
It was incredibly pungent!
"Well, this thing, I'm afraid Brother can't enjoy it. Old Brother Qiong Si can eat it himself, no need to mind me..."
"That won't do. You called me Brother, how can I eat while you watch?"
Jones's eyes widened. The alcohol had kicked in, and he found Fang Er increasingly pleasing to the eye.
This dizzying feeling was truly exhilarating!
Moreover, he seemed to see a female octopus waving at him...
It was quite soul-stirring...
Fang Er gave an awkward laugh, looked at the other members of the pirate crew, and then said to Jones.
"Brother, please help yourself. But can you ask these brothers to tell me what I need to pay attention to as a pirate?"
"I'm very fond of your profession, and I wonder if I can join the crew?"
Jones showed no signs of vigilance, completely numbed by the alcohol. He waved to the others.
"You heard me. Answer whatever Brother Fang asks truthfully."
The副团长 Bu Yunbu Yu laughed heartily and stood up, pulling Fang Er to sit beside him.
To him, the more Lomo people in the pirate crew, the better. And this Brother Fang seemed quite mysterious.
That ability to conjure things out of thin air, was it the legendary spatial ability?
Such talent must be won over!
Fang Er gained a lot of useful information from him, such as the fact that their Jones Pirate Group was quite large.
They had as many as three hundred ships and over ten thousand members.
And the purpose of this operation was the Xuan steel mined from the mine.
This material, in the interstellar black market, cost around twenty thousand Andromeda coins per ton.
Andromeda coins were not currency issued by any planet or faction, but crystals compressed from natural minerals, about the size of a thumb.
Although small in volume, they contained terrifying energy. This was an essential commodity for interstellar navigation, hence becoming universally accepted hard currency and used as money.
The spaceship they were currently on was powered by Andromeda coins. One Andromeda coin could allow the spaceship to travel continuously for half an hour!
This piece of information alone made Fang Er feel that those bottles of Mending Donkey were truly worth it!
"Brother Bu, what do Andromeda coins look like? Can you let Brother take a look?" Fang Er asked curiously.
Bu Yunbu Yu casually took out a handful of small beans and scattered them on the table. "Here, it's this kind of thing."
Andromeda coins were very heavy. Although only the size of a thumb, their density far exceeded any mineral Fang Er had ever seen!
Including osmium, the densest element on Earth!
They looked golden and very round, and were crystal clear, shining like jewels under the light.
Alright, he was resigned. This thing didn't seem to exist on Earth.
Even though he asked carefully, he still exposed his ignorance.
But Bu Yunbu Yu still patiently answered him, because these were things that ordinary people living on Atarri Star would never encounter in their lifetime.
He picked up an Andromeda coin with a hint of pride and smiled. "Brother Fang, don't underestimate this small Andromeda coin. With just a million of them, you can buy a spaceship in the black market!"
Fang Er: ???
Holy shit!
You could buy spaceships in the black market?
He instantly became extremely excited. "Brother, quickly tell me, what kind can I buy!"
If he could buy a warp drive spaceship in the interstellar black market, even at any cost, he would get one!
Bu Yunbu Yun pointed to the spaceship beneath their feet. "The most common ones you can buy in the black market are like the one we are on now."
"Spore-class armed merchant spaceship, price is one million."
"Better ones include the Eternal Storm-class interstellar cruiser, priced between twenty million and five hundred million, depending on the condition of the spaceship."
"The best was thirty years ago, when the Hound Pirate Group robbed an army and put a Grand Emperor-class interstellar mothership up for sale. I still remember the price clearly, a full seven hundred billion Andromeda coins!"
Fang Er was stunned!
Holy shit...
Seven hundred billion Andromeda coins, what an astonishing figure!
If all of this were used as energy, it would be enough for the Spore-class spaceship beneath their feet to travel for three hundred and fifty billion hours!
Converted to Earth time, that would be over forty million—years!