Free Web NovelWen Yuzhi had only ever heard Esoris mentioned by Mond and the others before. He’d never actually been there.
In the Saint Clan’s language, Esoris carried the meaning of darkness and abyss.
It wasn’t until the warship they were riding gradually approached the planet—until Wen Yuzhi looked out through the viewport—that he finally understood why the Saint Clan had named it darkness or abyss.
Because from the outside, Esoris was a pitch-black, sunless world.
There wasn’t a trace of any other color on it. Its entire surface was wrapped in a layer of something like black rock.
Wen Yuzhi knew those “black rocks” were actually ore.
The whole of Esoris was a massive mining planet.
It was the Saint Clan’s largest known mining world in terms of surveyed mineral reserves—and at present, it was also the largest in the entire interstellar sphere.
And because of that, Esoris was also an extremely important military stronghold for the Saint Clan.
Energy extraction, armaments manufacturing, weapons research—institutions like those, and more, had all been established here.
After Mansendis took the throne, management of Esoris was tightened even further. Now, only warships that had received approval were allowed to enter this planet.
The hatch opened slowly.
Wen Yuzhi was still sitting on Mansendis’s shoulder, following the silver-haired sovereign down from the warship.
Esoris had only a single port, fully taken over by the military. So the moment they stepped off, the atmosphere felt strangely familiar.
It was a lot like the military facilities Wen Yuzhi had been to before—everything carried a stern, heavy pressure.
And the people coming and going around them were all officers and soldiers in uniform.
Along the way, they saluted Mansendis and Wen Yuzhi, but no one lingered. Everyone moved in a hurry.
Clearly, the Saint Clan here were extremely busy.
Every day, countless loads of ore had to be shipped out from here, and Esoris had only this one port. The workload was obvious.
But this trip was only a simple inspection. Mansendis hadn’t made a big display of it, so the landing pad didn’t look like it had when they returned to Dark Tower Star—there were no groups of Saint Clan standing in formation to welcome them.
Almost the moment they landed, Mansendis took Wen Yuzhi straight toward the military base the Saint Clan had built on Esoris.
Maybe because Wen Yuzhi looked curious about the place, Mansendis considered it for a moment, refused Mond’s suggestion to use a spatial-jump, and chose to walk instead.
Between the port and the base, there was a straight corridor. Through the glass curtain wall, Wen Yuzhi could clearly see what it looked like outside.
Esoris was rich in mineral resources—and accordingly, its climate and environment were extremely harsh.
All the way along, everything outside the buildings was visibly barren. Other than stone, there was only stone. No grass, no plants, and not a single living animal.
“Esoris isn’t suitable for living things to inhabit,” Alvin explained. “Before the Saint Clan came here, this place was a dead star with no life.”
In fact, many planets in the Ninth Star Sector were like this—harsh climates, no life. Otherwise, this region wouldn’t have become a place everyone avoided, a place for exile.
Unfortunately, by the time other races discovered the Ninth Star Sector also held vast mineral reserves, the Saint Clan—under Mansendis’s lead—had already seized the entire Ninth Star Sector.
By then, regret was meaningless.
Relying on these mineral-energy resources, Mansendis had propelled the Saint Clan into becoming the race with the most weapons and warships in the interstellar sphere.
That was also why Alvin had the confidence to tell Wen Yuzhi to pick any warship he liked.
Because the family really did have mines.
Wen Yuzhi couldn’t help sighing to himself.
There were three military bases on Esoris. The one they were heading to now was the largest.
Here, Wen Yuzhi saw many Tas.
Because of bloodline restrictions, the Tas were the only Saint Clan who could only ever remain in a primitive beast form. Their bodies were enormous, with hard exoskeletons and scale armor, and they adapted well even to an environment as harsh as Esoris.
They could even walk outside without fearing any weather at all.
When Wen Yuzhi and the others arrived, one squad of Tas was just preparing to head out.
They were responsible for patrolling the base perimeter.
Even though, after the Ninth Star Sector was sealed off, no other races would be coming here anymore, the necessary vigilance still remained.
Especially since everyone knew Esoris had suffered theft incidents in the past, Selet had adjusted the base’s security measures overnight.
Now, Esoris was sealed tight from top to bottom—like an iron barrel. Something like “outsiders sneaking in to steal” would never happen again.
A room inside the base.
Since they were expected to stay here for several days, it had been arranged in advance.
.
By now, Wen Yuzhi was already used to the way the Saint Clan handled things. Only when it came to matters involving him did the tone suddenly shift, as if the entire style changed.
That day, even if Mond and the others personally put on fluffy clothes, he probably wouldn’t find it strange.
Of course, if Mansendis wore them, he’d still be shocked.
In the huge room, aside from the other furnishings, a gigantic gift box sat on the carpet.
Selet said, “This is the welcome gift they prepared for you.”
Compared to the Saint Clan on Dark Tower Star, the Saint Clan working on Esoris had even fewer chances to see the little Highness with their own eyes. They could only see him through photos and videos.
So when they heard the king was bringing the little Highness here, the Saint Clan on Esoris were delighted.
They had specially prepared a welcome gift for his first visit to Esoris.
Wen Yuzhi opened the gift box.
Inside was a box packed full of mineral specimens.
Countless strange, beautiful ores were portioned into small glass cases.
He gave it a quick look—there were probably at least a hundred different kinds in there.
These were things the Saint Clan here had deliberately collected in daily life. The shapes were rare and unusual.
This was also one of Esoris’s “specialties.” There was nothing here but ore. The Saint Clan working here didn’t have anything else they could give him. After thinking it over, they simply picked out the prettiest stones, packaged them up, and sent them over.
Just like the candy jars the Saint Clan in the palace had given, these mineral specimens were also the Esoris Saint Clan’s sincerity.
Wen Yuzhi immediately looked at Selet. “Please thank everyone for me.”
As he spoke, there was suddenly a light knock at the door.
But it didn’t quite sound like an ordinary knock.
He curiously opened the door.
A cleaning robot was parked there.
Its body was an oval disc, and on top of the disc stood a whole pile of Gumu.
The moment the Gumu saw Wen Yuzhi, they hurriedly made guji guji sounds.
They looked so excited it was as if they were saying: Cub, come play with us!
Play...?
At first, Wen Yuzhi didn’t understand.
But very quickly, he realized what they meant.
Because the Gumu patted the disc, and the cleaning robot immediately started moving, carrying them around as it rolled back and forth.
As it moved, the cleaning robot also emitted a cold electronic voice.
【Guji guji】
Clearly, the Gumu had set it up that way.
Wen Yuzhi fell silent for a moment.
But the Gumu kept inviting him enthusiastically.
Cub, come up and play with us!
Two minutes later, Wen Yuzhi was standing together with the Gumu.
And inside the base, a scene like this appeared.
A cleaning robot that kept shouting guji guji rolled in front. On top of it sat a group of round, jelly-like creatures—and in the middle of them stood a delicate, cute silver-haired little doll.
Any Saint Clan who happened to pass by and see it couldn’t help stopping.
The one up there... is the little Highness?
Seeing Wen Yuzhi standing among a group of Gumu, their eyes lit up.
After all, when adorable things stay together, it’s adorable plus adorable—double adorable.
Especially when the silver-haired little doll wore a tiny crown as it stood up there, being carried through the base by the cleaning robot. The whole posture looked exactly like a little king inspecting his territory.
And with Yiluo and Feier following behind, it even came with guards.
Almost every Saint Clan who saw the cub would salute to show respect.
And after this scene was recorded, videos of the silver-haired little doll riding the cleaning robot spread rapidly throughout the base.
Without exception, every Saint Clan who watched had bright eyes, and their mood clearly shifted into something extremely pleasant.
The ones they’d envied most before were the same-race on Dark Tower Star. Those who stayed on Dark Tower Star not only got to see the little Highness up close, they also knew the latest updates about him.
Meanwhile, the people here only had the right to stare longingly and envy from afar.
But now it was good. With this video in hand, it was finally their turn to make the ones on Dark Tower Star envy them.
Wen Yuzhi still didn’t know how huge a stir he and the Gumu had caused. When Xi Heyan messaged, he was still sitting on top of the cleaning robot.
【Did you reach your destination yet?】
Before coming to Esoris, Wen Yuzhi had already told Xi Heyan that Dad was taking him out, to visit one of their family’s “businesses.”
After all, mining was still a business.
And strictly speaking, the entire Ninth Star Sector could be counted as Mansendis’s. So saying Esoris was “theirs” wasn’t wrong.
Of course, Xi Heyan had no way to guess that the “business” Wen Yuzhi was going to inspect was a Saint Clan military stronghold.
He only figured Wen Yuzhi should have arrived by now, which was why he asked.
Wen Yuzhi replied: 【Arrived safely.】
The trip had gone very smoothly. There were no storms, no chaotic currents, and they didn’t run into a black hole.
The warship arrived right on time at noon the next day.
Wen Yuzhi thought this probably counted as his first successful long trip.
And if he remembered correctly... when you went out to have fun, you were supposed to buy some local specialties as gifts to bring back for friends and family.
At least, Wen Xingyan was like that. Every time he went out, he’d bring back a huge pile of things and say they were...
Souvenirs.
The moment Wen Yuzhi thought of that word, his spirits lifted. He began thinking about what Esoris’s “specialty” might be.
But it seemed like the only thing here that could be called a specialty was...
-
Xi Heyan had recently completed another bounty.
And before the money in his account could even “warm up,” it was quickly transferred out again. The receiving party’s avatar was a black rabbit with its mouth stretched wide in a grin.
Anyone who often moved through the underground black market knew: if you wanted to buy intel, you went to the black rabbit.
This was an intel organization. Everyone inside used the black rabbit as their image, and that was also the name they used outside.
And when it came to squeezing money, these black rabbits were truly black-hearted.
The intel they sold was unbelievably expensive.
The school bonus Xi Heyan received, plus the bounties he’d completed over the past few days, added up to a large sum.
But for someone who needed to keep track of His Majesty Bernard’s movements often, it ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) was still just a drop in the bucket.
Almost overnight, Xi Heyan became broke again.
And right at that moment, Wen Yuzhi sent a message.
【Do you like ore?】
Wen Yuzhi asked because Esoris really didn’t have any “specialties.”
There was nothing here but ore.
Thinking of the mineral specimens the Saint Clan had gifted him, he felt it was a great inspiration.
He could pick out some prettier ores to use as souvenirs.
But for Xi Heyan—who was currently almost penniless—this question was no different than asking: Do you like money?
You didn’t even need to think about the answer.
Who wouldn’t like money?
Still, Xi Heyan asked: 【What kind of ore are you talking about?】
Wen Yuzhi thought for a moment. There were so many kinds on Esoris that he really couldn’t pick one to ask about.
So he could only say: 【It’s my first time going out... I was thinking maybe I could bring you something like a souvenir. But over on my side, it seems like we only have ore, and there are a lot of kinds. Do you want to pick?】
“......”
Xi Heyan stared at the words on the screen.
For a moment, he felt like he understood every word—but when they were put together, he couldn’t quite understand them.
Using ore as a souvenir, and “pick”?
He was genuinely stunned by the dull monotony of the young master’s wealth.
He didn’t say anything, but silently raised the estimate of just how rich Wen Yuzhi’s “Dad” was by several more levels.
Just thinking about it made it obvious how wealthy a family whose business involved mining would be.
Meanwhile, Wen Yuzhi was already excitedly having Selet take him to pick out ore.
.........
Elsewhere.
Mansendis and Mond stopped in front of a door at the entrance to an underground passage.
This trip—aside from investigating Tasiya—also involved one more important matter.
Mond stood at the wall-mounted control panel and let a laser scan his body. freeweɓnøvel.com
【Beep—Biological data matches. Access granted.】
The next moment, the entrance door slowly opened.
A passage leading underground appeared before them.
Even within the Saint Clan, very few knew that Esoris also held an isolated prison.
The prisoners kept there weren’t ordinary criminals.
They were criminals with special identities—ones who weren’t suitable to remain active outside.
Mansendis and Mond’s arrival also caused them to wake from dormancy.
“...You?!”
