After the long hours of mining, the sensation crept up on him quietly. Hunger finally surfaced. Aston frowned and rubbed his stomach, suddenly aware that for all his ship's power, it could not solve something as simple as a meal. He opened the survival interface again, hoping he had missed something obvious. There was nothing.
He turned to the regional chat once more, scrolling with purpose this time. Among the scattered complaints and warnings, a pattern emerged.
The transparent panel expanded, lines of text cascading downward in real time, each message tagged and timestamped.
And this time it seemed many captains had renamed their ships...
Ship 007: "No trade at level one, don't waste time."
Ironhulk: Anyone else already feeling hungry?
BlueComet: Level 1 ships can't trade. That's the problem.
Nomad-17: Rush to upgrade to Level 2 ship or you'll starve. No joke.
RedWake: Just upgraded. Regional trade unlocked instantly.
Aston's eyes narrowed slightly as he focused.
SilverAnchor: Requirements for Level 2 are simple. Hull Armor Lv2, Engine Lv2, and mine at least 1500 units of any resource.
VoidDrifter: Yeah, once you hit Lv2 you can buy food and water from other captains or stations.
Several captains mentioned trade. More specifically, regional trade unlocked at ship level two. Aston pulled up the upgrade requirements immediately.
Upgrade Requirements Lv 2 Ship:Hull armor lv 2, Engine lv2, At least 1500 units of any Resources mined.
Another thread in the regional chat caught his attention, moving faster than the rest.
RustFox: Anyone else opened other iron chests yet?
SkyWhale: I got preserved meat and water from mine.
DriftSpark: Same here. Bread too.
ColdOrbit: Mine was trash. Just ore.
....
Aston's gaze lingered.
Then a new message appeared, highlighted briefly as reactions poured in.
StarMason: One iron chest gave me six items. Iron, copper, preserved meat, water packs, bread, and silicon. Ship name is Dawn Hauler. Feeling blessed.
More replies flooded in immediately.
Ironhulk: Six items? That's insane.
VoidDrifter: RNG is brutal.
BlueComet: Guess luck matters as much as grinding.
Aston leaned back, eyes drifting from the chat to his inventory display. Metals. Silicon. Space coins. Not a single unit of food or water.
So that was how it worked. Iron chests Contained other materials other than iron and copper. It's just that his luck .... Some captains opened them and secured days of survival in seconds. Others walked away with nothing but materials.
He moved without hesitation and selected the hull armor upgrade first.
1000 units of iron were consumed instantly. The ship shuddered as the material was redistributed, white-tier plating thickening and layering into a denser composite. The outer shell hardened, its surface lines smoothing as structural integrity climbed to a new threshold.
Next came the engine.
The requirement was steeper. 1000 units of copper and a minimum of ten percent energy output. For any ordinary ship, that energy cost would have been a consideration. For Dark Star, it was irrelevant.
Copper vanished from storage. The engine core flared softly, internal conduits widening as the propulsion system recalibrated itself. The hum deepened, steadier and more controlled than before.
With both prerequisites fulfilled, the upgrade prompt for leveling the ship to level 2 activated.
Aston authorized it.
500 units of iron dissolved into light, and this time the change was unmistakable. The ship expanded outward, panels unfolding and reassembling with mechanical precision. The compact form stretched into a true vessel, ten meters in length and six meters in width. The design became sharper, more deliberate, with defined sections for systems that had not existed before.
[ Congratulations ! The ship has been upgraded to Level 2]
[Regional Trade Function has been opened]
[Level blueprints have been unlocked]
New terminals illuminated across the control panel. One in particular drew Aston's attention immediately.
Trade Terminal.- Note: Transactions limited to ships within the same region.
Additional notifications followed in quick succession. Several blueprint categories flickered, their locks loosening. New construction options appeared within Security, Auxiliary, and Lifestyle. The ship was no longer confined to bare survival tools. It could now begin shaping itself toward sustainability.
He opened the ship interface.
Captain: Aston Garfield
Ship Name: Dark Star
Energy Storage: Ether ∞
Embedded Weapon: Semi-Automatic Machine Gun (White)(Lv1)
Hull Armor (White): Iron Composite (Lv2)
Engine: Galaxy II (Green)(Lv2)
Built-in Rooms: Captain's Cabin, Storage Space
Level: 2
Status: Operational
Other Modules: basic life support, scanner.....
Inventory: 1400 iron, 1200 copper, silicon 50, Space coins 1500...
Aston scanned the panel carefully. For all the upgrades he had just completed, the status panel showed little visible change. The numbers had shifted slightly, the engine and armor levels now reflected, but the ship's core identity remained the same. Dark Star looked almost unchanged at first glance. Only the subtle hum of enhanced systems and the quiet assurance of a stronger hull suggested the qualitative leap beneath the surface.
He tapped the trade terminal next. The interface unfolded, rows of options appearing before him. He had expected the system to require space points for trading but it seems only materials could be used - trades were conducted directly using resources. Iron, copper, silicon, and even biological materials like insect meat could be offered in exchange for food, water, or other materials.
Space points - it seemed, were reserved for entirely different functions, perhaps more specialized upgrades or premium blueprints.
Scrolling down, Aston found rows of captains who had listed their goods for exchange. Each entry displayed the ship name, level, and available resources.
Ship Name: Iron Mercy (Lv2)
Trade: Preserved Meat x10, Water Pack x10
Resources Requested: Iron x1000, Copper x500
Ship Name: Dawn Hauler (Lv2)
Trade: Compressed Bread x5, Water Pack x5
Resources Requested: Silicon x200, Rank 1 Iron x800
Ship Name: BlueComet (Lv2)
Trade: Preserved Meat x8
Resources Requested: Copper x300, Iron x200
.....
Aston studied the listings carefully. The amounts of food and water were small, and the prices were steep. A single pack of preserved meat cost hundreds of units of iron or copper, far higher than he had anticipated. Even the smallest exchanges demanded a significant portion of mined resources. It was clear that scarcity had driven inflation; captains who had obtained food from chests knew its value and were pricing it accordingly.
Aston leaned back, realizing that trading for food was far too costly. The prices were inflated, supplies scarce, and relying on other captains' luck would take too long. He had to find another way to survive.
Scrolling through the regional trade listings, he noticed that many Level 2 ships were offering or requesting silicon. The material seemed highly sought after, which meant it must play a critical role in ship construction or function.
He turned to the ship interface and examined the newly unlocked blueprints. At Level 2, the available options were:
Basic AI System (White)
Water Dispenser (White)
Food Synthesizer (Green)
Navigation Console (Green)
A closer inspection revealed the role of silicon. Both the Navigation Console and the Basic AI System required it as a core component. Each blueprint demanded 50 units of iron and 25 units of silicon. Aston's inventory showed exactly 50 units of silicon, alongside ample iron and copper.
Without hesitation, he selected All the blueprints and began the construction process. Light and energy flowed through Dark Star as the systems integrated. Within moments, the blueprints were fully built and operational.
The effects of the newly constructed blueprints were immediate and practical, transforming Dark Star from a basic survival vessel into a more autonomous and functional ship.
Basic AI System lv 1 (White)
Automates Basic ship diagnostics, monitoring hull integrity, engine performance, and system efficiency in real time.
Navigation Console lv 1 (Green)
Provides accurate star maps and trajectory plotting, allowing the ship to chart courses through space.
Water Dispenser lv 1 (White)
Converts materials or condensed moisture into drinkable supply for the captain.
Food Synthesizer (Green)
Produces basic meals using stored or harvested materials, providing essential nutrition for the captain.
These blueprints gave Aston not only self-sufficiency but also strategic advantages. With the AI monitoring systems, navigation capabilities, and life support, he could explore, mine, and survive without immediate reliance on trade or external resources.
Just as the blueprints finished construction, a system message flashed across the main monitor.
[Congratulations. A new room has been unlocked.]
The Lifestyle Room, a dedicated section of the ship where the Food Synthesizer and Water Dispenser had been integrated. The cabin reorganized subtly as internal panels shifted to create a compact but fully functional area, complete with energy conduits and environmental controls optimized for food and water processing.
Alongside the announcement came another notification:
[Waste Recycling Function Unlocked.]
The system explained that all byproducts from the Lifestyle Room—organic waste, used water, and residual energy from processing—could now be converted back into usable resources. Food scraps could be recycled into nutrient compounds for the synthesizer, and water could be purified and returned to the dispenser. Aston realized this effectively closed the loop on basic survival needs.
.....