Chapter 74: The Sealing of the City

Chapter 74: Chapter 74: The Sealing of the City

Once Xiang Yi had an idea, he acted on it immediately, without the slightest delay.

Outside the sewer, the sun overhead was just beginning to set in the west.

It probably wasn’t technically a sun, but Xiang Yi was used to calling it that.

Under the warm afternoon sunlight, just standing outside felt incredibly pleasant.

But Xiang Yi’s pleasant feeling was soon shattered by the piercing sound of sirens from the direction of the city district.

He could never truly stand in the sun until the hunt for him stopped for good.

Xiang Yi let out a breath and started walking west.

Southwest City District.

Xiang Yi soon led Shi Tie into the slums on the city’s outskirts.

Amidst the surrounding jumble of buildings, people constantly threw watchful glances his way.

Even more frequently than the last time he’d come.

It seemed his previous actions had an effect. People had noticed his presence and recognized him as the man with the bounty.

This also meant the prison had likely confirmed he was still alive.

’So this day has finally come.’

’Still, it’s manageable. This is only about two days off from my estimate for when the prison would finally confirm my body wasn’t in the area they were searching.’

For now, the most the prison could do was pay more attention to the Southwest City District. They hadn’t reached the point of discovering his hiding spot yet.

He still had room to run circles around them.

As for what the prison would do next...

’Even if the local government has conflicts with the prison, the prison will definitely find a way to infiltrate.’

’Hunts and ambushes are probably just a matter of time.’

This was a risk Xiang Yi knew he had to face when he’d deliberately left traces here before.

He knew how to handle it.

The appearance of these people was also a reminder for Xiang Yi.

Although it seemed he hadn’t felt any direct pressure from the prison recently, they were watching him at all times.

He needed to find a way to get a legal identity soon, or choose another path to escape the prison’s pursuit.

Money was, as always, the most important thing.

Xiang Yi proceeded to the robot’s hardware store as usual.

The hardware store’s door was open today, but Du Bingtian wasn’t there.

Only the robot was at the workbench, working as usual.

The robot heard the noise, glanced back, then turned its head back to the task at hand.

Xiang Yi went over and handed the robot a slip of paper.

The robot glanced at the list of advanced materials on the paper and asked, "What do you need this stuff for?"

"None of your business."

"Fine. Nebula Alloy is 1300, Ultrasteel is 1100, Vanadium Layered Alloy is 300, Room-Temperature Fluid Ferrous Alloy is 800..."

The robot read off a string of prices for the materials on the list.

Just as Xiang Yi was considering whether to buy them, it suddenly added, "That’s the price per gram."

"Is this a robbery?"

The robot stuffed the slip of paper into a slot on its body, which shredded it into tiny pieces.

"It’s better for me if you don’t want them. This stuff is a huge pain to get, especially since several of the materials you want are regulated. The price is definitely not expensive."

The robot set down the finished firearm component in its hands, turned to Xiang Yi, and asked, "Speaking of which, you just came over like this today?"

"Am I not supposed to come over?"

"You can, but you’d better be careful these next few days. The bounty on you has basically spread throughout the entire Southwest. A lot of people have their eyes on you."

"If you hadn’t killed a few of those good-for-nothing cronies Bingtian brought over the first time you came, I reckon someone would’ve already made a move on you by now."

"You should probably come in a disguise next time. Then again, there’s probably no point. Your bodyguard is too conspicuous."

Xiang Yi asked with an indifferent air, "Then why haven’t you made a move on me?"

"Because I plan to do long-term business with you."

"I’ve tested those Blood Crystals from before. The price I can give you is 700 per gram."

"700..."

Xiang Yi had just talked to Ning Ye about Blood Crystal prices earlier that day.

Based on Ning Ye’s prices, the robot’s offer was barely within Xiang Yi’s acceptable range.

But accepting it was one thing; he definitely still had to haggle.

"1000 a gram."

Xiang Yi took a Blood Crystal out of his backpack and said, "I have a stable supply of Blood Crystals. I can get you at least 200 grams of Blood Crystal Material every week."

"A little cheaper."

The robot’s Visual Sensors swept over the Blood Crystal in Xiang Yi’s hand, but it made no move to take it. It seemed the price was a bit too high for it.

But business was all about high-balling and haggling.

So Xiang Yi wasn’t in a rush to settle on a price. Instead, he started by buying a batch of bullets for Shi Tie’s regular use.

"How much are your various types of bullets?"

The robot didn’t mind talking about other things. It took out a handful of bullets from the workbench and said, "Depends on the type. Usually around 20 to 40 a round. There’s a discount if you buy in bulk. Buy a thousand rounds at once, and I’ll throw in a free pistol."

"A bit expensive."

"That depends. You could certainly get them cheaper through legal channels, but you’ve come to me. If I don’t rip you off a little, how will you know you’re breaking the law?"

"..."

Xiang Yi was silent for a moment, then asked, "Can I trade the Blood Crystals for bullets? We can give each other a discount. I’ll sell them to you for 960 a gram."

The robot considered it for a moment. "Go lower. That price is still too high. I’ll have a hard time explaining it to my buyers."

"950. And I can also provide you with higher-quality material."

As he spoke, Xiang Yi pulled a small piece of a High-Quality Blood Crystal from his pocket and held it out.

The High-Quality Blood Crystal, looking incredibly brilliant under the light, instantly captured its attention.

The robot reached out and took it. It pressed a button next to the workbench, closing the rolling shutter door, then picked up the High-Quality Blood Crystal to examine it carefully under the light.

After a moment, it nodded at Xiang Yi.

Xiang Yi bought a thousand rounds each for the two rifle calibers he had. He didn’t want the free pistol, opting to convert it into more bullets.

Including the discount they had just agreed on, Xiang Yi ended up taking 1,200 rounds of each of the two calibers.

With his Laser Rifle, Xiang Yi didn’t really lack long-range firepower. These bullets were mainly for Shi Tie to use.

Xiang Yi had seen what Shi Tie could do. An ambulatory turret that wouldn’t die unless hit directly in the heart—the thought alone was terrifying.

Especially since Xiang Yi planned to provide Shi Tie with even better weapons later. Even in a large-scale conflict, Shi Tie would still be incredibly useful.

And all this only cost 65,000.

The Blood Crystal Material Xiang Yi had given the robot before was thumb-sized and weighed 5 grams.

The Blood Crystal he brought this time weighed 207 grams, at 950 per gram.

As for the High-Quality Blood Crystal he offered at the end, the robot gave him a price of 3,000 a gram. It was also around 5 grams, maybe a little less, but the robot took the initiative to round it up to an even 5 grams.

Xiang Yi also took the opportunity to sell off the personal terminals and non-military-grade guns.

The robot didn’t ask where Xiang Yi got the items. In any case, it could take them.

After factoring everything in,

Xiang Yi was still due 156,000 Federation Coins.

This was undoubtedly a huge sum of money, especially for the current Xiang Yi.

But before getting the money, Xiang Yi returned to the initial topic. "If I trade Blood Crystals for those advanced materials, can you give me a better price on them?"

The robot made a very human-like sighing gesture and said, "You’re really putting me in a tough spot. These materials are genuinely hard to get."

"Give me ten days to half a month, and I can try to find them for you, but I can’t guarantee I’ll succeed. And you have to pay upfront. Otherwise, if the materials get stuck on my hands, I won’t be able to sell them."

"Then shipping and everything will take at least a month. That time can’t be shortened either."

"That’s way too slow."

The price was negotiable, but the time cost was unacceptable to Xiang Yi. "Are there any other places I can get these materials?"

The robot shook its head without answering.

It deposited all the money from the transaction onto a new card and handed it to Xiang Yi.

This was the card that had belonged to Pingyu, the only person Xiang Yi had killed with his own hands last time.

After stowing the card safely,

An idea suddenly popped into Xiang Yi’s head.

"This Star System of ours is the e-waste recycling center for the entire Core Star System Group, isn’t it?"

"So?" the robot asked.

"The junkyards here should have equipment sent from all over. If I’m willing to put in the effort, I should be able to salvage the materials I want from that equipment."

"I remember there’s a junkyard in the southeastern suburbs..."

Before Xiang Yi could finish, the robot cut him off, its tone suddenly stiff. "I’d advise you to stay far away from there."

The robot’s abrupt interruption sparked a strong sense of curiosity in Xiang Yi.

"Why?"

The robot didn’t seem to want to say much, only offering another piece of advice. "If you were a normal person, it wouldn’t matter if you went. But since you’re mixed up in a place like this with us, it’s better if you don’t."

"Do people die there or something?"

"It won’t necessarily get you killed, but what happens specifically depends on your luck."

"Is it connected to the police?"

"That’s not it either. It’s the owner of that junkyard... well... his identity is rather special. I won’t say too much, but you’d best not go there. And especially don’t get any funny ideas."

"Alright."

Xiang Yi couldn’t understand the robot’s attitude, but he knew he should listen to others’ warnings.

"What about smuggling routes?"

"You can forget about that too."

The robot threw another bucket of cold water on his plans. "The government has halted a lot of imports and exports recently. A few of the smugglers I know are out of business."

"No starships can pass directly through the atmosphere anymore. They have to go through the Spaceport."

The robot pointed upward.

"They have to go through a full inspection at the space station up there to enter or leave the planet."

"And it seems the government is further reducing the volume of imports and exports, locking things down. I don’t know what they’re thinking."

"So it’s impossible?"

"That’s right, it’s impossible. Don’t even think about smuggling. The government has been cracking down really hard lately."

"Not even private ships?"

"They’re even stricter with private ships. Without the right connections, it’s normal for a private ship to be stuck in port for a week."

Xiang Yi couldn’t help but sigh internally. The idea of leaving via smuggling routes was completely dead, and the fledgling idea he just had of buying his own ship to leave had also been doused with cold water.

’If I really can’t get a legal identity, will I have to consider long-term survival on this planet?’

’It seems possible, as long as nothing goes wrong on Ning Ye’s end...’

’I guess that counts as good news, for now.’

But Xiang Yi’s goal had always been freedom. He wanted to escape this place, to achieve complete freedom from the pursuit of the prison and the corporation behind it.

’I really don’t want to be trapped in a place like this. But how can I face the pursuit of behemoths like the prison and the corporation?’

For the moment, Xiang Yi couldn’t think of a way to fight back, but at least he still had his own direction.

’I should just stick to the original plan for now.’

"That big shot you mentioned before, the one who could help me get a legal identity..."

"You’ll have to wait on that. I haven’t been able to contact him recently. I’ll let you know when I have news."

Xiang Yi hadn’t been counting too heavily on the robot’s connection anyway, so it was fine that asking about it yielded no results.

Still, he couldn’t help but say, "How come it feels like nothing good ever comes from getting involved with the local government?"

"It’s the same old answer: who knows?"

The robot turned and went back to its own business.

Xiang Yi didn’t plan to stay long either. He had come mainly to buy materials and, secondarily, to fence his stolen goods.

He hadn’t managed to buy the materials, but he had fenced his goods, so there was no reason to stay any longer.

After saying goodbye to the robot, Xiang Yi left the hardware store.

He used the cover of night to shake his pursuers, silently leaving the Southwest Suburbs and returning to the vicinity of the sewer.