"I knew there was no such thing as a free lunch in this world."

Su Mo's originally decent mood instantly vanished. To think, the Fifth Federal Expeditionary Army had a full one hundred million soldiers and so many ships. This was a recipe for bankruptcy.

"Boss, what do we do now? Wait for the Federation to auction it off to us?"

Sun Duoxiang asked hesitantly.

"Although we are part of the military establishment, we have independent command authority, and our shares are the largest. We'll cover this cost ourselves. There's no need to add to the Federation's burden. Sun Duoxiang, you should still have some money, right? Can you handle it?"

Su Mo pondered for a moment and said to Sun Duoxiang.

"Yes, I know what to do. I'll go bid right away."

Sun Duoxiang quickly responded.

"Go ahead. I'll come find you after I finish things here."

......

At the top of the Zhaixing Tower, Goli looked at the bustling port in the distance, filled with docked ships.

A trace of faint sadness appeared on her exquisite face.

She sighed softly.

Just then, the sound of firm footsteps approached.

Goli turned her head to look at the person who came and sighed softly, "Klock."

"Lady Goli."

Klock greeted her with a calm and composed expression.

"What is it?"

"Lord Ikaloya, the city lord, wants you to return to the city lord's mansion and no longer participate in these matters. Lord Ikaloya knows what you asked Commander Kailas to do. Commander Nanqi will handle the matters of this expedition."

"I know Nanqi will handle it well."

Goli wasn't worried about Nanqi messing things up, but she knew Nanqi too well. In order to achieve his goals, Nanqi would definitely resort to any means.

She could imagine what would happen.

Klock extended his hand to Goli, bowed to her, and made a gesture of invitation.

Goli took one last look at the distant port, at the bustling scene, and turned to leave.

Klock followed closely behind.

......

On the other side, Su Mo, after dealing with the mech repairs, hurriedly rushed to the outer administrative building of Xinghuan City.

The entire administrative building was packed with people.

"Let me through, let me in!"

"Get out of the way, don't try to cut in front of me."

.....

"Why are there so many people?"

Su Mo immediately sensed something was wrong when he saw the sea of people.

"Boss!"

At this moment, a familiar shout sounded.

Su Mo turned his head and saw Marco running towards him.

Su Mo immediately went to meet him and said to Marco, "Why are you here? Didn't you go in?"

"Brother Sun and Zhang Hao went in. I'm here waiting for you."

"I see. By the way, why are there so many people here?"

Su Mo asked. Normally, when the Twelve Civilized Nations wanted to bid, they only needed to send a few representatives inside.

"Oh, boss, don't even mention it. These are all freelancers from various countries, and they want to get rich on Planet Gu. They normally wouldn't be able to reach Planet Gu, but now they can take the official ships. Who wouldn't seize such a good opportunity! You know, Planet Gu is full of gold. You don't even need to find ore veins; you can dig up money anywhere."

Marco explained to Su Mo.

"Bullshit, it's not that good. Isn't this nonsense?"

Su Mo was very clear about the dangers of Planet Gu.

"Don't even mention it. The Xinghuan City also announced a new policy. Anyone who bids for a seat and boards the Black and White Boundary Fortress is qualified to accept official missions along the way, and the rewards are very generous. Not only do they give Star Coins and contributions, but they even give Star Destroyers and even suitable planets. You can establish yourself as a king."

Marco said with great excitement.

When Su Mo heard this, his first reaction wasn't excitement, but rather a vague sense of unease.

Then he pondered for a moment and said to Marco, "Let's go, we'll go in too."

"Ah, boss, isn't that unnecessary? Why would we squeeze in with so many people? Brother Sun should be able to handle it. After all, we're just bidding for the spot for our own legion. That little bit of money isn't much to us."

Marco couldn't help but advise.

"I'm going in to take care of something else."

Su Mo said with an unusually calm expression.

"What are you going to do?"

The Pseudo-Creator Devourer seemed to sense a trace of abnormality and asked in confusion.

"You'll find out later."

Su Mo didn't say much.

Then Su Mo led Marco inside. Although there were many people, the freelancers were, after all, just freelancers. How could their strength possibly compare to Su Mo and Marco?

After some effort, Marco followed Su Mo inside.

In the huge administrative hall, there was a huge virtual projection.

It showed the seat numbers and the current prices.

Everyone who entered the hall could summon a small operating interface and bid directly.

Everyone who was bidding was scratching their heads, looking very distressed.

Although the unit price wasn't expensive, there were too many people who wanted to board the ship. Plus, the freelancers were getting involved, and the price was skyrocketing.

Su Mo led Marco without looking for Sun Duoxiang, but instead squeezed towards the vacant window.

Soon, Su Mo arrived at the corner business window again.

"Sir, what kind of business do you need to conduct?"

The girl inside the window recognized Su Mo at a glance and greeted him very warmly.

Su Mo said very straightforwardly, "I want to exchange contributions for high-grade energy crystals, exchange all of them!"

As soon as he said this, a trace of surprise appeared in the eyes of the beautiful girl in front of him, but she immediately replied, "No problem, I'll handle it for you right away."

The Pseudo-Creator Devourer was also very surprised. It said to Su Mo, "How rare, you're actually willing to exchange all your contributions for energy crystals for me?"

"I'll give you a good meal, after all, the road ahead is full of dangers, and it's estimated that it won't be easy to travel. I'll still have to rely on you."

Su Mo said with a steady gaze.

"Smart! It'll be too late to regret it when you encounter danger. No matter how many things you leave behind when you die, it's meaningless."

The Pseudo-Creator Devourer rarely praised him.

"Yes."

Su Mo nodded solemnly.

Marco, who was beside Su Mo, looked puzzled and asked Su Mo, "Boss, aren't we exchanging for a Star Destroyer?"

"No, don't ask so many questions. Go back to the Dark Shadow and bring more people. Help me pick up the goods later."

Su Mo then took the delivery document and turned to leave.

"Okay."

.......

Not long after, Su Mo arrived at the door of a special warehouse in the Fifth Ring of Xinghuan City.

Su Mo handed the delivery document to the Xinghuan City sergeant on guard.

The sergeant kept looking at the delivery document, then at Su Mo, and said after a long time, "You're quite smart, kid. You even know how to exchange for rare materials, and you're exchanging for such a large batch. You know, the market price of energy crystals has gone crazy. This is the only place where it's at a fair price."

"Thank you for the compliment."

Su Mo replied indifferently.

"Go in."

The sergeant on guard didn't say much.

Several hours later, Marco led people to transport sealed boxes of high-grade materials onto the Dark Shadow.

Su Mo waved his hand and told them all to leave.