SCOM - Chapter 59
Chapter 59
When they arrived at the hospital, Yan Yan was about to go buy breakfast. Zuo Luohuan handed him the breakfast she'd brought: "We want to go take a look at the mines."
"I already applied yesterday," Yan Yan accepted the breakfast. "We can go over later."
"Your mother... should we take her to the Capital to see a doctor?" Jiang Hong nudged Zuo Luohuan. "Money isn't a problem. The 377th Army is also part of the Winter Army; the Zuo family can handle it."
Zuo Luohuan nodded. "The best brain specialists are in the Capital."
Yan Yan glanced at his mother lying in the hospital bed. After a moment of hesitation, he said, "If my mom hasn't woken up before we leave, then I'll have to trouble you, Senior."
After Yan Yan and his father finished breakfast, the group put on masks and headed towards the mines. Large transport vehicles rumbled constantly along the road, kicking up dust that filled the air. The sky, the ground, and the road seemed to blend together, almost indistinguishable.
The 377th Army had been assigned to Xijiang Exile Star largely because their strength within the Winter Army wasn't sufficient. On the front lines, they would only be needlessly sacrificed, so they were sent here. Many children born into military families, like Yan Yan, relied on getting into military academies to escape Xijiang.
"In another year, if nothing is mined here, the 377th will be reassigned," Yan Yan explained along the way. "Many people have already started making plans to leave. There's only one area left unexplored."
"Is that the area your parents were going to blast open?" Zuo Luohuan asked.
"Yes. Surveys showed no Silver-Green there, but my mom insisted on mining and verifying before sealing the mountain." Yan Yan's mother was the captain of the 377th's First Squadron, responsible for part of the mining operation. With her injury, the final project had to be handed over to another squadron.
Ji Yuezhi suddenly asked, "The 377th Army doesn't have a Star Lord's sponsorship? Everything relies on themselves?"
Yan Yan nodded. "By selling ordinary ore, we can scrape together enough for the necessary equipment." Life was just a bit harder. The commander of the 377th felt he couldn't complete the mission and didn't want to request funding from the Winter Army.
Most of the mining operations had ceased. Only in the far east, a large machine was still extracting ore, with a small team working nearby.
A man who appeared to be the team leader turned around, saw them, and walked over. "Xiao Yan, are these the classmates you brought?"
"Yes, my senior and upperclassman," Yan Yan stepped aside and said to the leader, "They wanted to see Xijiang Exile Star."
Zuo Luohuan stepped forward, extending her hand. "Zuo Luohuan."
"Zuo... Are you General Zuo's daughter?" The leader was startled. He quickly pulled off his gloves and shook her hand. "Lu Hui, Squadron Leader of the 377th's Sixth Squadron."
"We're just here to take a look. We heard the mine is closing?" Zuo Luohuan asked with a smile.
Lu Hui nodded. "Yes, soon. Once we've checked the eastern mountain range for Silver-Green, we'll seal the mountain and head back."
"Can we look around?" Zuo Luohuan glanced at the surroundings. "I've never been to a mine before."
"Sure, but it's dusty and there's nothing much to see. You'd be better off in the city center; I hear the entertainment industry is booming there. Also, don't go near the areas cordoned off with red warning tape. There's always a risk of collapse." After his warning, Lu Hui pointed to a dirt-yellow pickup truck. "I'll give you this vehicle. You can drive around yourselves."
"Uncle Lu, I'll guide them," Yan Yan said, leading Zuo Luohuan and the others towards the truck. He took the driver's seat.
Just as Lu Hui had said, there wasn't much to see. The mined-out areas were pale, spiraling downwards like giant coils etched into the surface, extending down to where no more ore could be extracted.
"This used to be a bare mountain. After it was mined, they dug this deep underground, and still haven't found any useful minerals," Yan Yan explained, pointing below. "Those green houses further out are where the 377th Army lives. We leave every morning, spend the day in the mines, and return at night."
They would leave clean in the morning and return covered in dust at night. Not just their hair, but even their nostrils would be filled with mine dust. It wasn't that they didn't have masks, but they had to take them off to eat and rest.
Only the easternmost mountain remained untouched. Yan Yan's parents had been blasting there when the accident occurred, leading to Lu Hui taking over the remaining tasks.
"Uncle Lu is a good friend of my parents, so he agreed to lead the team and help out," Yan Yan explained. "Not many in the 377th agreed with mining this last mountain. Inspection teams come every three months, and they've never found any trace of Silver-Green. This particular mountain doesn't even register ordinary ore. Everyone thinks it's a waste of effort and is already preparing to leave."
Yan Yan wasn't entirely sure why Zuo Luohuan wanted to tour the mine, but perhaps people from the Capital had never seen one before and were curious.
The pickup truck had five seats. Ji Yuezhi sat between Zuo Luohuan and Jiang Hong in the back. They took off their masks after getting in. Ji Yuezhi glanced at Zuo Luohuan. She was looking out the window, barely blinking, as if she'd found something interesting.
After driving around the mine, the five returned to Xijiang Mansion. They had agreed to visit the underground black market, but Yan Yan went to the hospital first and joined them later in the evening.
"Why do you keep looking at me?" Zuo Luohuan suddenly asked Ji Yuezhi as they entered the Xijiang Mansion hotel.
Ji Yuezhi, slightly startled, as if he hadn't realized she'd noticed, pursed his lips and denied it. "I was looking at the mine."
Zuo Luohuan raised an eyebrow, unsure whether to believe him or not, and stepped into the elevator first.
Ji Yuezhi stood beside her. After Jiang Hong and Luo Shaoyuan entered, he turned his back to them. After a moment, he leaned closer to Zuo Luohuan's ear and softly asked, "Have you been to the mines before?"
Zuo Luohuan looked down at the floor. "Guess."
From the elevator's security camera, the two standing at the back appeared to be whispering intimately, just like countless other affectionate couples.
Luo Shaoyuan turned around to see Zuo Luohuan speaking close to Ji Yuezhi's ear. She made a disgusted face. "What are you two doing? Gossiping about me?" At the Northern Military Academy, only gossipmongers huddled together like that, whispering behind people's backs.
Zuo Luohuan moved her upper body away from Ji Yuezhi, leaning against the elevator's glass wall. She chuckled nonchalantly. "I don't need to hide to talk about you."
Luo Shaoyuan: "..."
"I've checked. They sell everything in Xijiang's underground black market, even borderline illegal stuff," Jiang Hong said, turning to the others. The Federation currently left the black market alone, but if it crossed the line, they would immediately shut it down.
"They sell everything?" Luo Shaoyuan asked curiously. "Do they sell robot dogs?"
"Even if they did, do you have the money?" Jiang Hong clicked his tongue.
Luo Shaoyuan: "...I wouldn't buy one even if I did."
After washing off the dust at the hotel, the group waited until 7 pm. Yan Yan arrived at the Xijiang Mansion hotel entrance, and they headed together to a large bar across the street.
"Here?" Luo Shaoyuan looked at the chaotic crowd inside the bar, not seeing any sign of a black market.
"That way," Jiang Hong scanned the area, spotting a few people who seemed out of place in the bar, and walked straight in their direction.
The bar was crowded. Ji Yuezhi was jostled several times. He watched Zuo Luohuan's back, wanting to call out to her, but remained silent, trying his best to keep up.
"Come here," Zuo Luohuan, as if hearing his unspoken plea, turned and extended her hand towards him.
Under the colorful, flashing lights of the noisy bar, amidst the surging crowd, Ji Yuezhi's eyes focused only on Zuo Luohuan. She had reached out her hand, waiting for him.
Ji Yuezhi quickly stepped forward, placing his hand in hers. Before he could speak, he was pulled closer.
Zuo Luohuan put her arm around him, shielding him from the jostling crowd. "The underground black market is just ahead. Don't get lost."
"Mm," Ji Yuezhi replied absently, his attention drawn to her cool hand.
The further in they went, the fewer the noisy revelers. They reached a door, pushed it open, and descended a long staircase. Following the crowd, they eventually found themselves in a complete underground street, lined with various stalls. From afar, it looked less like a black market and more like an underground city.
"What's this?" Luo Shaoyuan leaned closer to something posted under a streetlight. "A wanted poster?"
"The reward is quite high," Jiang Hong glanced at it, pointing to the next lamppost. "Every post has one."
"Shui Bai, 5 million credit bounty?" Luo Shaoyuan's eyes lit up as she read the highest bounty poster, clearly tempted.
"Who is this person? What did they do to warrant such a high bounty?" Jiang Hong leaned in for a closer look. "Theft of important Hong family property. Anyone providing information will receive a 500,000 credit reward. Capturing this person will earn you 5 million."
"The Hong family is the largest family on Xijiang Exile Star. They're behind almost every business here. The Star Lord also cooperates with them to develop the entertainment industry," Yan Yan explained. "I think I've heard of this person. I don't know what they stole, but I heard they killed the Hong family heir."
"Sounds like a tough one," Luo Shaoyuan tore off the wanted poster and stuffed it in her pocket. "I'll keep this. If I run into them, I can grab them for the 5 million credit reward."
From the moment he saw the picture on the wanted poster, Ji Yuezhi froze. It seemed to be a printed frame from a surveillance camera. The person was wearing a black tracksuit, standing next to a car. Their features were ordinary, but he recognized them instantly...
Zuo Luohuan gently squeezed Ji Yuezhi's fingers, urging him to snap out of it.
Ji Yuezhi, led forward by her hand, felt a sinking feeling in his heart.
The black market was truly vast. The underground area was no different from above ground, with tall buildings and even vehicles moving about.
"What's this stuff?" Luo Shaoyuan stopped at a hidden stall, frowning at the various vials displayed.
"'Happy Water'," the stall owner introduced, standing up. "Something used between Alphas. Inject it, and you'll feel like you're in heaven. Makes bonding painless."
Luo Shaoyuan looked confused. "Why would Alphas bond with each other?"
The stall owner sized her up, then opened a drawer, gesturing for Luo Shaoyuan to look. "I've got something for giving it to Omegas too."
"This stuff is illegal! And you're selling it openly?" Luo Shaoyuan's face darkened. "And for use on Omegas?"
The stall owner rolled his eyes. "Are you crazy? This isn't some drug to force Omegas. It's a pleasure enhancer, get it? Just a little stronger than usual. Are you here to cause trouble?"
He pulled two machetes from under the stall. Stall owners nearby also looked ready to pounce.
"Sorry, my friend isn't thinking straight," Jiang Hong squeezed in, pointing at the vials on the stall. "Like this. We'll buy everything."
The stall owner slowly sheathed his knives, slamming them down on the edge of the stall. "Smart move. Ten thousand for everything."
"Ten thousand? You're robbing us!" Luo Shaoyuan struggled, about to overturn the stall.
"Shut up," Jiang Hong paid, packed up all the pleasure enhancers, and handed some of the bags to Zuo Luohuan and Yan Yan.
"This is the black market. Don't act rashly," Zuo Luohuan reminded Luo Shaoyuan. "Truly illegal goods aren't sold out in the open like this."
"I want to go take a look over there," Ji Yuezhi said to Zuo Luohuan, inclining his head towards a distant, inverted skyscraper that mirrored the casino building above ground.
"That should be the black market casino," Jiang Hong craned his neck to look. "I hear they have all sorts of gambling there."
As soon as they entered, they sensed a completely different atmosphere. It was opulent and decadent, with beautiful Omegas carrying drinks and weaving through the crowd. The first floor was filled with gambling tables surrounded by people.
"Are those... robot dogs?" Jiang Hong stared, somewhat shocked, at the objects hanging from the four corners of the building's top floor.
"Just models the Hong family bought at a high price. But they do sell real light guns here," a man in a suit said as he passed by, raising his glass to them before leaving with an Omega.
"I'll be right back," Jiang Hong said to Zuo Luohuan. He had located the Jiang family's information gatherer.
The group sat in a corner on the first floor. Someone brought them complimentary drinks. Zuo Luohuan didn't touch hers, leaning back on the sofa, her gaze fixed on the gambling tables ahead. Piles of chips lay before them.
When Jiang Hong returned an hour later, he plopped down across from Zuo Luohuan and shared the information he'd gathered. "The Hong heir who died was actually an adopted son, taken in thirty years ago. But this adopted son was more capable than the biological son, so he always held the real power in the Hong family. After he was killed last year, the inheritance went to Hong Tongdao, the biological son."
Luo Shaoyuan pulled out the wanted poster. "Could this person be an assassin hired by Hong Tongdao? Is he framing someone else?"
Jiang Hong shook his head. "The entire Hong family obeyed the adopted son; there was no conflict. This Shui Bai seemed to appear out of nowhere. But the information I got is that this person has already been dealt with discreetly. Apparently, the Hong family caught them, interrogated them for over half a month, discovered it was just a robbery gone wrong, and then buried them alive in the mines."
"They're already dead, and the wanted poster is still up?" Luo Shaoyuan looked at the poster, about to throw it away, when Ji Yuezhi took it from her.
"Why would they bury them alive in the mines?" Yan Yan frowned. That was the 377th Army's territory. Why would the Hong family dispose of someone there?
Jiang Hong pointed towards the entrance. "You haven't been to the black market, so you wouldn't know. It's quite extensive. If you go to the end and up, it's right behind the mines."
Yan Yan's expression remained grim. The mines were dug out bit by bit by the 377th Army, and they had become the Hong family's dumping ground.
The group didn't stay much longer. A pot-bellied man in his thirties, dressed in a suit, walked towards them with a group of what looked like thugs.
"Welcome, Miss Zuo, Young Master Ji," the pot-bellied man clapped his hands, and someone brought over several trays of chips. "Feel free to play whatever you like. You can gamble here, and if it's not enough, you can exchange money at the counter."
"And you are?" Zuo Luohuan remained seated, swirling a glass of wine.
"Hong Tongdao, manager of the underground casino," the pot-bellied man bowed, his expression changing slightly when he saw the wanted poster on the table. "Are you interested in this fugitive?"
"Just curious," Zuo Luohuan placed her glass down, right on top of the poster. "Wanted to see what a 5 million credit head looks like."
Hong Tongdao chuckled. "The underground black market has a wanted list. If you'd like, I can send it to you."
"No need," Zuo Luohuan glanced at the chips. "Since we're here, let's play a few rounds."
"Please," Hong Tongdao didn't linger, seemingly having come over just to greet them.
Yan Yan and Luo Shaoyuan didn't know how to gamble, so they left the chips untouched and headed for the buffet. Zuo Luohuan and Ji Yuezhi, however, stayed together, trying every game.
"High or low?" Zuo Luohuan asked Ji Yuezhi. They sat close together, speaking intimately, so others assumed they were a couple.
Ji Yuezhi's cheek brushed against Zuo Luohuan's ear. "Low."
Jiang Hong sat at another table. Although he saw their closeness, he unusually didn't comment, focusing on his own game.
"We lost," Ji Yuezhi murmured, watching the dealer reveal the numbers.
"Then let's stop," Zuo Luohuan pulled him away from the table.
The group didn't explore further, as if they had just come for a casual look, and then left.
Before going to sleep, Jiang Hong received a message from Ji Yuezhi: Did you find any other information about Shui Bai?
Jiang Hong: No, our family doesn't have many information channels on Xijiang Exile Star.
Ji Yuezhi: Mm, so you also don't know that Shui Bai is Zuo Luohuan.
In the darkness, Jiang Hong stared at his optical computer for a long time before replying: Did Luohuan tell you? He hadn't realized it when he first saw the wanted poster, but he figured it out later, yet didn't dare ask Zuo Luohuan.
Ji Yuezhi: Send me the information you found.
Jiang Hong: I told you everything I know today. There's only a short privately recorded video.
Jiang Hong hesitated for a moment, then sent the video he received to Ji Yuezhi. After a moment of thought, he also sent a message to Zuo Luohuan: I showed the video to Ji Yuezhi.
Ji Yuezhi put on his headphones before opening the video. The footage was shaky. It initially focused on a table covered with vials. Then the camera moved forward, revealing a chair with someone tied to it, head down, their upper body covered in blood. A person, visible only from the back, approached. The person recording likely realized they couldn't get a clear shot, so they moved to the side, revealing the person's profile.
It was Hong Tongdao, the man they had met earlier that night. He grabbed the person tied to the chair by their side, where there seemed to be a wound, and blood immediately flowed through his fingers. The person in the chair didn't even struggle, only their hands, tied to the chair's armrests, clenched tightly, tendons bulging.
"What do you know?" Hong Tongdao asked menacingly.
The person in the chair remained silent, even as he applied more pressure.
Hong Tongdao stepped back, wiped the blood from his hands, and turned to grab a vial from the table. "A new experimental product I just got. Perfect for a test run."
He filled a syringe with the liquid and injected it directly into the person's arm. Whatever the drug was, it took effect immediately. The person in the chair seemed to be overcome with immense pain, their head thrown back silently, tendons in their neck clearly visible under the light, sweat dripping from their forehead.
"Quite resilient," Hong Tongdao chuckled darkly. "Don't worry, this is just the beginning."
The video ended there. Ji Yuezhi's face was pale, as if he himself had been tortured. His fingertips trembled as he touched the image of the person with their head thrown back on the chair. Her...
Zuo Luohuan had been preparing for bed when she received Jiang Hong's message. Seeing it, she replied: What video?
Jiang Hong quickly sent her the video. Zuo Luohuan watched for only a few seconds before closing it, then went out and knocked on Ji Yuezhi's door.
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