Chapter 128: Setting Up a Stall

"Yes."

"There was no time to react before the highest-level alarm system was triggered. We only asked each other about it after we got into the safe room; no one had touched it."

"None of us were in that room at the time, and it was under the highest alert level. We followed protocol and entered the safe room within thirty seconds, after which it locked down," the person in charge of the Biological Mecha Manufacturing Base explained.

The person in charge of the Ash Organization naturally knew what the scene looked like when these people were rescued. The safe room door had nearly been destroyed. As for the rest of the facility, not a single scrap of paper was left behind. There was absolutely nothing.

This wasn’t surprising. Most Mutant Tribes suffered from a severe lack of supplies. Facing threats from Exotic Beasts as well as suppression from the Alliance, they considered any and all resources to be incredibly precious.

"Just stay here and make your living for now. There’s something bizarre about this whole incident." The local head of the Ash Organization felt a headache coming on.

The Alliance base’s Main Energy Room had been destroyed—something that was previously thought impossible—and someone had even taken the Mecha.

The head of the Ash Organization felt as though an unseen hand was targeting him. As the largest intelligence agency, the Ash Organization possessed extensive power and connections. Yet, the series of consecutive blunders and accidents left even him feeling uneasy.

First, the Pirate Fleet had encountered an accident. They had arrived only to find the planet’s Main Battle Ship missing. When they finally found it, two more ships appeared out of nowhere, along with an entire fleet.

He still didn’t know how to appease these Mutants. This treasure exchange convention was meant as an opportunity for everyone to sit down and talk. Fortunately, there were quite a few Alliance organization branches mixed within the Mutant Tribes, which allowed them to learn of the Mutants’ demands in advance.

The fact that the mecha company’s Biological Mecha cultivation base was attacked was quite unexpected. These bases were always built in highly unique geographical locations—places Mutants couldn’t breach, even if they dug underground.

News of the attack on the Biological Mecha research base had already spread. Now, none of the organizations could contact their headquarters, leaving everyone in a state of panic. The rescue team had returned and described the miserable state of the site.

Mutant Tribes slaughtered each other regularly, let alone how they treated other organizations. Even though some Alliance institutions and organizations had Mutant branches here, they made up only a small percentage.

Many of the personnel originally dispatched by the companies had simply looked around and thought, "Hey, being a leader here is great! Good food, good drinks, plenty of women, and I can even improve my strength. To hell with the damn company!"

Others paid lip service while secretly rebelling. Because of this, major companies maintained contact with the Ash Organization just to keep tabs on the activities of their own people in this region.

Of course, the Ash Organization charged for these services accordingly.

Yang Bo strolled around. It wasn’t strange to see Mutants and humans mingling here, and he soon noticed some clues.

He realized that the humans were almost exclusively entering and exiting through a single location. Their numbers were quite large, and they were guarded by Mechas. Even though they were older seventh or Eighth Generation Mechas, in a place like this, they were an absolute fortress.

"Tsk, tsk." Unless the Mutants launched a suicidal charge—and considering there was Metal reinforcing the entrance—their safety was likely not an issue.

Yang Bo found a spot and took out his wrapped items from a piece of animal skin. From here, he had a clear view of the humans’ entrance and exit, intending to see just how many of them there were.

Beside Yang Bo were other solitary Mutants. They had ruthless glares and looked like lone wolves. They were fully equipped in Battle Armor, making it impossible to see their true appearances. However, one individual had a claw for a hand. The claw was pitch-black and most likely venomous. Yang Bo temporarily dubbed him "Black Claw."

On his other side was a woman with a curvy figure. She was dressed in Leather Armor of surprisingly excellent craftsmanship, which was rather unexpected.

When Yang Bo first got his own Battle Armor, he had assumed it was Leather Armor too, only realizing otherwise once he actually held it.

True leather Battle Armor was stripped from Mutated Beasts. In fact, Yang Bo could have skinned the giant snake he had killed to craft a suit of Battle Armor that might have even come with an innate Fire Energy Shield. Unfortunately, Yang Bo already had his own Battle Armor, and his Metal manipulation allowed it to transform at will.

Not an inch of the woman’s skin was visible; her entire body was tightly wrapped. Therefore, it was hard to say for sure if she was actually a woman. When it came to Mutants, Yang Bo remained somewhat skeptical about guessing genders.

She only had a single nostril and her eyes exposed, so Yang Bo decided to call her "Nostril Woman" for now. The rest of her body was tightly sealed in her Battle Armor. She carried two Swords on her back, their hilts appearing to be carved from the teeth of some wild beast.

On a piece of animal skin in front of Nostril Woman lay several Energy Stones. However, these Energy Stones were all blue. The largest was the size of a football, while the smallest was about the size of a fist. They were still attached to chunks of pitch-black rock.

These were Attribute Energy Stones. They were different from the transparent ones Yang Bo had obtained at the base, as transparent Energy Stones were attributeless.

In front of Black Claw were several eggs. The largest was the size of a washbasin, and the smallest was the size of a football.

Yang Bo took out his own items. The two of them glanced over before turning their heads away.

The main customers here were humans. The humans would always browse first because the treasure exchange convention lasted for ten days. Typically, they wouldn’t make any moves during the first few days, waiting until the end to drive down prices, knowing that the Mutants had brought their items specifically to barter.

The Mutants were aware of this tactic, but there was nothing they could do about it. However, Yang Bo was an exception. A bald man wearing Battle Armor but no Helmet walked straight over to Yang Bo. He inspected the goods closely before asking, "What do you want to trade for?"

"What do you have?" Yang Bo looked at the bald man, secretly on high alert, though he replied smoothly in the Alliance language.

"I have plenty of good stuff. Battle Armor, Energy Weapons, Laser Weapons, and even some Genetic Interference Potions," the bald man listed.

Yang Bo had no idea what Genetic Interference Potions were, but he replied indifferently, "I’d like to look around a bit more."

"Alright." The bald man left with his entourage. The people trailing behind him certainly didn’t look like good guys.

Of course, in Yang Bo’s eyes, no one here—Mutants included—was a good person, except for himself.

Soon, a One-Eyed man approached, making Yang Bo even more vigilant. Given how advanced genetic science was in this era, the inability to replace a missing eye clearly marked the man as a powerhouse. Lab-grown eyes were Ordinary items; they couldn’t withstand the intense Energy of a powerful individual and would undergo necrosis as soon as they were implanted.

Of course, it was also possible that these genetically enhanced experts refused to hand themselves over to institutions for research. Institutions did have the capability to restore lost limbs, but they first needed to thoroughly study the patient’s body to cultivate a potentially viable replacement. Ordinary Alliance Army soldiers and the like could fully recover from severe injuries after a certain amount of time.

Yang Bo and the One-Eyed man sized each other up, thinking the exact same thing: "This guy looks shady."

Many people didn’t recognize the container Yang Bo had brought out, but a select few did. It was designed to hold an Energy Pillar. It originally had a serial number on it, but the number had unfortunately been erased.

One look was all it took to know that this guy knew his stuff.

"What do you want to trade for?" the One-Eyed man asked casually.

"What do you have?" Yang Bo repeated his previous line.

"If it exists here, I have it," the One-Eyed man replied arrogantly.

Yang Bo shook his head. "I haven’t seen your actual goods yet. Talk is cheap."

"Fine, I’ll bring out my wares, and you can take a look," the One-Eyed man said with a nod.

"Alright." Yang Bo nodded in agreement.

The fact that two clearly unusual customers had come to inspect Yang Bo’s goods immediately attracted a lot of attention from both humans and Mutants alike.

The Tiger-faced King hurried over upon receiving the news. His eyes lit up as he asked, "Not bad, brother! You actually managed to find one of these? Mind if we step aside and have a chat?"