The last thing to be strengthened was the patrol radar. The starry sea is vast, with distances between floating lands often measured in light years. A powerful radar is crucial for ensuring Captain Xinhuo doesn't get lost during interstellar exploration, and it also improves the speed and accuracy of locating resources like floating lands and asteroid belts.
The radar used the same resources as the main gun. Song Chi enhanced it to level 9 in one go. Though he owned the Zhutian Market, he still chose to participate in star domain exploration to gather resources faster. The better the radar's performance, the easier it would be to locate resource points. That made it a key enhancement.
In total, he spent 81 strands of zero-level floating land essence and 4,500 psionic points to enhance the patrol radar to level 9.
Patrol Radar Lv9
Quality: Colorless
Consumption: 3/s (Psionic Points)
Detection Range: 10 Light Seconds
Accuracy: 20
Upgrade Requirements: 100 wisps of Floating Land Origin (Lv0), 1500 Psionic Points
As for why he didn't enhance it to the limit (Lv19) of a colorless ship:
(Note: Lv1 = Lv10–Lv19 for colorless quality)
The reason was simple: this radar was still a standard model and would eventually be replaced. There's no point in spending irreversible resources now. Also, his remaining resources were running low. Of the 700 wisps of floating land origin budgeted for the shuttle, over 300 had already been spent, leaving fewer than 400 for upcoming needs—especially the enhancement of the Fire Sunflower Soldier Terracotta Tree, a white-quality special part.
Compared to colorless parts, white-quality parts require significantly more resources. Just upgrading from Lv0 to Lv1 cost 5 strands of floating land essence and 500 psionic points—a major expense. Still, Song Chi had to strengthen it. This was his long-term personal defense key.
Gritting his teeth, he upgraded the component directly to Lv10.
Almost 400 wisps were gone in a flash. He was left with just 104.
So, his pre-exploration enhancements had basically wrapped up. Those 104 remaining wisps were reserved for emergencies in the alien star domain—ready for sudden threats or the need for fast reinforcement.
As for the Zhutian Market and the Xinhuo Seed in the acupoint, he decided to wait. Survival on his first mission took priority. If this welfare exploration went well, there'd be gains.
Fire Sunflower Soldier Tree Lv10
Quality: White
Consumption: 100/unit (Psionic Points)
Effect: Summons ten Lv10 Fire Sunflower Soldiers. As long as they're not killed, they persist indefinitely. If killed, they can be resummoned after 24 hours.
Upgrade Requirements: 10 strands of floating land origin (Lv1), 2000 Psionic Points
Looking at the attributes, Song Chi was deeply satisfied. Ten elite personal guards, absolutely loyal, ever-present if unscathed this was security.
Once he calmed down, Song Chi moved on to his next purchases—large mechanical equipment. He headed to the Eagle Machinery Store on the mall's top floor. A chain backed by the powerful Marquis of the Eagle, the store had a solid reputation.
Using his lifetime of experience and sharp tongue, Song Chi earned a 5% discount after buying a lot.
Purchased Items:
Primary Interstellar Medical Kit (500,000 credits)
Basic Nanorobot Repair Kit (1,000,000 credits)
Angry Tiger ① Floating Land Mining Vehicle (3,000,000 credits)
Mining Vehicle Exploration Instrument (500,000 credits)
Basic Civilian Exoskeleton (200,000 credits)
Total: 5.2 million credits
After 5% Discount: 4.94 million credits
He paid 2.4 million in credits, then 254 strands of zero-level floating land essence from his Xinhuo acupoint. The clerk beamed; Song Chi winced.
By the time he left, he had only 110 strands left—barely enough for emergencies. He grumbled all the way.
Take the Basic Nanorobot Repair Kit, for example. Its effect was mediocre and couldn't fix serious ship damage. Yet it cost a million credits and only worked three times. A rip-off.
The same went for the medical kit—limited use, weak effects.
The Angry Tiger Mining Vehicle was just as overpriced. Manual drive was 1 million; automatic mode tripled the cost. But with safety in mind, Song Chi bought it anyway.
Back home, nothing interrupted him. He used the rest of the day to train his Guiding Technique in the Zhutian Market's practice room. But with his skill at Lv4 and the room still at Lv0, progress was negligible.
The next morning came. After breakfast, Song Chi joined his classmates at the academy. All students from Jiangyuan First Xinhuo Academy then headed to the suburbs for their welfare expedition. Many worried parents, including Song's, followed closely.
Along the way, they encountered numerous awakened students from other Xinhuo academies.