Purchasing and Shadowing
The ACG Star System was located on the outskirts of the Endaro Star Region. It was basically a lawless zone, so it was not uncommon for there to be all sorts of illegal transactions in this star system. It was said that even the infamous Mountain Sparrow Pirates often replenished their supplies in this star system.
Porter piloted a small frigate and flew together with Xia Fei to ACG 19, where the black market was located.
ACG 19 was completely shrouded in desert. There was very little water here, and the climate was harsh, making it unsuitable for human habitation. However, this did not stop the shrewd and illegal merchants from setting up camp here.
The spaceship hovered above the desert, and Porter rhythmically pressed on the communicator as if he was transmitting some sort of password.
Very soon, the sand in the desert began to slowly move, and not long after, a circular patio opened up.
Porter controlled the spaceship to descend. As soon as the spaceship docked on the tarmac, the circular patio slowly closed up.
Xia Fei and Porter stepped out of the spaceship and saw two strong men standing on the tarmac. They had weapons slung over their shoulders as they looked at Porter and Xia Fei with smiles on their faces.
Old Porter, youre here again? The two of them said with a smile.
"Yes." Porter nodded at them and took out a few bills from his pocket and stuffed them in their hands. Help me look after the spaceship, and Ill buy you guys a drink later.
With that said, the old man led Xia Fei deeper into the dark and narrow corridor.
This is the famous black market. Be it psychedelic drugs, weapons, or even women, you can buy them all here. This is the busiest place among the dozens of star systems nearby. Porter explained to Xia Fei.
Why do I feel like this place is the interior of a warship? Xia Fei asked after observing his surroundings.
Youre right. This was originally an abandoned warship. First, someone used this place as a warehouse, and after many years of development, it has grown to this scale. Not only has the entire warship been developed and used, but there are also many caves dug under the planet. This is just one of the entrances, and there are many similar entrances on the surface of the planet.
After walking along the narrow corridor for a long time and making many turns, the area in front of them suddenly opened up.
This place was like a huge farmer's market. The wide plaza was brightly lit, and both sides of the plaza were lined with shops.
Hundreds and thousands of people were gathered around the plaza, each with a wretched expression. When they saw Xia Fei, a stranger, they all looked at him with vigilant eyes.
Potter seemed very familiar with all this, and kept greeting them.
Xia Fei noticed that all the shops around the plaza did not have names, and some did not even have goods on them. He had no idea what they were selling.
Porter and Xia Fei entered a very small shop, which was littered with empty beer bottles. Walking through it was like wading through a river of empty beer bottles.
There was only one shelf in the store, and the shelf was still filled with beer. Behind the shelf was a long sofa, on which a thin middle-aged man was sleeping. Without saying a word, Porter kicked him off the sofa.
"Who is it?"
The skinny middle-aged man jumped up from the ground and pulled out a sharp knife from his waist. He said with red eyes, "Who the f * ck wants to die?"
The moment he spoke, his breath reeked of alcohol, so much so that Xia Fei could not open his eyes.
When the middle-aged man saw Potter's face, a flattering smile appeared on his face, and the knife in his hand suddenly disappeared like a magic trick.
Ah, so its big brother Porter. Come, come, come, have a seat. The middle-aged man very politely invited the two to sit on the sofa.
He looked Xia Fei up and down a few times before smiling at Porter. "This is?"
"Cut the crap. Where is the thing I want?" Porter said in a very rude manner.
"In the warehouse, in the warehouse. Everything is ready for you." The middle-aged man rubbed his hands.
He ran to the back wall and pressed a button. The sound of an electric motor could be heard, and the wall opened to the left and right, revealing an elevator inside.
Porter and Xia Fei followed the middle-aged man down the elevator and arrived at a warehouse that was about a thousand square meters in size.
There were many large and small wooden boxes in the warehouse. The middle-aged man led the two to a pile of goods and pointed at three boxes that were about a cubic meter in size. "Big brother Porter, these are the things you want."
Porter nodded expressionlessly. The middle-aged man called over two burly men and got them to use crowbars to open the three wooden boxes, revealing three sets of very sophisticated equipment inside.
These three sets of equipment were a warp disruptor, a traction control mechanism, and a warp stabilizer.
When two warships were fighting, if one of them was at a disadvantage, they could use the warp engine to escape the battlefield.
The warp disruptor, on the other hand, could disrupt operation at a high frequency, preventing the warp engine from activating, making it impossible for the enemy to escape, only waiting for death to come.
The traction control mechanism would release a traction beam to control the enemy warship, reducing its speed by more than ninety percent.
The traction control mechanism was especially important when dealing with high-speed warships. High-speed warships had extremely high propulsion speeds, reaching close to the speed of light. Such warships relied on their own mobility to avoid attacks and then calmly attack the enemy. Like a buzzing fly, it could disgust the enemy to death even if it did not kill them.
With the traction control mechanism, the buzzing fly could be firmly pinned down and then hit with a fly swatter.
Moreover, the traction control mechanism had a very strong practical value. It could stabilize objects floating in space and drag them to the warship for salvage.
There were countless treasures floating in space, such as the wreckage of an ancient spaceship, or a piece of highly valuable ore.
With this traction control device, one could easily pull these ships or ores closer to the spaceship, or even put them into the cargo compartment and take them as their own.
If the warp disruptor and the traction control device were operated together, the enemy warship would be completely unable to escape and could only passively take a beating. This kind of combat method could be called vicious.
The role of the warp stabilizer was the opposite of the disruptor. It could protect the spaceship from the enemy's high-frequency and short-wave disturbances, and it could calmly warp away when it encountered danger.
This was like the relationship between a spear and a shield. The disruptor was a spear for attack, while the stabilizer was a shield for defense. A spear and a shield could attack the enemy and prevent the enemy from using the same method to attack.
Civilian warships were usually not equipped with these three kinds of abnormal electronic weapons. First, they were quite expensive, and second, only a few manufacturers had the production and manufacturing capabilities, so it was difficult to obtain the goods.
Porter checked the three electronic warfare devices one by one. Well, there's no problem. Send them to my spaceship, apron 1022.
The middle-aged man hurriedly nodded, urging the two burly men to load the three boxes onto the ship, repeatedly reminding them to be careful.
Big brother Porter, can you settle this bill for me? These things are very valuable and will take up a lot of liquidity, said the middle-aged man as he carefully gestured with his hands.
Porter nodded and said to Xia Fei, It's a total of thirty million. Transfer it to him.
The middle-aged man was startled. "Big Brother Potter, these things cost 12 million per set. It should be 36 million."
Porter coldly harrumphed. Hmph! Who doesnt know that you got all your goods from Old Ks place? I just dont want to deal with him. If I went to him myself, I wouldnt even need twenty million. A man shouldnt be too greedy.
The middle-aged man rolled his eyes and helplessly said, Since youre putting it that way, Ill take a loss this time. Had it been anyone else, Ill definitely not agree.
Xia Fei transferred the thirty million to the middle-aged man's account and returned to the plaza with Porter. The two went to an open-air bar, ordered two bottles of beer, and sat at a table to slowly drink.
Uncle Porter, these things are not that expensive. Ive checked on the interplanetary internet last night, and the official price of the same equipment is around fifteen million star coins. Adding these three sets together, you can save fifteen million star coins. Xia Fei smiled as he told Porter.
Porter grinned widely. Would it be called a black market if its not cheap? These things are either stolen or snatched; its no wonder they are cheap.
"That's not our main purpose today. We're waiting for someone. This person will bring something you'll never be able to guess. Kid, just wait to pay up. I can't wait to see your pained face," Potter said in a mysterious tone.
Xia Fei took a small sip of beer. As long as its something good, Ill be willing to pay up.
The two chatted for a while before a young man with thick eyebrows and big eyes hurried over, looking flustered and exasperated.
This young man sat down beside Porter, grabbed a bottle of beer from the table, and unscrewed the cap with his hand, gulping it down in one gulp.
Porter knitted his eyebrows, not saying a word. There seemed to be a hint of unease in the air.
* Pa! *
The young man put down the bottle and angrily said, Old Ks came to find me today and took the thing you wanted.
Potter knocked on the table with his hand and asked with concern, "Are you alright?"
The young man shook his head with a bitter smile on his face. Im fine. Hes just asked me to bring you a message.
What is it?
The graveyard is still my graveyard. The young man purposely looked away. It looked like he felt a little guilty for not being able to bring the thing Porter wanted.
Porter patted the young man on the shoulder and said meaningfully, Xiao Tian, you can always find the thing you wanted. The most important thing is that youre fine.
The young man, who was called Xiao Tian, was visibly agitated. He forced a smile and said, Master, Ive failed to live up to your expectations as your disciple, but dont you know me? Im always holding something back. Old Ks only took the engine. He didnt find the neutron cannons and missile launchers you wanted.
Weapon systems required a large amount of energy and space on the warship. The naval-grade Eagle-class frigate had a total of four energy ports for weapons, so Xia Fei decided to install two small neutron cannons and two small missile launchers.
The neutron cannon was currently one of the most powerful cannons available. Its rate of fire was not fast, about a hundred and twenty rounds per minute, but its penetrative power was extremely strong, able to pierce through thick armor. Furthermore, its energy consumption was much lower than thermal weapons.
A frigate could not possibly be equipped with a large energy source, so strict control over its energy consumption became very important.
The advantages of the missile system went without saying. It could actively track those nimble enemies, and its power was decent. More importantly, the missile system did not need to consume any energy. Its power came from the missile's own ejection system.
The neutron cannons and missiles complemented each other. Not only could they provide a high firepower output, but they could also deal with all kinds of enemies.
The energy saved could be used to enhance the warship's mobility and defense. Additionally, the high-grade electronic equipment itself was also a big energy consumer.
Master, I suspect that Old Ks monitoring your phone, so he knows what you need. Ive got a military-grade encrypted phone here. You should use that from now on.
With that said, Xiao Tian stuffed a satellite phone the size of a matchbox into Porter's hand.
The two neutron cannons and two missile launchers cost Xia Fei a total of twenty-four million star coins. Xia Fei transferred the money over, and Xiao Tian nodded at Porter and Xia Fei before standing up and leaving like a gust of wind.
Lighting a cigarette and taking a few puffs, Xia Fei could not help but ask, Is Xiao Tian your disciple?
Yeah, he's my youngest disciple and also the most talented. That year, he urgently needed money to treat his sister's eyes, so he left my factory and came here to start an arms business.
I only found out about it afterward. I even gave him a good scolding the day he left. Now that I think about it, it's too late to regret it. That child is just too stubborn. Had he told me earlier, I would've given him the money even if I had to sell everything I had, but he just wouldn't tell me.
Old Porter rubbed his temples as he spoke, and the wrinkles on his face deepened. Xia Fei wanted to say a few words of consolation, but he did not know what to say.
Who is that Old Ks? Xia Fei asked.
Porter took a Hongtashan cigarette from Xia Fei's pack and lit it up just like Xia Fei did.
Cough cough! Whats this thing? Why is it so hard to smoke? Porter coughed twice, a bitter look on his face as he said this, nearly choking on his tears.
Xia Fei smiled, not saying a word. None of the extraterrestrials that Xia Fei had come into contact with smoked. Tobacco seemed to be the exclusive property of Earthlings.
After taking a swig of beer, Porter said, Old Ks was a pirate when he was younger, but when he got older, he washed his hands of the business and stopped robbing people. Instead, he started assembling spaceships.
Recently, he wanted to buy something from me, but I didn't sell it to him, so I ended up having a bit of a grudge with him. Actually, I'm fine with it, but it's a pity about that Black Mamba engine that I ordered for you.
Xia Fei was startled, anxiously asking, "What kind of engine are you talking about?"
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