"Captain, are we just letting them through like that?" A crew member operating the weapons asked in confusion as they watched the taillights of the vehicle fade into the distance.
"What else do you want to do?" Big Beard tossed the four Energy Blocks in his hand and turned to head back inside.
"That's an armored vehicle they've got. Look at the Electromagnetic Cannon and Laser Cannon mounted on it. Since when did our Smuggling Port have someone like them?" The crew member wasn't actually trying to stop Fleet One, but since they'd taken payment, shouldn't they at least warn the merchants?
Big Beard grinned. "You know why we're stuck on this Garbage Star, not even wanted as pirates?"
The crew members waited curiously for his explanation. Big Beard shook his head and said, "Because you're all too stupid. You don't even know who to rob as pirates—might as well deliver yourselves to the enemy."
The crew members glared at him. What did he mean, "too stupid"? He was the captain, after all—they were just following his lead.
Fleet One advanced slowly toward their destination, gradually decelerating as they approached the streets of the Smuggling Port.
One observed the surroundings through optical cameras, cautious as all weapons were loaded and ready. The vehicle-mounted Electromagnetic Cannons and other armaments had completed their warm-up.
The Smuggling Port was unusually quiet in the morning. The street, visible from end to end, had only a few scavengers moving about, hoping to sell whatever usable items they'd found for a decent price.
Of the nearly twenty shops in the port, half didn't deal with scavengers at all—their targets were passing Smuggling Ships.
The docking berths Liu Hai had observed were distributed along both sides of the street, with direct access to each shop.
The appearance of Fleet One surprised the merchants of the Smuggling Port. This Garbage Star had never seen such a well-equipped armed squad before. Instantly, all eyes turned toward them, wondering which faction they belonged to.
When the fleet stopped in front of Fatty Ke Ling's shop, many merchants secretly hoped they were there to cause trouble—preferably to eliminate that troublemaker once and for all.
When Ke Ling, who had been taking inventory in the warehouse, was alerted by an employee, he immediately ran through his mental list of people he'd wronged and customers he'd sold defective products to.
"Probably not a business issue—I've never offended anyone with real power. Maybe it's a new customer?" Ke Ling was confident in his ability to pick his targets when scamming people. At worst, he'd only skimmed small profits, earning him nothing more than a few curses—certainly not enough to warrant a violent retaliation.
When Ke Ling stepped out, One was examining the shop. From the outside, it looked like a pile of junk, but the interior was surprisingly clean and organized, though the dull gray tones made it seem unremarkable.
Only a single row of shelves at the back held mechanical parts and daily necessities, appearing somewhat haphazardly arranged.
"Hello, I'm the owner of this shop. How may I assist you?" Ke Ling greeted One with a jovial, almost Buddha-like smile, his eyes flickering toward the crate carried by two Clone Troopers.
Without wasting time, One got straight to the point. "I need communication equipment that can connect to the Interstellar Federation Starnet, along with an anonymous bank card loaded with 100,000 Credit Points. Do you have them?"
Upon hearing One's request, Keling was momentarily stunned before replying, "Communication devices aren't a problem. What kind does the guest need? Personal, ship-mounted, or vehicle-mounted? As for anonymous bank cards, we really don't have 100,000 Credit Points here. At most, we can offer 20,000."
"Vehicle-mounted will do. Twenty thousand Credit Points is fine. We'll pay with Energy Blocks." One waved his hand, and the Clone Troopers immediately set down and opened the case. As a wave of cold air dissipated, neatly arranged Energy Blocks appeared before Keling's eyes.
With the Energy Blocks One provided, the transaction proceeded smoothly. The portly Keling, intimidated by the armored convoy, didn't dare to overcharge, settling for a fee of 13,000 Energy Blocks from One.
Registering an identity was even simpler. They just had to submit fabricated information, choose which planet to become a citizen of, and then pay according to the difficulty level.
Following Liu Hai's instructions, One selected the nearest Kono Administrative Star. After paying 1,000 Energy Blocks, they waited less than an hour before One received Liu Hai's citizen code. Liu Hai officially became an ordinary citizen of Kono Administrative Star—one with no money, no house, no car, and no job.
However, just as One's convoy was preparing to leave, a minor incident occurred. Several shop owners blocked the convoy's path.
"Sir, here are our contact details. If you need anything else here, feel free to reach out. Our services include freight, passenger transport, resale and recycling of various products, and even sourcing labor if you need it," one of the shop owners said with a confident smile, listing a range of illicit or gray-market businesses, including fencing stolen goods, human trafficking, smuggling, mercenary services, and arms dealing.
Liu Hai, who had been observing One and the others, grew intrigued upon hearing their pitch and immediately spoke through One: "You handle all kinds of business? Then do you have Elite Population Genes?"
"Elite Population Genes?" The shop owners exchanged glances. "We can arrange that. But what are the guest's specific requirements? Quantity? Categories?"
"Commerce, scientific research, administration, entertainment, skilled labor, military—we want them all. Priority goes to scientific researchers, followed by military, administrative, commercial, skilled labor, and entertainment. If there are any other special genes, we'll take those too." One relayed Liu Hai's words verbatim.
After some discussion, the shop owners said, "We'll need a deposit of 10,000 Credit Points."
"Fine." One indifferently handed over the Energy Blocks, priced at the standard rate of the Star River Federation, not the 10 Credit Points per block that the Smuggling Port charged scavengers.
The shop owners handed One a communicator and prepared to leave with the deposit, needing to notify their contacts to gather the elite biological genes One required.
"Wait." One stopped the departing group and tossed them a weapons inventory list. "Take this. If you need anything, you can contact me."
The men glanced at the list curiously, then suddenly looked back at One, taking in the equipment and vehicles of his squad. "You're arms dealers?"
"Right, small arms can be delivered anytime, while medium and large ones require pre-order—you should all understand that. As for the price, it depends on your order quantity." After this brief explanation, One returned to the vehicle, and the convoy quickly departed.
The shop owners stood motionless, watching the convoy disappear into the distance. Only after it had vanished from sight did one of them finally speak up, holding the list: "Seems like a big shot has arrived on our Garbage Star."
"If everything on this list is real, we might be in for a fortune," another owner mused, staring at the list as if gazing into a bright future.
What's the most profitable business in this world? There are many answers. But what's the deadliest trade? There's only one answer—arms dealing.