"Meow… Yun Yi, where’s the food?"

  Standing in the corridor of the interstellar train with his luggage, Yun Yi was at a loss. Beside him, Princess Xiyue looked around with wide, curious eyes, occasionally reminding Yun Yi that he was responsible for her hungry stomach.

  "Alright, I’ll take you to eat soon. Be good, okay?"

  Patting Xiyue’s head, Yun Yi wore a troubled expression. Though he was seventeen and had experienced many things, his lack of social experience left him flustered on this interstellar train.

  Fortunately, he had read many books, including titles like "How to Adapt to a New Environment" and "Is It Hard to Talk to Strangers?"—guides on social interaction.

  Touching the necklace around his neck, Yun Yi calmed his slightly dizzy mind and recalled what he had learned.

  Just then, the sound of footsteps came from around the corner of the corridor.

  Yun Yi quickly led Xiyue back into the escape passage, gently closing the door and peeking through the crack to observe.

  A middle-aged man in slightly worn clothes, his face etched with hardship, walked over carrying two packages of food. He stopped at a door not far from the escape passage and knocked.

  "Dad, you’re back! Did you get any food?"

  The door opened, and a boy of about seven or eight rushed out excitedly.

  The man handed one of the packages to the boy and said softly, "Here, share this with your sister."

  The boy happily took the food and went back inside. Then, a middle-aged woman came out and quietly closed the door.

  "Why is there so little food?" the woman asked in a hushed voice.

  The man opened his package, took out a dry biscuit, and handed it to her. "Prices have gone up again. Two days ago, a biscuit cost two dollars. Now it’s five. I’m afraid they’ll keep rising, so I bought a bit more."

  The woman gasped. "They’re charging so much? Back home, a biscuit was only five cents."

  The man sighed. "I know. These people are vampires. At this rate, we’ll be penniless by the time we reach Tairsey."

  The two whispered for a while longer before returning to their room.

  From their conversation, Yun Yi gleaned a lot of useful information and realized his own problem.

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  The biggest issue was that he was still wearing the military uniform of the Zhao Song Empire from the base. Perhaps no one had noticed, or even Yun Yi himself had forgotten, but he hadn’t brought any spare clothes. Xiyue, on the other hand, wore a light blue dress. Though elegant, it was still normal attire, though it had wrinkled after several days of sleeping in it.

  "What should I do… If I buy clothes, I might expose my identity… Stealing seems risky since every room is occupied. Looks like the only option is to rob someone."

  After a moment of thought, Yun Yi made up his mind.

  "Xiyue, stay here and be good. Don’t wander off!"

  Xiyue nodded obediently. Yun Yi wasn’t worried—after spending several days together, he knew Xiyue well. If he told her to do something, she would comply, even if she didn’t want to. She might complain a little, but she wouldn’t disobey.

  Watching Yun Yi sneak out, Xiyue felt a pang of worry but said nothing, just watched him leave. Alone in the empty escape passage, she grew frightened and gradually crouched down, curling into a ball against the cold wall.

  Yun Yi didn’t keep her waiting long. In less than five minutes, he returned wearing an ordinary men’s jacket.

  The worn jacket made Yun Yi look a bit more mature. Though the recent hardships had left him slightly haggard, he still appeared handsome overall. His time living alone on an alien planet, combined with Zhao Xuanxin’s deliberate guidance and the influence of the queen and Solon, gave him an air of distinction.

  Feeling the stained, slightly oversized jacket, Yun Yi found it uncomfortable but had to make do. Thinking back to what had just happened, he felt a pang of guilt toward the man who had been pacing outside his room, unable to afford food. After knocking him out and taking his jacket, Yun Yi had withdrawn a few hundred dollars from a nearby ATM and stuffed a small amount of change—about ten dollars—into the man’s pocket. He hoped the man wouldn’t hold it against him when he woke up.

  After all, ten dollars was no small sum. In the current universe, no single nation issued currency. Everyone used the money issued by the Galactic Empire a thousand years ago. After the empire’s collapse, the Imperial Bank was renamed the Universal Bank, still controlling currency issuance across the cosmos, with the four largest nations jointly managing it. This ensured that, no matter how many nations existed, there would be no monetary chaos.

  The currency, known as Imperial Credits, was issued in both paper and electronic forms and had strong purchasing power. An average family of five could feed themselves for a month on thirty to fifty dollars. Of course, this was based on prices in the remote regions of the Fengzhou Star Domain. In more developed areas, costs were higher. As for starships, which were uniformly priced across the universe, an export model from the Chu Tang Empire cost about a million dollars at the factory, with tariffs and transportation costs driving the price up the farther it was from Chu Tang.

  Back at the base, Yun Yi’s monthly salary was over two hundred dollars. But he had no time to spend it and nowhere to shop, so he had saved up quite a bit. On this interstellar train, he could be considered relatively wealthy.

  With the clothing issue resolved, the rest was easier to handle.

  They still had over ten days before leaving Iserlohn, and staying in the escape passage the entire time wasn’t an option. But Yun Yi quickly thought of a solution, one Zhao Xuanxin had taught him.

  "Any problem that can be solved with money isn’t a problem!"

  Recalling how Zhao Xuanxin had solemnly imparted this wisdom, Yun Yi had initially felt uneasy, wondering how he’d solve problems if he had no money. But now, with some cash in his pocket, he hoped Zhao Xuanxin’s advice would prove useful.

  Shouldering his bag and wrapping the jar of brain fluid in his military uniform, Yun Yi transformed into a family man on a long journey. At first glance, no one would suspect him.

  After briefly recalling the cabin’s layout, Yun Yi led Xiyue to the room where the administrator of Cabin B2582 lived.