HCB Chapter 248 Landing in the Lawless Land
Chapter 248 Landing in the Lawless Land
Even with the prophet's meticulous calculations and the aid of secret routes, a two-month interstellar journey was still a long and tedious one.
When Su Chen's disguised "Scorpion Seven" detached from its final space jump, a bizarre and surreal scene instantly filled the entire porthole.
This is the Void Relics Market.
It is not built on a planet or space station, but is suspended between two rapidly rotating neutron stars.
On a gravitational singularity that is torn and twisted by immense gravity, yet miraculously maintains its balance.
Countless spaceships of all sizes, hollowed-out meteorites, and abandoned starship wreckage are haphazardly bound together by invisible force fields and energy cables, forming a steel jungle stretching for thousands of kilometers.
Colorful neon signs flashed on the rusty metal casing, playing GG and warnings in various languages.
The public channel was filled with jarring static, distorted music, and shouts in a mix of different racial languages.
Every now and then, small shuttles would dart around like headless flies through the gaps between the buildings.
Several patrol boats, also looking dilapidated, followed behind with flashing police lights.
Chaotic, dangerous, yet brimming with a kind of savage vitality.
"Identity verification scanning has been initiated." The prophet's voice rang in Su Chen's mind:
"Uploading the preset identity information of 'Independent Scavenger - Kerry'. Spaceship model: Modified 'Peregrine' class light cargo ship. No criminal record, credit rating: low."
Just then, a patrol boat painted with a skull and crossbones symbol aggressively approached.
A blinding scanning beam swept across Su Chen's spaceship from head to tail.
A rude communication request was forcibly accepted, and a man with a burly face wearing a breathing mask appeared on the screen.
He yelled impatiently, "New here? Don't you know the rules! Find an empty spot and park yourself, then pay the parking fee of 1,000 credits."
"Don't cause trouble, or I'll throw you and your wrecked ship into a neutron star as fuel!"
After saying that, the other party hung up the call immediately, clearly not interested in saying another word.
Su Chen didn't care about this rude attitude; instead, he breathed a sigh of relief.
This proves that his initial disguise was successful; in the eyes of the other party, he was just an insignificant nobody.
He found an empty spot in a parking area converted from abandoned shipping containers.
After paying the berthing fee, he did not disembark immediately, but sat in the cockpit and quietly observed the outside world.
He saw a three-armed demi-human. Because he glanced at the cyborg, the man shot him in the leg and dragged him into a dark alley while howling in pain.
He also saw a gleaming-looking spaceship come to a stop and be surrounded by seven or eight pirate ships.
After a brief exchange of fire, the spaceship was breached, its crew captured, and its cargo looted.
The law here is simple and pure: the strong prey on the weak.
Su Chen examined his disguise. His current identity was that of a low-profile scavenger; although the spaceship was dilapidated, its core systems were intact.
This camouflage would be discreet enough in a normal star system, but here it seems... too "clean".
A clean, solitary weakling is, here, a walking piece of fat meat.
"Prophet, adjust the disguise strategy."
Su Chen mentally commanded, "I can't just look harmless; I also need to look 'not to be messed with.'"
"Command confirmed. Modifying the spacecraft's external projection."
The next second, several hideous scars, as if burned by energy cannons, appeared out of nowhere on the hull of Su Chen's spaceship.
The engine nozzles on one side began to flicker erratically, and even the ship's serial number became blurred, as if it had undergone countless fierce battles and rough repairs.
After doing all this, Su Chen stepped off the spaceship.
He wasn't wearing any fancy equipment, just a simple black combat uniform.
His face was also altered with a mimicry mask to resemble that of a weathered, cold-eyed middle-aged man.
He concealed his aura to the extreme, revealing only a faint, cold, and bloody scent characteristic of combatants.
This new image immediately had an effect. Those guys around who had previously cast hostile glances at him...
After making eye contact with him, most of them chose to silently look away.
They could sense the dangerous aura emanating from Su Chen, the kind that only someone who had struggled on the edge of life and death possessed.
He successfully transformed from a "fat piece of meat" into a "hard bone."
Just as he was about to enter the market, a group of even more ruthless-looking men blocked his way.
The leader was a burly man who was over 2.5 meters tall. One of his arms had been modified into a large mechanical claw, which was still covered with dark red stains.
"New here?"
The burly man's voice sounded like two pieces of metal rubbing together as he looked Su Chen and his spaceship up and down.
"Your ship looks like it's been through a lot of tough battles. Are you alone?"
Su Chen didn't even lift his eyelids, and replied in a hoarse voice with two words: "What is it?"
The burly man grinned, revealing a set of alloy teeth: "My name is Iron Claw, leader of the 'Rusty Dog' pirate crew. We're about to pull off a big heist, and we need a skilled pilot."
"You seem like a veteran. Interested in making money together?"
Su Chen's heart skipped a beat. This was a good opportunity to understand the internal situation of the market.
"Not interested."
He coldly refused. He needed to maintain his lone wolf persona.
Iron Claw seemed unsurprised and didn't press the issue. He tossed over a metal data card:
"Here's my contact information. Kid, you can't survive long alone in this godforsaken place. The big businesses here are all monopolized by a few big gangs."
"The western docks are the territory of the 'Bonebreakers,' the trading area is protected by the 'Crimson Vultures,' and the central black market is controlled by the 'Vickers Consortium.' You'd better figure out who to pay protection money to, and don't mess with the wrong people."
Su Chen accepted the data card expressionlessly, turned and left without saying a word.
Iron Claw watched his retreating figure and said to his henchmen:
"This kid is a bit tricky, don't mess with him yet. Send someone to keep an eye on him and see where he comes from."
Su Chen took in all of this.
He not only successfully integrated into the environment, but also received a free briefing on the distribution of local power.
He walked through the market gate, known as the "Tears of the Twin Stars," which consisted of two enormous metal pillars.
Behind him was the roar of spaceship engines and the cold vacuum, while in front of him was a noisy crowd of people, their breath mixed with the smells of engine oil, alcohol, and blood.
The real hunt has only just begun.