It took Gary some time to finalize everything, and then the two of them just stayed at the bar, drinking drinks and waiting patiently for "nightfall". Only when the bar was empty, a man dressed quite upper class pushed open the door, and the bartender stood up to greet him did the two of them stop pretending.
The man claimed to be a patrol captain from the old capital, known as "Golden Bug," and that he was committing this crime solely for the money. The bartender took five bills from Gary's recent deposit as advance payment for Gold Bug's three-day operation and funds, and also provided some necessary intelligence. The three of them left the bar through the back door, walked through several alleys, avoided two checkpoints, and arrived at a prepared vehicle.
This car is quite ordinary and has not undergone any additional modifications, but in a hellish place like Venus, anyone who has ridden in a car will be avoided by the lower class.
The three of them got into the car from the roof, closed the lid, and Gary asked the Golden Beetle about the Great Library.
"A library? With all due respect, opening a store like that on the surface of Venus is pure profiteering. Look at the streets; can you find a single piece of combustible waste? They've all burned up long ago! A place like that can only exist near a cold source, and all those sources are monopolized by the wealthy. They'd probably never allow someone like you to visit."
Gary suggested to circle around each cold source. The golden beetle was hesitant at first, but agreed under the financial offensive.
The so-called cooling source is actually part of the Old City's massive cooling system. Originally a smelting plant and storage center for extraterrestrial resources built during the Community era, the Old City was built. To survive in this harsh environment, the Community's engineers constructed massive liquid storage tanks beneath the Old City. Whenever the Old City enters the night side of Venus, the factory's cooling system goes into full gear, dissipating waste heat while simultaneously filling these tanks with liquid nitrogen or cooling water to meet the needs of the day side. This system has been operating continuously for hundreds of years and may well be able to do so for just as long. The cooling system's network of pipes running through the factory complex is the cooling source.
The first thing Qin Zhongquan and his companions saw was a row of branch pipelines. If the old capital were a human body, these pipelines would be considered capillaries. Roughly the thickness of a washbasin, they extended from the sidewalk, curved at a height of about three meters, and passed directly through a metal wall. The small sections of pipe wall that were exposed were spray-painted with a striking bright silver anti-rust paint. Each one was equipped with a safety guardrail and guarded by a dedicated person, indicating that they were being treated with great care.
But these pipes seemed insignificant to Gold Beetle. He remained silent the entire way until he turned the corner, then he mentioned something. "Those are rewards given by the bigwigs to their subordinates. It's a lucrative position. I have one at home, too, but it's not on this street."
The next thing they saw was a branch pipeline. This one was so much thicker than the previous ones that Qin Zhongquan initially mistook it for a tower. It dangled from the ceiling, branching off into thin branches that pierced the ground. It was located in the courtyard of a wealthy merchant, so the few of them lost the opportunity to get a closer look.
"Don't underestimate those merchants. Most of them are associated with local officials. Even if those officials are not ministers of the emperor, they are at least well-known and influential in the local area."
"Can we go any further?" Gary asked.
"The main line is further ahead. Those are the private properties of powerful officials. Someone like me can forget about it." The Golden Beetle replied.
"Okay, then, we'll get off here," Qin Zhongquan said. "We'll be back here in eight hours."
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