Beside Xiao Yu’s fleet, countless ships of various types were bustling back and forth. From their propulsion systems (whether they used reaction engines or curvature drives) to their size, shape, and mass, Xiao Yu could roughly estimate the civilization level each ship belonged to. His conclusion was that most of the civilizations present in the Azure Market were Level 4, with a small portion at Level 3. As for Level 5 Civilizations, aside from the market’s host, the Molian Civilization, Xiao Yu hadn’t seen a single one.

“Perhaps after the three-way war, the Milky Way truly has become a place where any Level 5 Civilization is a hegemon in its own right,” Xiao Yu thought to himself.

Xiao Yu diligently gathered all possible information about this market, such as the strength of the participating civilizations, how many forces the Level 5 Civilization had stationed here, and the performance parameters of both defensive and offensive installations.

These data points would determine Xiao Yu’s stance in the upcoming transaction, whether it would be a peaceful exchange or a violent plundering.

Under the guidance of the small ship, Xiao Yu’s fleet gradually approached the inner star system. The first thing to appear in Xiao Yu’s view was a massive gas giant.

Xiao Yu saw that the gas giant was twice the size of Jupiter, and it had dozens of natural moons. These moons were densely covered with all kinds of fortifications, undoubtedly concealing vast amounts of power, acting as a deterrent to any outside force daring to defy the rules.

In addition to the natural moons, there were also numerous space stations orbiting the gas giant. Each of these stations was tens of kilometers in diameter, even larger than Xiao Yu’s Province-Class starships. Around these stations, all manner of spacecraft were constantly arriving and departing in a flurry of activity. The entire planetary system exuded an atmosphere of busyness and prosperity.

“So this is the strength of a Level 5 Civilization?” Xiao Yu silently grew wary. “But to fully operate so many installations, just how many intelligent beings would be required?”

Based on Xiao Yu’s current level of technological understanding, it was impossible for artificial intelligence to fully replace intelligent biological life. This was mainly due to two reasons: First, AI could never truly reach the intelligence level of living beings; and second, AI was plagued by too many unpredictable variables. The so-called Three Laws of Robotics proposed back in Earth’s era had long been proven full of loopholes. In other words, a fully AI-operated society substituting for intelligent life was not going to be viable in any foreseeable future. This included Level 5 Civilizations.

That meant the larger and more numerous the installations or spacecraft, the greater the number of intelligent beings needed to operate them. From Xiao Yu’s experience, a single Province-Class starship required at least several tens of thousands of experienced and specially trained humans to operate flawlessly. And that led to a contradiction: with such massive and numerous installations and bases present in this market, just who was operating them?

“Could the Molian Civilization really be powerful enough not to fear attacks from other high-level civilizations? Otherwise, how could they withstand the loss of such an enormous population? Or perhaps these bases are nothing but a show, operated by inefficient AI for appearance’s sake?” Xiao Yu silently contemplated this and made a mental note of the question.

“Welcome to the Azure Market. Please dock your fleet in Zone A3. The precise coordinates are as follows… Your fleet may operate freely within this area, including mining resources, resupplying, and conducting exploration. However, please do not cross zones, to avoid misunderstandings.”

At that moment, the small ship ahead transmitted a message. Xiao Yu responded, “Understood. May I ask, where exactly is the trading area? What kind of goods do you offer here? And what do you use as currency?”

The location of Zone A3 was an area centered around a small moon several dozen kilometers in diameter. Following instructions, Xiao Yu guided the fleet there and posed a question.

The small ship responded, “Because biological lifeforms from different civilizations require vastly different living environments, all transactions within the market are conducted via non-contact trading. That is, intelligent beings do not appear in person. Instead, all trades are handled through robotic proxies. All goods exchanges, transfers, inspections, and other processes are carried out by robots. Now, please submit the items you wish to trade. The Azure Market will assess their value and convert them into the market’s universal currency: Transaction Points. A product catalog will be sent to you shortly. If you are interested in information-based goods, you may inquire directly, and we will inform you of the cost. You may then decide whether or not to purchase.”

The technological being aboard the small ship appeared to have performed the role of trade assistant many times. As soon as Xiao Yu asked his question, it promptly sent over a packet of information.

“I see… very well.” After some consideration, Xiao Yu submitted data on Swarm limbs and asked, “May I ask what types of items other civilizations typically use as currency here? Also, could you provide a general catalog or reference sheet so we can understand the exchange rates between various materials and Transaction Points?”

“Hmm… Type-3 Alien Beast Civilization, Swarm limbs. The are excellent goods and are highly sought after by Level 4 Civilizations, many of which are buying in bulk. As for the price, one ton of Swarm limbs is worth one Transaction Point. Regarding your request, please provide your data interface. You’ll soon be connected to our database. You’ll be able to find answers to all your questions there. Before that, please submit your computing model and primary communication protocols. This data will be used to generate your data interface.”

After a moment of consideration, Xiao Yu transmitted the requested information.

“It seems your civilization has been at the Level 4 stage for quite some time. Generally, only mid-tier Level 4 Civilizations have access to quantum computer technology,” came an admiring voice from the small ship. “And from the look of it, your civilization has a very high level of mastery over quantum computing. Would you be willing to sell some of that technology? I believe many Level 4 Civilizations would be highly interested and willing to pay a handsome price.”

“Hmm?” Xiao Yu asked in slight confusion, “Aren’t you a Level 5 Civilization? Hasn’t your civilization mastered quantum computing?”

“It appears your civilization doesn’t often interact with others. In that case, allow me to offer you a piece of information, free of charge,” the small ship transmitted. “Technological development follows countless paths, each with infinite possibilities. Even the most basic electronic computer, given enough time, can evolve to a level not inferior to a quantum computer. Everything depends on which path your civilization chooses. Our civilization chose the path of photon computing, and we’ve developed it to a very high degree, so it would not be wrong to say that we haven’t mastered quantum computing.”

This answer completely caught Xiao Yu off guard. In fact, it nearly upended his entire understanding of technological progression. In Xiao Yu’s mind, the development of computing technology followed a clear sequence: from electronic computers to photon computers to quantum computers. With each step up the ladder, the computing power increased dramatically. But now, this being was telling him that even photon computers could reach a level on par with quantum computers?

This sparked deep contemplation in Xiao Yu. He sensed that some of his fundamental understanding of the universe might have been flawed from the start.

“All right. The data interface has been successfully established. You may now freely browse within your authorized permissions. A friendly reminder: do not attempt any actions beyond your access level. Our civilization holds privacy rights in high regard. If you breach those boundaries, it could lead to unnecessary misunderstandings. That’s all. Goodbye, and we wish you a pleasant trading experience.”

With that message, the small ship quickly flew off, leaving Luka Two and the other Luka personnel aboard their vessel staring at each other in silence.

“I didn’t expect the Azure Market to operate like this… we won’t even have the opportunity to show ourselves,” Luka Two said with a bitter smile. It had realized that its plan to win back Xiao Yu’s favor by excelling in trade negotiations had collapsed.

“I think this trade model is quite reasonable,” Xiao Yu said. “We’ve just been held back by our previous assumptions. All right, let’s start analyzing. Let’s find out what goods they have that we might want, and how we can maximize our gains from this trade…”

Through the data interface, Xiao Yu could freely navigate and access vast amounts of information within his permissions in an instant. Due to his unique nature, the digital realm held no secrets from him. But for now, Xiao Yu had no intention of taking risks or attempting to bypass access restrictions. His understanding of the Molian Civilization was still too limited. If they caught wind of any unauthorized actions, it could lead to serious trouble.

“The Molian Civilization’s computer technology seems completely different from mine. Their computers… their number systems aren’t fixed? Binary, ternary, quaternary, quinary, four different bases coexisting simultaneously? Huh? Octal and nonary too? How is that even possible?”

Just brushing the surface of their computer systems left Xiao Yu deeply shocked. These things were far beyond his imagination.

“Maybe they use some kind of special algorithm that ensures data precision even in the midst of numerical chaos. Sometimes chaos means security, this might very well be a unique method of encryption in their civilization.” With this thought, Xiao Yu decided to temporarily abandon his exploration of the Molian Civilization’s computer systems and focus his attention on the tangible trade goods.