The Interstellar Queen of Scavengers
Chapter 151 Companion Stone

Chapter 151: 151 Companion Stone

The group, unable to swallow their food, glanced at each other. Lou was the first to stand up and said, "Everyone done eating? Let’s log in on time for the group battle at seven."

Chu Jiaojiao stood up, clapping her hands, "Let’s go! If we head out now, I’ll even have time for a solo match before that."

Shen Changqing, Yue Qiyuan, Yue Qiguang, and Lance also got up, indicating they could join right away. Before leaving, Shen Changqing glanced at Yue Qiguang and asked, "Yue Qiguang, you’ve been mentally shaken today, can you handle the group battle tonight?"

Yue Qiguang almost exploded, "Dad’s dictionary doesn’t contain the words ’can’t do’! You mere mortals, stop putting hats on Dad willy-nilly!"

With that, Yue Qiguang took the lead and strode away swiftly.

In the blink of an eye, friends scattered in all directions, leaving Ji You surrounded only by some not-so-familiar classmates. Now, these unfamiliar classmates were staring at her with eyes full of murderous intent.

Ji You felt like sitting on pins and needles and quickly said, "Ah ha... Full and satisfied, I’m off."

Saying that, she actually started to run.

Back in the dormitory, Ji You pushed aside everything that happened at the training ground and diligently reviewed Professor Ye Hong’s Material Department lecture. She meticulously completed her assignment using the materials she had purchased and finally sent her work to Professor Ye Hong.

Let’s not talk about the complicated expression on Professor Ye Hong’s face when he received and graded the assignment.

After Ji You finished all this, it was already eight in the evening. She originally planned to immediately enter the Star Network to compete, but suddenly remembered her expenses were like running water, still owing student loans, yet without a stable income, she felt tremendous pressure.

The feeling was — simply unbearable.

Now that Ji You’s school life had stabilized, it was time to look for opportunities to make money.

The fastest and most lucrative way, of course, was crafting Soul Devices.

But —

She couldn’t guarantee the success rate of crafting Soul Devices.

And —

What about materials?

Where would the materials come from?

After studying the Material Department, Ji You realized that material processing is also of paramount importance, even affecting the construction of a Mecha, a Starship, a spaceship... including the success rate and power of the soul artifact making, almost all advanced technologies involve material processing knowledge.

The few Grass Seed Fruit Soul Devices Ji You had crafted before were truly made by sheer luck; she did not understand material processing at all and just delved into making them with naive ignorance — and somehow they were successful.

It was truly amazing that she succeeded.

However, many Soul Artifact Masters use high-quality, expensive Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures for crafting Soul Devices. Before they start crafting, they repeatedly design, deduce, calculate... until they come up with the best plan. Only then do they begin production and strive for success on the first try; otherwise, the material costs could be as much as millions, even tens of millions.

However —

Even with such careful calculation, the success rate of Soul Devices is still very low. Behind the growth of every soul artifact maker, the materials and resources consumed... are a mind-boggling astronomical figure.

In conclusion —

This is completely a money-burning profession.

Therefore, training Soul Artifact Masters is very costly, requiring substantial financial and material resources. For instance, Lanyue Star Military Academy, one of the Top Ten Alliance Schools and indeed a very formidable institution, still lacks the qualifications and financial capacity to offer a Soul Artifact Manufacturing course.

To research and refine her soul artifact manufacturing knowledge, Ji You must overcome two issues:

First: Those rare Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures used—

Where to get them?

Where does the money come from?

Second: More professional soul artifact manufacturing knowledge, at present, there are two ways—

Spend a large sum of credit points on the Star Network to purchase.

Use on-campus points to purchase from the school library, or the official Alliance University.

In the end, all the problems she currently faces can actually be solved with money. And yet, it is precisely because of the lack of money, because of poverty, that all her current predicaments have arisen.

Thinking of this, Ji You’s head is going bald.

Since that’s the case, Ji You decides not to think about these things she currently can’t achieve and shifts her attention to what she can see—like the readily available grass seed fruits, and the various discarded materials thrown away at will.

A Soul Device, after all, is just like a handmade craft. No matter how upscale, in the end, it depends on one’s own craftsmanship. Can’t even the poorest quality materials still be carved exquisitely?

Ji You’s eyes locked onto the waste stones that were discarded after processing materials today.

These stones are a kind of Companion Stone called Xuan Stone. Xuan Stone is a basic material with a dark and inconspicuous color, looking quite ordinary, similar to regular coal. However, it has a wide variety of uses; energy boxes for Mechas, spaceships, airships, and more all require this stone. Fortunately, within the territories of the Alliance, Xuan Stone mines are quite rich, so this stone is not too rare. Ordinary people can also purchase it on the Star Network with credit points. However, ordinary people are subject to a quota when purchasing such strategic materials; beyond a certain amount, their purchases are restricted.

And what about Half-Life Stone?

Companion Stones are actually the outer layer encasing the Xuan Stone, with the thick Companion Stone completely enveloping it. After humans mine the Xuan Stone, the Companion Stone—other than its beautiful appearance, deemed to have no other use after inspections—is often discarded.

Unlike the ordinary Xuan Stones, Half-Life Stones come in a variety of vibrant colors like red, green, blue, pink, and are crystal clear and particularly attractive.

But attractiveness is useless.

In the interstellar era, within the vast universe, the last thing lacking is beauty that is splendid yet insignificant.

In the face of survival crises, everyone is practical.

Ji You picked up five pieces of Companion Stone and placed them on the workbench, carefully observing them. These five pieces of Companion Stone were all a light pink color, somewhat similar to the material of crystal. To be honest, such pretty stones, even if they’re not useful, a seasoned crafts enthusiast who’s into upcycling could not bear to throw them away.

In her previous life, Ji You loved to buy various "junk packages" online at low prices. With some luck, she could dig out a lot of attractive and useful items, then find ways to craft them into handmade goods. Watching all kinds of waste transform into beautiful decorations offered a strong sense of satisfaction that was very fulfilling.

Staring at these pretty stones, Ji You’s crafting spirit instantly ignited.

She couldn’t hold back anymore and began to start crafting.

These stones were all very small, merely the size of a finger, perfect for making into pendants or bracelets. However, after some thought, Ji You decided to make something different from the grass seed fruits.