"Nationality?"
The cat-eared girl handling reception looked a little stunned. In her entire career, she had almost never encountered such a request.
"Please follow me, sir!"
But her surprise lasted only an instant. She gestured politely and led Jiang Li toward the deepest part of the metallic hall.
Inside the hall was only a single staff member. His appearance was no different from a human's—except that his eyes had no pupils.
"Supervisor, this gentleman wishes to join the Heilongshan Empire's citizenship."
The cat-eared girl explained respectfully.
The Heilongshan Empire was a mid-tier civilization. Its citizenship was practically a universal pass within the empire's borders—at least until one reached the Undying level.
Once someone became an Undying, even a mid-tier civilization would treat them with great respect.
"Oh? Does the gentleman have a release certificate from his original nationality?"
The pupil-less supervisor looked up with a gentle smile.
"I used to travel with my teacher, so I never joined any nation."
Jiang Li said according to the backstory Babata told him to use.
Normally, in a mid-tier universe civilization like the Heilongshan Empire, once someone reached Planetary level, they could obtain citizenship.
For someone like Jiang Li, already at Stellar level fourth rank yet without any identity record, people would usually assume he was the descendant of some great force.
Babata's fabricated explanation was the simplest way to avoid trouble.
"I see!"
The pupil-less supervisor nodded with understanding, then activated a rainbow-hued scanning system. "Please do not resist, sir."
"Alright."
Jiang Li nodded calmly. He knew this scan was simply to verify that his identity fulfilled the requirements for joining the Heilongshan Empire.
Beep!
The rainbow light swept past him, and the machine emitted a crisp tone—confirming that Jiang Li had no record in any system database.
"In that case, since you have never held any nationality, you only need to pay 100 Heilong Coins and everything will be processed."
The supervisor smiled.
"No need for change."
Jiang Li flipped his hand. A single Qianwu Coin dropped onto the metal counter with a clear, ringing sound.
"Qianwu Coin!"
Hearing the clink, the pupil-less supervisor almost looked like his eyes were about to grow back from shock.
As expected of someone who had a teacher backing him—what a generous way to pay!
...
With a generous tip, the supervisor's efficiency soared. In just ten minutes, Jiang Li's information was fully registered.
From this moment on, Jiang Li officially became a citizen of the Heilongshan Empire.
"Babata, where do I open a Virtual Universe account?"
Jiang Li asked through consciousness as he pocketed his identity crystal card.
The Virtual Universe Network was similar to Earth's internet—but it covered all human civilizations in the universe. Just the number of humans in the Heilongshan Empire alone was astronomical, not to mention the Qianwu Universe Country.
Truly immeasurable.
"Next to the red mercenary castle, about ten kilometers ahead."
Babata gave detailed directions.
Jiang Li rose into the air and in a flash arrived at the red mercenary castle.
"Jiang Li, after opening your account, you should first join the Universe Mercenary Alliance. Their management is loose—Master himself was also part of it back then."
Babata suggested.
"Alright."
Jiang Li nodded slightly.
The Universe Mercenary Alliance allowed free entry and exit unless someone was an exceptional super-genius.
And if someone was a super-genius, other major forces would fight to recruit them anyway, paying any price necessary.
Compared to the other four top forces—Universe Galaxy Bank, Universe First Bank, Virtual Universe Corporation, and Axe Gladiator Arena—the Mercenary Alliance was indeed Jiang Li's best choice for now.
Blackkun City, Virtual Universe Corporation.
"Sir, how may I help you?"
A charming fox-tailed subhuman woman asked with a sweet smile.
"I want to open an anonymous account."
A normal Virtual Universe account required valid citizenship.
But in the universe, some planetary lords or powerful forces would buy anonymous accounts for their juniors, letting them experience the Virtual Universe early to broaden their horizons.
"Sir, an anonymous account has a fixed validity of 100 years. Each account costs 2,000 Heilong Coins or 1.6 Qianwu Coins."
The fox-tailed woman explained.
"I need 20 anonymous accounts and 20 consciousness-link helmets, all bound together."
After paying the Qianwu Coins, Jiang Li stored all twenty helmets inside his space ring.
In a place like the Virtual Universe Corporation, showing a space ring wouldn't draw attention—it was part of a superhuman faction.
But in a mercenary castle filled with all sorts of characters, it was better to be more careful.
Next, Jiang Li went to the Universe First Bank to open a personal account. Unlike human accounts requiring passwords, the universe bank used spiritual-force verification.
After returning to the Demon Ship—
Jiang Li couldn't wait to enter the Virtual Universe. Babata looked equally excited.
As soon as Jiang Li put on the consciousness helmet, a mysterious sensation spread through him.
"Beginning connection to the Virtual Universe…"
A deep, vast voice echoed within Jiang Li's awareness.
The darkness parted, and his virtual body appeared in an ancient city. The streets bustled with countless people of various races.
Most were wearing simple gray clothing, and each shoulder had a small floating spirit perched on it.
"How fascinating…"
Jiang Li looked around, filled with curiosity.
"We are now on the Qianwu Continent within the Virtual Universe. This place is the ancient mercenary city on Heilongshan Island."
Babata reported after checking the information. "Anyone linking to the Virtual Universe from within the Qianwu Universe Country's territory appears directly on the Qianwu Continent."
"And everyone who enters the Virtual Universe is assigned a 'virtual assistant'—that little spirit resting on their shoulders."
Hearing this, Jiang Li nodded lightly.
"In the Virtual Universe, you can chat with friends billions of light-years away, and even pay money to teleport and meet inside the network."
"Here, you can learn martial arts, place orders, trade, buy things… beauties included—everything exists."
Babata explained thoroughly. "The Virtual Universe is bigger than any nation. It gathers all the human elites in the cosmos. Anything impossible in reality—if you have enough wealth—can be achieved here!"
"Some people even treat the virtual world as the real one, sinking into it for countless years without ever waking up."
It wasn't surprising.
Loved ones or family who had died could be perfectly recreated through simulation in the Virtual Universe.
With enough obsession, a person might rather live in illusion than face reality.
"Virtual games are the same—they make people addicted too easily."
As a veteran gamer, Babata felt obligated to warn Jiang Li.
"Mm. Babata, help me check—how much does it cost to become the lord of Blue Star?"
Jiang Li's primary goal for joining the Heilongshan Empire was to obtain the lordship of Earth.
This way, even if Earth was exposed to the universe's forces, it would receive a certain degree of protection.
After all, Earth hid a mysterious great expert behind it, and that was sure to attract attention.
He still remembered the requirements vaguely—the amounts, however, were blurry.
"Found it!"
Babata's search speed was incredibly fast. "To buy a planet directly—since you discovered it—you only need to pay the minimal purchase price!"
"Based on planet classification, the lowest price is 300 billion Heilong Coins, and the highest can reach 3 trillion Heilong Coins!"
Hearing this—
Even Jiang Li inhaled sharply.
His entire wealth at the moment was only 617 Qianwu Coins, not even enough to scrape together the smallest fraction.
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