The ACG galaxy, which was positioned on the outskirts of Endaro Star Region, could be considered as part of the lawless zone. As such, the existence here of many illegal transactions of all kinds was not much of a surprise. Apparently, even the notorious Paridae Pirates often did their resupplying here in this galaxy.
Porter piloted a small frigate with Xia Fei and drove toward ACG-19, which was also the location of the black market.
ACG-19 was a planet mostly covered in deserts. There were few water sources here, and the climate was harsh. It was not suitable for human inhabitation, but that did not stop some shrewd outlaws in stationing themselves there.
The spaceship circled around a part of a certain desert as Porter rhythmically keyed in a few words on the intercom, as if he was transmitting morse codes.
In no time, one of the sand dunes in the desert began to shift gradually, and a circular sky entrance opened up after a while.
Porter directed the spaceship to vertically land on the parking apron as the circular sky entrance slowly closed above them.
Xia Fei and Porter alighted from their frigate and saw two muscular, strapping men standing right below the landing apron. Weapons were slung across their shoulders as both beamed at them.
Old Porter, youre back. The two men had a face-splitting grin as they greeted him.
Yup. Porter nodded at them, stuffing some money into their hands from his pocket. Help me look after this spacecraft. Ill be sure to buy you guys some drinks once I get back.
With that, Porter led Xia Fei along a narrow and gloomy corridor which brought them deeper into the facility.
This is a well-known black market to procure for every sort of stuff, be it psychedelic drugs, weapons, or even women. This place here is the liveliest location out of dozens galaxies nearby. Porter introduced the place to Xia Fei.
Why is it I feel like Im inside a spaceship? asked Xia Fei as he observed his surroundings.
Youre not wrong. This was originally an abandoned warship, and it was at first used by someone as a storage facility that ultimately came to be of this scale after many years of development. Not only did the entire spaceship end up being utilized, they had even dug many more tunnels on the planet, and this is one of the entrances. There are many other entrances like the one we just entered all over the planet surface.
They traveled along the narrow, winding corridor for quite some time before it suddenly opened up to another wide space.
This area was like a huge farmers plaza market that was well-lit, of which both sides had rows of stores.
Hundreds and thousands of men and women were gathered around this plaza, each one looking shifty and reprehensible, a majority of them staring at a stranger like Xia Fei with great vigilance.
Porter seemed awfully familiar to everything here and could be seen constantly greeting people left and right.
Xia Fei noticed that not one of the stores around the plaza had any name to them, nor was there even any goods on display, much less what they were actually selling.
Porter and Xia Fei stepped into one of these tiny stores, and it was filled with empty beer bottles. Walking inside the place was like wading through a river of beer bottles.
There was only a single rack in the store, and it was still filled with beer. Behind the rack was a long couch; a scrawny, middle-aged fella was presently fast asleep on it. Without saying another word, Porter kicked the man down the couch.
Whos there?!
The skinny man leaped to his feet, startled by the rude awakening. He pulled out a sharp knife from his waist and thundered, bleary eyed, Whos the douchebag courting death?!
His breath reeked of alcohol when he spoke; the stench was so heavy that Xia Fei had a hard time breathing.
When the scrawny man finally made out Porters face, he pulled out an ingratiating smile as that knife in his hand magically disappeared into thin air.
Oh, its brother Porter; come on in and have a seat. The middle-aged man very politely vacated the couch and invited both to sit on it.
He eyeballed Xia Fei several times before smiling at Porter again. And who might this be?
Enough with your nonsense; wheres the thing I ordered? imperiously demanded Porter.
In the warehouse, in the warehouse. All packed up for you. The middle-aged man wringed his hand.
He jogged over to the back wall and pushed a button. Xia Fei could hear the sound of a motor starting, then the wall parted in the middle, revealing an elevator inside.
Porter and Xia Fei followed the middle-aged man down aboard the elevator, arriving at a warehouse with a floor size of about a thousand square meters.
There were all sorts of wooden crates of various sizes in this warehouse. The man brought Porter and Xia Fei before a certain pile of goods, pointed to about 3 one-cubic crates, and said, Brother Porter, these are what you wanted.
Porter nodded expressionlessly. The middle-aged man called for two able-bodied men to pry open the three crates using their crowbars. Inside were three very intricate equipment.
The three pieces of equipment were a warp disruptor, a traction control module, and a warp stabilizer respectively.
When two warships engaged in combat, if either spaceship ended up at a disadvantage, they could utilize their emergency warp drive and escape far from the battlefield at the last minute.
A warp disruptor could interrupt such maneuver by transmitting a high-frequency interference, preventing the warp drive from being engaged. The enemy would, thus, be unable to run away even if they wished to do so, leaving them with the only option of staying there and facing their destruction.
A traction control module allowed a spaceship to unleash a traction beam, and enemy spaceships ensnared would see a ninety percent decrease in speed at the very least.
A traction control module was essential when going up against spaceships capable of achieving high speeds. Such spaceships would have near light-speed propulsion power, able to rely on its superb mobility to evade attacks and retaliate against their targets easily. Just like an annoying fly buzzing around, even if they were unable to defeat their targets, they could most definitely leave them annoyed to death.
A traction control module meant a spaceship would have the ability to catch such buzzing flies before delivering a fly swatting attack, which could put an end to the annoyance.
Furthermore, a traction control module still had great practical value as it was able to secure suspended objects floating in space and drag it nearer to the spaceship for salvaging.
There were an innumerable amount of treasures, be it an ancient spacecraft wreckage or a chunk of highly valuable ore, floating in the cosmos.
With a traction control module, a spaceship would be able to pull those spaceships or minerals near it, even able to contain those in the cargo hold and claim such for itself.
If a traction control module was used in conjunction with the warp disruptor, enemy spaceships would be completely ensnared and unable to escape, leaving them in a situation where they would be on the back foot and have to take the beating. It was a truly diabolical method of warfare.
The warp stabilizer worked exactly the opposite of a warp disruptor. It protected a spaceship from high-frequency disturbances and shortwave invasions of the enemy, allowing the spaceship to safely make a jump upon bumping into danger.
The two shared a relationship like spear and shield; a disruptor was like an offensive spear, while the stabilizer was a defensive shield. Engaging against an enemy with a spear and shield, a spaceship could prevent the enemy from attacking using similar means.
A civilian spaceship would rarely have these three abnormal, electronic weaponry fitted, first, because of how pricey these components were and, second, because there were very few manufacturers out there capable of producing them, making it difficult to obtain a steady supply of such items.
Porter inspected the three electronic components. Hmm There dont seem to be any problems. Send these to my spaceship, no. 1022 landing pad.
The middle-aged man hastily nodded, hurrying the two strongmen to transport the three crates to the mentioned spaceship, all the while instructing them to be careful.
Brother Porter, see if Ive got the final sum right on this bill. These things are all valuable, boasting high liquidity. The middle-aged man cautiously gesticulated.
Porter nodded, then faced Xia Fei. It comes up to thirty million. Transfer that sum to him.
The man was startled. Brother Porter, its twelve million a piecethe total should amount to thirty-six million star coins.
Porter coldly snorted, completely unfazed. Hmph! Everyone knows that you got hold of those goods through Old K. Its just that I didnt wish to have dealings with him. Otherwise, it wouldnt even cost me twenty million if I went to see him myself about these components. You shouldnt be too greedy.
Xia Fei could see the middle-aged mans eyes spinning before he helplessly agreed. Since youve put it that way, then Ill absorb the losses of this transaction this time. I wouldnt agree to this if you were someone else.
Xia Fei transferred the thirty million to the middle-aged mans account and returned to the plaza with Porter. The two of them proceeded to an open-air bar and ordered two bottles of beer, sitting at a table and slowly imbibing their drinks.
Uncle Porter, those items arent really expensive. I did a cursory search on the interplanetary internet last night, and the same equipment is officially sold at about fifteen million star coins each. Weve essentially saved a whole fifteen million star coins by buying those three components back there. Xia Fei was laughing as he told Porter this.
Porter laughed aloud as well. This wouldnt be called the black market if the goods werent cheap. These things are either stolen or illegally seized; why would they not be cheap?
But those arent the reason why were here today. Were waiting here for someone wholl be bringing along something you cant guess even in a million years. Boy, you just wait to fork out the money. I cant wait to see your pained expression later, mysteriously remarked Porter.
Xia Fei sipped his beer. As long as its good stuff, Ill be very willing to pay.
The two chatted for a while until a youngster with bushy brows paced anxiously over, his face showing his frustration and exasperation.
This youngster sat down right beside Porter, grabbed a bottle from the table, twisted the cap off, and downed it at one go.
Porters eyebrows knitted together but did not say a word. An uneasy atmosphere began to take hold.
*Bang!*
That youngster let go of the bottle and said in a huff, Old K came looking for me and took away the item you wanted.
Porter slammed the table with his hand and expressed his concern to the lad. Are you alright?
The youngster shook his head, his expression bitter. Im fine; he told me to pass along a message.
What is it?
The graveyard is still mine. The youngster looked elsewhere on purpose as he spoke about this. It was as if he was feeling somewhat guilty for failing to bring over the item that Porter requested.
Porter patted the youngsters shoulder and gravely remarked, Xiao Tian, we can always find the item again. Its more important that youre fine.
This youngster by the name of Xiao Tian was quite touched and flashed him a forceful smile. Master, even though I failed to make a good showing as your apprentice, you should know how Im like. Ill always be able to hold something back. Old K only made off with the engine, and he didnt find the neutron cannons or the missile launchers.
Weapons system needed an ample power source and spaceship capacity. The Navy-issue Eagle-class frigate had a total of four power source ports, which could install weapons, and Xia Fei had decided to fit his Hookbill with two of both the small neutron cannons and small missile launchers.
A neutron cannon was presently one of the strongest cannons available on the market. It did not have a quick rate of fire, shooting roughly a hundred twenty shots per minute, but it had an exceptionally high penetrative strength, able to puncture an enemy spacecrafts thick armor, and its power consumption was much lower than that of thermal weapons.
A frigate could not fit a huge power source, so it was important to strictly control power consumption.
The advantages of a missile system were evident in this; it could actively track the more agile enemies with decent firepower. More importantly, a missile system would not need to tap into the power source as its power was dependent on its inbuilt jet system.
Neutron cannon and missiles complemented each other. Not only did they provide a high damage output, they could also handle all sorts of enemies.
Saving so much power meant they could devote all the resources toward strengthening the spaceships maneuverability and defense capabilities. Plus, top-grade electronic equipment often had a heavy power consumption.
Master, I suspect that Old K has your phones tapped, and thats how he learned of what youre looking for this time. I have a military-grade encrypted phone with me; its best if you use that next time.
With that, Xiao Tian shoved a satellite phone, which was about the size of a matchbox, into Porters hands.
Both pairs of neutron cannons and missile launchers cost Xia Fei a total of twenty-four million star coins. Xia Fei made the transfer, and Xiao Tian nodded to the two of them before striding off like a gust of wind.
Taking several drags of his lit cigarette, Xia Fei could not help but ask, Xiao Tian is your apprentice?
Yes, hes the youngest among my apprentices and also the most talented. Hes in urgent need of money for his younger sisters eye treatment, so he left my factory to become an arms dealer.
I only learned of this after the fact. To think I even gave him a severe scolding that day. Recalling it now, I truly regret doing so. That twerps too stubborn. If he had only told me about it earlier, I couldve helped him raise funds, even if I had to break pots and sell scraps, but he had entirely kept me in the dark about it.
Old Porter said that while rubbing his temples; the wrinkles on his face became more pronounced as a result. Xia Fei wanted to say a few words of consolation, but he had no idea how to go about it.
Whos Old K? asked Xia Fei, instead.
Porter took out a Hongtaishan cigarette from Xia Feis cigarette case and lit it up like him.
*Cough cough!*
Just what in the world is this thing?! Whys it so hard to smoke? Porter coughed twice as his face contorted bitterly, tears forming in his eyes.
Xia Fei smiled and did not comment. None of the extraterrestrials Xia Fei had come across smoked; tobacco seemed to be unique to Earth.
Porter took a swig of his beer and said, Old K was a pirate in his prime, washing his hands off the business once he gained on in years. Instead of robbing others, he started to assemble spaceships.
Recently, hes been hoping to buy something from me, which I refused to sell to him. As such, we arent too happy with each other. Actually, Im fine, though its a real pity about that Black Mamba engine I ordered for you.
Xia Fei was momentarily stunned as he urgently asked, What engine did you say it was?
Black Mamba enginethe 130 model. Porter sighed.
