"...Okay, okay, leave the box there! Little Gary! Move your hand! Do you want a new arm? You bastard Red Fox! I've told you so many times! Don't mix organic solvents with food synthesizer consumables!" Qin Zhongquan stood with his hands on his hips, directing his men who were carrying the spoils with gestures. The smile behind the golden filter was evident. This was their mercenary group's biggest haul in the past two years; not even the lunar vault had yielded a bigger harvest.
This is the Earth-Moon Lagrange point L2, located on what's commonly known as the far side of the Moon, approximately 65,000 kilometers from the Moon. Before the war, this was once a magnificent orbital station, known as "Fangzhang," after an ancient myth.
Qin Zhongquan had heard this story from his adoptive mother. According to her, in ancient times, seven immortals emerged from the bottom of the earth's sea. They worked together to lift a sacred tree seed into the sky and used their own spiritual power as the foundation of the seed. Then they used clear springs from outside the realm to water the seed, causing it to germinate, grow, mature, and eventually grow into the towering immortal mountain. The original immortal mountain was not rich and beautiful, but the ancestors were still happy to be invited to live there. They built a steel city there and created unimaginable wealth. The air there was in unlimited supply and purified water could be spent for free, so it attracted the attention of countless businessmen and practitioners, but under the reputation of the immortals, they all maintained a minimum of order. Unfortunately, the protection of the immortals did not last long. The immortal mountain disappeared, and the building collapsed in an instant without its support.
Those legends sounded as if they had really happened, but Qin Zhongquan couldn't believe them. He brushed off the childhood memories in his mind, said a few words to the busy figures on the platform ahead, then opened the joint network, logged into an anonymous account, and checked the recent superficial events in the eight worlds.
Space Weather: Today is April 20, 357 Star Calendar. The central space environment is moderate. 4% of the area has a high probability of being affected by the solar magnetic storm. A few areas may be invaded by micrometeorites. Pay attention to the safety of extravehicular activities.
Global Voice: It's reported that the Space Force issued a global exercise notice at approximately 4:00 AM today. Is this the beginning of a new round of war? Earth authorities have yet to issue a statement.
Mas Daily: The result of handling the No. 104 mine collapse accident: It was caused by the intern's illegal operation. The group where the accident occurred has now dismissed him and handed him over to the judicial department for disposal.
United Mining: Our company will start selling refined aluminum-molybdenum ore at the asteroid belt orbital station in a week, totaling 30 billion tons. Please act quickly if you are interested in purchasing.
There's no doubt that while the Central Ring appears peaceful and the eight worlds are thriving, the mercenaries navigating the gray area see it as mere amusement. Qin Zhongquan quickly scanned the daily news, then used the decoder on his exoskeleton to open the deep grid and began searching for encrypted information not circulating on the joint network.
In fact, there are many different opinions about the Deep Grid's founder. Some say he was once the most powerful mercenary leader in the explored universe, others say he was an intelligence dealer and multifaceted spy who controlled underground organizations in eight worlds. Still others use their imagination to portray him as a skinny old man with a gleaming eye, like a mule who can see through people's hearts in the Galactic Empire. In short, the Deep Grid is very intelligent, providing each user with only the information they need most.
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