Chapter 39 Underground Trading Ground 2
The engine of the hovercraft made a dull roar in the asteroid belt of the third star's orbit. Lin Yao leaned against the porthole, his fingertips unconsciously sliding across a tiny crack in the glass.
Most of the edge of this window was sealed with metal plates. Whether it was due to disrepair or intentional, a tiny gap was left, just enough to see the scene outside clearly.
He looked out of the gap, and a thought suddenly occurred to him: Is it because they don't have the money to repair it, or do they simply not care?
This hovercraft doesn't look old, but the metal plates covering the windows are rusty, as if the gap was left intentionally so that passengers can get a glimpse of the trading floor before arriving. This makes the situation even more obvious.
The abandoned space station ahead lay across the stream of stardust, like the skeleton of a giant steel whale stripped of its flesh and blood.
The rusted cabin glowed coldly in the dark universe, half of its body sunk in the floating rubble, as if it would be completely swallowed up by the star stream at any moment.
Only the circle of neon tubes at the entrance was still lingering, red and blue lights flickering on the mottled bulkheads, intermittent flashes like the breathing of a dying person, highlighting the word "abandoned" to the fullest in this dead and dark universe.
It is also like a bloody abyss, hiding a heart-stirring secret, but swallowing people inadvertently.
As the hovercraft continued to approach, more and more aircraft appeared in Lin Yao's field of vision.
Some of them were like the one they were on, which were privately modified black boats by civilians. The hulls were patched up, and the tail flames from the engines flickered. It was obvious that they were old guys who specialized in operating this kind of gray route.
Not far away, there were several silver-gray streamlined hovercrafts floating. The metal shells were shining coldly, and the portholes were covered with one-way film, so the people inside could not be seen.
They fly extremely steadily and the engine noise is as thin as a mosquito's hum, obviously they are high-end models.
Lin Yao stared at one of the boats for a few seconds. The energy diversion groove design on the side of the boat was somewhat similar to the De Lin family's special boat, except that it did not have the family emblem.
It's easy to guess that a ship of this level is either carrying the steward of a big family, who comes here to buy goods without blinking an eye; or it is the private collection of a powerful person, specially used to handle transactions that are not convenient to be done openly.
Lin Yao wanted to divert his gaze in boredom, but Chen Yan came over and said, "Look at the one at nine o'clock!"
He looked in the direction indicated by Chen Yan, and at first he only saw a deep expanse that blended seamlessly with the background of the universe, with stardust flowing slowly in it, and there was nothing unusual.
Lin Yao was stunned for a moment, concentrating carefully to distinguish the faint outline in the darkness.
It was an oversized hovercraft, its surface covered with a camouflage coating that could simulate the background of the universe. If a meteor had not happened to pass by the edge of the boat, reflecting a momentary cold metallic light, it would have been difficult to detect its existence.
"See it!" Chen Yan lowered his voice, his tone full of uncontrollable excitement, and tapped the window with his fingertips.
"This is a special cargo boat used in the underground trading market. You never see it normally. It's said that it's only used when there are top-quality goods to be auctioned."
Lin Yao's gaze lingered on the giant hovercraft for a moment.
It lies quietly in the stardust stream like a dormant giant beast. The length of its hull is at least five times that of an ordinary cargo boat. Just by looking at its size, you can tell that what is inside is definitely not an ordinary object.
"It seems I came here at the right time today." Chen Yan rubbed his hands, his eyes shining as if they were quenched by light. "Maybe I can come across the design drawings of the mecha prototype, or..."
He counted on his fingers, "Which of the ten legions has a retired energy core? At the very least, a copy of the mental power synchronization data of an S-rank sentinel would be fine..."
"We agreed to just take a look." Lin Yao interrupted mercilessly.
Chen Yan's excitement was like being poured with a bucket of cold water, and he muttered with a gloomy face: "I know, I know, just take a look..."
But his eyes were still glued to the cargo boat, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up. "But seriously, Brother Xiaoyao, don't you find it exciting? Can you really hold it in?"
Lin Yao didn't answer him. Is it exciting? It is indeed very exciting.
In the more than two months since I came here, I have only experienced this kind of passionate feeling when fighting in the national training ground, and again today when I test drove the "Dawn".
But the rationality in his bones was pulling him back.
He always stayed away from danger. If it weren't for the bowl of medicine today, he thought he would never set foot in such a place in his life.
Just when Lin Yao was lost in thought, a bright flash suddenly passed by against the dark background of the universe. It flashed by, but Lin Yao's eyes still caught a glimpse of it through the crack in the window.
It was a bright pink hovercraft with flashing light strips hanging from its bulkhead, making it look like a flying cake box.
"Hey! Let me see what's going by." Chen Yan was instantly attracted and didn't care about looking at the cargo boat. He was twisted like a pretzel, peeking out through the window crack.
He put one foot on the edge of the seat and the other foot on the floor, his shoulders almost blocking the window. The difficult and awkward posture made Lin Yao feel tired for him.
Lin Yao stretched out his hand to protect his waist, fearing that the boy would fall down if he lost his balance: "Be careful."
"I see, I see!" Chen Yan straightened up suddenly, his face showing a bit of excitement as if he was watching a good show. "It's the Star Dream! The captain specializes in business with rich kids. Last time, a young master spent enough money to buy half a starship just to buy a broken stone for his lover."
He smacked his lips, leaned back to the window to take a look, and muttered to Lin Yao, "But this old guy really knows how to do business!"
Chen Yan was talking about the captain of the Star Dream, a notoriously chubby man whose business acumen was said to be hidden in the folds of flesh on his forehead.
This person is best at figuring out the thoughts of rich people. Take the color of the Star Dream for example, it can be changed seven or eight times within half a year, just to meet the requirements of those financial backers.
"Do you know why he always changes color?" Chen Yan kept it a secret, and when Lin Yao didn't respond, he couldn't help but reveal the answer.
"I heard it started with a young man being cheated on. The girl's family was too powerful to offend, so he paid a huge sum of money to have the Star Dream renovated to forgive the cheater, and then chartered the ship to sail around the trading market three times! Well, the entire galaxy's upper class knew he was cheated on. What a mean way of revenge, isn't it?"
Lin Yao imagined the scene and couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth.
"Then the word spread," Chen Yan said with increasing enthusiasm. "Anyone who wanted to show off or vent their anger would ask him to spend money to change the color and then go out for a walk. Look at this pink color now, who knows, it might be some young man who's just fallen in love and is using it to please his sweetheart."
As he was speaking, the Star Dream had already drifted away, and the pink light gradually faded in the dark universe, leaving only a vague shadow.
Chen Yan reluctantly withdrew his gaze, and as if remembering something, he paced twice in the narrow cabin with his hands behind his back, shaking his head and speaking in a long tone: "Alas, there will be another sucker who has to spend money!"
He looked like an old scholar who had seen through the world, which made Lin Yao almost laugh out loud.
He thought silently in his heart: If it weren't for me, you would also be the one who was cheated out of money!
-
While Shen Yan was showing off, the airship they were riding in was already approaching the docking port of the underground trading market, which was a docking port directly using an abandoned space station.
It has not been renovated despite the constant stream of people here, and it still looks dilapidated.
The graffiti on the outer walls faded into blurred blocks of color, and the energy pipelines were like exposed blood vessels, occasionally emitting golden sparks.
But it is precisely this tattered appearance, mixed with the discarded parts and rusted satellite wreckage floating around, that reveals a natural wildness.
The pink cake box stopped not far away, and the people inside got out. Lin Yao's good eyesight allowed him to see the back of a well-dressed, greasy man. He was holding an energy crystal the size of a pigeon egg, which made the woman holding his arm smile like a flower.
The crystal glowed warmly in the dark universe, but its energy fluctuations were very weak. It was the kind of thing that would be despised by the killer because it took up space.
Its biggest function is probably to coax people with its gorgeous appearance, just like street vendors use sugar figures to amuse children, except that it is wrapped in expensive packaging.
The hovercraft suddenly stopped with a slight shake.
"We're here, we're here!" Chen Yan instantly forgot his old scholarly persona and hurriedly pulled Lin Yao over. "Quick, put on your masks. Let's go in from Plank Road No. 3."
Lin Yao pulled his hood and confirmed that the mask covered most of his face. He used his mental power to wrap a thin barrier around his body to deal with the ubiquitous mental detection in case someone recognized his identity.
The two followed the crowd towards the hatch. As soon as they stepped out of the hovercraft, a smell mixed with engine oil, ozone and metal rust hit them in the face.
The road beneath my feet was full of potholes, making a creaking sound with every step, as if it would fall apart at any moment.
There were discarded energy boxes piled up on both sides, some of which were broken, revealing the glowing circuits inside.
Several burly men in work clothes were carrying cargo boxes half as tall as a person down from the hovercraft and hurried past them. There were vague energy logos printed on the cargo boxes, and it was obvious that they were not from a regular channel.
"This way." Chen Yan pulled Lin Yao to the side as if he was familiar with the route, and after passing a rusty crane, three parallel plank roads appeared before them.
At the entrance of plank road No. 3 stood a sentry guard with a cigarette in his mouth, scanning the people passing by with eyes like a hawk, and the energy gun on his waist flashed with a cold light.
When I got closer, I found that he was wearing a black detector on his ear, which scanned pedestrians from time to time and made a slight "beeping" sound.
Chen Yan pulled Lin Yao into the crowd, walking quickly with their heads down. When the detector scanned them, it only emitted a short prompt sound. The sentry glanced at them, then looked at someone else.
-
When the two passed through the seemingly simple metal gate and entered the interior, the scene before them suddenly tore through the disguise.
The interior of the trading floor is a huge dark space. The dome is a bottomless black, inlaid with sparse but exceptionally bright cold lights. Like lonely stars in a distant galaxy, the light sharply cuts through the space, casting narrow shadows on the ground.
The surrounding stalls were all made of matte black alloy booths, without any extra decorations, except for a circle of extremely thin blue cold light outlining the exhibits.
The owner's belongings were placed on a suspended display stand shimmering with a faint blue luster, illuminated only by a precise beam of cold light, plunging the surroundings into deep shadows.
The neatly cut astral stone lies quietly on the black velvet, its own faint light intertwined with the cold light, creating a mysterious texture;
The stall in the corner did not have any fancy holographic projections, but instead had a dark display screen on which the energy data of the ore was scrolled in minimalist white fonts.
The air was filled with a cold scent similar to obsidian, mixed with the slight heat from the energy running. There was no sweet fragrance, only the pure smell of metal and energy colliding.
The people coming and going were wearing dark clothes, moving slowly, and speaking to each other in low voices. Lin Yao also understood why Chen Yan had changed his clothes before coming.
Some people wore special gloves and touched the exhibits carefully. Some people had a dark virtual light screen in front of them, and the seven-digit price quote on it was particularly eye-catching against the black background.
The burly man I saw on the plank road just now was now like a silent shadow, standing quietly behind a man in a black windbreaker. The smooth cargo box without any signs revealed a low-key metallic texture under the cold light.
"Isn't it unexpected?" Chen Yan's voice was a little proud. "The outside is deliberately shabby, but there is a different world inside."
Lin Yao looked at a stall not far away and saw someone nodding slightly at an energy crystal. The assistant next to him confirmed the transaction on the dark screen and nodded in agreement with Chen Yan's statement.
In the mental picture, Shasha was so excited that all the vines were dancing. This place was more attractive to it than the Science and Technology Museum.
"Let's go look around on the first floor first? The auction doesn't start until 8 o'clock! We still have time to go down one floor at a time." Chen Yan said as he started walking forward, his eyes scanning the surrounding stalls like a radar.
"Every floor here sells different things. The first floor mostly sells ores and basic parts. The lower you go, the rarer and more valuable the items are."
Lin Yao followed behind him, his fingertips unconsciously stroking the fabric in his pocket, feeling its delicate touch.
They walked past a stall filled with mecha parts. Those parts glowed with a faint blue sheen under the cold light, and each one exuded precision and strength.
The stall owner was a stern-faced man. Seeing that they were just passing by, he didn't introduce himself much and continued to concentrate on wiping the parts in his hands.
"Look at this." Chen Yan stopped in front of a mineral stall and pointed at a piece of pitch-black mineral. "This is Shadow Stone. It's said to be able to absorb mental fluctuations. If you make it into jewelry and wear it on your body, it can avoid ordinary mental detection. It's quite good to see this thing on the first floor."
Lin Yao took a closer look. The surface of the ore was smooth and reflected almost no light under the cold light. It indeed exuded a mysterious aura.
He could feel the faint energy field emitted by the mineral, and it did show signs of absorbing surrounding energy.
The stall owner was a white-haired old man. Seeing their interest, he slowly said, "This Shadow Stone is a rare item, not often seen on the first floor."
Chen Yan was amazed and was about to ask a few more questions when he was attracted by the movement at another stall. There were several people gathered in front of that stall, seemingly bidding for a piece of mineral that emitted a soft white light.
Lin Yao did not follow, his attention was attracted by an inconspicuous stall diagonally opposite.
There was nothing particularly eye-catching on the stall, only a few quaint boxes, which were also surrounded by a circle of cold blue light.
He walked closer and saw that the box was filled with different stones. One of them was very similar to the stone left to him by the original owner's mother, but its color was darker than the one in his hand.
"This is the Silent Night Stone!"
"You have a good eye. Although this stone is a companion ore, it can absorb sound and mental fluctuations. It will make people feel unusually quiet when placed nearby. It is very rare. You may not find one in a hundred mineral veins!"
Seeing him looking at the dark blue stone so intently, the stall owner knew there might be a chance of making a sale, so he began to introduce it to him.
Lin Yao asked him if he could pick it up and have a look. The stall owner nodded and said, "You can only hold the box like this and look at it. Don't touch it!"
He picked up the box with both hands as he was told, avoiding the black velvet inside the box with his fingertips and gently supporting it on the wooden wall.
The deep blue Silent Night Stone shone with a satin-like luster under the cold light. It was three shades darker than the original owner's stone, as if the night sky had been crushed and solidified in the stone. Even the fine flashes inside were denser.
"Is this stone only this color?"
Lin Yao looked at the Silent Night Stone in his hand, and thought of his own light-colored stone. The two were so similar but the colors were so different that he really didn't dare to confirm it.
Silent Night Stone is rare. Although the original owner has read all kinds of books, most of the records about Silent Night Stone he has seen and those circulating on the market are of this color, and some are even darker than this one. It is for this reason that the name "Silent Night" is so appropriate.
The stall owner heard this and shook his head: "Not really."
He paused and continued, "Silent Night Stone doesn't just come in this one color. Don't be fooled by the dark colors on the market; there are actually lighter-colored ones as well.
Moreover, the light-colored ones are the real treasures, with super pure power and very few fine sparks in them. The effect of absorbing sound and mental fluctuations is many times better than that of the dark-colored ones.
Ordinary Silent Night Stone may only be found once in a hundred veins, while the light-colored, top-grade Silent Night Stone may not be found even once even after digging through the entire mineral planet. Many people may never see one in their lifetime, which is why it is so little known.
Lin Yao's heart trembled, and his fingers holding the box tightened slightly. He once again cast his gaze on the dark blue Silent Night Stone in his hand. The dense flashes inside seemed to silently tell of its ordinariness.
"Where does that light-colored Silent Night Stone usually appear?" Lin Yao asked calmly, trying to get more information.
The stall owner thought for a moment and said, "That's hard to say. Some say it's in a warm mineral vein, while others say it comes from an ancient meteorite group. There are different opinions. After all, very few people have seen it."
Lin Yao nodded and didn't ask any more questions. He just gently put the box in his hand back on the display stand, said thank you, and went to find Chen Yan.
When he found Chen Yan, he was really super excited, just like seeing a husky on the grassland: "Brother Xiao Yao, you have no idea how fierce the competition for that piece of white light ore is."
Without waiting for Lin Yao to respond, he began chattering about what he had just seen and heard, not even leaving Lin Yao a chance to interrupt.
The two continued to walk forward, and Chen Yan suddenly raised his hand and pointed towards the downward passage not far away: "See, those are the stairs to the lower floors. Let's go up one floor at a time and finally go to the auction house on the ninth floor. The time is just right."
Lin Yao looked in the direction he pointed, and saw a black staircase extending downward in an inconspicuous corner. Next to it were several tightly closed black elevators. There were people guarding the elevator doors. The aura around them blended with the dark environment, exuding mystery.
He responded and followed Chen Yan slowly in that direction, his eyes sweeping over the stalls on both sides, full of curiosity and exploration about the nine-story trading floor extending underground.
-
Walking down the stairs, the atmosphere on each floor is quietly changing.
The second floor is mostly filled with modified parts for energy weapons, and the third floor is filled with the fur, bones and blood of various interstellar beasts.
When you reach the fourth floor, there is suddenly a strange sweet and fishy smell in the air. The main products here are biological preparations and genetic consumables.
Glass jars on the stalls held fluorescent organ slices, refrigerators were stacked with test tubes labeled with gene sequences, and even the passers-by were mostly researchers in white coats or pharmacists in black robes.
Lin Yao's gaze stopped at the corner of the fourth floor.
The narrow door embedded in the metal wall was more hidden than expected. The imitation copper medicine furnace at the door glowed with a warm luster under the cold light. Wisps of green smoke wrapped in the scent of grass and trees drifted out, which was incompatible with the surrounding smell of disinfectant and formaldehyde. It was like a living fossil forgotten in a pile of machinery.
He was just thinking about how to talk to Chen Yan when the people around him suddenly gasped.
"What's wrong?" Lin Yao looked at Chen Yan. The boy's expression suddenly changed as he looked in one direction. He followed his gaze.
I saw a man in a silver-gray suit standing in front of a stall diagonally opposite not far away, holding a potion in his hand and talking to the stall owner.
The man had his back to them, his meticulously combed hair reflecting the light in the dim light.
Chen Yan subconsciously shrank behind Lin Yao, his voice as soft as a mosquito's hum: "My stomach feels a little uncomfortable... I'm going to the bathroom!"
After he finished speaking, he hurriedly tugged at the waistband of his pants and pointed to a sign not far away, "Wait here for a while, don't wander off!"
Before he finished speaking, he had already crouched down and rushed into the passage next to him. After running two steps, he did not forget to turn around and wave to Lin Yao.
Lin Yao looked at the place where he disappeared speechlessly: "Why are you covering your face because your stomach feels uncomfortable?" A hint of understanding flashed across his eyes, but he didn't say it out loud.
Lin Yao withdrew his gaze and prepared to go to the pharmacy on the corner, just as he was about to pass by the stall diagonally opposite.
"The purity of this batch of gene stabilizers must be guaranteed. Mr. Shen has no tolerance for any flaws." The man in the silver-gray suit said to the stall owner in a deep voice, his tone unquestionable and serious. "I'll pick up the goods at this time next week. Price is not an issue."
The stall owner nodded and bowed quickly: "Don't worry, Mr. Henian and I have been working together for many years. How can I be vague? I guarantee that this is of the highest purity."
After sensing Lin Yao's approach, the man glanced at him and saw that Lin Yao was not looking at him. He knew that he was just passing by, so he politely moved forward and made some space for him.
The voices of conversation reached Lin Yao's ears, forming a name 'Chen Henian'. Wasn't that the name of the old-fashioned and sophisticated second uncle that Chen Yan had mentioned to him?
It turned out that he had met the Shen family. No wonder Chen Yan reacted so strongly.
He didn't care anymore and headed towards his destination.
The green smoke from the imitation copper medicine furnace was still rising. When he passed by the furnace, he raised his hand to test the temperature. It was not hot, just warm. There were some fuzzy patterns engraved on the furnace wall, which looked like some kind of ancient herbal atlas.
Before entering the door, Lin Yao adjusted his hood again and pulled the mask up again.
The door was ajar and opened with a gentle push.
The shop was much darker than outside, lit only by a few glass lamps hanging next to the shelves. In the dim light, various dried plants were vaguely visible in the shadows:
Some leaves glow with metallic silver, some roots are wrapped with thin energy lines. The most eye-catching thing is the glass jar behind the counter, which contains a curled up purple flower bud, which occasionally trembles slightly, as if breathing.
"Buy? Or sell?" An old voice came from behind the counter. An old man in a gray robe came out from the shadows, holding a silver medicine grinder in his hand, and was slowly grinding some green powder.
Lin Yao closed the door behind him, keeping the noise and the smell of disinfectant from the fourth floor out.
"I'm not buying or selling, but could you please help me look at the items?" He walked closer to the counter.
The old man didn't say anything else. Lin Yao thought he would not agree, so he stopped halfway.
Unexpectedly, the man spoke again: "Guests are welcome, yes!"
Lin Yao continued forward, took out the sealed bag containing the medicinal residue from the storage ring, and placed it on the counter: "Please take a look at the ingredients of this thing."
The old man took a look at the medicinal residue, and then cast a subtle probing gaze on Lin Yao, but was bounced back when he touched the shadow under Lin Yao's hood.
He paused, then put down the medicine grinder in his hand, picked up the bag of medicine residue, poured out a little gray-black debris, picked up a handful of medicine residue, put it to the tip of his nose and sniffed it, and then twisted it with his fingertips.
After a while, his eyebrows slightly raised, and he tapped the debris with his fingertips. "It contains the Heart-Erosion Flower. A small amount can make the medicine more potent, but too much will eat away at the spirit body."
"Is it just the Heart-Eroding Flower?" Lin Yao asked doubtfully. There are so many medicinal herbs! Just tell him that there is a Heart-Eroding Flower.
The old man chuckled: "Isn't that why you came here? The others are all good herbs!"
The old man's words made Lin Yao embarrassed. That's right! With the way he came here, besides not knowing who he was, it was hard not to guess his purpose.
Lin Yao stopped hesitating and took out another bag: "Where is this bag?"
The old man picked up the second bag of medicine residue, but this time he didn't rush to twist it. He looked at the glass lamp for a long time.
The color of the crumbs was lighter than the previous bag, mixed with some yellow-green powder.
He picked up a little and put it to the tip of his nose, frowning slightly. It was like the scent of moss after rain, but it left a subtle numbness at the root of his tongue.
"Mineral Mystery." The old man ground the yellow-green powder between his fingers. "Grinding it into powder and using it as medicine can disturb the mind and is a good thing for creating hallucinations."
Lin Yao frowned, his covered brows tightly. He had seen the name Midieying in ancient books. It was said that it originated from an abandoned spiritual power mine and had long been extinct.
The old man seemed to see through his thoughts and picked up another handful of gray-black debris. "And this, the Bone-Stilling Grass looks like ordinary dead grass, but it has a rusty smell. It is a top-grade paralyzing herb."
As soon as his fingertips touched the debris, it felt like something hot, so he quickly took the clean water next to him and rinsed it.
Two medicinal herbs, one to induce hallucinations, the other to calm the mind.
"Thank you!" Lin Yao put away the two bags of medicine residue and stopped asking about the residue. "What kind of medicine powder are you grinding?"
-
Lin Yao walked out of the pharmacy, holding three fragrant sachets in his hands. The old man's words seemed to still echo in his ears:
"Summer weed and insect repellent season is coming. This is the powder in the sachet. Would you like a few sachets? 50 star coins each!"
He looked down at the sachet in his palm. A simple herbal pattern was embroidered on the coarse cloth, and the stitches were crooked, as if it was sewn by the old man in his spare time.
Looking around, I saw that the stall across the street had a new customer, and the man from the Shen family in a suit was nowhere to be seen.
Lin Yao walked to the place where he had separated from Shen Yan before, but after waiting for more than ten minutes, he still did not see Shen Yan appear.
"Has this person been exposed?" Lin Yao frowned and turned to walk towards the bathroom that Chen Yan pointed to.
The passage on the fourth floor is more tortuous than that on the upper floor. The bathroom is hidden in the gap between two rows of refrigerators. The door is made of thick metal plate with some traces of dark red chemicals on it.
When he walked in, he saw only a cold metal cubicle and the pungent smell of disinfectant. The bathroom was empty.
Lin Yao then realized that Chen Yan's panicked escape to the toilet just now might have really made him disappear.
He and Shen Yan got separated.
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