Chapter 276 - 276 160 The Pot of Poverty

276: Chapter 160: The Pot of Poverty 276: Chapter 160: The Pot of Poverty Facing this situation, Xiao Man had the Star Rank temporarily deactivate the Shield, allowing them to teleport in first.

However, continuing this way was not a solution; not only was rebooting the Shield troublesome but it also risked exposing the location of Seven Star Island.

He felt it was necessary to expand the gang’s population limit sooner rather than later.

After another trip to the position of the Star Network Host, he exchanged for 3 portions of Star Dust as backup; now, Xiao Man was left with only 33 points.

He had indeed considered arming Ye Cang and the others all at once.

Three portions of Star Dust would be used to increase the gang’s population limit, and the remaining 33 points could be converted into more Star Dust and used to purchase three Star Network Terminals.

But ultimately, he rejected this idea.

The main way he earned points was still through combat, while Ye Cang, Brother Hero, and Lin Sisi had virtually no combat power.

He thought it was better to use these points to upgrade and strengthen his own abilities first.

Furthermore, to save costs, Zhang Xiaoman changed the originally planned free distribution of Star Network Terminals to a purchase that would cost 10 Contribution Points.

It wasn’t that he was being greedy, but rather that he was simply too poor.

Right now, just the three of them, Ye Cang’s group, were hard enough to maintain, not to mention the eight hungry newcomers soon arriving; if he were to distribute one to each person, there would be nothing left for his upgrade.

All of this was because of poverty.

Next, with the Shield turned off, Ye Cang and Brother Hero should be able to use the Starry Stone to teleport in.

He stood waiting for a while and indeed saw a figure appear before him amidst a burst of light.

It was Ye Cang.

Mr.

Ye was holding the Starry Stone in one hand and raising the other halfway up, looking around in astonishment.

When he saw Xiao Man, he immediately remembered what had just happened and said with a delighted expression,

“Star Lord, I apologize for making you wait.

I am not very familiar with this thing, and I failed several times before, which caused the delay.”

This was his first time using the Starry Stone, and he was unaware that the Shield had previously blocked him; he thought he had made a mistake while inscribing the pattern.

Xiao Man gave him a nod, just about to greet him, when he saw another burst of white light beside him, and Brother Hero also appeared.

“Eh?

It worked?”

Brother Hero was slightly stunned, then noticed the two people beside him and walked over, saying,

“Ah, Brother Man, that really scared me just now.

I drew it several times, but it just wouldn’t teleport.

I thought maybe I accidentally damaged the stone when I dropped it yesterday.”

Xiao Man’s mouth twitched in frustration and he said helplessly,

“Hero, if you had broken this stone, I wouldn’t have a free replacement for you; you’d have to buy one with your own Contribution Points.”

Brother Hero scratched his head and laughed,

“Heh, it’s all good this time, won’t happen again.

Actually, I think this thing is quite sturdy, it would probably hurt a lot to hit someone with it as a brick.”

Xiao Man ignored his nonsensical talk and instead turned to Ye Cang, leading them toward the underground base.

Along the way, he talked to the two of them about the shield and explained why they couldn’t teleport just now, naturally skipping over the issue of the gang’s population limit.

“Oh, I see, it seems this shield is really something good, being able to become invisible and providing alerts; it makes me want to move in,” Brother Hero said, revealing a suddenly enlightened expression.

He then asked, “But, Brother Man, if we can’t teleport because of the shield, what should we do in the future?

Don’t tell me we have to drive here every time?

Isn’t that troublesome?”

Zhang Xiaoman explained:

“Don’t worry about that.

I am currently adjusting the shield.

It won’t be long before it can autonomously perform identity recognition on you, and then you’ll be able to teleport here.

Until then, if I need you guys to come over, I will turn off the shield in advance.”

“What if we encounter another emergency situation?

If you are on the island, I wouldn’t be able to even call you,” Brother Hero queried.

Zhang Xiaoman frowned, “That is a problem indeed.”

Just then, Ye Cang suddenly asked, “Star Lord, is there a way we can communicate across the Gate of Hell?”

“Yes.”

Zhang Xiaoman tapped on his Star Table and suddenly projected a three-dimensional interface into his palm.

“This is the Star Network Terminal, a necessity for every member of the Star Alliance.

Its built-in communication system can ignore the magnetic interference from the Gate of Hell.”

Upon seeing this, Brother Hero’s eyes nearly popped out, and he exclaimed excitedly,

“Holy moly!

Brother Man, what is this black magic?

Holographic projection technology?

It’s so powerful!

I never knew the watch you wore had this feature!!”

Zhang Xiaoman immediately explained some things about the Star Network Terminal to the two of them, and even Ye Cang, a man in his nineties, felt quite intrigued.

“Ah, Brother Man!

How much does this thing cost?

I want one too!!!”

Zhang Xiaoman looked at him, “It’s not a matter of money.

The Star Network Terminal costs 10 Contribution Points each, and you currently can’t afford it.”

His words were like a bucket of cold water poured over Brother Hero’s head, immediately silencing him.

“Hmm, but Mr.

Ye could buy one.

Your current Contribution Points are already at 40, which is enough to buy one.”

Ye Cang pondered briefly and then asked, “Star Lord, may I spend Contribution Points to buy one for Brother Hero as well?”

Zhang Xiaoman was taken aback, but he nodded.

“Of course, you can.”

Upon hearing this, Brother Hero immediately lifted his head and began to thank Ye Cang enthusiastically, even promising to earn enough Contribution Points to pay him back soon.

Zhang Xiaoman then deducted 20 Contribution Points from Ye Cang in the gang list and went to the shop to purchase two Star Network Terminals, handing one to each of them.

By this time, the group had already entered the underground hall of the Inheritance Land.

Brother Hero and Ye Cang were busy setting up the initial identity binding on their Star Tables.

However, what they hadn’t expected was that the watches they received had only the basic personal information page and communication module unlocked; the rest of the functions were locked.

It was only then that Zhang Xiaoman realized that their gang membership status not being activated could impose such restrictions.

“Brother Man, why is this happening?

All these functions are locked, I can’t even watch movies…”

“Cough cough, Brother Hero, don’t worry.

I just mentioned, the Star Network Host has been successfully set up initially.

It will take some more time to perfect the identity recognition function, so just be patient.”