"Have you finished?" Isabel called from downstairs. "I'm coming up!"
"Done," Jiang Ye replied.
Isabel strode up, her long legs carrying her, and reached for Jiang Ye's urine bottle.
"Hey," Jiang Ye said, embarrassed, pulling the hand holding the bottle back.
"I'll take it out and throw it away for you," Isabel said, her hand still outstretched.
"That's not appropriate. Never mind, just leave it here for now." Jiang Ye bent down with effort, placing the bottle at the foot of the bed.
"It won't turn into gold if you leave it here! What are you so shy about?" Isabel snatched the urine bottle and headed downstairs.
Jiang Ye covered his face, thinking it would have been better to stay asleep. Waking up was too awkward.
A moment later, Isabel came back upstairs.
She plunked herself down on the edge of the bed, grabbed Jiang Ye's lower leg, and placed it on her own thigh.
"Let me give you a massage," Isabel said, patting the muscles in Jiang Ye's leg. "I've studied massage, so don't fidget!"
"Oh, this isn't appropriate. Please don't press it, I'll just rest!" Jiang Ye's face turned red. His lower leg rested on Isabel's thigh, and the sensation was incredibly smooth and tender.
Jiang Ye tried to struggle, but he was so weak that any movement of his leg caused pain, and he couldn't break free. Isabel firmly held his leg on her thigh, massaging it with practiced skill.
"Just lie still. I need to talk to you about something important," Isabel said.
Jiang Ye, still blushing, replied, "Go ahead."
"I want you to build a delivery center, right next to your base," Isabel stated.
"Huh?" Jiang Ye was taken aback.
"Listen, I'll explain it slowly, and you'll understand once I'm done," Isabel looked up at him, smiled slightly, and then lowered her head to continue massaging his thigh.
"The delivery center where I work now is Branch Center No. 7 of Nebula M78. It's located on a space station, a quarter of a light-year away.
"However, Branch Center No. 7 is too far from this planet. It takes two hours to fly here, making deliveries very inconvenient. Right now, I'm only delivering large items to you, and I can manage. But once most people on your planet can afford large items, I won't be able to keep up.
"Therefore, we need to build a small delivery center on this planet. That way, I can work from here and reach anywhere on the planet in minutes.
"Most importantly, building a small delivery center will save on transportation costs. My monthly bonus could multiply several times over."
Jiang Ye nodded, understanding.
He found the concept easy to grasp, similar to the logistics companies from his childhood where each city had a delivery center for convenient shipping and receiving.
"Building this delivery center will also benefit you," Isabel shifted her topic.
"How so?" Jiang Ye's interest was piqued.
"Firstly, if you fund the construction, the building and equipment of the delivery center will be yours," Isabel began listing on her fingers.
"Second, once it's built, you'll receive a fixed subsidy of 1 million credits per month, funded by the Galactic Empire. This money will be deposited into your account at the beginning of each month.
"Third, you'll get a small commission for transiting goods at the delivery center. Although the commission per item is small, with a high volume of deliveries, it can become quite substantial.
"Fourth, you'll be able to access delivery information for the entire planet. You can check records of what every colony governor buys from their base panel.
"Fifth, if the recipient of a delivery dies and the package goes unclaimed, you'll be able to handle it.
"Sixth, you can use some of the equipment at the delivery center freely. For example, packaging machines, charging stations, communication devices, and so on."
"So, what do you think? Tempting, isn't it?" Isabel raised her eyebrows.
Jiang Ye was completely swayed. This delivery center was definitely a money-making machine. Not only that, but it would also give him control over information on the entire planet. He could even control logistics!
An excellent opportunity!
However, such a good deal wouldn't just fall into his lap for no reason.
Jiang Ye smiled. "So, what is the specific price I have to pay to build this delivery center?"
"It's not much of a price, just a little bit of money," Isabel rubbed her fingers together. "You'll recoup the cost quickly."
"A little bit? Specifically, how much?" Jiang Ye's heart raced.
"For a planetary delivery center, there's a discount right now, making it quite affordable. Foundation costs are around 7 million, the main building is 43 million, and the instruments and equipment are 20 million," Isabel said in a low voice, as if speaking softly could lower the cost. "That's a total of only seventy million."
"Even if I sold everything, I wouldn't have that much money!" Jiang Ye was shocked.
"Don't worry, we'll take it step by step," Isabel coaxed. "When a big goal seems daunting, break it down into smaller, achievable goals. For instance, first, let's gather seven million to build the foundation. That shouldn't be too difficult, right?"
"Difficult!"
Isabel's face fell. "Are you willing or not?"
"It's not a matter of whether I'm willing or not. Seventy million is a colossal sum! It's not something that can be gathered in a short time." Jiang Ye stopped mid-sentence because Isabel was looking at him with a very disappointed expression.
"Alright, alright. I'll definitely build this delivery center. It's a win-win for both of us, so there's no reason to refuse. But it will take time," Jiang Ye said. "I'll go down and check the base panel to see my balance."
Isabel's smile returned instantly. She grabbed Jiang Ye's arm and slung it over her shoulder. "I'll help you down."
Jiang Ye struggled to stand up, clutching Isabel tightly as they descended the stairs.
He had never felt the existence of his bones and muscles so clearly before. With every step, he felt a pang of pain in his flesh, followed by pain in his bones.
Finally, they reached the bottom floor, and Jiang Ye slowly sat down.
He reached out and tapped the base panel.
He had been too exhausted last night and had fallen asleep directly, missing the base upgrade and his passive income.
He first clicked on "Base Upgrade."
The current base level was 15.
"Conditions required for Base to reach Level 16:"
"Base vehicle moved 500km."
Jiang Ye nodded silently. This upgrade condition was easy to meet; he just needed to step on the accelerator and drive.
Then, he opened the Galactic Mall to check the four newly added items.
Unexpectedly, they were all inexpensive, small items.
"Item: Video Call Device"
"Item Description: A 12-inch video call device, powered by advanced temperature differentials, charging through the temperature difference between day and night. Signal transmission relies on satellites. Each call device is bound through facial recognition."
"Price: 50,000 credits"
"With this, you can make video calls to me," Isabel said, looking on from the side. "If you have acquaintances on this planet, send one to them, and you can video call them too."
"A good item," Jiang Ye nodded. Typing messages was too impersonal; video calls were much more comfortable.
"Item: Translucent Armor Heavy Sniper Rifle"
"Item Description: An extremely powerful sniper rifle with immense recoil, caliber 15.2mm, codename 'Trans.' Strictly forbidden to fire while holding it, as it can easily break your arm. It must be mounted on the ground and fired prone. Effective range is two kilometers. After holding the trigger to charge, the effective range can be extended to 5 kilometers, but accuracy will be significantly reduced."
"Price: 205,000 credits"
"This thing is incredibly formidable. The spaceship I flew could be penetrated by this gun," Isabel said. "However, its lifespan is very short. After firing it about ten times, the gun is considered scrap."
"Good heavens, that's a cannon!" Jiang Ye exclaimed.
"Item: 15.2mm Charged Ammunition"
"Item Description: Suitable for 15.2mm caliber weapons, extremely powerful, supports charged firing. If you use it to shoot someone, they will be blown into several pieces."
"Price: 500 credits"
"Five hundred credits for one bullet," Jiang Ye nodded, thinking, "This is a damn cannon!"
There was only one last new item.