Chapter 600: 193. Mysterious Exploration_2

If they didn’t want to settle down in such a distant place, there was only one solution: finding an island near the western side of the archipelago and leasing it for a long period.

Due to the longer lifespan of wizards, the island lease term in this world could be extended to 50 or even 100 years.

If Noland Lee and Denise Green didn’t plan on spending the rest of their lives here, then leasing an island would be the best choice.

Saleswoman Nellie also gave a brief introduction to the leasing situation of the islands.

Starting from the inner circle, the island lease starts at 300,000 gold coins per year. The further east you go, the cheaper the lease. Approximately 3000 kilometers east of the inner circle, the lease cost drops to 2000 gold coins per year.

A quick calculation would show that the 150,000 gold coins Noland Lee and Denise Green planned to spend on purchasing an island could potentially lease a cheap one for 75 years.

To buy or to rent?

The key wasn’t in the amount of expense.

Money wasn’t the issue.

What Noland Lee was truly concerned about was the “commute” time.

Opportunities were everywhere in the inner circle. In the present situation where gold coins equate basic attributes, Noland Lee might frequently have to commute between the inner circle and the island. The time he spent on the road could be reduced by using level 100 flight spells.

However, no matter how much time he shaved off the “commute”, he would still need to spend at least 20 hours flying across the majority of the Suman Archipelago.

Moreover, the energy consumed by flight spells is calculated by distance, with a fixed rate of 1 point of Death Energy + 1 point of Energy for every kilometer.

More flights would quickly consume tens of thousands of Death Energy and Energy points.

Considering this, perhaps leasing an island would be a better option.

“Nellie, is there a way to quickly reach the west side of the archipelago from the east?” Noland Lee asked.

“Yes.” Nellie reached across the model of the archipelago on the table, tracing a glowing circle around its outer edge.

Many tributaries diverged from this glowing circle, extending deep into the archipelago, ultimately forming a network lurking under the waters of the archipelago.

There was a tributary of the circle passing by every 20 or 30 islands.

“The Deep Sea Branch constructed a magic ocean current that connects the entire archipelago near the seabed of the Suman Archipelago. The glowing lines on the 3D model signify the locations of the magic ocean currents,” Nellie explained.

Nellie took two magical items, which resembled crystals, from her magic pouch, stuffing one each into Noland Lee’s and Denise Green’s hands:

“Once you arrive over the sea surface above the magic ocean current, you just have to grip the ‘Ocean Current Crystal’ and you’ll be able to ride the underwater current swiftly. If you travel this way, reaching the inner circle from the farthest east of the archipelago will only take three seconds.”

“Three seconds?” Noland Lee raised his eyebrows, “It’s that fast?”

“Yes. The magic ocean current is actually a plane channel constructed by the Deep Sea Branch. Riding the magic ocean current is almost like teleporting through a sub-dimensional plane. However, it’s not free to ride the magic ocean current.”

Nellie explained:

“The Ocean Current Crystal costs 50 gold coins each. Each ride consumes 1 Ocean Current Crystal. Going back and forth between the east and west of the archipelago requires two crystals. If you buy more than 100 crystals at once, you’ll get a five percent discount.”

Noland Lee studied the crystal in his hand and asked:

“Does it consume one Ocean Current Crystal for riding the ocean current on any part of the magic ocean current?”

“Yes. It’s most cost-effective to ride from the farthest west and farthest east of the archipelago,” Nellie answered.

Noland Lee nodded:

“So, for those living on the east side of the archipelago, commuting isn’t much of a problem. The most troublesome thing is still the natural environment of the east side of the archipelago.”

Nellie said:

“Yes, sir. When the Ulnas Circle first discovered the Suman Archipelago, they performed a detailed environmental assessment. The west side of the archipelago is calm, with mostly flat island terrain and less polluted sea waters. But on the east side, there are frequent occurrences of high winds and waves, and the majority of the islands have a very steep terrain. The three Equator Snow Mountains of the Suman Archipelago are all located on the farthest east side. The islands where these snow mountains are located are essentially cliffs, where the island is the snow mountain, and the snow mountain is the island. For this reason, it’s hard to sell these islands where the Equator Snow Mountains are located, and their prices are the cheapest.”

“Hmm…” Noland Lee hummed thoughtfully,” Nellie, how much are the Snowy Islands?”

Nellie gestured on the magic model, enlarging the three snow mountains that were being sold, and marked their basic information and selling price in magic characters.

Noland Lee took a glance and was somewhat taken aback:

“The Snow Mountain Island 2 and 3 both are priced at 3.5 million gold coins, but Snow Mountain Island 1 only costs 130,000 gold coins, why is it so cheap?”

Denise was also taken aback by the price. Her investigation didn’t mention such a low price tag.

Nellie hurriedly explained:

“Sir, the island prices you heard may be outdated. The high-value mineral resources on Snow Mountain Island 1 have already been mined by the Pangula family. Other than the forests at the foot of the mountain, the island is just stone and snow left in the snow mountain. These islands are not naturally suitable for ports and the terrain is not suitable for magic agriculture and magic production industry, their actual economic value is extremely low.”

“The three islands had been listed for sale for more than 50 years before the Pangula family mined Snow Mountain Island 1’s mineral resources, and they remained unsold. The Pangula family likely started mining Snow Mountain Island 1’s mineral resources in an attempt to recoup part of their previous investment.”