Apocalypse Gachapon

“Exploring Bright Stars is also an option?”

This thought had crossed people’s minds before, but on the previous Bright Star, they hadn’t noticed anything worth exploring—just flowers and grass as far as the eye could see.

“Another multiple-choice question,” Ye Zhongming sighed, his gaze falling outside the building.

The wheel space stated there was no time limit, but the choice was yours to make.

A faction could explore the Bright Star—but this was an entire planet! How long would a thorough exploration take? While it might not be as ecologically complex as Earth, it certainly wouldn’t be small either.

Factions choosing not to explore could use that time to rapidly occupy more Bright Stars, inevitably leading others to failure.

Yet if they didn’t explore and the Bright Stars truly contained valuable items—things that could significantly enhance a faction’s strength or serve as equivalent payment for purchasing stars and guardian beasts—the situation would be entirely different.

Just as Ye Zhongming—and likely everyone else—was wrestling with this dilemma, the space’s voice, tempting as a devil’s whisper, sounded again:

“Spend equivalent payment to purchase a navigation map marking the locations of valuable items on the Bright Star.”

Ye Zhongming couldn’t help but laugh bitterly. The wheel space was blatantly tempting them.

Now he knew many wavering factions would stay to hunt for extra rewards.

The space was practically shouting: Short on funds? No problem! Buy this map, and you’ll have a chance to earn what you need for stars and guardians.

How could factions ambitious for the Mountain King Crown resist such temptation?

The public star zone in the central area contained numerous Bright Stars—no one could buy them all. But with these navigation maps pinpointing local specialties, victory suddenly seemed within reach.

With another sigh, Ye Zhongming chose to purchase.

A sleek, cylindrical object appeared in his hand, featuring a red button. A light press projected a virtual holographic star map before him, displaying hundreds of glowing dots—clearly marking valuable items, with a single green dot indicating their current building.

“Let’s check the nearest spot,” Ye Zhongming said.

The star map showed no changes in other factions’ statuses—clearly, the Bright Star’s specialties lured all. This slightly eased Ye Zhongming’s mind. His sole purpose here was the Mountain King Crown. With the Ocean King Crown already in his possession, the powerful synergy of the three ruler equipments made this a must-win endeavor.

Had any faction ignored the specialties to occupy stars rapidly, Ye Zhongming would have been forced to follow suit. Otherwise, falling behind would render any found specialties meaningless.

He refused to believe these specialties’ combined value could surpass the Mountain King Crown—otherwise, this entire trial would be a joke.

The nearest resource point wasn’t far—just twenty minutes at Evolved’s pace.

A small grove awaited them… truly small, with only five or six trees. Yet each stood tall, resembling decades-old Earth trees. While not spectacular, they weren’t shabby either.

“Are those… Golden Elm Oaks?”

The Female Guard, primarily tasked with protecting Ye Zhongming, weren’t materials experts. Xiao Min sounded uncertain.

“They are Golden Elm Oaks!”

Ye Zhongming’s eyes gleamed.

These existed on Earth but were extremely rare, found only in small quantities in tropical regions.

Nearly every part of Golden Elm Oaks was valuable. Their trunks, while too soft for construction, emitted a special fragrance when burned that accelerated evolved beings’ physical and mental recovery. Higher-grade trunks produced stronger effects—level six could double recovery rates, while level eight tripled them.

Just this made them immensely valuable. In Ye Zhongming’s past life, a one-hour Golden Elm Oak incense stick equaled a common silver-grade equipment’s price.

Though their wood was soft, the leaves boasted exceptional toughness—perfect base material for protective gear.

But most coveted were the fruits. These miraculous berries progressed through four stages:

Red stage (cherry-sized): Can be inlaid into socketed equipment to grant special abilities.

Green stage (larger): Become incredibly hard—when processed and fired from projectile weapons, they deliver massive damage with unique effects.

Grey-white stage (pre-ripening): Prime ingredient for instant-recovery potions.

Yellow stage (ripe): Superb consumables that temporarily boost overall strength—level six fruits increase power by ~10%, level eight by ~20%, lasting 10-15 days.

This was essentially a side-effect-free, ultra-long-lasting berserk potion.

But the true value lay in the permanent residual effect—after the duration ended, a percentage (up to 50% in one case, which Ye Zhongming knew) would remain permanently.

Each grade’s fruit could only provide one residual boost, but stacking all eight grades could permanently increase strength by ~20%!

Ye Zhongming never expected the first resource point to deliver such an incredible windfall!