Chapter 17: Staying Out All Night (Includes 3k Nutrient Solution Bonus)

Chapter 17: Out All Night (Includes 3k Bonus Chapter)

"A Chi, if I go out with you like this, won't Yan Wanqiu suspect you?"

Xie Chi stood beside Yan Baiyue with a backpack nearly half his height, expressionless, and answered curtly: "No."

As he spoke, he showed the pass he had just retrieved to the guard at the camp entrance: "I'm taking the Third Prince to look around nearby."

The guard recognized him and didn't ask any more questions. After checking the pass, he waved them through.

"The sun's about to set, and it'll get cold at night. Captain Xie, be sure to bring the Third Prince back early," the guard reminded.

Xie Chi nodded.

Hearing this, Yan Baiyue showed a perfectly measured look of guilt: "I'm sorry, last night I didn't realize I was drinking fruit wine. I accidentally got drunk and slept in until now."

He was secretly annoyed at himself.

He had come with a mission, yet he'd been careless enough to get drunk on the first night.

Fortunately, there were still about two weeks before the freezing period, and the main star's forces could arrive at any time. Yan Wanqiu, wary of the main star, wouldn't dare make a reckless move against him—or he might have died last night.

Xie Chi, who had swapped the drinks for juice, remained unfazed: "It's fine. There's still plenty of time before the freezing period. We've got plenty of time."

Yan Baiyue shook his head: "We're running out of time. My brother said it takes at least three days to travel from the main star to the Northern Domain Star. I must either kill Yan Wanqiu outright or leave three days before the freezing period begins—or I'll be the one who dies."

Xie Chi was somewhat surprised that Yan Baiyue had thought this far ahead.

That made sense—although this man was a disposable pawn, behind him stood Yan Huishi, who would ultimately emerge victorious in the end.

As they spoke, the subordinate sent to pick up Yan Baiyue had already brought the aircraft in for a landing nearby. Xie Chi followed Yan Baiyue onto the aircraft.

After Yan Baiyue entered, the subordinate leaned close and whispered: "Your Highness, Wang San, who brought you here yesterday, has gone missing. Lord You said Wang San was fine when he got off the aircraft, and he doesn't know what happened either. Should we add this to the evidence against Yan Wanqiu?"

"Keep this under wraps for now—save it for later," Yan Baiyue whispered back. "My brother said that if Xie Chi proves incompetent, we must either take him back with us or execute him on the spot before leaving. Leaving him by Yan Wanqiu's side for a whole freezing period is too risky."

Yan Baiyue was arrogant and dismissive; once Xie Chi had outlived his usefulness, he naturally wouldn't continue the pretense of intimacy.

Rather than deal with the hassle of bringing him back to the main star, if the mission failed, Yan Baiyue would rather find an excuse to execute Xie Chi on the spot. The missing subordinate was the perfect excuse.

The two were at a distance from Xie Chi, their voices barely above a whisper.

But Xie Chi had sharp ears. Silently, he listened to their entire brazen scheme from behind them.

Just like family—ruthless through and through.

Xie Chi thought to himself.

That was why he'd never even considered defecting to Yan Huishi. In history, after Yan Wanqiu's death, Yan Huishi unified both races, ruled in extravagant luxury, plunged the people into misery, and in his later years, driven by paranoia, slaughtered countless founding heroes.

The only reason he was working for Yan Wanqiu now was because his wife was being held hostage.

Otherwise, Xie Chi would have at most hung around Blizzard City until he found Shi Peijue, then fled with him.

After a brief exchange with his subordinate, Yan Baiyue turned back and smiled at Xie Chi: "A Chi, come here. Since we've still got time before we reach the Night Owl Syndicate's temporary camp, sit down and tell me in detail what exactly happened with the explosion in Wind Cliff Village? Why did Yan Wanqiu let you leave camp with me? And after he caught us on a video call earlier, how did you dispel his suspicions?"

Xie Chi walked over and gave the explanation he'd prepared beforehand: "I honestly knew nothing about the Wind Cliff Village incident. That night, I was about to head to Wind Cliff Village when Yan Wanqiu held me back to report on work. The next thing I knew, Wind Cliff Village had exploded. I suspect Yan Wanqiu intercepted our communications via the smart device, which gave him the chance to make his move."

"However, Yan Wanqiu probably never found out who received the information. Recently, he's been rooting out many moles in the camp, all of whom were executed after interrogation. But he didn't execute me—instead, after I proved I was an A-Omega, he reinstated me. I think he bought my explanation."

"This morning was the same. I volunteered to approach you and fish for information on his behalf, and he agreed without any suspicion."

Xie Chi's explanation was logical and airtight. Yan Baiyue, who never believed this lovesick fool would deceive him, was now completely convinced. Beaming, he nodded: "You've done well. From now on, you can deal with me openly, which makes everything much easier."

Xie Chi seized the chance to ask: "Your Highness, what exactly do you need me to do?"

"It's pretty simple." At that moment, the aircraft started descending, and Yan Baiyue pointed out the window.

It was a small town a ways from Yan Wanqiu's camp, right next to the ruins of the Night Owl Syndicate's casino. Because thermal ore had been discovered beneath the casino ruins, nearly half the town was now cordoned off with barricades, and preliminary surveys had begun.

And where Yan Baiyue was pointing stood several Blizzard City residents under soldier escort.

"They're witnesses I brought—to back up the case against Yan Wanqiu's oppression and tyranny. I need you to help me get them into the mine here," Yan Baiyue said.

The aircraft touched down.

Xie Chi followed Yan Baiyue out.

The detained residents were all guys in their twenties, covered in wounds of various sizes. Seeing Yan Baiyue, they all shrank back and bowed submissively.

Yan Baiyue said coldly: "What are you waiting for? Hurry up and hand your IDs and paperwork to Captain Xie!"

Hearing this, the men hastily pulled out their IDs and documents and handed them to Xie Chi with timid, downcast eyes.

They'd clearly been beaten into submission.

Xie Chi didn't say anything else. He just took the documents and nodded at Yan Baiyue: "No problem. I've got it."

Yan Baiyue looked moved: "Thanks for the hard work, A Chi."

He led Xie Chi deeper inside, explaining: "This is the thermal ore deposit Yan Wanqiu recently found—the largest known vein so far. It's still in the drilling phase, and the factory hasn't been built yet, so Yan Wanqiu doesn't have much control over the surrounding area. And since this was the Night Owl Syndicate's original base, after Boss Ye died, I immediately got in touch with the Syndicate's remaining forces here and took temporary control of the area outside the mine."

Xie Chi got it.

Yan Wanqiu was, after all, an imperial prince—exiled but not stripped of his assets. He'd brought nearly all his wealth to Blizzard City, so he definitely wasn't short on cash. Upon arrival, he'd taken advantage of the brief summer to recruit workers for construction.

After discovering the thermal ore, Yan Wanqiu had handed out well-paying jobs to residents of the surrounding towns. Naturally, these residents, like Nie Huaiyi and others, were deeply grateful and loyal to Yan Wanqiu. So the thermal ore mines near the camp were completely under Yan Wanqiu's thumb.

If Yan Baiyue wanted to pull something, he could only target this new mine.

Yan Baiyue led Xie Chi into a residential building, where his soldiers and Night Owl Syndicate members were busy hauling crates of thermal ore.

Raw chunks of black thermal ore were visible everywhere in the building.

Xie Chi glanced at them: "What are these?"

Yan Baiyue smiled and explained: "This mine is too big for Yan Wanqiu to fully exploit right now, and security isn't tight. So I had them secretly mine some while Yan Wanqiu's too busy to notice, and ship it back to the main star early."

As he spoke, he pushed open a door, revealing what was inside.

In a room of over a hundred square meters stood more than a dozen large shelves, and on those shelves were countless palm-sized micro-bombs.

"These are all modified bombs, powered by thermal ore—three times as powerful as ordinary bombs."

Yan Baiyue said, taking out a bomb disguised as a smart device and placing it in Xie Chi's palm: "This is Boss Ye's smart device. After the Night Owl Syndicate incident, I made some improvements to the original design. Now this device can contact the main star directly."

"A Chi, I need you to help me plant explosives at designated locations in the thermal ore mine in the coming days, invite Yan Wanqiu to inspect the mine, and carry this smart device to film Yan Wanqiu's death from start to finish on the day of the explosion."

Boss Ye's smart device wasn't just a smart device—it was a bomb for killing, silencing, and erasing all evidence.

Obviously, Yan Baiyue had no idea Xie Chi already knew because of Shi Peijue, and deliberately hid it from him.

Xie Chi frowned slightly and didn't immediately take the smart bomb: "What about you? In your plan, you're the one who invites Yan Wanqiu to inspect the mine."

Yan Baiyue froze for a moment, then immediately put on a scared, teary-eyed look: "I'm scared, A Chi. When the time comes, I'll lure Yan Wanqiu over—can you go in with him? I'll wait for you outside the blast zone."

"Don't worry, this smart device will only blow up after it detects your death, and it'll send the footage from the last twenty minutes of your life straight to the main star. Even if something really does happen to you, I'll remember you for the rest of my life."

Xie Chi: "…"

Did he look that stupid?

Xie Chi was silent for a moment, but ultimately went along with the original character's persona and took the smart device: "Alright."

Yan Baiyue immediately beamed: "Thank you, A Chi."

Thanks to Xie Chi's cooperation, Yan Baiyue no longer bothered to look down on the other's low status. He affectionately hooked his arm through Xie Chi's and let out a faint hint of omega pheromones: "Once this is over, I'll take you back to the main star with me and beg my big brother to let me marry you."

The omega deliberately made his voice higher-pitched, the milky-sweet pheromone scent hanging in the air, and Xie Chi was so disgusted he got goosebumps.

He gave a perfunctory "Mm," then quickly shook off Yan Baiyue's arm and backed up two steps.

Yan Baiyue looked at Xie Chi with confusion: "A Chi?"

Xie Chi took another step back and explained, "It's getting late. I still need to make a trip to the black market. Would the Third Prince like to come along?"

Yan Baiyue pouted, a little annoyed: "You're really so unromantic. Even at a time like this, you're thinking about other stuff. What are you going to the black market for?"

Xie Chi told the truth: "Uncle Nie and the others bought fake goods from the black market. I'm going to buy some daily necessities and help them return the stuff while I'm at it. You wanna come?"

This time it was Yan Baiyue's turn to widen his eyes and back away several steps.

"No!" he refused, looking disgusted.

He was a prince of the empire, after all—going with a bodyguard to return stuff at the black market would be way too degrading and cheap.

After saying that, Yan Baiyue realized his tone had been too contemptuous and quickly covered it up: "A Chi, we shouldn't look too close in front of outsiders right now..."

"I understand." Xie Chi nodded.

Yan Baiyue went back to his gentle, tender demeanor: "I knew you'd understand me the best, A Chi."

Yan Baiyue looked down on Xie Chi, and Xie Chi looked down on Yan Baiyue even more. Both had gotten what they wanted, and now both just wanted to get away from each other as fast as possible.

After a few more quick pleasantries, they went their separate ways.

"Phew—"

Watching Xie Chi leave with the smart device he'd given him, Yan Baiyue breathed a sigh of relief. The fake warmth on his face faded, replaced by nothing but venomous, contemptuous disgust.

He stripped off the jacket he'd worn while touching Xie Chi and tossed it to the ground, frowning at the soldier beside him: "What are you standing there for? Go get me some new clothes."

He even stomped on the jacket a few times, his face full of disgust: "Disgusting. A mere bodyguard thinking he could have me—doesn't he know his place?"

The soldier, afraid of getting caught in Yan Baiyue's wrath, hurried off to get him new clothes.

Yan Baiyue, meanwhile, stared coldly in the direction Xie Chi had gone and let out a cold laugh.

If Xie Chi failed the mission, he'd simply have him executed. If Xie Chi succeeded, then there was even less of a chance he'd let him live.

He was going to marry into the Mechanical Civilization—how could he possibly marry some lowly bodyguard?

"Xie Chi, you can just be buried with Yan Wanqiu in that thermal ore mine."

Meanwhile.

Xie Chi didn't leave the thermal mine right away.

He first took the smart device Yan Baiyue had given him and threw it into his spatial ring, then activated his terminal glasses and scanned the whole mine, paying special attention to recording the movements of the people in the building where Yan Baiyue was. Only after finding the mine's defensive weaknesses did he leave.

He'd been using his terminal a lot lately. Seeing that the terminal glasses were down to only 37% battery, Xie Chi sighed and put the terminal on standby.

For now, all he could do was hope Shi Peijue would quickly figure out a way to charge the terminal.

As for the smart device Yan Baiyue had given him—

Xie Chi glanced at his spatial ring.

He wasn't about to wear something of unknown origin on his person, especially not a bomb.

Xie Chi had a gut feeling that this smart device wasn't as harmless as Yan Baiyue claimed—in fact, it was highly likely a bomb that the other could detonate at any moment.

The spatial ring could block external signals, so keeping it inside was perfect. He'd just take it out and put it on the next time he saw Yan Baiyue.

Someone as cautious about his own life as Yan Baiyue wouldn't possibly blow himself up along with it.

After finishing all of this, night had already fallen, and fine snow began to drift down from the sky.

Xie Chi had put on a new thermostatic combat suit, so he didn't feel cold. He checked the time—it was already 8 PM.

By the time he finished shopping at the black market and returned to tidy things up, it would probably be past midnight.

They'd parted in a hurry last time, and this time his meeting with his wife would only last a short fifteen minutes. Xie Chi had so many things he wanted to give Ji Chou and so much he wanted to say to him.

Rushing to meet him without getting everything prepared would clearly waste that precious time.

With that in mind, Xie Chi used his terminal to write up a report of his conversation with Yan Baiyue that day, and sent it to Yan Wanqiu along with the scan images and the weaknesses he'd identified.

"Xie Chi: This is some of the information I obtained from Yan Baiyue. I won't be able to return until very late tonight. Requesting to postpone my meeting with Ji Chou to tomorrow evening."

Yan Wanqiu replied quickly, with just a single word.

"Yan Wanqiu: Granted."

Xie Chi let out a sigh of relief.

At least Yan Wanqiu wasn't heartless enough to refuse even a postponement of the meeting.

After finishing all that, Xie Chi hailed a taxi airship and headed toward the black market at the eastern port.

.

The black market was located in the eastern part of Snowstorm City, built around the eastern port. It was essentially a commercial street. Due to the mixed crowd passing through, and the fact that the black market controlled nearly the entire city's supply of goods, internal skirmishes were constant, and over time it had earned the name "black market."

Snowstorm City's two-month summer was the only time of year when external supplies could be purchased, so even at night, the port was exceptionally busy, and the black market was teeming with people.

Xie Chi was alone, looked young, and carried a bulging backpack half as tall as he was. Almost the moment he stepped into the black market, he sensed countless predatory eyes fixed on him.

"Handsome young man, why not come take a look at our shop? We've got fresh goods just shipped in from the main star—everything from household items to daily necessities."

The shopkeeper closest to Xie Chi—a middle-aged alpha with a sharp, weaselly face—greeted him enthusiastically, but his eyes were full of calculation, his gaze lingering on Xie Chi's backpack. His intentions were obvious.

Xie Chi was exasperated.

His bag was actually full of counterfeit goods and scrap fabric bought by Nie Huaiyi and the others, carried mainly to conceal him pulling items from his spatial storage—he hadn't expected it to draw this kind of unwanted attention instead.

He thought for a moment, then simply reached into the backpack as if rummaging around, and pulled a machine gun out from his space.

This was a Night Owl Syndicate gun that Xie Chi had stashed away.

The moment they saw the gun in his hand, the greedy stares around him vanished completely.

Xie Chi looked up at the weasel-faced shopkeeper whose eyes had suddenly lost their greedy gleam, and walked closer with a smile, the machine gun in tow.

Cold sweat broke out on the shopkeeper's forehead as he watched the bright-smiling youth approach step by step, finally sensing the chilling killing intent radiating from him.

This was someone who had truly seen blood.

No wonder this kid hadn't been robbed the second he stepped into the black market—turns out he was the only one who hadn't immediately pegged him as a ruthless character.

The middle-aged shopkeeper shot a glare at the shopkeeper across the street who had suggested he approach Xie Chi in the first place, who was now standing with the bystanders, wearing an expression of pure entertainment, like he was spectating.

The middle-aged shopkeeper gritted his teeth.

Those spineless bastards! They'd been acting like his best buddy just moments ago, and now that Mr. Ai was on the decline, they were trying to throw him under the bus!

The shopkeeper mentally cursed the shopkeeper across the street and all his ancestors, then reached for the pistol at his waist and backed away. "Y-you stay back! This is the biggest household goods store under Mr. Ai's command—you'd better watch out, or Mr. Ai will come after you!"

The shopkeeper had meant it as a threat, but to his surprise, the youth's smile only grew brighter at that, the teardrop mole at the corner of his eye seeming to dance.

"In that case, that's perfect."

He heard the youth's light, cheerful voice.

"Move aside and let me in to see what good stuff you've got."

Shopkeeper: "?"

Wait... is he robbing me?

Thirty minutes later.

"This one too, wrap it up." Xie Chi pointed at a pair of pink heart-shaped mugs in the shopkeeper's hands.

"Coming right up!"

The shopkeeper held a wad of cash in his hands, his face wrinkled into a wide grin as he cheerfully packaged Xie Chi's items.

He'd initially thought Xie Chi was there to rob him, and when he saw the youth pointing at row after row of items demanding they be wrapped up, he'd even entertained the idea of going toe-to-toe with him.

Until Xie Chi pulled a huge handful of cash out of his bag and shoved it at him.

"Mr. Xie, that king-sized bed you wanted just came in—take a look, this is imported straight from the capital planet—"

"Wrap it up." Xie Chi had already stowed the machine gun, both hands laden with bulging shopping bags, not even blinking.

The shopkeeper immediately bowed and scraped as he wrapped it up.

Xie Chi looked at the ten fully loaded carts behind the shopkeeper, then at the oversized double bed, and thought for a moment—if he kept buying, his little room probably wouldn't have room for any more.

"That's enough for now. Add it all up." Xie Chi said.

The shopkeeper quickly said: "After your 20% discount, the total comes to 259,800. Just give me 250,000."

Xie Chi didn't even blink, reaching into his backpack and pulling out the money.

It wasn't that he trusted the shopkeeper all that much—it was mainly what the shopkeeper had said at the start about Mr. Ai.

The black market was split into two streets, north and south. The south street was Viper's territory, while the north street belonged to Mr. Ai. The defective and counterfeit goods that Nie Huaiyi's group had bought as gifts for Yan Wanqiu were all from Viper's shops on the south street.

Xie Chi had also specifically asked the few people who'd managed to buy genuine items, and confirmed they'd all bought from random stalls on the north street. That settled it—he'd shop there.

If even the easiest marks—casual walk-ins—weren't ripped off too badly, the north street market was probably far more orderly than the south.

Inside Blizzard City, basic necessities were expensive, so the 250,000 figure didn't surprise Xie Chi at all.

Just as Xie Chi was about to start flinging cash out by the handful, the shopkeeper, terrified of being robbed by jealous rivals at any moment, hastily said: "Esteemed guest, please follow me to the VIP lounge to settle the bill."

Xie Chi stopped mid-reach and nodded.

Just as he slung his backpack on and started to follow the shopkeeper, he heard a familiar voice from the doorway.

"Brother Wang, I'm here. I'm looking for Mr. Ai—also, have you seen a black-haired—thanks, thanks—Brother Xie?!?"

Xie Chi paused mid-step and turned toward the source of the voice at the entrance.

There stood Shi Peijue, frozen mid-push, staring at him in shock.

And behind Shi Peijue stood a tall figure—a man with long white hair.

The man's face was full of irritation, and his red eyes froze for a moment when they locked onto Xie Chi's, clearly not expecting to run into him here of all places.

Yan Wanqiu looked at Xie Chi, laden with shopping bags in both hands, then at the ten carts behind him, and a flicker of confusion crept into his eyes. "What are you doing here all alone?"

Shouldn't Xie Chi be with Yan Baiyue?

Xie Chi had already flawlessly completed the task Yan Wanqiu had assigned him. Running into his boss while shopping didn't cause him a shred of awkwardness—only the eagerness of someone who'd just scored a haul and wanted to show it off.

He pointed at a pair of pink and blue plush slippers sitting on top of the nearest cart, beaming brightly. "Just buying some daily necessities for me and my wife, like I mentioned to you before. These are all couple's items the shopkeeper recommended—don't they match perfectly?"

Yan Wanqiu: "..."

That's not what I asked!