I opened a shop on the Astral Train-Chapter 9

The people in the Mechanical Settlement turned to watch the newcomers with curiosity.

"Who are they?"

"No idea. Judging by their clothes, they're not from the lower city. We don't have outfits that fancy down here."

"Has the passage between the upper and lower city opened again?"

"Look at that deer—it can breathe fire!"

"Wow, that's amazing! If I had one at home, I'd never have to worry about the cold again."

"Yeah, right. With your little tent? The deer would burn it down as soon as it stepped inside."

"Hey, don't underestimate my tent!"

Ignoring the chatter, Yuri, Clara, Hook, and Rios arrived at a large metal door. A traffic-light-shaped robot stood in front, verifying visitors.

"Verification in progress... Verification complete! Clara, welcome home."

The door slid open, revealing a towering three-meter-tall humanoid robot.

"Clara, welcome home."

Clara's face lit up. "Mr. Svarog!"

She leapt down from Rios' back and ran to Svarog, holding up the medicine Yuri had sold her.

"Mr. Svarog, Clara found medicine! Everyone is saved!"

Svarog scanned the bottles before motioning for a nearby mech soldier to take them away.

"Scanning... Test complete. Medicine confirmed."

Satisfied with the results, Svarog turned his attention back to Clara. "Clara, do not go to Rivet Town. It is dangerous. You may get hurt."

Clara smiled. "It's okay, Mr. Svarog! Clara wasn't alone. I had help!"

She gestured toward Yuri and the others. "Mr. Svarog, these are Clara's good friends—Yuri and Mr. Rios."

Svarog recognized Hook, who often visited the settlement to play with Clara. But as he turned to Yuri and Rios, his sensors flared. The lens on his head glowed red.

"Danger detected! A highly powerful entity is present! Engaging protection protocol—secure Clara!"

Svarog immediately positioned himself in front of Clara, shielding her.

Clara quickly intervened. "Mr. Svarog, Yuri isn't a bad person! He sold me the medicine, and Mr. Rios protected Clara the whole way back."

Svarog's sensors dimmed as he powered down his defensive stance.

"Clara's friend. Good person."

Yuri studied Svarog, considering whether to ask about the secret of the Stellar Core, just as Kevin had in the original timeline.

Back then, Kevin and the others had gained Svarog's trust through Clara, but the moment they asked about the Stellar Core, he turned hostile.

After some thought, Yuri decided against it. Sure, he could defeat Svarog, but why bother? Fighting was exhausting.

Yuri waved dismissively. "You must be Svarog. No need to worry—I mean no harm. I just escorted Clara home and made a trade with her."

Svarog's glowing eye shifted between Clara and Yuri. "Trade? What trade?"

Yuri pulled out the Stellar Jade Clara had used to buy the medicine. "This. If you have more of these, you can trade them for supplies with me."

Svarog scanned the gemstone. "Decorative item. Worthless."

Yuri chuckled. "Maybe to you, but to me, it's valuable. If you don't believe me, try making a trade. It's not like this stuff is rare for you, right?"

Svarog processed for a moment before nodding. "Acceptable."

He sent orders to the nearby mechs to collect Stellar Jade.

Five minutes later, several mechs returned carrying a pile of gems. Clara also handed over some she had gathered before.

Yuri counted them—exactly 50.

Summoning the exchange scale, he placed all 50 pieces of Stellar Jade onto it. Within seconds, the gems vanished, replaced by a neat stack of 50 star coins, each with a value of 100.

Yuri handed them to Clara.

She stared at the coins in wonder. "What is this?"

"Star coins—the currency here," Yuri explained. "You can use them to buy supplies."

He pulled out his phone and sent Clara the same product list he had shown Natasha earlier.

A notification popped up on Clara's phone. She opened the message and gasped.

"Yuri... did you send the wrong prices? This stuff is way too cheap!"

Yuri took a glance. "Nope, that's correct."

Clara's brain reeled. This much Stellar Jade can buy so much food!

She had thrown away so many pieces before, thinking they were useless!

"I need to go back!" Clara turned to run, only for Svarog to stop her.

"Clara. Confirm the validity of the transaction first."

Clara bit her lip, nodding. "Alright. Yuri, let's trade everything for rice!"

Yuri accepted the 5,000 star coins from Clara and summoned a massive bubble filled with rice.

The bubble popped, and 500 neatly stacked bags of rice landed in the square.

Svarog walked over and inspected one. "Scanning... Test complete. High-quality rice."

Clara cheered. "Amazing! Now everyone is saved!"

Hook stared at the massive pile. "Oh my gosh! If Hook had this much rice, I could eat forever!"

Svarog signaled for the mechs to transport the rice to storage. The entire lower city would benefit from this trade.

Meanwhile, Yuri checked his task progress.

[Task 1: Serve 20 different customers.]

Current progress: 7/20

Reward: Lottery Machine x1

[Task 2: Accumulate 100,000 star coins in total revenue.]

Current progress: 5.8/10

Reward: Commander-Level Strength x1

At this rate, Task 2 should be completed by tomorrow. Natasha's purchase would likely be substantial, and Svarog would probably trade for even more supplies in the future.

It was looking great!

That night.

Yuri, Hook, and Rios stayed at Clara's home to rest.

Clara's house was quite nice—a small two-story building, far better than the makeshift tents most people in the settlement had to endure.

After cooking a few stir-fried dishes, Yuri ate dinner with the two kids and then went to bed.

Meanwhile, Svarog was still busy.

He had issued a new directive to the wanderers of the Mechanical Settlement: collect Stellar Jade.

In return, they could exchange it for supplies.

At first, the wanderers were skeptical. Stellar Jade had no practical use beyond looking pretty—how could it be traded for precious food?

Then, someone successfully redeemed a bag of rice.

In the tent district, a wanderer returned from Svarog's compound, struggling under the weight of a heavy bag of rice.

"No way... can we actually trade Stellar Jade for supplies?"

In an instant, chaos erupted.

The realization hit like a wildfire—Stellar Jade was valuable.

Desperate for food, the entire settlement swarmed into the wastelands, frantically searching for the gemstones.

Panic set in as people scrambled to gather as much as they could, terrified of missing out.

"Hey! That's mine! I found it first!"

"Yours? Once it's in my hands, it's mine!"

"You wanna fight over it?!"

"Bring it on! You think I'm scared of you?!"

The situation quickly spiraled out of control, with heated arguments escalating into bloody skirmishes.

To the wanderers, Stellar Jade had become hope itself—their lifeline.

And anyone who tried to take away that hope... deserved to die.

Svarog acted immediately, deploying his mech soldiers to restore order.

All fights and riots were suppressed with mechanical precision.

Only then did the settlement settle down.

The uproar was so loud that it woke Yuri, Clara, and Hook from their sleep. Now, they sat in the living room, eating instant noodles as they listened to the distant echoes of unrest.

Yuri took a bite of his noodles, then glanced at Svarog, who stood outside the house, unmoving.

"Svarog, you seem lost in thought. What's on your mind?"

Svarog turned to Yuri. "I do not understand. Why would people fight over something they can freely collect?"

His mechanical eye flickered. "If I had not issued the order to exchange Stellar Jade for supplies, they would not have rioted."

Yuri sipped his broth. "You did the right thing—but your method was flawed."

Svarog analyzed. "Explain."

Yuri leaned back. "If I were you, I'd implement a work-for-relief program."

"Instead of handing out supplies, assign jobs. Have them build infrastructure—houses, for example. Look around. Everyone here lives in tents. That's no way to survive."

Svarog's processors whirred, analyzing Yuri's words at high speed.

"Understood."

Yuri nodded approvingly. "Good. No need to rush the supply exchanges. Have your mech soldiers collect the Stellar Jade instead. If someone wants to trade, they can contact me through Clara. You understand how cell phones work, right?"

Svarog nodded. "It is in my database."

Yuri tossed his empty noodle cup into the trash and patted Svarog's cold metal arm. "I'm heading to bed. You handle the rest."

Taking Hook and Clara with him, Yuri turned in for the night.

Svarog considered the plan carefully before issuing a new directive.

The material exchange point was immediately shut down and replaced with a reward distribution system.

Now, anyone who wanted supplies had to complete assigned tasks to earn them.

The settlement's remaining wanderers—those who hadn't yet traded their Stellar Jade—reacted with disbelief.

"What?! We can't trade anymore?!"

"Are you kidding me?! You guys are usually so slow, but the moment free supplies are involved, you're all lightning fast!"

"Someone must have pissed off Boss Svarog! Why else would he shut it down? Look—there are still supplies over there!"

Several desperate wanderers rushed to a patrolling mech, trying to reason with it.

"Hey, there are still supplies! Why can't we trade?!"

The mech paused, its single red light scanning the crowd.

"New directive: Material exchanges discontinued. Work-for-relief system implemented. Gather here tomorrow for job assignments. Complete tasks to receive supplies."

Without another word, the mech continued its work.

The news crushed the remaining wanderers. Their hope had been within reach, only to be yanked away at the last second.

Muttering curses, they shuffled back to their tents, defeated.

Meanwhile, in Panyan Town...

Natasha was tending to March 7th, Dan Heng, Kevin, and Bronya.

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After a full examination, she concluded that they had only been drugged into unconsciousness. They just needed rest.

Satisfied, she arranged for all four to be placed in a single room to recover.

Outside, she turned to Sampo, who was waiting nearby.

"Alright, tell me—who are these people?"

Sampo yawned, stretching. "They're from the lower city. Found 'em in a mine. You know me, Natasha—I'm a good guy. Couldn't just leave 'em there."

Natasha crossed her arms, staring at him with a knowing expression.

Sampo sighed, scratching the back of his head. "Fine, fine. You got me. I'll tell you the truth."

And so, he did.

When Natasha heard their true identities, her expression darkened—especially when she learned who Bronya was.

The heir to the Supreme Guardian.

If this wasn't handled carefully, the entire lower city could suffer catastrophic consequences.

Kevin, March 7th, and Dan Heng weren't as much of a problem—they were wanted criminals in the upper city, sure, but the Silvermane Guards wouldn't come down here to chase them.

The lower city had plenty of wanted fugitives. They all lived under the Underworld Fire's surveillance.

But Bronya?

This was dangerous.

Natasha exhaled slowly. "I understand. Leave them to me. I'll handle it."

Sampo gave an exaggerated bow. "Thank you Natasha! I'll be off then!"

With a cheerful wave, he disappeared.

Natasha turned to a group of nurses. "Take good care of them. Nothing can happen to these four. Understood?"

"Yes, Doctor!"

Once she was sure they were in good hands, Natasha returned to her office.

Unlike that morning, there was now a massive sack in the corner.

She opened it—inside, it was filled with Stellar Jade.

Natasha picked up a piece, inspecting it before checking her notebook.

[Current Stellar Jade count: 1,365]

Every Underworld Fire member had been sent out to collect them. Their search had turned the entire underworld upside down.

Just then, the door swung open.

Seele walked in, holding a small pouch.

"Natasha, I'm back. These are the Stellar Jade I found in Rivet Town."