Chapter 42 The Secret of the Black Core
In an inconspicuous corner of the black market, there is a stall set up casually, with a dirt slope behind it.
Zhang Hao and his two dark-skinned brothers were sitting on the edge of the slope.
Zhang Hao looked to be in his 40s, and the two dark-skinned brothers also looked old. The three of them sitting together looked like farmers digging for food in the fields in the last era.
He has a simple temperament, a mature face, and the sunken wrinkles between his brows reveal a sense of sadness.
Nowadays, only the powerful and wealthy can own a piece of land to grow vegetables, which is a high-end entertainment that returns to nature.
The food that people at the lower class eat is synthetic meat and vegetables that are 3D printed by factory machines according to programmed instructions.
The texture of each piece of meat and vegetable is made from the same mold, so you don’t have to bother choosing when you go shopping for groceries. The vacuum bag packaging also has a very long shelf life, and each one is labeled. There are no additives or side effects, so you can eat it with confidence.
Zhang Hao held the cigarette butt between his index finger and thumb, took a deep sip, and asked, "That guy from the incinerator hasn't been here for a while, right?"
Dark-faced No. 1: “Well, I haven’t been here.”
Zhang Hao frowned: "Hasn't there been any evil spirits entering the incinerator recently?"
Dark-faced No. 1: "Yes, he went in front of the incinerator two days ago and counted them. On average, there are trucks carrying corpses going in every day."
Dark-faced No. 1 pointed his finger at Dark-faced No. 2, who nodded silently.
Zhang Hao took another puff of cigarette: "Unlucky, didn't burn out the black core?"
Dark-faced No. 1 shook his head again: "He was on the road, following that guy for a while, and the detector showed residual values."
Dark-faced No. 2 continued to nod.
Zhang Hao frowned and said in a deep voice, "There are residual values, which means that the black core has appeared, but it is not with him. The guy gave it to someone else. Is there anyone else in District 9 who is also collecting black cores?"
Dark No. 1 was about to speak again. Zhang Hao became annoyed and growled with his eyes wide open: "Don't speak for him all the time. He doesn't have a mouth. Let him speak for himself."
Dark No. 1 said "oh".
Dark No. 2 had been poking ants with a stick with his head down. Now he had to speak, and it seemed that his brain was a little overwhelmed. He threw away the stick in distress, and there were already ants all over the ground around his feet.
"There's a new guy at the incinerator, and the test results are very high." Dark No. 2 looked up and answered with a little stutter.
Zhang Hao understood and felt relieved, but he was also confused: "Since no one else is buying black cores, why would the new guy at the incinerator take the black cores for himself instead of selling them here for money?"
Dark No. 1 was not very smart and had never thought about it that deeply. He was stunned for a moment and asked uncertainly: "Did that guy discover the secret of the black core?"
Dark No. 2's dull face remained expressionless. He picked up the stick and used his fingers to pick at the dead ants stuck on it.
He sucked his fingers and said four words calmly: "Kill him. I'll go."
Zhang Hao was thinking about it, but before he could figure it out, he saw that the stall on the ground was soiled by a few muddy soles of shoes.
"I've inquired, and you're the only one buying black cores on the black market, right?"
Qian Hao stood on the stall, looked at the three people and asked bluntly.
The few younger brothers following behind him all had short knives or iron rods on their waists. They stood casually, and their expressions all revealed the ferocity that is unique to gang thugs due to their large numbers.
Zhang Hao stood up and walked over, his face full of wrinkles squeezed into a chrysanthemum shape, and said with a smile: "It's me, you guys want to sell black cores?"
Dark-faced No. 1 noticed that the atmosphere was not right and followed closely. Dark-faced No. 2 lowered his head expressionlessly and fiddled with the wooden stick to poke the ants.
Qian Hao sneered: "Sell? No, no, no, you misunderstood. We are here to buy black cores. No matter how many black cores you have, we want them all."
Some people nearby all looked over with surprise and curiosity.
Zhang Hao's heart sank, and he asked tentatively, "Do you want the black core?"
Before Qian Hao could say anything, an impatient younger brother behind him shouted, "Our boss wants something. Why are you talking so much nonsense? Hurry up and give us everything you have."
After Qian Hao waited for his younger brother to finish scolding, he looked at the silent middle-aged man in front of him, frowned slightly, reached for the dagger at his waist with one hand, and gently patted the latter's shoulder with the other hand.
"Don't worry, we won't shortchange you. No matter how much you charge, we'll take it at 20% off."
In Qian Hao's dictionary, being able to pay 20% off is definitely a generous and high price.
Zhang Hao realized that this group of thugs were different from those who were curious and inquiring in the past. These people really came to steal the black core.
In other words, these people knew the secret of Black Core, or the boss behind them knew the secret of Black Core? Seeing that Zhang Hao remained silent, Qian Hao's face suddenly darkened, and he squeezed the latter's shoulder with a little force, leaving several bruises through his clothes.
"You're not going to tell me that you don't plan to sell it to us?" Qian Hao asked in a sinister tone.
Zhang Hao felt pain on his face and subconsciously lowered his body by half a head. He used his hands behind his back to stop Dark No. 1 from moving forward.
He bowed his head and smiled humbly: "I dare not, we will sell them all to you."
Qian Hao loosened his fingers and said, "Where is the thing? Take it out?"
Zhang Hao: "The stuff is in the house where our brothers live. So, at this time tomorrow, we will bring all the black cores, and you can bring the money to take them."
Qian Hao raised his eyebrows and sneered: "You are not lying to me and planning to run away, are you?"
Zhang Hao shook his head vigorously: "We are all empty civilians. We can't get out of District 9 at all. Besides, it's only one night. We are not stupid and know that we can't escape."
Qian Hao seemed to believe it and said, "Okay, just for one night. We'll come pick it up at this time tomorrow."
After saying that, Qian Hao took his men away.
After a while, Zhang Hao and his two companions didn't even bother to stay at their stall and sneaked out of the black market.
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Not far away, in a dark corner, Qian Hao stared coldly at the direction where the three people left, and followed them quietly with his brothers.
Qian Hao didn't know. In this episode, the Yellow-haired and Red-haired people who had just died looked familiar to him.
20 minutes later.
Under a bridge in a remote area near a river.
There were corpses lying all over the ground, and every face was filled with fear and distortion, especially the eye sockets, which were all smashed and white tofu brain was gushing out, turning the eye sockets into a gloomy white.
Qian Hao lay dying on the ground, with a tree branch stuck in his right eye socket and the dead bodies of ants stuck to the stick.
The battle happened so fast that in just a breath, all the people Qian Hao brought were killed. He was the only one left, and his eyes were poked out.
It's so scary.
This is definitely not the combat power that a gang or a black market businessman should have.
Qian Hao even found it difficult to judge the opponent's strength, because he had never seen such a brutal yet casual killing before.
The Green Wolf Gang also has some warriors among their thugs, but most of them are first- or second-rank warriors. Boss Zheng is already the most capable third-rank warrior in the gang.
Qian Hao had never seen anyone higher than him. Who would join a gang with that kind of strength?
However, the black face that just took a tree branch and strung people's eyeballs into a string, the strength revealed at that moment, might not be matched by Boss Zheng.
Qian Hao couldn't understand why such a brutal guy would hide in the black market with no future. The most important thing was that he collected worthless black cores.
You guys shouldn't be so low-key. Will we be so blind as to hit our heads against a wall and kill ourselves?
Zhang Hao half-knelt in front of Qian Hao, with a smile like that of an old farmer. At this moment, it fell back into Qian Hao's only remaining eye, which made people tremble from the bottom of their soul.
"I know you have a lot of questions."
"Don't ask, save your time, you don't have much time left, you just need to answer my questions."
Qian Hao clenched his teeth tightly. Although he was afraid, he would not say another word since he was going to die.
Zhang Hao seemed to have guessed Qian Hao's thoughts, and the next sentence he said calmly made Qian Hao shudder.
He said, "If you don't tell me, I will keep you alive. Don't worry, my cooking skills are very good. I can make sure that even if the ants eat half of your heart, liver and lungs, you can still talk to me with a clear mind."
When his chest was cut open by the tree branch and the first ant crawled over his heart, Qian Hao collapsed.
"Tell me, who asked you to collect the black cores?"
"Brother Bin, it was Brother Bin who asked us to come."
"Why does Brother Bin want the black core?"
"I don't know. Brother Bin didn't tell me. I really don't know. Don't let it bite me. It hurts so much."
(End of this chapter)
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