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After chatting idly for about ten minutes, the black market’s specialized car arrived fashionably late.
From the outside, this hovercar was entirely black with no visible markings, appearing quite ordinary. However, once inside, it was like entering another world. The interior utilized foldable space technology, and a table refrigerator held readily available drinks.
In the interstellar age of self-driving vehicles, as soon as they got in, the car door automatically closed, silently started, and seamlessly merged into the continuous flow of vehicles, inconspicuous as a drop of water blending into the ocean.
“Wow! It’s the F105 hovercar. To use such an expensive car as a private ride, that’s quite extravagant.”
As soon as they entered the car, Wu Haoxuan widened his eyes, curiously touching everything, “Boss, you’ve been keeping this a secret.”
Yuan Hanshuang warned, “Be gentle. Don’t break anything. Even if we lose a piece of the padding, we might not be able to afford it if we have to sell ourselves.”
Hearing this, Wu Haoxuan immediately retracted his hand, starting to explore the beverages in the refrigerator with Ke Junda. Xuan Yuan Sheng, while reminding them that underage individuals shouldn’t drink, also joined their tasting activity.
Xia Mengrou mentioned that she needed to reschedule her beauty salon appointment with her private steward. In the meantime, Yuan Hanshuang, now free, stood by the hovercar window, looking down at the city below, illuminated by lights and neon.
The prosperity of the central star system was undeniable, with towering, steel-like, indifferent buildings everywhere, creating a lively atmosphere.
The encounter at the memorial hall reminded Yuan Hanshuang of the five years she had hidden on Star 1999.
Initially, she didn’t know that her foolish father was the person the Third Legion was looking for. She thought he was innocently implicated by Hai Dongqing and taken for questioning. So, initially, Yuan Hanshuang’s investigation focused on Imperial laws, exploring avenues for possible appeals to bring justice to innocent civilians.
After months of waiting without any results, she finally saved enough money to buy a Neural Implant and purchased a discounted second-hand unit. Through online news, videos left by her father in the StarNet, and the family relationships documented on the encyclopedia, she finally unraveled the mysteries of her convoluted lineage.
After all, who could have expected that her usually foolish and silly father was once the revered hero of the interstellar empire? While listening to the guide at the memorial hall, Yuan Hanshuang maintained a facial expression of constant surprise because she truly felt that the person described by the guide was vastly different from the father she knew.
Over the years, Yuan Hanshuang had harbored suspicions. What if her father had indeed committed those deeds, conspiring with the insect race in heinous crimes? After all, she didn’t know her father’s personality before losing his memory.
However, these doubts were quickly dispelled.
The reason was simple. Even a three-year-old knew the consequences of colluding with the insect race. Hai Dongqing already had such a prominent position in the empire, and if he were to openly betray the empire, there must be substantial rewards.
If her seemingly foolish father had truly colluded with the insect race, why would he have let himself become disfigured and mentally impaired? Wouldn’t their family of three be living a good life in the heart of the insect race’s main nest?
Taking a step back, even if her father had betrayed the empire and the insect race had turned on him, if he hadn’t considered this possibility and prepared an escape route, then he wouldn’t deserve the title of the millennium’s greatest and youngest saint-ranked individual.
More importantly, that “divine gift” stolen by Hai Dongqing, Yuan Hanshuang had never seen it at all! Since she had a bit of consciousness at the age of two, she had been wandering around the house. She knew exactly what the family’s financial situation was! If there were any good things, would they be left until she grew up?
By the way, Yuan Hanshuang had never seen her biological mother since she had memories. She felt that her father’s situation might be bad, and her mother’s situation might be even worse.
Unfortunately, it was a pity that she was congenitally weak after crossing over. The memories of the first two years were vague.
If she could find a way to retrieve her original memories, perhaps she could not only find out about her mother’s whereabouts but also clear her father’s name. Instead of what she was doing now, waiting for the opportunity to infiltrate the Imperial Military Academy.
She didn’t know if there was any hypnosis in the interstellar world.
Lost in her thoughts, the floating car soared through the central area, rushed into the central building, and entered the Black Street.
At the moment of entering the Black Street, the invisible Implant on Xuan Yuansheng’s wrist suddenly sounded an alarm.
“Beep, beep, beep, entering an unidentified danger zone.”
He quickly tapped his fingers to silence the alarm, then looked thoughtfully at Yuan Hanshuang. “Is this the legendary Black Street?”
“That’s right.”
Curious, Xia Mengrou asked, “What is Black Street?”
“It’s a relatively sensitive gray area. In earlier years, it was strictly forbidden by imperial law, and the military was sent to suppress it every year. In recent years, for the sake of developing the wartime economy, they turn a blind eye.” Xuan Yuansheng gave a definite answer, a complex expression appearing on his face. “It’s said that there are auctions for rare items here, as well as casinos and arenas for beast fights.”
As a young prince who grew up with a straight personality, Xuan Yuansheng had naturally never been to such a place. His straightforward nature made him somewhat disapproving of Black Street. Of course, there was also curiosity about such places among young people.
“Wait a minute, I remember.”
Xia Mengrou exclaimed, “Is Black Street that place where the legend has it… where everything is sold?”
Hearing this nearly identical sentence, Wu Haoxuan on the side couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
Yuan Hanshuang sighed, “No, how did the rumor about Black Streets’ excitement spread? And Black Street doesn’t have a beast fighting arena; that’s in Dark Star. Although Black Street is an industry of Black Tower, and Black Tower’s headquarters is in Dark Star, you can’t confuse the business scopes of the two places.”
“Fine, at least within the Empire’s territory, Black Street isn’t breaking any laws,” Xuan Yuansheng muttered.
” Black Street may not be breaking the law, but Dark Star isn’t necessarily clean,” Yuan Hanshuang hinted.
Although she was an outstanding employee of Black Street, Yuan Hanshuang showed equal deference to Dark Star.
As an insider, she knew more about information and intelligence.
While Black Street had life-and-death battles, those were contests signed by both parties’ consent.
The beast fighting arenas established in Dark Star made Human beings and insect races engage in life-and-death battles in every match.
Most importantly, Black Tower’s headquarters was set up on a massive ancient civilization relic planet. It’s well known that in ancient civilization relics, Gifted cannot resonate with manifestations, leading to a significant increase in the mortality rate of the arena.
Moreover, they also operated facilities like a slave market, crossing ethical boundaries.
If you say Dark Star is breaking the law, well, they indeed dance on the edge of illegality with every step, spreading their wings like a roc.
It’s because the Empire and the Federation are currently fighting against the insect race that Dark Tower dares to be so brazen.
Soon, the hovercar stopped at the entrance of the arena.
“Let’s go, stay close to me.”
The group looked around and followed Yuan Hanshuang as they entered the arena.
Unusually, Xia Mengrou took the initiative to hold her hand, her eyes scanning in all directions, alert.
On the other hand, Wu Haoxuan and Ke Junda, who had been to Black Street before, seemed more at ease.
Ke Junda sighed, “The central star system’s Black Street arena is truly luxurious.”
The facilities inside the central arena were several notches above the 1999 star, with a shiny floor, dazzling lights, shadows of people moving around, and the noisy cheers and curses. Combined with the floating live broadcast windows of the Galactic Network, it effortlessly created a hot and mesmerizing atmosphere.
Yuan Han Shuang arrived at the business service counter with ease and had her friends register their combat accounts one by one.
“Eh? We need to choose an ID for our combat accounts too?” Looking at the holographic screen in front of her, Xia Mengrou asked, “What are your IDs?”
Wu Haoxuan: “Lucky King!”
Ke Junda: “Mine’s Top Younger Brother.”
“Why are your IDs all so weird?”
After a moment’s thought, Xia Mengrou input “Eternal Sleeper” on the holographic screen. “I’ll go with this.”
Yuan Hanshuang: “I thought you’d pick something like ‘Princess Has Arrived,’ didn’t expect something so simple.”
On the other hand, Xuan Yuansheng was exclaiming, “Why are the IDs restricted to only ten characters?”
Everyone fell silent when they saw “Universe’s Invincible Super Dinosaur Warrior” on the screen.
Why would a lion-like person want to be called a dinosaur warrior?
“Don’t you understand? A majestic name helps boost morale.” Xuan Yuansheng felt proud rather than ashamed.
He tried a few more names but none felt mighty enough to match his image.
After some thought, Xuan Yuansheng whispered, “Hey, you mentioned King Arthur last time, is he famous?”
Yuan Hanshuang: “Not really. Why?”
“Well, I think the title sounds cool. If he’s not that famous, I might as well use it. After all, it’s just an ID.”
“Go ahead.”
The name King Arthur sounded better than Universe’s Invincible Super Dinosaur Warrior. Not only would no one recognize it in the galaxy, but it’s also a legendary figure. It’s important to respect history.
After successfully registering, the front desk provided each of them with a holographic visor.
“Wear this, it can conceal your appearance,” she explained.
“Places involved in gray trades value privacy.” Xuan Yuansheng muttered as he put it on.
After completing the preliminary preparations, they headed to the matching area.
“Why is there only a 6v6 match here? Are we missing someone?”
“It’s alright, we can still play 6v6 even with one person missing,” Yuan Hanshuang skillfully entered each person’s information. “If someone’s missing, the system will automatically fill the spot with a random person.”
Just as she was about to submit the match request, Wu Haoxuan suddenly said, “Senior Brother Dong?”
Following Wu Haoxuan’s gaze, Yuan Hanshuang saw a familiar figure.
Although wearing a visor to conceal his face, the person’s aura of a killer couldn’t be faked.
In front of the intensified Yan Hanshuang, the description seemed illusory.
“You’ve got the wrong person,” the individual calmly retorted.
“Before you argue next time, remember to cover up the scent on your body.”
As she spoke, an ingenious idea suddenly crossed Yan Hanshuang’s mind.
Xuan Yuansheng’s expression changed in a split second, “What is Young Master Gu doing in the Black Street?”
Seeing his identity exposed, Gu Dong couldn’t be bothered to disguise himself further, “Our family has a long-term alliance with the Black Tower, owning a significant stake in Black Street. I came to inspect our family’s business. Any problems with that?”
After dismissing the self-righteous little imperial grandson, he looked at Yan Hanshuang, “What do you mean by the scent you mentioned?”
As a qualified assassin, disguise is the most basic skill. Being easily recognized undoubtedly signifies incompetence.
Gu Dong wanted to know where he had slipped up.
“Wanna know?” Yan Hanshuang slyly smiled, “Join us for a match, and I’ll tell you.”