Chapter 3: In the simple and honest city of Saihan, murderers and corpse-stealers are the best! ...
Finally, they arrived at the last transit station. After boarding the last starship here, Pei Qing could reach her final destination.
Pei Qing strolled around the transit center, looking at the souvenirs and clicking her tongue in amazement.
Who exactly are these rich people selling their products? How come they're all so expensive?
She didn't dare touch it, afraid that if she accidentally broke it, she would be blackmailed.
Pei Qing was a little hungry. Lately, for some reason, she got hungry very easily and consumed several times more food than usual.
She squeezed the last drop of nutrient solution into her mouth, casually tossed it into the trash can, and boarded the starship.
With five hours left, the staff will likely serve the meals around 3 p.m.
Pei Qing rested her chin on her hand, looking out the window with a bored expression. The dark blue sky was like a piece of fine silk, with countless stars adorning it like sparkling diamonds, each one shimmering with its own unique brilliance.
Suddenly, Pei Qing felt the starship beneath her feet shudder violently, as if it had collided with some enormous object.
The passengers nearby panicked and huddled together for warmth. "Could it be a meteorite turbulence?!" "Could it be a cosmic magnetic storm?!" In an instant, all sorts of terrible speculations arose.
Pei Qing hurriedly ran towards the restaurant at the back, where there were wider windows. She absolutely refused to admit that she was hungry again.
She grabbed the bread and cheese that hadn't been properly arranged on the table, stuffed them into her mouth, and then quickly went to the window.
The once peaceful and tranquil starry sky, like a dark blue silk ribbon, was now a shadow of its former self. Several combat-type starships were engaged in fierce combat, with cannon fire blazing and multicolored lasers nearly blinding Pei Qing.
What happened? These starships don't have Federation military markings on them. Could they be space pirates?!
But this is clearly the orbital path of a passenger starship, and there should be military personnel guarding it not far away. Don't these space pirates have any regard for their lives?
Pei Qian grabbed another handful of melon seeds and started eating them while watching.
Hey, putting everything else aside, these improved sunflower seeds from the interstellar era are quite delicious. These space pirates seem evenly matched, and for the time being, no clear winner has emerged.
[For the safety of all passengers, please return to your seats! The starship is about to undergo a photon shuttle; please put on your stabilization gear in time to prevent dizziness and discomfort.]
[Announcement again: The starship is about to undergo photon transport. Please put on your stabilization gear in time to prevent dizziness...]
A gentle, mechanical female voice rang out, calming the passengers' anxious hearts. Upon hearing this, Pei Qing grabbed a piece of bread and a handful of sunflower seeds, stuffed them into her pocket, and ran to her seat.
Watching the excitement is fun, but nothing is more important than your life!
After a violent jolt, Pei Qing's passenger starship returned to another safe route.
Fortunately, these space pirates were too preoccupied with internal strife to attend to anything else; otherwise, with such fragile defenses, their passenger starships would surely have been torn to shreds in the cosmic turbulence.
But now it's safe, and all of this has nothing to do with Pei Qing.
After they left, the battle among the space pirates entered a fierce stage.
"Yad! Are you all insane?! You dare to attack me for a worthless, powerless, lowly half-blood!"
Halevin was absolutely furious! He'd finally become the captain, and now his most trusted lieutenant had defected with that useless half-blood from before! He'd tried to dissuade him with good intentions, but they completely ignored him and even attacked him!
The encircling starships didn't go all out. The silver-white starship that was originally surrounded suddenly went berserk, attacking the surrounding ships with a frenzied, suicidal frenzy. In an instant, a gap appeared!
The silver-white starship's hull was already badly damaged in this battle where the enemy outnumbered them, and its left flank was teetering on the brink of collapse, as if it were about to fall.
[Warning! Warning! The ship has sustained severe damage! Warning! The ship has automatically activated its defense mode! Please proceed to the ejection bay immediately!]
The number of living beings inside the silver-white starship was less than one hand's worth, and many were crippled or injured, not enough to form a complete human being.
"Commander! How are you! Hurry! It'll be too late!" The brown-haired man in the command position only had one hand and one leg. He struggled to lift the white-haired boy who had collapsed to the ground, his expression one of pain.
"Yad... no, don't worry about me, go..." The white-haired boy clutched his abdomen tightly, and pale blue blood flowed uncontrollably, staining the snow-white deck.
“Commander…” Seeing that the boy remained unmoved with his eyes closed, Yad gritted his teeth, and the metallic black armor slowly climbed up from his neck, covering half of his face.
Its remaining right limb had somehow transformed into a giant claw. With a flick of its claw, it tossed the white-haired boy onto its back and, finally, in the last second before the spaceship self-destructed, climbed into the ejection bay.
"Bang!" A dazzling orange-red firework burst open in the deep blue sky, and a silver-white shooting star streaked across the sky, rushing towards the deepest part of the universe.
Pei Qing was awakened by the explosion. She opened her eyes groggily and happened to see this spectacular scene. She quickly closed her eyes, put her hands together, and made a wish.
I hope everything goes smoothly and that she arrives safely and earns her Star Coins.
On August 7th, in the year 357 of the New Star Calendar, at 3:28 PM, Pei Qing finally set foot on the land she had longed for.
Sigh, it still feels a little unreal.
Pei Qing didn't have any grand ambitions. She grew up in an orphanage and didn't want to explore where she came from. Her only wish was to be able to eat and drink her fill and be happy.
Of course, "being well-fed and watered" doesn't mean eating those cheap, snotty nutritional supplements every day. She also wanted to eat something better, but she didn't have the money.
After being kicked out of the welfare center, Pei Qing did consider staying there, but the cost of living was just too high.
She was just an ordinary person with no particular skills; her greatest strengths were her honesty and stable personality, but there was no shortage of such workers there.
Just then, a friend she hadn't seen in a long time contacted her and told Pei Qing some fantastic news.
Working as a cleaner on planet PL.3366 can earn you tens of thousands of star coins a month, and the cost of living is much cheaper than on Pei Qing's planet.
Pei Qing was very tempted, so she spent all her life savings to buy a boat ticket.
I came here with the simple and unpretentious dream of making a little money, even if I don't make a lot.
Pei Qing made a quick call from the air, "Master, this is the address."
She dragged her tattered little bundle to her seat in the back, naturally unaware of the doubt in the driver's eyes.
"We've arrived. 20 Star Coins."
The 20 star coins jolted Pei Qing's groggy mind completely awake, and she immediately panicked, "Wasn't it supposed to be 18 star coins? How did it suddenly become 20 star coins?!"
"I thought you knew this address because you specified it. It seems you're a complete greenhorn who knows nothing."
"Know what?" Pei Qing frowned.
"Little girl, let me tell you, everyone who comes here has to pay extra. I didn't charge you a single extra 20 star coins."
Pei Qing gritted her teeth. She was unfamiliar with the place and didn't want to offend a local.
So she painstakingly dug two more star coins out from under the insole and gave them to the driver with a disgruntled expression.
As soon as the driver left, Pei Qing heard several gunshots, which seemed to be quite close to her. She quickly covered her head and hid in a corner.
What's going on? What's going on?! Is the security situation here really that bad?
"Hey, are you new here? Don't you know the rules? You've taken over our boss's spot!"
Several slovenly thugs dragged her away. Hearing the gunshots getting closer, Pei Qing, not wanting to cause trouble, could only cower and hide in another small corner once more.
"Little sister, you're new here, don't you know how to show your respect to your older sister? Bring out some good stuff, and I'll tell you some news about this place."
One of the female members, who was dressed fairly neatly, whistled at Pei Qing in a nonchalant manner and chuckled.
Pei Qing thought about it and realized that she really should ask a local.
She hesitantly took out the nutritional supplement she had intended to use as food for the next few days and handed it to woman A.
"Wow, I didn't realize you were such a big spender! You have such good stuff as nutrient solution."
When girl A saw the nutrient solution, her eyes lit up. She couldn't wait to snatch it and drink it all in one gulp, licking the last drop into her mouth before smacking her lips with a hint of lingering satisfaction.
"This is really good. It's been so many years since I've felt full."
Pei Qing listened to her words and felt a chill run down her spine. What was going on? This place looked exactly like the kind of chaotic, low-lying neighborhood described in the social education classes at the welfare center.
"Little sister, I won't drink for free. Ask me any questions you have. Don't be shy. I'm the most loyal sister." The tall woman A moved closer to Pei Qing and patted her shoulder.
"I was tricked into coming here. He told me that this place was full of... well, you could make money here. But what's going on here?"
Pei Qing couldn't help but ask directly, "I just tried to call that person, but I couldn't get through."
"Hahaha, I knew it was another idiot who'd been tricked into coming here." Woman A pounded on the wall, laughing until tears streamed down her face.
"Did the person who lied to you tell you that there are star coins everywhere here and it's a great way to make money? How old are you? You actually believed that? But he wasn't wrong in one respect. In a sense, there really is money everywhere here. The only problem is that you might have the life to make money but not the life to spend it."
Pei Qian was terrified by the bloodshed hidden in the words. She felt a little like going home, even if it was just doing odd jobs at the welfare center.
"But don't worry, small fry like us are usually ignored. Just don't cause trouble. Of course, you also need to have some means of self-defense, otherwise, in a couple of days, we'll probably see your skull here." The female leader of A smiled meaningfully.
The gunfire gradually subsided, and the group walked out of the narrow alley. "Come on, little sister, I'll take you to pick up some money now."
Pei Qing followed the group slowly. After a short while, they stopped in front of several corpses, squatted down, and began searching for valuables on the bodies.
“Boss! We’re really lucky today. This watch is probably worth several hundred star coins!” One of the male betas pulled a gold watch from an elegantly dressed corpse.
"Liu Zi, you're on a lucky streak today! I bet that watch is worth several thousand! Hahaha! Hey! Your spot is a bit conspicuous, hurry up and get off—"
"Bang!" A sharp gunshot rang out, and Pei Qing watched helplessly as the person who had just been alive and smiling fell to the ground, lifeless.
"Let's go!" Seeing that things were not going well, the female leader of A grabbed Pei Qing and ran.
They ran for what seemed like forever until the gunshots faded away. Only then did they slowly stop, panting heavily as they leaned against the wall.
Pei Qian suddenly felt nauseous, leaned against the wall, and vomited.
However, apart from a few mouthfuls of sour water, she didn't vomit anything; all the food she had eaten had been consumed during the journey.
"You're new here, so you'd better adapt well, or you won't survive three days here."
The female leader remained as nonchalant as ever, seemingly indifferent to the death of her companion, her hoarse voice like the whisper of a demon.
"Welcome to Saihan City—a paradise for evildoers!"
A note from the author:
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The female lead is relatively human in the early stages, but she will go further and further down the path of becoming inhuman later on...
My darlings, please add this to your favorites and give me some nutrient solution! Leave a comment if you like it!
Next episode preview! The cunning and ruthless landlady is about to make her appearance!
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