I became a god by treasure hunting after arriving 500 years early

Faced with the conditions offered by the Crystal Man, the Ancient Insect's not-so-clever mind began to rack its brains.

"But... I... don't have the capital to do business."

Knowledge, however, it did have—mostly traded by the Humans to the Underground Alliance, enough to elevate it to the level of a Third-level Civilization.

If sold to weaker civilizations, they would surely want it.

Another Old Snake Man spoke up, "That's why we need to establish a foundation."

"We also have a batch of supplies, quite a decent amount when combined."

"Fair trade could net around 5,000 Civilization Points, and… a difficult-to-estimate amount of Spirit Essence, maybe in the hundreds of thousands, though we haven't done a tally yet. And these come from fair trade with High-level Civilizations. The Ninth Epoch certainly doesn't have this many High-level Civilizations."

The Ancient Insect's eyes widened—it couldn't believe they were this wealthy!

I, the Ancient Worm, desire to have such status too.

"Knowledge can be resold repeatedly; after all, it's outdated knowledge from Human Civilization. Lu Yuan even agreed to it, and it's considered a great achievement to establish unified industrial standards for Pangu Continent."

"As long as you sell to enough civilizations, earning 30,000, even 100,000 Civilization Points is possible!"

"How about a 10% commission for you?"

Hiss—

The Ancient Insect felt tempted: 10% commission—that would be 10,000 points of Luck!

If it just funded the Underground Alliance with 1,000 Civilization Points, wouldn't they have to obediently address it as Lord Ancient Insect Ancestor?

Given its physique and appearance, it would certainly hook weaker civilizations with ease!

Moreover, as an Ancient Myth, pretending to be an Ancient Relic—what's wrong with that?!

Yet, alas, the treasures it held in its possession were few... wanting to deceive others required some real substance; otherwise, wouldn't it be exposed in an instant?

"I only have mushrooms produced in the underground rift," the Ancient Insect said very honestly, very humbly. "Can I sell mushrooms myself then?"

"That would be your own money; we won't take a fee from you."

Mushrooms were indeed decent items, but they were far from being at the Strategic Level. Honestly, it looked quite shabby—a relic selling agricultural products?

Few foolish civilizations would be willing to spend Civilization Points on purchasing agricultural goods; using Spirit Essence instead would already be decent.

Even more so, the Ancient Insect knew it had a significant weakness—its brain wasn't particularly clever!

Thus, it tried to speak as little as possible. The Underground Alliance revered it as a spiritual faith and wouldn't actively make things difficult for it.

But when communicating with foreign civilizations, speaking was unavoidable.

At that time, if its intelligence was exposed, trouble would surely follow.

"Now with these Strangers supporting me from behind, perhaps this can really work..."

The more the Ancient Insect thought, the brighter its eyes became, and it asked in its deep voice, "What assets do you all have?"

"Give me a bit of a glimpse, so I can have a clearer grasp."

"Well... take a look at this..."

The Old Snake Man in charge of accounting took out a piece of paper from his pocket, listing a series of inventories.

Good heavens, plenty of Legendary and Epic-level materials!

There were also several man-made artifacts, almost all of them uniquely effective and rare.

During the past few Epochs, powerful civilizations escaping to purely materialistic planes left behind some of their mind-oriented products that lost functionality due to incompatibility.

They simply dumped these relics here, leaving them as "benefits for future generations."

Such goodwill gestures were the least these irresponsible refugee civilizations could manage.

Moreover, this Different Space, brimming with civilizations during the End of the Era, saw enormous trade volumes.

Over time, the team of Old Strangers accumulated considerable assets.

"You... are truly wealthy... you six have more wealth than an entire civilization combined," the Ancient Insect thought sourly to itself. "I, an Ancient Myth, why am I so impoverished?"

"Don't worry, work with us, and you'll soon be wealthy."

"Do you know any other myths? Maybe bring them along."

"None left... everyone else is dead. I'm the only one still alive."

"No matter—doing something is better than doing nothing..."

And so, on this day, the Ninth Epoch Development Foundation was officially established!

...

After negotiations concluded, the Ancient Insect's consciousness returned to its body.

The Ancient Worm moved!

Its colossal body emerged from the soil, resembling a mountain capable of movement.

Its bronze-colored carapace shimmered in the sunlight, though there were a few unrepaired gaps that didn't affect its mobility.

The Underground Alliance officials, currently celebrating the Sky City Ascension Ceremony, were all shocked: "Lord Ancient Insect, why have you emerged from the earth...?"

In its deep and resonant voice, it replied, "Useless things! Since you'll still be staying here for another century, I also plan to roam other lands!"

"Time is precious; opportunities are rare. Only by striving can one achieve a glorious tomorrow!"

"I'm going to support other civilizations. In a hundred years, I'll return! Farewell!"

The Ancient Insect's voice grew increasingly fervent, its fake horns gleaming under the sunlight and radiating multicolored halos.

It chastised the Underground Alliance for a while, then stretched its six legs and strode off into the distance.

Every step sent slight tremors through the ground.

The people of the Underground Alliance were left staring at each other in silence.

Their expressions quickly turned pale.

Their greatest asset, the Ancient Insect, had run away!

"Lord Ancient Insect, wait—at least bring some of your clansmen along!"

"Our Sky City will soon depart and leave this underground rift!" The Cross-eyed Clan hastily made promises.

"Take my Bullhead Clan with you as well!" A group of Minotaur warriors brandished axes and chased after it.