SCOM - Chapter 59

Chapter 59

When they arrived at the hospital, Yan Yan was just about to go buy breakfast. Zuo Luohuan handed him the takeout she had brought. "We want to go see the mine."

"I already applied yesterday," Yan Yan said, taking the breakfast. "We can head over in a bit."

"Your mother... should we take her to the capital for a check-up?" Jiang Hong nudged Zuo Luohuan. "Money isn't an issue. The 377th Army is part of the Winter Army, so the Zuo family can cover it."

Zuo Luohuan nodded. "The best neurological hospital is in the capital."

Yan Yan glanced at his mother lying in the hospital bed and hesitated before saying, "If my mom hasn't woken up by the time 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 mine. Along the way, large transport vehicles were constantly passing, kicking up dust from the road until the sky, ground, and road all blended together, becoming indistinguishable.

A major reason the 377th Army was sent to Xijiang Exile Star was that they weren't strong enough within the Winter Army. Sending them to the border would have been a pointless sacrifice, so they were assigned here instead. Many children born into the army, like Yan Yan, managed to get into military academies and leave Xijiang Exile Star behind.

"There's one year left. If nothing is found here by then, the 377th Army can rejoin the main forces," Yan Yan explained along the way. "Many people are already making plans to leave. There's only one area left to explore."

"Is that the area your parents were trying to blast open?" Zuo Luohuan asked.

"Yes. Surveys showed no Silver-Blue there, but my mom insisted on mining it for confirmation before sealing the mountain." Yan Yan's mother was the captain of a squadron in the 377th, 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 receives no funding from the Star Lord? They have to rely on themselves for everything?"

Yan Yan nodded. "They manage to gather the necessary equipment by selling common minerals." Life was just a bit harder. The commander of the 377th Army felt he couldn't complete his mission and didn't want to request aid from the Winter Army.

Most of the mine had already ceased operations. Only on the easternmost side was a large machine still excavating ore, with a small team working there.

A man who looked like the leader of the team turned around, saw them, and walked over. "Little Yan, are these the classmates you brought?"

"They are my seniors." Yan Yan stepped aside and said to the team leader, "They wanted to see Xijiang Exile Star."

Zuo Luohuan stepped forward and extended her hand, introducing herself. "Zuo Luohuan."

"Zuo... Are you General Zuo's daughter?" The team leader was startled. He quickly pulled off his glove and shook her hand. "Lu Hui, squadron leader of the 377th Army's Sixth Squad."

"We just came to have a look. I heard the mine is about to be sealed?" Zuo Luohuan asked with a smile.

Lu Hui nodded. "Yes, soon. Once we finish checking this eastern mountain range for Silver-Blue, we'll seal the mountain and head back."

"Can we look around?" Zuo Luohuan glanced around. "I've never been to a mine before."

"Sure, but the mine is dusty and there's not much to see. You'd be better off in the city center; I hear the entertainment industry there is thriving. Also, don't go into the areas marked with red warning lines. They could collapse at any time." After giving his instructions, Lu Hui pointed to a dirt-yellow pickup truck. "I'll give you a vehicle. You can drive it around yourselves."

"Uncle Lu, I'll show them the way." Yan Yan led Zuo Luohuan and the others to the truck, taking the driver's seat.

Just as Lu Hui had said, there wasn't much to see. The excavated areas were a stark white, spiraling downwards in circles like a giant disk set into the earth's surface, continuing until no more minerals could be extracted.

"This place used to be all barren mountains. After they were mined out, they dug this deep underground, but still found no useful minerals," Yan Yan explained, pointing below. "That row of green houses in the distance is where the 377th Army lives. We come out from there every morning, spend the day at the mine, and go back at night."

They often left clean in the morning and returned covered in dust in the evening. Not only was their hair full of dirt, but even their nostrils were filled with dust from the mine. It wasn't that they didn't have masks, but they had to take them off when they stopped to rest or eat.

Of the entire mining area, only the lone mountain on the eastern side remained undeveloped. Yan Yan's parents had been blasting the mountain recently when the accident occurred, which was why the subsequent work was handed over to Lu Hui.

"Uncle Lu is a good friend of my parents, so he agreed to lead a team to help," Yan Yan explained. "Not many in the 377th Army agree with mining this last mountain. A survey team comes every three months, and they've never found a trace of Silver-Blue. This mountain doesn't even show signs of common minerals. Everyone thinks it's a waste of effort and is already preparing to leave."

Yan Yan didn't actually know why Zuo Luohuan wanted to walk through the mine, but he figured people from the capital were probably just curious since they'd never seen one.

The pickup truck happened to be a five-seater. Ji Yuezhi, Zuo Luohuan, and Jiang Hong sat in the back. They had taken off their masks after getting in the truck. Ji Yuezhi, sitting in the middle, turned his head to look at Zuo Luohuan. She was gazing out the window, not even blinking, as if she had seen something interesting.

The five of them drove around the mine for a while before returning to the Xijiang Prefecture. They had agreed to go to the underground black market, so Yan Yan went to the hospital first and would meet up with them in the evening.

"Why do you keep looking at me?" Zuo Luohuan suddenly asked Ji Yuezhi as they walked into the Xijiang Prefecture Hotel.

Ji Yuezhi paused, thinking she hadn't noticed. He pursed his lips and denied it. "I was looking at the mine."

Zuo Luohuan raised an eyebrow, her expression unreadable as to whether she believed 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. A moment later, he leaned his face close to Zuo Luohuan's ear and asked softly, "Have you been to a mine before?"

Zuo Luohuan looked down at the floor. "You guess."

From the elevator's security camera, the two people standing at the very back were whispering ear-to-ear, looking just like countless intimate couples.

Luo Shaoyuan turned her head and saw Zuo Luohuan speaking close to Ji Yuezhi's ear. She looked disgusted. "What are you two doing? Talking bad about me?"

At the Northern Military Academy, only the gossipmongers would huddle together like that, whispering behind people's backs.

Zuo Luohuan leaned back, moving away from Ji Yuezhi and resting against the glass wall of the elevator. She gave a lazy laugh. "I don't need to hide to talk bad about you."

Luo Shaoyuan: "..."

"I've checked. The underground black market on Xijiang Exile Star sells everything, and it has toed the high-risk line several times," Jiang Hong said, turning his head to the others. The Federation wasn't cracking down on the black market for now, but if it ever crossed the line, they would immediately destroy the trading market.

"They sell everything?" Luo Shaoyuan asked curiously. "Do they sell Robot Dogs?"

"Even if they did, do you have the money?" Jiang Hong scoffed.

Luo Shaoyuan: "...I wouldn't buy one even if I had the money."

After washing off the dust in the hotel, the group waited until seven in the evening. Yan Yan arrived at the hotel entrance, and they all headed together towards a large bar across the street.

"Is it in here?" Luo Shaoyuan looked at the chaotic crowd of dancers inside the bar, seeing no sign of a black market.

"Over there." Jiang Hong scanned the room, noticed some people who didn't fit in with the bar's atmosphere, and walked straight in that direction.

The bar was too crowded. Ji Yuezhi was pushed away several times. He looked at Zuo Luohuan's back, wanting to call out to her, but ultimately remained quiet and tried his best to follow.

"Come here." But Zuo Luohuan seemed to have heard the voice in his heart. She turned and reached out her hand to him.

Amid the colorful lights of the noisy bar, the crowd surged, but in Ji Yuezhi's eyes, only Zuo Luohuan remained. She reached out her hand to him, waiting for him to come over.

Ji Yuezhi hurried forward and placed his hand in her palm. Before he could speak, he was pulled forward forcefully.

Zuo Luohuan shielded most of Ji Yuezhi's body, blocking the reckless people passing by. "The underground black market is up ahead. We're almost there. Don't get separated."

"Okay." Ji Yuezhi's attention was drawn to her cool hand, and he answered in a daze.

The further in they went, the fewer noisy people there were. They finally reached a door, pushed it open to reveal a long staircase, and followed the crowd inside. After a long walk, they discovered a complete street underground, with all sorts of stalls lining both sides. From a distance, it looked less like an underground black market and more like an underground city.

"What's this?" Luo Shaoyuan leaned closer to a lamppost, looking at something posted on it. "A wanted poster?"

"The reward is pretty high," Jiang Hong glanced at it and pointed to the lampposts ahead. "Every post has one."

"Shui Bai, a bounty of five million?" Luo Shaoyuan read along the posters and saw the one with the highest reward. Her eyes lit up, clearly tempted.

"Who is this person? What did they do to get such a high bounty?" Jiang Hong leaned in for a look. "For the theft of an important item from the Hong family. Anyone providing information will be rewarded with five hundred thousand. Capturing this person will earn a five-million reward."

"The Hong family is the biggest influential family on Xijiang Exile Star. They have a hand in all the industries here. The Star Lord even collaborated with the Hong family to develop this entertainment sector," Yan Yan said. "I think I've heard of this person. I don't know what was stolen, but it's said they killed the Hong family's heir."

"Sounds like a tough character." Luo Shaoyuan tore the wanted poster off and stuffed it in her pocket. "I'll keep it for now. If I run into them, I can get a five-million-credit reward for catching them."

The moment Ji Yuezhi saw the picture on the wanted poster, he froze. It was a printed frame from a surveillance camera. The person was wearing a black tracksuit and standing by a car. Their features were ordinary, but he could recognize them at a glance...

Zuo Luohuan gently squeezed Ji Yuezhi's fingers, signaling him to come back to his senses.

As she led him forward, his heart sank for no reason.

The black market was indeed large. The underground was no different from the surface, with tall buildings and even cars driving by.

"What is this stuff?" Luo Shaoyuan stopped at a hidden stall, frowning at the various syringes displayed on it.

"Happy Water," the stall owner stood up and introduced. "It's something for Alphas to use with other Alphas. One shot, and you'll feel as happy as an immortal. There's no pain during bonding."

Luo Shaoyuan was only half-understanding. "Why would an Alpha and an Alpha need to bond?"

The stall owner sized her up for a moment, then opened a drawer and gestured for Luo Shaoyuan to look. "I have stuff for Omegas too, if you want."

"This stuff is contraband, and you're selling it out in the open?" 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 product, understand? The concentration is just a little higher. Are you here to cause trouble?"

With that, he pulled out two machetes from under the stall. The owners of the neighboring stalls also began to stir, staring at them as if ready to pounce at any moment.

"Sorry, my friend isn't thinking straight," Jiang Hong squeezed through and pointed at the drugs on the stall. "How about this, we'll buy everything."

Only then did the stall owner slowly put away his machetes, slamming one down hard on the edge of the stall. "You're smart. One hundred thousand for everything."

"One hundred thousand? That's robbery!" Luo Shaoyuan struggled, wanting to flip the stall over.

"Shut up." Jiang Hong paid the money, packed up the stall's worth of pleasure drugs, and carried them in his hand, even having Zuo Luohuan and Yan Yan help carry some.

"This is the black market. Don't act rashly," Zuo Luohuan reminded Luo Shaoyuan. "The truly illegal things aren't sold out on the stalls."

"I want to go look over there," Ji Yuezhi said to Zuo Luohuan, turning his head.

He was pointing to an inverted building in the distance, which looked exactly like the casino building on the surface, only upside down.

"That should be the black market casino," Jiang Hong said, craning his neck to see. "I hear you can bet on anything there."

As soon as they entered, they immediately sensed an atmosphere completely different from the outside. It was opulent and decadent, a scene of extravagance. Countless beautiful Omegas weaved through the crowd with glasses of wine, and the first-floor hall was packed with people around numerous gambling tables.

"Is that... a Robot Dog?" Jiang Hong stared at the objects hanging from the four corners of the building's ceiling, somewhat stunned.

"Those are just models the Hong family bought at a high price. But they do sell real light guns here." A man in a suit passed by, raised his wine glass to them in a toast, and then left with an Omega on his arm.

"I need to go somewhere first," Jiang Hong said to Zuo Luohuan. He had already found out where the Jiang family's information gatherer was.

The group sat in a corner on the first floor. Someone brought them free drinks. Zuo Luohuan didn't touch hers, leaning back on the sofa with her gaze fixed on a gambling table ahead.

Piles of chips were placed in front of them.

An hour had passed by the time Jiang Hong returned. He plopped down on the sofa opposite Zuo Luohuan and relayed all the information he had found. "The Hong family heir who died was just an adopted son they took 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 heir became Hong Tongdao, the biological son."

Luo Shaoyuan took out the wanted poster. "Could this person be a killer hired by Hong Tongdao? Is he the thief crying 'stop thief'?"

Jiang Hong shook his head. "The entire Hong family listened to that adopted son; there was no conflict. This Shui Bai seems to have appeared out of nowhere. But the information I got is that this person has already been dealt with secretly. It's said the Hong family caught the person, interrogated them for over half a month, found out it was just a murder for money, and finally took them to the mine to be buried alive."

"Already dead, but the wanted poster is still up." Luo Shaoyuan looked at the poster and was about to throw it away when Ji Yuezhi took it from her.

"Why would they be sent to the mine to be buried alive?" Yan Yan asked with a frown. That was the territory of their 377th Army. Why would the Hong family go to the mine to dispose of someone?

Jiang Hong pointed towards the entrance. "You've never been to the black market, so you don't know. The underground black market is huge. If you walk to the end and go up, you'll come out right behind the mine."

Yan Yan's expression was still grim. The 377th Army had excavated that mine bit by bit, only for it to become the Hong family's disposal ground.

The group didn't stay long. A man in his thirties with a large belly, dressed in a suit and followed by a group of what looked like thugs, walked towards them.

"Welcome, Miss Zuo, Young Master Ji," the pot-bellied man said, clapping his hands. Someone immediately brought over several trays of chips. "Whatever you'd like to play, feel free. You can gamble a few rounds here, and if you run out, you can exchange more for cash at the window."

"And you are?" Zuo Luohuan didn't get up, remaining on the sofa and swirling a glass of wine.

"Hong Tongdao, the person in charge of the underground casino," the pot-bellied man said with a bow. When he saw the wanted poster on the table, his expression changed slightly. "Are you two also interested in this fugitive?"

"Just looking." Zuo Luohuan set her wine glass down, placing it directly on the wanted poster. "I wanted to see what a head worth five million looks like."

Hong Tongdao smiled. "The underground black market has a wanted list. If you two would like, I can send it to you."

"No need." Zuo Luohuan glanced at the chips. "Since we're here, we'll play a few rounds first."

"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 didn't touch the chips. The two of them made their way to the food table and started eating. In contrast, Zuo Luohuan and Ji Yuezhi walked together, trying out every type of game.

"Small or big?" Zuo Luohuan asked, looking at Ji Yuezhi. The two of them sat together, speaking so intimately that onlookers would have thought they were a couple.

Ji Yuezhi's face brushed past Zuo Luohuan's ear. "Small."

Jiang Hong sat at another table. Although he saw how close they were, he rarely said anything, just playing his own game.

"We lost," Ji Yuezhi said in a low voice, looking at the numbers revealed by the dealer.

"Then let's stop playing," Zuo Luohuan said, pulling him away from the table.

The group didn't wander around much longer. As if they had just come for a casual look, they headed back.

Before going to sleep, Jiang Hong, in his room, suddenly received a message from Ji Yuezhi: 【What else did you find out about Shui Bai?】

Jiang Hong: 【Nothing else. Our Jiang family doesn't have many information channels on Xijiang Exile Star.】

Ji Yuezhi: 【I see. 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: 【Luohuan told you?】

He hadn't realized it when he first saw the wanted poster. He only figured it out later but hadn't dared to ask Zuo Luohuan.

Ji Yuezhi: 【Send me the information you found.】

Jiang Hong: 【I told you everything I know today. There's only a privately filmed video that's a few minutes long.】

Jiang Hong hesitated for a moment before sending the video he had obtained to Ji Yuezhi. Then, after some thought, he sent a message to Zuo Luohuan: 【I showed the video to Ji Yuezhi.】

Ji Yuezhi put on his headphones before opening the video.

The video was very shaky. At first, it seemed to be aimed at a table covered with syringes. Then the camera moved forward, revealing a chair with a person tied to it. Her head was bowed, and her upper body was covered in blood.

Then a person walked over, visible only from the back. The person filming, probably realizing they couldn't get a good shot, moved a few steps to the side, revealing the person's profile.

It was Hong Tongdao, the man they had met tonight. He reached out and grabbed the side of the person in the chair's waist. There must have been a wound there, as blood instantly flowed from between his fingers.

The person in the chair didn't even struggle. Only the veins on the back of her hands, which were tied to the armrests, bulged.

"What do you know?" Hong Tongdao asked grimly.

The person in the chair remained silent with her head bowed, even as he squeezed harder.

Hong Tongdao took a step back, wiped the blood from his hands, and turned to pick up a syringe from the table. "Just got my hands on this experimental product. Perfect time to test it."

He drew the liquid from the vial into the syringe and then plunged it directly into the arm of the person in the chair.

Whatever the drug's composition was, it took effect immediately. The person in the chair seemed to be engulfed by immense pain. She silently tilted her head back, the veins on her neck clearly visible under the light as large drops of sweat dripped from her forehead.

"You can really endure," Hong Tongdao said, admiring the scene for a moment before laughing grimly. "No rush. This is just the beginning."

The video ended there. Ji Yuezhi's face was pale, as if he had been the one tortured. His fingertips trembled slightly as he phantomly touched the image of the person on the optical computer, head thrown back in agony.

She...

When Zuo Luohuan received Jiang Hong's message, she was already preparing to rest. After reading it, she asked Jiang Hong: 【What video?】

Jiang Hong quickly sent the video over. Zuo Luohuan watched it for only a few seconds before closing it. She turned, strode out, and knocked on Ji Yuezhi's door.

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