Chapter 366: Slave Market
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
As a neutral territory, there were not just criminals in the Floating Dragon Island; there were also residents, workers, and troops that the ruler used to maintain security called the Dragon Guards. This was a chaotic place, but no matter what, they had to pay a tax when entering the island, representing their respect for the ruler. No one dared break this rule.
Floating Dragon Island was a typical low-security area. Combat there was allowed. As long as residents and workers were not killed and buildings were not destroyed, the Dragon Guards would never bother about outsiders killing each other. The atmosphere there was lawless, chaotic, and brutal. The city did not have a proper city plan, and the buildings were all over the place. There was no sun or moon in the sky, only lights from the city lighting up the floating island, making the sky a patchwork of darkness and colorful radiance.
Villains liked this place, not just because this was a neutral supply site—they also liked the rules there. As long as they did not cross the line of the Dragon Guards, they could use violence as much as they wanted. In this place, killing and being killed both did not seem like a big deal.
Han Xiao’s sudden act of violence caused a chain reaction. The sound of machines sounded in the street, and the entire street’s brutes raised their guns and aimed at him, looking ferocious as if they were going to rush forward anytime.
At this time, all the people from the three large mercenary groups drew their weapons, not taking any steps back, and surrounded Han Xiao to back him up. They displayed their strong attitude to protect their friends.
The villains suddenly hesitated. Overcome by fear, they sheathed their weapons and backed off unwillingly. Other than not wanting to be in trouble with the three large mercenary groups, the Dragon Guards would also appear if their battle became too intense.
Stared at by villains from all directions, the hundreds of mercenaries walked past this street, and only then did they sheathe their weapons. They continued walking forward, and no one expressed any opinion about what had just happened, like it was just the most common thing.
Goa glanced at Han Xiao and did not blame his sudden action at all.
All the mercenaries backed them up, and no one took it as a big deal—it was a cooperation that needed no explanation. Not just Herlous, even the players were shocked.
“Keeping a low profile is useless here,” Han Xiao said. “You have to flash your claws and fangs to intimidate potential enemies. There is also an unspoken cooperation sense in the mercenary industry. Every mercenary on the same mission is a trustworthy teammate. As long as the trouble is not way out of line, everyone will be with you. What concerns you also concerns me.
“Furthermore, killing some criminals here is a norm, and it was a good way to express our toughness. No one will say anything about it.”
Han Xiao had skipped the quarreling and talking part straight away and jumped to fighting because, here, if something could be settled with violence, there was no need to talk.
Herlous now understood what Han Xiao meant by full resource utilization. They were acting together with the three huge mercenary groups, so they had the number advantage. Thus, it was a suitable chance for them to show their fists.
This unspoken cooperation instantly made the players feel closer to the mercenaries.
Deep into the city of Floating Dragon Island, there were far fewer criminals on the streets. They locked onto the target’s identity through the customer that Han Xiao described from his foresight—Horlaide, the owner of a local slave market and also the subordinate of a certain direct descendant of the Floating Dragon Island ruler. He managed a part of the business.
“Now this is tough. He’s Floating Dragon Island’s ruler’s subordinate, so if we rob him of his slaves, it will be disrespectful to the ruler...”
On the streets, the leaders of the mercenary group gathered and discussed the issue. Sky Ring, Blades, and Purple Gold gave Han Xiao enough respect, so the four of them were discussing the action plan.
The current situation was quite a problematic one. Although the three large mercenary groups did not fear any criminals there, they did not dare mess with Floating Dragon Island’s ruler.
“People of Floating Dragon Island cannot be enraged, or we will certainly be dead. We have to think of a plan,” the leader of Blades, Porter, said in a very firm tone.
The Purple Gold’s leader, Cerleni, contemplated and said, “If Horlaide has already bought the Silvers, we cannot snatch them back with violence. The best way would be to rob the captives first before Horlaide makes the payment. Since we know who the customer is, we can wait for the scavengers to arrive, set up an ambush in advance, then snatch the captives back when they are still on their way. This way, we will not have a direct conflict with Horlaide.”
“Then,” Goa said, “firstly, we have to confirm if Horlaide has already received the captives. As long as he has yet to buy the captives, this plan is workable. We have to contact him... but if we contact him as mercenaries, it might raise suspicion. A buyer will not want someone to have an eye on what he wants to buy. The Dragon Guards might cause trouble for us.”
This plan had a prerequisite, which was that Han Xiao’s foresight was reliable. Since they did not have many clues, they could only choose to believe. Anyway, if the intel was incorrect, Han Xiao would not be able to escape the responsibility, and since someone was taking the blame, the other three leaders had no problem with it.
Han Xiao recommended himself and said, “I’m experienced, so I can disguise myself as a buyer to test him.”
The three leaders thought that this could work. They made a simple plan—Han Xiao changed into the face simulator, took off his mechanical suit, and changed his clothes. He now looked like a captain of a galactic spaceship—this kind of customer was very common.
The slave market was not dirty or messy, but luxurious and gorgeous instead. Any information about the slaves was displayed in books for customers to choose from.
The Floating Dragon Island had its middleman in the slave business. They bought slaves from scavengers and sold them to the large customers.
“I want to buy some slaves...”
As soon as he entered the market, Han Xiao expressed his intention, disguising himself as a normal customer. A fatty approached and introduced him to slaves of different races—there were many varieties.
After not really listening for a while, Han Xiao purposely acted as if he was unsatisfied and said, “I don’t want these rough deformities, and I don’t want these cheap low-class slaves. I want to see what rare species you have here. Do you not have anything worthy of such standard?”
At this time, a short and skinny guy walked over, wearing luxurious clothes. His fingers and neck were covered in many expensive pieces of jewelry. He smiled and said, “Hehehe, of course, I have the good stuff here.”
“Who are you?” Han Xiao asked.
“Horlaide, the manager of the slave market. Trust me, the things here can definitely satisfy your needs.” Horlaide did not have any doubts. He was very passionate toward customers.
Han Xiao sized him up, then nodded. Seeing Horlaide make a hand sign for ‘follow me’, Han Xiao followed behind him. The two of them took the lift to the bottom floor, and a white corridor full of twists and turns appeared in their vision. There was a pure white alloy gate every so often, and the gate had a small window in it.
After walking to it, only then did Han Xiao realize it was all single cells behind the gates. Inside was fully white and very clean, and there were many different creatures.
“Please allow me to introduce you to these high-quality slaves...” Horlaide smiled confidently and explained smoothly. Han Xiao occasionally responded as he observed every slave in the cells. Most of them had a numb face, and some of them were scratching the walls in rage. Quite a number of them were Supers—the slaves here were indeed more valuable and precious.
The corridor end came very soon, but there were no Silvers in those hundred or so cells.
Horlaide stopped the introduction and asked, “Who have you picked?”
Han Xiao dry coughed and said, “Are there any other goods?”
“Haha, looks like you’re a picky customer; I love a challenge.” Horlaide laughed in a very exaggerated way, then snapped his fingers and said, “There’s one last good product. She can definitely satisfy your requirements.”
The wall at the end of the corridor opened, showing a new space. Seeing that, Han Xiao felt relieved. There was only one cell, and it did not look like it had Silvers inside, which meant that these captives had yet to arrive on Floating Dragon Island.
He walked up, looked at the window curiously, and suddenly his stopped breathing completely subconsciously. Inside was a woman whose beauty was almost unbelievable; from the aesthetic standpoint of humans, she had an almost perfect face. The Great Mechanic Han was astounded by the very first look.
This woman looked very young. She had long hair, and covered in blurry stardust, she looked almost ‘transcendent’. She appeared to be a normal Galaxy Human Race. She wore heavy alloy cuffs all over her body, a type of cuff specially made for Supers. The material used could make energy flow slower to a certain extent, making it hard to control it, hence reducing Supers’ explosive power. She wore a self-destructive collar, so any strange movements would decimate her skull.
Yet, this woman was very calm. Completely different from other slaves, she was neither numb nor enraged. She closed her eyes and sat in the corner, very relaxed, not caring about the situation that she was currently in at all.
When Han Xiao was observing her, this woman opened her eyes in a flash, and a pair of attractive eyes that looked like they contained the sea and the galaxy looked into Han Xiao’s eyes. She was staring into the one-way window in the prison, but it was like she knew someone outside the window was looking at her.
Looks like a very strong Super... Han Xiao thought and went back to being calm. When he was shocked by her beauty, it had been a completely subconscious reaction. He got rid of this emotion very quickly, and after looking at her, he realized that he did not know this woman.
Just as he was about to look elsewhere, a new mission was triggered in the interface! The trigger was obviously this woman!