Xia Fei froze, then he swiftly asked, “Is this Gilded Greenface beast the one that can use the elements of ice and fire?”
The man with the golden necklace was clearly very suspicious of Xia Fei. He creased his brows and turned to Windchime, hoping to hear her opinion.
Windchime casually tossed back her long hair and nodded. “Pillar, this is my good friend Xia Fei. I guarantee that he’s good.”
Pillar hurriedly nodded. “Miss Windchime, since he’s your friend, I’ll tell him everything.”
He turned to Xia Fei and explained, “Lorenzo has a subordinate on this planet called Baihao. He’s responsible for bullying around poor people like us and milking us for goods and women. Recently, our spy learned that Baihao obtained a exotic beast from somewhere called the Gilded Greenface. Apparently, this exotic beast is of a very high grade and is worth a lot of money, so we plan to seize it before Baihao can deliver it to Lorenzo.
“I won’t hide it from you. While we call ourselves the rebel army, we’re made up of small traders and peasants and lack any decent weapons. We stand no chance against Lorenzo’s mercenary army, so we plan to exchange this exotic beast for guns and ammo to arm ourselves.
“The spy told us that Baihao, worried that a long delay can cause trouble, will be moving this valuable exotic beast to his personal residence tomorrow, so we have to move out immediately.”
Windchime nodded, indicating that Pillar was telling the truth.
Once Phantom was done listening, he could no longer restrain himself and hastily told Xia Fei, “That’s a Gilded Greenface—a high-grade exotic beast second only to Beast King grade beasts! There are times when Furball isn’t that useful, but if you get to make this Gilded Greenface your beast, it’ll be of great help to you!”
Xia Fei was familiar with the Beast Spirit Codex, so he naturally understood how frightening a exotic beast like the Gilded Greenface was. A exotic beast like that helping him was certain to be a big boost to his fighting power.
Smiling, Xia Fei told Windchime, “Miss Windchime, would you like to make a trade?”
Windchime smiled back. “What sort of trade?”
Xia Fei replied, “Don’t you need weapons and ammo? I happen to have a batch with me. It’s on my ship. In addition, I also have some food and medicine. If you’re willing, I can use these to trade for the Gilded Greenface.”
The men in the back stood up immediately upon hearing about weapons and supplies.
“You’re serious?”
“I’m serious.”
“Miss Windchime, we don’t have much use for a exotic beast. Why don’t we take this trade?”
“That’s right! Miss Windchime, the Death Tri-region is embroiled in a war right now, and even if we have money, it’ll be difficult to buy high-quality weapons, but if Brother Xia Fei is being sincere, then it will be of big help to us.”
“I also think it’s fine. We don’t even have any good weapons to use. It’s not like we can rely on cudgels to fight with that old fox Lorenzo, right?”
The men avidly chattered. This guerilla force made of poor people was truly in an ugly state. The mention of weapons and supplies immediately had them tempted.
Windchime’s face also lit up in joy, and she asked Xia Fei, “Where is your ship now?”
Xia Fei messed around with his microcomputer, activating the Impaler’s automatic driving system. It’s not far. It will take only a few minutes to arrive.”
…
“It’s all here. Fifty F9 automatic cluster laser rifles, ten gamma ray pistols, two trunks of lightwave grenades for a total of two hundred grenades, ten boxes of rifle ammo, and two boxes of pistol ammo. We also have two hundred boxes of canned beef, chicken, and fruit; three tons of condiments such as compressed flower, salt, coffee, cooking oil, vegetable extract, et cetera; and a lot of medicine. Are all these things worth one Gilded Greenface?” Xia Fei led the group into the Impaler’s storage compartment and pointed at the supplies piled up within.
He had planned to give these things to Windchime for free. After all, this was Old Porter’s close female friend, but if he could trade them all for a valuable Gilded Greenface instead, he would actually be turning a profit. One had to realize that if a Gilded Greenface was taken to the Alliance’s black market, it could be exchanged for far more than this.
“It’s enough! Of course! Good heavens! This is a brand new automatic laser rifle! Even if one has the money, they won’t necessarily be able to buy one in the Black Abyss!” The very blunt bearded man grabbed one of the automatic rifles from the trunk and hugged it tightly as if it were his precious, little baby.
These rebels had lived in the barren Death Tri-region all their lives, and they had never before seen many of the top-class products the Alliance supplied. Their eyes were dazzled and their mouths started to drool. There was not even a need to talk about Xia Fei’s imposing heavy-assault cruiser.
Windchime looked at someone called Pillar, who looked very calm and collected as he quietly told her, “The equipment and supplies aren’t bad, but there are more than five hundred of us. We’re still lacking in weapons.”
Xia Fei had sharp hearing, so he was naturally able to hear everything. He silently cursed this conniving fellow called Pillar. If not for Windchime’s sake, Xia Fei would have just killed that fellow Baihao and left with the exotic beast instead of wasting his time with all this.
Smiling, Xia Fei said, “Miss Windchime, in three days, I can send over another five hundred F9 automatic rifles, fifty boxes of ammo, and three times the rest of the supplies.”
Pillar was flabbergasted, asking in disbelief, “Are you serious?”
“I am”—Xia Fei stared at Windchime—”but I have one condition.”
“What condition?” Windchime was still overjoyed from the supplies they were getting, so she failed to notice Xia Fei’s deeper meaning.
“I want you to come back with me to the Alliance.” Xia Fei clearly enunciated every word, and he spoke in a tone that brooked no objection.
“What are you saying!” Windchime’s eyes widened, anger within them.
Xia Fei showed his tough side, giving Windchime no chance to resist.
“A Gilded Greenface isn’t worth these many resources. Miss Windchime, you should understand very well that my services come with a price. If you want it, then you have to come with me, or else the deal is off. All of you can just rely on the knives in your hands to fight against that warlord Lorenzo.”
The cunning Pillar could not help but grow anxious, and he pleaded, “Can’t we talk this over? Miss Windchime is the heart of our army. What do we do if she leaves with you?”
Xia Fei waved his hand firmly and said, “Sorry, this is not negotiable.”
Windchime felt that she had been struck by a lightning bolt, her body swaying back and forth. Windchime was well aware that Xia Fei was doing her a kindness, but she found herself momentarily unable to accept his methods, using her as a chip in this trade.
“Kid, you don’t think the five hundred of us can’t keep you here?” threatened a dark-skinned man, and at his words, the others began to close in.
Xia Fei glanced over them and coldly said, “You can try. I happened to need an excuse to kill all of you. In any case, Miss Windchime will be coming with me. It’s not your choice whether she leaves or not.”
“Kid, aren’t you being a little too arrogant? Can you alone really fight with five hundred of us?”
“You can eat messily, but you ought to be careful with your words. Xia Fei, what’s your relationship with Miss Windchime?”
“Cut the chatter! Brothers, together!”
The crowd was itching to strike, and Xia Fei proudly stood, his eyes coldly sweeping across the crowd. In truth, Xia Fei’s curiosity had been piqued by this motley crowd.
“All of you, shut up!” Windchime could no longer hold herself back and furiously roared.
“Stop fighting over me… I’ll go with him…” Windchime bit her lower lip and said, her face ghastly pale.
…
After one last glance at her comrades and this familiar land, Windchime silently followed Xia Fei onto the Impaler.
“You’ll definitely send them the equipment you promised?”
“Relax, I will.”
At the dining table, Xia Fei gave Windchime a cup of coffee, but she simply looked out the ship’s window at the sea of stars, her gaze unfocused.
Sighing, Xia Fei said, “You’re Uncle Porter’s friend, as well as mine. I can’t watch you send yourself to death. Deep down, you should know that just these people with a few guns won’t be able to do anything to a warlord with deep roots in the Black Abyss. This is a hopeless war.
“Originally, I wasn’t planning to force you. If you weren’t willing to come with me to the Alliance, I was planning to give you those resources, enough for you not to worry about basic necessities while living in the Black Abyss and to give Uncle Porter an explanation, but once I learned that you’re part of some ‘rebel army’, my hands were forced.
“I had to take you back even if I had to tie you up—even if you end up hating me for the rest of your life. Anyway, as far as I’m concerned, it’s just a simple matter of keeping you alive. I don’t care what you think, just like how you didn’t care about what Uncle Porter thought.”
Windchime froze, and then in an almost inaudible voice, she said, “It’s not what you think… Porter, he…”
Xia Fei shrugged, firmly saying, “Save those words for Uncle Porter. Since you signed the contract, I hope that you will comply.”
Windchime silently nodded. Xia Fei guided Windchime to an empty bedroom. “I’m going to get the Gilded Greenface. Wait for me here.”
Xia Fei locked the door, clearly not showing any sympathy.
Phantom pursed his lips. “Aren’t you being a little too rude to Windchime? You’re always talking about respecting the decisions of others, so why didn’t you respect Windchime’s?”
“You can’t treat everything the same way. If Windchime is being an idiot, I can’t just let her keep messing around, right? A rebel army with that disorderly mob? What are they going to rebel against?
“Uncle Porter is my friend and one of my people. Since his girlfriend wanted to deliver herself at death’s door, what could I do except bring her back? War isn’t something for women to fool around with. Anyway, I’ve already decided to bring Windchime back no matter what.” Xia Fei spoke with a firm resolve, taking an extremely tough stance. In his view, this matter was non-negotiable.
The Impaler took flight. Availing itself of the darkness, it landed near a secluded valley. The sandstorm was raging outside, and in this sort of deserted region, there was no need to worry about being discovered.
He equipped his Bloodthirsty Ice God armor then held Celestial Moon in his right and Lifeseeker Tri-dagger in his left. In his spatial ring, he also had the Bloodthirsty Screech longsword and the ancient civilization weapon Butterfly Serpent.
Once he was ready, Xia Fei descended from his ship and disappeared into the harsh sandstorm.
“Gilded Greenface, my precious, here I come!” Xia Fei smiled as he spoke to himself.
