Free Web NovelChapter 73: Chapter 73 Costly Provisions
Cassian scowled. "Track her down. Once we find her, slice her into pieces and throw her to the creatures."
Aboard her spaceship, Elara suddenly sneezed.
Someone’s badmouthing me somewhere, she thought.
She’d ventured out to replenish her supplies. freewebnσvel.cøm
By now, she’d figured out the food here consisted mainly of beef, mutton, mushrooms, plus small quantities of butter, milk, and eggs.
After spending so much time in this place, she had a solid grasp of how this world worked. Farmable land was incredibly limited—no leafy vegetables existed, and seafood counted as a rare delicacy.
Though they only consumed a few fish monthly, the empire wasn’t treating them too badly, considering everything.
The Cerulean Tempest Wave’s pristine waters were too limited to sustain any seafood industry. The clan could barely sustain themselves.
However, the ocean floor contained abundant Crystals—including precious Holy Crystals. So the Wave Tribe exchanged these for land-based nutrient solutions.
Her water abilities could advance using Feral Cores, but the ceasefire made hunting those bugs dangerous. She’d gotten fortunate that evening.
She’d questioned Alistair about the drop chances; he mentioned less than one in ten B-grade insects contained a Feral Nexus.
Lucky me, I guess, she thought.
She considered traveling to the Cerulean Tempest Wave. Her Cleanse ability performed twice as effectively with seawater.
It would exhaust her, but she could exchange it for Crystals.
She opened the map—and instantly wished she hadn’t. Even with warp capabilities, the journey would require many days round trip.
And the route ran directly through insectoid territory.
The Valerion Empire provided military protection for Wave Tribe trade missions. Traveling solo? She’d be dead in seconds.
No thanks.
Premium goods never came easily.
She abandoned the Crystal scheme and touched down at Glimmeraven Port. Like before, she masked up, covered herself completely, and zoomed straight to the food quarter on a scooter.
Finnian had added Elara the moment his communications restored. Even after their kiss, he remained too nervous to text first. He couldn’t restrain himself anymore, especially when he spotted her location racing toward Glimmeraven Port.
Finnian messaged, "Out?"
Petalprovidence responded, "Restocking." She attached an image of a goofy dog performing a tiny dance.
Finnian stayed quiet. That username... Then Elara’s screen displayed that Tranquiltide was typing...
She was busy selecting premium 5A-grade beef. She’d had my fill of mushrooms.
Next, she hit the seafood area—ultra-expensive, but she had funds now. Alistair had even handed her a black card before she departed.
She was already functioning like a household manager.
Her gaze fell on a salmon, then a blue lobster that reminded her of Julian.
And that bizarre geoduck—ideal for messing with the bunny.
She chuckled and dropped them in her cart, adding abalone, oysters, and shrimp.
Tranquiltide typed, "Heading back?"
Petalprovidence sent him an image.
Finnian tapped it too quickly. It showed the geoduck, wriggling in the ice.
Petalprovidence texted, "How about this? Huge, right? Really fresh. Planning to slice it for sashimi later..."
The fox in Chamber Six pressed his legs together, already sensing phantom pain.
Tranquiltide responded, "Extremely fresh. Don’t shop solo next time. I can arrange delivery."
"Did that sound too domineering?" He fidgeted with his fingers and sent a cute smiley emoji.
Elara let out a snort.
Gorgeous face, awkward emojis, she thought.
Petalprovidence replied, "OK."
Finnian stared. "Is she brushing me off?" "Right, that tone was too aggressive."
Tranquiltide recalled a message, then transferred 100,000,000 credits—followed by another cute smiley emoji.
Elara accepted the funds, left him on read, and smirked to herself.
Finnian stayed silent, feeling dejected.
One-touch payment, and a massive portion of her credits vanished.
She flinched. The money really didn’t stretch far.
She moved to the snack area, which contained mostly nutrient beverages in various flavors—basic ones for 1,000 credits, premium ones for 50,000. She couldn’t stomach the stuff.
Instead, she bought enormous containers of ice cream and malt beer.
Two bottles ran 400,000 credits. Anything plant-derived costs a fortune.
At the fruit vendor, she grabbed a box of lemons for her lemonade.
Fruit selections were limited, again due to scarce fertile soil.
With few options available, she selected a crate of watermelons. She could prepare frozen yogurt treats later.
