Chapter 32
Hugh Elvis glanced down at himself. He was used to this, but since Shi Nuo had mentioned it, he nodded. “Okay.”
Shi Nuo breathed a sigh of relief, then frowned slightly. “If you’re going to the black market, you’ll encounter other people. Maybe you should wear something…more appropriate. Just the animal skin…isn’t ideal.”
His own clothes wouldn’t fit Hugh, but wearing only an animal skin, without even shoes or socks, would attract unwanted attention.
Hugh was tall and handsome, and having lived alone for so long, he wasn’t accustomed to wearing clothes. Shi Nuo felt obligated to remind him.
The black market might be more tolerant, but in a more civilized area, appearing in public like that could be mistaken for a sign of mental instability or some kind of exhibitionism, and someone might take pictures and post them online.
Hugh replied casually, “I brought clothes before, from when I was fifteen. They don’t fit anymore.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll buy clothes at the black market. It won’t be a problem.”
“Okay,” Shi Nuo nodded, relieved. He looked at the list and quickly opened his optical brain. “I’ll send you my measurements. You can buy clothes based on those.”
Hugh Elvis glanced at him, didn’t stop him from connecting to Long Xu to transfer the data, then asked after a moment, “Do you need underwear? How many?”
Shi Nuo paused, pretending to be calm as he added his measurements to the list. He pursed his lips. “Twenty should be enough.”
He changed his underwear every day, and he didn’t know when they would be able to leave again. He amended his request, “Actually, forty.”
Unlike food, clothes didn’t expire, and there was no harm in buying more.
“Mm,” Hugh agreed, unconcerned about the increased quantity.
After finalizing and reviewing the list, Shi Nuo sat in the pilot seat, nervously watching the data stream across the virtual screens.
He felt the slight tremors as the mecha transformed, the grinding of metal not unpleasant, the shifting of its metallic bones accompanied by the occasional whoosh of displaced air, like a low growl.
The sleek, imposing humanoid mecha transformed into a medium-sized starship, its dark gray exterior unremarkable.
Giant mechas capable of transformation were rare, the technology limited to a select few. Their core power sources were unique, and few possessed such machines.
This was the first time Shi Nuo had witnessed a mecha transform into a starship, and he watched, a mixture of curiosity and anxiety, until the transformation was complete and the ship stabilized.
He had expected a more dramatic process, not this smooth, seamless shift.
He unbuckled his seatbelt, met Hugh Elvis’s gaze, and hesitated, then said, “I’ll go down now. Be careful.”
“Yes, I will,” Hugh wasn’t impatient. He looked at Shi Nuo, the sunlight streaming in through the viewport softening his hard features.
Try to avoid conflict. People on the black market are dangerous.
Shi Nuo didn’t dare say these words aloud. The hatch opened, and he walked towards the exit. There didn’t seem to be anything else to say. Hugh was a powerful Alpha, not prone to recklessness.
As he descended the steps, he couldn’t help but look back at the man sitting in the pilot seat and whisper, “Just buy the things on the list. The black market is dangerous. Come back as soon as you’re finished.”
Hugh Elvis understood. Don’t cause trouble.
“I know,” he replied. After Shi Nuo left, he turned his gaze away from the open hatch, leaned back in his seat, and, with a thought, piloted the starship into the sky.
Shi Nuo stood on the ground, watching as the ship became a small black dot in the sky, feeling a familiar sense of helplessness, just like when he had first arrived.
The blue-green planet slowly rotated, its gravity capturing space debris, which floated in orbit.
A starship traveled silently, leaving the planet’s atmosphere and entering the vastness of space.
As it approached a cluster of asteroids, it slowed down, a hatch opening to release several black metallic objects.
The objects transformed and extended in mid-air, taking on various shapes, quickly entering camouflage mode. Some activated their propulsion systems and flew towards the asteroids, attaching themselves to the surface, their color shifting instantly to blend in, becoming almost invisible.
The starship’s mechanical arm extended, grasping a piece of debris, a fragment of the destroyed satellite.
After locating the monitoring chip, a small metal spider crawled onto it, its delicate legs interfacing with the circuitry, a faint gleam flashing as it extracted data, uploading it to Long Xu’s vast database.
These metallic objects, released from Long Xu’s core, possessed a fraction of its intelligence, lying dormant, waiting for the next monitoring satellite to enter orbit. They would then, under the cover of their camouflage, silently approach and attach themselves to it.
Once attached, even a small piece, a silent invasion would begin.
Sayu Star.
The three-month-long eternal night had descended, engulfing the entire planet in darkness.
Countless starships and spacecraft arrived from all corners of space, some rusty and battered yet nimble and swift, like black swallows, others bearing the flags of notorious space pirate groups.
As they approached Sayu Star’s main port, the ships drew closer together, their varying sizes becoming more apparent.
An ordinary-looking, dark gray starship slowly approached, following the other ships into the port. The docking system automatically assigned a landing spot, and Hugh Elvis, following the guidance system, brought Long Xu down.
He activated the ship’s mechanical arm and deposited an energy crystal into the cylindrical payment terminal.
The terminal analyzed the crystal and quickly accepted it, the crystal disappearing into its internal compartment.
The energy crystal’s value was clearly sufficient, and the terminal changed from red to green, the protective barrier in front of the landing spot retracting, granting access.
Sayu Star was the largest black market planet in the surrounding three star sectors, a place of chaos and lawlessness where profit reigned supreme. However, it wasn’t a war zone, and according to the Sayu Accords, the port was one of the few designated safe zones, where conflict was rare.
A small spacecraft detached from Long Xu’s lower hatch, the sonic boom as it accelerated barely audible as it joined the chaotic air traffic.
Eternal night brought a dark revelry. The ground below was dotted with lights, different from the lights of an ordinary city.
As he descended, activating the external audio sensors, Hugh Elvis heard the sounds of gunfire and curses, the dilapidated, grimy buildings emitting a seedy glow. Even in the air, spacecraft jostled and collided, and he saw occasional flashes of light as they fired at each other, vying for space.
Hugh Elvis’s expression remained unchanged, his gaze sweeping over the area below. A damaged spacecraft, split in two, drifted towards him, and he calmly maneuvered the spacecraft, narrowly avoiding a collision.
He landed in a clearing outside a large city, activated the camouflage system, and the spacecraft’s exterior gradually shifted, blending in with the surroundings.
The city looked rundown and bleak, the lights either garish or dim.
The public facilities outside the city were mostly destroyed, the few surviving streetlights flickering erratically.
A sense of malice permeated the darkness, the air thick and oppressive.
Hugh Elvis remained hidden in the shadows. The moment he emerged, he had smelled blood, both fresh and the lingering stench of old, dried bloodstains.
He frowned, disgusted by the filth and disorder.
There were many people outside the city, some whispering in the shadows, their eyes darting around, filled with cunning and suspicion.
Various transactions were taking place, occasionally erupting into arguments and gunfire.
The white-haired man walked past a dark corner, ignoring the sounds of sexual activity, his presence concealed by the shadows and his suppressed energy signature.
The sounds grew louder, punctuated by laughter and breathless pleas, the words clearly meant to be provocative, not genuine cries for mercy.
He heard snippets of conversation: “body,” “so good,” “I love it.” Hugh’s ears twitched, and he frowned, a memory surfacing.
The city limits were just ahead. He had observed the area before landing. This city was the largest he had seen so far and should have all the supplies Shi Nuo needed.
From a nearby alley, he heard shouts, followed by gunshots.
The people around him didn’t react, not even flinching.
Hugh, his night vision excellent, glanced into the alley. There were two men, one tall and imposing, dressed in a black robe, his face completely concealed by a hood and a mask.
The robe was a bit short on him, but the style wasn’t particularly tailored and should fit.
Hugh Elvis stopped.
The two men, having failed to reach an agreement, quickly resorted to violence. The man in the black robe fired his weapon, then kicked the lifeless body on the ground disdainfully. He bent down to retrieve something from the dead man’s pocket, a smug expression on his face, when a blur of movement and a gust of wind startled him.
He turned to see a white-haired man standing beside him, holding a familiar dagger, his own, the gleaming blade stained with fresh blood.
The masked man instinctively reached for his neck, blood gushing from a thin red line. He gurgled, his tall body collapsing to the ground, lifeless.
Hugh pulled off the mask and robe, then incinerated the body and the dagger with a burst of white flames, sterilizing them with the intense heat. He put on the black robe.
The dead man had been tall and muscular, about 1.9 meters, his scent clearly that of an Alpha. The robe was a bit short on Hugh Elvis.
He pulled up the hood, covering his hair and forehead, tucked the dagger into a hidden pocket inside the robe, and stared at the gray mask in his hand.
Another burst of white flames warped the metal mask, and he reshaped it, bending and twisting it, breaking off the lower half.
The altered mask wouldn’t be recognizable.
He put on the half-mask, covering only the upper part of his face, his mouth and chin exposed.
Even after being sterilized, the thought of the previous owner wearing the mask was disgusting.
He could have created a skin suit, but his white wolf fur was too conspicuous, too out of place in this dark, grimy environment.
He had originally intended to buy clothes after entering the city, but the incident in the alley reminded him that this place was a haven for unchecked desires. It was better to be inconspicuous.
Two bodies lay on the ground. After adjusting the mask, Hugh Elvis glanced down and saw a bag of energy crystals that had fallen from the dead man’s hand. The crystals were small but pure, ten in total.
From the snippets of conversation he had overheard, the two men had likely been arguing over the price of the crystals.
He wasn’t interested. He turned and walked away.
The brightly lit street was crowded with people, many dressed in outlandish attire, their expressions, even those who appeared outwardly calm, filled with a cold, calculating glint.
The tall man blended into the crowd, his head slightly lowered, his face hidden by the hood.
A gust of wind lifted the hood momentarily, revealing his sharp, clean jawline, the contrast between his pale skin and the dark robe striking.
