Chapter 109: Getting Impatient

Chapter 109: Chapter 109: Getting Impatient

Master Chang’s tone carried a note of "figured as much" as he said, "Sure, I’ll go ask for you."

"Oh, by the way — word about you has pretty much gotten out completely."

"There were people talking about reining you in at first, but since around midnight last night, almost nobody’s pushing to hold you accountable anymore. After all, the moment someone points a finger at you, they end up getting flagged as a suspect themselves and hauled in for questioning."

"Though there’s one guy with a clean conscience who went through the checks and came out fine, and he’s still out there running his mouth about how what you’re doing is illegal — wants to bring you in, ’rehabilitate’ you, then send you back out to do the same work under proper authority. Claims it gives him justification, or something like that."

Xiang Yi scoffed, "That guy’s brain must be running on empty."

If the government got completely infiltrated, it’d all fall apart — and he’d go down with it too. And he’s still out here talking about justification.

"Yeah, total airhead. But he’s all talk with zero real influence, so don’t bother with him."

"Oh, and another thing — my friend actually got into a full-blown shouting match with someone at last night’s regular meeting. If there hadn’t been someone higher up breaking it up, it would’ve come to blows."

Higher up? Above a Deputy Prime Minister, the only person left would be the Prime Minister of the Anka Star Government.

Xiang Yi had a hard time picturing the scene — the second-in-command of an entire government screaming at someone while the top dog tried to play peacemaker.

Must’ve been quite a show.

"On top of that, people in other districts have already started turning themselves in voluntarily, handing over their entire networks."

"The Ministry of Internal Affairs running all over the city like this is impossible to hide, but as for your actual identity — right now, only my friend and I should know."

"That said, I can’t be sure whether the corporate prison has caught wind of you yet, so you’d better stay careful. Your safety is what matters most."

"I know."

Xiang Yi answered briefly, then added with a quiet sense of weight, "Sometimes, killing really is the most effective tool there is."

"Yeah. Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures."

He ended the call with Master Chang.

Xiang Yi only now realized he’d absent-mindedly finished off all of Ning Ye’s nutrient paste tubes. The fatigue had lifted, and he felt sharp again.

There was no chance he’d be able to sleep anytime soon. After a moment’s thought, he went ahead and reached out to the Robot, picking up where they’d left off on the Blood Crystal deal.

The Robot had no objection to trading Blood Crystals, of course.

It was just that the quantity Xiang Yi was putting on the table this time seemed to exceed his expectations.

Their previous deals had only ever involved small batches, so without seeing the goods in person, the Robot wasn’t ready to believe Xiang Yi could produce large quantities.

So for now, they settled on one kilogram — two million.

Still, the Robot did agree that if this deal went through, he’d buy more going forward.

Xiang Yi kept to his usual arrangement: have the Robot cover the payment in goods instead of cash.

That meant more large-caliber ammunition and a few new weapons.

More tracking and surveillance devices — various types.

Several bulletproof vests in different sizes.

And some chips.

The ammunition was for Shi Tie’s heavy machine gun — with a fire rate of a thousand rounds per minute, stocking up tens of thousands of rounds was entirely reasonable.

As for the tracking and surveillance gear, Xiang Yi wanted it both for placement near the hardware store and for future operations targeting the corporate network.

The stuff was genuinely useful. The footage his devices had captured near the hardware store over the past couple of days was crystal clear, with excellent battery life. Stocking up more couldn’t hurt.

Then there were the new weapons.

He already had a Laser Rifle, a heavy machine gun, and a Mind Pulse Generator.

But there was still one category missing from his arsenal.

Throwables.

So he ordered a batch of grenades and the like from the Robot — never knew when they’d come in handy.

The Robot half-suspected Xiang Yi had run dry on cash and was planning to rob a bank, but agreed to it all the same.

Xiang Yi picked up three bulletproof vests.

Two were lighter and made from better materials than his current one — one for himself and one as a spare, with his old vest passed down to Shi Tie.

The third vest was a women’s model.

Xiang Yi bought it for Ning Ye.

The last time Ning Ye had gone out with the scavenging crew, he’d noticed she wasn’t wearing any body armor.

Probably because everything she’d be dealing with out there were Abnormalities — conventional protection wasn’t exactly the point.

But Xiang Yi had a nagging feeling that if the prison kept failing to locate him, they might start going after the people around him. A bulletproof vest was better than nothing.

You never knew — next time she headed out, it might just end up saving her life.

Ning Ye mattered a great deal to Xiang Yi.

A Spiritual Energy researcher he could actually trust was not someone he could afford to lose.

On top of that, Ning Ye had mentioned having a partner who was also talented in the field of Spiritual Energy.

He couldn’t exactly lock people up against their will, so the best he could do was keep nudging them to be careful and make sure they had the means to protect themselves.

As for the chips, Xiang Yi ordered two kinds.

One was for the mechanical arm — to support the operation of the multi-function exoskeletal arm he’d been building.

It would help speed up his workflow. Sure, he could use Spiritual Energy for most fabrication and modification tasks these days, but hands-on practice still mattered for the sake of actually learning.

The other type of chip the Robot had in stock right away — pulled straight from surplus inventory in his warehouse.

Whether Xiang Yi would end up needing it was hard to say, but he figured it was worth picking up a small quantity.

He’d also wanted to buy some high-grade specialty materials from the Robot.

He hadn’t gotten hold of the blueprints for the extraction tubing and needles that went with the Living Iron Extraction Device yet, but by studying the device’s 3D model, he’d already worked out what materials and structures would be needed to build one.

Of course, having the structure wasn’t enough to replicate it — he’d still need to acquire the technical know-how, let alone the materials.

But the Robot’s answer was the same as before: it would take time.

Looks like he’d have to make another trip to the junkyard after all.

With the business wrapped up, the exhaustion rolled back over Xiang Yi like a wave.

He knocked out a few daggers to burn off some Spiritual Power, then climbed into his sleeping bag, shut his eyes, and was out.

When Xiang Yi woke again.

Ning Ye had returned to the lab at some point and was working at the console nearby. Seeing him stir, she looked up apologetically. "Sorry, was I being too loud? Go back to sleep — I’ll keep it down."

But Xiang Yi ignored her. He immediately grabbed his terminal and pulled up the feed from the surveillance devices near the Robot.

It wasn’t Ning Ye who’d woken him. It was the alarm blaring through the earpiece in his ear.

He’d paid for an AI program online — one that could automatically analyze elements within a camera feed.

Whenever it detected a large crowd gathering near the hardware store, the flash of gunfire, or the security shutters being pulled down, it would trigger an alert.

That was what had snapped him awake.

On the surveillance feed right now, a group of roughly forty people had completely surrounded the hardware store.

Every single one of them was armed to the teeth, itching for a fight, looking like they were barely holding themselves back from storming the place.

Xiang Yi didn’t recognize any of them, but he knew exactly who they were — the ones he’d been waiting for.

His gaze locked onto the face of the man leading the group.

In all likelihood, that was Lu Qi — the one Xiang Yi had been hunting for.

He’d spotted the same figure in the surveillance footage from the day before.

Xiang Yi’s expression went hard. He moved quickly — got up, geared up, and loaded himself down with every piece of equipment, kit, and weaponry he carried.

Ning Ye watched with a baffled look on her face. "What are you doing?"

"Main quest."

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