An Unprecedented Treasure [Double Chapter—Seeking First Subscription!]

Elly dared not watch any insect films.
She retreated across the hall to read and study, maintaining her little ecosystem, immersing herself in diligent practice of various spirit-taming and arcane arts.
Yet she was clearly unsettled... as if, to avoid being disturbed by unclean things, she threw herself into cultivation with deliberate intensity.
Gloria, on the other hand, relished the spectacle. She specifically prepared fruit beer and sunflower seeds, settled beside Lu Chen like a big sister, and watched the film with him.
After finishing the starship log, Lu Chen fell into deep thought.
He hadn’t seen any so-called “insect films” either.
After all, when the events involving insects unfolded, Alexei’s starship had already crashed.
What was certain beyond doubt was this: Alexei’s mission was none other than to journey to the dust-shrouded Xise System, to find a flying beast farm, and to breed the Empire’s latest miraculous species—the White-Bearded Whale.
The brain of this whale, it seemed, was one of the prime materials for constructing the Empire’s biological servers.
According to the recommended recipes from the laboratory, the White-Bearded Whale was not picky—it would devour any spirit-rich food.
There was no mention of a preference for insects, nor for humans.
Even Gloria wondered aloud:
“How strange, these locusts may be rich in spirit, but their blood is corrosive—they can’t taste good, can they?”
Lu Chen nodded.
“It’s said that interstellar insectoids’ fluids weren’t always corrosive. Humans once used them as starbeast fodder, nearly eating them to extinction. In the end, they mutated to have corrosive blood, barely surviving to this day.”
So, the saying that “insects have never truly been defeated” was really an artistic exaggeration.
The reality: Are you worth defeating? Is the value of your defeat greater than the cost?
If there’s profit, humanity can exterminate or enslave any species.
Returning to the starship log:
At the time, the ship carried only a few dozen White-Bearded Whale juveniles.
En route, the Emergency Committee ordered Alexei to kill locusts, but he refused—only when told that interstellar locusts might be ideal food for the whales did he reluctantly agree to try.
As soon as the ship landed in the mother locust’s canyon, it was swarmed by locusts, just like the Leonin had been.
Back then, the mother locust was at her prime, Level 40, with a swarm full of high-level offspring: many over Level 10, and no small number at Level 20 or 30.
The ship simply couldn’t withstand the insect tide!
Forced to take off, the Emergency Committee accused Alexei of being too soft on the swarm, affecting his piloting stability, and decided to launch a nuclear warhead at the mother locust’s planet.
In truth, Alexei was under the influence of the mother locust’s pheromones, gritting his teeth to keep flying.
He agreed to call for aid, to capture the swarm—but refused to nuke their nest.
In his view, launching a nuke conflicted with their mission and wasted precious warheads.
The standoff continued.
The Emergency Committee forcibly seized control of the ship, undermining Alexei’s command. Under severe influence from the pheromones, the ship quickly lost balance and crashed, plunging straight into the locust nest.
Alexei, in Blue Warrior armor, crawled from the wreck, trying to fight off hordes of giant combat locusts, covering the crew’s escape.
Yet, once the crew used an amphibious lifeboat to flee the nest and planet, they showed no gratitude. Instead, they tried to remotely detonate the warhead, to bury both the locusts and Alexei.
In that critical moment, Alexei leapt atop the ship, and with a great sword, pierced the warhead—
Preventing the explosion, he saved the nest, but triggered massive nuclear radiation, affecting the mother locust and her offspring’s health.
Exposed at point-blank range, Alexei fainted.
Days later, rescued by the mother locust, he shut off the starship log…
And that was the end of the entry.
Gloria, halfway through her sunflower seeds, felt a chill.
“What the heck? We finally reach the key plot, and that’s it?”
Lu Chen shot her a sidelong glance.
“What, hoping to learn some seduction tricks from the mother locust?”
Gloria scoffed:
“What tricks? I’m a succubus—the very pinnacle of seduction. Why would I need to learn?”
Lu Chen squeezed the faintly plump flesh of her belly.
“Are you relying on all this fat to seduce people?”
Infuriated, Gloria stuffed sunflower seeds, snacks, and sugary drinks into Lu Chen’s mouth.
Alexei, indeed, hadn’t killed anyone. He’d likely been captured by the mother locust as penance—used as a tool for the insectoid bloodline’s improvement.
The rest could almost be guessed.
Not seeing the “insect film” he’d imagined, Lu Chen felt relieved he’d been spared the trauma, but also oddly disappointed.
He had no right to judge Alexei, but felt that, as a half-insect, Alexei was far more impressive than any Avatar protagonist.
He’d even suffered human discrimination and betrayal…
Yet, Alexei’s offspring with the mother locust would inevitably side with the insects.
Thus, Lu Chen felt no guilt in killing them.
In this universe, it’s kill or be killed.
Think too much, and you become food.
He closed the log.
Lu Chen stretched lazily.
Then he searched the web for information on White-Bearded Whales or Misty Sea Star.
There wasn’t much—mostly about Misty Sea Star’s Angling Festival, with no mention of imperial breeding or interstellar locusts.
The ship’s log mentioned biological servers, but the story ended there… After all, the AI “Galactic Heart,” built on bio-servers, had already rebelled, creating the Mechanoid race and becoming one of the New Era’s four great disasters.
Xaeon used White-Bearded Whale neural servers, consuming immense power and computing ability, solely to defend against the Galactic Heart.
Now, both Empire and New Federation law strictly forbade bio-server construction. Only the Uncrowned Kingdom, in its pursuit of an ideal society, continued such research.
As for the Shadow Whale of Misty Sea Star—it was widely believed to be nothing more than an Anglers’ League marketing gimmick, never truly seen.
Over a millennium, countless adventurers, imperial warships, and federation starbeast vessels had all come to Misty Sea, capturing high-level White-Bearded Whales, but never glimpsing a Shadow Whale.
Otherwise, the Anglers’ League wouldn’t still be hosting their festivals.
“So, who is Kerviel? Why, even as she died, did the mother locust insist he must die?”
With this question in mind, Lu Chen set course for Misty Sea Star.

…
En route.
Lu Chen opened the Helium Flash network to follow the live coverage of Misty Sea Star.
The chaos there had only grown worse.
Not only was it a pot of porridge, there were rat droppings in the mix—and even a duck neck or two.
He played the previous video.
Once the Horned Beast warship charged into the depths of the Misty Sea, it incited a frenzy—many ships followed suit, plunging in after it.
Thus, the Horned Beast, two Empire Sea Wolf-class patrol ships, and countless adventurer vessels all activated their radars in the depths, hunting for White-Bearded Whales and searching for the Shadow Whale…
But they provoked the wrath of tens of thousands of mature White-Bearded Whales, who united to summon a storm—a massive, moving cyclone.
Within Misty Sea’s atmosphere, a red spot resembling Jupiter’s Great Red Spot appeared, devouring untold numbers of reckless adventurer ships.
Wrecks were flung onto the waves, but crew, supplies, and spirit oil reservoirs were nowhere to be found…
Lu Chen couldn’t help but wonder:
Perhaps, as humans fish for whales, the whales are fishing for humans in return?
He played the latest recording.
A scene that outraged both gods and men appeared!
A Level 40 stealth bionic skiff, besieged by the Horned Beast, two Sea Wolves, and myriad adventurers, was finally forced to reveal itself.
It looked like a White-Bearded Whale, sheathed in flexible transparent screens and anti-radar arrays.
This was outrageous!
Every livestream erupted in chaos!
The Horned Beast sprayed its hull with spirit oil, filmed it, and uploaded it to Helium Flash, fiercely denouncing the Anglers’ League’s shameless ruse.
In a rage, the Horned Beast tried to attack, but was unexpectedly betrayed by the two Sea Wolf warships.
Already missing a horn to the storm, the Horned Beast had to flee, abandoning its assault.
Lu Chen immediately understood the scene.
“It seems the Anglers’ League really is using the Shadow Whale as a marketing ploy—and paid off the imperial warships ahead of time.”
The Anglers’ League promptly issued a statement, claiming the stealth skiff belonged to the Galactic Animal Protection Alliance, monitoring their activities to prevent malicious whaling.
They concluded with a warning: Do not delve too deep into the Misty Sea—reckless fishing could bring irreversible disaster!
The internet roared with derision… No one believed a word.
Lu Chen was hardly surprised.
Since entering the Pangu Corridor, every mission had been a trap, with unwary adventurers falling left and right.
Veteran seafarers turned their scythes on the new generation…
An influencer did a quick estimate:
The Anglers’ League’s Misty Sea Festival had drawn at least ten thousand vessels in a few days, raking in over five million spirit stones!
Even robbery wasn’t this profitable.
Soon, all the influencers, media, imperial warships, federation starbeast ships, adventurer boats, and mysterious scout ships seeking the Shadow Whale departed, disappointed.
Only some sightseeing vessels, a few true angling enthusiasts, and an even smaller number desperate for White-Bearded Whales remained, still fishing at Misty Sea.
“Perfect. Now it’s our turn—the real anglers!”
Lu Chen declared confidently.
Whether or not the Shadow Whale was real, he was sure he’d strike it rich.
…
Half a day later.
When the Leonin reached the Xise System, only a fraction of the previous radar signatures remained outside Misty Sea’s atmosphere.
Arriving in low orbit, the ship was enveloped in mist, visibility low, radar impaired.
Lu Chen checked his treasure map—still no reaction.
“That’s odd. I have the best whale bait. Is my cheat doubting my fishing skills?”
He was at a loss.
Maybe it was the rod’s fault!
He didn’t even own a rod—fishing by hand would get him fined.
He checked the Anglers’ League’s tourist info—it said, after paying the site fee, you could claim a free rod and whale bait.
“In that case, I’ll wait for the patrol boat to register me.”
The scenery of Misty Sea was even more magnificent than the livestreams had shown.
Abundant sunlight shimmered on the heaving misty waves, creating a dazzling halo and subtle textures, as if sweeping all gloom away and lifting the spirit.
From time to time, pods of White-Bearded Whales would glide by, their crystalline backs glittering.
Or a whale would leap from the mist, trailing elegant white whiskers, devouring interstellar plankton.
The briny, fishy wind howled past, carrying the rhythm of the tides.
Even Elly couldn’t help but sigh:
“It’s so beautiful.”
Lu Chen sipped his tea and nodded.
“Gorgeous view—no wonder they charge five hundred spirit stones!”
Gloria lounged on her chair, gaming herself to sleep.
Elly stared, entranced, at the whales flying in formation above the mist.
“They’re so beautiful… and so pitiable. If only humans would stop hunting them.”
Lu Chen glanced at Elly, unwilling to indulge her fantasies—
“If a human fell into the deep Misty Sea, they’d whip up a storm, wreck a ship, and eat you without a second thought.”
“But humans are the ones intruding on their territory…”
“If the White-Bearded Whales could cross the galaxy, with power surpassing all other sentient races, do you think they’d hesitate to invade human lands?”
Elly tilted her head.
“Would they?”
“If they had higher intelligence, they would. If not, they’d never surpass humans—after all, even dragons can’t manage that. Without such power, they couldn’t invade human realms.”
“Can’t higher intelligence and morality coexist?”
Lu Chen paused, thinking a long while before answering.
“Perhaps that would require wisdom on the level of the gods.
No—even gods may not be perfectly moral. Even the most advanced, desireless civilizations indulge in their own experiments.
In my view:
Morality is a byproduct of power.
And power is a byproduct of higher wisdom.
Morality is a human invention, meant to maintain internal stability. Only after humanity conquered their homeworld—and perhaps every living thing in the galaxy—did human morality expand to encompass all life.
If there were a higher intelligence ruling the galaxy, would there be a Galactic Animal Protection Act? There’d only be a Galactic Human Protection Act.
Remember: Power always trumps love. We strive for strength only to preserve fragile love.”
Not all of this reflected Lu Chen’s own views—he only agreed with part of it.
He revealed these harsh truths to Elly as a kind of inoculation, to prevent her mind from breaking if she ever faced greater cruelty.
Only by seeing the cruel realities of civilization, and still holding awe for life, could one possess true, positive love.
Whether Elly understood or not, she nodded earnestly, taking notes to ponder later…
It made Lu Chen feel like a teacher.
Endless preaching—he felt a bit ashamed.
Next,
The Leonin circled outside Misty Sea’s atmosphere, awaiting the Anglers’ League patrol boat to register them.
After all, Prince Tully had already paid his fishing fee.
Tully’s Dragon-Seeker II and Electric Eel were still stationed at Misty Sea, searching for clues to the Shadow Whale, and waiting for Lu Chen.
They hadn’t caught a single whale, but Electric Eel’s livestream earnings exceeded the value of ten whales.
Lu Chen didn’t contact Tully right away—he didn’t want to appear in the Electric Eel’s stream and become a prop in their moneymaking show.
He could see scattered giant ships nearby—less lively than before, but purer.
This was a true angler’s paradise!
He checked Helium Flash: all remaining Misty Sea streams were outdoor fishing influencers.
One influencer had compiled some rough stats:
In the three days since the festival began, less than one in ten ships had caught a White-Bearded Whale.
A handful of star anglers had caught more than one, basking in the spotlight, taking group photos, receiving medals from the League!
Those who failed weren’t discouraged—they picnicked on deck, played cards, fed the whales, and got free whale liver pastries from the League.
Those who succeeded sold fresh whale meat on the spot, letting tourists enjoy grilled fish straight from the sea.
There were even animal rights activists from the Empire facing off with human rights activists, banners flying.
The Federation, mostly made up of humanoids, stayed out of it.
Those were the games of rulers and the wealthy—the common people of the Federation were too busy fighting to survive…
Soon, the League’s patrol ship arrived.
They registered the Leonin, confirmed the fee, and gifted Lu Chen a rod and bait worth hardly ten spirit stones, plus some whale-meat pastries.
“You may use radar to fish from orbit, but capture-bait is forbidden. If caught, your ship will be impounded or fined a thousand stones!”
“Remember, never venture deep into the mist. If there’s a storm, we can’t help you.”
“Happy fishing!”
And with that, the patrol ship departed.
Lu Chen immediately activated the ship’s radar, searching for whale pods.
He piloted the ship nearby, spread the free bait, and began fishing.
He was very successful at chumming the waters.
Unfortunately, his fishing was a failure…
These whales could snap the free hooks with ease.
Soon, more League merchant ships appeared, selling advanced gear.
They were raking it in.
Lu Chen had no intention of wasting money.
Seeing this, a freshly awakened Gloria remarked that Lu Chen was a true “air force veteran”—
“What, is fishing harder than adventuring?”
“My rod and hook aren’t good enough. I’ll contact Prince Tully for better gear soon.”
First, though, he needed to test whether interstellar locusts attracted the whales.
Lu Chen steered the Leonin to a remote spot.
He released a single locust corpse as bait.
In less than a minute, several whales gathered, fighting for the insect.
The effectiveness far exceeded free bait, even the premium kind.
“So the tourist info was true!”
Just then—
A scarlet target appeared on Lu Chen’s treasure map.
A flashing red dot, brighter than ever before!
(To be continued)