When walking down the gangway, Qin Zhongquan saw several ground workers in protective clothing dragging an orange-red oil pipeline towards the two people's vehicle. One end of the pipeline was connected to a machine at the edge of the berth, and the other end was connected to a filler that looked like a syringe, which was paired with the fuel filling port of the spacecraft.
The protective suits did not have an AAS active power assistance system, so their movements looked quite strenuous, even with some roller skate kits padded under the oil pipelines. After trying several times, they were unable to align the interfaces accurately.
Gary soon couldn't bear to watch it anymore - after all, it was his own beloved car, so the two of them helped a little.
Seeing the workers' work getting on track, they smiled heartily. Perhaps infected by the joy of their labor, the two men became friends with them effortlessly.
From them, Gary got some recent secrets of the old capital.
Overall, the turmoil outside the empire had little impact on the interior. The current emperor was indeed quite capable, not only immediately stabilizing prices but also deploying the military as a trump card to guarantee logistics. While several money-burning sectors like culture and entertainment were clearly facing a downturn, the people at the bottom still had some hope for a better life and a good chance of surviving this difficult winter.
However, all centralized empires inevitably face inherent challenges, such as the succession issue. The third emperor was already aging, and no one had announced the successor. This left the court uneasy and filled with conflicting opinions, even among ordinary citizens.
While the Red Moon Empire wouldn't convict people for speech, the vulgarity of the rhetoric still surprised Gary slightly. Some fabricated stories about the emperor's impotence and the incompetence of his harem; others claimed the successor had already been chosen but kept secret; others named sides and formed cliques... It was like a parody of ancient palace intrigue. Because the gossip was so far-fetched, the two newcomers decided not to discuss it, lest it give rise to rumors and invite ulterior motives.
After paying the fuel filling fee and berth rental fee, they left the airport together and came to the underground commercial street open to the public in the old capital.
Outsiders in the empire cannot enter or leave anywhere freely. This is unlike the freedom on Earth. Here, even wealthy businessmen cannot get even the slightest privilege.
If the two want to go to areas outside the commercial district, foreign guest residential area and some tourist areas, they must find those secret places hidden in the dark.
Of course, the know-it-all Gary had no comment on this and even wanted to laugh - there was no such thing as black or white in this world, everything was a chaotic gray.
After a while, the two walked into a hotel with decent decoration, sat at the bar, ordered two signature drinks that were highly recommended that day, took off their helmets, and pretended to be in the mood for fun.
"Oh, it's so boring to just wander around here every day. I really don't know when the boss will finish talking to me!" Gary winked at Qin Zhongquan.
The latter nodded imperceptibly, stretched out his hand and began to twirl the wine glass, and echoed boredly: "Yeah, yeah, there's nothing fun in this shabby place like Sunset City. Even if I wanted to find excitement, I couldn't go out."
After a pause, seeing no one responded, Gary raised his voice: "Is there any brother who has a way? Give me a way, I'll give you a hundred... two hundred? Three hundred?"
"Ahem!" The bartender wiped his cocktail glass and coughed. Then he said to the two men in a low voice, "The inspection is tight at this time. How dare you sneak away like this? If you want to sneak across, you have to wait until night."
"Four hundred." Gary increased his spending. "No matter how strict the inspection is, there will always be loopholes, right?"
"It's okay if you just deliver the goods, but it's not easy to deal with both people and goods." The bartender said he would have to pay extra.
"Five hundred! Just delivering people, no goods, and no sensitive areas. Go the day before and come back the day after. How about that?"
"Just once isn't enough."
"For a month straight."
"How much?" The bartender swallowed. "How long has it been since you last touched a woman? Are you so hungry?"
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