Forty millenniums of cul.., p.481
Forty Millenniums of Cultivation, page 481
"In his early days as a treasure hunter, Boss Bai found Yan Xinjian's notebook by accident and learned his knowledge. He then grasped all the secrets below the earth of Spider Den!
"Think about it. In the Star Ocean Imperium ten thousand years ago, the military constructed Spider Den as the last castle of the Flying Star Sector! Unbelievable resources, Cultivation arts, and magical equipment were buried inside! Bring several items out, and everybody will benefit a lot!"
Li Yao sniffed. "Even though Boss Bai received the heritage of Yan Xinjian, how can everybody know such a big secret?"
Niu Youyi replied, his face unchanged, "It is hard to tell if the story is true, but the Cultivation arts and magical equipment that Boss Bai presented are definitely real!
"In short, Boss Bai has decided to bring out all his belongings to fight a last battle!
"This is basically the situation right now. If you join Fengyu Zhong's side, you will be more likely to win with the support of Black Spider Tower and the Temple of Immortals, but your gains will be relatively fewer. Many of their promises are empty and can only be redeemed a long time in the future.
"If you stand on Boss Bai's side, naturally, the chances of winning are slim, but you will receive your rewards on the spot and won't need to wait at all.
"Since you are planning to buy a high-end crystal suit like 'Fire Dragon Battlesuit', I assume you are an expert perhaps in the Building Foundation Stage. Both sides are running out of hands and are in desperate need of experts like you. Think about it. I'll introduce you to them and give you a 70% discount on the intermediary fee!"
Chapter 718: You Know Too Much |
Li Yao snapped the second crystal to him and said, "Cut the crap. I want to know the top ten pirate gangs that are based in Silver Wing City or often come here for maintenance and supplies, especially the information about the three biggest. Their leaders, their leaders' relatives, the relationship between them. I want to know every detail.
"It's the same rule. If I'm satisfied, I'll give you another crystal and buy a crystal suit of the highest specifications from you. Perhaps I will need your help in my business in the future, too. Now, let us begin!"
Niu Youyi swallowed hard and glanced at the gate of the warehouse subconsciously, but he soon retreated his eyes and elaborated. "The two biggest pirate gangs in Silver Wing City are naturally 'Split Sun' and 'Wild Tide'. The two pirate gangs have been in a bad relationship due to a conflict some twenty years ago. Quite a few people on both sides have been killed in the fierce battles. Their hatred toward each other is unresolvable right now. Before, when Boss Bai was on the top of everybody, they did not dare start an open fight on Spider Den.
"More than one year ago, when the Temple of Immortals revealed itself, the leader of the Split Sun Pirate Gang joined their side without any hesitation.
"On the Wild Tide Pirate Gang's side, since they are deeply involved in Boss Bai's business, they failed to join the new giant promptly, and as a result, they were suppressed by the Split Sun Pirate Gang and had a rough year.
"A few months ago, the majority of the soldiers of the Split Sun Pirate Gang were summoned by the Temple of Immortals to Heavenly Saints City. Few of them were left on Spider Den.
"After Boss Bai suddenly declared war on the Temple of Immortals, the Wild Tide Pirate Gang took the opportunity to fight back and seized almost all the assets that the Split Sun Pirate Gang left in Silver Wing City. Most of the space pirates in the Split Sun Pirate Gang were killed or driven away. They have indeed gotten their revenge.
"However, during the past half month, the space pirates who were sent to Heavenly Saints City have mostly returned. The strength of the space pirates on the Temple of Immortals' side has grown significantly, too. They must be planning a counterattack right now.
"The fierce battle that took place above our heads just now should be the main force of the Split Sun Pirate Gang, who just returned from Heavenly Saints City, attacking the Wild Tide Pirate Gang.
"However, hehe, a piece of complementary news. It seems that the attack plan was known by the Wild Tide Pirate Gang earlier. The Split Sun Pirate Gang will probably suffer a heavy loss and won't take back their assets."
Li Yao nodded. "Tell me their important members and the zones where they are most active."
Niu Youyi widened his eyes and licked his lips, beginning a long speech.
After he talked for ten minutes, dull knocks on the door echoed.
Niu Youyi suddenly grew nervous. He gestured Li Yao and, holding the sword he carried, shouted, "Who is it?"
The stranger out of the door replied, "Old Eight. I'm here to take my crystal suit."
Niu Youyi was relieved. He nodded at Li Yao, indicating that it was all good, and said in a low voice, "It's a friend. He's here to take a crystal suit that has undergone maintenance."
Li Yao move slightly and got out of the way.
Niu Youyi opened the door slightly. Three gloomy, muscular men walked in one after another. They seemed a bit surprised and frowned when they saw Li Yao, too.
"This is a client my friend introduced to me, and an expert possibly in the Building Foundation Stage. We are all good friends here," Niu Youyi said in a hurry. "With the chaos in Silver Wing City, there's really no need to give yourselves additional trouble, is there, everybody? Hold on a second. I'm going to bring your crystal suit in a moment!"
While talking, he locked the gate of the warehouse again. Wiping the rust with his clothes, the merchant walked toward the crystal suit shelves.
The three newcomers glanced at Li Yao and soon shifted their attention to the crystal suits in the warehouse.
One of the space pirates, who was slender and had a cross-shaped scar on his face, said, "Old Yi, I was talking about the brand-new 'Racing Fire' strengthening plugin for power rune arrays. Don't you dare mess around with us with the secondhand goods you recycled from the battlefield. If we find out that you did, we'll skin you alive!"
"How could I?" Niu Youyi immediately defended himself in great dissatisfaction. "Everybody in the black market of Silver Wing City knows that I'm always the most honest one in business. Otherwise, the three of you would not have asked me to maintain your crystal suits, would you? I guarantee that it is an authentic, brand-new 'Racing Fire'. If you so much as find one scratch on it, tear me apart!"
"That's good!" the space pirate said coldly. "We all have examination magical equipment with us. Open the cover of the power rune arrays on the crystal suit. We will take a closer look!"
"Of course!"
Niu Youyi bowed his head and walked to the shelves while talking about the details of the crystal suit with the three space pirates.
Maybe it was a coincidence, but the crystal suit they were talking about was right behind Li Yao.
Therefore, including Niu Youyi, the four space pirates were gradually surrounding Li Yao.
The moment before Li Yao was completely surrounded, he suddenly took a big step back and smiled. "It seems that my guess was correct."
The four space pirates were dazed for a moment. They exchanged a look quietly. Niu Youyi managed a smile and said, "What do you mean, sir?"
His hands behind his back, Li Yao said unhurriedly, "Just now, I captured a space pirate and humiliated him right in front of his friends. But then I asked him who the most reliable crystal suit merchant in Silver Wing City was, a question that indicated that I am a stranger to the city.
"I assumed that, since he hated me and did not know my background, although he did not dare to fight back on the spot, he would definitely try to seek retaliations in other ways.
"Therefore, the guy he introduced me would most certainly be the most untrustworthy and the most unsafe crystal suit merchant in Silver Wing City.
"It was quite possible that the guy would be the most dishonest, cunning, and dangerous one.
"Besides, the crystal suit merchant might also have some bad habits. For example, when he noticed the tremendous wealth that a non-native customer accidentally showed, he would try to kill the customer and loot his corpse.
"I also assumed that, since the crystal suit merchant was always doing such clandestine jobs, the nest of his operations must be very inconspicuous.
"Besides, when he saw that I was a fat lamb and decided to butcher me, he wouldn't tell anyone about me, except his accomplices.
"Therefore, nobody would know anything that happened in his nest for the time being.
"More importantly—"
Li Yao glanced at the crystal suits on the shelves and remarked, "The crystal suits you have in stock are too lousy. I'm interested in none of them.
"But since you are always robbing other space pirates, and it's inevitable that you run into some tough guys occasionally, your own crystal suits must be more advanced than the crystal suits displayed here, mustn't they?"
Li Yao's words made the lips of the four space pirates dry.
The space pirate who had a cross-shaped scar on his face narrowed his eyes, with intense killing intent flowing out!
Niu Youyi, on the other hand, rolled his eyes and mumbled, "You've known that I would rob you since the beginning, and you still came with me?"
His sweat suddenly poured down and he nearly collapsed to the ground, while he shrieked, "Senior, spare—"
There was no time!
His three companions were not as quick-minded as him. Seeing that their identity had been exposed, they started retrieving their crystal suits from their Cosmos Rings!
Li Yao sighed and shook his head. "You really shouldn't have worn nothing when you entered the warehouse just in order to ease my wariness."
It took him one second to finish the sentence, not enough time for the three space pirates to fully equip their crystal suits.
In that time, Li Yao had vanished!
Like an unpredictable cloud, he turned into black smoke and flashed past the three space pirates!
Niu Youyi's eyes widened. He could not see any trace of Li Yao at all and could only sense Li Yao's existence by the movements and reactions of the three space pirates!
The first space pirate had just put on the breastplate and the skirt armor when his face twisted beyond the limits as if he had seen the greatest horror. In the next second, he vomited a mouthful of blood that was mixed with his broken internal organs, and he collapsed to the ground as if all his bones had been removed.
The second space pirate took the opportunity to put on most of the crystal suit. But when he retrieved the helmet from his Cosmos Ring, his head suddenly soared into the sky, spraying a torrent of blood!
The third space pirate, who was the guy with a cross-shaped scar on his face, was the fastest one to put on all of his crystal suit.
After a roar, his vibration saber rushed out, only to come to an abrupt halt in midair. He turned into a frozen statue, unable to move anymore.
Niu Youyi was horrified. He gazed at the space pirate for a long time before he finally discovered that dozens of threads thinner than hair seemed to have stabbed into the gaps of the third space pirate's crystal suit.
The threads were almost transparent. There was no telling what they were made of.
Had the blood not been leaking out along the threads and condensing into pearls, he would not have recognized that there was such a piece of weird magical equipment at all!
The dozens of threads did no damage to the crystal suit but killed the space pirate inside instantly!
And the source of all three deaths was… right behind him!
Niu Youyi nearly defecated in his pants. He kneeled down on the ground and shouted at the top of his voice, "Spare my life, senior! Take whatever crystal suits you want! Whatever you want to know, I will tell you everything that I know, no more and no less!"
Li Yao's casual voice came behind him. "You didn't finish your introduction just now. I'll give you five minutes. Go on."
Niu Youyi took a long breath. His tongue had never worked harder in his entire life.
Li Yao listened attentively while checking the time. When five minutes were over, although Niu Youyi had not finished his introduction, he still stopped talking for the sake of his own safety.
"That's enough. I'm satisfied by your performance. One last thing. Why did you mess around with me? Did you know who I am?"
Niu Youyi shook his head hard and replied, "I—I don't know who you are, senior. If I did, I wouldn't have dared rob you even if I was drunk!"
"Then remember this. My name is—"
Li Yao paused suddenly. He blinked and then continued. "My name is 'Bloody Vulture'. Do you remember it now?"
Niu Youyi nodded vigorously and replied, "I do. I do. I will always bear Senior Bloody Vulture's name in mind and never ask for your trouble in the future! Whatever you need me to do, just tell me!"
"Very good."
Li Yao's lips gradually curled, as he put on a creepy smile that made goosebumps rise all over Niu Youyi's body.
"Right now, you know too much."
Chapter 719: Bite the Bait |
It was dusk when Nie Feijun stepped into the Dancing Phoenix Pavilion.
Mysterious lights were shimmering in the countless mining holes of Silver Wing City from top to bottom. Illumination rune arrays were installed inside crystals that had been hollowed. Such lamps were bringing brightness to a world of relaxation and entertainment.
The Dancing Phoenix Pavilion was one of the most luxurious hotels in Silver Wing City. The fantastic and rarely-seen treasures of the Flying Star Sector had been transported to the place through the underground channels of Black Spider Tower, making the place as extravagant as the high-level hotels of Heavenly Saints City, if not more so.
"Young Master Jun!"
Seeing that Nie Feijun had brought quite a few friends here, the manager of the Dancing Phoenix Pavilion immediately greeted him, in such an adulating way that it seemed as if he would not mind kneeling down and cleaning his shoes.
What a bunch of fickle people. You were not like this half a year ago!
Nie Feijun sneered.
His father was the captain of the Wild Tide Pirate Gang. In the past year, since the Split Sun Pirate Gang, their old nemesis, joined the Temple of Immortals' side, the Wild Tide Pirate Gang had gritted their teeth and stayed on Bai Xinghe's side. They were constantly suppressed by their mortal enemy. Nobody in Silver Wing City had high hopes for them.
As a result, Young Master Nie had been mocked and questioned everywhere.
But everything was good now. After Bai Xinghe's declaration of war, the Wild Tide Pirate Gang initiated full-scale counterattack. A lot of the Split Sun Pirate Gang's bases were destroyed, and one of the most important crystal suit modification centers was also burnt to the ground.
Over the past few days, since they learned of the Split Sun Pirate Gang's counterattack plan in advance, they had made thorough preparations and secured another major victory today. Even one of the vice captains of the Split Sun Pirate Gang had been killed. It was an unprecedented success!
Right now, the Wild Tide Pirate Gang's prestige in Silver Wing City was at its peak. The other pirate gangs large and small all expressed their submissiveness and acknowledged them as the owners of the docks and the crystal suit centers. Every member of the Split Sun Pirate Gang had fled and hidden themselves thousands of meters below the ground, having no courage to show up at all.
No wonder the manager of the Dancing Phoenix Pavilion was so humble today.
Nie Feijun was in a good mood. He had come to the Dancing Phoenix Pavilion today after inviting several good friends who helped him during the battle in the day for dinner. He did not bother to talk to the manager and simply waved his hand at him before he went into the lobby.
Hardly had he entered the lobby when he heard a drunkard yelling, "Are you made of jade or what? Why can't I touch you? I have all the money in the world. Bring—burp—bring me your manager!"
Then, the weeps of a waitress came over.
Nie Feijun frowned.
The Dancing Phoenix Pavilion was one of the most luxurious hotels in Silver Wing City. The space pirates who were wealthy enough to be a customer in this place were definitely not the shabby thieves but the formally-dressed great bandits. No matter how brutal and merciless they were in space, they often pretended that they were gentlemen in this place.
If the guy was looking for sexual entertainment, there were countless places for that in Silver Wing City. Why must he yell and shout in this place where everybody was enjoying their dinner?
"Young Master Jun?"
The manager rubbed his hands and looked at Nie Feijun helplessly.
In order to run a business in a nest of pirates such as Silver Wing City, the Dancing Phoenix Pavilion was naturally backed by somebody else. Before, it was the Split Sun Pirate Gang. But naturally, the supporter of the hotel was the Wild Tide Pirate Gang now.
Right now, the Wild Tide Pirate Gang was in its peak days. Since somebody was making a fuss right in front of his face, Nie Feijun felt obliged to take care of it. He asked solemnly, "Who is he?"
"A wealthy magnate who doesn't look familiar. It seems that he is new to Spider Den and does not know the conventions here," the manager said in a low voice. "Just now, he proposed a lot of outrageous demands. Young Master Jun, you also know that the Dancing Phoenix Pavilion is just a peaceful place for dinner and does not do any other business. But the customer simply wouldn't let it go and kept harassing us."
Nie Feijun nodded as he realized what was going on.
It must be a space pirate who had done a major job and fled to Spider Den with the stolen goods. Chances were that he had a few coins in his pocket because he had just sold the stolen goods through the black market and felt that it was hard to contain his libido.
With the chaos in the Flying Star Sector and the continuous battles between Cultivators and Immortal Cultivators, many people had decided to take advantage of the havoc. A 'space pirate' did not need to be registered in a labor union, nor did it require any work experience. As long as the evil thoughts prevailed, anybody could turn into a space pirate after they made up their mind and committed major crimes for money and treasures.
