Chapter 5: Black Market, I’m Not Sick
It was 11 PM, and Liang Huan finally opened the virtual screen again.
The chip was charged by wearing a black wristband, which didn’t affect the normal use of the chip, but the charging speed was much slower. According to Li Yao, it could last for at least a month when fully charged.
“Where do I sleep?” Liang Huan asked Li Yao.
Li Yao was propped up on his arm, watching the little figure on the screen. Hearing this, he pointed to the closet, “There’s a quilt inside. Make do with a makeshift bed on the floor for the night.”
Liang Huan said, “What about tomorrow night?”
“Keep making do.” Li Yao’s foot was still on the treatment device. He stretched lazily, took off his shirt and threw it on the sofa. “Before the mercenary salary arrives next month, not starving to death is our biggest victory.”
“I will not live in such a place,” Liang Huan said.
Li Yao yawned, turned to face him, “If you have money, go stay in a hotel outside.”
Liang Huan: “…”
He didn’t have any money. Li Yao’s money wasn’t enough just now, and he had to make up for seven concentrated coins.
“You can glare holes in me, and it won’t change anything.” Li Yao patted the bed in front of him, and said lazily, “Or Your Majesty can put up with it and come over here, and I’ll hold you to sleep.”
Liang Huan was so angry that he flicked his sleeves, found a clean spot in front of the window, sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and began to meditate.
Li Yao laughed, “He’s really quite sick.”
Liang Huan couldn’t hear him anymore.
A stream of heat slowly gathered at his dantian, and his breath traveled along the eight extraordinary meridians for a full cycle, and he was pleasantly surprised.
His previous body had been damaged at its core since childhood, and some even asserted that he was destined to die young. However, his Uncle and Nineteenth Uncle attached great importance to his martial arts and hired a master to teach him early on. After they left, Martial Uncle-Grandfather often came to the palace to teach him the Taoist methods. According to Martial Uncle-Grandfather, his aptitude was okay among ordinary people, but because of the White Jade Soup, it was impossible for him to improve further and could only be used to strengthen his body.
Although he could practice martial arts, each time he mobilized his internal energy, he would lose vitality. Later, he was assassinated, and his meridians were severely damaged. In addition to his busy government affairs, he couldn’t find the time to recuperate. Over time, he had already depleted his body. The imperial physicians in the palace repeatedly reminded him, but he treated it as a passing breeze.
Although this body was weaker than his previous body, his meridians were complete, and his foundation was still there. If he could diligently practice according to the methods taught by Martial Uncle-Grandfather, slowly practice martial arts, then living to a ripe old age would not be a problem.
Liang Huan clearly felt the changes in his body between his breaths. His breathing gradually calmed down. The original body had an injury to the back of his head, with blood clots inside. It was likely that this “Liang Huan” had died because of this, allowing him to take advantage of the opportunity to possess the body. However, the injury was internal, and healing it with internal energy was a bit tricky… It was just that he had not been able to find the method to sense the so-called “mental strength.” Perhaps he would need to find a master to consult.
The night passed, and when he opened his eyes again, his previously somewhat blurred vision had become clear. The fatigue that had been lingering around his body was swept away, and his strength seemed to have increased as well. It was a pity that restoring his internal energy was not something that could be done overnight. Accumulation over time was the long-term method.
Li Yao had just woken up when he met Liang Huan’s deep, cold gaze, and he subconsciously tensed his shoulders and back.
He actually felt danger from the other person.
But this was completely impossible. Liang Huan was a typical deficient with high mental strength and low physical ability. People like this couldn’t even go to the battlefield, let alone engage in professions like military doctors or commanders. Most of them were clerical workers. Some very few people had high mental strength disorders and couldn’t even take care of their daily lives and could only be abandoned.
“Do you remember anything?” Li Yao sat up, scratching his hair, pulled the treatment device from his leg, and threw it aside casually.
“No,” Liang Huan said calmly, “I suffered a head injury. Maybe I have amnesia.”
Playing a “modern person” was too difficult for him. Lies would only be full of loopholes. Since “Liang Huan” had just met Li Yao, he might as well just be himself.
“Let me see.” Li Yao wasn’t in a good mood early in the morning. He frowned and walked up to him. As soon as he reached out, Liang Huan dodged him.
He came over with his upper body bare, the dragon tail wrapped around his waist lifelike, and his pants hung loosely on his hips. The tip of the black dragon’s tail disappeared into his pants from his mermaid line. His lean waist had smooth muscle lines. Liang Huan was already sitting upright in front of the window. When he leaned over, his abdominal muscles almost pressed directly against Liang Huan’s nose.
Liang Huan leaned back slightly, wanting to push him away directly, but found that this person was too uninhibited, and pushing anywhere was inappropriate. In the end, he had to block his wrist and use a clever force to push the person away.
“Put your clothes on,” Liang Huan said.
“Where did these quirks come from? I wear what I want. Mind your own business.” Li Yao, taking advantage of his height, grabbed the back of his neck, stuck his fingers into his hair, and felt around. Sure enough, he felt a clear lump on the back of his head. He wondered, “I don’t remember you suffering an external injury.”
“You kicked me.” Liang Huan almost buried his face in his stomach, paused for a moment, and then calmly removed his hand, incidentally pinning the crime on him.
Li Yao cursed in a low voice, released him, and then somewhat irritably took out a cigarette and lit it. After a moment, he exhaled and sat on the sofa full of debris. He looked up at Liang Huan, “Then how much do you remember?”
Liang Huan raised his hand and patted the ash off his coat.
“You don’t remember anything at all?” Li Yao asked.
Liang Huan nodded.
“What about mecha?” Li Yao stared at him.
Liang Huan sounded familiar when he heard this, and slowly opened his mouth under his gaze, “What is a mecha?”
Li Yao’s vision went black.
He thought that after a night’s sleep, Liang Huan would return to normal. After all, Liang Huan’s mental strength had reached S, and he didn’t have a high mental strength disorder. But now, this situation obviously meant he couldn’t operate a mecha, let alone provide assistance. If he reapplied at the Population Matching Center, it would probably take forever to find a suitable partner again. If he forcibly matched, what if the military noticed…
“Come with me.” Li Yao put out his cigarette, grabbed Liang Huan, and went out the door.
—
The black market was located in the northwest corner of the entire East Third District, covering a large area. It was bordered by the mercenary base to the east, backed by the Population Matching Center Building, and bordered by the renowned East Four Red Light District to the west. It also had a high-end name called the East District Shopping Center, which shouldered half of the gray area of the East Third District.
The shopping center wasn’t very tall, with seven floors above ground and eight floors below, so it also had a nickname called “Seven Up and Eight Down.” The seven floors above were engaged in gray business. The government turned a blind eye, and as long as they paid some symbolic taxes, it was barely acceptable. The eight floors below were all engaged in solid illegal transactions, gathering the gangsters, illegal residents, fugitives, and desperados who couldn’t even be mercenaries in the East Third District, like the East Third District’s third prison branch.
It was the first time Liang Huan had seen so many people.
Most of the first floor of the black market was occupied by regular merchants, covering almost everything related to clothing, food, housing, transportation, eating, drinking, and entertainment. There were also many retail stores for mecha parts and mechanical repair shops. Each store was like a small grid in a bookshelf, without interfering with each other. Some children were playing in groups everywhere.
“Playing, playing, playing! All you know is playing all day long! Teacher Mu has already started class. Hurry up and tidy up and go over there!” A plump woman took a stick and was about to hit them.
The group of children scattered in all directions.
“Ai Li, why are you hitting the children? Anyway, these children are all illegal residents. No matter how well they learn, they won’t be able to find jobs outside. Sooner or later, they’ll be making a living here. It’s useless.” A thin old man squatted next to him, repairing a mechanical arm, “It’s better to follow me and learn how to repair mecha arms.”
Ai Li glared at him unhappily, “Old man, it’s none of your business how I teach my children! Ai Xiaoli, you get in here!”
“I don’t want to study! I want to follow Brother Pei to repair mecha!” Ai Xiaoli was only seven years old, a well-known mischievous kid on the first floor. He shouted and rushed into the mecha repair shop next door.
When Ai Li saw the shop he had entered, she immediately stopped. The crowd watching the excitement around them also fell silent.
Liang Huan followed the crowd’s gaze and looked over. It was a very ordinary-looking shop. Half of the light sign on the door was broken, and he couldn’t see what the words were. A handwritten cardboard was hung in front of the door: Nuclear Mecha Repair. A pot of cactus was placed on the windowsill behind the sign, and outside was a stack of empty parts boxes. Through the oil-stained glass window, he could vaguely see the narrow wooden shelves and a bit of blurred light inside the house.
In the midst of silence, the leather curtain was lifted, and Ai Xiaoli was lifted out.
The man was tall and muscular, estimated to be over 1.9 meters tall. He had a camouflage cloth tied around his head and wore a one-piece denim suit. His gray apron was covered in oil and paint. His skin was dark, and his appearance was firm and resolute, with thick eyebrows, a high nose, and small pupils, with a fierce aura when he looked at people.
But what caught Liang Huan’s attention was his hands, which were a pair of mechanical hands made entirely of black metal, connected to his forearms. The connection points were old, raised scars, which looked particularly hideous and terrifying.
Seeming to sense his gaze, Pei Zhong accurately met Liang Huan’s gaze in the crowd.
“What are you looking at!” Li Yao grabbed the hood of Liang Huan’s coat from behind and pulled him out of the crowd. “Are you a dog? Why do you like watching the fun so much?”
He lost track of him as soon as he didn’t watch him.
Liang Huan said, “That person’s hands are all made of machines. You said before that fully mechanical arms are not flexible enough, and mercenaries mostly use them for power assistance. Can his hands still repair mecha?”
Li Yao glanced at the repairman through the crowd, and seemed to have some impression, “Oh, his hands were cut off, and he had no choice. He relies on this to make a living.”
Liang Huan nodded thoughtfully.
“Why do you care so much?” Li Yao slapped the back of his head unhappily, “If you have the effort, why don’t you hurry up and try to remember.”
Liang Huan covered his head and stared at him gloomily, “How dare you hit my head?”
Li Yao snorted contemptuously, then keenly noticed a few probing gazes. He glanced at Liang Huan, put the hood of his coat over his head, and pulled him to his side.
Although Liang Huan’s physical fitness was garbage, he was tall, with long legs, wide shoulders, and a narrow waist. Even if you didn’t look at his face, he was still eye-catching. Moreover, that face was really good-looking, with long eyebrows and phoenix eyes, and a high and delicate nose. When he looked at people, he had a clear and cold majesty, and a look of purity and abstinence, which was out of reach. Not to mention in the black market and the mercenary base, even in the wealthy areas where genetic modification was prevalent, this appearance could be called top-notch. Li Yao was shocked when he saw the photo from the matching center.
This person was actually willing to find a low-level mercenary to marry.
After that, although he knew that the other party was for the money, Li Yao inevitably took more care of him. After all, with such a face, if he didn’t take good care of him, anything could happen in this kind of environment.
Liang Huan was unhappy and wanted to take off his hat, but Li Yao pressed it down.
“Don’t embarrass yourself with such an ugly face.” He grabbed Liang Huan’s head, turned around, and looked at those who were plotting against him, glancing at the numbers on their chests.
As a result, someone was not afraid of death and blew him a kiss.
Li Yao: “…”
Liang Huan turned his head and saw it, and asked, “Is he expressing love to you?”
“Expressing my ass.” Li Yao frowned, “A bunch of garbage.”
His voice wasn’t small, and after he said that, many people’s faces changed. Being pointed at and scolded like this, the black market was not a place to swallow insults.
Li Yao suddenly took something and slapped it on Liang Huan’s chest.
Liang Huan looked down, it was a square badge, automatically adsorbed on his coat, with M0969 written on it.
The originally restless people instantly became well-behaved, and some were whispering. Liang Huan activated his internal energy and heard their whispers.
“…is that 969?”
“The number one ranked in the East Third District?”
“It must be, the ID card can’t be wrong, who dares to wear his badge, he has so many enemies, how many people in the rich area are spending a lot of money to buy his life.”
“It’s better to stay away, otherwise you won’t know how you died.”
“What a killing god, he is clearly a traitor…”
Traitor?
Liang Huan had heard this word for the second time, and he couldn’t help but glance at Li Yao.
Li Yao didn’t react much. He seemed very familiar with this place, looking at those people with the same gaze as looking at a pile of garbage, with a lazy disdain in his tiredness.
It was very hateful.
Li Yao brought him to a remote shop in the corner of the black market, with the arrogant words “Black Market Official Clinic” written on it.
“Clinic?” Liang Huan put one hand behind his back and said solemnly, “Li Yao, I’m not sick. I can resolve the blood stasis in the back of my head myself. I don’t need to see a doctor.”
Li Yao was silent for two seconds, then pushed the person in.
“I think you’re quite sick.”
