Star Abyss Walker

Chapter 41 The Spying on the Undercurrent

After much pleading and cajoling, Lu Xiaobei finally agreed to lend me the money. She had originally intended to borrow less, but she never expected that I had already seen the internet cafe's back-end records of card top-ups and spending, which showed a total income of 20125 yuan. If I borrowed 20,000 yuan, I could still leave her 125 yuan to buy a boxed lunch.

At four o'clock in the afternoon, I left work on time and headed straight to the old town.

"Shh!"

As I passed through a small alley in the ancient city, a fleeting shadow suddenly flashed past in front of me, making me doubt myself. It looked like a person, and somewhat like Lu Xiaobei carrying something in his arms!
Immediately afterward, two urban management officers chased after them, panting heavily after only a few steps.

"Forget it."

One of the city management officers, panting heavily, said, "Just chase her for a couple of steps and that's enough. Captain Wang said this woman is a bit mentally unstable, so don't bother with her."

"What a pity..."

Another city management officer lamented, "Such a beautiful girl, how could she have something wrong with her brain?"

"It's just..."

As I brushed past him, I almost burst out laughing. It seems that Lu Xiaobei has really made a name for himself in the urban management team and has inadvertently become an outlaw in the governance of the old city district!
So, bypassing the area where Lu Xiaobei might have set up a stall, I went straight through several sparsely populated alleys and finally arrived at the location of the player black market.

"Brother, your ID!"

The two burly men were still guarding the alley. Although they recognized me, the formalities still had to be followed. After I showed my health bar, one of them laughed and said, "So it's you, Master Chasing Shadow! Please come in, please come in~~~"

"Thanks, brothers!"

I took out a pack of Jinliqun cigarettes, offered one to each of us, and then left.

The black market was bustling with people, and there were quite a few players born in Xicheng. I didn't waste any time and went straight to the trading hall, where I saw a man with a horse-like face.

"Old horse!"

"what?!"

I grabbed Old Ma, who looked panicked: "Damn, who are you...?"

"I came with Zhang Ruolin and Ling Baiwei, didn't you forget?"

"Oh...it's Ding Han!"

He immediately put on a big smile and said, "Come over to resupply ammunition?"

"Ok!"

I nodded: "Let's go inside and talk in detail!"

"Alright, come on over!"

The two walked arm in arm to the trading area.

After sitting down, Old Ma asked, "What kind of bullets do you want?"

"I want to buy more of the 9mm bullets for the Roarer."

"How much is a little more?"

"Nine thousand shots, do you have them?"

"It really does!"

Old Ma said in a deep voice, "You bought so many bullets for the regional mission after midnight tonight, right?"

"if not?"

"Haha, I knew it. A lot of people have come to buy bullets today. Luckily, we have a good supply of ammunition, otherwise we probably would have sold out today."

I took out the 2 yuan that Lu Xiaobei had lent me, and then took out another 7000 yuan from my own savings. At this point, I only had 200 yuan left for food, but I was determined to win the reward for first place in the regional mission!

My goal has never been to be in the top ten, but to aim for number one. The reward for being number one will definitely be extraordinary, perhaps the kind of reward that you will never have another chance to try if you miss it!

"Old horse."

I placed the money in front of me and said solemnly, "I bought 9000 bullets in one go without haggling over the price. Would you say I'm a big customer?"

"While not the most frequent customer, they are certainly a major client." Old Ma pondered the deeper meaning in my words, narrowed his eyes, and smiled, "What are you up to, kid?"

"How about some freebies? Like two explosive grenades?"

"Are you crazy? You can't just give away hand grenades like that!"

Old Ma was speechless: "If you said you wanted to send me something else, I might be able to send you a little within my authority, but I really can't send you a single hand grenade."

"That's fine."

I nodded: "Then send me some empty Howler magazines, I want ten."

Ten empty magazines?!

Old Ma was stunned: "That's too much, brother. This isn't a free gift; it's practically a wholesale magazine."

"It's just a magazine, it's not expensive. With your status in the black market, this is a piece of cake, isn't it?"

He touched his nose, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Alright, ten it is. I'll give them to you all at once in a bit. I'll go get the goods."

"Ok!"

Soon after, Old Ma brought over bullets with two men—nine thousand rounds, neatly arranged—along with ten brand-new magazines for the Howler. This gave me a total of 15 magazines. When fully loaded, they held 750 bullets for one use. Combined with the firepower of the Blue Howler, it was more than enough to handle most small-scale situations!

"Old horse."

I gave him another long look: "Do you really have explosive grenades in our black market?"

"Yes, I have……"

He smiled slightly: "Don't even mention explosive grenades, I have RPGs and improved Blue Flame Gatling guns, but they're too expensive for you."

"RPGs are out of the question, I can't afford them. How much do explosive grenades cost?"

"3000 per piece."

"Holy crap..." I was dumbfounded, utterly shocked. It was so expensive! No wonder Zhang Ruolin was heartbroken when I used up three of her grenades!

Can a hand grenade costing 3000 yuan a month be afforded by a worker earning 2000 yuan a month?
Forget it, I'll just try to steal the Dark Tide Vanguard's grenades later if I get a chance...

……

After leaving the black market, I bought a fish and some lettuce, green beans and other vegetables at the vegetable market. I went back to my place, cooked a few dishes, and then drank a bottle of beer with Milo.

"Luo'er, I need to catch up on some sleep later, so you don't need to practice singing."

"Oh?"

Milo asked in surprise, "Taking a nap at this hour isn't like you. Where are you going?"

"You really turned off the player system completely?"

I said, speechless, "A new regional mission will be launched in Xicheng after midnight tonight. From midnight tonight to midnight tomorrow, the player who eliminates the most enemies within 24 hours will receive a generous reward, so I plan to compete for first place."

"Okay, then I wish you the best of luck in getting first place!"

"By the way, lend me a thousand yuan."

"???"

Milo looked on in astonishment: "How did you end up in such a sorry state? Didn't you say you had a lot of savings? Now you don't even have a thousand dollars left?"

"Ugh……"

I sighed: "I bought 9000 bullets in one go from the player black market, which cost 2.7. I even borrowed 2 of them from Lu Xiaobei. Do you think it's easy for us who are working so hard to level up?"

"Fuck..."

Milo exclaimed in shock, "Lu Xiaobei is really good to you. He lent you 20,000 yuan without hesitation. Did he even give you an IOU?"

What IOU?

"Nima..."

Milo picked up his wallet, pulled out ten hundred-yuan bills, and tossed them to me: "What's this thousand yuan for? You're not going to use it to cool off with a girl after you finish the mission at midnight tomorrow, are you?"

"You're so shallow."

I was a little embarrassed: "I've already spent all my money. I forgot that it costs another thousand dollars to teleport to the mission point. It really proves the saying that even the wisest person can make a mistake."

"shameless."

Milo took a swig of beer and said, "I've indeed turned off the player system. It's not very interesting anymore. Now I just want to live in this world like an ordinary person and strive for my musical dreams."

"It's not impossible."

I glanced at him and said, "Once you become a music superstar, I'll also become a true powerhouse on the other side of this world. If you ever get into trouble, don't worry, I'll be your brother and cover for you!"

"I'll do it just because of what you said!"

He opened a bottle of Heineken and showed it off in one go.

"Awesome..."

I took a deep breath; I had to admit, he was impressed by his alcohol tolerance.

After dinner, Milo went to the bar to practice singing so as not to disturb my rest, while I set my alarm, fully charged my phone, and then drifted off to sleep.

……

I don't know how long I slept, feeling like I was in heaven and hell, until my phone alarm finally went off.

"Baby's tummy is thundering, tummy baby is thundering, thundering baby is hitting tummy, thundering baby is thundering..."

The alarm clock was rousing, instantly waking me up, and I quickly turned it off.

It's 11:30 PM, more than enough time to reach the phase teleportation array to the black market.

When I passed by downstairs, I even spent a lot of money to buy a roast chicken, some flatbread and a few bottles of mineral water. After all, I was going to be outside for 24 hours, and I didn't want to fight the Dark Tide Vanguard while my baby's belly was throbbing...

Soon after, they arrived at the black market.

By this time, a large number of players had already teleported to the West Wind Woods. After paying 1000 Star Coins, I also stepped into the teleportation array. With a "whoosh," I experienced the dizzying sensation of teleportation again. A few seconds later, I walked out of another teleportation array, and in front of me was a vast expanse of dark West Wind Woods.

Not far away, a group of players had gathered together, each displaying their health bars. The highest level was 20, but they had not yet advanced, probably because the advancement difficulty was too great.

Without intending to make contact with anyone, I immediately activated the skill "Bio-Optical Invisibility". Instantly, my cells began to sizzle, and an optical energy enveloped my entire body, putting me into a 12-second invisibility state.

They sped away immediately, disappearing from everyone's sight and entering a vast, desolate westerly forest.

"drop!"

A message came from Zhang Ruolin: "Xiaobai, Axe, and I have entered the West Wind Forest. What about you?"

"I'm in too. Remember to share information and help each other out if we run into trouble."

"Ok!"

……

Soon after, a golden boundary appeared ahead, which the player could not enter, probably because the area quests had not yet been opened. So I hid in the woods with my blue roarer and waited quietly.

Ten minutes later, I heard a ding-dong sound.

[Attention! The regional quest "The Spy of the Undercurrents" is now open! Beware of the power of those undercurrents; they are far more terrifying than we imagine!]

I didn't rush things. Instead, I switched to the Windtalker and used its night vision aiming system to carefully observe the area. Only after confirming that there were no enemies did I carry my gun into the depths of the woods.

A few minutes later, lights flashed in the sky, and several large transport planes flew low overhead. Then, through the scope, figures could be seen descending from the sky. The Dark Tide Vanguard Team had begun its airdrop!
Just then, the western sky suddenly brightened, and streaks of fireballs swiftly pierced the darkness, heading towards the northern part of Westwind Woods where the players were gathered.

'Holy crap...'

I was dumbfounded. Seriously? The first round would be a long-range artillery bombardment!?
(End of this chapter)