Technological advancement begins with devouring.

"Space ring?"

Upon hearing Jiang Chen's question, Jia Yi did not give an immediate answer, but instead asked in return, "Why are you asking this? The equipment and property of a strong person are very private matters!"

"I'd like to borrow some spatial rings to help me transport a batch of goods," Jiang Chen stated his request directly. "I'm planning to establish an industrial base in South America, but I need too many supplies, and transport planes alone simply can't handle the transportation."

“A spatial ring definitely won’t do. I don’t know about other forces, but I won’t lie to you, our China has only obtained three spatial rings in total, all of them are the standard ten meters in length, width, and height. One is with me, one is with Councilor Zhou, and you exchanged for the third. As for other forces, even if they had them, they wouldn’t tell you, let alone lend them to you. You need a lot of resources to build your base, and three spatial rings are definitely not enough.” Jia Yi shook his head, rejecting Jiang Chen’s request without hesitation.

Three spatial rings can transport up to 10,000 to 20,000 tons of supplies at a time. If the rings are large and have low density, they can transport a few hundred tons.

How many trips would it take to transport over a million tons of supplies? It's simply unrealistic.

As for inquiring about the equipment and wealth of other powerful individuals, Jia Yi would never do something so taboo.

"What if I issue a bounty?" Jiang Chen pressed on, unwilling to give up. "I won't actively search for who has a spatial ring. I'll just issue a bounty and pay a high price. If anyone is willing to help and comes to me, it won't be considered taboo, right?"

Jia Yi pondered for a moment, then nodded slightly and said, "I can help you spread the message, but I can't guarantee whether it will be successful. I estimate it will be quite difficult."

After a pause, Jia Yi added, "Spatial items must come from ancient civilization ruins, and ordinary martial artists have no way of obtaining them, so there's no need to issue a public bounty. I'll contact the major powers directly for you and also issue a bounty within the War God Palace."

"Thank you for your help, Councilor Jia Yi." Jiang Chen asked a few more questions to confirm the reward and conditions for borrowing the spatial ring. After asking Jia Yi to help post the bounty, he left the virtual space and returned to reality.

"If possible, we should establish a base in South America. After all, in terms of resource production, apart from the territories already occupied by other powers, Australia and South America are the richest in resources, but Australia is out of the question, so South America is practically the only option..."

Jiang Chen pondered his next plan, then gritted his teeth and said, "If all else fails, I'll build a large transport plane myself!"

Of course, the system drawings also include drawings of transport aircraft.

They even have several blueprints for spaceships.

With Jiang Chen's knowledge base, he can now exchange for a design solution that meets the needs of large-scale transportation.

However, the resources and time required to build something of this size, whether it's a transport aircraft that can only be used inside a planet or a spaceship that can travel short distances in space, are staggering.

Even the most economical solution would cost trillions of dollars and take at least six months.

Luo Feng will emerge from the ruins in about six months.

If we're really going to wait that long, it would be better to wait until Luo Feng obtains the Meteorite Star inheritance, then guide him to Ruins No. 12 to get his hands on the 'Black Dragon Mountain x81' spaceship, and then borrow it for a while.

After struggling with the decision for a while, Jiang Chen decided to wait a little longer.

Let's at least see if anyone will actually use a large-capacity spatial ring to help 'deliver packages' for the bounty offered through Jia Yi's channels.

A few days later, Jiang Chen received an unexpected message.

Hong, the founder of the Ultimate Martial Arts Academy and the strongest person on Earth, wants to meet Jiang Chen.

After hesitating for a moment, Jiang Chen said to Jia Yi, who was relaying the message, "If we meet in Jiangnan Base City, or in virtual space, then I agree."

Hong has long resided in his own base city, Hongning, and rarely leaves unless something major happens.

Even if they need to see someone, they must summon them to Hongning Base City to pay their respects to Hong.

Hong holds this position as the strongest being on Earth.

But Jiang Chen was unwilling to lower himself to pay respects to anyone, even if that person was far more powerful than himself.

Seeing Jiang Chen's firm attitude, Jia Yi didn't say anything and went directly to deliver the message. He quickly sent a reply to Jiang Chen, saying that Hong agreed to meet in the virtual space.

-

Virtual space, then a moment later in the living room.

When Jiang Chen met Hong, he saw a man dressed in a black training uniform who looked rather ordinary.

But those eyes put a lot of pressure on Jiang Chen.

Those who are weak will not be able to detect it at all.

However, those above the planetary level, with greater strength, could sense an extremely terrifying aura emanating from Hong.

“Jiang Chen?” Hong gestured for him to sit down. “I’ve wanted to meet you for a long time, but unfortunately you’re not a martial artist from my Extreme Martial Arts Academy, so I couldn’t invite you to my Hongning Base City. Please have a seat.”

"Greetings, First Speaker." Jiang Chen nodded slightly and sat down opposite Hong.

"I heard you want to borrow a large-capacity spatial ring." Hong got straight to the point, stating his purpose: "I don't have the spatial ring you want, but I can borrow one for you. It's 185 meters long, 167 meters wide, and 56 meters high. A spatial ring of this size is equivalent to thousands of ordinary spatial rings, which should be enough for your needs."

"A spatial ring this big?"

Jiang Chen did some calculations and was secretly pleased.

Such a spatial ring can hold the equivalent of more than 1,700 ordinary spatial rings that are ten meters long, wide, and high.

Even if Jiang Chen has an astonishing amount of goods to transport, two trips will be enough.

They can even bring more other supplies.

Jiang Chen was impatient and eagerly asked, "First Speaker, what price do I have to pay to borrow this spatial ring? As for the time... I only need to make two round trips to South America, and if I'm in a hurry, I can return it within a day."

There is no shortage of extremely fast fighter jets on Earth. Given Jiang Chen's relationship with the Chinese military, borrowing one would not be difficult.

If time is tight and there's no rest, it's entirely possible to make two round trips in a single day.

“This spatial ring doesn’t belong to me, and I’m responsible for its owner. So, my people will be with you, and they will be using the ring. That’s the condition for lending it out. If you don’t agree, then forget it,” Hong said, stating his first request.

Jiang Chen agreed almost without hesitation.

The resources Jiang Chen was transporting were of astonishing value, but given Hong's status and wealth, he wouldn't be interested in ordinary resources that could be bought with money.

As for him going personally, his safety is guaranteed. In case they encounter a powerful monster that Jiang Chen cannot handle, he can leave it to Hong to deal with.

“No problem.” Jiang Chen immediately agreed.

"As for the borrowing fee..." Hong looked at Jiang Chen and gave a slightly strange smile, "Jiang Chen, you have received the inheritance of ancient civilization relics, haven't you?"