Chapter 139: The Sky-High Teleportation Fee!

“I don’t care. I’m counting on you for my future happiness. You can’t just walk away like this!” Verlin looked at Lantian anxiously, as if he were a lifeline.

“Hey! Miss, your words are full of ambiguities! Someone who doesn’t know might think I did something to you...” Lantian’s mouth twitched slightly.

Verlin blushed, realizing how her words could be misunderstood. Seeing Lantian get up to leave, she hurriedly grabbed his arm without hesitation, her voice urgent: “If you step out of the living room, I’ll immediately notify the city defense forces!”

“That’s enough!” Lantian’s face turned cold as he snapped, “Do you really think I’m helpless against you?”

“You should already know the strength of my mental power. Believe me, I could turn you into an idiot in a second! Don’t mistake my courtesy for a license to pester me!”

“...”

No one had ever treated him so harshly before. Seeing Lantian’s stern, angry face, Verlin was frightened, her face paling as she instinctively loosened her grip on his clothes. Tears welled up in her eyes and she began to sob silently.

“Why are you crying...?” Lantian, who was usually soft-hearted, felt at a loss. If Verlin kept pestering him, even if he wouldn’t really turn her into an idiot, he could at least knock her out. But seeing her tear-streaked face, he was unsure how to proceed.

Between sobs, Verlin trembled as she spoke, “If it weren’t absolutely necessary, I wouldn’t trouble you. But I really have tried every possible way…”

“The passenger universe ships can’t be taken, the spatial teleportation station won’t work, I spent a fortune renting a private universe ship, but it was intercepted before even leaving the Convergent Star. Not to mention trying to fly out on my own—on the Convergent Star, cultivators below universe class aren’t even allowed to fly…”

“The only way out now is a universe-grade battle armor capable of spatial jumps. But such advanced battle armor is out of reach—not just for me, but probably even my father couldn’t afford one…”

“So, Lantian, please, take me with you. If I don’t at least try the Absolute Sky Tower, I’ll never be at peace!”

“Please, even if it’s not all the way to Absolute Sky Star, just get me out of Convergent Star, out of the Convergent Dynasty. I’ll give you all my wealth—over fifty million Yuanlan credits saved over the years! If you can take me away, it’s all yours!”

“Please...”

“Sigh... you really have given me a tough problem.” Seeing Verlin’s pitiful expression, Lantian’s expression softened, his face sour as he said, “How unlucky to run into such a big problem the moment I arrived at Convergent Star...”

“Actually, if it were another time, it wouldn’t be a big deal to take you straight to Absolute Sky Star, let alone just out of Convergent Star. But right now, I really can’t afford to use the battle armor. If something happens, it’s a matter of life and death…”

“But didn’t you use the battle armor’s spatial jump when you came here? I didn’t see any problems then?” Verlin asked weakly.

“The situation’s different... Besides, just because it worked once doesn’t mean it’ll always be fine,” Lantian shook his head.

“Just treat this time as a special case...” Verlin persisted.

“I’d rather die than marry someone I don’t like. Please, help me—I really have no other choice...”

“Please...”

Faced with Verlin’s desperate plea, Lantian’s resolve wavered. After much thought, he finally relented, “Alright, alright! I’m really scared of you—you’re like a sticky plaster that won’t come off...”

“What’s a sticky plaster?” Verlin asked, puzzled.

“You don’t need to know.”

Seeing Lantian’s expression soften, Verlin’s face lit up with hope. Tentatively, she asked, “So, you’re agreeing to take me away?”

“Fine, fine, fine! What bad luck—I shouldn’t have been so stingy with my universe star energy. Even a little more energy transfer would’ve been better, as long as it didn’t happen at your place...” Lantian shook his head in regret.

“Thank you, Lantian, you’re truly a good person!” Verlin’s tears turned to smiles, her pitiful look gone, replaced by excitement.

“Thanks for the ‘good person’ card...” Lantian said grumpily, then became serious. “I’ll take you, but let me be clear: you follow my orders exactly. Don’t give me any diva tantrums—I don’t have time to entertain you.”

“Okay, okay, I’ll behave!” Verlin nodded eagerly, happy. “I know spatial jumping in the battle armor consumes massive energy. Don’t worry, I’ll cover all the costs!”

“I just wonder—how many energy crystals will it take to get from here to Absolute Sky Star?” Lantian asked.

“Are you sure you’ll cover all the costs?” Lantian’s expression suddenly turned strange.

“Yes! What, you think I’ll renege?! I, Verlin, always keep my word. What’s your virtual universe account? I’ll transfer all my money to you now!” Verlin said, a bit annoyed by Lantian’s doubt.

“Wait, hold on—I’ll do the math first.” Lantian’s expression was a mix of amusement and seriousness. “When we jumped a few million light years, it cost about one level-eight energy crystal. But Convergent Star is tens of billions of light years from Absolute Sky Star. At that distance, I estimate it would take at least a thousand level-eight energy crystals.”

“Hm... One level-eight energy crystal costs about 100 universe credits, which converts to one million Yuanlan credits. So a thousand level-eight crystals would be a billion Yuanlan credits. And if I’m not mistaken, your entire fortune is just over fifty million Yuanlan credits. That means you can only afford about fifty level-eight crystals—far short of the thousand required.”

“...No way, spatial jumps are that expensive?! How’s that possible? Last time I asked at the teleportation station, it only cost a million Yuanlan credits to get to Absolute Sky Star! Why is it so different using the battle armor?” Verlin was stunned. She hadn’t expected spatial jumps in the battle armor to cost so much—so much that it crushed her hopes.

Then she looked at Lantian suspiciously. “You don’t want to take me, do you? You’re lying! No way it needs that many energy crystals!”

“Hey, lie to you? Tell me, how many people can a teleportation station send at once? And if everyone pays that much, what’s the total cost for a single teleport?” Lantian rolled his eyes and said, exasperatedly, addressing Verlin’s suspicion.